On the Path to the Great Dao

At the Yang Family estate in Tingzhou.

Yu Lingzi didn't hesitate for a moment, snapping off a finger that had been thrust in his face with a crisp crack.

The other Yang Family experts erupted in fury and attacked him without further discussion, shouting, "You Ministry of Rites bastard, just because someone pointed at you, you break their finger?"

"Crack, crack, crack."

Yu Lingzi dodged while striking back, quickly breaking one finger after another. The numerous Yang Family experts screamed in pain as tears streamed down their faces, only to be struck by a relentless barrage of elbow strikes, knee strikes, eye gouges, throat strikes, and more. They collapsed to the ground one after another, unable to rise.

Yu Lingzi announced loudly, "I came bearing the True King's declaration of war! It is established custom not to slay the messenger before battle! Is this how the Yang Family treats its guests?"

"The one we'll kill is you, you little ox-nose Daoist!"

More Yang Family experts surged forward, shouting, "An accomplice to evil deserves death by all!"

"Chen Shi rebels, and Tai Hua Qing Palace joins him—we'll raze your ancestral graves!"

"We'll level Tai Hua Mountain and capture Qiongyang alive!"

...

Yang Family's Sect Leader, Yang Wenfeng, paid no attention to the chaos. An elder beside him remarked, "The Ming Dynasty does have a rule against killing envoys. Yu Lingzi, serving as Vice Minister of Rites for the rebel, is clearly an enemy of Chen Shi. Chen Shi sent him here precisely to use our Yang Family's hands to kill this finger-breaking Daoist and provoke Tai Hua Qing Palace. Our Yang Family shouldn't bear that infamy. Perhaps we should call them off."

Yang Wenfeng's face remained expressionless. "Since war has already begun, why adhere to rules? Kill the finger-breaking Daoist. Do you think Tai Hua Qing Palace would dare turn against us? What means do they have to oppose us?"

Yu Lingzi fought desperately, breaking more fingers as he went. Despite having reached the Spirit Refining realm, he found himself struggling against so many experts.

Suddenly, a Return to Emptiness realm expert waved his hand, dispersing the crowd. His blood energy surged forward like a mountain, and he bellowed, "Useless wretches, let me handle this!"

Yu Lingzi activated the Tai Zhen Jade Art, and a jade ruyi rose behind his head to clash head-on with the grand expert. The impact sent excruciating pain through every limb and joint. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the opponent's finger, but he no longer had the strength to break it.

The Yang Family grand expert launched another attack. His blood energy surged outward, forming two mountains in the void that pressed in from both sides!

Yu Lingzi didn't hesitate. The True Martial Exorcising Sword flew from its sheath at his back. A flash of sword light blossomed into a breathtaking radiance that spread in all directions, shattering the two mountains. The Yang Family grand expert raised his hand to block the sword light, but the moment it touched him, half his body was stripped of flesh, and his Primordial Spirit was severed!

"An immortal artifact."

Sect Leader Yang Wenfeng's expression shifted between shock and fury. He lunged forward, only to be driven back by the sword light in Yu Lingzi's hand. Tai Hua Qing Palace's True Martial Exorcising Sword was sinister beyond belief—even half-immortals who touched it would have half their flesh carved away, and any Primordial Spirit that came into contact would perish instantly. It was terrifyingly powerful!

The Yang Family's own immortal artifact was called the Seven Star Pavilion. Within the caisson ceiling of that building, seven celestial motes—sun, moon, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—shone brilliantly, as if they were real. Cultivating within the pavilion allowed one to feel the immortal light emanating from the seven stars.

However, this treasure had been taken by the Yang Family's ghost gods to attack the Imperial Capital and slay the rebel Chen Shi.

Yang Wenfeng evaded the sword light and swept his sleeve forward. Yu Lingzi poured all his strength into the True Martial Exorcising Sword to block, but while the immortal artifact's power was immense, his cultivation was far insufficient. The sleeve strike sent him flying backward, coughing blood, and the True Martial Exorcising Sword was knocked from his grasp.

Yang Wenfeng breathed a sigh of relief, reaching out to grab it. "This finger-breaking Daoist is too weak. He can't unleash the sword's true power."

Just then, a long, flowing ribbon flew in, wrapping around the True Martial Exorcising Sword and causing Yang Wenfeng to grasp empty air.

A beautiful woman in her twenties flew into view, dressed in a thin, goose-yellow gauze robe that bared her shoulders. Colored ribbons swirled around her body, and she reached out to levitate Yu Lingzi.

"Qiongyang of Tai Hua Qing Palace!"

Yang Wenfeng snorted, glancing behind him. The three Yang Family ancestors stood at his back, and only then did he relax slightly. He said indifferently, "Qiongyang, I truly didn't expect you to stoop to being a lackey for a rebel. But I suppose it's no surprise—rumor has it you were Chen Yindu's mistress. Since Chen Shi is rebelling, how could you, his fake grandmother, refuse to help? Aren't you afraid Tai Hua Qing Palace will punish you?"

Patriarch Qiongyang laughed. "Punish me? I am acting in Heaven's name to eradicate the parasitic Yang Family. Why would the ancestors punish me?"

She bowed and said, "I respectfully invite the ancestors of all generations!"

The sky remained motionless.

A look of embarrassment crossed Qiongyang's face. She shot a vicious glare at Chang Ying Daoist. Chang Ying Daoist sighed and bowed, saying, "I respectfully invite the ancestors of all generations to descend upon us!"

The sky split open in response. From within the void, two massive blue goats rose up on their hind legs, their horns pressed together. The four long horns were covered in densely inscribed talismans that flickered with light. Between the horns, a deep grotto-heaven was revealed, within which dazzling rays of the Dao drifted like fish, swimming slowly.

Suddenly, these fish flew out of the grotto-heaven and landed on the ground, transforming into Daoists—tall, short, fat, thin, male, female, old, young—a thousand different forms. They were the ancestors of Tai Hua Qingyang Palace from countless generations.

Their physical bodies had long since perished, leaving only their Primordial Spirits. For years, they had cultivated within the Pure Yang Grotto-Heaven.

The blue goats were pure yang beings. The Pure Yang Grotto-Heaven, carved out by their horns, could mimic the immortal realm, allowing the ancestors' Primordial Spirits to endure for eons.

Seeing these Daoist Primordial Spirits, Yang Wenfeng knew the situation had turned dire. The Yang Family indeed did not fear Tai Hua Qing Palace, but ninety percent of their forces had been taken by King Ping Deng, Yang Sheng, to attack the Imperial Capital of Xinxiang. Although the remaining experts were still numerous, they no longer held an overwhelming advantage against Tai Hua Qing Palace.

"If we fight, both sides will suffer heavy casualties. Qiongyang surely doesn't want a mutual destruction either. We can still negotiate..."

Just as this thought crossed Yang Wenfeng's mind, he saw Patriarch Qiongyang break into a smile, like a maiden in love. Her eyes were filled with adoration and longing as she looked to one side.

Yang Wenfeng followed her gaze and saw Chen Yindu, restored to his youthful appearance, walking toward Tingzhou City.

Yang Wenfeng's eye twitched. Just then, an ordinary wooden gate suddenly appeared outside the city. As it opened, Du Yiran stepped out from behind it. He turned and closed the gate, which vanished.

On the other side, A Zhuo, the celestial fox, and Sha Qiutong made their way toward Tingzhou City one after another.

Then, Creation Little Five, always wearing a smile, came into view.

Yang Wenfeng's eye twitched violently. Next, he saw the old eunuch Feng Tianhuan, along with Xiao Wangsun, Jin Hongying, and the massive army of the Divine Mechanism Battalion.

Yang Wenfeng's voice turned shrill as he cried out, "I beseech the gods of the underworld, come to our aid immediately!"

At the gates of the underworld in Tingzhou, Jue Yangzi sat before the Ghost Gate. An immortal sword lay across his knees—his Crimson Rainbow Glazed Sword. He had once reached Dao Unification, nearly becoming an immortal, only to die on the brink of ascension. The Crimson Rainbow Glazed Sword was the immortal artifact he had forged in his hazy, confused state.

"This generation's True King is different from the last."

He gazed past the Ghost Gate at the rising hells and the increasingly massive ghost god. He murmured, "The last True King was of the old method, but he didn't trust it. He insisted on promoting the new method and slaughtered countless of his peers. This True King is of the new method, yet he cultivates both old and new. His innate talent is extraordinary—perhaps he truly can forge a new path."

The ghost god's muscular, terrifying form flexed. His arms reached back to lift the massive hell, and with a great shrug, he hurled it into the sky, where it connected with his Realm of Emptiness.

The ghost god breathed a sigh of relief.

His name was Yang Pingcheng, the judge of the Ox Pit Hell. For this siege of the Imperial Capital, King Ping Deng, Yang Sheng, had taken nearly all the ghost gods from the eighteen layers of hell in Qifei Palace, leaving only this single Ox Pit Hell behind.

Yang Pingcheng channeled the power of the Ox Pit Hell and was about to tear through the void to enter the mortal world when a rainbow-like streak of immortal light suddenly crossed his path, blocking his way.

Standing atop the immortal light was a Daoist, who bowed and said, "Yang Family friend, this hermit Jue Yangzi has come to invite you to your death!"

Yang Pingcheng was astonished. "Jue Yangzi? I've heard of you. Word has it that you once cultivated to the point of Tribulation Crossing and Ascension, only to be hunted down by the True King and disappear without a trace. I never imagined you were still alive! Have you become an immortal?"

Jue Yangzi was equally surprised. "You are also from my era?"

Yang Pingcheng laughed. "Correct. But you cultivated the old method, while I cultivated the new method. Back then, Jue Yangzi's name shook the world, and you were secretly considered the champion of the old method. I never thought you would side with the rebels!"

He shook his head, and countless ghost gods from the Ox Pit Hell leaped out like fleas.

"I'll open a path to the mortal world for you to support the Yang Family!"

Yang Pingcheng's divine power surged. He threw a single punch that pierced through both the yin and yang realms, and countless ghost gods immediately flew toward the mortal world through the opening.

Yang Pingcheng laughed. "You've survived this long—you must have become an immortal. What kind of immortal did you become? It doesn't look like you're stronger than me!"

These words struck a nerve in Jue Yangzi, and his face darkened.

He had learned many things from Daoist Willow, and the Empress of Earth had given him a jade pendant to suppress his demonic nature. Chen Shi had also taught him the Yin-Yang Dao Field and the yin-yang purgation technique. Yet he still couldn't fully refine the Demonic Energy and achieve a state of being "without evil."

Thus, he could only achieve Dao Unification within Chen Shi's small temple. His power was only slightly above a perfected Ascension realm cultivator, far from reaching the level of a true celestial immortal.

Yang Pingcheng seized on his moment of dejection, channeling the power of the Ox Pit Hell, and threw a devastating punch!

Jue Yangzi stood on the rainbow bridge, raising his palm to block the mountain-sized fist.

His robes fluttered, but his body didn't budge an inch. He said calmly, "Even if my power is slightly weaker, I am still a true celestial immortal—far beyond your reach."

Yang Pingcheng roared in fury. The Ox Pit Hell erupted with radiant light, forming countless arms that frantically hammered at Jue Yangzi!

He was determined to shatter this so-called celestial immortal into pieces, shouting, "There are no immortals in this world! Not in the True King's era, and certainly not now!"

Jue Yangzi walked through the air, his form shifting unpredictably. One man, one sword—he dodged almost all of Yang Pingcheng's attacks, and when he couldn't dodge, he sliced through them with his blade.

He drew closer and closer to Yang Pingcheng's towering figure until he was only a few dozen steps away.

Panic seized Yang Pingcheng. He threw everything he had into his attacks, but he couldn't land a single scratch on Jue Yangzi, who was now only paces away.

Jue Yangzi swung his sword.

The sword light illuminated Yang Pingcheng's eyes.

Jue Yangzi sheathed his sword and leaped into the mortal world, landing outside Tingzhou City.

Behind him, a red line appeared on Yang Pingcheng's brow, trailing down the bridge of his nose, past his lips and chin, and continuing downward.

*Ssssh!*

The Ox Pit Hell behind him burst with earth energy, erupting along a straight line. In an instant, the massive hell split in two.

Yang Pingcheng, the judge of the Ox Pit Hell, also split in two, his body collapsing on either side.