Chapter 338: No Way Out, Heaven-Scaling Ladder

With a grating crack, the Black Iron Mace in the Night Patrol God’s hand—an artifact that had once struck terror into countless examinees and symbolized the authority of the nightly curfew’s Purification—completely disintegrated into a cloud of black fragments within the Lingma Mountain God’s giant stone palm, which was enveloped in five-colored Dao Charm.

For the first time, a look of utterly human astonishment appeared in the god’s deathly still, double-pupiled eyes.

It could not understand.

‘How could this turtle shell, which could only take a beating moments ago, suddenly possess the terrifying power to crush a Divine Weapon in an instant?’

However, something even more horrifying happened.

The shattered black iron fragments didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, as if caught by some invisible force, they hovered around the Mountain God’s giant palm, unable to escape.

Chu Bai stood upon the altar in the Underground Palace. Inside his Dantian, the Circulation Wheel spun madly, emitting a low rumble like a grinding millstone.

“Absorb!”

Chu Bai made a grasping motion with his hand.

The black iron fragments, each rich with Divine Dao Evil Qi, were instantly swept into the phantom image of the Five-Colored Light Wheel.

The Circulation Wheel’s power lay in the Five Elements Circulation, granting Endless Life. But it could also—dissolve anything!

Such was the tyrannical power of an Upper Grade Dao Foundation. Under the grinding force of the great Five Elements millstone, the Resentment and Evil Qi belonging to the god within the fragments were instantly obliterated. They were forcibly converted into the purest Geng Metal Qi, which was then channeled back into the Divine Body’s right arm.

After absorbing this Geng Metal Qi, the originally rock-like right arm instantly took on a cold, metallic sheen, as if it were now clad in indestructible Divine Gold Arm Armor.

‘So this is Foundation Establishment…’

Chu Bai felt the Spiritual Power within him. Though he hadn’t yet mastered any Magic Techniques of his new rank, the very quality of his power had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. A sense of calm settled over him.

‘Before, I was like a Mortal trying to drive a divine chariot. It was like a small horse pulling a heavy cart—every step was a struggle.’

‘Now, with the Dao Foundation as my core and the Divine Body as my shell, the two are united. My combat power has more than doubled!’

ROAR—!!!

The humiliation of having its weapon destroyed and its power stolen thoroughly enraged the Night Patrol God.

It threw back its head and let out a metallic roar. Its thirty-foot-tall black iron body suddenly contracted, then condensed a layer of blinding golden flame on its surface.

“Decree—Golden Blade Universe!”

At the sound of the ancient, esoteric command, the god’s entire being seemed to transform into an indestructible golden warhammer.

It no longer needed a weapon, for it had become the ultimate weapon itself!

This strike abandoned all subtlety, possessing only the ultimate extremes of weight and sharpness. It carried not just physical impact, but also a Divine Dao Law capable of suppressing an entire region of space.

“Bring it on!”

Instead of retreating, Chu Bai advanced. He controlled the Mountain God’s right arm—newly enhanced by Geng Metal Qi—clenched it into a fist, and met the attack head-on.

The golden Divine Dao Law and the five-colored Dao Foundation Profound Method collided violently in midair.

A visible ripple of destruction swept outward, so powerful that even the golden light of the recently manifested Celestial Ladder trembled.

The Lingma Mountain God’s massive body slid back for hundreds of feet, carving two deep furrows into the ground. But it had ultimately taken the blow. Though its right arm trembled, it did not shatter.

“He blocked it!”

Just as the people in the Underground Palace were about to cheer, the situation took a sudden turn.

Just as Chu Bai’s momentum faded, in the brief moment before he could muster his strength anew, the sound of flowing water—deceptively soft, yet irresistibly powerful—suddenly thundered in his ears.

The Prison-Suppressing Evil Flood Dragon had been circling nearby. Seeing Chu Bai take the god’s blow head-on, it instantly seized the momentary opening when he was rigid and exposed.

Its massive draconic body didn’t attack directly. Instead, it swam through the void, generating a peculiar ripple.

“Decree—Stream-Drawing Imperial Wave!”

This was an exceptionally profound Water Element Decree.

Water benefits all things and does not contend, yet it can leverage immense power in a single instant.

Chu Bai felt the Divine Body, once as stable as a mountain, suddenly lose its center of gravity.

It was as if the ground beneath him had turned into a raging river. An immense, invisible force wasn’t attacking him directly. Instead, it forcefully wrenched his movements off-course.

‘Not good!’

The counter-punch Chu Bai had meant to throw was bizarrely redirected by the Decree, striking nothing but empty air. He staggered and stumbled to the left, leaving his back completely exposed and defenseless.

CRACK!

The Beastkeeping Commissioner, who had been lying in wait, struck. Its Bone Whip lashed out like a viper, viciously striking the center of the Mountain God’s back and causing the newly-formed Protective Divine Light to waver violently.

“Junior!!”

The Prison-Suppressing Evil Flood Dragon coiled high in the sky, its Dragon Head looking down on the rock giant below. The giant had stumbled but was already scrambling back to its feet. The killing intent in the flood dragon’s eyes was so thick it was almost tangible:

“To steal the world’s Origin right under our noses and forge a Dao Foundation… your audacity is boundless!”

“This realm is on the verge of collapse, and your Dao Foundation is its last sliver of nourishment!”

The Evil Flood Dragon’s voice boomed like rolling thunder, filled with unquestionable authority and a tempting allure:

“Abandon your Dao Foundation! Disperse your Cultivation and feed it back to this world! Do so, and I might grant you the mercy of an intact corpse!”

“Otherwise…”

Black Water surged around the Evil Flood Dragon, transforming into countless Lock Chains that sealed the void.

“Even if it shatters my Divine Status, I will use this Imprisoning Water Decree to bind you and this Divine Body here! For a thousand years! For ten thousand years! Until your Divine Soul is ground to nothing in the endless solitude!!”

It was truly desperate.

As the realm’s Guardian, it had watched helplessly as this thief drained all the world’s Spiritual Qi. The instinctual fury that resulted had driven it to the brink of madness.

Yet, in the face of this deafening threat, Chu Bai’s expression remained utterly unchanged.

He simply straightened his body slowly and wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.