No. Heaven and earth did not need a powerful, eternal protagonist. The human race only needed to reproduce quickly and turn over quickly. There was no need for them to possess overly great strength.
If they became too strong, they would be difficult to control in the future. After some plotting, their foundation would have to be severed!
There was no rush. This calamity had only lasted three hundred thousand huiyuan; it was still far from the descent of Calamity Qi. Once the Calamity Qi descended and the human race was dragged into the calamity, everything would be resolved.
Who cared how many Great Luo Immortals or thousands of Golden Immortals there were? Once they entered the calamity, they would all be reduced to ashes!
Zhunti withdrew his gaze and resumed his sermon. All manner of profound Dao rhymes rose up, and the power of the three thousand laws was clearly displayed before everyone. The disciples seated below listened with rapt attention, their auras slowly rising.
Central Phoenix Mountain. News of Jiang Haofeng's breakthrough spread throughout the Human Hidden Lineage, instantly raising their morale as the entire hidden lineage cheered.
Countless years had passed, and the human race was no longer the ignorant race it had once been. Everyone knew perfectly well what a Great Luo Immortal represented.
That was a Grand Luo Golden Immortal. Within the Witch Clan, such a figure would be a Great Witch commanding one side; in the Heavenly Court, one would be a demon god commanding one side. In any force, they were unquestionably among its core members and the foundation of its strength!
After the celebration, the entire human race was filled with enthusiasm for cultivation. Everyone threw themselves into training with complete confidence.
As time passed, the Innate Humans of the Visible Lineage gradually learned of Jiang Haofeng's breakthrough as well. Suiren, Da Chao, Zhisheng, and the others all returned to offer their congratulations. Zhisheng, in particular, was even happier than if she herself had broken through.
The human race had produced its first Grand Luo Golden Immortal who had not relied on merit to advance, filling the entire race with confidence. The fifty Innate Humans who had been created first were especially encouraged, cultivating with great anticipation.
Haofeng could break through to the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm. Their talent was no worse than Haofeng's; they simply would not be as fast as him. So what if they needed to cultivate for several tens of thousands more huiyuan?
The primordial world did not count years, and time slowly flowed on.
Ten thousand huiyuan later, Jiang Haofeng used the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book to deduce a prototype battle formation. By gathering the strength of five hundred Golden Immortals and pairing it with a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal, it could unleash power comparable to a Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
Jiang Haofeng looked at the prototype battle formation before him, his face full of emotion.
It truly had not been easy. The Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book excelled at imitation and deduction, but imitation was far simpler than deduction. He could learn the Nine Revolutions Profound Art after watching it for a while, and once he had learned it, deducing the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture was also quite simple.
Yet deducing a battle formation method from nothing was genuinely difficult. Unless absolutely necessary in the future, he should not casually attempt deductions. Learning something already established would suffice, or he could innovate only after learning related material. The time required would fall dramatically.
If he ever had a chance to observe the Twelve Capital Celestial Gods Array, the difficulty of deduction would likely decrease greatly. However, Jiang Haofeng did not have the time to wait until then. The sooner it was completed, the sooner the human race's strength could rise by a great margin.
With a foundation in place, the difficulty of deduction dropped sharply. In less than one huiyuan, the human race's first battle formation was completely deduced!
Central Phoenix Mountain!
The Human Hidden Lineage had gathered here. At the center of the crowd, Zhuxiang, a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal, led five hundred peak Golden Immortal Innate Humans in circulating baleful qi. In an instant, crimson baleful qi swept out, forming a cloud of baleful qi in the sky. Terrifying baleful qi howled through the void, and the immense pressure directly surpassed even Jiang Haofeng, a Grand Luo Golden Immortal!
"Kill!"
Five hundred Golden Immortals roared in unison. Vast baleful qi gathered upon Zhuxiang, and his aura surged layer upon layer. Blood-colored baleful qi wound around him as his violent aura stirred heaven and earth. Gales howled across all of Central Phoenix Mountain, yet all this was merely the eruption of Zhuxiang's aura.
Jiang Haofeng's eyes lit up. With a lift of his hand, a Taiji Diagram appeared in the void. Mysterious light flashed around them, and everyone found themselves in a world filled with sweeping yellow sand. This was a formation world within the Two Forms Micro Dust Great Array.
"Zhuxiang, let's spar."
"Alright!"
A sharp light flashed through Zhuxiang's eyes as Heaven-Battling Earth-Fighting Battle Intent erupted from him. He activated the divine ability Heaven and Earth Manifestation, and his body instantly expanded. In the blink of an eye, he had grown to one hundred thousand zhang tall.
As his body expanded, Zhuxiang's aura surged several times over!
With the divine ability Heaven and Earth Manifestation, one's strength grew along with one's body. At one hundred thousand zhang tall, Zhuxiang had clearly cultivated Heaven and Earth Manifestation to the major achievement stage.
Jiang Haofeng nodded in satisfaction. Zhuxiang's talent in martial arts was absolutely among the greatest in the human race. Within the Human Hidden Lineage, aside from himself, Zhuxiang and the others possessed the greatest strength.
Baleful qi surged around Jiang Haofeng as his body rapidly expanded. In the blink of an eye, he too became one hundred thousand zhang tall. Jiang Haofeng had cultivated Heaven and Earth Manifestation to perfection; when used at full strength, it could expand his body to one million zhang and raise the power within him to an outrageous level.
However, this was merely a spar. There was no need to fight with all his strength.
"Haofeng, be careful!"
Zhuxiang gave a warning and threw a punch. The baleful qi gathered within his body condensed, and as his fist shot out, heaven and earth changed color while terrifying power shook the void.
Jiang Haofeng's expression did not change. He casually raised a hand and caught that earthshaking punch.
"Attack with everything you have. Don't worry about hurting me."
Zhuxiang's previous punch had only drawn upon thirty percent of the baleful qi within him. It had barely reached the threshold of the Great Luo realm and posed no threat whatsoever to Jiang Haofeng.
Though Jiang Haofeng was still only in the early Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, what he cultivated was the complete Nine Revolutions Profound Art. His combat power was unmatched among those of the same realm. The human race's Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture possessed only eighty percent of the complete Nine Revolutions Profound Art's power.
Even within the Witch Clan, there were few witches who cultivated the complete Nine Revolutions Profound Art. Many cultivated the simplified version, which possessed only seventy percent of the complete version's power.
Jiang Haofeng estimated that only Xing Tian, Da Yi, Jiu Feng, Xiang Liu, Kuafu, and the like cultivated the complete version. Most Great Witches cultivated the simplified version as well.
After all, this was a profound art passed down from Great God Pangu. Even the simplified version was enough to reign supreme among those of the same realm in battle!
"Alright!"
Seeing Jiang Haofeng receive his attack so effortlessly, Zhuxiang instantly discarded his hesitation.
He stepped forward, baleful qi churning around him. The baleful qi from five hundred peak Golden Immortals was instantly mobilized in full. As he threw a punch, endless baleful qi washed through the void.
Jiang Haofeng's eyes lit up as he activated his Great Witch Treasure Body. Indestructible mysterious light rippled across his body, while immense baleful qi churned within him. At the same time, he threw a punch.
The two enormous fists collided like two stars crashing together. Terrifying shockwaves swept outward, and a visible ring of light spread through the air. Yellow sand for a million li around them was flung into the sky, while the ground beneath them seemed to form a massive basin spanning one hundred thousand li.
Zhuxiang looked at Jiang Haofeng, who had not retreated a single step and was evenly matched with him, and a trace of admiration flashed through his eyes. As expected of Haofeng. His aura was clearly weaker than Zhuxiang's, yet his strength was not inferior in the slightest.
He was truly incredible!
"Hah!"
With that thought, Zhuxiang threw another punch. At the instant he struck, an abstruse law spread out, and an enigmatic aura capable of shattering all things erupted from his fist.
Martial divine ability—Mountain Collapse Earth Split!
One of the nine great martial divine abilities Jiang Haofeng had passed down in the past!
"Good!"
Jiang Haofeng likewise met it with the divine ability Mountain Collapse Earth Split.
The two divine abilities collided. In an instant, space itself was torn apart, cracks spread across the earth, and the world condensed by the Two Forms Micro Dust Great Array shook violently as though it might shatter at any moment.
Jiang Haofeng and Zhuxiang both staggered back several steps before stabilizing themselves.
At the same time, a flash of yellow light swept through heaven and earth, and the world returned to normal.
This was the formation power of the Two Forms Micro Dust Great Array. As the foremost trapping formation of the primordial world, it contained Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds. The Great Thousand Worlds endlessly cycled, and with the Life and Death Springs serving as the formation core of Central Phoenix Mountain's array, let alone two Grand Luo Golden Immortals, even two Quasi-Saints would find it extremely difficult to break free once trapped within.
Barely damaging one world did not even count as a superficial wound to the great array. Forget causing a little damage—even if they shattered that world outright, it would be no more than a trivial loss to the array.
As long as one could not shatter all Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds in a single instant, one could not escape. The faster one destroyed them, the faster the array restored them!
"Again!"
After another evenly matched clash, battle intent erupted from Zhuxiang's eyes. His Heaven-Battling Earth-Fighting martial true intent was pushed to its limit. He slashed out with his palm, the power of laws capable of destroying all things swirling within it. He had clearly activated another divine ability.
Jiang Haofeng smiled faintly and flashed forward to meet him.
Two giants standing one hundred thousand zhang tall battled within the world of yellow sand. Every fist and palm carried mighty divine power; with each move, the power of laws swirled around them, and all manner of divine abilities came at their fingertips. They fought until yellow sand filled heaven and earth and winds and clouds rolled backward, leaving the surrounding humans of the hidden lineage boiling with excitement.
After several thousand exchanges, Zhuxiang still showed no intention of using his final move. Just as Jiang Haofeng was about to remind him, he saw that Zhuxiang's eyes were filled with battle intent. The longer they fought, the stronger his battle intent became, and the sharper his attacks grew.
This kid wanted to defeat him.
Jiang Haofeng laughed inwardly. The kid certainly had lofty ambitions.
At once, Jiang Haofeng willed it, and the major achievement-level Mountain Collapse Earth Split in his hand silently changed into the perfected level.
When fist and palm collided, Zhuxiang's divine ability was directly dispersed. Jiang Haofeng's palm drove straight through and lightly pressed against Zhuxiang's chest.
In the next instant, the law of strength that destroyed all things spread out. The baleful qi gathered within Zhuxiang's body was directly scattered, and a cloud of blood mist instantly exploded around him. That was the baleful qi condensed by five hundred Golden Immortals, the support that allowed Zhuxiang to challenge a Grand Luo as a Grand Unity, yet Jiang Haofeng had blasted it from his body with a single palm!
Zhuxiang crashed heavily into the ground, sinking deeply into the yellow sand.
In an instant, heaven and earth fell silent. The surrounding humans of the hidden lineage stared in shock. As expected of Ancestor Haofeng—he was truly formidable.
Once he got serious, he could defeat Zhuxiang in a single move, even with the support of military spirit.
Jiang Haofeng chuckled. Cultivation, divine abilities, and Magic Treasures—the three most important elements—were each crucial. If cultivated to their limits, any one of them could play a decisive role.
With the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Book, nearly every divine ability Jiang Haofeng possessed had reached perfection. Only the divine ability Heaven Opening Earth Splitting was currently at the minor achievement stage. This divine ability was far too profound. What he had obtained from Xing Tian back then had merely been enough for an introduction. Even after cultivating and deducing it for so many huiyuan, he had only reached the minor achievement stage.
Moreover, the minor achievement stage was already Jiang Haofeng's current limit. With his Grand Luo Golden Immortal cultivation, he could only sustain a minor achievement-level divine ability for now. Beyond that, he would need even greater cultivation to support it.
To cultivate Heaven Opening Earth Splitting to major achievement, he would need to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Profound Art to its seventh revolution at minimum. As for the perfected level, he feared it would require the profound art's eighth revolution or above.
Returning to the matter at hand, with many divine abilities at his command, all of them at the perfected level, few among the same realm could rival Jiang Haofeng. Not merely those of the same realm—with his complete Nine Revolutions Profound Art and several perfected divine abilities, few in the Great Luo realm could suppress him.
The combat power Zhuxiang had displayed had already reached the middle Great Luo realm, yet Jiang Haofeng could easily block it without using his full strength. With a small burst of power, he could defeat him. This was the difference in foundation.
Jiang Haofeng raised a hand and pulled Zhuxiang out of the ground. Zhuxiang was still somewhat dazed. Although Jiang Haofeng had held back in that final palm strike, Zhuxiang's martial treasure body at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm had still been unable to withstand it. The baleful qi in his body still could not gather, and his chest faintly ached.
"Haofeng, you're so strong!"
Zhuxiang rubbed his chest as he spoke.
"You comprehended Mountain Collapse Earth Split to perfection just now, didn't you?"
Jiang Haofeng nodded. "Naturally. If I had not comprehended it to perfection, how could I teach all of you martial cultivation?"
"Use your final move."
"Alright!"
Before you continue