Without accumulating single steps, one cannot reach a thousand li; without gathering small streams, one cannot form rivers and seas.
Among the bodies of Xu Ying's thousand lifetimes, some were fishermen casting nets alongside their parents, some were tailors stitching clothes for townsfolk, some were scholars teaching pupils in private schools, and others were butchers, blacksmiths, or masons. There were also young masters of affluent households, and on occasion, some even born into the families of nobles, generals, and chancellors.
Yet all of them were mortals.
They were beings kept under constant watch. Once they reached a certain age, their memories would be wiped clean, their cultivation sealed away, and a new set of memories implanted before they were sent to an unfamiliar land to begin life anew.
Now, as these seals shattered, the achievements of those thousand mortal bodies flooded into him all at once, their frail, scattered strengths converging into an overwhelming torrent.
As Xu Ying brought together the unyielding wills of lifetime after lifetime, he finally assumed the majestic posture of a butterfly bursting from its chrysalis!
The stone man of Heavenly Will looked on in astonishment. Runes of Heavenly Will swirled across its form, condensing into a massive blade that cleaved straight down toward Xu Ying!
Empowered by the Heavenly Dao, even the plainest move would become irresistible. What was more, his Divine Blade of Heavenly Will was far from ordinary!
"The bodies of mere peddlers and laborers across a thousand lives, even gathered into one, remain nothing more than mortals—still subject to the manipulation of Heavenly Will!"
His heavenly blade cleaved downward, and beneath its shining edge, all living beings were rendered equal.
Beneath this divine blade of his, even great Qi Refiners of the Ascension stage were mere ants!
Xu Ying planted both feet firmly into the ground. The earth caved in with a deafening crash, forming a massive crater dozens of mu across. He thrust his palm upward, surging forward to meet the Divine Blade of Heavenly Will! In the Earth-Overturning Method of the Eight Methods of the God of War, power arose from the earth, coursed through his entire body, and erupted as pure might, transferring entirely into his right palm.
The Earth-Overturning Method drew its strength from the earth, running through every fiber of his being, and with the full unleashing of his inner power, delivered it all into his right palm!
The moment his palm struck the Divine Blade of Heavenly Will, the force exploded. Through the dazzling glare of the blade, the stone man of Heavenly Will watched his Heavenly Dao runes shatter to pieces, and the divine blade fractured in turn, breaking apart chunk by chunk!
Xu Ying twisted his waist, spinning halfway around as the Earth-Overturning Method shifted smoothly into the Sea-Toppling Method. His right palm seemed to hold an ocean aloft in the heavens, and with a flip of his hand, he brought that boundless sea crashing down!
The stone man of Heavenly Will raised both arms, Heavenly Dao runes whirling furiously around them, and sneered, "Insect, I should have cast you into a cesspool—"
Boom!
The ocean ground down upon him. The Heavenly Dao runes encircling the stone man's arms popped and exploded. When his hands met Xu Ying's palm strike, a dense network of fractures spread across his arms.
In the next instant, shards of stone burst into the air, and both of his arms shattered into countless pebbles!
The sheer impact of Xu Ying's surging vital blood and spirit left the stone man of Heavenly Will dazed. In his eyes, Xu Ying's figure seemed to swell into immense grandeur, throwing a punch that resembled an immortal king standing beyond the nine heavens, his fist an eternal, indestructible immortal artifact hammering down!
The Heaven-Overturning Method!
With both arms destroyed, powerful vital blood erupted from the stone man's crown, transforming into Heavenly Dao runes that wove into a seal to oppose the descending fist!
Thump!
His Heavenly Dao seal was smashed to smithereens by the blow. The fist crashed into the crown of his head; while his skull remained intact, everything below it was utterly obliterated!
Xu Ying hooked his fingers around the crown of the stone man's head and lifted it up.
The stone man of Heavenly Will babbled relentlessly, "Xu Ying, this is merely an avatar of mine. Injuring this body means nothing to me! Do you know how I intend to deal with you? I will wash away all your memories and cast you into an entirely new world."
Xu Ying stepped forward and set the head atop the mountain of bones the stone man had piled up.
The stone man of Heavenly Will beamed with delight, continuing, "I am not like those fools Beichenzi, Yutang, and Fu Yi. I will arrange everything for you nicely. The moment you wake, you will hear a ding-dong, and my incarnation, the Heavenly Will System, will pop up. So long as you complete quests, I will bestow rewards upon you. The quests will be very simple, though my rewards will naturally carry a bit of my wicked amusement."
Xu Ying adjusted the head so it sat upright, then glanced at his own blood-dripping fist.
The stone man of Heavenly Will rattled on, "Whenever you complete a quest I issue, I will reward you—rewarding you with cultivation methods, magic treasures, natural talent, and comprehension. I could even reward you with beauties or resurrect your fallen teammates!
"I would let you grow stronger bit by bit, slowly immersing yourself in the quests I assign. But do you think I would be doing that for your own good? I would offer you the simplest pleasures, making you appear powerful on the surface, while in truth robbing you of a powerhouse's heart, stripping away your drive to forge ahead, and dulling your refusal to accept mediocrity!"
He grew more excited: "You would become just like a chicken I tamed, rushing over to snatch food the moment you heard the gong. Until one day, you came running at the sound of the gong only to find not grains of rice, but a butcher's knife waiting to slaughter you! Every day, you would think only of wheedling benefits out of me, never polishing your techniques, never tempering your Dao heart, never contemplating the truth of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The foundation of your myriad lifetimes would crumble into ruin, and you would never become a true powerhouse..."
Xu Ying drew a long, deep breath, took a step back, aimed squarely at the head, and drove his fist forward!
Pow!
Before the stone man of Heavenly Will could finish speaking, the head was blasted into powder by the blow!
Xu Ying dusted off his hands, stepped forward, and remarked indifferently, "Today I slay one avatar of yours; another day, I will storm the Heavenly Dao world and slaughter your true form."
"Xu Ying!"
Thunderclaps shook the heavens as rolling dark clouds suddenly twisted into a colossal face. The gloom hung low, pressing close toward Xu Ying within the primordial battlefield.
An unimaginable pressure bore down, suffocating in its intensity! "Xu Ying, you will ultimately regret the humiliation you inflicted upon me today!"
The glabella of the colossal face in the sky flared with light, and a massive blade of Heavenly Will descended from the heavens, cleaving the earth apart and carving out an immense canyon!
"Regret? Are you even worthy?"
Xu Ying dodged the heavenly blade, lightly tapped the back of the weapon with the tip of his foot, and leaped into the air. Rising to meet the massive face in the sky, he threw a devastating punch!
Heaven and earth trembled as all Daos chimed in unison. This punch was none other than the final technique of the Eight Methods of the God of War: the Dao-Returning Method!
As the strike flew forward, he felt an exhilarating sense that the Great Dao of heaven and earth was entirely within his grasp!
Boom!
This single fist tore a massive hole straight through the sky!
Vaguely, Xu Ying sensed his fist punch into another world, crashing against a gigantic body.
A thought stirred in his mind. *Is the Dao-Returning Method of the Eight Methods of the God of War truly this formidable, able to shatter the void? Just how terrifying must the powerhouse who created this martial art have been? After cultivating a Primordial Spirit, he left the Other Shore of the Martial Dao. A figure like that should have been able to make it out of here alive, shouldn't he?*
His body fell from the air, but with a surge of his martial vital blood, he arrested his descent and stood suspended in midair, his robes flapping loudly against the howling wind.
He raised his head to look at the sky. It had fallen completely quiet, yet the silence felt even more oppressive.
Moments later, the heavens abruptly tore open. A colossal hand reached out from beyond the sky, and the furious voice of the High God of Heavenly Will echoed from that other world, booming above the primordial battlefield!
"Xu Ying, you have enraged me—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a white-haired Primordial Spirit suddenly soared upward from below, smashing straight into the giant hand from beyond the sky and punching clean through it!
Looking on from afar, Xu Ying saw massive chunks of flesh and shattered bone burst from the back of the hand of Heavenly Will, blood pouring across the palm and splattering in all directions.
The hand of Heavenly Will was beaten back into the Heavenly Dao world. At last, the sky closed shut, and all returned to tranquility.
Xu Ying was stunned. The radiant light of the white-haired Primordial Spirit gradually dimmed, its flowing white hair settled, and it descended toward the ground. Looking down, Xu Ying saw that the figure had landed precisely at the safe haven maintained by the last beacon-like martial powerhouse.
His interest piqued, he drifted down and made his way toward that sanctuary.
Having shattered his seals and converged the bodies of a thousand lifetimes, Xu Ying's physical form was more formidable than ever before. Moreover, as his martial arts advanced, the physical strength of his body grew steadily more potent!
Xu Ying circulated the Taiyi Guiding Technique again and again, refining his vital blood and condensing his spirit, raising his martial cultivation higher and higher.
At present, he was still the one with the lowest cultivation attainment on the Other Shore of the Martial Dao. The people on the other shore were mostly clustered at the second Pass-Breaching stage, having unsealed the Jiaji pass. Only Wu Tianzun stood at the Twelve-Story Pavilion stage, having cultivated a Primordial Spirit.
Xu Ying, on the other hand, was at the Cross-Refinement stage, having formed a Golden Core. He still needed to temper his vital blood and spirit step by step to allow his martial arts to catch up with his cultivation stage, so that he could form a Martial Dao Golden Core as soon as possible.
*A Martial Dao Golden Core is forged from vital blood and spirit, unlike the Golden Core of a Qi Refiner, which is forged from divine sense and yuan qi. If I continue cultivating like this, will I end up forming dual inner cores?*
Xu Ying considered the question carefully for a moment, then shook his head.
No, he would not.
If he continued using the Martial Dao to temper his vital blood and spirit, his spirit would transform into martial divine sense, and his vital blood would flow into his Golden Core. In the end, his Golden Core would accommodate the traits of both the Martial Dao and Qi Refinement, rather than producing an additional inner core.
*Even if one were to form dual inner cores, they would still need to unite with two souls to evolve into a Primordial Spirit. A human body possesses only one soul. Dual souls are impossible, so dual Primordial Spirits are naturally impossible as well.*
Suddenly, Xu Ying noticed that the monument of vital blood formed by the fallen martial powerhouse's corpse was actually moving!
He hastened his pace to give chase.
Although his cultivation was only at the Cross-Refinement stage, his abilities were not in the least inferior to Yuan Shidao and the others at the second Pass-Breaching stage. Even if he ran into danger, he was more than capable of handling it.
Naturally, if he encountered a terrifying peril like the Corpse Abyss, he would still need to steer clear.
Fortunately, the Extreme Intent Freedom Technique granted peerless speed, allowing him to evade any impending threat.
Before long, Xu Ying caught up to that moving pillar of vital blood.
Beneath the vital blood, figures of white-haired old men were striking out in every direction, purifying the evil specters and demonic entities encountered along the way.
*It really is Wu Tianzun!*
Xu Ying walked forward until he arrived beside the elder.
The white-haired elders striking out in all directions were manifestations of Wu Tianzun's martial spirit.
The one whose Martial Dao Primordial Spirit had attacked the giant hand of the High God of Heavenly Will earlier, driving Heavenly Will back into the Heavenly Dao world, had been none other than him!
Although his cultivation stage was merely the Twelve-Story Pavilion stage of having achieved a Primordial Spirit, his martial arts mastery was unfathomably profound. He was the only person whose cultivation realm rivaled that of the creator of the Eight Methods of the God of War.
Xu Ying stepped forward and bowed in greeting. "Many thanks for your assistance, Wu Tianzun."
The white-haired elder returned the bow. "A mere flick of the hand—why bother with thanks? That High God of Heavenly Will is utterly shameless. When you smashed his stone avatar, he sent a manifestation of heavenly phenomena. When you shattered that celestial manifestation, he shamelessly tried to attack with his true body. I simply could not stand by and watch, so I struck him."
Filled with admiration, Xu Ying walked alongside him and asked, "Does Wu Tianzun recognize the Heavenly Dao runes on Heavenly Will?"
Wu Tianzun shook his head.
Xu Ying said in surprise, "If you do not recognize the Heavenly Dao runes and cannot identify their weaknesses, how were you able to punch through the palm of the High God of Heavenly Will?"
Wu Tianzun extended his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed the intricate muscles twitching along his forearm. "So long as your power is great enough, you can shatter and pierce through anything!"
He lowered his sleeve, regaining his cultured, elegant demeanor, and chuckled. "Besides, must one fail to spot a weakness simply because one does not recognize Heavenly Dao runes? I have cultivated the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye. Though I do not know Heavenly Dao runes, the moment he unleashes a move, I can see every single weak point. Choosing the weakest spot and shattering it with a single punch is all it takes to dismantle an opponent's assault."
Xu Ying was deeply impressed and inquired about the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye. Wu Tianzun replied, "Once you achieve a Primordial Spirit, it comes naturally. There is no special technique for it."
Xu Ying then asked, "Instead of staying on the other shore, why has Wu Tianzun ventured here all alone?"
The white-haired elder gazed ahead, his voice quiet and distant. "I have little lifespan remaining. Rather than waiting around to die on the Other Shore of the Martial Dao, I might as well follow the path tread by our predecessors and keep walking forward."
He smiled faintly. "This path is the one the creator of the Eight Methods of the God of War once walked. Where he went remains an enduring mystery. While I can still walk, I wish to scout the way for those who come after. The old elders you saw along the way walked this path in their final moments as well, becoming monuments to guide the journey."
Xu Ying fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Did you not bid farewell to Zhai Wuxian and the others?"
The white-haired elder replied, "I did not wish to add needless sorrow to our parting. It was better to set out in silence. When they finally discover my absence, they will only sigh with regret, without grief disturbing their Dao hearts."
His lifespan had indeed reached its end. When Xu Ying had first arrived at the other shore, the elder had mentioned having only a few months left to live.
He had held out for over two months, departing the other shore only after Xu Ying had mastered all the martial arts of the other shore and entered the primordial battlefield to temper himself. Part of his motive had been to watch over and protect Xu Ying.
Wu Tianzun was refined and poised, his broad white sleeves fluttering as he walked through this ghost-realm of a primordial battlefield as though strolling through an empty meadow. His martial arts cultivation was so immense that even in his twilight years, with his lifespan exhausted, his strength showed not the slightest trace of decline.
He rarely needed to strike personally; the mere manifestations of his spirit were enough to erase the dark demonic horrors along the way!
Yet whenever Wu Tianzun did act, the display was terrifying beyond measure.
Xu Ying watched as a Corpse Abyss formed from the flesh and blood of primordial fiends and gods was flattened by a single punch from the elder. A domain of specters spawned from lingering divine and demonic resentments was pierced clean through by a single palm, every scrap of malice melting away like snow before the intent of his martial fist!
The old man knew no exhaustion, and his vital blood surged like an ocean, seemingly bottomless.
"Heavenly Dao runes!"
As Wu Tianzun shattered the lingering obsession inside a desiccated skeleton with a martial seal, Xu Ying stepped forward to inspect it and froze in surprise. The skeletal remains actually bore the imprint of Heavenly Dao runes.
"Are these Heavenly Dao runes?" Wu Tianzun asked curiously, leaning closer. "Over the years, we have broken many demonic abominations that carried marks like this."
Xu Ying was filled with wonder and uncertainty. *Is the Martial Dao truly this powerful, able to smash even Heavenly Dao imprints with such ease?*
Straightening his back, he surveyed the ancient primordial battlefield and murmured, "What in the world happened on this ancient battlefield? Why were so many heavenly gods buried here?"
"They were heavenly gods?" Wu Tianzun asked in confusion. "Why were they so weak?"
Xu Ying continued forward alongside Wu Tianzun. Ahead, the surroundings grew increasingly perilous, and the majesty of the Heavenly Dao grew ever more oppressive.
Looking up, Xu Ying suddenly spotted a corpse hanging from a cliff face ahead. A broken weapon had pierced through its chest, pinning it firmly to the mountain wall.
Strangely, while the remains of the heavenly gods had long since decayed into bare bone, this corpse still preserved its flesh and blood intact.
Wu Tianzun's expression turned grave. Catching Xu Ying's hand as the youth started forward, he warned in a low, heavy voice, "This one is very strong!"
Chapter 183