Rumble!
The moment Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde's dharma body shattered, high above in the firmament, the [Wall Earth] star shone brilliantly. Simultaneously, a pattering rain of blood fell between heaven and earth.
However, the very next second, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's expression changed slightly. For a dignified Perfected Lord, after his death, no Golden Nature soul surfaced. There was only a gust of sinister wind, formless and intangible, which merged into the spiritual qi of heaven and earth in the blink of an eye. Reversing the clouds and smoke, it charged outwards in all directions.
Clang.
Almost simultaneously, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao drew his sword. Although he didn't elevate his stature, the sword light was resplendent, unfurling like a raging prairie fire.
The scattering sinister winds were instantly extinguished by more than half.
Subsequently, the other two Perfected Lords of the Sword Pavilion also struck in unison, frantically strangling the sinister winds formed by the inner demon. Unfortunately, their cultivation bases were significantly weaker.
In the end, a few scattered gusts of sinister wind still managed to escape.
Although the quantity was vastly smaller compared to when it first emerged, for an inner demon, as long as a single incarnation escaped, recovery was only a matter of time.
"How could this happen..."
Witnessing this scene, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao finally realized something was amiss. "After being killed by this inner demon, not even his Golden Nature soul was left behind."
"How can such a vicious entity exist in this world?"
His expression was unbelievably ugly, and he felt a vague sense of regret. However, what's done was done. There was nothing he could do now, for the inner demon had already escaped.
With this escape, it was like a fish entering the vast sea or a bird soaring into the azure sky.
From now on, the sea would be broad and the sky boundlessly high for it.
Meanwhile, within a dense forest in Jiangbei, Chong Guang also sensed a resonance. He abruptly opened his eyes, and a look of intense ecstasy surfaced within them.
"It succeeded!"
In this moment, he only wanted to throw his head back and laugh out loud.
Within his perception, the entity that had eaten his inner demon had already swelled to an unimaginable degree, and it was currently speeding straight toward him!
'It intends to kill me to completely usurp ownership of the five inner demon divine abilities. This almost certain-death sense of crisis... if nothing unexpected happened, it has already eaten Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde. It's just not yet at major accomplishment, so its stature is probably at the level of an Unorthodox Perfected Lord? Regardless, it completely outclasses me.'
At this thought, Chong Guang's expression grew increasingly resolute.
On the other side, Lu Yang, floating above the [Sea of Bitterness], also witnessed this scene. His expression was more solemn than ever before. "Senior Uncle, oh Senior Uncle. What do you plan to do?"
He would not intervene.
Because what Chong Guang sought was precisely the body of an inner demon. If he intervened, he could only use the [Divine Firmament Thunder] to directly annihilate the inner demon Chong Guang had painstakingly nurtured.
'You can only rely on yourself, Senior Uncle Chong Guang.'
'If you succeed, I will naturally be delighted to see it. If you fail, then don't blame me for reaping the spoils as a third party and taking this inner demon for myself.'
Lu Yang calculated inwardly while focusing his gaze on Chong Guang. He saw that although Chong Guang was strictly prepared for battle, there was no hint of panic on his face. He seemed entirely confident, vaguely holding a ghost mask shrouded in purplish-black smoke in his palm. This sight also momentarily stunned Lu Yang.
"Hm... is it him?"
Who was Lu Yang? Back when he was only at Foundation Establishment, he dared to clash with the World Honored One. He loved taking risks the most, gambling a little to win a lot. He could be said to know this routine like the back of his hand.
Therefore, he quickly realized what was happening.
"So that's it!"
The next second, he clapped his hands and laughed. "As expected of Senior Uncle! In the end, he still possesses some immortal destiny. In that case, this matter is already settled!"
---
Jiangbei.
Chong Guang sat cross-legged, adjusting his essence, qi, and spirit to their absolute peak state. He concentrated all of his Foundation Establishment Perfection Golden Nature around his soul.
Although it was inferior to a Perfected Lord's Golden Nature, it still possessed some efficacy against inner demons. Now, he had completely mobilized all of it outward. Not only that, but he was also desperately and frantically extracting new Golden Nature from his soul, supplementing the perimeter, forming a brightly shining golden barrier to protect his soul.
Doing this carried immense risk.
Because more Golden Nature wasn't necessarily better. In fact, the more Golden Nature one had, the easier it was to be influenced by it, lose one's seven emotions and six desires, and ultimately have one's true self melted away by it.
Therefore, balancing the quantity of Golden Nature was exactly the cultivation of Foundation Establishment Perfection.
However, at this moment, Chong Guang completely abandoned his control over the Golden Nature, allowing himself to be eroded, solely to obtain more Golden Nature protection for his soul.
Suddenly—
Splash...
Chong Guang, who was largely eroded by the Golden Nature and had almost entirely lost his emotions, suddenly jolted. As if waking from a dream, all his emotions revived at once.
This was the sign that all the Golden Nature he had desperately condensed had been effortlessly breached. After all, the best method for an inner demon's invasion was through the seven emotions and six desires. The fact that he suddenly regained clarity was undoubtedly due to the inner demon's invasion. The opponent had arrived silently and was about to swallow him whole!
This was a Perfected Lord's inner demon.
Even if its current strength was only at the level of an Unorthodox Perfected Lord, with his cultivation base at Foundation Establishment Perfection, protecting his soul at all costs could only buy him a fleeting instant of clarity.
But—that was enough!
"Excellent timing!"
Chong Guang's eyes were icy cold. The scene before him was entirely within his expectations. The instant he awoke, he had already crushed the purplish-black ghost mask in his hand.
[Overturn Mount Sumeru]!
Almost simultaneously, Perfected One Subduing-Spirits, who had just returned to the Sword Pavilion, suddenly froze. Then, his vision went black. His originally clear divine consciousness plummeted rapidly towards the abyss.
The next second, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's furious roar echoed from the Sword Pavilion.
"COURTING DEATH!!!"
He didn't really care about Perfected Lord Chengtian Zhengde's death, but Perfected One Subduing-Spirits was different. He absolutely would not allow anything to happen to the [Sword Edge Gold].
This was also why Chong Guang felt there was still suspense, while Lu Yang believed the matter was already settled. Ultimately, it was a difference in perspective brought about by their cultivation bases.
In Chong Guang's eyes, Perfected One Subduing-Spirits was merely an outstanding disciple of the Sword Pavilion. But Lu Yang knew that the [Sword Edge Gold] was tied to Old Gang's path to the Dao.
If the [Sword Edge Gold] was in trouble, how could he possibly not intervene?
Instantly, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's stature climbed drastically, instantly breaking through to the Great Perfected Lord level. Immediately following that, a sword strike was unleashed, plunging into Perfected One Subduing-Spirits's sea of consciousness. Under the overwhelming pressure of his stature, all the inner demon's methods were completely invalidated. Chong Guang's [Overturn Mount Sumeru] was shattered in an instant.
And that wasn't all.
Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao, with his cultivation base restored, was like a completely different person. Following the connection of karma, this sword strike actually slashed at Chong Guang across the void!
But—this sword strike was exactly what Chong Guang had been waiting for!
At this moment, only the very last sliver of spiritual light remained unextinguished within Chong Guang's soul. His true self's consciousness was deeply muddled, and in the next instant, it would be thoroughly annihilated.
Yet, the sword light arrived.
Despite the fact that most of the mighty power of Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's Great Perfected Lord sword strike had been expended to sever [Overturn Mount Sumeru] and ensure the safety of Perfected One Subduing-Spirits's true self consciousness...
A Great Perfected Lord was still a Great Perfected Lord.
Even if only a sliver of sword light remained, under the enhancement of a Great Perfected Lord's stature, it was still world-destroying— absolutely not something any cultivator below the Great Perfected Lord level could contend against.
More importantly, at this moment, Chong Guang—the target of the sword light—had completely lost his human form. Only the very last bit of his soul remained, heavily surrounded by the inner demon. However, the inner demon that had originally intended to devour him now became his natural protective umbrella, taking the brunt of this Great Perfected Lord's sword strike for him!
Rumble!
The sword light pierced into the inner demon's body, instantly triggering a chain of explosions. Like the morning sun rising and melting ice and snow, it possessed absolutely no power to resist!
Transforming shapelessly? Useless!
Incarnation Outside the Body? Useless!
In an instant, the positions of Chong Guang and the inner demon were completely reversed. Struck by a single sword, the inner demon's condition plummeted to a state even worse than his own!
"Now is the time!"
Without any hesitation, Chong Guang immediately rallied all his mental focus. The last sliver of his soul's spiritual light pounced forward, feasting ravenously on the remnants of the inner demon!
At this moment, his aura was no longer concealed!
The lands of Jiangbei shook violently. The earth veins churned, and billowing turbid fire ruptured the earth, spreading for ten thousand miles, blotting out the sky and covering the earth. Even the morning sun was cast over with a haze.
Simultaneously, within the various sects, large and small, surrounding the area where the anomaly appeared, countless cultivators felt their hearts sink. It felt as if a massive boulder had inexplicably appeared upon their seas of consciousness, pressing down so hard they couldn't breathe. Following that, one by one, they rode their streak of lights, scrambling over each other to flee far away from the area affected by the anomaly.
Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Perfected Lords.
Above the Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, the previously nonchalant Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue abruptly turned her head. Her beautiful eyes stared straight toward the direction of the turbulent lands, a hint of surprise appearing in them:
"...Such a thing actually happened?"
At this moment, turbid fire continued to surge from the earth veins, whipping up a vast sea of black smoke. Within the smoke, countless Yin souls let out shrill, mournful screams.
Subsequently, the dark clouds reversed their flow, directly smashing through the astral clouds of the firmament. Finally, they transformed into a dark staircase that connected to heaven. At the very bottom of the dark staircase stood a black-robed Daoist with an ordinary appearance, yet his eyebrows flew high, exuding intense sharpness. He stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by countless Yin souls like stars surrounding the moon.
Just like that, Chong Guang stepped onto the dark staircase, ascending step by step.
His movements appeared slow, but in reality, they occurred in the blink of an eye. And the higher he went, the smaller all things and affairs became when he looked down upon the earth.
"Haha... Hahaha!"
The next second, Chong Guang's hearty laughter resounded like thunder. Then, a grand voice echoed through the dark staircase beneath his feet, spreading through the sky-blotting black smoke to every corner of the Immortal Nexus:
"Neither Buddha, nor demon, nor saint nor immortal —
all phenomena are but a nightmare; I alone am the profound one.
The fire of wrath burns a thousand scrolls of scripture to ashes;
the spring of greed pours into the sea, yet is boiled down in a single cup.
Facing a thousand tribulations, I laugh with my head held high;
entangled by nine deaths, I stride forward upon the flames.
Today I cast off my shackles and depart in carefree freedom —
one step into azure clouds, one step into the heavens!"
As his words fell, he took his final step, standing firmly at the peak of the dark staircase. He felt as if all the bindings upon his body had been entirely cast off, looking down on all other mountains as small.
Rumble!
Almost simultaneously, within the [Sea of Bitterness], the boundless waters of concept seemed to respond, waxing and waning. Boundless undercurrents churned the seawater, parting it to both sides.
A shimmering radiant light slowly rose from the bottom of the sea!
This beam of light was different from the Dharma Body Dao that had already been severed. Instead, it stood perfectly straight and unbiased, like a pillar supporting the heavens. One end plunged into the deepest depths of the [Sea of Bitterness].
While the other end pierced straight up above the [Sea of Bitterness].
As if reaching directly for the Paramita!
Overseas, within the Dragon Palace of the Four Seas Sect, the Old Dragon Lord who was resting with his eyes closed abruptly opened them, his gaze filled with shock. "A fourth Great Dao beyond the three foundations?"
"This is impossible!"
"Once the [Inevitable Fate] were established, the [Variables] suffered a heavy blow. The three foundations have already been witnessed by all cultivators. How could a fourth Great Dao possibly appear at this time?"
"Whose handiwork is this!?"
(End of Chapter)