Beside the shattered imperial chariot, Xu Ying stood dumbfounded, his head buzzing.
The buzzing wasn't from the shockwave of Wuchen's strike just now, but from the dizzying complexity of the relationships at play.
*Something's not right. Something is off.*
Thoughts raced through his mind. Wuchen was unquestionably Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's diehard loyalist. Back in the Tianjing Ruins, he had put on a show with Taiyi to demonstrate that Taiyi's injuries were not severe.
If Wuchen were not completely loyal to Taiyi, he could never have been stationed to guard the Tianjing Ruins.
Yet how could someone trusted so deeply by Taiyi suddenly deal him such a blow just as Grand Dao Lord Taiyi was about to safely weather the crisis, laying bare the truth of Taiyi's severe wounds?
If Wuchen truly betrayed Taiyi, what would he gain?
To vie for the *Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture*?
Yet he had merely tested the waters, exposed Taiyi's grievous injuries, and turned to leave without making any attempt to seize the *Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture*.
If he genuinely wanted the *Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture*, he should have moved to capture Xu Ying while attacking.
Xu Ying blinked and glanced at Grand Dao Lord Taiyi beside him, thinking, *This man is just like the barbarians of our Three Realms—his belly is full of wicked schemes. He is not to be underestimated.*
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's face was livid. Only after a moment did his complexion return to normal. "Good! Very good!" he said chillingly. "Wuchen, you have done well indeed! I did not bestow my favor and teachings upon you in vain! Xu Ying, let us go!"
Xu Ying's thoughts stirred, and he urged, "Master, now that the secret of your injuries has been exposed, our most urgent priority is that we shouldn't head to Daoji Heaven on the other shore..."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi cut him off resolutely, "Do you think your master fears those three Grand Dao Lords? Even if less than a tenth of my strength remains, it is far beyond what those three petty scoundrels could ever match!"
With a sweep of his sleeve, he took Xu Ying with him as he strode through the starry void. The boundless sea of stars contracted and expanded beneath his feet at tremendous speed.
Xu Ying sighed. "Master, when we barbarians of the Three Realms face a situation like this, we usually choose to be broad-minded and cast shame aside..."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi laughed heartily, a tinge of pathos in his voice. "And that is why you are barbarians of the Three Realms. I belong to the Holy Race of the other shore. Even if I must die, I shall die open, upright, and dignified."
Xu Ying wrung his hands with a sigh, thinking, *Then what is Taiyi's true aim? By getting me, he obtained the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture. At this moment, what he fears most is the other three Grand Dao Lords coming to rob him, or even kill me. He anticipated long ago that bringing me back to Daoji Heaven would invite all kinds of ambushes.*
Since ambushes and probes were inevitable, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi had surely prepared contingencies for every crisis.
*Yet the three Grand Dao Lords are not the only ones eyeing the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture. There are other Dao Lords and True Kings as well. If he cannot establish his dominance to deter their endless schemes, his future days will be miserable. After all, his injuries are genuinely severe.*
Xu Ying blinked, stealing a glance at Grand Dao Lord Taiyi.
Right now, anyone could see that Grand Dao Lord Taiyi was gravely wounded. Such severe Dao injuries could not possibly be faked—they were real.
Yet if, along the way, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi were to suddenly unleash fearsome might and severely wound the three Grand Dao Lords—Life and Death, Yin and Yang, and Gods and Demons—would anyone still believe his Dao injuries were real?
*With the three Grand Dao Lords of Life and Death, Yin and Yang, and Gods and Demons all heavily wounded by him, no one would dare challenge, scheme against, or assassinate him anymore. Then he can heal his wounds in peace and cultivate the Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture.*
*However,* Xu Ying mused, *how can he be so certain he can crush the three Grand Dao Lords? Why choose this very moment for a decisive battle? Ah, of course! Right now, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi is injured, but the other three Grand Dao Lords were likewise grievously wounded by Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang!*
Just as he was thinking this, a bone-chilling cold suddenly swept over him. This was the deep starry void—where could such chill come from?
At that moment, the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang came walking forward. As he approached, the surrounding cosmos transformed abruptly, giving rise to mountains and waters, sun, moon, and stars.
The sun was Yang, the stars were Yin; the heavens were Yang, the earth was Yin; the southern slope of a mountain was Yang, the northern slope was Yin; void was Yang, substance was Yin; the front was Yang, the back was Yin.
Heaven, earth, and the starry sky seemed entirely formed from his Great Dao.
Among the four Grand Dao Lords, the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang had suffered the lightest injuries. In the decisive battle against Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang, the moment he saw both the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death and the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons gravely injured, he had immediately turned and fled, abandoning Grand Dao Lord Taiyi to face Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang alone. Thus, his strength remained largely intact.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi stopped in his tracks and laughed boisterously. "Fellow Daoist Yin-Yang, you fell for it! Did you truly believe Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang grievously wounded me? While he did inflict injuries upon me, they are nowhere near as heavy as you imagine! My purpose was to draw you out, lest you plot against me while I heal and cultivate a Dao Master-level scripture!"
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang did not halt his stride. Continuing forward, he smiled and said, "Dao Brother, do you think I would believe that? Beings like you and me believe nothing others say; we only trust what our own eyes witness. And what I see right now is that you are fierce in appearance but brittle within—an arrow at the end of its flight."
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi surged his remaining strength, his aura erupting as he barked, "I still have the power to drag you down with me! How about this: you and I each take a step back. We can study the *Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture* together. What say you?"
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang burst out laughing. "How arrogant was the Taiyi of old? When did you ever bow your head? Now you lower your head and plead with me—proof that you are truly finished!"
When heaven and earth harmonize, all things are born; when Yin and Yang converge, transformation arises!
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's Dao methods and divine powers were endlessly manifold. In the brief moment it took to strike toward Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, his divine powers shifted through tens of thousands of permutations, dazzling the eye!
His divine powers were not merely shifting illusions; each seemed like a phantom yet was entirely corporeal. They existed in continuous flux, like the slither of a python—seemingly static, yet constantly undulating.
Seeing so many divine powers continuously transforming, Xu Ying's expression shifted slightly. *Worthy of a Grand Dao Lord. Just like Zhuo Daochun and me, he has comprehended the Ultimate Realm!*
This was the Yin-Yang Ultimate Realm!
It differed from Zhuo Daochun's Divine Power Ultimate Realm. The Yin-Yang Ultimate Realm arose from the mutually generating transformations between Yin and Yang, whereas the Divine Power Ultimate Realm was the deduction of various Dao methods to their utmost evolution—they were not of the same nature.
The overwhelming deluge of divine powers surged forward, poised to swallow Xu Ying and Taiyi in the very next instant!
Xu Ying's heart pounded wildly. Though he knew Grand Dao Lord Taiyi had to be confident in his countermeasure, facing such terrifying divine powers still subjected him to the imminent threat of death!
Just then, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi reached out with his hand. In the next breath, the Yin and Yang daos contained within the tens of thousands of Yin-Yang divine powers suddenly fused together, transforming into the Taiyi Great Dao!
Tens of thousands of divine powers roared forward, crashing into Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's palm, only to burrow directly into his flesh!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's arm swelled tremendously, as if something bulging and writhing inside was boring along his arm toward his torso. Wherever it passed, the surface of his body bulged upward!
These myriad divine powers quickly flowed from his right arm into his chest, puffing it out high, then surged into his left arm and erupted forth from his left hand!
*Boom!*
Tens of thousands of Taiyi divine powers roared toward the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang. His expression shifted drastically; frantically surging his cultivation, he channeled his cave abysses to meet the tens of thousands of divine powers head-on!
These were the very divine powers he had launched at Grand Dao Lord Taiyi moments ago, yet now they no longer belonged to him—they had turned into Taiyi divine powers!
The moment he made contact, he realized that every single one of those tens of thousands of divine powers was significantly more potent than before!
Combined, their power far surpassed his own!
*Could he be uninjured? Impossible! Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang blasted his physical body, Primordial Spirit, and Great Dao apart twice!*
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang resisted with all his might, urging his Yin-Yang Great Dao to flood forward with even more Dao methods and divine powers to block Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's strike!
At that exact moment, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi shifted his form, appearing right before his eyes—just as Yin-Yang had fully deflected the blow and his vital blood was in turmoil!
Shock gripped the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang. The two clashed in brutal close quarters; figures, techniques, and divine powers stuck close to one another, trading lightning-fast blows!
Xu Ying's eyes could barely keep track when, with two sickening crunches, both of the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's arms shattered, his legs snapped, and his head was twisted around to face backward! Riding an auspicious cloud of dual qi, he fled howling into the distance!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi thrust a palm from afar, and the patch of starry space where the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang fled abruptly went dark!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi pulled back his hand and stepped forward as if to give chase, but his expression flickered, and he quietly pressed a hand to his chest.
After a moment, he lowered his hand and said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist Yin-Yang, out of consideration that we are both Grand Dao Lords, I spare your life. Xu Ying, let us go."
Xu Ying hurried forward, asking with apparent concern, "Master, your injuries..."
"Injuries? What injuries?"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi laughed heartily, though both of his arms trembled faintly.
Xu Ying caught on immediately and shouted at the top of his voice, "Master is truly formidable! As expected of the foremost among the four Grand Dao Lords! The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang is nothing but a child! He was fortunate that my master showed mercy and spared his life!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi gave a muffled grunt. A mouthful of blood welled up his throat, but he swallowed it down by sheer force of will, turning beet red in the process.
Seeing this, Xu Ying made his voice even louder, though it couldn't help carrying a slight tremor as he hollered, "If there is any other fool who does not value his life and dares bring trouble to my master, this time there will be no mercy—you will be executed on the spot!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi nodded slightly and said flatly, "Executed on the spot."
The two played along with one another, but the starry void remained deathly still, devoid of any visible presence.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi and Xu Ying exhaled almost in unison. Surprised, Taiyi glanced at Xu Ying, thinking, *Is this boy treacherous beneath an appearance of utmost loyalty, or did he see right through my scheme to coordinate with me so flawlessly?*
As he was thinking, a laughing voice suddenly spoke: "Dao Brother Taiyi, I have watched your master-disciple performance to the very end, and I have been waiting for quite some time."
Xu Ying looked over and saw the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons striding up. His face was several shades darker than Xu Ying's own, bearing a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Tension seized Xu Ying's heart, but he barked, "Martial Uncle Gods and Demons! Just moments ago, Master heavily wounded Martial Uncle Yin-Yang in a mere few moves. How do your abilities compare to Martial Uncle Yin-Yang's? I advise Martial Uncle to know what's good for him and not play clever..."
At that moment, another Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons walked forward and laughed boisterously. "Xu Ying, save your bluster! I have already seen through the pair of you. Dao Brother Taiyi, hand over Xu Ying, and everything can still be discussed amicably."
This Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons had a pale white face.
During the battle against Grand Dao Master Xuanhuang, the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons had his unity of gods and demons shattered and his Dao realm ruined, causing everyone across the myriad universes who cultivated his methods to split into two!
Throughout those universes, the two daos of gods and demons within his lineage had split into two, down to their very cave abysses!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said, "Fellow Daoist Gods and Demons, my disciple Xu Ying indeed obtained the *Xuanhuang Dao Realm Scripture*. If you do not mind, I am willing to share it with you."
The Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons laughed aloud. "Willing to share? You are merely stalling for time, intending to kill me once your strength recovers! If such a method to attain Dao Master could be shared, Dao Master Hua of our other shore would have shared it long ago!"
Although the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons had been split into two, the two halves coordinated seamlessly, scarcely weaker than he had been in the past.
The two Grand Dao Lords attacked in tandem. Yet in the next instant, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi swept aside all weakness; the Taiyi Cave Abyss spun into motion behind him, his aura climbing exponentially!
With each revolution of the Taiyi Cave Abyss, a Grand Dao Lord Taiyi stepped down from within. The first to step down was formed purely of the Divine Dao; the second was formed of the Demonic Dao; the third was a Reincarnation Dao Body; the fourth, a Space Dao Body; the fifth, a Time Dao Body!
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Taiyi incarnations of various Great Daos swarmed toward the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons like a pack of wolves, swiftly inflicting grievous wounds upon the two incarnations of Gods and Demons!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's true body wore a grim expression as he suddenly called out in a resonant voice, "Fellow Daoist Life and Death, since you are here, why not show yourself?"
All around was silence, without the slightest response.
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi seemed to have anticipated this. He laughed heartily, spun around abruptly, and shouted, "I have been waiting just for you!"
While his Dao bodies engaged the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons, his true body took on the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death. The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death didn't even have time to snatch Xu Ying away and was forced to resist Taiyi with everything he had!
The two clashed force against force. In a matter of moments, supreme divine powers collided against supreme divine powers. The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death coughed up violent gouts of blood, the Dao injuries he had suffered previously erupting anew under Taiyi's immense pressure!
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's expression remained steady as he continued to unleash grand divine powers in direct confrontation, but the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death dared not meet them head-on and fled in panic.
On the other side, the Grand Dao Lord of Gods and Demons fought tooth and nail to carve out a path of blood and made good his escape, howling, "Taiyi, you treacherous bastard! I will remember this grudge!"
Grand Dao Lord Taiyi did not pursue them. Sneering, he gave his body a shake, and his many Dao bodies took to the air, returning into the Taiyi Cave Abyss.
"Xu Ying, let us go!"
With blazing momentum and awe-inspiring majesty, Grand Dao Lord Taiyi led Xu Ying toward Daoji Heaven of the other shore.
Xu Ying's eyes flickered as he gazed at Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's near-invincible back, silently musing, *Grand Dao Lord Taiyi appears at his strongest right now, but this is actually the best moment to kill him. It's just that the True Kings and Dao Lords of the other shore have already been scared out of their wits. Not a single soul will dare probe him again.*
Chapter 752