Chapter 1297: A Common Enemy
It was no illusion on the part of the Xuanhuang cultivators. The sky, in a very real sense, was falling.
After a brief, deafening silence, a vast, majestic sound, the likes of which had never been heard before, thundered across the world.
"Aaaargh!" Like a club smashing directly into their skulls, countless cultivators saw their vision go black, nearly losing consciousness and collapsing on the spot.
A buzzing drone rang in their ears, refusing to fade for what felt like an eternity.
It was a visceral tremor originating from their very souls; even sealing their five senses offered no relief.
Those who dared to look up all discovered the same thing: the sky seemed to have descended, almost close enough to touch.
At the same time, the concentration of spiritual energy in the world had dropped precipitously.
The wind and rain of the Xuanhuang Realm abated, as if a portion of the world's very power had been siphoned away, leaving them weakened and listless.
Only the few who stood at the absolute pinnacle of power in the Xuanhuang Realm understood what these omens truly signified.
Within a peculiar, separate space, five statues with obscured faces stood in a circle.
The statues looked down, gazing at the center of their ring.
There, a glowing cloud cluster representing the current Xuanhuang Realm floated silently.
Within the cloud, the myriad changes the realm had undergone since the war began were displayed in meticulous detail.
Now, as heaven and earth fell, the Xuanhuang cloud cluster slowly pulsed and contracted, shrinking by a noticeable measure.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. They're really pulling out all the stops this time," a somewhat flirtatious female voice suddenly remarked.
"Are we just going to watch? This is a golden opportunity, one that comes once in a millennium..." one of the statues declared, instantly coming to life and revealing its true form.
Her hair flowed like silk, cascading softly to her waist. A long, form-fitting white robe hugged her voluptuous figure, yet for some unknown reason, left her fair thighs exposed.
With a hazy look in her eyes, she placed a slender finger to her lips and addressed the other four statues.
"And what would we do if not watch? Help that so-called 'Saint Emperor' of unknown origin?" a cold voice replied from the statue clad in a Daoist robe.
"I was enlightened by the Saint Emperor's teachings of the new law. In a way, he is my teacher. If it were possible, I would truly wish to lend him a hand. But alas..." The scholar-like statue also stirred to life, sighing softly as he gazed up at the space beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
"The struggle for orthodoxy in the Xuanhuang Realm is, in truth, of little consequence to us," a statue whose face remained shrouded in shadow intoned, its voice deep and resonant. "The Dharma Spreader is a wolf with boundless ambition, and this Saint Emperor, whose background is a mystery, is likely no benevolent figure either. The Xuanhuang Realm, and indeed this entire star sea, is no place to linger. Our future, everyone, our hope, lies with Wuyou. Maintaining a stable relationship with the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and ensuring the stability of the Xuanhuang Realm until the final outcome is revealed—that is our duty. To involve ourselves in this conflict would be most unwise."
"Besides..." the statue added, "the Dharma Spreader cannot lose."
The gazes of the four statues converged on Wuyou, who seemed to remain deep in slumber.
"Oh, but I so wanted to take this chance to mess with that lot from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance," Senior Sister Zhao lamented. "So many new faces, it's so much more exciting."
The scholar, the Daoist, and the shadowed statue all pretended not to hear her.
"Tied to heaven and earth as I am, my body has its flaws. With the Xuanhuang Realm drawing out power to aid him, I've grown much weaker too," Senior Sister Zhao said, covering her lips with a delicate hand as she let out a lazy yawn.
"I'm going back to rest. Call me if anything happens."
Before her voice had faded, her statue once again fell silent and still.
The scholar statue chuckled softly. "She still couldn't resist going to join the fun."
"A thousand people, a thousand faces. Zhao Ruoxi is far more than just one person. It's only natural for her mind to be fractured, for her to lose control of herself now and then," the Daoist statue commented caustically. "Let her go. It's not so easy for her to die."
After Senior Sister Zhao departed, the shrouded statue suddenly stirred to life.
It revealed the image of a middle-aged cultivator with a square jaw and a solemn expression.
"The Land of Carefree Joy, after so many years of development, has already spread to the borders of the star sea and begun to seep through the High Wall."
"This is the most critical moment."
"This sudden battle, regardless of its outcome, is beneficial to us. At the very least, the high number of casualties... will provide a massive infusion of Carefree Power. Perhaps Wuyou can use it to break through the High Wall's restraints in one fell swoop," the square-faced cultivator stated gravely.
"After all, the High Wall's lockdown on a conceptual space like the Land of Carefree Joy is far weaker than its hold on physical power."
As the square-faced cultivator spoke, a peculiar atmosphere began to circulate among them.
Yet Wuyou, the vessel of the five Celestial Venerables' hopes for escape, remained peacefully asleep. Only the occasional twitch of his eyebrows betrayed the potential tempest raging within his mind.
After a moment of silence, the Daoist statue spoke up. "Beyond the High Wall... is no land of peace. The fact that the group who escaped all those years ago now wishes to flee back here is proof enough. Unfortunately, the High Wall is difficult to cross, both from within and without."
"Even if this plan succeeds and we escape through the dream power of the Land of Carefree Joy, our strength will plummet without the foundational laws of the Xuanhuang Realm. At the Dao Integration realm, we would likely be helpless beyond the High Wall."
The square-faced cultivator countered grimly, "Even if there are dangers, we would only lose our dream-bodies. Our true selves would suffer no major harm. However, if the world beyond is a true paradise, we can cultivate there with our dream-bodies, gradually transferring the power of our true selves."
"When our dream-bodies finally solidify in reality and their strength surpasses our originals, we can use them to switch places—a perfect escape!"
The scholar statue, listening to their exchange, nodded slightly. "It is indeed the most stable method we have conceived. If the Dharma Spreader weren't so terrifyingly powerful, and so fixated on this small patch of land that is the Xuanhuang Realm, we wouldn't be in such a frustrating position."
The Daoist statue concluded, "If that is the case, then let us each add more fuel to the fire. The more potent the Carefree Power, the better. As long as the Xuanhuang Realm itself is not endangered, it matters not how many perish."
...
As they spoke, a great gust of wind seemed to sweep in from beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
The glowing Xuanhuang cloud at the center of the five statues trembled, its fluctuations visible to the naked eye.
A sliver of shock flashed through the eyes of the three Longevity Celestial Venerates.
"It is understandable for the Dharma Spreader to be so overwhelmingly strong. He has lived for so many years, after all."
"But for this Saint Emperor, who appeared from nowhere, to be so dreadful? Even with the aid of the Xuanhuang Realm, he shouldn't have reached this level, should he?"
The three Celestial Venerates exchanged uncertain glances.
Meanwhile, Wuyou slept on, his slumber growing ever deeper.
...
"My body becomes..."
"The Xuanhuang Heaven!"
An immense, cataclysmic power surged into his body as the Saint Emperor roared.
Purple, gold, and the earthy yellow of Xuanhuang—a multitude of colors merged as the Saint Emperor's figure vanished from beneath the Dharma Spreader's colossal palm.
In his place appeared the vision of an endless Xuanhuang heaven and earth.
The Xuanhuang Realm, a single world.
Though it had been stitched together, incorporating numerous other surviving cultivation realms, its scale still had an upper limit.
Yet now, the Xuanhuang heaven and earth being suppressed by the Dharma Spreader's palm was boundless, infinite, with no end in sight.
The sky was high and the land vast, the scenery between them constantly shifting.
Seas turned to fields and back again, stars wheeled in their courses.
With the passage of time, the distance between heaven and earth slowly increased.
It was as if an unseen giant stood between the land and the sky, ceaselessly pushing the heavens upward.
"The Xuanhuang shifts, Heaven and Earth are limitless!"
"The Xuanhuang of old, the Xuanhuang of now, the Xuanhuang of the future!"
"Converge!"
The Saint Emperor's voice echoed throughout the Xuanhuang phantasm.
As heaven and earth expanded, his voice grew ever more resonant.
Past, present, and future.
The Xuanhuang Realms of infinite spacetimes merged at this very moment into one.
Countless phantoms, overlapping and layering, seemed to have been forcibly dragged from the great river of time.
They formed an unprecedented, eternal, and majestic spacetime.
The Dharma Spreader's descending palm was held at bay by the infinite firmament. It trembled violently, yet could advance no further.
The expansion of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm knew no end.
Under the reverse pressure of the boundless Xuanhuang light, the Dharma Spreader's giant palm instantly shrank back to its normal human size, even faster than it had grown.
The distortion of space returned to normal.
The Dharma Spreader retracted his hand, gazing at a circular black mark in his palm that looked as if it had been seared by fire. A grave expression flickered in his eyes.
Even as light flowed across his body, as Daos perished and were reborn, the black mark refused to heal.
Opposite him, the phantasm of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm illuminated the dark, silent star sea.
It was as if a supreme immortal domain—one that was, is, and forever will be—had truly been born into the world.
The Dharma Spreader's gaze shifted from the wound on his hand to the vast spectacle before him.
Mountains towered, and fertile lands stretched for billions upon billions of miles. The world teemed with strange spirits and wondrous sights.
It was like the Immortal Realm of legend.
Gazing upon this vision of the Xuanhuang Realm, the Dharma Spreader was, for a moment, lost in thought.
A flicker of starlight burst forth in the skies of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
Clad in a robe of starlight, wearing a jade crown of the nine heavens, and treading upon the river of time itself.
The Saint Emperor slowly walked out from within the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
He was like a figure stepping out of a painting and into reality.
Illusion and truth twisted and intertwined, making it impossible to discern one from the other.
It even gave rise to an intensely jarring sense of contradiction.
"This is..."
"The laws of time?" The Dharma Spreader's voice was tinged with surprise, with a hint of disbelief.
But a moment later, he shook his head, refuting his earlier guess.
The black scar on his hand had not improved with the passage of time. On the contrary, it was worsening, even showing signs of spreading to other parts of his body.
For his supreme physique, this was simply an unbelievable occurrence.
The Dharma Spreader could faintly sense that the force continuously gnawing at his palm was not a power related to time.
It was...
An established fact.
No matter how time flowed, how the star sea was born and extinguished.
This wound would not change.
The Saint Emperor, emerging from the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm, gave the Dharma Spreader no quarter, no moment to catch his breath.
"O glorious holy spirits, my brothers-in-arms, become my halberds and my spears!"
As the Saint Emperor's voice echoed, phantoms, also robed in starlight, strode forth from the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
Their faces were indistinct, and the techniques they wielded were vastly different from the Saint Emperor's.
But without exception, they all regarded the Dharma Spreader as their mortal enemy.
Without a word, the slaughter began.
Some fought with fists and feet, others with talismans, still others with flying swords.
Their Daoist arts and divine abilities were all illusory projections. They appeared ordinary, seemingly possessing no special power.
Yet, even without landing a physical blow on the Dharma Spreader, they still managed to inflict harm.
Every wound they created was identical to the black, circular mark on his palm.
And before the vast, seemingly ever-expanding Eternal Xuanhuang Realm, the Dharma Spreader's power felt suppressed.
Facing an endless, tireless legion of illusory incarnations, the Dharma Spreader could only fight to defend himself.
Even if he annihilated them in an instant, a greater number of phantoms would soon fly out from the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
Worse still, before these incarnations perished, each was guaranteed to inflict a sliver of damage upon him.
Even if it was just a sliver, each one was an unhealable, fatal wound!
Slowly, the black scars on the Dharma Spreader's body began to multiply.
Under the reflection of the terrifying black energy, the Dharma Spreader's once-compassionate face took on a somewhat savage aspect.
Yet, even in such a dire situation, the Dharma Spreader remained calm.
He was contemplating the true nature of this illusory Xuanhuang Realm.
The Dharma Spreader's comprehension was, without question, peerless.
His ability to forge a heaven-defying cultivation path—to "Reverse the Logic of Heaven and Earth to achieve Longevity"—was proof enough of his world-illuminating, epoch-defining talent.
Moments ago, when struck by the Saint Emperor's "Dao Perishes, Dao is Born" attack, he had instantly grasped its essence and turned it back against his foe, another testament to his terrifying intellect.
He even had some insight into the residual True Immortal power scattered throughout the star sea, and even the nature of the High Wall itself.
But this one thing...
This Eternal Xuanhuang Realm, existing in the liminal space between illusion and reality.
He could not fathom it, could not begin to guess its secrets.
As a fellow cultivator in the Supreme Realm, the Dharma Spreader knew that the limits of this power made it utterly impossible to create such a vast Xuanhuang Realm from thin air.
Otherwise, he would not have needed to painstakingly patch the world together all these years.
But before him, the pressure emanating from the world's phantom was as tangible as reality itself.
The imprints of the Xuanhuang Realm's past cultivators felt real.
The wounds inflicted upon his own body were undeniably real.
What in the world was this...?
A sharp glint flashed in the Dharma Spreader's deep eyes. He felt he was on the verge of an answer.
But a beam of sword light sliced through the air, knocking his high crown from his head.
And shattering his train of thought.
Facing the Saint Emperor's relentless, lethal assault, the state of his body was no longer sufficient to allow him the luxury of observation and study.
The Dharma Spreader felt a pang of regret.
He had a premonition that if he could comprehend this grand divine ability of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm, it would be of immense benefit to the future revival of the Xuanhuang Realm, and perhaps even to escaping the Immortal Ruins and crossing the High Wall.
Unfortunately, his opponent clearly had no intention of letting that happen.
"Fellow Daoist, your talent is a rarity even across the last ten thousand years."
"But if you wish to kill me..."
"You are still lacking."
The Dharma Spreader's expression grew solemn.
A killing intent, not seen since the beginning of the battle, surfaced in his eyes.
"To die by this move, Fellow Daoist, will leave you with no regrets."
The heavily wounded Dharma Spreader spoke faintly.
A fissure suddenly split the space before the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
BOOM!
A thick, sturdy arm, seemingly constructed from countless worlds, thrust violently out of the fissure.
CRASH! CRASH!
Without a moment's hesitation, the world-arm slammed viciously into the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
The very star river quaked from the impact.
The Eternal Xuanhuang Realm, at this moment, was not yet truly eternal.
The world-arm summoned by the Dharma Spreader, however, was composed of real worlds.
They were world fragments, filled with the aura of death and decay.
Under the brutal bombardment of innumerable world fragments, the phantasm of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm flickered, threatening to dissipate.
And against these already extinct worlds, the attacks of the illusory incarnations were completely harmless.
Worse, the residual True Immortal power clinging to the world fragments began to transfer to the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm with each collision.
Black marks, symbols of calamity, began to appear across the heavens and earth of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
BOOM!
Another arm, also composed of world fragments, appeared in a different corner of the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm.
It charged straight for the Saint Emperor, who stood tall within the phantasm.
Wherever it passed, the illusory realm shattered like glass.
Revealing the true, dark void beyond.
"The corpses of worlds..."
The Saint Emperor watched the approaching spectacle of countless overlapping, shattered worlds.
He saw the endless ruins and the white bones occasionally exposed among them.
His mind couldn't help but conjure images of the ancient calamity's descent: worlds breaking apart, cultivators turning to ash amidst wails of pain and despair.
"So many..."
The Saint Emperor's heart was stirred.
Just as the all-consuming arm of world fragments was about to sweep over him, A faint glimmer of light appeared before him.
"Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth."
The light illuminated the Saint Emperor's compassionate face as he murmured the words.
The instant the world fragments were touched by the light, They evaporated into thin air, like snow melting under the sun.
The brutally sweeping, ferocious arm not only failed to harm the Saint Emperor in the slightest, It was instead dissolved of nearly a hundred of its constituent world fragments.
A gaping hole opened in the middle of the arm.
"Hmm?!"
This time, the Dharma Spreader was genuinely astonished.
Looking at the now-incomplete world-arm, a thought flashed through his mind, and he hastily retracted it.
He stared at the Saint Emperor, now protected by a shroud of light.
"That light is..."
Yet another incomprehensible thing had appeared before him.
The Dharma Spreader narrowed his eyes. He did not act rashly again, but instead began to reconsider his opponent's true identity.
The Saint Emperor seized this opportunity to rest.
After all, unleashing a series of killing blows, even with the remote aid of the Xuanhuang Realm, had been an immense drain on his power.
The Eternal Xuanhuang Realm was founded on his comprehension of the principle, "When fantasy becomes truth, truth is also fantasy." It was layered with the power of countless heroes from the Xuanhuang Realm's past, present, and projected futures, forming a grand world that was both illusory and real.
In the Saint Emperor's calculations, a being of sufficient strength could summon this Eternal Xuanhuang Realm from the void itself.
But as he was now, he had clearly not reached such a level.
Even the holy spirits of the Xuanhuang Realm he summoned did not manifest with real power.
Only the single attack they unleashed—in that one instant, or just before their demise—was imbued with the attribute of "truth," which was what allowed it to harm the Dharma Spreader.
Real damage.
That was why the Dharma Spreader could not heal it through ordinary means.
Perhaps only by turning these "real" injuries back into nothingness could the scars finally vanish from his body.
Although he had inflicted considerable damage on the Dharma Spreader, the Saint Emperor himself was not faring well.
The transition from illusion to reality, and the power it required, had far exceeded his imagination.
In a short period, the support from the Xuanhuang Realm had been completely exhausted.
That was the true reason the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm had suddenly become so fragile when attacked by the arm of world fragments.
The power the Xuanhuang Realm could provide had reached its limit.
What had helped the Saint Emperor overcome that crisis was another treasure from the Fishing Pool.
Like the Cat Treasure, it had been fished out with very little accompanying information.
It appeared to be nothing more than a plain, white ring.
But this inconspicuous object had caused the Cat Treasure to feel a distinct sense of annoyance and dislike.
Once he decided to carry it, the Cat Treasure had refused to come along.
However, since the Cat Treasure had no combat abilities to begin with, the Saint Emperor ultimately decided to bring the white ring, which was the artifact known as Falling into the Mortal Dust.
As it turned out, his choice was the correct one.
The white ring had saved his life.
Though its name was a mystery, its power was not. Under its light, any inanimate object would be broken down into pure energy.
Living beings, however, were completely unaffected.
Even items imbued with a cultivator's spiritual sense would be disintegrated, but the spiritual sense itself would remain unharmed.
It seemed niche, but in practice, it was terrifyingly effective.
The sweeping arm of conjoined worlds, upon touching the white light, had been instantly broken down into raw energy.
Replenishing the energy the Saint Emperor had expended in the fight.
At this point, the battle had reached a stalemate.
Although the Dharma Spreader's foundation was far deeper than the Saint Emperor's, the latter had compensated for this gap with a series of fortuitous encounters.
With both at the Supreme Realm, the very limit of this star sea, it would not be an easy matter to determine a victor.
To think otherwise would be a blasphemy against the very title of "Supreme."
"Fellow Daoist, might I borrow the item in your hand for a look?"
During a lull in the fighting, the Dharma Spreader made this seemingly absurd request.
"I merely wish to verify something. I will return it after I have observed it," the Dharma Spreader said with utmost seriousness.
The Saint Emperor fell into a deep silence.
After a long moment, he extended his hand and tossed the white ring over.
The Dharma Spreader nodded his thanks, caught the ring, and examined it with great care.
His eyebrows gradually rose, then he let out a soft sigh. "What a pity."
Then, true to his word, he returned the white ring to the Saint Emperor, completely intact.
Throughout the exchange, he made no attempt to launch a sneak attack.
"If I am not mistaken, this item originates from beyond the High Wall."
"I had hoped it might be able to dissolve the High Wall itself. It seems I was thinking too much..." the Dharma Spreader said with self-deprecating irony.
Then, his expression turned solemn. He looked at the Saint Emperor and asked for the first time, "Who are you, exactly, Fellow Daoist? Are you from beyond the High Wall?"
It was no wonder the Dharma Spreader would ask such a question.
From his perspective, the appearance of the Saint Emperor—a being at the Supreme Realm, possessed of so many divine abilities—was simply too strange, too inexplicable.
The Saint Emperor shook his head decisively, denying the Dharma Spreader's speculation.
"I am the Heavenly Mandate Sage Emperor of the Great Qi."
"The incarnation of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao."
"My purpose is to prop up a collapsing pillar, to turn back a raging tide. To welcome the true orthodoxy of the Xuanhuang Realm!" the Saint Emperor declared with a solemn face.
But the Dharma Spreader keenly scented the aroma of conspiracy.
"The incarnation of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao..."
"If the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao were as powerful as you, Fellow Daoist, how could it have fallen into its current state?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but a mere Xuanhuang Realm could never give birth to a figure such as yourself," the Dharma Spreader stated, a flicker in his eyes, his certainty absolute.
Hearing this, the Saint Emperor could not help but fall silent.
"While we two fight, I fear a petty villain is plotting in the shadows."
"I urge you, Fellow Daoist, to reconsider. Do not fall into another's trap," the Dharma Spreader continued.
"This person who could cultivate a figure such as yourself must possess extraordinary strength. Yet they have remained hidden in the background this entire time..."
A fierce light flashed in the Dharma Spreader's eyes. "Their ambition is vast."
"Why don't the two of us join forces? We can find this person first. What do you say?" the Dharma Spreader proposed.
Hearing these words, the Saint Emperor truly began to consider the proposition.
Although his conviction to save the Xuanhuang Realm had never wavered, as his strength had grown, so too had his doubts about his own origins.
This was especially true after he confirmed that his bloodline was a mixture from three different families. At that time, his sense of bewilderment had reached its peak.
He had simply suppressed it with his formidable willpower.
But now, at the Dharma Spreader's persuasion, those dormant thoughts were rekindled.
The Dharma Spreader pressed on. "I truly understand your feelings, Fellow Daoist."
"Think about it. If not for my painstaking efforts over all these years, patching and mending the Xuanhuang Realm, this last pure land in the darkest star sea would have long ago fallen into the Immortal Ruins."
The Dharma Spreader waved his hand, and countless images appeared before the Saint Emperor.
They were scenes of the Dharma Spreader soaring through the void, carrying on his back a world fragment that still possessed a glimmer of life.
Although he had long known what the Dharma Spreader had done for the Xuanhuang Realm, Seeing the scene with his own eyes—the lone figure with a resolute gaze, traveling through the cold, empty star sea—the Saint Emperor was still moved.
"Though our methods may differ, you and I, at our core, are both fighting for that world," the Dharma Spreader said, pointing toward the distant Xuanhuang Realm.
"But this person behind the scenes may not be," his tone turned somewhat sinister.
"If we continue to fight, one of us will surely be wounded. And during our battle, this mastermind could very well be carrying out their nefarious schemes within the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Can you rest easy, Fellow Daoist, knowing that after your death, this person will still be lurking within the Xuanhuang Realm?"
"I, for one, certainly cannot," the Dharma Spreader's voice was laced with killing intent.
The Saint Emperor's face grew grim.
He felt that the Dharma Spreader had a point.
By borrowing the white ring and returning it without incident, the Dharma Spreader had already demonstrated a certain integrity.
In contrast, the vile character of the one pulling the strings from the shadows was already beyond doubt.
He could settle things with the Dharma Spreader at any time.
But if both he and the Dharma Spreader were grievously wounded...
This mastermind might truly achieve their goal.
The Dharma Spreader saw the change in the Saint Emperor's heart and nodded slightly.
He then began to inquire about the full story.
"No memory... suddenly appearing in the world."
"A faint connection... a bloodline link..."
As the Saint Emperor spoke, a subtle change came over the Dharma Spreader's expression.
And the atmosphere between the two, without them realizing it, shifted from murderous to gradually harmonious.
"To ferret out this mastermind... it is both difficult and not."
"Since there is a bloodline connection, I possess a secret art that can sense all related bloodlines within a certain range. However, this person is a cunning old fox. I fear they have long since left the Xuanhuang Realm," the Dharma Spreader said.
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