Tongtian Axe Falls, Yang Mei Perishes

Under the stunned gazes of the Sages, a Dharma treasure truly rose from within the primordial spirit of Tongtian!

Jieyin and Zhunti retreated with increasing speed.

They felt this scene was far too similar to the display of power Duobao had shown just moments ago!

Nuwa was filled with joy.

Fellow Daoist Tongtian had truly not disappointed the Sages of the Mystic Gate!

Taishang and Yuanshi were dumbfounded, their faces flushed as they stared in shock at the supreme Dharma treasure emerging from Tongtian's primordial spirit.

"This... this is..."

Just as agitated as them was Great Immortal Yang Mei.

Great Immortal Yang Mei was greatly shocked, pointing at the Dharma treasure with a look of uncertainty: "How could you possess this Dharma treasure?"

With a casual flick of his hand, he produced a Taiji Diagram and a Pangu Banner!

The Great Immortal looked at the two Dharma treasures in his hands, then back at the one opposite him.

He was quite bewildered: "This makes no sense; the Taiji Diagram and Pangu Banner are clearly in my hands!"

Yang Mei casually put away these two Innate Supreme Treasures and shouted sternly:

"Tongtian, what trick are you playing!"

Tongtian caught the axe; his Dharma treasure was an axe, colored in Mystic Yellow, gray and hazy, shrouded in mist!

He spun the axe in a flourish.

He did not appear to use any Supernatural Powers.

Wherever the axe passed, the space instantly shattered.

Endless Mystic Yellow Qi, along with the four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, were about to surge in.

But with the axe present, that Mystic Yellow Qi and the four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind were instantly extinguished!

The Sages were even more shocked!

Yang Mei screamed internally: "This absolutely cannot be that damned axe, absolutely not!"

A look of reverence rose on Tongtian's face.

"In the past, I had the good fortune to meet an unparalleled Great Deity!"

"He took pity on my low cultivation, specifically preaching the Dao and demonstrating techniques for me, allowing my cultivation to greatly increase and helping me understand the grand trend of the Heavenly Dao..."

A sense of absurdity rose in the hearts of the Sages.

Tongtian was a Sage!

One of the eight most supreme beings in the Primordial Era.

And someone actually looked down on Tongtian for having low cultivation?

To what level must that great expert's cultivation have reached?

Yet, the Sages also understood that there was a period when Tongtian's cultivation had soared rapidly.

It seemed to align with what he was saying.

Especially Zhunti, who had the most to say on the matter!

Back when Zixiao Palace discussed the Investiture of the Gods, Zhunti saw that Tongtian was not yet a Sage and wanted to use him to establish authority.

As for the result... it was too miserable to look at!

"Later, I had the opportunity to visit this senior again. This time, I did not go alone; I brought eight disciples."

"The Great Deity took pity on my disciples, preaching the Dao and demonstrating techniques for them, laying a supreme foundation for their Dao."

"Upon our departure, he specifically gifted them a few Dharma treasures."

Tongtian raised the axe in his hand.

"I benefited from my disciples' good fortune and was bestowed one as well."

Hmm?!

The expressions of the Sages became increasingly strange.

Tongtian actually benefited from his disciples' good fortune?

The Sages of the Primordial Era had always enjoyed holding various Dharma assemblies to invite fellow Daoists.

The Great Dao is boundless, and no one dares to claim that the Dao they have attained is the most correct.

Stones from other hills can serve to polish jade; exchanging great methods with fellow practitioners is a necessity.

When meeting juniors, it is customary to bestow some small items, whether it be Dao techniques or Dharma treasures.

This is especially true when meeting a junior for the first time.

This is the way of human sentiment.

But the Sages looked carefully at the axe in Tongtian's hand.

He wished he could punch Tongtian right in the face.

This axe had just been swung once, and it had already shattered the space of the Earth Immortal Realm!

One had to know that in order to facilitate the battle of the Sages during the Investiture of the Gods, Dao Ancestor Hongjun had used the Authority of the Heavenly Dao to reinforce the Earth Immortal Realm, especially the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield.

Even someone as strong as Yang Mei had never damaged the Earth Immortal Realm in the slightest.

Yet Tongtian's axe, with a casual swing, had smashed the space of the Earth Immortal Realm to pieces!

You call such a supreme treasure a "little trinket"??

He had never seen anyone act so pretentious!

"According to the senior, he crafted it based on the legends of the great Pangu, imitating the supreme treasure used by the great Pangu to create the world: the Pangu Sky-Opening Axe."

The hearts of all the Sages skipped a beat simultaneously!

As expected, the Pangu Sky-Opening Axe!

They had felt from the very beginning that this axe was extraordinary!

Taishang and Yuanshi in particular—the two Sages could even feel a sense of "intimacy" emanating from this axe!

An imitation Pangu Sky-Opening Axe?!

Even though they knew Tongtian was telling the truth, the Sages couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying.

It was as if what Tongtian held was the true companion Lingbao of the great Pangu, the Pangu Sky-Opening Axe itself!

Tongtian said to Yang Mei with extreme seriousness, "Although this axe is an imitation made by the senior, given my current cultivation, I still cannot fully control it."

"I can only swing it three times."

"I trust that for a Great Immortal such as yourself, dealing with this axe should be a simple matter!"

Yang Mei was so shocked that his long eyebrows flew upward!

His primordial spirit throbbed violently, and a warning sign flared in his mind.

A premonition, a warning from his primordial spirit!

Yang Mei cursed inwardly, "You are a Great Sage at the Tenth Heaven of Dao Integration Realm, and even you can only swing it three times,"

"How could I possibly deal with it easily?"

"I am a Hunyuan, not a Sage!"

However, he could not utter a single word now.

Tongtian had already aimed that "imitation" Pangu Sky-Opening Axe directly at him.

Even though the axe had not yet been activated, Yang Mei's face turned deathly pale in an instant!

Pale as a sheet!

He realized with horror that the space-time, Karma, Fate, and Three Thousand Great Daos around him had all been locked down and suppressed.

He couldn't use any of his Supernatural Powers or methods.

Tongtian let out a great shout, his muscles bulging and his body swelling in size until his robes were stretched taut.

The Pangu True Body manifested.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Technique was pushed to its absolute limit.

The laws of the Great Dao of Strength were imbued into the weapon.

With the three forces combined and channeled into the axe, a vast and incomparable power suddenly surged back from the blade.

Tongtian's face was filled with wild joy.

That power flowed back into his body, forcibly elevating his cultivation to the Eleventh Heaven of Dao Integration Realm!

A breakthrough in the heat of battle!

A blade of light rose from the axe.

When this light appeared, the heavens and earth lost their color.

It seemed capable of cleaving through all chaos; no matter who stood in its path, there was only one outcome—annihilation!

The Sages could not help but lower their heads, not daring to look at the light of the blade.

Even staring at the edge of the axe caused the Sages' souls to feel a burning sensation—their souls had suffered minor injuries.

The Sages were filled with fear and confusion.

"Is this axe really just an Imitation Pangu Sky-Opening Axe? Then what must the true Pangu Sky-Opening Axe look like?!"

Tongtian took a deep breath.

"Yang Mei, accept your fate!"

He lifted the axe with both hands, straining, and brought it down fiercely toward Yang Mei.

A phantom of the sharp blade flashed by.

The Three Thousand Great Daos ceased to exist.

Yang Mei roared in despair: "Hongjun, save me!"

The blade's phantom struck like lightning.

A voice, resonant as a great bell, flashed by in a hurry.

"Tongtian, stop!"

A Silver Dragon descended from the sky, attempting to seize the phantom of the axe blade.

Crack!

The Silver Dragon was shattered instantly, and the blade, meeting no resistance, sliced Yang Mei in two as if cutting through tofu.

With a thunderous boom, an boundless willow tree appeared upon the Primordial Era, only to be absorbed by the earth moments later, transforming into infinite spiritual energy.

Tongtian retracted the axe and looked up at Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who had manifested in the Earth Immortal Realm.

The Earth Immortal Realm was deathly silent.

Boundless spiritual power surged in like a tide.

For a moment, the Earth Immortal Realm was filled with blessed lands and grotto-heavens everywhere.

This was the miraculous sight produced by the fall of Yang Mei, a Peak Dao Integration Realm expert.

The energy contained within a Hunyuan at the Peak Dao Integration Realm is vast and boundless.

This was especially true for someone like Yang Mei, the most ancient Dao Integration Hunyuan in the entire Chaos Void and the Primordial Era.

Strictly speaking, a single strand of Yang Mei's hair was equivalent to an entire world.

With his fall, he directly benefited the realm.

The Primordial Era absorbed his body—the boundless willow tree—and became even more radiant.

The Heavenly Dao absorbed Yang Mei's Great Dao laws, allowing the Space Great Dao to reach a higher level.

The spiritual energy contained within Yang Mei caused the concentration of spiritual energy in the Earth Immortal Realm to more than double.

In the long run, cultivators of the Primordial Era would basically have no need to worry about a lack of spiritual energy.

Although Yang Mei was a Hunyuan at the Peak Dao Integration Realm, he was, at his core, a Chaos Demon God.

His fall directly benefited all living beings of the Primordial Era!

However, on the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield, there was only silence, save for the sound of surging spiritual energy.

The Sages stared with dull eyes.

The legendary master of the Space Great Dao, the super Hunyuan at the Peak Dao Integration Realm, the Great Immortal Yang Mei who was destined to become the Western Dao Ancestor, had actually fallen?!

This must be fake, right?!

No one could deny Tongtian's strength.

A Sage at the Tenth Heaven of the Dao Integration Realm was the second level among the Upper Four Heavens of the Dao Integration Realm.

He was only a few steps away from reaching the Peak Dao Integration Realm.

Yet, no Sage could have imagined that Tongtian would send Yang Mei to his death!

This was true even for the Three Saints of the Mystic Gate, who held the highest expectations for Tongtian.

In their view, it would have been enough for Tongtian to withstand Yang Mei's attacks.

The rest would naturally be left for Hongjun to arrive and clean up the mess.

But Tongtian was unwilling!

That axe, that so-called Imitation Pangu Sky-Opening Axe, had sent Yang Mei to his death with a single strike.

It was truly unimaginable!

It was simply terrifying!

Even...

The Sages still clearly remembered that the moment Pangu's blade touched him, In the Zixiao Palace beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, A Silver Dragon descended, attempting to seize the axe and rescue Yang Mei!

The Dharma Eye of the Sages was unerring; they saw clearly that the Silver Dragon descending from the sky to obstruct Tongtian was none other than the Innate Bamboo Staff that Hongjun carried with him!

Back in the day, beneath the Treasure Distribution Rock, Hongjun had distributed supreme treasures including the Taiji Diagram, the Pangu Banner, and the Immortal Slaying Sword Array.

He had kept only the Innate Bamboo Staff in his hand.

From this, one could discern the power of this Innate Bamboo Staff!

It was a supreme magical treasure!

But so what?

It still could not withstand a single axe strike from Tongtian.

The power of that axe strike—the Sages swore they would never forget it!

With one swing of the axe, even a mighty figure at the Peak Dao Integration Realm could not endure it.

As the Sages looked back, recalling the high spirits Yang Mei had displayed upon his arrival, they felt a sense of melancholy.

Who could have predicted that Yang Mei, who was almost destined to become the Western Dao Ancestor, would end up in such a state!

To the point that, before dying, he had to cry out: "Hongjun, save me!"

He had clearly returned to the Primordial Era from the void, clearly intending to settle his Karma with Hongjun.

Yet in the end, he still had to bow his head to his arch-rival and beg Hongjun to save him...

Truly pathetic!

Eh?!

Something seemed wrong!

Seeing Yang Mei fall, Yuanshi was ecstatic.

But after the ecstasy faded, he suddenly felt a chill.

His primordial spirit was pounding violently.

Yuanshi struggled to steady his expression.

He seemed to have discovered something extraordinary!

His guess appeared to be true!

This... was going to be troublesome!

Hongjun looked at the broken half of the Innate Bamboo Staff in his hand, feeling the surging tide of spiritual energy around him...

He asked Tongtian with a cold face:

"I issued a clear decree for you to stop, why did you not listen?"

The Sages looked at Hongjun in astonishment.

They were completely baffled.

Had he made a mistake?

It was clearly Yang Mei who had come to the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield to cause trouble, and the Sages had been tormented by Yang Mei to a miserable degree.

They had almost completely lost the dignity of the Sages of the Primordial Era.

If not for Tongtian stepping in, who could say what the final outcome would have been?

Moreover, after Yang Mei appeared on the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield, he had cursed Hongjun for a long time!

This was an indisputable fact.

Hongjun was the Mystic Gate Dao Ancestor and the Incarnation of Heavenly Dao; for someone to curse him within the Primordial Era was a grave sin!

Even if it was Yang Mei, it was still a grave sin.

In the Primordial Era, Sages are supreme; all beneath the Sages are ants.

Daring to curse a Sage?

That is a heaven-reaching crime.

Even a Hunyuan at the Peak Dao Integration Realm could not do it.

That is blasphemy against a Sage!

If the Sages possessed Hongjun's strength, how could they tolerate being cursed like that by Yang Mei?

The Sages of the Primordial Era are the cornerstone of Heavenly Dao rule.

The dignity of a Sage is inviolable; it is a sacred and inviolable law within the Heavenly Dao.

Even if Yang Mei carried great Karma, that was no reason for him to curse Hongjun.

In the Primordial Era, right and wrong did not matter; only Karma held weight.

Among all the Sages, save for a vague suspicion held by Yuanshi, none of them understood.

Tongtian gripped the axe in his hand tightly, looked at Hongjun indifferently, and smiled calmly:

"This axe is too powerful; I cannot control it."

Hm?!

The Sages were stunned once again!

Tongtian's response reeked of gunpowder!

Clearly, the tone of Tongtian's voice was quite gentle, and he hadn't used any harsh words.

Yet, for no apparent reason, they felt that Tongtian's words were incredibly unyielding.

Hongjun was furious, he wished he could crush Tongtian into dust with a single palm strike!

Tongtian had completely ruined his plans!

That Yang Mei was his puppet, after all!

Hongjun had begun laying his schemes back during the Dao-Demon struggle of the past.

He had plotted the deaths of the two Dao Ancestors, Yin-Yang and Qian-Kun, and left Yang Mei severely wounded.

Unbeknownst to anyone, he had controlled Yang Mei, refining him into a puppet without the latter ever realizing it—even until his death, Yang Mei never knew he was actually Hongjun's puppet!

And this return of Yang Mei to the Primordial Era world was Hongjun's contingency plan.

Hongjun had not completely refined Yang Mei into his own avatar, but merely into a puppet.

This was because he knew that according to the settings of the Heavenly Dao, a powerful being was destined to emerge as the Western Dao Ancestor, standing on equal footing with him, the Eastern Dao Ancestor.

Only then could Yin-Yang be balanced.

This was the true trend of the Heavenly Dao, which could not be altered.

Hongjun would never allow any Sage to rise up and stand on equal footing with him.

Thus, he had laid his pieces and schemes long ago.

The candidate Hongjun chose was Yang Mei, his chess piece.

To become the Western Dao Ancestor, one had to possess an independent personality and could not be someone else's incarnation.

Otherwise, Hongjun would have long since completely refined Yang Mei.

How could he have tolerated him living for so long?

That Yang Mei shared great Karma with him.

Having Yang Mei return to quell the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was also a part of the plan.

Yang Mei was a powerhouse at the Peak Dao Integration Realm, far surpassing the other Sages.

As long as Yang Mei took action and settled the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, not only could he properly complete his arrangements—allowing the Western Teachings to achieve a total victory—

but he could also step forward himself to stage a "great battle" with Yang Mei, subdue him, and then smoothly appoint him as the Western Dao Ancestor.

In this way, he could whitewash Yang Mei's identity and seize the position of Western Dao Ancestor for himself.

Following that, as long as he completely refined Yang Mei, the positions of both Eastern and Western Dao Ancestors would be firmly under his control.

With that, he could proceed to his ultimate goal!

To steal the Heavenly Dao and ascend to the Great Dao!

What a perfect plan!

What a magnificent goal?!

As a result, it had all been shattered into pieces by a single axe strike from Tongtian!

How could Hongjun not be furious?

He wished he could slap Tongtian to death!

Yet, the moment Hongjun's rage touched the axe in Tongtian's hand, it vanished without a trace!

Tongtian was no longer the minor Heavenly Dao Realm Sage he once was.

He was now a Great Sage at the eleventh level of the Dao Integration Realm!

Dao Integration Realm, eleventh heaven!!

Can you believe it?!

Just how much Merit would one have to burn to reach such a level!

Even Hongjun felt terrified just thinking about it!

Most importantly, there was that axe in the hands of Tongtian!!

That axe was capable of cleaving Yang Mei, who was comparable to himself, in two with a single strike!

If Yang Mei couldn't withstand it, could he really hope to?

Don't joke around!

The power of that strike made Hongjun shudder just thinking about it.

An Imitation Pangu Sky-Opening Axe?