At that moment, Xu Ying felt several gazes fall upon him. Looking back, he saw emerald rock multi-decked vessels trailing behind, with no telling who was watching him.
*Someone has their eye on me.*
Xu Ying paid it no mind. Outstanding individuals were always watched by many eyes.
One emerald rock multi-decked vessel after another followed the flagship, sailing through the Chaos Sea at an ever-increasing speed. There was no passage of time within the Chaos Sea, yet those aboard could still perceive its flow. It was merely a peculiar sort of flow—surging forward one moment and reversing the next. At times, they would even spot another version of themselves aboard an identical vessel. Such was the nature of the Chaos Sea.
This time, the scouts who discovered the new universe were the very platoon sent to search for the Three Realms Universe. Having failed to find the Three Realms, they had stumbled upon this new universe instead.
Xu Ying carefully sensed the other shore shala tree upon which he had left an imprint. He noticed that the shala tree's direction did not align with the flagship's course, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
*The new universe and the Three Realms are not in the same place. Otherwise, I would have had to commit even more slaughter.*
He smiled with relief.
After sailing for an unknown duration, the emerald rock multi-decked vessels finally followed the flagship out of the Chaos Sea.
This new universe was exceptionally vast. Viewed from afar, it was far larger than the post-mended Three Realms, with various Dao sceneries of astounding scale floating throughout the cosmos.
Spanning the gaps between star systems were rainbow bridges—whether natural or artificial—that facilitated travel for cultivators.
Furthermore, several colossal star systems converged into an extraordinary expanse of space where the spiritual energy and spiritual power were far superior to elsewhere. At its center lay a continent of astonishing proportions, where various astral powers intertwined. Standing upon that continent, the night sky would surely be spectacular, presenting an array of astrological wonders. The Dao power there was intensely concentrated, with numerous Dao images descending between heaven and earth.
Standing aboard the emerald rock multi-decked vessel, Xu Ying sensed his surroundings carefully and felt that the Heavenly Daos here were normal Heavenly Daos.
His eyes flickered as the vessel sailed toward that continent nestled amid the stars.
*My fellow disciples, brothers and sisters, I must wrong you today and send you on your way.* A fierce gleam flashed in Xu Ying's eyes. He shot a glance at Zhangsun Shenghai and prepared to activate the Zhuxian Sword Formation to slaughter everyone aboard.
Suddenly, he noticed faint sword qi leaking from the tips of Zhangsun Shenghai's fingers, while the man's gaze was simultaneously drifting toward him.
Xu Ying's heart jolted. *Zhangsun Shenghai is planning to strike against me too! Of course—Jiu Seng told him to eliminate me once we reached the new universe. Since you show no benevolence, don't blame me for showing no mercy. I'll finish you off along with the rest!*
Zhangsun Shenghai likewise sensed the murderous aura radiating from Xu Ying. The two immediately locked eyes in mutual hostility, bristling with killing intent.
Xu Ying knew that in a head-on confrontation, he would likely be no match for him, so he kept himself ready to mobilize the Chaos Lotus and the Hongyuan at any moment.
Just as tension between the two flared, shrill screams suddenly erupted from behind them.
Ever since the incident with Grand Dao Lord Haotian, the disciples under Taiyi had gone without their master's true teachings for a long time. The Grand Dao Lord was perpetually suspicious and paranoid, constantly dreading the rise of another Haotian among his ranks, which left his current disciples far weaker than those of Jiu Seng and Yuquan's era.
The experts storming Xu Ying's vessel, however, were outstanding disciples under Grand Dao Lord Life and Death. The moment the Great Dao of Life and Death was unleashed, life and death were decided in an instant. In mere moments, the majority of the Taiyi disciples were slaughtered or maimed.
The surviving Taiyi disciples fled toward Xu Ying and Zhangsun Shenghai, cowering behind them. Xu Ying had originally intended to deal a lethal blow to these martial brothers himself; seeing more than half of them perish in the blink of an eye left him momentarily stunned.
A young man with sickly pale skin, as though caked in powder, stepped forward. Sweeping his gaze over Xu Ying, Zhangsun Shenghai, and the others, he smiled and said, "Aboard this ship, spare only Xu Ying. Leave no one else alive."
Behind him, a crowd of Grand Dao Lord Life and Death's disciples swarmed forward in a frenzy of slaughter.
Zhangsun Shenghai suddenly rose and soared out of the emerald rock multi-decked vessel, chuckling, "Since you haven't come for me, I shall take my leave."
"Eldest Senior Brother!" The disciples behind Xu Ying cried out in panic, their faces ashen.
Zhangsun Shenghai's voice drifted back from afar: "I leave your safety in Second Senior Brother's hands! Xu Ying, the one facing you is the premier expert under Grand Dao Lord Life and Death, Ji Youru. Don't go capsizing in a ditch!"
Xu Ying sighed and murmured, "Who told me to have such a soft heart? Junior brothers and sisters, with me here, no one can harm you. Chaos Huntian Hand!"
He channeled the Eighth Method and pressed down with a palm. Instantly, the surroundings seemed to return to the Chaos Sea; all surrounding Great Daos fell silent, and all Dao arts ceased to exist.
The experts under Grand Dao Lord Life and Death were thrown into utter disarray. Ji Youru immediately unleashed his Life and Death Mystic Art to meet the Chaos Huntian Hand head-on. The moment their palm forces collided, Ji Youru felt overwhelmed.
Xu Ying's magical power was far too vast, vastly surpassing his own. Though he was the eldest disciple of Grand Dao Lord Life and Death, he was still considerably inferior to Zhangsun Shenghai.
Yet he was no hollow reputation. He immediately mobilized his Life and Death Cave Abyss. Behind him, an expanse of darkness emerged, studded with countless cave abysses of all sizes—he, too, was a harvester!
"Dao Death, Dao Dawn!" he roared, circulating his divine ability. Death qi billowed forth in a surging wave to crash against the Chaos Huntian Hand. Xu Ying was startled to find that his Chaos Great Dao was actually showing signs of continuous aging and demise.
A Chaos Great Dao that could age and perish was clearly not true Chaos.
The Great Dao of Chaos was never meant to have a Dao framework.
Ji Youru was sent tumbling backward from the recoil, inwardly shocked. *This man's magical power is extraordinarily vast!*
The instant he flew backward, the Zhuxian Sword shot forth. Xu Ying swept his sleeve, and the power of the Zhuxian Sword Formation erupted, engulfing the other disciples of Grand Dao Lord Life and Death in an instant.
Ji Youru looked forward, terrified and enraged, only to see countless severed limbs and mangled torsos swirling through the sword formation. The hundred fellow disciples he had brought along were annihilated in a single breath.
Having slaughtered these disciples of Life and Death, Xu Ying pointed a finger. The sword formation surged in power, transforming into a colossal blade spanning tens of thousands of li that plunged straight toward Ji Youru. Shifting from the Chaos Great Dao into the slaughtering sword formation, and from slaying the mob to targeting Ji Youru, the transition was seamless.
The Zhuxian sword qi, bent on absolute annihilation, bore straight down on Ji Youru's face, blanketing every path of retreat. Ji Youru abruptly channeled life qi, unleashing a divine ability.
"Ever-Living and Undying, Forcing Growth!" He thrust a finger forward into the Zhuxian Sword Formation. Several strands of sword qi within the formation suddenly ballooned at a frenzied pace, their sheer power swelling so violently that not even the Zhuxian broken sword could suppress them.
Previously, the Zhuxian broken sword had served as the formation core, governing the grand array's operation. Now that the core was disrupted, the Zhuxian Sword Formation collapsed into scattered remnants and shattered into pieces.
Xu Ying secretly praised, *This Ji Youru's skill is not the least bit inferior to Fellow Daoist Wei Yi's.*
Wei Yi was also under Grand Dao Lord Life and Death. Though Xu Ying had robbed him several times, the two had never actually traded blows.
Xu Ying had keenly sensed that Wei Yi's cultivation and strength were likely not beneath his own, which was why he had never pushed him to the brink.
"Xu Ying, your skills are indeed formidable. Could this move be a divine ability recorded in a Lord of Great Dao-level cultivation manual?"
Ji Youru retrieved a golden book brimming with the might of the Great Dao. As the scroll unfurled, the two qis of life and death flowed within its pages. His primordial spirit leaped out, wielding a brush dipped in death qi, and scribed Xu Ying's name onto the scroll.
The moment the characters for "Xu Ying" were written, Ji Youru slashed a heavy hook with the brush. Xu Ying felt dazed and muddled; his soul was nearly hooked clean out of his primordial spirit!
The strike was extraordinary. Xu Ying felt as though his primordial spirit were about to be ripped apart, sending chills down his spine. Without a second thought, he mobilized the ultimate intent of the Martial Dao—Divine Ability: Firmament!
Outside the emerald rock multi-decked vessel, myriad divine abilities erupted, forming a colossal firmament that converged into a torrent of ten thousand Daos. In an instant, it shattered tens of thousands of li of void and arrived before Ji Youru.
Having failed to hook Xu Ying to death with that strike, Ji Youru was equally alarmed. *This treasure was refined by Master when he attained immortality. It is an immortal-grade treasure after all—how could it fail to hook him to death?!*
The sheer might of Firmament was terrifying. Seeing it, Ji Youru hurriedly raised the Contract of Life and Death to meet Xu Ying's strike.
Firmament collided with this immortal treasure. The twin qis of life and death swirling within the Contract of Life and Death shattered with loud bangs, and the characters inscribed upon the book disintegrated into ash.
Horrified, Ji Youru spun around and fled, vanishing into the starry expanse.
*Boom!*
The Contract of Life and Death exploded, blasted completely through by Xu Ying's raw might. *How can this Xu Ying be so strong?!* Utterly panicked, Ji Youru made his escape far into the distance.
Xu Ying recalled his stance, and only then did the cave abysses churning within him gradually settle.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xu, for saving us!" Behind him, more than a dozen disciples of Grand Dao Lord Taiyi remained, all looking pale and shaken.
One of the disciples, named Wu Xuan, said with immense gratitude, "Had it not been for Senior Brother Xu's righteous intervention, we would have all perished here."
Xu Ying wore a genial expression and said, "We are fellow disciples; helping one another in times of need is only natural."
A female disciple said indignantly, "Yet Eldest Senior Brother fled first, abandoning us without a second thought!"
Xu Ying said, "Eldest Senior Brother likely had his own difficulties."
Turning his face away, his expression turned dark and contemplative. *Should I eliminate these junior brothers and sisters too, and simply blame it on the disciples of Grand Dao Lord Life and Death?*
He glanced back at the survivors, hesitating slightly.
*Hmm, how about this: once we reach the territory of the new universe, I'll see how they act. If they commit countless atrocities, I'll kill them to put an end to it once and for all.*
Xu Ying offered a smile and nodded toward a junior sister, thinking, *Should I kill them one by one, or all at once?*
That junior sister felt as though a gentle spring breeze had brushed past her. In the distance, several other emerald rock multi-decked vessels lingered, likely also carrying orders from their respective masters to rob Xu Ying and seize the Lord of Great Dao-level manual.
Yet Xu Ying had just slaughtered the disciples of Life and Death, severely wounded Ji Youru, and shattered an immortal treasure. The terrifying combat prowess he displayed kept them from daring to approach.
The emerald rock multi-decked vessel sailed toward the territory of the new universe nestled amid the stars. Several days later, they arrived before their first Dao scenery. The Dao scenery in this starry expanse was immense, formed entirely of starlight. The starlight was extraordinarily dense, dazzling like a vast river of silver.
Xu Ying and the others steered the vessel around the Dao scenery, completing a full circuit without discovering anything.
Xu Ying nodded slightly and said, "Let us first head to the new universe's territory to take a look. We still don't know whether intelligent life exists there."
The others voiced their agreement, piloting the vessel toward the center of the stars.
A few days later, they drew closer to that region. Along the way, they passed another Dao scenery ground. The Dao scenery here was formed of lightning, composing a Thunder Marsh of the Great Dao of Thunder.
Tens of thousands of li of lightning took the shape of water, marshes, and land. In the water were islands, divine dragons, flood dragons, phoenixes, and other creatures. The beings within the Thunder Marsh were vivid and lifelike, leaving everyone marveling in wonder.
Someone immediately disembarked to capture the creatures of the Thunder Marsh, only for thunderous strikes to erupt within the marsh, scorching that Taiyi disciple until he was tender inside and charred outside.
"The lightning's power here seems absurdly strong." Xu Ying was filled with doubt and bewilderment. The Great Dao of Thunder was merely a rather unremarkable innate Dao, incomparable to supreme Daos like Taiyi or Life and Death. Yet that Taiyi disciple had nearly been struck dead just now.
Xu Ying stepped off the vessel and entered the Thunder Marsh Dao scenery himself. A blinding sheet of lightning flickered before him, and he decisively channeled the Leakless Golden Body.
*Crack!*
The lightning crashed down upon him. Xu Ying remained motionless, yet he was secretly astonished. *The Great Dao of Thunder here is truly far more powerful than on the other shore and in the Three Realms?!*
Behind his head, the Taiyi Cave Abyss rose slowly, shielding the area and preventing the surrounding lightning from encroaching.
With his protection, the Taiyi disciples breathed a sigh of relief and flattered him, "Senior Brother's magical power is boundless!"
Though killing intent still stirred in Xu Ying's heart toward these junior brothers and sisters, being praised left him feeling rather pleased.
"Senior Brother, there is an immortal palace ahead!" Other disciples had made a discovery. Hearing this, Xu Ying rushed over at once. Sure enough, an ancient immortal palace stood within this Thunder Marsh. As they walked forward, they found the palace completely vacant, devoid of any inhabitants.
Strange symbols were carved upon the immortal palace. A Taiyi disciple stepped forward and touched them with his hand, only for gray snow to suddenly drift down from the sky.
"Dao ash?" the Taiyi disciple laughed. "The Dao framework here is far too base. A mere nudge from my principle script turned it into Dao ash! Everyone, do you hear the sound of Dao weeping?"
The other disciples shook their heads one after another. A female disciple stepped forward and also touched the strange symbols. As the drifting Dao ash grew thicker in the air, she smiled and said, "I hear the sound of Dao weeping too!"
"Oh, I hear it as well!" another disciple chimed in delightfully.
The crowd stepped forward, each reaching out to touch the carvings. The snow of Dao ash grew heavier and more widespread, and the weeping of the Dao became increasingly distinct.
"This immortal palace will likely soon be eroded by our principle scripts and reduced to ashes!" Wu He laughed.
Xu Ying's heart stirred. He stepped forward to examine it closely, finding that the Dao framework on the immortal palace was an entirely new, never-before-seen structure.
Following its pattern, he channeled his divine consciousness to trace several runes, substituting them into the basic symbols. Instantly, his primordial spirit felt remarkably refreshed.
*This kind of Dao framework resembles a Ling framework—a Dao framework comprehended from the primordial spirit.* Xu Ying pondered for a moment. In just that brief span, the runes he had inscribed with his divine consciousness began to seep into his primordial spirit, self-replicating and multiplying in ever-greater numbers!
Xu Ying's heart pounded violently. Looking around, he saw Dao snow fluttering all about him, while the mournful cries of Dao weeping grew louder in his ears. "Not good!"
Xu Ying immediately leaped backward and shouted, "We've kicked a hard stone! This new universe's Dao framework is superior to the Li framework! Everyone, fall back immediately!"
Chapter 756