Chapter 286 - 163: Tearing Apart the Thunder Tribulation, the War Against the Heavens

’How is this possible?!’

Wang Xiao’s pupils constricted slightly as he stared at the figure formed from the Thunderbolt.

Zhao Yin!

This was the Tier Seven Life form he had exhausted countless methods to finally eliminate. Why was he appearing here?!

He was certain that he had killed Zhao Yin completely back in the Incense Realm.

There was absolutely no chance of resurrection!

At that time, Zhao Yin had been severely injured, with not even a tenth of his strength remaining.

Otherwise, with his power back then, he would have stood no chance against Zhao Yin.

So what in the world was this Zhao Yin before him now?!

A sharp glint flashed in Wang Xiao’s eyes.

[ANALYZING...]

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]

[Zhao Yin. Left a trace in this world, which was then inscribed as an imprint by this world’s planetary consciousness.]

Wang Xiao’s brow furrowed as he stared at the text that popped up before him.

So Zhao Yin had been here before.

Could it be that this place and the Celestial Universe Star Domain were under the same sky?!

That would be far too much of a coincidence.

Or perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence at all. Maybe the Book of Space-Time had brought him to this world by following Zhao Yin’s aura.

Regardless, the Zhao Yin before him was not the real one, merely an imprint.

’But for this world’s planetary consciousness to actively create an imprint... it seems the Celestial Gate, and by extension the Invincible Road, really are its doing.’

’What is it trying to accomplish?!’

Wang Xiao’s expression grew pensive.

He knew that this planetary consciousness was not a living being, nor was it a Yin Spirit or anything of the sort.

It was more like a collective entity of all living things.

Everything it did was fundamentally driven by instinct!

An instinct aimed at achieving a specific goal.

Just like the planetary consciousness of the Incense Realm, which created the Ghost Infant’s body and other things to avoid being refined itself.

So, what was the goal of this Heaven and Earth’s planetary consciousness?

The Celestial Gate and the Invincible Road seemed like some kind of trial.

As Wang Xiao pondered, RUMBLE—

An aura that could sweep across the eight desolates suddenly erupted from the Zhao Yin in front of him.

Even though it was just an imprint, it radiated a terrifying might no less than that of an Immortal Emperor!

Moreover, its aura was still climbing steadily, causing terrifying fluctuations in the surrounding Void.

’It seems that to understand the planetary consciousness’s goal, I’ll have to walk to the end of the Invincible Road.’

’Fine. Since I’m here, I might as well see it through!’

Wang Xiao looked at the incredibly imposing Zhao Yin, a brilliant light igniting in his eyes.

ZING!

The Celestial Destiny Sword flashed with a blazing golden light as it shot toward Zhao Yin.

The Zhao Yin before him was more than ten times stronger than the one he had encountered in the Incense Realm.

However, was he not also ten, even a hundred times stronger than he was back in the Incense Realm?!

RUMBLE!

Wang Xiao wielded the Celestial Destiny Sword, its blade suffused with Dao Charm. He didn’t use any Divine Techniques, simply fighting with his Dao Power alone.

But his physical body had now reached a new Realm. His every move could generate terrifying pressure!

Even a simple slash of his sword was far more powerful than using a Divine Technique before.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Zhao Yin shimmered with lightning, like a Thunder God from ancient times.

His hair and beard whipped about as one Thunder Dragon after another danced wildly around him, constantly blasting toward Wang Xiao!

Wang Xiao’s eyes were calm as he continuously swung the Celestial Destiny Sword in his hand.

With every swing, a terrifying vital energy spread out, shattering the quaking Void.

The Void trembled, its fabric folding over itself in surging tides that stretched for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of miles.

’I dealt with you once in the Incense Realm. What can you possibly do to me now?!’

Wang Xiao took a step forward, and Heaven and Earth seethed. The Celestial Destiny Sword in his hand let out a cry like a dragon’s roar.

A surging net of sword light, suffused with Dao Charm and interwoven with Law, descended upon Zhao Yin like a canopy from the heavens.

TSSSST!

In an instant, surging Thunderbolt erupted from Zhao Yin’s body as he was slain by Wang Xiao’s sword, dissipating completely!

’This power... it’s too weak. It has the aura of an Immortal Emperor, but it’s nowhere near an actual Immortal Emperor’s strength.’

Wang Xiao gazed at the sea of roiling Thunderbolt ahead.

It seemed this imprint of Zhao Yin was just an appetizer.

Right now, although everyone had set foot on the Invincible Road, they hadn’t all run into each other at the very beginning.

Instead, they had to pass these trials before they could reach the final battle.

Wang Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly. Without further delay, he stepped into the sea of lightning.

RUMBLE—

In that moment, Thunderbolt crashed down, completely submerging Wang Xiao.

However, upon entering the sea of lightning, Wang Xiao discovered that no Thunderbolt was striking down around him. Instead, the air was filled with all sorts of profound Dao Charm auras.

HUMMM—

The moment he entered the sea of lightning, the Dao Fruit inside his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

It seemed to be resonating with the surrounding Dao Charm.

’Hm?!’

Wang Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly as his Dao Power circulated involuntarily.

Just then, STEP!

From the depths of the Void ahead, figures began to walk out slowly. Wreathed in an invincible and overwhelming momentum, they appeared before Wang Xiao’s eyes.

These figures were all dressed in Dragon Robes, with handsome faces, their bodies wreathed in a tidal surge of Divine Light.

Within that Divine Light, the aura of the Great Dao of Destiny and Cause and Effect flowed.

When Wang Xiao got a clear look at the faces of these figures, a ripple disturbed the calm well of his eyes.

These figures looked exactly like him!

Whether it was their appearance or the aura of the Great Dao surrounding them, they were identical in every way!

There were nine of them in total.

Each one seemed to exude an aura capable of destroying Heaven and Earth!

’Kill!’

The nine figures, who shared the same Great Dao as Wang Xiao, suddenly charged toward him to kill.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Immortal Emperor’s Law circulated within them. Raising their Swords of Destiny, they slashed at Wang Xiao with almost no hesitation!

HUMMM—

In that instant, as layers upon layers of Dao Power pressed down, Wang Xiao felt his line of Destiny fluctuate violently, as if his future was about to be severed at any moment!

’Hm? It can even imitate my methods of attack? This planetary consciousness is practically a demon!’

Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes.

However, he felt not a shred of fear in his heart.

He had already discovered that these nine figures, though identical to him, were merely imitating his Great Dao and attack methods.

Their physical bodies and their application of Divine Techniques, however, were not the same.

"I don’t know what your purpose is, but these figures you’ve created by imitating my Law aren’t quite enough to deal with me!"

Wang Xiao held his Celestial Destiny Sword as his terrifying vital energy erupted with a BOOM.

In an instant, the one thousand two hundred ninety-six Acupoints all over his body lit up with bursts of divine radiance!

In more than half of these Acupoints, a figure sat cross-legged, like a Divine Spirit.

These Divine Spirits raised their hands in unison, unleashing a rampaging power that seemed capable of destroying everything.

This wave of power acted on his line of Destiny, making it exceptionally sturdy!

No matter how the figures attacked, it remained unshakable!

’Now, it’s my turn to attack!’

Wielding the Celestial Destiny Sword, Wang Xiao stirred up a violent, tidal wave of power and charged at the surrounding figures.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A furious tide surged through the Void!

Overwhelming powers clashed continuously, shattering tens of thousands of miles of starry sky and filling the air with an aura of destruction.

In a mere moment, Wang Xiao had annihilated every last one of the figures!

RUMBLE—

The figures transformed back into thick bolts of Thunderbolt, descending upon Wang Xiao like a heavenly tribulation.

Wang Xiao snorted coldly. The tidal power within him surged, and he raised his hand, tearing all the tribulation bolts apart!

The sky filled with lightning that streamed down like a waterfall, like a tide.

It actually formed a road beneath his feet, leading him ever forward!

「A few moments later.」

He emerged from the endless Void and arrived on a mountaintop.

All around him were other mountain peaks.

These peaks, of varying heights, all surrounded a vast, ancient mountain path that rose from an unknown point and stretched straight to the heavens!

Wang Xiao’s eyes flashed as he noticed that figures were also standing on the surrounding peaks.

Mu Tiange, An Ruosu, Ye Wanzhou, Kong Xuansheng, Xuan Mi, and others were all among them.

Besides them, there were also some unfamiliar faces Wang Xiao had never seen before!

"The Celestial Destiny Emperor! He’s here too!"

"I knew he would come. I didn’t expect his peak to be so high. It seems the heavens greatly approve of him!"

"This battle to ascend to the heavens has gained another formidable rival!"

"Ascend? I think ’conquering the heavens’ is more fitting. The end of this Invincible Road is where the heavens reside. If you want eternal life, you must first conquer the heavens!"

A series of voices, some ancient, some cold, some weathered by time, suddenly rang out upon Wang Xiao’s arrival!