"A deity of the Heavenly Dao!"
Without a second thought, Xu Ying spread out his Heavenly Dao domain in an instant. The moment his gaze fell upon the myriad sabers Chongxiao swung toward him, he immediately noticed something was amiss.
"The Heavenly Dao divine power this heavenly god uses... its runes aren't wrong at all!"
Xu Ying was astonished. "He isn't illiterate!"
Defeating the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao world had always been effortless for him. Their Heavenly Dao runes were flawed, and their comprehension of the Heavenly Dao was far less profound than his own, allowing him to exploit the gaps at will and dismantle their divine powers with ease.
Even their formidable physical bodies were like meat waiting for slaughter in his hands—seemingly mighty, but fragile in truth.
Yet this heavenly god was different. Xu Ying could hardly find any erroneous Heavenly Dao runes on him!
"Is he a primordial heavenly god? No, just like Long Yuan and Tianshu, he is an outer god!"
Behind Xu Ying, a Heavenly Dao avatar manifested, rising to meet Chongxiao's myriad sabers, while he still wondered inwardly, "Still, why is his grasp of the Heavenly Dao so much stronger than Long Yuan's or Tianshu's?"
As his Heavenly Dao avatar struck, layers of feathers also surged forth, instantly turning into countless divine feathered sabers that clashed against Chongxiao's!
The Heavenly Dao divine power he executed was virtually identical to Chongxiao's!
In the brief moment Chongxiao made his move, Xu Ying had already scanned every Heavenly Dao rune contained within it. While he could not claim complete mastery, he had grasped eight or nine out of ten in an instant.
Myriad divine feathered sabers collided midair like schools of fish crisscrossing and striking one another, causing Chongxiao's heart to sink.
Back on the heavenly road, when Xu Ying met the realm's gathered heroes, the heavenly gods who governed the Heavenly Dao world could descend to the mortal realm at will, absorbing mortal faith and possessing terrifying strength.
Yet whenever any heavenly god clashed with Xu Ying, they met with a similar fate.
Whatever divine power they unleashed, Xu Ying could execute as well—and far more exquisitely than the gods themselves!
Xu Ying had used their own divine powers to unravel their offenses and strike them down. That one-sided massacre had dealt Chongxiao an immense shock.
Now, with his cultivation vastly enhanced, Chongxiao believed he had comprehended the flawless Heavenly Dao. Upon crossing paths with his old nemesis, he had assumed his divine power was unrivaled in the world and something Xu Ying could never master.
He had not expected that after only a single exchange, Xu Ying would unleash the exact same move, and execute it with even greater elegance than he did!
This was precisely how Xu Ying had been in the past!
"Yet I am no longer the Chongxiao of back then! Over these more than forty thousand years, I have comprehended the true Heavenly Dao!"
Chongxiao charged forward. The myriad rays of saber light converged into a single great saber, cleaving straight down toward Xu Ying.
*Clang—!*
The Heavenly Dao avatar behind Xu Ying simultaneously brought down an identical saber. As their saber lights collided, the two figures crossed paths, and both great feathered sabers struck the ground behind them with a thunderous roar.
A saber beam ten thousand fathoms long slashed into the earth beside the Cangwu Abyss with a sharp hiss, leaving a gleaming white furrow that pierced deep into the geothermal core!
*If a youth passes by here in the future and finds the geothermal qi venting, the saber qi left by this heavenly god and me bursting from the depths will turn into a curtain of blades,*
Xu Ying mused idly. *I wonder if that person will be able to comprehend my saber intent, just as I did with Li Xiaoke's sword qi?*
Just then, his Heavenly Dao domain abruptly tore open. His Heavenly Dao avatar was cleaved in two straight down the middle!
Xu Ying froze. In that final strike, Chongxiao's Heavenly Dao had incorporated an extra variation that cut down his avatar and sliced through his domain!
"This descended heavenly god is somewhat different from the ones I faced before!" He cast aside all underestimation.
Having landed the blow, Chongxiao sent the Heavenly Dao runes around his body leaping into motion, imprinting them onto the void to spread out his own Heavenly Dao domain and bolster his might!
He had originally been a spirit of the Heavenly Dao, and spreading a Heavenly Dao domain was ordinarily a method for mortal followers to borrow strength from heavenly gods; as a heavenly god himself, he had no need for such measures.
Yet after slaying Xu Ying's avatar, he realized Xu Ying's strength remained overwhelmingly formidable. He had to go all out!
As the Heavenly Dao domain unfurled, Chongxiao's divine power swelled, growing even more terrifying than before!
Within this domain, he was a god king!
Yet just as his domain expanded, Xu Ying brought a palm sweeping down from above. This strike was no longer a Heavenly Dao divine power, but the very technique Xu Ying had used to dominate the world forty-eight thousand years ago!
Chongxiao was a heavenly god of towering stature, while Xu Ying had the height of an ordinary human, making for a stark contrast.
Chongxiao resembled a divine mountain connecting heaven and earth, while Xu Ying seemed like an ant beneath it. But as Xu Ying's palm fell, the sky split open with a tremendous roar. A bronze divine mountain plummeted from the heavens, its Dao image naturally formed, enveloped in dense incense smoke qi and bearing the faith of myriad mortals as it bore down!
Standing beneath this mountain, Chongxiao looked as diminutive as Xu Ying had before him—the contrast was just as striking!
"Buzhou—!"
Panic surfaced in Chongxiao's eyes, only to be instantly replaced by unmatched fighting spirit. The wings behind him unfurled and swept outward, sending countless divine feathered sabers flying toward Mount Buzhou as densely packed as the locusts of the Locust God!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Countless blades struck Mount Buzhou in a rapid barrage of explosions. Mount Buzhou rotated, grinding countless divine sabers into dust, and continued crashing toward him.
Chongxiao widened his stance, sank into a squat, and let out a roar as he thrust his hands upward to meet it.
*Rumble!*
Mount Buzhou bore down with supreme crushing force against his palms. The Heavenly Dao runes across Chongxiao's body hummed and shot outward in all directions before circling back to whirl around his frame.
He was pushed backward across dozens of li before finally bringing himself to a halt. Suddenly, boundless joy welled in his heart.
"I took it!"
He laughed wildly, tears creeping into his voice. "I finally withstood a divine power from that Great Villain!"
Xu Ying lowered his hand. That Buzhou Mountain Seal had merely been one of his seal techniques. Was enduring a single move truly something to be so delighted about?
He stepped forward. Behind him, cave-heavens began to spin, humming into view and brightening dramatically in an instant, gushing with violent power.
He cupped his arms in an empty embrace. The next moment, the sky trembled, and a furnace large enough to blot out the sky and sun pierced through the clouds, manifesting above the Cangwu Abyss with a great sun bobbing inside!
A Dao image: the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace!
Chongxiao's expression grew solemn. Within the Heavenly Dao domain around him, figures of gods materialized—the Water God, the Fire God, the Thunder God, the God of Wealth, the Wind God, the God of Marriage, and more!
Standing within this domain, bolstered by the gathered gods, he looked like a god king defying the invasion of the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace!
*Drawing upon the strength of the gods to empower myself will surely alert the buffoons in the Heavenly Dao world. But this Great Villain is simply too strong!*
He drove his domain to its absolute limit to meet Xu Ying's Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace!
Caught in the raging shockwaves, the Son of Heaven of Zhou and Grand Preceptor Jiang fell back repeatedly to steer clear of the clash. They exchanged glances, both showing shock.
"Originally, Fellow Daoist Xu was the one best versed in Heavenly Dao runes, suppressing heavenly gods with his Heavenly Dao domain. Now it's the other way around!"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou said, filled with uncertainty, "This heavenly god is actually using a Heavenly Dao domain to combat Fellow Daoist Xu! What is his origin?"
Grand Preceptor Jiang speculated, "He must be one of the old gods mentioned by Great Emperor Cangwu—the heavenly gods banished to the mortal realm long ago. I once encountered such an old god with Fellow Daoist Xu named Long Yuan, but Long Yuan was far inferior to this one."
As they spoke, Xu Ying took another step forward.
With this single step, Chongxiao's Heavenly Dao domain was pressured until it shuddered violently, its operation turning sluggish.
*Whoosh—*
A broad beam of divine light shone from the furnace, locking onto Chongxiao and sweeping him inside with a whoosh.
This furnace was a divine power Xu Ying had comprehended during his era as Lord Ying, known as the Eight Desolations Sun Refining technique. Within the furnace lay the eight desolations, capable of refining the sun and the moon—even an actual sun could be melted down.
Xu Ying drew Chongxiao into the Dao image, intending to refine him to death by unleashing its power. Suddenly, the back of the furnace burst open as Chongxiao punched through the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace.
A bird head and a wolf head emerged from Chongxiao's shoulders, howling as demonic qi billowed around them, his combat power surging.
Yet the moment he broke free of the furnace, Xu Ying's Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground had already unfolded. At this point, it was already a Four Immortals realm—physical vitality, heart power, yin and yang qi, and the soul had all reached the immortal realm!
As the Four Immortals realm clashed with Chongxiao's Heavenly Dao domain, Xu Ying shook his sleeves and invoked the divine power Reversing Qiankun.
Chongxiao beat his wings and soared toward him, the two heads flanking his neck shrieking ferociously as he transformed into a terrifying deity charging with boundless malevolence. Yet at that moment, the Heavenly Dao within the Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground fell into disarray, throwing Chongxiao's divine power into chaos!
The Seven-Color Divine Tree rose slowly behind Xu Ying and swept down with a sharp crack. Chongxiao spat blood from the impact, knowing he was still a step behind Xu Ying, and hurriedly beat his wings to flee into the distance!
Yet how could the wonders of Reversing Qiankun be limited to this?
Though he flew at astonishing speed, space warped in the next instant, and he found himself flying right back toward Xu Ying.
Xu Ying raised a palm, a divine power gathering within it as he waited for Chongxiao to charge.
Howling in fury, Chongxiao gritted his teeth, lunged forward, and raised his hand to meet Xu Ying head-on. But Xu Ying's palm slipped effortlessly past his guard and struck his chest.
Coughing blood, Chongxiao seized the momentum to beat his wings and flee, yet as he flew forward, Xu Ying's figure appeared before him once more.
Chongxiao struck out, coughed blood again upon contact, and used the impact to flee once more.
Yet standing ahead of him was still Xu Ying.
No matter which direction he flew, he was always facing Xu Ying squarely, with no possibility of escape!
This was Reversing Qiankun.
Had Xu Ying not yet expanded his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground, Chongxiao might have had a chance to escape. But with it unfurled, Xu Ying was a Nuo Immortal striding across four immortal realms. How could anyone contest him within his own immortal realm without facing defeat?
Chongxiao's wounds grew increasingly severe, his flight slowed, and his heart sank further and further.
*Back then, I was no match for him and had to watch him slaughter so many of my peers. Now, after bitter cultivation for more than forty thousand years and comprehending the true Heavenly Dao, I still cannot defeat him.*
Xu Ying struck with a single finger, landing squarely between Chongxiao's brows.
Chongxiao's divine power drained away completely. His massive heavenly god form steadily shrank until he reverted to a purple-haired, three-eyed man, collapsing to the ground with a thud.
"Great Villain..." He struggled desperately to rise, only to collapse again with another thud.
Watching the battle from the side, the Son of Heaven of Zhou and Grand Preceptor Jiang were deeply shaken. The duel between the two had far exceeded their expectations. Chongxiao was like a minor god king, establishing his own Heavenly Dao domain, manifesting the gods, and drawing upon their divine strength—a truly dazzling display.
Yet Xu Ying astounded them even more!
Once a Nuo Immortal opened his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground, he was an immortal walking the mortal earth. Even a god king was no match for him and was completely countered!
*Back on Mount Kunlun, I could still contend with him, but now I can no longer match him,*
the Son of Heaven of Zhou sighed inwardly. *Only by reaching the Ascension stage and invoking an immortal artifact could I vie with him. Nuo methods... I must cultivate them after all!*
Yet a hidden dread rose in his heart: without the ancestral methods behind them, anyone cultivating Nuo methods risked becoming leeks waiting to be harvested!
Xu Ying dragged Chongxiao by the leg toward the Benshi world, saying, "You are quite formidable. Your mastery of the Heavenly Dao domain is consummate, and your attainment in the Heavenly Dao surpasses mine. I won't kill you; I will merely strip your Heavenly Dao runes."
The Son of Heaven of Zhou and Grand Preceptor Jiang followed, thinking, *Killing the body and destroying the spirit—Fellow Daoist Xu is doing it again, leaving a powerless heavenly god to be beaten to death by an enraged populace. Dying at the hands of the very mortals they looked down upon is the ultimate humiliation for a heavenly god.*
Xu Ying flew to the city beside the Benshi Great King Temple. Using the Heavenly Dao to project his voice, his words rang out across the four quarters: "High God Tianyao's Heavenly Dao runes have been wiped away by me. He is no longer a heavenly god. Mortals of the Benshi world, you may seek vengeance and settle your grudges!"
He cast Chongxiao down near the edge of the city.
Promptly, numerous Qi Refiners rushed out of the city, looking at them with a mix of shock and anger.
Xu Ying said to Chongxiao, "If you are a true heavenly god, you should understand the meaning of Heavenly Dao runes and can cultivate them back yourself to face these Qi Refiners. If you are a false god, death will be the end of it."
He turned to leave, saying, "Brother Ji, Grand Preceptor Jiang, let us depart."
Just as the three were about to leave, a rotten egg flew toward them, only to freeze midair.
Xu Ying paused and looked back. The one who had thrown the rotten egg was not Chongxiao, but an old woman tending a vegetable stall outside the city.
The old woman held another cracked, rotten egg and threw it forcefully toward them, while several other women grabbed rotten vegetable leaves and hurled them as well.
Yet given their immense strength, the rotten vegetables and eggs hung frozen in the air, not a single one touching their bodies.
Xu Ying was stunned. Suddenly, he sensed a peculiar aura of the Heavenly Dao coming from behind him and turned sharply. Chongxiao still lay there unconscious, but the incense smoke qi around him danced, condensing into Heavenly Dao runes that imprinted themselves onto his body.
Around him, many Qi Refiners were lighting incense, reverently offering prayers.
Chongxiao's scattered divine power began to gather once more, his Heavenly Dao cultivation steadily growing stronger.
Xu Ying grew increasingly bewildered as he looked at the angry, frightened people who were pelting them with all manner of objects, while many others shielded Chongxiao, clearly not viewing this heavenly god as a villain who oppressed them!
They were actually protecting this heavenly god!
Grand Preceptor Jiang pondered for a moment and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu, Your Majesty, this may be a true god."
"A true god?"
Xu Ying was puzzled and asked, "Heavenly gods are artificial creations, not true living beings. Can such a creation also become a true god?"
The Son of Heaven of Zhou asked in confusion, "Then why did he call Brother Xu a scoundrel and a Great Villain, acting as if he bears a deep grudge against Brother Xu?"
Chapter 294