Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Charming sunlight and deep starlights fell from the sky at the same time, and a cool breeze blew gently.
It was so quiet that it was somewhat charming. It was a leisurely scene.
The distance of the last step was like a natural moat in front of Ou Yangming as if a sea of fog or the whole world was between them.
“No, it’s still not right…” Ou Yangming kept deducing in his spiritual world but no matter which direction he went, it was a dead-end. It seemed that once he took the last step, his soul would be shattered, and his body would be disintegrated. This feeling was so strong and real.
Ou Yangming’s foot was suspended in the air as he could not put it down for a long time.
“What should I do? What should I do?” Ou Yangming was extremely anxious.
The golden mental power had already been mobilized to the extreme. With the heavenly stems and earthly branches as its foundation, it quickly grew.
Nonetheless, the more it was like this, the more it became impossible to take this step. All kinds of causes and effects were connected, and a single action could cause everything to be affected. This last step connected all the plants and gravel in the entire valley. This was not a single step, but 1,000 steps or even 10,000 steps.
‘I can’t rush it—I definitely can’t rush it,’ Ou Yangming growled internally.
The Heavenly Phoenix Fire and the Devouring Power in his body started to circulate crazily. Half of his body was red while the other half was pitch-black. They were like a Yin-Yang diagram that spun non-stop.
Even so, the 2 powers did not interfere with each other. They were like independent systems that kept spinning non-stop.
The powers became stronger, painting the sky above the valley red and black at the same time.
Ou Yangming’s body was at the intersection of those colors. Such a scene was difficult to describe.
He Jian’s fear seemed to have dissipated. All that was left in his eyes was this scene. He was stunned for 3 to 4 breaths before he regained his senses. There was only one thought left in his mind—’What kind of power is this?’
When the powers surfaced, the miscellaneous thoughts in Ou Yangming’s mind also calmed down.
He thought to himself, ‘The numbers of the Great Expansion makes 50, of which only 49 are used in divination as 1 is a variable.
‘Even the Heavenly Path leaves a chance for survival, let alone the others?’ Once he thought about this, the messy thoughts in his mind were gone, leaving only clarity and understanding.
From his first step into the valley, he began to recall everything in detail. He made a painstaking investigation instead of looking at the big picture.
Even his eyes were closed, and his expression was calm. He made a gesture with both hands, but one of his feet was suspended in the air. No matter how one looked at it, it gave off a strange feeling.
The path begot nothingness, nothingness begot Yin and Yang, Yin, Yang, and Qi begot all things.
At this time, the formation that Qiu Chengwang had fused in his memories, the formation that Xu Junqing had set up in the Forest of Death, the formation that was merged with the five elements outside the light screen, and all sorts of restrictions… It was as if what Ou Yangming had learned was refined by an unimaginably large furnace, where he no longer had the means to set up a formation. Whether it was straight, bent, round, or square, everything was in his thoughts. This was the threshold to probe the path of formations. This step was something that even the Venerable Ones from Reborn in Paradise could not do.
Ou Yangming opened his eyes, and a bright line appeared in his mind.
Without hesitation, he stepped out and came to the side of the coffin that was carved out of an Extreme Grade spirit ore.
He took out incense and candles from his spatial bag and mourned for a moment. This was the principle that the Old Craftsman had taught him since he was young. It was better to destroy 10 temples than to destroy a grave. If the young fellow met a temple or a true Buddha, he could choose not to worship them; if he stumbled upon a solitary grave or a coffin, he had to give the respect that he should have. In his words, even if there were ghosts in this world, they were hiding in ruined temples.
At the same time, he said softly, “Sorry to disturb your peace, senior. Please forgive me. In order to solve the mystery, I can only offend you.”
He Jian also walked to his side and stood next to him, but he did not say anything.
With that, they looked at each other and merged their Qi and strength into one. Their fingers lightly touched the coffin, and a huge amount of spiritual Qi rushed over. They were incredibly pure and were not something that could be achieved in the Spiritual Realm. Being washed by the spiritual Qi, the hidden injuries on their bodies were healed. The lid of the coffin slid slightly, and a scorching light spread out, filling the entire valley and suppressing the sunlight. It was like a burning star, and it became the only color in this world.
Ou Yangming felt a piercing pain in his eyes, and his head sank. It was as though he was trapped in a bottomless sea. His vision darkened, and he fainted.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a square that was 33 kilometers tall.
10 pill furnaces that were 333 meters tall stood in the square. Flames soared into the sky, causing the sky to tremble.
A white-haired young man stood with his hands behind his back. He was dressed in white and had a sword case on his back. Within 333 meters from him, even the void began to tremble. Nevertheless, for some unknown reason, one could sense the grief on his body just by looking at him. His will seemed to be able to infect heaven and earth.
All of a sudden, his eyes lit up, and a sharp sword-light flashed past. In an instant, numerous sword-lights condensed out of thin air and surrounded him as if they were paying respects to a sword immortal.
He raised his hand and pressed down. His voice was calm as he said, “Using the Flower of Paradise as a guide, and the blood essences of the Dragons and the Phoenixes as the origin, I refined the Seven-colored Pills. Today is the time to open the furnaces.”
Without the slightest movement from him, the 10 pill furnace lids flew up in an instant. The light was like colored glass, and a rich fragrance spread out in all directions.
The white-haired young man was calm and indifferent.
Without warning, the sky darkened. Dark clouds blotted out the sun while grey clouds hung low. Lightning bolts danced like dragons and snakes.
The dark clouds moved lower, and a majestic pressure descended from the sky. Red spots could be seen within the dark clouds, and everything within 500 kilometers fell silent.
After brewing for some time, a booming sound was heard coming from the dark clouds. A bolt of lightning as wide as a bucket fell from the sky and spread out. 1 bolt turned into 100 bolts, which were majestic like rain. Flashes of Lightning were falling like raindrops—this was a Pill Disaster!
The white-haired young man did not hesitate. He raised his hand and clenched, causing the lightning bolt to be shattered.
He laughed arrogantly. “Even if I use my body to block the tribulation, the sky above my head—what can you do to me? At the very most, I can just defy you. If the yellow sky doesn’t die, where will the blue sky be?”
This scene caused Ou Yangming, who was outside the square, to be appalled.
Generally speaking, all living things needed to pass Heavenly Disasters. When humans and beasts attempt to break through to become Venerable Ones, there would be disasters. When pills and magic tools reached a certain level, there would be disasters. Despite that, the power of the Heavenly Disasters could not be interfered with by external forces as it could only rely on the power of the being that was overcoming the disaster. Once other forces were mixed in, the disaster’s power would become terrifying and endless.
At this moment, this white-clothed young man in front of Ou Yangming crushed the lightning with his bare hands.
He simply disregarded the world!
As expected, this thundercloud was enraged. Black clouds surged and gave off a pressure that made one’s hearts palpitate.
The young man sneered, “Who are you trying to scare? Why don’t you strike and kill me if you can?” His expression was filled with disdain as though the Heavenly Disaster meant nothing to him.
“Boom, boom…” Many red thunderbolts descended from the sky. Wherever they passed, the space would reveal a pitch-black color that frightened one as though they could destroy everything. At last, they gathered and transformed into a Thunder Dragon that was formed from the red thunderbolts. Its body flickered with electric arcs.
“A dragon?” The white-haired young man had a mocking expression on his face, but he moved next.
Without any fancy movements, he stepped on the air and clenched his right hand. He grabbed the Thunder Dragon’s neck and pinched it forcefully.
The Thunder Dragon continued to struggle and roar, but it could not move at all. It was as if it was not a dragon, but an insignificant insect.
When the young man closed his fingers, a bang was heard, and the Thunder Dragon was instantly killed. However, he still had a casual look on his face as if what he did was not worth mentioning.
Ou Yangming gasped. Xu Aoran’s name involuntarily appeared in his mind. He was certain that the young man carrying the case was Xu Aoran. This feeling was so mysterious that it was difficult to describe it with words.
In a way, this young man was the most domineering person Ou Yangming had ever seen. He treated the world like a dog. Even the dragon powerhouse, which cultivated the Solitary Thought Skill and killed tens of thousands of Venerable Ones in one blow, was not even 1% of Xu Aoran in terms of overbearing aura and strength.
The flashes of lightning scattered. Xu Aoran looked carefree.
He waved his sleeve and tapped his finger in the air, creating a heaven-lifting force.
Consequently, a 333-meters-long cut appeared on the thundercloud. It opened like a mouth, revealing fearsome darkness and profundity. A huge suction force appeared.
A strange look appeared in Xu Aoran’s eyes. He let out a soft exclamation and stretched out his hand.
Following that, a small sword grew in the wind. In the end, it became 333 meters long. Every tiny pattern on it could be seen clearly. It brought with it a majestic aura as it slashed toward the crack on the thundercloud. A muffled roar that sounded neither human nor beast could be heard from within the thundercloud. It seemed furious!
“Hmph, I’ve prepared for 1,000 years to refine these Seven-colored Pills. How can I allow anything to go wrong?” Xu Aoran sneered.
As soon as he finished, he bent his finger and pointed. “Break!” His voice was soft, but there was a hint of unquestionable intent.
The thunderstorm eventually showed signs of collapsing. After a while, it dissipated.
As a result, the sky and the ground cleared up, and a gentle breeze blew.
This scene was carved into Ou Yangming’s soul. All along, he had maintained a strong respect for the universe and was unwilling to be involved in any major karma. That said, at this moment, the thundercloud in the sky was forcibly dispersed. This was the Heavenly Disaster, which was the embodiment of the universe’s will. This made the young fellow’s heart chaotic as if all his thoughts had become unreal.
When Xu Aoran raised his hand and grabbed, a finger-sized pill flew out from each of the 10 pill furnaces at the same time.
There were no luxurious words in this world that could describe the color of the pills. By taking just one sniff, the pills could regenerate one’s flesh and blood.
The glow on the pill suddenly dimmed, and a rotten aura spread out in all directions. The furnaces had just been opened, but the pills seemed to have existed for tens of thousands of years. In the blink of an eye, the 10 medicinal pills turned black and became black powder before they dissipated.
A faint look of unwillingness appeared in the white-haired young man’s eyes, but he smiled instead. He raised his hand and pointed at the sky, then he uttered coldly, “I lost once today, but I’ll win it back in the future! I want to save her, and you can’t stop me.” His voice was as calm as ever, but his words were very resolute.
Immediately after, wisps of mist floated up and covered this scene.
Ou Yangming rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment, ‘What does pill refinement have to do with this coffin? Why did I see such a scene the moment the coffin was opened? Besides, I tried to wake up just now, but I couldn’t do it. It was as if I was bound by an invisible force.’
His mind went blank out of the blue, where he seemed to have turned into a piece of duckweed that drifted with the current. His vision was dark. He could not see or feel anything as if he had been exiled.
