Chapter 3040: Taiyi Realm?
"Heaven and earth have yin and yang, chaos has clarity and turbidity. He has broken through! Fellow Daoist Qingpingzi has broken through to Taizhen, and the Heavenly Court has gained another Great God." Feng Xuan's head was held in Feng Xi's hands, trembling as he shouted with excitement.
Only someone like Feng Xuan, an upper-level god who had bitterly cultivated for over a hundred thousand years, could understand how exhilarating it was to break through to Taizhen. Perhaps only the feeling of surviving an Eon Calamity could compare.
Worldly fame and fortune are but fleeting clouds.
Wedding candles and bridal chambers are but illusory flames.
Mortals look up to Saints.
Saints yearn to become gods.
The pursuit of Taizhen by gods is even more frenzied, requiring a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand years of effort. For this, they can abandon familial bonds, risk death for the slightest chance of progress, and transform themselves into something neither human nor ghost.
For gods, "breaking through to Taizhen" is the greatest desire.
Once successful, their status in heaven and earth changes dramatically. They can single-handedly support a powerful realm, live for hundreds of thousands of years, and look down upon all other gods.
Feng Xi gazed at the tall, thin figure in the green Daoist robe, walking alone toward the oppressive black ghost clouds. Though his frame seemed frail, it now appeared towering and awe-inspiring, a sight to behold.
He was like a peerless Sword God, able to hold up a place for all living beings to survive when the sky collapses and the earth splits apart.
The Human Skin Lantern stared at the Taiji Two Symbols Diagram Seal in the dark void and muttered to himself, "Is this the phenomenon caused by a Daoist cultivator breaking through to Taizhen?"
When he had broken through to Taizhen, he hadn't had such momentum.
Anyone unaware might think someone had broken through to the Tai Xu realm.
Xuanyuan Qing saw Qingpingzi raise his sword to face Zhao Wuyan, and her heart was already shaken. When she heard his words, "Today, Feng Yan undergoes his tribulation, and I shall protect the Dao," her eyes sparkled with brilliance.
She naturally knew Qingpingzi's true identity.
Seeing him make such a choice, it was clear he was not as despicable as the world rumored. He was a man of action, someone who could uphold his principles with a pure heart. Xuanyuan Qing's conviction in her own thoughts grew even stronger.
The cultivators on the divine ship, whether gods or Saints, were all invigorated to see a Great God emerge from their side.
It was like seeing a ray of hope in endless darkness.
Zhao Wuyan stood beneath the ghost clouds, as black as an ocean of ink. A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes, followed by a dark, deep laugh: "So what if you've broken through to Taizhen? You're only at the initial stage of Taiyi, and your realm is unstable. If you fled now, you might have a chance to live. But daring to face me head-on is nothing but seeking death."
Zhao Wuyan was a being from the Darkness Temple who had survived two Eon Calamities. He had cultivated for nearly three hundred thousand years, with a depth of foundation and accumulation far beyond that of Great God Lixiao or Second-Grade Blood Ancestor. Their cultivation levels were worlds apart.
He was a powerhouse nearing the peak of Taiyi.
If a Great God who had just reached the initial stage of Taiyi chose to flee, it would indeed be difficult for him to kill them.
But if they chose to fight him, they were truly walking to their death.
Behind Zhang Ruochen, the Taiji Two Symbols Diagram Seal continued to evolve, forming the outline of a yin-yang fish. Yin within yang, yang within yin, spinning endlessly, absorbing the spiritual energy and Saint Qi of heaven and earth.
The yin within yang was like the Abyss of Darkness.
The yang within yin was like a blazing sun hanging in the sky.
When he was still a thousand miles from Zhao Wuyan, Zhang Ruochen's aura reached its peak. His hair and beard flew wildly as he said, "Today, I, this poor Daoist, also wish to slay a Great God of the Darkness Temple. Zhao Wuyan, accept your death!"
Zhao Wuyan felt the powerful aura from his opponent and dared not underestimate him.
Though a direct confrontation would be an easy victory, it would be too brutish.
"Aren't you going to protect his Dao? I'll kill him right before your eyes."
Zhao Wuyan let out a deep laugh and moved his divine thought.
From the dense ghost clouds above his head, over a hundred million yin ghosts flew out, letting out a piercing roar as they surged toward Feng Yan below the tribulation clouds.
The tribulation clouds above Feng Yan's head had already spread for a hundred thousand miles, with countless thunder and fire weaving through them.
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger, and a ten-thousand-mile-wide green river flew from his fingertip.
It wasn't a real river, but a green river formed by countless sword qi.
The green river surged, colliding with the hundred million yin ghosts tens of thousands of miles away. Instantly, ghostly wails filled the sky, and all the yin ghosts were annihilated, turning into wisps of smoke.
"Whoosh!"
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Wuyan had crossed a thousand miles and appeared above Zhang Ruochen. The Xuan Yue Nether Blade in his hand, drawing upon the extremely cold dark force, slashed through the air.
This was a premeditated strike!
Clearly, Zhao Wuyan intended to kill Zhang Ruochen as quickly as possible, or at least severely wound him to the point of losing combat ability.
And to kill a god, close-quarters combat was the easiest.
But he believed his foolproof slash had long been seen through by Zhang Ruochen, who was waiting for him to attack up close.
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword upward, and countless time imprint light points appeared in the sky, striking first despite being launched later, splitting Zhao Wuyan's ghostly divine body in two.
The powerful dark force and blade light were all broken.
"Be careful!"
Feng Xi's warning shout had just left her lips when she saw the dark qi around Zhao Wuyan had been parted, and his two severed ghostly halves flew backward.
Any cultivator present who could see the exchange between the two was stunned and shocked.
"Excellent!" Feng Xuan said.
Zhang Ruochen didn't give Zhao Wuyan a chance to reform his ghostly divine body. His sword flowed like water, its light faster than lightning. In an instant, he struck a hundred times, blasting Zhao Wuyan into a sky full of ghost mist, wailing incessantly.
The sky full of ghost mist split into ten thousand clones, trying to flee from Zhang Ruochen in all directions.
But they were locked onto by Zhang Ruochen's divine qi and pulled back.
"Where do you think you're going?"
...
On the divine ship, most cultivators could only see a pitch-black area in that direction, filled with ghostly howls and wolf-like cries, dense sword light, and occasionally Zhao Wuyan's angry curses and screams.
Without seeing the fight clearly, they knew that Daoist Qingpingzi had the absolute upper hand. It was immensely satisfying, making them want to kneel and bow.
"It's Time Sword Art. He's actually proficient in Time Sword Art." The Human Skin Lantern sensed something was wrong. His divine light burned like a star, and he raised his battle axe, intending to strike Qingpingzi from a distance.
"As a Sword Dao god of the Kunlun Realm, what's so strange about being proficient in Time Sword Art?"
Xuanyuan Qing's green lotus mark on her brow came to life. Green light and radiant power merged, and her slender, elegant figure regained its mobility.
A scroll flew out from between her brows, shooting toward the Human Skin Lantern.
The Human Skin Lantern, who had been about to strike Zhang Ruochen with his axe, immediately brought it down to slash at the scroll.
"Boom!"
The axe and the scroll collided.
The scroll shattered, turning into a patch of nine-colored divine glow that pulled the Human Skin Lantern into a strange world.
Within the divine glow stood twenty radiant figures. Some were wrathful Vajra, some dominated the world, some were like the Dragon Ancestor reborn... Just their presence here made the Human Skin Lantern's heart tremble with fear.
"The Twenty Heavens Diagram... No, this isn't the Twenty Heavens Diagram painted by the Fourth Confucian Ancestor. It's a new diagram!" The Human Skin Lantern attacked the wrathful Buddha figure, swinging his axe.
Even if it were the Twenty Heavens, they were just images. As a Great God, how could he be intimidated into not attacking?
But the axe strike from the Human Skin Lantern was deflected by the Buddha's palm.
The power of a Great God couldn't shake the images of the gods.
Three hundred thousand years ago, the Fourth Confucian Ancestor was invited by the Inverse God Heavenly Venerable to paint the Twenty Heavens Diagram. It was said that to paint it, he used the blood of the Twenty Heavens and took six hundred years to complete.
When the diagram was finished, all the pigments in the Saint Realm flew away to add color, turning the sky into a rainbow.
But this diagram had long since disappeared with the Fourth Confucian Ancestor.
The Twenty Heavens Diagram that Xuanyuan Qing unleashed was unknown to have been painted by some divine being of the Heavenly Court, depicting the current Twenty Heavens of the Heavenly Court. Though far inferior to the Fourth Confucian Ancestor's work, it was still formidable, trapping the Human Skin Lantern for a short time.
"Shua!"
A bright sword light, illuminating the darkness, flew over Xuanyuan Qing's head, heading straight for the divine battlefield where Zhao Wuyan and Zhang Ruochen were.
It was the Clear Sky Sword King!
Shang Hong's Yellow Spring Flower poison had already taken effect. His three divine bodies had been slashed into blood mist by the Clear Sky Sword King and were now struggling to reform, clearly having lost combat ability.
Xuanyuan Qing had considerable confidence in Qingpingzi and didn't immediately intercept the Clear Sky Sword King. Instead, she focused on suppressing the Yellow Spring Flower poison within her. If she didn't suppress the toxin, she couldn't fight at full strength and would end up like Shang Hong.
"Bang!"
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen and the Clear Sky Sword King clashed.
Their swords struck together.
Qingping's Sword turned the darkness into a green sky. The Clear Sky Sword King's sword was also extraordinary, blazing like fire. Cultivators below the divine realm would be blinded by the sword light.
The Clear Sky Sword King's cultivation was even higher than Zhao Wuyan's, already at the peak of Taiyi.
But this clash was evenly matched. He gained no advantage.
"How could he be this strong? How is it possible?" Shang Hong, who had just reformed his divine body, was too weak to move, his eyes full of doubt.
He had been invincible in the world during his Saint period and as an upper-level god. His foundation and methods were unmatched by few cultivators of the same realm across the entire universe.
Yet, even after splitting his three corpses, he couldn't defeat the Clear Sky Sword King.
Even without the influence of Yellow Spring Flower poison, Shang Hong believed he would have little chance against a Great God with such deep accumulation as the Clear Sky Sword King.
Eon-level representatives appear once or a few times every thousand years.
It could be said that many Great Gods were Eon-level representatives during their Saint period, or at least figures stirring the mortal world on the Red Dust Peerless List. Only with such a foundation could they more easily cultivate to the Great God level.
Since the foundation gap wasn't large, factors like cultivation level, divine qi accumulation, number of rule divine patterns, esoteric divine path, divine ability level, and battle weapon grade became especially important.
The foundation cultivated over thousands of years in the Saint realm could largely determine future potential and the advantage at the same cultivation level.
But for gods, the hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation after becoming a god were even more critical in determining combat power.
It could be said that without powerful trump cards, crossing even a minor realm to defeat an opponent at the Great God level was as difficult as ascending to heaven.