As the final primordial Dao scenery flew out, a sudden clarity washed over the mind of the Immortal Emperor Supreme, leaving him feeling unprecedentedly clearheaded.
In merely a brief moment, he felt his cultivation and magic power plummeting in a straight dive, losing nearly half of his total reserves!
Only now had he truly and completely returned to the Heavenly Abyss of six years ago. His cultivation was scarcely any different from his past self back then. For over six years, he had trained diligently and bitterly, pouring endless effort into research and comprehension, yet he had not advanced by even the slightest margin!
Because all the cultivation he had gained had been harvested away by Xu Ying!
It was as if he had spent over six years cultivating those realms for Xu Ying!
Across from him, Xu Ying's magic power had nearly doubled!
With one waxing as the other waned, Xu Ying had surpassed him in raw magic power—something that would have been utterly inconceivable six years ago!
Yet it had happened.
The Immortal Emperor suddenly realized the truth: these realms and Dao sceneries had originally belonged to Xu Ying. Even if he seized them by force, they remained Xu Ying's possessions.
When Xu Ying activated those realms, he was using the magic power stored within them to strike from inside the emperor's body outward, which was more than enough to tear his physical body apart!
An attack from within was always the easiest.
Had the emperor refined those realms and Dao sceneries into magic treasures, Xu Ying would not have reclaimed them so effortlessly. But because his own realm had been deficient, and because he had wanted to seize Xu Ying's destiny to become the Dao Ancestor of the New Dao, he had claimed Xu Ying's realms as his own.
Were it not for that, he would never have been so easily "harvested" by Xu Ying.
Only by slaying Xu Ying, their true master, could a harvest ever be genuine.
"That primordial Dao scenery was his destiny as Dao Ancestor—it should never have been harvested!" A chill ran down the Immortal Emperor's spine.
The primordial Dao scenery had been born of merit bestowed by Heaven. When Xu Ying was verifying whether the New Dao was viable, a cluster of primordial qi had formed between heaven and earth during his tribulation, transforming after the ordeal into a Dao realm.
That Dao scenery contained the natural Dao of primordial chaos and was extraordinary beyond measure.
Back then, the Immortal Emperor had ignored Creation Supreme's warnings and ruthlessly severed the Dao scenery to claim it by force.
*Back then, Creation Supreme warned me that this item was the primordial qi granted to the Dao Ancestor by the Heavenly Dao of the Three Realms—the destiny of the Dao Ancestor, something that must never be harvested. Yet, bent on defying heaven to alter my fate, I forcibly took it anyway.*
The Immortal Emperor Supreme thought to himself, *Most likely, it was the Dao Ancestor's destiny interfering with me, causing everything to go against me!*
At this critical juncture right before facing Xu Ying, driven by some inexplicable impulse, he cast another divination to foresee the auspices of this battle.
This battle: catastrophic misfortune.
The Immortal Emperor Supreme felt a bone-chilling cold in his heart, as if he had swallowed ice in the depths of winter—piercing and freezing him to the marrow.
He had been blinded by destiny.
He had seized the Dao Ancestor's destiny and harvested the primordial Dao scenery, but he had never truly possessed either. The Dao Ancestor's destiny had constantly clouded his divine calculations, leading his divinations further and further astray from the truth until nothing he calculated could ever be accurate!
Only at this very moment, when Xu Ying "harvested" the primordial Dao scenery back from him and reclaimed the Dao Ancestor's destiny, was he freed from that blindness to see the truth clearly.
Yet throughout the journey since that harvest, he had made far too many blunderous moves. Otherwise, how could he have ended up in his current plight?
However, a surge of vicious fury rose in his chest. He thought, *To hell with the Dao Ancestor's destiny! My fate is determined by me, not by Heaven! If I could harvest you once, I can harvest you again!*
Even if Xu Ying's magic power had surpassed his, it did not mean he lacked the strength to fight. He was a Supreme himself, he still had the Ginseng Fruit Tree from the Wuzhuang Temple, and he had the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit!
Xu Ying had merely survived by sheer luck and used his status as the rightful master to summon back those realms and Dao sceneries. But even without them, he, Meng Shanming, was still a pinnacle Supreme!
He still held an overwhelming advantage!
He spurred his four cave abysses into motion and charged toward Xu Ying. Behind him, the towering Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit moved along with him; its might remained immense, though it was no longer as nimble as before.
At the same time, the Wuzhuang Temple manifested anew. The Ginseng Fruit Tree blazed with brilliant radiance as the Heavenly Dao of the Earth Immortal Realm converged, blessing the Immortal Emperor's body.
From the very first move of this battle, he unleashed his full power, determined to strike Xu Ying dead in a single blow!
Unheeding and relentless, Xu Ying charged straight toward the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit, old grudges and fresh hatred surging into his heart all at once.
The instant the two sides were about to clash, a streak of pure qi flew from the crown of Xu Ying's head. One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones, it split into three Xu Yings clad in azure, yellow, and white robes, leaping into the air to attack the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit.
Mobilizing all their power, these three primordial spirits unleashed the Mortal Realm Seal, the Earth Immortal Seal, and the Heavenly Immortal Seal in rapid succession, meeting the descending palm of the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit head-on!
*Boom!*
A terrifyingly immense shockwave erupted.
Six years ago, the Heavenly Abyss had already been forced to expand from their clash. Today, the intensity of their divine powers far exceeded that of the past. The Heavenly Abyss expanded with a deafening roar. Ordinary cultivators could not even maintain their footing, driven back step by step by the immense pressure; even the Supreme-level figures on the opposite shore felt their robes flutter wildly as their stances were shaken.
Only the Zhuxian broken sword remained steadfast and unmoving.
When the aftershocks from the clash between Xu Ying and the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit rushed forward, they were split apart by invisible sword qi before the broken sword, sweeping swiftly past its flanks!
The Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit was delayed for merely a fraction of an instant, but then Xu Ying's three pure primordial spirits were blown apart. Even One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones could not withstand the terrifying might of the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit!
Yet in that exact moment, Xu Ying had already darted through the churning aftershocks, heading straight for the Immortal Emperor's true body.
*Swish—*
His martial extreme intent erupted. In an instant, countless Xu Yings seemed to materialize from his true form, shooting out in all directions to assail the Immortal Emperor Supreme!
The Immortal Emperor Supreme stood beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, drawing upon the Dao power of the Earth Immortal Realm channeled by the tree into his body. He executed Tide Sea Vast Depths, summoning the power of the Heavenly Sea with overwhelming majesty, as though the entire Heavenly Sea were crashing down upside down!
The Ginseng Fruit Tree was the equivalent of another pinnacle Supreme; its Dao blessing was unfathomably formidable.
The Immortal Emperor knew that Xu Ying carried the Dao Ancestor's destiny, blessed by heaven and earth and endowed with supreme merit, meaning the Ginseng Fruit Tree would never attack him. Therefore, he chose not to send the tree on the offensive, using it instead to empower himself and boost his own cultivation.
Blessed by the Ginseng Fruit Tree, his cultivation surged violently, giving him the confidence that he could easily counter Xu Ying!
Yet in the next breath, the Heavenly Sea shattered with a thunderous roar. Xu Ying tore through the divine power and charged straight toward him, meeting almost no resistance!
Tide Sea Vast Depths was a grand divine power created by Emperor Qingxuan, which could produce unexpected might when paired with Qingxuan's technique, the Ten Extremes Grand Emptiness Dao Scenery. However, Wei Xu had already displayed this technique before Xu Ying, making it far from difficult for Xu Ying to dismantle.
The Immortal Emperor Supreme instantly switched to Bell Elegance Divine Grace. A massive bell materialized, engraved with the world's most magnificent Dao sceneries. Ancient, dignified, and majestic, the bell rotated slowly, bearing supreme power.
*Clang—*
Countless figures of Xu Ying unleashed different martial divine powers, striking Bell Elegance Divine Grace simultaneously and smashing the grand divine power to dust!
Xu Ying closed in on the Immortal Emperor Supreme with blinding speed, leaving onlookers dazzled by a flurry of afterimages before witnessing both of the emperor's grand divine powers shatter in sequence!
Behind Xu Ying, the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit spun around. Shrouded in dazzling spirit light and carrying supreme Dao power, it slammed its palm toward Xu Ying!
Though refined by the Immortal Emperor Supreme, the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit lacked the direct control of Xu Ying's primordial spirit and was not as agile as when it had slain Creation Supreme. Nevertheless, its raw power remained incomparably overwhelming.
So long as the Immortal Emperor Supreme could hold Xu Ying off for just an instant, the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit's strike would land from behind, allowing the two of them to crush Xu Ying together!
Without hesitation, the Immortal Emperor Supreme unleashed World-Descending Galaxy. As this grand divine power unfolded, a river of stars cascaded from the heavens to envelop him, stellar spirals coiling like dragons as they danced along with his palms.
Emperor Qingxuan's grand divine powers were not only immensely potent, but also infinitely profound.
Using World-Descending Galaxy defensively was meant solely to delay Xu Ying for that single breath, granting his Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit the opening to pincer him!
The two techniques finally clashed head-on for the first time. Countless stars lifted from the galaxy, floating through the air in a grand, sprawling expanse before rapidly expanding to the size of actual celestial bodies, generating boundless space between them.
Though it was the Immortal Emperor Supreme executing Emperor Qingxuan's divine power, one could only imagine how much more magnificent it must have been when Emperor Qingxuan had wielded it back in the day!
*Boom!*
Xu Ying's martial extreme intent pierced clean through the galaxy, colliding against the Immortal Emperor Supreme's palms. In an instant, the Immortal Emperor Supreme felt a near-crushing force bearing down upon him, the intense pressure immediately causing blood to spill from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
His body was driven backward through the air, void exploding beneath his feet with every step he took. *Boom, boom, boom!* Forced back relentlessly, detonations erupted under his heels as he was hurled countless tens of thousands of miles back in a flash, slamming into the cliff wall of the Heavenly Abyss with a resounding thud.
The Immortal Emperor gagged, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
Xu Ying shoved his hands relentlessly into the cliff face, causing the earth to fracture and the heavens to crumble as the Immortal Emperor was ground bodily into the rock.
Beside Xu Jing, Lan Suying watched the battle with bated breath. Seeing the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit dive into the cliff after them, her heart tightened, and she immediately asked, "Gushe, is the karmic link you left behind still there?"
Fairy Gushe, standing right beside her, answered hurriedly, "It has been there all along!"
That karmic link had been planted six years ago during the battle at the Heavenly Abyss, when the four great diviners—Lan Suying, the Divine Mother, Yuan Tiangang, and Fairy Gushe—had joined forces to embed a strand of karma into the Immortal Emperor's Dao heart the moment it wavered!
Back then, because of that perilous action, the Immortal Emperor had noticed them and stripped the consciousnesses of Lan, Yuan, and Gushe in one stroke, exiling them to the other shore of the river of time six hundred thousand years ago to keep Fairy Qiongtai company.
The Immortal Emperor was usually a master of divine foresight. Had he not forcibly seized the primordial Dao scenery, he would certainly have thought to purge the karmic thread rooted in his Dao heart.
Yet, blinded by the Dao Ancestor's destiny after committing countless atrocities, he had completely forgotten about it.
"Activate that karmic thread!" Lan Suying said swiftly. "Plot against him now!"
Fairy Gushe immediately sat cross-legged, a faint unease in her heart. Lan Suying, the Divine Mother, and Yuan Tiangang sat upright around her, bracing themselves to confront the Immortal Emperor's consciousness should it trace the karmic thread back to attack them!
Last time, the Divine Mother had stood guard over the other three when the Immortal Emperor's consciousness struck. At that time, the emperor's true body had been occupied facing Xu Ying, so his consciousness alone could not obliterate their minds and could only banish them.
This time, however, the three of them were guarding Gushe together. If the Immortal Emperor's consciousness came seeking retribution, they would battle it head-on!
In a contest of minds, the three of them at least stood a fighting chance!
Her robes fluttering, Fairy Gushe manifested her primordial spirit, extending her slender jade fingers into the void to draw out a thread of karma.
Suddenly, the spectators took to the air one after another, peering downward. Beneath the Heavenly Sea, something colossal seemed to be stirring up massive waves, roiling the waters around the Heavenly Abyss as mountain after mountain burst forth from the sea floor!
*Bang!*
The distant sea surface exploded, and the figures of Xu Ying and the Immortal Emperor Supreme shot into the sky. Behind the emperor, the Dao radiance of the Ginseng Fruit Tree shone ever brighter, blessing his body, yet in an instant, the emperor suffered countless heavy blows, his Dao radiance battered into disarray!
Xu Ying's martial divine powers had reached the ultimate peak. Once the Immortal Emperor Supreme fell into a defensive posture, he would never be able to break free!
*Rip!*
Xu Ying's Zhuxian Finger slashed across, leaving a gory wound across the emperor's back that mirrored the exact crack on the Supreme cave abyss!
*Rip, rip, rip!*
After another three strikes from Xu Ying, three more wounds appeared on the Immortal Emperor Supreme's body, identical to the cracks upon his two Taiyi cave abysses and the Creation Cave Abyss!
In this brief span, Xu Ying had completely uncovered every flaw in the emperor's Dao methods.
These four wounds were Dao injuries born of profound realizations the Immortal Emperor had never attained—incomprehensible, impenetrable, and impossible to heal.
Right then, the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit broke through the sea surface from below, surging toward Xu Ying amidst torrential seawater. As a giant palm struck out, Xu Ying spun and pushed both palms forward to meet the blow head-on, seven great cave abysses abruptly manifesting behind him and spinning furiously.
*Boom!*
Behind him, a massive chunk of the Earth Immortal Realm's sky vanished entirely, punched through by the sheer force of that palm!
Xu Ying groaned, blood trickling from his ears and nose.
Watching this from afar, the crowd was filled with horror. Xu Ying had met a direct blow from the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit head-on and actually withstood its power!
"Has Dao Ancestor Xu already attained the Supreme Realm?" Wei Xu murmured.
Qingxuan the Waste shook his head. "No. But his magic power is far too profound, and his Dao power far surpasses Meng Shanming's. He is not a Supreme, yet he is greater than a Supreme."
Seeing this, the Immortal Emperor Supreme was equally shaken.
The Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit flew forward, merging into his physical body.
Spirit light overflowed around him as his body expanded rapidly, the boundless power of the Far Ancestor pouring into his limbs and bones, though the four cracked wounds on his front and back continued to bleed.
This sight caused everyone's hearts to sink.
The Far Ancestor's power was simply too colossal for any ordinary Supreme to rival. Xu Ying could withstand the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit's strike, but if combined with the Immortal Emperor's own strength and the power of the Ginseng Fruit Tree, that combined might would surely dwarf Xu Ying's!
"Xu Ying, you shouldn't have harvested me right at the start."
Having steadied the situation, the Immortal Emperor Supreme let out a breath and smiled faintly. "You should have stripped away my realms one by one during the fight when I was off guard, catching me unprepared. Had you done that, you might have had a chance to kill me! Harvesting me first only gave me time to prepare. Now that I am free from the influence of the Dao Ancestor's destiny, with absolute clarity of mind, you no longer stand any chance of victory!"
Just then, his mind grew hazy, and a shock ran through his heart. *Someone is manipulating karma to plot against me!*
Fairy Gushe, filled with tension, cried out, "It worked!"
Lan Suying, the Divine Mother, and Yuan Tiangang braced themselves. Suddenly, they saw the Immortal Emperor's towering form striding toward them, even though another Immortal Emperor still stood upon the Heavenly Sea!
The figure approaching them was not his true body, but his consciousness, tracking the karmic thread to strike them down!
The consciousnesses of Lan Suying, the Divine Mother, and Yuan Tiangang detached from their bodies, brimming with killing intent as they barred the path of the emperor's consciousness.
"A rabble of fools! Plotting against me again after failing to learn your lesson last time!"
The Immortal Emperor's consciousness sneered, reaching out to seize them. Suddenly, countless incarnations of Lan Suying appeared behind her—manifestations of her past and future selves, uniting to resist the emperor's consciousness.
On the other side, the Divine Mother and Yuan Tiangang each channeled Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology, striking together toward the emperor's consciousness!
The three of them were besieging the Immortal Emperor within the realm of consciousness!
With her karmic thread severed by the emperor, Fairy Gushe charged forward as well, joining forces with the other three to attack his consciousness!
Yet the moment they clashed, they realized the gulf between them. Even Lan Suying, who possessed the highest cultivation among them, could barely hold her own against the emperor's consciousness.
"Let's see if Xu Ying can find you after this exile!"
The Immortal Emperor's consciousness whipped his sleeves, sweeping up the four individuals' consciousnesses in a howling vortex. But right then, a heart-wrenching agony suddenly flared from his physical body.
Convulsing in pain, the emperor's consciousness grew unstable, allowing Lan Suying and the other three to seize the opportunity and burst free from his sleeves.
"What happened?"
He was horrified. *What went wrong with my physical body?*
Meanwhile, Xu Ying dodged two searing beams of spirit light and charged forward once more with blinding speed, slipping beneath the giant palm and heading straight for the Immortal Emperor's true body beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree!
Mobilizing the power of the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit, the Immortal Emperor Supreme executed Peaks Surpass Mount Kun. With a tremendous roar, boundless spirit light formed the majestic visage of Kunlun, crashing toward Xu Ying!
Right then, half of the Immortal Emperor's body suddenly split apart. Flesh and blood whipped about like tentacles, turning into countless roots that tangled and merged with the Ginseng Fruit Tree!
Those countless bloody roots dragged at half of his body, attempting to yank him out of the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit and forcibly assimilate him into the Ginseng Fruit Tree!
"Yin Yuan!"
Wracked with agony, the Immortal Emperor screamed shrilly, "I already obliterated you! Why won't you let me go?!"
Across his front and back, the four Dao wounds left by Xu Ying ruptured completely, gushing torrents of blood.
Xu Ying arrived like a streak of rainbow light. Flipping through the air with the Earth Immortal Realm cupped in his palm, he slammed the Earth Immortal Seal against the Immortal Emperor Supreme's forehead. A torrent of spirit light erupted from the back of the emperor's head, flowing backward like a river.
Shifting fluidly around the colossal frame, Xu Ying rained down punches and kicks. Bursts of spirit light exploded continuously from within the emperor's body as Xu Ying battered him from head to toe, front to back, in a single breath!
Beams of spirit light burst through his flesh, shooting out in every direction.
In merely a brief moment, the Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit that the emperor had painstakingly refined was mostly destroyed!
Terror gripped the Immortal Emperor Supreme's heart. He had to suppress the power of Creation left inside him while facing Xu Ying's ferociously vicious onslaught.
At the same time, Lan Suying, the Divine Mother, and the others were entangling his consciousness, plunging him into overwhelming dread.
"If this continues, I will die..."
With a frantic roar, his body plunged downward. A wave surged up, swallowing him whole, and he vanished without a trace.
All that remained were the ruined Wuzhuang Temple and the Ginseng Fruit Tree, upon which hung half of the Immortal Emperor's mangled torso, its flesh and blood still squirming endlessly.
The power of Creation left behind by Creation Supreme was truly terrifying!
Xu Ying raised his hand abruptly, flipping ten thousand li of the sea surface over, yet found no sign of the Immortal Emperor Supreme. In the distance, Liu Guanyi, Wei Xu, Dao Lord Yuanying, Jijue, and others flew over, searching for the emperor's whereabouts. But even after scouring heaven and earth and turning the entire area upside down, they failed to find any trace of him.
Along with that wave, the Immortal Emperor Supreme seemed to have evaporated from this space-time entirely.
"I know where he hid," Xu Ying said suddenly.
As everyone turned to look, Xu Ying stamped his foot. A Taiyi Golden Bridge manifested, and the Xuanhuang dual qis whistled forth, pouring beneath the bridge to gradually form a great river. Waves churned one after another, projecting scenes from various historical eras.
Xu Ying leapt down from the golden bridge. A wave surged up, turning into a towering billow that swallowed both the Taiyi Golden Bridge and Xu Ying together.
Xu Ying seemed to vanish from space-time as well.
The river of time flowed quietly. On the other side lay a pure land untainted by mundane affairs; standing by its banks, one could witness many extraordinary and magnificent sights.
That was history.
Having fled to the other shore of the long river, the Immortal Emperor Supreme traced his way upstream against time, quickly reaching six hundred thousand years in the past. Still he did not stop, fleeing further back until he finally reached his limit and halted.
With half of his body torn apart by the power of Creation and the majority of his Far Ancestor Primordial Spirit crippled by Xu Ying, he had to stop to tend to his wounds.
"Which era is this?"
He looked toward the river. There, he saw another version of himself—the self from that era, scheming how to extend the life of his master, Qingxuan. Yet no matter how he calculated, he could find no way to save Qingxuan.
Eventually, his past self emerged from the blow, his expression turning somber: "I cannot save Master, but I can save myself! I must make flawless preparations for my future!"
Watching this scene, the Immortal Emperor felt a surge of emotion. He chuckled. "Back then, I had nothing, yet through meticulous scheming and layout, I attained my status today. Though I am defeated today, I can still rise again in the future through scheme and strategy! As long as I am willing to plot, no one is my match!"
Before his words could fade, he saw Xu Ying treading atop the river waves, walking toward him.
"Meng Shanming, I have come to send you on your way."
Chapter 669