Chapter 1736: Chu Ge Chang Feng
As the Golden Ship of Salvation flew through the air, specks of light flickered around it, rapidly catching up to the vessel. Beside Lan Yutian, one divine artifact clone after another appeared, each identical to him in appearance.
These divine artifact clones of Lan Yutian had originally been controlled by him to search for other blood sacrifice altars. Now that the altars had been found and a great battle was imminent, Lan Yutian recalled these artifacts to bolster his own strength.
Among the three of them, his cultivation and power were the weakest, far inferior to Shang Jun and Qin Mu. However, his foundation was the most solid—arguably one of the strongest foundations in the entire world, with the most stable Dao foundation. Coupled with the Golden Ship of Salvation and dozens of divine artifacts, although he would face danger in this battle, he was not without the power to fight.
The Golden Ship of Salvation accelerated rapidly, soon flying beyond the borders of Yankang and arriving at the frontier of the Yuan Realm. Ahead lay a place called Flying Wheel Fort.
The Yuan Realm could be considered the most prosperous of all the myriad realms, but because of Yankang, the realm's human and material resources were drained away. The more remote the area, the less developed it became. Such was the case with Flying Wheel Fort.
It was called Flying Wheel Fort because six lesser realms formed a wheel-like shape in the sky at the Yuan Realm's border, with stars creating spoke-like radiation chains between them. During the Dragon Han, Red Ming, and Supreme Emperor eras, ancient fortresses stood here, serving as bridgeheads for the Heavenly Court to garrison the Yuan Realm and as landing points for Heavenly Court armies in case of rebellion.
However, it had been abandoned by the end of the Supreme Emperor era. By the time of the Kai Emperor era, Yan Yunxi and Bai Yuqiong had a Dao contest here. Yan Yunxi, disguised as a man, was the Kai Emperor's Zixi Heavenly Master, proficient in various miscellaneous studies. The two women tested each other's formation techniques here, and the result was that Zixi Heavenly Master lost by a hair's breadth. But from then on, Bai Yuqiong fell in love with Yan Yunxi, and they exchanged "love tokens."
—At that time, the Heavenly Court could be said to be the most enlightened Heavenly Court. The strong of the Kai Emperor era often interacted with the strong of the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Court was not so resistant to reform.
But after Yan Yunxi and Bai Yuqiong left, Flying Wheel Fort was completely abandoned, devoid of human presence. Because the two Heavenly Masters had left behind too many formations here—large and small, of all kinds—turning the place into a dangerous land riddled with killing intent. Naturally, no one would come.
In Flying Wheel Fort, various formations stood side by side, their formation patterns and chains interwoven. Twenty-four thousand years had passed since Yan and Bai's contest, yet the power of the formations had not diminished at all.
At this moment, a great formation within Flying Wheel Fort activated, transforming the area into an ocean of trees. The forest was dense, each tree a living creature like a spirit, capable of uprooting itself and using its branches and roots as swords to slay opponents. Some twisted branches were like dragons or pythons, capable of strangling those who entered the formation.
Among the myriad trees, one stood exceptionally tall, far surpassing the others. This majestic old tree had actually grown a humanoid form. Its crown was small, like the messy hair of an ugly person, with a large body and a small head—the crown was not even as thick as its trunk. Around this strange tree stood other tree giants of various sizes.
Everything here seemed normal. Yan Yunxi and Bai Yuqiong both had astonishing attainments in the art of formations, using them to evolve various gods and demons to enhance the formations' power. There were many similar formations in Flying Wheel Fort.
This particular formation included the art of spirit summoning. Spirit summoning was not a unique technique of the Western Lands; the True Heaven Palace of the Western Lands actually originated from the Heavenly Court. And spirit summoning did not come from the Heavenly Court either, but from the Kai Emperor era, as one of the achievements of the Kai Emperor's reforms.
This tree-man looked no different from the others, only larger. But upon closer inspection, one could see that the physical mechanism of this tree-man was completely different from the others.
The body of this tree-man was not constructed from formation patterns formed by the formation, but rather carved from extremely fine runes, incredibly detailed, as if it had undergone countless years of baptism and tempering. Moreover, traces left by the great calamity of cosmic destruction could be seen in its body—scars from the erosion of chaotic energy from the destruction calamity, leaving irreparable wounds on its Dao body.
This was the lord of the Changfeng Hall, one of the seventy-two halls of the Jade Capital in the Ancestral Court. Although his physical body was not as ancient as that of the Lingguan Hall Lord, which could give birth to innate gods, it was still extraordinary!
Even more terrifying was that his Dao tree and Dao fruit had also descended simultaneously. His Dao fruit was unique, hanging directly in the crown of his head.
The Changfeng Hall Lord had attained the Dao as an alien being, a divine tree that cultivated to become a god, enduring wind and rain and various tribulations until his great Dao was entrusted to the void, making him an accomplished Daoist. His path to enlightenment was legendary. When he became an accomplished Daoist, even the master of the Miluo Palace was stirred, personally appearing to guide him, saying: "Rather than entrusting your great Dao to the void to form a Dao tree, it is better to entrust yourself to the void."
The Changfeng Hall Lord, enlightened by the master of the Miluo Palace, had a great awakening. He then used his own body as the Dao tree, entrusting himself to the void, becoming a unique accomplished Daoist. His physical body was his Dao tree, and his Dao fruit hung above his head. The danger he faced in surviving the great destruction calamity was much less than that of other accomplished Daoists. His achievement was envied by several young masters of the Miluo Palace.
"My roots have not yet fully descended," the Changfeng Hall Lord thought to himself, keeping a low profile to appear no different from the other tree-men. "But it won't take long. At most two years, and I can fully descend. Once I do, the Seventeenth Epoch will be within easy reach..."
Boom!
A golden light flew in, faster than light, crashing directly through all the formations in Flying Wheel Fort. Every formation was crushed and shattered by that golden light!
Within the golden light was a ship, which slammed directly into the Changfeng Hall Lord, uprooting the great tree. His roots had not fully descended, but many had already appeared, deeply embedded in the soil of the Yuan Realm's frontier. Now, some roots were pulled out, others were torn apart. The terrifying impact crushed him to the ground, dragging him beneath the ship's hull, leaving a deep trench in the earth filled with blazing flames and crackling lightning!
Whoosh—
The golden ship crushed him as it flew out of the Yuan Realm, breaking through the air. On the ship, the divine artifact clones of Lan Yutian stood in staggered positions, each unleashing their divine abilities—all of them Five Tai techniques. Countless techniques poured down from the ship, blasting into the Changfeng Hall Lord's body!
At the same moment, Shang Jun was walking into the cloth shop and throwing himself into the painting!
Lan Yutian had seized the initiative. Without caring about anything else, he frantically attacked the Changfeng Hall Lord being dragged beneath the ship. Although his strength was inferior to Qin Mu and Shang Jun, and his combat experience far less, his solid foundation made his divine techniques and Dao methods even more exquisite than theirs!
In an instant, the Changfeng Hall Lord was struck by countless techniques. Each technique contained different Dao methods, with different attributes, invading his body simultaneously and causing various forms of destruction, leaving him somewhat flustered.
Even more terrifying was the pressure of the Golden Ship of Salvation. The ship had crashed directly into him, nearly shattering his body, which even the destruction calamity could not erase!
"The Golden Ship of Salvation? Is it the Seventh Young Master?"
Suddenly, the Golden Ship of Salvation shook violently. A Dao fruit floated into the air, emitting Dao light that formed thousands of phantom images, connecting layers of void, gradually slowing the ship's speed.
"Seventh Young Master, your strength is far inferior to what I expected," the Changfeng Hall Lord's voice came from beneath the ship. The Golden Ship of Salvation slowed down more and more until it finally stopped. "I thought that since you could kill Lingguan, your strength must be extremely formidable. But all those techniques of yours only scratched my skin."
"If it were my brother, you would probably be dead by now."
The Changfeng Hall Lord was startled by these words. His body rose slowly, appearing before the Golden Ship of Salvation. He looked down and saw a group of identical youths arranged in a "V" formation.
"Not the Seventh Young Master?" The Changfeng Hall Lord was surprised, carefully examining Lan Yutian at the bow. He praised, "Your cultivation and strength are not weak. From the neural fluctuations in your brain, I can see your wisdom. If the teacher were here, he would surely appreciate you. You might even become a member of the Miluo Palace. You and I can set aside our differences and make peace. I can introduce you to the other young masters of the Miluo Palace, and we can plan great things together in the future."
Lan Yutian shook his head. "I don't need your introduction. My brother is your Miluo Palace's Seventh Young Master."
The Changfeng Hall Lord was unconcerned, saying, "The Seventh Young Master is a disgrace to our Miluo Palace. That is common knowledge. Young man, you have strayed from the right path. If you do not correct yourself, your life will be in danger. I will not hold your ambush against you. Come with me. I will take you to the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital to seek an audience with the other young masters."
Lan Yutian formed his battle formation, shaking his head. "I won't go, and you can't leave either."
The Changfeng Hall Lord sighed and shook his head. "I have encountered many geniuses like you in the past, and I have sent many of them on their way. I didn't expect to have to send another one away today."
In the Yuan Realm, the sword Dao jungle formed by the ruins of Carefree Realm. Countless fragments of Carefree Realm lay scattered like countless swords, stuck horizontally and vertically into the ground, like a graveyard of swords. This sword Dao jungle was formed when the sword heart of Carefree Realm, under the worship of Di Yiyue and others and the urging of Lan Yutian, annihilated the Earth Master of the Heavenly Court's Three Masters, creating a sword cemetery.
The residual power of the sword Dao here was too strong, and few people set foot in it. Most of Yankang's army was rushing to the Ancestral Court to pursue the Heavenly Emperor Hao, so no one tended to this place.
In the sword Dao jungle, someone seemed to be singing a mournful song in an obscure, untraceable language. The song was sometimes sorrowful, sometimes wild, sometimes compassionate, and sometimes cynical. The strange song came from the scattered great swords, drifting and uncertain.
A figure walked on the mirror-like surface of a divine weapon, stepping from one divine sword to another. He seemed to walk within the mirror, singing as he went, unrestrained and unbridled.
At that moment, the figure moving within the divine weapon's mirror paused, looking into the distance. There, a young man with graying temples walked with his hands behind his back.
"Seventh Young Master!" The figure in the mirror was startled, bowing to the approaching Qin Mu from within the mirror. "Chu Ge Hall Lord, Chu Sheng, pays respects to the Seventh Young Master!"
—It's the middle of the month, and I forgot to ask for monthly votes again. Tears streaming down my face. Is it too late to ask now?