Xu Ying stood at the ferry crossing and watched more than a dozen multi-decked emerald rock vessels sail out of the Chaos Sea. Aboard were experts from other universes, appearing in all manner of forms and in great numbers.
Among them were many Immortals, numbering in the hundreds.
Xu Ying stepped forward to inquire and learned that these people all admired the other shore. Having heard that enlisting in the army here would grant them the status of official people of the other shore, they had eagerly signed up.
Because of their profound cultivation, smuggling themselves in through cave abysses took far too long, leaving military service as their only path.
"These people are the true consumables in the face of calamitous destiny," Xu Ying mused with a sigh.
The other shore governed thousands of universes, harvesting and enslaving them, yet the mindsets of the cultivators in those realms were quite bizarre. While hatred existed, the moment an opportunity arose to become people of the other shore, they would instantly abandon their homelands and brave deadly peril across the Chaos Sea to set foot upon the other shore.
What they failed to realize, however, was that becoming true people of the other shore was no easy feat. The vast majority ended up as consumables sacrificed by the other shore to wear down calamitous destiny, with very few surviving.
Even if they survived and became members of the New Sacred Clan, they would face hostility from both the Old Sacred Clan and fellow New Sacred Clan members. In most cases, even their right to marry and reproduce would be stripped away.
"Why does such a thing happen?"
Xu Ying pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Most likely because the civilizational roots of their native universes were destroyed by the emerald rocks, reducing them to mere vassals of the other shore's civilization. Once they become vassals, the other shore in their hearts truly becomes the other shore."
He left the ferry crossing and traveled through the mortal realm of the other shore. Although this place had experienced the Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death extracting the great daos of heaven and earth and slaughtering tens of billions of people, it had not harmed the core vitality of the other shore.
The mortal realm of the other shore was still in chaos. Calamitous destiny continued to linger over this universe, fires of war raged everywhere, and calamitous destiny manifested as slaughter, the killing aura growing ever more intense.
Xu Ying did not continue plotting to lure the other shore's powerhouses into forbidden zones to revive Dao Masters. The "well" character Li Xiao had drawn made him sense the danger.
What Li Xiao meant was that Dao Master Hua would sacrifice the Lingxing Gate across space to slay him; by plunging into the Chaos Sea with the Lingxing Gate, Li Xiao had actually sacrificed herself to save his life.
"I have already revived four Dao Masters, corresponding to the four great Dao Masters of the current world. If I revive even one more, it would likely cross Dao Master Hua's bottom line," Xu Ying reflected. "Those four Dao Masters, along with Taiyi, will certainly think of ways to revive even more Dao Masters in order to counter Hua and the others. As for what follows, I need only sit back and watch."
He spent eight years wandering through the mortal realm of the other shore searching for Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's whereabouts, yet never found him.
Taiyi had departed alongside Tian Chengzi. To evade Dao Master Luo's tracking, he was difficult to spot.
The other shore was simply too vast, making it far from easy to locate the pair.
Suddenly, exceptionally powerful ripples of divine abilities pulsed from ahead. Xu Ying's heart stirred. *The Great Dao of Yin and Yang! To refine the Great Dao of Yin and Yang to such a level, it can only be the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang! Has he left Daoji Heaven to undergo tribulations as well?*
The person clashing with the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang was equally extraordinary, likely cultivating the Great Dao of Creation!
Xu Ying could not help being moved. Judging from the dao force of creation radiating from their clash, that person's cultivation and strength were not the least bit inferior to the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang!
*Strange. When did the other shore produce such a figure? Shouldn't there only be four Grand Dao Lords on the other shore?*
Puzzled, he followed the ripples of divine abilities.
Around him, vegetation suddenly ran wild, vines thrashing about. As he advanced further, he saw vast crowds of thousand-zhang giants.
These thousand-zhang giants had originally been ordinary people of the other shore, but influenced by the Great Dao of Yin and Yang and the Great Dao of Creation, they had mutated!
Not only that, Xu Ying even saw massive mountains uprooting themselves to turn into stone giants, and mighty rivers surging and coiling to become water dragons!
The dao forces of Yin and Yang and the dao force of creation vied for supremacy in this stretch of heaven and earth, invisibly altering nearby living beings and myriad things!
All things and myriad kinds altered their forms under the influence of the three dao forces.
It was difficult to distinguish which was superior between the Great Dao of Yin and Yang and the Great Dao of Creation. Yin and Yang governed the birth and evolution of all things and the gestation of myriad kinds. Creation governed inception and transformation, while simultaneously encompassing the Great Dao of Fortune.
They encompassed one another, yet possessed distinct differences.
The Great Dao of Creation could bestow life upon the lifeless, while Yin and Yang could generate matter; both possessed traits that the other lacked.
Ever since arriving on the other shore, Xu Ying had never encountered anyone who could cultivate the Great Dao of Creation to the level of a Grand Dao Lord, making him all the more curious.
Before long, he reached the battlefield. Behind the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's head hovered the Yin-Yang Cave Abyss, forming a Taiji diagram, his cultivation and strength vastly higher than when he had fought Taiyi in the past.
His Incomparable Art of the Yin-Yang Heavenly Path had grown even more perfected, the Great Dao of Yin and Yang circulating through it with strong momentum toward reverse-attaining Taiji. If he could reverse-attain the Great Dao of Taiji, then evolve Taisu, Taishi, Taichu, and Taiyi, and finally transcend the Five Tais to comprehend Wuji, he would be able to rival Grand Dao Lord Taiyi.
Even so, pursuing the Great Dao of Yin and Yang to its peak was extraordinary in its own right, possessing immense power that left Xu Ying deeply impressed. *My attainments in the Great Dao of Yin and Yang are far inferior to his,* he thought.
The Great Dao of Yin and Yang was a branch of the Great Dao of Taiji—one of the Five Tais governed by the Great Dao of Wuji, which he cultivated. Such a dao could also be encompassed within Taiyi and commanded by it.
Although Xu Ying had cultivated both daos, his achievements in them were not exceptionally high. Witnessing the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's dao arts, he promptly grew much humbler.
*The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang is not to be underestimated. In my hands, he could probably last two extra rounds.*
Clashing with the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang was an unfamiliar man whom Xu Ying had never seen. He appeared around thirty years of age, stood nine feet tall, wore magnificent attire, and had handsome, well-defined features, with a two-winged mustache beneath his lips curving slightly upward at the ends.
The man also cultivated a cave abyss, which stood upright behind him like a bright mirror without a reflective surface—peculiar in the extreme.
*Not of the sacred race! Yet he utilizes the other shore's rational scripts!*
Xu Ying was astonished. This man had not assumed a sacred race form, but was confronting the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang in his true body!
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang possessed the body of an ancient god; his physical form was overbearing beyond measure, and his primordial spirit was formidable. Yet against this man, he actually found himself at a disadvantage, his situation perilous!
*This man's divine abilities of creation are truly adept; his dao attainment is likely far above Yin-Yang's! Yet his cultivation realm is not exceedingly high, having only recently stepped into the Immortal realm!*
Just as the thought crossed Xu Ying's mind, the young man noticed someone approaching. He immediately threw a palm strike straight into the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's chest, dao force of creation invading within!
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang spat blood, his aura withering. But the young man pulled back, laughing. "Someone has arrived, so I cannot enjoy myself to the fullest! Fellow Daoist Yin-Yang, I shall spare your life!"
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang groaned. Upon seeing that the newcomer was Xu Ying, despair overwhelmed him. *Why must the one who arrives be this fiend? My life is forfeit!*
Xu Ying called out hastily, "Fellow Daoist, hold your steps!"
The young man retreated while keeping his face squarely toward Xu Ying. Hearing the call, he suddenly paused and said, "What guidance does Fellow Daoist have to offer?"
Xu Ying saluted and smiled. "Might Your Excellency be a person of Tianjing? I am Xu Ying, and I share quite a bond with Tianjing's Dao Venerable, Zhuo Daochun, and others."
The young man was surprised. "You are Xu Ying? I have heard the Dao Venerable, Xuhuang, and the others mention you, saying you are a genius of the Three Realms whose future achievements will certainly be extraordinary."
His eyes flashed. Suddenly closing the distance, the cave abyss behind his head blazed with dazzling brilliance as dao force of creation flew forth, transforming into a divine saber radiating ten thousand beams of light.
The young man swung his saber downward. The Creation Divine Saber rippled with resplendent glow. Wherever its light shone—falling upon mountains, the peaks dissolved into fine dust; shining upon rivers, the water vanished!
Xu Ying raised a hand and extended two fingers, catching the descending divine saber. The saber beam instantly halted between his fingertips.
*Snap!*
The saber beam snapped. Xu Ying crossed his fingers and flicked the broken blade. The young man shuddered violently and staggered back continuously to disperse the force of the flick, raising his head in astonishment to look at Xu Ying.
Just as Xu Ying was about to ask why he had attacked, the young man said, "Xu Ying, you are indeed worthy of being called a genius! However, I have yet to recover to my peak condition. In time, I will come again to test your mettle and contend with you!"
With a whoosh, he sped off and quickly vanished.
Xu Ying frowned slightly and turned toward the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang.
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang looked grim. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Xu Ying, falling into your hands today truly means calamitous destiny has caught up with me. But if you wish to use me as a sacrifice, I will not sit idly by and await death. Even if I must die, I will drag you down with me!"
Xu Ying said in surprise, "Brother Dao, whatever do you mean? Though I hail from the Taiyi Dao Sect, I never slaughter the innocent."
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang's eyes widened, and he sneered repeatedly. "Word has reached me that Brother Dao Life and Death has already perished at your hands, sacrificed by you to revive Dao Masters!"
Xu Ying shook his head. "Brother Dao misunderstands. Has Xu ever killed an innocent person? The Grand Dao Lord of Life and Death came to kill me and was slain in return; he brought that upon himself. In the Lingxing Gate, those Immortals saw my Chaos Lotus and Hongyuan, lusted after my treasures, and came to kill me and seize them; their deaths were well-deserved. As for the tens of thousands of fellow daoists who died at Longxing Temple, wasn't it because of the Dao Master's kill order that they came to take my life, only to meet tragic ends? Yet not a single one of them was killed by my hand."
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang remained half-convinced and half-doubting.
Xu Ying said, "I arrived here and scared that man away. Brother Dao, you ought to be grateful to me."
Knowing he was no match for Xu Ying, the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang snorted and muttered, "Thank you."
With an amiable expression, Xu Ying asked, "Who was the man who just beat you half to death? Why have I never heard of him?"
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang replied, "His dao name is Lingxuzi, a Dao Master of Tianjing."
"A Dao Master?"
Xu Ying was momentarily taken aback. That man earlier clearly possessed the cultivation of the Immortal realm; how could he be a Dao Master?
Yet the Great Dao of Creation stood on equal footing with the Great Dao of Yin and Yang. For Lingxuzi to severely injure the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang—who was already at the perfection stage—while only in the early stage of the Immortal realm, his dao attainment indeed far surpassed that of a Grand Dao Lord.
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang said, "During the dao tides, when the great daos of the other shore surged, this man was revived. Yet he did not remain in Tianjing; instead, he came to our other shore to cultivate. He has not cultivated for long, but his progress has been extraordinarily rapid, already reaching the Immortal realm. While tracking down those from Tianjing who sneaked into the other shore to cultivate, I was noticed by him. I originally thought I could eliminate him, but unexpectedly, I was injured by him instead."
Hearing this, Xu Ying thought, *People of Tianjing truly have infiltrated the other shore! This aligns with the speculations Hua, Lin, and Luo made back then!*
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang continued, "Lingxuzi is not the only Dao Master of Tianjing who snuck into the other shore to cultivate. I have discovered over a dozen suspected Tianjing Dao Masters who entered the other shore to cultivate, and their cultivation has already reached extreme heights! Xu Ying, Lingxuzi intends to seek you out for a duel; I advise you to leave quickly! Ten days of his cultivation progress is faster than ten or a hundred years of yours!"
Xu Ying said, "Thank you. Has Brother Dao Yin-Yang heard any news of the rebel Taiyi?"
The Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang hesitated for a moment, then said, "I saw him once three months ago. He was in a weakened state, having sacrificed his own dao and vital blood to revive Dao Master Qixian in Baling. I originally intended to strike against him, but there were others at his side, so I let it be."
Xu Ying waved his hand. "Brother Dao, go on. I will not kill you."
Facing Xu Ying, the Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang stepped backward step by step. Once he had retreated to a safe distance, his body suddenly shook, splitting into numerous incarnations. Each stamped their feet, and thousands of heavenly paths appeared like long rainbows leading in different directions.
Each Grand Dao Lord of Yin and Yang mounted a heavenly path, scattering in all directions!
Xu Ying shook his head. "Why be so cautious? I'd like to kill you as well, but I fear Dao Master Hua would not tolerate me."
He shook his head slightly and hurried toward Baling, thinking, *Did the Tianjing Dao Masters entering the other shore to cultivate truly come at the Dao Venerable's behest? The revival of Tianjing's great daos has lasted for four hundred years. If they arrived at the other shore right after being revived, then they have already been cultivating here for four hundred years.*
With their past cultivation experience, cultivating on the other shore would be many times faster than in their previous lives!
In four hundred years, they could likely have drawn close to becoming Dao Masters once again!
*The other shore is currently undergoing calamitous destiny. Attaining and mastering the Dao on the other shore—what exactly is the Dao Venerable intending? Is it to launch a counteroffensive against the other shore?*
He frowned slightly. If the goal was to counterattack the other shore, why not have these dozen-plus Dao Masters wait in Tianjing for their great daos to revive?
Once their daos revived and their cultivation returned to its peak, with the Dao Venerable's strength combined with over a dozen Dao Masters, wouldn't they be able to easily flatten the other shore?
After ten or so days, Xu Ying arrived at Baling, only to find the Baling forbidden zone destroyed; presumably, the Dao Master here, Dao Master Qixian, had already been revived.
Xu Ying took out a map, compared the locations, and thought, *The closest place to Baling is Dongxu. Taiyi should be heading there.*
Traveling at full speed, he arrived at Dongxu in just several dozen days, yet he drew a blank once again: Dongxu had already been breached, with no trace of Taiyi.
Just as Xu Ying was about to seek out the next forbidden zone, a familiar voice suddenly rang out: "Xu Ying, we meet again!"
Xu Ying paused and turned around. Lingxuzi stood in midair, looking down at him, eyes flashing with sharp light, itching for a fight.
The current Lingxuzi was even stronger than three months ago, his cultivation so profound that it actually exerted pressure on Xu Ying.
"Lingxuzi, I am acquainted with the Dao Venerable and received his guidance, and I was also taught by Xuanhuang. Tianjing has shown me kindness," Xu Ying said amicably. "The Three Realms and Tianjing share a common enemy. The two of us should join hands against our foe. Why must you be so aggressive and ruin the harmony between us?"
Without another word, Lingxuzi channeled his dao force of creation once more, forming a Creation Divine Saber that slashed down brazenly as he shouted, "All dao arts of the Three Realms originated from our Tianjing! What qualification do you have to join hands with us on the other shore?"
Xu Ying could not help feeling anger rise, his eye twitching slightly.
"I haven't killed anyone in eight years!"
Chapter 829