Chapter 237 - 135: A Crushing Victory, Ascending the Stage

Chapter 237: Chapter 135: A Crushing Victory, Ascending the Stage

Though True Form Temple was merely a sect from one of the sixteen provinces, many among the Five Domains Great Sects were, in fact, no strangers to it.

First came Daochen, and then Dao Miao. Little needed to be said of the former, who had once been known as the number one Nascent Soul cultivator in the Celestial Waterfall Realm. Even after his departure three hundred years ago, his reputation remained illustrious.

As for the latter, while he wasn’t as world-renowned as Daochen before today, his feat of defeating a Nascent Soul Venerable while still at the Golden Core realm was considered earth-shattering. For a time, his fame was completely unrivaled.

For such a figure to reach the Nascent Soul realm and forge a Gangyun was already intimidating enough. Yet no one could have possibly imagined that the moment he acted, he would slay Jiang Chengzi, a long-feared Third-Level Cultivator, in a matter of seconds.

Worse still, judging by his expression, he was perfectly at ease—as casual as if he had just crushed an ant.

This undoubtedly put immense pressure on the three from the Celestial Permanence Sect. They knew it was time to fight for their lives, and they dared not hold anything back the moment they attacked.

Li Yi took the lead. He summoned his magical artifact and began chanting, furiously channeling all his Magical Power. His golden ring magical artifact shuddered in the air as countless identical rings materialized from it. They overlapped and interlinked, varying in size and emitting a chaotic, disorderly force of attraction and repulsion.

Facing the Daoist technique Li Yi had unleashed with his full power, Xuzhuang simply shook his head. The Celestial Permanence Sect’s techniques were certainly wondrous at first glance, but the more he saw of them, the more superficial they seemed.

Perhaps the technique itself wasn’t particularly profound, or perhaps the members of the Celestial Permanence Sect were simply not skilled enough in their cultivation. In any case, the execution was always more or less the same.

Li Yi could never have imagined that Xuzhuang had already deciphered most of the technique’s variations during his fight with He Haojun. The moment Li Yi’s technique appeared, Xuzhuang spotted a weakness with a single glance and struck with the Great Destruction Geng Gold Sword!

The sky full of golden rings shattered violently. The Great Destruction Geng Gold Sword, with the force to split mountains and cleave seas, streaked past Li Yi’s body and continued onward, powerful enough to slice through the dense clouds beyond.

And just like that, Li Yi—a Nascent Soul Second Layer cultivator with profound mastery of Daoist techniques—perished at Xuzhuang’s hand. He hadn’t even survived a single move.

The remaining two fared even worse. As Xuzhuang slew Li Yi, he was already facing the magical artifacts they had summoned—a flying dagger and a flying arrow, both hurtling toward him with immense force.

However, with a mere surge of Magical Power, Xuzhuang fired two jets of white qi from his Gangyun. They slammed into the magical artifacts, sending both flying.

Before the two could even react, Xuzhuang closed in. He gave his shoulder a shake, and with the RUSH of a great tide, a stream of watery divine light rose from his back. It unfurled downward like a miniature Celestial Waterfall as he simultaneously curled the fingers of one hand.

Spiritual energy converged. Dozens of streams of Thousand Jin Dharma Qi condensed between his fingers, forming a small, solid sphere like pristine white jade. He then flicked it out gently.

BOOM!

The Dharma Ball tore through the air, the sound of thunder following a moment later. It had already reached the chest of one of the Celestial Permanence Sect cultivators. His Magical Robe flared with spiritual light, resisting for a split second before shattering. The ball, its momentum unbroken, slammed into the man’s chest. He fell from the clouds without a sound.

Meanwhile, the Water Divine Light swept downward like a surging flood, engulfing the other cultivator and his protective magical artifact. Tides rose and fell within the light, and whirlpools formed, a clear sign that the person trapped inside was still casting techniques, struggling relentlessly.

Xuzhuang’s brow furrowed slightly. ’Suppressing even a Nascent Soul First Level Cultivator is this much of a struggle,’ he thought. ’It seems this technique still has a ways to go before it’s truly useful.’

The Five Elements Primordial Divine Light was indeed an exceptionally wondrous technique. However, he had only been practicing it for a short time. Despite his profound foundation, it was still far from being on par with his other skills.

Of course, if he had a large quantity of precious materials to refine it externally, that would be a different story.

Xuzhuang shook his head and poured a massive amount of Magical Power into the technique to suppress his opponent. After a full quarter-hour, the Water Divine Light finally grew still.

Although Xuzhuang was not particularly satisfied with this exchange, to any observer, his performance had been utterly overwhelming. Three Nascent Soul Venerables from the Celestial Permanence Sect, even when combined, had not lasted a single move against him. The sight left Meng Fusheng speechless, to say nothing of the rest of the crowd.

Xuzhuang merely smiled at the scene. He calmly withdrew his Divine Techniques, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those from the five sects. Some, like Yang Bijie, were a mixture of shocked and overjoyed. Others, like Venerable Youming of the Westyi Sect, wore complex expressions. There were faces filled with rage, terror, and utter astonishment.

Finally, Xuzhuang’s gaze fell upon the presiding Daoist. He paused for a moment, observing the man’s stunned expression, before asking lightly, "The Celestial Permanence Sect sent six members to this battle, and all six have perished. Why have you not declared the outcome?"

The presiding Daoist jolted as if struck, and his eyes involuntarily darted toward the Five Sects’ Jade Platforms.

One of the Five Sects’ Jade Platforms was now empty, leaving only the members of the four remaining sects, each with a different expression. When they saw the presiding Daoist look their way, they all fell silent for a moment. Finally, an elderly Daoist spoke up. "Sect Master Xu..."

"Hm?" Xuzhuang’s gaze fell upon him. The Nascent Soul Venerable, a man who had cultivated for a thousand years, felt a chill run down his spine. He knew it was because Xuzhuang’s intimidating aura was at its peak after slaying several members of the Celestial Permanence Sect, but his heart sank nonetheless.

After a moment’s contemplation, the old Daoist slowly rose from his seat on the platform. He clasped his hands in a formal salute and said, "This old Daoist is Hundred Feet Taoist of the Star-picking Sect. I greet you, Sect Master Xu."

Xuzhuang replied coolly, "I hold only the position of an elder in True Form Temple."

The Hundred Feet Taoist gave a wry smile and changed his form of address. "Yes. This old Daoist greets Venerable Dao Miao."

Seeing Xuzhuang give a slight nod, he continued, "It is true that your esteemed sect has won this confrontation with the Celestial Permanence Sect. However, ever since the founding of the Celestial Permanence Sect, the Celestial Permanence Domain has been under its governance. The very name of the domain comes from the sect..."