Deception and a Secret Ploy

For the next two days, both sides of the Taiwan Strait remained peaceful.

Apart from sporadic encounters between scout squads at the edge of the abyss, resulting in small-scale skirmishes, both sides remained inactive, maintaining a tacit standoff.

While the righteous path was constructing fortifications, they also sent people to explore the terrain and restrictions of the Chaos Abyss.

The same was true on the demonic side; small teams of Devil Cultivator would occasionally operate on the opposite bank, their shouts of battle faintly audible, creating the impression of a massive army pressing in.

Within the camp, Lu Tianji often stood alone on a high place, gazing at the opposite bank, a cold smile playing on his lips that went unnoticed.

In the intelligence he sent to the Demon Emperor, he had already provided the righteous path's marching route, troop deployment, and even reconnaissance plan word for word.

The main force of the demonic camp on the other side is just a show put on for the righteous path.

The real killing move has already slipped into the depths of the abyss.

"Zhang Jianchen, take your time investigating," Lu Tianji sneered inwardly. "By the time you realize something's amiss, it'll be too late."

On the third day at noon, a strange change occurred.

Boom!!!

A deep, muffled roar came from the deepest part of the Chaos Abyss.

The earth trembled violently, and the camps on both sides of the river shook. Many tents collapsed, and the cultivators lost their footing and staggered.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable surge of Daoist energy erupted from the bottom of the abyss, sweeping across the entire Chaos Abyss like a tidal wave.

The Daoist aura was pure, ancient, and carried the essence of heaven and earth. Wherever it passed, even the surging Sha Qi at the bottom of the abyss was temporarily suppressed.

"It is the Dao Fruit!"

"Primordial Dao Fruit!"

"The Dao Fruit is about to ripen!?"

The righteous camp instantly erupted into chaos.

All the cultivators stopped what they were doing and stared in shock at the bottom of the abyss.

The Daoist energy surged stronger and stronger, and seven-colored rays of light shone through the abyss, turning the gray sky into a shimmering glaze.

Everyone could clearly feel that the Dao Fruit was maturing at an astonishing rate, at least two months ahead of the previously predicted time!

Zhang Jianchen's expression changed drastically in front of the central command tent.

Wrong!

Why does the Dao Fruit suddenly mature at a faster pace?

Unless... someone at the bottom of the abyss activated the refining array, forcibly catalyzing the Dao Fruit!

"Lu Tianji!" Zhang Jianchen turned his head sharply, his voice piercing, "Further deduce! Is the main force of the demonic path actually on the other side?!"

Lu Tianji's face turned pale instantly, and the compass in his hand spun rapidly, the needle shaking wildly, almost detaching from the plate.

He feigned shock and cried out, "Oh no! Alliance Leader! It's fake! The Demon Emperor's aura in the main tent on the other side is fake! It's a demonic incarnation! Most of the leaders of the Thirty-Six Devil Sects are not in the camp!"

"What?!"

Everyone was shocked.

Wang Heng shouted sternly, "Where are their men?!"

"At the bottom of the abyss!" Lu Tianji's voice was urgent. "They've already infiltrated the depths of the Chaos Abyss! They're catalyzing their Dao Fruit in the core area of the origin! We've been tricked! They deliberately left an empty camp to mislead us, secretly advancing their own attack!"

"You bastard!"

Zhou Ziyang roared, his body engulfed in purple flames. "Old Devil Yan Tianjin is so cunning! He actually pulled this trick on us!"

The Heavenly Sword Sect Master Sword Intent soaring to the heavens, cried out, "Alliance Leader, give the order! It will be too late if we delay any longer! Once the demonic path completes the catalysis of the Dao Fruit, we will be completely at a disadvantage!"

All eyes were on Zhang Jianchen.

Zhang Jianchen's face was so dark it could drip water; he knew he had fallen into a trap.

From the very beginning, the demonic path had no intention of engaging in a standoff on the periphery; their goal from start to finish was to penetrate directly into the abyss and seize the Dao Fruit before the righteous path could.

What remains on the other side is nothing but an empty shell.

"Pass on the order!"

Zhang Jianchen suddenly raised his hand, his voice resolute and authoritative.

"The vanguard will immediately cross the abyss, launch a fierce attack on the demon camp on the opposite bank, and tear through the defenses!"

"The main forces of the seven core sects have joined our alliance to venture deep into the Chaos Abyss in pursuit of the main forces of the demonic path!"

"All affiliated sects shall follow closely behind, entering the Abyss in batches, without any separation!"

"No matter what, we must not let the demonic path steal our Dao Fruit!"

"As the Alliance Leader commands!!"

The orders were relayed down through the ranks.

In an instant, horns sounded in unison from the righteous camp, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens.

Countless cultivators soared into the air, and spirit boats and war chariots set off in unison, surging towards the opposite bank of the Chaos Abyss like a tidal wave.

Various Law Technique lights streaked across the sky, raining down densely upon the demonic camp.

"Kill!!"

"Crush the demon camp!"

"..."

The demon camp on the opposite bank reacted immediately, demonic energy surging as the Devil Cultivator roared and charged forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of explosions from the clash between Daoist and Devil Cultivation Method rose and fell, the earth trembled, and the sky roared.

Blood instantly stained the riverbank red, and cultivators and Devil Cultivator continued to fall from the sky, crashing into the bottomless Chaos Abyss.

Ten thousand years later, the first large-scale direct conflict between the righteous and the demonic paths erupted.

Deep within the abyss, Yan Tianjin stood atop the stone platform at the core of the source, listening to the faint sounds of battle coming from afar, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Only realizing it now? Too late."

He raised his hand and pressed it against the ball of light in the center of the stone platform.

Within the ball of light, a vaguely formed fruit was slowly rotating; it was the Primordial Dao Fruit, rapidly maturing.

"Once Zhang Jianchen comes down, the Dao Fruit will be mine."

Supreme Unity Divine Mountain, Origin Pool of the mountain.

Three days have passed since Yan Xuanfeng and the others were executed.

For the past three days, the area outside the mountain has remained calm, and no Devil Cultivator have come to invade again.

Huangfu Chenyin and Tie Shan's injuries have recovered to about 70-80% thanks to Zhenyangzi's medicinal treatment. They take turns standing guard outside the mountain every day, keeping watch for any movement outside.

Li Yunjing, on the other hand, remained by the Origin Pool, receiving guidance from Zhenyangzi.

Zhenyangzi lived for 20,000 years, and although he was barely clinging to life, he had accumulated an incredibly profound amount of experience.

He was the True Disciple disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, having cultivated the Taiyi Dao Arts to their peak, and was only one step away from ascension.

If it weren't for the massacre of his entire family back then, he would have already ascended to the upper realm.

Now that he has Li Yunjing, a descendant who possesses the Taiyi inheritance, he naturally teaches him everything he knows.

"The core of the Supreme Unity Pure Subtlety Scripture is not in 'purity' or 'minority,' but in..."

Zhenyangzi sat cross-legged by the pool, his voice calm and gentle, like a clear spring flowing, as he dissected the core essence of the Taiyi Dao Arts, bit by bit.

"To unite with the origin, to unite with heaven and earth, to Dao Union heart, in your previous cultivation you only focused on purifying Spiritual Qi and tempering your physical body, but neglected to unite with the origin of heaven and earth."

The Taiyi Dao Arts is Cultivation Method born from the origin. The closer you are to the origin, the faster your cultivation will progress, and the stronger its power will become.

Li Yunjing sat cross-legged opposite him, closed his Spirit Concentration, engraving each word into his soul.

He had been practicing the Supreme Unity Pure Subtlety Scripture several years, exploring it on his own. Although he had cultivated it to a very high level, he still felt like he was scratching an itch through a boot, unable to truly grasp the essence of it.

Now, with the guidance of Zhenyangzi, the authentic successor, many previously perplexing bottlenecks have suddenly become clear.

"Look at the Origin Dao Embryo," Zhenyangzi pointed to the faint light in the center of the pool. "The frequency of its pulse is the frequency of the origin of heaven and earth. Try to regulate your breathing, circulate your Cultivation Method, and synchronize your Spiritual Qi with it."

Li Yunjing did as instructed.

He calmed his mind, cleared his mind of distractions, and sensed the gentle pulsation of the Dao Embryo.

Initially, his Spiritual Qi circulation was incompatible with his Dao embryo, causing frequent errors.

But as time went on, he gradually found his rhythm, and the Supreme Unity Pure Subtlety Scripture became slower and slower, yet more and more profound.