Chapter 563: Immortal Art of Jin Zhi

"... What... is... this?"

Jiang Ding's breathing grew labored. He looked at Yao Jin and asked.

Clearly, within his perception, no attack had come at him—everything had been blocked and shattered by the Eight Trigrams Restriction-Breaking Array.

It was only about the strength of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator; under the array's formation, it should have been more than enough to handle.

Yet this spear, as thick as a baby's arm, had simply appeared in his chest.

There was no ripple of spatial teleportation, no eerie chill of a curse technique, and it did not even display the ability recorded in the library—where a Soul Transformation cultivator's Primordial Spirit merges with heaven and earth.

Just like that, the golden spear naturally fell into the embrace of its target.

"Junior, this is no mere thing."

Yao Jin did not answer, sinking into a distant memory. After a long while, he said:

"This is my—Great Dao!"

Boom!

The Yao Jin divine spear lodged in his chest erupted. Countless golden rays burst forth, shattering the young man's body into countless fragments.

"Martial Uncle!"

"Lord Master Tushan!"

The many Jin Dan cultivators shuddered in their hearts, terrified beyond measure. Without a second thought, they fled in all directions.

Though they often resented his overbearing tyranny and lack of human feeling, everyone knew that without him, they could not have posed any threat to a great cultivator of the Nascent Soul ancestor realm—they could only have been slaughtered.

"Ancestor, this one is Yin Dao, the descendant of your ninth son…"

The Six Dao Holy Son's eyes were filled with terror.

He knew even more clearly the gap between Jin Dan and Nascent Soul cultivators, let alone this earth-shattering, brilliant ancestor of his—even if it was only a statue, it was absolutely not something a Jin Dan cultivator could escape from. He tried to adopt another method of survival.

"Sacred ground of the Ancestral Master, no outsiders may tread. Die."

The Yao Jin statue's gaze was indifferent. Golden light flashed in its eyes, and brilliant golden array patterns filled the sky. Over three hundred Jin Mao materialized, each aimed at killing a Jin Dan cultivator.

Clearly, at the time when he left behind that wisp of divine sense, his descendants had already multiplied beyond count. The little affection he once had had long since been worn away by the passage of time.

Because everything within sight was merely descendants and bloodline—indistinguishable from grass and trees.

"Oh?"

The Yao Jin statue suddenly showed a look of surprise and gave a soft exclamation.

The Jin Dan cultivators fleeing for their lives—Han Lin, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, and the others—only felt a terrifying pulling force coming from all directions. Driven by an external force, they involuntarily stepped into the Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou Heavenly Stair steps, receiving the surrounding Eight Trigrams array patterns.

"Lord Master Tushan!"

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun and the others rejoiced. Not only did they not resist, they desperately urged their magic power and divine sense, actively following the will of this force.

When truly fleeing for their lives, facing life and death, all the Jin Dan cultivators genuinely felt the benefit of following a powerful one.

Though there was no emotion, though he was overbearing and domineering,

He could keep them alive!

Senior Qian, Kun, Dui, Xun, Kan, Zhen, Gen, Li!

In the blink of an eye, the Eight Trigrams phenomena rose once more, flowing ceaselessly, finally fixing upon the Li trigram.

Hum!

Within the array patterns, clusters of Li Fire condensed, transforming into crimson-red small swords. Each darted off in all directions, slicing every Jin Mao cleanly in two.

Wisps and strands of Li Fire's flames burned along the broken edges, dissolving the Jin Mao completely, leaving not a drop behind.

"Still alive?!"

The Six Dao Holy Son and the others looked toward the center of the Eight Trigrams array.

A youth in blue—no, a boy in blue—revealed his form. His face was ordinary. His height, originally that of an adult, had now shrunk to that of a boy of fifteen or sixteen, a full head shorter, his body also reduced in proportion.

"Your puppet is quite extraordinary."

The Yao Jin statue said with great interest.

Truly extraordinary.

His golden spear contained the karma of Jin Zhi, a smattering of immortal art—not some ordinary weapon wielded by ordinary men.

If even a fraction grazed one, even an indestructible body cultivator would instantly shatter into fragments, soul gone.

This time, it had pierced straight into the heart. By all rights, even a Nascent Soul cultivator should have died instantly; any puppet would have been useless.

"Senior,"

"You can control the metal-attribute spiritual energy within my body."

Jiang Ding stared fixedly at this invincible being's statue from ten thousand years ago, and at the wisp of split soul within it that had revived through the array.

At the instant he was struck by the golden spear, even though Jin-92 was an immortal-gate nano liquid-metal robot with no life, over half of its internal nano-constructive particles were instantly destroyed. It had no choice but to sever the damaged portions, and only thus narrowly escaped death.

Having experienced death once, he faintly understood the other's method of attack.

The karma of Jin Zhi—the sovereign of metal!

It was simply terrifying.

All things under heaven—those clad in fur, bearing shells, born of moisture, hatched from eggs—which among them could claim to have no metal-attribute spiritual energy within their bodies? Which magical treasure did not have metal-attribute heavenly materials added to it?

Even if not, the heavenly materials of wood, fire, earth, and water grow between heaven and earth—how could they be free of metal-attribute contamination?

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—these are the foundations of the Five Elements of heaven and earth. They are everywhere, in everything, part of every living being. Originally they belong entirely to the creature itself, grown from birth, spirit and flesh as one—how could an outsider possibly control them so easily?

This was unreasonable,

Hundreds, thousands of times harder than slaying a single cultivator!

"Junior, you have a good eye!"

The Yao Jin statue smiled slightly. With a wave of his hand, golden inscriptions blazed around him, and a golden spear regenerated. With a casual toss, he sent it pinning toward the youth in the sky, as relaxed and effortless as hunting a wild goose.

This was the confidence of an invincible being of the realm.

So what if you can see it?

The blade is here, the fish and meat are on the cutting board — just because you see it, does it mean it won't fall?

Just like ten thousand years ago,

those opponents of his — the result won't change!

"Go!"

Jiang Ding said nothing. The Eight Trigrams array cycled, condensing into a sword shaped like the Li Fire Trigram, tearing through layer upon layer of space, and slashed toward the golden spear in a single strike.

Amid the rumbling sounds of destruction, countless spiritual lights splashed in all directions, sweeping up vast swathes of surrounding space into shattering ruin.

Just as before,

on the frontal battlefield, the Yao Jin statue's last wisp of a split soul and its tattered array were not so strong as to be unbeatable.

It was only that its methods were too terrifying, exceeding the Dao comprehension of a Jin Dan cultivator.

Ding!

Numerous Jin Dan cultivators, hearts pounding with extreme anxiety, stared intently.

A small, delicate Jin Mao had appeared at some unknown moment beside Jiang Ding, collided with the silver-white flying sword in his hand, and was split apart by a single slash.

Spiritual light scattered; the terrifying sword intent of breaking and destroying laws blazed out in all directions.

Jiang Ding's face expressionless, he sheathed the silver-white flying sword and fixed his gaze on the Yao Jin statue.

"This sword intent of yours—?"

The Yao Jin statue's expression shifted in shock.

Within his Golden Wisdom karmic perception, the karmic threads of the metal element among the myriad things of the world had originally been clearly visible.

But at this moment, a human-shaped black hole appeared, shrouded by a will of breaking and destroying laws, and not the slightest trace could be discerned any longer.

"Senior, it seems your training is rather lacking."

Jiang Ding drew in a deep breath, confirmed it was effective, and finally revealed a savage grin: "Ten thousand years ago, when the times produced no heroes, a mere nobody rose to fame — did you really think that a wisp of a split soul plus a tattered array could do anything to me?"

"Die!"

Rumble!

The Eight Trigrams Breaking Restriction Array roared into operation, its sword intent of destruction shrouding the four directions, breaking spirit and destroying law, obscuring the shallow karmic power,.

Then Senior Qian, Kun, Kan, Dui, Gen, Zhen, Li, Xun — the eight trigram images all rose up together, no longer divided into upper and lower. Boundless heaven and earth spiritual qi surged in and out, and eight trigram-image flying swords were condensed, rumbling down in suppression.

(End of chapter)