Dao Lord Nie Xuan could not help but flare with rage. He threw his hand out and sneered, "Back then in the Taiyi Dao Sect, you had Jiu Zeng protecting you, but you are not in the Taiyi Dao Sect now! Junior brothers, seize him!"
Though Grand Dao Lord Shenmo was not as formidable in cultivation and strength as Grand Dao Lord Taiyi, the Immortals belonging to the Shenmo Dao Sect vastly outnumbered those of the Taiyi Dao Sect.
Of course, the Shenmo Dao Sect had so many Immortals primarily because the Grand Dao of Gods and Demons was lower in grade than the Taiyi Grand Dao and far easier to cultivate. The Taiyi Grand Dao was the ancestor of all Daos; apart from the Nine Daos, every Grand Dao beneath heaven was encompassed within it, including Yin and Yang, Gods and Demons, and Life and Death.
Beside Dao Lord Nie Xuan were the Eight True Kings and Twenty-Four Immortals beneath Grand Dao Lord Shenmo, and at that very moment, they attacked in unison!
Yet the instant they unleashed their strikes, Dao snow suddenly began to flutter and drift, and every person clearly heard the sound of the Grand Dao weeping.
The wind and snow swept into their faces, snowflakes drifting and whirling, causing the might of their divine arts to plummet.
Even Dao Lord Nie Xuan sensed that his own Grand Dao was being invaded and supplanted by an inexplicable form of Dao patterns, turning into Dao snow!
No matter how incomparably profound and dense his cultivation was, he could not suppress this tide of supplantation!
"The principle patterns of my other shore might actually be inferior to the Dao patterns of the Three Realms!" His scalp tingled with dread, and he cried out inwardly.
Xu Ying advanced toward the Eight True Kings and Twenty-Four Immortals of the Shenmo Dao Sect. The divine arts of Gods and Demons wielded by the eight True Kings and twenty-four Immortals were dazzling to the utmost, their Dao power manifesting as ancient gods and ancient demons striding forth from the void, converging to slaughter Xu Ying.
Yet as all their divine arts drew near him, they withered and diminished incessantly. One after another, the ancient gods and demons shrank back and were subsequently swallowed into his silhouette.
Around him, there seemed to exist an invisible Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan, drinking these divine arts into itself, rendering him impervious to all arts.
Those divine arts were reduced to chaotic Dao power, which in turn evolved into the Dao powers of Hongmeng, Taiji, Wuji, Taiyi, and more, causing his cultivation and strength to continuously rise in the midst of battle!
"In the past, whenever I returned to the other shore, I always had to suppress my cultivation and strength, converting my Dao patterns into principle patterns to keep my own Dao patterns from reducing the other shore to Dao ash."
Xu Ying spurred the Dao of Slaughter, condensing it into a strand of sword Qi in his hand. Shifting his form through the fray, he charged toward these Immortals and True Kings, remarking leisurely, "Now, I can finally pit my peak self against the experts of the other shore!"
He plunged into the throng, a flash of sword light piercing straight toward Kong Zun.
Kong Zun was in the early stage of the Immortal realm and had only recently qualified to preach the Dao across the myriad universes, having spread teachings to four universes and gathered a good number of disciples. The moment he sensed Xu Ying's sword lunging toward him, phantasms instantly erupted before his eyes as if calamities and fortunes of every sort were crashing down upon him at once, leaving him with the distinct impression that there was no way to evade this thrust.
*Squelch—*
Xu Ying's sword pierced through Kong Zun's forehead. Sword light surged into his body, annihilating his Primordial Spirit and shattering the dozens of cave abysses behind him all at once—a display of utter and absolute ruin.
No sooner had he slain Kong Zun with a single sword stroke than the other Immortals and True Kings swarmed forward. Seeing that their divine arts had no effect, they each summoned their magic treasures.
The power of magic treasures was vastly greater than that of divine arts, and their speed was far faster. Even with the bodhimanda resembling a Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan formed around Xu Ying, it would not suffice to withstand so many magic treasures.
Yet the moment their magic treasures were summoned, space and time violently convulsed. Wheel upon wheel of spatiotemporal Samsara crisscrossed horizontally and vertically, sweeping the crowd within them as they spun with howling force!
Some were hurled hundreds of millions of li away, while others were driven down into the Chaos Sea, separated from one another—the divine art of Samsara.
True King Gong Lu was also caught up in a halo of Samsara. Remaining composed in the face of peril, she immediately channeled her Dao power of Gods and Demons, intending to rely on brute force to tear Samsara apart. Suddenly, her body plummeted downward violently.
Startled, Gong Lu tumbled swiftly from the first tier of Samsara down to the second, followed by the third, the fourth, and the fifth!
Her fall grew faster and faster. In a single instant, it felt as though she had lived through lifetime after lifetime, her lifelong cultivation, Dao power, and comprehension constantly being stripped away!
Terror gripped Gong Lu's heart. By the time she fell into the thirtieth tier of Samsara, every scrap of her cultivation and Dao power had been stripped clean, her various comprehensions completely wiped away, and even the cave abysses in the darkness behind her had all ruptured and vanished!
From an Immortal True King, she had been reduced to a mortal commoner!
"My cultivation..."
Before she could recover from her panic, a flash of sword light flew in, piercing straight through her throat.
Xu Ying drew his sword. A spray of blood burst from the female True King's throat, every trace of life extinguished.
Far in the distance, vast and mighty magic treasures boomed from afar, shattering space and time and suppressing the heaven-and-earth Grand Daos—the Immortals Xu Ying had banished into the distance were making their comeback.
Within the Tianjing Sea, one Immortal and True King after another burst forth from the surface of the Chaos Sea, bristling with fury as they spurred their magic treasures and charged toward Xu Ying to kill him!
Xu Ying walked forward with sword in hand at a leisurely pace, paying no heed to those magic treasures of ever-escalating might.
Behind his head, the Reincarnation ring grew increasingly brilliant, suddenly flashing with golden radiance as it transformed from the Reincarnation ring into the Karma Golden Wheel.
Within the golden wheel, a bizarre eye snapped open. In an instant, karma around the Tianjing Sea fell into utter disarray. The Immortal treasures that had just been assailing Xu Ying abruptly turned to attack one another, colliding violently. In mere moments, half of the magic treasures were destroyed.
With a slash of his sword, Xu Ying took off True King Jinhe's head. True King Jinhe's Primordial Spirit split into tens of thousands of fragments and plunged into the tens of thousands of cave abysses behind him, fleeing toward different universes while crying out, "Xu Ying, don't you dare think you can kill me!"
Xu Ying flicked his finger against the blade. The sword Qi hummed and vibrated, splitting into tens of thousands of strands in an instant, piercing through the void and flying into the tens of thousands of cave abysses behind True King Jinhe as well—moving even faster than True King Jinhe's many Primordial Spirits!
Before True King Jinhe's Primordial Spirits could even flee out of the cave abysses, they were butchered to the very last!
The two Immortals Yan Ao and Murong Xi were relatively close and charged in at once. Before they could even draw near, they saw those tens of thousands of sword Qi streams fly out from Jinhe's cave abysses, whistling through the air as they merged back into the sword light in Xu Ying's hand.
The sword light lunged toward the two of them. They scrambled to parry, but struck only empty air, each tumbling uncontrollably into Samsara.
While still plummeting, two sudden bursts of sword Qi pierced through their chests, striking them dead mid-fall.
"Shenmo Ultimate Dao!"
Dao Lord Nie Xuan roared ferociously, attacking from behind Xu Ying. Pushing the Shenmo Ultimate Dao Ode to its absolute peak, like a god and like a demon, he hurled a fist forth!
With his back still turned to him, Xu Ying decapitated True King Chinan, who was charging from the front, with a single stroke. He raised his other hand, pivoted, and pressed down with the Chaos Huntian Hand, colliding squarely with the fist strike launched by Dao Lord Nie Xuan!
*Boom—!*
The surging, churning Dao power of the two swept out in all directions, causing the Immortals rushing forward to lose their footing, filled with immense dread.
Xu Ying's body swayed slightly, but Dao Lord Nie Xuan was bleeding from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. His fist blew apart, bursting open in all directions like a blossoming flower.
*Cough—!*
He vomited a huge mouthful of blood, the gore mingled with Chaotic Qi and Dao ash, an appalling sight.
Surprised, Xu Ying praised, "You are the first Immortal to take a strike from me and survive. As expected of a Dao Lord. Try taking another!"
The sword light in his hand flickered as he drove the sword of slaughter with the power of karmic calamity. Though it was a deceptively simple thrust, in Nie Xuan's field of vision, the world was filled with sword light, sealing off every conceivable dodge and block!
This was a sword strike uniting karmic calamity and slaughter—one that even a Dao Lord such as he had no way to evade or resist!
Right at that moment, the other Immortals and True Kings summoned their magic treasures one after another, pressing down in unison and shouting, "Suppress!"
Xu Ying's momentum was checked; he was actually suppressed by their combined might, pausing for a brief instant.
Seeing that he had been on the verge of dying beneath Xu Ying's sword, Dao Lord Nie Xuan barely caught his breath, feeling a wave of inner shame. Immediately raising his arm, he unfurled an array diagram with a loud rustle. Spreading out across the sky, a god and a demon leapt forth from the diagram!
"Shenmo Myriad Manifestations!"
Dao Lord Nie Xuan bellowed. The Shenmo Wanxiang Diagram drew the magic treasures of all the Immortals into its formation, and the array's power spiked astronomically!
Channeling his profound technique, Dao Lord Nie Xuan roared, "All junior brothers and sisters, mobilize all the magic power from the myriad universes to drive the array diagram and suppress this rebel!"
The remaining Immortals and True Kings leaped into the air, encircling Xu Ying with erupting magic power. Behind them in the darkness, thousands of cave abysses of Gods and Demons lit up one by one, reaping their successors across the myriad universes and stealing their power!
In merely a breath, the Shenmo Wanxiang Diagram suppressed Xu Ying.
Within the Wanxiang Diagram, the god and demon, surrounded by numerous Immortal treasures, circled the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan, performing all manner of bizarre movements—resembling sacrificial rites, incantations, and rituals of worship!
A fierce glint flashed in Xu Ying's eyes. Suddenly, his body swayed, transforming from human shape into a Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan. In an instant, those many magic treasures, along with the god and demon from the Wanxiang Diagram, were dragged into the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan together.
Swallowing down the numerous magic treasures in one gulp, Xu Ying immediately reverted from the state of a Hongyuan into human form. Reaching out, he seized an Immortal by the neck and hoisted him up.
*Roar—!*
He let out a tremendous roar. From his mouth, the undissolved remnants of those numerous Immortal treasures flew out in succession, blasting that Immortal to pieces along with the darkness and cave abysses behind him!
A drone echoed behind Xu Ying's head as the Eye of Karma in the Karma Golden Wheel abruptly opened.
The karma around them fell into complete chaos, and the attacks of the other Immortals suddenly veered off course, no longer aiming at Xu Ying, but striking at one another instead!
In an instant, battle erupted into chaos. The Immortals beneath Grand Dao Lord Shenmo slaughtered one another, their strikes growing increasingly savage amidst the fluttering Dao snow.
Between them, karma was already thrown into disorder. Their hatred and malice toward Xu Ying were transplanted onto each other, until they each perceived their fellows as mortal enemies who had killed their brothers, slain their fathers, stolen their wives, and tormented their children.
Even past verbal squabbles and glaring rivalries all erupted at this very moment!
Xu Ying walked through their midst. Whenever these Immortals encountered him, they actively stepped aside; occasionally, an errant divine art looked set to hit Xu Ying, only to veer around him at the very moment before impact.
Dao Lord Nie Xuan's eyelids twitched as he watched Xu Ying stroll through a field of blossoms without a single petal brushing him—the quintessential sign of the Grand Dao of Karma applied to the height of Dao-Equal-Body!
At this moment, Xu Ying was the Grand Dao of Karma itself, remaining untouched by karma while simultaneously governing the karma of others.
Behind Xu Ying, True King Gengxi decapitated Miao Feng; Jin Yang and Ji Ting perished together; Chang Ce blinded Yan Xian's eyes; and Wang Hou severed Nan Min's head.
The many Immortals beneath Grand Dao Lord Shenmo slaughtered each other in endless, relentless bloodshed, one figure falling after another.
It was a truly horrific scene.
True King Yushao was also among the many powerhouses besieging Xu Ying, yet while the others had swarmed him, Yushao alone had kept his distance from Xu Ying, merely going through the motions without exerting real effort.
Seeing now that the others were controlled by karma and locked in fratricide, he spun around without hesitation, leaped onto an emerald rock multi-decked vessel, and plunged into the Tianjing Sea.
"In this battle, I'm afraid our Shenmo Dao Sect will be wiped out entirely. By leaving now, I am preserving a lone seed for the sect!" he thought to himself.
Xu Ying strode toward Dao Lord Nie Xuan, saying calmly, "The Grand Dao of Gods and Demons is merely a decent innate Grand Dao. Among the Nine Daos I command, it is merely one of over three hundred Daos subordinate to Taiyi. Since my Taiyi has attained immortality, the Grand Dao of Gods and Demons has naturally attained immortality within me as well."
He halted his steps, looking up at the towering giant that was Dao Lord Nie Xuan. "Nie Xuan, before my Grand Dao of Samsara reached completion, I once contended against Dao Lord Daosheng, who also cultivated the Grand Dao of Samsara. He was capable of resisting the invasion of Three Realms Dao patterns, and even willingly entered Samsara to transform principle patterns into new Dao patterns. In my battle with him, I severed his life more than a hundred times, yet in the end, because my attainments in Samsara were inferior to his, I was defeated at his hands."
Dao Lord Nie Xuan's expression changed abruptly.
The Taiyi Grand Dao was the ancestor of all Daos; all Daos, including Gods and Demons, originated from Taiyi. The Grand Dao of Samsara was the sovereign of all Daos; all Daos, including Gods and Demons, revolved within Samsara, finding it difficult to leap beyond its grasp!
Though he and Daosheng Zi were both Dao Lords, in terms of strength, he lagged far behind Daosheng Zi!
"My battle with Daosheng Zi happened more than two hundred years ago," Xu Ying said softly.
Behind him, Immortal powerhouses who cultivated both Gods and Demons tumbled one after another, their physical bodies and Primordial Spirits turning to Dao ash. Some, quick to read the situation, disengaged immediately, abandoning their physical forms at top speed to flee as Primordial Spirits, diving into the cave abysses in the darkness behind them in hopes of escaping to other universes.
So long as they possessed a new host and were reborn, they could make a comeback!
Yet the Karma Golden Wheel behind Xu Ying's head suddenly transformed into a sword of slaughter, and streams of sword Qi followed closely, piercing through the cave abysses of those Immortals of the Shenmo Dao Sect and pursuing their Primordial Spirits.
Unable to endure any longer, Dao Lord Nie Xuan bellowed and lunged toward Xu Ying. At the very instant they clashed, Dao Lord Nie Xuan's body abruptly split into left and right halves, transforming into a god and a demon to attack Xu Ying from both sides!
Behind Xu Ying's head, the sword of slaughter plunged down. Grasping the sword, Xu Ying unleashed a torrent of sword light, slaughter bursting forth.
Fierce as Dao Lord Nie Xuan's offensive was, before the sword of slaughter, he felt that even the Grand Dao of Gods and Demons would be severed, leading to the destruction of both the Dao and the man!
Those sword lights swept across the battlefield with sweeping dominance. Xu Ying's silhouette was nowhere to be seen; only snowflake-like flashes of sword light could be discerned. These attacked not only Nie Xuan, but struck the other Immortals of the Shenmo Dao Sect as well. In the blink of an eye, one Immortal after another fell beneath the sword, reduced to perished souls!
As Dao Lord Nie Xuan merged god and demon back into one, a sword strike suddenly landed upon him. He felt his own Grand Dao cleaved apart, as though a portion of it had been severed, throwing him into frantic disarray and shattering his Dao heart!
With his Dao heart shattered, his rate of turning into Dao ash accelerated even further.
As for the others, their Dao hearts were in even greater turmoil than his. Dao ash whirled around them like billowing, dense smoke, leaving them utterly incapable of evading Xu Ying's sword of slaughter!
All around Nie Xuan, figures plummeted. They were the Immortals of the Shenmo Dao Sect, all struck by sword light and dying wretched deaths, their physical bodies and Primordial Spirits exploding one after another to disperse as billowing clouds of Dao ash!
Nie Xuan felt a deep pang of regret in his heart: *When conquering the Three Realms, why was Master so eager to have our Shenmo Dao Sect serve as the vanguard?!*
Suddenly, Xu Ying swept his sword horizontally across the crown of Nie Xuan's head, then sheathed his blade, turned, and walked toward the other shore shala tree.
Seeing his back turned, Dao Lord Nie Xuan was overjoyed. With a roar, he hurled a strike toward the back of Xu Ying's heart.
Yet the instant he circulated his Qi and blood, his skullcap and scalp flew off together, and the Grand Dao of Gods and Demons within his body snapped with a series of loud cracks, shattering clean in an instant!
Appalled, Nie Xuan hastily ejected his Primordial Spirit, intending to flee into other universes, only to see the cave abysses behind him drifting farther and farther away—at some unknown point, Xu Ying had severed the void, cutting off the connection between those cave abysses and himself.
His Primordial Spirit trembled faintly, then shattered into countless tiny cubes.
In the peripheral vision of his dying gaze, Xu Ying swung his sword, cleaving the other shore shala tree in two.
That towering tree toppled into the Chaos Sea, swallowed by the Chaotic Qi.
Chapter 811