Chapter 544: Zha

Yin wind swept the earth, mournful qi surged to the heavens—

In this moment, within a silence so profound a falling needle could be heard, the profound dark qi ribbons circling in the air slowly parted at one corner, as if a great curtain were being lifted.

From the depths of the ink-black wave shadows, first a hand fair as jade emerged, then an arm, then a head and face; though several parts appeared illusory and indistinct, they were rapidly transforming from void to substance.

In less time than it takes to brew tea, a human figure stood upon the rolling black waters, dark robes with wide sleeves fluttering, calmly gazing across the void at Yin Yin Wuji and Lu Rong.

"It is actually You Ming Zhen Shui? Rare indeed to see this True Water manifest in the world!"

A young man clad in crimson patched robes, draped in a Seven-Treasure Kasaya, dressed as a head-toned monk, recognized this technique, and his eyes could not help but brighten.

"Even such a method has been transmitted... I have not returned to Xu Huang for many years; it seems the Divine King has finally found a worthy holy grandson? And as for my teacher wishing to support the Dragon Court once more, I wonder if this bears his handiwork?"

He muttered silently to himself.

Meanwhile, the Green Lion, who had previously drooled over the Zhou Jin Guang Shen Shui, could not help but rub his fists together, pacing back and forth several times within the hall.

Were it not for being in Xudu Xudu Tianyu.

Were it not for the fact that those cultivating these two True Waters were the true disciples of Yu Yu Yuchen and Wen Huang...

Given his temperament, he likely would have been unable to restrain himself from striking long ago, seizing this great fortune for his own!

Just as these two lowered their heads in contemplation, each with different thoughts, more cultivators unanimously gazed upward, fearing to miss even an instant.

At this moment, within the Huang Lao She Ji Map, countless living souls gathered like ants, prostrating themselves neatly upon the ground in worship.

Those thousand strange and peculiar forms rose and fell with the black waters, appearing and disappearing, resembling solemn, ancient rock carvings within a yin dwelling, standing immovable.

At the very forefront of the tidal wave stood only a young Daoist, tall and jade-like, with extraordinary bearing, hands clasped behind his back, a faint smile vaguely visible on his face.

The golden crown originally upon his head had been struck until its spiritual light dimmed and extinguished; now he simply discarded it, letting his raven hair hang loosely, swaying gently with the wind, yet showing not the slightest sign of disarray; instead, it accentuated his demeanor, making him appear increasingly dignified and transcendent, just like the sun illuminating the moon, possessing the graceful bearing of an immortal.

Floating skies and terrifying waves, darkness above and below, the sunlight long invisible, the entire sky filled with evil ghosts and fierce spirits eager to seize and devour humans...

This was originally an extremely bizarre and gloomy scene, yet at this moment, the eerie and sinister atmosphere was inexplicably diluted by several degrees.

Many female cultivators flashed brilliant colors in their beautiful eyes, feeling greatly enlightened by the sight before them, and began whispering softly to their companions nearby.

"This brat."

Gu Yi watched for a moment, then suddenly turned around as if sensing something, and for some reason, the corners of her lips curled into an inexplicable smile.

Her lips twitched slightly, and she employed a secret sound transmission technique toward Wei Wei Lingjiang, but the latter's expression remained indifferent, as if disdaining to argue.

This felt somewhat like punching thin air in frustration; Gu Yi herself found it rather boring and soon turned her head away as well.

"..."

Yin Yin Ruohua beside her hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping, and ultimately did not open her mouth, merely frowning as she gazed into the sky.

"You Ming Zhen Shui..."

At this moment, Yin Yin Wuji slowly exhaled a long breath, having also recognized this divine ability.

Yin spirits arrayed, ghosts and demons bowing their heads, holding the pivot of life and death, grasping the framework of yin and yang—

The profound authority of the netherworld, Mo Ke to be offended!

Just moments ago, under the combined efforts of himself and Lu Rong, Chen Heng clearly had no life force remaining, seemingly about to turn completely to ash.

But when this figure emerged from the black water, the injuries previously on his body were entirely gone; apart from a slightly pale complexion, he appeared just like someone untouched by harm.

Such mystery, such divine ability!

To be capable of achieving this...

And at this moment, seeing Chen Heng's qi mechanism bold and sharp, as if rolling floodwaves surged back and forth within his extraordinary meridians, chaotic yet not scattering.

Even without using the Zai Yuan Fa eyes, Lu Rong recognized this was caused by the stimulation of medicinal power after consuming Chi Fan Zhen.

Although You Ming Zhen Shui possessed the ability of immortality, it similarly consumed immense amounts of magic power.

Even if Chen Heng was a first-grade Jin Dan, he could only use this method as a trump card, not to be deployed lightly.

But if he possessed Chi Fan Zhen, perhaps he could utilize this immortal ability one more time.

Or even two times...

Suddenly, Lu Rong and Yin Yin Wuji exchanged a tacit glance, and immediately, without many words, they mobilized their magic power and struck ruthlessly!

A ghastly, greenish-white giant hand, reeking of mournful qi, soared into the sky first, with the force to split mountains and sever peaks, fiercely grabbing toward Chen Heng!

Lu Rong moved a step slower; this time, he once again unleashed the divine ability Shen Wei Tai Sui Xue Po.

However, driven at any cost, five of the blood souls within were even covered in Jin Jin Guang, with floral banners and canopies forming above their heads; the ferocious expressions on their faces largely dissipated, appearing solemn and majestic, vastly different from the surrounding blood souls.

Just as the Ten Thousand Poisons Da Shou Yin was about to strike, a wave of water surged up with a boom, holding the giant hand suspended in mid-air, making it difficult to descend.

While the two were secretly contending, two more waves of water leaped up from beneath Chen Heng's feet; this time, they exerted force from left and right, churning like intertwining dragons and serpents, causing the Shou Yin to collapse utterly into a dense cloud of greenish-white mist.

Seeing this, Yin Yin Wuji's expression did not change; while hastening to recover from his injuries, his movements were not slow in the least.

With merely a turn of his magic power, three more giant hands flew out from within the mist, exerting force to smash aside the obstructing water waves, continuing to grab toward Chen Heng!

The divine giant hands and the black water collided repeatedly, booming and roaring, the sound like ocean tides and Lei Zhen.

Both sides continuously shattered and reformed, fearing to be even a step slower, resting not for a moment!

For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand over the other.

However, as hundreds of blood souls charged forward, consecutively detonating their bodies, this stalemate finally broke; the black water was blasted open with several large gaps, and the situation began to tilt toward Yin Yin Wuji's side.

Chen Heng raised his sleeve, and with a single rotation of the Nan Ming Li Fire, he burned the blood souls rushing in through the breaches to ash; with another sweep, he incinerated dozens more.

Fire methods of such extreme yang and intensity often required little effort to break most of the Xiantian Mo Zong's yin-turbid Daoist arts, being a natural nemesis to them.

However, when those five blood souls, covered in Jin Jin Guang and resembling divine generals from heaven, charged forward to kill...

This time, the Nan Ming Li Fire required somewhat more effort than before to refine and destroy even one of them.

Chen Heng knew that only these five were the true Shen Wei Tai Sui Xue Po; the others, though formidable, were still incomplete in form and spirit within the Blood River True Method.

Although he could respond to ten thousand changes with constancy, similarly using Nan Ming Li Fire to break this move, currently facing two opponents alone, such an approach would still consume too much magic power; if an opportunity were found to exploit this later, it would ultimately be unfavorable.

Thinking thus, Chen Heng formed a plan in his heart, suddenly stepped forward, and waved his hand!

With a loud boom, the You Ming Changhe beneath his feet trembled violently, the sound echoing through Xudu Xudu Tianyu, not only shattering the divine giant hand sent out by Yin Yin Wuji.

At the same time, a sheet of watery light surged out from before him, vast and boundless, sweeping across the long sky!

"Not good."

Lü Rong had just sensed something amiss when one of his Divine-Tailed Tai Sui Blood Souls was brushed away by the watery light in the blink of an eye, vanishing without a trace.

Subsequently, the watery light flashed and extinguished three more times; the remaining three Divine-Tailed Blood Souls failed to escape as well, all being drawn into the True Water.

No matter how Lü Rong cast spells or formed hand seals, he could not summon them back out.

Yet after striking with success, Chen Heng did not stop; instead, under the joint assault of Yin and Lü, his offensive grew even more fierce.

Shortly after, the Southern Bright Li Fire once again blasted open the Great Poisonous Hand Seal.

In that instant, only a series of scalp-tingling shrill laughter could be heard, sounding both joyous and wailing.

Various living souls surged out from the depths of the black water, layer upon layer, countless in number!

Cloud worms, miasma mothers, flying-head barbarians, jackal demons, corpse spirits... besides such demonic monsters and evil creatures, there were also many left-path evil cultivators who had achieved accomplishment, as well as divine-monster hybrids with bodies huge as mountain ranges and dragon features growing from their forms.

Since obtaining the Wang Wang Bai Shui and using it as a foundation to refine the True Water, Chen Heng had already traveled outside the cosmos for several decades.

During this period, apart from Hong Jing Heaven, he had visited numerous large and small landmasses and realm-spaces; thus, in these years, the various fierce spirits and living souls he had captured with the True Water had reached an unsurpassable extent!

Although Yin and Lü could certainly handle such numbers, they were unwilling to waste their energy dealing with the living souls, so they each chose to temporarily avoid the sharp edge.

Their retreat, however, allowed Chen Heng to seize an opportunity, easing the pressure upon him.

He let out a clear whistle, stepped forward once, and then leaped upward.

Before the eyes of all, the heavenly light suddenly brightened and dimmed within a brief instant, so fast it was inconceivable.

A sword rose like a rainbow, tearing through the void and arriving in the blink of an eye!

Rolling blood smoke, sprawling tragic mist!

This time, though clearly not yet three hundred exchanges had passed, the fight was more than ten times fiercer than any previous bout.

All three had been struck by each other's divine abilities more than once, their injuries strikingly severe, every wound deep enough to expose bone.

As for Jia Xiu, of course, long before the three engaged in a death struggle, he had sensibly left behind his copper fish and departed the arena on his own.

Although this man was a distinguished disciple of Dou Shu and a proper Upper-Grade Jin Dan, alas, after the Hua Chun Mist dispersed, he ran into Yu Yu Huangshang and was beaten to heavy injury.

The reason Yu Yu Huangshang did not expel him was that she had grasped the foundation of Jia Xiu's magic power, allowing her to draw his essence and qi across space at any time to replenish her own deficiencies.

For this reason, he could be called the most aggrieved among the top ten Dan Yuan in the arena.

Although even at his peak, Jia Xiu could absolutely not defeat these three, at least he would not have left the stage in disgrace without unleashing a single move...

At this moment, after sending Lü Rong reeling with a punch, Chen Heng, taking advantage of the latter being entangled by the few remaining living souls, leaped like a dragon rising from the sea to clash head-on with Yin Yin Wuji several times!

Deep within the surging gale, Yang Zhao's illusory body was beheaded by a sword; his remaining corpse plummeted into the deep ocean abyss, exploding into wisps of smoke before even touching the water.

At the same time, the Southern Bright Li Fire was returned by Yin Yin Wuji's true body employing the Luo Yuzhen Dan, causing Chen Heng to cough up blood continuously.

Boom—!

After exchanging a palm strike with Yin Yin Wuji, Chen Heng advanced instead of retreating; the Ten Thousand Jun True Water suddenly pressed over, while thunder crackled between his palm and fingers, coalescing in an instant into a thunder spear ten feet long.

Taking advantage of the moment Yin Yin Wuji was occupied with the True Water,

Chen Heng exerted force violently, actually driving the spear tip through his own left rib, holding the spear to lift himself bodily into the air!

In that instant.

Heaven and earth seemed to fall silent for an instant; all around was quiet...

Yin Yin Wuji grunted muffledly, having used the Zhou Jin Guang Divine Water to evade vital points.

Before the thunder spear could suddenly explode within his body, he turned his palm into a blade, slicing the spear shaft in two, and slammed a cloud of Ten Thousand Blights Fierce Smoke squarely at Chen Heng's face!

At the same moment, Lü Rong also crushed all the living souls besieging him, activated the Di Jin Zhen Fa, and moved to encircle from the flank.

The three had been locked in continuous combat, their forms now like floating light and startling lightning, crossing layer upon layer of sea waves in the blink of an eye.

Wherever they passed, majestic qi rushed like a galloping herd, like a mountain collapsing and waters boiling!

After dodging a sword light, Yin Yin Wuji suddenly and inexplicably lowered his cloud head; with merely a wave of his hand, he created a gloomy spiritual vortex that blocked Chen Heng's northern position.

It was as if a wall collapsing caused the house to crumble, toppling one after another; in merely a finger-snap, sixteen spiritual vortexes appeared in succession, trapping Chen Heng squarely in the center.

Nether Void Primordial Qi—

Since the You Ming Zhen Shui had appeared, Yin Yin Wuji had secretly deployed this divine ability; now, after much effort, he had finally trapped Chen Heng in this desperate ground meticulously arranged by him!

"Go!"

Yin Yin Wuji roared loudly, shook his body, and unleashed magic power sufficient to push mountains and shift peaks; amidst booming sounds, the sixteen spiritual vortexes slowly merged back into a single mass.

Suddenly,

Yin and yang eroded each other, and the qi of heaven and earth reversed!

A hundred-foot spiritual vortex churned heavily in the sky, seemingly without beginning or end; deep within the vortex, all was chaotic and indistinct, hard to describe, appearing as though nothing existed, yet as though myriad beings were born; tens of columns of ten thousand acres of sea water surged upward rumbling, pouring continuously into the vortex, yet like a clay ox entering the sea, they stirred not the slightest disturbance.

"This scene... reminds me of that technique, the Hun Dong Tai Wu."

A great cultivator could not help but sigh with emotion.

"Lü Rong!"

At this moment, Yin Yin Wuji shouted explosively, blood flowing from his nose and mouth, his back bending as if bearing a heavy mountain range.

To maintain such a divine ability, even for Yin Yin Wuji, was absolutely not easy.

Especially since he now bore heavy injuries; despite consuming various great medicines, his condition remained incomplete.

Hearing this explosive shout, Lü Rong, whose body had just been shattered by Lei Ting, reformed his shape, his face white as paper.

Ignoring the constant dizziness transmitting through his brain, he forcibly mobilized his divine ability, summoning a sky-high sea of blood and slamming it fiercely toward Chen Heng!

Under this combined pull and press, Chen Heng finally began to tilt little by little toward the spiritual vortex in the sky.

After several dozen breaths, seeing that figure finally swallowed by the vortex, both men felt a sensation nearing complete exhaustion, their fingers trembling.

"Has... has he won?"

A disciple of the Wenhuang Sect, bewildered, frowned and asked a fellow sect member beside him:

"Then later, is Senior Brother Yin going to contend with Lü Rong?"

Hearing these words, the several Wenhuang cultivators beside him all wore expressions of confusion.

Far away, Qi Shang, standing with his hands behind his back, shook his head slightly, nearly jolting the Fuchan Fuchan Laozu, who was squatting on his shoulder in a Xiao Daze, right off.

The next moment, surging flames of fire suddenly engulfed Lü Rong's figure, while Yin Yin Wuji was also swiftly struck by a five-colored giant palm!

Killing shouts erupted again in the arena; though clearly only three people were present, it seemed as if thousands of soldiers and horses were locked in a deadly brawl, fiercely intense!

Multicolored dharma lights shone brilliantly, dyeing half the sky curtain in dazzling, bewildering hues that made one's eyes ache...

This time, after using the You Ming Zhen Shui to sweep aside the attacking assault, Chen Heng did not exert force to press the true water forward; instead, a blue glow appeared in his hand as he grasped the Dun Dun Jiesuo.

This was due to Chen Heng's deliberate actions just now, even going so far as to forcibly endure several strikes to set up this situation.

At this moment.

Yin and Lü were both positioned in the same location.

Suddenly, Yin and Lü both felt as though they had been seized from afar by an invisible giant hand; the surrounding void turned into an iron wall, making it difficult for them to move, and even the circulation of their magic power seemed obstructed.

Under normal circumstances, they could have exerted their strength in time to break free from such restraint.

But having fought until now, even though they possessed great elixirs that could restore injuries and magic power, that sense of exhaustion and heaviness in their divine consciousness remained impossible to dispel, causing their movements to lag by several beats.

After hurriedly breaking that restraint, what puzzled Yin and Lü greatly was that Chen Heng did not take advantage of that opening to attack with his sword.

He merely stood in his original spot, using this moment to refine the final portion of the Chi Fan Zhen, then calmly stepped forward, his wide sleeves fluttering, and pointed a finger from afar toward this place.

The next moment, a single syllable faintly issued from Chen Heng's mouth, like a golden bell at a mountain peak being gently struck, clear and entering the ears.

"Zha!"

This was the first sound since the creation of heaven and earth; according to Daoist technique classics, it was said to possess various marvelous uses, infinitely profound and mysterious.

In an instant, Yin Yin Wuji's pupils contracted sharply.

And Lü Rong's face likewise changed color inexplicably.

As that sound rang out calmly, the sky instantly became filled with brilliant golden-yellow hues; a mountain-uprooting hurricane swept in, howling across the heavens.

Although that momentum was still brewing, it had already stirred boundless spiritual tides first; surging sea waves roiled and surged, reaching high to the azure firmament, raging across a hundred li, and continuing to spread rumblingly toward even more distant places!

The earth drummed with qi while the seas boiled; the heavenly winds raged while rain drifted; the Milky Way flowed downward, and all waters boiled together!

Zha!

Zha!

Zha!

In an instant, heaven and earth were filled entirely with a vast, echoing sound, as if holy beings within the thunder, holding drums and wielding swords, were roaring angrily from deep within the bright, dense clouds, their voices shaking the firmament and cleansing the entire cosmos!

"This technique? It is this technique!"

Inside the Seven-Treasures Fragrant Carriage, a tall and thin Daoist suddenly slapped the table and rose, a look of astonishment on his face.

"Tai Yi Shen Lei..."

The Fuchan Fuchan Laozu and Qi Shang suddenly exchanged a glance.

"Tai Yi Shen Lei?!"

The monk draped in crimson patched robes gaped his mouth blankly, staring speechlessly.

As for the green lion that had previously shown greed in its eyes, it was now completely stunned, its expression complex, motionless.

At this moment, He He Lizi felt a sudden boom resonate in his brain; subsequently, he subconsciously looked toward Xue Jing in the golden boat, only to see the latter fiercely hurl away his wine cup, throwing back his head and laughing heartily.

"Tai Yi Shen Lei..."

Finally, in the great hall, the presiding elders of the Wenhuang and Blood River sects wore extremely ugly expressions.

Although Xun Bing concealed it well, the fingers hidden within his sleeve still twitched slightly, and brilliant light surged in his eyes.

Clear qi rose high and pure, turbid qi spread below; the Two Forms were without substance, and the Black and Yellow were divided!

The number one killing and slaughtering divine ability in the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, the towering law that suppresses the world—

Tai Yi Shen Lei!

At this moment, time seemed stretched incredibly long; countless people cried out in shock, at a loss for what to do, and even many great cultivators were briefly stunned, their eyes flashing with light.

With a loud boom, the world within the diagram seemed violently torn open, a flash of Jin Jin Guang appearing and vanishing in an instant!

And almost simultaneously with the release of this supreme great divine ability, Chen Heng felt darkness before his eyes; he spat a mouthful of blood as chaotic golden light surged wildly from his eye sockets, blasting his eyes into fragments first.

Nor did that excruciating pain stop; next came his five viscera and chest-abdomen, then his head and limbs, until finally his Primordial Spirit miserably turned into a wisp of green smoke, completely erased from existence.

Clearly, the divine thunder had not yet struck Yin and Lü, yet Chen Heng had already lost his life first, dying beneath his own divine ability.

Tai Yi Shen Lei was never a supreme great divine ability that a Jin Dan cultivation could employ; using it meant certain death, without exception.

Even a True Person of the Primordial Spirit, after unleashing this world-suppressing law, would suffer heavy injuries and be forced to withdraw!

It was only because Chen Heng could use the You Ming Zhen Shui to evade the death calamity that he dared to make this attempt.

But given the colossal consumption of magic power by both Tai Yi and You Ming, even with the Chi Fan Zhen assisting nearby to restore essence and qi.

Yet in this Dan Yuan Grand Assembly, he had only one chance, able to mobilize such a killing move just once...

And at this moment.

This was precisely the excellent opportunity Chen Heng had been bitterly awaiting!

His vision was already blurred; an indescribable sense of danger made one's limbs turn cold and the whole body tremble, causing Yin and Lü to feel, for the first time in ages, a dense intent of death rushing toward their faces.

It seemed that in the next instant, their entire beings would be crushed into powder, unable to resist in the slightest!

"So this is the supreme great divine ability you have been concealing all along?"

At the critical moment between life and death, this thought suddenly flashed through Yin Yin Wuji's mind.

And at this time, a gloomy, chaotic aura collided heavily not far from him; it was Lü Rong letting out a furious roar, squeezing out his full strength.

He pushed the Ba Zui Shen Zhou to its second layer, sacrificing his entire body below the head to explode into fragments; under this immense empowerment that even he could not sustain for long, he boldly unleashed the Six Desires Great Demon True Light to meet it!

Indistinctly, it seemed as though Bai Jin Guang rippled through heaven and earth like water, all demon gods and ghosts revealing joyful expressions within the watery light, each holding a strand of Six Desires True Light in their palms, bestowing upon it the supreme empowering Mi Zhou.

Although Yin Yin Wuji's emotions were complex, the movements of his hands slowed not in the slightest.

Starlight surged once more in his eyes; several mysterious qi apertures suddenly appeared within his body, and a brilliant green light flashed abruptly.

Wherever the green light passed, whether seawater, mist, or the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, all silently disintegrated, forcibly merged into it.

The Wenhuang Sect's supreme great divine ability—The Ten Directions Illuminating the World Great Epidemic Light!

Plague is the sign of yin prevailing and yang declining, the gathering of evil karma in a turbid world.

When yin and yang fall out of balance, plague becomes heavenly punishment; this is the retribution of cause and effect!

With Yin Yin Wuji's level of cultivation, he had not truly mastered this world-suppressing method of the Wenhuang Sect; he merely used the wonder of the Shouzun Shouzun Moshen Water to forcibly accelerate the cultivation process, allowing this technique to be barely usable by him.

In Yin Yin Wuji's conception, this killing move would kill a thousand enemies while damaging himself eight hundred; he should not have used it at the Elixir Yuan Grand Assembly.

Who could have known...

Though this series of actions seemed lengthy to describe, in reality it was but the snap of a finger; before the eyes of all, the attacks of the three figures collided boldly!

The Six Desires Great Demon True Light under the empowering Shen Zhou, and the Ten Directions Illuminating the World Great Epidemic Light.

The two forces joined to contend against—

The Tai Yi Shen Lei!

In an instant, only vast light rolled forth, blazing intensely, yet utterly silent.

After several breaths, a earth-shattering, sky-rending roar suddenly erupted with violent speed, shaking vast stretches of seawater into powder, even revealing the cracked seabed clearly, as if the ocean floor were about to flip over entirely; countless aquatic beings were reduced to minced meat and bloody mist.

Within a hundred li in every direction, the clarity and turbidity of heaven and earth collapsed into chaos with a boom, leaving not a trace of living qi!

At this moment, as two beams of light flashed outside the diagram—

Yin and Lü suddenly fell from the clouds, their breaths faint, hastily rescued by their fellow sect members, causing many cultivators to feel chills run down their spines.

Yet more cultivators turned their attention to the Huang Lao She Ji Diagram, focusing their minds deeply, eyes unblinking, daring not to exhale even a single extra breath.

Before the eyes of all, it is unknown how much time passed...

Beneath the dim cloud curtain, first a drop of profound black water slowly condensed into solidity.

Then more and more water droplets gathered, until they merged into a headless, tailless black river, the sound of surging tides rising loudly.

Finally, with a soft gushing sound, Chen Heng's figure slowly emerged from the water.

He closed his eyes for a while, suppressing the intense dizziness in his mind, then waved his hand once, taking the copper fish from Yin Yin Wuji and Lü Rong into his grasp.

After accomplishing all this, he did not linger, merely casting a deep glance downward before similarly activating his Elixir Yuan Talisman and shifting out of the scroll.

In that instant, Ying Ying Jichuan finally erupted with a unified roar, bubbling like boiling water, soaring straight up to the cloudy firmament!