"Qingxuan resurrected?"
Dao Lord Jiugong was somewhat baffled. Hadn't Qingxuan already been dead for six hundred thousand years? What was this about resurrection?
And why was his own life tied to Qingxuan's revival?
Even as he pondered, the two of them clashed. Dao Lord Jiugong sneered. In that uprising six hundred thousand years ago, the Six Supremes and Twelve Wondrous had been the most dazzling figures in all creation; the Ten Useless Heavenly Monarch, Liu Guanyi, had been nothing more than green foliage beside red blossoms—a mere foil.
Liu Guanyi was a grave robber with a wretched reputation, excavating ancient tombs far and wide in search of various divine powers and Dao methods. In that ancient era, grave robbing was despised, and he had been infamous. The Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit he compiled was indeed extraordinary, but not long after it appeared, Qingxuan pioneered the Supreme realm of the New Dao, rendering the Ten Attestations of the Dao Fruit utterly useless.
After that, Liu Guanyi followed Qingxuan to conquer the world. Although he made numerous contributions, his achievements could not compare to those of the Six Supremes and Twelve Wondrous.
Jiugong had never fought Liu Guanyi; when Liu Guanyi left the Mortal Realm back then, their boats had merely passed each other by.
"A grave robber, a waste of ten paths—you think you are worthy of crossing hands with the Twelve Wondrous?"
Dao Lord Jiugong was truly enraged. He urged the Nine Extremities Immortal Slaughtering Sword into motion, beams of sword light flowing fast and slow to form an immortal sword formation!
His Daoist title was Jiugong, and Jiugong represented the Dao of computation.
The Dao of computation could be applied to karma and divination, as well as to battle techniques, formations, and divine powers.
His Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book was the application of the Dao of computation to divine powers, while the Nine Extremities Immortal Slaughtering Sword was its application to formations.
Once the Nine Extremities Sword Formation was unleashed, sword light arranged into a hundred formations large and small, surging toward Liu Guanyi from every direction.
Liu Guanyi brought out the Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book. In the next moment, the golden book rustled open, its pages flipping at blistering speed. Countless runes flew out from within, gleaming with brilliant golden light like a golden dome sheltering Liu Guanyi.
Daoist resonance reverberated within that golden dome, sounding as if a Great Luo Immortal were chanting immortal paths—myriad Dao methods, each distinct!
Countless words swirled around Liu Guanyi, holding off the sword formation of the Nine Extremities Immortal Slaughtering Sword.
Dao Lord Jiugong was both shocked and furious. This golden book was originally his supreme treasure, the Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book, refined by his own hands, yet now it had rebelled against him and was being used to attack him!
Little did he know that when Liu Guanyi had barged into his Great Luo Heaven bodhimanda back then and fought his Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit, Liu Guanyi had torn out the golden book's most crucial page.
Liu Guanyi had not altered the composition of the paper itself, but merely altered the structure of the runes upon it. Now that the golden sheet had returned to the book, it served as a backdoor into the Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book, allowing him to play the cuckoo taking over the magpie's nest and seize control.
This refining method was something Liu Guanyi had found in the imperial tomb of Demon Emperor Xi Zhong, and it was exceptionally effective against magic treasures.
Suddenly, the golden book was pierced by the Nine Extremities Immortal Slaughtering Sword. Dao Lord Jiugong's heart twinged with pain, and he unconsciously dialed back several degrees of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword's power.
The golden book was his treasure; Liu Guanyi might not cherish it, but he could not help but cherish it.
Yet in the next breath, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword was suppressed by the golden book. With a sharp snap, the book clamped shut around the blade. Liu Guanyi charged out from behind the book, reaching through the flurry of sword light to seize the hilt.
Having lost both of his Wondrous Realm supreme treasures in an instant, Dao Lord Jiugong was consumed by rage. Ferocity flared in his eyes as he summoned the fragment of the Far Ancestor's primordial spirit he possessed!
As this streak of indestructible spiritual light arose, the sky shuddered violently. A colossal dragon of spiritual light manifested in the heavens, abruptly lunging a talon downward!
Everything around Liu Guanyi was instantly suppressed. Space and the void were completely locked; Daos, arts, and divine powers were rendered utterly unusable, forming a domain of absolute Daolessness!
Without hesitation, Liu Guanyi drove the Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book and the Immortal Slaughtering Sword with all his might to meet the dragon claw!
In the next instant, the golden book detonated. Countless golden pages fluttered into the air, immortal runes swirling across their surfaces—yet even a supreme treasure of this caliber could not withstand an artifact refined from a fragment of the Far Ancestor's primordial spirit!
Dao Lord Jiugong's heart bled, but he shrieked shrilly, eyes bulging wide as he drove the spiritual light dragon to bear down with crushing force!
The sharp talons of the spiritual light dragon clashed against the Nine Extremities Immortal Slaughtering Sword. The immortal sword was instantly battered, its blade twisting and spinning as notches burst along its edge with rapid cracks—it was clearly about to be ruined.
Dao Lord Jiugong felt as though a knife were carving at his heart, but had Liu Guanyi not pushed him to such an extreme, he would never have resorted to such a desperate measure.
The two supreme treasures delayed the spiritual light dragon's claw for only a split second, but Liu Guanyi had already pounced in front of Dao Lord Jiugong, poised to deliver a fatal strike. Dao Lord Jiugong's face twisted savagely, and he poured every drop of his dharmic power into the spiritual light dragon. Instantly, the sky violently surged, and another dragon claw descended from the heavens!
Liu Guanyi raised his hands to meet it head-on. With a deafening boom, the dragon claw crushed him so violently that blood sprayed from his mouth. Then his arms burst apart with crisp snaps, exposing stark white bone.
His ten great Dao domains shattered one after another, his Dao tree and Dao flowers broken and destroyed!
"Die!" Dao Lord Jiugong roared savagely.
When the dragon claw reached Liu Guanyi's head, it crushed his skull, and his physical body exploded immediately afterward, turning into clouds of blood mist!
Having pulverized Liu Guanyi into fine powder, Dao Lord Jiugong panted heavily and spat viciously, "A grave robber with a smidgeon of petty cleverness dared oppose us Twelve Wondrous! A mere Heavenly Monarch—what kind of cultivation did you think you had? You got what you deserved!"
He moved to recall the spiritual light dragon, but just as the dragon lifted its talon, a coffin appeared underneath.
Dao Lord Jiugong knew something was amiss. Leaping backward, he attempted to activate the spiritual light dragon once more, but his dharmic power was already flagging, leaving him temporarily unable to command it.
That dragon of spiritual light was a fragment of the Far Ancestor's primordial spirit; summoning it demanded an astounding amount of dharmic power. Dharmic power was not his strong suit, far less vast and profound than that of Daoist Taiyuan and the others.
Even as he retreated, the coffin snapped upright. The coffin lid flew off, and another Liu Guanyi lunged out from within, slamming a palm straight into his forehead!
This Liu Guanyi possessed even greater cultivation and strength. When the palm struck, half of Dao Lord Jiugong's skull flew off and exploded, splattering blood and brains across a vast distance.
With only half a face remaining, Dao Lord Jiugong was still not dead; his Dao tree, Dao fruit, and primordial spirit were intact. It was just that invoking the dragon of spiritual light twice had drained too much of his dharmic power.
Realizing disaster was upon him, Dao Lord Jiugong flew diagonally upward and landed upon the claw of the spiritual light dragon in the sky, his footing unsteady.
Both his Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book and Immortal Slaughtering Sword had been destroyed by his own doing, and he could barely call upon the dragon again. He had no chance of victory left.
He swept his Dao tree downward, but in the next instant its crown of branches was stripped bare. He then unleashed his Dao fruit to spread out a Great Luo Heaven, yet the Great Luo Heaven fractured immediately, and Liu Guanyi charged inside.
Dao Lord Jiugong summoned his primordial spirit, only for a burst of finger force to pierce right between his brows. His mind instantly blurred into muddled stupor, his soul on the verge of tearing apart.
He regained his senses a moment later and immediately fled upward along the dragon's body, thinking to himself, Liu Guanyi came to kill me, to avenge Qingxuan!
Liu Guanyi pursued him from behind. Suddenly, the dragon shifted and coiled, taking flight toward the Great Luo Heaven of the Immortal Realm!
This dragon was far too vital; Dao Lord Jiugong would rather destroy the Ten Thousand Dao Golden Book and Immortal Slaughtering Sword than part with it, so he was determined to bring it with him.
Jiugong tossed all manner of elixir pills frantically into his mouth, yet Liu Guanyi caught up again. The two fought as they ran, speeding along the body of the colossal dragon.
Suddenly, Dao Lord Jiugong felt his consciousness blur again, his soul seemingly splintering. His divine powers are targeted at my soul! Dammit, I should have walked the path of the Supreme realm back then! If I had become a Supreme, I wouldn't fear his soul divine powers in the slightest.
Great Luo and Supreme were two distinct paths: Great Luo cultivated the Dao fruit, while the Supreme realm was far more demanding, requiring one to abandon the Dao flowers and Dao tree to cultivate the true spirit, soul, and primordial spirit in turn, refining them into indestructible spiritual light.
After Qingxuan established the Supreme realm, the Twelve Wondrous all had the opportunity to slash their own cultivation realms and embark on that path. But at the time, first, there was no time to spare, and second, the Supreme realm demanded far too much innate talent and comprehension; even if they cut down their own cultivation, there was no guarantee they could succeed.
Moreover, the path they had practiced was Great Luo. Bound by habit, they lacked the courage to change course.
Now, Dao Lord Jiugong was filled with deepening regret. If he had cultivated the Supreme realm and mastered the mysteries of bodily vitality, primordial qi, and divine consciousness, any physical injury could heal swiftly, and depleted primordial qi could be rapidly replenished.
Even if Liu Guanyi used divine powers aimed at his soul, he would never have been able to shake it. How could he have ended up in such a wretched state?
My disciple Ji Man cultivates my Nine Palaces Holy Penetration Technique. Once I possess him, I can switch to the New Dao too!
Just as Dao Lord Jiugong thought this, his awareness blurred once more. By the time he came to, he saw that his Dao tree had been uprooted by Liu Guanyi!
I can't care about the Far Ancestor's primordial spirit fragment anymore! My life matters more!
Terror gripped Dao Lord Jiugong's heart. He hastily abandoned the spiritual light dragon, taking flight to flee toward Great Luo Heaven.
Suddenly, another wave of darkness washed over him. Dao Lord Jiugong fell into stupor once again, losing all sense of where he was.
No sooner had he regained consciousness than he saw, to his horror, that he was somehow back on the colossal dragon's back, locked in mortal combat with Liu Guanyi!
Liu Guanyi's fingers and palms struck in endless succession, shattering his Dao fruit.
Dao Lord Jiugong coughed up mouthfuls of blood and struggled to fly away, only to fall into a daze yet again.
When he woke next, he saw his own headless corpse tumbling downward from the sky.
Liu Guanyi was clutching the sparse hair left on his head, dangling his severed head as he piloted the spiritual light dragon leisurely through the clouds.
Dao Lord Jiugong sank into muddled stupor once more. When he next opened his eyes, Liu Guanyi had already brought him to a place of picturesque mountains and lucid waters. Before him stood a nameless mausoleum—no headstone, no inscription.
Yet in front of the tomb were traces of incense and paper money left by mourners who had paid their respects.
"Qingxuan!" Terror flooded Dao Lord Jiugong's face.
He remembered this place. This was Qingxuan's tomb!
Back then, after the Five Supremes and Twelve Wondrous killed Qingxuan, they needed someone to take the blame for regicide, so they branded Fairy Qiongtai—the one who struck the final blow—as the emperor-slayer. After burying Qingxuan, they buried Fairy Qiongtai here as well, forcing her physical body to kneel before Qingxuan's imperial coffin for all eternity!
Because of their guilty conscience over what had transpired, they had erected no stele for Qingxuan nor inscribed his monumental achievements, leaving behind only this tomb.
For an Immortal Emperor, the scale of the mausoleum was not large at all. Occasionally, someone would come to offer worship and tidy it up.
Dao Lord Jiugong cried out, "Liu Guanyi, don't kill me! I can help you deal with the others..."
Before he could finish, darkness engulfed him again, and he lost all awareness.
When he woke for the final time, he saw Emperor Qingxuan's crystal coffin, his own severed head set right before it.
Liu Guanyi took out paper money and incense and set a brazier beside it, evidently intending to offer his head as a sacrifice to this Immortal Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I have come to see you. I brought an offering—the head of a traitor who betrayed the uprising!"
Liu Guanyi bowed toward the corpse within the crystal coffin and whispered, "The ones who rose up with you back then have grown so powerful that they have no rivals left, yet they have rotted to the same extent as the old Immortal Court. If you were to see the Immortal Court you built with your own hands turned into what it is today, you would surely rise in revolt once more to overthrow it, wouldn't you?"
He continuously fed paper into the brazier, murmuring, "No matter how desperately they try to erase every trace of your existence, no matter how much they want everyone to forget you, no matter how loath they are to ever speak your name again, there are still people in this world who remember you, who miss you, who miss the iron laws of fairness you forged.
"They yearn for you, yet it isn't only you they yearn for. What they yearn for is not being duped, not being harvested. They miss the days when one could ascend, rather than having every path to ascension choked off by the super heavenly tribulation.
"What they yearn for is outward pioneering, not endless inward exploitation.
"Qingxuan, I will revive you, even if that person will no longer be the complete you. But he will bring hope to people after all, however faint it may be."
He burned the last of the paper money and bowed toward the corpse in the imperial coffin.
With this bow, Dao Lord Jiugong's head exploded. His primordial spirit turned to ash, his soul scattered, leaving behind only a mote of Undying True Spirit drifting insensibly toward the reincarnation cycle of the underworld.
Of the Six Supremes and Twelve Wondrous, another had fallen.
Liu Guanyi offered a few more bows, then straightened his back and walked out of the nameless mausoleum.
"Xu Ying, this dragon of spiritual light, together with the nine streaks of spiritual light from the Heavenly Path, will be an offer you cannot refuse!"
***
Xu Ying walked and paused, cultivating as he took in the surrounding scenery. Before he knew it, he had arrived back in Yuanshou, returning to Jiuyi Mountain.
Carrying ingot money, candles, and paper money, he came before his old friend's grave, only to see a white-robed figure standing beneath the parasol tree with his back to him, right in front of Zhou Qiyun's tomb.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat, and he stepped forward. At that moment, the white-robed figure turned around, but it was not the person he had expected—it was Dao Lord of Luofu Gu Bunian.
"Xu Ying, you came after all. Yuan Weiyang did not lie to me."
The Dao Lord of Luofu smiled faintly. "I merely visited the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court. Before I even had the chance to voice a threat, that little lady of yours gave up your whereabouts, saying that after leaving the Heavenly Dao Ancestral Court, you would certainly come here to pay respects to an old acquaintance."
Xu Ying was overjoyed. "Weiyang is truly my virtuous helpmate!"
Unrushed, the Dao Lord of Luofu raised his right hand. The Ziwei Demon-Subduing Cauldron rose slowly as he said leisurely, "It seems you aren't heartbroken in the least; quite pleased, in fact. Could it be you want to take this opportunity to find yourself another wife?"
Xu Ying asked in surprise, "Such good fortune exists?"
The Dao Lord of Luofu sneered, "Heh, you won't have the chance. Today, your life ends here! Activate—"
The Ziwei Demon-Subduing Cauldron soared into the sky and overturned, dense purple mist swirling within it as though the Last Lord of Ziwei himself had returned to the world!
Chapter 656