Within the Heavenly Immortal Realm, Xu Ying piloted his sword light with blinding speed, darting in through the back of an outlander who was fleeing for his life and bursting out from his chest.
The outlander exploded with a deafening boom, his physical body and Primordial Spirit shattered across the ground. Yinyuanzi had indeed been peerlessly powerful, but his disciples lacked his terrifying, unmatched strength; facing Xu Ying and the Zhuxian broken sword, they stood no chance whatsoever.
"The last outlander has finally been eliminated!"
Only now did Xu Ying have a moment to take in his surroundings, and he could not help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
The Heavenly Immortal Realm had become like a colossal slaughterhouse orchestrated by ancient god Primordial Spirits. Towering, increasingly majestic figures of ancient god Primordial Spirits strode across heaven and earth. Their legs were like pillars propping up the sky; as they walked, their rising strides churned the wind and clouds, and their falling steps struck like earthquakes, shaking the world with tremendous upheaval.
The palms falling from the sky carried thunder and fire born of tearing through the void. Everywhere they passed, no one could resist them.
Dragon immortals, fleeing in frantic confusion like headless flies, were seized one after another. They burst apart, turning into nourishment for the giants.
This harvest was cruel and hideous, yet to these ancient god Primordial Spirits, it seemed completely mundane—so routine that they were thoroughly accustomed to it, simply going about their daily business in an unhurried manner.
"Slay the aberrant gods!"
Beside Xu Ying, the Zhuxian Sword grew excited—far more excited than Xu Ying himself. A consciousness brimming with killing intent emanated from the blade, sounding as if the sword were whispering.
The broken sword urged Xu Ying, "Slay them! Extract their memories and search for Master's whereabouts!"
Steeling his mind, Xu Ying summoned the big bell without hesitation. Piloting his sword light, he soared into the sky, fearlessly charging toward one of the extraordinarily colossal ancient god Primordial Spirits!
"Ah Ying, when you can't beat them in a moment, can I run away first?" The big bell chimed loudly. Cave abysses rotated and bloomed outward as it struggled to shield Xu Ying, crying out, "I haven't preached the Dao to the magic treasures yet! I'm not a Dao Ancestor! I have to leave behind a legacy before I die!"
The power of the Zhuxian broken sword erupted completely. An all-annihilating killing intent surged into the clouds, thrusting toward the brow of that ancient god Primordial Spirit!
What rushed to meet it was an eruption of will from the ancient god Primordial Spirit—vast, profound, and fathomless as an abyss, standing toe-to-toe with the killing intent without yielding an inch!
Even as the will clashed, the entity's divine ability erupted as well. This sort of divine ability was entirely different from the other-shore divine abilities learned by those dragon immortals; it was an authentic immortal divine ability, truly encompassing all phenomena, solemn and austere, without exposing the slightest flaw!
Faced with such a divine ability, even Xu Ying found it difficult to unravel.
Yet he did not bother trying to unravel it at all. Charging directly into the divine ability, his sword qi blazed cold and bright, severing everything in its path.
The big bell was like a chime caught in a gale, clanging loudly under the buffeting shockwaves of the shattered divine ability, swaying wildly from side to side as it fought to protect Xu Ying's will. It acted just like a great cultivator, wielding astonishing Dao arts. Moreover, under the vibrations of its indestructible spiritual light, various divine abilities burst forth in a splendid, dazzling display to ward off the incoming assault.
Under its protection, Xu Ying vaulted upward. Sword light overflowed, and Zhuxian—the fourth of the Eight Immortality Methods—erupted!
"So you are that barbarian, Xu Ying?" The ancient god Primordial Spirit showed a look of surprise. "I have heard of your name; you gave Yinyuanzi quite a headache. But if you wish to oppose me—"
*Pfft!*
The sword light pierced through the center of his brow, running him through!
Xu Ying sped away aboard his sword light, leaving behind the dumbfounded ancient god Primordial Spirit as it steadily unraveled and blew apart.
"Tongtian Daoren?" The entity's body violently exploded.
Surging spiritual energy and spirit power escaped in all directions. Wherever it passed, spring warmth made flowers blossom; celestial ganoderma and spirit herbs sprang up everywhere in sprawling clusters.
Xu Ying charged toward another ancient god Primordial Spirit. Relying on the sharpness of the Zhuxian broken sword, he met the opponent's divine abilities head-on, driving deep to strike directly at their vital point!
The big bell's various divine abilities and bodhimandas descended continuously, bolstering Xu Ying's defenses and cultivation, elevating his combat strength by another twenty to thirty percent.
Princess Mingman, hiding within Xu Ying's Martial Dao cave abyss, could not help but praise when she saw this, "Uncle Bell is so amazing!"
The big bell puffed up with pride and said to the Zhuxian broken sword, "Lord Sword, do you want to cultivate the true way? I can teach you! As long as you kowtow to me once, I'll take you as my disciple—"
*Clang!*
A sudden beam of light pierced the big bell, making it quickly shut its mouth.
On the other side, True King Cangzhu and Emperor Mingdao had sensed something amiss at the very beginning of the harvest. As the two fought fiercely, Emperor Mingdao roared in fury, "Cangzhu, can't you see it yet? When the harvest comes, there is no black or white! The other shore will harvest everyone, leaving nothing behind!"
Cangzhu's scalp went numb. Suddenly, he felt nine grand wills descending into the depths of his Primordial Spirit from another spacetime, intending to devour it!
As an existence of the Immortal realm, he had long realized that the Dao arts and divine abilities passed down from the other shore contained hidden flaws, and he had been secretly preparing for this day. He had cultivated nine immortal arts and, using his own intellect and talent, merged the nine arts into one. Just as those nine wills sought to invade him, Cangzhu's nine cave abysses abruptly altered their Great Dao structures, severing the path of their descent!
Although those nine wills had already penetrated his Primordial Spirit, they had yet to form a cohesive force and could not take possession of him.
One of the wills exclaimed in shock, "Cangzhu, you do have some skill."
"Naturally! I have long been on guard against you bastards, which is why I cultivated the Great Method of Chaos Dao! If you want to harvest me, you'll have to harvest one another first!"
True King Cangzhu surged with will, striving desperately to erase the nine invading wills. However, the ancient gods' wills were simply too powerful; even though his own will was hundreds or thousands of times larger in volume, he could not obliterate them.
Having no other choice, True King Cangzhu could only imprison their wills, isolating them from himself.
On the other side, Emperor Mingdao used a similar method to sever the harvest targeting him.
Back then, attaining the Dao had been arduous for both of them. In order to achieve it as swiftly as possible, they had chosen to cultivate multiple Dao arts simultaneously, adopting the strengths of one to compensate for the flaws of another, which allowed their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.
True King Cangzhu looked around. Seeing the Heavenly Immortal Realm plunged into an apocalyptic catastrophe, with people being harvested and stripped of their lives at every moment, an immense sorrow welled up in his heart.
"If I hadn't stopped you and had instead rallied the realm by your side, this calamity wouldn't have happened!" True King Cangzhu let out a furious roar. Summoning his cave abysses, he charged toward those ancient god Primordial Spirits and shouted, "The mistake I made, I will make right!"
Emperor Mingdao likewise charged toward the ancient god Primordial Spirits, transmitting his voice: "Your injuries have not fully healed, be extremely careful!"
True King Cangzhu flew in the opposite direction, shouting, "Mingdao, in the past you were inferior to me in every way. Why don't we compete once more? You take one side, I'll take the other! We'll end this quickly and wipe out these outlanders!"
A surge of heroic ambition welled up in Emperor Mingdao, and he laughed. "Fine! Then let's compete!"
Both of them were existences of the Immortal realm with exceptionally high combat strength. Although flaws existed in their Dao arts, they had cultivated so many arts that as soon as they sensed something amiss, they immediately switched to another, slaying the ancient god Primordial Spirits one after another.
Emperor Mingdao in particular, driving the Dragon City Imperial Capital, was incomparably powerful and virtually unmatched.
The Ancestral God and the Far Ancestor were also fighting. The Far Ancestor mobilized the Abyss Sea, his magic power nearly boundless, often taking an enemy down in a single blow without needing a second strike.
"A cave abyss of the tenth level of the Dao Realm!" The sight of the Far Ancestor mobilizing the Abyss Sea drew countless eyes, and several ancient god Primordial Spirits immediately pounced toward him.
The Far Ancestor Great Dragon fought as he retreated, stretching the battle line.
The Ancestral God activated his Heavenly Dao domain, enveloping ancient god Primordial Spirits and mobilizing the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Immortal Realm to contend with them.
Their participation greatly inspired many dragons. Countless dragon experts immediately joined forces to fight the ancient god Primordial Spirits.
There were thousands of dragons possessing an eighth-level Dao Realm cultivation. Among them, no small number had followed Emperor Mingdao's orders to sever their cave abysses voluntarily. Joining forces, these experts could even suppress existences of the Immortal realm like the Far Ancestor or Emperor Ming Xun.
Though they could no longer draw upon their cave abysses, many ants could bite an elephant to death; swarming forward together, they could beat even a Primordial Spirit imbued with an ancient god's will to death!
"You want to harvest the dragon race? In your dreams!" Chao Yuandao's voice rang out. This aged dragon immortal fought with all his might, leading the dragon race's elite to besiege an ancient god Primordial Spirit. He laughed in fury, "Countless of our dragon kin died just to bring us to the other shore—not so we could be harvested by bastards like you! If you want to harvest us, pay with your lives!"
He suddenly bellowed, "Of those who stepped off the World-Crossing Golden Ship together back then, is anyone still alive?"
"Of course we are!"
Draconic roars rose from the distance one after another.
Draconic roars had actually become rare in the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Everyone studied the Dao arts of the other shore; when visiting friends, even old companions from the World-Crossing Golden Ship would not use the draconic tongue, but rather the Dao language of the other shore.
Yet today, draconic roars resounded across every corner of the Heavenly Immortal Realm as ancient dragons who had survived the Great Cataclysm answered Chao Yuandao's call.
Many younger dragons followed suit, swelling their chests to unleash deep, resonant roars.
More and more dragons rose in revolt, gathering together to attack those seemingly invincible ancient god Primordial Spirits.
"In this battle, the dragon race cannot lose! We cannot afford to lose!"
In the sky, the flowing light of the Zhuxian Sword darted to and fro. Taking advantage of the moments when those ancient god Primordial Spirits were entangled, it often took only a couple of slashes to harvest an ancient god Primordial Spirit with blistering speed.
Sword light swirled through the air. Because it was moving so fast, one could only see it trace luminous scars across the sky like the tip of a razor-sharp brush, which faded only after several moments.
The chiming of a bell also echoed from the sky, mingled with the muttering of a voice that was both cowardly and arrogant. When cowardly, it wished it could drop to its knees on the spot and address everyone as adoptive father; when arrogant, it claimed it was number one, the Ancestral God was number two, and the Zhuxian Sword was number three.
As for the slain ancient god Primordial Spirits, once their Primordial Spirits shattered, the cave abysses above them shrank one after another, rapidly vanishing.
These cave abysses were likely returning to the other shore, and the Great Daos cultivated by the dragon experts within them changed hands accordingly.
To the immortal beings of the other shore, the death of an ancient god Primordial Spirit only damaged a fraction of their will—a negligible loss.
Even so, the harvest in the Heavenly Immortal Realm infuriated them. This harvest had turned out to be far from smooth; the fierce resistance of the natives here had exceeded their expectations.
Ancient god Primordial Spirits were continually blasted apart, their cave abysses returning to the other shore. Yet the remaining ancient god Primordial Spirits were still numerous, and they even began pairing up to crash into the dragons' formations, accelerating the harvest.
Both sides were locked in a bloody struggle. The Far Ancestor and Emperor Mingdao were the strongest, but confronting multiple ancient god Primordial Spirits simultaneously proved extremely strenuous, and they were battered black and blue by their opponents' divine abilities.
Fortunately, these ancient god Primordial Spirits lacked physical bodies, possessing only Primordial Spirits; once their Primordial Spirits were damaged, they could not exert their full power.
Once the fiercest wave of the harvest passed, the battle turned into a war of attrition, and the dragons gradually gained the upper hand.
"My dragon race survived even the Great Extinction of ten million years ago! Today's disaster is nothing more than a trivial trial!"
True King Cangzhu roared. Tearing an ancient god Primordial Spirit apart, he plunged straight through the corpse and pounced toward another, shouting, "Even the True Kings of the other shore will be nothing more than passing travelers in our dragon race's long history!"
His moves were bold and sweeping. His form shifted constantly—at times a human body with a dragon head, at times a true dragon; suddenly burialized, then suddenly summoning his Primordial Spirit; or splitting into nine versions of himself, though eight of them had not yet grown heads, making for a rather bizarre sight.
He swept through everything before him, the fiercest and most valiant general of the Dragon Court, completely fearless of death. Even if it meant sustaining wounds, he would execute his foe!
After slaying another ancient god Primordial Spirit, True King Cangzhu suddenly felt a wave of dizziness as his injuries flared up. He quickly halted to suppress them.
Looking around, he saw that not many ancient god Primordial Spirits remained. Seeing that there was little left to gain from the Heavenly Immortal Realm, many of them decisively turned and stepped into their cave abysses, vanishing along with them without a trace.
"Victory is in sight!"
He felt immense joy, but at that moment, an ancient god Primordial Spirit walked toward him. The cave abyss spinning above its head corresponded precisely to one of the nine immortal arts he cultivated!
True King Cangzhu's heart skipped a beat. Striding forward to meet him, he sneered, "You want to harvest me? I achieved the merging of Daos long ago, switching between nine Dao arts at will. An ancient god Primordial Spirit like you is no match for me at all!"
Right then, another ancient god Primordial Spirit descended from the sky, landing on his right.
True King Cangzhu glanced over, his expression changing slightly. The cave abyss above this ancient god Primordial Spirit was also one of the nine arts he cultivated!
*Whoosh!*
Ancient god Primordial Spirits descended one after another, encircling him on all sides and cutting off his retreat. Several more charged over, launching divine abilities before they had even drawn near!
True King Cangzhu's eyelids twitched as he looked into the distance.
Far away, Emperor Mingdao was fighting off a siege from several ancient god Primordial Spirits; the Far Ancestor was battling desperately against six; the Ancestral God's domain had been breached by three; and Xu Ying was streaking across the sky aboard his sword light, rushing desperately to rescue the imperiled Ying Wudi.
*I cannot call for help. I cannot call for help... If I call for help, even more of my kin will die. I have already committed a grave mistake...*
He released the magic power holding back his injuries, charged toward one of the ancient god Primordial Spirits, and pushed his profound arts to their absolute limit!
"I am not worth it!"
The nine ancient god Primordial Spirits shifted and crossed positions in an instant, leaving True King Cangzhu covered in wounds.
He did not cry out in pain, nor did he scream. He simply gritted his teeth and attacked one of the Primordial Spirits with all his might!
For True King Cangzhu, this was a silent battle. He kept his mouth tightly shut, uttering not a single sound no matter how severe his injuries became.
His merging of Daos could trap a single ancient god Primordial Spirit, but facing nine all at once pushed him far beyond his limit.
He did everything in his power to hold these nine ancient god Primordial Spirits back, striving with every ounce of his strength to kill one of them and relieve the pressure on Emperor Mingdao and the others.
Yet with every clash, a portion of his Great Dao was stripped away by his opponents, and more wounds were carved into his flesh.
True King Cangzhu's body grew heavier and heavier, his injuries mounting with every passing breath.
In the end, the nine ancient god Primordial Spirits converged on him from different directions, while he could barely move.
*Roar—*
He suddenly transformed into a true dragon, opening his jaws to bite down hard on one of the ancient god Primordial Spirits, refusing to let go no matter what.
"Beast!"
The other eight ancient god Primordial Spirits were startled and infuriated. They struck out ruthlessly, raining divine abilities down upon him until flesh and blood flew in all directions.
A streak of sword light shot toward them. The ancient god Primordial Spirits suddenly leaped backward, retreating into their cave abysses and vanishing as the abysses rotated away.
One ancient god Primordial Spirit was a step too slow. Just as it crawled out from the jaws of the battered, mangled azure dragon corpse, the sword light pierced through its forehead.
The sword light paused for a fleeting moment. Xu Ying's gaze swept over the mangled corpse of the azure dragon before he tore through the void once more.
Seeing that the situation was lost, the remaining ancient god Primordial Spirits fled into their respective cave abysses. The abysses of various sizes across the sky rotated and vanished, bringing the harvest to a slow close.
The Heavenly Immortal Realm was left scarred and desolate. Many dragons stood amid the ruins, gazing blankly at the sky.
Once, they possessed enormous cave abysses in astonishing numbers, and through those cave abysses, they had forged a magnificent civilization.
Yet at this moment, all that past glory seemed like nothing more than an illusion.
Amid the fire and smoke, figures moved about, calling out the names of their relatives and friends.
Emperor Mingdao searched all around for True King Cangzhu's whereabouts, but found nothing.
"Perhaps he feels too ashamed to face me after committing such a grave mistake," he said. "In a few years, once he thinks it through, he will show himself."
Xu Ying thought of the mangled corpse of the azure dragon he had seen. He hesitated, but did not speak of it.
After all, that azure dragon had been beaten to a pulp; its identity could no longer be discerned.
"Hope is for the living."
Xu Ying said to Princess Mingman, who had witnessed the scene as well, "Perhaps Cangzhu truly went into hiding."
Chapter 707