Chapter 45

"Daoist friend!"

"Please!"

Li Xiang sat before him, gesturing for Hongjun to play.

The previous restraint was entirely gone.

He sat casually on the chair with a smile on his face.

Although he had the body of a youth, his aura carried a majesty that commanded respect without anger.

Even though his opponent was Hongjun, there seemed to be nothing worth being surprised or astonished about.

Seeing Li Xiang's change,

even Hongjun, who had always been as calm as an ancient well, revealed a hint of surprise.

"This person's future."

"I actually cannot see it?"

The very first moment Li Xiang descended, Hongjun had tried to deduce the future.

But looking out, the Time River was a sea of chaos.

Even one as strong as Hongjun could not see through it in the slightest.

Hongjun frowned.

He took out the Creation Jade Slip and hung it before him.

The strength of the person before him made him somewhat wary.

At the same time, he looked deeply at Yang Mei.

Only now, Yang Mei seemed to be just as bewildered as he was.

How did this little fellow suddenly become so aggressive?

Covering the sky with one hand and blocking the Time River—this was no longer something a Great Divine Ability user could do.

Even an existence that had leaped out of the river and was walking on the bank could not reach this step.

Just how strong had this fellow become?

"The Seventh Step?"

Hongjun asked tentatively.

Li Xiang shook his head.

Then, he revealed a set of fine white teeth.

"The Ninth Step!"

*Hiss! *

Even Yang Mei gasped.

What kind of thing had he summoned?

Looking up, the power of time and space behind Li Xiang had now completely collapsed.

The time-space channel constructed by Yang Mei had already dissipated.

That level of time-space power simply could not carry such a majestic existence.

Yet, this existence was still sitting here, smiling.

The laws of the world collapse, yet I alone remain.

An inconceivable realm.

He sat on the stone chair, still smiling at Hongjun.

It seemed that he was very happy today?

Li Xiang held a black piece, playing with it gently, waiting for Hongjun to play.

At this moment, the situation seemed to have reversed.

Hongjun had instead become the one facing pressure.

Holding a white piece, he hesitated to place it.

At this moment, his heart was like a stormy sea, with countless waves.

It was not that his temperament was insufficient, but that what Li Xiang had said was truly too astonishing.

The Ninth Step!

How could this be!

The one in the Purple Heaven Palace had only just reached the Eighth Step.

To take the Ninth Step, he had created himself.

By means of "doing subtraction to seek emptiness," he transferred all karma and status to himself.

Seeking only a glimmer of transcendence in the heart.

To see the path ahead.

Preparing to take that unprecedented step.

Now the Dao Ancestor had split into two selves.

One was that supreme existence in the Purple Heaven Palace who held the will of Heaven, ruthless and indifferent.

He was stripping away all his tangible and intangible attributes bit by bit, doing subtraction to seek emptiness, preparing for the future Ninth Step.

The other was himself, who had emotions and was in the stage of perfection.

He was the product of the Dao Ancestor stepping into the Ninth Step, the gathering of all existences stripped away by the Dao Ancestor.

He was Hongjun, but Hongjun was not him.

Transcendence, power.

Even a talent as brilliant as Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not yet taken the Ninth Step.

And now, you tell me that the one before me has entered the Ninth Step?

How could the human-form Hongjun before him accept this?!

The Creation Jade Slip flickered gently.

The supreme treasure has spirit.

The Creation Jade Slip also seemed to feel that the atmosphere was wrong.

The aura of the person before him seemed ridiculously strong.

The Creation Jade Slip trembled gently, ready to turn into a streak of light and flee at any moment.

"Daoist friend, why do you hesitate to play?"

Li Xiang's voice interrupted Hongjun's thoughts.

The situation now seemed to have turned the tables.

Li Xiang seemed more like the master of this Immortal Abode.

The Creation Jade Slip hung before him.

Hongjun tried to use the blessing of the Creation Jade Slip to calculate the future and find a way to win.

*Crack—*

An inconspicuous crack appeared on the Creation Jade Slip.

"Ah, this."

"I wouldn't recommend you try to calculate the future related to me."

Li Xiang suddenly smiled.

"This karma is not something you can bear!"

The familiar words fell.

Hongjun's expression became increasingly complex.

He was a human form, a product of doing subtraction to seek emptiness.

He was Hongjun, but Hongjun was not him, so he had emotions.

Looking at Li Xiang, who was so overbearing before him, even one with his temperament felt somewhat displeased.

"Daoist friend, you have a big mouth."

"Since you are being so difficult, why not go discuss the Dao with the one in the Purple Heaven Palace?"

Hongjun said coldly.

"Haha!"

"Daoist friend, do not be angry!"

Seeing Hongjun's indignation, Li Xiang suddenly laughed.

"I came here today to resolve karma."

"You have the grace of helping me attain the Dao; I am too grateful to be difficult with you."

As Li Xiang spoke, he slowly stood up.

He reached out and pinched the air, and a streak of light fell from the sky.

It landed in his hand and was slowly molded into a pale golden plate.

Then, Li Xiang condensed a wisp of mist at his fingertips and let it fall onto the plate.

It turned into a Heavenly Book.

Only, this Heavenly Book was very chaotic, appearing and disappearing.

It seemed as if it would dissipate at any moment.

"This is?"

Hongjun was somewhat surprised.

This was an object made by a Ninth Step mighty figure.

He could not see through the origins of this object.

"Since we are playing chess, how can there be no stakes?"

"This object is the stake between you and me."

"Regardless of who wins or loses, you may take this object to observe."

Li Xiang smiled.

But after doing all this, the sound of waves appeared around his body.

That was the Time River in riot.

Interfering with the past from the future.

This was equivalent to completely denying the existence of the entire timeline.

It meant bearing monstrous karma.

"This is?"

Hongjun asked.

"The path to attaining the Dao of the Ninth Step."

Li Xiang narrowed his eyes and said casually.

As soon as the words fell,

a thunderclap rang out.

This thunder was formless and invisible.

It was the Time River rioting to the extreme, karma condensing and turning into thunder, striking Li Xiang's body.

Invisibly, Li Xiang's vast aura weakened slightly.

"The Ninth Step!"

Both Hongjun and Yang Mei's expressions changed.

But then, they calmed down again.

"With such great karma, what do you want?"

Li Xiang stretched and pointed at himself lightly.

"Just as you said in the past."

"Borrowing external objects to seek the Dao is not the true fruit."

"One succeeds by the Dao, and one fails by the Dao."

"The Ninth Step is my end point."

Li Xiang sat on the chair, looking at Hongjun sincerely.

"If I cannot see my true self, I will not be reconciled."

"I came here today to resolve karma, but I ask for your help."

"All the karma here,"

"I will bear it all by myself!"

In his words, there was an indescribable dominance.

*Boom! *

The river rioted.

But in an instant, it was suppressed by Li Xiang.

Although he was sitting here, he had suppressed the entire river.

The power here could not be described in words.

Those who can leap out of the river are at the Sixth Step.

Those who can walk on the embankments are at the Seventh Step.

Those who can reflect the true spirit and see through falsehood are at the Eighth Step.

The Ninth Step.

Unprecedented and unrepeatable, there is only this one person.

This level of power had already transcended imagination.

"Then, what do you want to get from me?"

Hongjun frowned.

If this person was using the Dao of the Ninth Step to trade for something, then what he wanted must be extremely precious.

Li Xiang suppressed the riot of the river.

"I want your Three Corpses Severing Method, and a treasure on your person."

"A treasure?"

"What treasure?"

Li Xiang smiled and spoke slowly.

"Grandmist Violet Qi!"

A note on updates: On weekdays, I have to work, so it's usually 4k words a day; on weekends, if I'm free, 6k-10k.

After the book goes on the shelves, it will be stable at around 6k-10k per day.

I am also staying up late every day to write, and I hope my lords can support me more; feel free to give recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

By the way, this book is still in the new book PK stage, so please, my lords, don't hoard the book; give it a follow-up read, I beg you!

(End of this chapter)