Chapter 722: Retreat Turns Out to Be Advancing (4K)

In the void above, Zhang Jian could clearly sense his own changes after beheading the good corpse at this moment.

Dao heart, primordial spirit, eternal will, Dao body, and even becoming more empty and bright, his Dao heart drawing ever closer to the source of the great Dao of heaven and earth.

He could also sense that the secret method of severing the three corpses was itself a heavenly Dao secret method.

Its ultimate goal was to strive toward union with the Dao.

Zhang Jian had never thought of seeking union with the Dao; he merely used his near-Dao body to facilitate his comprehension of the various sources of the great Dao of heaven and earth.

"It seems that whether cultivation or dueling, everything has become more convenient, being close to the Dao allows one to better draw upon the power of the great Dao of heaven and earth!"

Zhang Jian pondered silently in his heart, his vast and eternal will flowing out from his entire body, merging into the true forms of the mountains, rivers, and lands around him.

In this process, Zhang Jian discovered that his deductive ability had greatly improved.

After all, he had gained another good corpse, equivalent to gaining an assistant of the level of a Dao Lord of the Other Shore.

The good corpse and other ordinary incarnations were not completely different; they likewise possessed independent innovation and deductive ability.

This amounted to a being nearly completely independent!

Yet in this process, Zhang Jian also discovered that his advantage was disappearing.

Increasingly more innate divine objects and earthly treasures had been gradually unearthed over the past two thousand years by various Dao Lords and even the Divine Emperors.

Besides this, there was also the hidden Donghuang Taiyi clan.

The opportunities left for him were not many.

……

The Blazing Flame Continent, this place was the territory governed by the Blazing Flame Divine Emperor among the nine great Divine Emperors.

Zhang Jian held the Terrestrial Emperor's Golden Ledger in his hand, yet he had been searching all along and found this place.

Compared to other continents and divine lands, this place was much more remote.

However, the number of powerful beings entering this place was also not small, for one or two earthly treasures had already been unearthed, along with a lower-grade innate spiritual treasure, leading powerful beings to suspect that some divine objects had fallen deep into the Blazing Flame Continent.

"It seems I have found it again!"

At this moment, as Zhang Jian pored over the true forms of mountains, rivers, and lands in the Terrestrial Emperor's Golden Ledger, he and the good corpse, Jiuyou Emperor, jointly performed deductions, and after a moment, they locked onto a region where the earth's feng shui had changed.

After hundreds of trials and errors, Zhang Jian could now roughly determine what kind of feng shui layout change constituted a true omen of earthly treasures descending.

In the southern region, after flying for a while, Zhang Jian saw in the distance a magnificent valley.

At this moment, the valley's surroundings were filled with countless dense innate spiritual qi.

However, these innate spiritual qi were filled with endless deathly power and turbid killing qi.

This was a forbidden land of death.

This was a terrifying forbidden land of the Blazing Flame Continent.

Fallen God Valley.

A very ordinary name.

Yet in the southern region of the Blazing Flame Continent, this place was renowned, with rumors that it was a corner of the battlefield of innate gods and demons, where many mighty innate deities and extraneous demon gods had fallen, their remnant souls lingering here, unable to be liberated, often rampaging in the surroundings.

Any immortal or deity who fell into it would become their target of attack.

It was said that only beings of Dao Lord level or higher could enter and retreat unharmed.

In the eyes of many high-ranking immortals and deities, this place was also infamous.

Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon the depths of this valley, his form transforming into a stream of light that shot straight into it.

In Fallen God Valley, every inch of space in the void seemed to be filled with a layer of terrifying deathly strange power.

The intense rules of the Death Dao drew in, causing some immortal and demon remnant souls to become abnormally violent and aggressive.

Moreover, it continuously attracted wandering souls and fierce ghosts from all directions, which fell into it, enhancing the divine energy of this place.

Seeing this strange sight, Zhang Jian frowned slightly, he immediately recited the Ten Directions Qinglian Salvation from Suffering Precious Sutra, and one after another, innate talismans burst forth from his mouth, azure divine light surging like a flood, liberating the remnant souls in this deathly wasteland, aiding these departed souls to ascend to heaven, and even more azure lotuses fell into the earth, beginning to purify this pure land.

Zhang Jian knew that such actions would inevitably provoke anomalies and draw the attention of other powerful beings.

But these troubles he did not consider for now.

Currently, his 'persona' must be established.

Who is he? He is currently a great divine powerhouse under the command of the Dongji Qinghua Emperor, compassionate and salvific, saving countless beings—how could he sit idly by while countless wandering souls and immortal-demon remnant souls linger here?

Salvation of all beings comes first, treasure hunting second.

By the might of his vast Qinglian Purification of Souls Dharma, wherever the azure divine light passed, countless wandering souls, and even the surging immortal-demon remnant souls, in an instant had their obsessions pierced by the Qinglian Purification of Souls Dharma, their ferocious and vengeful qi purified, as one after another light-shadow entered the cycle of rebirth in the azure pure land, entering the underworld's cycle of rebirth.

In the depths of Fallen God Valley, at this moment there were no lack of terrifyingly abnormal qi from the remnant souls of innate deities, and even the demon souls left by extraneous demon gods; these terrifying existences reigned supreme in the depths of Fallen God Valley, and they attempted to use the deathly qi of countless wandering souls to replenish their remnant souls' essence and vigor, striving to recover, sensing that the foundation of the Fallen God Valley secret realm was shaking, they immediately activated the myriad wandering souls in the valley's depths to manifest, rushing wildly toward Zhang Jian, trying to obliterate that layer upon layer of azure lotus divine light.

But upon contact with that azure lotus divine light, they dissolved like ice melting away.

This azure lotus Purification of Souls Dharma was no longer a fifth-level eternal Dao method; it was now a true source Dao method.

Moreover, it was not a single type of source Dao method; within it lay the powers of purification source, reincarnation source, life and death source, yin-yang source, redemption source, time-space source, and the salvific power that could shake heaven and earth.

As the amount of heaven and earth source condensed by Zhang Jian increased, his own cultivation still erupted in explosive growth.

In the legends, the ancient holy ones changed daily, gods and heaven, sages and earth, cultivation growing with each day.

Although he was not that exaggerated, his cultivation was indeed progressing with astonishing speed.

One after another, azure divine light descended from the heavens; countless wandering souls and immortal-demon remnant souls could not resist it in the slightest, and in an instant the entire Fallen God Mountain Valley was enveloped in the illusory vast azure pure land, even the earth's veins being completely purified.

At the same time, Zhang Jian had already found the strange treasure that had fallen into Fallen God Valley.

"Indeed, it is yin reaching its extreme, giving birth to yang, the two mutually generating and restraining each other!"

In Zhang Jian's eyes, deep within the Fallen God Bone, he saw a terrifying god-demon corpse crawling upon the earth, and at the location of his head's mud pellet palace, there formed an ancient well, from which flowed out the immeasurable profound yin extraordinary cold power.

That was a pool of heaven and earth rare profound yin demon well, directly connecting to the netherworld, where immeasurable innate profound yin source coalesced.

For innate deities of yin attribute, this might be a supreme treasure.

At this moment, floating above the ancient well was a dazzling golden divine sword, its entire body entwined with pure yang divine light of golden hue, the sword seeming to have wheel after wheel of thick pure yang qi flowing upon it, the innate pure yang divine light naturally suppressing the power of this profound yin demon well.

Like yin and yang poles attracting each other.

Two forces are opposing each other.

"An innate spiritual treasure of pure Yang attribute!"

His gaze fell upon that innate divine sword, and with a wave of his hand, Zhang Jian released a strand of innate Yin-Yang divine light from his sleeve, which landed upon the Profound Yin Demon Well, easily separating the two.

The innate Yin-Yang divine light continuously swept, yet it adhered to the startled pure Yang spiritual treasure, instantly swirling slightly and immediately transforming into a strand of divine light that fell into Zhang Jian's hand.

The pure Yang treasure sword's scabbard hummed, faintly emitting a scorching sword qi.

The magnificent sword intent surged straight toward heaven and earth.

Zhang Jian raised his hand and pressed upon the sword hilt, and a purple-yellow dragon-shaped eternal immortal light flowed out, instantly suppressing this innate pure Yang spiritual treasure.

After the eternal immortal light was slightly refined, Zhang Jian knew part of the information about this innate spiritual treasure.

Innate Pure Yang Treasure Sword: Lower-grade innate spiritual treasure, containing an innate indestructible divine prohibition!

Although it only contains one strand of innate indestructible divine prohibition, this treasure sword is indeed an innate spiritual treasure, possessing immense power.

A faint smile appeared on Zhang Jian's face.

As long as it is an innate spiritual treasure, even if it has just touched the threshold of innate spiritual treasures, it is extremely precious.

Zhang Jian did not deeply refine it, but instead put away the innate pure Yang treasure sword in his hand.

He raised his head, his gaze looking toward the void.

In his perception, several strands of magnificent divine light had already come from the void, differing by only one or two breaths, and soon arrived above the Fallen God Valley.

Strand after strand of divine light, mighty and vast, from which three magnificent figures emerged.

They were the Dao Lords of the Blazing Flame Continent.

The leader was a second-transformation Dao Lord, named Shi Jun Daozhu.

At this moment, his eyes turned toward Zhang Jian; he had already recognized Zhang Jian's origin, and after glancing once more at the Fallen God Valley, now purified and empty, his pupils flickered slightly, and in a moment he stepped forward, speaking in a deep voice.

"Qinglian Daoist, this place is the territory of His Majesty the Blaze Feather God Emperor; please hand over what you have obtained!"

The other two Dao Lords at this moment had slightly hesitant expressions, yet they still stood behind Shi Jun Daozhu to show their stance.

Several Dao Lords had some guesses: Zhang Jian had gained benefits, so they spoke out to obstruct him.

Even if he had not gained any benefits, entering this place would still require leaving something behind.

Zhang Jian saw through their thoughts, a cold smile appearing in his eyes; a second-transformation Dao Lord before him was nothing but an ant, daring to show himself—nothing more than relying on power to bully others.

Whose power he relied on, no need to say more.

Zhang Jian glanced at the three, speaking coldly and calmly.

"Three juniors also dare to block my path? I am the Salvation Dao Lord appointed by the Golden Yuan Dao Court; where I go cannot be forbidden, and even His Majesty the Blaze Feather Emperor surely understands reason and will not unreasonably block the road!"

"If you do not make way, I will not show mercy!"

With a wave of his hand, an invisible divine light spread from his wide sleeve, a magnificent and vast pressure sweeping over; the three Dao Lords suddenly changed expression, feeling unable to move their bodies, their forms swept up and flung backward.

But in that instant, a magnificent cyan divine light descended from the heavens, magnificent and vast divine energy dispersing from within, and a figure clad in green robes, radiating boundless divine energy, emerged.

"Who dares to act wildly in my palace's territory?"

A cold voice flowed out, and moreover, a cyan-red divine light and radiance emerged from where she landed, transforming into a raging tide that rolled back toward Zhang Jian.

This is blatant favoritism.

That magnificent divine might swept over, Zhang Jian's clothes rustled, yet his expression remained unmoved.

That which could press down heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, shatter boundless Dao hearts—the dual pressure of the primordial spirit and Dao heart fell upon him, all transforming into the formless, like a spring breeze brushing the face.

Zhang Jian merely bowed slightly with clasped hands.

"Qinglian pays respects to His Majesty the Blaze Feather Emperor!"

Seeing Zhang Jian's demeanor, the Blaze Feather God Emperor's face gave a slight cold snort, with some dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"Qinglian Dao Lord, you have great audacity, daring to act against my people in my territory!"

She did not care whether Zhang Jian had obtained treasure or not, only seizing this minor fault to exert influence.

Zhang Jian also keenly realized this point.

The other party likely had their eyes on his wealth as an outsider.

But after thinking, Zhang Jian said.

"His Majesty the Blaze Feather Emperor is sage; with your cultivation, you can survey the heavens, discern right from wrong; Your Majesty must surely know this. Although I entered without notice, I possess authority granted by the Golden Yuan Dao lineage, having the right to patrol the gods; I beg Your Majesty to discern clearly!"

After all, being on another's territory, Zhang Jian still did not wish to confront directly.

The Blaze Feather God Emperor's cold gaze fell upon Zhang Jian, and after a moment, spoke coldly.

"My palace's actions do not need your reminder, junior!"

"You had better stay! In time, my palace will properly reason with my elder sister!"

With a raise of her hand, a blazing cyan-red divine light traced a beautiful arc, sweeping toward Zhang Jian; wherever it passed, boundless wind and fire divine power raged, as if countless blazing wind blades enveloped Zhang Jian's surroundings.

Zhang Jian lifted his gaze, as if he had anticipated it; deep in his palm, a magnificent creation vortex emerged, instantly filling the heavens, devouring the boundless wind and fire.

"Since Your Majesty wishes to guide the lower god, the lower god has only been impolite!"

Zhang Jian's calm figure emerged from the void; he glanced around with his eyes, knowing he could not slowly exchange blows with this Blaze Feather God Emperor.

Time is not on his side.

And above his head, the Blaze Feather God Emperor's phoenix eyes burned with anger; deep in his palm, boundless wind and fire inhaled and exhaled, manifesting the momentum of the heavenly-earthly wheel, again striking toward Zhang Jian with a palm, as if the boundless void were stirred by that wind and fire rainbow's suction, and even more, boundless destructive power emerged from within.

In the depths of Zhang Jian's eyes, boundless omens appeared, as if terrifying innate four phenomena omens floated around his body; instantly, four-colored divine light shot out from his body, a thread of innate four phenomena destructive spirit condensed into a divine light that fiercely struck into the depths of the heavens.

The boundless divine light exploded; deep within the wind and fire-condensed sky-covering palm, a strand of destructive divine light emerged, piercing the palm, straight into the depths of the heavens.

The innate four phenomena divine light instantly entered Zhang Jian's body.

It is the top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Innate Four Phenomena Divine Needle.

This time he deliberately used this top-grade innate spiritual treasure, rather than the various source Dao laws formed from his own Earth Emperor origin.

The purpose naturally was only one: to conceal his true roots, avoid attracting the attention of the Danque God Emperor, this God of the Golden Yuan Celestial Realm's earth.

At this moment, Zhang Jian raised his head and glanced upward, speaking in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty Chìlíng's cultivation is impressive; I, the junior, am deeply impressed. In this match, Your Majesty Chìlíng has a slight edge—I know I am no match, and I beg Your Majesty Chìlíng to show mercy!"

As he spoke, Zhang Jian slightly clasped his hands, though his eyes grew slightly solemn.

Above the void, boundless azure, crimson, wind, and fire intertwined; the Chìlíng Shénhuáng's eyes sank deeply onto Zhang Jian.

The hand behind the Chìlíng Shénhuáng trembled slightly and abnormally as she gazed upon the Qinglián Dàozhū before her, whose expression remained utterly unchanged; a faint ripple stirred in her eyes.

"Enough. After all, you are a powerful one under Dànquè Jiějiě; today, this palace grants Dànquè Jiějiě a thin favor—you may go!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Jian slightly clasped his hands, his form transforming into a stream of light as he silently slipped away.

The three other Dàozhū nearby, seeing this, were somewhat startled; Shíjūn Dàozhū's expression was thoughtful, while beside him, a female Dàojūn stepped forward and asked without ceasing.

"Your Majesty, how...?"

A hint of unwillingness flickered across her face.

"The Qinglián Dàozhū's worth must be considerable—did the Chìlíng Shénhuáng really just let her go like that?"

The Chìlíng Shénhuáng's face darkened, and she spoke coldly.

"No need for more words; this palace has its own decision!"

At this moment, she sensed that her tiger's mouth, even her five viscera and six bowels, were already damaged and wounded, with a thread of terrifying four-colored divine light bursting and surging within her body.

The innate spiritual treasure in the opponent's hand was truly fearsome.

This strike actually managed to wound her, while the opponent seemed to have suffered no harm at all.

The Chìlíng Shénhuáng's expression changed.

Yet she did not believe the opponent had blocked her Origin Dao Law without injury, not even a trace.

But it also clearly showed how formidable the opponent was.

If they continued fighting, she feared that even if she defeated the opponent, she herself would suffer grave injury.

This would shake her authority in the Jīnyuān Tiānjiè.

This is why she was willing to abandon pursuit.

……

At this moment, Zhang Jian had already departed far away; he glanced toward the depths of the Chìyán Dàlù.

In their first exchange, Zhang Jian felt he had some confidence in defeating this Chìlíng Shénhuáng.

The opponent was merely slightly stronger than an ordinary Dàozūn.

Perhaps he was merely of ordinary Dàozūn origin.

But he did not wish to directly clash with the opponent just yet.

He might be able to defeat this Chìlíng Shénhuáng, who ranks last among the Nine Great Shénhuáng, but there are nine of the Nine Great Shénhuáng.

Moreover, there are terrifying powerhouses like Yuánhuáng, Dànquè Shénhuáng, and Jīnhuáng.

If all the various spiritual treasures in his hand were fully exposed, it would be highly disadvantageous for him.

If completely exposed, he might then have to abandon his mission and flee with a bucket.

This is what he does not wish for now.

……

Over the next two thousand years, Zhang Jian did in fact come across another heavenly and earthly divine object—a metal-type innate divine object.

Besides this, Zhang Jian had not encountered any other treasures.

Clearly, those innate spiritual treasures were either completely hidden away, or had fallen into the hands of other Shénhuáng, or perhaps Dàozhū, or immortals and gods.

Countless heaven-favored sons with good fortune exist in the world; no one can predict when a great surge of fate might erupt.

Zhang Jian immediately extinguished the thought of continuing treasure hunting.

He prepared to return to the Dànquè Shén Gōng to retreat and cultivate for a period.

Having previously participated in the opening of the human realm, he gained a stock of merit and great fortune; cultivating over the coming years would surely yield doubled results.

At this moment, severing the good corpse, he gained an additional Dàozūn-level good corpse incarnation to aid in comprehending the heavenly and earthly great Dao laws; his cultivation speed would inevitably increase further.

……

This time, Zhang Jian's retreat lasted an extremely long period—full twelve elemental cycles.

Within the Dànquè Shén Gōng.

Layer upon layer of vast divine energy flowed through; upon the cloud bed, a youthful divine being in splendid robes and sacred aura gradually emerged within the divine light.

His entire being radiated a vast and magnificent qi mechanism; a purple-yellow dragon-shaped divine light flowed around him, growing ever purer and more mighty.

Deep within the divine path treasure wheel behind him, the rise and fall of all heavenly realms appeared, with myriad gods bowing in reverence.

Those myriad gods were arrayed like stars on a chessboard, not standing in disorder or chaos; in the deepest part, many terrifying source phenomena occupied a special position within the Mountain River State Diagram, stabilizing the Mountain River State Dao Diagram, and in turn nourishing the deepest source of the Earth Emperor's origin.

At this moment, the Earth Emperor's origin was clearly far richer and purer than after twelve elemental cycles.

The source qi permeating the Mountain River State Diagram had already exceeded a thousand kinds, approximately nearing one thousand three hundred or more.

Deep in Zhang Jian's eyes at this moment, there was also some joy, a smile appearing at the bottom of his gaze.

Personally participating in the opening of the human realm was indeed greatly beneficial for him.

The profound mystery of opening heaven, aided by his mastery of various heavenly and earthly great Dao laws, allowed him to draw parallels and gain abundant benefits.

One thousand three hundred or more kinds of source qi—what an astonishing accumulation!

He did not fuse three thousand sources into the Earth Emperor's origin; rather, he polished the Earth Emperor's origin with three thousand sources, extracting the essence of three thousand great Dao laws, just as the ancient sacred Yuánshǐ Tiānwáng once dominated heaven and earth with the Dao of Power.

Naturally, the more he comprehended the various heavenly and earthly great Dao laws, the stronger this natal spiritual treasure, the Mountain River State Diagram, naturally became.

Zhang Jian estimated that, with his current foundation, if he were to break through, he should have hope of achieving Supreme Dàozūn.

But Supreme Dàozūn was not his goal.

I don't even know how those ancient divine beings achieved the body of the strongest!

The first thing that came to Zhang Jian's mind was the Taiyi clan of Donghuang.

That divine clan's divine emperor, the demon clan's demon emperor, must have reached the realm of the Dao Venerable of the Other Shore as the strongest, so they could suppress the innate deities of the vast wilderness with their immeasurable talents running rampant, as well as the powerful ancient demon sages, not to mention suppressing those innate deities so they couldn't even lift their heads.

Zhang Jian felt a bit curious in his heart.

But this trace of curiosity quickly vanished.

Every innate deity has their own path; even if one knew how the Taiyi clan broke through, it would be of no use to him.

There might even be a 'knowledge obstacle'!