Dragon roars drew closer. Pangu heard them and looked toward the sound. A colossal dragon appeared in the depths of chaos. Its appearance was hideous, and its nine heads writhed as it brandished nine enormous tails. What was even more astonishing was that each tail was a different color: black and white represented the forces of yin and yang, while the seven colors represented the five elements, wind, and thunder.
A voice sounded in Pangu's Spiritual Sense: "I am Dui Cang! I will devour you." Boundless Killing Qi filled the air.
Dui Cang could be considered one of the most powerful beings in the primordial world. Whenever he encountered a living creature, he instinctively devoured it. But the Great Dao would not allow him to develop a spiritual consciousness, take human form, understand the cycles of Heaven, discern yin and yang, or comprehend the Great Dao. Though he knew no cultivation techniques, every creature he devoured granted him its abilities. He had, for instance, the art of turning water into ice, not to mention the nine innate abilities of his nine tails.
Looking at the enormous Dui Cang, who was hundreds of billions of miles away, Pangu felt his heart tremble. He sighed, "I didn't expect to run into someone like this. I wonder if I can survive."
"Roar..."
Dui Cang gave a low growl, and from his enormous maw sprayed "chaotic primordial water." The moment the water left his mouth, it turned to ice. Everything the spray passed was frozen, forming a road of ice, and an ice arrow came whistling toward him.
Watching the ice arrow rush toward him and studying its trajectory, Pangu had a sudden thought. The Chaos Green Lotus around him began to radiate hazy gray chaotic qi. He swung the stone axe along a strange path, sending it speeding toward Dui Cang and stirring chaos into a frenzy. The Origin Ice, which could freeze anything, froze solid the instant the axe touched it. The biting cold washed over him, making him shiver.
Pangu was sighing to himself when he heard a series of cracking sounds. The long road of ice shattered and shot toward the ice arrow. The stone axe continued on without slowing, shattering the space in its path. A pocket of space-time unlike the chaotic world appeared, and the ice arrow vanished as soon as it entered.
Dui Cang was surprised, unable to understand what had happened. But he was furious.
"Roar..."
An enraged dragon's roar rang out as Dui Cang's enormous body shot toward Pangu.
His huge eyes blazed with fury. His nine tails swept at Pangu again and again, each attack wielding one of the nine abilities: the five elements, yin and yang, wind, and thunder.
The power of the five elements filled the sky as wind and thunder raged and yin and yang spread. In an instant, the chaotic world was awash with brilliant colors, all painted by divine abilities.
With no other choice, Pangu used Dharma Heaven Dharma Earth, growing larger by the yard until he was no longer like a tiny bean sprout beside Dui Cang. He swung his axe, striking once, then twice...
These abilities drew on the power of chaos, but Pangu's own abilities were no weaker. The forces canceled each other out, leaving them evenly matched. Still, his opponent had nine abilities, so Pangu was the one struggling.
But Dui Cang also had tails and teeth. Every now and then, he would lash out with his tail or strike with a claw. These seemed even more formidable than his other abilities. Dui Cang could attack from both near and far.
Pangu could only keep swinging his stone axe to fend off Dui Cang's attacks. Though it was difficult, he managed to hold on. He had the Great Dao to thank for granting him the Chaos Green Lotus; it had blocked countless killing blows for him.
Pangu climbed onto Dui Cang's body, raised his stone axe, and hacked down. A metallic clang rang in his ears. Dui Cang's body was unharmed, but a sharp pain erupted from his soul.
"Roar..." He let out a series of long, anguished cries.
In a panic, Dui Cang could only twist his neck, trying to swallow the creature who had hurt him.
After trying and realizing it wouldn't work, Dui Cang curled his body and lashed out with his nine tails in turn. Pangu's heart sank. If one hit him, the force and hardness of those tails would smash him to pieces. He dodged frantically, but the wind from their blows made his face burn. With no other choice, he summoned the Chaos Green Lotus. In that brief opening, one tail slammed into it. The lotus jolted, and Pangu felt the unimaginable force of the impact. It rocked, but held firm. Then the other seven tails struck in succession. Though the lotus's defenses were formidable, it could not withstand repeated blows.
Pangu felt his mind shake as the lotus disappeared into his body. He cried, "Thousand-Blade Slash!" It was a divine ability he had just comprehended.
Pangu's hand moved, making a mysterious, profound stroke. In an instant, countless Axe Shadows appeared and layered over one another, cleaving toward Dui Cang. At last, he had something to show for it: that single strike sent Dui Cang's scales flying and left a bloody gash.
"Haha, Dui Cang, now you know how powerful I am! I'll keep at it and split you in two!" Pangu said smugly.
"Roar..." This time, Dui Cang's roar held a note of grief.
"I'll eat you! Roar!" A voice entered Pangu's Spiritual Sense. Dui Cang arched his body, then whipped a tail toward him.
Caught off guard, Pangu was swept in front of Dui Cang's head. Dui Cang stretched out his neck and sucked him in.
Pangu knew he was in trouble. A powerful force of suction appeared out of nowhere, and he was like a little sailboat adrift in a storm, about to be wrecked and lost. Panic seized him. What should he do? The only divine ability he could use to fight back was strength.
What is strength? His mind grew still and clear. He recalled the axe strike from earlier and sensed that it seemed to contain the source of strength. A strange kind of insight flooded into him. Could this be strength?
The stone axe in his hand seemed to have a life of its own. Suddenly, it slipped from his grasp and flew along a different path than before. The strike carried a vast, unstoppable force and a resolute will as it hurtled toward Dui Cang.
Pangu seemed to ignore the danger in front of him, staring at the axe as if entranced, comprehending its mysteries.
After a long while, Pangu awoke from that wondrous sensation. He looked around and froze.
Dui Cang's body, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, lay motionless in the void. A dim gray glimmer shone inside his head. His eyes were now completely lifeless, and not a trace of vitality remained in his body. Even his soul had long since vanished.
Pangu recalled his stone axe. Two streams of purple qi drifted from Dui Cang's enormous head and flickered as they merged into the Chaos Green Lotus. Perhaps he was still shocked by the power of that strike and failed to notice.
That strike had clearly touched the level of the Law of Power. Though Dui Cang was an untransformed Chaos Demon God, the strike had split his hard skull and the boundless force had even destroyed his soul...
Pangu ran a hand over the cracked stone axe, shocked. The Chaos Stone was the hardest substance in existence, yet it had cracked. Looking at the dragon, an idea came to him: refine Dui Cang and use the Chaos Stone as the main material to forge a new axe.
Time passed slowly, and Dui Cang's enormous body gradually shrank. To Pangu's surprise, a flood of information seemed to come from the Chaos Green Lotus. It appeared to be Dui Cang's cultivation technique and memories.
The Nine Revolutions Golden Body. Almost all immortal techniques separated the soul from the body, striving to escape the restraints of the flesh. The Nine Revolutions Golden Body, however, united soul and body as one. Its powerful physique could shatter mountains and rocks, move mountains, and drain seas.
This was the cultivation technique Dui Cang had been born with. Thinking of his opponent's iron-hard body, Pangu found it truly tempting.
As Pangu quietly comprehended the Law of Strength and the Nine Revolutions Golden Body, chaotic qi continuously flowed into his Chaos Demon God body. The impurities in him were refined away, and his body grew stronger step by step. His muscles grew firmer and denser as impurities were steadily purged, leaving his whole body gleaming with a metallic luster.
In the blink of an eye, several eras passed. With every breakthrough, the light radiating from Pangu grew more intense. His aura, too, kept changing, until a faint, ancient, desolate, solemn presence emerged from him.
Then Pangu's heart stirred. It seemed he had grasped a trace of the "Rule of Strength." Strength means more than power. It also means sharpness and an unyielding resolve to press forward. Each strike unleashes the greatest possible force. When I swing my axe along the path of the Dao, why should I look back? I must not look back.
At the same time, the stone axe he had been refining finally took shape. It no longer looked gray and hazy. Seen from above, it resembled a miniature Dui Cang. Its fearsome dragon head tilted slightly upward, adding to its imposing presence. Its nine tails intertwined around the handle, their distinct scales lending it a rough yet comfortable grip. Dui Cang's image had become a totem, emblazoned on the face of the axe.
Pangu infused the axe with his comprehension of the "Rule of Strength." A vast, soaring aura burst forth: unyielding, moving forward. The will of Though a thousand stand in my way, I will go forth spread throughout the chaotic world.
Feeling that will, Pangu laughed heartily and gently stroked the stone axe. "You will be called Sky Opening!" The axe seemed quite pleased with the imposing name and let out a soft ring.
Before you continue