Chapter 1684: The Gods of the Past Were Servants of the Immortal Dao

The starry sky was calm, without a ripple.

The heavenly tribulation seemed to have vanished for good.

"Can the heavenly tribulation be forcibly interrupted?"

Jiang Ding looked toward the sky.

Within the Cultivation World there were many theories about the heavenly tribulation: the Heavenly Dao Will theory, which holds that the all-powerful Heavenly Dao tests all things; the Law theory, which holds that an individual whose strength suddenly leaps upward clashes violently with the surrounding environment and so draws the tribulation; and so on.

But no matter which theory of the heavenly tribulation one accepted, forcibly breaking off the process of the tribulation would inevitably provoke an even fiercer backlash.

It was like shoving a pendulum's bob hard — the harder one pushed, the more tremendous the force when the bob swung back.

Boom!

At that very moment, the tribulation clouds surged back to life once more.

This revival was utterly abnormal.

In one instant a single ink-dark blot of cloud appeared in the starry sky; in the next, the entire sky was already swallowed by rolling black clouds, blotting out every star, plunging the world into darkness.

An even more terrifying pressure descended from within the tribulation.

That crushing weight directly suppressed the Dharma-Ending Law anomaly; even the horrifying scenes of the fate tribulation collapsing, all spirituality draining away, and the myriad heavens' stars being destroyed could not block the tribulation's pressure.

This Dharma-Ending Law anomaly was compressed again and again by the tribulation's pressure, compressed, compressed, until at last it simply crumbled and turned into a dim yellow halo of light behind the blue-robed youth's head.

Within this tribulation, there existed something that could block the Dharma-Ending Law!

"Not bad."

"The Dao of Immortality is so colorful and varied, it never disappoints…"

Jiang Ding revealed heartfelt delight.

Within the surrounding tribulation, he saw things similar to the Dharma-Ending Law, capable of manifesting the rules of Dharma-Ending, though their principles were not the same as his own Dharma-Ending Law.

This should be the native Dharma-Ending Law of the Immortal Dao universe!

Indeed, over countless eons, the world had never lacked for outstanding heroes of heaven and earth — how could they possibly fail to explore the path of Dharma-Ending?

Perhaps, in the depths of the endless universe, there existed magnificent Dharma-Ending Divine Dynasties whose might pressed down upon myriad great worlds, blooming with the beautiful radiance of the Great Dao, making people's hearts yearn for them.

In an instant the tribulation clouds spread out, blotting out all light, as countless bolts of thunder-rule flickered and blossomed.

Countless human figures emerged within the thunder, their mouths opening and closing, emitting voices like great bells and resonant chimes, while countless golden runes blossomed forth from the black clouds.

"Subdue the demon!"

"Sweep away the fiends!"

"You vile beast, will you not submit to the law!"

A stern, wrathful shout rang out from within the thunder.

Along with the voice, the figures within the thunder clouds gradually grew clearer.

Within these thunder clouds, a hundred thousand celestial soldiers stood in gleaming armor and sharp weapons, precious light spilling in every direction, all arrayed in the Nine Heavens Thunder Demon-Subduing Formation; within the formation the Thunder Department's gods beat the Kui-hide war drums, thirty-six bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder wove themselves into a net, and in the clouds one glimpsed treasures such as the Thunder Duke's chisel and the Lightning Mother's mirror, giving

birth to bolts of thunder imbued with unique laws that spread in every direction.

These thunderbolts writhed like dragons and snakes, sealing off every avenue of retreat.

At the formation's eye stood a single awe-inspiring pagoda-bearing deity, in his hands a Seven-Treasure Exquisite Pagoda; at the pagoda's base, thunder-gale winds formed a vortex, seeking to capture souls.

In an instant, an incomparably terrifying aura bloomed between heaven and earth, enough to strike dread into even celestial beings.

In the blue-robed youth's heart, too, a sliver of chill arose; several strands of hair had at some unknown moment turned scorched black, and his Sword Dao instinct keenly sensed something.

"Incense-ash Dao soldiers?"

Jiang Ding murmured.

Incense-ash Dao soldiers!

These were the incense-ash Dao soldiers that Brother Brother Xuanwu's Heavenly Palace excelled at.

However, the profundity of the Dao soldiers displayed by these hundred thousand thunder celestial soldiers far surpassed the inheritance of Brother Brother Xuanwu's Heavenly Palace, and even surpassed the inheritance of the already-fallen Celestial Fall Sovereign Court of the Upper Realm.

The Dao of Gods!

He had encountered the true Dao of Gods!

Not the half-Dao-of-Gods controlled by cultivators, but genuine beings of the Divine Dao who had already built a glorious civilization, whose inheritance was reflected by the heavenly tribulation, descending to subdue demons and vanquish fiends.

"Who goes there?"

Jiang Ding probed with a question.

A vague sense of foreboding stirred in his heart.

Whatever the heavenly tribulation manifested always carried karmic ties.

Just as last time, when he had encountered the phantom of the Heavenly Sword Sword Son within the tribulation — that had been a karmic tie drawn through the inheritance of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion — through what karmic line had these Divine Dao soldier phantoms been manifested?

"This King!"

"The Demon-Subduing Seven-Treasure Exquisite Commander of Thunder Celestial Soldiers, Protector of the Realm and Guardian of the People, Manifest Might and Mountain-Pressing Heavenly King!"

Unexpectedly, the burly pagoda-bearing deity among the hundred thousand celestial soldiers actually answered, his eyes flickering with a rational light, as if he were a living being.

This pagoda-bearing deity's gaze swept once around his surroundings, and he immediately understood his own situation.

"Heavenly tribulation?"

"This King is a being manifested by the heavenly tribulation?"

The pagoda-bearing deity said in a low voice, "Mortal, you are a Dao Son of which immortal sect, to be able to draw forth This King's thunder phantom — clearly no ordinary one."

"A pity, but today you shall die here."

He did not seem surprised at being manifested by the heavenly tribulation.

The connection between gods and the Heavenly Dao far exceeded any cultivator's imagination; in incomparably ancient eras, the gods had even held the true authority of the Heavenly Court, assisting the Dao Lords in ruling the world.

"Is that so?"

Jiang Ding smiled.

In that instant, his heart was like still water.

However, a sliver of extremely faint contempt within his own heart was caught by the other.

This sliver of extremely faint contempt was so abrupt, as if it sprang up instinctively, naturally.

This was an instinct born of the human race's Gong Fa inheritance—an instinct that told the human race's heir apparent what stood before him and how he should face it.

What stood before him was a divine spirit.

And a divine spirit,

was a servant of the Immortal Dao.

For the heir apparent of the boundless starry sky's hegemon race, divine spirits were servants.

Over an extremely long, extremely distant stretch of past epochs, the human race's living beings had grown so accustomed to this state that it was buried deep within the human race's Gong Fa inheritance, causing top-tier human race Immortal cultivators to look down on divine spirits without realizing it—entirely a subconscious attitude of looking at livestock, at servants.

This was wrong.

This should not be; an opponent had only strength or weakness, never high or low status.

What's the difference between being like this and those bloodline Demon race Holy Sons who fancy themselves high and above?

Such foolishness was utterly meaningless, a weakness of human nature!

Jiang Ding swiftly reflected within his heart.

However, even though it was merely a fleeting thought in his heart, it was immediately caught by that pagoda-bearing divine spirit—so sharp it was inconceivable.

"The human race's Dao Child is still so arrogant."

"So wildly overbearing."

The pagoda-bearing divine spirit said coldly: "And we spirits of the Divine Dao have long since broken free of our shackles, transcended beyond the Three Realms and Five Elements, holding dominion over the world's authority, no longer as we once were."

"This boundless starry sky is fated to the Divine Dao!"

"Even Immortals should bow their heads before the myriad heavens' gods and Buddhas; even Immortals should offer tribute to the myriad heavens' gods and Buddhas, and bow their heads beneath us!"

"Thunder, come!"

"Destroy!"

The pagoda-bearing divine spirit let out a low roar.

Boom—!

A hundred thousand celestial soldiers beat the Kui-hide war drums, the thunderous sound shaking heaven and earth.

Giant Divine Dao ritual artifacts such as the Thunder God's Chisel and the Lightning Mother's Mirror blazed with brilliant light. The thunder and lightning in countless celestial soldiers' hands gathered upon the Divine Dao ritual artifacts, then fell into the pagoda-bearing divine spirit's hands, forming a terrifying bolt of annihilating Lei Chong Guang that thundered down to slaughter the blue-robed youth.