An Imperial Weapon Emerges!
An unexpected change occurred, erupting suddenly from the silence!
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
There was no warning, no process.
A magnificent golden light, its color indescribable and its purity beyond compare, burst forth from the depths of the earth!
The beam of light was only a few dozen feet in diameter, yet it was condensed to the extreme.
As it soared into the sky, it ignored the perpetual, deep gray, deathly mist above the Lifeless Valley, piercing and tearing it apart like a red-hot iron rod piercing butter!
Golden light shot straight into the sky, completely piercing through the heavens that were shrouded in desolation!
Where the golden light passed, space was gilded with an eternal gold, and the flow of time seemed to become viscous and "expensive".
The intense clash of Daoist spiritual light, the surging Qi and Blood and Sha Qi, and even the two Foundation Establishment Realm Heaven of Qi Yun and Li Xuanqing locked in a fierce struggle—
Everything, bathed in this golden light, seemed to freeze abruptly, like insects thrown into amber!
The light dimmed, its flow slowed, and its power greatly diminished!
The epic duel between Qi Yun and Li Xuanqing World-Suppressing Army, which had originally captured everyone's attention and mind, was abruptly suppressed by this sudden, domineering golden light and oppressive aura!
The entire Lifeless Valley, and even the entire Northwest, was completely captivated by this towering golden pillar of light!
"That's...?!"
"Such overwhelming pressure—surpasses even the realm of True Person!"
"Within the golden light—there lies the imperial destiny!"
No, it is more ancient and more—magnificent and righteous—than ordinary imperial roads!
Countless thoughts of surprise, horror, ecstasy, and greed intertwined and collided wildly in the void.
"The Imperial Weapon —has been born!"
Outside the Lifeless Valley, the sky in the four directions of east, west, south, and north was rippled violently like waves!
Four figures, almost simultaneously, stepped out of the void and appeared in the sky above the outer edge of the Lifeless Valley!
These were the four Great True Person Sects of the Northwest Demonic Path.
These four powerful figures, who are usually elusive and whose mere presence can shake the Northwest, have all arrived in person!
The Daoist aura emanated naturally from the four individuals, sometimes like a cascading galaxy, sometimes like an ancient tree reaching for the sky, sometimes like the cycle of reincarnation, and sometimes like the arising and ceasing of thoughts.
Although it did not deliberately release its pressure, its mere existence caused the rules of that world to subtly revolve around it.
However, at this moment, the usual composure and calmness were no longer visible on the faces of these four Great True Person.
Their gazes, like four red-hot irons, were firmly fixed on that towering golden pillar of light!
Deep within his eyes was a burning passion, excitement, and even a hint of ruthless determination, suppressed for countless years and now impossible to conceal!
Clearly, this legendary imperial weapon of the Tang Dynasty has finally appeared in the world. Even with their hundreds or thousands of years of cultivation, they could not help but be overwhelmed with emotion and unable to control themselves!
Lifeless Valley, in the center of the battlefield.
Qi Yun was also shaken by this sudden and earth-shattering change.
The immense pressure and ancient imperial aura contained within the golden light startled him.
What surprised him even more was that deep within his [Great Luo Heaven], the nascent [Origin of Flourishing], which had just been slowly growing, was now...
In that instant when the golden light swept across and the oppressive aura permeated the air, the light suddenly intensified, instantly reaching a state of perfect harmony.
A state of perfect perfection!
The second [Four Seasons] wonder, [The Origin of Flourishing], unexpectedly reached perfection under the stimulation of the immense aura emanating from this Imperial Weapon!
The desperate move by Celestial Master Chen inadvertently did Qi Yun a great favor.
"Roll!"
Qi Yun snorted coldly and suddenly waved his sleeve!
Although the power of the [Great Luo Myriad Laws Domain] was weakened considerably by the golden light's pressure, Qi Yun's own great power remained immense.
A powerful gale, imbued with the Daoist intent of [Wield Myriad Laws], slammed violently into the crumbling Military Dao Gods and Devils and the [Blood Conquest and Slaughter Domain]!
Li Xuanqing grunted, and the five-hundred-foot-tall Gods and Devils image was forced back, with half of it collapsing.
[Blood Conquest and Slaughter Domain] also shrank rapidly and dimmed, temporarily losing contact with Qi Yun's Domain Heaven.
Qi Yun stopped looking at him, and with a flicker of his figure, he appeared atop a tall, gray-white rock peak several hundred feet away. Like many other alarmed cultivators, he fixed his gaze on the place where the golden light soared into the sky.
At this moment, the towering golden pillar of light, after reaching a certain peak, began to slowly converge and condense inward.
The golden light was no longer dazzling, but instead became warm and profound, like molten, flowing gold.
At the core of the pillar of light, an indescribably vast and boundless figure gradually solidified and became clear.
It was neither in human form nor in the shape of a weapon.
It is a tree!
A phantom image of an ancient divine tree, so enormous it seemed to support the entire sky!
The entire divine tree exudes a serene, stable, all-encompassing, and supremely majestic aura that measures the heavens and earth.
The tree trunk, as thick as a mountain dragon vein, rises straight upwards, disappearing into the top of the still-dissipating golden light, as if truly connecting heaven and earth.
The bark is unlike the texture of ordinary trees; instead, it has deep cracks that flow with a blazing, molten gold-like luster, with naturally formed ancient seal script, like inscriptions on the Great Dao, appearing and disappearing within it.
Those seal characters are still faintly discernible.
These are eight ancient and profound characters, carrying supreme authority and prayers!
[May the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin prosper forever]
The central command tent of the World-Suppressing Army.
Upon seeing this Imperial Weapon manifest, Celestial Master Chen gently shook his whisk, his eyes gleaming with boundless divine light, and softly murmured, "The seventh of the twenty-four Imperial Weapon of the Great Tang— [The Wealth Connects to the Divine]."
As soon as those three words were uttered, the boundless golden light in the world seemed to shine even brighter.
Countless gazes, some greedy, some shocked, some fanatical, some fearful, were fixed on the [Wealth Connects to the Divine].
"Now that the Imperial Weapon have been revealed, why hide them any longer?"
A voice, as indifferent as the ancient starry sky, rang out.
The Four Northwestern Sects, the four leaders, the four Great True Person who are only one step away from True Lord.
At this moment, they all appeared, making a powerful entrance!
Boom-!!!
Although the four Great True Person did not deliberately join forces to exert pressure, when they simultaneously turned their gazes toward Lifeless Valley, a terrifying sense of oppression, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth were sinking, swept over the entire Lifeless Valley like a tangible tsunami!
Click!
Click!
The already ravaged gray-white rock peaks in the valley, under this invisible pressure, silently crumbled in large swathes, turning into the finest dust.
All the cultivators in the valley whose Foundation Establishment, regardless of whether they were righteous or demonic, had faces as pale as paper, as if they were carrying mountains, their bones groaning under the unbearable weight, their Qi and Blood and qi stagnating, and their Law Power almost unable to circulate, as if they were about to be crushed alive at any moment!
Even those Foundation Establishment True Person were struggling to breathe, their Divine Soul swaying.
He had to exert all his strength to circulate his Cultivation Method and condense his Dao intent in order to barely stand firm under the overwhelming demonic power, but his face was extremely pale.
The gazes of the four Great True Person were like four invisible divine mountains, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.
With the Imperial Weapon deployed, they had no intention of further pretense or deception; they intended to seize control of the situation through absolute power and preemptive advantage, and even—
Clear the area!
However, the Southern Yin Dynasty had been planning for hundreds of years, uniting with several major righteous holy lands to launch a northern expedition. How could they be completely unprepared for this?
Just as the four Great True Person were casting their oppressive aura over Lifeless Valley, intending to control everything, a voice rang out, "Amitabha—"
A melodious, peaceful Buddhist chant, capable of calming all restlessness and murderous intent, drifted slowly from the southern horizon like the sound of a morning bell and evening drum.
The Buddhist chant was not loud, yet it strangely pierced through the terrifying oppressive aura naturally emanating from the four Great True Person, resounding clearly in everyone's ears and hearts.
With a faint golden light, a monk with a plump and round figure, wearing a bright yellow kasaya and a string of strange Buddhist beads around his neck, each bead as red as blood and faintly shimmering with Sanskrit characters, appeared out of thin air and stood smiling above the south side of Lifeless Valley.
His face was like a full moon, his ears reached his shoulders, and he had a kind smile; he was a living Buddha, radiating warmth and compassion.
The all-encompassing, peaceful light of Buddha.
The seemingly benevolent smile and Buddha-like light instantly diminished the overwhelming demonic power that enveloped the entire valley and suffocated everyone by a full thirty percent, like ice and snow meeting the warm sun!
The cultivators in the valley immediately felt the pressure on their bodies ease, and they were able to barely catch their breath.
"May Buddha have mercy."
The round-faced monk clasped his hands together, smiling as he looked at the four towering demonic figures in the sky. His voice was gentle, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
"It seems that I have come to the right place today."
The four benefactors' intense hostility is likely to disturb the spirit of the Imperial Weapon and harm countless creatures in the valley.
"How about we stop for now and discuss the ownership of the treasure?"
"Great Compassion Temple, the Smiling Buddha Venerable."
True Person Southern Dipper's gaze sharpened slightly as he recognized the newcomer.
This seemingly kind, fat monk is actually one of the reclusive old monsters from the sacred Buddhist site of "Lesser Mount Sumeru" in the south.
"Snort!"
As soon as the Smiling Buddha Venerable finished speaking, a chilling snort, seemingly containing endless sharpness, suddenly slashed through the air like a peerless sword drawn from its sheath!
On the east side of Lifeless Valley, the void seemed to be torn apart by an invisible Sword Intent, and a figure stepped out.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man with graying temples and a cold, hard face like ancient ice. He held an ancient-style, sheathless longsword in his arms. The blade was dull and looked like ordinary iron, but upon closer inspection, the void near the blade was slightly distorted and torn.
He is the current leader of the Sword Pavilion, renowned for his decisiveness in killing and his obsession with Sword Dao.
The Dragon-Slaying Sword Master once ventured into the Eastern Sea alone with his sword, returned severely wounded, but left behind the fearsome name of "Dragon Slayer"!
"Fellow Daoists, please refrain from arguing."
Another calm and composed voice rang out, like a patient and encouraging teacher in a private school.
A middle-aged scholar, dressed in a faded blue robe, wearing a square cap, with a refined and gentle face, and holding a yellowed scroll in his hand, strolled down from the void.
He exuded no aura of power, and walked with ease, as if he were merely a tourist passing through, admiring the scenery.
But just as he appeared...
For the first time, the expressions of the four Great True Person — Southern Dipper, Sansi, Jiuli, Lunzhuan Zhuan—changed noticeably!
Because the person who came was none other than the Second Master, who held the most transcendent position and whose cultivation was the most unfathomable under the current Holy Lord of the Hao Ran Holy Land.
Confucian King, Huangfu Qianqiu!