Life and Death Dao Domain

The sudden ambush had indeed rattled Mu Nuo for an instant, but after Xu Yuan fully manifested, it struck the creature as utterly absurd. Glancing sideways at the man behind, Mu Nuo slowly spat three words: "Are you worthy?" As the words fell, Mu Nuo's body dissolved into wisps of black smoke and dispersed, the voice turning elusive and drifting: "With such arrogant talk, an outsider might think you had attained Sainthood. "Xu Changtian, you disappoint me greatly. I thought you would at least break through to the Transcendent Realm. A mere Origin Realm cultivator spouting nonsense about slaying a Saint is truly laughable." Listening impassively, Xu Yuan cast his eyes down at his palm, coated in Dao charm, and clenched his fist. In an even tone, he said: "Isn't this preparing to use your death as the cornerstone of my Dao domain? Against you, Mu Nuo, an Origin Realm cultivation is more than enough." "Heh." Hearing those words, Mu Nuo felt not the slightest offense or irritation, only amusement at the prior vigilance harbored in its heart. It had afforded Xu Changtian ample regard. Yet the man fell far short of expectations. Still, this was for the best. Ending this quickly and departing would minimize the chance of unexpected complications. The ground beneath the entire city began to shudder. Thirteen towering stone pillars, resembling monumental grave markers, erupted from the earth, penning Xu Yuan, Mu Nuo, and the entire prefectural yamen below within their bounds. The dispersed black smoke gradually coalesced above the thirteen stele-like pillars. Mu Nuo slowly raised a hand toward the scene below and asked mildly: "Is the Origin Realm truly enough?" Under the resonant hum of the thirteen giant steles, a sphere of black radiance slowly coalesced in its palm. A terrifying aura of annihilation instantly washed over the heart of everyone below. Confronted by this technique, Xu Yuan did not look at Mu Nuo, turning his attention instead to the colossal steles. Though shaped like stone steles, they were essentially external vessels Mu Nuo had constructed using the Domain of the Living and the Dead. The dead had no need to care about bodily wear and tear, but the living could not afford such disregard. A living being's upper limit of source qi output was constrained by bodily functions; exceeding it led to injury, and excessive overexertion could even result in death. These steles were amplifiers Mu Nuo had condensed specifically to shatter the limitations of the living. Without any foundation in magical arts, to adapt to a living body in such a short span and invent a technique of this caliber proved that the brat was indeed a genius. As the frightening aura continued to gather in Mu Nuo's palm, even the White Emperor watching from above unconsciously furrowed his brows, yet Xu Yuan still made no move. He stood quietly where he was, his gaze casually sweeping around, as though he did not hold Mu Nuo's strike in any regard at all. Xu Yuan was staring at Linlang. After shedding its fur, a coat of crimson scales was exposed, with wisps of red lightning crackling across its body. Even trapped between five stone pillars, at a glance, it still exuded an overwhelming, domineering presence. Provided, of course, that one did not look at its eyes. As Mu Nuo shifted attention toward Xu Yuan, the stupid wolf's whines had quieted down considerably, its pair of lupine eyes darting around. Soon, Linlang met his gaze. The wolf blinked, let out a slightly louder whimper, and scraped a paw against the stone pillar penning it in as a signal. "......" Xu Yuan remained silent. Evidently, the stupid wolf had realized Mu Nuo's art was aimed at the Zhenxi prefectural yamen and wanted to cut and run again. If he could seize the heart of Dachao's former king and pair Li Junqing with Linlang as partners, they would probably make a far better match than the Divine Maiden, Jiayi. In terms of raw strength, Linlang genuinely could not defeat the Saints above, and being forcibly used by Mu Nuo as a power bank to siphon saint origin certainly had not been its choice. Yet this stupid wolf's immense vitality always gave the distinct impression that it was throwing the match. With those thoughts passing through his mind, Xu Yuan ignored Linlang's imploring gaze and looked up at Mu Nuo in the sky. Without question, Mu Nuo, having mended the heavenly rift, was extraordinarily formidable. While still inferior to the tier of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master or the Great Yan Sword Saint, it was at least considerably stronger than the Barbarian King. At this moment, as power continued to build, the oppressive pressure radiating from the black-lit orb in its hand could already rival the Myriad Dragons Heavenly Cataract that the White Emperor had once unleashed—an attack that had nearly punched straight through the city-protecting array. He could use Void-Stepping Slash to dodge such a swift, high-magnitude art, but the Zhenxi prefectural yamen below could not, nor could his bosom buddy and the twenty thousand elite armored soldiers. This was an overt, venomous gambit on Mu Nuo's part. Unfortunately for the creature— Just as the thought crossed his mind, Xu Yuan's peripheral vision caught a battered figure rapidly flying toward him from below. A breath later, clad in a tattered coir raincoat, Mu Xingchen spoke in a faint, rapid voice: "Third Young Master, let me block this technique." Xu Yuan glanced at the weathered middle-aged man, neither questioning him nor replying. Strict counter relationships existed among arts, and Mu Xingchen's Forbidden Magic Dao domain was a veritable mage-killer. With Mu Xingchen's Dao domain, he could indeed intercept this art. The problem was that he was far too weak right now. The old wounds from the battle against the Insect Saint in Thousand Thorns Gorge had never healed, and he had sustained fresh injuries at Mu Nuo's hands just moments ago. If he blocked this art, he would in all likelihood die instantly. Facing Xu Yuan's gaze, Mu Xingchen lowered his eyes and whispered: "Father and the others sought to destroy the prefectural city, causing millions of common folk to perish. Though I know this is a drop in the ocean, it is the only way I can atone for our sins." Xu Yuan was quiet for a brief moment before suddenly asking: "Master Mu, when the great clans in the city mobilized their private guards to protect the common people earlier, was that your doing?" Mu Xingchen activated his tottering Forbidden Magic Dao domain, the corners of his stubbled lips curving in a feeble smile: "One must always do something. Still, that was thanks to the medicine you gave me back then, Third Young Master. Were it not for your Seven Wonders Rejuvenation Pill, I wouldn't have been able to reach the Zhenxi prefectural yamen in time." With that, Mu Xingchen clenched his fists tightly, stepped forward, and, keeping his back turned, said solemnly: "Third Young Master, all I can do for you now is trade my life to seal Mu Nuo for a single breath. The rest..." Amid the middle-aged man's rambling, Xu Yuan gave a soft sigh. Strands of Dao charm coalesced in his blood-colored pupils. The instant his right eye turned entirely pitch-black and his gaze locked onto Mu Nuo's figure— *Buzz——* Accompanied by a violent, titanic shriek, time within the prefectural city seemed to freeze. Without the slightest warning, a gaping, through-and-through hole tore open in Mu Nuo's chest. The black radiance gathering in its hand lost control under the impact of this sudden, crippling wound. The halo expanding from the runaway black orb engulfed Mu Nuo's figure almost instantly. Immediately after, the collapse began. Shockwaves rippled outward as light collapsed inward. A sphere of light, like a singular focal point, materialized above the prefectural city. A foundation of abyssal pitch-black, a halo of pure white, radiating a blinding glare that defied direct sight! Mu Xingchen's eyes widened, his pupils contracting as he stared blankly at the scene above. With his cultivation, he could clearly perceive the emergence of Mu Nuo's wound, yet he could not discern what manner of method had inflicted it. Amid the gale cascading down from above, a hand came to rest upon his shoulder, and a calm voice drifted from behind: "Master Mu, you have done more than enough for Zhenxi Prefectural City. Leave the rest to me." Fine fractures spiderwebbed across the colossal steles. Countless dead dissolved into black smoke and dispersed. The dense rows of streets began to tremble, and the Domain of the Living and the Dead blanketing the entire city showed the first omens of collapse. Sensing the shifts across the city, Xu Yuan stepped through the void, ascending directly toward that blazing focal point of light. By the time he arrived before Mu Nuo, the point of light that seemed capable of annihilating all things had already exhausted its might. Xu Yuan looked upon Mu Nuo, heavily wounded by its own backfired technique, and asked evenly: "Now, do you think the Origin Realm is enough?" Blood trickled from Mu Nuo's mouth. Clutching its chest, the creature glared fixedly at the man before it: "Quite the method. How did you do it? Why can't the wound on my chest heal?" Within a few breaths, the surging black smoke had already reconstituted the rest of Mu Nuo's body, save for that large cavity pierced through by Xu Yuan's ambush. Endless black smoke surged in, striving to fill the breach, only to collapse and scatter en masse in the very next instant. Starlight cascaded across the sky like a waterfall. Xu Yuan calmly raised his hand flat before Mu Nuo's eyes, saying nothing. Panting heavily, Mu Nuo stared at the sight, feeling an unprecedented weakness. "What is the meaning of this?" "Something you were born with, yet you cannot even sense it." Xu Yuan dispersed the death Dao charm condensed in his palm and shook his head gently. "From the moment your chest was impaled by my Dao charm, as long as I wish it, that wound will never heal for all eternity." As the words fell, a moment of silence hung in the air. Mu Nuo suddenly grinned at Xu Yuan. Then, countless black ribbons erupted without warning, shooting straight toward Xu Yuan! A breath later, Mu Nuo looked at the human before it, whose body had been pierced through in numerous places by the ribbons, bright red blood welling out incessantly. Clutching its chest, it panted: "Even if I understand no magical arts right now, aren't you... underestimating the gulf between a Saint and the Origin Realm a bit too much?" The rolling gale lifted Xu Yuan's unbound long hair. Enduring the searing pain radiating from every part of his body, he spoke without an ounce of emotion: "I have never underestimated you. Every action I take now has been thoroughly considered. Why don't you guess why I, a mere Origin Realm cultivator, could ambush you, a Saint, earlier—and why I dare stand this close to you now?" "......" Mu Nuo's brow furrowed tightly, thoughts racing through its mind. Before it could arrive at an answer, Xu Yuan answered his own question: "Your existence is unique to me. Even though you moved from death to life, your very being still embodies the Dao of life and death." As he spoke, Xu Yuan's pierced body began to blur, gradually dissolving into an invisible shadow of death. "......" At this sight, Mu Nuo's pupils contracted. Its gaze darted continuously across the surroundings, yet it could not detect Xu Yuan's hiding place at all, hearing only that calm voice echoing all around: "The Dao charm I wield allows me to integrate seamlessly into your Domain of the Living and the Dead. That is the confidence that enables me to defy the heavens and strike you down from the Origin Realm—just like this—" *Whoosh!!* A gust of fierce wind arrived out of nowhere from the flank, a hand blade thrusting toward Mu Nuo's heart, swift as lightning. Yet the divide between the Origin Realm and a Saint was ultimately immense. Once Mu Nuo was on guard, an ambush of this level could not succeed. A grey shield condensed from black smoke materialized in an instant. Xu Yuan's thrusting hand slammed into it, his knuckles instantly shattering and turning to mangled flesh. Yet in the next moment, before Mu Nuo could react further, Xu Yuan dissolved back into a shadow and pulled away, his leisurely, detached voice continuing to echo beside Mu Nuo's ear: "You had best keep yourself guarded and remain vigilant at all times. Any single strike from me could end your Saintly life." Mu Nuo pulled its hand away from its chest, its chilly gaze sweeping the surroundings as it calculated a countermeasure. "Empty bluffs. Even if you turn into a phantom, it doesn't change the fact that you've already been gravely wounded by me. You will die before I do." As yet another strike from the shadows was deflected, Xu Yuan's wry, helpless voice sounded once more: "Though a Saint, you haven't mastered Intent, let alone Dao charm. How could an attack forged purely from condensed source qi ever prove fatal to me?" As if to prove his words true, the tempo of Xu Yuan's attacks spiked drastically. The shadow of death swirled persistently around Mu Nuo. Sudden hand blades struck time and again, matched by hairbreadth parries time and again. Just when the people in the yamen thought the battle above would grind into a war of attrition, an abrupt change occurred. As Xu Yuan manifested from the shadows once more to strike at Mu Nuo, Mu Xingchen suddenly saw the sky above collapse. No, more precisely, the canopy shrouding the Zhenxi prefectural yamen collapsed. The shattering process completed in a fraction of an instant. The Domain of the Living and the Dead had been forcibly terminated by Mu Nuo. The orderly streets vanished, massive craters emerged, the once-intact, magnificent city walls stood fractured once more, and all the festering scars left upon the city by war were laid bare again to the living. Mu Xingchen's brow furrowed sharply. In his vision, after the Third Young Master's hand blade was blocked once more, his figure failed to disappear, remaining bound in physical form. Experience told him that the Prime Minister's third son's earlier phasing art had been parasitic upon that Domain of the Living and the Dead; right now, he had lost the ability to slip away. In the spark of a flint, during the first instant, Mu Nuo drove a fist wrapped in black smoke straight at Xu Yuan's head. With the gulf in cultivation, should this punch land solid, Xu Yuan would perish instantly. Yet just before the fist reached his face, Xu Yuan triggered Void-Stepping Slash. During the second instant, Xu Yuan's figure emerged thirty zhang to the rear. During the third instant, Mu Nuo arrived like maggots on a bone, driving another fist downward. Just as Mu Xingchen thought the Third Young Master would use that spatial transposition art in succession as before to escape, Mu Nuo's fist connected with Xu Yuan's face. Instantly, a sphere of light exploded outward. A perfect, curved void opened across Xu Yuan's waist, and his upper body was pulverized to dust directly within the sphere of light. The battle ceased in an instant. Amid the dead silence, Mu Nuo turned around, looking toward the Zhenxi prefectural yamen. Behind it, only that severed lower half remained suspended in the void. Outside the city, dancing amid the flash of blades and swords, her white dress fluttering like an immortal's, Tianyuan suddenly asked the cold-faced man before her: "Feng Jiuxuan, do you still consider that monster human?" Feng Jiuxuan glanced at his nephew within the city, of whom only the lower half remained. After a brief silence, he said coldly: "Aren't all cultivators monsters? As long as he still acknowledges me as his uncle, he is our Changtian." "Is that so..." Tianyuan lowered her eyes in contemplation. The White Emperor gazed down at the battlefield, a trace of thought showing in his dragon eyes. *In a phased state, could Xu Changtian not use the layered-pattern secret art to make that spatial-leap technique constant?* Even with Xu Yuan's upper body annihilated, he did not believe the battle had ended just like that. Before the war began, Xu Changtian had consistently harbored grand designs. For him to dare confront a Saint in the Origin Realm now, the same had to hold true. The White Emperor saw everything below with utter clarity. From the start of the battle, Mu Nuo had been led by the nose by Xu Changtian. If it concluded like this, it would be far too disappointing. Furthermore, when Mu Nuo's final punch struck home, he had clearly seen one of Xu Changtian's eyes swallowed by an ominous darkness—an eye identical to Mu Nuo's before the creature mended the heavenly rift. What followed unfolded precisely as the White Emperor anticipated. After turning, before it could even set off to slaughter the yamen, Mu Nuo suddenly froze in place as though snared by some manner of art. Strands of Dao charm fluctuations the White Emperor had never witnessed began to converge in the air, resembling an immaculate white, yet also an eternal black. Seeing this, the White Emperor finally understood the motive of the Xu brat: "Seeking to use the remnants of the Domain of the Living and the Dead to coalesce his own Dao domain..." And as the Life and Death Dao Domain coalesced into form, within Mu Nuo's vision, there seemed to appear a river surging toward the end of the world.