Guiyuan's voice grew grand and solemn:
"May I, upon attaining Daluo, sweep away the fiendish energy in the north and restore peace and order to the region!"
"May I, upon attaining Daluo, preach to the living beings of the north and awaken their minds!"
As though making a great vow to some supreme being beyond mortal sight, he drew down boundless might!
He borrowed strength from the future to bring about the result in the present.
Boom—!!!
An indescribable force came pouring in from the northern void and the unseen heavens and earth, empowering Guiyuan.
To Xuanming and Styx's utter astonishment, the aura around Guiyuan, which had been stuck at Peak Primordial Unity, suddenly—
rose without limit, breaking through some invisible boundary in an instant and radiating power like that of the Taowu King.
Though he hadn't truly broken through to a higher realm, with the Great Wish Technique's power to manifest his grand vow, he temporarily gained a trace of Daluo's authority and might!
That tiny trace was enough.
"Xuanyaun Controlling Water Flag! Seal the heavens and lock the earth!"
Guiyuan barked, and the borrowed Daluo-level power surged into the black flag above his head.
"Whoosh—!"
The Xuanyuan Controlling Water Flag erupted with a black radiance unlike anything before.
The flag seemed to transform into the Northern Darkness Sea, spreading across the entire Changbai Mountain range. The boundless phantom sea solidified into chains of water laws.
Bearing supreme power to twist space and suppress all waters, they sealed the fiendish source that was trying to revive—
along with the trace of Daluo's nature within it, confining it in a tiny space!
"Primordial Heavenly Dao! Grind away its true nature!"
Guiyuan thrust out a giant claw. Nine strands of primordial energy appeared once more, but this time—
they contained a trace of Daluo-level authority.
They were no longer mere blasts of energy. Instead, they became a millstone of the most fundamental "Dao," ignoring the fiendish energy's outer defenses.
They pierced straight into the deepest part of the sealed source, locked onto that stubbornly shining trace of Daluo's nature, and ground it down with a vicious turn!
"Crack..."
A faint sound of something breaking at the level of the Great Dao reached Xuanming and Styx's minds with perfect clarity.
The mass of fiendish energy shuddered. The glimmer that represented "immortality" and "hard to kill" abruptly went out, like a candle flickering in the wind!
With its Daluo nature gone, the body that had been writhing in an attempt to recover—
instantly lost all semblance of life. It became nothing but a corpse in the truest sense, with no chance of revival.
Once it was done, the terrifying pressure radiating from Guiyuan's colossal true form, which had surpassed Taiyi, receded like a tide.
His aura rapidly fell, growing even weaker than before.
Clearly, activating the Great Wish Technique and forcibly wielding Daluo-level power had taken a tremendous toll on him.
It wasn't merely a matter of energy. Once he reached Daluo, he would have to fulfill the vow he'd made. Otherwise, the backlash would be even worse.
The Giant Turtle's true form faded, and Guiyuan returned to the appearance of a gray-robed Daoist. His face slightly pale, he landed on the ground and let out a long breath.
He looked at the Taowu corpse, finally and truly dead, and the nearby mass of exceptionally pure Chaos Sha, now devoid of any life, and said calmly:
"That should be dead for good."
Styx and Xuanming stared at him, speechless for a moment.
They hadn't expected Guiyuan to be this powerful. The Daluo power he'd forcibly borrowed, his awe-inspiring true form, his seemingly endless divine abilities—
it had all been completely beyond their expectations.
The next moment—
three streams of Qi of Merit appeared between heaven and earth, more abundant than any they'd seen before—fully five mu in all.
One mu each descended upon Xuanming and Styx, while a full three mu fell upon Guiyuan, bathing him in brilliant golden light.
"Ferocious Beasts really are a blight on heaven and earth. We killed a gravely wounded Daluo Ferocious Beast, and yet we received so much merit?"
Styx and Xuanming also looked delighted. After all, no one ever minded receiving more merit.
It could temper treasures, improve cultivation, or aid in comprehending the Great Dao.
Guiyuan swept his sleeve and drew the merit into his true spirit, where it faintly formed a Golden Wheel of Merit.
Once his aura had steadied, he looked at the Taowu corpse and said:
"We killed this creature together. As for the remaining Daluo soul, the Chaos Sha, and the body, we'll each take one."
His tone was calm. He made no claim to all the credit.
Xuanming snorted, her gaze sweeping over the unsettling mass of fiendish energy. Her voice was cold:
"I don't want any of it." She paused. "I only came because I couldn't stand it defiling the Ancestral Vein left behind by Father God."
With that, she didn't even care for her serious injuries. She gave Guiyuan one last, deep look.
Then she turned into a streak of ghostly light and vanished, covering a thousand miles with every step.
Guiyuan gazed in the direction she'd disappeared, inwardly amused. The Wu Clan certainly had fiery tempers.
They had already agreed to each take a share. Xuanming had planned to take the Daluo body; its blood essence and mixed-in baleful energy would have been useful for tempering her blood essence.
But now, she probably felt she hadn't contributed much, so she'd left without taking anything.
Styx looked awkward.
Guiyuan had done the most in that battle. He even felt that without them, Guiyuan might still have won against the gravely wounded Taowu on his own.
"About that..." Styx didn't know what to say.
Guiyuan saw through his thoughts and smiled indifferently, beckoning with a finger.
The mass of pure Chaos Sha floated over to Styx.
"Fellow Daoist Styx, this should be useful for tempering your swords."
Styx looked at the fiendish energy, which contained a trace of Daluo's nature, then at Guiyuan's open expression. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said:
"Very well! Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
He was straightforward by nature. Since Guiyuan was offering it sincerely, he didn't bother with false modesty.
Yuantu and Abhi rang out behind him, and a rush of blood-red light drew the fiendish energy into their blades.
Having received such a generous gift, Styx's regard for Guiyuan grew. He asked of his own accord, "Fellow Daoist Guiyuan, what do you plan to do next?"
Guiyuan looked over the ruined Ancestral Vein. "I was born in the North Sea. Seeing the north blanketed in fiendish energy and stripped of life fills me with sorrow.
"I came here to sweep away that energy and restore life. Now that Taowu is gone, this is the perfect time to cleanse the Ancestral Vein.
"I plan to establish a Daoist sanctuary here and use it as a base to restore the north."
Admiration flashed in Styx's eyes.
Sweeping away the fiendish energy in the north and repairing its spiritual veins would bring great merit, but it would also be extraordinarily difficult!
Though Taowu was gone, the spiritual veins still held not only the Ferocious Beasts' Chaos Sha but also the blood fiend left behind by years of warfare.
Rooting it out would be extremely difficult. The main danger was that the fiendish energy could taint their foundations; one misstep, and they'd lose more than they gained.
He laughed heartily. "Excellent! With a goal like that, how could I stand by and watch? Count me in! I'll make sure I help you succeed!"
Guiyuan nodded with a smile. "Good! With your help, Fellow Daoist Styx, we'll surely succeed!"
Styx was a born killer. With him helping hunt Ferocious Beasts, they'd surely work much faster. There was no need to begrudge sharing some of the merit.
Restoring the north more quickly would bring Guiyuan far greater benefits.
Guiyuan and Styx descended to the place where Taowu had once made its lair.
Boundless fiendish energy and spiritual energy intertwined there. More importantly, wisps of the Great Dao's resonance emanated from deep within.
"Hm?"
The two entered Taowu's lair and found the source of the Ancestral Vein. A massive stone platform stood there, ancient and imposing, seemingly where Taowu had once rested.
Yet a stone stele floated above the platform. Styx was surprised too. "There's an Innate Treasure here?"
Guiyuan smiled. "This is the source of the north's Ancestral Vein. It would be strange if there weren't any treasures here. Ferocious Beasts can't use treasures and only know how to destroy, so it's no surprise one was left behind."
As they spoke, the two approached the stone stele. The next moment, it transformed into a streak of light and settled into Guiyuan's hand.
"Seems this treasure was fated to be yours, Fellow Daoist."
Styx wasn't the least bit jealous. He smiled and clasped his hands in salute.
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