Dao Lord Wuchen had a fierce countenance, a savage glint in his eyes. This giant was undoubtedly an elite figure among Dao Lords; otherwise, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi would not have banished him to such a frontier wasteland to "enjoy life."
The first of Xu Ying's Eight Immortality Methods had been inspired by the divine power he had comprehended upon watching Wuchen swing his giant hammer down at Buddha Ancestor and the myriad Buddhas.
Yet no matter how vicious Dao Lord Wuchen looked, Xu Ying was not the least bit afraid. Glancing left and right on his own, he called out loudly, "Master! Master Taiyi! Your disciple has returned!"
Oozing murderous intent, Dao Lord Wuchen said grimly, "A Three Realms outlaw, full of glib tongue and fawning manner! In the future, you will just be another Haoyi! Others may tolerate you, but I will not!"
He swung his giant hammer, about to send Xu Ying on his way, when the breathless, feeble voice of Grand Dao Lord Taiyi drifted over: "Wuchen, you dare lay a finger on my disciple?"
Dao Lord Wuchen checked his giant hammer and sneered, "Taiyi, you were gravely wounded by the Grand Dao Master of the Tianjing Ruins. All these days you've only dared to hide here with me, not daring to return to the other shore. How much ability do you have left? Old bastard, you're far past your prime. No day is better than today—today I'll send you on your way and take your place as Grand Dao Lord!"
Beside them, True King Daoji's face turned ashen at those words, and he waved his hands frantically to warn him.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi walked out from the immortal palace, his expression sunken like stagnant water as he cast an indifferent glance at Wuchen.
Gripping his giant hammer tight, Dao Lord Wuchen guffawed. "As long as you old bastards don't die, it's hard for me to rise! Taiyi, if your injuries weren't severe, you would have returned to the other shore's Daoji Heaven long ago. It's nothing more than fear of being ambushed along the way. Old bastard, just how much cultivation and strength do you have left?"
A sharp light flickered in his eyes. Right now was truly a rare opportunity—get rid of Taiyi and become a Grand Dao Lord himself!
He was wildly ambitious; in the past, he had already dropped hints before True King Daoji and others of his desire to replace Grand Dao Lord Taiyi.
Now, he was displaying it brazenly.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi placed a fist beneath his lips, coughing repeatedly, and said indifferently, "Why don't you try?"
Dao Lord Wuchen laughed heartily and violently swung his Dao hammer. In the dark space behind his head, countless cave abysses spun in unison with the strike, gathering the Dao power of the myriad universes in an instant. Accompanied by world-shaking thunder, the hammer crashed down upon Grand Dao Lord Taiyi!
He couldn't care less whether Grand Dao Lord Taiyi was testing him. As long as the other party suggested he try, then try he certainly would!
This strike was even fiercer and possessed far more terrifying power than the one Xu Ying had witnessed descending upon Buddha Ancestor back then. With Dao power concentrated on the hammer head, it was like a comet plummeting through the heavens, shining with blinding brilliance!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi raised a hand, meeting the hammer with airy ease. When the hammer collided with his flesh palm, the terrifying Dao power contained within it vanished like an ox carved of clay plunging into the sea, releasing not a shred of its destructive might.
Dao Lord Wuchen grunted as the giant hammer flew from his grip, his entire body hurled backward to smash through mountain after mountain with deafening booms!
"Overestimating your own strength."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi opened his palm, and the giant hammer clattered to the ground.
Not far away, in front of the other three immortal palaces, Dao Lords Hongxi, Qingzai, and Panyan turned solemn upon witnessing this, no longer daring to pry.
After a moment, Wuchen flew back looking thoroughly disgraced and bowed to Grand Dao Lord Taiyi: "I yield! There is no problem with the Grand Dao Lord, nor with the Grand Dao Lord's disciple, Xu Ying!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi did not press him further. Turning to Xu Ying, he said, "I remained here precisely to wait for your return. I knew you would certainly return."
With a smile on his face, Xu Ying bowed and stood respectfully in attendance. "Master possesses peerless discernment; your disciple indeed would certainly return."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi stared at the back of his head. After a brief silence, he said, "Before me, you need not be so restrained."
Xu Ying said, "The Taiyi Grand Dao carries a profound heavenly majesty that reaches directly across the myriad universes. Your disciple cannot help feeling somewhat restrained."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi nodded gently. "Until you can defeat me, you will always respect me. This satisfies me very much. Have you already obtained the Grand Dao Master technique?"
With a solemn look, Xu Ying said, "Your disciple has fulfilled his mission and finally obtained Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang's Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture. Infuriatingly, Zhuo Daochun, Nangong Hao, Wei Yi, and Shi Yuting also obtained the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture! These four are remnants of Tianjing. If they remain alive in this world, they will surely pose a grave threat to our other shore!"
He added in a heavy voice, "Therefore, your disciple suggests mobilizing the entire army of Immortals at once to encircle and annihilate the rebels, uprooting them to eliminate any future troubles once and for all!"
Taiyi, Wuchen, and Daoji all furrowed their brows, for a moment unable to tell whether he was treacherous or loyal.
"Encircling and annihilating the Three Realms does not yet require you."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi flicked his sleeve. "Now that we have waited for you, let us set off and return to Daoji Heaven."
Xu Ying assented.
An imperial chariot flew over, and Grand Dao Lord Taiyi boarded it. Xu Ying followed cautiously behind. Once Grand Dao Lord Taiyi took his seat, Xu Ying did not dare sit, remaining standing at his side to attend to him.
In every gesture and action, he acted more like a disciple than any disciple could, leaving both Wuchen and Daoji in a daze as they watched.
The imperial chariot slowly drove away from the four immortal palaces, heading outside Tianjing.
Wuchen and Daoji watched the chariot fade into the distance before withdrawing their gazes. True King Daoji said, "Of the disciples brought from the Grand Dao Lord's direct faction, who would have thought so few would survive? Brother Wuchen, when you clashed with the Grand Dao Lord just now, how much of his strength do you think he has left?"
Dao Lord Wuchen said, "Fifty or sixty percent, perhaps."
Hearing this, True King Daoji felt doubtful and laughed. "Having traded so many blows with Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang and had his physical body shattered repeatedly, with Grand Dao Lord Taiyi disintegrated into countless fragments, he still retains fifty or sixty percent of his strength? It seems the Grand Dao Lord isn't far from becoming a Grand Dao Master himself. But why would he still seek a Grand Dao Master-level technique?"
Dao Lord Wuchen glanced at him. "Some matters should not be discussed. Daoji, you know the consequences better than I do."
At that, True King Daoji chuckled and shifted the topic. "With the matters here concluded, I ought to take my leave as well. Brother Wuchen, I truly envy you. Though this place is desolate and perilous, it is still far better than Daoji Heaven. At the very least, there isn't so much intrigue and backstabbing. Farewell!"
Dao Lord Wuchen did not rise to see him off. Only after True King Daoji had gone far did he tighten his grip on the giant hammer, his gaze flickering.
Inside the imperial chariot, Xu Ying kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart.
After a moment, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "Xu Ying, recite the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture for me."
Xu Ying said, "Master's injuries are so severe; at this moment it would be best not to distract yourself. Focusing on healing is what matters most."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi started slightly, then sneered. "Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang is merely someone who returned from the dead, nowhere near his former peak. While his divine powers are indeed far more exquisite than mine, it remains impossible for him to kill me."
"Yet Master was still injured, which is why you had to remain in the immortal palace," Xu Ying said, hitting the nail right on the head and targeting his vulnerability. "To dispel others' suspicions, Master even deliberately let Dao Lord Wuchen attack, only to defeat him in turn, all to deter those Dao Lords and Grand Dao Lords who might come to intercept you!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi laughed heartily. "You guessed quite well, except you're wrong. Wuchen harbors deep hatred toward me. He thinks extraordinarily highly of himself and has long wanted to kill me and take my place."
Xu Ying smiled and chuckled softly without speaking.
Straightening his expression, he said, "Master, are the schemes of our other shore always so crude? If it were in a barbaric place like our Three Realms, we barbarians would never fall for such straightforward schemes."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi fell silent for a moment and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi remained silent.
Xu Ying said, "Having your confidant Wuchen strike out to test your strength—Wuchen's attack appeared earth-shattering, but in reality was all thunder and no rain, nothing more than putting on a show to highlight the Grand Dao Lord's might. Yet anyone with discerning eyes could tell at a glance that the Grand Dao Lord must have been grievously wounded."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's expression darkened. "Why do you say that?"
Xu Ying smiled. "If Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang couldn't even gravely wound a Grand Dao Lord, would a Dao Master-level technique still possess such a fatal allure?"
"Do you think that after Wuchen clashed with me, someone will still come to attack me?" Grand Dao Lord Taiyi asked indifferently. "The position of Grand Dao Lord is not that important."
Xu Ying smiled faintly. "A Grand Dao Lord may not be important, but your disciple is more important than a Grand Dao Lord. Your disciple carries the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture. Not only will the other three Grand Dao Lords vie for this scripture, but the Dao Lords will contend for it as well, and even True Kings will covet it."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi fell silent once more. Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he asked, "If it were the barbarians of the Three Realms, what would they do?"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "And then?"
Xu Ying said, "Then the attacks will be divided into three waves. Yin-Yang, Gods and Demons, and Life and Death will each carry out a probe. None of them trusts the others, so there will be three probes. After that, the three Dao Masters will personally arrive to send master and disciple to our final rest."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi fell silent for a moment, then said, "We have now left the Tianjing Ruins and are nearly a third of the way through our journey. I would like to verify this barbarian perspective."
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi sat withered and motionless.
After a moment, the starry sky outside the chariot suddenly trembled violently. Deep in the starry expanse, a four-armed giant was dancing, as if conducting an ancient sacrificial rite. Yet the starry sky shifted with the fluttering of his sleeves as vast Dao power condensed and took shape!
Having amassed his power, the giant in the starry sky thrust four palms toward the imperial chariot across the vast cosmic expanse!
Seated upright in the chariot, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi sneered, "Hongxi's Zhou Heavenly Star Fiend Calamity Art is nothing special."
Surging Dao power bombarded forward along with countless stars, instantly submerging the spacetime where the imperial chariot was located!
A world-shaking boom echoed in Xu Ying's ears. He saw countless stars streaming past both sides of the chariot like a flood, yet when such formidable force reached the flanks of the imperial chariot, it parted ways, unable to shake the chariot in the slightest.
Seeing this from afar in the starry sky, Dao Lord Hongxi turned and left without a second thought.
Xu Ying was filled with doubt and astonishment. Turning his head to look at Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, he thought, Has he been injured or not?
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi looked serene, as unruffled as ever.
Soon, the second wave of attacks arrived. The one who made a move this time was Dao Lord Qingzai. This Dao Lord's Nine Palaces Dao methods were one of a kind on the other shore; using tens of thousands of magic treasures, he had laid down a Nine Palaces Supreme Killing Calamity spanning a million li across the path the imperial chariot had to take!
Yet Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's imperial chariot drove straight into the great formation of the supreme killing calamity, passing through with utter ease. No matter how Dao Lord Qingzai unleashed the supreme killing calamity, he could not shake the imperial chariot in the least.
The third probe came from Dao Lord Panyan.
This Dao Lord had collected the very first flame from the dawn of heaven and earth's creation in another universe, known as the fire of heaven-opening. At this moment, he blocked their path, marshaling his entire cultivation to stoke the fire of heaven-opening. Blazing flames instantly incinerated the void, burning everything along the way to ash!
Yet Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's imperial chariot drove right through the fire of heaven-opening, the flames along the path parting to either side.
Dao Lord Panyan did not dare block it, able only to watch helplessly as the imperial chariot drove past.
"The three probes have passed. Now, do they know my depths?" Grand Dao Lord Taiyi asked Xu Ying.
Witnessing this, Xu Ying felt boundless admiration and bowed. "Master's wondrous methods are peerless. Since the three Grand Dao Lords cannot probe how much of Master's cultivation and strength remains, they will not dare make a move."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi smiled faintly. "Life and Death, Yin-Yang, and Gods and Demons—the cultivation and strength of these three Grand Dao Lords are far inferior to mine. If the Dao Lords they favor cannot gauge my depth, they will not dare touch me."
His voice had barely faded when his expression suddenly changed. He sprang to his feet, a look of disbelief on his face.
The starry sky violently shook as boundless divine radiance surged skyward from the dark void. A peerless giant appeared, muscles knotted like coiling dragons all over his body, with the head of a bull and the body of a man. His hands were raised high, and behind him hung that unimaginable giant hammer!
The giant hammer swung, bearing immeasurable Dao light as it smashed down toward the imperial chariot!
"Wuchen! You treacherous traitor!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi was incandescent with rage. Earlier in the Tianjing Ruins, Dao Lord Wuchen had cooperated with him, putting on a show alongside him. But now, at this critical juncture, he actually dared to strike Taiyi!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi wished dearly to shatter Dao Lord Wuchen's attack with transcendent strength as he had before. However, previously he had been prepared, driving the imperial chariot to silently neutralize their divine powers.
Yet the one striking this time was Wuchen, whose strength far exceeded that of Hongxi, Qingzai, and Panyan, and he was wielding the supreme treasure with which he had attained his Dao!
Far off in the dark starry sky, the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death coughed up blood as he watched Wuchen's strike crash down upon the imperial chariot.
Inside the chariot, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi mobilized countless cave abysses of all sizes to meet the giant hammer.
Beneath the hammer's radiant light, the imperial chariot shattered to pieces.
Wuchen retrieved his hammer and fled into the distance.
"Mm," the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death chuckled. "Brother Taiyi is gravely injured indeed—he couldn't even keep his carriage intact."
In the darkness, the other two Grand Dao Lords looked upon the rather disheveled Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, beaming with smiles.
Chapter 751