"Clop, clop!"
"Even death can't stop me!"
At Buzhou Mountain, Huang Tian climbed steadily from the four-million-zhang mark. His gaze was resolute, and every step was firm and sure.
He didn't use his blood qi to weaken the Pangu Will, nor did he summon the Kongtong Seal for protection.
The pure physical strength of a Martial Saint (Quasi-Saint) Early Stage, holding out against the Pangu Will.
The higher he climbed, the more he felt unprecedented pressure, even with his now-transformed physical strength.
His muscles trembled, his bones creaked, his heart pounded fiercely, and the blood coursing through his limbs and bones flowed faster and faster.
"Wonderful!"
The Primordial Emperor Body began to show its power.
Compared to his former Top-grade Innate Dao Body, Huang Tian's current body wasn't merely stronger. Its adaptability was what made it truly terrifying.
Before, it took him half a day to adapt to the increase in Pangu Will's pressure with each step.
Now, in just a few breaths, Huang Tian could adapt his body, keeping his ascent of Buzhou Mountain at a steady pace.
Yet the Pangu Will's tempering of Huang Tian's body hadn't weakened.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
At four million five hundred thousand zhang, each step Huang Tian took landed like a muffled thunderclap.
With nothing but his physical body, Huang Tian had grown to eighty-one thousand zhang tall.
His blood qi was contained within, while Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound erupted between his bones, shaking him to the core.
"Huff, huff!"
At four million nine hundred ninety thousand zhang, Huang Tian stopped, panting heavily.
This was the limit of a late-stage Immortal Dao Quasi saint, as well as the physical limit of Huang Tian, a Martial Saint at the early stage.
Some mysterious intuition told him that he had climbed just over sixty percent of Buzhou Mountain, with nearly forty percent of its height still ahead.
"Again!"
Gritting his teeth, Huang Tian inched forward at an almost tortoise-like pace, taking that final step.
Five million zhang!
"Roar!"
A Blood Qi Smoke thirty billion zhang across surged from Huang Tian's spine, transforming into a giant dragon that blotted out the sky and roared across the heavens.
"Rumble!"
The heavens and earth changed color. Thunder roared, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi boiled without end.
"Crack!"
"Huff, huff!"
Space shattered. The raging Nine Heavens Gang Wind in the chaos seized its chance and came through the cracks, descending into the Prehistoric World.
Before it could even react, it touched the edge of the thirty-billion-zhang Crimson Dragon. The Nine Heavens Gang Wind, which could bring down a Daluo, vanished without a sound.
Thunder and earthly fire stirred, affecting a region spanning trillions of zhang around Buzhou Mountain.
Countless living beings cowered and trembled. Even Hongjun, in the Purple Cloud Palace on Jade Capital Mountain, was stirred once again.
"How is this possible?"
"His essence, qi, and spirit have merged as one. His body and Nascent Soul have grown equally powerful."
"Cultivating both inwardly and outwardly, he rose from an acquired foundation to one rivaling the greatest Innate Gods and Devils."
"What kind of variable could he be? Could he be one of those old fellows who came into being alongside me?"
Instinctively, Hongjun used a fragment of the Jade Butterfly of Creation to divine the truth—and was shocked.
"Impossible!"
"In just six hundred thousand years, he went from not even being an Earth Immortal to breaking through to the early stage of Quasi saint?"
"Are these Emperor Dao Laws? Do they rule over myriad laws?"
Shocked, Hongjun tried to investigate further and discover the identity of this being. But a backlash swept over Jade Capital Mountain.
"Pfft!"
Though he immediately unleashed the power of a Sage and used the fragment of the Jade Butterfly of Creation to shield himself, Hongjun still suffered a backlash and sustained a minor injury.
"Protected by the Pangu Will? It seems the anomaly comes from the Witch Clan."
"I'd better hurry and complete Dao Integration. Those fellows from the Witch Clan are restless, and the Demon Clan alone is no match for them."
His gaze sharp, Hongjun glanced at the Endless Earth Abyss beside Buzhou Mountain, took a deep breath, then withdrew his attention and continued his seclusion to complete Dao Integration.
The unknown was what made things most frightening.
Now that he knew the variable came from the Witch Clan, Hongjun no longer had anything to fear.
Buzhou Mountain.
Huang Tian didn't know that he'd been exposed—but not completely.
The Pangu Will's automatic retaliation had made Hongjun think the anomaly came not from the Human Race, but from the Witch Clan.
"It's time to go."
Now that his essence, qi, and spirit had fully stabilized after breaking through to the early stage of Martial Saint (Quasi-Saint), with his Nascent Soul just as powerful as his body, Huang Tian didn't plan to linger.
To climb higher, he would have to rely on his Martial Dao Dharma Image or the Kongtong Seal. That wouldn't help temper his body; it would only waste time.
The Sage's Barrier on the Shore of the East Sea would disappear in another two hundred thousand years. Huang Tian had to make the most of every second.
Protected by his Martial Dao Dharma Image, Huang Tian reached the foot of Buzhou Mountain in an instant.
"Should I leave it for the Human Race, or use it to repair you?"
Looking up at Buzhou Mountain, so tall its peak was beyond sight, Huang Tian felt torn.
Even if he took the God-Slaying Spear now, it wouldn't restore the mountain's long-corroded source.
At most, it would delay Buzhou Mountain's collapse for a while.
When the final battle between the Wu and Yao came, Gonggong would probably still be able to knock Buzhou Mountain down with a headbutt. The only difference would be that his injuries would be worse.
Then Buzhou Mountain would collapse, the waters of the Heavenly River would pour down, and countless living beings would suffer.
But if he used the Great Dao Merit within the Kongtong Seal to restore Buzhou Mountain's source, perhaps he could save it from the calamity of the Wu and Yao.
Was it worth sacrificing a Martial Saint of the Human Race for the mere possibility of saving Buzhou Mountain?
"Simply protecting Buzhou Mountain may not be worth it."
"But there may be a way to achieve both goals!"
"Why has Hongjun grown stronger and stronger, even able to seize the Heaven-Opening Destiny of the Sanqing? Isn't it because Hongjun's Immortal Dao has spread throughout the Prehistoric World?"
"Every being who cultivates Hongjun's Immortal Dao is essentially making a wedding robe for him."
"What if I could attract some beings who cultivate Hongjun's Immortal Dao, as well as some who don't, to cultivate the Human Race's Martial Dao?"
"Ordinary methods of spreading the Dao certainly wouldn't be enough to shake the foundations of Hongjun's Immortal Dao."
"I'm only at the early stage of Martial Saint (Quasi-Saint). Even if I can defy the odds and defeat Quasi-Saint Peak, I can't match the appeal of a Sage."
"But Buzhou Pillar is revered by every being in the Prehistoric World."
"If I leave a Martial Dao inheritance on Buzhou Mountain, the celestial signs brought about by restoring it will surely attract countless beings."
"And if I repair the Buzhou Pillar further, I might even gain more Great Dao Merit."
"In other words, even if I fail, the greatest loss will be enough Great Dao Merit to create one early-stage Martial Saint."
"But if I succeed, I'll gain terrifying destiny, enough to support two or three Human Ancestors (Sages)."
"The only problem is that I'll completely offend Hongjun."
"But so what?"
"Hongjun will never give up scheming against the Human Race. Sooner or later, we'll have to settle things."
"Besides, the destiny of all the countless beings in heaven and earth is limited."
"The more beings cultivate Martial Dao, the fewer will cultivate Immortal Dao."
"As one rises, the other falls. As the Martial Ancestor, I may not have to fear the Ancestor of Immortal Dao!"
Furrowing his brow, Huang Tian stared at Buzhou Mountain and pondered for a hundred years. Then he understood, and delight tugged at the corners of his mouth!
With that thought, Huang Tian no longer hesitated. He summoned the Kongtong Seal.
Golden light spilled across heaven and earth, and a spear wrapped in violent black-and-red energy fell into Huang Tian's palm.
"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"
The God-Slaying Spear circulated terrifying Laws of Slaughter and Law of Destruction on its own, but it couldn't harm Huang Tian's Martial Saint (Quasi-Saint) Early Stage body.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Wielding the God-Slaying Spear, Huang Tian slammed it into Buzhou Mountain and forcibly carved out twelve enormous rectangular stone tablets.
Each was one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred zhang tall, matching the number of the Innate cycle.
"Hum!"
Space trembled, and the Kongtong Seal revealed the Human Race Myriad Manifestations Diagram. The golden Human Race Destiny between heaven and earth grew increasingly majestic.
Under the golden light, immense Great Dao Merit appeared.
In an instant, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi boiled. Wisps of purple qi came from the east, interweaving with the Spiritual Qi in a dreamlike spectacle.
"By the name of me, the Martial Ancestor, I command you!"
"Merge!"
His gaze sharp, Huang Tian let out a shout. The Great Dao Merit before him shone with dazzling golden light.
At the same time, Buzhou Pillar began to tremble violently.
The Pangu Will suddenly surged, fierce and overwhelming, and descended upon Huang Tian.
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