Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 456 - 403: If one is not burdened by physical form, then the Great Luo Heaven is right before their eyes.
Vanished...
Before the eyes of all, Qi Xiu transformed into an infinite expanse of Mixed Element Qi, dissipating between Heaven and Earth.
"Did he fail his tribulation?"
With a pondering gaze fixed on the empty Taoist Robe, Du Zhong lifted his foot and walked forward.
Had the "variable" that sir paid attention to truly dissipated just like that...?
Seeing Du Zhong moving towards the Taoist Robe left by Qi Xiu, Daoist of the Taiyin squinted slightly, his body tensing, ready to charge forward.
Just a moment ago, they, too, had lost contact with their original form.
From this perspective alone, their original form might indeed have died. But if their original form truly dissipated, how could they continue to exist? Therefore, the Taoist Robe left behind by their original form might just be the key!
"Wait a minute!"
Just as the Daoist of the Taiyin made a move to rush forward, the Taiyang Daoist suddenly spoke up to stop him.
"Look!"
Startled by the voice, the Daoist of the Taiyin promptly looked forward.
They saw the empty Taoist Robe that had fallen to the ground now slowly levitating, as if a mysterious force was manifesting from nothingness.
There really was a problem!
As the Taoist Robe flew away, Du Zhong’s pupils constricted, and he drew his sword, ready to shatter that Daoist’s last vestige.
But at that moment, a chant as resonant as a great bell, echoing through Heaven and Earth, unfolded continuously.
"Half a phrase reveals the profound mysteries;
No need for a thousand volumes of elixirs.
If man is unencumbered by form,
Before him lies Great Luo Heaven."
The clear chant reverberated through the skies.
Myriads of celestial lights and colorful mists rolled back, flooding into the Taoist Robe.
The robe began to fill out gradually.
Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, a young Daoist slowly emerged. His appearance was handsome, his expression serene, with a barely noticeable smile on his lips.
It was a detachment born from a profound understanding of the world, as well as a steadfast commitment to the path of cultivation.
As the celestial light dissipated, the young Daoist stood firm in the void, his posture straight, his garments fluttering, like an Immortal from a painting.
A faint halo surrounded him, transcending the ordinary, untainted by worldly dust.
"Hahaha! It’s over for you, it’s all over for you!"
Seeing the original form return, Daoist of the Taiyin immediately burst into unrestrained laughter, pointing at the somber-faced Du Zhong.
"How noisy!"
With a flicker in his eyes, Du Zhong reversed his hand and his blade came slicing down, a blood-red blade light piercing through the void. Abruptly, a hundred-mile-long fissure exploded in the earth, boundless murderous intent swelling and condensing into solid black lightning, aiming to cleave the triumphant Daoist of the Taiyin in one strike.
The terrifying blade light chopped down upon them!
But what followed made Du Zhong’s face change drastically.
Clang—
The strike fueled by his anger, the slash he delivered, was caught by the young Daoist who had shifted into space.
There was no radiant divine light, no Dharma Gates or techniques, no reliance on any Magical Treasure or anything else.
In fact, Du Zhong couldn’t discern even a trace of emotion on the young Daoist’s face.
He simply reached out with utmost simplicity, as if he were casually catching a falling stick, and firmly caught the strike that could slaughter any cultivator below the Dao Body Realm.
"You!"
In that instant, Du Zhong felt a chill.
He suddenly realized that he couldn’t see through this young Daoist at all. Although the young Daoist possessed unmatched power, he was as plain and ordinary as any other being, without any distinguishing features. Yet, he seemed like a dormant True Dragon!
This guy...
Boom—
Under Du Zhong’s conflicted gaze, Qi Xiu took a step and suddenly, as if space and time warped, appeared right before him.
Meeting those calm and indifferent eyes, black and white distinct, Du Zhong’s instinct was to draw his sword.
But he suddenly discovered he couldn’t move at all, unsure when his body, capable of destroying Heaven and Earth, was completely bound.
In the depths, he seemed to see, behind the young Daoist, a figure majestic and mysterious, leisurely appearing as if carrying all the mysteries between Heaven and Earth, detached from the world.
The figure was tall and straight, standing firm like a pine, holding a Jade Ruyi, which had countless rune patterns inscribed on it, rotating with endless Daoist charm.
Space around the figure twisted slightly, as if affected by his presence. Time and space seemed less absolute before him, with only endless Dao flowing.
The moment Du Zhong saw this mysterious figure, a word uncontrollably surged in his heart.
Immortal!
As if sensing Du Zhong’s gaze, this worldly Immortal opened his eyes to revive, his insight into all laws and paths casting down as if seeing through his past and present lives.
"Abi Wanxiang · Senluo Inconstancy!"
Feeling every shred of his flesh and blood being probed and understood, Du Zhong let out a long howl to the sky. The surrounding thousand li exploded with a resounding rumble, murderous intent rolling in, and an infinite Blood Sea threatened to engulf the whole world.
By sacrificing his lifespan and severely damaging his soul, Du Zhong once again broke through the Ling Fu’s suppression, unleashing the power of the Dao Body Realm.
His skin began to peel off by the inch, and atop his flesh, a sinister and strange black-red fire ignited, burning holes through the void that failed to heal for a long time.
WAILS—
In the unseen world, countless cries and laments arose, as Du Zhong grabbed at his spine, startlingly pulling out a bone-chilling, power-filled long blade from within his own backbone.
"All Heavens perish, ten directions annihilated!"
With his flesh and blood already burned to nothing, Du Zhong had transformed into a terrifying black skeleton, blood torrents swirling in his eye sockets like an abyss. His ferocious roar shook the heavens and caused all beings to burst.
Forcefully shattering a thousand li of sky, breaking the life of all worlds, the blade carrying the ominous power of slaughter fiercely extended, as if it were a crimson abyss, intent on burying all beings of Heaven and Earth.
This was an unspeakably terrifying strike.
It was as if Heaven and Earth harbored killing intent, determined to bury Qi Xiu right here.
His eyes slightly lifted, watching the slaughterous blade light that devastated the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, obliterating all things, as Qi Xiu’s hands slowly rose for a gentle push. Beneath his feet, a vast and extraordinary formation suddenly unfolded, as if encompassing the ten directions of the world and the vast primordial cosmos.
"The Innate commands the Celestial Cycle, encompassing the changes of the Celestial Cycle;
The Celestial Cycle manifests the Innate, transforming the Innate into a seamless whole!"
With a light shout, Qi Xiu raised his right hand, palm extending flat, like an ancient stone tablet, steady and forceful.
Hunyuan Qi Great Hand Seal!
One could see his fingertips slightly moving, a stream of dazzling, multicolored light flooding out from his palm, like a mighty waterfall pouring down, splendid and blinding.
These colorful lights quickly congealed into an enormously huge hand. It was large enough to blot out the sky and graze the stars, its palm patterns like the meridians of the earth, containing the vast power of Heaven and Earth.
The colorful great hand emerged across the sky, instantly sweeping across the entire Heavens and Earth, brilliant light overflowing, making the sun and moon lose their luster.
Boom——
The world trembled violently, the starry sky shook!
In the deafening roar, the Hunyuan Qi Great Hand Seal collided abruptly with the Abi Demon Blade, like an impact between Heaven and Earth, stirring up endless ripples.
Just in an instant!
The Abi Demon Blade was boldly shattered by the Hunyuan Qi Great Hand Seal, breaking into countless fragmented pieces.
His expression drastically changed, Du Zhong spat out fresh blood violently, and his whole body heavily fell to the ground. Amid the thunderous sound, the earth was smashed into a terrifyingly deep pit of a hundred miles.
"Holy shit, my true self is being outrageously powerful right now."
Witnessing Qi Xiu smashing Du Zhong to the point of spitting blood and almost perishing on the spot with a single palm, Daoist of the Taiyin opened his mouth wide, dumbfounded.
He had anticipated that his true self would experience a drastic change in strength after achieving the Dao.
But he had not imagined his true self’s power to be this terrifying.
"A hundred years of accumulation leads to an overnight transformation.
The Mixed Yuan Path was originally a path not meant for this world, yet my true self, against the current, braved countless near-death situations and broke through.
Now he has completely mastered the power of the Mixed Yuan Path.
’The Innate commands the Celestial Cycle, encompassing the changes of the Celestial Cycle’... this concerns the period before my true self’s enlightenment.
’The Celestial Cycle manifests the Innate, transforming the Innate into a seamless whole’... this represents my true self at this moment."
Compared to Daoist of the Taiyin, the Taiyang Daoist understood more clearly. He had originally chosen a path where one force could break all laws.
Yet after achieving the Dao, my true self had mastered both ’One Force’ and ’Ten Thousand Laws.’
There was both force and finesse.
This was the terrifying aspect of the Mixed Yuan Path!
Commanding countless paths!
All the great paths under Heaven have no secrets before him.
Within the deep pit shrouded in thick dust, Du Zhong struggled to get up; his body, which had been scorched empty by that ominous black fire, had already regrown.
Propping himself up with the blood blade, he stood trembling on his legs.
The power of the Command Talisman equated to the will of Heaven and Earth. Forcefully breaking through its suppression had cost him three hundred years of his lifespan, and his soul had suffered a severe backlash.
What was more critical was that after breaking through the suppression, he had then been smashed by Qi Xiu’s palm, his Abi Demon Blade shattered.
With the double backlash, he had nearly perished on the spot.
I should have listened to sir’s words...
He vomited another mouthful of blood, and a strange blackness surfaced over the meridians around Du Zhong’s body, his aura flickering and weak, ethereal.
"You are different from those Great Demons. Perhaps you can enlighten me. Exactly which deity has painstakingly schemed to put me to death?"
Descending amidst the clouds, Qi Xiu calmly watched Du Zhong, who lay grievously injured before him.
This man was the most ferocious part of the Great Dao Tribulation during his enlightenment.
However, he didn’t know this person at all. Going by the Dharma Gates and methods used, this man should be a Demonic Cultivator from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
But which of the Demon Ancestors from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains had such leisure to send this person across countless hills and rivers to ruin his enlightenment?
The secrets therein, he must clarify.
"Heh, I’m not inclined to be a generous teacher. If you want to know the answer, go find it yourself." Even as he lay gravely injured and dying, Du Zhong was unnervingly calm, his eyes filled with intense curiosity and not a trace of fear.
"It seems that sir still has something to rely on."
Seeing Du Zhong’s composed demeanor, Qi Xiu slowly gathered up his sleeves. His mind conjured the image of that mysterious Sword Cultivator who would in the future cut him down with a single strike. The mastermind behind the scenes must be this person.
"To be defeated by you today, I am not very convinced; after all, I did not give my all. If we can meet again in the future, the blade in my hand will surely take off your head."
Shaking his head slowly, Du Zhong’s figure began to fade, as if triggering some hidden technique within his body, preparing to flee.
"Then I will wait for you. But it’s a bit unreasonable to talk tough and then just walk away."
With the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, Qi Xiu’s right hand formed a Daoist Incantation seal, holding it before his chest:
"Command!"
"Heartbreak leads to disaster!"
As this Ling Fu fell, Du Zhong’s face suddenly changed. At the moment Qi Xiu spoke, he suddenly felt the injuries brought about by the backlash somehow surge twofold.
The lost years of his life went from three hundred to a staggering six hundred!
"Damn you..."
