Wei Xu stood towering like an unyielding mountain. Watching Xu Ying charge toward him, he chuckled. "I have often seen moths plunging into fire in the mortal world—lacking much ability, yet flying into a righteous fury and throwing their lives away for a momentary spark of valor. Six hundred thousand years have passed, and I thought that kind of fool had long since died out. Who would have thought the world still had some left?"
His magic power erupted. The surrounding heaven and earth instantly warped and spun, space itself seemingly reduced to nothingness as he folded it at his whim.
"Pity that today, there will be one fewer!"
Such domineering, peerless magic power was something Xu Ying had never witnessed before.
Yet in the very next instant, the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler unfolded from Xu Ying's grasp. In the blink of an eye, nearly all of the warped space was filled with the traces of the ruler, striking toward Wei Xu in unison!
"A Supreme treasure?"
Wei Xu was astonished. Without a second thought, he clenched his right fist tightly. Instantly, the surrounding warped space was seized within his hand. The layered landscape scroll vanished, leaving behind only a single ruler that struck his fist with a sharp crack. His fist was instantly battered bloody and raw!
"The Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler?"
Wei Xu's fierce brows twitched. His left fist had already slammed into Xu Ying's body. A dull thud rang out, and a huge hole abruptly ripped open in the space before him. Tremendous force surged forth, crushing Xu Ying's body and blasting him out through the spatial rupture!
The next moment, a mountain eight hundred li away suddenly exploded. Xu Ying had been punched straight through to the other end of space, crashing violently into that mountain.
The impact was dreadfully heavy. From afar, one could only see the mountain peak burst apart, rubble flying into the air, massive boulders drifting aloft seemingly in slow motion.
This was merely an illusion born of the vast distance; had one stood close, one would have witnessed a terrifying spectacle of shattering stones hurtling through the sky.
"Overestimating your own strength."
Wei Xu lifted his right hand. The flesh of his right fist had split open, exposing several snow-white phalanges as blood seeped out around them.
The bone of his middle finger had been cracked slightly at the joint by the ruler, and Dao energy permeated and intertwined within the fissure.
"Had this treasure been wielded by a Supreme, it might have inflicted a Dao wound upon me. But wielded by you, it falls far short!"
Wei Xu circulated his magic power, refining away the Dao energy trapped within the cracked bone. The wound on his hand swiftly healed. He murmured, "Where did this brat get a Supreme treasure?"
He raised his head to glance at the distant, collapsing peak, feeling somewhat amazed. Supreme treasures were extraordinarily rare, for the Supreme realm was an exceedingly difficult realm to achieve.
In comparison, the ancient realm of Daluo Golden Immortal was easier to reach, whereas attaining the Supreme realm was more than a hundred times harder!
Consequently, the number of Supremes was exceedingly small, while Daluo Golden Immortals were comparatively numerous.
As for Supreme treasures, they were rarer still.
Wei Xu had survived countless rounds of refining within the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace without dying. Yet before the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler, even though the one wielding it was an obscure brat whose cultivation was hardly formidable, the boy had managed to wound him with it.
"The master of the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler has always been a mystery. In my master's era, many remarkable geniuses were born, and no one knows who forged this treasure. I've heard it has an epithet called 'A Guaranteed Strike'—meaning that once this treasure is activated, no matter what magical treasure or divine power the opponent unleashes, they will inevitably take a hit from the ruler. Still, no matter which Supreme it belonged to, it belongs to me now!"
Just as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes narrowed. On the peak eight hundred li away, a tiny silhouette was staggering to its feet. Standing atop the shattered summit, the figure surged with vital blood, seemingly refining some technique!
"I didn't kill him?"
Wei Xu's eyes widened in sheer astonishment. "Over these past five hundred-plus thousand years, the Tushita immortal fire burned me too severely. My cultivation hasn't even recovered by ten percent, and my strength is far from what it was."
He could tell that Xu Ying's cultivation was not actually very high; what provided the greatest boost to his power were the nine treasures hovering behind him.
To Wei Xu, the might of these nine treasures was trifling—mere ordinary Immortal King treasures. But to Xu Ying, they served as nine external realms. Although the enhancement each external realm provided was not enormous, the treasures contained Immortal King-level magic power within them.
Nine major treasures were equivalent to nine Immortal Kings, granting him an extraordinary boost.
Yet to Wei Xu, they were still nothing of consequence.
Facing that strike of his, even if Xu Ying's nine treasures had been Immortal Monarch treasures, the boy should have been pulverized in a single punch.
Yet Xu Ying had not died!
"This kid's physical body is quite intriguing!"
Just as this thought arose, Wei Xu saw Xu Ying, seemingly fully healed, soar into the sky from the crumbling rubble. Leaping from one airborne boulder to the next, he sprinted back this way!
As he sprinted, he unleashed the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler.
Wei Xu's expression changed slightly. He pressed down an empty hand, and instantly the sky above Xu Ying collapsed with a roar. A colossal palm print crushed down upon Xu Ying, slamming him violently into the earth. The ground trembled and sank continuously as bottomless fissures spread outward in all directions!
"Still too young."
Wei Xu withdrew his hand and said flatly, "Wounding me once with a Supreme treasure was your limit. How could I ever give you a second chance to hurt me?"
He turned around to observe the others locked in combat. Little Celestial Venerable was facing Zhongyi Imperial Monarch, who served as master of ceremonies whenever the Immortal Emperor Supreme and the beings from above the Nine Heavens traveled. Zhongyi wielded various bell artifacts of all sizes and possessed the cultivation of the Heavenly Monarch realm. Driving bells great and small, he was beating Little Celestial Venerable into steady retreat.
"That fellow's body-refining technique is also extremely formidable—flesh, spirit, and Dao unified as a trinity. To last so many rounds beneath a Heavenly Monarch shows quite a bit of True Lord Erlang's style."
Wei Xu shifted his gaze to the big black dog fighting Chen Chaosheng, only to see that this dog's cultivation and strength were actually a bit stronger than Little Celestial Venerable's.
It was just that Chen Chaosheng was a disciple of Saint Luo from above the Nine Heavens. His Dao methods and divine powers were far more exquisite than Xiaotian's, keeping Xiaotian suppressed at a disadvantage.
"This dog cultivates the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art as well. Not bad at all."
Wei Xu's gaze then fell upon the big bell. Seeing it pummel several Immortal Monarchs until they scurried about in disgrace, holding their heads, he was utterly dumbfounded.
That big bell even possessed an azure Dao fruit. It seemed like the treasure of a Daluo Golden Immortal, yet it didn't quite look like one either.
"What on earth is with this bell? It's a magical treasure, yet doesn't look like one. I have never seen such a bizarre species! Never mind it. Once I absorb them and take the Yingzhou cave abyss, I can recover to my peak state! Only then will I have the confidence to negotiate terms above the Nine Heavens."
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a sudden sense of alarm seized him. Without thinking, he struck backward with a palm!
His left hand met a ruler-like object. Knowing things were amiss, he instantly pushed his cultivation to the limit to protect his left hand.
*Bang!*
Terrifying power erupted between his left hand and the Heaven-Measuring Ruler. The dazzling Dao light even blurred Wei Xu's vision, leaving him unable to see clearly.
Yet his battle instincts were simply too keen, honed by countless slaughters. He plunged through the Dao light and slammed a palm onto Xu Ying's crown. With a resounding boom, Xu Ying was driven into the depths of the earth like a nail!
Wei Xu's face darkened. Blood dripped from his left hand. The Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler's reputation for a guaranteed strike was indeed well-deserved!
He raised his finger and stabbed repeatedly into the pit, sending one earth-shattering finger force after another blasting down, striking Xu Ying's crown with unerring precision!
Wei Xu unleashed over a dozen strikes in succession, driving Xu Ying a thousand li downward until he submerged into churning magma before finally relenting.
Reaching out through empty space, he made a grasping motion. Deep within the crust, Xu Ying rose uncontrollably from the pit.
Wei Xu chuckled. "Even if you were True Lord Erlang reincarnated, my dozen-plus Supreme Void Divine Fingers would have shattered your skull to pieces. Brat, to wound me twice—even with the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler—proves you aren't weak. Among the masters I've slain, you can rank in the top hundred."
He dragged Xu Ying's "corpse" out of the earth, intending to harvest the Yingzhou cave abyss. To his surprise, the moment the corpse flew out of the hole, a sky full of landscapes came sweeping directly at his face!
Wei Xu knew trouble had come and dodged immediately.
*Smack!*
Xu Ying's ruler struck with absolute accuracy, cracking right against Wei Xu's crown!
Wei Xu's head swam. Rage surged in his chest, and savagery gripped his heart. Opening his maw wide, he let out a thunderous roar. The space around Xu Ying shattered from the concussive shout, and blood seeped from Xu Ying's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth!
Xu Ying circulated the Leakless Golden Body. The horrific destruction wreaked by this Dao roar as it invaded his body was instantly absorbed by the Leakless Golden Body, transformed into boundless power that merged into his physical body and Primordial Spirit!
His Primordial Spirit, standing in the God Bridge realm, actually braved the immortal light and immortal winds to stride forward another great step, drawing near the Jade Capital Heavenly Pass!
Breaking through this pass would mean reaching the third pass-knocking stage; crossing beyond it, he could enter the Ascension stage!
Xu Ying had originally been quite a distance from the third pass-knocking stage, but he never imagined that enduring several divine powers from Wei Xu would make his cultivation advance by leaps and bounds.
Yet he also faced mortal peril. Wei Xu's power was utterly overbearing. The Leakless Golden Body only allowed him to neutralize and assimilate the force struck into his body to strengthen his flesh and Primordial Spirit. If the invading power proved too overwhelming, not only would he fail to assimilate it, he might well explode and perish on the spot!
Amidst that single Dao roar, Xu Ying felt his Leakless Golden Body faintly showing signs of collapse. He hurriedly summoned the Taiyi Golden Bridge and activated his ten great cave-heavens. Rushing waves of power surged wildly, preserving him through the violent bellow.
Once he landed upon the Taiyi Divine Bridge, the force of Wei Xu's Dao roar no longer felt so overwhelming.
"Are you my junior brother?"
Wei Xu's burly frame landed heavily upon the golden bridge with a dull thud. Looking at the ten cave-heavens above Xu Ying's head, he appeared somewhat taken aback.
"No, Master passed away so early. There's no way he took another disciple!"
Wei Xu sneered and charged forward to attack. Behind him, magnificent scenes of the Great Dao manifested one after another.
His Dao landscapes totaled eight: the Sea of Chaos, the Two Basins of Xuanhuang, the Glazed Pure Void, the Indestructible Numinous Light, the Jade Capital Immortal City, the Taiji Immortal Domain, the Life-and-Death Divine Bridge, and the River of Inconstancy.
He had not mastered the two Dao landscapes of Void and Hunyuan.
Yet the style of his Dao methods bore an uncanny harmony with Xu Ying's!
*He is Qingxuan's successor!* Xu Ying realized instantly upon seeing this.
The ten magnificent spectacles of the Realm of the Great Void were Daoist Qingxuan's ten Dao wonders. The path Wei Xu walked followed this very tradition; he must have inherited Qingxuan's legacy.
However, Wei Xu had only attained eight landscapes, failing to cultivate all ten. Moreover, these eight landscapes were now parched and withered—likely because, after being suppressed by True Lord Erlang, he had endured nearly six hundred thousand years of burning in the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace, which had refined away much of his Dao wonders.
To be refined for nearly six hundred thousand years yet still retain clearly defined Dao landscapes—Wei Xu's strength was truly terrifying!
*Bang!*
Wei Xu blocked the downward strike of the Heaven-Measuring Ruler with one hand while driving the other fist into Xu Ying's lower abdomen, bending Xu Ying's body into an arch and sending him flying backward.
Wei Xu pursued, raining punches down like a tempestuous squall. In an instant, Xu Ying took dozens of blows!
*Boom!*
An earth-shattering roar erupted from within Xu Ying's body. His Indestructible Primordial Spirit practically rammed through the Jade Capital Heavenly Pass, throwing the heavenly gate wide open!
Xu Ying circulated the Leakless Golden Body. Battered black and blue, covered in bruises and cuts, he lost teeth by the dozen only for new ones to sprout batch after batch. Yet his cultivation surged at an unprecedented speed!
He was both astonished and overjoyed. The instant the Jade Capital Heavenly Pass opened, his cultivation rose once more, and both his Leakless Golden Body and Indestructible Primordial Spirit climbed to another tier!
"Good hit!" Xu Ying yelled.
"Still talking tough!"
Furious beyond measure, Wei Xu snapped Xu Ying's left arm with a palm strike and thrust two fingers forward, piercing through his chest. Yet Xu Ying's face wore a joyful grin.
Wei Xu's hair stood on end.
Xu Ying only felt his cultivation skyrocketing again, rushing straight toward the Ascension stage. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could undergo heavenly tribulation and ascend to become a Human Immortal!
"Is that all you've got?" Xu Ying spat out a mouthful of broken teeth, raised the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, and struck Wei Xu across the face with a crisp *smack*.
The legend of the Heaven-Measuring Ruler's infallible strike remained unbroken.
Roaring in fury, Wei Xu hoisted Xu Ying up and yanked his arms outward with all his might. Failing to rip him apart, he could only slam him violently onto the golden bridge.
Lying on the bridge, Xu Ying brandished the Heaven-Measuring Ruler in desperate resistance, employing sword arts with the ruler. Crisscrossing sword radiance contested against Wei Xu. But the harder he fought back, the more savagely Wei Xu struck, and soon both of them were covered in wounds!
Wei Xu also noticed that Xu Ying's cultivation had increased significantly in this brief span. Shocked and enraged, he thought, *Could Master still be alive? Did he survive that attack? Impossible—his ten landscapes clearly dissolved into the Great Void... Master was so biased!*
He fumed with fury. *He taught all ten Dao landscapes to this brat, yet refused to pass them on to me! And this boy grows stronger from getting beaten—could that also be a technique Master created during all this time? If the old man had taught me this technique back then, being trapped in the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace for hundreds of thousands of years, I would have achieved the Supreme realm long ago!*
Suddenly, with a crisp *crack*, the Landscape Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Xu Ying's hand whipped Wei Xu flying.
Startled, Wei Xu flipped and landed, only to find himself still on the Taiyi Golden Bridge.
Along both banks of the golden bridge, the Two Basins of Xuanhuang surged and evolved.
Looking up, boundless Grand Primal Chaos and Wuji stretched overhead.
Transformations of Taiji and Wuji formed a world of their own, trapping him within.
Wei Xu raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he leaped and flipped backward with all his might, landing tens of thousands of li away.
Yet where he touched down was still the golden bridge. Xu Ying, leaning against the bridge, wobbled to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Wei Xu took to the air, fleeing toward the heavens beyond. In an instant, he traveled countless tens of thousands of li, crossing through who knew how many spans of time and space, yet when he halted, he was still standing atop the golden bridge.
"Junior Brother, Master was truly biased to pass down such an exquisite divine power to you," Wei Xu said, a look of jealousy crossing his face.
"Junior brother?"
Xu Ying froze, then shook his head. "You're mistaken. I'm not your junior brother."
Wei Xu's face suddenly changed drastically. In a trembling voice, he stammered, "Master... Y-You're still alive?"
Chapter 536