Chapter 210 - Transforming Martial Arts into the Dao

The Immortal Dao here is starting to affect me. Xu Ying’s heart sank. He could not block its invasion completely. Its immense power overwhelmed his defenses, relentlessly eroding his resistance.

The youth pressed forward, trying his best to go around the hall.

Looking up, he realized that the bronze hall had plummeted here from beyond the heavens at a specific angle. The sky of Homeward Pavilion had been torn wide open by its descent, tracing its path. The shattered space appeared smashed and could not repair itself.

Space fragments of varying sizes suspended in the air.

Aside from that, fragments of the bronze hall lingered in the air, floating yet fixed in place.

Xu Ying also saw a damaged palm. Two of the five fingers were broken, and another was bent.

He retracted his gaze and continued forward, pulling Shi Yuqing along. She was like a wooden puppet now, having lost all senses and was completely relying on him to lead the way.

He heard wheezing sounds coming from his nose. With every breath, blood flowed into his lungs. His vision also blurred and narrowed, making it harder to see ahead clearly. Next, teeth sprouted wildly in his mouth, growing out of control! His tongue seemed to have turned into a snake, burrowing down his throat.

Xu Ying sensed an unknown power invading him, affecting his Dao arts. His Golden Core had already achieved True, Spirit, Void, Stillness, Emptiness, and Clarity. Yet, it was gradually becoming cloudy.

His intestines writhed into a massive snake, slithering through his gut.

Hoo, hoo...

Xu Ying stopped in place, straining to discern the path ahead as his vision grew increasingly blurry.

A slender, graceful figure stood behind the bronze hall door nearby, quietly watching him like a woman in the shadows.

Hoo, hoo...

Xu Ying panted heavily. Suddenly, he raised his right hand and stabbed two fingers into his eye sockets.

“Aaah!”

He threw back his head, roaring as he gouged out his eyes, bit off his tongue, and punctured his eardrums.

His nostrils and mouth grew shut, completely sealed off. His face became like a sheet of white paper.

Xu Ying couldn’t hear any sound, see any light, or breathe. He strode forward, step by step.

Gradually, his Golden Core grew corrupted and lost its light. His five immortal mountains also began to slowly corrupt and decay. The trees withered, the Heavenly River turned green, and dust covered the layers of heaven.

His primordial qi plunged into a deathly stillness, the mystic gateways grew rusty, and the grotto heavens rapidly rotted away.

His cultivation vanished.

Xu Ying pressed into the dark unknown, dragging along Shi Yuqing, who was equally blind, deaf, and devoid of smell.

They could see many others like them in the city, standing there motionlessly like wooden statues or clay figures.

They, like Xu Ying, had sealed themselves away, making it impossible for the outside evil to invade them. Yet, they had failed to walk out of this city.

In the end, they stood motionless as if they had turned to stone.

Xu Ying continued forward while avoiding the stone-like people. He had to lead Shi Yuqing out of this city. He didn’t want to remain in this place forever!

I still have many things I’ve yet to do. I have to recover my memories and find my hometown!

Xu Ying pressed onward. Now, he was a mere mortal who couldn’t see, hear, or talk. Hoping to leave this city in such a condition was already nothing short of delusion, but he also had to lead another person out.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone.

His heart sank. He shouldn’t have bumped into anyone. He had memorized the path ahead and the position of every person. He was walking from memory and couldn’t have made a mistake!

Yet, a mistake had happened.

Xu Ying steadied his mind and continued walking, going around that person.

Suddenly, he hit a wall.

Xu Ying stopped in his tracks. The corner of his eye twitched. Though blind, he carried a mental map tracking every path and position around him.

Now, this map had become blurry and disordered.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Calm down, calm down, he told himself silently. He cannot panic right now.

Panicking would be another mistake, one that could forever leave him trapped here.

He groped forward and bumped into someone. That person seemed to have woken up. They also started walking and bumped into someone else.

The streets gradually grew lively as people moved about, constantly bumping into one another.

Xu Ying felt his way with one hand, pressing forward with difficulty. He lost track of time, as hours, days, or even months bled together.

He couldn’t see anything or hear anything. Time seemed to have lost all meaning.

He knew only one goal: keep moving, keep feeling his way through.

Just then, he felt an ice-cold wall. Xu Ying withdrew his hand and stopped in his tracks. This cold barrier felt nothing like stone or wood; it carried the distinct chill of bronze or iron. Shifting patterns writhed across the metal like slithering snakes or tadpoles.

His hand trembled as recognition struck him: he had reached the Bronze Immortal Hall. After all his relentless wandering, he had looped right back.

Trembling, he groped his way around and touched an arm. Like himself, the arm’s owner had felt the bronze immortal hall.

However, the arm’s owner stood frozen in place, as if they had turned into stone.

Xu Ying continued feeling his way along the bronze immortal hall and came upon more arms.

A circle of faceless figures stood around the bronze immortal hall. They had fallen into despair when they touched the bronze immortal hall and stopped moving, standing there like wooden statues or clay figures.

Xu Ying continued feeling his way forward, gradually moving away from the bronze immortal hall. Those people had given up, but not him. He would search until he found an exit.

After another timeless stretch—a day, a week, a month—his fingers struck the cold bronze wall again. He had returned to his starting point.

Xu Ying trembled violently. He crouched down helplessly and buried his head in his hands.

He remained motionless, as if he had fallen into despair like the others.

After a long time, he rose and continued forward, leading Shi Yuqing as he began feeling his way around once more.

Xu Ying stopped in his tracks. I need my eyes. To walk out of here, I need eyes.

He no longer had any mystical power. His Golden Core was corrupted. His cultivation realms had decayed, and his Dao avatars could not be mobilized! All of his grotto heavens were also corrupted, and their immortal herbs had lost their potency.

He could not regenerate his eyes.

Suddenly, he recalled Martial Immortal Zhai plucking a flower. He was a martial artist who had never learned anything about Qi cultivation or Exorcism. He didn’t know the first thing about Dao avatars, either.

Yet he could pluck a bloom to grow a pear tree, then revert that tree into a branch and restore it to its trunk. It showed that the level of martial Dao cultivation was already seizing the creative power of heaven and earth.

If Martial Immortal Zhai were here, not even the Immortal Dao could seal him!

All divine abilities spring from martial arts. From humanity’s fight against nature, heaven, earth, and tyranny. Tempering body and mind births divine abilities!

Standing there, Xu Ying channeled his Martial Dao Spirit, and his Martial Dao Will burned.

He tied the silk ribbon connected to Shi Yuqing’s hand at his waist and slowly unleashed the Eight Arts of the Combat God, move after move with absolute clarity.

The martial Dao was to fight heaven and earth, to struggle with nature, to stand up for justice, and rebel against tyrannical rule!

The martial Dao forged not just flesh, but a fierce spirit capable of shattering all oppression and breaking every shackle!

Xu Ying had also cultivated in the Martial Dao in the past. At the Martial Dao Other Shore, he had learned all the supreme arts available faster than anyone else. However, his attainment in that still hadn’t reached the level of Martial Immortal Zhai, Heavenly Venerable Wu, and the others.

He had yet to achieve Dao immersion with martial arts, or transform martial arts into the Dao!

Now, facing a desperate situation, he finally understood how they felt on the primordial battlefield.

Persevere. Protect. For the sake of the conviction and justice in his heart, fear nothing and never give up!

Even if an immortal, or the Immortal Dao, crushed down upon him, he would overturn it and shatter it!

His unyielding will guided his body, pouring pure emotion into every physical movement.

His essence, qi, and mind condensed together, and his vital energy gradually circulated increasingly faster, roaring like a rushing Heavenly River within him.

As he punched and kicked, the resulting palm wind grew in intensity, and the force reached further and further!

It was as if he was gradually recovering his cultivation. His kicks and punches were imbued with divine abilities, growing increasingly powerful!

His decayed Heavenly River gradually came back to life, letting his vital energy flow smoothly, cleansing his Heavenly Mountains!

In his ethereal void, the decay on the Five Sacred Immortal Mountains gradually receded. It was as if spring had come to the plants and trees, growing lush and verdant once more.

Though the Immortal Dao still suppressed his cultivation, blurred his divine sense, and kept his Golden Core silent, a different force awoke. Unbounded by the Immortal Dao, this new power surged alongside his rising spirit and will!

Whoosh!

Xu Ying’s vital energy crashed violently into the sea of fire and ocean, breathing life back into the True Fire and Divine Water of Samadhi. His Golden Core rose slowly from the cauldron, radiating blinding light!

A Martial Dao Golden Core without mystical power or divine sense!

That day, Martial Immortal Zhai could transform martial arts into the Dao. Can I do the same?

His Golden Core shone brightly as it flew out of him. It danced through the air, circling his eyes and ears. His eyes began to regenerate, and two eyes soon formed, restoring his vision!

His eardrums also regenerated, and he regained his hearing!

As the Martial Dao Golden Core circulated to his nose and mouth, they also regenerated!

That immortal hall still suppressed his other cultivation, but he had finally transformed his martial arts into the Dao, shattering its hold!

Xu Ying untied the silk ribbon at his waist, grabbed Shi Yuqing’s wrist, and strode out of the city.

He avoided the people standing in his way, as well as the unknown writhing creatures, moving with light, agile steps.

The Immortal Dao still invaded his seven orifices, making his intestines grow like a giant python. Yet, under the radiance of his Martial Dao Golden Core, the Immortal Dao's influence weakened for the moment.

Finally, Xu Ying emerged from this city. The bronze immortal hall’s influence also reached its lowest.

The Martial Dao Golden Core spun around him with a whoosh, purging all physical corruption before vanishing into his ethereal void. Wherever the Golden Core’s radiance swept, decay rapidly faded. Each of his cultivation realms and six secrets returned to normal.

With his cultivation restored, his primordial qi overflowed and surged. His Golden Core also grew brighter.

Suddenly, a soft gasp came from the city, as if someone was surprised that Xu Ying could break through the Immortal Dao's influence. Xu Ying’s heart stirred slightly. He looked back and could only see the bronze immortal hall’s roof from afar.

Xu Ying thought, Before I blinded myself, I vaguely saw a woman in the immortal hall. Did she gasp? Could she be a fairy banished to the mortal realm?

He immediately cast the thought to the back of his mind. Fairy or not, she’s pure evil. She corrupted the Homeward Pavilion and slaughtered countless lives.

He activated his Golden Core to help Shi Yuqing gradually dispel the Immortal Dao invasion. Her Immortal Dao corruption wasn’t very severe. Since they had only spent two months trapped inside, her condition remained mild, unlike the faceless wanderers whose centuries of corruption lay far beyond his martial Dao core's power to cure.

Once he purged the immortal residue from the young girl, he channeled his Mud Pill vigor to fully restore her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Shi Yuqing slowly awoke, feeling as if a lifetime had passed. She asked, “You brought me out? Am I dreaming? Huh? Ah Ying, your presence seems somewhat different from before.”

Xu Ying said calmly, “It’s been two months. I just grew a little more handsome.”

Shi Yuqing leaned closer and examined him closely, then shook her head with certainty. “No, you’re as dark as before. Your presence must have advanced!”

Xu Ying pulled her back and glared into her eyes, demanding, “Look again!”

Shi Yuqing met his gaze, then suddenly blushed and quickly turned away. “You really didn’t!”

Xu Ying remained skeptical.

Shi Yuqing quickly walked ahead. “Let’s leave this place fast!”

Xu Ying caught up with her. Shi Yuqing secretly stole a glance at his profile. The closer I look, the more he seems easier on the eyes... Ah, how can I have such wild thoughts? I’m already over three thousand years old, while he’s only a teen!

Her heart fluttered. I-if he and I... were to get together, wouldn’t people say I’m an old cow eating tender grass? I’ll die of embarrassment!

She stomped her foot twice, her face flushed red.

Xu Ying also noticed her unusual behavior. Yuqing possesses such formidable leg strength; she shattered the stone. As expected of a sect leader. Oh, right, our sword sect must have many ancestors’ graves. As a renowned and prestigious sect, our patriarchs’ burial goods would definitely not be stingy.

His heart raced. As the supreme elder, hmm, no one would say anything if I went to their graves to pay my respects. Given how young and accomplished I am, it would be reasonable for the successive patriarchs to bestow several artifacts on me as a gift.

Thinking of this, he grew frustrated. I forgot! I should have asked Yan Kongcheng for the position of Emei’s supreme elder! That way, I can openly visit the successive patriarchs to ask for some welcome gifts!