In Cuiluotian, the highest heaven of Tianjing, pillars of sword qi spanned heaven and earth, towering like celestial spectacles.
Nearly every Great Dao in Cuiluotian was pinned to stillness!
The qi of slaughter had transformed this world—born of Dao—into a realm where Daos could no longer exist. Dao Master Tongtian suppressed the land with absolute, overwhelming dominance.
As the Zhuxian sword qi shifted, wherever the sword light swept, condensing Daos shattered at once, incapable of coalescing into wholeness.
"I'll break his sword formation!"
Dao Master Ji Cang charged into the array. With a sway of his body, he transformed into an ancient godlike giant, the phantoms of dozens of universes shimmering behind his head. Surging with turbulent Dao power, he slammed directly against the formation!
Yet within the array, colossal suspended swords sliced and darted with blistering speed. A breath later, drenched in blood, Ji Cang fled the formation in panic.
Outside, Lady Bifei, Dao Master Xuanhong, and the others looked pale. Over the past few years, they had attempted repeatedly to breach this sword formation, only to return empty-handed each time.
Dao Master Tongtian had laid down this array to refine and slay Dao Venerable, a process that had already dragged on for years. The interior was littered with the splintered fragments of Dao Venerable's Daos, rendered unable to take shape.
Dao Venerable himself remained trapped in the innermost layer, precariously poised on the brink of death.
"My Lady, this is no longer just a sword formation—it is a calamity formation," Dao Master Xuanhong said. "A sword formation would be simple enough, drawing solely on the Dao of slaughter. But a calamity formation invokes the Dao of calamitous destiny. Slaughter and calamitous destiny have converged, cyclically verifying one another. Its sheer power is far beyond our ability to match."
Knowing how perilous the array was, Lady Bifei said anxiously, "Dao Venerable is already wounded, and Tongtian is so formidable. What can we do?"
"Our only recourse now is to go to the other shore and summon Dongxuan and the others," Dao Master Ji Cang said. "They cultivate the Nine Innate Daos and can achieve cyclic verification, making them capable of fighting Tongtian! I will make a trip to the other shore and ensure they come to our aid!"
After a moment's hesitation, Lady Bifei nodded.
Within the Zhuxian Calamity Formation, Dao Venerable remained as calm and composed as ever, showing no anxiety over being trapped in Tongtian's array.
Around his body, the Daos of Chaos, Primordial Beginning, Limitless, Grand Unity, Reincarnation, Karma, Calamitous Destiny, and Slaughter shifted incessantly, flowing from Chaos to Slaughter, and then back from Slaughter to Chaos.
The might of Dao Master Tongtian's calamity formation was terrifying. Even Dao Venerable's cultivation had been severed away in places, drifting down like scattered Dao flowers.
Yet as his eight Daos cycled through their verification back and forth, his Daos continuously mended themselves. Even such a vicious calamity formation could not grind him to dust!
Although he could not achieve the grand circulation of the cyclic verification of the nine Daos—leaving his adaptability somewhat stiff and preventing a truly seamless flow—he was still capable of cycling forward and backward.
Dao Master Tongtian sat across from him. Though they appeared very close, boundless spacetime lay between them.
"Tongtian, you cannot kill me,"
Dao Venerable said with a composed, gentle smile. "Even after being heavily wounded by Luo Taizong, you still cannot kill me. You have trapped me within this calamity formation for so long, borrowing the two Daos of slaughter and calamitous destiny from the other shore to refine me, yet you still lack that final measure."
Dao Master Tongtian turned a deaf ear.
Having trapped Dao Venerable for so long without managing to refine him to death, Tongtian felt a secret shock in his heart and could not help admiring the man's immense power.
"To deduce the Dao of calamitous destiny in reverse is a truly astonishing talent. To refine calamitous destiny to the level of a Dao Master in such a short time since your ascension—such aptitude surpasses anyone I have ever seen,"
Dao Venerable said solemnly. "Once you reach the Dao Alliance, you will sooner or later achieve the cyclic verification of the nine Daos and become one of its palace masters! Tongtian, staying on the other shore wastes your genius. With your talent, you are bound to accomplish great things in the Chaos Sea!"
Tongtian still said nothing, but his brow furrowed slightly.
He sensed that the qi of slaughter on the other shore had suddenly dissipated considerably.
Although his talent was supreme—allowing him to deduce calamitous destiny in reverse and nirvanic extinction forward, raising both Great Daos to the level of a Dao Master—he still could not elevate his cultivation enough in such a short span to rival Dao Venerable.
In truth, an immense gulf separated their cultivations.
He had not even stepped into the mid-stage of the Dao Master realm, whereas Dao Venerable was already at the Great Circle.
The reason he had managed to push Dao Venerable to this point was that the other shore had fallen into calamitous destiny; to weather it, numerous Dao Masters and cultivators had been forced to unleash slaughter to eliminate their rivals.
This had fueled the Dao of slaughter instead!
Among the Nine Innate Daos, slaughter was foremost in offensive might!
By employing cyclic verification in tandem with the Great Dao of calamitous destiny, he had laid down this formation, allowing him to draw upon the Dao power of slaughter and calamitous destiny from the other shore to trap Dao Venerable and slowly grind him to death.
Yet now, the Dao of slaughter had plunged abruptly, and accompanying its decline was a steep drop in calamitous destiny!
This development was completely unexpected.
By all logic, calamitous destiny spawned slaughter, and the heavier the slaughter, the heavier the calamitous destiny, ultimately rousing cosmic killing intent to transform into the Great Calamity of Nirvanic Extinction and raze everything to ash.
Yet now, both the calamitous destiny and the qi of slaughter were rapidly receding!
This indicated that someone was severing karmic ties and putting an end to the slaughter!
*Could it be Dao Venerable's allies attempting to save him?*
Tongtian could never have guessed that Dao Master Hua and Dao Master Luo had fallen one after the other, and that Taiyi and Dao Master Lin had reached a truce, causing the qi of slaughter to plummet.
Though the other shore remained under the shadow of calamitous destiny, its intensity had softened considerably compared to before.
"Fellow Daoist Tongtian, why has the power of your calamity formation suddenly waned?"
Dao Venerable looked up in surprise and smiled. "With calamitous destiny diminished, how can you hope to hold a being like me?"
Resisting the pressure of the Zhuxian Calamity Formation, he slowly rose to his feet. Countless suspended colossal swords whirled around him, ceaselessly hacking away, yet unable to shear off any more of his cultivation.
Around him, the sword qi rang out continuously, clashing against his flesh like bronze on iron. Dao Venerable's voice drifted through the din of the strikes, calm and unhurried: "Tongtian, there is no grievance between us. Our clash in the Chaos Sea last time was merely a minor skirmish. I did not strike to kill back then; you should understand my appreciation for your talents."
At that very moment, Dao Master Tongtian suddenly rose. The Immortal Slaying Sword finally left its sheath, and instantly, the calamity formation blanketing Cuiluotian surged in tandem with his sword light, its power skyrocketing!
Sword in hand, Dao Master Tongtian lunged forward, the flashing blade carrying the full weight of the calamity formation straight toward Dao Venerable!
Simultaneously, behind him, calamitous destiny surged, transforming into slaughter, which then transformed into nirvanic extinction. The Dao power of nirvanic extinction surged into the Immortal Slaying Sword, coalescing into an earth-shattering strike!
This strike carried the might of the calamity formation, the power of three-Dao cyclic verification, and the terrifying force of the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction, finally moving Dao Venerable to shock!
Ever since his battle with Luo Taizong, Dao Venerable's Dao injury had never healed. Thus, he had avoided contending with Tongtian, simply sitting there and letting himself be refined.
Even if Tongtian refined him for hundreds or thousands of years, he would not have been able to breach the eight-Dao cyclic verification.
Yet the power of Tongtian's strike this time was so immense that even he felt his hair stand on end!
Without hesitation, he activated the three Daos of Chaos, Primordial Beginning, and Limitless, channeling a divine ability of cyclic verification as he raised his hand to meet the incoming blade!
He stood at the Great Circle of the Dao Master realm; his physical body and primordial spirit were the Dao itself. Now, as the three Dao powers intertwined and verified one another, their combined might was more than tenfold greater than three standalone Daos!
Yet the moment he unleashed the technique, he felt the Dao injury within him disrupting the execution of his magic.
*Chii—*
The sword light pierced clean through his palm, forcing the back of his hand back against his forehead.
Dao Venerable retreated. He raised his other hand, channeling the three Daos of Grand Unity, Reincarnation, and Karma in cyclic verification to seize the Immortal Slaying Sword!
Tongtian withdrew the blade in a flash, the sword light darting forward to pierce the palm of his other hand, driving it straight toward his glabella!
Noticing the sudden disappearance of the calamity formation, Lady Bifei and the others rushed over, only to see Tongtian and Dao Venerable advancing and retreating across Cuiluotian at blinding speed, sword light flashing as blood sprayed across the sky!
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
The sword light danced like pear blossoms blooming across branches. Their figures were lost to sight, leaving only fluttering white sword blossoms and occasional bursts of Dao blood.
Anxious, Lady Bifei and the others hurried to catch up. Just then, the clusters of sword light transformed into Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuans of varying sizes, whirling up and down around Dao Venerable as the situation grew increasingly perilous!
Lady Bifei vaulted into the air with a shout, her billowing palm force crashing down toward Dao Master Tongtian!
Abruptly, the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuans dispersed. Tongtian turned and slashed his sword. Lady Bifei gasped in sheer horror as all ten of her fingers severed clean at the base in an impossibly neat cut.
As Tongtian brushed past her, Dao Master Xuanhong produced a divine furnace. Within it raged the Dao fire he had cultivated through the Dao of fire, capable of incinerating all things, which hurtled toward Tongtian!
The furnace expanded rapidly, its reach spreading wider as the Dao fire swirled to swallow everything, even dragging the spacetime of Cuiluotian down into its depths!
Tongtian charged straight toward the divine furnace. A streak of sword light shot forth, piercing straight through it.
The next instant, Dao Master Xuanhong felt a coldness in his chest. Looking down, he saw that Tongtian's sword had run through his heart.
Emerging through the gaping hole at the furnace's base, Tongtian passed beside him, tilting his head to look at him. "You are a Dao Master of the other shore?"
With his heart pierced and his Dao heart seemingly shattered, Xuanhong endured the agony and said, "I am Dao Master Xuanhong of the other shore..."
Tongtian said, "You must repay the karma owed to heaven and earth."
Xuanhong froze, then suddenly realized what was happening. Just as he attempted to flee, Tongtian thrust his sword out, piercing straight through his Great Dao. In an instant, a peerless aura of death annihilated all the power of his Great Dao of Fire.
Xuanhong's primordial spirit, physical body, and consciousness were destroyed along with it.
As Tongtian withdrew his sword, Xuanhong's entire cultivation turned into Heavenly Fire of Nirvanic Extinction, pouring from the wound into the Immortal Slaying Sword to be swallowed whole.
Tongtian strode forward to face the other Dao Masters of Tianjing.
Though Tianjing had fewer Dao Masters than the other shore, over a dozen still remained—the powerful elite who had survived the slaughterous calamity of severing karma long ago.
Paying them no heed, Tongtian walked outward. As he strode, sword light swirled around him, accompanied by wails of agony as severed limbs flew through the air.
"Don't block him! Let him go!" Lady Bifei cried out, terrified that Tongtian would slaughter them all.
Hearing her command, the Dao Masters of Tianjing hesitated and allowed Tongtian to pass.
Suddenly, the Immortal Slaying Sword blazed with dazzling radiance in Tongtian's grasp. Its sword intent traversed outer space, crisscrossing to leave a colossal cross in the skies above Tianjing!
The cross spanned heaven and earth, one horizontal stroke and one vertical stroke. The Dao Masters of Tianjing, along with Zhuo Daochun and the other youths, immediately realized that many of Tianjing's Daos of heaven and earth had been severed by these two slashes, filling their hearts with grief and fury!
Tongtian paused for a fraction of a breath, then vaulted into the sky. Like a streak of sword light cleaving the azure expanse, he vanished without a trace.
Overcome with grief, Lady Bifei cried out, "Quick, someone come! Someone come—!"
The crowd rushed to her side, finding her cradling Dao Venerable. His body was covered in sword wounds, each harboring a tiny, spinning Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan that frantically devoured the Dao powers within him!
Dao Venerable's aura grew increasingly faint. Combined with the flare-up of the Dao injury Luo Taizong had inflicted upon him, it was clear he would not survive.
Horrified, everyone channeled their Dao power together to suppress the wounds. Yet the moment their energy touched the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuans within the cuts, it was devoured immediately, causing the miniature vortices to swell even larger!
"How can such a Dao injury be broken?" Panic gripped their hearts.
Among the Nine Innate Daos, the most difficult to cultivate and the most enigmatic was the Great Dao of Nirvanic Extinction. Tongtian's final strikes had wielded this Dao, piercing through Dao Venerable's body like rainbows of light to inflict fatal wounds.
Helpless, Lady Bifei broke down into sobs.
Dao Venerable pushed them aside, struggling to sit up. He smiled faintly. "Birth, death, destruction... formation, stasis, decay, and emptiness—it is all merely the cycle of the nine Daos' verification. Do not mourn..."
Suddenly, he could no longer suppress his injuries. One wound after another erupted, the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuans devouring his remaining Dao power before merging in pairs!
Dao Venerable's flesh, primordial spirit, and Great Daos were torn apart by the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan. In an instant, he was swallowed whole by the vortex, meeting an untimely demise!
The crowd stood frozen in stunned despair.
The Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan that had consumed Dao Venerable continued to spin frantically, engulfed in raging heavenly fire. It would likely burn for a long time before reducing all of his Daos to ash and nothingness.
Dao Venerable was the pillar of Tianjing, the backbone of their entire realm. His death was an absolute, shattering blow to them all!
After a long while, Lady Bifei wiped her tears and choked back a sob. "Now that Dao Venerable is gone, my heart is in disarray. Tianjing must have a leader to save us from destruction. Does anyone have a candidate in mind?"
Dao Master Yulong said, "If Xuanhuang were still here, he could have led us. Alas, he..."
Back then, Xuanhuang had been the reigning emperor of Tianjing and Dao Venerable's son. His cultivation and strength had been profound, rivaling his father's, but he had fallen at the hands of Dao Master Hua during the early days when the Great Daos of heaven and earth were reviving.
"Of the Innate Eight Masters, seven remain on the other shore. Our only choice now is to invite them back to oversee Tianjing,"
Dao Master Qiyun said. "And the young lady ought to return as well. Only they can take charge of the situation!"
Lady Bifei nodded and wiped away her tears. "Let it be as you say. Everyone, make haste to the other shore and bring back the seven masters and the young lady."
She turned her head toward the Nirvanic Extinction Hongyuan that had once been Dao Venerable, unable to stop the tears from falling once more.
Chapter 879