Immortal spiritual qi poured incessantly from the Yingzhou cave abyss into Xu Ying's Ruyi Great Luo Heaven bodhimanda, transforming within it into surging cultivation and magical power that coursed through every part of his body.
Behind the gauze curtains, Perfected Lord Yang's face was livid. His gaze fell upon the youth walking toward him, then shifted away toward the Yingzhou cave abyss.
The Yingzhou cave abyss was a cave abyss that only the head of the Three Realized Ones of the Dou Department was qualified to command.
Although he had been promoted to Celestial Venerable Yang and governed the Dou Department alongside the other two Realized Ones, as long as Yingzhou remained out of his grasp, people would gossip that his title lacked legitimacy!
What chilled his heart even more was the attitude of Heavenly Chief Immortal King Xiao Yulou and the others.
He held the exalted position as head of the Three Realized Ones of the Dou Department, commanding the Dou Department's greatest military authority. He was an existence bearing the titles of Perfected Lord and Celestial Venerable, and had painstakingly managed the Dou Department for so long.
Never did he imagine that despite giving his all, he still had not won the hearts of the Dou Department!
All his deeds over these years still could not compare in the hearts of the Dou Department's soldiers to that rebel Xu Ying!
Xu Ying had only served as a Celestial Venerable in the Dou Department for a little over a century. Afterward, he had fought his way out, slaughtering those old subordinates and old rivals who tried to bar his path until armor was abandoned and rivers of blood flowed!
That the Dou Department had fallen to becoming the laughingstock of the Six Departments was inextricably linked to Xu Ying's massacre within the Dou Department before rebelling against the Immortal Realm. Had it not been for that battle, the Dou Department would not have suffered such catastrophic damage to its vitality.
Yet these people had actually forgotten the devastation Xu Ying had inflicted on the Dou Department back then. Upon seeing this rebel, they bowed to him instead and hailed him as Celestial Venerable!
How could Yang Yanlong tolerate such a thing?
Xu Ying came before the kneeling immortals of the Dou Department, filled with myriad emotions.
In his first life, he had been able to win over a great number of people in the Ancestral Court and had numerous followers. Although those people hated him for ascending to the Immortal Realm without a word, they would still throw themselves into danger to rescue him in moments of peril.
He had also possessed a massive following in the Immortal Realm. Even after he became a rebel and fought his way out of the Dou Department, these old subordinates would still drop to their knees and call him Celestial Venerable Xu.
The Xu Ying of the first life truly possessed such charisma.
What an unbelievable thing that was.
"All of you, get up!"
The white gauze fluttered as Perfected Lord Yang Yanlong stepped out from behind the curtain, his expression somber. Looking at the half-kneeling immortals of the Dou Department, his gaze turned chillingly cold. "To kneel before a rebel—what immense audacity! Do you not fear the extermination of your nine clans?"
Heavenly Chief Immortal King and the others hesitated, not standing up.
Xu Ying spoke, "I am no longer Celestial Venerable Xu. Everyone, rise."
The immortals rose in silence, uttering not a word.
In their hearts, the best days the Dou Department had ever known were the days when Xu Ying stood as the head of the Three Realized Ones. Back then, the Dou Department was the foremost of the Six Departments, its glory fought for and won.
Xu Ying had led them not only to completely subdue the internal Seven Primes and Six Offices, but also to make the other departments treat the Dou Department with utmost reverence.
Yet after Xu Ying rebelled and left the Immortal Realm, each day for the Dou Department was worse than the last. Setting aside the humiliations suffered at the hands of other departments, even the Heling Dugu Palace was bullied by the other palaces of the Dou Department.
Even after Yang Yanlong took over Xu Ying's post, the standing of Heling Dugu Palace showed little improvement.
The corners of Yang Yanlong's eyes twitched violently. He slowly clenched his fists, fixing his gaze upon Xu Ying with murderous intent. "Rebel Xu Ying!"
Xu Ying smiled faintly, looking him up and down before saying leisurely, "You must be Celestial Venerable Yang, the one who took over my post? What guidance do you have for me?"
"Guidance?"
Yang Yanlong burst into loud laughter, yet there was not a trace of mirth in his voice.
Last time, he had commissioned the Divine Diviner Tian Chouchou to calculate Xu Ying's whereabouts, preparing to hunt him down, only to run into Xu Jing. As a result, he had suffered a crushing defeat and been thoroughly disgraced.
This time, Xu Ying had come right before him, and the soldiers of the Heling Dugu Palace dared to bow to Xu Ying in his very presence. They had even ignored his command, rising only when Xu Ying told them to!
If Xu Ying did not die, it would forever be difficult for him to truly become one of the Dou Department's Three Realized Ones!
Yang Yanlong said chillingly, "You are a rebel. What guidance could I possibly offer you?"
Xu Ying smiled. "Since you have no guidance to offer, then I take my leave."
He bowed slightly toward the soldiers of Heling Dugu Palace. A clatter of clashing armor rang out as the myriad Dou Fiends bowed in return.
Xu Ying nodded slightly to Yang Yanlong and turned to leave.
Fury surged in Yang Yanlong's heart. Without another word, a ten-thousand-zhang Primordial Spirit suddenly emerged behind him, resembling an ancient god, shrouded entirely in thunder and fire, instantly forming a bodhimanda.
In an instant, immortal Dao tones resonated loudly, invading the surrounding void and manifesting various magnificent yet eerie phenomena—flowers and tentacles sprouted from the void, creating a terrifying spectacle!
Yang Yanlong stood within the bodhimanda. Behind him, a Dao tree rapidly took root and sprouted, growing taller and larger until it sheltered him beneath its canopy.
"Xu Ying, capturing you is the Imperial Monarch's affair, but Yingzhou is a cave abyss belonging to the Dou Department. It is time you return it!"
His Primordial Spirit reached out a hand, grasping toward Xu Ying. Back when he had clashed with Xu Jing, their battle had shattered the heavens and earth of the Ancestral Court, creating a churning torrent of spatial thunder and fire.
Yet this was the Realm of the Great Void, an expanse of emptiness where, apart from a few anomalous areas, there was no space, only sheer void.
Here, the force of his palm produced a bizarre effect. Around the lines of his palm, space was continuously born and expanding outward, and his Dao chains evolved alongside it, forming various immortal Dao runes that transformed into Dao manifestations.
Dao manifestations were typically composed of heaven and earth and nature—images of the Great Dao formed by observing thunder, waterfalls, flowing water, flames, storms, as well as flowers, birds, insects, and fish.
At this moment, Yang Yanlong's divine ability revealed its essence within the Realm of the Great Void, astonishingly forming various worlds, mountains, rivers, winds, clouds, birds, beasts, insects, and fish within the space surrounding the lines of his palm!
His profound mastery of Dao methods was laid bare for all to see!
He did not count on the Heavenly Gang, the Earthly Fiends, or the eighty-four thousand Dou Fiend immortals to assist him in capturing the rebel. If these people did not assist Xu Ying against him, it was already a blessing from his ancestors.
What he needed to do was defeat Xu Ying in front of the Heavenly Gang, the Earthly Fiends, and the Dou Fiend immortals, proving that he was the strongest in the Dou Department!
Xu Ying turned around, his eyes gleaming with excitement—a light that even startled Yang Yanlong.
*I wonder how my current self compares to the me of back then? This Perfected Lord Yang, who replaced me, is the best touchstone.*
His Ruyi Great Luo Heaven bodhimanda unfolded. Behind him, the ten cave-heavens suddenly shone with brilliant light, resonating with the ten phenomena within his Great Luo bodhimanda.
At that moment, physical vitality, divine consciousness, primordial qi, soul power, yin and yang, heart power, power of life and death, Dao power, and void—nine distinct powers unified within his body in an instant, transforming into Taiyi!
His physical body and Primordial Spirit integrated with utmost tightness, forming a Taiyi body!
All powers coalesced into one, no longer distinguishing between one another.
He felt as though he was the Dao, he was the law, he was all things, he was everything!
Xu Ying executed a divine ability with effortless ease, meeting Yang Yanlong's palm strike with a palm of his own!
The instant their palm strikes collided, Yang Yanlong clearly sensed that his cultivation exceeded Xu Ying's, yet he felt as if his magical power was being shattered by him!
He immediately changed his stance, pulling back and merging with the Dao tree. At the same time, his Primordial Spirit stepped forward, likewise fusing into the Dao tree!
At that moment, his body, Primordial Spirit, and Dao tree became a trinity. Standing within the bodhimanda, he was like a lord of myriad immortals, a lord of the Great Dao.
Right then, a golden bridge came crashing down, pressing directly into his bodhimanda.
Xu Ying stood upon the bridge, the excitement in his eyes unmitigated. The Taiyi Golden Bridge unified the Taiji and the Wuji. On both banks of the golden bridge, the Black and Yellow Qi howled and surged, wreaking havoc across Yang Yanlong's bodhimanda!
Yang Yanlong immediately felt his cultivation and magical power draining away at rapid speed. The pressure exerted by that golden bridge grew heavier, filling his heart with dread.
He soared into the air, landing on the golden bridge, and charged to kill Xu Ying.
Xu Ying stood at the center of the bridge. Yang Yanlong darted with the agility of a leaping hare and a swooping falcon, launching consecutive strikes. His divine abilities were clearly devastatingly powerful, yet on the golden bridge, not a single shockwave of his divine abilities could sweep past.
Yang Yanlong pounced three times, missing all three. With a muffled grunt, he turned and fled, his red robes and black shoulders flapping like the wind as he swiftly departed.
Xu Ying did not pursue him. He saw Yang Yanlong land among the layers of white gauze curtains in the central army tent, sit down deliberately, and say in a heavy voice, "Soldiers of the Dou Department, hear my command: we withdraw!"
When he spoke the word "withdraw," his breath faltered. Startling streaks of blood suddenly bloomed across the white gauze curtains—it was unclear whether the blood had splattered from wounds on Yang Yanlong's body or was coughed up from his chest.
Xu Ying cast a glance over the Dou Department soldiers, then turned to leave.
Through the gauze curtains, Yang Yanlong fixed his gaze on Xu Ying's receding back. He abruptly channeled his magical power. In the Dou Department of the Immortal Realm, within Heling Dugu Palace, the Five Phoenixes Exquisite Hook—a supreme immortal treasure that suppressed the heavenly palace—suddenly unleashed its might, slashing emptily toward the Realm of the Great Void!
That Five Phoenixes Exquisite Hook was the foremost immortal artifact of the Dou Department, renowned for cutting through all things, slaying all gods, and decapitating all immortals. A streak of hooked radiance descended from the heavens, slashing toward Xu Ying!
"Celestial Venerable, look out!" Heavenly Chief Immortal King Xiao Yulou, Heavenly Gang Immortal King Fu Qingye, and others shouted in alarm.
Around Xu Ying, the ten cave-heavens suddenly vanished, replaced by an increasingly brilliant Yingzhou cave abyss, as if the ten cave-heavens had merged into one with Yingzhou.
And deep within the Yingzhou cave abyss, an even more ancient and majestic cave abyss emerged, surging with billowing Taiyi Qi that bolstered Xu Ying!
Xu Ying roared, rallying every ounce of his power. Visualizing the broken sword, he met the lethal strike of the Five Phoenixes Exquisite Hook head-on!
In the Realm of the Great Void, hook light and sword light crossed, tearing the void apart and carving out two shocking great rifts, one vertical and one horizontal.
Xu Ying's right arm trembled, soaked in blood—wounds inflicted by the sharp edge of the Five Phoenixes Exquisite Hook!
Xu Ying spun around violently, a ferocious look in his eyes. He curved his arms as if embracing an empty space, and the void tore open at once. An incomparably colossal Mount Buzhou descended from beyond the void, crashing violently into the central command tent!
No sooner had that Mount Buzhou crashed down than another Mount Buzhou came hurtling from beyond the void!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
One Mount Buzhou after another crushed down, pulverizing the central army's white gauze curtains into powder!
Amidst countless fragments, Yang Yanlong soared into the sky, bathed in blood, fighting against Xu Ying's Mount Buzhou divine ability. Yet in the next moment, a golden bridge descended, suppressing his bodhimanda directly!
Following that, Xu Ying curved his arms once more, bringing down another series of Mount Buzhous. Yang Yanlong spat out blood. Where he had once been able to stand, he was now collapsed flat against the ground!
"Celestial Venerable, spare his life!" Xiao Yulou, Fu Qingye, and the other Immortal Kings turned pale with fright, falling to one knee one after another to plead for Yang Yanlong's life.
If Yang Yanlong were beaten to death by Xu Ying, their Heavenly Gang, Earthly Fiends, and eighty-four thousand Dou Fiends would likely have no way to survive either.
Xu Ying stayed his hand, dispersing the final Mount Buzhou, and waved his hand. "Do not call me Celestial Venerable anymore; I am no longer your Celestial Venerable. Everyone, when we meet again in the jianghu, we may be enemies. Do not show mercy. Farewell—"
He turned and walked away.
Heavenly Chief Immortal King Xiao Yulou and the others watched him depart into the distance. Only then did they carry the critically wounded, dying Yang Yanlong and hurry back to the Dou Department. When the other two Realized Ones of the Dou Department, Si Chuanzhao and Huo Changge, heard the news, both were greatly shocked and rushed over. They saw that Yang Yanlong had been beaten until every bone in his body was broken, his Primordial Spirit grievously injured, and even his Dao cultivation severely diminished!
"Who beat Daoist Brother Yang into such a state?" Huo Changge roared in fury. "To bully our Dou Department, to bully us right to our faces! Brother Si, this cannot be endured! Just who did this?"
"Perfected Lord Yang encountered Celestial Venerable Xu, and so..."
Huo Changge's rage instantly vanished, and he stammered, "Uh... I see... Daoist Brother Yang, rest and nurse your wounds well. We will certainly not let this matter drop."
Si Chuanzhao said, "Old dog Xu is guilty of heinous crimes; we will never let him off. Daoist Brother Huo and I will report this to the court at once and let them decide! Rest and recover with an easy mind."
The two departed and reported the matter to the Immortal Court. Before long, someone from the Immortal Court came to visit Yang Yanlong. Seeing him bedridden from severe injuries, the emissary returned to report.
Since Yang Yanlong, the head of the Three Realized Ones of the Dou Department, had been heavily wounded by the rebel Xu Ying, the soldiers of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends had failed to protect him adequately and were also culpable. Thus, they all waited in anxiety for the Immortal Court's verdict.
The Dou Department was dispatched directly by the Immortal Emperor, so if punishment were to be handed down, it would come directly from the Immortal Emperor.
However, the Immortal Emperor's punishment was slow to arrive. Instead, they welcomed a new master to the Heling Dugu Palace.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Xu Jing."
A scholar with graying hair at his temples arrived at the Hall of the Great Chief carrying the Immortal Emperor's decree. Paying his respects to the two Perfected Lords, Huo Changge and Si Chuanzhao, he said with a smile, "I have come by imperial order to assume the position of Palace Master of the Dou Department's Heling Dugu Palace, one of the Three Realized Ones. I ask the two Daoist brothers for your generous guidance."
Huo Changge, Si Chuanzhao, and the others were astonished.
"This Daoist Brother Xu looks quite unfamiliar," Xiu Yushu of Tianshu, the head of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, said politely as he sized Xu Jing up. "Yet you also seem somewhat familiar. In the lower realm, I once encountered a rebel who looks very much like you, Daoist Brother. May I ask about your lineage and origin?"
The scholar smiled. "I am Xu Jing of Mount Kunlun. My family has deep scholarly roots, and all the skills I possess were taught to me by my son. By the way—"
He smiled warmly. "My rebellious son, Xu Ying, used to serve as Celestial Venerable Xu right here."
Everyone was struck dumb, unable to utter a word for a long while.
*Did that old dog Xu severely injure Perfected Lord Yang just to prop up his own father into the position?*
The Tide of the Three Realms grew increasingly violent, exerting a tremendous impact on the Ancestral Court. Free movement between the immortal and mortal realms had become the norm, but for the myriad heavens and realms, the impact was even greater.
On this day, the Heavenly River surged tempestuously, and the silhouette of another world appeared along the coastline of the Yanzhu World.
The two worlds of Yanzhu and Yuankang had finally begun to merge.
On the very day the two worlds merged, Dao light suddenly manifested repeatedly within the new realm, shooting into the sky from deep underground. The radiance even pierced through the void and shone into the Immortal Realm, alarming the gods and immortals across the heavens, who peered out from the rifts to look.
Amidst that Dao light, shadowy outlines could be seen, appearing like buildings, resembling a Daoist temple.
Within the temple stood an ancient divine tree radiating wisps of auspicious qi and golden rays of the Great Dao, laden with Dao fruits, leaving the watching immortals astounded.
A few days later, the Daoist temple gradually became clearer. Someone recognized the immortal script upon its gateway and cried, "Wuzhuang Temple!"
In recent days, even before Wuzhuang Temple had fully manifested, countless experts had already arrived, fighting and killing each other until rivers of blood flowed.
The Crown Prince Eastern King watched from afar without joining the fray, feeling suspicious. *Isn't Celestial Venerable Xu a man of his word? Why hasn't he arrived yet?*
He waited several more days, but Xu Ying still did not appear. Meanwhile, Wuzhuang Temple had fully emerged, and many avatars and incarnations of major figures had arrived in the new realm, alongside Immortal Kings and Immortal Monarchs who hurried over one after another.
The Eastern King gritted his teeth. "I won't wait for him!"
He set out.
Beyond the heavens, Xu Ying sat upon his imperial carriage, gazing toward Wuzhuang Temple from afar, murmuring softly, "The Eastern King made a half-year agreement with me. I kept my word and came. But even if I don't show myself, I still count as a man of my word."
Chapter 512