Chapter 1537: Vast and Surging, the Torrent's Roar Rises Even Higher (Two-in-One)
【Refining the Marsh Spirit: Huaijiang Water Lord (Deep Red) (Fusion Rate: 81%↑)】
The giant hand formed from the Whale Emperor's clouds was torn apart mid-air by the Great Li Grand Ancestor; great masses of white clouds surged and roiled, fangs bared, and Bai Yuan laughed wildly and unrestrained, withdrawing from the battle circle with utmost speed.
【(Fusion Rate: 81.2%↑)】
Waves surged violently, wind and clouds opened and closed.
Now surging, now submerged, ten thousand changes in a single moment.
A blood-colored dreamscape, drowning the world!
"Boom!"
The last thread of light in the sky was swallowed by twilight; night fell, yet the vault of heaven did not darken.
In the Yingchun Tower, fluorescent jellyfish drifted quietly, tentacles swaying; the blue light blooming on their bells illuminated the curtain. In the half-dark, half-dimness, the audience could no longer see clearly what was happening in the Great Hunt — various scenes squeezed into a cluster, only one or two blurry figures crossing and intertwining.
The main thoroughfare was packed with people.
On the bluestone pavement, shadows stretched long and narrow.
Most of the pedestrians lay sprawled haphazardly on the ground; were it not for the rise and fall of their chests proving they were sleeping soundly, they would be no different from the dead — many had entered dreams.
Chen Qingjiang's family turned onto the stairs: carefully, cautiously making their way to the rooftop.
Just now sitting on the stool, for some unknown reason, many people beside them had been watching perfectly fine, then suddenly tilted their heads and fell asleep — no matter how they were called, they could not be woken————
"Boom!"
A huge sound came from the street, accompanied by screams.
Chen Qingjiang, poking his head out in the stairwell, looked toward the sound — a carriage had lost control, broken free of its reins, rolled over the fallen horse, crashed all the way into a shop, smashed into tables and chairs, overturned on the spot, its wooden wheels spinning free, wobbling as it rolled forward.
Faint firelight flickered in the distance, thick smoke billowing, shouts of "fire!" rising.
Utter chaos, utter clamor.
Law Adi tugged Chen Qingjiang's sleeve, raised her hand and pointed high.
Following the direction of her index finger, tilting his head to gaze at the sky, Chen Qingjiang's mouth gradually fell open.
The Milky Way.
A blood-colored Milky Way.
Like the Huaijiang — suspended upside-down in the heavens.
In the Northern Court, a herdsman walked out his door, stared blankly at the sky; iron-blue stars rose, arrayed across the heavens, gradually staining into blood-red; the big man prostrated himself, knelt and prayed.
In the Southern Frontier, rustling sounds filled mountains and fields; every household lit lamps, clamor unceasing; snakes, insects, rats, and ants crawled from their burrows, fleeing madly; centipedes and millipedes submerged the dirt roads.
The universe made visible.
"Done. Done!"
The Lotus Bodhisattva, hair disheveled, wild joy uncontainable. He walked barefoot, stood amidst fire, stumbled out of the Heavenly Fire Sect, spread his arms wide, and drew a deep breath.
Fire!
Great fire!
Fierce winds wrapped thick smoke, surging into his lungs, stimulating, acrid.
Charred human figures fled in the fire; distant peaks billowed rolling thick smoke; the blood river rose wildly, madly rising, drowning everything.
No obstacle, no obstacle — some must die, some must perish; the blood river grows, changes; after destroying all, it shall surely create all!
Transforming into a Rainbow, transforming into a Rainbow — the true world.
The perfect, ideal land, the true Heavenly Altar, the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Creator? God. Buddha? The Lotus Bodhisattva wept tears and snot, a ten-thousand-year cherished wish — he was at a loss for words, unable to describe it, and could only kneel on the ground, palms pressed together.
His merit is perfected!
But, Bai Yuan!
There is still a Bai Yuan.
The Lotus Bodhisattva's eyes grew bloodshot.
For Bai Yuan to delay like this, it must have its purpose — what is its purpose?
"Cough! Damn it, what's going on outside? Fighting in the furnace?"
The King of Chu dragged Yi Chen along, struggling to survive, sinking and rising in the blood river.
Three hundred thousand zhang above ground is the Nine Heavens; beyond the Nine Heavens is the Firmament; above the Firmament is the Void.
The Void has no Qi, no substance, no light, no heat.
Qi flames swept across heaven and earth, broke through the Nine Heavens, broke through the Firmament, surged into the Void, exploded in the Void, bringing light and heat, still rising without cease.
The Straw-Hatted Old Man stared blankly at the sky.
The Martial Saints of the world trembled in both legs, hair standing on end with dread.
The blood-colored Milky Way — simply as if above the Nine Heavens there existed another world; two worlds parallel and reflecting each other, turning into the Milky Way they could see.
Transforming into a Rainbow, two Transforming into a Rainbow!
The end of all things, the terminus of all things.
Yesterday's number one Immortal, today's number one Transforming into a Rainbow.
The Wolf Lord clutched his heart.
Cultivating in youth, joining campaigns many times, often witnessing the Hunt-Tiger Great Battles, earth-shaking, bystanders helpless; if there were an Entering Zhen Xiang, that Hunt-Tiger Grand Master would only flee in panic, utterly unqualified; if it were a Yao Dragon, even an Entering Zhen Xiang would have to yield three steps — merely the stronger, the rarer seen; often years, a dozen years, not necessarily seeing a Yao Dragon act once.
He never thought that even upon reaching the Thirteenth Stage, he would still be like this — in a trance returning to hundreds of years ago, returning to the moment in his youth when he gazed upon the Hunt-Tiger Grand Master.
Helpless.
The Whale Emperor and the Great Li Grand Ancestor successively Transformed into a Rainbow — what can they do? Change the dynasty?
The Sacred Emperor, the Tusi, the Khan King — none were not tense.
No matter who wins, it means a thorough change of the overall situation and structure.
Six human figures intertwined.
Inside the Fire Cave of the Huaijiang Dragon Palace, green light completely encircled, devouring the last crimson spots from every angle; the round head unconsciously fanned its fins, as if to help drive the surging green light.
A single command sent the wild-geese formation into ambush; at the mountain's foot they intercepted and formed layered encirclements.
Fast, even faster.
The very last bit.
Excitement, agitation, dread, panic, uncontrollable danger — all manner of emotions tangled in chaos, welling up across the world.
Liang Qu grinned.
The authorities of all sides were roughly figured out.
The three parties' strengths rose tier upon tier; meshing gears bit down dead tight.
Just need to stall another half double-hour!
At the center of everything, above the Huaijiang, the Great Li Founding Ancestor felt only pain, endless pain!
Three thousand years after the Mirage Dragon war, He recovered His heartbeat; another three thousand years, He recovered His consciousness; another three thousand years, He schemed against the Dragon Lord; until now, until now — — —
He did not remember how that final Position Fruit embedded came to be, thoroughly embedded into the Dream Wang Chao, becoming one of its sun and moon; merely thinking of it made Him want to vomit.
The Dream Wang Chao overlapped with reality; the Huaijiang was stained blood-red.
All authorities interwove, mutually engendering, knotting into a vast net.
The Whale Emperor forced by the Rainbow Transformation, the White Ape struggling undying — who was more hideous?
The Great Li Founding Ancestor madly tore at the Whale Emperor, venting all His pain.
The Whale Emperor struggled; all its offensives were expelled, all its methods dissipated.
At the fringe, the White Ape activating the Yinglong Authority and the Tianyuan Authority, occasionally helping the Great Li Founding Ancestor suppress the Whale Emperor, gradually restrained its smile.
Because the Whale Emperor's corporeal shell kept collapsing, kept withering and shrinking, with not a shred of resistance left!
Why — — —
Different from imagination?
Even though the Great Li Founding Ancestor used a Major Position Fruit to achieve Rainbow Transformation, by experience He started so much later than the Whale Emperor; how could He, at the breakthrough instant, force the Whale Emperor directly into the inferior position?
Sensing something amiss, Liang Qu reversed direction, attempting to use the Yinglong to slow the Great Li Founding Ancestor's steps.
"In such a rush to die?"
The Great Li Founding Ancestor, locked in slaughter with the Whale Emperor, abruptly looked back; His eyes blood-red, killing intent fierce, surging forth!
"Bad!"
The White Ape's heart leapt in fright; it turned to flee, but then its consciousness sea shook, vision scrambled, up down left right all inverted — the one wanting to escape actually ran toward the Great Li Founding Ancestor.
Before it could react again, the Great Li Founding Ancestor had already struck.
White hair disintegrated; the massive corpse eroded swiftly like stone worn by wind and sand, leaving only a skeleton, persisting by relying on the Taotie to continuously devour the damage.
The Giant Spirit and Yinglong frantically activated, yet their authorities collapsed and failed one after another — they were actually scattered by the Great Li Founding Ancestor using Collapse and Contend-for-the-Deer.
Not right.
Absolutely not right!
How could the Great Li Founding Ancestor be so much stronger than the Whale Emperor?
The two achieved Rainbow Transformation in sequence; at this moment the Whale Emperor should be strongest, the Great Li next, it third — the three legs pressing close so it would not fall behind in the tripod. Wait until the Great Li Founding Ancestor and it separated, and Qing Nu would naturally succeed.
Yet now the Great Li Founding Ancestor came from behind to take the lead!
The gears did not mesh.
They disengaged!
At the critical juncture, the Whale Emperor manifested myriad avatars, struggling to escape outward.
"Boom!"
Most avatars collapsed; the Great Li Founding Ancestor raised a hand and pressed down — all cloud whales were like headless flies, their attention returning to the Whale Emperor.
"Li Xian, kill the White Ape first!"
The Lotus Bodhisattva anxiously reminded; he did not know what the White Ape was hiding, but it certainly had something hidden; the Whale Emperor was already beyond recovery, so eliminate the uncertainty first.
The Great Li Founding Ancestor turned a deaf ear.
The blood-colored galaxy formed the backdrop; His sleeve loomed high above, looking down on the Whale Emperor, looking down on the White Ape.
The Second Immortal raised a hand and grasped; the originally slightly illusory First Immortal, Third Immortal, Fourth Immortal successively solidified, their slight illusory feel vanishing one after another.
In the Straw-Raincoat Old Man's terrified gaze, the Third Immortal and Fourth Immortal even expanded their own minor worlds one after another! Then merged into the Dream Wang Chao!
The marshland was infinitely compressed in an instant, like a reverse-advancement furnace, restacking the vanished pressure.
Turning void into reality!
Liang Qu's pupils violently shook; he knew the Mirage Dragon Authority incomparably deeply — the Great Li Founding Ancestor actually directly fabricated brand-new creations, brand-new Supreme Bodies, resurrection from death?
The joy of successfully stalling half a day drained from the corner; more was cold sweat seeping out.
"Dong!"
"Ah!!"
The White Ape shrieked in agony.
The Whale Emperor's spirit shook; it actually collapsed and perished mostly on the spot.
The Great Li Founding Ancestor was still crossing over!
At this very moment, Liang Qu had no more doubts — the Great Li Founding Ancestor was simply stronger than the Whale Emperor, stronger by far!
The Whale Emperor's Chuan Realm achieved with four Minor Position Fruits, compared to the Great Li Founding Ancestor's two Major one Medium or perhaps two Major one Minor — how could the strength gap be this enormous?
The Lotus Bodhisattva was also surprised.
"You never achieved Rainbow Transformation at all?" The Great Li Founding Ancestor roared in furious rage.
The Whale Emperor met him with cold eyes.
He forcibly refined the Yellow Sand and the Ehe Dragon King into his sleeves to serve as pillars, bypassing the refinement process, yet both middle-rank fruits had to be cut apart and differentiated.
From beginning to end, he never stepped into the true Rainbow Transformation realm; he merely borrowed the half-separated middle-rank fruits to catch a glimpse of Rainbow Transformation.
The answer was revealed.
Bai Yuan's heart contracted violently.
You don't have enough time either?
The Great Li Taizu, the Whale Emperor — right then, right there, they were decisively stronger than it!
Help the Whale Emperor? The Great Li Taizu could swat it dead with a wave of his hand.
The tripod standoff, the situation of mutual restraint, utterly collapsed.
Right now, it was exactly the Straw Hat Weng from just now.
At this very moment, it was indeed just like that moment back then — it had truly become the most unimportant one.
The Lotus Bodhisattva was stunned, unable to utter the words to deal with Liang Qu first; it seemed the Whale Emperor also had to be dealt with first, otherwise a second Rainbow Transformation would truly emerge.
"Hahaha, hahaha, no Rainbow Transformation, no Rainbow Transformation!" The Great Li Taizu threw his head back and laughed wildly; everyone could feel his emotions, suppressed like a volcano.
All efforts wasted at the final moment!
Liang Qu's heart sank to the bottom.
He couldn't help now, couldn't retreat; the only thing he could hope for was that the Whale Emperor's blood was thick enough to last long enough.
Clouds and mist surged and jetted; the Whale Emperor's Heavenly Water Realm began to recede, began to shrink.
The Great Li Taizu tortured the Whale Emperor near-madly.
Forget half a double-hour — it couldn't even last a quarter-hour!
The Jianghuai East Water — Pai Xiao Xing extended and swayed its limbs, rhythm faster than ever, driven by anxiety; its feet brushed the blood-colored river water, and a flash of inspiration struck.
The Straw Hat Weng and Linchuan stood at the edge.
Liang Qu had already disengaged from the Whale Emperor and the Great Li Taizu, let alone those two; yet the two soon discovered that Liang Qu, who had frozen for a while, began moving again.
Rage!
The Great Li Taizu was enraged to the extreme.
However, at a certain moment, the Great Li Taizu froze; his strength had been swelling continuously as he ascended to Rainbow Transformation, but just now, it had leaped up another notch!
As if the third and fourth Immortals had resurrected, achieved complete minor worlds, and fused into his body.
The Great Li Taizu abruptly turned back.
A fur-covered fist brazenly crashed into his vision!
"Boom!"
A conical shockwave expanded.
Neck folded against neck, a single thread connecting them, the Great Li Taizu flew backward, hurtling into the void.
The Whale Emperor froze.
Bai Yuan was stunned, lowering his head to stare at his own fist in disbelief.
The Great Li Taizu found it inconceivable, then burning rage flared; he instantly teleported before Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan leaned back.
The Yinglong circulated.
"Collapse!"
The Yinglong circulated without cease.
Successfully crossing behind the Great Li Taizu, Bai Yuan pressed his palms together and smashed down a cannon fist!
"Boom!"
The Whale Emperor seized the chance to break free, swiftly reassembling its body.
The Great Li Taizu staggered back in retreat, his mind a total blank.
Bai Yuan also achieved Rainbow Transformation?
"No, not that — Bai Yuan hasn't achieved Rainbow Transformation; its nation has fused with yours!" The Lotus Bodhisattva was drenched in sweat.
Because he discovered the problem before him actually originated from himself.
Back when Bai Yuan led people into the Netherworld for the second time, to help them recover he made a wrong decision, cutting away all the "filth" along with part of the world; afterward he never understood how Bai Yuan and the others escaped — now it was clear: they were swallowed by Bai Yuan!
The Yellow Spring Nation!
Same root, same source!
The second, third, and fourth can fuse — so can it!
Bai Yuan pounced again ferociously.
The Straw Hat Weng nearly tore out his beard; he personally witnessed the world turn blood-red, personally witnessed Liang Qu's Ze Nation transform along with it, then assimilate into a part of the Dream Wang Chao.
Two people sharing one heaven and earth.
The Great Li Taizu grew stronger, and Bai Yuan grew stronger too!
This, how was this done?
Who knows how many reversals there have been; every guy is like this — the Straw Hat Weng could almost view it with equanimity.
Pai Xiao Xing watched the scene on the curtain, happily waving its limbs.
Parasite!?
The Great Li Taizu understood the reason, almost laughing from rage.
The battle situation changed once again.
The gears meshed anew, only with some variation from the initial prediction — no longer Great Li, Whale Emperor, Bai Yuan, but Great Li, Bai Yuan, Whale Emperor.
Continue!
Continue!
Continue!
The last fifteen minutes!
Yinglong, Juling, and Taotie bestowed upon Bai Yuan unparalleled tenacious resistance; Huaijiang Water Sovereign bestowed upon Bai Yuan unparalleled vigorous vitality!
The Whale Emperor fixed his gaze on one person and one monkey.
Yixing was tranquil.
The night watchman fainted at home; tonight, no one struck the clapper.
Only the moon tilted askew, the river flowed, hinting that time was passing.
Chen Qingjiang's family stood on the rooftop; they no longer looked at the backdrop, everything was in utter chaos, nothing could be seen clearly, yet the blood-colored galaxy hung overhead, blazing and radiant.
Neighbors would fight over land; the loser would lose three mu.
Villages would fight over water; the loser would have no water to use.
The great victories of the past in Beiting and Nanjiang always seemed far away; Chen Qingjiang knew it wasn't because the battles were small, but because they were distant.
Chen Qingjiang didn't know what had happened; he couldn't even remember all the realm names of the Four Passes and Seven Ways, but he understood this might be a struggle concerning everyone.
No one under heaven could escape it.
At the Central Beast Arena, the Tusi and the Khagan continued beating drums, continued offering sacrifices.
Their positions constantly shifted; the thousands of miles of Jianghuai were no longer enough for maneuvering; they leapt onto land, leapt into the void, and returned again to the Eastern Sea!
The heavenly position fruits and heavenly treasures were still there.
Liang Qu saw a position fruit suffused with water-attribute qi; Yinglong flowed and turned, and he grabbed it in one grasp.
Before three breaths had elapsed, the Taizu of Da Li activated Zhuolu, and the water-attribute position fruit vanished without a trace.
Transforming into a rainbow, one breath collided with one hundred and eight thousand times; there was fundamentally no chance to return and unify the dominion degree.
The Boundless Sea.
The Hanhai split in two; the thirty-thousand-zhang deep sea exposed the riverbed, laid bare in the air.
It shattered Da Li Taizu's blockade, tore into and devoured the Whale Emperor's flesh and blood.
"Roar!!!"
Bai Yuan delivered a headbutt, shattered the Whale Emperor, lifted his head, and swallowed.
"Gulgul!"
Half a quarter-hour!!!
【Spanning the Great River, Manifesting Like the Sun】
【River Dominion Degree: 7.4】!
【Sacrificing to the Huaijiang, Supreme Righteous Principle, Heaven and Earth, Land and Water, None Who Do Not Reverence, River Favor Degree +500】!
【River Dominion Degree: 12.4】
Able to hear, able to see, unable to touch; tactile sensation could no longer provide any feedback.
Pain!
Boundless agony!
Completely devoid of the Eight Trigrams, utterly chaotic.
"Ha, ha————"
Violent panting, blood trickled down from the brow, covering the golden eyes, blurring vision.
The four corners and eight wildernesses were all red.
Sound dissected the rivers, momentum shattered lightning.
All three factions were promoting, all were elevating; only speed, only the speed of elevation differed. Everyone exerted their utmost.
"Get out!"
"Bang!"
Once again, it blasted out heavenly flesh fragments.
The Taizu of Da Li madly advanced, madly rejected; accompanying the rise in rank, the rejection of the Rainbow Smelting Furnace thoroughly expelled Bai Yuan's Yellow Springs Kingdom!
The Yellow Springs Kingdom departed from the Dreaming Dynasty's court, its true form fully revealed. Bai Yuan spat a mouthful of blood, his aura collapsed, heaven and earth violently contracted, and all manner of authority and efficacy were similarly expelled.
Yet at the same moment.
"Boom!"
Bai Yuan staggered and swayed, the wild wind howled, the exhausted Shuishui Realm directly exploded!
A semicircular air wave rotated outward, sweeping past Bai Yuan, sweeping past the Taizu of Da Li, infinitely expanding, infinitely swelling, crossing the void, crossing the Nine Heavens, sweeping across the Boundless Sea.
As if the earth split, as if the heavens opened.
The Whale Emperor's aura began to surge violently.
Above the blood-colored firmament, a second path appeared, a pure white Milky Way!
The Straw Hat Old Man's sea of consciousness was blank.
The Whale Emperor also became!?
Astonishment, fear.
The Holy Emperor, the Tusi, and the Khagan clenched their fists, cold sweat drenched their backs, nearly despairing.
The Taizu of Da Li glanced at the Whale Emperor, heedless, his gaze still fell back upon Liang Qu, having delayed too long, he wished to seize this opportunity, to thoroughly eliminate————
"Collapse!"
Bai Yuan exploded in midair, bursting into a blood mist!
The Great Li Founding Ancestor spun around swiftly toward the Whale Emperor.
"Li Xian!"
The Lotus Bodhisattva shouted.
The Great Li Founding Ancestor halted his steps, abruptly turning back.
Blood mist hung hazy, slowly dispersing, clinging to the edges of Bai Mao as it drifted away, pulling out thin red threads in the wind.
Bai Yuan drooped its brows and eyes, shoulders slumped; half its body had rotted into mud, innards spilling out with a wet rush, a small portion still connected by fascia, dangling in midair — the remaining half that should have collapsed and vanished into smoke did not disappear; its massive heart, connected to blood vessels, hung suspended outside, pumping powerfully!
The Great Li Founding Ancestor's pupils dilated.
Not dead!?
Taotie Devouring.
Bai Yuan's injuries healed with flying speed.
"Collapse!"
The Taotie Authority stalled slightly, forcibly withstanding the collapse, continuing to operate!
Simply would not fall, simply would not die.
No use?
How could it be of no use?
The Great Li Founding Ancestor flew into a rage, sensing the Dream Wang Chao again, confirming that Bai Yuan's Small World had been thoroughly, completely expelled from the Dream Wang Chao — the current He was stronger than before, so how could it be————
Bai Yuan was a mess of flesh and blood, swaying on the verge of collapse in the mad wind, yet it simply would not fall, looking at the Great Li Founding Ancestor, looking at the Whale Emperor, just baring its mouth, revealing sharp canines, standing straight, standing there as if in mockery!
No sound could travel in the void, dead silent and cold, yet everyone could hear it all the same.
Suddenly.
The Great Li Founding Ancestor and the ascending Whale Emperor realized something, abruptly lifting their heads.
The vault of heaven was dark and dim, profound and boundless.
Beyond the crimson and white galaxies, a cyan galaxy violently squeezed its way in!
The Lotus Bodhisattva stared wide-eyed, frozen stiff.
"Hua."
Water surged in reverse.
Inside the cave, the firelight dimmed and died.
Yuan Tou went limp.
"Pu chi!"
Fresh blood sprayed, the main blood vessel whipping like a rubber tube, the pumping heart gradually knitting whole, bones, muscles, diaphragm re-wrapping, covering the blood-red, overlaying skin, growing white fur————
Golden eyes fixed on the Great Li Founding Ancestor.
Breathing slowly steadied, a deep breath drawn in, air blown from damaged lungs, leaking out a little.
"Hei————" fresh blood dripping down along the canines, Liang Qu grinned, "I said, my cards———— are they played out!?"
Bai Yuan let out a long howl, deafening!
The Great Li Founding Ancestor's eyes split wide.
【River Control Degree: 2.4】
【Refining Marsh Spirit: Huai Vortex Water Lord (Yin Hong) (Fusion Degree: 90%↑)】
【World Ceremony: Wu Guo, Qing Nu, Ju Ling, the three Zhi gathered, jointly worshipping the Water Lord, can guide the illumination of the Bright Cang Ming Realm.】
Night bright as day, stars dimming and flashing within the vortex.
The Straw-Hatted Old Man gazed quietly at the vault of heaven.
Heaven and earth tremble, the reverberation knowing no end.
Crimson, white, blue — three-colored galaxies shining upon each other, setting each other off.
He suddenly felt a sense of release.
End of Chapter
