Suppressing the Great Luo Immortal, His Fame Spreads Through the East Sea

The true spirit was no larger than an inch, crystalline and translucent as if forged from Lapis Lazuli, clearly a miniature purple lobster form—its pincers curled inward, its segmented limbs trembling faintly, with not a trace left of its original innate Dao Body.

This Lobster True Spirit floated and sank in the void, its light flickering unsteadily, appearing utterly withered and feeble.

Just as it struggled to transform into a streak of light and flee...

"Splash..."

A hazy, illusory river stretched across the sky without warning.

Within its waters were reflected the birth and death of countless stars, carrying the weary breath of ages past.

Before the true spirit could react, a whirlpool suddenly churned up from the river, swallowing it whole.

The Purple Shrimp Ancestor's final ripple of divine thought spread across the river's surface in a ring of ripples:

"No... this is..."

The true spirit was the very foundation by which a cultivator of the Primordial Wilderness endured countless tribulations without perishing.

The Primordial Spirit was merely a raft for the true spirit to wield power, and the physical body was nothing but a shackle of flesh that could be discarded at any time.

As long as a single spark of the true spirit remained undimmed, even if the Primordial Spirit collapsed and the flesh decayed, it did not count as true annihilation. One could still seek a thread of opportunity in the vast Primordial Wilderness, reforge a Dao Body, and cultivate the Great Dao anew.

Thus, in desperate straits, cultivators would often stake everything on a single throw—self-destructing their Primordial Spirit and physical body, using the destructive energy unleashed to disrupt the celestial mechanism and blind their opponent's perception, all to shield that fundamental true spirit as it fled.

Keep the green hills, and you'll never lack firewood.

Of course, the path of re-cultivation was perilous and arduous beyond measure—ten thousand times harder than the first journey.

Without the protection of heaven-defying fortune, one would need to spend an incalculable span of ages starting over from scratch, and the vast majority of re-cultivators would never, in their entire lives, reach the heights of their former existence.

The true spirit, as the origin of all living beings, was difficult to extinguish, yet it was not eternally impervious.

To reduce it utterly to nothing required either boundless Sha Qi or the crushing weight of a Law.

Boundless Sha Qi only manifested during the Great Tribulations of heaven and earth. That terrifying power, capable of eroding the very foundation of all things, was simply nowhere to be found in ordinary times.

Thus, in these peaceful years before the Great Tribulation arrived, the only way to erase a cultivator from the root of existence, severing all chance of reincarnation, was to rely on the realm of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, using the Law one commanded to grind them into nothingness.

And the Stream of Time was just right.

This stream contained the Time Law, flowing without cease, unchanging for ten thousand ages—perfect for... grinding away a true spirit.

Donghua's mind stirred, and the illusory stream that had once swept away the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's true spirit materialized in response, coiling around him. Within its flow, reflections of all things' birth and death shimmered.

"Daoist," Donghua said slowly, his gaze fixed on the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's true spirit, a hint of killing intent in his eyes, "the karma between you and me can now be settled."

That single spark of the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's true spirit, deep within the Stream of Time, was ceaselessly scoured by the endless River of Time.

In the span of a few breaths, the stream's clear radiance around Donghua flickered briefly, then returned to purity.

The last trace of the Purple Shrimp Ancestor had completely dissolved into the endless ages, becoming a part of time itself.

Thus, a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal who had survived since the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation was utterly destroyed—body and spirit gone, true spirit no more.

When one side perishes, karma ceases to exist.

With the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's complete fall, the karma between him and Donghua vanished as well.

As for the cultivators below—those who had originally coveted the opportunity or had come upon hearing the news—they had long since scattered in terror, fleeing without a trace, the moment the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's colossal demonic body, drained of all life, crashed into the sea, raising towering waves.

A Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal had been beaten to death before their very eyes—body and spirit annihilated, not even the true spirit escaping!

What were they—mere Taiyi or Golden Immortals—before such an existence, if not ants? To stay would be to court death!

Donghua stood with his hands behind his back in the void, his Pure Yang Qi naturally spreading to cover all directions.

His gaze swept calmly over several folds in the void, and his voice carried clearly to every corner:

"I am the East King Duke, by Dao name Donghua."

"All you fellow Daoists have gathered here—could it be for... the Purple Shrimp Ancestor, who just fell?"

An aged divine thought came from the void, tinged with caution and smoothness:

"You misunderstand, Daoist. The Purple Shrimp Ancestor angered you and was slain by your hand—he brought it upon himself. How could we have come for him? We were merely drawn by your earth-shaking methods and came to observe."

Donghua heard this, and the faintest hint of a curve touched his lips.

He understood their intentions all too well. They had seen a treasure emerge and itched to claim it, yet feared the power he had just displayed, so they lurked in the shadows, hoping to fish in troubled waters.

He wasted no more courtesy. His voice turned abruptly cold, like the northern wind sweeping through the void:

"Since you did not come for him, then please take your leave."

The dismissal in his words was undisguised, with no room for negotiation.

Then, his tone shifted sharply, and his gaze grew piercing, like two solid swords stabbing toward those folds in the void:

"Or perhaps... you wish to stay and contend with me for the ownership of this treasure?"

The final sentence brimmed with killing intent.

The air over the entire sea seemed to be sucked dry in an instant, even time itself appeared to freeze.

Donghua slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across, and at the same time, the blazing Pure Yang Immortal Light was no longer gentle—it pressed down upon all directions like a tangible force.

Several powerful divine senses lurking in the shadows, faced with this undisguised threat and the heart-stirring Dao resonance of time, ultimately dared not respond.

They simply could not fathom Venerable Donghua's depth—from sensing the ripples of battle to tearing through the void and arriving here, only a brief moment had passed, yet Purple Shrimp Ancestor, a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, had already perished, body and soul, with even his true spirit utterly annihilated!

What kind of terrifying means was this?

In an instant, one after another, those divine senses receded like a tide, leaving not a trace behind.

Then, Donghua lightly brushed his sleeve, gathering all that remained after Purple Shrimp Ancestor's fall.

With the extinction of its true spirit, it had reverted to its original form—a giant Ao lobster whose entire body gleamed with a dark purple luster, its carapace naturally bearing the patterns of the Great Dao of Water and the Origin of Corrosive Flow.

Even though its life force had ceased, its shell still radiated a suffocating pressure, faintly stirring the Water Origin Qi of the vast sea for ten thousand li.

"Truly a primordial being who attained the Dao in the Dragon-Han Era—this carapace, tempered through countless kalpas, is absolutely top-grade material for artifact refinement."

Having stored everything away, Donghua's form shifted slightly as he stepped into the depths of the Tang Valley.

The dense clouds and mist that had previously shrouded the periphery had long since dispersed here, the view opening wide, leaving only the purest, most overwhelming light and heat between heaven and earth.

What Donghua did not know was that the thunder of this battle had already spread across the East Sea.

A word spoken, and the Dao followed; between his fingers, time flowed.

Where cause and effect were severed, the years left no trace.

From then on, upon the East Sea, who had not heard of Venerable Donghua?

Just as Donghua stepped into the Tang Valley, his Dao resonance harmonizing with the Fusang Tree in that instant—

In the Primordial Wilderness, the Heaven Beyond Heavens, the endless Sea of Stars.

A streak of golden light, its speed beyond description, tore through the starry sky at a velocity that surpassed the bounds of space, hurtling toward a set coordinate.

Wherever the golden light passed, dim ancient stars were instantly ignited, dragging behind them a brilliant tail of light spanning billions of li.