Otherworld Cultivation Methods Draw Heroes to Compete (I)

At the foot of the mountain stood an elderly man in a gray robe. His graying hair hung to his shoulders, his face was covered in wrinkles, and his gait appeared unsteady. Yet he exuded an aura as steady as a mountain—standing there, he himself seemed like an immovable peak. The old man pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and moved his lips slightly, as though circulating a cultivation method.

The next second, the energy within the old man began to gather. A Pale Gold halo slowly emerged around him and gradually converged in his palms. The halo grew denser and denser until it finally formed a Golden Light Orb the size of a fist. Though small, it radiated a terrifying pressure. The surrounding clouds and mist were scattered, while the pines and cypresses at the mountain's foot bent slightly, as if submitting. Fine patterns flowed across the orb's surface, like the veins of mountains and rivers—mysterious and solemn.

A moment later, the old man slowly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He slowly pushed both hands forward, and the Golden Light Orb instantly left his palms, transforming into a Giant Palm Print dozens of meters wide that flew toward the thousand-meter mountain. The palm print did not travel quickly; one could even clearly see the patterns flowing over its surface. Yet with every step it advanced, the surrounding air shook harder, and the ground trembled in turn.

The instant the palm print touched the mountain peak—

"Bzzzz—!"

The entire image shook violently, as though even space itself were trembling. A massive crack split the thousand-meter mountain down the middle and rapidly spread, accompanied by endless cracking sounds. The snow atop the mountain collapsed in an instant, becoming an avalanche that thundered downward. Rocks from the mountainside fell like rain, smashing into the ground with deafening crashes as dust surged into the sky, blotting out the sun.

In less than ten breaths, the once-majestic thousand-meter mountain had become a field of ruins. Half of its bare foundation stood alone where it had been, surrounded by rubble and dust. Even the pines and cypresses at the foot of the mountain had been shattered by falling stones. The scene was so devastating it was suffocating.

"This... this is power that even divine skills can't achieve!" The Soul Masters in the plaza went completely mad. Some had their legs give out and collapsed to their knees, bowing reverently toward the Light Screen while muttering, "A god has descended." Others stared wide-eyed, their faces full of despair—the Titled Douluo realm they had pursued their entire lives was laughable before such power, like children at play.

The Clear Sky Sect disciples hidden among the crowd turned pale. One young man holding a Clear Sky Hammer had both hands trembling violently. The Clear Sky Sect's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer required dozens of charged strikes to shatter rocks and split mountains, and it would exhaust one's Soul Power. Yet this Low-tier Earth Combat Skill had destroyed a thousand-meter mountain with a single palm, without relying on any martial soul! If Sect Master Tang Xiao could learn this technique, why would the Clear Sky Sect fear Spirit Hall? Why would it fear Qian Daoliu's Angel God Inheritance?

The Heaven Dou Empire's civil official envoy did not even bother pushing his glasses back up after they slipped to the tip of his nose. His pen raced frantically across the paper, its tip nearly piercing through it. The Star Luo Empire's envoy turned and ran. He had to return to Star Luo City immediately—the appearance of combat skills would completely overturn the continent's balance of power. Whoever first mastered Earth Tier Combat Skills would seize the initiative and might even unify the continent.

The image shifted one final time. The mountain disappeared, replaced by a pitch-black starry sky. Countless stars glittered within it; some shone as brightly as diamonds, while others emitted pale blue halos. Nebulae wound through the void like ribbons, beautiful enough to take one's breath away.

At the center of the starry sky stood a figure in silence. His form was blurred, as though shrouded in a thin mist, and his face could not be seen. Yet he radiated an aura that stood above all things—pressure beyond even that of gods. Every Soul Master before the Light Screen, including top-tier experts like Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong, felt their souls tremble.

The figure slowly raised his right hand and extended his index finger. Energy gathered faintly at its tip. A point of black light emerged from his fingertip. It was incredibly weak, like a tiny drop of ink, yet it seemed to possess the power to devour everything—the light of the surrounding stars was constantly drawn toward the Black Light Dot, and even the distant nebulae warped slightly, as though space itself were being pulled apart.

Without any unnecessary movement, the figure merely tapped lightly.

"Whoosh—!"

The Black Light Dot instantly transformed into a slender beam of light and shot into the depths of the starry sky. The beam was so fast that the naked eye could not follow it at all; all that could be seen was a black trace streaking across the stars.

Wherever the beam passed, stars shattered one after another. First came a region of space hundreds of miles across, which turned into a sky full of stellar fragments the instant it came into contact with the beam. Then came a star emitting a pale blue halo. The beam pierced through its core, extinguishing the flames on its surface in an instant. The celestial body collapsed with a thunderous crash, becoming the wreckage of a nebula. Even more terrifyingly, the beam pierced through the entire starry sky, leaving behind a black scar that lingered against the pitch-black backdrop. Space around that scar rippled violently as massive cracks appeared out of nowhere. Beyond them lay endless darkness, as though it could swallow everything.

In just a few breaths, celestial bodies across nearly a hundred miles of the starry sky had been completely annihilated. All that remained was endless darkness and Space Rifts, a scene like the end of the world.

"This... this isn't a divine skill! This is power beyond gods!" an elderly Titled Douluo said in a trembling voice, filled with despair. He had once seen Qian Daoliu use an Angel God Inheritance skill. Though it could shatter stars, it required vast amounts of divine power and only affected a few miles. But this Low-tier Heaven Combat Skill annihilated a hundred miles of starry sky in one strike and even tore apart space—if used on Douluo Continent, one move would be enough to destroy half the continent!

Within the Pope's Palace in Spirit City, Bibi Dong watched this scene through a Soul Guiding Crystal and abruptly rose from the Pope's Chair. The armrests were crushed to pieces beneath her grip as black Soul Power surged wildly around her. A nearly crazed light flashed in her eyes. "We must obtain the combat skill! At any cost! Even if Spirit Hall has to submit to the auction house, even if we must offer up every resource, we must obtain the cultivation method!" Ghost Douluo beside her turned deathly pale. The power of the Nirvana Finger had already far surpassed the fusion skill he shared with Moon Guan, the "Two Poles Stillness Domain"—with this technique, they could not only unify the continent, but even surpass the gods!

Inside the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu gripped the Angel Sacred Sword as its Sword Body trembled violently and its golden light flickered on and off. He had lived for hundreds of years and was the person closest to godhood on Douluo Continent, yet at this moment, his heart was filled with confusion and fear—the Angel God's inherited skills were so insignificant before the Nirvana Finger. "The power of the Otherworld... can actually surpass gods..." Qian Daoliu murmured. For the first time, his eyes lost their usual resolve. "If Lin Yue is willing to teach me this technique, I would even give up the Angel God position!"

The plaza fell into complete silence. Every Soul Master stared at the Space Rifts in the starry sky and felt that aura beyond gods. Only one thought remained in their hearts: before such power, so-called "factions," "inheritances," and "gods" were nothing more than dust that could be annihilated at any moment. And the Otherworld Auction House that could command such power was the true ruler of the continent.