Decisive Battle

Pangu and Xuanhuang were astonished by Great Immortal Yang Mei's elusive presence within their own world. Is this what it means to control one's own world? To be omnipotent within it?

Xuanhuang murmured, "Within this world, what are our chances of victory?"

Pangu replied, "Life and death are predetermined. The Great Dao moves along its own trajectory; we simply wish not to be crushed by its wheels."

Xuanhuang stated, "If we don't want to be crushed, we must strive to be the ones pushing the cart."

Pangu remained silent for a long time.

Great Immortal Yang Mei suddenly appeared before them and said, "Indeed. If you don't want to be crushed by the wheels, you must move forward with them."

"But there is only one pusher, so everyone is striving. May I ask fellow Daoist Pangu, if all of us gods and demons were annihilated, what would become of fellow Daoist Xuanhuang?"

Pangu was rendered speechless. Was the scene from Tai Xuan's dream truly about to unfold? Yang Mei and I would battle, and Demonic Pangu would emerge. That time was merely an illusion; how should he face this one?

Xuanhuang shook his head faintly. Even now, Yang Mei hadn't forgotten to disrupt Pangu's Dao heart.

Xuanhuang knew this was Pangu's own affair. If he couldn't overcome this tribulation, his Dao heart would be incomplete, and he could forget about pursuing the supreme Great Dao. He sneered at Great Immortal Yang Mei, "You have created a heart tribulation for him, thus planting the seeds of karma. You will have to repay it later."

Great Immortal Yang Mei retorted, "My life might be forfeit, why should I care about karma?"

"Of the three thousand Chaos beings, less than one in ten survived, leaving us to eke out an existence. I, who once remained detached from worldly affairs, have been dragged into this."

"I bear no hatred or grudges towards Pangu, I only lament the cruel twists of fate!"

With that, he released Lu Ya Dao Lord from his sleeve, restored his remnant soul, and then summoned the Four Immortal Slaying Swords with his hand, extracting the divine consciousness stored within them. He condensed them into a soul, temporarily replacing the missing one.

Lu Ya Dao Lord's eyes opened from his daze, and he stared blankly at this world.

Suddenly, Lu Ya Dao Lord spotted Xuanhuang and became excited, his mind temporarily clearing.

"Xuanhuang, because of you, I was almost slain by Pangu. Do you dare to fight me to the death?"

Xuanhuang replied, "Since karma has been formed, it must be repaid."

Lu Ya Dao Lord forcibly summoned the still-nurturing Little Golden Crow, a peculiar avatar.

Lu Ya Dao Lord forcefully dispersed this avatar, absorbing its origin and spiritual energy. The Little Golden Crow let out a mournful cry, expelling its most fundamental essence. This essence split into two. The majority of the Supreme Yang energy transformed into a red sun, which Lu Ya Dao Lord consumed. The remaining essence, less than a fingernail's size, refused to be absorbed by Lu Ya Dao Lord.

Lu Ya Dao Lord focused his gaze. It contained both the essence of fire and the spirit of fire, a unique existence. He felt a pang of emotion.

"You may go," the ball of flame immediately felt as if it had received a great pardon and fled towards the horizon.

Great Immortal Yang Mei murmured to himself, "Even if it's not for myself, I can leave a memento."

Great Immortal Yang Mei said to Xuanhuang, "Your defense is unparalleled in the world because of the Exquisite Pagoda. But if you possess the pagoda, we can only suppress you; it wouldn't be a battle to the death."

Xuanhuang said calmly, "You don't need to provoke me. Without the Exquisite Pagoda, I still have ways to kill you both."

Lu Ya Dao Lord declared, "Good, that's bold! I won't take advantage of you either. I won't use the Four Immortal Slaying Swords."

Xuanhuang scoffed, "Yang Mei already destroyed those four swords of yours; only their sharpness remains."

The Chaos gods and demons were all naturally powerful. Especially at their level of cultivation, their bodies and the Dao were one; every punch and kick bore the mark of the Dao. However, everyone knew that ordinary physical attacks wouldn't work against each other, so they fought using divine abilities.

But Lu Ya Dao Lord was different. His greatest divine ability lay in speed. An ordinary punch, accelerated ten thousand times, could produce immense destructive power, provided it didn't hit that freak Pangu.

Therefore, from the outset, neither of them wasted words. One attacked fiercely, while the other used the opponent's force against them, sometimes even achieving the effect of using minimal force to overcome great strength.

Xuanhuang's close combat was almost like the later art of Taiji, a true victory of softness over hardness.

Lu Ya Dao Lord was extremely frustrated. It was like trying to cut cotton with a knife; his strength had nowhere to be applied. His power was always dissipated in an extremely short period.

His seemingly powerful punch, sealing off all evasion space, was somehow dodged by Xuanhuang from an unbelievable angle, and he even managed simple counterattacks.

Sometimes, Xuanhuang would simply rub his hands together, creating ripples around him with strong repulsive force.

Sometimes, he could completely return the force Lu Ya Dao Lord unleashed back onto him.

Lu Ya Dao Lord now dared not exert his full strength, as it would mean being violently thrown out by his opponent, an unbearable humiliation for a creature of Chaos.

"If the opponent does not move, then I shall not move either, waiting with stillness; if the opponent moves slightly, then the movement must have a direction. My intention precedes theirs, moving along their direction, and they will surely fall."

Great Immortal Yang Mei frowned. This martial art, evolved from the Way of Non-Action, was surprisingly effective.

Lu Ya Dao Lord was now enraged, acting blindly, charging forward ferociously, and occasionally igniting a fire.

Disregarding the state of his soul, Lu Ya Dao Lord forcibly released his three corpses, saying menacingly, "I will refine you alive!"

Vast fires appeared out of thin air, the same scene that had occurred at Lu Ya Dao Lord's birth.

"All things shall turn to ash, returning to Chaos."

Great Immortal Yang Mei exclaimed in alarm, "No!" He quickly fled the area, and then rapidly transferred the monstrous fire engulfing Xuanhuang into Chaos.

Xuanhuang also felt the strain. Lu Ya Dao Lord seemed truly driven mad. Dispersing his origin was no different from self-destruction. He was at the center of the flames.

The Xuanhuang Qi began to steam within this fire, losing its radiance that contained the operation of the Great Dao's trajectory.

His Way of Non-Action could borrow force and transfer power, but it couldn't transfer this boundless sea of fire.

Moreover, Pangu was currently undergoing his heart tribulation. Fire represented agitation and would surely stir the demonic nature within him. He wondered if this great fire had affected him.

He had once offered one-third of his origin to communicate with the Chaos Green Lotus. Would he have to sacrifice his origin, or even his life, this time?

Forget it, everything is fated. Since I chose this path, I cannot turn back.

Xuanhuang summoned the three green lotuses above his head. The lotuses swayed, emitting a faint green light, temporarily sealing the destructive aura of the great fire.

A mighty aura emanated from the Azure Lotus space, pouring into the three Azure Lotuses. The lotuses immediately began to orbit Xuanhuang, drawing a portion of his origin with each rotation from the top of his head.

Xuanhuang grew progressively weaker, waves of feebleness engulfing him.

The three Azure Lotuses generated a Great Dao Power, slowly restoring the sea of fire as if it were being unmade. Within the sea of fire, phantoms of Lu Ya Dao Lord and his three avatars appeared. Lu Ya Dao Lord's face was filled with terror as he struggled to escape.

However, the tearing force generated by the three Azure Lotuses seemed far greater than his resistance.

Lu Ya Dao Lord gritted his teeth and touched his hands. One avatar instantly exploded, the resulting blast causing the flames to contract. The successive explosions of the three avatars gave Lu Ya Dao Lord a sliver of opportunity. He immediately broke free from the Azure Lotuses' restraint and used the power generated by his self-detonation to fling his true form out. His soul even more tattered, Lu Ya could only feel the fear in his heart, knowing he had to escape this place quickly. He desperately unleashed his speed divine abilities and fled rapidly into the depths of Chaos.

As Lu Ya Dao Lord fled, the intensity of the fire paused. The vast inferno was immediately absorbed by the three Azure Lotuses.

Great Immortal Yang Mei witnessed the massive explosion within the sea of fire, followed by its engulfment. A pang of heartache washed over him. He knew Lu Ya had chosen self-detonation.

"Ah... Lu Ya, I will avenge you!"

Xuanhuang was no longer able to control the three Azure Lotuses. He had been almost completely drained of his vital energy by the lotuses. He was as weak as a candle in the wind, showing signs of extinguishing at any moment.

At this moment, spatial rifts began to appear around him. Xuanhuang gave a faint smile. Has it come so quickly?

Before the spatial rifts could reach him, they were stabilized by the three Azure Lotuses.

Great Immortal Yang Mei exclaimed in shock, "What artifact is this? How..." Before he could finish, he witnessed an even more astonishing sight. Each of the three Azure Lotuses released a stream of pure energy, enveloping and consuming Xuanhuang.

Could it be that Xuanhuang couldn't control the artifact and was backlashed by it?

"Roar!" A long roar echoed.

"Not good, Pangu has awakened! That's right, with Xuanhuang gone, Pangu's heart tribulation will no longer exist."

Pangu let out a low sigh. He finally understood. He had fallen into a deadly tribulation. If he couldn't resolve it, he would either be utterly destroyed or remain seated there, waiting for the moment of his demise.

Xuanhuang sat himself down to help me resolve my heart tribulation. Is the Great Dao truly heartless? Why must there be so much separation and reunion, so much grief?

"There are only the two of us in this world. It's time for this to end."

Pangu said, "Yes, it is time for all of this to pass."

Great Immortal Yang Mei secretly drew upon the power of this world while resisting the sharpness of Pangu's Sky Opening Axe. This was his chance. Even if this world were destroyed, as long as he could withstand Pangu's Three Sky-Opening Axes, he could banish Pangu into the infinite void while Pangu's new strength had yet to arise, and then slowly refine him.

Pangu let out a great roar, raising his Sky Opening divine axe. He gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and a massive Axe Shadow slowly descended upon this world.

This aura was not something an ordinary person could resist, nor could the power of this world. Perhaps if this world were still intact, there would have been a sliver of a chance, but not now.

Great Immortal Yang Mei now truly understood the vast gap between himself and Pangu. Retreating, with his spatial divine abilities, escaping this calamity was still possible.

Why can't I move? Why? Pangu's axe couldn't possibly seal my world.

"I curse with my life: whoever kills me will be utterly destroyed." A faint voice echoed in Great Immortal Yang Mei's mind.

"Damn soul curse! Heaven wants me dead." Although he couldn't move, Great Immortal Yang Mei still struggled. A willow tree, emanating a chaotic aura, took root in this space.

He intended to use his Chaos primordial body to absorb the power of this world for his own use.

"Sky Opening!" "Earth Splitting!" "Sky Rend!" Three laws were unleashed, shattering heaven and earth. The Chaos Willow Tree shattered, just that easily.

Chaos churned, and earth, water, wind, and fire spontaneously generated. The world seemed poised for further evolution, but more Chaos energy pressed down upon this world.

Pangu was not using his full strength; he dared not. While he could open heaven and earth by exerting his utmost effort, he too would fall, becoming nourishment for the world.

So that's how he chose to act. But now he can't. Within him are the three Azure Lotuses left by Xuanhuang.