Gong Jiexuan was charging forward, preparing to block Xu Ying's strike to kill Lingxuzi, when spacetime tore open right before her eyes!
She froze in shock. Looking through the rift, she saw that the spacetime opened upon the Chaos Sea, where the surface hung low, and another Xu Ying stood before the waters.
"This is..."
Gong Jiexuan was thoroughly bewildered. Ahead was one Xu Ying preparing to execute Lingxuzi, yet right here was another Xu Ying, pressing his fingers together like a sword.
Under her stunned gaze, Xu Ying's divine ability severed spacetime, threw karma into disarray, disturbed samsara, reversed calamitous destiny, and thrust toward her with supreme killing qi!
The moment Gong Jiexuan saw that sword strike, she realized that if it struck home, she would die without a doubt!
Yet at that very instant, she sensed an inexplicable force stirred from the near future, hurtling back from the days to come!
It was a supreme Dao power stirred by karma, releasing a ripple that traversed spacetime and samsara, surging from the future into the past to obliterate the culprit behind this karmic disturbance!
Just as Gong Jiexuan sensed that power, a voice abruptly exploded: "Strike!"
Within that torn spacetime, Dongxuan, Cenxi, Yuxi, and others surged forth, alongside Taiyi, Tianchengzi, Dao Master Hua, and the rest—a full nineteen Dao Masters!
These nineteen Dao Masters, old and young, male and female, assumed various stances as they unleashed innate numinous treasures of differing forms.
In a single instant, boundless might erupted and came rolling forth!
Faced with such might, even Gong Jiexuan, who had attained the Dao through Hongmeng, could not help but pale in horror, thinking inwardly that her life was forfeit.
Yet those Dao Masters were not targeting her; they were targeting that great Dao ripple surging from the future.
As the two forces collided, Gong Jiexuan saw the spacetime order of the other shore begin to collapse and disintegrate. In the space where she stood, the earth caved in continuously like sand, and space shattered like countless layers of exquisitely delicate glazed mirrors!
Yet an even stranger sight unfolded: even as the spacetime order of the other shore collapsed, new spacetime orders kept forming!
At the same time, these new spacetime orders kept collapsing inward!
This happened because the collision of the two forces exceeded the limit of what the other shore could endure, and erupting in past spacetime triggered a chain reaction of collapse and reconstruction!
As someone caught right in the middle, facing all this, only terror remained in Gong Jiexuan's heart!
In her eyes, the entire universe of the other shore seemed as if it no longer existed, continuously coming undone amidst karma and samsara, yet never settling into a definite state!
Taiyi, Dongxuan, Tianchengzi, Dao Master Hua, and the others were struck as though by a crushing blow. Beads of blood seeped from every pore of their skin, and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths and nostrils.
Still, they dared not slacken, dared not take a single step back, driving their innate numinous treasures to withstand the great Dao ripple from future spacetime!
The Dao Venerable's great Dao ripple was simply too terrifying, too powerful!
Though they were not truly contending with the Dao Venerable head-on, the danger was not a whit less than a direct confrontation. If they failed to hold their ground, they and Xu Ying would be obliterated together by the Dao Venerable's Great Dao!
Their hearts pounded with trepidation, feeling for the first time just how mighty and horrifying the Dao Venerable was.
Dao Master Hua felt this most acutely.
Back then, he had charged into Tianjing in an attempt to wipe out the recovering Dao Masters in one fell swoop, only to run into the Dao Venerable and the others.
In that battle, though he was suppressed by the Dao Venerable, he had fallen only under the encirclement of multiple Dao Masters, including the Dao Venerable and Ji Cang—a defeat with honor.
At that time, he had harbored a slight contempt for the Dao Venerable, thinking him nothing special, and believing that even at his peak, the Dao Venerable was only marginally stronger than himself.
Only now did he realize how vast the gulf between them truly was!
This gulf stemmed from cultivation, from the Great Daos they cultivated, and equally from their attainments in the Dao!
Whether in cultivation, Great Daos, or Dao attainment, the other man was likely several times—even dozens of times—superior to him!
"Everyone, life or death, victory or defeat, hinges on this single move!" Xu Ying roared, also activating the Nirvanic Azure Sky Lamp.
Chaos Sea.
The battle between Luo Taizong and the Dao Venerable had also reached a critical juncture.
Both were at the perfected Dao Master realm. Having cultivated to this stage, they could already glimpse the towering, majestic figures standing at the end of the Great Dao!
They could verify against each other just how great the gulf between themselves and the existences at the end of the Great Dao remained.
Although this gulf might be immeasurable, and they might never reach the end, being able to verify it was already extraordinarily remarkable.
At this moment, Luo Taizong was separated from Ancient God Luo Taizong. His cave abyss was like a Hongyuan, manifesting in the Chaos Sea like a cosmic Hongyuan that had not yet evolved into its complete form.
Within the Hongyuan were seven kinds of Dao power, linked to his physical body.
Luo Taizong stood in the Chaos Sea like a humanoid Chaos spirit root and innate numinous treasure, cleaving down with a palm strike!
"Boom!"
His Dao arts erupted in the Chaos Sea. The lines of his palm split open wisps of chaotic qi, and beneath his palm even arose the magnificent spectacle of heaven and earth being sundered, the grand panorama of remaking the cosmos!
Opposite him, the Dao Venerable still appeared as a youth in yellow robes. Behind him was also a Hongyuan-like cave abyss containing the Eight Innate Daos, likewise linked to his physical body.
His physical body was also like a Chaos spirit root, with the difference being that while a Chaos spirit root could draw power from the Chaos Sea, he drew Dao power from his Hongyuan-like cave abyss.
Though the Dao Venerable's Dao power had not recovered to its peak, because he had cyclically verified the Great Dao of Chaos, he was not a whit weaker than Luo Taizong.
What was most breathtaking was his divine abilities.
As he blasted out a fist, samsara surged and spun within the Chaos Sea, carrying the primal, undifferentiated power of the Great Dao of Taiyi's myriad Daos, secretly harboring karma so that there was nowhere to dodge, no way to evade!
The two collided with fist and palm. The terrifying might of their physical spirit treasures erupted, and at the point of impact, even the chaotic qi was destroyed, dissolving and scattering into various other forms of Dao power.
At the same time, Ancient God Luo Taizong charged forth from the chaos with an angry roar. Karma spun behind him, unifying calamitous destiny and bolstering killing qi, transforming into a divine axe capable of destroying heaven and earth as he chopped down toward the Dao Venerable's head!
The Dao Venerable's figure suddenly blurred, and eight figures stepped out from behind him—eight Dao bodies rising to meet Ancient God Luo Taizong's world-ending divine axe.
Three of the Dao Venerables coordinated with one another, countering karma with karma, countering calamitous destiny with calamitous destiny, and meeting slaughter with slaughter.
The two sides collided, and the three Dao Venerables were slightly outmatched, falling back repeatedly.
Meanwhile, the other Dao Venerables—Chaos Dao Venerable, Hongmeng Dao Venerable, Wuji Dao Venerable, Taiyi Dao Venerable, and the rest—charged into the fray, battering Ancient God Luo Taizong in just a few moves until he was covered in wounds and could barely defend himself!
On the other side, because the Dao Venerable had split off eight Dao bodies, he was immediately suppressed by Luo Taizong and looked poised to die by Luo Taizong's hand. Suddenly, the Dao Venerable's body swayed, and the eight Dao bodies returned to his original body.
In those brief moments, Ancient God Luo Taizong had nearly been crippled by his eight Dao bodies. Now that the eight Dao bodies had rejoined the true body, the Dao Venerable's cultivation naturally soared step by step!
"Dao Venerable, you are nothing more than an outcast of the Dao Alliance. Your Dao body technique can only achieve Three-Dao Spirit Manifestation; it is truly out of date."
Luo Taizong sneered, his body swaying as seven Dao bodies flew forth as well, shouting, "Let me show you the Dao Alliance's Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation!"
The Dao Venerable's expression changed abruptly. Luo Taizong's seven Dao bodies stood at varied positions, heights, and postures, yet at this moment, Hongmeng, Wuji, Taiyi, Samsara, Karma, Calamitous Destiny, and Slaughter—all seven Daos were actually integrated together!
A Dao Master cultivating the cyclic verification of the nine Daos, before achieving full cyclic verification, could at most use three adjacent Daos to form a single divine ability, known as Three-Dao Spirit Manifestation.
Yet Luo Taizong, utilizing Dao bodies, was actually able to govern seven Daos within a single divine ability!
This was indeed an exquisite application that the Dao Venerable had never learned!
"You wanted to use the Dao Masters of the other shore like Hua, Luo, and Lin, joining hands with those Dao Masters of your Tianjing to probe all the profound mysteries of my Dao arts. Did you really think I didn't know?"
Luo Taizong laughed aloud. Using himself as the spirit root to drive the Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation of his seven Dao bodies, he blasted a fist toward the Dao Venerable, declaring loudly, "What you were able to see was only what I allowed you to see! Dao Venerable, be on your way!"
The power of the Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation unified seven Innate Daos, possessing both the power of myriad Daos returning to one and the power to plunge one into boundless oblivion, as well as the primordial might of the cosmos!
His divine ability expanded across the sea realm, giving rise to various marvels: the power of the Great Dao of Hongmeng erupted in the Chaos Sea like shapes of Chaos spirit roots, while the Great Dao of Wuji erupted like a Hongyuan evolving toward the Five Tais.
Right at that moment, beside the Hongyuan-like cave abyss behind the Dao Venerable, another cave abyss suddenly appeared—the Cave Abyss of Nirvanic Extinction!
The moment the Cave Abyss of Nirvanic Extinction appeared, the Dao Venerable's Eight Innate Daos and this Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction actually began to circulate and flow into one another!
"Cyclic verification of the nine Daos!"
Luo Taizong was startled, his face changing drastically. If the Dao Venerable had truly achieved cyclic verification of the nine Daos, he would without question lose this battle!
Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation was merely an ingenious technique, using Dao bodies to briefly harness all one's Daos into a single divine ability and greatly boosting its power.
However, cyclic verification of the nine Daos could mobilize nine Daos to form a divine ability of great perfection in cycle; its might was something Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation could never rival!
Immediately afterward, Luo Taizong saw that what the Dao Venerable displayed was not true cyclic verification of the nine Daos.
"His Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction has not been cultivated to perfection! It was not deduced and derived by himself, but obtained by learning from others' arts and observing the nirvanic extinction of other universes!"
A thought flashed through Luo Taizong's mind in an instant. "He wants to use this kind of Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction to unleash a divine ability of cyclic verification of the nine Daos! But his Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction cannot form a verified cycle with the other Daos, unable to interlink seamlessly. Forcibly invoking a nine-Dao cyclic verification divine ability is tantamount to suicide!"
Without being able to achieve cyclic verification of the nine Daos, forcibly driving a nine-Dao divine ability would cause one's own Daos to fall into chaos, suffering a backlash right then and there!
The stronger the divine ability used, the fiercer the backlash!
"Luo Taizong, forcing me to unleash cyclic verification of the nine Daos is already quite an achievement on your part!" the Dao Venerable's voice rang out.
The Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation and cyclic verification of the nine Daos finally collided!
At that exact moment, within the Dao Venerable's body, the Great Dao of Karma suddenly stirred. Waves surged violently as it drew strength layer upon layer from the Dao Venerable's Nine Innate Daos, rushing toward past spacetime!
At this moment, the Dao Venerable was staking his life against Luo Taizong, aiming to execute this formidable enemy with his nine-Dao cyclic verification divine ability. How could he have anticipated such a turn of events?
"Xu Ying, you court death!"
The Dao Venerable was both shocked and enraged, immediately realizing who was making a move on him at this critical juncture.
In normal times, outside of battle, ripples in his Dao wouldn't matter—it would just be an insignificant disturbance.
However, right now was the crucial moment of clash against a terrifying existence like Luo Taizong; a ripple in his Dao at this juncture could cost him his life!
Just as a portion of his Dao power was siphoned away by his own Great Dao, the two men's divine abilities crashed together with a deafening roar. The peerless might of the nine-Dao cyclic verification grand divine ability bore down, crushing the Seven-Dao Spirit Manifestation to pieces!
Luo Taizong's fist exploded. One Dao bone after another bent backward and shattered with cracking snaps!
This all-destroying power swept over. Everywhere it passed, the flesh and blood of Luo Taizong's arms vaporized, his Dao bones disintegrated, and his physical body rapidly turned into a skeleton!
The Dao light radiating from the nine-Dao cyclic verification grand divine ability shone through his skeletal body, its radiance sweeping across the seven Dao bodies behind him.
The seven Dao bodies dispersed like smoke and dust, turning to flying ash in an instant and vanishing completely into the Chaos Sea.
Yet the might of the nine-Dao cyclic verification grand divine ability was not fully spent. Its terrifying power punched clean through the Chaos Sea like dead wood, penetrating who knew how many tens of thousands of li deep, leaving behind a palm-shaped tunnel!
Around this tunnel, the Dao manifestations formed by the nine supreme Innate Daos were imprinted in the chaos, uninhibitedly radiating majestic power!
Suddenly, the Dao Venerable coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. The Hongyuan cave abyss formed by his Eight Innate Daos was instantly covered in cracks, and his Innate Daos almost shattered!
Meanwhile, the Cave Abyss of Nirvanic Extinction was on the verge of falling apart!
Cracks appeared all over his body as well, looking as though he might shatter like porcelain at any moment!
"If I hadn't been ambushed by that Xu... Luo Taizong, you wouldn't have been able to wound me... Cough, cough, cough!"
He coughed blood incessantly.
Suddenly, behind him appeared the wounded shadow of Ancient God Luo Taizong.
The Dao Venerable's heart skipped a beat. He raised his head and whirled around, only to be met by Ancient God Luo Taizong's incoming fist!
"Dao Venerable!"
"I promised my comrades of the other shore!"
"To seize the greatest opportunity for them!"
Like a tempestuous storm, he attacked the Dao Venerable—fists and legs brutally smashing into the Dao Venerable's body!
Covered in blood, the Dao Venerable gritted his teeth and struggled to hold on.
He forcibly maintained his Nine Innate Daos, still maintaining nearly peak combat prowess against Ancient God Luo Taizong!
The blood covering him was partly the ancient god's Dao blood, and partly his own.
Gory pulp and shredded flesh were torn from both their bodies, scattering into the Chaos Sea without dissolving for a long time.
Their slaughter grew more and more brutal. Gradually, they no longer resembled two grandmasters of Dao arts, but rather two wild beasts locked in mortal combat. In them, one could hardly see the composure or divine abilities of grandmasters; only bestial madness remained!
"Luo Taizong, you can still preserve your severed ancient god body and not die completely!"
The Dao Venerable gradually grew panic-stricken, shouting loudly, "If you leave now, I won't make things difficult for you! I will find a quiet universe for you, let all living beings offer sacrifices and worship to you, and you can still be a cosmic Primordial Spirit resting in tranquility!"
Ancient God Luo Taizong ignored him completely, attacking frantically. When his legs broke, he crawled along the ground; when his hands were severed, he used his Dao bones as hammers; when his head fell, he used his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth!
He fought desperately with all his might. Even as his flesh was pounded into mush by the Dao Venerable, even as his Dao bones snapped inch by inch, he refused to stop fighting!
"I must leave Taiyi the greatest opportunity!"
He was beaten into a writhing mass of battered flesh, yet he clung to the Dao Venerable, dragging him toward the depths of the Chaos Sea.
The Dao Venerable struggled frantically to break free of this mangled flesh, fighting to dash toward Tianjing, only for his right leg to be ensnared by the mangled flesh.
"Even if my body is smashed to pieces, I will buy the other shore time to survive the calamitous destiny!"
In the end, the Dao Venerable finally kicked the mangled flesh away and fled the Chaos Sea in panic.
The mass of mangled flesh drifted down into the depths of the Chaos Sea, a powerful obsession still lingering within the flesh.
Several chaos creatures swam past. Curious about this lump of mangled flesh, they nudged it with their snouts and kicked it.
Within this lump of mangled flesh, an obsession still rose from time to time in the Chaos Sea:
"Hold back the Dao Venerable... Hold him back... Buy time for the other shore..."
Chapter 859