Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 1273: Fate's Executioner

“The Buddha Ancestor?”

Tang Zixi’s answer had Nine Disaster’s avatar of kindness nodding. “The Heavenly Dao was demonic, so the Buddha Ancestor forsook entering it and created his own Buddha Dao that was not among the Twelve Great Daos, spreading it through the chiliocosm.”

“So he drew the hostility of the Heavenly Dao and became its enemy?” Tang Zixi asked.

Nine Disaster chuckled. “Creating one’s own Dao is not the same as betraying the Dao. It is simply building something new in one’s own territory, not overturning the existing order.”

“I see.”

If the Heavenly Dao was the emperor, Yu Cheng was a powerful minister, and Tang Jie was a rebel army, the Buddha Ancestor was a small kingdom on the border, acknowledging the Heavenly Dao as its liege while still possessing some influence. As for Nine Disaster and the Three Sages Ancestor, the former represented the imperial guard while the latter could be considered the will of the people. While they both sought to uphold the rule of the emperor, their methods were different, Nine Disaster becoming a demon while Three Sages remained part of the positive plane.

The Gigantes were remnants of the former dynasty.

The battle in the Gigantes Domain was a clash between these various factions, all for the sake of the imperial crown and its sacred throne.

Now that she understood the root of the issue, Tang Zixi said, “Grandmaster, thank you for all you have told me. Since I know the secret of Nine Disaster, I will return with my mission complete. Does Grandmaster wish to stop me?”

Nine Disaster replied, “Benefactor, I naturally will not stop you. But I have lived a hundred lives precisely to deal with that Nine Disaster. If Benefactor will forgive this old monk’s initial discourtesy, this old monk is willing to go with you to the Gigantes Domain and lend you his aid.”

“That would be wonderful.” Tang Zixi smiled.

“Benefactor, please come with me. This old monk knows of a teleportation formation that leads directly to the Gigantes Domain.” The monk turned to leave the hall.

Following, Tang Zixi curiously asked, “A teleportation formation from ten thousand years ago? I wonder if it still works.”

She wasn’t worried that the monk would trick her. He was at Immortal Platform and thus stronger than her, so he wouldn’t need to resort to such roundabout methods.

The monk replied without turning back, “It’s not a ten-thousand-year-old teleportation formation.”

“Huh? Then how do you know about it?” Tang Zixi asked.

“I don’t know, but for some reason, I had these memories the moment I awakened. Perhaps this is the arrangement of Fate. This old monk is not the real Nine Disaster, only a seed of kindness. I exist purely to deal with that Nine Disaster.”

“Is that how it is…” Tang Zixi was taken aback, and then she chuckled and shook her head, following the monk.

——————————————

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth, the Gigantes King began to battle with Yu Cheng.

Yu Cheng relied on his massive Divine Soul manifestation, but through extreme tempering, it was almost like a physical body. Every strike, every roar, every breath, every glare contained the power to sunder the earth.

But in the end, it was still just a soul.

Without any Dao armaments or a physical body, only his soul doing battle against the Gigantes King, he was essentially fighting with only one arm and one leg. The Gigantes King had been able to hold his own against the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk and was among the best of Gold Immortals. Even Tang Jie couldn’t say that he would win without the Heavenly Dao Realm.

Thus, Yu Cheng was actually on the back foot in this battle.

Within the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth, the Gigantes King unleashed a thunderous punch.

This punch had the speed of lightning, the momentum of a mountain, the brilliance of a rainbow, and the weight of an ocean. No matter what storms of energy Yu Cheng summoned, his fist punched through them all.

A tyrannical fist beyond all reason!

One punch after another blasted through space, sending turbulent streams of energy scattering.

No matter what kinds of ice or fire, Astral Winds or rains of blood were sent against him, they were all annihilated by his fists!

Even a Dao Art could do nothing to him.

The sky flashed with countless swords.

It was the Skyrend Swordfall.

Without the Xuanyuan Sword, he could only turn energy into the swords, but it was no less domineering and lethal!

But this unstoppable sword energy simply left tiny wounds across the Gigantes King’s fists, which were almost instantly healed.

Yu Cheng used the Ten Extinctions Blade, seeking to obliterate all life force with the Dao of Destruction.

But the terrifying energy of Destruction clashed against the prodigious power of Life within the Gigantes King, a struggle of light and darkness where Life was the ultimate victor.

Yu Cheng activated his Celestial Eyes to try and find the Gigantes King’s weakness.

But his body was peerless and without weakness.

He activated the Infinite Palace, laying down the Stellar Net Astral Demon Formation, but the results were even more tragic. The Gigantes King blasted apart the Infinite Palace with only three punches, and the formation’s attack was barely more than an itch.

Unmoved, Yu Cheng used Split-Second Youth, plunging the Gigantes King into the River of Time, his movements abruptly slowing without him being aware. Yu Cheng instantly unleashed a thousand kinds of Divine Connections and more than a hundred Immortal Arts, all of them blasting the Gigantes King in that split second granted by Time. But even though the Gigantes King’s flesh was pulverized, it recovered just a moment later.

The Gigantes King was an unkillable behemoth, and no matter what Yu Cheng used against him, his sheer power and tyrannical presence pushed him back again and again. Storm after storm was conjured up within the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth, but nothing could detract from the awe and terror that the Gigantes King inspired.

Everyone was stunned by the sight.

“This Gigantes King is truly quite powerful. If you were to rely solely on your body cultivation, you probably wouldn’t be able to beat him.” Xu Miaoran made a rare admission that her husband was inferior in some way.

Tang Jie also had to concede this point.

But he said, “Alas, there’s still no avoiding his defeat.”

Yes, no matter how powerful and domineering the Gigantes King was, there was no preventing his defeat.

This was why, despite him having the upper hand, he had sorrow on his face, despair in his eyes. He fought like one who was making one last desperate struggle against the will of the heavens.

He didn’t want to win, only to fight until the last moment.

This was why he could create this final burst of glory.

He punched.

He savagely punched.

Each punch was stronger than the last, like he was pouring out every last drop of his strength.

Even the Immortal Emperor found it hard to endure.

The Court of Myriad Domains, the divine throne.

Yu Cheng, his face pale, grunted and grabbed his Xuanyuan Sword.

He was finally forced to use his original body and Dao armament.

But at this moment, Tang Jie chuckled. “Immortal Emperor, have you been doing well?”

This single casual question made Yu Cheng’s hand freeze and then slowly let go.

He knew that if he used the sword, Tang Jie would immediately step in.

It would become himself versus Tang Jie and the Gigantes King.

Without his Divine Will, with only his Immortal Body and the Xuanyuan Sword, Yu Cheng wasn’t confident he could take Tang Jie. The Xuanyuan Sword possessed unsurpassed power, but the Sovereign Blade was its counter.

So he could only endure!

Letting the sword go, Yu Cheng closed his eyes and continued to battle the Gigantes King with his Divine Will, allowing the Gigantes King to overwhelm him with his peerless strength.

Xu Miaoran slightly frowned. “You said that Yu Cheng should have some other card to play, but if he did, wouldn’t he have used it by now?”

Tang Jie shook his head. “I’m not sure either, but I’m certain that Yu Cheng’s ten-thousand-year plan can’t be this simple.”

“It’s already quite complex,” Yun Tianlan sincerely said. “If not for your advice, the Court of Myriad Domains would have still had nine Gold Immortals, not including Yu Cheng. Gold Immortals! After ten thousand years, Yu Cheng raised eight new Gold Immortals! And he himself had comprehended the Twelve Great Daos…”

“It’s still not enough.” Tang Jie shook his head. “He must have something else. It just hasn’t appeared yet. He seems to be waiting for something…”

Tang Jie’s brow furrowed.

He had an ill foreboding that he couldn’t put into words that told him there was still a trial he had to go through. This sense of danger was further confirmed through the constant operation of the Fourface Crown of Omniscience—Yu Cheng was still working away at the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth.

That he was still trying to solve the maze while in such danger meant that he was full of confidence.

Where did this confidence come from?

Tang Jie couldn’t identify the source, so he couldn’t help but be worried.

At this moment, a boom came from the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth.

Everyone turned to look and saw that a crack was opening in the resplendent Heavenly Dao Labyrinth.

The light pouring out from this crack illuminated the cosmos and made everyone’s hearts shiver.

Had the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth been solved?

The same thought occurred to everybody.

Even the Western Heaven Buddha Ancestor let out a sigh. “The forbidden land has finally revealed itself… Brother Yu Cheng, you were not wrong. The Twelve Great Daos really are the key to the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth. Your ten thousand years of waiting were worth it.”

Yu Cheng grunted. “I only managed to open a crack.”

The Buddha Ancestor replied, “It’s fine. So long as there’s an opening in the Heavenly Dao Labyrinth, widening it is only a matter of time.”

“Indeed.” Yu Cheng smiled.

While his Divine Will was being beaten black and blue by the Gigantes King, given that he still had the strength to solve the labyrinth, it was clear that the Gigantes King could not so easily destroy his soul.

All Yu Cheng needed was time.

“No!” Seeing this, the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk suddenly roared, “Traitors to the Heavenly Dao, so long as I am here, you will never enter the forbidden land!”

The Nine Disaster Fiend Monk’s cultivation level suddenly began to soar, his aura growing so great that it alone was more than many people could bear.

“Saint Immortal?” the people of Rosecloud cried out in surprise.

The Nine Disaster Fiend Monk’s strength had suddenly broken into the Saint Immortal Tier.

Everyone was dumbfounded by this frightening increase in strength.

Only Tang Jie muttered, “Is this how you were able to advance so quickly? The aid of the Heavenly Dao? So you really were fighting for the Heavenly Dao’s sake. But thanks to you, I was able to see clearly the foundation of a Saint Immortal. Dao-proving Saint Immortal… haha, so that’s what it is. You need your own Dao, your own conviction, to attain this supreme Immortal rank? Three Sages, the Buddha Ancestor, and you are all such cases. Even Yu Cheng is the same. They all have their own ideals, which is why they were able to become Saint Immortals. It’s just that your achievement is all thanks to the Heavenly Dao… It’s panicking.”

Tang Jie cast his gaze into the distance.

There was nothing there, but Tang Jie could sense the will of the Heavenly Dao.

It was this will that had caused Nine Disaster to break through all bottlenecks, reaching that lofty status and even ascending past it.

Tang Jie sensed that Nine Disaster’s strength had surpassed the Three Sages Ancestor and even the Buddha Ancestor.

His body once again grew to an absolutely massive size.

But what was before simply an energy manifestation was now the real deal!

A terrifyingly titanic true form.

“RAAAA!” Nine Disaster let out a mighty roar, the petals of his lotus platform turning, his Dark Buddha Kingdom casting its shadow over all. All on his own, he suppressed the forces of the Western Heaven, even the Buddha Ancestor failing to stop him.

But Yu Cheng was not at all perturbed, softly saying, “Has it finally reached this point? I have been waiting for ages.”

As he spoke, a light erupted from the Court of Myriad Domains.

A teleportation beam appeared above the Court of Myriad Domains, aimed at the Gigantes battlefield.

A person appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

Tang Jie was stunned by this person’s appearance. “Zixi!”

Yes, it was Tang Zixi.

She held a pearl in her hand, a face vaguely visible within it. The moment she appeared, she shouted, “Nine Disaster Fiend Monk, accept your death!”

She threw the pearl at the Nine Disaster Fiend Monk.

“NO!” Tang Jie shouted.

He finally understood what Yu Cheng was waiting for.

Yu Cheng was slightly taken aback, and then he smiled. “I didn’t think that she would end up being the executor of Fate… Tang Jie, you didn’t expect this, did you? This is the arrangement of Fate!”