Chapter 335: A Battle that Shook the World (Part 1)

Chapter 335: A Battle that Shook the World (Part 1)



The darkness that enveloped the arena like the vast universe gradually dissipated, revealing the clash between the purple masculine heavenly thunder and the greenish-blue yin earth fire.

As the dazzling and ferocious burst of light illuminated the scene, the former head of Pure Yang Palace, Huang Xuanpu, faced his demise as his soul was shattered alongside his physical body.

Even after his corporeal form was utterly obliterated, his spiritual essence continued to be eroded.

Elder Miaokuang approached, only to witness the emergence of a tall young Taoist priest, clad in a purple robe, with an appearance of no more than twenty years of age, from within the intense light.

"Elder Lei," Elder Miaokuang addressed him.

Lei Jun, who had reappeared in the mortal realm, appeared frail, his spiritual energy diminished, and his gaze dimmed.

Despite the absence of visible wounds, Elder Miaokuang could discern the extent of the damage to his soul.

According to Lei Jun's earlier account, Huang Xuanpu's physical body and his essence pill had been destroyed by Xu Yuanzhen, leaving him only with his Nascent Soul and spiritual consciousness.

Therefore, Lei Jun's confrontation with Huang Xuanpu primarily involved combating his opponent's spiritual secret techniques.

It seemed that Lei Jun had suffered a significant blow to his soul.

However, in the end, he emerged victorious, not only defeating Huang Xuanpu but also denying him another chance to escape, permanently ending the life of this Grand Master of the Ninth Heaven.

Although Lei Jun appeared weak and even somewhat dispirited, he remained composed and unperturbed.

Meeting Elder Miaokuang's gaze, he spoke calmly, "The Great Tang's Human Realm has reached its conclusion as of today."

Elder Miaokuang, witnessing Lei Jun's calm and unflustered demeanor, couldn't help but exclaim, "Elder Lei, your divine powers are truly vast, capable of slaying such an evil presence."

Lei Jun replied, "The primary credit for this victory goes to my senior martial sister. I merely played a supporting role. Moreover, if it weren't for Master's presence outside, Huang Xuanpu might have still found a way to escape."

Elder Miaokuang shook his head. "Elder Lei, you're too modest. The demise of Huang Xuanpu is undoubtedly thanks to your sect's Elder Xu and your efforts. I merely happened to be present."

As he looked at Lei Jun, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Huang Xuanpu's downfall could be considered both unfortunate and inevitable.

Under normal circumstances, with the support of the North Sea Whale King, he could have retreated gracefully regardless of the outcome.

Moreover, with his Fifth Qi Heavenly Cycle state, which had reached perfection in the Ninth Heaven, he could have gone anywhere in the Great Tang, except for the Imperial City of Luoyang.

Who would have thought that he would be thoroughly defeated by Xu Yuanzhen, whose cultivation level was slightly inferior to his own? Not only was his Fifth Qi Heavenly Cycle body broken, but even his essence pill had been destroyed.

This Taoist priest was indeed formidable. Despite sustaining consecutive severe injuries, he still managed to break through and escape.

The Nascent Soul and spiritual consciousness of a Ninth Heaven cultivator from the Daoist Pill Sect were extremely resilient, allowing them to survive in the mortal realm even without a physical body.

Yet, he was still tracked down by someone from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

It was Lei Jun of the Eighth Heaven who had arrived, not Xu Yuanzhen or Tang Xiaotong of the Ninth Heaven.

And in the end, Huang Xuanpu met his end at the hands of Lei Jun from the Eighth Heaven!

Even though Huang Xuanpu was gravely injured, he remained a Grand Master of the Ninth Heaven.

Lei Jun's achievement in forcibly defeating his opponent without the Three Treasures of the Celestial Master was no less shocking than the fall of the Butterfly King of Qianshan during the Dragon and Tiger Mountain War.

With such prowess, it was understandable that Shangnan and Xinxingzi had conceded defeat earlier, albeit unexpectedly, but the outcome was not entirely unacceptable.

...One could say that while it was unexpected, the result was not entirely out of the realm of acceptance.

Elder Miaokuang's thoughts turned to the purple and green Tai Chi diagram that had illuminated the surroundings earlier.

Right before his eyes, Lei Jun, at the current level of the Eighth Heaven, had cultivated the Four Great Dharma Images.

With Elder Miaokuang's cultivation and insight, it was evident that Lei Jun's Law Images of the Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor and the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestor were both innate divine abilities.

Anything less would not have yielded such formidable power.

His innate talent and aptitude far exceeded everyone's previous estimations.

The recovery of the Celestial Master's Seal by the Celestial Master's Mansion signified the restoration of their inheritance of the Thunder Law and the Celestial Law.

Thus, the most orthodox Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike, unseen since the battle with Li Wai, reappeared in the mortal realm.

Recalling Tang Xiaotong's golden pure yang thunder dragon and greenish-blue yin fire tiger performing the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike, Elder Miaokuang couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

Over the past few years, including the current Celestial Master Tang Xiaotong herself, the Celestial Master's Mansion had seemingly been open about the possibility of her stepping down early.

It was commonly acknowledged that Lei Jun was the most likely candidate to succeed her as the head of the sect.

The golden and green Tai Chi diagram reverted to the purple and green Tai Chi diagram.

It seemed to be a sign that the Celestial Master's Mansion was returning to its former glory in every aspect.

There was no need to mention Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotong.

The young Lei Jun before him, although still at the third layer of the Eighth Heaven, perhaps ought to be regarded as a Grand Master of the Ninth Heaven... Elder Miaokuang mused to himself.

After exchanging greetings with Elder Miaokuang, Lei Jun looked down.

Due to the previous compression of his Primordial Universe, the already damaged top layer of the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect Altar had now collapsed entirely, and even the second layer, the octagonal altar, had crumbled.

The entire sect altar was on the brink of complete destruction.

Without the suppression of Lei Jun's Divine Court Outer Landscape Universe, the damaged Yellow Heaven Sect Altar seemed like a volcano about to erupt.

The Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect Altar, in its pursuit of secrecy, was not heavily populated.

Most of the disciples were scattered across various branch altars.

Located in a desolate snow-capped mountain range, the altar's impending destruction would not result in any casualties.

Although Lei Jun had expended a significant amount of spiritual energy in his previous battle with Huang Xuanpu, the injury to his soul was feigned with the help of the dark side of the heavenly book.

However, having put on a complete performance, he requested Elder Miaokuang's assistance, "Finding Huang Xuanpu here today was an unexpected delight. I would trouble Master to help me stabilize this sect altar temporarily and prevent its complete destruction while I contact my fellow sect members to handle the aftermath."

"Of course, Elder Lei. Please take the time to rest and recuperate while I handle matters here," Elder Miaokuang replied, understanding that Lei Jun intended to collaborate with others from the Celestial Master's Mansion to organize the clues left in this Yellow Heaven Sect Altar and locate the remaining branch altars of the Yellow Heaven Dao.

It seemed that today would mark not only the end of the Human Realm but also the demise of the Yellow Heaven Dao... Elder Miaokuang thought to himself.

Lei Jun proceeded to contact the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion, as well as his senior martial sister, Xu Yuanzhen, and his junior martial sister, Tang Xiaotong, inquiring about their situations.

............................................

The Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect Altar was located in the snow-capped mountains of western Sichuan.

At that moment, in the land of Bashu, another earth-shattering battle was taking place.

The Shu Mountain Sect, backed by the Great Tang Dynasty, faced off against the Inner Shu Mountain, which had emerged from the Underworld.

The two sides did not engage in battle at the summit of the Shu Mountain Sect.

Having lost the Grand Ultimate Pre-Heavenly Tower and the Qingxiufu, the mountain-guarding grand array at the summit was unstable.

Without the advantage of geographical location, the Shu Mountain Sect chose to leave the mountain and head south, joining forces with the experts sent by the Great Tang Dynasty to confront the arrivals from the Nanzhao region in an intense magical battle in southern Shu.

As the contemporary patriarch of the Lin Clan, a branch of the Southern Sect, Lin Yuwei joined the battle alongside a division of the Great Tang Shence Army.

Being a Confucian Grand Master of the Open Territory realm from the Divine Archery lineage, he didn't need to be at the forefront, facing the sharp edge of the opponents from the Inner Shu Mountain. Instead, he maneuvered on the outskirts, using his arrows that pierced through space to take down his foes.

Though Lin Yuwei was relatively free to move as he pleased on the outskirts, he didn't slacken off or try to merely get by. On the contrary, he exerted himself fully, knowing that not only was the Imperial Court of Tang observing him, but also the high-level cultivators from the Fang Clan who had accompanied Fang Jingsheng, the clan leader of Jingxiang.

At this moment, Lin Yuwei opted for a long-range sniping strategy, aiming to distract the enemy even if he couldn't directly inflict injuries.

In return, he also kept changing his position to avoid becoming a stationary target.

Across from him were cultivators from the Daoist Artifacts sect, among whom were many flying swords capable of long-range attacks.

For his own safety, Lin Yuwei dared not linger in one place for too long.

There were others like him, both from the Great Tang Shence Army and the Jingxiang Fang Clan, who also practiced the Divine Archery lineage and were maneuvering in the same way.

With both sides exchanging fire, sharp lights occasionally crisscrossed the skies above Bashu, sometimes densely and sometimes sparsely.

As Lin Yuwei and the others moved about, their positions occasionally brought them closer to the west.

Suddenly, from a distant direction further northwest, the mountains shook violently.

Lin Yuwei's alertness spiked, and he turned his head to look. In the depths of the snowy mountains of western Sichuan, apart from the violent tremors that resembled a massive earthquake, there was a faint glow.

As a Grand Master of the Open Territory realm from the Divine Archery lineage, Lin Yuwei pushed his perception and insight to their limits.

Due to the extreme distance, he still couldn't make out the details.

However, he could see purple lightning and green fire intertwining, seemingly rising from the snowy mountains of western Sichuan and bursting forth with a dazzling light.

Others might hesitate to confirm what was happening due to the distance, but Lin Yuwei was from the Lin Clan of the Southern Sect.

The Lin Clan of Jiangzhou had fought with the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master's Mansion of Xinzhou for countless years, and both sides knew each other too well.

With just a glance, Lin Yuwei was certain that it was the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike of the Heavenly Master's Mansion!

Lin Yuwei had heard rumors about the Heavenly Master's Mansion recovering the Heavenly Master's Seal.

Thus, it wasn't unbelievable that the Yang Thunder Dragon and the Yin Fire Tiger of the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike had reappeared in the world.

However, the fact that he could vaguely see the dragon and tiger forms from such a distance, with purple and green lights intertwining, indicated that the Yang Thunder Dragon and Yin Fire Tiger currently soaring in the snowy mountains of western Sichuan were both extremely powerful.

"It can't be two Heavenly Master's Mansion cultivators at the Seventh Heaven realm working together..." Lin Yuwei affirmed.

If it were two cultivators from the Heavenly Master's Mansion at the Eighth Heaven realm working together, then who were they, and why were they there?

Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotong... or Lei Jun? Lin Yuwei's mind raced with possibilities.

As he was still engaged in the battle against the Inner Shu Mountain cultivators, he could only suppress his curiosity and focus on the task at hand.

But later, from the eastern horizon, a dazzling golden light suddenly appeared and instantly tore through the void, arriving at the battlefield where the Great Tang cultivators and the Inner Shu Mountain cultivators clashed.

With such distinctive features, every Great Tang cultivator, including Lin Yuwei, immediately recognized the figure as none other than the current Heavenly Master, Tang Xiaotong, without needing to take a second look.

However, Lin Yuwei's heart stirred as a sudden thought crossed his mind: That direction...

Subconsciously, he glanced towards the northwest.

If Tang Xiaotong were coming to their location, she wouldn't have gone east after leaving the snowy mountains of western Sichuan, only to circle back from that direction.

She was blatantly announcing her approach and not hiding her trail.

So, was the person in the snowy mountains of western Sichuan someone else?

Could it be Xu Yuanzhen and Lei Jun, then? Or perhaps that powerful Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike wasn't the result of two people working together, but a single person? Xu Yuanzhen, maybe?

Lin Yuwei's thoughts turned to this possibility quite naturally.

But suddenly, a different idea surfaced from the depths of his mind: Or, if it's not Xu Yuanzhen, then could it be...

As soon as the thought emerged, Lin Yuwei subconsciously felt that the possibility was minuscule.

However, once this notion took root, it grew stronger and stronger in his mind, leaving him bewildered and then startled.

He abruptly turned his head again to look towards the direction of the snowy mountains of western Sichuan.

............................................

Lin Yuwei and the others who had noticed the clues were filled with speculations.

Kang Ming and Chen Ziyang, who had just escaped from the snowy mountains of western Sichuan, looked back at the mountains shaking in the distance and witnessed the brilliant light of the Yang Thunder Dragon and the Yin Fire Tiger intertwining and rising. They were absolutely certain that it was the work of a single person.

The Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike had been recreated by a single individual.

It was none other than Lei Jun, the Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.

Compared to Elder Miaokuang, Lin Yuwei had a more complex reaction to the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike.

The emotions stirring within Kang Ming and Chen Ziyang at that moment were even more complicated and indescribable.

As they watched the purple Yang Thunder Dragon soaring through the heavens and merging with the emerald Yin Fire Tiger, there was a fleeting moment when they were transfixed.

Such a sight had never been seen in the Yellow Heaven Dao before.

During the civil war within the Heavenly Master's Mansion that had given birth to the Yellow Heaven Dao, they had an elder who practiced the Thunder Law and Heavenly Script Manual, but unfortunately, he perished in that battle.

They didn't have the Heavenly Master's Seal or the Heavenly Master's Robe.

As a result, the Yellow Heaven Dao had never possessed the Thunder Law and Heavenly Script Manual or the Law Image of the Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor since its founding.

Naturally, they also lacked the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike.

Later, due to the new civil war between Li Cangting and the third-generation Heavenly Master, Li Bai, which resulted in heavy casualties, even within the Heavenly Master's Mansion, there were no more outsiders who understood the Thunder Law and Heavenly Script Manual.

From then on, the Yang Thunder Dragon and the Thunder Law and Heavenly Script Manual became exclusive to the Li family.

For the Yellow Heaven Dao cultivators, it became an even deeper obsession.

Now, the Yang Thunder Dragon had reappeared in the world.

The Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike had also been recreated.

Moreover, they were both mastered by a single individual.

And that individual was not surnamed Li.

In that moment, both Kang Ming and Chen Ziyang had mixed feelings swirling within them.

"Could it be that someone else arrived and they're working together?" Chen Ziyang asked, his voice hoarse.

Kang Ming took a deep breath and replied, "Even if there's someone else, they're still not surnamed Li. But I believe it's just Lei Jun alone."

Chen Ziyang asked, "He... cultivated several Law Images at the same time?"

"Currently, he has four," Kang Ming said.

Chen Ziyang fell silent.

The two of them stood quietly, their gazes fixed on the direction of the sect altar.

Even as the brilliant light from the Dragon and Tiger Combined Strike faded, they didn't avert their eyes.

After a while, Chen Ziyang suddenly spoke, "Do you... accept him?"

Kang Ming turned his gaze towards Chen Ziyang.

Chen Ziyang mirrored his movements, and the two locked eyes.

His gaze also occasionally swept over Han Wuyou, who was now unconscious after being captured by Kang Ming.

"Regardless of his talent and natural abilities, he saved our lives today," Kang Ming said calmly. "Although, it was probably an unintentional and effortless act on his part."

Chen Ziyang remained silent.

As Kang Ming had said, if it weren't for Lei Jun's arrival, both of them might have fallen into the hands of the Human Realm Country.

At least one of them would have had their body snatched by Huang Xuanpu, and even if the other managed to survive temporarily, their days ahead would not have been easy.

However, Lei Jun was from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

While the Human Realm Country was now finished, the Yellow Heaven Dao might face a similar fate.

Already sparsely populated, the upper echelons of the Yellow Heaven Dao had now suffered heavy losses.

With the sect altar destroyed once again, the lower and middle-level cultivators would lose their support, causing their hearts to waver.

Even if Han Wuyou could transform into the sect altar like Zhao Zongjie had done before, the situation would still be dire.

The reason was simple: the situation was too dire, the enemy was too strong, and the future seemed hopeless.

With their numerous Ninth and Eighth Heaven experts, the Human Realm Country had been thoroughly crushed by the joint efforts of the Tang Imperial Court and the Celestial Master's Mansion.

How could the obviously weakening Yellow Heaven Dao continue to hold on?

Without even trying, Chen Ziyang could predict:

Even if the sect altar could be rebuilt, the boost to morale this time would undoubtedly fall short of the previous reconstruction of the overseas sect altar and the new sect altar in Western Sichuan.

And this was within a span of less than twenty years.

With the sect altar repeatedly destroyed, how could the young disciples of the Yellow Heaven Dao not have doubts in their hearts? Even if a new sect altar was established, how long could it last?

The environment was already harsh, and they had been hiding in the shadows for years.

Once their confidence was shaken, it would be difficult for the Yellow Heaven Dao disciples to persist.

Those who could persist might not have exceptionally strong willpower.

Instead, it might be because they had clashed and sparred too often with the Tang Imperial Court and the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion, with too much blood and lives on their hands, leaving them with no choice but to forge ahead.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end