txolops Chapter 161 Cataclysm Annihilation, One Battle to Become a God
Chapter 161 Cataclysm Annihilation, One Battle to Become a God
A fierce wind swept across the land, and yellow sand filled the sky.
The thousand-foot-long sword of light, formed from the combined spiritual power of ten thousand cultivators, slowly pressed down on the skull-shaped boulder below, which resembled a small mountain, with overwhelming force.
Multicolored array beams of light intertwined all around, illuminating the dim sky as bright as day.
Atop the giant rock, a dark red Asura image, hundreds of feet tall, rose from the ground.
The Blood Swordsman stood on the throne of bones, raising his dark red longsword high in both hands, and the Asura Dharma Form made the same gesture.
A river of blood poured into the Dharma image, fiercely slashing towards the thousand-foot-long sword of light.
Two world-destroying forces collided violently in mid-air.
At the center of the collision, large, visible black cracks appeared in space.
Immediately afterwards, a dazzling ring of shockwaves spread outwards.
Wherever it passed, the yellow sand instantly crystallized, turning into smooth pieces of glass.
The distant black mountain peaks collapsed silently like fragile sandcastles under the sweeping shockwave.
"withstand!"
Li Qingge of the Cangxuan Sect, her hair flying, rose against the sky, stepping on an ice lotus.
She bit her fingertip, refining a drop of her life essence blood, and pushed the Supreme Forgetfulness Record's techniques to their limit, continuously injecting icy blue spiritual power into the thousand-foot-long sword of light.
Veins bulged on Zhou Tianqi's forehead as he stood on Guixu Sect. The thousands of sword cultivators behind him roared in unison, and the Heavy Water Formation transformed into a vast, dark ocean, suppressing the imposing clouds and mist released by the white-robed paper sword attendant.
Blood trickled from the corner of Tuoba Ye's mouth; his lips, which had been used to play the bone flute, had been cracked by the backlash of the sound waves.
Thousands of high-level demonic beasts roared madly in front of the formation, using their flesh and blood to resist the karmic demonic energy spreading from the black-robed paper sword servant.
Tens of thousands of cultivators, whether from large or small sects, were all fighting desperately at this moment.
They all believed that if they couldn't suppress these three demons, they would all die in this desolate wasteland once Mo Lao Er refined the Taixu fragments underground.
On the boulder, the Blood Swordsman let out a cackling laugh.
Although the Asura Dharma Form trembled under the pressure of the lightsaber, and its blood energy was evaporated in large quantities, the Yin-Yang Barrier jointly erected by the black and white paper sword servants was like an indestructible barrier, which withstood the combined attack of tens of thousands of people.
Gu Yan stood in the center of the formation, his clothes fluttering in the strong wind.
He looked up at the confrontation in mid-air that seemed to be about to shatter space, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
Although he knew that after breaking through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm and fusing with the Tai Xu fragments, the power of the Divine Demon Golden Core and the Paper Sword Servant would undergo a qualitative leap, he never expected that they would become this powerful.
With just two paper figures and one Blood Swordsman clone, they directly withstood the combined attack of tens of thousands of elite cultivators from the entire Eastern Continent.
This combination of divine and demonic cultivation, coupled with the terrifying foundation of spatial laws, makes it truly extremely powerful.
However, the play has reached a point where it has been sufficiently developed.
If the stalemate continues, the cultivators of the various sects will run out of spiritual energy, and this saga will be difficult to end.
We must give them a glimmer of hope, and then, as an ordinary disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect, I will carry out this earth-shattering, decisive victory.
Gu Yan took a deep breath, and the calm expression on his face disappeared, leaving only determination and tragic resolve.
He bit his tongue hard, forcing out a mouthful of blood that sprayed onto the tattered folding fan in his hand.
"Fellow Daoists, these three demons are drawing upon the primordial essence from the earth to maintain the formation. We cannot delay any longer!"
Gu Yan's voice, imbued with powerful spiritual energy, resounded like a great bell in the ears of every cultivator.
His eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a lone hero who would risk everything for the greater good.
"Fairy Li, Brother Tuoba, Brother Zhou! Gather all your spiritual power into the array's core where I am. My master once bestowed upon me a golden talisman to break through magic; today, I, Gu Changsheng, will sacrifice a hundred years of my lifespan to break this demon's defenses for you all!"
Hearing Gu Yan's impassioned words, all the cultivators present were deeply moved.
A hundred years of lifespan is practically half a life for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
This disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect is actually willing to sacrifice himself for everyone to this extent!
"Good! Junior Brother Gu is truly righteous. My Cangxuan Sect owes you a favor!"
A look of admiration flashed in Li Qingge's eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, she changed her hand seals, channeling control of the thousand-foot-long sword of light above her head, along with the immense spiritual power of the Cangxuan Sect members, towards Gu Yan's location.
Tuoba Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed loudly, "The Flowing Cloud Sect has produced a man of courage! Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, gather spiritual energy!"
At this moment, Zhou Tianqi, Zhao Wujiu, and all the sect leaders present chose to believe Gu Yan.
Streams of multicolored spiritual energy surged wildly into Gu Yan's body from all directions.
Gu Yan stood at the center of the storm, feeling the immense spiritual power that was enough to burst dozens of Golden Core cultivators.
Normally, he would never dare to be so presumptuous.
Normally, he would never dare to be so presumptuous.
But now, his body contains spatial laws constructed from fragments of the Great Void.
The strange spiritual energy that surged into his body was cleverly folded and compressed by the laws of space as soon as it entered his meridians, and then gathered on the folding fan in his right hand as if it were his own arm.
The folding fan's originally worn-out ribs now shone with a dazzling seven-colored divine light.
This light not only contained the spiritual power of tens of thousands of cultivators, but also concealed the spatial cutting power that Gu Yan had just comprehended.
To outsiders, this must be an unparalleled divine power left behind by a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Inside the Liuyun Sect's camp, Shen Youwei looked at the figure shrouded in dazzling light, seemingly on the verge of being reduced to ashes at any moment, and her eyes reddened.
She gripped the longsword tightly with both hands, her nails digging into her palms, blood flowing out, but she was completely unaware.
"Junior Brother Changsheng..."
Nangong Yue and Su Hongxiu were also shocked. They finally understood why the sect leader had gone against the majority opinion and put this seemingly insignificant disciple into the team.
When it comes to truly matters of principle and life-or-death situations, Gu Changsheng shines brighter than all of them.
"You scoundrel, prepare to die!"
Gu Yan roared to the sky, gripped the folding fan that emitted seven-colored divine light with both hands, and swung it down fiercely at the indestructible Yin-Yang barrier below.
A blade of light, formed from the spiritual power of tens of thousands of people and imbued with extreme sharpness by the laws of space, swooped down toward the direction where the Blood Swordsman was located.
The moment the light blade burst forth from the fan, the world lost its color.
A huge gap was cut open in the dim sky, and blinding sunlight poured down from it, illuminating this desolate wasteland.
On the skull-shaped boulder, the eyes beneath the Blood Swordsman's mask suddenly contracted, letting out a terrified, shrill scream: "No! This is impossible! This is the power of the laws!"
This was a sentence shouted by Gu Yan while controlling his clone, which perfectly explained the terror of this attack and confirmed his identity as a disciple of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
The seven-colored light blade silently sliced through the black and white intertwined yin-yang barrier.
A crisp snapping sound was heard.
That absolute defense, which had rendered tens of thousands of cultivators helpless, was as fragile as thin ice in the face of the light blade.
The barrier's surface was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and then it shattered with a deafening roar.
A violent energy storm swept down.
The first to be affected was the hundred-foot-tall Asura Dharma Image summoned by the Blood Swordsman.
As the blade of light swept past, the Dharma image was split in two from head to toe, turning into a rain of blood that dissipated into the sky.
"Pfft!"
The Blood Swordsman's body trembled violently, and his dark red longsword broke into several pieces.
He stared venomously at Gu Yan in mid-air, letting out a roar of resentment. His entire body was torn into a pool of lifeless, bloody ash by the blade of light.
Of course, this was just Gu Yan severing the connection with this clone at the moment when the light was at its peak, using the laws of space to send it away into the distance.
At the same time that the Blood Swordsman "fell," the two Paper Sword Attendants, one black and one white, were also struck by lightning.
The righteous aura on the white robe and the karmic demonic energy on the black robe collapsed simultaneously.
Two paper puppets that were originally impervious to swords and spears spontaneously combusted under the crushing force of spatial power.
The pure white and pitch-black flames intertwined, burning them into two handfuls of ashes that drifted away in the wind.
The cultivators present stared wide-eyed, unable to recover for a long time.
died!
Those three arrogant demons, those terrifying monsters that caused countless casualties among the elites of Dongzhou, were reduced to ashes by a single fan that gathered the power of tens of thousands of people.
The entire desolate wasteland was quiet except for the whistling wind and the sizzling sound of the remaining spiritual energy after the explosion.
Everyone remained in their spellcasting poses, staring blankly at the empty skull-shaped boulder, seemingly unable to believe that this nightmarish battle had actually been won.
However, Gu Yan did not stop in mid-air. Instead, he was breathing heavily, his face as pale as paper, and his eyes were fixed on the ground below the boulder.
"Everyone! Don't let your guard down! Although the array's core is broken, Mo Lao Er is still underground! He's devouring fragments of the void; we absolutely cannot let him emerge alive!"
Gu Yan shouted loudly, giving no one time to react, and enveloped his entire body with all the remaining spiritual power in his body. Like a meteorite falling from the sky, he crashed headfirst into the huge skull rock with a resolute will to die.
"Boom!"
The earthquake trembled.
The incredibly solid skull-shaped boulder collapsed with a crash under Gu Yan's impact.
A cloud of dust, mixed with the malevolent energy from the earth, billowed into the sky, forming a gigantic mushroom cloud.
Using the dust as cover, Gu Yan burrowed deep underground, skillfully folding space to arrive at a natural cave.
After that, he pulled out a nameless corpse from his storage ring, which was prepared in advance and whose body shape was extremely similar to that of the rogue cultivator Mo Lao Er.
He disfigured the corpse's face, then pulled out the Meteorite Token from his pocket, which shimmered with dazzling golden light and had a score of 36,000.
Gu Yan smiled and tapped the Meteorite Token rapidly with his fingers.
A mysterious fluctuation of spiritual energy flashed by, and he forcibly peeled off the anti-counterfeiting array on the Meteorite Token using the laws of space.
The massive 36,000 points flowed like water, all transferred to the Flowing Cloud Sect token hanging at his waist.
After doing all this, Gu Yan forcefully shoved the jade tablet of Mo Lao Er, which had been drained of its points and become dull and lifeless, into the corpse's hand.
Then, he detonated a dozen Fiery Talismans that had been buried in the corpse's dantian beforehand.
A muffled explosion echoed from underground, blasting the corpse into a bloody mess, making it unrecognizable, leaving only a severed arm clutching the discarded jade pendant.
Then, Gu Yan tore his Taoist robe several more times and used a dagger to make deep, bone-revealing cuts on his arm, staining his sleeves with blood.
Finally, he suppressed all his aura, lay down in the ruins, and closed his eyes.
The dust from the explosion on the ground gradually dissipated.
Li Qingge, Tuoba Ye, Zhou Tianqi and others were the first to come to their senses, transforming into streaks of light and landing on the edge of the ruins that had become a huge meteorite crater.
Shen Youwei rushed over without regard for anything else, frantically searching through the pile of rubble.
"Junior Brother Gu! Are you alright?"
Just as everyone was preparing for the worst, a weak cough came from deep within the ruins.
Several pieces of gravel were pushed aside.
Gu Yan, covered in blood, staggered out of the pit.
His left hand hung limply at his side, while his right hand clung desperately to a charred, severed arm.
In his severed hand, he tightly clutched a broken jade plaque engraved with the words "Mo Lao Er".
Seeing Gu Yan emerge alive, Shen Youwei's tears finally burst forth. She rushed over and caught the swaying Gu Yan.
Gu Yan leaned weakly on Shen Youwei's shoulder, panting heavily, and managed a pale smile with difficulty.
"I have accomplished my mission. The core of the Taixu Formation has been destroyed, and Mo Lao Er was attacked by a backlash at the crucial moment of refining the fragments. I risked my life to snatch his token, and thankfully he did not escape."
Gu Yan threw the severed arm and the jade pendant on the ground. The jade pendant landed with a crisp sound.
All eyes were immediately drawn to the token at Gu Yan's waist.
There, a golden light shone brightly.
The 36,000 points that originally belonged to Mo Lao Er, plus the points that Gu Yan had accumulated sporadically, were now all gathered after the name Gu Changsheng.
A terrifying score, worthy of being recorded in the annals of Dongzhou, was born.
The prodigies from various sects felt a mix of emotions as they looked at the young man covered in blood, being supported by Shen Youwei.
Normally, if someone were to hoard such a large number of points, they would definitely gang up on them.
But now, not a single person dares to draw their sword, nor does anyone dare to utter a single word of dissent.
It wasn't just because of the unfathomable Nascent Soul master behind Gu Yan, but also because just now, it was this young man who gathered the strength of the entire Eastern Continent and led them to survive from those three invincible demons.
This is not only a life-saving grace, but also an unparalleled act of turning the tide.
This tremendous victory was well-deserved and deservedly bestowed upon him.
Zhou Tianqi of the Guixu Sect was the first to step forward, bowing deeply to Gu Yan with an unprecedentedly solemn tone: "Fellow Daoist Gu possesses a great sense of righteousness, rescuing our fellow Daoists in Dongzhou from dire straits. The Guixu Sect is utterly convinced of your merits in this battle. From now on, if Fellow Daoist Gu has any requests, the Guixu Sect will never refuse."
Li Qingge sheathed her longsword, and a rare hint of gentle respect appeared in her usually cold eyes.
She nodded slightly, her form of address changing, "Cangxuan Sect, thank you, Senior Brother Gu."
Although Tuoba Ye was known for his arrogant behavior, he was also a person who respected the strong.
He strode forward, slapped his chest with a dull thud, and said, "Brother Gu, before, I, Tuoba Ye, only looked down on people from the bottom of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain gate. But today, for your achievement, I, Tuoba Ye, am convinced! You deserve the number one spot!"
With the statements from these three top sects, the tens of thousands of surviving cultivators around them had no further objections.
There was no commotion in the crowd. A swordsman covered in blood planted his longsword in the ground, bowed deeply in Gu Yan's direction.
Immediately afterwards, a rustling sound rang out.
Li Qingge bowed, Tuoba Ye lowered his head, and Zhou Tianqi cupped his hands in greeting.
On the desolate wasteland, tens of thousands of elites from the Eastern Continent bowed deeply before the wounded youth, erupting in a thunderous roar:
"Thank you, Senior Brother Gu, for saving the day!"
The immense roar soared into the sky, dispelling the blood-red aura that filled the air.
A ray of golden setting sun pierced through the thick clouds and fell upon Gu Yan, bathing his tattered black Taoist robe in a sacred glow.
Gu Yan listened to the adoration and cheers around him, felt Shen Youwei's careful support, and saw the complex admiration in Nangong Yue and Su Hongxiu's eyes.
Gu Yan listened to the adoration and cheers around him, felt Shen Youwei's careful support, and saw the complex admiration in Nangong Yue and Su Hongxiu's eyes.
He lowered his eyes, concealing the smug cunning and ruthlessness deep within them.
No one knew that the Taixu Chaos, which shocked Dongzhou and caused countless geniuses to perish, was, from beginning to end, just a grand one-man show directed and performed by Gu Yan.
He is the prey; he is the hunter; he is the savior.
Reputation, points, fragments of the Void, and a perfect exit—all are within my grasp.
As thunderous cheers rose into the clouds, the biggest suspense of this Dongzhou Grand Competition finally came to an unshakable conclusion amidst the devastated ruins.