Chapter 741 - 528: Slaughter Gourd (Part 2)
The temple was ancient and simple, with carved beams and painted rafters, everywhere inscribed with the ancient patterns of Pan Wu, serving as the place for Chen Sheng’s disciples to cultivate and discuss matters.
At this moment, a woman in white sat in quiet meditation within the hall, her demeanor unmatched, eyes filled with spiritual rhyme. She was none other than Qin Zhaoyu.
Around Qin Zhaoyu, the Illusion Destruction Law flowed, her aura steady, having already stepped into the second stage of Integration.
While cultivating, she constantly focused on the Tongtian Immortals List, which bore the mark of every cultivator who ascended the peaks...
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, abruptly opening her eyes, her gaze instantly directed toward the Tongtian Immortals List, turning to wild joy.
She saw a familiar dark imprint on the Immortals List, slowly moving from the position of the twenty-fourth peak, stepping steadily into the twenty-fifth peak.
Immediately after, it swiftly advanced into the twenty-sixth peak, the imprint resplendent, Dao Rhyme intense, with no sign of stopping.
"Master’s imprint."
"Master has broken through, finally breaking through to the fourth step of Integration!"
Now that she has stepped into the second stage of Integration, she deeply understands the difficulty of cultivation in the Integration phase.
Each step is like a whole new world; every breakthrough requires endless time and effort, along with opportunities.
In the long years of cultivation, she had seen many Dharma Masters stop at a certain step, unable to progress further.
Her master once took the time of one Primordial Assembly to reach Perfection in the third stage of Integration, astonishingly talented.
Yet who would’ve thought, for the next nine Primordial Assemblies, her master was stuck at Perfection in the third stage of Integration, unable to break the bottleneck, gradually forgotten by cultivators across the heavens.
Some even asserted that Pan Wu Daoist had exhausted his potential and would never break through in his lifetime.
Qin Zhaoyu was always worried but never dared to express it, focusing only on diligent cultivation.
Now, seeing her master finally break through the bottleneck, passing the twenty-fourth peak, and even rushing to the twenty-sixth peak, her worries were entirely dispelled.
...
Yunlu Hall!
A middle-aged cultivator dressed in the crimson Magic Robe sat quietly on a meditation cushion, none other than Dharma Master Hong Jue.
Taking advantage of this Immortal Dao Great Era, Dharma Master Hong Jue smoothly achieved Perfection in the second stage of Integration.
But since then, he has been trapped in a bottleneck, unable to step into the third stage of Integration. He has been stuck at this step for a full five hundred thousand years.
Five hundred thousand years is enough time for countless cultivators to fall, yet he has been stuck at Perfection in the second stage of Integration, unable to make any progress.
Over the years of being stuck in this bottleneck, Dharma Master Hong Jue felt helpless, only able to take in many disciples, hoping that among them, one might possess extraordinary talent to accomplish the path he hasn’t completed.
Yet, the affairs of the world are unpredictable. His direct disciples came and went, and people like Zhang Che from those years have long since passed away.
Not long ago, his most promising disciple, endowed with outstanding talent, cultivated arduously to the Void Refining Fifteenth Tribulation, but ultimately couldn’t withstand the final step and perished, leaving him even more distressed, sitting quietly in the hall, refusing to leave.
At this moment, a Communication Talisman flew in from outside the hall, directly entering Dharma Master Hong Jue’s brow.
Dharma Master Hong Jue’s eyes shifted slightly, Divine Thought immersed in the rune, and after a moment, all trace of frustration vanished from his face, replaced by a rare smile.
"Hahaha... Fellow Daoist Pan Wu has finally broken through!"
Dharma Master Hong Jue let out a hearty laugh, his voice bright and clear, echoing through the entire Hong Jue Hall.
"The twenty-fifth peak! The twenty-sixth peak!"
"To break through and charge all the way to the twenty-sixth peak indeed shows deep foundation, worthy of his past prowess!"
The twenty-sixth peak in the Integration Realm, before the immortal mountain had descended, was nearly the top level of the Integration Realm.
Even the one who was once hailed as invincible in Integration, Dharma Master Void Spirit, only stopped at the twenty-seventh peak, almost a class of their own.
Later, with the impartation of immortal mountain legacy and the merging of more Grand Thousand Worlds, more and more Integration cultivators emerged.
The twenty-seventh peak was no longer an unsurpassable summit but remained a height difficult for the vast majority of Integration cultivators to reach.
Speaking thus, Dharma Master Hong Jue looked down, reflecting upon himself, his expression containing more determination and less despair:
"Fellow Daoist Pan Wu was silent for a million years, what’s another five hundred thousand for me..."
"I too must strive harder to break through the bottleneck and step into the third stage of Integration."
...
The news of Chen Sheng’s breakthrough and ascension of three peaks spread swiftly across the entire immortal mountain.
More and more Dharma Masters and Daoist Monarchs turned their gaze towards the Celestial List, towards that mysterious mark that had long gone unnoticed.
The "Pan Wu Daoist" who had been silent for nearly ten Primordial Assemblies once again entered the sight of cultivators across the heavens.
Atop a celestial mountain, several Daoist Monarchs sat surrounding, their gazes fixed on the Celestial List.
"Oh? That Pan Wu Daoist, he actually broke through?"
"Back then, he reached Integration Third Step Perfection in just one Primordial Assembly, truly remarkable."
"I also once thought he had the potential to ascend to Mahayana."
"It’s a pity, after being silent for nine Primordial Assemblies, he barely broke through to Integration Fourth Step. Such speed, it has long lost its former brilliance."
"Nowadays, throughout the heavens, extraordinary talents emerge in an endless stream, with many having higher talent and faster speed than him."
"With his current cultivation speed, perhaps he has a chance to achieve the Tribulation Crossing Realm, but it will be difficult thereafter..."
"A pity indeed."
...
The twenty-seventh peak.
Just as Chen Sheng set foot on this peak, the stagnant void around suddenly trembled.
A scarlet glow burst forth from the depths of the void, like a thunder cracking the sky, instantly breaking the deathly silence, slowly spreading in the rigid void.
Among the glow, a small, exquisite red gourd could vaguely be seen, its entire body scarlet like flames, as glossy as jade.
Though only the size of a fist, it revealed golden light, surrounded by a faint annihilating evil Qi, causing even Chen Sheng to feel a shiver in his heart.
"This gourd contains the Innate Slaughter Law, with condensed evil Qi, judging by its aura, it has already touched the Perfection of Void Tribulation..."
Before the thought dissipated, that fist-sized red gourd suddenly erupted in a fractional second, its form rapidly expanding, inflating billions of times in an instant.
From a small gourd, it transformed into a massive red gourd that filled the heaven and earth, covering the sky, its crimson light stretching across the entire space of the twenty-seventh peak.
In an instant, that enormous red gourd, filling heaven and earth and blocking the sun, hung steadily above the sky, with its opening facing downward, faintly pouring out billions of streams of red light.
Within the red light, infinite worlds were continuously born and destroyed, where life was a splendid bloom, and death was reduced to dust.
Each cycle of birth and destruction carried the terrifying force of annihilation, concentrated with an exceedingly intense, heart-palpitating intent of annihilating slaughter battle evil.
"Slash!"
The gourd’s opening suddenly vibrated, and billions of streams of red light were abruptly condensed into two streams of jade-like white light that shot out suddenly. The white light was pure and clear, yet devoid of warmth, instead containing the utmost annihilation and slaughter.
Disregarding all the restraints of law and mystery, disregarding this spatial-temporal change, they sped to the extreme, reaching directly in front of Chen Sheng in the blink of an eye, aiming directly at his brow chakra.
Chen Sheng remained composed, without panic, and from his brow, the Heaven-Reaching Sword Seal emerged, the Sword Momentum surged, pouring out mysterious Sword Qi, intending to block those two streams of white light outside his body.
"Clang! Clang!"
Two crisp loud clangs resonated, violently shaking the entire twenty-seventh peak, as mysterious Sword Qi and jade white light collided, unleashing terrifying forces, causing the void to shatter once again.
The two forces devoured each other, annihilating each other.
This spatial realm was left with only the endless sound of annihilation and the collision of Dao Rhyme.
The two streams of white light, with infinite might and mysteries of the Innate Slaughter Great Dao, forcefully penetrated Chen Sheng’s mysterious Sword Qi barrier. Though their speed slowed, they continued to shoot towards his brow chakra.
A gleam flashed in Chen Sheng’s eyes, within his brow chakra, the light of will surged, transforming into the phantom image of Chen Sheng Heavenly King, raising his hand to strike towards the two streams of white light.
"Puff—!"
The white light was ultimately too overpowering, and as one palm slapped down, though one stream of white light was shattered, the other penetrated his palm, yet still nailed into Chen Sheng’s brow chakra.
...
"What a Heaven-Reaching Ancient Treasure!! Almost comparable to a Creation Dao Artifact!"
"Killing becomes void! Verifying Dao by slaughter, reaching the peak of Void Tribulation."
"Above the Killing Law, has emerged some of the mysteries of the Innate Slaughter Great Dao, no wonder it was nearly invincible before the descent of the Celestial Mountain."
Chen Sheng teleported away from the twenty-seventh peak, his will still shaken by that majestic murderous intent!
That murderous intent was not simple bloodthirsty valor, but an annihilating slaughter born innately and transformed by the Great Dao, enveloping heaven and earth, obliterating all, capable of reducing all tangible and intangible things to ashes, leaving even Primordial Spirit and Dao Heart not spared.
...