Chapter 403: Sword Cuts the Heavenly Dao! The Four Powers Soar in Reputation!

The cosmic boundary, the void zone.

Chu Yang gazed ahead; compared with the last time he challenged the Heavenly Dao, he is now a completely different person.

Back then he still had to rely on a pseudo‑Haotian state to wrest the faint black‑hole singularity, barely contending with the incomplete side of the Heavenly Dao.

But now, as soon as Chu Yang arrived, he already faintly sensed the Heavenly Dao stirring.

It was not a perception of Soul Force, but a subtle, preternatural response.

The reason for this response lies in Chu Yang's past direct confrontation with the World Will of the Great Thousand Realm during his Qi‑battle.

Although the World Will of the Great Thousand Realm is also incomplete due to the influence of the Outer Evil Tribe, it can at least manifest as the Celestial Chart, delivering a more immediate sensory impact.

The Celestial Chart and the Super God Heavenly Dao are fundamentally different, yet they share subtle commonalities in essence.

"Since you're here, let me see—do you dare to block me?"

Chu Yang sneered, his figure flashing as he swooped straight toward the unknown universe.

He felt no resistance, yet a faint pressure from above seemed like the Heavenly Dao warning him.

Chu Yang was unfazed; instead, the Heavenly Dao's reaction confirmed his earlier conjectures.

After soaring an unknown distance, Chu Yang finally slowed, looked at the boundless void around him, and laughed up, "Won't you give it a try?"

"Ka… Ka…"

As his words faded, the cosmic space above Chu Yang cracked inch by inch, and a terrifying force slowly pressed down.

The force imparted an overwhelming sense of invincibility, instinctively urging one to surrender resistance.

Yet Chu Yang remained unmoved; he simply lifted his hand, and amid swirling white light, the Heavenly Gate materialized in his palm.

In the next instant, the Heavenly Gate transformed into an Imperial Command; the characters "Haotian" on the token drifted, a dragon and a phoenix burst forth, weaving a Dragon‑Phoenix Imperial Robe around Chu Yang.

Ziwei and Beidou hovered overhead, while the Lingxiao Treasure Hall floated behind him.

As his power grew, the might of his Soul‑Cutting Blade intensified; his figure flashed and he instantly arrived inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

The moment he sat upon the Dragon Throne, Chu Yang's aura underwent a cataclysmic shift, as if he were the ruling Heavenly Emperor! Though still in a pseudo‑Haotian state, he was incomparably stronger than before.

It remains unclear whether, due to the Super God Heavenly Dao's incompleteness, the Heavenly Gate did not, provoked by the Dao's "provocation," unleash additional Original Power.

Even so, Chu Yang still withstood the descending Heavenly Dao force and stood toe‑to‑toe with it! "Let me guess…"

Chu Yang squinted, his voice booming like a great bell and radiant as celestial music, "So feeble—this shows you are either incomplete or constrained."

"To spawn autonomous consciousness and independent thought, and to lay a flawless scheme, it is hard to claim this is the work of a broken Heavenly Dao."

"Perhaps your greatest former foes were those primeval true gods; yet if they could cripple you, how could you annihilate them in a single strike?"

As he spoke, Chu Yang clearly felt the pressure above increase, but he remained composed, continuing, "Thus only one other possibility remains…"

"That you are being restrained by some entity! Or limited for some reason!"

"I think… whether restrained or limited, the root cause must lie in that unknown universe, right?"

His words hanging, Chu Yang turned his head toward the unknown universe.

Retracting his gaze, he slowly rose, waved his hand and said softly, "Since you can't catch me, disperse then!"

"The next time you come, you won't be able to stop me!"

At the same time, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall burst into brilliant light, Ziwei and Beidou glittered, and the Imperial Command in Chu Yang's hand shot upward.

"Boom!!!"

The void zone instantly erupted into a storm, and the next moment it seemed the heavens had collapsed, everything above Chu Yang disintegrating rapidly.

During this, Ziwei, Beidou, and the Lingxiao Treasure Hall all teetered on the brink of collapse.

When the Heavenly Dao's oppressive pressure finally dissipated and the cosmic space above Chu Yang fully collapsed, Ziwei and Beidou had already faded completely, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall was riddled with cracks and then shattered with a bang.

The Dragon‑Phoenix Imperial Robe turned into specks of light, drifting slowly away.

A shaft of white light descended from the heavens; the Imperial Command reconstituted as the Heavenly Gate, landing in Chu Yang's hand, its blade trembling lightly and emitting a resonant clang.

The sword slashes the Heavenly Dao; even the fragmentary Dao power makes the Soul‑Cutting Blade rejoice.

He glanced once more toward the unknown universe, chuckled lightly, and then leapt into the wormhole.

The clues have been untangled, numerous matters have been set in motion; now all that remains is to await final preparations and a major discovery on Ao Ting's side.

Before that, one should enjoy a rare moment of ease.

After all, during this time in the void, though nothing could threaten his existence, that prolonged solitude deserves proper consolation.

……

Great Thousand Realm, Shengyuan Continent.

"So quickly out of seclusion?" Sun Wukong said, looking at Chu Yang opposite him, slightly surprised.

"Just a few breakthroughs in technique; naturally it didn't take long!" Chu Yang smiled.

Although his seclusion was brief, the Fifth‑Level Ascendant Spirit Manual, combined with entering the Soul Palace during seclusion, and sharing the Fourteenth‑Level Ascension Imperial Scripture from Super God Chu Yang, yielded abundant gains.

The Fourteenth‑Level Ascended Sacred Body amplified all his abilities to roughly 231%.

It is worth noting that the various treasures exchanged in the Great Palace Treasure Vault this time boosted the Four Sacred True Spirits far beyond Chu Yang's expectations.

Originally he thought he could at most achieve a fourth evolution.

But the final result was that after the fourth evolution, the progress bar for the Fifth Evolution of the Four Sacred True Spirits leapt straight to 70%!

Now the Four Sacred True Spirits have reached the genuine celestial‑grade Late Stage Supreme Heaven realm!

Among them, Ao Ting and the Fire Spirit's combat power rivals the pinnacle of celestial‑grade.

However, to advance further, relying solely on heavenly and earthly treasures no longer works; one must absorb the continent's power.

"When do you plan to leave?" Sun Wukong knew that after Chu Yang emerged from seclusion, he would depart Shengyuan Continent.

Chu Yang whispered, "Once the Great Palace sends the intel, I'll set out directly."

Sun Wukong asked with a smile, "Not going to check on those little guys?"

The "little guys" he mentioned were Na Lan Yanran, Tang Huo'er and others. Chu Yang shook his head, "They have their own paths to follow…"

During this time, through the Great Thousand Palace, the two of them learned more or less some news about the old acquaintances of the Douqi Continent.

The Umbral Army is thriving on the Western Heaven Continent, having become the top force of the Western Heaven War Hall, and Demon Wind has also reached the peak level of a Million‑Pattern Battle Array Master.

The Umbral Army alone can even contend with early‑stage Spiritual Product Tian Zhizun strongmen.

The Dan Tower Ancestor‑led Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, whose reputation is soaring, is a force composed solely of Spiritual Array Masters, a rarity even in the Great Thousand Realm.

Moreover, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has an overwhelming number of members, with everyone becoming a Spiritual Array Master—truly baffling.

Although the strongest among them are merely Spiritual Array Grandmasters, matching the Earth Supreme strongmen, they cannot overcome the sheer numbers! Hundreds of Spiritual Array Grandmasters can even cooperate to lay a Grandmaster‑level Spiritual Array! This has attracted many Spiritual Array Masters to join, causing the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion to grow ever larger.

Chu Yang's groundwork on the Douqi Continent clearly played a crucial role; otherwise, even high‑level alchemists could not all successfully transition to the Spiritual Array path.

Chu Yang knows that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has some promising talents, such as Xuan Kongzi's disciple Cao Ying and the younger generation that survived in the Medicine Clan.

There are also the former three heads of Dan Tower and Old Monster Lin, both late bloomers who have accumulated strength before releasing it.

Now that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has firmly established itself, as long as they secure some opportunities in the future, they can leap to the realm of Spiritual Array Grandmaster.

The process won't take long; it only requires a catalyst.

The Hundred Flowers Pavilion's development speed is even faster than that of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.

This is naturally thanks to the cultivation methods of Na Lan Yanran and Yun Yun! The source technique is so extreme that even the simplified version leaves the master‑apprentice pair virtually without any bottleneck.

After entering the Great Thousand Realm, they immediately broke the Hundred Flowers Pavilion into separate units, setting a one‑year term for everyone to travel individually and reconvene after a year.

It must be said that this approach carries great risk, but high risk also brings high reward! After the year passes, aside from Na Lan Yanran and Yun Yun, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion lost nearly one‑fifth of its members, yet its overall strength rose by a whole tier.

It should be noted that those who were the first to enter the Great Thousand Realm were all Dou Saint strongmen from the Douqi Continent, whose innate talent and starting power were far from low.

In just one year, after completing the Spiritual Power conversion, nearly 70% of these people broke through to the Supreme Realm, and a few even reached Earth Supreme.

Of course, the reason their cultivation advanced so rapidly lies in two key factors.

First, 99% of them practiced the method provided by Chu Yang.

Second, previously limited by Dou Qi, their potential had never been fully developed; after completing the Spiritual Power conversion, they experienced a brief cultivation sprint.

Once this stage passes, subsequent cultivation gains slow considerably.

Yet with Chu Yang's method, as long as one's talent remains good, they will not be weaker than the many prodigies of the Great Thousand Realm.

Some exceptionally gifted individuals, if given further opportunities, may see their advancement speed not only maintain but even surpass previous rates.

Moreover, Yun Yun and Na Lan Yanran, who practice the source technique, absurdly both broke through to Heavenly Supreme!

Thus, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion directly seized a continent, renamed it the Hundred Flowers Continent, and became a newly rising super power.

In contrast, the development speed of the Yun Lan Sect was slower than Chu Yang had expected.

Although the Yun Lan Sect also occupied a continent, and with Dan Tong and Xiao Xiao jointly matching the early‑stage Spiritual Product Tian Zhizun strength, it became a super power of its own.

But don't forget…

Compared with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, the Yun Lan Sect's starting point is far higher!

In terms of sheer number of strongmen, it far exceeds the sum of the two.

And during this year, almost all Yun Lan Sect strongmen reached the Supreme Realm, with many attaining Earth Supreme as well.

In the end, it's because Dan Tong and Xiao Xiao's advancement was relatively slow that the Yun Lan Sect's growth was limited.

Nevertheless, Chu Yang isn't worried; since he lets everyone act on their own, he won't intervene much.

Dan Tong and Xiao Xiao both have great potential, and regardless of whatever caused their progress to lag, they will eventually catch up.

In the Great Summer Dynasty, things run much more smoothly; the name of Tang Huo'er, the Great Summer Empress, strikes fear across the land.

In the early stage of Spiritual Product, she can already contend with the later stage, and being so young, she is truly a prodigy.

If it weren't for Chu Yang's jade leading the way, Tang Huo'er's reputation would probably be even larger.

The Great Summer Dynasty is teeming with strongmen; besides Tang Huo'er, Zi Yan, Feng Qing'er, and the late‑blooming Zhu Kun have all reached the Heavenly Supreme realm.

It is said that Zhu Kun obtained a great opportunity, which spurred him to chase forward.

The main point is…

Many strongmen have joined the Great Summer Dynasty by name, some even of Heavenly Supreme level!

It is said that there is even an Immortal Product Tian Zhizun who tried to take Tang Huo'er as a disciple; after being repeatedly rejected, he simply descended himself, became a guest minister in the Great Summer Dynasty, and now the empress won't leave.

Even knowing that Tang Huo'er already has a master, that fellow doesn't mind; he's all about sincere intent! Chu Yang is also eager to see what kind of deity this amusing fellow, who wants to steal his disciple, truly is. Overall, the Great Summer Dynasty's development speed has exceeded Chu Yang's expectations; according to the latest intelligence held by the Great Thousand Palace, the dynasty appears to be scheming against a certain super continent.

Tang Huo'er's boldness and ambition are evident.

It should be known that across the entire Great Thousand Realm, there are only ten super continents, each teeming with factions, strongmen like clouds, and abundant resources.

Even the Western Heaven Continent ruled by the Western Heaven War Emperor is not listed among the ten super continents.

But the most surprising thing to Chu Yang is Xiao Yan!

This fellow, in just one year, seemed to have been injected with adrenaline; his strength surged, and now he has truly reached the peak of Spiritual Product Tian Zhizun! The latest news Chu Yang received from the Great Thousand Palace reports that Xiao Yan crossed borders and defeated an early‑stage Immortal Product Tian Zhizun—though a narrow victory, it made him famous in a single battle! In less than two years, he rose from low‑grade Supreme to the peak of Spiritual Product Tian Zhizun, a speed that is rather absurd.

However, Chu Yang vaguely suspects that this fellow probably gathered many powerful exotic flames and refined them through the Burning Manual, causing his cultivation to skyrocket.

Being able to cross borders and defeat an Immortal Product Tian Zhizun also means Xiao Yan's peerless Imperial Flame has already taken shape.

Now Xiao Yan is a step ahead, but it remains unknown whether Lin Dong, who gained a great opportunity through Sun Wukong, can keep up with him.

In the next two days, besides drinking with Sun Wukong, Chu Yang will idle around the Sacred Abyss Continent, occasionally pointing out some promising seedlings.

Previously, the Great Thousand Palace had shown him favor everywhere; this counts as returning the favor.

Information about the White Dragon Supreme and White Dragon Hill finally reached Chu Yang on the third day after he left the gate, delivered by a envoy from the Great Thousand Palace.

Obviously, gathering complete information on a minor figure and a small locale in the vast Great Thousand Realm is not easy, even for the Great Thousand Palace.

(End of Chapter)