The moment the golden coffin shot through the air and vanished, Xu Ying and Young Master Ningqing moved in unison. The Heavenly Immortal's bodhimanda violently collided with the Nuo master's Domain of Four Immortals!
A clash of domains was both a clash of Dao attainment and a clash of magic power!
Behind Xu Ying, magic treasure after magic treasure flared with brilliant light, activated in an instant!
The Five Sacred Mountains of Qi Gathering, Water-Fire Cross-Smelting, the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, the Immortal Dao Jade Pool, and the Third Heavenly Pass—these five great realms were the realms of his first lifetime, refined into magic treasures by five Immortal Kings and God Kings. Their might was inherently peerless and supreme, yet they could also serve as the five great realms supporting him in contending against a Heavenly Immortal such as Ningqing!
Yet in the next breath, he felt the strain on his magic power; he still lagged behind Young Master Ningqing.
This was because he lacked two great secret cave-heavens—having failed to open the Chaos Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven and the Xuanhuang Realm Yellow Court cave-heaven, he suffered significant deficiencies in both physical body and divine consciousness.
At the same time, Young Master Ningqing sensed his own deficiency in Dao attainment.
Xu Ying was not employing a Heavenly Immortal bodhimanda, but rather the Domain of Four Immortals. The fact that he could rival his Heavenly Immortal bodhimanda relying on merely four immortal Dao domains showed that Xu Ying far surpassed him in Dao attainment!
Suddenly, Heavenly Dao runes swirled across the sky canopy of Xu Ying's Domain of Four Immortals. In the blink of an eye, the Domain of Four Immortals merged with the Heavenly Dao domain, and Heavenly Dao divine power surged through his entire body!
Like a God King, he treated the earth as a chopping block and Young Master Ningqing as the meat upon it, transforming his hand into a blade that cleaved downward as the Heavenly Sabre!
The blade light was chillingly resplendent. It bore Heaven's will, observed Heaven's season, obeyed Heaven's reason, conformed to Heaven's count, and accorded with Heaven's tone. As the blade cleaved down, it carried the immense presence of all three thousand Heavenly Dao runes fusing into one!
"A Heavenly Dao divine power?"
Young Master Ningqing's expression shifted slightly. Circulating his profound art, he formed a seal with both hands to meet Xu Ying's Heavenly Sabre with a seal method, speaking in a low voice, "Your Heavenly Dao divine power surpasses that of any God King I have ever seen!"
Ning Zhongtian was in charge of the Immortal Realm's Taisui Ministry. Though it was a sinecure lacking real authority, it was nonetheless one of the Immortal Court's six orthodox ministries; as a Heavenly Venerable of the Six Ministries, he naturally possessed extraordinary mastery. His Supreme Xuan Yuan Jade Hall Great Method was the pinnacle of seal methods, unparalleled under heaven and revered in the Immortal Realm!
If Xu Ying was a God King holding dominion over the fate of all living beings under the Heavenly Dao, then Young Master Ningqing was an immortal lord detached from the Heavenly Dao. His seal cast an aura of transcending the Heavenly Dao: *Above the nine heavens, I alone reign supreme.*
Thirteen Jade Hall Seals, First Seal: Detachment!
Xu Ying's strike dictated that all living beings in the world were beneath his blade, with no one able to evade and nowhere to hide. Ningqing's seal stepped outside the Heavenly Dao, transcending it—no matter how formidable Xu Ying's Heavenly Dao divine blade was, it could not harm him in the slightest!
Blade and seal collided, ringing out with a clear, resonant chime. Dao sounds fell into chaos as the Heavenly Dao and Immortal Dao intertwined, throwing the ambient Great Daos of heaven and earth into disorder.
Nalan Du, Hua Cuoying, and the others blanched, hastily retreating as they exerted themselves to activate their respective immortal arts. Closing their eyes and shutting their ears, they silently chanted Dao sounds to resist the onslaught of the immortal and heavenly tones.
Possessing the heritage of Immortal Kings, extraordinary knowledge, and the rank of top experts among the younger generation, they could still withstand the heavenly and Dao sounds. But the immortal corpses hidden in the earth were not so fortunate.
Taking root and sprouting like vines, they grew up out of the earth, instantly turning lush and clustering in dense clumps. Others blossomed like flowers, bearing fruit from which heads sprouted, uttering eerie sighs and groans.
As corpses, though they retained a portion of their past lives' memories and intellect, they could not comprehend Xu Ying's Heavenly Dao and Young Master Ningqing's Immortal Dao, resulting in Heavenly Dao contamination and Immortal Dao contamination. Xu Ying had never anticipated that one day he, too, would cause Heavenly Dao contamination.
Young Master Ningqing's expression changed again. He realized that his Detachment Seal had detached from most of the Heavenly Dao, yet a portion of the Heavenly Dao had still not been transcended.
His heart sank. The palm seal was undamaged, but blade marks immediately multiplied across his bodhimanda, nearly cleaving it apart. *The Heavenly Dao my father transcended was not the complete Heavenly Dao; there must be many flaws and omissions among the Heavenly Dao runes he mastered.*
*Therefore, his Detachment Seal is not true detachment!*
Young Master Ningqing grasped the crux immediately. His Detachment Seal had been personally taught to him by Heavenly Venerable Ning Zhong. Cultivating this seal method required an intimate familiarity with the Heavenly Dao, achieving detachment from each of the three thousand Heavenly Dao runes one by one in order to attain the realm of transcending the Heavenly Dao.
Under Heavenly Venerable Ning Zhong's tutelage, he had indeed attained that realm. Yet he still could not completely evade Xu Ying's strike, proving that there were bound to be flaws hidden within the three thousand Heavenly Dao runes.
*My father's Heavenly Dao runes came from the heavenly gods of the Heavenly Dao world. Could those heavenly gods' runes be flawed?*
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Xu Ying's technique shifted. The Heavenly Sabre transformed into a Heavenly Sword, cold light glinting as sword qi thrust forward. Young Master Ningqing's long sleeves fluttered as he displayed the Ease Seal. The Ease Seal was not established upon detachment from the Heavenly Dao; rather, it was Heavenly Venerable Ning Zhong's comprehension of the Immortal Dao, cultivating the Dao heart of a True Person to achieve great ease!
"Not bad!"
Xu Ying secretly praised. With the Heavenly Sword about to be shattered by the Ease Seal, he backhandedly unleashed the Nine Diagrams Divine Thunder Induction. Pointing a finger forward, nine layers of heaven emerged behind him, thunder rumbling across the nine firmaments as surging, turbulent might surged forth with his finger!
"The Emperor's divine power?"
Young Master Ningqing dodged in haste. Xu Ying took a step forward, the Divine Thunder Induction transforming into the Dao King Seal, the power of nine heavens blessing his own body!
Young Master Ningqing had not anticipated in the least that he could execute the Emperor's divine power, and execute it so exquisitely. Thrown into disarray, Ningqing continued to fall back.
Though the Emperor had not entered the six ministries of the Immortal Court to become a Heavenly Venerable, his renown had burned brilliantly in recent years, showing every sign of eclipsing the Heavenly Venerables of the Six Ministries.
Young Master Ningqing struggled to regain his footing when the dirt beneath his feet suddenly loosened. Blazing flames erupted from below as a corpse phoenix buried under this soil spread its wings and surged forth. Bathed in divine fire, a single flap of its wings swept both men into the sky.
During its lifetime, this corpse phoenix had possessed terrifying cultivation strength, reaching the level of a top-tier Immortal King; even in death, it still retained peerless majesty.
In these brief moments, the geomagnetic essence of both the Yellow Court other shore and Yingzhou converged in the sky, forming an even more powerful torrent of geomagnetic essence!
Countless heavenly fiends were drawn to this torrent, plunging into it one after another and flying toward the Yellow Court other shore.
It was these heavenly fiends that had drawn the corpse phoenix from its burial ground; spreading its wings, it soared through the torrent, opening its beak to swallow fiend after fiend. Atop the corpse phoenix's back, Young Master Ningqing took advantage of the upheaval, sliding several dozen paces before steadying his footing.
He looked up to see that Xu Ying had somehow leapt high above him, nine layers of golden sky unfolding behind his back. The nine layers of the heavens were teeming with divine dragons—precisely the divine power from the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Demon-Breaking Secret Art, Dragon Diagram of the Nine Heavens!
Young Master Ningqing roared, executing the Dao Wheel Seal. This seal was the most domineering and overbearing of the Thirteen Jade Hall styles. Facing such a fierce divine power from Xu Ying, he could only respond with an even stronger divine power, meeting hardness with hardness!
The instant their divine powers clashed, Xu Ying grunted as the Dao Wheel Seal crushed his ninefold dragon diagram, sending him tumbling from the corpse phoenix's back into a downward plunge. Lacking two of his domains in the Domain of Six Immortals, his cultivation foundation was not as deep as Young Master Ningqing's, leaving him second-best in such a brutally domineering collision.
Before he could hit the ground, an earth-shattering boom erupted beneath him. An even more colossal corpse giant tore free from the ground, surging into the sky accompanied by tens of thousands of corpse ghouls. Xu Ying happened to land right upon this immortal corpse's back.
The tens of thousands of corpse ghouls around the immortal corpse were exceptionally ferocious, each casting soul-reaping and spirit-hooking divine powers. Tens of thousands of chains plunged into Xu Ying's body with sharp whistling sounds.
Struck by those chains, Xu Ying felt bound tight as if trapped in hundreds of spiderwebs. Fortunately, the chains did not act upon the physical body; passing through his flesh, they entered inside to bind his Primordial Spirit.
The tens of thousands of corpse ghouls pulled back together, shouting in unison, "Tear!"
Xu Ying did not budge an inch. The soul-hooking chains of the tens of thousands of corpse ghouls snapped simultaneously.
The ghouls were dumbfounded. "This man's Primordial Spirit is terrifyingly strong!"
Young Master Ningqing dropped from above, also landing on the giant immortal corpse's back. Xu Ying immediately activated the Eight Desolations Sun Refining Seal, meeting the seal method slamming down toward him.
The Eight Desolations Sun Refining Furnace was one of the first-lifetime seal methods Xu Ying had comprehended most thoroughly, an art surpassing even the Emperor's divine powers. Clashing with Young Master Ningqing's seal method, Xu Ying had the superior divine power, while Ningqing held the advantage in magic power.
The impact left both of them aching down to the bone, sending them tumbling and rolling off the giant immortal corpse's back.
Below, Hua Cuoying, Nalan Du, Hua Jingjing, and the others watched the battle with heads upturned. Just as they were about to step in to rescue the two, the ground beneath them began to quake and shake violently. The stirring roar of a dragon reverberated as an immense divine dragon corpse shook off mountains and dirt, opening its jaws in a roar as it carried them surging into the sky!
The divine dragon corpse was reeking with dense corpse qi. Several lower-cultivation Hua family scions and Diecui Valley disciples could not withstand it, immediately sprouting green corpse hair on the verge of corpse transformation. Nalan Du and Hua Jingjing hurriedly helped suppress their corpse qi to prevent them from turning into zombies.
The divine dragon let out an endless roar, carrying them straight into the torrent of geomagnetic essence and following the current toward outer space!
Xu Ying and Young Master Ningqing's fall was abruptly arrested before they hit the ground, landing instead upon the canopy of a treasure carriage. Tattered and riddled with holes, the canopy was hardly better than the canopy of the Little Celestial Venerable's Qilin carriage.
Two dead divine phoenixes flapped their wings, pulling the carriage as they broke free from beneath the earth and soared toward the geomagnetic torrent, just as Xu Ying and Ningqing landed upon the canopy. Though battered, the canopy rapidly expanded upon impact, and the phoenixes pulling the carriage grew larger and larger, crying out continuously as they charged into the torrent.
Upon the canopy, both men slid several dozen paces before arresting their momentum.
Xu Ying reached back with a hand, draping the Heavenly Dao domain over himself like a cloak. Protected by the Heavenly Dao, he circulated the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. His physical body expanded and contracted in rapid shifts as the mysterious art coursed through him, and taking giant strides, he charged at Young Master Ningqing!
It was the first time he had encountered such a formidable peer, and he could not help but relish the thrill of the hunt, unleashing every means at his disposal!
The two exchanged blows repeatedly atop the canopy. Heavenly fiends emerged in endless swarms around them, repeatedly shattered by their divine powers only to reform again. Meanwhile, the two divine phoenixes struck left and right, devouring fiend after fiend.
From beneath the canopy, an angry grunt suddenly resounded. The corpse ghoul Immortal Domain overlord riding inside the carriage had evidently been disturbed by Xu Ying and Ningqing's battle.
With a rustling crash, hundreds of corpse ghouls poured out of the carriage. All were the corpses of immortals, likely guards protecting the carriage's master.
These immortal corpses each activated Dao arts—lightning arts, fire arts, water arts, and various other divine powers—blasting indiscriminately at Xu Ying and Ningqing. The two leapt into the air to evade the barrage, continuing their duel aloft.
In the rush of the moment, Xu Ying caught a glimpse of a pale, ashen-faced man sitting within the carriage. The man had long since ceased breathing, his forehead crushed flat as if struck by a ring-shaped object. Judging by the lingering Dao majesty in the wound, he seemed to have died under the Diamond Snare.
*One of Seventh Master's karmic victims,* Xu Ying thought.
At this moment, several corpses of Immortal Kings surged over, plunging into the torrent of geomagnetic essence and flying toward outer space.
"Roar—"
Ahead, a mountain of bones trembled as an even more colossal corpse giant tore free of the earth, carrying tens of thousands of corpse ghouls into the sky, also heading toward the Yellow Court other shore outside the realm. The corpse ghouls on its body were vicious in the extreme; encountering other Immortal King corpses, they actually clashed violently with the opposing corpse ghouls, fighting until heaven and earth turned dark!
As Xu Ying and Ningqing fought, they took in their surroundings. Between the towering mountain ridges, countless corpses of Immortal Kings were taking flight into the sky. Beyond the Immortal King corpses, there were even more formidable remains whose auras warped the surrounding space, soaring overhead with unimaginable immortal Dao pressure!
*The corpse immortals and ghost immortals of the Corpse Ghost Immortal Domain are trying to seize this chance to escape Weixu! This is a mass breakout from the Corpse Ghost Immortal Domain!*
Just as the realization struck Xu Ying, powerful corpse immortals and ghost immortals surged forth like a tide from the Corpse Ghost Immortal Domain in an overwhelming black mass. Growing ever more numerous, they clamored in tumultuous swarms, rushing outward along the geomagnetic torrent!
Such a massive gathering of corpse immortals and ghost immortals made even Xu Ying shudder. *Just how many immortals died during the invasion of the Ancestral Court back then?*
He had originally thought the dead corpse phoenix had simply spotted the heavenly fiends, stirred by an appetite to fly into the geomagnetic torrent and devour them. But now, with the number of corpse immortals and ghost immortals multiplying rapidly, he instantly realized something was amiss.
*Hua Cuoying said that experts from the Immortal Realm suppress the Corpse Ghost Immortal Domain. These corpse and ghost immortals surging outward must be trying to escape Weixu!*
Even having understood this, his duel with Young Master Ningqing had reached a critical juncture. Both had unleashed their ultimate techniques, victory and defeat hanging in the balance, so neither had attention to spare for anything else! Letting out a long whistle, Xu Ying closed in on Ningqing for hand-to-hand combat.
The Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art was inherently a supreme close-quarters technique, excelling at infighting and blinding speed. Ningqing's rhythm was completely disrupted by the barrage, and just as defeat seemed imminent, immensely thick Dao chains rang with resonant Dao sounds, sweeping toward the two of them!
Xu Ying took fright and immediately brushed past Ningqing. Turning around to look, he saw the Five Extremes Immortal King had already arrived behind him, his bodhimanda expanding to envelop Xu Ying within. Inside the bodhimanda, the Five Extremes Immortal King towered immense and majestic, making Xu Ying appear minuscule by comparison.
"Young Master Ningqing, do not panic!"
The Five Extremes Immortal King splayed his five fingers and slammed his palm down, his voice deep and heavy: "I have come to aid you!"
Xu Ying instantly felt the crushing pressure of imminent death and destruction. He had previously believed he could contend with an Immortal King and comfortably escape even if outmatched. But as this palm descended from the Five Extremes Immortal King, he felt completely trapped, with nowhere to dodge and nowhere to flee—he had no chance of escaping whatsoever!
Xu Ying roared in fury, his fighting spirit soaring to the heavens. The Five Sacred Immortal Mountains, the Water-Fire Huntian Cauldron, the Twelve-Storyed Mansions, the Immortal Dao Jade Pool, and the Third Heavenly Pass all blazed with dazzling brilliance at once, driving his cultivation to its very peak!
At the same time, the two Nuo ancestor cave-heavens—the Mud Pill Palace and the Yellow Court, long battered and dilapidated—also surged forth with a roar, rumbling like broken carts! Taking the blow, blood leaked from the corners of Xu Ying's mouth. He leapt backward like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, bursting through the Five Extremes Immortal King's bodhimanda.
The Five Extremes Immortal King let out a soft exclamation of surprise. An even vaster, more towering Primordial Spirit rose up behind him, the Dao chains of his bodhimanda rattling as they wound around its palm!
As this palm from his Primordial Spirit came smashing down, the space around Xu Ying shattered like dust. Even his Six Revolutions physical body faced the peril of total destruction!
Xu Ying gritted his teeth and stimulated the Zhuxian sword qi. The broken sword flew out to meet this strike from the Five Extremes Immortal King's Primordial Spirit.
The Five Extremes Immortal King detected a peerless killing intent, and his face shifted slightly. His Primordial Spirit pressed the palm down regardless, but the Dao chains orbiting the massive hand suddenly exploded with violent cracks! Blood instantly showered from the Primordial Spirit's five fingers, which were nearly sheared off.
He hurriedly withdrew his hand. The shock wave left blood seeping from Xu Ying's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose as the Zhuxian sword qi dissipated. Turning around like a bird darting into a forest, Xu Ying plunged into a cluster of flying Immortal King corpse ghouls to conceal himself.
The Five Extremes Immortal King gave chase, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept across the Immortal King corpses, meeting one hostile glare after another. Emitting a powerful aura, the Five Extremes Immortal King paid them no heed, barging straight in to search high and low, yet he found no trace of Xu Ying.
*I must never let him slip away this time!* The Five Extremes Immortal King pressed on relentlessly with his search.
Xu Ying hid among the throng of immortal corpses surrounding a corpse king. Grabbing one corpse, he stripped its clothes, kicked it away, and took its place. *I don't have any fatal wounds; it will be hard to fool him!*
Xu Ying gritted his teeth, raising his hand to jab over a dozen wounds into himself, each deep enough to expose bone! *I still lack corpse qi—I won't be able to trick Five Extremes!*
Glancing at an immortal corpse beside him with a fierce glint in his eye, Xu Ying condensed qi into a sword and stabbed into the corpse with a squelch. The immortal corpse twitched, letting out a muffled cry of pain as fresh blood spurted forth.
Xu Ying froze in astonishment, staring wide-eyed at the immortal corpse. "You're Perfected Thousand Illusions!"
Xu Ying gasped, "Why are you hiding here? And what's with the corpse qi on you?"
That "immortal corpse" was none other than Perfected Thousand Illusions, whom he had once pursued. Disguised as an immortal corpse, he even bore dense corpse qi, his act utterly lifelike. Had Xu Ying not stabbed him with a sword, Xu Ying would never have discovered his true identity.
Chapter 422