Invincible

Hearing that voice, Beichenzi felt his scalp tingle with dread and his whole body shiver. Forcing an air of composure, he shouted, "Xu Ying! This is a matter of life and death for you! If you can do nothing, all of us will die here!" He had never seen Xu Ying with his seal broken, nor did he know what terrifying consequences would follow once it was undone. He was merely carrying on the duties of his predecessors. Before him, there had been another group of Qi Refiners responsible for this exact task. However, those Qi Refiners grew too old to maintain the seal, and flaws began to slip into their arrangements for Xu Ying's life. After those Qi Refiners were promoted, the burden fell upon the shoulders of Beichenzi and his two companions. Beichenzi had heard some legends regarding Xu Ying, and he knew that maintaining Xu Ying's seal was of paramount importance. Yet faced with death, he had no choice but to undo the seal a little for the moment! Forcing himself to stay calm, he thought, "Fortunately, I didn't undo all of it. The sealing talismans are still intact, and the incense is still there. As long as he kills the heavenly fiend, I can relight the incense and turn him back into an obedient child!" "How dare you?" Xu Ying laughed aloud. Behind him, the visions of the Realm of Xiyi suddenly manifested: the Five Sacred Peaks immortal mountains, the black iron mystic pass, the bronze heavenly pass, the Jade Capital immortal pass, the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, the Jade Pool, the God Bridge, the Sea of Chaos, the Yellow Court, the Crimson Palace, the Jade Pool, the Jade Capital, the Heavenly River, the Heavenly Mountain, and even the Bubbling Spring appeared one by one! "Beichen, how dare you!" His soul stood proudly upon the third heaven of the Pass-Breaching stage. In his Realm of Xiyi, there were only a rainbow-like beam of sword qi, the phenomenon of the Hundred Thousand Mountains honoring Mount Jiuyi, and a cloud of Heavenly Tribulation. These were the Dao images Xu Ying had comprehended. His cultivation stage was still merely the third heaven of the Pass-Breaching stage, completely unchanged. His Nuo method realm was also only two tiers of cave-heavens opened in each of the Mud Pill and Crimson Palace secret depositories, and one tier in the Yellow Court secret depository. His realm as a Nuo master had not changed in the slightest either. Witnessing this, Beichenzi felt a chill run through him. "Unsealing him didn't unseal his cultivation! We're finished!" Yuan Qi and the bronze bell also felt cold inside. They had thought that as long as Beichenzi unsealed Xu Ying, they would be able to weather the crisis, forgetting Xu Ying's actual cultivation. A heavenly fiend possessing an immortal corpse was equivalent to a living immortal walking the earth. How could Xu Ying, merely in the Pass-Breaching stage, possibly triumph over such a being? Boom! Thunder shook the heavens. An immensely thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Xu Ying. Dazzling thunder burst apart, illuminating everything behind him. In that brief instant, everyone saw immense shadows emerge within Xu Ying's boundless Realm of Xiyi. When a second bolt of thunder crashed upon his head, the snowy white radiance lit up those silhouettes, and only then did they realize that those shadows were all manner of unimaginable images of the Great Dao! There were giant bronze peaks, abysses that buried the Great Dao, colossal trees that enveloped the stars, behemoths that swallowed the heavens, nebulas that birthed constellations... All manner of terrifying Dao images threatened to drive one mad. And with the crashing descent of each lightning bolt, these Dao images grew ever more solid, gradually shifting from illusion to substance, as if about to manifest from visualization into reality! Even though the feather-robed youth was a heavenly fiend, he could not help but feel terrified. He rushed forward in haste, attempting to slay and devour Xu Ying before the Dao images behind him could turn real! Whoosh— The stone axe at Xu Ying's waist flew up and cleaved down toward his face. The feather-robed youth's body flickered, and all around him—in front, behind, to his left, and to his right—countless figures of the feather-robed youth materialized, marching forward in unison and striking together to block the stone axe! Yet the stone axe also trembled faintly, casting countless phantom axes. An instant later, the right hands of all the feather-robed youths were severed, and with a flash of axe light, it embedded itself squarely into the feather-robed youth's forehead! All the phantoms of the stone axes and feather-robed youths vanished, leaving behind only the true bodies, with the stone axe still lodged in the feather-robed youth's forehead. Beichenzi, the bronze bell, and Zhu Chanchan were all astounded. Xu Ying clearly still possessed only the cultivation of the Pass-Breaching stage's third heaven, yet this axe technique was so exquisite that no matter how the heavenly fiend dodged, he could not avoid it! This strike of his was nothing short of miraculous. Splitting open the immortal's flesh was like the cook butchering the ox, finding every crevice to break through, avoiding the immortal corpse's strengths and targeting its weaknesses, following its flaws to slice through any defense directly with a single blow! It was simple enough to describe, but who else could discern the flaws of an immortal corpse and a heavenly fiend? The stone axe had sunk deep into the feather-robed youth's head. Its roiling killing intent and baleful aura battered the fiend's mind and consciousness, causing his body to shudder violently. From time to time, a dark silhouette inside him was shaken so violently that it nearly detached from the flesh! Suddenly, immortal light surged around him, sweeping up the stone axe and cleaving it back toward Xu Ying! After all, this body belonged to an immortal. Though it was a dead immortal, the immortal qi shrouding it did not fear the stone axe's baleful aura. Thunder continuously fell from above, striking steadily onto Xu Ying's head, making the Dao images behind him grow increasingly real. As the stone axe came hacking down, Xu Ying raised a hand and caught it in his grip, cleaving the immortal light open with a backhanded stroke. Connoisseurs see the craft while novices watch the spectacle. The bronze bell, Yuan Qi, and Beichenzi failed to grasp the depth of it, but Zhu Chanchan perceived the profound martial subtleties embedded in that strike, feeling her Dao heart reel in shock! She could not help but recall the time she had first become an apprentice. Back then, her master had displayed the divine ability of striking a pillar into treasure before her, turning a stone pillar into a Dharma treasure in an instant, transforming it into a coiled stone dragon that soared into the air. That scene had brought her incomparable shock, overturning all her past understanding of Qi Refiners. Now, she had long surpassed her master of yesteryear, capable of performing divine abilities far stronger and more awe-inspiring than striking a pillar into treasure. Yet watching the variations in Xu Ying's axe strike struck her with an unparalleled sense of shock all over again! "Divine abilities can be used like this? The Dao and methods can be used like this? He isn't human—he definitely isn't human!" Serene and calm, Xu Ying brought the axe down onto the feather-robed youth's forehead once again. He showed not the slightest sign of desperation, while the feather-robed youth was fighting for his life! Roaring in fury, the youth's flesh suddenly swelled, expanding larger and more muscular by the moment. But right then, Xu Ying's left hand formed a peculiar palm seal, within which rested an extraordinarily miniature bronze peak that pierced the heavens. He struck out with the seal. In an instant, the feather-robed youth's immense physique was crushed and rapidly compressed. The sound of snapping bones crackled throughout his body as clumps of flesh and blood burst apart! The splattered gore wriggled and crawled along the ground, reconstituting into feather-robed youths that pounced toward Xu Ying in bizarre, contorted postures! Bang! The feather-robed youth's true body exploded into countless fragments, revealing the heavenly fiend's true form within—a mass of black vapor howling as it surged toward Xu Ying. Xu Ying formed an empty embrace before his chest with both hands. Immediately, another Dao image materialized before him, resembling a furnace. The fire within was not Samadhi true fire, nor was the light it cast any ordinary divine radiance! It was as though he held three thousand suns in his embrace. Boundlessly brilliant light erupted, refining every feather-robed youth that leaped toward him into ash! Plunging through the dazzling glare, the heavenly fiend's true form was steadily annihilated, yet it forced its way before Xu Ying, aiming to drill into the space between his brows! Just as it was about to burrow between his brows, Xu Ying reached out and caught the mass of black vapor in his grip with a casual grasp. The dark vapor thrashed violently in his palm, yet Xu Ying's fingers formed a cage of heaven and earth, trapping it inside without any means of escape. Despairing, the black vapor radiated an ancient consciousness, asking who he really was. With an indifferent expression, Xu Ying gave no reply. Clenching his fist tightly, flames erupted in his palm, reducing the mass of black vapor to ash. Crack! Lightning continued to strike from the heavens. The swirling vortex of dark clouds, tens of thousands of li wide, churned frantically, pouring energy into Xu Ying and making the Dao images behind him ever more real! Beichenzi trembled all over as a soul-deep terror welled up inside him. Thunder was still infusing Xu Ying with power, which meant Xu Ying's true target had never been the heavenly fiend at all. If not the heavenly fiend, then who else could it be? Beichenzi's fingers twitched slightly as a wisp of true fire silently ignited at his fingertip, trying to light the stick of incense before the shrine upon the altar. Just as the true fire reached the incense, Xu Ying suddenly struck with a palm, and the true fire was extinguished with a snap! As if struck by a battering ram, Beichenzi's chest caved in, his ribs snapped one after another, and he flew backward spewing blood. He crashed with a boom into the broken stump of the bronze divine tree, snapping it in two! He slammed heavily onto the ground, tumbling and rolling repeatedly before finally coming to a stop. His skeleton and limbs were nearly shattered, and cracks spread across his Primordial Spirit, Realm of Xiyi, and even his secret depository cave-heavens! Drenched in blood, the old man roared in anger. A go board misty with green qi descended from the sky, slamming down onto the mountain peak. Behind Beichenzi, his Primordial Spirit emerged and bellowed, pointing a finger forward! Boom! A finger as thick as a mountain burst forth from the go board, carrying immense power that set space trembling as it jabbed toward Xu Ying! "I won't let you break free!" Beichenzi screamed, blood leaking from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Without even looking, Xu Ying casually swung his axe, severing the finger emerging from the go board. Beichenzi screamed in agony as his own finger snapped as well. Wielding the axe with one hand, Xu Ying sent streaks of axe light dancing up and down, hacking into the green-misted go board. Beichenzi shrieked repeatedly, his hands trembling as all ten of his fingers detached one by one, chopped clean away. With a thud, he sank to his knees. The Primordial Spirit behind him fell to its knees with a thud as well, its arms trembling violently—all ten fingers of the Primordial Spirit had also been cleaved off! The green-misted go board was a grand divine ability he had painstakingly cultivated for two thousand years. Within this divine ability, he could magnify his attacks and, in the manner of a go game, make them ever-shifting and unpredictable to gods and ghosts alike. Yet when Xu Ying struck into his grand divine ability, it was as if he saw through every single nuance and transformation—in fact, he wielded Beichenzi's own divine ability with greater finesse than Beichenzi himself! This sight plunged him into utter despair! With a flick of his wrist, Xu Ying sent a beam of axe light into the green-misted go board, and a flash of axe light flew out from it, heading straight for Beichenzi's throat! A simple axe strike had shattered the divine ability he had taken pride in all his life, turning his own technique upon him to end his life. Beichenzi felt completely devastated, shorn of any will to resist. Suddenly, a flash of red light lunged forward. Before the axe light could slay him, it swept up both him and his Primordial Spirit, rolling dozens of yards away! Still shaken, Beichenzi hurriedly looked over. It was the woman in red and her Primordial Spirit arriving at this critical juncture, rescuing him in the nick of time! "We received the message carried by your yellow robe and came immediately. Fortunately, we weren't too late!" The woman in red looked up, staring intently at Xu Ying as she spoke rapidly. Blood gushed from Beichenzi's mouth as he coughed. "Be careful, both of you. He isn't human... he's a monster..." Xu Ying turned his head sharply to see the sorrowful old man appearing upon the altar, holding another paper talisman and affixing it to the shrine. In his other hand, a wisp of Pure Yang anomalous fire was currently lighting the stick of incense! "How dare you?" Xu Ying was consumed by rage. The lightning mark between his brows crackled with electricity that darted erratically as he flicked his fingers repeatedly. The sorrowful old man roared. A silver mirror appeared before him, humming loudly as it replicated continuously, swiftly shrouding all directions to lock down all space and reflect every divine ability! Yet in the next moment, finger-sized holes punched through countless silver mirrors, and every mirror surface shattered across the ground. Thud! Thud! Thud! Ten bloody holes appeared through the sorrowful old man's body, piercing clean from front to back, knocking him off the altar. Xu Ying's mind grew muddled. Knowing things were turning grim, he immediately took to the air and lunged toward the altar, reaching out to extinguish the incense. "I want this heaven to never bind me again! Everything owed to me must be repaid!" The woman in red leaped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. The scent of the burning incense drifted toward the two paper talismans within the shrine, and the strange characters inscribed upon them began to glow. "Don't you dare!" Xu Ying was utterly enraged. Shaking his arms violently, he snapped both of the woman in red's arms. Her arms flew into the air, her chest caved in, and her ribs broke one after another. She raised a leg to trip him, but with two sharp cracks, both of her legs snapped as well! Kneeling on the ground with eyes nearly tearing at the corners, the woman in red could only watch helplessly as Xu Ying walked toward the altar. "No!" The sorrowful old man threw himself forward to block the shrine. Xu Ying thrust his hand forward. Looking down, the sorrowful old man saw his own chest ripped open, his heart held firmly in Xu Ying's hand. The sorrowful old man fell into total despair. "It's over..." Yet Xu Ying did not squeeze down. The sorrowful old man looked up and saw the youth standing before him with a bewildered gaze, gently letting go of the heart he held. In the youth's eyes, the long years he had experienced in this life gradually grew dim. One scene after another was sealed away, and all memories were slowly buried beneath the dust. The fire in his eyes turned to confusion. The sorrowful old man looked back to find that the incense was burning steadily. Curling wisps of smoke drifted into the two paper talismans, and the seals upon them grew increasingly dim. The seal had stabilized. "Where am I? Who am I?" The youth squatted down, clutching his head in his hands, looking pitiful and helpless. "My head hurts so much!" Enduring the agony, the sorrowful old man gingerly pushed the cracked ribs of his chest back together to protect his heart. Kneeling on the ground, the woman in red quietly reset the broken bones in her legs, retrieved two crutches to bind to them, and directed her Primordial Spirit to pick up her severed arms. His white hair stained red with his own blood, Beichenzi crawled forward inch by inch until he reached the edge of the altar. The three exchanged glances, seeing each other's wretched state and terror, as well as the joy of having survived a catastrophe in their eyes. "From now on, we can have peace for many more years." None of them noticed that the crackling lightning mark between Xu Ying's brows was also slowly dimming, gradually fading until it disappeared.