Chapter 294: Chapter 292: An Unexpected Path of the Great Dao
"This land is bright and tranquil. Let no Thunder Skill be unleashed!"
Yan Rulong’s expression was solemn. He formed a hand seal and pointed. The calligraphy scroll above his head ignited with white flames, the Treasure burning fiercely.
It was an item kept close by a Nascent Soul True Monarch for hundreds of years, suffused with his influence. Each character was a pearl of profound power, containing a vast might.
To a Celestial Principle Sect Cultivator, its value surpassed even a Top-Grade Magical Treasure, bordering on that of a Spiritual Treasure.
Destroying it in one go would unleash a burst of power that, in some respects, could reach the Nascent Soul Level.
Yan Rulong’s heart bled at the sacrifice. He only possessed one such Treasure, and even the entire Celestial Principle Sect had few remaining.
In their entire lifetime, a Nascent Soul True Monarch could only imbue one or two Ink Treasures to this degree. It was a more difficult process than the Refinement of a Lifebound Magical Treasure.
He had reached Core Formation Perfection through his own genuine Cultivation. Furthermore, hailing from a Central Domain Major Sect like the Celestial Principle Sect, his perspective was far beyond what the White Bone True Man could compare to.
He saw at a glance that although the Thunder-Sucking Whale, formed from that Bone Whistle Secret Treasure, had devoured all the Thunderbolt...
...specks of Thunder Radiance still danced before Master Ge Cang. They were gathering from tiny motes into a river, once again growing into a Thunderbolt Ocean.
The Divine Thunder possessed a spirit; its life was unending.
’This is a Realm that Core Formation True Men of the Five Thunders Sect can only dream of achieving! If one could do this, the Sect would prepare all the necessary Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects for them. It means the gate to the Nascent Soul Realm is already halfway open!’
A tide of horror washed over Yan Rulong’s heart. He decisively sacrificed the calligraphy scroll, achieving an effect akin to Words Become Law.
With Xiaoluo Mountain as the center, no Cultivator below the Nascent Soul Realm could use Thunder Skills within a radius of dozens of miles.
The Thunder Radiance that had just reformed vanished completely, as if that terrifying Thunderbolt Ocean had never existed.
Judging by the speed at which the scroll was burning, the effect would last for at least the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
"Fellow Daoist White Bone, we must end this quickly! We cannot drag this out!"
Yan Rulong reflected internally on the vastness of the Cultivation Realm and the endless stream of talented individuals it produced.
Cultivators from the Central Domain had always looked down on the Four Domains, considering them exile lands for sects that had lost in the competition, and were thus incredibly arrogant.
Even though the Celestial Principle Sect had been forced to come to the Liang Country and choose Black Mountain, he couldn’t help but still harbor such thoughts.
But what he was witnessing now completely shattered his past prejudices.
Even shallow waters could produce a True Dragon!
These two Core Formation True Men from the Qingfeng Sect proved that as long as one’s aptitude was outstanding enough, even in the remote Liang Country—the farthest corner of the Northern Domain’s four nations—one could grow into an expert no weaker than the top Core Formation True Men of the Central Domain.
’But you still have to die today... Otherwise, the Holy Lotus Sect will never be at ease, and my Sect won’t be able to secure its territory on Black Mountain either!’
Yan Rulong spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood. Using the blood as ink, he consecutively wrote the character for "Prison" three times.
Pillars of milky-white light shot toward the sky, suppressing Master Ge Cang.
’To cultivate a Thunder Skill to the point of becoming a living entity... he has walked much further down the path of the Great Dao than I have. I fear he has truly touched upon the Great Dao True Intent... However, with his strongest Divine Technique crippled, he’ll be lucky to have half his strength left... Our side is equivalent to three Perfect Core Formation Cultivators attacking at once. How can he not be defeated!’
Seeing Yan Rulong use his technique to completely disable Master Ge Cang’s Divine Thunder, the White Bone True Man was overjoyed.
The Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net was far too effective against Demon Path Techniques. If not for his White Bone True Demon Body being connected to the Demon Realm, providing an endless supply of reinforcing power...
...any other Perfect Core Formation Demon Path Cultivator’s bony frame would have been dismantled long ago.
Dozens of bone spurs shot from his body, forming a White Bone Peak that pressed down from high above.
Before it even landed, it had already pushed the ground down several inches, shattering stones and cracking the earth’s surface.
It also possessed the Power of Void imprisonment, turning the surrounding area into an Iron Wall and cutting off any space to use Escape Techniques.
He could only take it head-on; there was no possibility of dodging or escaping.
The three-headed, six-armed Evil Ghost King brought its six hands together. Shockingly, its malicious intent vanished, and its Evil Qi dissipated.
A moment later, a longsword slowly materialized in the center of its six hands. Its appearance was accompanied by the wails of ghosts and howls of gods, and it radiated an enchanting, bloody light.
"To drink the blood of a human Cultivator of this caliber is the only way to live up to the name of the Blood God Sword!"
The Evil Ghost King licked its lips, a bloodthirsty look on its face, and swung forward forcefully.
With a flash of crimson light, the Blood God Sword vanished, only to reappear from the void behind Master Ge Cang, stabbing toward him.
Silently, it traversed the void. Wherever the sword passed, the blood and qi of all living things stirred, their blood threatening to burst uncontrollably from their bodies.
The true Blood God Sword was a Supreme Treasure of the Demon Realm, born from the boundless Blood Sea.
It was not forged but naturally formed by heaven and earth, capable of controlling the blood of all living beings in the world.
Legend had it that when this sword once appeared, a million creatures had exploded, all their blood flying willingly toward the Blood God Sword.
The Evil Ghost King here was merely formed from a wisp of Divine Separation, so the Blood God Sword it condensed could not possibly compare to the Supreme Treasure in the Demon Realm.
It was a Divine Technique that imitated the original Blood God Sword, but its power was equivalent to that of a Spiritual Treasure.
The three powerful Perfect Core Formation experts held nothing back, joining forces to unleash their strongest techniques.
The two clusters of ghostly fire in the White Bone True Man’s eyes flickered rapidly. He could finally kill this thorn in his side.
Ever since Master Ge Cang’s rise, he had cast a heavy shadow over him. In recent years, it had become clear that the power balance between the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Qingfeng Sect had reversed.
This time, by using this outside Sect to slay Master Ge Cang, he would not only eliminate a mortal enemy, but his own path forward would once again be clear.
’Just die already! Soon, I’ll send every Cultivator from the Qingfeng Sect to accompany you... No, I’ll refine them into the Ten Thousand Ghosts Fierce Soul Formation, so that even in death, you will all remain my slaves, powering the Grand Array!’
The White Bone True Man could almost see the scene already, and a feeling of glee filled his heart.
’To think such a Divine Technique exists. Not even a Nascent Soul True Monarch can achieve Words Become Law to the extent of changing a region’s Primordial Qi... This Confucian Daoist Skill is truly remarkable, achieving a weakened version of the world control that Divinity Transformation Great Powers possess.’
The Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net was completely disabled, unable to draw any feedback from the world.
With a flicker of his Divine Thought, he found his Thunder Escape was useless, and even ’Close as the Palm of Your Hand, Far as the Ends of the Earth’ was restricted.
Master Ge Cang could clearly sense that a single step would take him at most a hundred feet. He had no way of escaping the range of the incoming attacks.
Milky-white pillars of light surrounded him, a White Bone Peak descended with crushing force from above, and the Blood God Sword, though it hadn’t reached him yet, caused a stabbing pain in his back. His blood already felt like it was burning, searing hot and unbearable.
His face was as calm as still water. He didn’t even consider activating the Five Crystal Glaze Body’s Secret Technique of Death with the Enemy.
"Jia Wood Reaching Celestial, shedding its form to become fire, rising to become thunder, landing to become a pillar... It is your honor to witness this old man’s true path of the Great Dao!"
Master Ge Cang straightened his gaunt frame and transformed into a towering Divine Tree. In an instant, it grew to a thousand feet tall, making the White Bone True Man look like a dwarf in comparison.
The Blood God Sword pierced the trunk, causing a large section of branches to wither and fall off. But it failed to draw even a single drop of blood, and its momentum instantly vanished.
A wooden hand swatted it, sending it flying out of sight.
The Evil Ghost King shrieked as all six of its clasped hands exploded. It was sent flying backward, crashing through countless boulders.
The three-layered cage of milky-white light pillars was directly burst apart by the towering Divine Tree as if it were made of paper.
Two wooden hands pushed upward, holding back the White Bone Peak. Countless branches snapped, but compared to the thousand-foot-tall Divine Tree, the damage was insignificant.
"How is this possible! During your final Pill Discussion, did you point out two Great Dao True Intents?"
Yan Rulong’s magic was broken. Fine cracks appeared on his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the brush, and his mind was struck as if by a heavy blow.
But he couldn’t spare a thought for his injuries. As if he had seen the most incredible thing imaginable, he said in despair, "No, that’s not right. I’ve seen Cultivators at Core Formation Perfection who have comprehended two Great Dao True Intents, but they could never have such power... The living Divine Thunder, the Yin and Yang Complement Each Other—it was all a facade! Your true path of the Great Dao is ’Wood Nourishes All Things’!"
The Celestial Principle Sect was truly worthy of being a Major Sect that had produced several Nascent Soul True Monarchs. Limited by his aptitude, Yan Rulong was already nearly four hundred years old when he reached Core Formation Perfection and certainly had no time left to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
However, with the notes of several True Monarchs within the Sect to reference, his understanding of the path of the Great Dao—which only becomes clear in the Nascent Soul Stage—was certainly far greater than that of an ordinary Core Formation True Man.
If a Core Formation True Man who could simultaneously touch upon two Great Dao True Intents was one in a hundred...
...then being able to manifest both a false and a real path of the Great Dao during the Core Formation Stage could only be described as one in a million.
Take Master Ge Cang’s accomplishments in Thunder Skills, for example. His mastery—reaching the level of a living Divine Thunder and Yin and Yang Complementing Each Other—was already enough to match a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s comprehension of the path of Divine Thunder.
For this to be his false path of the Great Dao, his true path must be based on a higher concept and a deeper comprehension.
Who could have imagined that his Thunder Skill, which had reached the Transformation Realm and taken him so far down the Thunder Path, was not even his truly chosen Great Dao True Intent.
"Since you love Black Mountain so much, you can leave your life here!"
The thousand-foot tree-man slammed down a wooden hand, which ignited into a pillar of fire. It ignored everyone else and smashed directly toward the White Bone True Man.
As if snapping out of a daze, the White Bone True Man flapped the bone wings on his back and flew out of Xiaoluo Mountain at lightning speed.
His Flying Escape speed was comparable to that of a Top-Grade Flying Magical Treasure.
But the pillar of fire transformed from the wooden hand seemed to have a void-traversing ability, swatting the White Bone True Man directly into the ground.
Countless bones in his body must have been broken.
At the same time, flames clung to his body, and he couldn’t extinguish them no matter what he did.
The properties of his White Bone True Demon Body caused his broken frame to rapidly regenerate as he struggled to climb out of the crater.
The thousand-foot tree-man lifted the White Bone Peak and slammed it down on him. Countless roots and branches wrapped around every single bone, and with each strike of a wooden hand, broken bone fragments flew everywhere.
"Go!"
Yan Rulong retrieved his Magical Treasure, shouted to the other Celestial Principle Sect Cultivators, and hastily retreated.
He didn’t forget to snatch the half-burnt calligraphy scroll and stuff it into his robes.
Such strength could hold its own against a Nascent Soul True Monarch for a short while. It was simply not something a Cultivator of the same Realm could handle.
Even though they had a three-on-one advantage, they had misjudged Master Ge Cang’s greatest Divine Technique. They had played all their trump cards, thinking victory was assured.
Master Ge Cang seized the opportunity, broke the deadlock, and in an instant, the White Bone True Man lost all ability to resist.
The Evil Ghost King was never meant to exist for long and now dissolved into a puff of black smoke, fleeing into the distance.
’I knew it,’ Bai Zichen thought. ’For someone with a Wood Element Celestial Spiritual Root not to comprehend the Wood Element Path would go against all celestial principle...’
Bai Zichen’s Sword Light wavered for a moment. The five Core Formation True Men from the Celestial Principle Sect had clearly received special training in dealing with Sword Cultivators. The Array they formed made him extremely uncomfortable.
It was like being caught in a spider’s web; he was trapped no matter which way he charged. For a moment, he had even considered activating the Origin Power of his Moon Xuan Sword.
Seeing Master Ge Cang reveal the true path of his Great Dao, hidden beneath the cover of his Divine Thunder, he wasn’t as shocked as the others and quickly accepted it.