CHAPTER 872: CHAPTER 595: THE HEAVENLY EMPEROR TREADS THE MYSTIC SKY

"There are no shortcuts on the path of Dao."

The middle-aged couple were deeply moved; their talent was also exceptional, yet after cultivating for several thousand years, their Dao Understanding was still just a hair’s breadth short of reaching the Sixth Rank. Contemplating Zen and seeking Dao had occupied the greater part of their cultivation lives.

The Sixth Rank of Dao is the turning point.

The Sixth Rank is [Stopping Dao], which means that most cultivators, even those of extraordinary brilliance, will halt here, unable to see the road ahead.

The Seventh Rank is [Stepping Dao], the Eighth Rank is [Transcendent Dao]. Each rank is a steep threshold. The cultivator must, step by step, rise from being a servant and messenger of the Dao, until ultimately standing above the Dao and gaining mastery over it.

As for being a Daoist Lord?

Far too remote and ethereal. Through the ages not a single one has succeeded. Mastering Dao is the ultimate goal for cultivators.

"All cultivation comes at a price. In my view, Tianxia’s Martial Arts forcibly accelerates growth, exhausting one’s potential for ascending to Great Power; it is unsustainable."

The Black Boat Ancestor turned and left.

Though she spoke thus, she was still very interested in Lu Chenzhou. For one to rise so rapidly, there must be a hidden secret. She thought little of the Aurora Palace; after all, she possessed the [Destruction Black Boat].

The Destruction Black Boat was a relic left by [Destruction Elder], who fell thirteen thousand years ago and was a Half-step Great Power. Because it was a product of the later Great Wilderness, it was not listed in the Spiritual Weapon List. Yet its quality was in no way inferior to Kunxu Ancestor’s [Xuanming Abyssal Swallowing Cauldron]; both were quasi-supreme treasures, on par with the top thirty weapons on the Spiritual Weapon List.

As for the previous threats from the Tianxia Civilization’s powerhouses? The Black Boat Ancestor paid them no heed. In the West River Territory, her ferocity is infamous. Known as the "Chaotic Realm Demoness," the number of civilizations overwhelmed by her is counted by the tens.

She steered her black boat through the Ruins Sea, gazing at the world hidden at the center of the Great Universe, encircled by Nine Yangs.

That was the Great Wilderness.

"Enjoy the final days."

The great calamity draws near. Some press their backs to the river and fight, some indulge in dreams, some revel in the eve of the end.

...

Two years later.

The year 2288 in Tianxia.

In the starry sky, Lu Chenzhou halted his steps. Before him was a stretch of pitch-black, boundless emptiness, a vacant region where not a single star was visible. After his transformation on the Heavenly Person List, the starry sky of the Xia Realm seemed ever more intimate and gentle to his eyes.

"It is time for this journey to end."

He sat cross-legged in the void. Within a range of a hundred million miles, there was no other living being but himself.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

His heartbeat grew ever more intense. That familiar sensation surged through him. His consciousness continuously ascended; streams of particles formed by innumerable spiritual powers seemed to transcend the shackles of time and space, spreading in an instant across the universe, blending him with the stars above.

He saw again that inky black heart.

It represented the will nurtured by the Xia Realm.

Supreme and majestic, vast and boundless.

Within his Inner Heaven and Earth, the World Tree rooted in Xia Star spread at faster-than-light speed. Lu Chenzhou’s divine soul dwelled among the branches, roaming the universe from the vantage of the World Tree.

Bridging with the World Dao, and aided by the supreme treasure, the Heavenly Person List, which was bound to the fortune of the Xia Realm, Lu Chenzhou at last sensed the pulse of the world.

With a single thought, he soared beyond the Milky Way system; in a single stride, he traversed hundreds of millions of miles, beholding countless stars.

Planets and fixed stars were as abundant as hemp.

Even black holes lurked in the void.

With a single thought, his consciousness entered a black hole. In this celestial body, where the spacetime curve is so steep not even light can escape its horizon, he moved unimpeded.

"It is not that my Divine Skills are limitless, but that the will of the Xia Realm has accepted me, allowing me, from the simulated perspective of illusion, to approach black holes, and to overlook the stars."

Lu Chenzhou’s heart was filled with excitement.

In other words, his Inner Heaven and Earth was his supreme telescope, the eye for observing the true world. Only those who cultivated the World Dao, attained Dao in the Xia Realm, and earned its recognition could enjoy this. Otherwise, even a Great Power, for all his life, could never touch the borders of the Xia Realm.

This state persisted for half a year before Lu Chenzhou finally awakened. At this time it was as if information from a cosmic explosion flooded his mind. He sorted through the knowledge grasped in this union with the starry sky, endlessly integrating it with his previous knowledge of Inner Strength.

"I understand now."

Lu Chenzhou gradually comprehended everything. He sat emaciated and unmoving in the void, endlessly circulating True Gang within himself, relying on his Undying Body to experiment within his meridians, using the human body to simulate the vastness of the starry sky.

...

Meanwhile...

In the Mystic Sky Realm, it was also a year of great turmoil.

Over just a decade, the Divine Alliance had swept through the Mystic Domain and the Heavenly Domain, subjugating all clan groups of the Mystic Sky, bringing them under its rule, and occupying one mine and resource point after another.

Seeing that Tianxia dared not face them in open battle, but only harass with guerilla strikes, the Divine Alliance increased their troop deployments, quartering soldiers at the Eastern Extreme Border Tower. Two thousand Sixth Realm Marquises were thrown into this war.

Below the Boundary Tower, black clouds pressed upon the city.

Fang Xingyu and the other four Great Commanders stood in ranks to greet them. High above the heavens, a towering astral projection descended.

Violet serpents coiled to form mustaches and hair; silvery currents of electricity radiated and spread throughout the black clouds, blanketing ten thousand miles around.

"From now on, I will personally direct the grand campaign."

After probing, the four World Venerables made the decision to escalate matters, sending down a clone of the Thunder Realm Venerable.

This clone was condensed with the Divine Power of the Purple Beard Thunder Clan’s clan’s sacred artifact, possessing seventy percent of the original’s power. An ordinary Early Stage Eighth Rank could not contend against it.

His goal was crystal clear.

Capture Tianxia’s Military Leader Lu Chenzhou alive. As long as he is enslaved with Secret Techniques, their chief threat vanishes, the Eastern Extreme Border Tower opens, the most convenient passage to the myriad realms of the Eastern Extreme comes under control, and hegemony over the East Pole Domain is secured.

With the East Pole Domain as a base, the other three great domains will be unified, and the Divine Court of the post-era established.

Any who resist, divine artifacts shall suppress them!

...

Several days later.

Amid the Star Dome Sea, an Immortal Crane carried a treasure bead in its beak, threading through the sea of stars. Behind, Yin Jiujiao drew his bow and set his arrow, gales condensing into arrows that broke through the air.

Swish, swish, swish—the nine streaks of arrow-light formed a seal.

The Immortal Crane spun, fanning its wings, and a pure white tornado burst through the encirclement.

It had no intention of fighting, continuing its desperate flight.

Yin Jiujiao sneered, "Don’t think I don’t know—you’re from the Southern Heaven Realm. Looks like your kind has chosen to stand opposite our Divine Alliance, eh?"

The Immortal Crane asked puzzled, "Before the calamity of all beings, we’re fellow travelers on the road. Why fight to the death?"

"You’re not of the Divine Race. You do not understand."

Yin Jiujiao’s expression was conflicted.

He drew his bow again. The gathered gales took form, conjuring a gaunt giant with a hawk’s head, twenty-four wings on its back, and ghostly claws on a human body with green feathers.

The aura of Eighth Rank faintly emanated from the giant.

"Divine Skill: Wind Whispering Boundary!"

Divine Skills are the Innate Divine Abilities of the Divine Race—the higher the bloodline, the stronger the force. Yin Jiujiao was the most gifted of nearly ten thousand years, surpassing even World Venerables.

Paired with the Eighth Rank [Chasing Wind Bow], this strike—below Eighth Rank, none could take it head-on.

Whoosh!

The Immortal Crane’s body flashed, its wings stacking armor as a shield, summoning clouds and mist to form a protective barrier.

Boom!

The arrow pierced the defenses, stabbing into the Immortal Crane’s wing, snapping bone instantly, tearing the wing off. The Immortal Crane crashed to earth, transforming into a white-robed female fairy.

"Fairy E, are you all right?"

"I have a vial of Earth Immortal Dew."

Ye Xiaoyao and other Seventh Realm cultivators looked on anxiously.

"Don’t worry. I promised Mister Wan to protect you safely. I shall not break my word." Fairy E watched as her severed arm regrew, then looked at Yin Jiujiao, her lashes quivering with anger. "You are unreasonable!"

"Power is reason."

Yin Jiujiao drew his bow again, the gales surging forth.

Fairy E raised her hand. Ninety thousand pure white feather swords appeared in the void, humming toward the front in a killing assault.

At the peak of Seventh Realm, ordinary Seventh Realms on the scene had no way to intervene in battle. Each side displayed their divine skills.

As the fight grew white hot, Yin Jiujiao burned his divine blood, ignited the Divine Bow, loosing a volley of arrows without pause.

Fairy E would not be outdone. The exotic blood within her flared, a soaring phoenix cry resounded. A white phoenix, long-legged with a serpentine neck and crowned head, streaked into the sky, emanating a primeval aura. The white phoenix vomited flame, pure white fire drowning Yin Jiujiao.

True Spirit Divine Power·Profound Celestial White Flame!

"You actually possess a True Spirit Bloodline?"

Yin Jiujiao’s expression shifted slightly.

"I warned you not to provoke me!" Seizing the momentum, Fairy E pressed the attack. She was by nature kind and reluctant to kill, but Mister Wan had told her: act when the time is right, blaze a trail across the four continents!

The tide of battle turned.

Yin Jiujiao fled, Fairy E pursued; Yin Jiujiao was bewildered: he possessed Divine Blood, Fairy E only True Spirit Blood, yet at the same rank he was no match for her.

In the blink of an eye, a colossal thunder hand reached from the void, swatting Yin Jiujiao aside and grabbing for Fairy E. The Profound Celestial White Flame clung to the hand, but could not breach its defense.

Fairy E’s expression changed greatly.

"Eighth Rank?"

"Interesting. I hadn’t anticipated the Mystic Sky Realm would harbor a white phoenix in a cycle of nirvana and rebirth."

The Thunder Realm Venerable descended.

The battle’s momentum veered abruptly. In front of Eighth Rank, Fairy E was as a child, her Divine Skills and Immortal Laws rendered useless.

At the critical moment, the white phoenix cupped a bead in its claws, instantly enveloping Fairy E and drawing her inside. Again golden light flared.

Heavenly Escape Mysterious Light!

Ninety thousand miles away in an instant.

"A fine Divine Skill, but to the original self it is useless. Allow me to show you true Thunder Escape!"

The thunderous figure sealed a hand sign.

Divine Skill·Nine Heavens Thunder Concealment!

A streak of lightning tore through starry space, streaking straight for the white phoenix. Just as it was about to catch up, a colossal thunder drum a hundred miles wide appeared in the void. In front was a white-robed, bald ascetic monk, seated in meditation.

"Brahma’s Fury!"

The resplendent spectacle of Pu Suo Mythology unfolded; within the thunder drum, red-purple thunder billowed. Mighty thunderbolts blasted the Thunder Realm Venerable tens of thousands of miles away.

"Who are you?"

The Thunder Realm Venerable was shocked.

"Tianxia—Emperor Shitian."

...

"Bai Feng, are you all right?"

Ye Xiaoyao asked with concern.

"Earlier, I recovered somewhat with Heavenly Immortal Dew and only used a single Divine Power. I’m fine. Once the Military Leader sends me another drop of Heavenly Immortal Dew, I can fully restore my power." Bai Feng appeared composed.

"Hold on just a little longer. The Military Leader is deducing a supreme cultivation method. If he succeeds, perhaps he could match even the late stage or peak of the Seventh Realm."

Said Hui Fa Abbot.

"Incredible. The Military Leader only just entered Seventh Realm—yet he’s already slain a mid-stage Blood Flood Dragon and the Mountain Forest Demon Venerable." From the Eternal Immortal, everyone had heard of Lu Chenzhou’s battle feats. "Perhaps it won’t be long before the Military Leader is strongest beneath the Eighth Rank."

"I sensed a surge of Eighth Rank aura just now, blocking the Thunder Realm Venerable." Fairy E wondered aloud.

Bai Feng gazed into the distance, her heart surging with emotion.

"The third Eighth Rank: Emperor Shitian."

...

Tianxia Civilization.

Elder Council.

Prince Northern Guardian and the rest cheered and applauded.

"Emperor Shitian has made his move."

"Wonderful, yet another Eighth Rank!"

"With Emperor Shitian holding the Mystic Sky, he can contend with the Thunder Realm Venerable. Once the Military Leader leads the army forth, they will entangle the Divine Alliance main force."

"The longer we stall, the greater our advantage. Once the Priest breaks through to Eighth, we will match them in numbers—though our foundation is still somewhat lacking."

...

Time passed.

The year 2290.

A meteor hovered in the starry sky, surrounded by billions of dust particles, gathering together, drawn by an invisible power of rotation, as if a new star was being born.