Chapter 484: The Legacy of Taixuan |
"That should be this junior monk."
Within the Buddhist Realm Formation, someone responded. His figure was short and thin, draped in a crimson kasaya, with narrow and straight shoulders. The most eye-catching feature was the crimson dot between his eyebrows.
His voice was clear and resonant, "This poor monk is Kong You, ranked nineteenth on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking List. I've looked around, and there is no one ranked lower than me here."
Aside from the Pillar of Longevity, the other four Pillars had mostly brought around four or five people. Only the Great Heavens had brought just three, including Xu Yingshen.
"Mm." Yan Xing nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then go. There is no Guardian in that Void Light, so you must be careful when fighting."
"Yes..." Kong You nodded, ripples appearing in his eyes. His heart wasn't as calm as his surface suggested.
"Perhaps... if I defeat this Taixuan Hong in one fell swoop, I might have the chance to transform my talent into an Azure God."
True Radiance might still be considered rare in the Abyssal Domain, but within the Five Pillars, even if they couldn't be found everywhere, it was close.
Without a special reason, it would be difficult for him to obtain the resources needed to evolve into an Azure God Talent.
Kong Ming was weaker than him, so his probability of winning shouldn't be small.
"Little monk..." Just as he was about to head to the Great Void Realm, a shout came from beside him.
He turned to look and nodded, saying: "Venerable Chang Ge..."
The speaker was precisely the other Radiant Moon expert from the Pillar of Longevity who had brought Chang Ge Ming along, Chang Ge Xiao.
He reached into his wide sleeve and took out a small porcelain bottle. Upon unplugging the stopper, wisps of mist drifted out.
He poured out a fingernail-sized medicinal pill from it, casually tossed it over, and said: "If you lose, give this to him. It's a special concoction of my Longevity Lineage. After eating it, it can let him recover as quickly as possible, saving us from wasting time."
Lose... Kong You's expression changed slightly as he reached out to catch it. "The Venerable is very thoughtful..."
Everyone watched as Kong You plummeted into the Guixu Abyss and disappeared.
Kong You only felt his vision blur. After landing, he followed the phantom arrow appearing on the firmament and quickly headed towards the location of the Void Light.
The place they entered had naturally been positioned by the several Radiant Moons; there was only a slight deviation during the transit.
Before long, he stopped outside that patch of Gilded Fire-Threads, "Buddha... Heaven Lord Tang..."
He greeted the Radiant Moons inside one by one.
"It's you, Kong You..." The Immeasurable Buddha was still standing quietly to the side of the Void Light at this moment, even maintaining the posture of having his hand raised high, feeling somewhat awkward.
But given his state of mind, he quickly dissolved this bit of awkwardness into nothingness.
"Yes..." Kong You explained, "The several Radiant Moons reached an agreement to send people one by one from lowest to highest based on their rankings on the Star Potential Ranking."
"A conservative method." Tang Huai nodded and said loudly: "Taixuan Hong, the first person invited to battle has already arrived. The others are all waiting outside. This should be enough to prove our sincerity, right?"
Everyone also stared at the Void Light. Ever since their agreement was reached, Tang Huai and the Immeasurable Buddha had both spoken up, attempting to converse with the other party or coax some words out of him.
But this Taixuan Hong either sneered coldly or remained silent, completely ignoring them.
But at this moment, a voice finally came from the Void Light, carrying a bit of mockery: "It seems that your lives are indeed important. You actually kept your promise."
Given the thick skin of these individuals, they didn't care about this kind of mockery at all. Tang Huai even acted as if he didn't hear it and said: "Since that is the case, could you also show some sincerity and let one person leave?"
The Void Light fell silent for a moment before a voice transmitted out, "Your Excellency Zhuang Yi, you may leave."
As his words fell, the Gilded Fire-Threads around Zhuang Yi gradually receded, opening up a path leading to the outside world.
Seeing this, Tang Huai's heart grew even calmer. Asking the other party to let someone go naturally wasn't to show any so-called sincerity, but to weaken the other party's desire to perish together.
In the beginning, six Radiant Moons were trapped here. Making them perish together with him felt worth it to anyone. But now that they were gradually reduced to only three, this feeling of it being "very worth it" naturally halved.
Adding the remaining ties to the Taixuan clansmen, he was seventy to eighty percent confident that even if some accident occurred, Taixuan Hong probably wouldn't drag them down to perish together.
Zhuang Yi backed out of the range of the Gilded Fire-Threads, but didn't distance himself immediately. Instead, he looked over from afar, sighed, and said in a deep voice: "Rest assured, I will definitely do my utmost to fulfill the matters I promised you."
This Taixuan Hong had first released Yuan Luofan and Luo Cheng, and now he had released him too. It was estimated that he wouldn't perish together with them anymore, so he wasn't worried.
Tang Huai then praised: "You truly have the legacy of Taixuan, a promise worth a thousand gold. It's just that there is no guardian within the Void Light. When you two fight later, accidents will be unavoidable. How about letting another person go in to act as a guardian?"
"Heaven Lord Tang, you don't possess the demeanor of a Dao Lord at all." The voice from the Void Light caused Tang Huai to restrain his expression, merely saying: "Since that's the case, neither of you should deal a killing blow later."
"Yes..." Kong You nodded. There was no response from the Void Light, only that in an area slightly further away from the crowd of Radiant Moons, the Gilded Fire-Threads gradually receded, leaving a passageway wide enough for one person to enter.
Kong You walked around and arrived right in front of the Void Light, but couldn't help pausing his steps. Although defeating this Taixuan Hong had its benefits, right now several Radiant Moons were being restrained by him. Arriving at the threshold, he inevitably hesitated.
"Kong You, focus your mind." From above, the voice of the Immeasurable Buddha transmitted down.
Kong You nodded and stepped inside. The scorched black earth spread out from under his feet, while the firmament above reflected a sky full of stars.
His gaze naturally fell upon the only living creature within this space.
Taixuan Hong... Kong You sized him up, inevitably feeling somewhat disappointed inwardly. As the Chosen of the Radiant Sun, he had held some expectations when he came in.
Not to mention being as imposing as Chang Ge Ming, he should at least have some distinguishing features like Xu Yingshen. But this person looked completely ordinary.
"This poor monk is Kong You, ranked nineteenth on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking List. I have come at your invitation." He said amiably. A brown pill appeared in his palm, and he casually tossed it quite far away. Upon landing, a lotus bloomed, wrapping around it layer by layer.
"This is a pill from Venerable Chang Ge. If you can defeat me, eating it will allow you to recover your state as quickly as possible."
"Quite thoughtful, Longevity..." Su Chen was quite surprised. It seemed the Longevity Pillar's good reputation was indeed well-deserved.
He nodded to indicate his understanding. In the upcoming battle, he needed to be careful when using certain methods.
His Flash-Shadow Body could now transform into the Five Elements Body. By covering it with the Fire Element, there shouldn't be a big problem. At worst, he just wouldn't use the Fire Avatar in the outside world in the future.
As for his other abilities, they didn't have any obvious characteristics. The Heavenly Mark Blessing would only strengthen his physical body, but there were countless abilities that strengthened the physical body.
"The characteristics of the Immovable Vajra are quite obvious. Since this isn't like the Flare Realm and there truly is no guardian, I must be careful, and I should also change my fighting habits slightly..."
This body of his was formed by the fusion of nine different Nether Realm Creatures. In terms of physical strength alone, it was even stronger than his Main Body, and the abilities he could use were even more diverse. He could just casually use a few to cover up his identity during the battle later.
"Heavenly Lord, can we not observe the battle?"
Zhong Yue withdrew his gaze from the Great Void Realm and couldn't help asking. Ever since Kong You went in, they had been speculating here, but just waiting was ultimately somewhat boring.
The gazes of the others also followed suit.
"Hmm..." Yan Xing pondered, "The interference from this Great Void Realm is extremely strong, and that Void Light also seems somewhat different. Trying to project the scene within it is indeed somewhat difficult..."
"There's no harm in trying..." The Old Buddha spoke, "I'll go down and give it a try, but I need a fellow Daoist outside to relay it."
"I'll do it." The voice of the Radiant Moon from the Machine Domain was muffled.
The Old Buddha picked a spot and dropped into the Nether Realm. He couldn't use his methods around those Gilded Fire-Threads, but since he was quite far away, a crimson blood-mark appeared on his glabella, and the surrounding flesh slowly squeezed towards the surroundings.
A wisp of golden radiance emerged from the rift, and a clear golden eyeball appeared, looking straight at the location of the Void Light. A ray of bright light shot straight into the clouds from the top of its head.
"It's coming." The Radiant Moon from the Machine Domain reached out his palm. His flesh split open, and metallic structures continuously churned within it, eventually transforming into a Double-Sided Mirror.
One side received the bright light from below, while a scene gradually emerged on the other side. Impressively, it was precisely the scene of Kong You facing off.
It was just that it looked quite blurry, and even Kong You's face couldn't be seen clearly.
"What can we see from this?" Everyone looked from afar, their brows tightly furrowed.
"The intensity of that Void Light is not low, coupled with the influence of the Great Void Realm. You guys will just have to make do." Yan Xing shook his head. If not for the combined efforts of the two Radiant Moons, it was feared that not a single trace of the scene inside the Guixu Abyss would leak out.
Helpless, the crowd could only reluctantly watch. However, they discovered that the mirror surface continuously magnified, seemingly locking onto Taixuan Hong, trying to investigate something.
But right at this moment, a dazzling purple radiance suddenly exploded upon that mirror surface. Everyone vaguely saw that magnificent figure, their hearts inevitably palpitating.
Sovereign of the Purple Zenith!
Crack!
Fine cracks actually appeared on that mirror surface. Immediately after, all the scenes within it vanished completely.
Yan Xing frowned and shook his head, saying: "That Taixuan Hong is the Chosen of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith. Do not spy on him; just observing the battle is enough."
His voice naturally couldn't reach the Great Void Realm, but the Old Buddha had also realized this point. Very quickly, the bright light transmitted over again, and the scene re-emerged.
However, the inside had already transformed into a brilliant sea of flames.
The battle had clearly begun. But because the scene was too blurry, even with the visual prowess of the vast majority of people present, they could only barely make out two figures colliding and converging.
One of the figures emitted golden light, and a pure white Buddha body appeared around him. It was completely transparent, exuding soft Buddha-light.
"Bright King Vajra... The method Kong You cultivates should be the Bright King Refining Method. What it emphasizes is broad and powerful movements..."
The crowd below discussed animatedly, not unfamiliar with Kong You's various abilities.
Xu Yingshen's eyes were already intersecting with ink-black colors as he muttered: "Taixuan Hong, I hope you absolutely do not lose too early. Losing by my hands is exactly what's appropriate..."
Before his words fell, a blazing radiance suddenly exploded within the scene.
Boom!
Everyone watched helplessly as a pitch-black flame, so thick it couldn't be dispelled, suddenly exploded in the scene, bursting apart like an ink-splashed canopy.
Before the smoke and dust dispersed, a colossal phantom shadow had already stepped out from within it. Its entire body was pitch-black, with Dark Gold Patterns flowing between its scales. Its massive body was like a mountain, and its eyes were like molten gold.
A thick, massive hoof stomped down, and the light of the Bright King manifestation flickered and twisted violently, extinguishing and illuminating unsteadily like a candle flickering in the wind. Finally, it was completely engulfed beneath the surging black flames.
Kong You lost?
For a moment, everyone more or less failed to react.
"It ended just like that?" Zhong Yue couldn't help but be astonished.
Their understanding of Taixuan Hong was limited to the fact that the other party spent quite a bit of time defeating Kong Ming. Logically deducing, his strength shouldn't be considered too strong.
However, no one knew the specific details. Defeating Kong You wasn't enough to make them too surprised, but wasn't this speed a bit too fast?
"It seems to be a transformation-type Holy Class..." Xu Yingshen muttered in a low voice, then mocked: "It seems that Kong Ming couldn't even force out his true strength."
The Buddhist Realm faction frowned deeply. Kong Ye's eyes flickered. Not long after Kong Ming returned to the Buddhist Realm, he announced his secluded cultivation to the public, ignoring everyone.
The little bit of news from before was obtained through the Immeasurable Buddha.
But seeing Kong You lose so quickly, the other party probably indeed didn't use his full strength during his battle with Kong Ming that day.
"I wonder what his talent exactly is. Some say it's True Radiance, others say it's Azure God. But Kong You is already a True Radiance, even if he hasn't harmonized with an Ascension Refining technique yet. But losing so quickly, this Taixuan is nine times out of ten an Azure God..."
The crowd guessed endlessly. And those highly ranked individuals who originally thought they were unlikely to take the stage couldn't help but become a bit more cautious at this moment.
"Hmm..." Huang Pan narrowed his eyes. Transformation-type... He indeed didn't use it last time during his battle against Kong Ming. But how did this look like the Netherworld Creature, Black Prison Elephant? Were there actually people who used this kind of creature as their transformation target?
"He indeed cannot be underestimated... He truly has the qualifications to issue a Grand Challenge." Yan Xing clapped his hands and praised. They could see more clearly; the entire process was a complete crush.
"Let's not waste time and have the tenth rank take the stage directly," he proposed. "The guys in between are nine times out of ten just easy targets."
"Acceptable." The Old Buddha nodded, and Huang Pan also showed no surprise.
"Whoever is tenth, prepare to take the stage." The voice drifted down.
"Directly to tenth." Zhong Yue was stunned. During the last Ranking List Update, he was ranked seventeenth. He had originally estimated he still had a chance to take the stage, but he was completely skipped over.
If the Ranking List Updates were conducted now, he was confident he could break into the top ten, but right now he was only seventeenth.
"Taixuan Hong's strength is quite extraordinary. For those below the top ten, there really isn't any suspense." Du Yunfei glanced at Zhong Yue, naturally knowing he was feeling depressed, but his own mood was instead very good, and he said loudly: "Coming!"
And quite unfortunately, Du Yunfei was the one ranked in the top ten during the last Ranking List Update.
"If I can defeat him, then during the upcoming competition for the Chosen..." Du Yunfei's mind wandered for a moment before he quickly steadied himself. This Taixuan Hong could not be underestimated; he could not underestimate the enemy.
...Zhong Yue almost had his defenses broken. He clearly defeated this guy within High Firmament; it was just that the ranking list for the Abyssal Domain hadn't been updated yet.
At least he still had some rationality and didn't commit the scandal of fighting over a spot.
Tong Zhuo's expression, however, was not very good. What if this Du Yunfei won? Wouldn't he be leading him by a notch?
"An Azure God..." Xu Yingshen's expression changed slightly, and he said coldly: "Having a low ranking actually has its benefits."
Du Yunfei paused his steps, completely pretending not to have heard, and dropped into the Guixu Abyss.
"I... lost?" Kong You lay on the ground, his gaze unfocused. The kasaya on his body was already in tatters, and he only felt intense pain in his internal organs.
The battle process was very short. After it started, he was engulfed by waves of flames and simply didn't see Taixuan Hong clearly at all.
When he did see clearly, it was a giant elephant charging right at his face, forcefully trampling his Buddha body to pieces.
"Taixuan Hong... The Chosen of the Radiant Sun..." Although Kong You was stunned, he wasn't too surprised.
Previously, everyone had deduced his strength based on Kong Ming's strength. Although the strength Taixuan Hong exploded with right now exceeded expectations, he was from the Taixuan House and a Radiant Sun Elect after all. It wasn't completely unacceptable.
He struggled to get up. The other party was already standing far away, his voice cold: "If you are unwilling to admit defeat, we can continue..."
"This junior monk has lost." Kong You gave a bitter smile and retreated from the stage.
[Restoration Pill: A special medicinal pill made by the Pillar of Longevity, capable of replenishing a large amount of Primal Source.]
Su Chen rolled up the pill placed to the side and swallowed it in one gulp. Surging heat flowed robustly, replenishing the energy he just expended.
Although the battle just now looked flashy and substonceless, with him transforming into a Black Elephant and the like, its essence was still the Heavenly Mark Blessing. That Black Elephant wasn't a transformation, but one of the Nether Realm Creatures he had devoured.
In other words, that Black Elephant state was actually no different from his current state; he could use his abilities to buff himself.
"What a good item..." Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze then looked outside the Void Light, and he couldn't help but be surprised: "It's actually Du Yunfei? Isn't he tenth? The rest were all skipped?"