Chapter 4168: Void Heaven Shall Rise
“Void Fengjin is actually hiding in the Heavenly Court?” Zhao Gongming was shocked.
Xuanyuan Lian and Bian Zhuang War God were both proud and arrogant, but at this moment, shame was evident in their eyes.
Logically speaking, the main altar in the Celestial Academy threatened the safety of the Heavenly Court, and it should have been the Heavenly Court’s deities who resolved the hidden danger.
Yet now, a Heavenly Lord from the Hell Realm had more courage than them, facing the difficulty head-on with great boldness and fearlessness.
How ironic? How could they not feel ashamed?
Zhao Gongming praised, “What a man, Void Fengjin! When the Nether Ancestor was alive, he dared to suppress the Red Crow King. When the Divine Realm grew powerful, he dared to slash the Celestial Academy with his sword. Search the world for heroic courage, only this sword points to the heavens.”
Bian Zhuang War God had once been deeply hostile to the deities of the Hell Realm, but now he was sincerely admiring, saying, “Void Heaven is all courage.”
At the Celestial Academy.
Xuanyuan Taizhen and Ji Tian stood on a high cliff, with white mist below their feet, green bamboos and pines above their heads, and five deep-cultivated Doomsday Priests behind them.
Watching the overwhelming sword energy surging toward them, everyone was stunned.
“Why is Void Fengjin attacking the Celestial Academy so aggressively?” Ji Tian was confused and bewildered.
Xuanyuan Di’er and the Black-White Daoist were one thing—they had mysterious backers behind them. Had the old ghost Void also found a backer?
What puzzled Ji Tian even more was that since Xuanyuan Di’er and the Black-White Daoist had already declared they would attack the Celestial Academy, why was Void Fengjin stealing the spotlight? Why was he the first to jump out?
Did he truly not fear the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom at all?
Xuanyuan Taizhen speculated, “Old ghost Void must be extremely confident in his Void Dao, believing that even if he destroys the main altar, he can leave calmly.”
“This is a heinous crime. Does he think even the Spiritual Ancestor cannot find him?” Ji Tian said coldly.
Xuanyuan Taizhen said, “After all, he wields the Heavenly Mechanism Brush. With that confidence, it’s understandable. What a powerful sword strike! Has Old ghost Void’s cultivation realm reached such a height?”
“Boom, rumble!”
The defensive formations arranged by Murong Dui Ji outside the Celestial Academy were repeatedly struck by the Void Vortex and Sword Twenty-Four, developing cracks. Sword energy flew into the academy, shattering pavilions.
The five Doomsday Priests transformed into five streams of light and immediately rushed to the main altar.
Ji Tian also sensed something amiss and hurried toward the formation core left by Murong Dui Ji.
Only Xuanyuan Taizhen remained calm, releasing his divine thought to envelop the entire domain, searching for traces of Void Heaven.
“Who the hell is it?”
Void Heaven’s hair and beard flew wildly, his rage uncontrollable.
To be proficient in the Void Dao and have cultivated the sword to Sword Twenty-Four—under the Ancestor, he had not heard of a second person with such ability.
“Is it the Ancestor?”
A chill ran down Void Heaven’s spine, cold air rushing to his head.
The Void Dao was hard to comprehend, and Sword Twenty-Four was difficult to cultivate. But if it were the Ancestor manifesting it through supreme Dao methods, it was entirely plausible.
This was killing by proxy! How ruthless.
Void Heaven’s mind raced, thinking of how to resolve the crisis.
If the Eternal True Ruler believed he had done it and was determined to kill him, he truly had no confidence in resisting the deductions of a Spiritual Power Ancestor.
Back then, Old Man Qingcang had led billions of Death Clan cultivators in the “Death God Sacrifice,” even summoning the Liu capital.
The Eternal True Ruler’s spiritual power was immeasurably higher than Qingcang’s, and his methods were naturally even more unfathomable.
Just then, a deafening Dao divine sound rang above Void Heaven’s head: “Hao Tian is dead, Void Heaven shall rise. Where the sword points, the wind ends and the clouds break.”
“Whoosh!”
The sword Dao rules of heaven and earth surged like a tide toward Void Heaven’s location. Void Heaven was completely stunned—he had done nothing at all.
What was that Dao divine sound just now? It was entirely his own voice.
“Fine, fine, fine. So this is how you play it, huh?”
Void Heaven felt many divine thoughts and spiritual powers lock onto him, exposing him completely. He was so angry he could grind his back teeth to dust. Now, he truly couldn’t explain himself even if he wanted to.
“Second Brother, we were exposed long ago. Someone wants to use us to attack the Celestial Academy. Since that’s the case, who the hell are you?”
Void Heaven looked at the Well Daoist beside him.
He found that the Well Daoist was still wearing a Daoist robe but had already transformed into the appearance of the Black-White Daoist.
The “Black-White Daoist” glanced at him, quickly getting into character, and said in a deep voice, “The Celestial Academy’s formations are broken. This is the perfect time for us Hell Realm cultivators to show our skills. Fight! Destroy the main altar and declare war on the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom.”
The Well Daoist’s voice transmission entered Void Heaven’s ears: “I have no choice. I am the master of the Five Elements Temple, and I absolutely cannot reveal my identity. I can only borrow the Black-White Daoist’s identity.”
“You’ve also seen that the one playing you from behind is the Ancestor. This is a battle between Ancestors. We are merely pawns and can only go with the flow.”
“Don’t worry. Although this is a crisis, there is opportunity within the danger. With the Ancestor backing us, we will surely seize the Stone God Star foundation stone of the main altar.”
Void Heaven really wanted to curse.
You changed quickly, but I am truly exposed! What opportunity within danger?
The opportunity is yours, and the danger is all mine.
When did I ever discover you, Well Second, had such quick wit?
Before Void Heaven could erupt, the Well Daoist had already shouted the slogan: “Hao Tian is dead, Void Heaven shall rise. Where the sword points, the wind ends and the clouds break.”
Then, the Well Daoist used the Five Elements Dao to derive Black-White Yin-Yang Qi and charged toward the Celestial Academy.
Void Heaven trembled like a mad tiger, shaking with rage.
“Void Fengjin!”
Above his head, Xuanhuang Divine Qi condensed, and a roar sounded: “How dare you cause chaos in the Heavenly Court? I will not let you off!”
Xuanyuan Taizhen descended from the sky, his Xuanhuang Halberd striking down with the force of splitting heaven and earth.
“Boom!”
Void Heaven immediately dodged and fled into the distance: “Xuanyuan Second, which of your eyes saw me causing chaos in the Heavenly Court?”
“It’s not just my eyes that saw it.” Xuanyuan Taizhen pursued him.
Divine Venerable-level experts flew out, leading the long-ambushed army to surround the fleeing Void Heaven.
It wasn’t that Void Heaven couldn’t fight back. It was that if he went on a killing spree, he would never be able to explain himself.
Moreover, he felt that the one scheming behind him was likely one of the three Ancestors: the Corpse Demon, the Dark Venerable Lord, or the Hongmeng Black Dragon.
He didn’t want to be used.
Unlike Void Heaven’s miserable situation of being besieged by all the Heavenly Court deities, the Well Daoist, disguised as the Black-White Daoist, slaughtered his way into the Celestial Academy with irresistible force, like entering an empty land.
He pushed through all obstacles, with no enemy able to withstand a single blow, heading straight for the main altar.
On the city wall, Zhang Ruochen said, “Supreme Pillar, go and assist him!”
Gai Mie said, “Xuanyuan Taizhen has been lured away by Void Fengjin. In the Celestial Academy, only Ji Tian has some skill, but he is no match for the Well Daoist.”
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the towering main altar in the mist and said, “I found something in the consciousness sea of Dragon Scale. There should be a formidable figure in the Celestial Academy. Transform into Xuanyuan Di’er and go force him out. I will conceal your identity.”
“Bang!”
Gai Mie jumped off the city wall, his body transforming into a skeleton form, draped in a kasaya, holding a Zen staff. Moments later, he appeared inside the Celestial Academy.
Ji Tian led a large group of cultivators who had defected to the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom, activating the remnants of the formation to block the Well Daoist in the front courtyard, preventing him from approaching the main altar.
Gai Mie sneered, spinning his Zen staff like a windmill before hurling it.
“Boom!”
The light curtain of the remnant formation shattered with a sound.
Behind the formation curtain, screams rang out continuously as countless cultivators exploded into blood mist.
Even Ji Tian, whose cultivation had reached the Indestructible Infinite Realm, was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the main altar and embedding himself in it.
The Well Daoist gasped, glancing at the “Xuanyuan Di’er” passing by him.
When had Xuanyuan Di’er’s cultivation and combat power become so terrifying?
He had even considered the possibility of “Xuanyuan Di’er being possessed,” but it never occurred to him that this Xuanyuan Di’er was also someone else in disguise.
After all, how could such an absurd thing happen?
Both the Black-White Daoist and Xuanyuan Di’er had arrived—at least one of them should be real, right?
At this moment, the deities watching the battle were also in a state of confusion.
Xuanyuan Lian and Xuanyuan Di’er had spent the past few hundred years in the Earth Desolate Universe and had met several times. The last time they met, just a year ago, Xuanyuan Di’er was still at the mid-stage Indestructible Infinite Realm.
But the combat power he had just displayed was beyond even the Heavenly Venerable level.
“This Xuanyuan Di’er might not be real,” Xuanyuan Lian muttered to himself.
Shang Tian said, “I don’t think the Black-White Daoist is real either.”
“Impossible! If not them, who else would dare to attack the Celestial Academy so spectacularly? I think the Black-White Daoist is quite real!” Zhao Gongming said.
Bian Zhuang War God said, “No matter who is attacking the Celestial Academy, we must definitely lend a hand.”
Xuanyuan Lian, deep in thought, said, “Don’t act rashly. Perhaps we don’t need to help at all. I feel that behind these people, there is an invisible hand controlling everything.”
“Boom!” The heavens and earth shook.
From deep within the Celestial Academy, a terrifyingly powerful pressure emanated, followed by the collision of Half-Ancestors, forming a destructive storm that rapidly spread outward.
“There is an unknown expert hidden in the Celestial Academy.”
Xuanyuan Lian, Shang Tian, Bian Zhuang War God, and Zhao Gongming all changed color. They immediately teleported in four different directions, releasing Rule Divine Patterns while activating the formations at the domain’s borders.
They had to contain the destructive storm within the domain where the Celestial Academy was located.
“Finally revealed!”
Zhang Ruochen stood up, peering through the rolling dust at the Ancestor mist rising from the Celestial Academy. From within the Ancestor mist, a Night Raider ancient corpse soared out, its body ten thousand zhang tall, with sixteen wings on its back. Its face was already decayed beyond recognition, but its eyes were still as dazzling as the sun.
“Ancestor Night Raider King!”
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t expected the Divine Realm to have dug up the remains of the Night Raider Ancestor and cultivated a new spirit.
The combat power of this Night Raider Ancestor was naturally far inferior to Dragon Scale’s, but it was still formidable, continuously releasing Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rule Divine Patterns, forcing Gai Mie to retreat step by step.
Zhang Ruochen sensed the energy fluctuations of the Ancestor Divine Source within the Night Raider Ancestor’s corpse. Knowing Gai Mie was no match for it, he condensed a flawed version of the “Five Breaks Clear Spirit Hand” and struck out with a palm across the void.
A heaven-overturning great handprint broke through the air, landing heavily on the Night Raider Ancestor, sending it crashing back to the ground.
Half of the sixteen Night Raider wings on its back were broken, and corpse blood flowed.
Gai Mie immediately released the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall to suppress it.
After a while, the main altar collapsed.
The Stone God Star, serving as the altar’s foundation stone, was seized by the Well Daoist and stored in his Divine Realm World.
Xuanyuan Taizhen returned to the Celestial Academy and collided head-on with the Well Daoist, who had transformed into the “Black-White Daoist.”
Their eyes met.
The Well Daoist immediately used a movement technique to tear through space and flee.
“Rip!”
Xuanyuan Taizhen teleported like lightning, tearing a palm-sized piece of Daoist robe from the Well Daoist.
Looking at the robe fragment in his hand and sensing the familiar aura on it, Xuanyuan Taizhen’s brow furrowed deeply.
“He took the foundation stone of the main altar. Capture him quickly, or when the Divine Realm blames us, the Heavenly Court will face a great disaster.”
Ji Tian, with bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, chased after him, extremely anxious.
Xuanyuan Taizhen, without leaving a trace, crushed the robe fragment in his hand into powder and said, “These people came prepared. We can’t catch up.”
“It’s over. I’m dead. Xuanyuan Taizhen tore off a piece of my robe; he definitely knows the Black-White Daoist is me. What do we do now?”
The Well Daoist felt no joy from seizing the Stone God Star, only anxiety, and wanted to flee the Heavenly Court immediately.
Void Heaven, on the other hand, was calm, saying, “Didn’t you want to be the master of the Heavenly Palace? Now’s your chance. Face him head-on and pull him down from his position.”
The Well Daoist said, “How about we both flee the Heavenly Court and go to the Hell Realm?”
“What are you afraid of? Why don’t you dare to fight Xuanyuan Taizhen?” Void Heaven said.
“Calm down, calm down... Xuanyuan Taizhen didn’t lead the deities to the Five Elements Temple, so he must still give me some face. Maybe things aren’t that bad...”
The Well Daoist kept comforting himself.
Void Heaven continued to pour cold water: “The Eternal True Ruler has already issued an Ancestor decree for Xuanyuan Taizhen to clean house. Now, the main altar has collapsed, the Stone God Star has been taken, and even a Half-Ancestor-level expert from the Divine Realm has been suppressed. With such a big incident, if he doesn’t find a scapegoat, Xuanyuan Taizhen probably can’t cover it up.”
“Do you have to scare me to death? You know I’ve always been timid!” the Well Daoist said.
“You, timid?”
Void Heaven’s gaze shifted to the hill ahead, his expression turning serious. “The main party is here. Whether we can survive this calamity depends on their mood!”
The Well Daoist also looked along the ancient winding path toward the hill.
There, a woman in white and a woman in black stood, their robes fluttering in the wind.
The woman in white, the Well Daoist recognized, was He Qing, the disciple of the Black-White Daoist.
The woman in black was tall and slender, wearing a purple gauze hat, impossible to probe even with divine thought, appearing extremely mysterious.
This place was not far from the Five Elements Temple, clearly indicating they had been waiting deliberately.
“Greetings, Void Heaven!”
He Qing bowed to Void Heaven.
Lian Xi said, “Both of you, my master has been waiting for a long time. Please!”
Void Heaven coldly glanced at Lian Xi before walking along the ancient path. After a few dozen steps, he saw a refined Daoist, appearing to be in his forties, standing on a weed-covered slope, gazing at the fiery red glow on the horizon.
The sky there seemed to be burning, with many divine lights flying over.
The Dragon Lord had already gone to see Cihang Venerable, while Gai Mie had hidden back in He Qing’s Divine Realm World.
Void Heaven was now annoyed at the sight of Daoists but suppressed his anger and said, “So you are the Ancestor behind the Black-White Daoist and Xuanyuan Di’er? I’m very curious. I used the Heavenly Mechanism Brush and the Void Dao to conceal my aura and heavenly secrets. How did you see through our whereabouts?”
“I have been lodging at the Five Elements Temple for the past half year. I happened to see you when you left the temple. I also happened to overhear the matters you discussed.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly: “Allow me to introduce myself. My Daoist name is Life and Death.”