One of Heavenly God Longyuan's heads plunged into the gas giant, showering divine blood below. Xu Ying, flying on his sword directly underneath, was drenched in god blood along with Yuan Qi and the bronze bell!
The divine blood contained a mysterious power that seeped into their bodies, sending their vitality and blood raging and wildly surging!
Yuan Qi had already assembled the Realm of Xiyi from the golden man, but had no idea how to activate the set of treasures. Just as he felt at a total loss, the heavenly god's blood poured down from the heavens.
In an instant, his Jade Pool was filled to the brim with god blood, and his Heavenly River transformed into a river of divine blood. The Heavenly River surged through his cultivation realms, bursting through the three passes of the Jade Capital, Jiaji, and Weilü. It bridged the God Bridge, Jade Pool, Twelve Storeyed Pavilions, and Jiaolian, connecting his blood and qi to the Five Viscera Immortal Mountains!
A torrent of magic power roared in, flooding through Yuan Qi's entire body in a breath!
At this moment, the giant serpent felt his magic power elevated to an unimaginable height, the violent magic power suffusing his limb—well, he only possessed one limb.
Even his ancient ancestor, the Ji serpent, would not have exceeded this in its prime!
Yuan Qi could not contain his wild joy and burst into thunderous laughter, his voice booming like rolling thunder. "Today I drink deep of divine blood; unfulfilled ambition shall never rest! I, Lord Niu Qi, bear the Realm of Xiyi upon my back to fight for all living souls! Today, I shall measure myself against a heavenly god!"
Harnessing immense magic power, he soared into the sky, spitting noxious smoke and stirring up winds and waves as he charged heroically to battle one of Longyuan's dragon heads!
The bronze bell jumped in fright at the sight. "When did this cowardly snake get so brave?"
Yuan Qi charged forward, only to be battered tumbling and rolling backward in utter disarray.
At most, he could match a single head of Heavenly God Longyuan. But Longyuan possessed hundreds of them; how could he possibly rival such a monstrosity?
"Ah Ying, take this Realm of Xiyi!"
The giant snake retreated in a panic, hurriedly slinging the Realm of Xiyi onto Xu Ying's back.
Xu Ying immediately felt a surging, monstrous magic power pour from the Imperial Mausoleum Golden Man's Realm of Xiyi, as though piercing straight through all his realms!
Be it the second Pass-Breaching stage, the Twelve Storeyed Pavilions, the Jade Pool, the God Bridge, or the three passes—all of these realms were flung wide open, instantly granting him cultivation on par with the Ascension stage!
This was the crystallization of wisdom from the Great Qin Dynasty!
Even Zhu Chanchan had nothing but praise for this set of treasures.
The master artisans of that era had used magical treasures to simulate every realm of a Qi Refiner, enabling even a common mortal to possess the power of the Ascension stage in the blink of an eye!
With sword in hand, Xu Ying lifted his head and looked at the dense thicket of divine dragon heads before him.
Behind those heads lay Heavenly God Longyuan's colossal body, like an ancient continent. One of this heavenly god's heads had just been severed by Xu Ying, and the pain made the remaining heads howl relentlessly, their roars shaking the very fabric of space.
His body was so immense that despite having countless heads, Xu Ying and the others were minuscule by comparison and hard to spot, causing the god to suffer a major disadvantage.
Now, having repelled Yuan Qi, his heads widened their eyes, scanning for Xu Ying's presence until they finally locked onto him.
To him, Xu Ying was currently as minute as a speck of dust, difficult to see clearly. Fortunately, he possessed more than enough eyes. Expanding his multidimensional vision allowed him to capture Xu Ying's every move from every conceivable angle.
"Rebel Xu Ying!"
Heavenly God Longyuan's voice boomed with world-shaking force. "Back then, you severed my head and crippled my body, barring me from returning to the Heavenly Dao world and leaving me to wander the myriad worlds!"
Above his shoulders hovered a maple-leaf-shaped radiance, the place where his true head ought to have been.
As for the divine dragons growing out of the canyon of flesh split along his back, they were merely limbs, not true heads. He was called Longyuan precisely because a great abyss tore open along his back, from which countless divine dragons crawled.
His original head had been lopped off and destroyed by Xu Ying during the battle in Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven!
Though he had miraculously survived, his maimed state barred him from returning to the Heavenly Dao world. Abandoned by the Heavenly Dao, he had wandered the mortal realms ever since.
"I hate you!"
The divine dragons writhing out of Longyuan's back wailed in anguished fury, roaring in unison, "I hate you! I hate how, in Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven, you forced me to relive the scene of my decapitation!"
Another dragon head lunged to snap at Xu Ying, while the other heads wore expressions of bitter torment as they howled, "Not just once, but over a hundred times!"
The bronze bell whistled as it expanded, its chimes surging to clash against the dragon head and knock it back. But even more dragon heads swarmed forward, their sharp horns ramming the bell and sending it flying!
"I was once exalted above all, worshipped by myriad worlds!"
Before the bell could stabilize, other dragon heads smashed into it, batting it back and forth so violently that it had no chance to retaliate!
"I was free from birth, aging, illness, and death, my lifespan rivaling heaven! Even immortals could not live as freely as I!" Longyuan vented his rage on the bell, head after head crashing into it. The bell's surface flashed with kaleidoscopic radiance before the light shattered, unable even to hold shape!
Over a hundred dragon heads crowded the sky, looking down as they chanted with one voice, "I was once an exalted heavenly god commanding the Heavenly Dao, dispensing rewards and punishments to all living beings! Yet because of you, I was reduced to a filthy, wretched mortal creature!"
Infuriated, the bronze bell pushed its power to the limit. Its chimes rang out furiously as its mouth trembled, releasing a world-destroying force that crushed the surrounding space. With a resonant dong, it hurtled toward one of the dragon heads!
Heavenly God Longyuan did not care in the slightest. Thirteen other dragon heads crowded in, opening their maws to roar in unison, shouting back against the bell!
The sky between the bell and the fourteen dragon heads shattered completely, obliterating the void! In this contest of roars, the bronze bell suffered a crushing defeat, sent drifting like a fallen leaf in a gale by the sonic blast of those dozen-odd heads.
Despair filled its mind. *I must be a useless bell, not even comparable to that stupid snake. Even the stupid snake could kick out at Longyuan—though he doesn't have legs.*
It could manage one of Longyuan's heads, but facing so many at once stretched it far beyond its limits.
Xu Ying beckoned, and the bronze bell wobbled over, dejected. "Ah Ying, this fellow commands the Heavenly Dao; he's simply too strong. I'm no match for the Heavenly Dao..."
Xu Ying said calmly, "Lord Bell, you don't need to take the offensive. Just protect me. This battle, I will fight myself."
A chill ran through the bell. *This confidence... could Lord Ying be back?*
Other giant fish pounced forward, but Longyuan's heads tore and bit into them, slaughtering more than a dozen.
The remaining fish were finally terrorized out of their wits. Giving up all thought of avenging their kin, they dove deep into the gaseous sea of the planet to hide.
Longyuan was simply too formidable.
Though severed of his head and cast out of the Heavenly Dao world as an invalid, his strength remained terrifying!
In the mortal realm, his power was overwhelming. Even Jiang Qi, wielding Tianzhu, had been no match for him!
Longyuan's hundred-plus heads glared down at Xu Ying.
His voice dropped low, laden with melancholy. "Do you know? Though I was worshipped by the ignorant masses of Yuanding World below, I was never happy. Without a head, I could only carry a leaf atop my neck. Do you know that? I had to go around with a leaf on my neck!"
The divine dragons seethed with bitter grief. "If my former peers knew that I, Longyuan, had a leaf stuck where my head used to be, they would never stop mocking me!"
Xu Ying burst into hearty laughter that resonated like a great bronze bell. "Did they mock you like this?"
Longyuan flew into a fury.
Xu Ying swept his sword horizontally. The sword light seemed to enter the Netherworld, completely silent. The blade-glare of Tianzhu vanished without a trace!
The next instant, the maple-leaf-shaped radiance above Heavenly God Longyuan's neck snapped, sheared away by a ray of sword light!
"Was this the move that took your head?" Xu Ying asked with a smile.
Heavenly God Longyuan's hair stood on end. It was precisely this move that had sliced through his neck and lopped off his head back then!
Seeing Xu Ying execute this technique once more plunged him into deep terror!
Yuan Qi's scalp tingled, his body shivering, while the bronze bell felt as though a jolt of lightning had surged through it, leaving it completely numb.
*Could Lord Ying really be awake?*
The bell and the snake both wondered, *Is the current Ah Ying still Ah Ying, or has Tianzhu or the illusion of Lesser Xuan Heaven awakened Lord Ying?*
Longyuan suddenly erupted in wrath, hissing, "All these days, not a single moment has passed without me thinking of revenge! I knew you had fallen, that you were sealed, living a life worse than death—but that wasn't enough!"
The dragon heads roared in unison, "Far from enough! Only by killing you with my own hands can it be called vengeance! Only then can I feel true satisfaction!"
Xu Ying's eyes gleamed with brilliant light, and the Tianzhu Sword in his hand shone even brighter.
With the foundation provided by the golden man's Realm of Xiyi and the bronze bell guarding his body, he was not without the strength to fight!
Right at that moment, the Fusang tree, laden with the refugees of the fish-belly world, flew out from the belly of a giant fish and soared toward outer space.
Jiang Qi's Primordial Spirit stood upon the Fusang tree, driving the precious tree to escape the gas giant.
Over a dozen divine dragons lunged toward Jiang Qi, bellowing, "You dared impersonate the Heavenly Dao and severed one of my arms, and now you think you can leave?"
Xu Ying finally seized the opening to strike. He shot forward with a whistle, unleashing the full might of Tianzhu. Sword light surged violently, aimed straight for the neck of one of the dragons!
Heavenly God Longyuan paid it no mind. He had more than enough dragon bodies growing from within; even if one were severed, another would grow back.
He would gladly sacrifice a dragon to finish off Jiang Qi!
Yet the single pinpoint of sword light from Tianzhu trembled gently, splintering into countless specks of radiance.
The sword light split apart, instantly blanketing the heavens. Tianzhu seemed to multiply from a single blade into hundreds of colossal pillars of sword light, striking simultaneously at the necks of all Longyuan's divine dragons!
Had Xue Ying'an been here, he would have jumped in shock.
For this technique was none other than his master Li Xiaoke's ultimate art—One Sword, a Galaxy of Falling Stars!
The technique's name was rich with poetic imagery. Once unleashed, the sword light split like scattered stars plunging into the Heavenly River, transforming into a sky full of sword qi.
Li Xiaoke's closely guarded secret had been recreated in Xu Ying's hands! And Xu Ying executed it with a seasoned mastery that rivaled even Xue Ying'an.
He had merely watched Xue Ying'an use the technique once in Stone City, yet he had comprehended its essence and unraveled Li Xiaoke's masterpiece!
Had it been an ordinary divine weapon forged by a Qi Refiner, Heavenly God Longyuan would not have bothered to dodge. But Xu Ying wielded Tianzhu, and he had no choice but to evade.
He shifted his colossal form to dodge Xu Ying's sword strike.
His body was so massive that moving was clumsy, and several divine dragons still had their necks snapped by the sword light.
Colossal dragon heads screamed shrilly as they tumbled down like falling stars, plunging into the atmosphere of the gas giant and streaking toward the ocean as fiery trails of light.
Meanwhile, Heavenly God Longyuan swung his sole remaining arm, throwing a punch. With an enormous clang, Xu Ying and the bell were blasted tens of thousands of miles away!
Layer after layer of light barriers on the bronze bell's surface shattered and reformed, doing everything possible to withstand the force of Longyuan's blow and protect Xu Ying.
Yet this punch was vastly more powerful than the attacks of the dragons; the bell's mouth was deformed by the impact!
The bronze bell bore the blow head-on, using its resonant vibrations to disperse the force. It shouted, "Lord Ying, don't worry about me, I can take it!"
Xu Ying let out a long cry and suddenly launched Tianzhu. Cloaked in sword light, he became a massive pillar of sword qi that swept across, shearing through the necks of one charging dragon after another!
Heavenly gods were incarnations of the Heavenly Dao, their bodies covered in indestructible Heavenly Dao runes that no mortal treasure could harm.
Yet to Xu Ying's eyes, the Heavenly Dao runes all over Longyuan's body were full of flaws!
Wherever Tianzhu swept, Longyuan's heads fell one by one. The heavenly god roared in impotent fury as more divine dragons crawled out from the chasm of flesh on his back, lunging toward Xu Ying!
The dragons bellowed, unleashing an annihilating shockwave. The bronze bell vibrated frantically to counter the roar. At the same time, Longyuan threw another punch, snarling, "How long can a broken bell protect you?"
The bell took the punch head-on; its mouth caved in, and cracks spread across its body. Still, it refused to retreat, obstinately hovering over Xu Ying's head.
Longyuan threw another punch, roaring, "Nuisance of a scrap!"
Just then, a sword flew in, its light flicking up to sever his arm cleanly at the shoulder!
Xu Ying brandished his sword and laughed aloud. "If Grand Preceptor Jiang could sever your arm, why shouldn't I?"
Heavenly God Longyuan froze, and the dragons opened their mouths in a collective roar!
In the wake of that roar, the bronze bell was blasted away, and the Realm of Xiyi treasures behind Xu Ying shattered to pieces!
Without the bell's protection and stripped of the Realm of Xiyi treasures, Xu Ying was like an egg in an overturned nest, liable to be crushed to powder at any moment!
Suddenly, a root reached from afar, wrapping around Xu Ying and pulling him back with a swift whoosh, rescuing him at the critical threshold between life and death!
Headless and armless, left with only the dragons emerging from his back, Heavenly God Longyuan was powerless to stop Jiang Qi from saving Xu Ying at this crucial juncture. Enraged, he took off running in frantic pursuit of the Fusang tree!
A root curled down upon the Fusang tree, gently lowering the battered and bloodied Xu Ying.
Bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, Xu Ying fell unconscious.
Jiang Qi grabbed Tianzhu and said softly, "I'll handle this after all. After this battle, I may never be able to repay the Son of Heaven of Zhou's favor..."
Suddenly, a bloody hand seized his wrist with astonishing strength.
Startled, Jiang Qi looked at Xu Ying. The young man, who had been on the verge of death just moments ago, opened his eyes. His gaze was bright, and his voice had shed all its former youthful naivety, sounding low and resonant.
"I will do it!"
He snatched Tianzhu back from Jiang Qi's grip and slowly stood.
Jiang Qi noticed that, at some point, the wounded youth's forehead had been struck, leaving a lightning-shaped scar.
From within that scar, electric sparks crackled and hissed.
Chapter 156