"Flashy but useless."
"It's nothing but an illusion. You think a few phantoms can fool me, Zhao Gongming?"
"I, Zhao Gongming, will expose your disguise and make you show your true form!"
Zhao Gongming repeatedly sneered, his eyes blazing as he gritted his teeth and enunciated each word.
He formed a hand seal with one hand and clutched the Spirit Calming Pearl with the other. He silently recited the Heart Calming and Spirit Concentrating Incantation to protect his soul, guarding against the Taoist's demonic magic!
Night was as dark as ink. The mountains and forests lay silent, save for leaves and branches rustling in the breeze.
He descended slowly atop Auspicious Clouds, walking alone toward the ancient Willow Tree.
The stars and moon were sparse in the distant sky, casting a faint silver glow that outlined the blurry figure of the Taoist.
He lay in an old rocking chair. The breeze brushed past, his robes fluttering in the wind. He seemed to have long since merged with the world around him, silent and still, yet as steady as a mountain.
The closer Zhao Gongming got, the more solemn his expression became.
He suddenly sensed the spiritual energy of the surrounding world being drawn by an invisible force, like streams converging, trickling into the Taoist's body. It was as if even the breath of heaven and earth resonated with him!
"Can he absorb the spiritual breath of heaven and earth even in his sleep? This is... just too outrageous. No, this must be an illusion. This isn't real!"
Zhao Gongming furrowed his brow. Though alarmed, he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
Yet with every step, the pressure grew stronger.
Ten feet, five feet, three feet...
His steps grew heavier and heavier, as if he were carrying a thousand mountains on his back!
Between heaven and earth, the Taoist seemed to tower like a pillar supporting the sky. Though he lay motionless, it was as if he held up the entire cosmos.
Zhao Gongming felt as small as an ant. That profound and awe-inspiring aura came rushing toward him.
"How can there be such strange phenomena around this Taoist?"
In a daze, he saw the surrounding void churn. Countless phantoms of gods and demons seemed to manifest in the Taoist's aura. Some had three heads and six arms, some had wings that blotted out the sky, some held starry wheels of magic, and others bowed in reverence, as if all the gods were paying homage.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Zhao Gongming's mind shook violently, and cold sweat beaded on his temples.
Though his true spirit had been placed on the Investiture of the Gods List and his cultivation was far weaker than before, he was still a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. How could he find it difficult even to approach?
The pressure mounted layer upon layer, like mountains weighing down on him, as if it would crush him to pieces!
"Damn it... I, Zhao Gongming, am the dignified senior outer disciple of the Interception Sect. How could I show weakness before this nameless demonic Taoist? Impossible! This must be an illusion! This demonic Taoist must have conjured up this illusory realm!"
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. Blood burst forth, carrying the searing power of his soul as it coursed through his body. The pain jolted his mind into sudden clarity.
"Hmph, you still dare to play tricks in front of me?"
Zhao Gongming suddenly roared, his voice shaking the mountains and splitting stones:
"Demonic Taoist, do you know who I, Zhao Gongming, am?"
His roar rang out like rolling thunder, shaking leaves from the surrounding trees as birds and beasts fled in every direction.
But beneath the ancient Willow Tree, the Taoist continued to sleep soundly, without moving an inch.
Zhao Gongming's expression darkened. He forced himself to draw a breath and roared again:
"I am Zhao Gongming, the Golden Dragon Ruyi Zhengyi Dragon-Tiger Xuantan True Lord, senior outer disciple of the Interception Sect under the Supreme Pure Sect Master Tongtian! Demonic Taoist, dispel your illusion at once and state your name!"
His shouts rang out one after another, shaking heaven and earth with imposing authority.
At last, the Taoist in the rocking chair seemed to be roused by the thunderous yelling. His brow furrowed slightly.
He raised a hand lightly, as if dusting something away, and waved it casually. He mumbled something indistinctly:
"Where'd that fly come from... What a nuisance."
"Get lost."
The light rebuke was as casual as a murmur in a dream, laced with laziness and disdain, as if spoken offhandedly and utterly without force.
And yet!
The moment that word left his lips, heaven and earth changed color!
With a rumble, the firmament seemed to split apart. The void exploded in layer after layer, like the Milky Way cascading down in a torrential flood, while a surging blast of air crashed toward them like monstrous waves against the shore.
Zhao Gongming's expression changed instantly!
"No—!"
Before he could finish the word, that vast force came crashing down upon him!
Zhao Gongming flew backward like a kite with its string cut, swept along by an invisible force. He smashed through three mountain ridges and cleaved a river in two. Everywhere he passed, forests turned to ash and rocks shattered.
"Bam—!"
He crashed into a barren mountain tens of thousands of meters away. Dust billowed, and all life fell silent.
Zhao Gongming spewed blood, his aura weakened to the extreme.
His dantian shuddered, his primordial spirit was badly damaged, and a million years of arduous cultivation shattered like porcelain. His spiritual energy scattered through his body like a bursting tide!
His cultivation had fallen directly from Grand Unity Golden Immortal to Grand Unity Golden Immortal!
"Cough... cough, cough..."
He struggled to move, his gaze unfocused and his face as pale as paper. Blood still stained the corner of his mouth.
"How... is this possible..."
He gazed up at the stars, his eyes full of disbelief and unwillingness to accept it.
I... couldn't even withstand one light rebuke from him...
"What... what kind of realm is this..."
Zhao Gongming's mind reeled, his blood and energy surged, and at last he spat out a mouthful of blood. His vision went black, and he fainted.
Heaven and earth fell utterly silent.
And beneath the ancient Willow Tree in the distance, the Taoist continued to sleep peacefully, as if everything that had just happened had been nothing more than him lazily waving away an annoying fly in his dream.
After an unknown length of time, the eastern sky began to brighten, and a faint light appeared on the horizon.
Zhao Gongming lay on the ground, covered in blood, his robes in tatters and charred black.
He slowly opened his eyes, confusion and pain filling his gaze. Several bones were broken, his internal organs had shifted, and his soul seemed to be racked by tearing pain. His Golden Immortal body was now as frail as a mortal's.
"Ugh..."
He groaned softly and struggled to sit up. Trembling, he fished a golden pill from his robes and swallowed it.
The pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth, temporarily suppressing his severe injuries.
He let out a long breath, but remained so weak he could barely stand.
"This makes no sense... I, Zhao Gongming, am at least a Grand Unity Golden Immortal..."
"How... how could I fail to withstand even a single light rebuke?!"
His voice was low. With a scattered gaze, he looked toward the ancient Willow Tree in the distance, the Taoist's utterly contemptuous "Get lost" echoing over and over in his mind.
"Unless... he's a Saint."
He muttered to himself. His pupils suddenly contracted, and deep shock spread across his face.
"Beneath a Saint, all are ants... That light rebuke really did carry the might of a Saint..."
He gasped, cold sweat pouring off him, as if he had just returned from the gates of death.
"But... I know all the Saints in this world, and I've never heard of this man."
"If he's a Saint, why would he live in such a remote mountain forest? Could it be... Sun Wukong wasn't boasting?"
At the thought, his heart jolted, and the image of the Stone Tablet appeared in his mind.
"What was written on that Stone Tablet... Could it really be true?"
"That Taoist is an ancient giant god from Chaos, who attained the Dao even before Great God Pangu?"
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