At this sight, the dragon elders, including Heavenly Prime Minister Yuan Heng, paled drastically. Soaring into the air, they rushed into the arena, shouting in unison, "Hold your axe!"
"Do not harm Young Master Hongbo!"
These dragon elders were frantic with anxiety. Last time, because of the death of Young Master Qi Xuan, the Dragon Court had already come under immense pressure, with the other shore constantly demanding they surrender the killer.
This matter had left them battered and exhausted.
If Young Master Hongbo were now to be killed by Xu Ying as well, they would have no way to answer to the other shore!
Seeing them charge over, Xu Ying immediately took a step back and dispersed the Earth-Opening divine power.
Yuan Heng, Yuan Bugui, and the others rushed forward, surrounding Young Master Hongbo and shielding him in their midst.
Young Master Hongbo's body trembled. Xu Ying's Earth-Opening strike had cleaved straight into his brain, and the conception of the Great Dao embedded within the divine power had penetrated his brain, sliced into his bodhimanda, and was now wreaking havoc inside his body!
Though he had blocked the axe stroke, the severity of his Dao injuries was beyond imagination!
Xu Ying's Taiyi Great Dao had merged thirty different Daos, granting this strike an immense boost in power. A divine power of such terrifying might was exceedingly rare even in the other shore, let alone the Three Realms.
"The outcome is decided."
Xu Ying turned and walked toward the edge of the battlefield, remarking casually, "Even without the elders' interference, there would be no need to continue. The so-called Dao methods of the other shore, the so-called mortification, are nothing more than this—inferior even to the Dao methods and divine powers of us barbarians from the Earth Immortal Realm."
His voice rang clear and bright across the plains, audible to everyone.
"You!"
Young Master Hongbo tried to rise and intercept him, but his head nearly split open, forcing him to drop to his knees on the spot.
Yuan Heng moved to help him up, but Hongbo hastily gasped, "Don't!"
Yuan Heng quickly drew back his hands, alarmed and uncertain.
Although Xu Ying had dispersed the Earth-Opening divine power, the Dao realm of the strike had already sliced into Hongbo's body, tearing through him unrestrained. If he failed to suppress it, he would surely die.
His current posture was balanced just right; remaining completely still allowed him to keep the Earth-Opening divine power contained, but the slightest movement would trigger an explosion of its might within him!
"Turns out this young master from the other shore isn't even a match for His Highness Mingxi," a dragon maiden could not help saying. "His Highness Mingxi fought Xu Ying for over two hundred rounds before losing to an accidental slip, yet this young master from the other shore couldn't even take a single blow from Xu Ying. He falls far short of His Highness Mingxi—what right does he have to call our dragon race an inferior breed?"
Another laughed, "I heard that when Young Master Hongbo arrived, he bragged grandly, telling His Highness Mingxi to fight Xu Ying first, and said that after His Highness Mingxi lost, he would defeat Xu Ying. Who would have thought he'd be so pathetic, unable to survive even one strike from Xu Ying?"
"Could it be that the Saint Race of the other shore is the truly inferior breed?"
...
Hearing this, Young Master Hongbo seethed with fury and shouted, "Bullshit! Your vision is too shallow to see that earlier, he didn't use—"
Before he could finish, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, and he nearly lost control against the surge of the Earth-Opening divine power inside him.
Yuan Heng, Yuan Bugui, and the others hurriedly manifested their ancient god primordial spirits to lend him their strength, suppressing Xu Ying's divine power.
The other dragons were deeply dissatisfied with these elders. Man Kongming fumed, "When Xu Ying came to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, he called himself a barbarian with complete humility. But when this Young Master Hongbo came to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, he called us barbarians and an inferior race! Why are you elders shielding such a scoundrel?"
A chorus of agreement rose from countless dragons.
The elders felt awkward and embarrassed. Yet they had no choice but to save Young Master Hongbo; otherwise, should the other shore vent its wrath, the Heavenly Immortal Realm would plunge into devastation!
Seeing this, the surrounding dragon immortals broke into even louder chatter. All kinds of mockery, sneers, and insults poured clearly into Hongbo's ears, battering his Dao heart and making it impossible for him to focus on countering Xu Ying's Earth-Opening divine power.
This mockery proved harder to resist and counter than Xu Ying's divine power itself. If he could not hold his ground and his Dao heart shattered, he was very likely to be completely crippled by Xu Ying's divine power, or even perish outright, his Dao extinguished!
He had indeed underestimated Xu Ying's capabilities.
Earlier, watching the battle between Xu Ying and Imperial Son Mingxi, he had thought Xu Ying's skill was nothing special, only marginally stronger than Mingxi.
Yet when he truly stood before Xu Ying, he discovered Xu Ying was nothing like he had imagined.
Xu Ying's grasp of combat timing, his mastery of divine powers, his insights into the Great Dao, and his peerlessly vast magic power and explosive force were all pushed to perfection!
Xu Ying's blow to his Dao heart was also exquisitely engineered. Spending over two hundred moves to defeat Imperial Son Mingxi, yet only a single move against him—this in itself was an immense blow!
Only now did he believe what Lu Yiren had said: underestimating the enemy meant certain death!
'With my strength, I shouldn't have fallen in a single move. My defeat came from underestimating him. Steady my Dao heart—I must steady my Dao heart, or I'll be split apart by the power of that axe!'
He closed his eyes and did everything in his power to calm his turbulent Dao heart, striving not to let the outside mockery distract him. Gradually, his Dao heart settled, and suppressing the divine power invading his body became considerably easier.
Deaf to the outside world and oblivious to the passage of time, unflinching even if the heavens were to fall, he concentrated entirely on suppressing the Earth-Opening divine power.
Xu Ying's divine power had cleaved into his brain; the slightest misstep would mean death, so he had to be exceedingly careful.
Seeing this, Lu Yiren frowned slightly. 'I warned him to be cautious, but it seems he still couldn't do it. However, if he can walk out of this and achieve a consummate Dao heart, his cultivation and strength will surely reach greater heights.'
He had conversed with Young Master Hongbo and knew full well how formidable Hongbo was.
Young Master Hongbo cultivated the Dao methods of Yinyuanzi, an immortal being of the other shore. His cultivation method, the Heavenly Concealment Mysterious Art, was profoundly deep; even Lu Yiren found it mysterious and unpredictable.
It was an exceptionally complete immortality-grade cultivation technique that encompassed all creation, far beyond the Dao methods recorded on the two Emerald Rocks in the Mortal Realm and Earth Immortal Realm.
When the dragons journeyed to the other shore to seek scriptures, they had brought back the Heavenly Concealment Mysterious Art as well, but it was nowhere near as detailed and profound as what Young Master Hongbo cultivated.
'Xu Ying defeating Hongbo poses a difficult problem for me. Promoting mortification in the Earth Immortal Realm is already fraught with obstacles, and now the Heavenly Immortal Realm's foundation for mortification might be shaken as well.'
Lu Yiren frowned slightly. His reason for wanting to prevent Xu Ying from defeating Hongbo was precisely this concern.
In his view, Xu Ying's New Dao was still far inferior to the Dao methods of the other shore. If Xu Ying succeeded, should another Emerald Rock come hurtling down in the future, the Earth Immortal Realm and Mortal Realm would still inevitably be wiped out!
'My parents gave their lives to pass down the civilization of the other shore. It must not be ruined by Xu Ying's New Dao!'
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard Princess Mingman's voice: "Master, I want to learn that!"
"Want to learn it? Good, I'll teach you!"
Lu Yiren looked over and saw Xu Ying leading Princess Mingman toward a tree. It was towering and thick, an immortal plant from the other shore that had likely grown for several million years.
Xu Ying stood beneath the tree, expounding the subtleties of his Earth-Opening divine power. A great divine power like this held boundless wonders and was the crystallization of a cultivator's wisdom, typically guarded as an absolute secret. Even when passing it to a disciple, one would choose an isolated spot and seal the surrounding heaven, earth, time, and space under layer upon layer of wards for fear that someone might steal the technique.
Throughout history, there were many instances of formidable masters being killed after an enemy secretly spied on their teachings, grasped the divine power's secrets, and found a fatal flaw.
Such occurrences were common.
Yet Xu Ying was teaching Princess Mingman his divine power right in front of countless dragon immortals, dragon masters, and even Young Master Hongbo. Lu Yiren did not know whether to call him naive or foolish.
The surroundings fell dead silent; only Xu Ying's voice explaining the Dao method beneath the tree could be heard.
Even Young Master Hongbo, who moments earlier had been wholeheartedly suppressing the divine power in his body, could not help but prick up his ears and listen closely.
'Still, Xu Ying could never be this stupid. If he were that foolish, he'd have died long ago!'
Realizing this, Lu Yiren's mind snapped awake, and he immediately sent a voice transmission: 'Fellow Daoist Hong, keep suppressing your injuries! On no account should you listen to him explain that divine power!'
Hearing this, Young Master Hongbo sneered inwardly and ignored the warning, continuing to listen. He thought to himself, 'Only by mastering Xu Ying's divine power do I have a chance of defeating and killing him! This Lu Yiren has the appearance of my Saint Race, but none of his words or conduct resemble the Saint Race! How could I trust him blindly?'
Beneath the great tree, Xu Ying explained while Princess Mingman channeled her vital qi according to his instructions.
Lu Yiren grew anxious and was about to step forward, only to notice that as he moved, Emperor Mingdao moved in tandem. And as Emperor Mingdao moved, the Ancestral God, the Far Ancestor, and the Holy Venerable all cast murderous glares toward him at once, sending a chill through his heart.
'Fellow Daoist Hong, it's a trap!'
Not daring to act rashly, Lu Yiren urgently sent another voice transmission. 'Stop listening at once!'
Just as he said this, Princess Mingman had finished circulating her qi according to Xu Ying's method. Raising her hands high, a flash of axe light materialized between them!
Princess Mingman was wild with excitement as she chopped down toward the towering tree!
At the exact same moment, Hongbo had unconsciously channeled the immortal essence in his body along with Xu Ying's voice. Yet this circulation proved catastrophic—the axe light he had just suppressed inside him instantly revived, aggressively drinking in and devouring his vital qi, gulping down his cultivation wholesale!
Hongbo was shocked and appalled. "The Taiyi Great Dao?"
That axe light was actually assimilating his Great Dao, swallowing it into the axe light and swelling its destructive power!
His body began to tremble violently, his expression contorting in agony as fine beads of cold sweat broke out across his forehead. The skull Xu Ying had cleaved open earlier once again let radiant light seep from the wound, roiling and gathering force.
Yet Yuan Heng and the other elders had been drawn in by Xu Ying's exposition. Captivated, each pondered Xu Ying's Dao method, and not one of them noticed Hongbo's anomaly.
Besides, they had already manifested their ancient god primordial spirits to help Hongbo suppress the injury; Xu Ying's cultivation was not as vast as theirs, so surely nothing could go wrong.
Seeing this, Lu Yiren sighed. 'He's beyond saving.'
*Thud!*
The axe light wielded by Princess Mingman drew everyone's eyes as it chopped into the ancient tree. That tree was exceptionally hard, and Princess Mingman's single chop failed to fell it.
Possessing the stubborn temper of a savage dragon, the young woman raised her axe again and hacked down once more.
*Thud!*
Another chop rang out.
Princess Mingman still had not felled the tree, so she raised her hands and brought down blow after blow. A rhythmic *thud, thud* of woodcutting echoed across the grounds.
Soon, someone noticed that every time the woodcutting sound rang out, Young Master Hongbo's body shuddered involuntarily, as if in excruciating pain.
With each chop Princess Mingman delivered, Young Master Hongbo trembled, as though Mingman's axe were striking not the tree, but his own body.
Finally, Princess Mingman struck her last blow. As the axe light flared, the towering tree let out a loud crack and toppled to one side.
At that exact moment, Hongbo gave a shrill scream and leaped to his feet, catching everyone's attention.
Hongbo roared continuously in sheer torment. Blinding brilliance shone through from within him, illuminating his internal organs and bones with perfect clarity, even revealing the layout of each realm within his body!
*Chi—*
A beam of axe light spun outward from within him. It moved exceedingly slowly, yet its power was even more terrifying than Xu Ying's earlier strike!
The spinning axe light sliced bit by bit through his flesh, bone, and skull. But this was merely on the surface; cultivators of higher attainments, such as Yuan Heng and the other dragon elders, realized that each realm inside Young Master Hongbo was also being met by the axe light, sliced open piece by piece!
His primordial spirit, his soul, his Great Dao, and his Dao realm were all being carved apart by the axe light!
The reason this axe light moved so slowly was precisely because it was treating Hongbo, this great expert of the other shore, as a Chaos Sea, opening him up entirely!
"Work together to suppress this divine power!"
Heavenly Prime Minister Yuan Heng and the others immediately unleashed their Dao realms, blanketing Young Master Hongbo together. They reached out their hands, pressing down all over his body to help him suppress the axe light.
Yet in the very next instant, they sensed that the power inside Young Master Hongbo was steadily transforming into the power of the Earth-Opening divine power.
In other words, Young Master Hongbo was actively channeling the Earth-Opening divine power himself, attempting to split and open himself up!
What was more, even the power of Yuan Heng and the others was being absorbed and swallowed by this Earth-Opening divine power, feeding the strike's destructive force!
Never before had dragon experts like Yuan Heng and Yuan Bugui seen or heard of such a bizarre phenomenon.
"Get back!"
Realizing they could not suppress it, Heavenly Prime Minister Yuan Heng immediately pulled back and retreated. The other dragon elders fell back at the same time, retracting their ancient god primordial spirits and bodhimandas.
Right at that moment, light erupted. Dazzling divine radiance exploded from inside Young Master Hongbo. In an instant, the brilliant glare nearly blinded every dragon present. All they could hear was a tremendous crash like the opening of heaven and earth, accompanied by the panicked, furious shouts of Yuan Heng, Yuan Bugui, and the dragon elders, as well as the booming collisions of divine powers!
When the radiance cleared, within the ten-thousand-li battlefield encompassed by the Heaven-Clearing Pagodas, dragon elders like Yuan Heng, Yuan Bugui, and Meng Santong stood with their auras fluctuating, their expressions unsightly. Several elders were even wounded.
As for Young Master Hongbo, he had vanished without a trace. In his place, a world of the heavens was slowly rising, floating toward the sky.
Within that world of the heavens were continents, stars, a sun and a moon, with earth, water, wind, and fire churning wildly inside—a chaotic world, as if just cleaved open by an unmatched giant, its wind and fire yet to settle.
The dragon immortals of the Dragon Court imperial capital stared upward in a daze, watching that heaven drift farther and farther away.
Xu Ying tilted his head up toward the receding heaven and smiled faintly. "Disciple, this is the power of the first method of my Eight Immortality Methods."
Princess Mingman looked up and murmured, "Young Master Hongbo from the other shore... is dead?"
Chapter 698