Chapter 569: [The Spirit-Severing, Dao-Severing Buzhou Abyss]

“Beneath Mountain and Sea City lies the Buzhou Great Abyss, which cuts across the Eighth and Ninth Celestial Passes.”

Wu Dao extended his senses beneath Mountain and Sea City.

However, his perception was blocked by the barrier of a formation. He could only vaguely sense the existence of a rift valley abyss beneath Mountain and Sea City—one that stretched on without end, pitch-black and abyssal, devoid of all spirit and Dao.

A heavy, vast Magnetic Field of Annihilation.

It was like the root of a sky-supporting Divine Mountain, capable of suppressing all the Daos of the heavens and grinding all things, tangible and intangible, to dust.

The Buzhou Great Abyss!

Forged from the root vein of the first Dao Artifact, Buzhou Mountain!

According to legend.

If one could cross the Buzhou Great Abyss, they could follow that root vein into the core of Buzhou Mountain.

Since the Second Tribulation.

During the relatively peaceful years.

Many Primordial Giants had challenged the Buzhou Great Abyss, attempting to probe and master this first Dao Artifact of Hongyuan, but all of them ultimately returned in failure.

In the most severe case.

It was said that during the late stage of the Second Tribulation.

The Forbidden Path Annihilation Power of the Buzhou Great Abyss had once annihilated a being of Extreme Primordial Chaos!

From this perspective.

That madman, the Slaughter Emperor, truly lived up to his reputation as the peerless tyrant who had swept through the All Heavens of the Five Tribulations.

Perhaps.

Back when he was on the verge of achieving his Dao.

He had foreseen something and thus hid his fundamental Dao Source in the core of Buzhou Mountain, allowing him to escape the reckoning and leave himself a way out.

Hundreds of thousands of long years had passed.

Yet His fundamental Dao Source had still not been annihilated and assimilated by the first Dao Artifact, Buzhou Mountain. One could only imagine what level of power He had reached back then.

It wasn’t just his strength.

It was also his Dao heart and will!

Wu Dao had never forgotten where his two wisps of Sea of Suffering Dao Essence and Nirvana Dao Essence had come from!

Before the Slaughter Emperor had reached his peak.

He was already capable of crossing the Sea of Suffering and Nirvana.

Even if he didn’t reach their absolute cores and only obtained two portions of Dao Essence, it was proof that his will had withstood the trials of the Bitter Sea Nirvana.

With such a solid foundation.

It was no surprise that He was later able to enter the core of the first Dao Artifact, Buzhou Mountain, and endure for so many years.

It was only to be expected.

…

Wu Dao’s previous speculation was correct.

He had just arrived at Mountain and Sea City in Nine Heavens Pass.

And deep within the Elder Council.

A pair of greedy eyes was already watching his every move.

‘I can’t let you continue to grow.’

The Chaotic Human Shadow watched Wu Dao, its greed receding and transforming into a grave seriousness. Wu Dao’s growth was simply too fast.

It completely defied all logic and common sense.

‘How long has it been since he entered the Eight Celestial Passes?’

‘Not even a year!’

‘But in such a short time, Wu Dao went directly from a Great Emperor to an All Heavens Emperor, then from the First Layer of an All Heavens Emperor to the brink of the peak.’

‘Give him a little more time.’

‘And he’ll probably become a Primordial Giant!’

The Chaotic Human Shadow naturally knew that becoming a Primordial Giant required devouring a portion of the Dao fortune from a Great Tribulation, but this freak Wu Dao couldn’t be measured by common sense!

‘If I don’t act now…’

‘…and wait for Wu Dao to become a Primordial Giant…’

‘The impact of a newly-born Primordial Giant on the war would be too great. Before the Martial Ancestor’s Scattered Dao, Mountain and Sea wouldn’t be able to advance another inch!’

‘We might even be forced onto the defensive!’

Such was the influence of a Primordial Giant.

Whichever side gained one more.

It would be a devastating blow to the other!

‘Knowing your style, I don’t believe you’ll just lie low. The moment you leave Mountain and Sea City… Heh.’

The Chaotic Human Shadow’s gaze was icy.

Mountain and Sea City was guarded by the main body of the Dao Celestial Stele.

Coupled with the fact that Hongyuan’s Primordial Giants were keeping them in check, the Primordial Ancestors of Mountain and Sea couldn’t channel their power to interfere with the All Heavens Emperors’ battlefield.

If Wu Dao continued to lie low.

They truly would have no way to deal with him.

However.

‘Is that even possible?’

The Chaotic Human Shadow believed.

It was impossible for Wu Dao not to see that the Martial Ancestor was about to scatter his Dao. He would surely take risks and seize the time to grow stronger in preparation for the Great Tribulation.

And within Shanhai Pass.

The fastest way to grow was through battle merits.

The fighting at Nine Heavens Pass was not as frequent as at the Eight Celestial Passes, so accumulating battle merits was slow.

Therefore.

If Wu Shi wanted to acquire battle merits quickly.

He would inevitably have to take a risky mission to hunt High-level Celestial Ancestral Kings in territory occupied by Mountain and Sea!

And the moment he dared to act…

‘I failed to kill you last time, so I’ll follow up relentlessly. This time, you won’t have any chance at all!’

The Chaotic Human Shadow’s tone was chilling.

Ever since their last failure, Mountain and Sea had not made any major moves against Wu Dao. Any actions that were taken were merely the ill-conceived schemes of other Primordial Ancestors.

The reason for this was to wait for an opportunity to land a fatal blow.

Now that Wu Dao had ascended to Nine Heavens Pass, it meant that opportunity had arrived!

…

Shanhai Pass.

It was called a Garrison City.

But it was more like a Great Wall—a frontier Great Wall built over the Buzhou Great Abyss, cutting across the Eighth and Ninth Celestial Passes.

Wu Dao followed the Guiding Envoy.

They rode a Super Star Hub, traversing through the various sections and war zones of the Mountain and Sea Great Wall.

Beyond the vast Great Wall.

Lay a barrier-dam manifested by the Dao Celestial Stele, holding back the churning, roaring waves of the Taichu Universe Sea and the shockwaves of the Primordial Chaos battles.

Beyond the many sections of the Great Wall.

One could occasionally see the remnants of recent, brutal wars.

Shattered weapons and enormous fragments of Desolate God corpses churned in the waves of the Universe Sea, smashing through endless dimensions and universes before being gradually decomposed by the sea’s wilderness domain.

In the sections of the Great Wall they passed along the way.

Nearly every defender stationed there was a Peak Heavenly Emperor, hailing from the All Heavens Lord of Hongyuan, the All Heavens Emperor’s Lineages, and various Daoist Lineages.

All the powers were now fighting as a united front.

They had formed the New Hongyuan Alliance.

Below the level of All Heavens Emperor.

There were no Great Emperor foot soldiers.

Compared to the Eight Celestial Passes, the number of soldiers at Nine Heavens Pass was extremely small. Many sections were even guarded by a single Peak Heavenly Emperor.

This was because for anyone below the level of an All Heavens Emperor.

Coming to Nine Heavens Pass was suicide.

Numbers meant nothing in the clashes at the apex of the Extraordinary Realm.

「A short time later.」

The Guiding Envoy brought Wu Dao to a central section at one end of the Mountain and Sea Great Wall.

The Guan Lord of this dam sector.

Had just recently been killed in battle.

The position was temporarily being held by the Guiding Envoy, a Peak Heavenly Emperor from the Law Enforcement Team.

Now that Wu Dao, this new ‘reinforcement,’ had arrived.

He no longer needed to guard the post.

The Commander’s Law Enforcement Team was Hongyuan’s final iron wall—or rather, its final reserves—and needed to be ready to respond to emergencies at any time.

The process of transferring authority.

Was not worth mentioning.

Because.

Aside from Wu Dao himself as the Guan Lord, his dam sector only had two Vice Guan Lords who were All Heavens Emperors at or above the level of the Twenty-four Heavens.

Yes.

Three people.

No different from a general with no army.

There wasn’t much to manage, no need for troop formations or anything of the sort. If Mountain and Sea attacked, the three of them would just have to hold the line.

With the perceptual range of an All Heavens Emperor.

A single thought.

Could cover a second-tier infinite space-time continuum.

There was no such thing as a gap in their defenses.

He was used to seeing armies numbering in the hundreds of millions.

Now, with this vast dam sector being so desolate with just three people, Wu Dao felt that the mirror of his heart, which had been in a tumultuous state for so long, had quieted down significantly.

But he knew.

This peace wouldn’t last long.

The next major battle.

It was highly likely that his only two subordinates would die heroically, and by then, he would be left alone to defend the pass, no different from the desolate, ghost-like dam sectors he had seen along the way.

Across the vastness of space-time.

After briefly interacting with his two Vice Guan Lords, who were seizing every moment to improve their strength.

Wu Dao also began his ‘secluded cultivation’.

Without wasting a single moment, he got down to his real business.

The Buzhou Abyss.

Devoid of spirit and Dao, a place of supreme suppression.

This unique characteristic had naturally been utilized by Mountain and Sea City long ago, and a passage to the Buzhou Abyss was left in every dam sector.

It was used for the training of All Heavens Emperors and even Primordial Giants.

However.

Ever since four years ago.

When Mountain and Sea launched its full-scale invasion of Hongyuan, these passages had mostly fallen into disuse, as no one had the time to descend into the Buzhou Abyss to train.

Not to mention.

If one went too deep into the Buzhou Abyss.

There was a certain risk of getting lost.

By the time you got out.

Oops, the Garrison City would have already fallen.

In that case, you might as well stay in the Buzhou Abyss forever.

The headquarters of the Commander’s Law Enforcement Team was located in one of the sections of the Mountain and Sea Great Wall. They used the Buzhou Abyss to construct a great prison, one that could even hold Primordial Giants!

But in the current situation.

There probably weren’t many prisoners left, as keeping them alive was a waste of resources.

For unforgivable crimes.

Such as traitors and spies, they were killed directly. There was no need to imprison them.

But to get back on topic.

RUMBLE—

Within the Guan Lord’s Dao field.

Wu Dao used his Battle Merit Order to verify his identity.

He opened the sealing Space-Time Array that led to the Buzhou Abyss. Layers of space-time peeled away like flower petals, revealing the abyss they enveloped.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena.

Only darkness!

Pure darkness and silent emptiness!

It silently devoured all light.

It was like a mortal standing on the edge of an abyssal canyon, gazing into the depths. A sense of infinite smallness and a fear of the unknown grew uncontrollably.

But Wu Dao’s gaze remained calm.

He had experienced the Bitter Sea Nirvana, the countless life-and-death trials he underwent nonstop every day, and the tribulations of the Primordial Magnetism Path, each more terrifying than the last.

At this moment, his will.

If not for the humanity he deliberately maintained.

Was no different from the cold, indifferent Great Dao that viewed all creation as straw dogs.

‘Devoid of spirit and Dao… so that’s how it is.’

As Wu Dao gazed into the abyss, he was also investigating the Magnetic Field of the Buzhou Abyss.

He discovered that there was no magnetic field activity whatsoever.

Not a single magnetic particle of any Dao existed. Any being that entered the Buzhou Great Abyss would have their macroscopic and microscopic magnetic field activity suppressed.

The deeper one went.

This power of suppression and annihilation would become increasingly terrifying and unstoppable, until even one’s mental magnetic field and cognitive functions completely shut down, plunging them into absolute, empty darkness.

However.

‘Is it truly devoid of spirit and forbidden to the Dao?’

The corner of Wu Dao’s mouth curved up slightly. He left the Wushi Incarnation outside while his Main Body leaped unhesitatingly into the empty abyss.

The Primordial Magnetism Path.

Governed all magnetic fields, both metaphysical and physical.

It symbolized change itself, the only constant.

All change and existence.

Could give birth to Primordial Magnetism!

The only thing that could prohibit the Primordial Magnetic Power was true, non-existent ‘nothingness’.

Any pseudo-nothingness.

Any emptiness constructed from existence and change.

Inherently carried change and existence within it.

Thus.

The moment he jumped into the Buzhou Abyss.

Wu Dao captured the ancient, vast Magnetic Field Power leaking from the root vein of Buzhou Mountain.

By rotating and altering this Magnetic Field Power of an extremely high essence to form an anti-Buzhou magnetic field, he was able to ignore the suppressive power of the Buzhou Abyss.

Of course.

This was only relatively speaking.

It could ensure his speed wouldn’t be hindered, but if the suppressive power exceeded his limits, he still wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

‘He called it a coordinate, but he still just wants to see if I’m qualified.’

Within the empty darkness.

Wu Dao, a figure darker than the abyss itself, rapidly traversed the void by rotating the anti-Buzhou magnetic field power. He perceived the unique space-time structure of the Buzhou Abyss.

It was like a maze.

One wrong step could lead into a second-tier, or even third-tier, infinite empty continuum, making it incredibly difficult to escape once lost.

The Slaughter Emperor had only told him that the third core of the Extreme Dao Bell was in a region near the deeper layers of the Buzhou Great Abyss, a place that required the power of a Peak Heavenly Emperor to reach.

But he hadn’t told him how to find it.

Or, in other words, the coordinates.

Clearly, he still wanted to test him.

To see if he had become useless after reaching the Peak Heavenly Emperor realm, and whether he was qualified to ‘walk the same path’ in the future.

‘He always has some new trick up his sleeve for me.’

Wu Dao sighed helplessly, thinking back on how he had obtained the two Extreme Dao Bells. Anyone else would have been played to death by the Slaughter Emperor.

Perhaps.

‘Is the Slaughter Emperor’s standard based on himself?’

If so, it wouldn’t be surprising.

After all, He, the Lord of the First Tribulation who had risen from a mere mortal to the Absolute Peak of the heavens, was also an illogical monster whose life was the stuff of legend.

If you couldn’t even match Him.

What right did you have to use His weapon?

“Star Mother, activate the Extreme Dao Bell’s magnetic field. Lock onto the core and plan a route.”

But Wu Dao simply tossed the problem to the Little Star Mother, unwilling to waste even a moment to stop. He continued to accelerate, dodging through the maze.

“Yes, Father God.”

Inside the Extreme Dao Bell.

The Little Star Mother nodded obediently.

She began to activate the Extreme Dao Bell’s exclusive magnetic field. Soon, in a deep and distant dark place within the Buzhou Abyss, she vaguely sensed an existence that resonated with the bell’s magnetic field.

At the same time.

The space-time maze along the path ahead.

Was considerately projected into Wu Dao’s mind.

“Hold on tight. Father God is picking up the pace.”

Wu Dao smiled dotingly, the corner of his mouth curving up.

He no longer held anything back.

He rotated the magnetic field power of Buzhou Mountain with all his might, speeding through the abyssal maze like a dark, phantom star, leaving one second-tier infinite maze continuum after another far behind him.