Chapter 466: Grand Finale

Zhongyan looked at the several hundred lotus flowers behind Shen Qing, his expression frozen.

At this moment, he realized that the man before him who wielded creative power had no relation whatsoever to the Creator God he knew.

Meanwhile, Shen Qing across from him didn't pause at all, and a series of lotus flowers flew out from behind him.

The previous tactic was a precise strike, with the lotus flowers precisely attacking Zhongyan's weak points, but now Shen Qing no longer needed to hold back.

No matter what, any visible part would be devoured by lotus flowers.

One after another, the Supreme Lotus blossoms smashed into Zhongyan like they were free.

Whether Zhongyan blocked or not, he would still be blown up.

Suddenly, Zhongyan let out a low roar, dark purple light burst from his scales, his body swelled by a full circle, his aura surged, and his speed increased noticeably.

Shen Qing smiled faintly: "You also have a second stage, huh."

"Perfect, let's give it a try, though your condition doesn't seem great—I don't know how long you can withstand my attacks."

Zhongyan blasted the Supreme Lotus in front of him with a claw, his expression grim.

His condition was naturally poor—he had been imprisoned in a cage forged by the ancient Creator God for endless ages, his power drained; even after emerging he hadn't had time to replenish it, and then, while defenseless, his brain was bombarded by several Supreme Lotus blossoms, immediately followed by a Chaos Spear piercing his chest.

Zhongyan lifted his deep eyes toward Shen Qing, realizing he absolutely could not wage a war of attrition against a fully prepared Shen Qing, so he must settle the fight quickly.

Zhongyan let out a low roar, condensing several Zhongyan swords that stabbed toward the oncoming Supreme Lotus, the space they passed through pierced with endless abysses.

Boom.

The Supreme Lotus and Zhongyan's swords collided, erupting in fierce light that wildly destroyed everything around them; the entire Third Layer World shook with violent earthquakes, even the Qiyuan Dao Field at the far end of the Third Layer World trembled wildly.

And within the explosion's light, a black shadow rapidly expanded—it was Zhongyan breaking through the blast's aftermath to slash at Shen Qing.

In an instant, thousands of claw strikes attacked.

Shen Qing had long been prepared; facing Zhongyan's fierce onslaught, he shattered it with a single blade, as chaotic power manifested a shield before him that blocked every attack.

At the same time, three Supreme Lotus blossoms slammed straight into Zhongyan's already damaged head.

But a flash of purple light flickered on Zhongyan's body, his form turning into illusory Zhongyan power; the Supreme Lotus passed straight through him, and the next moment his body recondensed, a claw reaching for Shen Qing.

"You think you're the only one with tricks? I have them too!"

Only then did Time Sand appear, slowing Zhongyan's claws.

Zhongyan recognized the Time Sand, his voice rising a few pitches.

"This is Time Sand! You still have Time Sand?!"

Ordinary ultimate power is useless against Zhongyan, after all he also possesses time power, and it has reached an extremely high level.

Thus far in the battle, neither side has used those ultimate powers, relying instead on Zhongyan, creative, and chaotic powers for a pure numbers contest.

But there is one variable: Shen Qing's Time Sand, an innate treasure that was born a little later than Zhongyan and the Creator God, yet in strength it ranks just below them.

Therefore, after being bolstered by the Time Sand, time power gains the right to take the stage.

Zhongyan didn't understand, letting out a low roar.

"Why so many tricks, and still playing dirty?"

Immediately afterward, Zhongyan saw Shen Qing's mouth curl up slightly: "We've only just begun."

Only then did Shen Qing point a finger; the three lotus blossoms that had just pierced Zhongyan's body traced a circle in midair and flew back to his rear.

Boom!

The three Supreme Lotus blossoms detonated precisely on Zhongyan's wounded head.

Zhongyan's head had already suffered grave injury; now bombarded by three lotus blossoms wrapped in chaotic and creative power, even he could barely endure it, and his wounds worsened further.

Shen Qing's eyes flashed with light as his Origin Eye pierced the explosion's aftermath, making clear Zhongyan's state—only to see the light on Zhongyan's body dim and his physique return to normal size.

Those three lotus blossoms blew back Zhongyan's second stage.

Shen Qing surged forward in a fierce assault—truly, striking while the opponent is down.

In an instant, the Slay Dragon Soaring Slash unleashed tens of thousands of chaotic blade lights, Zhongyan's flesh being frenetically sliced, purple blood spraying.

Creative power is the ultimate mechanism, while Zhongyan's power is the ultimate value.

And when Zhongyan first rebelled, he wiped out the Primordial Clan precisely because chaotic power is the only force that can match his power in pure numbers.

Now, being hacked by tens of thousands of chaotic blows, even Zhongyan suffers grave injury.

Zhongyan gritted his teeth and snarled: "Fall back!"

Vast power surged forth as he retreated at extreme speed.

Zhongyan's face was grim beyond words; this battle left him feeling utterly stifled, as if every step had been calculated by Shen Qing.

Moreover, he had been slashed by tens of thousands of chaotic blows, yet he hadn't even managed to grab a corner of Shen Qing's robe, realizing his cause was lost.

Yet he could not bring himself to beg for mercy.

In that case, a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Looks like I'm destined to die today!"

"But don't forget—I am Zhongyan! The strongest being in the world!"

"Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!"

As his words fell, the surroundings surged with a fierce gale; the dissipating Zhongyan power began frantically contracting toward his body, and his power grew wild.

He intended to self-detonate, igniting all of his Zhongyan power.

But just as the self-detonation began, Shen Qing appeared above Zhongyan, the remaining Supreme Lotus blossoms behind him flying out like a downpour to smash into Zhongyan's head.

Still the same saying—don't play with casting preliminaries in front of Shen Qing!

Only then did hundreds of Supreme Lotus blossoms cling to Zhongyan's front and detonate simultaneously.

Boom!

There was no sound; only the spreading brilliant light could be seen engulfing Zhongyan.

The violent upheaval stirred a gale capable of destroying everything, sweeping in all directions; the myriad realms and the deep watching from afar had their eyes almost bursting, yet just then a gentle creative power shielded them, pushing them far away.

Nevertheless, they were also knocked unconscious by the powerful force.

After an unknown amount of time, they woke up, and the first thing they did was look toward the battlefield, but the explosion's fluctuations had long since vanished.

The two sprang to their feet and rushed toward the battlefield; when they arrived, everything there had been obliterated, with nothing left for millions of li around, and they saw no trace of Shen Qing or Annihilation.

The Venerable of Myriad Worlds' face was filled with disbelief as he bellowed, "Where is the Creator God? Where is the Creator God? Surely He didn't perish together with Annihilation, did He?"

You He fell silent for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and gave a faint smile.

"No need to search the Myriad Worlds, let's go; just based on this, Annihilation still can't harm our Creator God."

The Venerable of Myriad Worlds turned his head to look at You He.

Only You He said, "Throughout the fight, Annihilation never touched our Creator God."

Moreover, after such a violent collision, the Creator God still had spare energy to shield us with creative power, which shows that our Creator God never even used his full strength.

Let's go too; we still have many things to do—we need to restore the third-layer world to its former state.

Long ages passed.

The firecrackers of the year's end sounded again in the Great Wu.

Martial Yang Prefecture.

Inside a manor, the sound of an argument could be heard.

"Old Wu! You shameless old fool, how can you still be playing tricks?"

Shen Wendao pointed at the Go board before him, which the Martial Emperor had messed up into a chaotic mess, and glared while stroking his beard.

And the Martial Emperor merely raised his chin: "He's always been like that."

Shen Wendao rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight the Martial Emperor.

But just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard commander of Martial Yang Prefecture, Shusheng, and the Minister of Punishments, Lao Li, walked into the manor side by side.

Shusheng had just taken half a step inside when his foot halted in mid‑air: "I seem to have come at a most inconvenient time."

The Martial Emperor rose and burst out laughing: "Shusheng! You've come at just the right moment!"

"Hurry in, hurry in—Shen Qing is lying over there."

Only see, under the plum tree, on a drunkard's chair, Shen Qing was resting with a book covering his face.

Shusheng and Lao Li bowed with smiles to the Martial Emperor and Shen Wendao, then walked toward Shen Qing.

Shusheng placed the jug of wine and the pouch he was carrying on the stone table and whispered, "Boss, I've brought you the Ever‑peaceful Prefecture's victorious cake and huadiao wine."

Shen Qing snatched the book from his face and burst out laughing: "Shusheng, Shusheng, you really understand me!"

"Hey, right, Shusheng, Lao Li, these past couple days I ate a purple‑rice rice cake on Heavenly Cloud Street—it was delicious; another day I'll take you to try it."

Shusheng, who is constantly moving about the capital, certainly knows what that purple‑rice rice cake is; he walked to a corner, furtively pulled out a notebook, flipped to the page Shen Qing likes to eat, and wrote down "purple‑rice rice cake" in the corner of the page, which was filled with densely packed text.

At that moment, the Minister of Rites, Lin Zikai, and the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, Hei Gou, entered the manor; as soon as they stepped inside, Lin Zikai began to complain.

"Damn it, the Ministry of Rites is fine in every way, but it gets as busy as ants on a hot pot whenever the new year comes—thank goodness I have Hei Gou to help me!"

Speaking, Lin Zikai glared at Shusheng and Lao Li: "It's just you two who are fast!"

Shen Qing said with a smile: "I told you earlier, I'll transfer you to a different post."

Lin Zikai gave a hehe laugh: "Boss, better to keep at it a few more years; later we'll write it in the clan genealogy—then we'll have a proper official post, and we'll have face when we speak of it."

Shen Qing waved his hand: "What about Wu Nian and Zhang Dao yi?"

Shusheng said: "Zhang Dao yi returned to the Dao Sect to pay his respects a few days ago; he should be back in the capital today. As for Wu Nian, he has broken through to become an Earthly Immortal, and he intends to forge his own path of slaughter, heading to Luzhou to eradicate evil—I don't know if he'll come this year."

As soon as his words fell, Zhang Dao yi's voice rang out: "Then we will definitely get it!"

Only see, the gold‑kasaya‑clad Wu Nian and Zhang Dao yi walked into the manor.

But just then, a corner of the void split open, and Li Lun, together with Anna and the others, also arrived.

Meanwhile, in another room, an old man with a white beard was pulling the ear of a little white‑haired loli as he walked out, with a black‑clad middle‑aged peacemaker following at his side.

These three were Bai Yun, the Black Hawk, and the White Tiger, whose human forms had been pinched by Shen Qing; Bai Yun was teaching the White Tiger to recognize characters, and it was obviously not working well.

A warm, heroic‑toned voice rang out—it was Zhu Lingyue.

Everyone here? Perfect, the New Year's Eve feast is ready—please sit down.

Everyone nodded: "Got it!"

The Martial Emperor and Shen Wendao also glared at each other, then walked into the house.

Zhu Lingyue walked to the drunkard's chair, took Shen Qing's hand: "Let's go too."

Shen Qing beamed.

After pushing open the house door, the Martial Emperor and Shen Wendao started arguing again.

The white tiger tried to steal food; as soon as its paw reached out, Bai Yun slapped it on the back of the hand.

The room was a chaotic mess.

Wu Nian sat with palms together chanting sutras, while Zhang Dao Yi secretly poured wine into Wu Nian's bowl.

Shen Qing burst out laughing: "What are we waiting for? Let's eat!"

Just then, Shen Qing's ear twitched slightly, and the voice of a storyteller from the capital came through.

This New Year, we retell the old story.

Rumor has it that he rose from Yongning Jun, using thunderous methods to purge internal strife in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pacify the martial world, then marched toward Jia Shui Jun, single-handedly driving the wokou back to sea with one sword, thereafter proceeding to Qingzhou, slaying King Wen, quelling rebellions, and beheading the white dragon.

Next came the Yunzhou Reincarnation Tower case, saving the masses and praying for rain.

The expedition to Wuyangzhou not only quelled internal strife within the clan, but also suppressed otherworldly evils and exterminated the treacherous wokou.

Afterward he led the mighty to utterly eradicate the evils, and later it was heard that he even slew his way into that illusory third realm, completely ending the war.

A child's voice came: "How amazing! How amazing! Who is it? Who is it?"

The storyteller chuckled.

That person, that's him.

World-passing Yama!

Shen Qing!

The book is complete.

A new author's new book, winding around, with some twists and turns, but still completed a million words.

First, I want to sincerely apologize to everyone; I can clearly feel that after 600,000 words, my performance fell short, I messed up.

Sorry.

Then, I want to thank everyone for being able to see this far, willing to read this not-so-good story.

Thank you!

Really thank you.

Finally.

Wish everyone eternal happiness, and to love yourselves well.

We'll meet again in the martial world.