Gate of God

Chapter 678: Life and Death State, Death Lotus

His long, blue shirt moved with the wind, and his black hair danced lightly in the wind. This was both a sudden and shocking scene for all who had witnessed it.

“I thought this guy didn’t enter the Heaven Dao Pavilion?”

“Even if he’s mastered the Heaven Dao, the highest cultivation he could have reached should be the Rebirth State, right?”

“How dare he provoke Wan Lei?!”

Madness, arrogance, courting death. These were the thoughts running through the minds of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

However, this thought never so much as surfaced in the minds of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. After all, they knew better.

Fang Zhengzhi was someone who had dared to pretend to be a Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple to mess with the Heaven Dao Pavilion selection test, and then launched a surprise attack on Third Elder and Fifth Elder, so why would he be afraid of Yin Yang Hall’s First Disciple?

At this moment, Wan Lei stopped in his tracks. Sensing that he was in danger, he subconsciously took two steps back, but he never expected the source of danger would actually be Fang Zhengzhi.

“Take me head-on? Hmph, with your capabilities, that’s simply…” Wan Lei snorted, preparing to continue to remark on how Fang Zhengzhi had overestimated his ability when he suddenly saw a pair of eyes.

It was a pair of extremely bizarre eyes that were crystal clear.

Most importantly, in the pair of clear eyes were one black and one white air whirls, swirling around.

Two Yin Yang Illustrations!

How could that be possible?!

Wan Lei’s expression changed. He simply could not believe that Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the Dao of Yin Yang. Could it be that the one who had mastered the Dao of Yin Yang wasn’t Chi Guyan after all?

He didn’t believe it.

But this was the truth, Fang Zhengzhi had come, he had brazenly, openly made his way to Wan Lei, with the Yin Yang illustration spinning in his eyes.

A punch. It had been a very direct punch.

No frills, no tricks, no technique.

This brazen madness naturally shocked Wan Lei, but it also angered him.

As the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, he had a strong Sage State. It was unthinkable that someone of his stature could have been challenged by an outsider who hadn’t even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and in such a way? How could he tolerate it?

He didn’t hesitate for long.

Despite being injured, Wan Lei didn’t dodge, giving a punch in response.

“Boom!” A loud sound was heard.

Countless pieces of gravel flew, causing dust to cover the place, as a figure swiftly took five steps back.

“Bleh!” Wan Lei spit out a mouthful of blood. He was in disbelief – he really could not believe that he, the First Disciple of Yin Yang Hall, had been forced to retreat.

This was despite the fact that he was injured, and had only 30-40% of his power left.

But the opponent here was someone who had only attained the Rebirth State; someone who had not even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How could he have such a terrifying amount of power?

That punch…

How could it have been so strong?

Wan Lei didn’t understand any of this.

But Fang Zhengzhi wasn’t intending on giving him any time to think about this. In the time that Wan Lei had taken to step back, Fang Zhengzhi had re-appeared in front of Wan Lei.

“I said if you want to take me head-on, take me head-on!” A smile appeared, stretching from corner to corner of Fang Zhengzhi’s mouth. Without waiting for Wan Lei to respond, Fang Zhengzhi gave Wan Lei another strong punch.

“Boom!”

Wan Lei took five steps backward again.

With his face as pale as snow, and a body dyed red with blood, Wan Lei stared at Fang Zhengzhi, who was charging towards him once again, in utter disbelief.

“Impossible! I, Wan Lei, losing to a nobody like you!” Wan Lei’s arrogance meant that he didn’t want to retreat, but he had already been beaten twice.

How could he bear to lose a third time?

Is it because he sucked away my Origin Source? That’s why he became so strong? Wan Lei thought furiously about this and quickly reached a conclusion.

Everything in the world had their strengths and weaknesses.

For instance, Yan Qing was an anomaly, who had an absolute advantage in terms of physical strength.

Wan Lei was furious, but he wasn’t stupid. On the converse, he remained very calm. Even in a bad situation, he was could still quickly analyze the advantages and disadvantages of his opponent and himself.

If he couldn’t win Fang Zhengzhi in terms of strength, then he’d use experience and the Dao of All Creation.

In moments, he had changed his strategy.

He dodged Fang Zhengzhi’s third punch, and a flame appeared on his forehead. It was a black flame, split into six, like six flower petals.

“Rascal, do you know what the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang looks like?” As he spoke, a black flame rose from his hands.

It was condensed like a real flame, split into six, like a lotus that has not yet bloomed.

“Isn’t it life and death?” Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips, a look of disdain on his face.

“What?!” Wan Lei looked like he had been struck by lightning, his face stiff as a board. The feeling of someone else accurately guessing what one’s next words are simply wasn’t pleasant.

“Yin Yang produces the two polarities, which produce life and death.” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t spend too long explaining the concept to Wan Lei as he moved his palm, causing a similar black flame to rise from his palms.

“…” Wan Lei stared in shock.

He wasn’t the only one – even the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were staring in shock, expressions of disbelief on their faces.

“Is he a demon?”

“How is this possible?!”

“It’s the same Life-Death Dao of Yin Yang as Wan Lei!”

No one could comprehend how such a strange thing had happened.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples in particular, who had seen Fang Zhengzhi unleash his Heaven Dao and Near-Life Dao, were shell-shocked.

And now…

The Dao of Yin Yang had entered the realm of life and death.

“How could he master all three of the Great Daos? How could such a demon exist in this world?!” The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples found this all very hard to accept.

After all, they were the cream of the crop from various lands and nations. Their pride had been completely shattered by Fang Zhengzhi.

It wasn’t just the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples who were shocked.

Mu Qingfeng, the Heaven Dao Pavilion Sage State disciples, even Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, who was standing nearby, were unable to hide their shocked expressions.

As for the one who was the most shocked…

It was Tian Xing.

“Exactly what kind of demon is this rascal? His Small Dimension had been destroyed, and he can still use the Heaven Dao? He has even mastered the Yin Yang Life-Death State? Why is he like this? Could it be that this guy’s heart is on the right?” Tian Xing clenched his fists tightly, a cold stare in his eyes.

“Rascal, what exactly are you?” Wan Lei really didn’t want to ask this question, because he had always felt that Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking, what good was there in asking a dead man questions?

But now…

He really wanted to know the answer to this question.

“I answered your question just now, shouldn’t you answer my question now?” Fang Zhengzhi clearly had no interest in explaining his identity to Wan Lei.

“What do you mean?” Wan Lei asked subconsciously.

“If the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang is the Yin Yang Life-Death State, then do you know what the epitome of the Near-Life Dao is?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.

“The Near-Life Dao?” Wan Lei showed a hint of surprise, as he did not know why Fang Zhengzhi was asking this question. However, as Fang Zhengzhi had said, Fang Zhengzhi had answered his previous question on the epitome of the Dao of Yin Yang, so he naturally could not be seen to be weaker. “Are you trying to test me? The epitome of the Near-Life Dao is, naturally, the Hell Near-Life Chains, which can lock the six senses!”

“Alright, then do it.” Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head ever so slightly.

“Do? Do what?” Wan Lei looked lost.

“Obviously, I mean to use it, like how I used the Yin Yang Life-Death State.” The corners of Fang Zhengzhi’s mouth curled, and he stared at Wan Lei like a fool.

“Use it? Rascal, don’t you know that the Near-Life Dao is one of the Six Rebirth Dao Techniques, and one of the Great Daos like the Dao of Yin Yang? From what I know, no one in this world can master both of these Daos at the same time!”

“What if someone could?”

“Rascal, I’m not stupid!” Wan Lei laughed mockingly.

Hearing this, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples’ expressions turned very weird. They stared at Wan Lei, seemingly trying to tell him that he was being extremely foolish.

This naturally caused Wan Lei a great deal of discomfort.

“What do you mean, you can do that?!” Wan Lei felt ominous after receiving the strange stares from those around him.

“No, I can’t.” Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.

“Well then, what do you mean by that…” Wan Lei was cut off by a freezing cold breeze that rose behind him.

In the next moment, he felt a piercing pain from his feet, as if he had lost control of his right leg.

Then, a flash of red light appeared before his eyes.

That was a chain, a blood red chain, that had rushed out from the ground, which had pierced through his feet, which was on the ground.

And then…

A second chain appeared, then a third, a fourth…

Wan Lei was stunned.

Not only was he stunned, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples and Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, even Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader Tian Xing all stood with wide eyes.

“This is… the Hell Near-Life Chains?!”

“He, he actually masted the Near-Life Dao?”

“How could this be?!”

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples simply could not believe it.

As for the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, they were rendered speechless. Yes, they had once refused to believe it as well, but now, they could not do that anymore.

The Fang Zhengzhi before their eyes truly was a demon who had mastered three of the Great Daos: the Heaven Dao, the Near-Life Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang.

No one else in the Holy Region could do this!

“Crack!” Wan Lei’s arm was once against pierced by a green chain, causing his entire body to twist, and he almost fell to the ground.

“No, this is impossible!” Wan Lei’s eyes were filled with disbelief, but the cruel truth was right before his eyes. The feeling of being pierced was crystal clear as it cut into his bone, and he simply had to believe.

The Near-Life Dao!

This guy really mastered the Near-Life Dao?!

Idiot…

I really am an idiot!

Wan Lei didn’t hesitate any longer, because the third chain had already made its way to his other arm, if this arm was pierced, he would truly be in a dire situation.

“Life and death state, death lotus, open!” As Wan Lei called out, the black flame on his hand that had yet to blossom now burned brightly.

The six petal-like flames swirled quickly, creating a vibration that shook of the third Hell Near-Life Chain, while the other two chains which had already pierced his body were cut.

“Poof!” A huge vibration, as Wan Lei spit another mouthful of blood, but he didn’t dare to stay where he was, and he retreated very quickly.

“Life and death state, death lotus, open!” At this moment, a voice almost identical to Wan Lei was heard, and another Death Lotus appeared in front of Wan Lei.

“What?!” Wan Lei wanted to retreat further, but it was already too late.

This Deah Lotus had grown out of a smudge of blue light, and he who was controlling this Death Lotus was smiling.

At this moment, Wan Lei finally started to understand what Fang Zhengzhi had meant when he said, “plot against you? That’s too easy, I want to take you head-on!”.

Of course…

If he had not been injured.

Even if Fang Zhengzhi had mastered the three Great Daos, Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao and the Dao of Yin Yang, he would not be afraid, but the reality was that he was injured.

“Boom!”

Black flames flew everywhere, and a huge black flame tornado wrapped itself around Wan Lei, burning his clothes, and then his hair and skin.

“Sizzle!” sounds could be heard from his body.

Wan Lei now looked rather hideous and savage, but he also seemed to be sneering, sneering from his bones.

That’s right.

Wan Lei was sneering.

He was sneering very loudly.

“Reverse the flow of Yin and Yang!” Wan Lei bellowed lightly, and then a strange scene appeared, as the black flame that was burning his body entered Wan Lei’s body, as if by some strange command, and disappeared.

He was the great First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

How could he lose to Fang Zhengzhi?

He had been waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables.

In fact, when the Death Lotus had risen in Fang Zhengzhi’s hand, he had already planned all of this, and now, it had gone according to plan.

“Die!” Wan Lei’s expression was ice cold, as he forcefully absorbed the Death Lotus into his body, which would result in a loss on both sides.

However, he no longer cared.

Even if he were to sustain huge injuries, and not be able to use any Origin Source in two years, he had to make Fang Zhengzhi pay for what he had done today.

“Boom!” Black flames rose to the sky, violently swirling around, turning the white jade gravel below Wan Lei’s feet into powder.

How could the First Disciple of Yin Yang hall be so weak?

He wanted Fang Zhengzhi to die because only if he was dead could Wan Lei regain his dignity, and all the blame could be shifted onto Fang Zhengzhi.

This was what Wan Lei thought.

However, this thought did not stay for long, because a sword appeared in his line of vision. It was a mediocre sword, not impressive or grand in any way.

“Shiii!” The sword pierced through the chest, as blood spurted everywhere.

“If you want to die, then I shall kill you!” Wan Lei heard a voice as clear as a nightingale near his ear. It was a lovely voice, but a very cold one at the same time, as cold as the sword that had pierced through his chest.

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Chapter 679: If Shamelessness Were A Dao

If Wan Lei’s expression had frozen at this moment, one would see that his wide-open eyes were extremely bloodshot, staring at Chi Guyan, who was standing in front of him with her pink dress stained with blood.

Those bright eyes, perfect, exquisite features, that loft and pride which would have ruined nations. Oh, how bright she was, like the brightest stars in the universe.

It was very real.

However, he could not believe that it had been her, the Chosen One Chi Guyan, who had pierced his heart with her sword. Why? Why would she dare to kill me?!

“If you want to die, then I shall be the one to kill you!”

You shall be the one to kill me?!

Wan Lei couldn’t understand, he simply could not understand.

How could she not know that she represented the Heaven Dao Pavilion? Did she not know that he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall? How dare she?!

“You… cough cough…” Wan Lei’s body softened as he kneeled on the ground, but his eyes remained on Chi Guyan. “Are you not afraid…afraid that the Yin Yang Hall looks…looks for you…”

“You don’t deserve it!” Chi Guyan gazed quietly at Wan Lei, her expression as calm as a frozen lake, without a single ripple.

“Don’t… don’t deserve it?!” Wan Lei’s eyes widened, he could not reconcile himself to it, he really could not. He had come today to the Heaven Dao Pavilion to watch a fight, not to participate in one himself.

How many months, how much work had gone into this, such that he could have achieved what he had – entering the Sage State with just a single move and becoming the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

He had a bright future ahead of him…

But now, he was going to die, die under the sword of Chi Guyan, and all because he attacked a guy who had not even entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

How could he reconcile this with himself?

“Ciiii!” He pulled the sword out.

Red blood gushed out from Wan Lei’s heart, dripping onto the ground, dying the powdered white jade a crimson red.

Chi Guyan turned around, not even looking twice at Wan Lei. This was due to the arrogance and disdain in her heart, as she saw him as nothing more than an ant.

However, this “ant” was a strong figure in the Sage State. He was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

“You…” Wan Lei spit out another mouthful of blood as he looked at Chi Guyan’s back view. He seemed like he had more to say, but the blood gushing out of his heart caused him to give in. He couldn’t take it any longer.

“Dong!”

Wan Lei’s fell to the ground, his face unwilling and shocked. He didn’t want to die, he really didn’t want to, but it was a fact that he had died.

Even if he was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, and a strong figure in the Sage State, a sword pierce through the heart could only mean death.

“Shh!” All the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples drew in their breaths.

Each of them stared at Chi Guyan, and as they saw the arrogance on her face, they felt a chill run down their spines.

She actually killed Wan Lei?!

No one had expected this. After all, as Wan Lei had said, Chi Guyan was a representative of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, and Wan Lei was the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall.

Why would Chi Guyan do that?

No one knew.

But the truth was that Chi Guyan had taken action, and had shown no mercy, killing him with a single pierce of the sword, not even giving a proper explanation.

Shock, silence.

None of this seemed to have any effect on Chi Guyan. All she did was slowly keep the sword, and then slowly made her way to Fang Zhengzhi’s side.

She looked at Fang Zhengzhi and then quietly stood still as if nothing had happened. Calm and lofty.

As for Fang Zhengzhi, he seemed rather speechless.

Didn’t she just kill-steal him? The guy had already been crippled by him, and at a vital moment, she had appeared to kill him with a single sword stroke. Was this anything to be proud of?

“Erm… I think you just stole my kill?” Fang Zhengzhi felt the need to remind Chi Guyan that this wasn’t a very good habit.

“Yeah.” Chi Guyan nodded her head.

“So, shouldn’t you say something?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“…” Fang Zhengzhi was once again rendered speechless.

At this moment, laughter rang out, and then Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, who had been standing far away, walked away from the crowd and slowly made his way towards Tian Xing, his expression gloomy.

“Hahaha… Leader Tian, Chi Guyan is trying to warn others. It seems like it wouldn’t be so easy to get the Thousand Years Fire Herb from this guy’s body!” Gu Yuan stopped near Tian Xing.

He didn’t move any nearer but had a wide smile on his face.

The Chosen One Chi Guyan naturally wouldn’t do something without reason, especially something like killing the First Disciple of the Yin Yang Hall, Wan Lei.

If she had to do it…

There can only be one reason.

He had to be killed!

Tian Xing didn’t speak, but his expression was terrifyingly dark.

Even Gu Yuan could see Chi Guyan’s intention, so how could he not see it? It was obvious – Chi Guyan had killed Wan Lei to show her stance.

This was a very simple logic, if she had to choose between him and Wan Lei, it wouldn’t be difficult.

“She killed him to warn others? Ah, so that was what she intended!”

“Sister Chi Guyan, did she use Wan Lei’s death to tell Tian Xing that she’s already made up her mind?”

“That’s right, if we have to fight today, killing Wan Lei was obviously a good choice!”

Hearing this, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples quickly understood what was happening.

Although Chi Guyan never said much throughout, at this moment, everyone could feel the strength of her resolve.

If even Wan Lei could be killed, then what about the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

Tian Xing’s fists were tightly clenched. He had an agreement with Mu Qingfeng regarding the extraction of the pill; this matter had been concluded.

But now, Chi Guyan’s stance was extremely clear.

Tian Xing wasn’t as worried about Chi Guyan as he was about Mu Qingfeng since this affected the delicate relationship that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion shared.

Being Mu Qingfeng’s proudest, most beloved disciple, if Chi Guyan was really in danger because of Fang Zhengzhi, would Mu Qingfeng continue to honor the pill-extracting agreement? Who knows?

Give up?

Tian Xing obviously could not give up.

But he also could not continue to fight, because, in that short fight, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had already lost almost ten disciples, and dozens were seriously injured.

Of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion also suffered casualties.

But compared to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, the Heaven Dao Pavilion had suffered much fewer casualties. This was due to two reasons, one, the Heaven Dao Pavilion specialized in swordsmanship, and was better at combat than the Nine Pinnacles Mountain; two, they were at the Heaven Dao Pavilion itself – the Heaven Dao Pavilion had an advantage since they were on home ground, and had a greater number of disciples.

Most importantly…

Tian Xing was slightly injured.

Fang Zhengzhi absorbed 30% of his Origin Energy. Right now, there was no way for him to fight to the death against Mu Qingfeng. Hence, how could he continue fighting?

“Ten moves. If the two of you can block ten of my moves, I’ll leave! If not… the Heaven Dao Pavilion will bathe in blood today!” Tian Xing said coldly as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, upon hearing this, looked at each other. Worry and contemplation filled their faces.

Tian Xing?

He was someone who was as powerful as Mu Qingfeng, and one of the most powerful cultivator in the entire Holy Region. Ten moves? While it sounded simple, it was nearly impossible to achieve.

Hence, most importantly, this promise concerned the Thousand Years Fire Herb. Naturally, Tian Xing would use all his strength and show no mercy.

When Mu Qingfeng heard Tian Xing’s words, he frowned.

No one knew the extent of Tian Xing’s strength better than he did. Even he was not confident of beating Tian Xing, much less Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi.

Ten moves?

It was too difficult.

“I disagree!” Fang Zhengzhi said.

He was not dumb. Ten moves? It would kill him. While he had never fought Tian Xing head-on, he remembered how Mu Qingfeng was able to take his Traceless Sword.

Tian Xing was just as powerful as Mu Qingfeng.

He who recognized the situation was the true hero. Fang Zhengzhi knew the situation he was in really well. After all, he was now at an advantage, so why would he risk it all?

It was not worth it. Furthermore, he had no motivation to do so.

“Rascal, this is not up to you. If you don’t abide by my conditions, the Heaven Dao Pavilion will run red with blood!” Tian Xing was visibly enraged.

As the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he had already taken many steps back. By proposing the condition of ten moves, it was nearing the end of his limits.

“Are you sure?” Fang Zhengzhi appeared to be thinking.

“I’m sure!” Tian Xing nodded his head.

“How can I believe you?”

“What a joke! I never go back on my words, never!”

“Alright, you can fight. After all, I’m not a member of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. You two can fight. I’ll leave,” said Fang Zhengzhi when he heard that. He turned and prepared to walk away.

“…” Tian Xing’s lips twitched. Even though he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, he did not know how to react to Fang Zhengzhi’s shameless words.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them were speechless too.

What was this?

He was the reason for the conflict, but he behaved as if he completely did not care about this matter and planned to leave.

It was akin to saying, “Have fun fighting you lot, I’ll make a move first.”

How could he say something so shameless?

“Wait a minute!” Tian Xing looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was about to leave and calmed the fire in his heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that the bones were cracking.

“What other matters do you have, Leader Tian? In fact, if I were you, I’ll start fighting now. You said that you will never renegade on your words, don’t forget!” Fang Zhengzhi said with a face filled with suspicion.

“You…” Tian Xing suppressed his rage, which rose in his heart once more. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who seemed uncaring, and he really wanted to punch him. However, when he looked at Chi Guyan, who was next to him, he forced himself to calm down and said, “Rascal, are you afraid?”

“No, but I think that the conditions can be changed.”

“Conditions? What conditions?”

“Just now you said that if we can survive ten moves, you will leave. However, for me, I won’t get anything out of this,” said Fang Zhengzhi as his mouth curled.

“Get nothing out of this? Rascal, don’t push it. The Thousand Years Fire Herb in your body is the supreme treasure of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. How can you say that you won’t benefit from it?” Tian Xing stared at him coldly.

“You said it yourself. The Thousand Years Fire Herb is inside me. What’s the point of using it as a reward?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.

“Rascal, you…. Fine, what are your terms?”

“How about we reduce the number of moves from ten to one?” When Fang Zhengzhi heard Tian Xing’s words, he asked this question hopefully.

“One move…” Tian Xing spoke halfway before it seemed as if he had choked on something. He felt as if he had swallowed a fly.

Originally, he thought Fang Zhengzhi would ask for a treasure as the reward of this wager. However, he never expected Fang Zhengzhi’s condition to mean this.

Going from ten moves to just one?

“How does this guy’s brain work? Does he have any sort of limit? No matter how much confidence Tian Xing had, he would not agree to this condition.”

“Pfft!” Chi Guyan could not help but burst out laughing. Her normally regal and calm look faded completely and her face cracked into laughter like a flower blooming.

If shamelessness were a Dao…

She believed that Fang Zhengzhi would have been in the Sage State ten years ago.

Right now, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples around them looked at each other. Their faces all turned red.

“How shameless can this guy get?”

“Changing the number of moves from ten to one, how can he say this with a straight face?”

“Does he think that we are idiots?”

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples because they had never seen someone who could be so brazen. There was no limit to his shamelessness.

They were not alone. When Mu Qingfeng heard this, his head turned to the side and he cursed underneath his breath, “Rascal, there’s no limit to how shameless you can be!”

Of course…

He would never say it.

The reason was simple. While he felt that Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, he hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could obtain a favorable condition from Tian Xing’s mouth.

After all, the chances of surviving ten moves were minimal.

“As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, are you so unconfident of yourself?” Fang Zhengzhi said to Tian Xing. The side of his mouth curled disrespectfully.

“Rascal, don’t try to provoke me like this!” Tian Xing gritted his teeth. “When I said ten moves, I mean it. Of course, if anyone of you dares to fight me alone, I’ll lower it to five!”

“I am not dumb. It’s more likely for two people to survive ten moves than it is for one person to survive five moves. If you think one move is impossible, how about two moves?”

“Impossible!”

“Three moves!”

“Still impossible!”

“What about if it’s just one person?”

“Eh no… wait a minute, a person? You say that you can take three of my moves alone?” Tian Xing prepared to shake his head but soon, he reacted to it. He could not believe what he was hearing. Soon, he laughed too, “When you said ‘alone’, you mean Gu Chiyan and not you, right?”

Chapter 680: Wrath of the Heaven, The Strongest Battle

“When he says ‘alone’, he means Senior Chi Guyan? Does this shameless person want Senior Chi Guyan to fight Tian Xing alone?”

“This must be the case!”

“Can he be more shameless?”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi’s words, they were stunned. However, after Tian Xing had explained it to them, they all became visibly enraged.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were not alone. Even the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were in disbelief.

As for Chi Guyan…

Her expression did not change much. The smile from her face evaporated as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was next to her. Then, she quietly took a step back.

“Be careful,” said Chi Guyan. Her voice was not loud. However, the disciples from both sects around her could hear her.

“Careful?”

“What does this mean?”

“Does it mean that this guy will be up next?”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples all had faces of doubt after they heard her words. After all, they all knew how shameless he was.

How could such a shameless person be willing to something so dangerous?

However, Fang Zhengzhi just nodded his head slightly. Then, he slowly walked toward Tian Xing. While his pace was not fast, it was deliberate.

“He wants to fight Tian Xing alone?!”

“Impossible!”

When they saw this scene, the disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, and even the other two emperors on the Heaven Academic Altar, were shocked.

“Oh? Did I guess wrong?” Tian Xing’s expression turned severe once more. As he looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was walking toward him, a light glinted in his eyes.

“Three moves. If I can survive three of your moves, bring your men back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!” Fang Zhengzhi did not answer Tian Xing’s question but instead, he just said this.

“Hahaha… you have a sharp tongue indeed. However, are you sure that you can block three of my moves?” When Tian Xing heard this, he started laughing.

After all, the reason why he proposed ten moves was because he planned for Chi Guyan and not Fang Zhengzhi.

If Chi Guyan really decided to fight him, he would give it a lot more thought. However, if Fang Zhengzhi fought him alone…

He could do so without any hesitation.

“Yes, I’m sure,” replied Fang Zhengzhi.

“Good, very good! I admit that I have judged you wrongly. While you’re shameless, you have the spirit of a man. Let’s do what you say. Three moves. If you can survive three moves, I’ll leave and I promise I’ll never bother the Heaven Dao Pavilion ever again!” Tian Xing looked at Fang Zhengzhi seriously and nodded his head.

“He’s really challenging Tian Xing?”

“It seems real enough. However, with his strength, how can he live three moves? He’s asking for death!”

“While it’s a suicide mission, he’s brave indeed.”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard this, they all looked at Fang Zhengzhi differently.

Fang Zhengzhi naturally disregarded the discussion going on around him.

After he heard Tian Xing’s response, he slowly turned to look at Mu Qingfeng and said, “Pavilion Leader Mu, today, I offer myself to save the Heaven Dao Pavilion from turning into a sea of blood and carnage. Shouldn’t you do something in acknowledgment?”

“How would you like me to acknowledge you?” After Mu Qingfeng heard Fang Zhengzhi’s words, he nodded his head seriously too.

While the fight between the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and the Heaven Dao Pavilion was inextricably linked to Fang Zhengzhi, he could also be said to uninvolved in it.

Hence, it was not unreasonable for Fang Zhengzhi to make requests.

Furthermore, Mu Qingfeng did not believe that Fang Zhengzhi could survive three moves from Tian Xing. Even so, he could treat Fang Zhengzhi’s request like his last requests.

“If I can block three of Tian Xing’s moves, I want you to let Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu be your disciples. Furthermore, you must instruct them personally!” Fang Zhengzhi said this without even thinking.

“Take in Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu?” Mu Qingfeng never expected Fang Zhengzhi to make such a request. He looked at Yan Xiu, who was unconscious, subconsciously and then at Nangong Mu, who was still fighting Yan Qing. “Alright, I accept your request. Furthermore, if you can live, I’ll even promise to bend the rules and take you in as a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.”

“Master wants to let this guy into the Heaven Dao Pavilion?”

“He’s so shameless, how can master accept him?”

“Hurhur, he has no chance of surviving. Master’s promise is just a gesture of kindness. It won’t happen!”

“Hmm, that’s right!”

After the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Mu Qingfeng’s words, they could not quite believe it too. However, when they heard that the pre-condition was for Fang Zhengzhi to survive three moves, they relaxed instantly.

“There’s no need to take me in as a disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Thank you for your kind intention, Pavilion Leader Mu, but I don’t want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion,” replied Fang Zhengzhi as he looked at Mu Qingfeng and the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples before smiling.

“He doesn’t want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion?!”

“Master is so kind and magnanimous. This guy doesn’t know what’s good for him!”

Some of the disciples who were worried at first, upon hearing Fang Zhengzhi’s rejection, turned visibly angry.

Fang Zhengzhi smiled slightly. He naturally knew what they were thinking.

When Mu Qingfeng proposed making him his disciple, he knew that it was a gesture of kindness. It was akin to a millionaire showing compassion to a beggar. If he rejected the Heaven Dao Pavilion’s invitation, it was akin to disregarding his circumstances.

Fang Zhengzhi never viewed himself as a beggar.

Hence, why would he take up Mu Qingfeng’s act of kindness and compassion?

Perhaps, if he joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he would obtain many benefits. For example, he would obtain a position of respect in the Holy Region. He could learn more about cultivation and even obtain more resources.

However…

The world was fair.

If you wanted rewards, you must be willing to sacrifice.

He was sure that as long as he joined the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he would have to obey its rules and regulations. He had to be an obedient disciple of the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

Promoting the Heaven Dao Pavilion would be his job. The interests of the pavilion would come before his own pride.

Fang Zhengzhi valued freedom. He hated such rules.

Of course, this was not important. What was important was his suspicion on why Mu Qingfeng wanted to take him in as his disciple.

Undoubtedly, it was because of his relationship with Chi Guyan. Secondly, he demonstrated his talent and abilities just now. Thirdly, it was to honor the Great Xia Dynasty.

However, Fang Zhengzhi also had a good memory.

When Tian Xing proposed taking the Thousand Years Fire Herb from inside Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng did not stop him. Even now, when he stood up and volunteered to take three moves from Tian Xing, Mu Qingfeng also did not stop him.

In other words…

Mu Qingfeng did not really want to take him in as a disciple, but he had no choice. To be precise, the Heaven Dao Pavilion did more mind an extra disciple.

It was clear from how Mu Qingfeng proposed taking him in as a disciple only if he could survive three moves.

In fact, Fang Zhengzhi expected this result the moment he was at the Northern Mountain Village. Even if he was at in the Supernatural State, the Heaven Dao Pavilion would not reject him, much less when he was now in the Rebirth State.

However, there was a difference between not rejecting him and wanting him.

Fang Zhengzhi had no time.

He had no plan of using his sacrifices to get resources. Furthermore, he did not want to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion when everyone did not like him.

Of course, he had to admit that Mu Qingfeng seemed like a good teacher. Even though he had injured Third Elder and Fifth Elder, he still expressed his willingness to accept him into the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

However, the Heaven Dao Pavilion was not just run by Mu Qingfeng.

“Pavilion Leader Mu, could you return me my Traceless Sword?” Fang Zhengzhi stopped thinking because after he had seen Tian Xing, Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Hall, and Elder Gu Yuan of the Fu Xi Valley, he had a new understanding of the Holy Region.

This was a place where the true elites fought for dominance, both honorably and through trickery. Everywhere was filled with ‘hungry wolves’.

Fang Zhengzhi’s main goal now was to live.

Furthermore, he did not just want to live, but he also wanted to live excitedly and without restraint. He wanted to use his own method to change his fate.

“Fang Zhengzhi, I won’t force you into joining the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, I don’t think this sword is fit for you,” said Mu Qingfeng as he shook his head. He appeared worried.

“I think it’s fit for me.”

“Alright, since you insist, I’ll return the Traceless Sword to you!” Mu Qingfeng did not continue arguing with Fang Zhengzhi. He waved his hand and from the sleeve of his white robes, a purple ray of light flew out.

In fact, very few people knew the other important reason why Mu Qingfeng wanted to take Fang Zhengzhi in. It was because of the Traceless Sword. In other words, when Fang Zhengzhi beat back many Sage State disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion with his Traceless Sword, he had already made up his mind to take Fang Zhengzhi in. If not for that, he would not have let Fang Zhengzhi consume one of his precious pills.

Of course, when Fang Zhengzhi expressed his unwillingness to join the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he could not, as the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, forcibly keep Fang Zhengzhi’s sword.

“Roar!”

The sword roared like a dragon.

Fang Zhengzhi reached out with his hand and grabbed the Traceless Sword. Instantly, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and a suppressed killing intent.

Not fit?

Why was it not fit?

Fang Zhengzhi did not understand Mu Qingfeng’s words. However, Mu Qingfeng did not offer any explanation. He stopped thinking and the moment the Traceless Sword was in his hand, a faint dragon roar could be heard from it.

Tian Xing’s gaze fell upon Fang Zhengzhi’s Traceless Sword. A look of surprise flashed past his eyes.

“This is a good sword,” said Tian Xing. His voice was not loud.

However, all of the disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked. This was because Tian Xing was the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Most importantly, Tian Xing’s skills at forging weapons were the best among all five sects of the Holy Region.

The Yin Yang Hall made pills!

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain made weapons!

If a sword could make Tian Xing exclaim in appreciation, it had to be extraordinary. What kind of sword was it?

At this moment, everyone looked admiringly at the Traceless Sword. When they saw the pale purple light glowing from the Traceless Sword, they were all confused.

However, at this moment, the Traceless Sword moved.

To be precise, Fang Zhengzhi moved.

He unsheathed the sword and the purple qi, which was like a dragon, started to fill the sky with a rumbling sound. The purple light shone brightly and a humongous killing intent surged from it.

No one expected Fang Zhengzhi to forgo his defenses and just attack.

However, this was just what he did.

The purple light shot into the sky and turned into a coiling dragon that flew skyward. Then, thunder boomed and a sword light, which twisted and turned like a bolt of lightning, dropped down.

Dragon Slayer Slash.

“Oh?” Tian Xing’s expression changed slightly. “This is the power of someone in the Rebirth State, but this power of this sword easily rivals of one in the Sage State. Too bad…”

He did not get to finish.

This was because the sword light was already in front of him.

This made all surrounding Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples hold their breath as they stared in anticipation.

After all, they all saw this move before.

Fifth Elder’s arm was chopped off by this very move.

Right now, Tian Xing was its target.

What would happen?

The sword roared deafeningly like a dragon.

Tian Xing finally moved. However, he did not block the sword like what everyone predicted but instead, he completely disregarded it.

“No matter how strong it is, it’s useless if it can’t hurt me!” Tian Xing’s voice rang out. At the same time, his body mysteriously disappeared.

Then, he re-appeared in mid-air.

Less than an inch from him was the tail of Dragon Slayer Slash. Here, purple light shone more intensely than anywhere else.

“Hit!” Tian Xing bellowed. With that, he punched the tail of the sword light, where it was the most purple.

“Boom!” A huge explosion rang out.

It was a dull sound, like a fist hitting another fist.

The moment that happened, the clear sword sound and the dragon roar stopped. The purple light faded and Fang Zhengzhi, who was clad in a blue robe, appeared.

One his hand wielded a sword while the other clenched a fist.

However, evidently, Fang Zhengzhi was tired. This was because while his fist hit Tian Xing’s, he did not actually punch out fully.

In other words…

He did not straighten his arm.

He struck out at the last moment.

“Not bad, quick reflexes!” Tian Xing sounded slightly impressed. However, he did not retract his fist but instead, extended it and roared, “Wrath of the Heaven!”

Chapter 681: Growth, End of the Line

“Kaboom!” The moment Tian Xing’s voice rang out, a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky.

The sky, which was bright at first, dimmed instantly. The sun was gone and the stars started to shine. It was as if day had turned into night.

At the same time, a huge shadow appeared on Tian Xing’s body.

It was a red-haired hunk clad in black armor. On his black armor, one could see golden dots of light flashing. He had thick brows and bronze-like eyes and his face was almost completely covered by his thick, black beard.

It was real, very real.

The moment the red-haired hunk appeared, Tian Xing disappeared. It seemed as if he had merged with this red-haired hunk.

A terrifying pressure could be felt from Tian Xing. When Tian Xing roared, it was as if the very heaven roared with him. It was a heavenly kind of anger.

This scene seemed greatly exaggerated.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples underneath were both shocked when they saw this. Their faces were awestruck and terrified.

“Wrath of the Heaven! Is this Tian Xing’s lineage?!”

“He uses his lineage straightaway. He’s not giving Fang Zhengzhi any chance at all!”

“He truly lives up to his title as one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region!”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw this scene, they were all petrified. In their hearts, they knew that this battle did not need more than three moves.

Fang Zhengzhi was slightly stunned too. He knew that Tian Xing was strong and he was mentally prepared too. However, could he really be so strong until he did not know when to show mercy?

What kind of nonsense was this?

Was this the ‘complete change’?

Before he had any more time to think, Fang Zhengzhi felt a terrifying power from his fist. It was as heavy as a mountain and brimmed with a vast energy. Waves of it smashed against his body ceaselessly. It was able to suppress him completely.

There was no way he could block it.

“Boom!”

Fang Zhengzhi’s body fell from the heaven immediately. He was like a comet that streaked across the night sky as he fell to the ground at full speed.

“Kaboom!”

Another hole appeared in the ground, which had already been ruined, instantly. One could not see how deep it was. Even Fang Zhengzhi’s figure could not be seen.

Silence. It was extremely silent.

Every single Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked into the hole. They stared at the canyon-like hole and they all sighed in their hearts.

The disparity in strength was far too wide.

Even if Fang Zhengzhi was a genius, even if his sword strokes were capable of matching the strength of a Sage State being, he now faced one of the most powerful beings in the entire Holy Region, Tian Xing.

How could he win?

Excluding the fact that Fang Zhengzhi was only in the Rebirth State, even a normal Sage State cultivator could not last more than three moves when fighting against Tian Xing.

“No mercy indeed!” Mu Qingfeng looked into the distance as he stared at the godly red-haired hunk. He shook his head slightly.

He naturally knew the full extent of Tian Xing’s strength.

Hence, he knew that Fang Zhengzhi’s chances of lasting more than three moves against him were close to zero.

“Fang Zhengzhi!” The voice of the Xian King, Lin Yun, sounded. It broke the silence around them. He naturally saw the look of worry on Emperor Lin Mubai’s face and he understood that this was a fight that he could no stop. However, he still looked subconsciously at Chi Guyan.

Chi Guyan’s face was slightly pale. This time, this Pride of the Heavens looked worried.

However, the look of worry faded.

She bit her lips tightly and the starlight in her eyes shone brighter and brighter. However, Chi Guyan did not move. She did not even say a single word.

“Motherf*cker! F*ck!” At this moment, a sound emanated from the black hole. It was weak but also infuriated.

The disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked. Countless looks were shot in the direction of the black hole.

Even Nangong Hao, who had been standing in the crowd without moving or saying anything, looked in the direction of the hole. He was shocked too.

At this very moment, a figure slowly crawled out from the black hole. One could see that this figure was trembling. Evidently, he was in a bad state.

However, this person was extremely resolute. His resolution was indescribable, but it existed and was very, very real.

“He is still alive?!”

“This is a miracle. Tian Xing struck him with the power of his lineage!”

“However, he has just one breath left. With his state now, he can’t survive the second blow, much less the third.”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all shocked. However, other than being shocked, they clearly knew that after taking this blow, Fang Zhengzhi was the end of the line. There was no chance of survival for him anymore.

Chi Guyan bit down on her lips tighter.

She clenched her fists even tighter and her entire body appeared to be shaking slightly. However, she did not move. Instead, she just watched the figure climb out of the hole quietly.

“Cough!” Fang Zhengzhi’s body trembled as he coughed repeatedly and loudly. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. He was on the verge of collapse.

However, he continued to stare intently at the huge figure in the distance. He looked at the red-haired hunk clad in black armor.

This was…

Was it the legendary Xuan Heavenly Dao Body, otherwise known as his lineage or bloodline? Tian Xing had one? It should be similar to the shadow that floated behind Chi Guyan’s back too right?

Fang Zhengzhi tried to guess what it was. However, he could clearly see that the shadow behind Tian Xing, compared to the flickering one behind Chi Guyan, was much more ‘real’.

“Is this how strong he is?”

Fang Zhengzhi knew that this time, he grossly underestimated Tian Xing’s strength. When he fought Mu Qingfeng, he did not use his full strength.

Recently, Fang Zhengzhi had been fighting with many powerful Sage State cultivators.

For example, when he was in the Flame Capital City, he fought with King Xieluo, the Demon King. Earlier, he fought with Third Elder and Fifth Elder in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Just now, he fought with Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Hall.

After these three battles, it was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi not to grow at all.

Of course, now that he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi realized how naïve he was.

There was something common among all these fights. King Xieluo was severely drained and had been severely injured by Ping Yang. This was why he had his chance.

When he fought against Third Elder and Fifth Elder, he was able to play tricks on them and it was a very lucky win for him.

In his battle against Wan Lei of the Yin Yang Pavilion, more than 70% of Wan Lei’s Origin Energy had been depleted at the start of the fight. Furthermore, he fought him together with Chi Guyan.

“Are you ready?” At this moment, the shadow on Tian Xing’s body disappeared. His black robes billowed in the wind but he did not descend from the sky. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi as if he was looking at a dead man.

“Yes!” The moment Fang Zhengzhi said that he moved and a streak of blue light flashed past. Soon, he was standing in front of Tian Xing.

His Traceless Sword in his hands shone with an eye-catching purple light.

The sword started to roar and a dragon roar could be heard.

“This guy still dares to… go against him?!”

“Is he courting death?”

“Something is wrong. With his shamelessness, shouldn’t he say something like ‘I haven’t rested enough’? Why did he not request for a break but instead, deliver himself up like this?”

The disciples of both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were shocked beyond words to see Fang Zhengzhi rush up once more.

They were not the only ones…

A look of confusion flashed in Tian Xing’s eyes.

He naturally could see that Fang Zhengzhi was at the end of the line. Even so, the only way he could live was by concentrating all his energy on defending himself.

In other words, this was the only way he could survive the three blows?

Attack?

What did it mean?

Tian Xing did not understand what was going on, but Fang Zhengzhi was already in front of him. He almost subconsciously attacked, but at this moment, a thought flashed past his mind.

“Oh no, this b*stard wants to trick me!” Tian Xing’s eyes shone brightly with light. Then, he moved too. However, he did not move toward Fang Zhengzhi.

Instead…

He rushed at light-speed toward the black hole in the ground.

“What’s going on?”

“Why doesn’t he kill Fang Zhengzhi straightaway? Why is he charging toward the hole?”

“Wait a minute, can that be…”

When the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain saw this scene, looks of suspicion crossed their faces. Quickly, they all came to the same conclusion.

“This is Heavenly Descent!”

“This guy is truly shameless!”

“What a pity that his opponent is Tian Xing! Had it been anyone else, who may not know that he has mastered the Heavenly Dao, he may be able to successfully trick them!”

After they realized what was going on, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples knew that Fang Zhengzhi’s time was up.

“Boom!” Tian Xing’s body charged into the black hole at this moment. At the same time, a thick, almost solid, ball of light started to shine.

This made the huge black hole blow up instantly. Countless pieces of rock and granite flew everywhere. However, as they flew, they were instantly into powder.

This move was terrifying. It would surely lead to death.

“Is he dead?” Everyone stared tightly at the ground, which had been covered with black light. They were all nervous.

Chapter 682: Beaten to Death

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples did not want Fang Zhengzhi to die. However, they knew that there was no chance of him surviving.

Tian Xing’s strength was crazy.

He was one of the most powerful cultivators of the Holy Region. Furthermore, he used his lineage for his attack. For his second move, he would surely show no mercy.

“Hmph! He dares to play tricks on master!”

“So childish! How can master for his tricks?”

“This b*stard is so naïve!”

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples hated Fang Zhengzhi with a vengeance. Of course, this was in part due to Chi Guyan. After all, there was nothing they could do to Chi Guyan.

Naturally, they transferred their unhappiness onto Fang Zhengzhi.

They wanted him to die.

This would help them recover the Thousand Years Fire Herb. Doing so would reduce the loss of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. They had to get something back.

While they may not gain anything, this would help reduce their fury.

“Kaboom!” At this moment, Tian Xing’s body finally emerged from the black hole. The black light disappeared instantly.

However, his black robes were streaked with dirt.

Furthermore…

The moment Tian Xing emerged, the disciples from both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain both opened their eyes in shock. They could not believe their eyes.

This was because Tian Xing did not emerge ‘carrying a corpse’, which was what they had expected. Instead, he emerged empty-handed.

What was going on?

Both Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples both filled with suspicion.

Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi was still alive?

How could this be possible?

If he was dead, why did Tian Xing not carry his corpse out? In his body, there was a stalk of the Thousand Years Fire Herb.

Questions surfaced in everyone’s mind.

However, Tian Xing did not explain the situation to his disciples. In fact, he seemed to be in a bad mood, an extremely foul mood.

“Fang Zhengzhi, you b*stard. Good job!” Tian Xing looked into the distance. He looked into the distance and stared at a figure, which was in a sorrier state than him. His eyes brimmed with a cold light.

This action by Tian Xing stunned the disciples from both the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

However, they did not remain stunned for long.

Quickly…

They all became shocked. Not only were they shocked, they were also incredulous. These sentiments could clearly be felt among all of them.

“Could it be that he really managed to rush up?!”

“Impossible, how did he do it?”

“Was it a coincidence?”

No one could believe it.

“It was the end of the line for me, but I found a way to live!” Fang Zhengzhi shouted his reply to Tian Xing. At the same time, he answered the doubts that the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples had.

However, as he said that, he looked subconsciously down at the figure clad in a long, pink dress.

Chi Guyan.

Fate had brought Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan together many times.

For example, when he was just six years old, he and Chi Guyan had a fight at the little stream outside the Southern Mountain Village. Afterward, when he was 15 years old, he met Chi Guyan, who wore the white robes of a scholar, at the same stream.

However, if one wished to talk about the first proper time they met…

It was in the Divine Constabulary.

That time, Chi Guyan’s beauty astounded all of the officials of the Northern Lands Five Constabularies. It was then when he and Chi Guyan were forced into a marriage pact under strange circumstances.

When that happened, Fang Zhengzhi declared, “It was the end of the line for me, but I found a way to live.”

The first thing Fang Zhengzhi saw when he crawled out of the black hole was Chi Guyan. This made him think of this plan.

It was very risky…

However, its results satisfied him.

Of course, Fang Zhengzhi had thought about what he could do if the plan failed. The answer was not complicated. Since he could not survive three moves, why not fight?

“You’re at the end of the line, but you found a way to leave?” When Tian Xing heard this, he quietly repeated Fang Zhengzhi’s words under his breath. Then, he started to laugh, “Hahaha! Not bad! You should be proud of yourself for having tricked me!”

“Three moves, you have one left!” Fang Zhengzhi looked down. Victory and defeat rested with the last move. He naturally could not help but be careful.

“That’s right… one last move. Guess I’ll use my full strength!” Tian Xing nodded his head to show that his agreement with Fang Zhengzhi’s words.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples exchanged looks. They wore different expressions on their faces. Some of them were shocked, others appeared to be anticipating something.

After all, if there was just one move left like what Fang Zhengzhi and Tian Xing had said…

What would the results be?

Had it been just now, they would have thought that Fang Zhengzhi was dead meat. However, right now, they started to consider other possibilities.

One move left. What would Tian Xing do?

How would Fang Zhengzhi defend against the last move?

No one could guess the results.

Emperor Lin Mubai and the Xian King Lin Yun were both anxious. They naturally hoped that Fang Zhengzhi could live. There was still hope for him to survive the last move.

The two other emperors next to them were making their own guesses too.

“Can he win?”

“I don’t know. Fang Zhengzhi is visibly injured. He can’t resist another one of Tian Xing’s attack. However, there is a possibility of a miracle!”

“Yes, I don’t know why but I’m hoping for a miracle.”

The two emperors discussed this earnestly. However, they soon fell silent too. This was because Tian Xing had started to move. He did not rush forward but instead, he dusted the dirt off his clothes.

“In all honesty, I’m suddenly curious about you. So, before you die, I want to ask you some questions,” said Tian Xing.

“You can ask me, but I may not answer you,” said Fang Zhengzhi, twitching his mouth. He did not know what objective did Tian Xing have in mind.

Perhaps he was curious, or perhaps he was testing him…

This was not important. The most important thing was that Fang Zhengzhi did not have enough energy to speak because drops of blood were welling up like rainwater in his chest. They were slowly ascending into his mouth.

“Eh, it’s your choice whether you want to answer me or not. I just want to ask you, did you master the Life and Death State of the Dao of Yin Ying before you came to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, or was it during your battle with Wan Lei?” Tian Xing asked. He did not care about Fang Zhengzhi’s attitude.

“If I answer your question, what benefits will I get?” Fang Zhengzhi shot back.

“Hurhur. Of course, you’ll be compensated. If your answer satisfies me, I’ll use only 90% of my strength for my last attack,” replied Tian Xing. It was as if he had anticipated Fang Zhengzhi’s response.

“How many questions do you have?”

“Two.”

“This means that if I answer both your questions satisfactorily. You’ll only use 80% of your strength?”

“Yes, this is what I meant.”

“Before I answer your questions, can I ask you something first?”

“Oh? You want to ask me something? Sure, go ahead!” Tian Xing was slightly confused, but he nodded his head lightly in the end.

“‘Shut up and fight’, do you know this principle?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Tian Xing as he spoke these words calmly.

“…”

At this moment, time appeared to have come to a still. The sun was still obscured while starlight twinkled in the sky.

However, every single Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple looked as if they had all swallowed a fly. If not for Tian Xing, they would have rushed up and beaten Fang Zhengzhi to death.

“What is he thinking?”

“Who the f*ck knows? He’s rude indeed!”

“Despicable! I’m so pissed off!”

The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were all enraged.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples were speechless. They all wore weird expressions on their faces. They did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.

“Hahaha. Interesting, very interesting!” Tian Xing was stunned for a moment. Then, he burst out laughing. However, his laughter this time was cold.

He did not ask any more questions. He did not pause anymore.

He attacked straightaway.

However, unlike what everyone was expecting, Tian Xing did not charge forward straightaway. Instead, he stood where he was and a solid black light shone from his body like water from a fountain.

However, this light did not spread but instead, it solidified as it came into contact with his body. Instantly, it turned into a black armor.

From the looks of it, this armor was similar to the one the red-haired hunk used. The only difference was…

On this armor, there were countless complicated patterns. These patterns were all tiny, but there were many, complicated runes on them.

“It appears that we can tell her that there’s no use waiting.” Cang Yue from the Ling Yun Tower, who had been watching all this while quietly from the crowd, spoke as a light glinted in her eyes.

When Mu Qingfeng saw Tian Xing’s armor, his expression changed too. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words.

“Shameless thief, use all your powers! Tian Xing has unleashed his Blood Source!” Chi Guyan, who had been biting down on her lips to keep silent, suddenly opened her mouth and spoke.

Her bright eyes shone like stars in the night sky. In it, one could see many multi-colored lights shining. However, the light disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared.

“Blood Source?” Fang Zhengzhi’s expression froze. He did not understand the significance of these two words. However, he knew that if it forced Chi Guyan to open her mouth to speak, it must be pretty powerful.

All his powers?

Chapter 683: An Insane Explosion, His Trump Card

Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan who was below him. He felt slightly awkward and he did not why Chi Guyan has so much faith in him.

Motherf*cker…

“This b*tch’s eyes are so bright, but can’t she see that I’m already using my full strength?”

“What does she mean by ‘all my powers’? I’ve been using all my powers!”

Fang Zhengzhi was not dumb. When fighting against someone like Tian Xing, he could not afford to hold back or wait for a chance to strike.

One only held back if one fought against a rookie.

Fang Zhengzhi wanted to retort but he did not know what to say. He quietly looked at Chi Guyan for a while and suddenly, he felt as if he had not used his full strength.

Of course, this was different from what he previously thought.

This was because his full strength here referred to a treasure.

“Let’s do it!” Fang Zhengzhi gritted his teeth. After all, this was the last move. If he managed to resist it, he would live. If not, he would die. Nothing else really mattered.

Instantly, a powerful fighting intent rose into his mouth as if someone had given him an adrenaline shot. All of the pain he felt disappeared from his body.

It was very encouraging.

Then…

Fang Zhengzhi moved too.

He lashed out quickly with his hands. Then, as his hands moved about crazily, ‘treasures’ fell from the heaven like rain.

Instantly, the light from these ‘treasures’ illuminated the dark sky. This light was truly able to light everything up as it fell like rain down onto the earth.

“What is that?”

“It must be some powerful treasure!”

“I never thought that this person will have such a powerful treasure!”

The disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Treasure looked at the rain of light falling from the sky. They were all shocked.

Quickly, their shock was replaced by incredulity.

This was because, as the light fell, they discovered the truth behind the light. However, they could not accept it.

“They appear to be… nails?!”

“Other than nails, there are also many flying needles…”

“Senior, I think I saw a beast trap. Oh wait, two beast traps!”

“…”

Instantly, the air turned solid.

What could be more humiliating than attacking the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the five sects of the Holy Region, Tian Xing, with needles, nails and beast traps?

Nothing!

Absolutely nothing!

In fact, there seemed to be no end to the nails, needles, beast traps, knives, daggers, and other things that Fang Zhengzhi was throwing out.

“Ding ding ding!” A clear noise sounded next to Tian Xing. This was the noise of metal hitting against metal. It was pleasing to hear, but it did not match the current atmosphere.

“This b*stard…” Tian Xing was dazed. He looked at the dots of light that were falling down around him. Instantly, he was speechless too.

He was not the only one…

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all speechless too. They were stunned into silence by Fang Zhengzhi’s ‘bravery’.

They were not alone. On the Heaven Academic Altar, Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, and the other two emperors and princes, as well as Mu Qingfeng who was normally very calm, were all stunned.

“They really are nails?!”

“Why does he have all these things on him?”

“What does he want to do?”

No one knew what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, and no one knew what he wanted to do. All they knew was that he was throwing them out very quickly. He showed no sign of stopping.

“Kaboom!”

“Kaboom!”

“…”

Just when everyone was speechless, a huge explosion boomed next to Tian Xing. It was the sound of the earth being split apart.

“Such sharp needles!”

“No, these aren’t normal needles!”

“They definitely cannot be. They were forged specially. In terms of sharpness or material used, they are definitely exceptional. They are like high-quality weapons!”

“But they’re still just nails…”

“Yes…”

The explosions that rang out naturally made the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain realized that these nails were not ordinary. However, were they useful?

No. Not at all.

“Are they completely useless?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at the ‘treasures’ that bounced off Tian Xing without hurting him and he was speechless too.

His treasures did not come about easily.

These nails, in particular, were of a very high quality. He spent a lot of effort obtaining them. He stole them from the Heavenly Oasis Saint’s treasure vault and then, he forged them with much difficulty into nails.

As for the others…

His razor-sharp hidden weapons were able to kill someone in the Heavenly Reflection State and Supernatural State without any problem at all.

However, Tian Xing lived up to his name!

“I can’t hurt him, but I can wear him down!” Fang Zhengzhi did not give up. After one whole year, he had many treasures on him.

He continued to throw treasures rapidly with his hands. Countless nails rained down. Among them, there was a black, technologically-advanced ‘bun’.

“Kaboom!” When the black ‘bun’ landed, it truly shocked the disciples from the two sects.

This was because it gave off a blindingly-white light, which inflicted a prickly pain on their eyes.

“What is that?”

“My eyes!”

“Cough cough cough! What’s that smell?!”

After the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had their eyes pierced by this blinding light, they felt an unbearably thick smoke assaulting their nostrils.

Instantly, light shone everywhere and smoke rose.

“It seems that advanced technology has its uses!” Fang Zhengzhi looked at the Heaven Academic Altar, which was now completely shrouded by smoke and light, and felt a sense of satisfaction.

He continued chucking.

He took this chance when everyone’s eyes were closed and the entire Heaven Academic Altar was shrouded in smoke, to continue throwing objects!

“What other stuff does this shameless guy have?”

“It can’t be! He still has so many objects after throwing so many already? He really likes ‘trash’!”

“Eh? What’s that?”

A light started to shine on the bodies of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples. This forced the thick smoke away from them. One of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked as shocked as if he had discovered a new continent.

This action naturally made the other disciples raise their heads. Quickly, they saw a huge black shadow falling from the sky.

It was big and it dropped quickly.

“Kaboom!”

The huge black shadow landed on Tian Xing’s head. Then, it rolled to one corner.

However, as the huge black shadow rolled, the entire ground started to tremble before cracking apart. Splits appeared in the ground like the patterns on a turtle shell.

It was a shocking scene.

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples who had just been mocking Fang Zhengzhi for throwing his ‘trash’ opened their mouths wide in shock. They looked in disbelief at the black figure, which was tilted to the side.

It was a huge bronze-green door.

“Is that the Near… Near-Life Gate?!”

“Impossible! He threw a Near-Life Gate?!”

“Why does he have a Near-Life Gate?”

Everyone looked instantly at the Near-Life Gate, which gave off an ancient aura. They could not believe what they were seeing.

“Eh? Near-Life Gate?” Fang Zhengzhi suddenly felt awkward. He looked at the door that he threw out accidentally, which bounced off Tian Xing’s head and was now lying on its side. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Oh right…

This was embarrassing.

After the Battle of the Flame Capital City, Fang Zhengzhi personally told Emperor Lin Mubai that the Near-Life Gate was stolen by Qian Wu as the latter retreated. He did not manage to retrieve it.

What he really did was to hide the Near-Life Gate in the Vast World.

“Will the emperor blame me?” Fang Zhengzhi could not help but look at the Heaven Academic Altar, where Emperor Lin Mubai and the Xian King Lin Yun stood dumbfounded.

They did not seem to be scolding me.

It seemed that the emperor really had the magnanimity of an emperor.

Fang Zhengzhi did not think anymore. After all, it was no time for explanation. This was because he suddenly thought of a plan as he looked at the Near-Life Gate.

This plan made his eyes shine.

“Oh right, I still have a Near-Life Gate. This is a supreme treasure of the Holy Barbarian Empire!” Fang Zhengzhi naturally would not use the Near-Life Gate like a hammer, which was what he had done in the Flame Capital City. Now, he had mastered the Near-Life Dao and hence, he knew the uses of this supreme treasure.

He stopped hesitating.

Fang Zhengzhi’s hand shone with a six-colored light. Then, he cried out, “Near-Life Gate, open!”

Then, as he shouted, the tilted Near-Life Gate started to shine with an ancient green light. The originally-closed Near-Life Gate started to open.

“Clonk, clonk!”

“Ah wu….”

“Boom!”

Dots of faint light started to shine from inside the Near-Life Gate. At the same time, he could hear the roars of beasts coming from it.

“It actually opened?” Fang Zhengzhi was delighted. If he could summon eight to ten Demon Kings from it, it would be excellent.

“Oh no, he opened the Near-Life Gate!”

“This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion!”

“He can’t open the Near-Life Gate here!”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples saw the Near-Life Gate light up, and when they heard the roars of beasts from inside, their faces turned.

At this moment…

A figure rushed forth. His long white robes were very eye-catching in the thick smoke. His snow-white hair and beard looked like those of an immortal.

Of course, Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was no immortal, but the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, Mu Qingfeng.

However, he did not know what he was doing.

Just as he was pondering this question, he saw Mu Qingfeng standing in front of the Near-Life Gate. His snow-white robes billowed in the wind.

He slammed down with his palm.

“Boom!” A dull sound rang out.

It was as if it came from a primordial clock. The sky and the very dimension shook. It was a powerful palm.

What was even more shocking was that the Near-Life Gate, after being struck by this palm, started to shine with a six-colored ball of light. Something appeared to be expelled from the Near-Life Gate.

Then…

“Crackle crackle!” A sound could be heard.

The half-opened Near-Life Gate was forced shut. The light disappeared and the roars of beasts were gone too.

“…” Fang Zhengzhi opened his mouth.

He wanted to curse, “Old man Mu! Are you helping the enemy?” However, when the words reached his tongue, he swallowed it once more.

Shutting the Near-Life Gate with just one palm?

Indeed, Elder Mu had been concealing his strength.

He was in the Sage State too. However, this disparity in strength was far too wide.

Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. However, this did not last long. Firstly, he knew that Mu Qingfeng did not want the Heaven Dao Pavilion to experience another calamity. Hence, he could not permit it.

Secondly, he knew that while he was someone who could easily kill someone who had just entered the Rebirth State, Mu Qingfeng was the leader of one of the five sects of the Holy Region, the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion. He was definitely no pushover.

Thirdly, he did not have much time to consider this problem anymore. This was because Tian Xing had completed his preparations.

“You little b*stard, I’ll kill you!” Tian Xing’s voice boomed. His face was very black, like a thundercloud.

To be fair, this was not his fault.

How would the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain feel if one attacked him with nails, needles, knives, daggers, beast traps and other assorted objects?

How would the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain feel if someone threw a Near-Life Gate on his head?

He felt humiliated!

This crossed his bottom line.

Tian Xing did not say it, but the rage in his heart burned like an intense ball of fire. His head was so hot that it was almost smoking.

As for the flashbang that Fang Zhengzhi threw out, it only made him angrier…

However, no one knew.

What everyone could be sure of now was that Tian Xing was fuming.

“Kaboom!” Tian Xing’s body sank suddenly and an explosion rang out from underneath his feet. The gravel under his feet was shattered instantly and turned into powder.

Then, his clenched fists started to make the air crackle.

The solidifying black armor on him had finally solidified. Golden runes shone on top of it, giving off rays of metallic light.

At this moment, Tian Xing’s tiger-like eyes were incredibly black. A terrifying aura could be felt from his body, which rushed straight into the sky. He seemed to be the only one in this world.

Chapter 684: Baptism by the Holy Words, An Unexpected Change

“Oh, so this is what they meant by ‘go big or go home’?” Fang Zhengzhi felt the immense aura from underneath him as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He felt as if his very body was about to be burned.

Evidently, the only effect of using ‘all his powers’ was to further enrage Tian Xing.

“Wait a minute!” Fang Zhengzhi blurted out.

“B*stard, what do you want to say? This is your last chance!” Just when Tian Xing was about to rush toward him, he stopped. However, his aura did not change.

“Pavilion Leader Mu, you stopped me from opening my Near-Life Door, which is tantamount to helping Tian Xing. If that’s the case, shouldn’t you help me once? This will be much fairer.” Fang Zhengzhi did not say these to Tian Xing but instead, he spoke to Mu Qingfeng, who slammed his Near-Life Gate shut.

“Help him once? This guy threw his rubbish everywhere and messed up our Heaven Dao Pavilion. If we don’t go after him, it’s already a form of kindness. Now, he wants master to help him?”

“Heaven know what will happen to the Heaven Dao Pavilion should the Near-Life Gates be opened!”

“Shameless indeed!”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi’s words, their faces changed as they criticized him non-stop.

Mu Qingfeng’s face turned black too. He looked at the Near-Life Gate, which was closed, as he fell silent.

Fang Zhengzhi’s words were no doubt shameless.

However, they were not unreasonable. Yet, this was the Heaven Dao Pavilion. How could Mu Qingfeng allow Fang Zhengzhi to open the Near-Life Gate here?

As for helping Fang Zhengzhi secretly…

Impossible!

“If you can live, I’ll grant you one thing!” Mu Qingfeng waved his robes and finally gave Fang Zhengzhi an answer.

“So we’ll do it like this? Fine!” Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head.

He naturally knew that Mu Qingfeng would not allow the Near-Life Gate to open in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. However, he could not be blamed for this. Naturally, they still had to talk terms.

Whether he could live or not would now depend on his fate.

“B*stard, do you have anything else to say? My last move will kill you quickly!” Tian Xing was getting impatient.

“What must come… will eventually come!” Fang Zhengzhi sighed. He felt that at this point, his life was difficult indeed. He could not run and he could not fight…

Since there was nothing he could do, he had to fight with all his might. Other than that, he had no other option.

At this point, Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. He clenched his fists and he pointed his Traceless Sword at Tian Xing. If they were to fight, he could not lose to Tian Xing in terms of aura.

So what if he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region? To beat a dog… Wait a minute, he was no dog, and he had no master.

All he could say was a barefooted person was not afraid of someone who wore shoes.

“Bring it on! Don’t think I’ll be f*cking scared of you just because you have a crappy helmet. Let me tell you, I have yet to use my full strength!” As Fang Zhengzhi said that, he looked at Tian Xing disrespectfully.

“Crappy helmet?!”

“He dares to call the armor Tian Xing made with his Blood Source a ‘crappy helmet’?”

“He’s unbelievably arrogant and shameless!”

“Wait a minute, he said that he has yet to use his full strength. Can it be real?”

“Can we trust his words?”

When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples heard Fang Zhengzhi’s words, their look of disgust turned into anger as they cursed and swore at him.

Insulting Tian Xing was worse than insulting them.

“Master, kill this arrogant b*stard!” The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain cried out.

“Motherf*cker! Even if I lose, I can’t appear scared!” Fang Zhengzhi’s mouth twitched. He looked arrogantly at the incensed Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

Then…

He moved too!

“You snooze, you lose!” Fang Zhengzhi thought. Before Tian Xing could attack, Fang Zhengzhi unleashed his attack with all his might. Instantly, a purple dragon coiled around his body.

The sword roared. The dragon roared.

The moment Fang Zhengzhi descended, his body started to swirl rapidly and he fused with the purple dragon. He was now a purple draconic streak.

“He attacked first!”

“Is he playing some trick?”

“It must be!”

When the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples saw the descending purple dragon, they were all terribly shocked.

Tian Xing’s eyes opened wide too.

He never expected Fang Zhengzhi to attack him first. In his mind, he thought that Fang Zhengzhi would try and buy time for himself.

However, now that Fang Zhengzhi came at him, he stopped hesitating and attacked straight away.

Instantly, Tian Xing disappeared from where he was. He was so fast that the naked eye could not see him.

“Die!” He roared in anger.

“Bring it on!” Fang Zhengzhi roared back furiously. At the same time, a cerulean light appeared at the tip of his sword.

However, the moment the cerulean light appeared, he suddenly felt as if something humongous had charged into the space in front of him.

The force of impact seemed capable of tearing the space apart.

Then…

There was no ‘then’.

This was because Tian Xing was already in front of him.

He appeared between the cerulean light and him. The suppressive power of his black armor was akin to a mountain.

In particular, much of it came from the golden runes on his armor.

Complex and ancient. However, they seemed to encompass all creations.

Fang Zhengzhi’s body remained where he was. Purple light continued to shine on his blade. However, he could not stab with it.

He felt disorientated. When he looked at the golden runes, he felt as if they could not be violated. It was akin to a mortal man meeting a god.

Cloud patterns?

Golden runes?

Before he took the ‘Heaven Sage Dao Tablet’ from the top of Cang Ling Mountain, he saw cloud patterns and golden runes engraved onto the walls of the huge palace.

After he took the tablet, he saw them again.

For example, he saw it on Wu Feng’s emerald-green flute. He also saw it on Emperor Lin Mubai’s carriage. When Wu Yuer transformed, he saw the cloud patterns too.

However, he had seen someone who could make cloud patterns and golden runes appear on his armor like Tian Xing, who had combined his Origin Energy and bloodline.

Of course, he should have spoken more with the Heavenly Oasis Saint about the Holy Region and the Sage State.

Sadly, the Heavenly Oasis Saint was too utilitarian. He would only tell Fang Zhengzhi more about the Sage State and the Holy Land if he joined the Shadow Sect.

At that time, he was only in the Supernatural State.

He thought that the Holy Region and the Sage State were distant objects in the future. There was no use concerning himself with them then. Hence, he was rather reluctant.

He could not stab him

What the h*ll!

Fang Zhengzhi wanted someone to tell him if he should continue stabbing or run. This was a very cruel but very real problem.

However, this problem did not bother him too much.

In other words, he did not want to think about it anymore.

This was because Tian Xing’s fist had started to move. It was just a simple fist and completely uncomplicated. Furthermore, it was not fast.

However, Fang Zhengzhi’s forehead was wet with sweat.

For the first time, he felt the terrifying disparity in strength. He felt like a one-year-old boy facing a mountain-like beast.

The disparity in strength was far too wide. He could not even block a single blow.

“Hell Near-Life Chains!” Fang Zhengzhi could sense how puny he was in front of Fang Zhengzhi. However, no matter how puny he was, he had to try.

There was no other reason for it.

This was for survival!

“Kacha! Kacha!” The moment Fang Zhengzhi said that, chains appeared in the air and dropped them.

They were red, blue, green…

Very fast!

Instantly, they wrapped themselves around Tian Xing.

This made Tian Xing’s fist stop for just a short while. However, the moment that happened, the golden runes on Tian Xing’s armor started to move and the Hell Near-Life Chains started to shatter.

They turned into dots of starlight.

“Isn’t this way too strong?!” At this moment, there was nothing Fang Zhengzhi could do. His Heaven Dao, Near-Life Dao, and Traceless Sword all could not hurt Tian Xing.

Of course, he could still try his Dao of Yin Yang.

However, Tian Xing did not give him the time to do so. A thick black light started to shine. Then, Tian Xing’s fist became extremely fast.

It went from slow to fast.

This process seemed very natural. It was like the process of birth to death for all creations. One could not find anything wrong it at all.

“Slick!”

His punch was like a sword.

It was not as impactful as a mountain. However, Tian Xing’s fist was like a sword which pierced the water surface as it went straight into Fang Zhengzhi’s body.

One punch.

It entered from the front of his chest and exited from the back.

This punch brimmed with power. Every single bit of energy he had was concentrated in this one punch, which was focused on the tip of his fist. This explained how it accelerated.

Fresh blood flowed forth.

It rained down from the sky and landed on everyone’s head.

“Fang Zhengzhi!” Emperor Lin Mubai’s voice rang out.

“Prince Cang!” Lin Yun, the Xian King, shouted. His face was contorted with agony.

“It appears that no miracle happened!” The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the blood that rained down from the sky. They knew that everything was set. No miracle would take place.

“Excellent! He’s finally dead!” The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were all joyous. When they saw the punch enter Fang Zhengzhi’s chest, they knew that it was the end for him.

Silence. A very short silence.

After a short silence, Tian Xing’s eyes regained their calm. It went from black to becoming as clear as water.

“If I guessed correctly, your heart is on the right, right?” Tian Xing looked at his fist, which was completely in Fang Zhengzhi’s chest, and said confidently.

“You noticed even this. No wonder you are the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, cough…” Fang Zhengzhi coughed and spoke.

However, he was slightly confused too.

This was because he did not know why Tian Xing’s fist would enter the right side of his chest. This was completely unlike what Tian Xing had said about killing him.

Right?

Could it kill me?

These questions surfaced in his mind.

Now, however, when he heard Tian Xing’s words, he finally recognized that in this world, miracles could happen when they seemed the most improbable.

“I have to admit that you’re a genius indeed. Furthermore, your body is unique. Your heart is actually on your right. Even I almost fell for your trick. However, there’s nothing I can do about it. The Thousand Years Fire Herb does not belong to you. Hence, I’ll take your life!” When Tian Xing saw Fang Zhengzhi admitting it, a smile crept across his face.

At the same time, his black armor slowly dissolved into a thick black light as it re-entered his body.

He used his Blood Source!

Even Tian Xing would need some time to prepare. Doing this was extremely draining. If he had a choice, he would not do so. Tian Xing would only use this move as a last resort.

Furthermore, 30% of his Origin Energy had been drained by Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan. This made him slightly tired.

However, he could not show that now.

This was because…

He was in the Heaven Dao Pavilion.

Other than taking back the Thousand Years Fire Herb from Fang Zhengzhi, he also had to bring his 300 disciples back. How could he continue to let himself being drained?

What about Fang Zhengzhi?

His punch pierced a hole in his right heart. How could he still strike back? Even if he were to ambush him, Tian Xing would not need to use his Blood Source.

“Kaboom!”

At this moment, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Unlike ordinary bolts of lighting, this was golden.

“Zap!”

The dark and starry night sky was split apart by this golden bolt of lightning. It was as if a huge curtain had been pulled back to reveal an opening.

This scene caught everyone’s attention.

“A golden bolt of lightning?!”

“Can it be…”

“This is the Heavenly Prophecy! The prophecy is here!”

“Indeed, the Heavenly Prophecy lands in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. It seems that the target of this prophecy is going to be Senior Chi Guyan!”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples looked at the sky, which had been split open. Then, they looked at the bright light that shone from it. Their eyes brimmed with anticipation.

As for Fang Zhengzhi…

No one really paid attention to him. After all, to them, he was a dead man. Who would care about a dead man?

“Congratulations, senior!”

“You can finally receive the blessing of heaven!”

“The Chosen One, Senior Chi Guyan, is about to experience a Baptism by the Holy Words!”

Everyone stared at Chi Guyan. When they looked at her, their eyes brimmed with divine reverence.

Chapter 685: Insane Rebirth Plate

A light fell and the black night was ripped apart.

This scene naturally made Tian Xing look subconsciously at Chi Guyan.

Her long pink dress was extremely bright and eye-catching under the light. Her beauty came from within, alone and solitary.

However, from her expression, Tian Xing could see that she was not joyous. In fact, she was very calm. There seemed to be no happiness at all.

Most importantly…

Chi Guyan did not look at the sky. Instead, she looked at herself. To be precise, she looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who was in front of her.

“Could it be that she hasn’t given up yet?” Tian Xing was slightly shocked. He did not know what was the relationship between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan.

However, he knew that if she was able to stuff the Thousand Years Fire Herb into his chest, their relationship must be special.

Right now…

The Heavenly Prophecy was about to descend.

It was about to land on the Heaven Dao Pavilion’s Heaven Academic Altar. From a certain perspective, it confirmed Chi Guyan as the Chosen One.

No!

“I can’t waste any more time!”

Tian Xing made up his mind. He did not know what would happen after the Heavenly Prophecy landed. However, he had to make his preparations to guard against the massive increase in strength Chi Guyan would experience after the Baptism by the Holy Words.

Right now, much of his energy had been drained.

At this moment…

It was not a smart decision to be in the Heaven Dao Pavilion. After all, no one knew if Chi Guyan would seek revenge for Fang Zhengzhi.

Take the pill!

Take the pill instantly!

When he thought about this, Tian Xing stopped hesitating. He turned around and looked at Fang Zhengzhi once again. At the same time, his other hand formed a claw as he prepared to reach into his chest to grab the pill.

However…

The moment he turned his head.

His bulged and turned as round as a circle.

As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, Tian Xing was usually extremely calm and stable. His calm was superhuman. However, at this moment, he could not stay calm anymore.

“Mmm!” A powerful energy, as vast as the ocean, sounded. It was very close to Tian Xing and seemed to take place right in front of him.

This was something he could not have expected.

“How can this be possible?” Tian Xing could not believe it. He dared not believe it. He no longer thought that Fang Zhengzhi was capable of ambushing him.

With a hole in his right heart, how could he control the aura of heaven and earth?

Was he a demon?

Even if he was a demon, he should follow the natural order. Tian Xing was dumbstruck, but this was not the reason why.

In fact, the scene in front of him shocked him more.

A wheel of light spun non-stop and was split into six parts. Every single part was round and there were six round shapes. They were centered around Fang Zhengzhi’s right hand and they spun non-stop, forming a huge wheel of light.

Most importantly…

On top of the wheel of light, there were two balls of light which were illuminated.

One was blue and the other one was green. The blue one was as blue as the sky. It was almost cerulean in color. The green one was emerald-green and crystal-clear.

At this moment, Tian Xing felt disorientated. He felt as if the wheel of light in Fang Zhengzhi’s hand was not ordinary. It was a world, a world which contained millions of beings.

“I have been putting up with you for way too f*cking long!” Fang Zhengzhi’s voice rang out next to Tian Xing’s ears. He sounded infuriated and determined.

In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was enraged.

Was it not just one stalk of the Thousand Years Fire Herb?

Motherf*cker! He did not want to eat it. Instead, Chi Guyan forcibly stuffed it into his mouth. He almost choked to death on it.

Treasure?

Fang Zhengzhi did not care if it was a treasure or not. He suffered so much and endured so much pain. He already ate it. If he wanted him to spit it out, he would.

Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain?

I want to hit the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!

“Boom!” A deafening explosion rang out in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, which shook the entire heaven. An enraged fist struck out with it.

Fang Zhengzhi attacked.

Tian Xing opened his eyes wide in shock. He stood dazedly where he was. Just as he stood there in disbelief, a fist, wrapped by the Rebirth Plate, landed on his face.

At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt an immense sense of satisfaction. He did not care if he was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain or whether he was one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region.

One punch. One rage-filled punch where he used all his strength.

Fang Zhengzhi naturally did not believe that this one punch could knock Tian Xing down. However, even if he lived, it would surely make him bleed.

“Slick!” This was the sound of a fist exiting a body. It sounded exactly the same as when a fist entered it.

At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt an intense pain. While Tian Xing’s punch, which pierced through his body, was not enough to kill him, the agony was real.

Blood flew everywhere.

However, Fang Zhengzhi smiled gleefully. This was because the blood did not just belong to him. It was mixed with Tian Xing’s blood, which he spat out from his mouth.

“Kaboom!”

Tian Xing’s body landed heavily on the ground. His huge black robes were ripped apart and his nine little crucible-shaped hairpins fell all over the ground.

This scene took place very quickly.

From the moment the bolt of lightning cut across the sky to the moment when Fang Zhengzhi knocked Tian Xing back with his punch, it took only two breaths.

Silence. A deathly silence.

No one knew what had happened. However, they could all see the huge hole in the ground made from Tian Xing’s falling figure.

This was the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain…

He lay in the middle of the hole. The corners of his mouth were blood-streaked and his eyes bulged. He wore a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

“Master!”

“What happened?!”

“How can this be possible?!”

The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain were all shocked by this scene. After all, the person who lay in the hole was Tian Xing, their leader and one of the most powerful beings in the Holy Region.

Who could hurt Tian Xing?

The Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples could not believe it.

They were not alone. Even the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, and Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, and the two other emperors and their sons could not believe it.

“Tian Xing was knocked down!?”

The moment the golden bolt of lightning appeared, their hearts brimmed with anticipation and respect. When Tian Xing was struck down, all they felt was disbelief.

When they looked at the sky once more, they saw a figure whose mouth was stained with blood and whose right chest was bloody. This shock turned into horror.

“What is that?”

“Six circles formed a wheel of light?! Pure cerulean and emerald-green…”

“What Dao is this?”

Many eyes bulged and many mouths were wide open. Everyone gazed at the spinning wheel of light.

Horror, suspicion, shock…

“What is that item? It knocked master down?!”

“How can this be possible?!”

“Isn’t that guy dead? How can he be so powerful?!”

The disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain could not believe it. However, this was the truth. Tian Xing lay in the hole in the ground. Fang Zhengzhi floated in mid-air.

“Re…Rebirth Plate, this is the Rebirth Plate!” Tian Xing’s mouth continued to bleed but he ignored it.

This was because Fang Zhengzhi’s round plate of light shocked him utterly. His heart turned cold and his back was drenched with sweat.

“What’s a Rebirth Plate?!”

“What… is it?!”

“I’ve never heard of it!”

“I… I think I saw records of it. It says that the Rebirth Plate is an assumption or a hypothesis. It can’t be something real?”

“Assumption?! Assumption! It…”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples heard Tian Xing’s words, their shock was indescribable with mere words.

“Rebirth Plate! This b*stard… I should have guessed it. He has mastered the Heaven Dao and the Near-Life Dao. I should have guessed it long ago…” Mu Qingfeng mumbled to himself in shock.

He was extremely worked-up. As the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, he could not help but feel his body trembling.

“Shameless thief…” Chi Guyan’s eyes shone colorfully. Dots of starlight congregated together. Her voice was not loud, but one could see that her face was redder than usual and her chest heaved up and down.

…

Fang Zhengzhi looked at the many shocked expressions blow him.

While he heard the disciples from the two sects, as well as what Tian Xing had said, he felt that their focus…

Their focus was wrong.

“Don’t they care about me defeating Tian Xing at all? Or, in other words, I managed to survive three blows from him.”

Of course, luck played a part.

However, from a certain perspective, luck was tantamount to strength.

Why did all these people care only about his Rebirth Plate? Was this item so shocking? In fact, it had no use whatsoever.

Fang Zhengzhi was not trying to be modest.

He personally tried it before. He tried to assess the difference between one hand with the Rebirth Plate and one hand without it by shattering rocks.

His result was…

Of course, it made him more powerful, but not significantly so.

This was why he never used his Rebirth Plate before. After all, it took up a lot of energy and it did not increase his strength by that much. It was rather pointless.

Of course, the situation just now was different.

Fang Zhengzhi had one chance.

Furthermore, it was his only chance.

At that moment, even if he used his Heaven Dao or Near-Life Dao, they did not give him the satisfaction of punching Tian Xing in the face.

It was effective.

Hence, even though the Rebirth Plate did not make him significantly more powerful, Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate to use it. After all, after he punched Tian Xing, he could not strike back, right?

He used up all three moves.

This was what Fang Zhengzhi thought.

However, there was a small ‘problem’.

“Kaboom!” The sound of the ground shattering could be heard. Then, a black figure rose from the ground and charged toward Fang Zhengzhi rapidly.

Tian Xing.

No one expected Tian Xing to strike once more. After all, he made a promise to attack only thrice.

However, he did charge toward Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, his body brimmed with a powerful killing intent. His eyes, which were normally calm, turned dark and murderous.

A change.

An instantaneous change.

“Die!” Tian Xing roared coldly. His messy hair danced in the wind and his torn robes started to shine with light once more.

He did not know if Fang Zhengzhi could use his Origin Energy. He also did not know how did Fang Zhengzhi end up with the Rebirth Plate.

He had doubts over many things.

However, these were no longer important.

This was because he knew the significance of the Rebirth Plate, as well as what it meant for Fang Zhengzhi to live past today.

Fang Zhengzhi was shameless, but his body brimmed with a powerful aura. These all told him that if he lived, he would be a huge threat which must be eliminated right away.

“Tian Xing, stop! Fang Zhengzhi only had four months left to live!” Mu Qingfeng’s voice rang out the moment Tian Xing dashed into the air.

He wanted to stop him but it was way too late. He was too far away from Fang Zhengzhi compared to Tian Xing.

Hence, he could only reveal the ‘truth’, hoping that it would stop Tian Xing.

In fact, he never expected that the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, one of the five sects of the Holy Region, Tian Xing, would break his promise in front of more than 1000 disciples from the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

However, he knew what he was thinking.

This was because, if the roles swapped and he did not know that Fang Zhengzhi only had four months to live, he may make the same decision.

After all, someone who controlled the Rebirth Plate had immense potential. When this person matured, how terrifying would he be?

No one knew.

Tian Xing and Fang Zhengzhi were now nemeses. Hence, he could not expect Tian Xing to cast this hatred away so easily. He knew that Tian Xing would rather have his name besmirched than to let Fang Zhengzhi live.

“Zap!” Another bolt of lightning dashed across the sky. The dark sky was now split completely open. A golden light shone down.

Chapter 686: Divine Prophecy, the Complete Awakening!

It was a golden glow shimmering in the darkness; glorious, full of warmth as if dusk has turned to dawn.

But Tian Xing wouldn’t care for such a thing.

Of course, he had heard Mu Qingfeng, but he couldn’t be sure of its truth. And furthermore, he had already done it – how could he possibly stop?

“You have less than four months to live? Who cares? You’ll die now even if you only had one day left!” Tian Xing’s glare grew colder by the second, reaching peak intensity in no time.

“The Holy Region… is so cool indeed!” Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze inched towards Tian Xing before he suddenly revealed a smirk.

What have we learned from centuries of bloodshed?

The world had no shortage of crafty, wicked people. But in times of chaos, that wasn’t so important; what truly mattered was if one was strong or weak.

It was survival of the fittest.

In the chaotic Holy Region, the five sects reigned in each of their parts.

He knew the cruelty of the situation in the Holy Region, and that they obeyed the strong and powerful. But he still felt he had underestimated the Holy Region.

Tian Xing went against his word.

It was even without any hesitation, although he commanded the respect of the five sects and his words held enormous power.

But when his survival was threatened and he saw impending disaster, his decisiveness was terrifying.

This was the hallmark of a formidable hero.

One that ruled his own piece of the Holy Region.

Of course, Fang Zhengzhi did not feel that Tian Xing’s actions were wrong, because it was part of survival in a chaotic world, like the Holy Region.

A mighty punch was delivered to his right chest.

A normal person wouldn’t have been able to withstand this blow. However, not only did Fang Zhengzhi tolerate it, he charged toward Tian Xing.

Blood was gushing out of his body.

The Rebirth Plate was spinning on his fist as blue and green rays interweaved. It shimmered and transformed into a giant, all-encompassing circle.

“Charge!” Fang Zhengzhi bellowed before immediately dashing toward Tian Xing. He didn’t bother faking an attack, for he no longer had the energy to.

This punch was simple and direct, neither fancy nor elegant. But it was packed with all the strength Fang Zhengzhi could muster.

“Boom!” It was a deafening blast. Then came the sounds of bones cracking. Faint, but crisp as ever.

Fang Zhengzhi was stunned.

And so were all the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

Everyone’s attention was focused on Fang Zhengzhi’s fists.

The very fists that…

Once again landed on Tian Xing’s face.

This felt very real… At least Fang Zhengzhi could feel the force of his fist shattering Tian Xing’s cheekbones. Yet, he didn’t understand…

How could he successfully deliver this blow on Tian Xing?

Was it luck? But how would luck be any factor against an opponent of absolute superiority in power? Could it be that his own powers had suddenly increased? That’s impossible. He was seriously injured. How would he have any boost in power?

Fang Zhengzhi was baffled. And so were the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

But all of them came to a realization very quickly. Tian Xing had not retaliated.

Not only that, his hands were tucked behind him as if he was tied up.

What a strange sight.

What was even more peculiar was that Tian Xing didn’t reveal any painful or surprised expression.

He slowly turned behind and looked at his hands.

“Have you completely awakened finally?” Tian Xing was bleeding at the edge of his lips and his glare was grave as ever. It was apparent that he wasn’t surprised, but extremely enraged.

And yet, these words had taken aback the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Well, not merely taken aback, but deeply astounded.

They finally saw a faint glow circling Tian Xing’s hands. It was thin but very long.

From his arms down to his palms, it grew substantially thicker.

Most importantly, the faint glow had armored scales. Pink armored scales, good as new, it wasn’t too obvious but definitely visible.

“Completely awakened? What the hell are you talking about?” Fang Zhengzhi, too, was shocked as he saw the glow of armored scales enveloping Chi Guyan. Or rather, more specifically, it was around the body of the lady with long, black hair behind Chi Guyan.

This was indeed a peculiar scene.

This lady… had a tail.

“Senior Chi Guyan’s pulse had completely awakened!”

“Indeed, is this the work of fate? Or was she baptized by the Divine Message?”

“No, the Divine Message hasn’t yet arrived. It must be the work of the Thousand Years Fire Herb that completely awakened her pulse!”

“Or maybe she had felt the aura of the Divine Message!”

Unlike Fang Zhengzhi, when the Heavenly Dao Pavilion disciples saw the glow linking with the apparition behind Chi Guyan, they were thrilled with joy.

But the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were different.

They weren’t excited at all. On the contrary, they were filled with fear, their expressions awkward and strange.

“Indeed, it wasn’t an accident!” Cang Yue was initially surprised. Well, no one could remain calm upon seeing the Rebirth Plate on Fang Zhengzhi’s hand. But at this moment, she was composed as ever, with her eyes locked on Chi Guyan. “Chosen One, she is the Chosen One! With her pulse completely awakened at seventeen years old, so what if the Rebirth Plate was activated? Still, only four more months to live!”

Cang Yue then turned to Fang Zhengzhi. Upon seeing his bleeding chest, she smirked.

Then, a ray of light of shimmering stars emerged from Cang Yue’s body.

It shot up toward the sky.

It happened suddenly but didn’t last for long. In a moment, it had vanished.

Cang Yue had disappeared together with the glow.

“She left?” Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan felt a little weird. After all, Cang Yue had arrived together with him and Wan Lei of Ying Yang Hall.

But now, Wan Lei had died and Cang Yue had left.

This made him shake his head in disappointment: “The young are impulsive indeed!”

…

Cang Yue’s disappearance did not attract much attention; after all, everyone had their eyes locked on Chi Guyan.

Her long, pink skirt emitted a faint glow.

And then, Chi Guyan suddenly moved.

Without a saying a word, nor any effort in criticizing Tian Xing’s behavior, she charged from beneath, her bright eyes gleamed with vibrant colors.

In her glamorous glory and aura of arrogance lay a sense of unfettered, pristine elegance.

It was especially so for the giant apparition behind her. Long, silky hair cascaded like a waterfall; a commanding presence emanated from within.

“Guyan, be careful!” Mu Qingfeng’s voice seemed worried. He shot up and transformed into a ray of light in an attempt to stop her.

But it was too late.

Because Chi Guyan was equally as fast.

“Chi Guyan, so what if your pulse has been awakened? You can never stop me!” Tian Xing’s expression grew graver with Chi Guyan’s approach as he stretched his tied-up hands.

“Snap!” The glow of the armored scales which previously entangled Tian Xing’s arms were forcefully broken, then retracted behind Chi Guyan.

It was as if they were bitten by a snake.

Wait a second.

A snake?!

Fang Zhengzhi was astonished once again. He had always felt suspicious about the long, slender glow, but suddenly a name came to his mind.

“Snake’s tail?! A lady… or a lady’s body with a snake’s tail?” It was impossible for Fang Zhengzhi not to be shocked. “What’s that? Chi Guyan’s pulse? A snake demon?! No, she’s Medusa? Hmm, she seems different though. After all, Medusa had poison snakes as her hair, right? Then… what is this?”

When Fang Zhengzhi was still lost in his thoughts…

Tian Xing reached again.

Without turning to face Chi Guyan, who was charging toward him, Tian Xing focused on Fang Zhengzhi. Right from the start, his target had been Fang Zhengzhi. However, Chi Guyan stopped him from behind.

“Why do you hate me so much?” If Fang Zhengzhi could live past today, he would certainly treat Tian Xing to a feast if he had the chance to.

Fifty pounds of buns and drinking is not allowed, I’ll choke you to death!

There wasn’t much to think about.

Because he couldn’t escape anymore.

Tian Xing was too close. With a punch within reach, how far could he run?

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t need to think much. He knew that his only chance at survival was to accept Tian Xing’s blow, but he couldn’t take it anymore.

So…

When Tian Xing was hurling that punch…

Fang Zhengzhi activated all his remaining strength.

“Heavenly Descent!”

At this moment, six blue rays of light shone brightly in the sky, and Fang Zhengzhi, who was standing in front of Tian Xing, began to vanish.

“You can’t run!” Tian Xing’s eyes stared at him with cold intensity. Then an apparition appeared behind him and swiftly wrapped Fang Zhengzhi up.

A warrior with black armor and red hair.

It was the first technique Tian Xing used against Fang Zhengzhi, Wrath of the Heaven!

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

And after two deafening explosions…

The third didn’t come through. Because Tian Xing’s punch had already destroyed all rays of blue light, and it was coming for Fang Zhengzhi.

That’s the difference in both their powers.

And with Fang Zhengzhi’s injuries, he had no chance of ever dodging this.

He could only watch the giant fist reaching in front of him, then smashing against his body. This time, it would be his left chest.

“Clang!” A dull metallic clash rang.

Fang Zhengzhi’s body was sent right up to the heavens as he spurted a mouthful of blood on the way which landed on Tian Xing’s face, dyeing his black gown in red.

It was almost like raining blood.

But Tian Xing’s expression changed slightly.

“Heart Protection Mirror?!” Tian Xing obviously didn’t care for the blood. On his mind was the metallic sensation when he punched Fang Zhengzhi’s left chest just now.

As a matter of fact, he had slapped against Fang Zhengzhi’s left chest once.

But…

He didn’t intend to kill Fang Zhengzhi with that blow; he just wanted to shake up Fang Zhengzhi.

So, there wasn’t any real contact.

But this time it was different. His tight, powerful punch smashed right on Fang Zhengzhi’s chest, so naturally, he could feel the hardness on Fang Zhengzhi’s chest.

He wanted to punch him once more.

But it was too late. Chi Guyan had arrived, wielding an icy, gleaming sword, which was headed right for his chest.

And quickly, Tian Xing’s face started to change.

“Chi Guyan, I’ve said this before. You can’t defeat me now, not even if your pulse is completely awakened!” Tian Xing didn’t show any mercy. He couldn’t show any mercy.

He hurled a punch toward the sword that was coming for him.

But at this instant, the sword changed its direction, and a dark shadow appeared in the sky.

An infinitely giant shadow.

It was a sudden change, as quickly as the golden flashes of lightning in the heavens. Yet, it happened so naturally, so smoothly.

But Tian Xing was still Tian Xing.

The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. A powerhouse in the Holy Region.

There was no hesitation.

When the dark shadow appeared in the sky, Tian Xing’s other fist was headed for it, of course, without any mercy.

“You’ve been tricked!” Chi Guyan’s voice lit up.

Tian Xing felt a human figure reach his head where the dark shadow appeared. And the shadow was now beneath him.

“Origin Swap? Tian Xing froze. But his punch was already in motion, and it was smashed on Chi Guyan’s back.

He didn’t understand why Chi Guyan would use Origin Swap at this moment. He was even more confused as to what Chi Guyan meant when she said he had been tricked.

Until he saw Chi Guyan spurting a mouthful of blood and her body sent flying toward the sky.

At this moment…

He finally understood what Chi Guyan meant.

“Even after I injured you, you still choose to move across me to take the hit for Fang Zhengzhi?!” It was the first time Tian Xing felt envious of Fang Zhengzhi.

Shameless, short-lived, yet he had a Chosen One who would risk her life to save him. Even if he had died, what was there to regret?

And that was what Tian Xing felt.

But quickly, Tian Xing’s eyes widened.

Because when Chi Guyan raced even faster toward Fang Zhengzhi, a golden ray of light suddenly shone on Fang Zhengzhi’s body.

This was something different from the one previously which lit up in the darkness. This was the Divine Message, one that had countless esoteric symbols floating with it.

Chapter 687: Baptism, the Vast Galaxy

Tian Xing was astounded.

And what was more shocking was the ray of gold light fell from the heavens and on Fang Zhengzhi’s body, but it had no sign of stopping. It passed through Fang Zhengzhi’s body, wrapping around Chi Guyan too.

“Boom!”

Heaven and Earth were linked.

The golden ray fell from the heavens and passed through Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan before it went right into the ground, as if it was a bridge between Heaven and Earth.

A bridge linking Heaven and Earth.

The sky lit up gloriously, and dulcet tunes could be heard by all.

At this moment, it was as though time had stopped, and all movements had ceased, except for this golden ray, its music of grandeur, and countless golden characters around by it.

It was the arrival of the Heavenly Prophecy and appearance of the Chosen One.

“How could this happen?! Impossible, this is definitely impossible…” Tian Xing looked upon the golden ray that was a stone’s throw away from him, though he refused to believe all of these were real.

And it wasn’t only him. Everyone couldn’t believe it too.

It didn’t matter if they were the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples or the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, everyone had their eyes widened and mouths agape upon witnessing this shocking scene.

Mu Qingfeng’s body suspended in the air, stopping about ten steps away from Tian Xing. His long, white gown draped silently, and in his eyes were a mix of astonishment, peculiarity, excitement, joy, suspense, and countless other emotions.

He was shocked, but bewildered by its conclusion. He was excited and joyful because Chi Guyan was within the Heavenly Prophecy and being baptized by the Divine Message.

But he was also curious. Why was Fang Zhengzhi also in this golden ray?

Was this a coincidence?

Or was it a work of fate?

And if even Mu Qingfeng didn’t know, how would the rest of them standing at the Heaven Academic Altar know anything?

Whether it was the Great Xia Dynasty’s Emperor Lin Mubai, the Xian King Lin Yun, or the emperors and princes of the other two countries, everyone had their eyes locked towards the sky at the both of them enveloped within the golden ray.

But none of them uttered a single word.

So, even though everyone was shocked beyond comprehension, as they stood in front of the Heavenly Prophecy, all they could do was to admire in awe.

…

Fang Zhengzhi was as confused as the rest in the crowd.

Initially, he did not notice the golden ray shining from above him. What he knew was he was punched up into the air and rose toward the sky.

But as he flew up…

He saw Chi Guyan flying toward him.

He saw her blood-stained pink dress and her crystal-clear eyes before reached for her in an embrace.

Then, he felt as though he was wrapped in an aura of warmth.

In his arms, Chi Guyan started to emanate a glow of countless esoteric characters as golden rays of revolved around her body.

“What’s going on?” Fang Zhengzhi had a little trouble grasping the situation. He had too many questions on his mind, but too little time to process them all.

In fact, when he felt that warm sensation and saw the golden rays and characters around Chi Guyan’s body, he had another strange feeling.

It was as though every movement in the world had ceased.

Then, everything before his eyes vanished.

There weren’t any golden characters or golden rays remaining. Even Chi Guyan had disappeared. It was a realm of silent nothingness.

“Where am I?” Fang Zhengzhi had similar experiences in the past, such as when he entered The Vast World, and when he saw the mysterious white-dressed lady when he had mastered the Rebirth Plate.

However, this was obviously not The Vast World or the world with the mysterious white-dressed lady. Instead, it was a boundless galaxy.

There were countless stars glimmering around him.

Besides the stars, there was a belt of meteorite floating around. Fang Zhengzhi could even see every crater on these meteorites.

Was it the galaxy?

If this was really the galaxy, then what was that?

Fang Zhengzhi possessed scientific knowedge – of course he knew that the galaxy was the space beyond earth. However, he didn’t know that there were chains within the galaxy.

In addition, there were infinitely many of them.

They were non-reflective, and dull and black like ink. Many giant chains were linked up together, crisscrossing between the stars.

They resembled a giant, complex formation.

Most surprisingly, there was a huge, black rock above those giant black chains.

No.

There wasn’t only one rock.

Fang Zhengzhi wasn’t sure how many rocks there were. However, he spotted another black rock above the chains as he looked in the distance.

Its had a very similar shape to this rock above him.

Slightly further away, he could vaguely see another one at the intersection of these chains.

These black rocks gave off a terrifying aura and emitted an ancient smell.

“Crack!” And at this time, a tiny sound reached Fang Zhengzhi’s ear, which made him shudder.

He didn’t know why there was sound in space.

Yet he could sense it, real as ever, that the sound came from the black rock above him. He immediately turn to it.

Then, he spotted a crack in that rock.

There wasn’t just one crack.

There was a total of seven cracks.

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know if there were more cracks on the top of this rock, but he felt that it could split any moment.

“Boom!” Everything was shaking.

Everything vanished again. The belt of meteorites, stars, chains and black rocks were all gone.

Fang Zhengzhi could see the golden ray, but the countless esoteric characters had disappeared.

In his embrace, Chi Guyan began to open her eyes.

Suddenly, Fang Zhengzhi had a hallucination. He could see the galaxy in Chi Guyan’s eyes, like the one he witnessed just now.

However, this galaxy in her eyes was glowing in different colors.

“A hallucination?” Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t be sure, but he was certain that the apparition previously behind Chi Guyan had become stronger.

This was especially true for her long snake’s tail. The pink scales covering it began to shine with a different texture.

What happened at the galaxy just now?

And, what exactly was the apparition behind Chi Guyan all about?

A human with a snake’s tail… but it’s neither a snake demon nor Medusa? It couldn’t possibly be the legendary creator of humans, Lady Nüwa, right?!

Fang Zhengzhi shuddered at this thought. Of course, he knew of Lady Nüwa, but he had never thought of this possibility.

It was because that was a myth from his past life.

At the beginning of time, there was nothingness. The mythical Lady Nüwa was indeed a woman with a snake’s tail. And it was this very powerful Lady Nüwa who created humans.

Legends and myths were passed down generations of people…

The story of Five-Colored Heavenly Gemstones and Lady Nüwa’s creation of mankind.

But shouldn’t this be merely a myth? Why would a myth from the past world be experienced in this world?

If Chi Guyan were really Lady Nüwa, then what would he be? Pan Gu? Or the King of Man? Or a servant who pours tea for Lady Nüwa?

This couldn’t be true!

Fang Zhengzhi was not a gullible person.

Of course, he couldn’t entertain such far-fetched thinking any longer. After all, be it Lady Nüwa or Pan Gu, they were mythical characters highly respected by many.

Even Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t bear to think of them in any possibly offensive ways.

So, no, Chi Guyan could not possibly be Lady Nüwa…

But if she really wasn’t Lady Nüwa, why would her Talent Bloodline create an apparition like Lady Nüwa – a woman’s body with a snake’s tail carrying such a commanding aura?

Bloodline… He finally understood it!

Chi Guyan wasn’t Lady Nüwa, but she had the same bloodline as Lady Nüwa.

Lady Nüwa’s bloodline!

The galaxy, chains, and the cracked black rock…

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know why, but he felt a strong intuition that these events had to be linked, and this mystery was about to be revealed.

However, he didn’t have the time to ponder further about this now.

It was because someone was charging straight at him right now. It was a white figure charging at lightning speed.

White?

To Fang Zhengzhi, it would most likely be Tian Xing who would charge at him now. But no, Tian Xing was dressed in black.

Could it be Mu Qingfeng?

Nope.

Because this person had long, black hair. He was very young, and most importantly, he was wielding a sword by his hand. It was a long sword that was clear as ice.

Nangong Hao!

…

Beyond the Great Wall, the grievous wind blew and ice had already formed in Jiaohe.

The Northern Sea raged with waves and the Yin Mountain was covered in snow.

These two sentences described a chilly winter scenery, and in Great Xia Dynasty, there was indeed such a place.

In a mausoleum about five kilometers wide, gravestones were erected. And upon these gravestones by the snow, detailed inscriptions were etched on them.

This place was perpetually cold. The river had frozen in the chilly climate, and snow had piled on masses of celestine.

This was the Nangong Mausoleum, the hideaway of Nangong Nobles, the most famous family in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Nobody knew why the Nangong Nobles chose this place with winter all-year-round with very few people around as their hideaway. Just as nobody knew how long exactly the Nangong Nobles had been in existence.

But the matter of fact was…

This was the hideaway of the Nangong Nobles, and they seemed to have cut off all contact with the outside world. It was only during the biennial Law of Dao Examinations when others would spot the presence of a few disciples of the Nangong Nobles.

And more importantly, of all the disciples of Nangong Nobles who attended the Law of Dao Examinations, none of them were ever appointed as an official.

For a family like this, they could very well have gone unnoticed.

But Nangong Nobles had always been named as one of the greatest family in the Great Xia Dynasty, comparable to the status of the Thirteen Constabularies and Yan Family of West Liang.

Yet, they were not part of the government, had never been officials, had never paid tributes to the Emperor and were not ruled under the Dynasty.

The Nangong Nobles had lived peacefully in this icy barren land, keeping watch of this five-kilometer-wide mausoleum. A sanctuary away from the chaotic world outside.

And at this moment, in this five-kilometer-wide mausoleum, a middle-aged man who was slightly overweight stood in front of the Nangong Nobles. His thin shirt was flapping loudly in the chilly wind. If it weren’t for his fur scarf, only a handful would believe he was dressed like this in a cold winter.

“Master!” A figure appeared from behind the mausoleum, and like a snowflake, drifted behind the middle-aged man, then dropped to a half-kneel position.

“Yes!” The middle-aged man’s eyes slowly opened. His eyes were red with fatigue, but one couldn’t tell many of his facial expressions. It was calm, like a piece of celestine in the snowy wind.

“Master, the Divine Message has arrived, it’s time!” The figure said.

“Oh, it’s finally time?” The slightly overweight middle-aged man replied. He slowly raised his gaze toward the sky. There was nothing besides the dance of the snowflakes as they cascaded from the sky.

Yet, the middle-aged man stared intently at the sky. In his reddish eyes, there was a faint gleam, as though he was appreciating a highly exquisite piece of art.

“Yes, the elders have asked for Master to play host. The gifts have already been prepared.” The figure spoke softly after a while.

“Got it. You may leave now.” The middle-aged man nodded.

“Yes!” The figure nodded, then disappeared as quickly as he came. Just like a freefalling snowflake, he would only stay for a moment.

Then, the middle-aged man turned to another direction and looked yonder: “How many years has it been, it’s too many to count… It has been so long, and this mausoleum is getting bigger by the years…”

Then he didn’t say anything more.

He took a step forward, then a crack could be heard. It was the cracking of ice, and with this sound, there were two green footsteps on the ground.

The colors of celestine.

It was very noticeable in a white, snowy world like this.

Nobody knew how long the middle-aged man had stood there in the snowy wind. But it was certain that when he lifted both legs, the ice had already hardened beneath.

As the wind raged on, the green footsteps were quickly covered up by snow, blending into this white, barren land. And everything was a world of white. White and pure as snow.

Chapter 688: You’ll Be Dead When Lightning Strikes

…

The celestine mausoleum was well hidden in the snow.

The door of the Nangong Mausoleum opened from the inside, and the slightly overweight middle-aged man strode in. Torches lit up many paintings upon the celestine walls.

Ancient ink made these paintings come alive.

They were paintings of battles, quite literally the art of war, outlined by ancient ink in three main colors: green, blue and red. They weren’t statues but exuded a similar archaic, ancient sophistication.

The middle-aged man didn’t pay much attention to the paintings. Instead, he paced quickly forward along the hallway of the mausoleum and entered an expansive stone hall.

The Nangong Mausoleum was beneath the five-kilometer-mausoleum.

Yet, the hall seemed oddly towering: it was at least thirty meters in height and uncomfortably spacious.

“Master!” said voices in unison.

The slightly overweight middle-aged man acknowledged with a slight nod while looking at a giant doorway, in the center of the hall, constructed entirely of green rocks.

It was a stone doorway without a door.

Like a big arch in the middle of a cathedral, except it had a rectangular shape.

It was obviously made from a material that is different from the celestine of the Nangong Mausoleum because the doorway’s rocks were significantly denser and more ancient.

It bore many cracks, a sign of its history, and at its sides sat two huge humanlike statues.

And in the middle was a giant beast showing its sharp teeth, its eyes were two crystal-clear gemstones, sparkling with bright green light.

As the middle-aged man reached this doorway, the eight elderly men wearing animal skin, who previously sat around it, slowly stood up.

“Let’s begin!” The middle-aged man said to the eight elderly men in a bow, then walked to the front of the doorway and stood right in the middle.

“Yes!” They hastily nodded upon hearing his words, then undressed their long robes of animal skin.

While they were taking the robes off, ancient paintings appeared on their bodies, like those on the walls.

But…

On these ancient paintings, there were several esoteric golden characters. As the eight elderly men sat down, these characters started to shine and flow around.

…

Blood Shadow City was located at the heart of Ten Demonic Realms.

The Blood Shadow City of today was very different from that of the past. Above the Demonic Hall at the center of Blood Shadow City draped many strips of black silk bearing numerous golden characters.

Countless soldiers of the Demonic Army guarded the perimeter of the Demonic Hall in their black armor. All of them had stern looks as if they were waiting for something.

A moment later, a white figure appeared at the steps in front of the Demonic Hall. He was dressed in a white gown, had black hair, a handsome face with exquisite features.

“Young Lord!” Upon seeing the white figure, the Demonic Army immediately dropped to their knees and greeted with reverence.

As the Demon Young Lord…

It was perfectly normal to see Yun Qingwu in the Ten Demonic Realms.

But now, Yun Qingwu seemed a little worried. His eyes seemed a little dull, something that was rare of Yun Qingwu’s appearance.

Well, it was a fact for the Yun Qingwu now.

He did not respond to the Demonic Army. Instead, Yun Qingwu slowly ascended the steps and walked toward the center of the Demonic Hall.

At the entrance of the Demonic Hall, besides countless soldiers of the Demonic Army, also stood ten figures masked in black cloaks.

“Yun Qingwu pays respects to the elders of the Ten Realms.” Yun Qingwu bowed to the ten masked men upon reaching the entrance of the Demonic Hall.

“Save for the formalities, Young Lord!” The figure in the middle reached his hand out in response. Then he looked toward the sky: “With the Heavenly Prophecy, the Chosen One has appeared. Nangong Tian is going to act soon. And for us, this is an opportunity not to be missed!”

“I understand.” Yun Qingwu nodded.

“Your father is already waiting in the Hall. Follow me.” Then, the figure slowly turned and walked toward the Demonic Hall.

“Yes.” Yun Qingwu nodded again and promptly followed behind.

The other nine masked men, too, turned and walked behind Yun Qingwu and into the Demonic Hall.

And very quickly, under the masked man’s lead, Yu Qingwu reached and stood before a black airtight door, which was also guarded by eight old men in black cloaks.

“Greetings to the Ten Domains Elders and to Young Lord!” The eight old men greeted respectfully.

“Open the door!” The figure said.

“Yes!” The eight old men promptly turned toward the door, each of them revealed a key and plugged it into the holes on the large, stone door.

“Crack!” The door began to open.

A splash of brightness poured out from within. When the door was fully open, the Ten Domains Elders and Yun Qingwu slowly walked in.

It was a chamber

A chamber inside the Demonic Hall.

It was about 30 meters high, expansive beyond imagination. And at its center stood a middle-aged man wearing a large black gown with golden sides, with a black crown on his head.

From his looks, he bore some similarity to Yun Qingwu. He had sharp eyebrows and mysterious, deep black eyes that resembled the galaxy, but his face showed more indifference.

And behind this man stood a giant, black, stone door. Just like the one in Nangong Mausoleum.

The only difference was…

This door was wholly black, as though it was submerged in black ink. It was constructed completely with black rock, and there was a pair of bloodshot, beastly eyes at the top of the door.

“Yun Di!” The Ten Domains Elders bowed in a greeting upon seeing the middle-aged man and then took off their cloaks.

“Father.” Yun Qingwu lightly took a few steps forward, then greeted the middle-aged man, though his expression revealed much worry.

“Yes, everyone is present. Let’s begin then!” The middle-aged man named Yun Di nodded. As his gaze fell on Yun Qingwu, his cold, indifferent face instantly revealed a loving expression.

As the Demon Lord of the Ten Demonic Realms…

Yun Di had already, for the most part, shunned the public eye. Within the Demon Race, the name “Yun Di” was nothing more than a name. Because there was already a Young Lord in charge.

So…

In the Demon Race, how could there be two rulers?

“Father, are we really going to do this?” Yun Qingwu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it has interrupted the Ten Domains Elders’ pace.

“Why not?” Yun Di’s facial expression had not changed significantly, as though he wasn’t at all surprised by Yun Qingwu’s question.

“The Demon Race is currently very cohesive. As long as we develop steadily, we’ll dominate one day. We need not do this.” Yun Qingwu softly bit his lip but said his opinion anyway.

“Qingwu, I understand how you feel. But we have waited for too long, haven’t we?” Yun Di replied after a sigh.

“Father, actually, I… I already arranged…” Yun Qingwu said after hesitating for a moment.

“Arranged? What?” Yun Di’s eyes showed a shred of confusion.

“I’ve planted a seed.”

“A seed? Where did you plant it?”

“On a person.”

“Who?”

“Fang Zhengzhi.”

“That’s a human?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve planted a seed on a human… how confident are you?” Yun Di appeared a little surprised, then quickly returned to a state of calmness.

“Fifty percent!” Yun Qingwu said softly.

…

At the Sword Peak in the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the space above the Heaven Academic Altar.

A curtain of golden ray draped from the heavens and swayed gently, radiating its glorious magnificence above the Heaven Academic Altar, illuminating the clouds upon the azure sky

What an impressive sight indeed.

And under the golden ray, a white figure dashed towards it, wielding a white, crystalline sword pointed straight ahead.

Fang Zhengzhi had once considered the possibility that someone might seize this opportunity to pull a sword against him while he was severely injured. But never did he expect this person to be Nangong Hao.

And Fang Zhengzhi wasn’t the only one who didn’t see this coming…

None of the disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion or the Nine Pinnacles Mountain had expected this. Everyone had their eyes locked on this white figure who was charging at lightning speed.

They were awed by the glorious display and the fact that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were within the golden ray together.

But now, without even the slightest bit of time to express this wonder, they were utterly shocked by what followed.

“What on earth is happening?”

“What is Junior Nangong Hao trying to do?!”

“Why did he attack?”

None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples could figure this out. But Nangong Hao had indeed attacked, while everyone was still in a state of amazement.

But this obviously didn’t scare Fang Zhengzhi at all.

Fang Zhengzhi was caught off guard of Nangong Hao’s sudden attack, but that didn’t mean that he was afraid of it. Of course, this was not to say that Nangong Hao wasn’t powerful.

It’s just that…

Nangong Hao was not powerful enough!

“What can he do?” Fang Zhengzhi smirked nonchalantly as he thought to himself. Even if Chi Guyan wasn’t beside him, he would not fear Nangong Hao.

And that was a fact.

Chi Guyan raised her sword the moment she spotted Nangong Hao, her eyes gleamed with coldness.

No one knew what Chi Guyan was thinking.

Just as nobody knew why Nangong Hao would attack.

And most importantly…

There were many times when one seemed to have an absolute advantage, then circumstances would change suddenly. And these changes could be life-threatening.

“I’ll block him, you’ll block the first lightning!” Chi Guyan’s voice rang by Fang Zhengzhi’s ears, while the sword in her hand moved.

A sword like a moon.

It had the arc of a crescent moon and shimmered like it was surrounded by thousands of stars. It moved towards Nangong Hao and struck a blow without any hesitation or mercy.

While Fang Zhengzhi was still a little confused.

“Lightning? What lightning?” Fang Zhengzhi was about to ask when his eyes went wide open. He finally realized it.

If his current feeling could be described in a phrase, it would be…

Shit, how could I be so careless?!

Up above, a flash of lightning cascaded like a golden dragon, while the whole sky was filled in a golden light. And most importantly, it was such a thick ray of lightning.

“…” Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to ask Chi Guyan for a swap. But in the end, he didn’t manage to.

The lightning had already struck.

And Chi Guyan dodged it in time.

Well, an awkward moment.

“Boom!” The golden flash of lightning unmistakably landed right on Fang Zhengzhi’s head, ran through from his hair to the soles of his feet.

And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi felt a euphoric feeling, as though he had become a deity or experienced Dao itself.

It felt like a million golden snakes had zoomed through every inch of his body, from the hairs and pores on his skin to the organs within. It was as though he was cleansed by a bath of golden snakes.

It felt wonderful!

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know why, but he imagined being a bolt of lightning and striking at people.

Well…

It wasn’t anything to resist anyway.

“Blurgh!” Fang Zhengzhi spurted a mouthful of blood, which landed right on Chi Guyan’s back. Her pink dress, which was already stained with blood, had a new addition.

At this moment, he seemed to know why Nangong Hao chose to attack at this time.

And of course, he was well aware that Nangong Hao’s strategies weren’t any lackluster compared to his, and in many facets, they outshined his.

It was apparent that these were all part of a plan.

But why did Nangong Hao choose to attack at this time? The Nangong Hao he knew wasn’t one who would take advantage of others’ difficulties.

Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled.

But he didn’t give it further thought. Well, it was a fact that Nangong Hao had indeed attacked, and thinking deeper about it wouldn’t change that.

“Nangong Hao, are you out of your mind? Challenge me openly if you have the guts!” Fang Zhengzhi spoke with whatever gusto he had left.

“Don’t walk out of the golden ray!” Chi Guyan warned as he heard Fang Zhengzhi.

“Huh? I can’t walk out of it?” Fang Zhengzhi had just taken a step out, which he promptly retracted.

“Yes. If you step out of the golden ray, you’ll be dead when the lightning strikes!” Chi Guyan nodded and replied firmly.

“Wow, so powerful? I got it!” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t fully understand the details, but still made a surprised expression.

“I’ll block his attack again, you’ll block the second lightning!”

Chapter 689: Rebirth

As a man, Fang Zhengzhi felt that he should take up some responsibilities. However, he couldn’t be always doing that.

Especially when he was severely injured.

He had taken up the first strike. Now the second?

You’re kidding me!

Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to protest, or at least made his differing opinion known. But it wasn’t something that he had the final say. The reason was simple: he was standing behind Chi Guyan.

In other words…

If Chi Guyan stepped away, he would be struck by lightning.

“Isn’t this a little too much?” Fang Zhengzhi looked upward, and instantly his eyes were once again wide in shock. This was more difficult than he imagined.

The second bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.

It was as though it could reply to Fang Zhengzhi’s internal screams: could they possibly be any larger?

You bet it could!

The second bolt of lightning was at least twice as large as the first.

“Boom!” As Chi Guyan dodged the strike, Fang Zhengzhi felt as though he was afloat among the clouds, drifting weightlessly in the air.

He couldn’t feel anything else.

Everything was reduced to numbness.

Except for this body, which was floating in the air, like a small boat in a vast ocean, swayed by winds and storms…

And on the other hand, of course, the battle between Chi Guyan and Nangong Hao continued to rage.

When Chi Guyan struck her first blow, Nangong Hao didn’t just strangely evaded it, but also advanced a step while his Wuwei Sword pierced ahead.

But when Chi Guyan laid her second strike with her sword, Nangong Hao didn’t manage to evade, but suffered a slash and fell to one side.

However, this didn’t affect Nangong Hao’s resolve.

At this moment, it was as though Nangong Hao couldn’t hear anything, nor feel any apprehension upon the looks of the crowd. He had only one target: Fang Zhengzhi.

And while Mu Qingfeng and Tian Xing watched this unfold, they had differing opinions.

Mu Qingfeng was surprised at Nangong Hao’s aim of attacking at this juncture.

After all, Nangong Hao hadn’t been at the Heaven Dao Pavilion for a very long time. But in his past two years here, he had shown excellence in both his skills and character.

For such a talented genius…

To act in such a way…

There must be a reason for this, right?

Like Mu Qingfeng, Tian Xing was also astounded by Nangong Hao’s attack, but he was more surprised at how he managed to dodge Chi Guyan’s strike.

Not only did he dodge her first strike, he didn’t slacken at her second strike.

To put things in perspective, Chi Guyan now had her Nuwa pulse completely awakened. After a period of time, when her powers are truly realized, no one, not even himself, could confidently say he could defeat her.

But Nangong Hao did it, and he did it without revealing any skills in his pulse.

“Wow, not bad!” Tian Xing smirked, and this smirk grew upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi struck by the second bolt of lightning.

Without hesitating further…

Tian Xing rushed ahead.

He couldn’t be bothered why the Heavenly Prophecy would descend upon two people, but he knew that the more Fang Zhengzhi grew in power, the less he could sleep in peace.

Fang Zhengzhi must be killed!

Tian Xing charged toward Fang Zhengzhi.

But someone did the same, too.

Mu Qingfeng.

“Tian Xing, do you really wish to act against Heaven?” As the Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, although Mu Qingfeng didn’t fully understand why Nangong Hao chose this time to attack Fang Zhengzhi, he felt that it was strange.

Since it seemed strange, he had to stop it. At least to understand his rationale before reaching a decision.

And the person he had to stop would not be Nangong Hao, but Tian Xing. Because Tian Xing was obviously more powerful than Nangong Hao.

“Act against Heaven? Haha, old man, do you really think that this brat is the Chosen One? He merely basked in Chi Guyan’s glory, it was just a coincidence!” Tian Xing replied plainly.

Without any sign of slowing down or turning behind, he continued to charge toward Fang Zhengzhi.

“A coincidence?”

“How could this be a coincidence? It’s impossible!”

“But if it weren’t a coincidence, then there will be two Chosen Ones?”

As the disciples of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Heaven Dao Pavilion heard Tian Xing’s words, they exchanged confused looks.

In fact, all of them had similar concerns.

Regarding this matter, they could accept that Chi Guyan was the Chosen One. After all, the Heavenly Prophecy did indeed descend upon her as forecasted.

But it was particularly unexpected for Fang Zhengzhi, who just happened to be above Chi Guyan, to be cast within the glow of the Heavenly Prophecy too.

Fang Zhengzhi was also the Chosen One?

There were two Chosen Ones?

Coincidence, or part of fate?

Countless thoughts flashed past their minds, but none of them could be validated because there was simply no way to confirm.

Of course, even though Tian Xing claimed that this was merely a coincidence, no one could be certain of its truth.

After all, this seemed too peculiar.

“Boom!” A deafening blast came from above, interrupting the thoughts of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain and Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples, drawing their attention to the person, dressed in white, in the sky.

Nangong Hao.

“Brother, don’t kill Fang Zhengzhi!” At this moment, an urgent voice emerged from a distance, then a figure leaped into presence.

And this figure was closely followed by another.

Nangong Mu and Yan Qing.

Both had been totally immersed in fighting among themselves, and now they seemed a little tired, with bloody cuts all over their bodies.

But at this instant, Nangong Mu abandoned their fight, which had been raging on for quite a while, and rushed toward Nangong Hao, completely ignoring Yan Qing who followed closely behind.

As for Yan Qing…

He chased behind Nangong Mu. He was as fast as a meteorite.

“Is this person Nangong Hao’s younger brother?”

“I think he is!”

“He said Nangong Hao was going to kill Fang Zhengzhi? There were issues between them?”

“Possibly!”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples watched as the two figures leaped upward. What a strange sight. If Nangong Mu hadn’t appeared, they would have already forgotten about their duel.

“What? Two more joining in?” Tian Xing felt the presence of two figures joining the scene, though he didn’t really have the time to bother too much.

Because Mu Qingfeng was very close behind.

He had to kill Fang Zhengzhi in one blow before Mu Qingfeng could reach him.

It was a messy scene, with Nangong Mu suddenly attacking Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan protecting him with her life.

And Fang Zhengzhi didn’t just do nothing, as he suffered two consecutive golden lightning strikes.

Then as Tian Xing charged toward Fang Zhengzhi, Mu Qingfeng rushed to stop him. And Nangong Mu and Yan Qing joined in the chaos.

“…”

The disciples of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and the Nine Pinnacles Mountain watched as these characters coalesced, speechless as they didn’t have a clue what was happening.

But of course, on the topic of ‘speechlessness’…

Fang Zhengzhi was much more ‘speechless’.

Never in his life had he thought he would experience being struck by lightning… twice.

But now, he knew how it felt.

It was truly a godlike feeling, and if anyone doubted it, he could try flying a piece of iron as a kite on a stormy day.

Fang Zhengzhi was “speechless” to the helplessness he felt. Now he had two choices. The first was to ask Chi Guyan if there was a third bolt of lightning and if there was, who would be taking it?

And the second was to swap positions with Chi Guyan, to be the one who could dodge or fight as he wished.

Fang Zhengzhi really the second choice.

But now that he saw Tian Xing charging toward him, he made an even better decision. If there was really no way out, he’d just be struck another time.

After all, he had already been struck twice, how bad could one more be?

But as with many things in life, sometimes they would take an unexpected turn.

Like…

Now.

The third bolt of lightning emerged from the heavens, and it was bigger than the second bolt. At least three times larger than the second!

“Why are both choices… equally bad?!” For the first time, Fang Zhengzhi could not make a choice. Because he was very certain of one thing.

If this bolt of lightning were to land on him, he would be dead.

For sure!

And of course, if he were to swap places with Chi Guyan and fight against the Tian Xing and Nangong Hao, he would die too.

What a terrible situation.

There was no way out. Both paths lead to dead-ends.

“Chi Guyan, after I die, please take care of my parents!” Fang Zhengzhi was about to pull her behind him.

Since he had to die, he would die in both ways. At least the other could survive.

“You won’t die!” Chi Guyan didn’t turn back. Her body didn’t budge, standing still like a statue.

Her pink dress was stained with splatters of blood, her hair swayed in the wind. At this moment, Chi Guyan’s aura was one of intense resolution.

“Boom!” The third lightning bolt had struck right on Chi Guyan. This time, she did not dodge.

Of course…

This meant that Fang Zhengzhi was struck too.

Because one of his hands was on Chi Guyan’s shoulder.

“…” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know how exactly to describe what he was feeling now, because what happened was exceptionally stupid.

In an instant, he felt countless frenzied electric snakes slithering from Chi Guyan’s body to his.

If the first and second lightning strikes made him feel weightless as though he was floating in the air…

Then the third wasn’t weightless and euphoric anymore. It felt like a rebirth after being soaked in a fire.

Of course, he was indeed on fire.

Because he could clearly smell his flesh burning as lightning flowed through him.

Was he about to die?

Fang Zhengzhi was not willing to accept this. Not that he wasn’t prepared to be struck to death by lightning, but he saw Tian Xing and Nangong Hao approaching right in front of them.

Yet Chi Guyan stood unmoved.

“Do I really have to die together with Chi Guyan? No, I can’t die. I have already lived till now. How could I die?” Of course, Fang Zhengzhi didn’t really wish to die, because he was very scared of death, and this forced him to think of a solution. “Yes, the Dao of Yin Yang, the cycle…. Now I am again in a cycle with Chi Guyan!”

With this thought, he didn’t really care if it will work anymore. He only knew that he could be dead at any moment, so why not fight till the end?

This situation was desperate for enough for him to try anything he could think of!

He quickly moved around the Origin Energy in The Vast World, and using the Dao of Yin Yang, he formed a cycle with Chi Guyan.

Of course, this time his cycle wasn’t sparked by the power of the Thousand Years Fire Herb, but the electric snakes of flowing within Chi Guyan’s and his body.

“Boom!” As the cycle of the Dao of Yin Yang was activated, Fang Zhengzhi instantly felt as though his body was eaten alive by the countless electric snakes.

Hissing sounds could be continuously heard from the surface of his body.

So…

Did this Yin Yang cycle channel all the electric snakes from Chi Guyan’s body into his own?

Fang Zhengzhi laughed coldly inside. Sometimes he would be rather noble, especially toward his friends, like this helpful girl in front of him.

“But this bed-warmer hasn’t really warmed my bed before.” Fang Zhengzhi quickly raised his other hand and pointed his middle finger towards the Heaven.

Wait a minute.

How did he manage to raise his hand?

Fang Zhengzhi had a moment of doubt, then realized his charred, burnt skin had been shed now.

What was left was a completely new, glistening skin.

And most importantly, on this new skin, he could faintly see golden characters flowing about.

Chapter 690: The Door Opens… A Peculiar Circular Formation

Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes were wide open.

He found these characters familiar, but it was because he had seen them somewhere. He did not know what they represented.

Nonetheless, not only was were the characters glimmering on his skin, he could also feel them flowing through all channels in his body, as if they were in his blood.

And most importantly, these characters were not only golden. They appeared in silver, red, blue, green, cyan, purple…

He was enveloped in a bubble of warmth.

In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi felt much lighter than before. It was a magical feeling, as though he had become a different person.

Meanwhile, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were shocked speechless as they watched.

And of course, it was not only Fang Zhengzhi whose body was filled with glowing characters. Chi Guyan’s body, too, had these characters of various colors.

But the number of characters on Chi Guyan’s body paled in comparison to Fang Zhengzhi’s.

And the characters on her body were all concentrated and shining brilliantly above her chest.

“It’s the Baptism by the Holy Words!”

“But how is it possible that Fang Zhengzhi also received the Baptism by the Holy Words? Even if he was just trying his luck, how could he be this lucky?”

“Why are there so many characters on his body?”

“It has been recorded that once a person has received the Baptism by the Holy Words, the Dao that he has mastered would resonate with the Divine Message. But why is Fang Zhengzhi’s resonance flowing through his whole body?!”

“These characters… they must be hundreds of them! Could it be that Fang Zhengzhi has mastered hundreds of Dao? How is this possible?”

“Is he a demon?!”

Naturally, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples understood the meaning of these characters. In fact, these characters represent the state of Dao in his body.

Like Dao Fruits in the Small Dimension.

Each Dao Fruit had its own unique set of lines, which will become a character when the Dao Fruit had ripened.

Of course, this was for the normal state of events.

But it would be different for the Baptism by the Holy Words. Once a person has been gone through this process, the Dao Fruits will become its characters no matter their states.

Hence this was the advantage of the Baptism by the Holy Words.

But Fang Zhengzhi’s case was rather extreme. Firstly, the Dao in Fang Zhengzhi’s body did not concentrate in the Small Dimension like those of Chi Guyan’s, instead, they are scattered throughout his body. Moreover, it was fused within his blood, circulating around his body.

And secondly…

Wasn’t the number of characters too much?

The number of characters on his body indeed seemed so much it was terrifying. They were practically uncountable, certainly numbering above a thousand.

“He has mastered more than a thousand Dao?!”

“Is there such a person in this world?”

“How is this even possible?”

None of the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were willing to believe this. But it was an undeniable fact that there were a thousand different characters flowing around Fang Zhengzhi’s body.

“So, these are Dao?” Fang Zhengzhi finally realized what they represented upon hearing their discussion.

They were the states of Dao!

In this line of thought, Fang Zhengzhi could understand something.

For instance, etching the final state of Dao on a weapon would greatly increase its power, and for those who have Congenital Blood like Wu Yuer…

It would be the same concept. Having such a bloodline would mean that one possessed certain types of Dao, and therefore his power would be intensified.

And then for Tian Xing, when he unleashed his Blood Source, the golden characters would also be concentrated on his black armor.

A higher number and complexity of golden characters…

Would mean that one’s bloodline was purer, and hence more powerful.

So this was it!

Fang Zhengzhi quickly understood this fact, and his mind bore greater clarity and knowledge regarding these characters.

But as for why his body’s Dao would resonate with the Divine Message…

The reason would be closely related to his efforts in the past two years. If one had been trying to improve himself for the past two years but had no breakthroughs, what could he even accomplish?

Fang Zhengzhi answered everyone’s question with his actions.

This was Dao Enlightenment.

He sought Enlightenment in Dao.

With the chance given by Shadow Sect, he read ancient texts voraciously and researched whatever he could lay his hands on. He devoted himself to the appreciation of all things and all kinds of Dao.

And indeed, Fang Zhengzhi’s efforts in the past two years had paid off. With the aid of texts, his enlightenment was as joyful and easy as chewing gum.

On good days, he could understand three of four Dao.

Yet, on extremely bad days, he could still do at least one in two days.

This allowed an explosive growth in the number of Dao he had accumulated in his body, and in two years, he had understood at least eight hundred Dao.

But as for the exact number, he didn’t know.

Because it was impossible for him to count. What mattered was that he had managed to grasp the various Dao, which did not bear any Dao Fruits. So, until now, Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t be sure of the precise number of Dao he had understood.

He only knew that he had mastered all the techniques that everyone else had and even those that others had not.

And it was a good thing that his powers had increased.

So he didn’t give it much thought.

After the Baptism by the Holy Words, Fang Zhengzhi could feel waves of heat raging within his abdomen.

And this heat…

Could it be the Thousand Years Fire Herb?

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know why this would happen, but he could feel that the Thousand Years Fire Herb was now calmer and much less volatile than before. These energetic pulsations were also moving toward his right chest.

As the fiery heat gathered, his right chest, which suffered a heavy blow from Tian Xing, started to heal rapidly.

“Is the Thousand Years Fire Herb being refined under the Baptism by the Holy Words?” Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t be sure, but this was not impossible.

After all, with the bolts of lightning flowing through his body, this could be possible.

But of course, this wasn’t the time to think about these, because Nangong Hao and Tian Xing had arrived.

Naturally, Nangong Hao had reached first.

His speed was unbelievable.

Although Fang Zhengzhi hadn’t recovered completely, he made a decision when he saw Nangong Hao charge over.

He dashed in front of Chi Guyan.

This surprised the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, because to them, Fang Zhengzhi should hide behind Chi Guyan to focus on healing himself.

Even Nangong Hao was slightly taken aback, especially when he saw the golden characters flowing around Fang Zhengzhi’s body.

And then his eyes lit up.

Naturally, he had greater knowledge about these characters compared to the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples. After all, he had learned from his experience in the battle at the Southern Region.

But never did he expect that…

In two short years, the Dao that Fang Zhengzhi had grasped was more than thrice compared to the battle at the Southern Region.

To be Enlightened by a thousand Dao and Baptized by the Holy Words!

Nangong Hao had moved his sword, for he did not hesitate further. The Wuwei Sword shone its icy glimmer.

“From nothing comes the form, from the form comes nothing!” Nangong Hao bellowed, then zoomed a few paces forward.

What a strange move.

It was as though someone’s sword was about ten paces away, then in the blink of an eye, it was suddenly above your head.

This was exactly how Fang Zhengzhi was feeling now.

Because describing this as ‘fast’ couldn’t do it justice. It was like teleportation.

“You could do this with a sword?” Fang Zhengzhi had known that Nangong Hao was a talented individual, so he was somewhat prepared. But it was not until he actually faced Nangong Hao when Fang Zhengzhi felt he had underestimated his power.

At this juncture, he knew he could use dodge the sword attack with Heaven Dao, but this would mean that Chi Guyan, who was behind him, would take the blow.

Was Nangong Hao so eager to go through with this attack?

In fact, Fang Zhengzhi really did not wish to fight against Nangong Hao, for he would rather cast him aside and save his energy to battle Tian Xing.

But the sword was right above him.

He had no other choice.

“Bring in on!” Fang Zhengzhi could feel Nangong Hao’s forceful mercilessness in this strike.

Hence, why should he show any mercy?

A dazzling purple flash radiated from the Traceless Sword, and then came a dragon’s roar.

Dragonlike Sword!

And with this, he resisted Nangong Hao’s violent slash.

“Boom!” A deafening blast from the clashing of the swords. Purple and white flashes of light emanated from the point of impact, and it was as though time had stopped momentarily.

Fang Zhengzhi took a step backward.

And he knocked on Chi Guyan’s body. Chi Guyan’s hand pressed on Fang Zhengzhi’s waist, and he was supported by a soft, tender force.

And Nangong Hao…

He was thrown back from the blast.

He spurted a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale rapidly. Surprisingly, he was injured.

“He actually injured Junior Nangong Hao in one move?!”

“Isn’t he already injured?”

“I didn’t expect his powers could be boosted to such a level after the Baptism by the Holy Words. Are these characters really the Dao that he had mastered?”

“Isn’t this too ridiculous? Could he actually be a demon?”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples watched the figure stumble backward with disbelief. After all, they were well aware of Nangong Hao’s power.

It could even challenge the existence of the Seven Seniors of Heaven Dao Pavilion.

And to be hurt in one strike by Fang Zhengzhi? How could they believe this?

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t have time to be concerned about Nangong Hao’s injuries, because now he had a stronger enemy.

And at the instant, Nangong Hao was flung backward from impact …

Tian Xing finally appeared!

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t know if Nangong Hao’s strike was intentional, but from its outcome, two people from very different parties, who had in fact never spoken to each other, had effectively synergized under Nangong Hao’s careful planning.

There was no choice.

He had to continue fighting.

Because he had only one viable strategy now, which was to drag on until Mu Qingfeng arrives and ensnares Tian Xing. Otherwise, there was no way out.

And Tian Xing was fast approaching!

Atop his burly frame was a head full of red hair, the essence of his giant, terrifying presence.

As he reached, he immediately charged at Fang Zhengzhi with his fist, upon which glowed several golden characters.

And at this instant, Chi Guyan’s voice can be heard from behind, and then an impenetrable force field emerged outward from her body.

The Nuwa behind her flickered, changing its color between red and blue every few moments.

“Chi Guyan, you can’t stop me!” Tian Xing screamed as he thrust his fist ahead.

“Crack!”

Several black cracks could be seen in front of Fang Zhengzhi.

And Tian Xing’s fist punched through these cracks. Then, almost instantaneously, he had reached in front of Fang Zhengzhi’s chest.

“Fuck!” Fang Zhengzhi had no way to retreat. Although he understood that Tian Xing was way more powerful than he was, he had to grit his teeth and soldier on.

He, too, responded with a punch.

And it collided with Tian Xing’s.

Fang Zhengzhi gave all he could. A fight to the death.

And when he delivered this punch, Fang Zhengzhi felt the golden characters flowing within his body concentrate upon his fist, as if they had found a vent for a massive eruption.

Then…

Something odd happened. An armor appeared on his fist, one that was wholly composed of those characters.

“Huh?” Fang Zhengzhi didn’t manage to understand what was happening, but this punch still collided with Tian Xing’s.

And at the point of collision…

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky.

“Bang!” It was a brilliant display of red lightning flashes, and as they appeared, a huge, circular formation took shape up above.

Gold, silver, white, blue, red, green…

Rays of eight colors in shone from the huge, circular formation, and in its center, a closed door was slowly opening…

Chapter 691: Blood Offering

It was a door made of green rock, with its streaks of big cracks marking its age. Flanking both sides of the door were giant human-like statues.

At its center, there was the head of a beast showing its fierce teeth, its eyes were two crystal clear gemstones reflecting brilliant green light.

What a sudden, peculiar turn of events.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were completely astounded as they saw the appearance of a giant circular formation.

“What is going on?!”

“Is this part of the Baptism by the Holy Words too?”

“Such an intense amount of energy!”

None of them knew what was happening, because they had never seen something like this before.

Fang Zhengzhi, too, was bewildered.

But he knew that such a change wasn’t related to him. Because when his fist met with Tian Xing’s, an immense amount of pressure was rapidly released.

So, even after the Baptism by the Holy Words…

He still couldn’t match Tian Xing’s level?

Of course, Fang Zhengzhi couldn’t naively expect that he would immediately be able to crush all his enemies right after his Baptism. After all, the difference between Tian Xing’s and his power was too huge.

He didn’t know how the red flashes of lightning appeared, or how the huge circular formation took shape, but he could feel a hefty amount of force upon his chest.

And his body involuntarily took a few steps back, knocking onto Chi Guyan.

And at that instant, he felt a tender feeling, then two hands wrapped around his waist. These hands wielded immense power.

This cushioned Fang Zhengzhi’s backward thrust to a safe stop.

But the pressure on his chest gradually intensified, especially when he between the impact of two forces.

And at this moment…

Chi Guyan moved. A snake’s tail, which glowed faintly, emerged from behind and whipped at Tian Xing at lightning speed.

“Boom!” came a loud noise.

These actions, from the collision of Fang Zhengzhi’s and Tian Xing’s punches, to the snake’s tail lashing at Tian Xing, seemed almost instantaneous.

But Tian Xing was still Tian Xing.

One of the strongest warriors in the Holy region, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Even if he was injured, he would never back down.

Not only that…

He could still advance a step, though it was only one step.

And of course, this wasn’t because Tian Xing had a change of heart, was willing to bury the hatchet and patch things up, then have tea together and talk about life.

But it was because he saw the red flashes of lightning and the huge, round formation above him, especially the green rock door that was opening slowly.

“Huh?” Tian Xing’s glanced above without changing his stance, as he continued to pressure ahead. His face, though, revealed some degree of surprise.

And at this moment…

Something strange happened again.

Nangong Hao, who was injured by Fang Zhengzhi’s sword, suddenly charged forward at an unfathomable speed, to the extent that there was a blur behind him.

“That’s really fast!” Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. Never did he expect Nangong Hao to recover so quickly and seize this situation to his advantage.

There was no way to run.

Because the pressure from Tian Xing’s fists was forcing upon his chest and he was being supported by Chi Guyan at his back.

How could he dodge this sword?

“Pshh!” Blood was spilled in the air.

That was the sound of Nangong Hao’s Wuwei Sword piercing through flesh. Blood spilled in the air but, oddly, did not fall.

Instead, it flew upward rapidly, as though it was sucked by a massive gravitational force, toward the giant round formation.

This happened in the blink of an eye.

And the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples watched with their eyes wide open.

Especially the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples…

They were so astonished as though their eyes were about to pop out. Their bloodshot eyes were not a result of fatigue, but utter shock and anger.

And of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples weren’t the only ones who were shocked.

Tian Xing, too.

His eyes stared at the crystal-clear tip of the sword, which pierced through the body from the back, then at the droplets of blood that was rapidly flying upward.

“Nangong Hao?!” Tian Xing slowly turned his head and looked at the hand which wielded the Wuwei Sword, then at the person who was dressed in scholarly attire behind him.

As the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, one of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region…

It had been long since Tian Xing was stabbed in the back with a sword. This had to somewhat related to his powers, but it was also attributed to his sense of caution.

The Holy Region was a dangerous place.

And Tian Xing wasn’t one to trust others easily. In contrast, after all these years, he did everything cautiously.

This, however, didn’t mean that he did not guard against the “less powerful individuals”.

He knew that, even if these “less powerful individuals” were given the opportunities, they would not have the ability to do him any substantial harm anyway.

And for Nangong Hao…

Tian Xing had once evaluated his abilities.

Nangong Hao’s wasn’t weak, perhaps he could even be considered strong. But of course, that was within the scope of the Rebirth State, or maybe even the Sage State.

Well, that was only the Sage State.

But most importantly, Nangong Hao initiated the attack toward Fang Zhengzhi before him, even at the most crucial juncture when Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were being Baptized by the Holy Words.

Tian Xing did not understand, why would Nangong Hao’s sword pierce right through him.

Was this all a ruse?

No!

This couldn’t possibly a ruse. When Nangong Hao unleashed his attack on Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at that crucial period, he used all his might, as though he willed them to perish at that very moment.

If this was a ruse, wouldn’t it be too big of a risk?

Furthermore, it was impossible for Nangong Hao to predict that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan would be Baptized. Even Mu Qingfeng and himself did not see this coming.

So, this was not a ruse.

But Nangong Hao’s sword has indeed stabbed on him.

Tian Xing could never wrap his head around this.

Of course, he didn’t have much time to ponder any further. As his blood flew up toward the giant circular formation…

He felt enveloped by a terrifying wave of gravitational force.

It was as though all the blood in his body, or perhaps even his whole body, was being sucked into the giant round formation.

“Blood Offering! You actually used Blood Offering!!” For the first time, fear was revealed in Tian Xing’s eyes, as he panicked deep inside.

Because the gravitational force above him was too intense.

Although he didn’t know how Nangong Hao managed to do it, he could tell that the Blood Offering Illustration above him was very unusual.

Eight rays of light…

And they were all bright the sun and moon. He was fairly certain that there was some kind of forbidden technique involved, and most importantly, eight people were sacrificed for this.

“Blood Offering?” Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself after hearing what Tian Xing said. Nonetheless, he couldn’t care less about what the Blood Offering meant.

And of course, he couldn’t be bothered with why Nangong Hao’s sword would suddenly change direction and stab into Tian Xing’s chest instead of himself.

He only cared that now Tian Xing…

Was starting to panic!

Since Tian Xing was panicking, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn’t show any fear. Not only that, he must also seize this extremely rare opportunity.

The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, eh?

One of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region, eh?

You’re so powerful…

But have you seen a fist as big as this?!

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t ask these aloud, because he was a man of action.

A punch!

He delivered this punch while suppressing the force on his chest.

And it landed directly on Tian Xing’s face!

“Boom!” A deafening thud.

This punch was hit with such an explosive force that Tian Xing was flung backward, bumping against Nangong Hao who was behind him.

And it was this punch that made Nangong Hao’s sword pierce fully through Tian Xing’s body.

“Pshh!” Blood once again spewed out and rained upward into the giant circular formation above.

This made the eight rays on giant circular formation glow more intensely, and suddenly the green rock door opened a little more.

Bright red rays shone from inside the green rock door, painting the sky in red, while an aura of evil emanated from the red rays.

“Blurgh!” Tian Xing spewed a mouthful of blood.

And this pool of blood, too, rose above into the formation.

At this moment, Mu Qingfeng had a change in expression.

Previously, he was very worried for Chi Guyan, but now it turned to shock. He saw the giant circular formation in the sky and Nangong Hao behind Tian Xing…

He could never have expected that things would turn out this way.

“Blood Offering?! It’s really Blood Offering!” Mu Qingfeng didn’t shout at Nangong Hao for him to stop, as he realized it would just be a waste of time.

And most importantly, he knew that once the Blood Offering was activated…

There was no way to stop it.

“Brother… actually stabbed Tian Xing?!” Nangong Mu was absolutely shocked as he stared at the Wuwei Sword that had fully pierced through Tian Xing’s body.

But a brief moment later, he returned to his normal expression, then rushed at full speed toward Nangong Hao and Tian Xing.

And Yan Qing continued to follow closely behind Nangong Mu.

“Master!”

“Leader!”

All of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, as well as the few Nine Pinnacles Mountain Sage State warriors, suddenly felt something was wrong.

Because judging from Tian Xing’s abilities…

He would not be so easily punched by Fang Zhengzhi like this.

But not only did the punch smashed on his face, he did not retaliate after that.

This seemed quite odd.

Suddenly, many figures rose from the ground and rushed toward Tian Xing at lightning speed.

And a sight like this…

Naturally made the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples charge forward.

“Attack!” A loud cry commanded. A few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples raised their swords and ran toward the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples.

“Stop!” ordered the Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, previously calm and composed but now started to seem anxious.

But it was too late.

A few hundred swords slashed on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

“Pshh!”

“Ah!”

Blood was spilled and screams of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples filled the air. The Heaven Dao Pavilion returned to a state of chaos.

And peculiarly, the blood that was purged from the bodies of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, too, did not fall to the ground. Instead, it flew up toward the sky.

Blood was raining upward.

“What?” Mu Qingfeng, who was rushing toward Tian Xing, noticed blood flying upward and turned extremely anxious. “Stop!” He yelled.

He tried to stop them.

But it was too late.

While the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples tried to save their leader, a few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stabbed them from the back. How would the collective power of a few hundred Sword Radiance be any less?

The air was filled with pools and droplets of blood flowing upward.

They fused into the giant circular formation in the sky, and the eight colored rays grew in brightness with the amount of blood sucked in the formation until they shone like eight more suns in the sky.

Gold, silver, white, blue, red, green…

And in the center of the eight rays was a reddish glow which permeated the air with its evil aura. The green rock door was now completely open.

Chapter 692: Choices, The Red Waterfall

“Ah, my body, why can’t I control it?” The first Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple to spit out a mouthful of blood cried out in horror.

At the same time, his body flew like a comet toward the huge formation in the center of the sky.

Following that, another Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple flew into the air, then another, then another…

As a torrential rain of blood fell into the huge round formation, dozens of injured Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples felt a terrifying attractive energy coming from the formation.

“Ah!”

“What’s going on?!”

“Save me!”

Voices of panic rose in the air. However, the attractive force was too terrifying. With their powers, there was no way they could resist it.

“What exactly is this?”

“Blood Offering? I’ve never seen such a blood offering before!”

“Junior Nangong Hao, please stop!”

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples finally realized that something was amiss as saw more and more Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples flying into the huge formation.

However, they were the one who unsheathed their swords to stop the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.

However, this did not mean that they wanted to kill every single Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciple there. They definitely did not want to see them die like this.

“Nangong Hao! Do you think you can stop me, Tian Xing, with this Blood Offering Illustration?” Tian Xing’s body started to shake as rage flared up in his heart.

As the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, his knowledge was naturally wider. He definitely knew the consequences of being pulled into this Blood Offering Illustration.

Hence, how could he stand idly by as he watched his disciples get pulled into the Blood Offering Illustration?

He really wanted to kill Nangong Hao.

However, the Green Rock Door of the Blood Offering Illustration was completely open. The terrifying attractive force tugged at his body like thousands of chains.

Even though he was one of the more powerful ones of the Holy Region, he did not have an easy time fighting this Blood Offering Illustration, formed from the secret techniques of these eight other powerful people.

Furthermore, more than half of his Origin Energy was already drained.

On top of that, he looked at the rain of blood from his own disciples.

This was adding fuel to the fire.

Of course, while his tone toward Nangong Hao remained strong, he realized that his own situation was becoming increasingly precarious.

“Shriieek!” Nangong Hao did not reply to Tian Xing. Instead, he took the Wuwei Sword from Tian Xing. His facial emotions were as calm as a lake which had frozen over. There was no change at all.

This made the blood spurt from Tian Xing’s chest like a fountain.

An odd scene appeared at this very moment…

Originally, the Wuwei Sword was as clear and clean as snow. At this moment, it started to shine red, as if it had been charged by his blood.

Then…

Nangong Hao struck decisively.

The Wuwei Sword moved as he stabbed Tian Xing with it once more. The moment he stabbed out, it triggered the red light from the Green Rock Door too. The red light fell from the sky like a rain of blood.

It was an impactful scene.

Tian Xing gritted his teeth and his body shook violently. The image of a red-haired hunk from his body flickered. Evidently, he was in a bad shape.

“Boom!” The moment Nangong Hao stabbed Tian Xing, he was like a kite which had been cut loose. He did not fall forward, but instead, he flew into the air toward the Blood Offering Illustration.

It felt as if he had been cut free.

“Pavilion Leader Mu, please kill Nangong Hao quickly!” The Fu Xi Valley Elder, Gu Yuan, started to panic upon seeing this scene. He no longer pretended as if he was not involved in this entire matter.

“Kill Junior Nangong Hao?!”

“What nonsense are you saying?”

“Junior Nangong Hao is just confused…”

When the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples heard Gu Yuan’s words, they were instantly enraged.

“What do you lot know? If you don’t kill Nangong Hao now, it’ll be too late once he completes his Blood Offering!” Gu Yuan, the Fu Xi Valley Elder, shouted without thinking.

“Once he completes his Blood Offering?” The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples trembled. While they did not know what it meant, they could sense that Gu Yuan was not joking.

Mu Qingfeng now looked at Nangong Hao. He stared at the scarlet Wuwei Sword in his hands and Tian Xing, who was flying rapidly toward the Blood Offering Illustration. His snow-white robes started to flap furiously.

He did not hesitate any more.

Mu Qingfeng charged toward Nangong Hao.

“Ah!” Tian Xing’s voice rang out at this very moment. At the same time, a thick black aura started to spew out from his body crazily.

It enveloped his body instantly and turned into an impenetrable black armor.

This was Tian Xing’s Blood Source.

However, this time, the golden runes on his black armor were visibly fewer. Furthermore, there were cracks all over his helmet.

Even so…

Tian Xing, who had been flying toward the Blood Offering Illustration, stopped once more.

Nangong Hao moved once again.

The Wuwei Sword glowed blood-red. The Blood Offering Illustration in the sky started to spin rapidly. The terrifying attractive force instantly increased in intensity.

Of course, this attractive force did not act on Fang Zhengzhi.

To him, the Blood Offering Illustration above his head was just an ornament. It had no impact on him whatsoever. Despite its power, the only thing that made him slightly uncomfortable was its severe killing intent.

However, Tian Xing’s reaction was much more intense.

The moment the Blood Offering Illustration started to spin, his body trembled once more. His black armor creaked and cracked as if he was no longer able to control it.

At this moment, Nangong Hao was in front of him.

He attacked Tian Xing once more with his sword.

“Die!” Tian Xing did not dodge because the strong attractive force from the Blood Offering Illustration made it impossible for him to move freely. Hence, all he could do was to try and resist Nangong Hao’s sword.

His fist, covered with his black armor, landed on Nangong Hao’s Wuwei Sword.

“Boom!” An explosion rang out.

Under the humongous impact of the clash, Tian Xing’s body flew toward the Blood Offering Illustration once more.

However, Nangong Hao’s body trembled violently. His chest heaved and his face turned pale. However, he bit down on his lips tightly.

He swallowed a mouthful of blood.

At this moment, Mu Qingfeng was next to him. With one claw-like hand, he grabbed the shoulder of the arm which Nangong Hao used to wield the Wuwei Sword.

“Nangong Hao, stop. Your target is wrong. Even if your Blood Offering is successful, you’ll incur bad karma from it!” An icy-cold light flashed in Mu Qingfeng’s eyes.

“Master, I’ve disappointed you, but my choice is not wrong!” Nangong Hao seemed moved. However, quickly, he struck at Mu Qingfeng with his palm too.

“Boom!”

The two palms clashed.

Nangong Hao’s body was sent flying. His face blushed red and he was no longer able to keep his mouthful of blood down. Immediately, he spat out his mouthful of blood.

Blood fell from the sky like rain.

The rain of blood, however, flew toward the Blood Offering Illustration in the sky. It was completely absorbed by it too. An eye-catching light shone once more.

With it, Nangong Hao’s body trembled violently.

He felt as if a huge shapeless hand had grabbed him, pulling him in the direction of the Blood Offering Illustration.

“Brother!” Nangong Mu’s voice rang out. He wore a look of panic on his face and his Green and Blue Dual Blade in his hands shone brightly with light as he tried to slash Tian Xing.

“Don’t do anything!” When Nangong Hao saw the light from his brother’s Green and Blue Dual Blade, a look of panic appeared in his eyes.

However, it was too late.

Two rays of light, one blue and one green, intersected with each other quickly. Instantly, they formed a dual-colored radiance, which slashed toward Tian Xing like a ferocious beast with gaping jaws.

“Nangong Hao, it seems that your family shall have no more descendant after today!” As Tian Xing looked at the dual-colored sword light that was flying toward him rapidly, an icy-cold look flashed in his eyes.

“No!” When Nangong Hao saw the two-colored attack, his body shone with a blood light. Blood also flowed into his eyes.

Then, his body moved strangely. He took two steps in mid-air as he positioned himself right above the dual-colored sword light.

“Boom!” Another huge explosion rang out.

The dual-colored sword light struck Nangong Hao’s body directly. Then, he flew backward into the air, which happened to be the exact location where Tian Xing stood.

“How deep are your fraternal ties?” Tian Xing’s gaze turned dark as he looked at Nangong Hao, who was hurtling toward him. His expression seemed weird too, but he did not hesitate.

He clenched his fist and punched.

However, at this moment, he saw a pair of pure blood-red eyes. Furthermore, what was important was that there was an illustration in this pair of blood-red eyes.

It seemed to be a blood-red waterfall.

An endless amount of blood descended down.

“Eh?” Tian Xing realized that something was wrong. He tried to use his last bit of energy to root himself firmly in mid-air. However, it was too late.

This was because a red light had completely enveloped him.

This red light came from the Green Rock Door and it cascaded down like a bloody waterfall. Instantly, his body was enveloped by it.

“Open!” Tian Xing roared in rage. Thick, black light started to spread in all four directions like a sharp sword from his body. This made a small opening amidst the red light.

However, Nangong Hao had arrived.

He grabbed onto Tian Xing and his hand shone with red light. Then, he forced the small opening to close.

“I said that I won’t change my choice!” Nangong Hao looked at Tian Xing with blood-red eyes. However, his expression remained calm.

“Nangong Hao, how dare you! Aren’t you afraid that the Nine Pinnacles Mountain will exterminate your entire family?!” Tian Xing’s expression changed and for the first time, a look of terror crossed his face.