Chapter 35

A saint's single thought could decide life and death!

A vast celestial river poured down, instantly swallowing him whole.

"Have you made enough of a scene? Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

Dao De Tianzun rebuked them coldly, his blade-like gaze sweeping over Tongtian and Yuanshi.

At his words, the two stopped, and Jieyin and Zhunti also took the opportunity to withdraw.

A direct clash with the Three Pure Ones was hardly a wise choice—after all, the three of them were united, and this was their sacred ground.

"Third Brother, I told you long ago to be more selective with your disciples, but you insisted on teaching without distinction!" Yuanshi transmitted after withdrawing his pressure. "Now you've made a laughingstock of yourself. Let's see how you clean this up!"

He had always despised Tongtian's indiscriminate acceptance of **, and now, with the ** of the Jie Sect disgracing the Three Pure Ones, his fury burned even hotter.

No matter how they tried to explain it...

In the end, Tongtian had failed to discipline them properly!

Lu Tian's actions had been justified to begin with. Tongtian knew he was in the wrong and remained silent. In recent years, the mixed quality of the Jie Sect's members had led to increasingly frequent disputes between him and Yuanshi.

"Duobao, take the Immortal-Slaying Sword and fight him."

"If you disgrace my Jie Sect again, you alone will answer for it."

Tongtian secretly issued the order to his chief **. The Immortal-Slaying Sword had originally been meant as a precaution against experts of the Chan Sect. Who would have thought it would be needed against Lu Tian?

"** will wash away this shame!"

"If I lose, I am willing to accept punishment!"

Duobao bowed as he accepted the order, cold sweat streaming down his back. Victory would restore their reputation, while defeat would bring his master's wrath. Having just witnessed Lu Tian's fierce battle against Zhao Gongming, he truly saw no chance of winning.

Laozi flicked a finger, and the ruined battlefield was restored in an instant.

The great powers watching were still chatting and laughing, but Duobao, standing before Lu Tian, felt as though a mountain weighed upon him.

The Immortal-Slaying Sword in his hand now seemed to weigh a thousand tons.

Fortunately, with the Immortal-Slaying Sword in hand, he could at least ensure that he would not be defeated.

"Daoist Duobao, direct disciple of the Jie Sect, has come to seek your guidance."

Duobao had a round figure and an honest-looking face, and his smile made him seem even more approachable.

Lu Tian cupped his fists in return.

He knew that he would not be able to leave easily today.

In truth...

The most appropriate solution would have been for him to fight with all his strength, then lose to Duobao and leave the Jie Sect enough face.

That way, the Jie Sect could still suppress the Western Teachings at the ** level.

Moreover, Lu Tian was merely the nominal youngest disciple of the Western Teachings. Losing to Duobao would not be particularly humiliating.

Tongtian Jiaozhu would then have no reason to pursue the matter of him killing an outer sect **.

But Lu Tian was unwilling to compromise.

If he lacked the strength and lost to Duobao, he would naturally admit defeat.

But deliberately holding back? Would that not be an insult to the Western Teachings?

The Jie Sect's reputation mattered, but could the dignity of the Western Teachings be treated so cheaply?

"Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist."

Lu Tian's voice was low, carrying a resolute edge.

Duobao nodded and immediately retreated several steps.

"You have just gone through a fierce battle and are not at your peak."

"I will disperse thirty percent of my cultivation, lest anyone say that the Jie Sect took advantage of you."

Before his words had even faded, thirty percent of his Immortal Power truly dispersed from around him!

What the Jie Sect wanted was an impeccable, fair victory!

However...

Duobao had already reached the middle stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm, firmly surpassing Lu Tian by a minor realm.

Cultivation speed was also part of one's strength. That was beyond dispute.

Lu Tian's gaze turned icy.

In an instant, he manifested a two-headed, four-armed Vajra Dharma Form!

All the Dharma treasures around him were unleashed!

A great reputation was never undeserved.

The future Duobao was destined to become the most accomplished among the saints' **!

Upon entering the Western Teachings, he would ascend to the position of Tathagata and preside over the great calamity of Journey to the West. Without the strength to crush all living beings, how could he shoulder such a responsibility?

It would not be an exaggeration to call him the foremost Quasi-Saint of the future!

Facing such a formidable opponent, how could Lu Tian dare lower his guard in the slightest?

Duobao was equally on high alert.

Seeing Lu Tian manifest his Vajra Body, he immediately brought forth four immortal swords and an array diagram!

A chill ran down Lu Tian's spine. Without hesitation, he swung his blade, sending out a crescent-like arc of sharp light!

Annihilation!

He directly burned his lifespan, recreating the ultimate slash that had instantly killed Zhao Gongming!

The Immortal-Slaying Sword!

Bearing Luohu's inheritance, how could he fail to recognize this supreme treasure of the Primordial World?

Back then, Luohu had relied on the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation to battle four opponents of the same realm alone!

Once this formation was completed, it could not be broken without four experts of the same realm!

Not even saints were exceptions!

If Tongtian Jiaozhu were the one to lay the formation, four saints would have to join hands to **!

Once the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation emerged, Daoist Duobao stood in an innately undefeated position!

This foremost disciple of the Jie Sect was no ordinary figure. His mastery of Dharma treasures far surpassed Lu Tian's. Four streams of Immortal-Slaying Sword qi slashed out at once, crashing violently against Lu Tian's blade light. The fierce sword radiance cut away ninety percent of the blade's momentum, and Duobao casually evaded the remaining force.

The moment Duobao's figure vanished into the void—

Golden light flared in Lu Tian's eyes, piercing through illusion and instantly locking onto Duobao's true position.

However, the Immortal-Slaying Formation Diagram had already unfolded!

Four ancient swords guarded the four directions, filling heaven and earth with killing intent!

Jieyin and Zhunti, watching from the mountaintop, exchanged sighs.

Now that the formation was complete, victory and defeat had been decided.

When the gray sword-qi world engulfed Lu Tian, all the great powers looked away.

The Primordial World's foremost killing formation was being used against a Taiyi Golden Immortal?

Even someone as extraordinarily talented as Lu Tian would...

Buddha Light shimmered in Jieyin's palm, while Zhunti concealed Bodhi within his sleeve.

They were ready to intervene and save him at any moment.

Inside the sword-qi world, Lu Tian gripped the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner tightly.

Every incoming sword light was comparable to Duobao's full-force strike!

What was even more terrifying was—

The sword qi was endless!

When the first sword beam struck the banner's surface, the entire treasure banner shook violently.

Immediately afterward, tens of thousands of sword lights poured down like rain!

Lu Tian did not dare relax in the slightest. He drove the Kunyuan Dao Robe with all his strength, gathering vast Earth Vein power into a sturdy barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sword qi struck the Earth Vein barrier one after another, causing the entire land to tremble and crack!

In the distance.

Daoist Duobao seemed to stand within a ** world, calmly controlling the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

He had not yet fully grasped the true essence of this formation.

His Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation meant that he had to focus completely just to barely control the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

With a change in his sword seal, another thousand streams of fierce sword qi shot straight toward the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner!

The offensive surged like a tide, giving Lu Tian no chance to catch his breath.

Even with the dual protection of the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner and the Kunyuan Dao Robe, Lu Tian was still ** into a dead end!

A genuine dead end.

He seemed able to rely on the spiritual treasures to hold on bitterly, yet he could never find a way to strike back.

If this stalemate continued, he would never have any chance of victory!

A way to break the deadlock...

Where exactly was it?

Lu Tian's thoughts raced.

Of everything he had learned in his life, what could resolve this crisis?

Dao Enlightenment in Dreams?

An illusion blending reality and falsehood?

All useless!

That fierce Blade Technique?

There was no way to use it at all!

His newly comprehended pupil technique?

His eyes shone with strange light. Though he could see both the formation's core and Duobao's location, it was of no use.

The mysteries of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation were not difficult to understand—

The key to breaking it lay in the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and the formation diagram!

If he could shake even one of them, the formation would break on its own.

But what good was knowing that?

He... could not do it.

Even in this desperate situation, Lu Tian continued thinking bitterly.

Even if defeat was already certain, he would fight until the very last moment!

Either break through Duobao's defenses, or exhaust his Immortal Power. Otherwise, he would never concede!

He madly drove his Immortal Power, maintaining the protective might of the two spiritual treasures.

Time passed slowly.

Every instant felt like torment.

Since joining the Western Teachings, he had never again fallen into such a desperate situation.

The light of victory was impossibly distant.

Day and night turned in succession.

For three full days and nights, Lu Tian remained trapped within the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation!

At this moment.

The great powers watching from the clouds had already come to understand Lu Tian's persistence.

Quite a few cultivators nodded slightly, their eyes filled with approval.

"This Lu Tian does resemble Jieyin and Zhunti in some ways. His Dao heart is truly unshakable."

"Hmph! Duobao's methods are practically shameless. Even if Lu Tian loses, he still deserves to be called a hero!"

"How is that shameless? Does Lu Tian have fewer Innate Spiritual Treasures in his hands?"

"Absurd! How could that pile of Dharma treasures compare to the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation? The four swords alone are extraordinary, and with a killing formation laid out, they are simply not on the same level!"

"To hold on until now, even defeat would be enough to comfort him for a lifetime."

"You are all focused on Lu Tian, but Duobao has controlled the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation with Taiyi Realm cultivation for this long. Does that not deserve praise?"

The great powers of the heavens argued without end.

This battle could be called an unprecedented peak showdown in the history of the Taiyi Realm!

All the cultivators said the same thing: though Lu Tian had lost, his honor remained!

Yet Lu Tian did not see it that way.

For one caught within the battle, victory and defeat were life and death.

Defeat was defeat. What excuse could there be?

Therefore—

He would never concede.

Even if his oil ran dry and his lamp was extinguished, he would fight until the final chapter!

"Duobao is only at the middle stage of Taiyi..."

"Does the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation truly have no flaw at all?"

Golden flames blazed in Lu Tian's eyes, but his breathing grew heavier and heavier.

The spiritual light of the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner had dimmed, and the Earth Vein power of the Kunyuan Dao Robe was nearly exhausted.

For three full days, he had endured thousands of Immortal-Slaying sword qi every breath—each carrying the power of Duobao's full-force strike!

For the first time, the Moon Washing Blade trembled in his hand.

This blade cultivator's crown had long since shattered. Bloodshot eyes gleamed terrifyingly bright amid his disheveled hair.

On the mountaintop, Jieyin and Zhunti's knuckles had turned white.

As they watched that swaying figure, they vaguely saw themselves when they had first stepped out of the West—

Two cultivators with no one to rely on, using the West's barren resources to stand against the heroes of the East.

At this moment, the protective divine light around Lu Tian was cracked like a spiderweb, yet he still stood with his back straight. Beneath that bedraggled exterior was an unyielding Dao bone that moved even saints.

Nuwa, the Three Pure Ones, Fuxi, Di Jun, Taiyi, Styx, Red Cloud, Zhenyuanzi...

Which of these supreme beings of the Primordial World had not looked down upon heaven and earth?

They too had endured countless hardships.

Yet they had never lightly spoken of giving up.

They had reached the pinnacle only through hearts that never conceded defeat!

At this moment, they saw that same radiance in Lu Tian.

Disciple...

Had he glimpsed that sliver of hope?

He must not miss this sole opportunity...

Only ten percent of his magic power remained...

Lu Tian examined himself inwardly and felt victory becoming ever more difficult.

The Five Elements generated one another in an endless cycle.

At the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, supplemented by the Five Elements Body, his magic power should have recovered without end.

In an ordinary battle, it would not have been strange for two evenly matched Taiyi Golden Immortals to fight for a hundred years.

But this was different.

His expenditure was far too severe.

Earlier, his recovering magic power had still been enough to sustain him, but now his income could no longer cover his losses.

Before long, he would likely run dry.

My Five Elements Body was forged from five Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures. It far surpasses Duobao's!

Before the battle began, Duobao dispersed thirty percent of his magic power himself. He must be nearing his limit as well!

Lu Tian's gaze flashed like lightning as he fixed his eyes on Duobao.

Duobao too was drenched in sweat.

Indeed, Duobao had little magic power left as well.

Relying on the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner and the Kunyuan Dao Robe, Lu Tian had withstood the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation for three days and three nights!

Duobao had likewise driven the sword formation to attack with all his strength for three days and three nights!

However, Duobao was in slightly better condition.

As the attacker, he occasionally had chances to catch his breath, while Lu Tian did not dare relax in the slightest—no one knew when Duobao might suddenly strike!