Dao Master Luo had merely been shaken in his Dao heart by Taiyi's words, losing the initiative and allowing Taiyi's sneak attack to land. The very instant his form was swept out of the bronze immortal palace, the Dao power of two hundred and fifty-seven universes had already been mobilized by him, shielding his entire body to withstand the follow-up attacks of the Luotian Dao tree!
The tree's myriad branches were pinned in midair by his immense Dao power, unable to advance and pierce his body.
Dao Master Luo's expression twisted slightly. The power of Taiyi's strike just now had been truly overwhelming, inflicting a considerable Dao injury upon him.
*Yet when it comes to numinous treasures, I surpass you a hundredfold!*
The moment this thought crossed his mind, he saw Dao Master Taiyi fly out from the shattered bronze palace, arriving before him in the blink of an eye—leaving him no time to activate his numinous treasures.
Without hesitation, Dao Master Luo channeled his divine ability into the power of his palm, meeting Taiyi's hand.
The Great Dao divine abilities of both men erupted between their palms. At this moment, Dao Master Luo summoned nine Great Daos—Soul, Vigor, Spirit, Divinity, Nature, Sacrifice, Libation, Netherworld, and Void—basing his divine ability upon the ninefold Dao power of his two hundred and fifty-seven universes. It was truly earth-shaking.
Though he was far from matching his future era of the Great Chiliocosm, this Dao power was still unmatched on the other shore. Aside from the three Dao Masters, none could contend with it.
Furthermore, even without the Great Chiliocosm, his realm remained.
Yet the moment the power of their palms erupted, Dao Master Luo's heart sank abruptly. He understood why Taiyi had claimed that while his Dao power was inferior, his divine ability would prevail.
Although the gap between their Dao power was vast, what determined the power of a divine ability was not merely Dao power, but the divine ability itself and the grade of the Great Dao!
Taiyi's Great Dao was the ancestor of the myriad Daos among the Nine Innate Daos, far superior in grade to the eight Daos such as Soul, Vigor, Spirit, and Divinity. Even the other shore's Great Dao of Void was merely one-three-thousandth of Taiyi—only the true Great Dao of Void could stand alongside the Nine Innate Daos.
More critically, Taiyi had realized that "one's nature is self-sufficient." His three thousand Great Daos were merged into a single primordial whole; his Dao power was not divided into three thousand streams, but united as one, unleashing a power far greater than three thousand disparate streams combined!
*If divine abilities cannot prevail, I still have magic treasures!*
Dao Master Luo stamped his foot. The Great Dao Green Lotus manifested, numinous light swirling around his body to form a thick protective barrier. Petals of the green lotus bloomed outward in endless cycles, deflecting all the power of the divine ability!
*My innate numinous treasures far outnumber his!*
Dao Master Luo's eyes glinted. A second innate numinous treasure manifested, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth...
*He took a single Luotian Dao tree from me, yet it is merely an innate numinous treasure containing the Dao of Taiyi. And I possess more than three hundred similar innate numinous treasures!*
Dao Master Luo unleashed the Primordial Nine Dragons Jade, activated the Great Cosmic Boundless Tribulation Array Chart, gripped the Sword of Myriad Daos Returning to the Void, and summoned a Great Cave of the Guixu behind him as he charged at Taiyi.
His Dao power was not what it once was, and the number of innate numinous treasures he could summon was also less than before, yet it still vastly surpassed Taiyi.
Dao Master Taiyi did not summon any other numinous treasure, meeting him with the Luotian Dao tree once more. Under his command, every branch embodied an innate Great Dao. As the branches swept and danced, the various Daos whirled alongside them with astonishing might!
With just a single innate numinous treasure, he held off five of Dao Master Luo's innate numinous treasures!
"Brother Luo, when it comes to numinous treasures, more is not always better!"
Standing beneath the tree, Dao Master Taiyi aligned the Taiyi Great Dao and three thousand Daos of the Luotian Dao tree with his own Taiyi Great Dao and three thousand Daos. Circulating ceaselessly in endless cycles, they formed an impregnable defense, blocking every one of Dao Master Luo's attacks.
Taiyi's expression was gentle as he said, "Choose the single treasure best suited to yourself, abandon the rest, and focus entirely on refining and nourishing it until it shares your breath and destiny. Then, the assistance this treasure grants you will be beyond imagination."
Dao Master Luo turned a deaf ear. Retracting the treasures like the Nine Dragons Jade and the tribulation array chart, he swapped them for others and pressed his frantic assault against Taiyi.
"Obstinate fool."
A look of reluctance appeared on Dao Master Taiyi's face. Man and tree united their Dao power.
"Brother Dao, you have done great deeds for the other shore, yet now I must eliminate you!"
***
Xu Ying stood in the void. Today was just like all the days before, bathed in brilliant sunshine. In Anyou Palace, every person spoke the same words as yesterday and carried out the same duties.
On this day, Dao Master Luo was also immersed in secluded cultivation just as before.
Nothing had changed.
Right at that moment, Luo abruptly felt an incomparably intense killing intent sweep toward him. This power carried the destiny of reincarnation, churned causality, and rose from slaughter in alignment with calamitous destiny, determined to erase him from the future!
*It is that person from twenty million years ago again! He has appeared once more!*
Dao Master Luo's heart hammered in terror. Over these twenty million years, he had racked his brains trying to figure out how to break the other's divine ability, yet had made no progress whatsoever.
As his cultivation grew, the power of that Dao injury had also worsened over time, until it became an incurable ailment.
Even when he severed his own lower body and had True King Taiyi cast a spell to help regrow it, the Dao injury reappeared just as before, unchanged!
For an Immortal, the Dao is embodied, and a Dao Master is an integrated primordial whole. If they were injured, it was an injury to their Great Dao, and wounds upon the Great Dao were exceedingly difficult to heal.
*I cannot die! I will never die here!*
At this life-or-death juncture, Dao Master Luo frantically activated the Green Lotus Throne. Seated upon the throne, he summoned every numinous treasure in his possession, fraught with tension.
Suddenly, the void bled. Cascades of Dao blood crashed down like waterfalls. Dao Master Luo sensed waves of extraordinarily formidable auras clashing in the void, a sight that shook the soul.
The cultivation and strength of those clashing in the void far surpassed his own!
*When did our other shore ever possess such terrifying beings?*
Within the void, Xu Ying summoned the Great Dao Sutra Banner. The phenomenon of a universe manifested behind him, channeling an endless stream of Primordial Dao power as he battled the Nine Spirits.
The nine Dao Master Luos were nine primordial divine kings, forged entirely from innate numinous treasures and incomparably indestructible!
The Soul Dao divine avatar cast divine abilities like bells; raising its hands to strike in rapid succession, bell-shaped divine abilities whirled up and down, clanging and reverberating as they bombarded Xu Ying's divine soul.
The Vigor Dao divine avatar's divine ability was like a sky lantern, its light shining like invisible blades that pierced Xu Ying's soul.
The Spirit Dao divine avatar struck at Xu Ying's divine consciousness, while the Nature Dao divine avatar attacked his Dao heart.
The Sacrifice Dao divine avatar bowed deeply, sending Xu Ying's blood and qi surging violently, nearly blowing off the crown of his head!
Holding incense, the Libation Dao divine avatar exhaled a breath, shaking Xu Ying's soul; tainted by incense smoke qi, his physical body instantly felt weighed down.
Meanwhile, the Divinity Dao divine avatar launched a frontal assault, swinging with wild, domineering strikes like a true ancient god.
There was also the Netherworld divine avatar, elusive and unpredictable as it flitted between the nether realms, striking with incredible speed while remaining impossible to pin down.
As for the Void divine avatar, it shuttled through the void, every strike lethal, aiming to disintegrate Xu Ying into nothingness!
These Nine Spirits were truly formidable. In particular, the Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation taught to Dao Master Luo by Luo Taizong incorporated the cyclic verification of the nine Daos, allowing the Nine Spirits to transform into one another at any moment.
Just as Xu Ying broke through the Soul Dao avatar's divine ability, it instantly transformed into the Divinity Dao avatar, catching him at a severe disadvantage. Just as he gained an overwhelming edge over the Spirit Dao avatar, it shifted into the Netherworld avatar the next moment and vanished.
It was because of this that Xu Ying had suffered terribly during his first encounter with the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation, nearly perishing within this bizarre array.
This time, however, Xu Ying had come prepared.
Faced with the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation, virtually anyone on the other shore would have suffered grievously or even perished in the slaughter array. Yet Xu Ying's mastery of the cyclic verification of the nine Daos happened to far surpass Luo Taizong's!
Luo Taizong had learned the cyclic verification of the nine Daos from the Dao Alliance, but had never achieved all nine in his lifetime, managing only seven.
Xu Ying, on the other hand, had grasped the wonders of the cyclic verification through self-study, cycling the nine Great Daos seamlessly. The intricacies of the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation were clear to him at a glance.
As if foreseeing the future, he stepped one pace to the left, swung the Kaiyuan Divine Axe, and cleaved into empty space.
The Netherworld divine avatar appeared in that exact spot; with a resounding clang, half its head was cleaved away by the axe!
This was precisely the marvel of the Great Dao of Causality.
Though Xu Ying had not attained the Dao through Causality, his comprehension of it was already extraordinary. He could not control the nine avatar Dao bodies, but he could calculate their movements.
Xu Ying struck backhanded, pressing his palm against the wound on the Netherworld avatar's head. In an instant, Primordial Dao power poured in, transforming the Netherworld Dao into Pure Yang Dao.
Meanwhile, his own Primordial Dao power swiftly shifted into the Netherworld Dao. With a gentle shove forward, he pushed the Netherworld avatar out and took its place.
He had become part of the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation, while the Netherworld avatar had been displaced into an outsider!
Xu Ying swung his great axe down upon the Netherworld avatar, and the attacks of the other eight divine avatars converged simultaneously, slamming into the Netherworld avatar!
Even though this avatar of Dao Master Luo had been forged from an innate numinous treasure, it was shattered into pieces and fell from the void!
Seeing that they had struck down one of their own, the other eight divine avatars grunted in fury. They had not been deceived by Xu Ying; rather, Xu Ying had truly become one of them while the Netherworld avatar had become the outsider. As the array cycled, they had killed their own comrade.
The eight of them combined with Xu Ying's own strength had been enough to obliterate this avatar of Dao Master Luo!
They lunged toward Xu Ying, but as he shifted his footwork, the formation of the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation shifted in response, forcing the other eight divine avatars to follow his movements involuntarily and preventing them from surrounding him!
"Dao Master Luo, your Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation has already been broken by me. Against any other Dao Master, scarcely anyone could escape your clutches, but against me, it falls short!"
Xu Ying laughed heartily. Stepping forward, he left a Primordial Dao body in his place and pounced toward the Spirit Dao divine avatar.
In the blink of an eye, he repeated the feat, usurping the position like a cuckoo taking over a nest. He cast out the Spirit Dao divine avatar and made himself part of the Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation once more.
As the array cycled again, Xu Ying set his sights on the Vigor Dao divine avatar.
Dao Master Luo was hiding within Anyou Palace when a thunderous boom erupted. The grand hall split apart, and a colossal head crashed down from the sky, landing right before him.
Terrified, Dao Master Luo looked up, nearly crying out in horror.
It was the head of an ancient god, mangled beyond recognition!
Next came severed limbs and broken torsos, raining down from above and demolishing most of Anyou Palace.
Dao Master Luo scrambled about, seeking shelter. Looking up in a panic, he could vaguely see massive figures battling in the void like gods of antiquity, yet their combat prowess far surpassed today's Dao Masters!
From the void, maimed corpses continued to plummet, their deaths gruesome, many with their faces obliterated beyond recognition.
Yet what frightened him even more was a face that had been cleaved in half—one that looked somewhat familiar!
*What is happening? What on earth has occurred?*
His mind went completely blank. He had no idea why so many powerful ancient gods were meeting such violent deaths!
These ancient gods were unimaginably formidable, each far stronger than his father, Luo Taizong, had been back then!
That so many such beings could die in such a short span of time sent chills down his spine!
*Just who is slaughtering these ancient gods?*
He was utterly bewildered. *And where did these ancient gods come from? If they are this strong, just how terrifying is the one killing them?*
Suddenly, the ninth corpse broke through the void and crashed down.
Dao Master Luo was pale, without a trace of color on his face, staring blankly into the void. The battle in the void had concluded, and only now did he notice a small, bloodstained silhouette standing there.
The figure stood in the void, surrounded by swirling Dao light, its features obscured.
Yet he could distinctly perceive that the figure was looking down at him, watching his every move.
Dao Master Luo's heart pounded wildly. He could sense that the very person who had crippled him back then harbored ill intent toward him!
*He wants to kill me... He wants to kill me...*
In the void, Xu Ying's gaze rested upon Dao Master Luo, the killing intent in his eyes burning brighter.
Now that Dao Master Luo's Nine Spirits Spatiotemporal Heavenly Tribulation had been eradicated, he only needed to execute the Dao Master Luo of this era, and the future Dao Master Luo would cease to exist!
From then on, the other shore would no longer be ruled by three Dao Masters, but two!
Just as he was about to strike, another fluctuation in spacetime rippled through. Xu Ying's heart stirred: *Someone is coming!*
Then came the voice of Dao Master Taiyi: "Xu Ying, I have finally found you."
Hearing this, Xu Ying was startled. Following the voice with his eyes, he saw Dao Master Taiyi traversing spacetime to arrive here.
Taiyi looked travel-worn and utterly exhausted, with multiple Dao injuries marking his body.
He had clearly fought an extraordinarily grueling battle; otherwise, given the nature of the Taiyi Great Dao, ordinary injuries would have healed with ease.
Xu Ying grew even more astonished when he spotted traces left by innate numinous treasures within Dao Master Taiyi's Dao injuries.
"You do not need to risk killing him."
Dao Master Taiyi walked up to him, a faint smile gracing his lips. "Dao Master Luo is already dead."
Chapter 877