This was the terror of attaining the Dao through the flesh: the mighty power of heaven and earth became one's own.
Chapter 77: Wu Shang
Boom...
Above the firmament, thunder arose from the collision of extreme Dao divine power, yet it could not descend, swallowed once more by the rifts in the void.
After taking another punch from Lin Yue, An Lan's Immortal Escape exploded outright.
"I am An Lan, an Immortal King! I stand at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao and shall be invincible in this world! Red Peak Spear! Immortal Body Shattering! Die!"
An Lan's golden war spear thrust at him again. The cold glint at its tip held the sharpest kingly will in all creation, even manifesting the extinction and rebirth of heaven and earth. He, too, had comprehended rebirth amid destruction. How could a supreme king of his generation be weaker than another?
"Heavenly Slaughter!"
Lin Yue threw a punch, his yin and yang energies and Life-and-Death Ultimate Intent contending with that power. The impact cracked An Lan's kingly body and sent him flying backward, his kingly blood staining the firmament. Raising a hand, Lin Yue slapped away the invincible sword light unleashed by Immortal King Yu Tuo.
"Heaven and Earth as One! Soul Hooking and Spirit Drawing!"
Immortal King Yin Sha unleashed his secret art even as his body split apart.
His body became heaven and earth. The void was stripped away, forming something like a barrier around the region. Endless killing intent began to radiate from heaven and earth, and countless enormous black hands formed in the void. They passed straight through Lin Yue's Dao-attained flesh, ignoring it entirely, and tugged at his primordial spirit.
"Cough... cough..."
Yin Sha coughed up blood. Using this secret art that surpassed even supreme Immortal Kings caused the light of his primordial spirit to dim. He was paying with his life to seize Lin Yue's primordial spirit and soul-a truly heaven-defying feat.
"Martial Dao Divine Infant, suppress them!"
Cold sweat poured from Lin Yue in an instant. The martial Dao divine infant within him rose to its feet, radiating golden light that destroyed every black hand.
"Yin-Yang Eye-Shocking Tribulation! Open!"
Black-and-white divine light slashed out, forcing back the three kings advancing together. Then he threw a punch and blasted Yin Sha backward.
Lin Yue felt a little drained. That had truly been close. For that instant, his entire body had been like rootless duckweed, with nowhere to exert its strength. Supreme Immortal Kings were terrifying indeed; they possessed power capable of threatening a giant.
His opponents were in no better shape. Grinding Lin Yue into oblivion was no simple task. Their kingly bodies had cracked under his divine fists.
"Hmph, kill! Heaven and earth are boundless! Shatter all and Return to the Void!"
"Does this man never run out of strength? Damn monster."
Immortal King Gu Xiu was close to losing his composure. That invincible divine power was practically inexhaustible. Many of his sword beams could not even leave a mark on Lin Yue, being ground away by the divine power radiating through his body. Only an all-out eruption could briefly slow Lin Yue's movements, but even a supreme king could not endure such endless exertion.
Lin Yue, by contrast, unleashed extreme Dao divine power with every attack. Without a means of injuring him, they might even be ground into oblivion. A giant's terrifying suppressive might filled them with horror.
"Die!"
Lin Yue seemed to grow fiercer the longer he fought. Divine power spread throughout his body, and his Life-and-Death Ultimate Intent and yin and yang energies suppressed the universe. The three could barely fend him off now, their kingly bodies cracking further.
"Heavenly Slaughter!"
Before the three could react, still flying backward, his divine fist was almost upon them again.
"Enough of your arrogance!"
Without any warning, a figure emerged from the void, his presence shaking heaven and earth. Astonishing killing intent tore through the void atop a halberd that towered into the heavens!
It was an unparalleled strike, transcending the constraints of time and space, its power even surpassing the realm of Immortal Kings!
Immortal Kings An Lan and Yu Tuo emerged from the void behind the man. Clearly, he was the reinforcement they had summoned!
In an instant, the formless void surged like a storm-tossed sea, then caved inward. The collision of ultimate forces warped every place their energy reached! Heaven and earth lost their color, all things turned to ash, and even the stars were shaken into dust!
The incomparably domineering Heavenly Slaughter divine fist and the heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating Bronze Battle Halberd seemed evenly matched! Neither could overcome the other!
Crimson demonic energy rose from the Bronze Battle Halberd. It was exceedingly strange, capable of resisting and rebounding all things, even contending with the yin and yang energies and Life-and-Death Ultimate Intent upon Lin Yue's divine fist!
Endless energy was extinguished beneath their attacks.
When the collapsed void settled, Lin Yue was already deep within the encirclement of the kings!
The figure at their head-no, he should have been called a demon lord, for his imposing might was truly overwhelming.
His kingly majesty pressed down on heaven and earth.
His presence shook the firmament.
He held a bronze halberd.
His divine power shattered the heavens!
Crimson blood energy encircled his entire body, eroding the laws of heaven and earth. No divine marks could gather, and no ancient art could approach him! Even he himself seemed to be part of the laws of the Great Dao.
Immune to divine abilities, Unaffected by All Laws.
He was a supreme king of the Foreign Realm, a giant, one of its most ancient experts, and a member of its strongest Emperor Clan. His very existence was an ancient history, his origins astonishing. He was even half a generation senior to some Immortal Kings!
"Senior!"
"Senior Wu Shang!"
"My name is Wu Shang. Man of the Nine Heavens, give me your true name!"
Wu Shang, an Immortal King of the Foreign Realm, was an expert who looked down upon heaven and earth. Proud to his very bones and unmatched in battle, he deemed few worthy of his regard. Yet now, he had volunteered his true name!
He had felt the power within Lin Yue's divine fist just now. It was indeed incomparably domineering and unparalleled in the world. Moreover, his opponent was a king with an invincible physical body, just like him. Who knew how long it had been since he last encountered such an opponent?
Immortal King Wu Shang?
World-shaking divine power, Law Immunity, and an invincible physical body—another giant! No wonder he blocked my extreme Dao punch! Lin Yue understood. Such an unrivaled expert had actually arrived!
In the original story, Wu Shang had shown no fear even when facing death at Number Ten's hands! He had stayed behind alone to cover the retreat. Such courage, such an invincible man-the Foreign Realm had them too!
"Lin Yue, it will all come to nothing in the end. So what if your physical body is invincible? You will still have to make a journey through reincarnation!"
Immortal King An Lan had regained his former arrogance! Once again, he was that peerless king at the pinnacle of immortality!
"Hmph, my name is Lin Yue. Come, Wu Shang!"
"Stand back. I will handle this myself!"
Hearing Lin Yue speak, Wu Shang, proud to his very bones, issued his command.
With the dignity of a supreme king, he would not permit anyone else to interfere in such a battle. That would be an insult to him!
The others exchanged looks, then halted their advance. This senior's words were not easily defied!
"Kill!"
Immortal King Wu Shang's hair flew as he swung the Bronze Battle Halberd and charged. Crimson blood energy upon its blade radiated terrifying power, stirring the order of laws and tearing aside time and the ages as it cleaved straight at Lin Yue!
"Well met! Martial Dao True Intent, Yin-Yang Turning Wheel!"
The countless deities within him, each bearing Lin Yue's likeness, began to erupt with brilliant immortal light. Upon his divine fist, yin and yang energies intertwined with Life-and-Death Ultimate Intent, naturally giving rise to lightning. His divine fist, like a pillar supporting the heavens, roared across heaven and earth.
Boom...
Immortal King Wu Shang's ferocious might overshadowed the world, his divine power invincible. His great halberd swept through the sky, immune to divine abilities and laws!
His attack manifested only the utmost divine power in its purest, strongest essence! Though he was alone, he thrust out his great halberd and bore the might of Lin Yue's divine fist head-on, forcibly stopping Lin Yue's invincible flesh!
Both possessed absolute confidence in their physical bodies. Their battle at the kingly realm became a direct contest of divine power. Precious arts and divine abilities were useless against either of them.
Whether it was Wu Shang's Law Immunity or the undying nature of Lin Yue's yin and yang energies, which dissolved all divine marks, both were Unaffected by All Laws. Wu Shang's ability resembled resistance to divine abilities, while Lin Yue's power devoured and dissolved them, dismantling divine abilities and secret arts. The result was the same! This was also why the kings earlier had felt so stifled!
Only power surpassing the utmost limit could breach their defenses.
With every collision, even the energy spilling freely from their blows reduced nearby stars to dust! Such physical bodies were simply horrifying. While the kings of the Foreign Realm marveled at Wu Shang's terrifying bodily divine power, they were equally shocked by Lin Yue's flesh!
Their clash was far too heaven-defying. Wind and clouds began to gather across heaven and earth, and extreme Dao divine power raised vortices that stirred the laws.
At first, the River of Time manifested only a few times. In the end, it actually lingered within Great Red Heaven, manifesting in the domains surrounding them.
Chapter 78: A Battle Unmatched Through the Ages
Now, their terrifying divine power in battle prevented the River of Time from disappearing. It remained manifested at the very summit of the firmament above where they stood! Like a river forming a curtain across the heavens, it imprinted their battling figures and reflected them throughout all heavens!
Countless eyes even peered through the River of Time to watch this battle! There were kings, low-level cultivators who could make out only blurred figures, and beings of later ages who, through chance encounters with fragments of time, witnessed this battle!
"Who is fighting? They are actually affecting our present age! This defies heaven!"
Within the manifested River of Time, a peerless divine figure spoke, his voice passing directly through the river into this age! Behind him lay endless waves and countless stars. Every rising wave shattered lifeless primordial stars. Yet even someone as unrivaled as he dared not interfere lightly. No one could bear such karma!
"Are people of a later age fighting? They have actually manifested in our era through the River of Time. These are supreme existences! To think such powerful people would arise in later ages. Remarkable!"
That voice from ancient history filled them with horror.
More startled cries rang out from within the River of Time.
"Heavens! This is too heaven-defying! I never imagined this secret realm would contain not only such an extraordinary ancient artifact, but crystallized fragments of time as well. We can even glimpse a battle from ages past! Are these people immortals? Or beings higher still? Immortals really do exist! My path is right, hahaha...! I can definitely become an immortal!"
Even the kings of the Foreign Realm were stunned. This surpassed their understanding of kings, as though they were not in the same realm at all. Giants of the kingly realm were actually this terrifying!
Both Lin Yue and Immortal King Wu Shang had refined their physical bodies to the utmost. Lin Yue in particular had already formed a world within himself, cycling infinitely. Inexhaustible power made every blow an eruption of utmost divine power, even surpassing the limits, as though another Great Dao were about to emerge. This was precisely what it meant for overwhelming strength to work miracles.
As for Wu Shang, he possessed more than the divine ability of Law Immunity. His physical body was equally invincible. Even his flesh alone could meet the standard required to become a king.
"Immortal-Slaying Battle Halberd! Immortal-Slaughtering Emperor-Slaying! Lin Yue, die!"
Immortal King Wu Shang unleashed his divine essence, demonic energy rising throughout his body. He drove his supreme divine power into a supreme killing strike! This was a blow Wu Shang believed could slay an emperor, terrifying beyond measure!
Even the manifested River of Time shook! It drew forth karma that did not belong to this age. His divine power truly coursed through past and present!
Upon the terrifying halberd blade, a divine light like one that cleaved heaven and earth apart swept across the firmament of Great Red Heaven. The gods retreated, and all things recoiled.
Whoosh...
Wherever the divine light passed, the void was cleaved open. Heaven and earth split into upper and lower layers that drew endlessly apart. The mighty power of this halberd strike shook the heavens; it actually sliced all of Great Red Heaven into two halves.
The void could no longer heal. The upper half rose into the sky, while spreading chaos energy filled the severed void, forming a heaven beyond heaven. One halberd strike had opened heaven and earth-terrifying indeed.
"Heaven and earth are boundless! Shatter all and Return to the Void!"
Within Lin Yue's divine universes, the martial Dao divine infant pulsed. Like a supreme commander, it mobilized the countless Cave Heaven deities bearing Lin Yue's likeness, making them rise from their cross-legged seats. Terrifying divine essence, wreathed in invincible immortal radiance, unleashed an incomparably domineering punch!
With that single blow, their power was swallowed by the River of Time. Immortal King Wu Shang retreated, his entire arm numb. He was stunned. How many epochs had it been? Never had he met such an opponent, one against whom he could gain not the slightest advantage despite fighting with all his strength.
Moreover, unlike him, his opponent lacked a king-realm primordial spirit. He relied entirely on the extreme Dao divine power of his flesh to crush all arts! Such a physical body was rare throughout the ages and was already approaching the point of surpassing his own. His opponent was even nourishing himself through battle, steadily growing stronger.
Lin Yue's brows were tightly knit as well. A giant of the kingly realm indeed-Wu Shang's divine power reached the heavens. Even attaining the Dao through the flesh, the highest body-tempering realm of the human immortal martial Dao, could not give him an advantage. It truly defied heaven!
Moreover, his opponent's king-realm primordial spirit was astonishing. Its terrifying recovery power left even Lin Yue helpless against him. From another perspective, such a primordial spirit was no less formidable than the divine universes within Lin Yue.
One had attained the Dao through the flesh; the other possessed an invincible physical body. It seemed neither could gain the upper hand in the short term.
"Again!"
"Kill!"
Immortal King Wu Shang was exhilarated. He felt no fear at encountering someone with such a powerful body. He was delighted, in fact. This battle had shown him a different path, because someone had successfully walked it. It gave him the possibility of advancing further. Had they not been enemies, he would truly have wished to sit down with Lin Yue after their battle and discuss the Dao. What a pity.
He swung his battle halberd again and charged at Lin Yue. Across the Great Red Land, the fractured chasms widened further, the impacts of their power nearly tearing it apart.
"Heavenly Slaughter!"
"Emperor-Slaying!"
Having attained the Dao through the flesh, Lin Yue grew fiercer the longer he fought. Even in a head-on contest of divine power with Wu Shang, he yielded no ground.
Blood appeared on both their bodies, and their precious flesh began to crack. Yet Wu Shang discovered that his own body was splitting more severely. He had lost by half a measure in terms of physical strength. Perhaps it should have been said that, as expected of a giant of the kingly realm, he could fight this far against Lin Yue, who had attained the Dao through the flesh. But his opponent possessed more than merely invincible flesh; there was also the power of the primordial spirit.
Lin Yue threw another punch to meet Wu Shang's thrusting halberd. Suddenly, something felt wrong throughout his body. Someone was launching a sneak attack, and his heart jolted.
"Heaven and Earth as One! Soul Hooking and Spirit Drawing!"
Seeing Lin Yue tied down by Wu Shang, with someone holding the line and able to wound him, Immortal King Yin Sha could no longer tolerate the prolonged stalemate. He directly expended his vital essence to unleash a secret art surpassing supreme kings, tugging at Lin Yue's primordial spirit.
As Yin Sha struck, the other kings understood without a word and simultaneously unleashed their strongest secret arts.
"Hmph! Soul-Shaking Sword Strike!"
"Red Peak Spear, Immortal Body Shattering!"
"Fire of heaven and earth, burn all Daos to nothing!"
With Lin Yue's soul fluctuating and his primordial spirit unstable, this combined strike blasted even him away and injured his primordial spirit.
"Aaah...! Martial Dao Divine Infant, suppress it! Wu Shang...! You despicable scoundrels, die! Martial Dao True Intent, Yin-Yang Turning Wheel!"
Before you continue