Lou Mingyu forced down the urge to cough up blood and sneered, "Your injuries are heavier than mine. Even your tear ducts are spurting blood."
The blood sizzling from Xu Ying's tear ducts stopped at once. He parted his lips in a grin, only for a surge of gore to pour uncontrollably down his mouth. "Senior Brother Lou, your injuries ought to be far worse. You've already started leaking indestructible spiritual light from your body. Is your Primordial Spirit about to fall apart?"
Lou Mingyu raised a hand and tapped rapidly across his body, sealing off vital acupoints to keep the scattered indestructible spiritual light from escaping. He laughed loudly. "Your realm is crumbling, crushing your five viscera and six bowels. The blood you just spat out even had bits of heart and liver in it. Your injuries are much heavier!"
Xu Ying's eyelids twitched, and his tear ducts could no longer hold back, fizzing and shooting two thin jets of blood straight upward.
"Senior Brother, both your legs are shaking."
"Junior Brother, can you even stand straight?"
"Senior Brother, if you can't hold on, just lie down. Lying down is comfortable."
"Junior Brother, you really want to collapse right now, don't you? It's just the two of us here. Falling down isn't shameful."
Both men were grievously wounded, and soon neither could endure any longer. They held on purely out of stubborn pride.
Finding it hard to persist, Xu Ying proposed, "Senior Brother, r-rather than mutually destroying each other, why don't we call it a draw? What d-do you think?"
Lou Mingyu couldn't help turning away to vomit huge mouthfuls of blood, straining to reply, "S-Sounds like a fine idea."
Supporting each other, the two struggled toward the Holy Venerable's Great Luo Heaven.
Lou Mingyu was the first person to severely wound Xu Ying when there was little difference in their realms. His attainment in Dao scenery was not inferior to Xu Ying's, and his attainment in Dao flowers and Dao trees was even higher—one could say it far surpassed Xu Ying's. He was a young powerhouse groomed by the Holy Venerable, and he walked the orthodox path of the Supreme realm.
His cultivation path differed from others. He cultivated Dao sceneries as well, though he had formed only eight of them, which was slightly fewer than Xu Ying. Of course, having more Dao sceneries was not necessarily better.
It also depended on the Great Daos contained within them. For instance, the Great Daos within Xu Ying's ten Dao sceneries—such as Xuanhuang, Vitality, Yin-Yang, and Soul Power—were all exceptionally profound.
Yet Lou Mingyu was not lacking either. Several of his Dao sceneries were even superior to Xu Ying's. For example, one was a mass of Cosmic Light, extraordinarily brilliant and remarkable, and another was condensed from the Qi of Primordial Beginning. Both of these were superior to Xu Ying's Dao sceneries, likely inherited from the Holy Venerable's teachings.
His remaining Dao sceneries, however, were inferior to Xu Ying's.
Where Xu Ying truly held the upper hand was in his Dao methods and divine abilities under the Li framework state. Such divine abilities were so formidable that they leveled the gap in cultivation and realm between them. As they returned to the Holy Venerable's Great Luo Heaven, each began to tend to his wounds. Both of them had suffered Dao injuries.
Lou Mingyu's Dao injury was filled with Dao weeping; the Li framework invaded his body, Primordial Spirit, and Great Dao like a plague, constantly replacing and destroying them. Xu Ying's Dao injury was likewise filled with Great Daos he did not comprehend.
Those were Dao methods imparted by the Holy Venerable, profound and unfathomable, making it difficult to heal quickly. Lou Mingyu struggled toward Daming Palace, retrieved several lifesaving immortal pills refined by the Holy Venerable, and ingested them to suppress his injuries.
Xu Ying recovered slightly, suppressing his wounds to keep them from worsening. He said, "Senior Brother, it's useless. Unless you can piss blood and defecate blood like the Ancestral God to expel the Dao injury, no miraculous elixir will cure it."
Lou Mingyu laughed loudly. "What a coincidence! The Holy Venerable is omniscient and once taught me a similar method." With that, he prepared to urinate blood to heal his injury.
Xu Ying hurriedly intervened. "Senior Brother, there's no need for us to compete in IQ over this. How about this: I'll help you unravel the principles in your Dao injury, and you help dissolve mine."
The two hit it off at once and began healing each other. As Lou Mingyu's injuries gradually cleared, he said in astonishment, "Junior Brother Xu, for some reason I keep having the feeling that our realms are virtually identical. It's truly bizarre. You are clearly in the Heavenly Immortal realm and haven't even reached Immortal King. Why would I have such an illusion?"
Xu Ying's condition had also improved significantly, and he said in surprise, "You noticed it too? I had the exact same illusion! I felt your realm wasn't any higher than mine, that we stand on the very same level."
Lou Mingyu rose and paced back and forth, contemplating. "Perhaps it isn't an illusion. Perhaps you and I really are in the same realm, only neither of us realized it. But clearly I am in the Heavenly Monarch realm, and you are in the Heavenly Immortal realm."
Xu Ying racked his brain in deep thought, suddenly recalling the moment he and Lou Mingyu had fought with everything they had, when the eight Dao sceneries had emerged behind Lou Mingyu. "Wait... you and I truly are in the same realm!"
Xu Ying had an epiphany. He let out a cry of startled joy and manifested his ten great Dao sceneries, smiling. "Senior Brother Lou, look!"
Seeing his Dao sceneries, Lou Mingyu had a sudden realization as well, releasing his own eight Dao sceneries. Their respective Dao sceneries floated in midair, exuding a Great Dao aura distinct from Dao flowers and Dao fruits. The scale of their Dao sceneries was roughly the same, and the strength of their auras was very close.
Lou Mingyu said, "My eight Dao sceneries were comprehended from the various Dao sceneries in Daming Palace after I achieved the Heavenly Monarch realm and the Holy Venerable had me prepare to assault the Supreme realm. Only after tens of thousands of years of cultivation did they reach their current scale. It's just that my attainment in the eight Dao sceneries isn't high enough, so I haven't been able to break through to the Supreme realm."
Xu Ying frowned. "Judging by the scale of our Dao sceneries, if you are in the Heavenly Monarch realm, then I should be in the Heavenly Monarch realm as well. Why am I in the Heavenly Immortal realm?"
He paced back and forth, then suddenly said, "If I strip away your Dao tree, Dao flowers, and Dao seeds, you would also be at the Heavenly Immortal realm—the exact same realm as me!"
Lou Mingyu froze. He had never once considered this question.
In the Immortal King realm, immortal Dao laws turned into Dao chains; in the Immortal Monarch realm, one planted the Dao tree; in the Heavenly Monarch realm, the Dao tree blossomed into Dao flowers. If these three realms were removed, he truly was in the exact same realm as Xu Ying.
Xu Ying voiced the doubt in his heart: "Why doesn't the Heavenly Monarch realm continue cultivating on the foundation of the Dao tree and Dao flowers? Why start anew instead?"
Lou Mingyu furrowed his brows deeply in thought. "Indeed... why start anew? If the Dao tree and Dao flowers are useless, why cultivate them? If they are useful, why start anew? Junior Brother Xu, when did you begin cultivating Dao scenery?"
Without hesitation, Xu Ying replied, "The Qi Gathering stage."
Lou Mingyu was dumbfounded. "You began cultivating Dao sceneries meant for assaulting the Supreme realm back in the Qi Gathering stage? You really are a freak."
Xu Ying shook his head. "All of us Nuo masters in Yuanshou begin cultivating Dao sceneries in the Qi Gathering stage."
Lou Mingyu was deeply shaken. Nuo masters of Yuanshou began cultivating Dao sceneries leading straight to the Supreme realm—what an overwhelmingly powerful group of experts they must be!
Such figures would surely shake the world. Yet because he had never lived in Yuanshou, he did not know that the Yuanshou world had not grown powerful from this at all. Instead, over forty thousand years ago, it led to the rampant rise of leek harvesters and fishermen, causing forty thousand years of fierce internal strife.
"Back then, I practiced Qi while cultivating Nuo methods, gradually figuring out the integration of the Six Realms into one, though I hadn't formed Dao sceneries yet. Later, I went to the Ancestral Court and slowly comprehended the ten Dao sceneries, only then achieving something," Xu Ying said. "Ever since I formed the ten Dao sceneries, my cultivation and strength advanced by leaps and bounds."
Listening to his description, Lou Mingyu analyzed, "Hearing you say that, it seems to me you've cultivated two different immortal cultivation systems: one is Nuo method immortal cultivation, and the other is Qi Refiner immortal cultivation."
Xu Ying's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. "Exactly! When my Nuo methods reached the Ninth Cave-Heaven, that was the Nuo Immortal realm. When my Qi cultivation reached the Ascension stage and I overcame the tribulation to ascend, that was the Human Immortal realm." Reaching this point, he suddenly stopped. After a moment, he said, "Senior Brother Lou, I might have forged a path leading straight from Nuo Master to Supreme!"
He leaped up in excitement, planting his hands on his hips and laughing heartily.
"I have cleared every obstacle to the New Dao Supreme! I am a Grandmaster! I am an unprecedented Grandmaster!"
Xu Ying was filled with startled joy. He had never deliberately planned this path; he had simply encountered Nuo methods as a youth and cultivated along, yet unknowingly, he had cleared the complete path from Nuo Master to Supreme!
In the past, he had always fretted over his Dao attainment. His Dao attainment was too high, his combat strength too great, but his realm was too low. He had once sought guidance from others on this, and someone had told him that part of his cultivation and strength lay outside the realms of Qi Refiners, advising him to forge his own path. He had racked his brains over it, doing everything possible to bring his advantages in Dao attainment and combat strength to bear, and after mastering the ten Dao sceneries, his realm had advanced even more swiftly.
Only now did he suddenly understand: setting aside factors like his first life and magical treasures, the reason his Dao attainment and combat strength were so high while his realm appeared low was that his realm along the path from Nuo to Supreme had already reached an astonishing height!
For example, Xu Ying's current Nuo realm was already at the Heavenly Monarch level, but his Qi cultivation realm remained at the Heavenly Immortal tier. Thus, measured by the Old Dao realms, he was a Heavenly Immortal, but measured by the Nuo realms, he was a Heavenly Monarch!
Xu Ying exhaled a breath of turbid air. He had finally uncovered a path—and one that led straight to the Supreme realm!
Lou Mingyu couldn't resist bursting his bubble. "Junior Brother Xu, going from Nuo Master to Nuo Immortal, and from Nuo Immortal to Supreme, requires distinct, clearly defined realms. Otherwise, how can it be passed down to future generations? If you want to become a Grandmaster, you must first sort out and clarify these realms."
Xu Ying raised his chin, puffed out his chest, and laughed. "I will naturally figure that out. Ah Yu, after I become a Grandmaster, I won't mistreat you. You can serve as my sword-bearing attendant boy!"
Lou Mingyu let out a muffled snort, feeling deeply disgruntled at Xu Ying's smug pride.
Xu Ying laughed heartily and strode out of the Holy Venerable's Great Luo Heaven with his head held high. Lou Mingyu watched him with immense envy, thinking to himself, *I wonder if he can truly organize the various realms of the New Dao.*
If he could define them and teach them to the world, he would not merely be a Grandmaster—he would be the Dao Ancestor of the New Dao!
The stature of this New Dao Dao Ancestor would far surpass the weight carried by the various Dao Ancestors of the ancient sects. One could even say that from then on, every immortal would have to honor him as the Great Dao Patriarch until the New Dao era came to an end.
If nothing else, the incense offered by future Nuo masters, Qi Refiners, and immortals alone would suffice to make Xu Ying one of the beings with the most formidable divine power. Even if Xu Ying did not care for incense divine power, forming a Heavenly Primordial Spirit or a Dao body would likely make them far stronger than those of anyone else. The benefits spoke for themselves.
Lou Mingyu thought, *Still, I can be considered to have guided him in this. Surely I could manage to become a sword-bearing boy beside the Dao Ancestor... Bah, who would want to be his sword-bearing boy!*
While nursing his injuries, he carefully recalled his various responses during his duel with Xu Ying, searching for flaws in his own Dao methods and divine abilities.
Three to five days later, having absorbed the fruits of that battle and fully recovered from his injuries, he felt an uncontrollable itch in his hands. He immediately left the Great Luo Heaven and headed toward the Immortal Court. As he reached Youtian, the Jiuyou Emperor was eagerly watching; upon seeing him pass by, he hurried to call out, "Meeting by chance is better than by invitation! Why not come in and sit a while?"
"No, no!" Lou Mingyu declined at once, smiling. "I have urgent business and must seek out Xu Ying. I will come pay a proper visit another day to apologize."
The Jiuyou Emperor watched him depart, fuming inwardly. *That kid surnamed Xu has even more face than me. What a bastard!*
Lou Mingyu arrived at the Immortal Court. Upon inquiring, he learned that because of his merit in quelling the rebellion, Xu Ying had already been conferred the title of new Imperial Monarch by the Immortal Emperor! The major Imperial Monarchs—Wenchang, Wuqu, Shimen, Zhongyi, and the rest—all deferred to Xu Ying, who now oversaw all male immortals under heaven.
When Lou Mingyu reached the Imperial Monarch Palace, he found it undergoing renovations, and Xu Ying was not there.
Further inquiries revealed that Xu Ying was still at the Heling Dugu Heavenly Palace in the Dou Department.
Lou Mingyu arrived at the Dou Department just as Xu Ying was emerging from the Heling Dugu Heavenly Palace.
"Senior Brother Lou, I was just looking for you!" Xu Ying said eagerly. "This is no place to talk. Let's go to the Holy Venerable's place to speak."
Lou Mingyu agreed and said, "Congratulations, Junior Brother, on becoming an Imperial Monarch of the Immortal Court."
Xu Ying was utterly indifferent to the rank of the official post and chuckled. "Fortunately, it's an idle position. Otherwise, if I were bogged down by official duties every day, where would I find the time to comprehend the Dao?"
The two arrived at Yangtian, the ninth of the Nine Heavens. Lou Mingyu's hands began to itch uncontrollably, and he unconsciously slowed his pace. He proposed, "Our clash a few days ago gave me a great many insights. I feel I am a bit stronger than I was that day, so I'd like to seek your instruction once more."
Xu Ying was straightforward and grinned. "You mean, have another round?"
Lou Mingyu nodded gently. "Another round."
At that moment, the Yanglong Emperor was personally supervising the repairs on the Yangtian Heavenly Palace, which were already seventy to eighty percent complete.
Several days ago, the duel between Xu Ying and Lou Mingyu had lasted only a single exchange, yet because both had gone all out, it had stirred a terrifying shockwave across Yangtian, turning the Yangtian Heavenly Palace completely upside down.
Two more days, and the repairs would be finished.
Just as this thought crossed the Yanglong Emperor's mind, he sensed something and turned around, only to see Xu Ying and Lou Mingyu unleashing their momentum once again! The power of their divine abilities swelled like an explosion, colliding recklessly!
*It's over...*
A chill ran through the Yanglong Emperor's heart. The completion date would probably have to be pushed back several more days. *You two bastards! If I weren't unable to defeat the Holy Venerable, I would have taught you both a lesson long ago!*
*BOOM!*
A terrifying shockwave swept outward right behind, blowing away and shattering the newly repaired sections once more!
Chapter 607