Zhangsun Shenghai's mouth felt parched, his heart pounding frantically. For a moment, he did not know whether to rejoice or grieve.
What brought him joy was that Xu Ying had promised to seize the Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear for him, and unexpectedly, it was about to fall into his hands right now.
What brought him grief was that Luo Taizong was hiding inside his Hongyuan Grand Cavity and could snuff him out at any second.
Xu Ying took the Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear from Dao Master Lin's hand and abruptly channeled his Nirvanic Hongyuan. Instantly, surging Dao power roiled throughout his body, exuding the demonic disposition of an overlord poised to swallow the world, exterminate all living beings, and return the heaven, earth, and cosmos to chaos!
With a single thrust of his spear, streaks of Nirvanic Heavenly Fire burst from the tip, whirling into Nirvanic Hongyuans of varying sizes that danced in all directions!
Even though he was merely an Immortal, he gave every Dao Master present a strong sense of unease, as though clashing with him would tear them to shreds!
Xu Ying was both surprised and delighted. This Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear was a complete innate numinous treasure, and because it had been tainted by Nirvanic Heavenly Fire during the Emperor Realm's nirvanic extinction, its power surpassed that of ordinary innate numinous treasures!
The moment he held it, he secretly regretted promising to give this treasure to Zhangsun Shenghai.
This numinous treasure suited his tastes far too well.
"The Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction is truly domineering!"
Gong Jiexuan praised repeatedly and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Xu, there have been many misunderstandings between us in the past, and I ask for your magnanimity. Fellow Daoist, the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction is exceedingly treacherous; one could easily be overcome and controlled by nirvanic extinction at any time. Should you feel any discomfort, my father can gladly resolve your doubts."
Xu Ying offered his thanks and said, "While this Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear is fine, my cultivation is modest. A single magic treasure imbued with Nirvanic Heavenly Fire will likely not suffice against Luo Taizong. It would be best if there were one more..."
His gaze shifted toward Dao Master Lin, who shook his head. "Innate numinous treasures bearing Nirvanic Heavenly Fire are inherently rare. I have only this one."
Xu Ying turned toward Dao Master Luo with an expectant look.
Dao Master Luo apologized, "Fellow Daoist Xu, I have none either."
Xu Ying looked toward Dao Master Hua, who pretended not to see.
Xu Ying cleared his throat. "Brother Daoist Hua should prioritize the greater good. What is a mere numinous treasure to speak of?"
Dao Master Hua snorted and retrieved an emerald-green lamp whose flame core was a cluster of Nirvanic Heavenly Fire. "This lamp is called Nirvanic Azure Emptiness. It harbors the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction. Return it to me once you have used it."
Xu Ying took it cautiously and scrutinized it closely, noting that the Nirvanic Heavenly Fire of the Nirvanic Azure Emptiness Lamp differed from that of the Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear.
Within this flame, there seemed to be a complete cosmos currently undergoing nirvanic extinction!
Xu Ying's heart thumped wildly. *Harboring the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction—what a fine treasure! That old scoundrel Hua must have refined my precious lamp thousands of times. I wonder if washing it in the Chaos Sea can scrub away the old thief's brand?*
Gong Jiexuan said with a beaming smile, "Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Xu for obtaining two treasures in succession."
"It is on loan to him," Dao Master Hua cleared his throat and said. "Little lady, do not be so eager to win over this Three Realms rebel. First, tell us how to find Luo Taizong."
Gong Jiexuan smiled. "Brother Daoist Jiang Ning of our Tianjing has already attained the Dao through Karma and become a Dao Master. As a cosmic primordial spirit who embodies the Heavenly Daos of the other shore, Luo Taizong is also steeped in calamitous destiny and burdened by heavy karma. As for where he is hiding, Brother Daoist Jiang Ning need only open his Dao Eye to see it at a glance. Brother Daoist Jiang Ning!"
Dao Master Jiang Ning stepped forward. Just as he was about to activate his Karmic Dao Eye to see through the truth, his hair stood on end. He felt an incomparably sharp sword pressed against the back of his heart, and his body froze, not daring to move.
He wanted to speak, but felt that the moment he opened his mouth and released his breath, the sword would instantly pierce him through!
Dao Master Tongtian stood behind him, his eyes fixed on Jiang Ning's back. "Hold on. We are still short a Dao Master of Grand Primordium."
Gong Jiexuan smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, I cultivate the Grand Primordium Great Dao. Although I have yet to become a Dao Master, I am not far from it."
She raised a purple banner and said, "This item is also an innate numinous treasure, which can aid me in battle."
Dao Master Tongtian continued to suppress Dao Master Jiang Ning with his murderous intent, adding, "There is no rush to seek out Luo Taizong. Our immediate priority is to weaken his strength first by partitioning the other shore and diminishing its Heavenly Daos. If we search him out now and alert the snake, it will be vastly more difficult to find him next time."
Dao Master Luo pondered for a moment, then agreed, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian speaks reason. Everyone, my treacherous father is cunning and slippery. If he detects us, tracking him down will be arduous. If he escapes the other shore, we will likely never know peace again."
Dao Master Lin said, "This time, we must devise an airtight plan to ensure nothing goes awry, and send Luo Taizong on his way!"
The crowd nodded one after another.
Dao Master Tongtian said, "Brother Daoist Luo, Brother Daoist Lin, Brother Daoist Hua, go and disrupt the other shore. The rest will remain here to drill the encirclement of Luo Taizong."
Dao Master Lin asked, "And what of you, Fellow Daoist?"
Dao Master Tongtian said indifferently, "I wield Slaughter; it is ill-suited for me to fracture the other shore and whittle down its Heavenly Daos."
Hua, Lin, and Luo nodded in agreement; Dao Master Tongtian was indeed unsuited for such tasks. The three Dao Masters departed separately. Dao Master Taiyi opened his mouth to speak, but held back.
Xu Ying sighed with myriad emotions. "Back then, the other shore used the Emerald Rock to shatter the Three Realms. Who could have thought that today, the other shore's own Dao Masters would smash the other shore with their own hands? Who is to say this is not calamitous destiny at work?"
Dao Master Taiyi's gaze fell upon him. "Have you sensed something?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "My Great Dao of Calamitous Destiny has yet to reach the Dao Master level."
Dao Master Taiyi's gaze turned to Dao Master Haining.
Dao Master Haining said, "This matter has yet to occur; I cannot say whether it is calamitous destiny either."
Dao Master Tongtian said, "Everyone, drill the combined attack methods. Fellow Daoist Xu, Shenghai, come with me."
Xu Ying and Zhangsun Shenghai followed him, moving far away from the Dao Masters to a secluded spot. Xu Ying brought out the Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear and whispered, "Shenghai, take this first. When we battle Luo Taizong, find an opportunity to go to the Chaos Sea and wash this spear clean."
Zhangsun Shenghai exclaimed in shock, "How can that be allowed? If Dao Master Lin asks..."
Xu Ying chuckled. "Dao Master Lin has so many numinous treasures; one more or one less makes no difference to him. The Fire-Tipped Spear was originally an artifact of your Emperor Realm. Take it for now; I have my own means of self-preservation."
Zhangsun Shenghai hesitated, moved by the words "an artifact of your Emperor Realm," and accepted the spear after all.
As the Nirvanic Fire-Tipped Spear settled into his grasp, Nirvanic Heavenly Fire immediately surged, whistling across his body. Dao sounds resonated from the spear shaft, bursting with luminous radiance and chiming in harmony with his own Grand Dao!
Zhangsun Shenghai's spirits were greatly lifted, and he hurriedly stowed the spear away.
Dao Master Tongtian hoisted the Immortal Slaying Sword. A single stroke froze spacetime, and sword light poured downward like a curtain of light, blocking all sight from the outside world. He said calmly, "Brother Daoist Luo, please come out. I will grant you a path to survive."
Luo Taizong emerged from Zhangsun Shenghai's Suspended Ridge and asked in surprise, "Tongtian, you knew I was hiding here?"
Dao Master Tongtian said indifferently, "Calamitous destiny and slaughter complement one another. You bear heavy calamitous destiny, and your slaughter is immense, so naturally I could see where you were hiding. I merely could not bear to harm my disciple, which is why I did not expose you."
Luo Taizong laughed heartily. "A Dao Master who wields Slaughter actually harbors parental affection for a pupil! Dao Master Tongtian, the Dao of Slaughter is a heartless path. Having emotion dooms you to never reach its pinnacle!"
Dao Master Tongtian replied, "Slaughter is heartless, but I am no block of wood or stone—how could I be devoid of feeling? I wield Slaughter; I have not become Slaughter. Luo Taizong, you have already strayed onto a crooked path, doomed never to reach its pinnacle."
Luo Taizong snorted and turned to Zhangsun Shenghai. "Your cultivation art is quite decent, but you still lack an innate numinous treasure to unify the Nine Innate Daos. If you could obtain such a treasure, your rise would be meteoric. You suit my tastes far better than that brat Xu Ying. I had a Dao Alliance Token that I could have given you, but alas, I gave it away."
"Dao Alliance Token?"
Zhangsun Shenghai blinked, suddenly recalling the token Xu Ying had thrust into his hands. Hurriedly taking it out, he asked, "Is it this one?"
Luo Taizong was stunned. He looked at Xu Ying, then at Zhangsun Shenghai, overwhelmed with myriad emotions. He laughed, "Fate, what extraordinary fate! Since you have obtained my token, I cannot mistreat you. Tongtian, lend me your disciple for a few days. I have things I wish to teach him."
Hearing this, Xu Ying showed an eager look and asked, "Are they supreme arts of the Dao Alliance? Can I learn them too?"
Seeing Xu Ying only infuriated Luo Taizong, who sneered, "None for you! In a few days, you will join forces with the other Dao Masters to kill me. Why on earth would I teach you?"
Dao Master Tongtian said, "Brother Daoist, your opportunities to escape are few. If the three Dao Masters—Hua, Lin, and Luo—weaken the power of heaven and earth's Grand Daos, your injuries remain unhealed, and your cultivation is severely depleted, you might not survive."
Luo Taizong laughed uproariously and shook his head. "I did not come here to flee for my life, but to resolve the other shore's calamitous destiny and track down the outcast of the Dao Alliance. With the matter yet unresolved, how could I run away? Your disciple is prime material; he has already carved out a path of his own, and I am merely adding flowers onto brocade. Tongtian, will you lend him or not?"
Dao Master Tongtian knew that seeing Zhangsun Shenghai's potential had stirred Luo Taizong's appreciation for talent. He nodded gently. "Be my guest."
Luo Taizong promptly took Zhangsun Shenghai, broke out of the barrier of sword qi, and vanished without a trace.
Xu Ying stared into the distance for a long while and said wistfully, "I have yet to witness the Dao methods of the Dao Alliance."
Dao Master Tongtian said, "Fellow Daoist, since you already possess a Dao Alliance Token, why fret over Luo Taizong's Dao methods? Luo Taizong is an ancient god of limited natural talent. He was born commanding the Daos of heaven and earth, but that very nature confines him. The Dao methods he could learn from the Dao Alliance are merely four: Karma, Samsara, Calamitous Destiny, and Slaughter."
Thinking it over carefully, Xu Ying had to admit that Dao Master Tongtian possessed keen insight.
Luo Taizong could indeed only master those four Great Daos. Anything beyond their scope—such as Taiyi, which was the chaos-origin unification of all Daos, or Nirvanic Extinction, which was the obliteration of all Daos—lay beyond his grasp. As for Chaos and Grand Primordium, mastering them was utterly out of the question for him.
Dao Master Tongtian said, "For cultivators like us, a lifetime of practice lies in defying heaven, for only by defying heaven can one seize life, death, and creation. It lies in defying the Dao, for only by defying the Dao can one become a Dao Master and command the Great Dao. The heaven and earth in which I dwell cannot confine me, and so I walk out of it. The Great Dao I cultivate cannot confine me, and so I transcend it!"
Holding the Immortal Slaying Sword, he thrust toward Xu Ying and chanted softly:
"Today, the long sword binds the azure dragon,
Calamitous destiny and nirvanic extinction sweep like the autumn wind!
What binds you and me is nothing more than our Dao hearts!"
Seeing that sword light plunge toward him, Xu Ying glimpsed the Great Dao of Calamitous Destiny within the slaughter—calamitous destiny coiled tight, leaving him nowhere to dodge!
Within that slaughter, he also glimpsed the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, poised to devour and annihilate him!
The sword light rippled and was withdrawn in an instant, without harming a single hair on his head.
Dao Master Tongtian sheathed his blade. Tall and gaunt, the elderly Dao Master drifted away, his voice echoing from afar: "Only by breaking free of confinement does one prove oneself a Dao Master. Who says that once someone becomes a Dao Master, there is no possibility of advancing further in other Great Daos?"
Xu Ying watched him depart, his thoughts churning like ocean waves.
Dao Master Tongtian had started out in the Sword Dao. Amid the apocalypse wrought by the Emerald Rock, he had comprehended the Dao of Slaughter from his swordcraft, brought it to great completion in the era of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, and walked out of the Three Realms to arrive at the other shore.
Through countless hardships, he had finally attained the Dao through Slaughter on the other shore, becoming a Dao Master.
Now, without anyone realizing it, this gaunt, elderly man had broken through the shackles of the Dao of Slaughter, using Slaughter to comprehend Calamitous Destiny and Nirvanic Extinction as he ascended toward even higher realms!
*Brother Daoist Tongtian is truly inspiring and awe-inducing. He is countless times better than Hua, Lin, and Luo, who are trapped in their complacent ways!* Xu Ying marveled inwardly.
Xu Ying returned, only to see Taiyi, Gong Jiexuan, Cen Xi, Yuxi, Jiang Ning, and the others drilling their coordination to grind down Luo Taizong's cultivation and Dao attainment.
In just a short time, their coordination had grown exceptionally tight.
In this battle, the four Dao Masters—Hua, Lin, Luo, and Tongtian—would remain the core force, withstanding Luo Taizong's counterattacks, while Xu Ying, Taiyi, and the rest would steadily weaken Luo Taizong until they wore him down to death.
Xu Ying did not join in. Instead, he sat to one side, staring blankly as they drilled.
His thoughts, however, were fluttering away to somewhere far beyond.
"What binds you and me is nothing more than our Dao hearts."
Dao Master Tongtian's words echoed repeatedly in his ears. Dao Master Tongtian had done it—from the Sword Dao to becoming a Dao Master of three Daos: Calamitous Destiny, Slaughter, and Nirvanic Extinction.
His Dao heart had never been bound.
Long sword in hand, binding the azure dragon, he constantly surpassed himself and constantly surpassed heaven and earth!
And what of himself?
Was his own Dao heart bound by the Nine Innate Daos?
Could he leap beyond the Nine Innate Daos?
In the distance, the other shore shook as mountains crumbled. The heavy, immense continent of the other shore suddenly tore into pieces at this moment. Countless stars were disturbed, their trajectories drastically altered and the celestial patterns thrown into chaos!
Fragments of the fractured other shore drifted off in different directions, one chunk after another, continuously shattering into even smaller pieces.
This was the destruction wrought by the three Dao Masters of the other shore as they shattered its mortal realm!
The formerly unified other shore had finally devolved into a scattered state resembling the All Heavens and Myriad Realms. The Heavenly Sea was severed, heaven and earth fractured, floods raged, subterranean fire erupted, mountains shook, celestial phenomena warped violently, and natural disasters of every kind followed in their wake!
At the same time, across from the other shore, at the edge of Tianjing, a youth in yellow robes stood with his hands behind his back, gazing darkly at the fragmentation of the other shore.
"Hua Shengsheng has entered the tribulation. Luo Shizong has entered the tribulation. And now Lin Chuanting has entered the tribulation as well."
He revealed a faint smile. Everything on the other shore was progressing steadily within his calculations, exactly as he had foreseen.
"And Luo Taizong, you came looking for me this time—who is to say it was not all part of my design? This time, you are doomed to meet your fate in this tribulation!"
Chapter 850