Xu Ying was drenched in sweat, all his limbs and bones wracked with agonizing pain as if his body were on the verge of coming apart. His head throbbed violently as well, feeling as though the Zhuxian sword had run him through the skull and scorched his very brains dry. Attaining the sword heart just now and proactively connecting with the Zhuxian broken sword had allowed the blade to channel supreme sword intent through his mortal frame—an immense burden for him to bear.
Still, the will of the ancient god had been truly terrifying. For him, short of relying on the Zhuxian broken sword, it had been practically insurmountable!
"One must remain broad-minded," Xu Ying concluded to himself.
To him, ordinary dragon experts of the eighth-fold Dao Realm were no longer anything to fear, but the ancient god Primordial Spirits inside such beings remained extremely perilous. The slightest carelessness could alert the immortal existences on the other shore.
Provoking those immortals would invite colossal trouble.
"Therefore, it is still best to be kind to dragons. If they don't have to be killed, leave them a way out," Xu Ying summarized.
"Barbarian Xu Ying, you truly are here!"
Suddenly, dragon elders Cang Kuai and Qing Qiufeng arrived side by side. Spotting Xu Ying from afar, Qing Qiufeng's spirits soared, the days of festering resentment accumulated during their search swept away in an instant. He lunged forward through the air. "Let's see where you run this time!"
Without another word, he drove the Futu Heavenly Heart Technique, pushing the Dao of the Heavenly Heart to its peak as his eight-fold Dao Realm shone resplendently!
At the same time, Cang Kuai unleashed the Five Candles Burning Heaven Art, charging in to strike.
The two elders shared a single mind: the death of this barbarian was tied directly to their face and honor. They could never allow Xu Ying to leave alive!
"The kid looks sickly. His wounds from our last battle must not have healed yet!" Seeing Xu Ying's pallid complexion, both felt a surge of delight.
Qing Qiufeng was the first to clash with Xu Ying. Having already summoned his Heavenly Heart Cave Abyss, he held the initiative. Yet right before him, Xu Ying flipped over and brought down a seal.
Moving like a swimming dragon, Xu Ying vaulted upward. In that very instant, a Heavenly Immortal Realm rose from the horizon. As his body flipped, the Heavenly Immortal Realm overturned along with it, the boundless imprint of the seal crashing downward toward Qing Qiufeng!
Qing Qiufeng immediately sensed trouble. Holding nothing back, he unleashed the divine abilities of the Futu Heavenly Heart Technique to meet the blow, chanting aloud:
"In stillness, heaven and earth muse on past and present!
A wheel of bright moon sits square in heaven's heart!
Its radiance shines not merely into the cloudy valleys!
All living beings across the four seas look up to its illumination!"
With every line he recited, he unleashed a great divine ability. Four lines of verse yielded four divine abilities: Universe of Past and Present, Bright Moon at Heavenly Heart, Radiance of Cloud Valley, and Illumination of the Four Seas!
The four divine abilities howled forth, but in the next breath, both he and his four techniques were pinned beneath the Heavenly Immortal Seal!
The four divine abilities shattered one after another. Qing Qiufeng met Xu Ying's blow with both hands, only to feel instantly that he could not hold it back!
As Elder Cang Kuai rushed forward, he saw Elder Qing Qiufeng hurled backward at an even greater speed, crashing into a distant mountain range with a dull, staggering boom.
Cang Kuai's heart jolted. Head-on, he saw Xu Ying flip once more. Again, a Heavenly Immortal Realm rose from the horizon, and beneath the descending seal, the vast Heavenly Dao came crashing down upon him!
Without hesitation, Cang Kuai pushed the Five Candles Burning Heaven Art to its absolute limit, igniting his eight-fold Dao Realm and channeling his ancient god Primordial Spirit to meet the seal!
*Boom!*
Xu Ying's seal came crashing down. Cang Kuai let out a muffled grunt as his footing slipped, sliding backward while tapping his feet repeatedly against the ground in a desperate bid to bleed off the force of the strike.
Yet the power of Xu Ying's blow was far too immense. His footing gave out entirely, and he felt the Dao strength of the seal rip through his body. He was flung outward like a falling star.
*Thud!*
The distant peak shuddered as his body bored straight through it.
Cang Kuai and Qing Qiufeng pulled themselves together, shouting in unison, "Join forces!"
The two elders charged in tandem, unleashing all their divine abilities, darting high and low, left and right around Xu Ying. Yet the longer the fight dragged on, the more alarmed they became.
Even with the two of them joining forces, Xu Ying was actually holding them off!
Xu Ying weathered dozens of their exchanges. Under their collective pressure, he gradually began to glimpse the gateway to the Supreme realm once more, but that was the limit of the pressure they could provide him.
Xu Ying turned and vaulted into the sky. When the two gave chase, another Heavenly Immortal Realm rose from the horizon. Cang Kuai and Qing Qiufeng pooled their strength to parry the strike, only to find that Xu Ying had already vanished into the distance.
"Brother Cang Kuai, no need to pursue." Qing Qiufeng raised a hand to halt Cang Kuai, who was still intent on giving chase, and shook his head. "Catching up won't do any good. We can no longer keep him here."
Hearing this, Cang Kuai flared with rage, but his fury quickly faded into dejection. He realized that Qing Qiufeng was right. Even if they caught up with Xu Ying again, the outcome would likely be the same: fighting alone, they were outmatched; teaming up, they held a slight upper hand; but capturing him was utterly out of the question.
"The barbarian's cultivation has progressed far too quickly." A sense of powerlessness crept into both their hearts.
***
Having shaken the pair off, Xu Ying wore a troubled expression when he saw that the two dragon elders were not pursuing. Princess Mingman slid down from his cave abyss and asked curiously, "Barbarian Master, you won the fight, so why are you unhappy?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "I originally calculated that Cang Kuai and Qing Qiufeng joining forces would generate enough pressure to help me break through and attain the Supreme realm. But my cultivation and strength have grown too quickly, to the point that even the two of them together cannot push me to a breakthrough."
Princess Mingman burst into laughter. "Little Master, what is your purpose in breaking through realms? Isn't it just to increase your cultivation and strength?"
Xu Ying's eyes lit up, his gloom sweeping entirely away. He laughed, "Mingman, you are the master and I am the fool! I fell into the trap of obsessing over realms! If I can raise my cultivation and strength, why bother caring what realm I'm in? Good, very good!"
Letting go of his obsession with breaking through, he smiled. "Since I still have room to improve in the Dao Scenery Realm, it means I haven't cultivated this realm to its absolute limit. In that case, I might as well practice Cang Kuai's Five Candles Burning Heaven Art and Qing Qiufeng's Futu Heavenly Heart Technique too!"
His original goal on this journey had been to emulate Daoist Wukong, achieving a breakthrough under the pressure of the Heavenly Immortal Realm's experts to attain the Supreme realm. Now that he had thought it through, he set the matter aside for the moment, turning instead toward studying more Dao methods and seeking the true nature of the Dao.
Seeing that Xu Ying was out of danger, the big bell slipped quietly into his Creation Cave Abyss, thinking, *I haven't comprehended this new cave abyss yet.*
It had been brought to the Emerald Rock ship by the Far Ancestor Big Dragon and had stayed with Xu Ying ever since. Over these past days, it had remained inside Xu Ying's cave abysses, contemplating his seven great cave abysses.
Only when Xu Ying was in peril would it emerge to help; now that the danger had passed, it returned to its cultivation.
*Lord Dragon, the Ancestral God, and that barbarian kid were captured. I must find out their whereabouts first,*
Xu Ying thought. *I wonder if the indestructible spiritual light pathway Lord Dragon left in my sea of consciousness is still working?*
Back in the Dragon Court beneath the sea of the Yuanshou world, the Far Ancestor Big Dragon had left an indestructible spiritual light pathway in Xu Ying's sea of consciousness so that he could descend and play with Xu Ying whenever he pleased. It was through that very pathway that Xu Ying had managed to rescue the head of the big dragon's Primordial Spirit.
Even after they parted ways, the pathway had remained intact inside Xu Ying's sea of consciousness.
Xu Ying sent his awareness down into his sea of consciousness, flying along the pathway of indestructible spiritual light.
Inside the cosmic expanse of the Far Ancestor Big Dragon's sea of consciousness, the ancient forefather was presently bored out of his mind, spitting out his dragon pearl for entertainment and bounding about as he chased after it.
Suddenly, spiritual light flickered, and Xu Ying descended from above. But the great dragon did not notice him, continuing to frolic on his own.
After a moment, Xu Ying cleared his throat. "Is the Far Ancestor doing well and enjoying himself?"
The big dragon was lying belly-up on the sea, clutching his dragon pearl. Hearing the voice, he was thoroughly flabbergasted. He hurriedly opened his maw to swallow the pearl, flipped upright, and adopted a dignified, solemn posture.
"Ah Ying, when did you arrive?"
The big dragon said gravely, "Did you run into trouble in the Heavenly Immortal Realm and come seeking help? Forgive me, for I too am powerless. The Ancestral God and I have already seized the Heavenly Immortal Realm's Emerald Rock, and right now we are enjoying ourselves in the Earth Immortal Realm, unable to descend..."
Xu Ying cut him off with a smile. "I heard that you and the Ancestral God were captured, so I came to visit."
The big dragon laughed heartily. "Captured? What a joke! I am the Far Ancestor of the dragon race, the mightiest existence of the primeval era! I have attained the Indestructible realm, undying and imperishable, soaring through the Abyss Sea in eternal freedom! Who in this world could capture me? Who is worthy of capturing me! Don't go listening to rumors. I am doing splendidly, happier than you can imagine!"
Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Since you are safe and sound, that puts my mind at ease. I'm off then!"
"Wait!"
Without thinking, the big dragon called him back. Hesitating for a moment, he mumbled sheepishly, "Well, being captured isn't entirely impossible. Just as people slip up, dragons have times when their claws slip too. A careless slip of the foot, and I took a tumble..."
Xu Ying looked at him with an ambiguous smile.
Extremely embarrassed, the big dragon continued, "The Ancestral God also slipped up just like me..."
Xu Ying gave a cold smile. "Who else?"
"The Holy Venerable," the big dragon confessed honestly.
Xu Ying's interest was piqued at once. He grinned. "Hand over control of your physical body to me. I'll go check on them."
The big dragon shook his head frantically. "Too humiliating for a dragon."
Xu Ying laughed. "Precisely because it's humiliating, I must see it! When have the Far Ancestor, the Ancestral God, and the Holy Venerable ever been in such a sorry state? I absolutely have to witness it! Give me control of your body so I can survey the surroundings; only then can I figure out a way to rescue you all."
He was bubbling with excitement. He had already witnessed the Holy Venerable and the Ancestral God in dire straits once before; this time was bound to be even more entertaining.
After a moment's hesitation, the big dragon handed over control of his physical body for the time being.
Xu Ying opened his eyes, only to find "himself" inside a dragon palace. Numerous dragon maidens bustled around, waiting on him hand and foot with food and drink—an experience completely different from the prisoner's life he had envisioned.
He spotted the Ancestral God being treated just as comfortably, reclining sideways on a cloud bed while attended to by dragon immortals. Only the Holy Venerable was nowhere to be seen.
"The Far Ancestor is awake!" a dragon maiden called out joyfully.
Xu Ying stood up, only to find that "his" physical strength was locked away and his Primordial Spirit was imprisoned inside the body, unable to mobilize any magic power. He walked outside, but the dragon maidens made no attempt to stop him. They simply let him wander freely, accompanying him while singing and dancing.
Xu Ying searched for a long while without finding the Holy Venerable, and a jolt went through his heart: *Could the Holy Venerable be dead already?*
He returned to ask the Ancestral God, "Where is the Holy Venerable?"
The Ancestral God looked puzzled. "The Holy Venerable used burial transformation to challenge the dragon race's experts and ended up gravely wounded. Isn't he recuperating? How could you have forgotten?"
Xu Ying replied, "Brother Dao, please lead the way. I'd like to pay him a visit."
The Ancestral God's cultivation and magic power had clearly been sealed away as well, leaving him with little strength. He slowly rose to lead the way, the dragon maidens trailing behind. Lowering his voice, the Ancestral God murmured, "Xu Ying?"
Xu Ying gave him a surprised look.
The Ancestral God breathed a sigh of relief. "It really is you."
He guided Xu Ying to the quarters where the Holy Venerable was recuperating. The residence was not bad either, with dragon immortals attending to his daily needs, but the Holy Venerable's injuries were severe; he lay motionless upon the sickbed.
"Ancestral God, Far Ancestor, why have you come?" Only the Holy Venerable's eyes and lips could move. He said, "Forgive me for lacking the strength to rise and welcome you."
He was in far worse shape than the Ancestral God and the big dragon. There were no fewer than a hundred Dao injuries, large and small, riddling his physical body and Primordial Spirit. Because his cultivation was sealed, he could not heal himself. He could only lie there, unable to die and unable to truly live.
Xu Ying examined him closely. These Dao injuries had been inflicted by various other shore divine abilities, each imbued with a distinct Great Dao. The methods were exceptionally profound, and many of the injuries were beyond even Xu Ying's comprehension. A chill ran through him: *The other shore Dao methods of the Heavenly Immortal Realm surpass those of the Earth Immortal Realm by a wide margin!*
"Holy Venerable, who wounded you like this?" Xu Ying asked.
The Holy Venerable's heart twitched. Rolling his eyes toward the Far Ancestor, realization struck him in a flash: this Far Ancestor before him was almost certainly not the real Far Ancestor.
When he had challenged the dragon experts, the Far Ancestor Big Dragon had been present; there would have been no need for him to ask about those duels.
*He must be Xu Ying! But how did Xu Ying enter the Far Ancestor's body?*
Suppressing his curiosity, he recounted his experience: "The Dragon Emperor of the Heavenly Immortal Realm has already achieved the Indestructible realm. He is truly formidable, capable of striking straight into the gelatinous zone. Inside the gelatinous zone, even the slightest margin in cultivation or strength is magnified tenfold! After being captured by the Dragon Emperor, I naturally refused to accept it and demanded to challenge him again. He refused, laughing at my overconfidence, and instead had dragon immortals of the eighth-fold Dao Realm duel me. He promised that if I could win two out of three matches, he would allow me to leave with the Far Ancestor and the Ancestral God."
The Holy Venerable had won the first match, sending shockwaves through the court.
He too knew the methods of burial transformation. After undergoing it, his cultivation and strength had surged drastically. Combined with his cultivation of the New Dao—which was inherently half a realm or even a full realm superior to the old cultivation system—his might had nearly rivaled the Ancestral God's!
Even in the entire Heavenly Immortal Realm, experts of his caliber were few and far between!
The Dragon Emperor had then ordered a second dragon to step up. This one was also at the eighth-fold Dao Realm, having reached the Great Perfection of the realm. His name was Yuan Heng, the Heavenly Prime Minister of the Dragon Court.
Yuan Heng had not undergone burial transformation. Within ten moves, he had defeated the burial-transformed Holy Venerable.
In the third match, the challenger was likewise at the eighth-fold Dao Realm and had not transformed either. He too had defeated the Holy Venerable within ten moves.
"The Dragon Emperor then asked me if I wanted to fight another round. As long as I could win a single match, he would set us free."
The Holy Venerable spoke expressionlessly. "In the fourth match, I lost. In the fifth match, I lost again. In the sixth match, another defeat."
Xu Ying's heart grew heavy. "How many matches did you lose?"
"Twenty-seven," the Holy Venerable said.
Xu Ying said, "Thank you."
The Holy Venerable replied, "No need for thanks. It was what needed to be done."
Fighting twenty-eight matches in succession and losing twenty-seven meant that the Dragon Court of the Heavenly Immortal Realm possessed twenty-seven dragon immortals whose cultivation and strength surpassed the Holy Venerable's! The Holy Venerable's challenge had initially been to secure a victory, but it had subsequently turned into a mission to probe the Heavenly Immortal Realm's depths. The Heavenly Immortal Realm would never pass up an opportunity to humiliate him, the foremost figure of the human race; thus, anyone confident in defeating him had taken the field.
Yet the Holy Venerable had paid a harrowing price for this knowledge!
*If we add that Dragon Emperor and the expert who attacked Mingman's grandfather underground, there are at least twenty-nine experts superior to the Holy Venerable,* Xu Ying thought silently.
Clashing head-on with such figures, no matter how strong he became, he would be no match.
"Ancestral God, if you could master the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, would you be confident in breaking through your seal?" Xu Ying asked in a whisper.
The Ancestral God was taken aback for a moment, then sighed softly. "Breaking the seal would be effortless. Possessing the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, I would become the true Primordial Spirit of the Three Realms universe, and my magic power would be as boundless as the cosmos. However, the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Immortal Realm has already been destroyed."
"No, it hasn't. I can teach you," Xu Ying said.
The Ancestral God stared at him in astonishment.
Xu Ying smiled. "I have already learned a fair amount of the Heavenly Immortal Realm's Heavenly Dao and am fighting my way here right now. Every day, I can teach you a portion of it—young lady, what place is this?"
He stopped a dragon maiden, who smiled and replied, "This is the Dragon Court Imperial Capital. Has the Far Ancestor forgotten again?"
Xu Ying waved her away and said to the Ancestral God, "Every day, I will borrow Lord Dragon's body to come here and pass on the Heavenly Dao to you. Once I enter the Dragon Court Imperial Capital, we will fight our way out together!"
With that, he withdrew his consciousness, returning the Far Ancestor's body to the big dragon while his awareness traveled back into his own frame.
Xu Ying opened his eyes, his gaze bright, and smiled. "Mingman, where is the Dragon Court Imperial Capital?"
Princess Mingman pointed toward the southwest. "Over that way."
"Good! Then we master and disciple barbarians shall fight all the way to the Dragon Court Imperial Capital!"
Chapter 686