The First Battle at the Tenth Checkpoint
Fu Yuan did not linger at the sixth checkpoint for long. He merely visited the famous Flower Soul Valley, a deeply bizarre place where flowers bloomed throughout the valley-and those flowers were souls.
Tens of thousands of cultivators had gathered there, picking the soul flowers and refining them to strengthen their own souls.
Even Holy Sons found it hard to detect the strangeness of the place, but it could not escape Fu Yuan's Double Pupils. Time and again, he watched cultivators undergo bizarre changes after refining the soul flowers there. The changes were minute and difficult to detect, and they did not affect the soul alone; even flesh and blood Qi were permeated.
Fu Yuan walked all the way into the depths of Flower Soul Valley, where he saw several immensely powerful prodigies, Holy Son-level monsters who had already broken through to the Nirvana Realm. They were refining the flowers like mad. A pureblood black tiger opened its mouth and swallowed a vast swath of them, its cultivation rising at astonishing speed. By the time Fu Yuan emerged from the depths, it had broken through from the first level of Nirvana to the third.
But the very origin of its life had changed drastically, and its soul had an entirely different scent. As Fu Yuan's Double Pupils opened and closed, he saw a red flower blooming, inexplicably strange.
It was like a deadly, slow-acting poison, corroding living beings bit by bit until it finally took their place. Even pureblood beings and Holy Sons were affected, changing without realizing it and even having their bodies seized.
Nangong Mengzhu, who followed him, wore a grave expression. The deeper they went, the more uneasy she felt, as though something ominous were watching from an unknown corner.
Neither of them stepped forward to stop it. Cultivation was a lonely and cruel path to begin with, and meddling in another's karma was the last thing one should do.
"Tell me, are the prodigies who emerge from the World Road really still the beings they once were?" After leaving Flower Soul Valley, both wore grave expressions, and even their words had grown much heavier.
Nangong Mengzhu did not answer. She remembered how drastically her elder brother's personality had changed after he began cultivating the Karma Gu. In the past, she had thought only that the Gu was too heaven-defying, but now, recalling it again, she felt nothing but horror.
When had her gentle elder brother turned cold? Probably after he had entered the forbidden grounds of Myriad Gu Mountain and brought out the Karma Gu for the sake of the unparalleled great age.
Their expressions solemn, the two remained silent for a long time, until Fu Yuan once again put on his signature smile, bright as sunshine and utterly harmless. "Life is short, and cultivation is dull. Heroine, how about letting me see your face?"
He teased her some more, and naturally Nangong Mengzhu refused. The youth's grinning antics made the atmosphere considerably more pleasant.
The seventh checkpoint, the Lost Sea of Light.
The deep-blue sea stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with countless points of light. Their faint, flickering glow was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Have you ever been to the True Dragon Star Domain?" the youth asked gently, his gaze deep.
Nangong Mengzhu shook her head. The Imperial World and the Gu Realm had once gone to war, and countless Saints had fallen. Even Emperors had joined the battle.
"The starry rivers there must be beautiful," the youth murmured softly. "One day, I must go there, catch a True Dragon and a black tortoise, and put together a seafood feast."
The corner of Nangong Mengzhu's mouth twitched. Fu Yuan's thoughts always galloped across the sky like a heavenly steed, impossible to predict.
"We should hurry. The clash of imperial heirs at the tenth checkpoint is something to look forward to. If we miss it, we'll inevitably regret it." Fu Yuan's eyes burned as a terrifying presence burst forth. Golden light surged, bearing down openly on everyone around him.
"The Nirvana Realm!" Enveloped by that powerful presence, Nangong Mengzhu was slightly startled.
Unlike Dugu Baitian, Fu Yuan was like a divine king. Wherever he went, exotic beasts prostrated themselves and gave him a wide berth. This youth was outrageously strong and far too savage, mightier than even an emperor of the sea. Like a blazing sun, he swept unchecked across the ocean.
The World Road had been open for half a year, and the strongest beings had begun to distinguish themselves, making names for themselves everywhere.
The bearer of the Double Pupils, the Ancient Desolate Sacred Body, the Zhoutian Star Physique-human imperial heirs rose one after another. The True Dragon Son, Divine Phoenix Maiden, Mo Tao, and Black Tortoise were hailed as invincible, having fought their way through their respective World Roads without meeting a worthy opponent.
The tenth checkpoint of the World Road!
Beyond this point, there were no longer countless identical checkpoints. Only one remained.
An ancient, desolate gateway stretched between heaven and earth, dividing the ordinary from the prodigies. A man with a sword on his back sat cross-legged high in the heavens, his golden robes stirring in the wind. Every movement he made carried a natural charm of the Dao.
"The tenth checkpoint!" A being passed through the gateway between heaven and earth, stepping out of the ninth checkpoint. His eyes were like blazing suns, and his robes of flame snapped in the wind. He resembled a great sun hanging high above the nine heavens, illuminating all directions.
The next moment, he noticed the man sitting cross-legged in the void, and his expression changed slightly. Though the man clearly revealed no presence, he carried an extreme sense of danger.
"The Sun Holy Body!" Dugu Baitian rose from where he sat, his golden eyes blazing.
As Dugu Baitian spoke, Huo Lingxiao's expression turned solemn. The being before him was unimaginably powerful, advancing with a vast, surging force that pressed down and left one suffocating.
Yet it did not frighten him. The Sun Holy Body was already one of the strongest physiques, and as the current Radiance Son of the Radiance Hall, he feared no being in the same realm. As his fighting spirit rose, a great sun appeared behind him, illuminating heaven and earth.
The World Road, ninth checkpoint.
The sacred land, Sword Heart Mountain!
A million swords had gathered to form a mountain, and ten thousand kinds of sword intent churned the winds and clouds, cutting down all who tried to climb it.
If anyone tried to fly swiftly to the summit, countless strands of sword intent would converge into a sword formation and immediately strike them dead. A single sweep would leave even a Peak Nirvana being gravely wounded and coughing blood.
By the time they reached the mountainside, the sword intent and Sword Qi had grown ever more turbulent. Nangong Mengzhu could barely walk and found it difficult to climb any farther.
"You can wait for me here or leave now, whichever you wish." The youth's eyes opened and closed as he took the Life and Death Gu from his spiritual platform and handed it to Nangong Mengzhu, speaking gently.
Over the past few months, the Life and Death Gu's presence had grown ever more terrifying. Beside Nangong Mengzhu, it gazed at Fu Yuan with a pitiful little look, reluctantly flapping its four wings as it circled him.
Nangong Mengzhu remained silent, her beautiful eyes shifting slightly. She was naturally indifferent and did not know how to respond.
The youth walked with firm steps and never looked back, heading toward the summit of Sword Heart Mountain.
The great sun was cleaved apart again and again, and blood seeped from Huo Lingxiao's cheeks. They had fought for only a short while, yet he had already suffered wounds in several places. His opponent was a monster through and through, relying not on the pressure of his realm, but on unparalleled blood Qi and techniques.
"Kill!" Huo Lingxiao roared. A great sun rose from the surface of the sea and stood in the sky. The heavens turned blood-red, and with the great sun hanging overhead, a vision of burning heaven and boiling the sea appeared.
As he moved, he bore down like a blood-red sun, his blood Qi suppressing the void as he charged into combat. His cultivation at the third level of Nirvana erupted in full.
Dugu Baitian casually waved his hand. Unparalleled, tyrannical Sword Qi surged, and a deadly killing intent filled the sky.
The clang of metal striking metal rang out without end as the great sun and the storm of Sword Qi collided again and again. Huo Lingxiao's body was repeatedly cut open, and blood continually seeped from his wounds.
"Fight!" His fighting spirit climbed to its peak, and his presence soared. A golden divine bird spread its wings, and the spirit of the Golden Crow cried out. The temperature between heaven and earth abruptly rose severalfold.
The Golden Crow beat its wings and transformed into a great sun. Huo Lingxiao continued to unleash his power, his blood Qi surging into the sky. A nine-colored sun hung above his head, while three great suns surrounded his body in a triangle, ready to burn heaven, boil the sea, and suppress all things.