Chapter 68: Shattering the Void!

As Ji Xiongying's words fell, the Heavenly Beings present all made their move. With the Yun family ancestor secretly manipulating karma in the dark, no one noticed anything amiss.

The next second, seven people closed in for the kill, seven divine weapons lighting up the night sky.

"Come!"

Before Lu Yang's words had even faded, his entire body burst apart into a mass of Pre-Heaven Qi, which then swept forward like a gale, arriving before Ji Xiongying in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, a flash of blood-red crossed Ji Xiongying's eyes. His divine weapon was the 'Son of Heaven Sword.' Now the divine sword left its sheath, and instantly wind and clouds churned above Jingcheng. Every commoner within Jingcheng felt a weight settle on their hearts; for no apparent reason, all their strength suddenly drained away, and they collapsed listlessly to the ground.

In their place, Ji Xiongying's divine power surged abruptly.

"Die!"

The next second, Ji Xiongying slashed out with his sword. Its might even surpassed the Sword Qi Talisman, and when it struck Lu Yang, it nearly scattered his Qi-transformed body apart.

But that was all it amounted to.

A Pre-Heaven Qi incarnation gathers and disperses at will, least afraid of fists, kicks, blades, and swords—thus countering Wu Gong. Otherwise, he would not have sent this incarnation here.

In the end, Wu Gong was a crude system Lu Yang himself had founded. Even though the Yun family ancestor had supplemented it to the Fourth Step, making those who mastered it possess physiques comparable to Qi Refinement Great Perfection, it still had enormous flaws. Any cultivator who grasped a countering divine ability could defeat its practitioners with ease.

"Everyone, attack together!"

Seeing that a single sword strike had failed to achieve results, Ji Xiongying immediately withdrew at high speed: "Keep him entangled. Don't let him use that talisman art from before. Force him into close combat with us."

No need for him to say it—the other Heavenly Beings had already charged in.

The first to bear the brunt were 'Barefoot Daoist' Chang Qingjing and 'Du'e Divine Monk' Xuan Ku—one Daoist, one Buddhist. Now they flanked from left and right in a pincer formation.

At the same time, 'Bright Jade Fairy' Hua Xiangrong descended from the sky, while 'Tianxia Alliance Lord' Guan Qiankun replaced Ji Xiongying, meeting Lu Yang head-on. Only 'Demonic Blade' Ding Feiying remained hidden in the shadows, like a venomous snake, ready at any moment to strike that fatal blow.

Boom!

Lu Yang fought with abandon—sometimes reforming his body to scatter talismans, sometimes dispersing his form to dodge attacks. For a time, taking on seven opponents alone, he handled it with room to spare!

In the distance, the Yun family ancestor watching the battle in secret shook his head.

"Too weak."

Although purely by level, Wu Gong Heavenly Beings actually surpassed Lu Yang's Pre-Heaven Qi incarnation, in reality it was not calculated that way at all.

If Lu Yang's Pre-Heaven Qi incarnation was a max-level character with full six-item build, then Wu Gong Heavenly Beings were at most max-level blank slates. The two seemed the same, but in truth were worlds apart. This was the innate deficiency of Wu Gong—a cultivation system less than a century old that simply was no match for the Dao of Immortality.

"... Very well. I will make my move."

The Yun family ancestor's mind stirred, and he immediately began to push karma, gradually tilting the situation that had favored Lu Yang toward victory for the Wu Gong Heavenly Beings.

The result, reflected outwardly, was the state of the Wu Gong Heavenly Beings themselves.

The seven Wu Gong Heavenly Beings not only felt no fatigue in battle, but grew more and more exhilarated the longer they fought. Countless clever ideas and inspirations burst forth like a geyser.

And the qi of the divine weapons in their hands grew ever stronger.

These divine weapons had originally been designed by the Yun family ancestor as 'fortuitous opportunities' to be given to Ji Xiongying, perfectly suited to each Heavenly Being's own Wu Gong.

The two combined could already unleash power approaching that of a divine ability.

Yet as the Yun family ancestor forcibly pushed karma, this power that had merely 'approached' a divine ability instantly and formally reached the level of a divine ability!

Boom!

Another encirclement and kill, but this time Lu Yang clearly sensed something was wrong—when his Pre-Heaven Qi incarnation reformed again, a corner of its clothing was missing.

'Their attacks are working?'

Lu Yang's heart chilled slightly. His incarnation was perfect and without flaw; the only possibility for such an occurrence was that part of the Pre-Heaven Qi had been ground away by the Heavenly Beings.

'It seems that Foundation Establishment cultivator has made his move!'

Lu Yang's thoughts raced. Though he sensed no anomaly, and his divination turned up nothing, he still immediately identified the culprit.

Good enough—the act had gone on long enough.

After all, he still needed his Pre-Heaven Qi incarnation to put on a grand show. If he truly got careless for a moment and ended up overturned and slain, that would be quite the joke.

"Huu—"

The next second, all the Heavenly Beings present heard a deep breath, and the surrounding airflow churned violently, as if wind and clouds were rolling backward.

The sound was even more resonant and clear, as if a true dragon were inhaling and exhaling heaven and earth.

Immediately after, the sky-filling white Qi reformed into a figure, and Lu Yang's silhouette emerged—no longer dodging, but wearing a confident smile.

"Get lost!"

In an instant, a powerful qi erupted violently from Lu Yang's body. Behind his head, a halo of light suddenly appeared, like a round mirror, within which wind and thunder were reflected.

Tai Xiao Mirror!

Also a weapon, this spiritual treasure was incomparably stronger than the so-called divine weapons in the Heavenly Beings' hands. The moment it erupted, the situation was immediately decided.

Boom!

The mirror's surface trembled, and rolling wind and thunder exploded around Lu Yang, blasting all the Heavenly Beings away on the spot—every one of them gravely injured.

Yet even so, the Heavenly Beings showed not the slightest dejection; instead they grew ever more exhilarated. All other stray thoughts in their hearts vanished, leaving only one notion:

'Kill! Kill this man!'

Supported by this intense killing intent, all the Heavenly Beings seemed blessed by the gods. Difficulties that usually plagued them in daily life were now overcome in a single bound!

Only 'Saint Heart Scholar' Wang Boyuan, though equally filled with killing intent, moved with a hint of struggle, as if he had realized something yet could not break free, able only to drift with the current. Only in those eyes capable of observing fortune and qi did a trace of fear show through.

'Rest assured, Brother Wang, you are a talent. In the next life, I shall ferry you across...'

Lu Yang sighed inwardly, but his hands did not hesitate in the slightest. A blast of wind and thunder once more drove the Heavenly Beings back, and then his entire body erupted with dazzling radiance.

In an instant, the void churned!

His qi and blood surged like a dragon, piercing straight into the clouds—like a pillar of heaven descending, it steadied the moonlit night's turmoil, and also split open the dark clouds, revealing the bright, clear moon.

A dark and windy night, in the blink of an eye, became a moonlit one with sparse stars.

Between heaven and earth, only Lu Yang's long howl remained:

"This Immortal has achieved the Great Dao!"

Crack!

The next instant, the void shattered, and a massive rift appeared above Jingcheng. Lu Yang leapt up, his form flashing as he vanished into it in a heartbeat.

Shattering the Void!

Shattering the Void!

The tremendous visual shock even jolted the gathered Heavenly Beings back to their senses, their eyes filled with horror, as if they had witnessed an unimaginable martial arts myth.

Is this the realm above Heavenly Being?

Shattering the void, ascending to fly beyond, transcending the mortal world from then on—how similar is this to the immortals in storybook novels? And what mysteries lie within?

"I saw it."

Among the seven Heavenly Beings, only Ji Xiongying was muttering softly.

He was the chess piece the Yun Family Old Ancestor valued most, so the Mandate of Heaven's blessing he received was also the heaviest, nearly consuming all the fortune of his latter half of life.

Yet precisely because of this, his comprehension at this moment had also climbed to the peak of his life. He seemed to have seen the method by which Lu Yang tore open that void rift—nothing more than breaking the whole from a point: first find the connecting point within the void, then break it open, and step through before it closes again.

"Hahaha! I can do it too!"

The next instant, Ji Xiongying suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly. Then, with the 'Son of Heaven Sword' in hand, he too slashed at the void, and a rift immediately appeared!

Ji Xiongying did not hesitate; he strode proudly into it.

The next instant, all the rifts slammed shut with a roar. The remaining Heavenly Beings stood in place, staring blankly at the spots where Lu Yang and Ji Xiongying had just been.

"They... broke through?"

"How could such a thing happen!"

"Shattering the void—shattering the void. So there really is another realm above Heavenly Being. Shatter the void and ascend, free and at ease beyond the mortal world from then on?"

At the same time, outside the Refinement Secret Realm.

After Ji Xiongying followed by shattering the void, he saw Lu Yang, who had shattered it a step ahead of him, standing inside a great hall, examining himself with a strange expression.

"I really don't know whether to say you're lucky, or unlucky."

"Where is this?"

Ji Xiongying turned his head, but all he saw was a crystal orb. Yet everything he saw within the crystal orb made him feel a chill to the bone.

It was the Heavenly Beings, faces blank with confusion.

Besides that, within the crystal orb there were also countless miniature buildings. Ji Xiongying recognized them—they were the cities of Great Zhou, the realm under his rule.

"This is... Great Zhou!? How could it be—"

Ji Xiongying was no fool. On the contrary, having risen from among countless martial artists and been favored by the Yun Family Old Ancestor, his intelligence was absolutely not low.

Therefore he quickly came to his senses and looked at Lu Yang in utter shock.

A scam! All of it a scam!

What shattering the void—it's all fake!

The next instant, Ji Xiongying whirled around abruptly, attempting once more to shatter the void, sending a voice transmission to warn the Heavenly Beings within the secret realm: "Do not shatter the void—"

Boom—!

Before the words had fallen, a beam of splendid light descended from the sky and pinned him in place. Immediately after, the Second Senior Brother of the Sanhe Assembly, Luo Wanya, strolled into the great hall.

"What a fine piece of material for refining a corpse!"

Luo Wanya's face showed delight: "Did you cultivate this within the secret realm, Junior Brother? It actually has the strength of a perfected Qi Refining—how did you cultivate it, Junior Brother?"

Lu Yang cupped his hands and smiled: "If Senior Brother likes it, then I'll give it to Senior Brother."

"Good! Then many thanks to Junior Brother!"

The next instant, Luo Wanya decisively formed a hand seal. Ji Xiongying instantly felt a wave of yin-cold qi invade his entire body, and his Heavenly Being physique could not block it!

In his final moments, he thought of many things.

Yet in the end, this martial artist of Great Accomplishment, a generation's Heavenly Being, the martial arts myth who shattered the void, only had time to roar at Lu Yang, the one who had orchestrated this entire scam:

"Beast... you beast!!!"

(End of this chapter)