Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang hurriedly followed, but Daoist Wukong's speed was simply too astonishing. Even exerting their full strength, they could only trail far behind him. If they lagged behind in the slightest, the Daoist would vanish without a trace.
Whenever that happened, Daoist Wukong had to stop and wait for them.
"This Three Realms savage has an unmatched knack for running away!" Shi Tianyang praised.
After they departed, the void exploded, and Immortal True King Yu Xuantong stepped forth, his expression somber as he gazed in the direction Xu Ying and the others had fled.
Behind him stood a dense thicket of cave abysses, large and small, corresponding to the boundless universes governed by the other shore.
"Strange. Of the two who ambushed me just now, one appeared to be a savage from the Three Realms, while the other belongs to our Sacred Race of the other shore," Yu Xuantong murmured. "Why would a member of the Sacred Race consort with a barbarian?"
His disciples wounded by Daoist Wukong stepped forward one after another to bow in reverence. With a flick of his sleeve, Yu Xuantong tore through the void and gave chase toward Xu Ying and the others, whispering, "The magic treasure that barbarian invoked is exceedingly bizarre. A single glance at it dissolved my eyes into chaotic qi. That treasure's raw might is not overwhelming, but its structure is truly extraordinary—to think it could ruin my Dao avatar!"
Greed could not help but stir in his Dao heart.
"The imprints upon that treasure are far more exquisite than those of Dao Lord Hunyuan, who attained immortality through the Great Dao of Chaos. Yet judging by that savage, he does not seem to know how to properly wield it; he merely invoked the treasure. If it fell into my hands..."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a premonition struck him. He looked back, only to see one True King Jiuquan drill out from the void, followed by another burrowing out from the earth, while yet another flew across the sky.
In other places, faint glimpses of True King Jiuquan's figures could also be seen.
Yu Xuantong was taken aback, muttering, "What is True King Jiuquan searching for? Could it be... has he also seen that big bell?"
His heart grew wary. If True King Jiuquan knew of this treasure, he would surely be moved by greed and resolve to seize it!
"That old ghost has a sharper nose than a hound. Smell meat, and he runs faster than a dog!"
Yu Xuantong's eyes flickered, and sure enough, he saw True King Jiuquan's true body speeding toward him from afar at incredible speed.
True King Jiuquan also noticed Yu Xuantong, and his heart tightened. *Does this old ghost Yu Xuantong know about the Primordial Source as well? So that's it! I was wondering who could have snatched the Primordial Source before me—it turns out Yu Xuantong was scheming behind the scenes all along! More than six hundred thousand years ago, this old scoundrel was wounded by Grand Dao Lord Haoyu. I wonder if his injuries have healed after all these years...*
His gaze fell upon the darkness behind Yu Xuantong, where millions of Taishang Cave Abysses lay hidden.
True King Jiuquan's eyes lit up. He immediately spotted the massive fissures across those cave abysses, still stark and shocking. Clearly, the wounds inflicted back then by Grand Dao Lord Haoyu had not healed to this day!
*Back then, this old scoundrel Yu Xuantong held the noble title of Dao Lord, a rank above my title of True King, and his strength surpassed mine. But over six hundred thousand years have passed. He has been plagued by Dao wounds while I have continued to progress. As he waned and I grew, I will certainly defeat him!*
With their own separate motives, the two feigned ignorance of each other and sped onward in pursuit of Xu Ying and his companions.
With a single stride, the two immortal-realm entities folded the world beneath their feet layer upon layer, contracting it continuously. When their foot landed and the other lifted, the contracted heavens and earth naturally smoothed out behind them, restored to normal.
They had no need to flee for their lives like Xu Ying's group, yet their speed was far greater! At this rate, it would not take long before they overtook Xu Ying's trio.
Ahead, Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang were still trying to keep pace with Daoist Wukong. From time to time, the Daoist stopped and waved at them. "Hurry! Faster!"
Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang sprinted with all their might, feeling their bodies grow heavier and weariness creeping over them. Yet Daoist Wukong remained brimming with vitality, as though his energy were boundless.
Without realizing it, they had traversed an unimaginable distance, yet the continent of the other shore still showed no end in sight.
Xu Ying was filled with shock. If they were in the Three Realms, even in the Mortal Realm—the largest of the realms—they would have flown past its borders long ago. Yet the other shore remained boundless to the horizon.
"Almost there!" Daoist Wukong urged.
The two gritted their teeth and maintained their full sprint. Suddenly, the space behind them began to fold and contract in layers, dragging their bodies backward.
Xu Ying glanced back and saw Yu Xuantong walking toward them. From afar, he did not appear large, but as he strode forward, Yu Xuantong loomed ever larger and more majestic before his eyes!
Even the space and earth ahead of Xu Ying began rippling and contracting, drawing closer to Yu Xuantong!
Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang immediately sprinted with everything they had, bursting forward like fleeting shadows over tens of millions of li. Yet the space ahead folded once more, delivering them straight toward Yu Xuantong's feet!
"Master Bell! Fellow Daoist Shi! Strike with all your might!"
Xu Ying invoked the big bell with a roar. The cave abysses within his body revolved frantically as he channeled his full power into the bell.
At the same time, around the bell, dozens of cave abysses spun furiously, powering it to the utmost!
Shi Tianyang also activated his own cave abysses, pushing his cultivation to the absolute limit to help drive the big bell!
Two men and one bell joined forces, blasting backward!
The bell tolled deafeningly. The peculiar folds on its surface seemed to come alive, unleashing a thunderous toll that rippled outwards in waves!
Wherever the ripples passed, the space Yu Xuantong had contracted with tremendous Dharmic power instantly collapsed into nullity. Yu Xuantong's foot stepped onto empty space, and he watched the distance between himself and Xu Ying's group rapidly widen, while a plume of chaotic qi drifted in a Daoless zone between them!
"What a fine treasure!"
True King Jiuquan praised with admiration as he swept past him into the Daoless zone.
Yu Xuantong snorted and drew level with him, saying coldly, "Fellow Daoist Jiuquan, do you dare meddle with what is already in my bag?"
True King Jiuquan laughed. "This treasure has no master. When did it become something in your bag? Whoever gets their hands on it owns it."
As they exchanged words, they significantly closed the distance once more.
Just then, countless spectacular divine ability imprints emerged across the world ahead. Some resembled palm prints, some blazing fire, some clusters of stars; there were mountains, rivers, worlds, and all kinds of wondrous spectacles branded across the sky and earth.
The expressions of True King Jiuquan and Yu Xuantong shifted slightly. Both halted in their tracks, no longer daring to contract spacetime, their faces turning grave.
"Those three actually fled here. What a miscalculation, a complete miscalculation!"
Yu Xuantong exhaled a foul breath and said, "This place has become a forbidden zone. Does Fellow Daoist Jiuquan still intend to enter?"
True King Jiuquan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "Back then, even Grand Dao Lord Taiyi was wounded by that man's hands and had his title of Grand Dao Lord stripped away. How would I dare step foot here? If Brother Yu dares, I am willing to concede the treasure to you."
Yu Xuantong wavered. He lifted his foot, intending to step into this bizarre territory, when a dull ache suddenly flared across his back—the old wound showed signs of being agitated and erupting anew!
He hurriedly pulled back, never taking that final step.
"They might not be able to escape this forbidden zone. If they die within, the treasure will naturally fall to the ground," Yu Xuantong remarked coldly, settling himself in the void. "Once they are dead, I will send someone to retrieve it."
True King Jiuquan smiled faintly and replied, "I still have several Dao avatars. Once they die, I will order my avatars to enter the forbidden zone. At that time, if this treasure falls into my hands, Brother Yu had better not make things difficult for me."
"Likewise," Yu Xuantong said indifferently, settling down into meditation.
Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang rushed into this strange territory and saw the various divine ability imprints preserved between heaven and earth. Exquisite beyond measure, they left both men shaken with awe.
Ahead, Daoist Wukong suddenly stopped in his tracks and said, "This is the place where a supreme expert attained enlightenment. Whenever I go out to fight and run into someone I can't beat, all I have to do is dive in here, and nobody dares pursue me. It's quite handy."
Xu Ying stepped forward and bowed in greeting, smiling. "Daoist, it has been a long time."
Daoist Wukong returned the bow with a chuckle. "Little Friend Xu has become Dao Ancestor Xu. Truly worthy of congratulations!"
Daoist Wukong still cultivated the Old Dao, possessing the cultivation of the Wondrous Realm of Great Luo rather than the New Dao Xu Ying had founded, yet the speed of his advancement was truly startling.
Xu Ying looked Daoist Wukong over and noticed his cultivation was vastly more profound than when they had met in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, showing subtle signs of stepping into immortality. He thought, *He has probably only been in the other shore for a few years. How has his cultivation progressed to such a degree? It seems he hasn't fought few battles these past years.*
Seeing Daoist Wukong brought Xu Ying an instinctive feeling of warmth. That he could achieve such greatness in the Martial Dao was primarily thanks to the guidance of two individuals: one was Martial Emperor Shen Luo, and the other was Daoist Wukong.
The Leakless Golden Body Daoist Wukong had imparted to him was a Martial Dao technique based on the Supreme Dao, and its tempering of the physical body was truly the pinnacle of the mortal world!
Xu Ying had escaped death countless times thanks to this technique, so he felt immense gratitude toward Daoist Wukong.
Daoist Wukong walked forward and said, "Follow me, and do not take a single wrong step. If you trigger the divine abilities here, not even an immortal can save you!"
Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang followed him cautiously, terrified of making a misstep.
As Xu Ying walked, he observed his surroundings. The divine ability imprints grew increasingly wondrous and grand. A pure Dao power permeated the world, coalescing within these divine abilities as if drawn in by the imprints.
The Great Dao of heaven and earth in the other shore possessed extraordinarily dense Dao power. The power attracted here was exceedingly perilous and terrifying; Xu Ying felt that if he triggered these divine abilities, he would never survive even a single blow!
*How did Daoist Wukong find a way through this dead end?* Xu Ying wondered.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Daoist Wukong pluck a tuft of golden hair from his body and blow on it. Instantly, the golden hairs transformed into figures of Daoist Wukong, each walking in a different direction.
Suddenly, a breeze swept by. Several Daoist Wukongs shivered, their flesh and blood dissolving until they collapsed as white bones.
Other Daoist Wukongs walked along only to break into pieces, the divine ability that harmed them invisible.
A few more Daoist Wukongs crept forward cautiously, only to age visibly before their eyes, soon growing so decrepit they could no longer walk and collapsing to the ground as skeletons.
In the distance, another Daoist Wukong's head severed from his body, and his legs parted from his torso; yet he remained alive, continuing to stride forward.
Then he was divided over and over until he disintegrated into motes of dust.
*So that's how he finds a way through,* Xu Ying realized.
Soon, Daoist Wukong's hair avatars were wiped out completely. Daoist Wukong plucked another handful of golden hairs and blew on them again, sending a multitude of golden apes leaping and scampering about to seek a path.
Looking closer, Xu Ying saw that the golden hair on the back of Daoist Wukong's head was already plucked bald, so he activated his cave abyss to supply Daoist Wukong with bodily vitality.
As golden fur sprouted anew across Daoist Wukong's body, he was both surprised and delighted. He laughed, "With your ability, what do I have to fear?"
With a shake of his body, all the golden hair across his entire frame shed, transforming into countless golden apes chattering and screeching noisily as they advanced into the depths of the forbidden zone.
Seeing him stripped clean, without a single strand of golden hair even on his face and his head completely bald, Xu Ying smiled inwardly.
"Brother, do it again!" Daoist Wukong urged.
Xu Ying channeled bodily vitality once more, and Daoist Wukong soon grew a full coat of golden fur again.
Daoist Wukong tempered it briefly, then shook his body once more. A carpet of golden apes tumbled to the ground and pressed forward to scout the way.
With the two working in tandem—one casting arts to replenish Daoist Wukong's physical vitality and the other manifesting avatars to scout ahead—their efficiency skyrocketed.
Without realizing it, the trio penetrated deep into the forbidden zone. Xu Ying examined the divine abilities around them, growing increasingly suspicious the more he observed.
*This place must be where a remarkable existence attained enlightenment. Because of his overwhelming strength, the divine abilities he rehearsed during his enlightenment left imprints here that never dispersed, turning it into a forbidden zone. But he is proficient in far too many Great Daos!*
Xu Ying distinguished the divine abilities one by one. Each was composed of Great Daos of differing natures, some even incorporating more than a dozen Daos. They were immensely intricate, yet equally ingenious!
*He isn't me—can someone cultivate so many Great Daos without stretching themselves too thin?* he wondered.
Among the immortals of the other shore Xu Ying had encountered so far, Yinyuanzi cultivated the Great Dao of Heavenly Concealment, and Yu Xuantong cultivated the Supreme Dao. Both cultivated a single Great Dao, elevating that single path to the level of attaining immortality.
Had they expended their energy cultivating other Great Daos along the way, they likely would never have reached their current heights.
Daoist Wukong continued scouting the way, delving deeper into the forbidden zone. The farther inside they went, the more potent the divine abilities became, and the more golden apes perished.
Xu Ying suddenly halted, studying the divine abilities around him.
Just now, he had made a rough count: the entity who attained enlightenment here had utilized a total of one hundred and sixty-seven Great Daos!
He sucked in a cold breath. *I've only cultivated thirty-eight Great Daos, yet he actually cultivated one hundred and sixty-seven... No, at the very least one hundred and sixty-seven! There is something wrong with this person!*
More than ten days passed, yet they had advanced only seven paces forward. Every path was a dead end!
On the ground lay numerous skeletons. Clearly, others had come here in the past, attempting to explore the secrets of this place of enlightenment, only to perish nearby.
"The cultivation of those who came here was extraordinary!"
Shi Tianyang examined the remains, picking up a shard of a magic treasure from the ground. His expression shifted slightly as he said, "This person was an exceptionally famous genius of our other shore, Dao Yiqi. Rumor has it that he comprehended the Dao of Wuji and cultivated the Great Dao of Wuji to a level bordering on immortality! He vanished years ago, and some speculated he was in seclusion attempting a breakthrough to the Immortal Realm. To think he died here!"
Examining the treasure shard, Xu Ying felt his heart skip a beat as well.
From this fragment, he could sense that Dao Yiqi's attainments in the Great Dao of Wuji were even higher than his own!
Ahead, Daoist Wukong probed out another step of survival.
Xu Ying and Shi Tianyang followed. Suddenly, Xu Ying's gaze fell upon a divine ability to one side, and he froze, motionless for a long time.
Daoist Wukong shook off his coat of golden hair and looked at him eagerly, urging, "Brother, Brother Xu? Dao Ancestor Xu?"
Snapping back to his senses, Xu Ying quickly infused him with bodily vitality, and instantly, golden fur sprouted wildly over the monkey.
Scrambling in a flurry, Daoist Wukong cried repeatedly, "Enough! That's enough!"
Xu Ying stopped, his eyes remaining fixed in a daze on that divine ability imprint. Suddenly, he spoke: "All the Great Daos here converge, unifying into a single Great Dao... I know who attained enlightenment here. It was Emperor Haotian, Haoyu!"
Chapter 729