Chapter 182 - The Blade of Heaven’s Will, Body of a Thousand Lifetimes

Among these runes were the runes of Heaven's Will. The moment Xu Ying activated the Heavenly Dao rune on the mystic gateway, the stone statue of Heaven’s Will sensed him.

He had been wandering nearby, waiting for Xu Ying to walk out of the Martial Dao Other Shore. He never expected Xu Ying to remain there for over two months.

During this time, the statue had not lounged idle. Driven to uncover why the underworld had invaded the ruined Primordial Beginning Realm, he had spent the time investigating this ancient battlefield.

As a projection of a heavenly god, he was extremely powerful. Even so, he faced one danger after another on this ancient battlefield and barely escaped with his life.

He unearthed chilling, shocking truths that completely defied his understanding.

I will capture Xu Ying first, then come back to investigate this place's secrets!

Xu Ying stood beside the unyielding martial Dao expert and performed the supreme martial arts he had recently comprehended. As he unleashed each move, the power formed from his essence, qi, and mind within also shifted in perfect sync, striking fiercely against the Heavenly Dao runes that sealed his mystic gateway!

He focused all his mind and strength on breaking the runes. His willpower grew increasingly stronger, as did his vital energy. Gradually, he mobilized his soul as well. His soul and body united as one, and his spirit and qi fused into one!

One by one, the Heavenly Dao runes shuddered, flickering between light and dark.

Xu Ying could understand every single Heavenly Dao rune, and their flaws were completely within his grasp. However, his cultivation level was limited to the Qi Gathering Stage. No matter how profound his insight, he lacked the raw power to break them.

Xu Ying attacked faster and hit harder with each passing second. Suddenly, he roared and unleashed the first art of the Eight Arts of the Combat God: the Heaven-Flipping Art!

This move was a fist seal. With his mind firmly anchored to the grand unity, his skin tightened as his five viscera and six bowels, bones, flesh, tendons, and membranes exploded with power at once!

As he unleashed the fist seal, it felt like an indestructible immortal artifact from time immemorial crashed down from beyond the nine heavens, flipping the heavens and destroying everything!

Thump!

Within Xu Ying, the power of his essence, qi, mind, vital energy, soul, and physique fused as one, transforming into the Heaven-Flipping Art and slamming into the mystic gateway!

Boom!

The strike shattered one of the previously indestructible Heavenly Dao runes.

Shifting seamlessly, Xu Ying unleashed the second technique of the Eight Arts of the Combat God, the Earth-Shattering Art!

With his feet firmly planted on the ground, his thighs resembled two furious dragons that had pierced the underworld and taken root deep in the earth. Thick muscles throbbed along his thighs, like flood dragons clinging to the furious dragons and empowering them!

The earth split open and sank. In an instant, an expanse of several mu around him caved inward under his heavy stomp. Yet the Earth-Shattering Art's true lethal force resided not in his legs, but in his ascending right palm.

The greater the force beneath his feet, the greater the force transmitted to his palm!

As Xu Ying unleashed this palm strike, the sky trembled violently. Compressed air exploded into sonic booms, and crackling lightning coalesced into a massive hand that crushed the storm as it swept forward!

Simultaneously, before his mystic gateway, his essence, qi, mind, vital energy, soul, and body fused into the Earth-Shattering Art, bashing the gateway's fractured seals!

The roars of ten thousand bulls echoed inside Xu Ying, growing louder and louder. His veins pulsed frantically as he pushed his power to its absolute limit!

Xu Ying inverted his hand into a seal, as if suspending an entire sea in the sky. Harnessing the ocean's full weight, he converted it into a crushing palm force and slammed it downward!

Beneath his palm seal, the earth exploded with loud cracks. Countless rocks and bones were reduced to dust under his palm's crushing force. Even the broken artifacts left behind from the primordial era sank under his palm force and were driven deep into the ground!

This was the third art of the Eight Arts of the Combat God: the Overturning-Sea Art!

Then, Xu Ying unleashed the fourth art of the Eight Arts of the Combat God, the Mountain-Crashing Art. He struck like the water god Gonggong[1] slamming into Mount Buzhou, shattering the pillar of the sky and splitting the nine provinces!

The fifth art of the Eight Arts of the Combat God: Dao-Hammering Art. As Xu Ying unleashed it, he resembled a majestic heavenly god, radiating divine light, using the Dao as a hammer to strike down all beings!

The sixth art, the Heavenly-Pull Art. Standing at the epicenter like a central star, he dragged his enemies inward like orbiting celestial bodies and crushed them to pieces!

The seventh art, God-Slaying Art.

As Xu Ying unleashed this move, waves of martial Dao sounds echoed inside him. His tendons and bones roared in unison like thunderclaps, rumbling ceaselessly!

His attacks had destroyed nearly half of the Heavenly Dao runes on his Tailbone Pass. Most of the shattered Heavenly Dao runes had errors. Though they held the power of the Heavenly Dao, exploiting their defects let him break them.

Most of the remaining runes were correct, making them extremely difficult to break.

Then he unleashed the eighth art: the Dao-Returning Art. Heaven and earth shook, and the Great Dao resonated in harmony as he unleashed his punch.

Within the primordial battlefield, whether it was the dark, sinister qi of the Underworld Court, the lingering fighting spirit, killing intent, indomitable spirit, and brutal qi of the beings who perished in battle here, or the resentment in heaven and earth, all of it was mobilized by his punch and transformed into the power contained within this strike!

As the power erupted, Xu Ying was like the god-king above the nine heavens, commanding all Dao arts at his fingertips!

He even harnessed his inner shattered Heavenly Dao runes as fuel, while the unbroken ones vibrated in resonance!

This was the Dao-Returning Art of the Eight Arts of the Combat God!

As he unleashed this punch, the roar of various Dao arts echoed within him, finally merging into an earth-shattering roar that shook the world!

The Heavenly Dao seal shattered, and the Tailbone Pass opened!

The instant this gateway burst open, divine light radiated within Xu Ying. The Heavenly River surged violently, the Heavenly Mountains lit up, water and fire converged in harmony, and the Five Sacred Immortals Mountains glowed intensely.

A cauldron slowly rose between the water and fire; the Golden Core within radiated blinding light.

Xu Ying’s vital energy surged. Twenty-one grotto-heavens of varying sizes unfurled behind him in rapid succession, raining down immortal herbs.

His mystical power soared ever higher, finally sweeping away the frustration and gloom of being sealed by the Heavenly Dao!

His martial Dao true qi surged by leaps and bounds. If measured by the Innate Realm, his martial Dao true qi had skyrocketed from the Thousandth Innate Realm to the Ten-Thousandth Innate Realm in an instant, and it was still climbing!

It swiftly breached eighty to ninety thousand. He didn't bother tracking the exact number; he simply couldn't keep up.

“So strong!”

On the Martial Dao Other Shore, Dao Master Yuan and the others recoiled at the aura Xu Ying unleashed as he shattered the seal. They turned toward him, filled with shock and suspicion.

When Martial Immortal Zhai had brought Xu Ying to the Martial Dao Other Shore, the latter’s Thousandth Innate Realm cultivation made him an ancestor-level figure in the secular world. Yet to Dao Master Yuan and the resident elders, Xu Ying had barely crossed the threshold of true cultivation.

Although they all knew Xu Ying had seals within him that locked away his true strength, they never expected it to be this formidable!

“Is this Exorcism, or Qi Cultivation?”

Gazing into the distance, they saw twenty-seven grotto heavens rotating in the battlefield's darkness, shining with dazzling light. They assumed various forms, like ellipses, perfect circles, and crescents, each radiating a captivating glow.

Between these twenty-seven grotto heavens, immortal mountains floated, the Heavenly River hung upside down, and Heavenly Mountains formed numerous celestial phenomena.

They even saw a majestic gateway, a sea of fire formed from True Fire of Samadhi, and an ocean formed from the Divine Water of Samadhi, surging forward with great momentum, as if fish-dragons were dancing.

Martial Immortal Zhai sighed in admiration. “This is the ethereal void he spoke of previously.”

The red-robed woman, named Yu Yanzhi, muttered, “If one practices dual cultivation of Martial Arts and Exorcism, or Martial Arts and Qi Cultivation, could they reach the absolute realm?”

Dao Master Yuan replied softly, “Before that, someone has to verify whether the martial Dao can lead to immortality.”

The group fell silent.

Only by cultivating the martial Dao to the Ascension Stage could one prove that it was a viable path. If the path wasn't viable, how could one speak of dual cultivation of Martial Arts and Exorcism, or Martial Arts and Qi Cultivation?

They needed a pioneer.

Martial Immortal Zhai’s eyes flickered. Ascension through the martial Dao... I can definitely do it!

Xu Ying’s thunderous roars echoed without pause. Supported by his immense martial Dao true qi, more and more grotto heavens opened behind him. Using his martial Dao to control primordial qi and mobilize the power of the six secrets, his cultivation skyrocketed to an unprecedented peak!

His Golden Core had been forged and tempered with the True Fire, Samadhi, and the Divine Water of Samadhi. His Golden Core had reached the state of samadhi but never achieved the state of unclouded[2]

Now, he had not only mastered the martial Dao, but his Golden Core had also reached perfection!

Xu Ying calmed his aura, turned to the deceased martial Dao senior, and bowed deeply before straightening his back and walking off into the distance.

His trial wasn't over yet. He still hadn't fully integrated the martial arts he had mastered on the Other Shore.

He needed to go deeper into the primordial battlefield and challenge even stronger foes!

As he ventured deeper, the demonic creatures appearing in the primordial battlefield grew increasingly terrifying. Some had even grown flesh and blood and clung to the skeletons of primordial experts. They were extremely powerful.

Xu Ying unleashed various martial Dao supreme arts to clash against them head-on, seizing victory only after a hundred rounds.

In some places, the undecayed blood of primordial experts remained.

The lingering fighting spirit and evil qi here had severely tainted the blood. Bloody phantoms kept crawling out, moving across the ground with terrifying speed.

Xu Ying unleashed the Great Sun Vajra Seal, using his supreme martial arts to fight a fierce battle for several hours before finally purifying the blood.

There were also artifacts that retained the essence of primordial experts. They appeared and vanished like ghosts, going around killing anything in sight.

There were also piles of skeletal remains forming corpse abysses; deep abysses that were composed of corpses kept shifting.

There were even massive tornadoes formed by countless corpses and artifacts, sweeping through everything in their path.

Faced with this, Xu Ying immediately channeled the Extreme Intent Freedom Art to flee, moving so fast that the corpse abysses and corpse tornadoes were left in the dust.

He ventured deep into the primordial battlefield, passing one martial Dao expert's corpse after another. These experts had come from the Martial Dao Other Shore and stood like monuments. In their old age, they had ventured into this deadly area to carve out a path to survival for those who would follow.

He looked up into the distance and saw the vital energy of a martial Dao expert still lingering in the sky.

Pressing onward, he came across a towering mound of skeletons where a stone figure moved frantically, hauling bones and sorting them into separate piles.

The stone figure had a triangular head, small eyes, a big nose, and two sloppily carved eyebrows that looked like caterpillars.

“Xu Ying, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you here for a long time,” said the stone figure as he continued running back and forth busily,

Xu Ying probed, “Which heavenly god are you?”

The stone figure paused and chuckled. “I am the Supreme God Heaven’s Will. As the saying goes, ‘Heaven’s Will is unfathomable; Heaven’s Will is like a blade.’ That refers to me.”

The stone figure continued moving the skeletal remains as he said, “You aren’t a threat because you are remarkably formidable or brilliant; plenty in this world excel beyond you in power and intellect. You became a threat because, in every lifetime, you refuse to accept your humble place."

He sensed the aura of the bones in his hands, set them aside, and said, “You are merely a worm writhing in the dirt, yet you refuse to accept your fate. You constantly scheme to burst from your cocoon and ascend to the heavens as a butterfly. That is your true nature."

He sighed with deep emotion. “Fu Yi and Bei Chenzi have erred. In fact, so did the higher-ups. Throw someone like you into a cesspool, and you will still claw your way out. Even as a maggot, you dream of soaring through the skies."

Puzzled, Xu Ying asked, “Isn’t it natural to yearn for beauty and a better life?”

The stone figure of Heaven’s Will paused his labor. A look of mockery showed on his face as he said, “Under Heaven’s Will, how could they possibly be worthy? I’ll tell you what the Heavenly Dao means!”

He laughed out loud. “In this world, everyone has a price tag and a set future before they are even born! Some are born young masters of wealthy clans; others draw their first breaths as noble princes. Meanwhile, some are born in stables and thatched shacks, destined to be workhorses, while others are fated from birth to live among pigs and dogs!"

His form grew ever taller and more imposing. The stone figure clenched his fist and smashed it heavily toward Xu Ying. Heavenly Dao runes swirled around the fist, Dao sounds reverberating as they proclaimed Heaven's greatness.

Xu Ying raised his hand to meet the blow head-on. The power of Heavenly Dao erupted, throwing his aura into disarray and forcing him to retreat continuously.

“Those in power stand above everyone else, living in luxury and feasting on delicacies. They never have to worry about their next meal or shelter. But what about creatures like you? The moment you finish one meal, you must scramble and scheme for the next!”

He delivered punch after punch. Beneath the fists, Heavenly Dao crisscrossed furiously, erupting with grand reverberations, immense force, and boundless might, battering Xu Ying until his aura withered and he retreated continuously.

“You crawl in the mud and squirm in the filth, naively believing that if you risk your life, toil to the bone, or bend your knees with a flattering smile, you can rewrite your destiny and climb to the next tier!”

The stone figure of Heaven’s Will opened his fist, turning it into a sharp blade and chopped downward with a mocking expression.

“You’re dreaming.”

True to the adage that Heaven’s Will cuts like a blade, he slashed downward like a gale, leaving Xu Ying riddled with wounds in the blink of an eye.

The stone figure’s blade penetrated everything. It cut into Xu Ying’s flesh, his ethereal void, his divine sense, his Golden Core, and even his spirit!

The stone figure sought to crush him under the force of the grand Heavenly Dao and shatter his Dao heart, forcing him to realize the might of heaven!

“You worms, whose lives are mapped out before birth, still dare dream of ascension?”

The stone figure swung his blade down once more. Covered in blood and with his grotto-heavens fracturing, Xu Ying tumbled backward like a broken sack.

The stone figure of Heaven's Will lowered his hand blade and said calmly, “Xu Ying, do not defy the gods who rule your existence.”

Xu Ying rose to his feet unsteadily and said with his head lowered, “If I cannot ascend in one lifetime... then what about a thousand?"

He raised his head. Though his face was covered in blood, his gaze was filled with determination. He roared furiously, “Incarnations of my thousand lifetimes, return!”

Boom!

His vital energy exploded. A massive “imprison” character appeared before and behind him, written in immortal Dao runes!

At that moment, the Dao rune seal kept falling apart.

Behind Xu Ying, incarnation after incarnation of him appeared, as if standing in the depths of space-time. Unsealing one after another, they merged into him in a relentless, surging wave.

1. From ancient Chinese mythology. Defeated in a war for the throne, the enraged Water God Gonggong slammed his head into Mount Buzhou, snapping the pillar that held up the northwestern sky. The impact tilted the heavens and the earth, forever changing the paths of the stars and forcing China's major rivers to flow eastward. ☜

2. Samadhi means a state of intense concentration, meditative absorption, or unifying the mind. On the other hand, Unclouded is a state of absolute spiritual clarity where one's primordial true nature, consciousness, or spirit is never blinded, corrupted, or put to sleep by worldly desires, illusions, or even death. ☜