The True Spirit was barely an inch in size, crystal-clear as if carved from lapis lazuli. It was unmistakably a miniature purple lobster, its claws curled inward and its jointed limbs trembling. It hardly looked like an Innate Dao Body at all.
The Lobster True Spirit bobbed in the air, its light flickering as it appeared utterly weak.
Just as it struggled to turn into a streak of light and flee—
"Splash..."
A hazy, illusory river suddenly stretched across the sky without warning.
Countless stars flickered in its waters, appearing and vanishing as the current flowed with the ancient aura of time.
Before the True Spirit could react, a whirlpool suddenly formed in the river and swallowed it whole.
The Purple Shrimp Ancestor's final ripple of divine sense spread across the surface of the river:
"No... This is..."
The True Spirit was the very foundation that allowed cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness to endure countless tribulations without perishing.
The Nascent Soul was merely a vessel through which the True Spirit wielded power, while the physical body was nothing more than a disposable shell and shackle.
So long as even a sliver of the True Spirit remained intact, the cultivator had not truly fallen, even if their Nascent Soul shattered and their body rotted away. They could still seek a chance amid the vast Primordial Wilderness, forge a new Dao Body, and cultivate the Great Dao anew.
Thus, when faced with certain death, cultivators would often stake everything on one desperate gamble: self-destructing their Nascent Soul and physical body to unleash a destructive force that disrupted the workings of heaven and concealed their opponent's senses, all to shield that tiny, vital True Spirit as it escaped.
As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood.
Of course, the path of cultivation anew was incomparably more difficult and perilous than the first time around.
Without an extraordinary, heaven-defying opportunity to protect them, they would have to spend an immeasurably long time starting over. And most who cultivated anew could never reach the heights of their previous life, even by the end of their days.
As the origin of all living beings, the True Spirit was difficult to destroy, but it was not eternally imperishable.
To reduce it to absolute nothingness required either boundless baleful energy or overwhelming force on the level of the laws.
Boundless baleful energy appeared only during a Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth. That terrifying power, capable of eradicating the foundations of all things, was nowhere to be found in ordinary times.
Therefore, in these ordinary years before the Great Tribulation arrived, the only way to erase a cultivator completely from the root of their existence and cut off every chance of reincarnation was to wield the laws one had mastered at the Great Luo Golden Immortal level and utterly destroy them.
The Stream of Time was perfect for that.
This stream contained the Time Law, flowing without end and remaining unchanged through the ages. It was just the thing for... erasing a True Spirit.
At a thought from Donghua, the illusory stream that had carried off the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's True Spirit appeared again, circling around him as reflections of all things appearing and vanishing flowed through it.
"Fellow Daoist," Donghua said slowly, gazing at the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's True Spirit with a trace of killing intent in his eyes. "The karma between us can now be settled."
Deep within the Stream of Time, the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's tiny True Spirit was battered again and again by the ceaseless current of the River of Time.
After a few breaths, the clear radiance of the stream circling Donghua flickered briefly, then returned to its pristine state.
The Purple Shrimp Ancestor's final trace had vanished completely into the eternal passage of time, becoming a part of the ages.
Thus, a Great Luo Golden Immortal who had survived from the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation met his end, body and spirit destroyed, his True Spirit gone.
When one side perished, the karma between them ceased to exist.
With the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's complete demise, the karma between him and Donghua vanished as well.
As for the cultivators below, whether they had originally come coveting the opportunity or had rushed over after hearing rumors, they had already fled in terror when the Purple Shrimp Ancestor's enormous demonic body lost all signs of life and crashed into the sea, raising waves tens of thousands of feet high. They scattered like startled birds and beasts, disappearing without a trace.
A Great Luo Golden Immortal had been slain before their very eyes, body and spirit destroyed, without even his True Spirit escaping!
What were they, mere Taiyi and Golden Immortals, compared to such an existence? Why stay unless they had a death wish?
Donghua stood in the air with his hands behind his back, Pure Yang Qi naturally spreading out to envelop the surroundings.
His gaze calmly swept over several folds in space, and his voice rang clearly through every corner:
"This Daoist is East King Duke, Daoist name Donghua."
"Have you fellow Daoists gathered here because of... the fallen Purple Shrimp Ancestor?"
An aged divine sense came from the void, cautious yet tactful:
"You misunderstand, fellow Daoist. The Purple Shrimp Ancestor angered you and was slain by you; he brought it upon himself. Why would we come for his sake? We were simply drawn by the astonishing display of your power and came to observe."
At that, the faintest curve touched Donghua's lips.
How could he not understand what they were thinking? They had sensed an opportunity appearing and were itching to claim it, but they also feared the power he had just displayed. So they had watched from the shadows, hoping to take advantage of the chaos.
He made no further effort to be courteous. His voice turned abruptly cold, like a frigid wind from the Northern Darkness sweeping through the void:
"If you didn't come for him, then please leave."
His intent to send them away was utterly unmistakable, leaving no room for negotiation.
Then he changed tack, his gaze suddenly sharpening like two tangible swords pointed at the folds in space:
"Or is it... that you all wish to stay and contend with me for this treasure?"
Killing intent flashed in his final words.
The air over the entire sea seemed to vanish in an instant, and even time itself appeared to freeze.
Donghua slowly raised his head and swept his gaze across the area. At the same time, his resplendent Pure Yang Immortal Light ceased to be gentle, bearing down in every direction like a tangible force.
Faced with the undisguised threat and the unnerving Dao rhythm of time, none of the powerful divine senses hidden in the shadows dared to answer.
They couldn't begin to gauge Donghua's strength. From sensing the battle's disturbance to tearing through the air to reach the scene, only a brief moment had passed—and the Purple Shrimp Ancestor, a Great Luo Golden Immortal, had already perished, his True Spirit completely erased!
What kind of terrifying power was that?
In an instant, the divine senses withdrew like a receding tide, leaving not a trace behind.
Then Donghua casually swept his sleeve, collecting everything the Purple Shrimp Ancestor had left behind.
With his True Spirit destroyed, he had reverted to his original form: a Giant Ao Lobster whose entire body shimmered with a deep purple glow. Natural patterns of the Great Dao of Water and the Origin of Corrosive Flow marked its shell.
Even with all signs of life gone, its body still exuded a heart-stopping pressure, faintly stirring the Water Origin Qi across ten thousand miles of sea.
"Worthy of an innate lifeform who attained the Dao in the Dragon-Han era. This shell has been tempered through countless tribulations. It's undoubtedly a superb material for crafting artifacts."
After putting everything away, Donghua moved and stepped into the depths of Tang Valley.
The misty clouds that had shrouded the outskirts had long since dispersed here, and the view opened up. Nothing remained between heaven and earth but the purest, most overwhelming light and heat.
What Donghua didn't know was that the thunder of this battle had already spread throughout the East Sea.
His words became law; a mere flick of his fingers carried time away.
Where karma ended, the years left no trace.
From then on, who in the East Sea had not heard of Venerable Donghua?
Just as Donghua stepped into Tang Valley and the Dao rhythm around him resonated with the Fusang Tree—
Beyond the heavens of the Primordial Wilderness, amid the boundless Sea of Stars—
A golden light of indescribable speed tore through the starry sky, moving faster than the limits of space itself toward a predetermined location.
Wherever it passed, dim ancient stars blazed to life, trailing brilliant tails of light that stretched for tens of millions of miles.
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