Nuo Peng's pupils dilated, and her Dao heart fell into utter disarray.
Back on Mount Kunlun, Xu Fu had imitated Xu Ying's aura and bearing to unleash that divine ability of the bronze mountain peak, severely battering her physical body. Xu Fu had relied entirely on that vivid imitation of Xu Ying's demeanor to summon the terror buried deep in her heart and throw her into turmoil, thereby seizing the upper hand. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Xu Fu to defeat any of the Six Ancestors on his own.
Yet now, the Xu Ying standing before her had no need to imitate anyone—because he *was* Xu Ying!
He was the very being who had slaughtered his way through the Heavenly Road, terrifying them so thoroughly that they had been forced to mobilize the strongest Qi Refiners across the myriad worlds just to intercept and besiege him!
He was the living terror of Nuo Peng's nightmares!
Behind Xu Ying, the Crimson Palace cave-heaven shone with blinding brilliance. In this moment, he was a Nuo Immortal of the second Pass-Breaching stage!
Yet his cave-heaven was one forged through the ancestral method!
In the era of the Nuo method, if a Nuo Master cultivated a single secret depository and opened nine cave-heavens, they could be hailed as a Nuo Immortal and form an immortal realm within their own body.
Xu Ying had lost and now regained his Crimson Palace cave-heaven. Though his memories had not fully returned and he had yet to recall the ancestral method—preventing him from unleashing the Crimson Palace's utmost might—the immortal realm inside his body was already complete!
His Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground unfolded into his Realm of Xiyi. The Five Sacred Mountain immortal peaks hung suspended within it, and the Crimson Palace cave-heaven enveloped the immortal peak of the Heart Mountain. In this instant, his heart power had crossed into the immortal realm!
Though his Crimson Palace cave-heaven was currently only a single layer, the raging power it channeled was countless times greater than any nine-layered cave-heaven!
The bronze mountain peak formed by his palm even forced the surrounding space to shift horizontally, emitting the rumbling vibrations of warped space. While it fell short of Xu Fu's raw power, in sheer subtlety and elegance, it was even superior!
The next instant, the bronze mountain peak struck Nuo Peng!
The divine ability, Buzhou Mountain!
The bronze mountain peak slammed into Nuo Peng's forehead. Her brains burst forth, splashing outward like stray droplets of mercury!
The old crone reacted with staggering swiftness. A Mud Pill cave-heaven manifested behind her, spinning at high speed as raging vitality surged into her body. Her physical form swelled rapidly, transforming from a withered old crone into a heaven-propping, earth-standing divine being in the blink of an eye!
Ever since Xu Fu had ambushed and severely wounded her before she could even retaliate, she had constantly pondered how to counter it. Now she finally had the chance to put her solution to the test.
Yet a chill gripped Nuo Peng's heart. This transformation of hers had been specifically designed to counter Xu Ying's Buzhou Mountain divine ability—a bodily transformation known as the Gonggong Dao Image.
Gonggong smashing his head into Buzhou Mountain!
It was her dedicated counter to Xu Ying's Buzhou Mountain.
And yet, because her Dao heart had been shaken, she was one step too slow.
She shifted techniques instantly, dispersing the Gonggong Dao Image and shrinking her body with all her might, intending to use a highly concentrated physical form to withstand Xu Ying's second move.
At the same time, the bronze Buzhou Mountain collapsed, shattering into countless flying swords that shot straight through the wounds of the giant Nuo Peng!
On Mount Kunlun, this had also been the second move Xu Fu used to devastate her!
Nuo Peng's heart sank. She was a step behind once again. Even as she shrank her body, the myriad flying swords had already pierced through her flesh and penetrated her Realm of Xiyi!
As if guided by eyes, these flying swords howled through the traces of the old injuries Xu Fu had inflicted upon her!
The wounds left by Xu Fu had never truly healed. They had persistently plagued her, and with so many anglers hunting and besieging her, she had found no time to cleanse those Dao wounds. Fortunately, her immense magic power had allowed her to barely suppress them.
Yet wherever Xu Ying's bronze sword-light passed now, it was like pouring oil onto a fire—Dao wound after Dao wound tore open once more, worsening her condition drastically!
Simultaneously, within the Jade Capital inside her body, streak after streak of bronze sword-light tore through the air, piercing straight through the old injuries on her Primordial Spirit!
The sword move was called Sword Leveling the Unlevel.
A single sword to level all injustice under heaven.
The wounds on Nuo Peng's Primordial Spirit blew open, piling injury upon injury!
"But the third move—I will definitely block it!"
Nuo Peng let out a piercing screech. Her white hair whipped wildly as her momentum soared to its absolute peak. She vividly remembered Xu Fu's third move: a river of stars, rolling forward with countless celestial bodies, the surface of every star etched with runes she had never seen before—alien Dao celestial stars.
Each star that struck her would brand an alien Dao into her flesh, throwing her magic power into chaos and shattering her mind until she was powerless to resist!
Last time, she had been caught unprepared and battered into a daze by those three moves. But this time, she was ready.
Decisive as ever, she deployed her countermeasure. Her riddled Primordial Spirit flew out from the back of her head, swelling to a height of tens of thousands of feet. Under the influence of the Mud Pill's vitality, thousands upon thousands of arms sprouted from it, ready to meet the river of stars!
Beneath her feet, two snakes—one black and one white—surged upward, transforming into two immortal serpents. She would not merely defend; she would counterattack!
Yet Xu Ying's third move was nothing like Xu Fu's.
Xu Ying strode forward, his body shifting almost horizontally through space as he hurtled ahead. In a single flash, the Crimson Palace cave-heaven brightened countless times over. Surging immortal power coiled around Xu Ying as he threw a punch!
The Martial Dao divine ability: Other Shore Seal Method!
*Rumble!*
Raging power, a near-frenzied martial will, the martial Golden Core, and the qi and blood of the Martial Dao surged forth from within him, his qi and blood coiling like massive draconic pythons!
At the same time, from the Crimson Palace cave-heaven behind him, an avatar of wrath composed of immortal fire stepped out. It threw a punch as well, its blazing flames hurtling toward Nuo Peng's Primordial Spirit!
As this punch shot forth, Xu Ying suddenly felt his fist shatter an invisible shackle, throwing open the gateway to another Other Shore!
It was a broken, unformed world.
The Other Shore of the Martial Dao!
As his power surged, a seventh cave-heaven formed behind him—the Martial Dao cave-heaven!
His aura exploded. Even the power of the flaming wrath avatar multiplied drastically. Accompanied by immortal light and the thunderous roar of the Martial Dao, Xu Ying's fist slammed heavily into Nuo Peng's face!
Nuo Peng's heart plunged. *A miscalculation!*
Her facial features caved inward beneath Xu Ying's fist. His explosive punch expanded relentlessly, punching through all resistance and crushing the old crone's face all the way out through the back of her skull.
Her eyes, nose, and mouth bulged out from the back of her head, but in the next instant, all that remained protruding was Xu Ying's fist.
*Bang!*
Xu Ying's fist punched clean through her head!
At the same time, the wrath avatar's Other Shore strike shattered the Primordial Spirit's blocking arms and slammed into the center of its brow, the blazing immortal fire instantly igniting the spirit!
Terrifying power invaded the head of her Primordial Spirit, blowing it to pieces with a single blow!
Nuo Peng's hands were still flailing, and her Primordial Spirit moved unimpeded. At her level of cultivation, having her head crushed did not mean death—much less when she had once been an immortal and possessed the Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven.
She still had a chance to turn the tables.
Xu Ying leaped into the air, sweeping out a beam of sword-light. Behind him, the blazing immortal fire in the hands of the wrath avatar coalesced into a fiery greatsword, which likewise lashed out with a searing trail of flames!
With this strike, Xu Ying sought to sever not Nuo Peng, but the Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven behind her!
The moment he severed that cave-heaven, he would refine it on the spot and return it to its rightful owner!
Once Nuo Peng lost the Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven, she would no longer possess an undying body. She would be reduced to an ordinary Ascension-stage Qi Refiner—and no matter how formidable she was, there would be a limit to her strength!
Meanwhile, once Xu Ying reclaimed his Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven, he would instantly become a Nuo Immortal commanding two ultimate cave-heavens!
He could then unleash the boundless power of both ultimate cave-heavens at will. With the scales tipped decisively in his favor, slaying Nuo Peng would be effortless!
Just as his blade was about to sever the Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven, the Wuji Chart suddenly trembled, and the once-empty immortal painting underwent a startling change.
Outside the pavilion, it was still a late night scattered with stars. Yet suddenly, inside the pavilion, a blazing sun leaped from the immortal chart and hung in the sky, shining with blinding brilliance.
A moon also leaped forth from the Wuji Pavilion, hanging in the firmament alongside the sun. Sun and moon shared the same sky, both equally colossal.
The celestial bodies revolved around Mount Tai. Five immortal peaks floated above the mountain, and above those peaks lay a continent where mountains and rivers were neatly arranged and waterways crisscrossed in every direction—all formed from Dao images, resembling an immortal realm.
Within that fairyland stood immortal palaces housing hundreds, even thousands of immortals whose ethereal grace stirred the soul.
All at once, spring blossoms bloomed across Mount Tai, blanketing the land in fragrance. Nourished by the rich spiritual energy, the birds and beasts of the mountain swelled in size, filling the air with joyful cries and roars.
Before Xu Ying's eyes, the Wuji Pavilion vanished, and Nuo Peng and her Primordial Spirit disappeared as well.
Xu Ying's heart sank. He knew Immortal Elder Wuji had intervened to block his strike, completely shattering the advantage he had painstakingly built up.
In the sky above, only the face of Immortal Elder Wuji remained. The revolving sun and moon had become the eyes of this titanic face, sunlight and moonlight spilling from them like a rising tide!
"Xu Ying, you killed my disciple and fed my avatar to bugs. At last, you deliver yourself to my doorstep!"
Immortal Elder Wuji looked down. A bizarre power surged from high above, and wherever it passed, Mount Tai, the trees, and the palaces were all flattened into two dimensions like cutouts of paper. Even the mountain breeze turned into black lines drifting across the air.
This bizarre power swept downward, hurtling rapidly toward the spot where Xu Ying, Shi Yuqing, and the old crone Nuo Peng stood.
Just then, the paper doors of a hall on the mountain parted to both sides. A large paper snake with horns on its head slithered out, opening its maw to let out an alarmed shriek, its tongue fluttering like a wave.
A paper bell flew out alongside it, followed by a sprig of paper purple grass.
The big bell and the purple grass appeared utterly frantic. After a moment, wisps of black lines drifted toward Xu Ying and Shi Yuqing, translating into shrieks of terror.
Everything was turning into a painting!
*The might of the Wuji Immortal Chart is truly terrifying!*
Without hesitation, Xu Ying grabbed Shi Yuqing's hand, leaped upward, and streaked away as a beam of divine light.
Behind them, heaven and earth rapidly flattened. Mountains, rivers, flowers, and trees transformed into painted scenery in the span of an instant!
Xu Ying flew at breakneck speed, the wind roaring in his ears as the mountain ridges blurred past. Yet snapping and cracking sounds echoed through the world as ten thousand li of space flattened at horrifying speed, becoming part of the Wuji Immortal Chart!
Shi Yuqing watched in horror as the rivers and mountains were assimilated. Across an expanse of ten thousand li, mortals, Qi Refiners, and primeval behemoths were all reduced to flat paper figures inside the painting!
The Wuji Chart had even flattened the inhabitants of entire cities into painted figures!
"Do you know what makes an immortal?"
Immortal Elder Wuji's grand voice echoed, rising to match the height of heaven itself, ringing crystal clear in Xu Ying's ears. "To forge a world of one's own and alter the workings of that world's Heavenly Dao—that is an immortal! I have attained immortality and grasp the ultimate Dao, whereas you are a mere mortal. You cannot escape the palm of my hand."
No sooner had he spoken those words than the expansion of the Wuji Immortal Chart was suddenly halted.
Immortal Elder Wuji was taken aback. A vegetable farmer carrying a shoulder pole laden with melons and greens was blocking the expansion of the immortal chart. On the other side stood a woodcutter carrying firewood, similarly barring the painting's advance.
Immortal Elder Wuji's mind went blank. *How can there be so many experts in the lower realm?*
The vegetable farmer and the woodcutter moved almost simultaneously, stepping forward. The farmer smiled and said, "Nuo Peng, we have come for you."
As the two moved, color suddenly returned to the lands within the Wuji Immortal Chart that had already been turned into a painting. The mountains, rivers, trees, flowers, insects, fish, and humans all regained their three-dimensional forms!
The Heavenly Dao within the painting shifted alongside them!
Immortal Elder Wuji repeatedly channeled his magic power to enhance the immortal chart's might. Yet because he was in the Immortal Realm, the power he could project through the chart was limited—far from enough to contend with this vegetable farmer and woodcutter.
He flew into a rage. "Ignorant peasants of the lower realm! You dare show no respect even to an immortal? Sooner or later, I will wipe out your entire clans with a Heavenly Dao divine artifact!"
"A Heavenly Dao divine artifact?"
The vegetable farmer chuckled. "The only thing I fear is the super heavenly tribulation. As for one or two Heavenly Dao divine artifacts, I truly have no fear of them. Immortal Elder Wuji, you have not descended in person, so you are no match for us. We came solely for Nuo Peng and have no wish to create unpleasantness with you, lest things be awkward when we meet after our future ascensions."
The woodcutter with the firewood said, "If you withdraw voluntarily, you can still preserve your dignity."
Immortal Elder Wuji snorted coldly. Bolstering the power of the Wuji Immortal Chart even further, he said, "Fairy Peng is not yet dead. With her aiding my Wuji Chart, slaying the two of you will be as easy as turning my palm!"
Taking advantage of the lull, Nuo Peng had already restored her physical body. The head that Xu Ying had shattered had regrown, as had the head of her Primordial Spirit, and the immortal fire clinging to her had been extinguished.
Yet with wounds compounded upon wounds, her condition was even worse than before.
Her heart sank as she looked toward the vegetable farmer and the woodcutter!
The farmer and the woodcutter closed in from left and right in a pincer attack, cave-heavens whirling and howling behind them as they hovered in the sky.
Nuo Peng stared at them. Neither of these two had been among the fifty-three ascendants from before. Their cave-heavens were entirely intact, and each of them possessed only six cave-heavens behind their backs.
This was the standard Nuo method of the Undying People.
Nuo Peng froze briefly, then laughed out of sheer fury as she stepped forward to face them. "You two were among the Qi Refiners who accompanied the Great Emperor to Kunlun to sacrifice to the ancestors, weren't you? Your orthodox Nuo method of uniting the nine into one was taught to you by us Six Ancestors in person!"
The woodcutter's expression remained tranquil. "Our thanks to Nuo Ancestor for imparting the method."
Chapter 269