God King Xuanhao returned to the Heavenly Dao world and immediately investigated the identity of the person undergoing the tribulation. Soon uncovering the background of the Master of Mud Pill Palace, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "So he's just a country bumpkin with neither power nor influence. Since you have no powerful ancestors backing you, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
He made a prompt decision, activating the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts that guarded the Heavenly Dao world one after another to awaken their might and enhance the power of the heavenly tribulation.
Above Mount Jiuyi, nearly half the power of the tribulation clouds in the sky had already been unleashed. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Master of Mud Pill Palace overcame the heavenly tribulation.
"The involution of the Yuanshou world over forty thousand years, all that accumulated power, is finally enough to overcome the heavenly tribulation."
Xu Ying looked up at the sky, suddenly struck by a crucial question: if the Master of Mud Pill Palace survived the tribulation, would the heavenly tribulation's power continue to escalate?
"Logically speaking, the Master of Mud Pill Palace's strength should be greater than that of the great devils who crossed tribulations in the past, so the tribulation's power should be calculated based on the Master of Mud Pill Palace at this moment. Doesn't that mean anyone who wants to ascend in the future will have to surpass the Master of Mud Pill Palace?"
Xu Ying froze. Forty-eight thousand years of internal strife in a single world, countless Nuo Immortals dead, countless anglers and chives cultivated, only to ultimately fulfill one single person—the Master of Mud Pill Palace.
Where could future generations ever find such a profound foundation if they wished to ascend?
"Doesn't that mean the path of ascending through heavenly tribulation has been blocked even tighter?"
The heavenly tribulation was gradually drawing to a close. Right at that moment, its power suddenly surged. Surprised, Xu Ying looked up and saw colossal phantoms of divine artifacts vaguely emerging within the tribulation.
"This is..."
Xu Ying suddenly recalled the scene he had witnessed at the ascension site on Mount Wuwang: the tribulation of the female devil immortal, the master of the Master of Mud Pill Palace.
Back then, the female devil immortal had also survived the heavenly tribulation, absorbing the power of the tribulation and the ascension glow to transform her physical body and primordial spirit, preparing to ascend amidst glowing clouds.
Yet she failed to ascend. Struck through by a Heavenly Dao divine artifact plunging from the sky, she was pinned to the earth, suffering torment for the sins she had committed in the past.
That scene was strikingly similar to what was happening to the Master of Mud Pill Palace right now.
*Does the Heavenly Dao world also deem the Master of Mud Pill Palace to have committed monstrous evil?* Xu Ying thought to himself.
Perhaps the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts of the past could uphold justice, but as for the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts upholding justice today, Xu Ying could hardly believe it.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a giant wrapped in arcs of lightning charged against the thunder into the tribulation clouds, unleashing ferocious strikes within the clouds as he battled the phantoms of the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts.
The giant's moves were wide, sweeping, and unrestrained, his divine abilities and Daos exceedingly subtle and exquisite, including immortal Dao arts that even Xu Ying found breathtaking.
Behind him, six halos of light glowed dense and bright, illuminating the tribulation clouds until they turned translucent.
The Jade Pool cave-heaven was particularly incandescent, outshining the other five cave-heavens. As the Jade Pool cave-heaven rotated, the immortal herbs harvested from the other shore transformed into violent primordial qi, propelling his dharmic power to a height unattainable by others.
Xu Ying had only ever witnessed such vast, surging dharmic power in ancient deities such as Dongyue and Cangwu.
Over forty thousand years, the primordial qi and immortal herbs accumulated by countless Nuo Immortals had been completely refined by this Nuo ancestor cave-heaven into pure dharmic power. One could only imagine how terrifying the Master of Mud Pill Palace's power was at this moment.
Although his other five cave-heavens could not completely refine immortal herbs, they were formed from merging the cave-heavens harvested from other anglers and chives.
Even if they could only refine a portion of the immortal herbs, their refining efficiency was far greater than before. His physical body, primordial qi, divine consciousness, yin and yang, primordial spirit, and heart power had all reached heights that ordinary immortals could never achieve.
By now, Heavenly Dao divine artifacts appeared one after another in the tribulation clouds. Above the clouds, in another spacetime, a colossal figure loomed.
That figure stood high beyond the heavens, a cloak billowing behind him, radiating an immense sense of oppression.
Heavenly Dao divine artifacts of bizarre and archaic designs flew out from behind him, striking at the Master of Mud Pill Palace within the tribulation clouds.
"God King Xuanhao!"
Xu Ying immediately recognized that the one standing in the Heavenly Dao world, activating the divine artifacts to bring down tribulation upon the Master of Mud Pill Palace, was none other than God King Xuanhao.
Back in the Benshi world, they had encountered this God King. He was exceedingly formidable, easily subduing top experts like Xu Ying and Chongxiao as if picking something from his own pocket.
Unfortunately for him, he ran into Great Emperor Cangwu, who nearly broke him in two, and Xu Ying seized the opportunity to grievously injure him with the Five-Colored Immortal King Banner.
*So God King Xuanhao returned to the Heavenly Dao world. Has his injury healed?* Xu Ying felt some concern.
After all, he was the one who had wounded him. If the God King had healed, he would most likely seek vengeance against Xu Ying, so Xu Ying naturally had reason to care.
Suddenly, the Master of Mud Pill Palace charged toward a Heavenly Sabre. Disregarding its keen edge, he threw a punch!
*Boom!*
The tribulation clouds were punched clean through. That Heavenly Sabre possessed unmatched power, yet his punch shattered its Heavenly Dao prestige and sent it bouncing high into the air.
With a shake of his body, the Master of Mud Pill Palace manifested three heads and eight arms. Striking out left and right, he clashed with the host of Heavenly Dao divine artifacts. Chaos erupted across the sky as the tribulation clouds were blasted to tatters.
A heavenly bell clanged and shuddered, rocking unsteadily beneath his blows; a heavenly spear was bent; heavenly swords were left with notches large and small.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace tore through a heavenly net, battling numerous Heavenly Dao divine artifacts while simultaneously charging toward the Heavenly Dao world perched high above.
More and more Heavenly Dao divine artifacts flew in, yet the fiercer the battle grew, the more valiant he became, holding dozens of divine artifacts at bay so none could approach.
At last, the heavenly tribulation's power was spent, and a beam of ascension glow descended from the heavens, shining upon the Master of Mud Pill Palace.
The giant leaped into the air, plunging into the radiant glow. Activating his immortal descent talisman, he ascended toward the Heavenly Dao world guided by the light.
Even more Heavenly Dao divine artifacts swarmed out from the Heavenly Dao world. Their heavenly Dao threw the great Daos of heaven and earth into disarray, and their heavenly prestige threw minds into confusion and disturbed spirits. Bearing tremors capable of destroying heaven and earth, artifact after artifact attacked.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace activated the chains wrapped around his body. Clanging loudly, the chains grew thicker and thicker, their pitch-black surfaces surfacing with the patterns of various immortal Dao runes.
As the chains broadened, these immortal Dao markings grew increasingly vivid, gradually transforming into chains of immortal Dao laws. Sweeping outward, they forced back the throng of Heavenly Dao divine artifacts.
"Traitorous rebel!"
The sky of the Yuanshou world suddenly shattered, and the upper body of an unimaginably massive God King actually leaned out from the Heavenly Dao world into the Yuanshou world.
It was God King Xuanhao. The cloak fluttering behind him was a Heavenly Dao cloak, snapping furiously as it unfurled like the firmament, blotting out the sun and skies of the Yuanshou world.
The cloak expanded and grew wildly, as though intent on enveloping the entire Yuanshou world within it.
Surprised, Chu Xiangxiang looked up at God King Xuanhao's cloak, then down at the cloak Xu Ying had gifted her. Blinking, she thought, *Except for the Heavenly Dao runes, everything else is virtually identical!*
She did not know that Xu Ying had seen God King Xuanhao's cloak and secretly copied the method, learning how to gather heavenly tribulation power to forge a Heavenly Dao cloak.
God King Xuanhao seemed to grow half a torso out of the vault of heaven. Arms sprouted from his armpits, seizing Heavenly Dao divine artifacts one after another.
In his grasp, these divine artifacts were even more potent than before. Their power surged as they streaked across the sky like beams of light, striking at the Master of Mud Pill Palace.
"You dare conspire to steal heaven's secret to ascend! You deserve ten thousand deaths!" God King Xuanhao's voice shook heaven and earth.
Though the Master of Mud Pill Palace was also a giant, compared to God King Xuanhao he was nothing more than a tiny speck.
Behind him, six cave-heavens spun furiously, and his Domain of Six Immortals expanded. Appearing just like an ascended immortal, he charged straight at the colossal God King Xuanhao wielding countless Heavenly Dao divine artifacts.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Clusters of light detonated—Dao light bursting from the collapse of Dao laws, so dazzling that no one could keep their eyes open.
Xu Ying barely caught sight of the Master of Mud Pill Palace's momentum being halted by the divine artifacts, and his heart sank. Even an injured God King was still a God King, let alone one wielding so many Heavenly Dao divine artifacts.
"His only chance of victory lies in the wounds left on God King Xuanhao by Great Emperor Cangwu and me." Xu Ying's eyes flickered. Over these past days, God King Xuanhao must have healed the surface of those wounds, but Dao injuries would surely remain beneath.
An illiterate God King who couldn't even write Heavenly Dao runes correctly would never be able to resolve the Dao injuries left by Xu Ying and Cangwu. Thus, Xu Ying was certain the Dao injuries remained, at best healed only on the surface.
*If the Master of Mud Pill Palace is gifted enough, he will surely see through those wounds and exploit them,* Xu Ying thought to himself.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the wounds on God King Xuanhao suddenly burst open with popping snaps. Blood instantly dyed the cloak in the sky, staining the Heavenly Dao cloak crimson.
God King Xuanhao's expression changed drastically. His massive body leaned backward, attempting to evade the Master of Mud Pill Palace.
His arms swung the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts, smashing toward the Master of Mud Pill Palace. At the same time, the Master of Mud Pill Palace arrived before his face, the six cave-heavens behind him spinning as terrifying power erupted.
*Boom!*
He punched out. Before God King Xuanhao could strike him, his fist landed squarely on God King Xuanhao's face. God King Xuanhao's features twisted as he crashed through the firmament, slamming into the Heavenly Dao world.
Following the fissure in the Heavenly Dao world, the Master of Mud Pill Palace flew into the Heavenly Dao world like a tiny ant.
On Mount Jiuyi, Xu Ying, Qingbi, Chu Xiangxiang, and the others looked up, only to see the sky rapidly knitting shut. Beyond the heavens, God King Xuanhao rose, towering and magnificent, finally able to unleash his full combat strength.
Opposite him stood the Master of Mud Pill Palace, his six cave-heavens warping the void.
The sky sealed shut.
How the battle fared on the other side of heaven was now impossible for Xu Ying and the others to know.
The sky was dense with dark clouds, thunder rumbling, yet no rain fell. Lightning continuously burst within the cloud layers, as if giants were brawling amidst the gloom.
Yuan Qi felt an unbearable itch in his heart and muttered, "Who will win and who will lose in that battle in the Heavenly Dao?"
The big bell also wished it could ascend immediately. "One is a God King who has enjoyed tens of thousands of years of incense offerings and wields the Heavenly Dao; the other is an angler carrying over forty thousand years of Nuo Immortal herbs, having harvested cave-heavens unprecedented in history. This battle is bound to be spectacular!"
Bai Qiuzi showed a yearning expression. "If only one could watch the battle up close, one's life would not have been lived in vain."
Fairy Qingbi said to Xu Ying, "Now that matters here are settled, my heart is at peace, free of burdens at last. I can finally pursue my immortal path. I have no more attachments to Yuanshou. I will go fulfill my master's dying wish: ascension. Ageless immortal, let us part here."
She waved a hand and drifted away into the distance.
Xu Ying waved back to her without asking her to stay.
Yuanshou—this world could no longer hold Qingbi, nor could it hold him.
Xu Ying went to see Foolish Ah Fu and said, "This lifetime of mine began in Jiang Family Fields. Tolerated neither by mortal laws nor by the Netherworld Heavenly Court, I had no path to the heavens and no door into the earth. Zhou Qiyun found me and asked me to decipher an immortal scripture for him. Through Zhou Qiyun's death, I learned the truth of planting Nuo Immortals and harvesting them. Because of that, I also learned about my own origins. After all these years of struggling through trials and hardships, the anglers and the chives have finally been dealt with."
Foolish Ah Fu's gaze was profound and distant. He said, "The Master of Mud Pill Palace has ascended. Whether he wins or loses, lives or dies, has nothing to do with the case of harvesting Nuo Immortals. You still have your own origins unsolved, so you plan to search for your background and recover your memories."
Xu Ying smiled. "Since becoming foolish, you're far more likable than when you were smart."
Foolish Ah Fu smiled. "What do you plan to do?"
"I want to find an immortal mountain. On that mountain is a female diviner whose fortune-telling is extraordinarily accurate. She was able to divine that I would rescue Dongyue and Beiyin. I am going to find her." Xu Ying said, "You should know this immortal mountain. It is called Penglai."
Foolish Ah Fu nodded. "That is an immortal mountain you brought down from the Immortal Realm into the mortal world. You brought back three immortal mountains from the Immortal Realm: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou."
Xu Ying asked, "So do you know where Penglai is?"
Foolish Ah Fu shook his head. "The whereabouts of the Fangzhang immortal mountain were told to me by you. As for the other two immortal mountains, unless you tell me, I have no way of knowing."
Xu Ying sighed. He had not recalled the location of the Penglai immortal mountain either.
Foolish Ah Fu said, "Isn't there a Penglai Pavilion on the coast of the East Sea? Penglai Pavilion hasn't been wiped out yet. You can go there to inquire."
Xu Ying's heart stirred. Pavilion Master Lin Tianhua of Penglai Pavilion was on very good terms with Master Qi and Master Bell; it would indeed be worth paying a visit to ask.
******
In the Heavenly Dao world, ancient behemoths raised their heads one after another, expressions of terror appearing on their faces as they frantically fled in all directions.
At this moment, these colossal creatures only wished they had grown more legs, for they could not run fast enough.
Above their heads, God King Xuanhao was covered in wounds. One arm after another had been snapped, and a large hole was gouged through the center of his brows. His massive corpse was tilting, toppling over.
*Boom!*
His corpse crashed down, crushing several ancient behemoths to death.
The Master of Mud Pill Palace's robes fluttered in the wind. Looking up at the vault of heaven, the sight of another world reflected in his eyes beyond the sky.
Soaring into the air, he flew toward that higher world.
"Immortal Realm, here I come—!"
In the Netherworld, at the place of reincarnation, the three great God Kings—Xuanyu, Xuanxing, and Xuanchen—suddenly stirred.
Xuanyu said, "The person attempting to resurrect reincarnation has finally arrived!"
Xuanchen smiled. "This mastermind behind the scenes finally couldn't help revealing their cloven hoof."
In the darkness, countless winter crows flew in, suddenly converging with a whoosh to form a tall figure.
At the same time, a light flickered in the darkness. An old man carrying a clear oil lamp walked over from another direction.
Xuanyu, Xuanxing, and Xuanchen felt their hearts leap, each inwardly crying out in dismay.
Just then, the earth shook and cracked continuously, a deep fissure extending toward them from afar.
In front of the fissure, a tall elder walked toward them, countless root tentacles extending behind him into the myriad heavens and worlds.
*We're doomed!* The three God Kings shared the exact same thought.
Chapter 313