Chapter 404

Yingzhao is a bit cowardly.

He won't provoke anyone who is too strong.

Therefore, he avoids Nüwa's place, and when Azure Dragon and the Grand Minister of Destiny face off, he simply goes around.

Instead, he picked Fengxi, intending to move in and strike a killing blow.

His reasons are also quite solid.

Avoid the strong, strike the weak; when attacking the enemy, one must come to their rescue… On the battlefield, how could that be called bullying the weak with strength?

In war, deception is not despised.

Yingzhao is open about it; he's very interested in Fengxi's life, making him a highly valuable assassination target.

Besides, he's still quite a novice.

On the battlefield, being inexperienced is a crime.

"Hmph!" the goddess Xuansu snorted lightly, unable to refute anything, which amounted to tacit agreement; she placed one hand behind her back, made a slight gesture, and it landed in Fengxi's eyes as he frantically struck back.

Fengxi instantly understood, naturally shifting the battlefield and dragging the Kui Niu demon god to fight far away.

Roar!

Kui Niu roared, feeling sorrow and anger at being helpless, and in a flash of bloody light, the gate of time and space flung open.

He howled wildly, revealing his true form, stepping upon the river of ages, sacrifice and madness as one, his battle blade drenched in his blood as he slashed toward Fengxi.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

The sun and moon lose their light, the universe falls silent, heaven and earth lie still as the Dao unfolds; a death-defying war across time and space erupts suddenly.

A Great Luo, eternal and free in endless time and space, manifests incarnations throughout past, present, and future, across all heavens and worlds, countless in number.

At this moment they all go mad together, erupting together; countless incarnations exert force together in the river of ages, the long river of time surges and boils, a boundless huge shadow covers time, wielding a long blade, endowed with infinite, boundless, ever‑rising power; a single stroke can cause the heavens to sink, can reduce myriad ages to nothing.

This is a stunning slaughter of time—too brilliant, too radiant; beneath the blade's light, a vast expanse of chaos collapses.

Only endless light shines, boundless splendor blossoms; great destruction and great creation coincide, existing in an uncertain state… the birth and death of laws turn, the world is born and then destroyed.

A world‑shaking strike!

"Kui Niu is desperate, fighting with all his might."

The distant observers, the great lords of the Great Luo hegemony, turned their heads; someone sighed and drew a conclusion.

Kui Niu is fighting for his life!

Elsewhere on the battlefield, though fighting continues, they still hold back.

Not like here, where they are already gambling with their lives!

Yes.

It's gambling with one's life.

The Great Luo, owing to its noble nature, can bestow endless incarnations… even without the innate immortal spirit's 'immortality' trait, the mere fact of having endless incarnations grants a survival power so strong it's terrifying.

As long as any incarnation remains alive, this Great Luo cannot be considered dead.

Only a brief moment of time is needed; the Great Luo's fruition shines upon the heavens, naturally giving rise once more to countless incarnations.

An alternative 'blood‑drop rebirth'—really it should be called 'self‑drop rebirth'—is the replication and propagation of one's own will, wildly spreading and infecting across the informational layers of time, space, world, and Dao; it easily mutates, self‑upgrades, disguises, even more viral than a virus.

The most tenacious vitality, truly not of man… this part of the curriculum is required, a fusion and recombination of many ancient gods' and sages' specialized fields, becoming part of the 'Great Luo' as a deterrent weapon of a cultivation civilization.

To slay such a Great Luo is extremely difficult.

Even just thinking about targeting it is not easy.

It's like trying to find and eradicate a cancer gene that can hide deep within a mortal's tens of trillions of cells, leaving no slip through the cracks, yet not over‑killing—better to kill a thousand than let one escape.

The subject would go mad.

Put another way, humanity would go insane!

Such a horrifying undertaking, even if the only possible opponent for a Great Luo is another Great Luo, would make one want to spit blood and feel unreal.

Unless one can overwhelm in Dao cultivation by tenfold or a hundredfold, using one's own essence to harm others, can a Great Luo be utterly driven into a state of self‑loss.

It is precisely because they master such ability—wounding yet hard to kill—that a Great Luo can indulge in recklessness.

With survival ability maxed out, they can explosively boost combat power at critical moments, and their mana can increase without limit…

But interestingly, few Great Luo dare to rely too heavily on this ability.

Whoever does so first will be called 'reckless' by their peers.

"Yes, he's fighting desperately." Xihuang watched Kui Niu, now the center of attention, with little sentiment, "This is too dangerous."

'Under the realm of Great Ease, incarnations still need to protect one or two.'

'To serve as a deterrent, it's precisely because they cannot be wiped out in one sweep, and most importantly, they can mutate and upgrade during the pursuit.'

'But what if they are exposed too much?'

'That's hard!'

'If an opposing combatant could thereby fathom the mysteries of his Dao, and also deduce from the distribution and concrete forms of his incarnations his understanding of the world and his tools… following the clues to hunt him, it might truly be possible to wipe them all out.'

"Daluo possesses a treasury that safeguards life; others smash walls because they're barred by iron gates… Unfortunately, here Kui Niu, it gives the opponent a chance to find the key."

Fuxi shook his head, "This little comrade Kui Niu is too impulsive!"

'Indeed,' said Minghe, stepping forward and nodding heavily, fully agreeing, 'But it's no surprise.'

'Those juniors we once disregarded now turn out to be not far behind… even if there remains a gap, it is made up by their full set of regalia.'

'Moreover, due to an accident, Xuansu cut him in half, the opponent frenziedly piled on blows, he clung to life, whipped and beaten… though he didn't truly die, it's utterly embarrassing.'

'What's more, right now it's a critical point on the battlefield, the focus of all gods.'

'If his performance is too poor, it will actually dampen Heaven's Court's prestige… he has no choice but to act this way.'

Minghe commented, 'But fortunately, the opponent's realm and cultivation are inferior to his.'

With this gap, even if that young man could see something, it shouldn't be considered a big problem.

Afterwards, properly adjust and modify it, replace the core code, switch some kernels…… then it should be fine.

Hopefully." Fuxi frowned, dead serious.

Then……

Everyone pay attention, the Wu Clan's odds will be lowered from now on……

Someone has glorious achievements, shining through ancient and modern…… why not quickly place a bet to support them and share the glory of victory?

Fuxi began hawking, smiling as he watched some fair-weather supporters shift their allegiance and place a bet with him.

Hey…… your stall is huge!" Minghe sent a mental transmission, "You take anyone's money, constantly changing the odds—aren't you afraid of actually losing in the end?"

What's there to fear?" Fuxi replied calmly via mental transmission, "Don't worry…… I won't suffer a loss!"

Huh? Hmm!" Minghe blinked, his expression suddenly turning weird, "Something's off!"

You're so confident…… could it be…… you're fixing the outcome behind the scenes?!

That's going too far!

Minghe wanted to slam the table, his mental transmission tone unfriendly, "I've bet on the Wu Clan to win!"

If you're stirring things up behind the scenes, that's just…… too much!

How can you say that?

Fuxi remained calm, "Heaven and earth as my witness, I, Fuxi, can swear to the sky."

I!"

I will absolutely not bribe anyone inside to throw a match, deliberately play dumb.

Absolutely not!

Xihuang said it decisively.

Really?" Minghe didn't trust it, harboring great suspicion, "No bribing of competitors?"

Of course." Fuxi turned, gave a proud smile, "Am I really that unscrupulous?"

Bribing participants—such a low‑class act…… I've washed my hands of it for years, I won't do it.

Oh." Minghe let out an "oh," neither saying he believed nor disbelieved.

Fuxi glanced at him, his eyes shifting, then said, "If you really can't put your mind at ease, that's fine."

He was magnanimous, "For the sake of our old comradeship, if you bet wrong and lose…… I won't take a penny of your stake, I'll return it in full—how about that?"

Minghe blinked, blinked again, his gaze turning strange, "Huh?"

No need to doubt……" Fuxi chuckled, "When the time comes, not only you…… even some of my other good friends, if they lose, I won't take their money either."

And if we win?" Minghe asked, "Or will you also return the winnings in full?"

That's certainly impossible…… I'll give you whatever you win, no deception!" Fuxi declared grandly.

Saying that makes me suspect you're pulling strings behind the scenes……" Minghe sent a mental transmission, grumbling, "What do you even gain from this? You're probably just bleeding money."

As a mountain man, I have my own clever plan!" Fuxi replied mysteriously, "Perhaps you could see it as me doing a good deed, offering a big discount to guests?"

What you say frightens me……" Minghe muttered, turned his gaze to the battlefield, widened his eyes, trying to see what it was, which gave Fuxi courage.

No actors hired? I don't believe it!

I saw……

Beneath the blade's light stood Fengxi, fearless.

He fought the Kui Ox to the death, the Great Dao and cause‑effect intertwined completely, their connection deep beyond measure.

At this moment Fengxi's eyes shone bright, gazing at the river of time‑space manifested by the Kui Ox Great Sage's life‑risking struggle, he saw an endless world, saw countless hidden profound connections.

Through this connection he probed the subtlest cause‑effect, grasped the opponent's thoughts, discerned how they perceive the world, and observed how the innate immortal spiritual light hanging above the river of time‑space executes its program to illuminate the Myriad Heavens and all realms, past, present, and future.

Having cracked the program, Fengxi could trace it to the source, strike upward at the spiritual light to blast the will, strike downward at the ages, implicating incarnations!

"Kui Ox, do you think you can bully me for my low realm…… but you don't know!"

"The me of now is no longer what I once was."

"To kill you…… I am confident!"

Fengxi's heart churned, eager to reveal his trump card and give the Kui Ox a great surprise.

Originally, he wanted to utterly slay the opponent, suppress and forge them into an innate spiritual treasure, but hope was slim.

But now, the opportunity has been placed in his hands!

Fengxi's eyes flared then dimmed, in an instant turning over hundreds of billions of times, finally he gave a carefree smile—not fierce or violent—creating an unimaginable miracle in the eyes of the gods, launching a stunning counterattack from adversity.

"No rush, wait a bit longer."

He calmed his turbulent heart, thinking, '"This fellow now serves in the Heavenly River Navy, favored by Taiyi, destined to become a Vanguard, and will be one of the great generals who will attack our human race."'

"Keeping him alive would yield far greater profit than killing him now."

"If, as His Majesty Paoxi said, the Heavenly Court's military methods are superb, then our human race would easily fall into a besieged situation, the Feng clan would face multiple encirclements, life and death hanging by a thread at the slightest provocation."

"Then I need a breakthrough that can break through the encirclement."

Thinking this, Fengxi raised a shout, roared forward, imitating the opponent's stance, likewise activating his life‑risking method.

But this method only matches his current cultivation's battle power, yet it falls short of the Kui Ox Demon God's desperate eruption.

Anyone who thinks this can counter him…… might instead realize they've walked into a trap.

The Kui Ox Demon God's eyes brightened.

The battle blade raged, six dao symbols—sun, moon, wind, rain, thunder, lightning—overlaid, sweeping wildly, launching a massive assault.

Fengxi did not retreat in the slightest.

He made use of his entire set of equipment——the fine gifts bestowed upon him by human sages when he was sent to the Heavenly Court, now mostly still on him…… its attack power perhaps isn't much, but its defense is still serviceable.

At this moment he displayed a desperate momentum, eyes wide with fury, swinging his staff to meet the attack, a fearless performance that showed the Wu Clan's spirit, trading wound for wound.

Amid the flying blood, his face showed high-spirited fighting spirit; compared to the Kui Ox Demon God's fury, it was more pleasing to the eye, boosting the Wu Clan's morale.

His killing was more passionate than anyone's.

But in mindset, Fengxi was calmer than anyone else.

"No breakthrough? Then I will create one."

"Inside the Heavenly Court, the foundation is too deep; who knows what hidden cards that guy might have?"

"To engage rashly makes it hard to break through quickly."

"This is the problem."

"I need to create a useless teammate for the opposing side…… Rather than later facing someone who doesn't know the depth of things."

"It would be better to properly nurture this Kui Ox, arranging everything clearly……"

"To provoke him, trample him, mock him, goad him…… this is what I should do in this battle."

"To wound him but not kill him, let him know shame and then be brave, let his spirit surge in the future great war, beg to fight me, to vent today's humiliation……"

"He has a great army behind him, victory is in his grasp, the situation clearly shows who will win, the human race has no chance to turn things around……"

"Then at that moment!"

Fengxi's mindset grew ever calmer, like the greatest director, pulling the strings of all beings' fate, even controlling a being of great divine powers!

"An idle chess piece."

"If the human race sails smoothly and smashes the Heavenly Court, then there would be no need for…… today not killing him doesn't matter."

"If one day it can be used…… perhaps it will become that sliver of hope!"

"Kill!"

Fengxi shouted in anger, he did not dodge or evade, his arm was chopped off by the Kui Ox's blade, extremely tragic.

But at the same time, his strike, using the most exquisite angle, hit the opponent's lower three paths!

"Hiss!"

At this moment, many great beings drew a cold breath, stared at the battlefield with the strangest gaze, their faces still showing an expression of disbelief.

"Too ruthless!"

"Not that bad! Not that bad!"

"This is a fight to the death!"

"Awoo!"

The next moment, the Kui Ox let out a great shout, making those who heard it feel sorrowful.

(End of chapter)