Chapter 718 - 30: No Way Back, Fighting Fu Xi, Striking Taiyi

Two pairs of eyes stared indifferently at the Current World, now fallen into its Dharma-ending age. Their gazes alone tore the Great Cosmos apart, and countless beings wailed as they met their end in Nirvana.

In but an instant, the Ancestor Star had already disintegrated.

Qing Xuan stood silently upon the ruins of the Current World. He stared blankly toward The Beginning of Ancient Times, toward the figure who had been torn to shreds by the clash of three Era Essences and the great clash of ages.

Lu Xuan's fragments were assimilated and devoured by the Great Era, piece by piece.

For a Dao Fruit, death was merely another form of existence. A Dao Fruit was undying, but...

A Dao Fruit was on par with the Great Heaven and Earth and surpassed the Celestial Myriad Realms, yet it was still bound within an Era. Only through Transcendence could one truly and completely break free from everything and stand above it all.

For example, how could a Transcender *not* be able to kill a Dao Fruit?

In a sense, the Great Era was itself a form of Pseudo-Transcendence; otherwise, it would be utterly impossible for it to birth a true Transcender.

In other words...

Lu Xuan was truly gone.

Devoured by the Great Era, with no possibility of revival, it was the same as true death.

A sense of absurdity washed over Qing Xuan. 'The Cycle...'

'It's over... just like that?'

'Over so quickly, so easily, so senselessly?'

'Nine is the pinnacle of numbers...'

His heart hammered in his chest, and a suffocating feeling washed over him. 'My path of retreat... seems to be gone.'

'I can't retreat any further.'

The Mist Daoist slowly raised his head, meeting the gazes of the two terrifying beings who held dominion over all ages and time.

Taiyi, now fused with the Era Remnants, spoke slowly. With every word he uttered, Time itself shattered. The ruins of All Realms trembled, and the Great Heaven and Earth, already on the verge of collapse, teetered on the brink!

He spoke.

"Another... Qing Xuan?"

Taiyi glanced aside, his expression cold.

"Fu Xi, it seems someone is trying to play the patient fisherman, hiding themselves well. Why don't we postpone our battle for a moment?"

Fu Xi, who was only half a True Form of Transcendence away from complete Transcendence, lifted his eyelids and smiled.

"That seems... acceptable. Let us first eliminate any potential troublemakers. Then, you and I can have our final battle. The victor achieves Transcendence; the vanquished fades away."

The name "Qing Xuan" gave both Taiyi and Fu Xi pause. He was an enigma they couldn't fathom, so much so that the two, who had been locked in a mortal struggle just a moment before, decided to join forces and suppress this "Qing Xuan" first.

"Who are you?"

Fu Xi demanded as he brought a palm down. The Sea of Transcendence surged forward, carrying with it the ruins of Great Realms and mountains of bleached bones.

These bones were all that remained of long-dead civilizations.

Taiyi also struck, unleashing a killing blow. Having fused with the Era Remnants, he should have, in a sense, achieved Transcendence long ago.

The only reason he remained stuck at the level of Near Transcendence was his failure to completely devour Lu Xuan, which prevented him from reaching Perfection...

Without Perfection, there could be no Transcendence.

Faced with the onslaught of the two strongest beings in history, cracks began to appear on Qing Xuan's Physique. For the first time, the mist of Chaos swirling around him started to dissipate.

His heart clenched, his expression turning grim. He knew the final moment had come. One wrong move, a single mistake, and the entire game would be lost.

At this moment, the great curtain began to rise!

The Daoist shot into the sky, his feet treading upon the shattered ruins of the Current World, upon the remains of countless figures from his past. For the first time since achieving Enlightenment, he unleashed his own radiance in its full glory!

Eighty-four thousand Daos materialized to meet the Sea of Transcendence. Then, in a single thought, the Daoist created another one hundred and eight thousand Great Daos and sent them hurtling toward Taiyi with magnificent power!

"Interesting..."

Taiyi's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Another Near Transcender... Fellow Daoist, you have hidden yourself very well indeed."

"Let me see who you really are."

With that, he unleashed his power. As he pointed a finger, magnificent visions of the past materialized—scenes and events from the previous Beginning Era, all forming a single, colossal scroll!

The visions depicted scenes of Taiyi devouring the being who performed the Creation of Heaven and Earth in the last Era. They showed him shouldering a shattered Era as he swept across All Daoist Fruits, accompanied by a rain of blood and the utter despair of countless civilizations at their end!

The myriad visions and scrolls converged, condensing into the tip of his finger. And with that single point, he pierced through all one hundred and eight thousand Great Daos that the Qing Xuan Daoist had unleashed!

"Tear off the veil, reveal your true form!"

Taiyi's voice boomed. The void above his left hand trembled, and the Donghuang Bell—the very one Qing Xuan had long ago merged into the Creation Jade Scroll—manifested.

This was not the original Donghuang Bell, but one temporarily created by Taiyi, even more powerful than its predecessor!

At his level, recreating a Supreme Treasure he knew so intimately was no difficult feat.

DUUUNNNG!

The Donghuang Bell was struck in Taiyi's palm. As the majestic toll of the bell washed out, the mist of Chaos surrounding the Qing Xuan Daoist was utterly shredded!

His stooped figure appeared before the eyes of Taiyi and Fu Xi.

"Hm?"

Fu Xi was stunned.

"Shangqing?"

Taiyi was also bewildered.

"How can this be??"

'Qing Xuan is Shangqing Spirit Treasure Great Heavenly Venerate? When did Shangqing become this powerful? But this Qing Xuan Daoist's End-Tribulation Body... it can't possibly be a fake!'

As the two supreme beings stared in astonishment,

Qing Xuan's expression was solemn. Seizing the momentary opportunity, he deployed the trump card left behind by the Qing Xuan of the seventh cycle.

He hurled out a dusty gray stone—a fusion of the Taiji Diagram, the Qing Ping Sword, the Heaven-Opening Banner, the Three-Bejeweled Ruyi, and other Supreme Treasures.

The Gray Stone silently tore through the void, appearing behind Taiyi's head to strike down viciously!

Taiyi sensed the terrifying power within the Gray Stone. His expression tightened as he raised the Donghuang Bell to block it, but the great bell was pierced as if it were made of tofu.

The Gray Stone even blasted through layer after layer of visions from the previous Beginning Era before striking him on the forehead and embedding itself deep within. Taiyi coughed up blood!

"A fine treasure..." Taiyi praised even as he coughed up blood, the cold look on his face intensifying. Fu Xi, meanwhile, held nothing back. He stood within the Sea of Transcendence, pressed his palms together, and smiled broadly.

"Let me give it a try."

The Sea of Transcendence roiled, surging across the past and future of the Era and transforming into a terrifying, unprecedented tide, carrying with it the agonized wails of infinite beings and civilizations.

The wave crashed down!

Qing Xuan was struck squarely by the torrent formed from the Sea of Transcendence. His End-Tribulation Body began to crumble, revealing stark white bone. The temporary seals formed by the previous eight Qing Xuans trembled violently, and his nine great wounds threatened to erupt. The Great Era was about to detect him!

"Go."

Qing Xuan barked, deploying the trump card from the sixth cycle: a withered branch once used to flog the Celestial Court Emperor, still stained with the black blood of Gouchen and others.

This withered branch, tempered by the sixth-generation Qing Xuan, had also been fused with several Transcendent Traits. A gentle wave conjured the most tragic visions from history: gods and demons wailed, legions of immortals shrieked, All Realms crumbled, and all life was extinguished!

The withered branch transformed into a Long Spear and shot viciously toward Fu Xi. Qing Xuan didn't stop there, unleashing the trump cards from the fifth and fourth generations at the same time!

This was the most critical juncture. If Fu Xi and Taiyi seized control of the battle's rhythm, he would undoubtedly be defeated in their pincer attack.

Of the eight generations of Qing Xuan, the second and third had left no trump cards behind. Those from the first and eighth were not usable in this situation. But the rest were all extraordinary!

The fifth generation's trump card was the Sanqing Temple. Forged by the Qing Xuan of the fifth cycle, it had gathered the Thoughts of All Living Beings from all of history. Within it stood a puppet at the Quasi-Dao Fruit level, currently striking a Blade Shield!

But Qing Xuan simply used the Daoist Temple as a crude brick, smashing it down toward Taiyi as the Thoughts of All Living Beings surged like a tidal wave.

The fourth generation's trump card was the Heaven and Earth Chessboard. During the fourth cycle, that Qing Xuan had fused the Heaven and Earth Chessboard with a Dao Fruit chess board and six Great Dao Meditation Mats.

The moment the chessboard appeared, the grand momentum of every node in the entire Era manifested. Qing Xuan also used it like a brick, crudely and violently slamming it down on Fu Xi.

As for the measure left by the first generation, Qing Xuan didn't use it. Inside the Eight Sceneries Palace, the first Qing Xuan had sealed a full-powered strike from his master at his peak. It sounded terrifying, but he figured it would be useless against Near Transcenders like Taiyi and Fu Xi...

SQUELCH!

The withered branch arrived, pinning Fu Xi against the Chaos. The Heaven and Earth Chessboard, wielded like a brick, came tumbling down next. Carrying the momentum of all creation, vast and boundless, it smashed into Fu Xi, making him cough up great mouthfuls of blood as his Physique nearly disintegrated!

Taiyi wasn't faring much better. Caught off guard, the Sanqing Temple, bearing the weight of Infinite Thoughts of All Living Beings, slammed down squarely on his forehead.

It hammered the Gray Stone already embedded in his forehead even deeper, punching straight through the Era Remnants!

Both Near Transcenders were injured, but they quickly recovered. Realizing just how absurd this Qing Xuan Daoist was, they completely set aside their conflict and joined forces in earnest to hunt him down.

Taiyi unleashed his power, the Era Remnants reflecting a magnificent spectacle. Not to be outdone, Fu Xi conjured a faint, remnant image of the Wa Huang of old upon the Sea of Transcendence.

Qing Xuan was cornered. He used every trick he had, but he was still no match for them. His situation was dire. At the most dangerous moment, he was nearly suppressed and sealed within the Era End Point!

"Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, it seems you are... nothing special after all."

Taiyi looked down from above, his form occupying half of all Chaos. With a mere gesture, endless remnants of the Celestial Realms and the ruins of All Realms converged into a torrent that shattered Qing Xuan's body.

But the ever-perceptive Fu Xi seemed to notice something. He spoke with great interest:

"Taiyi, look. This Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan seems to have eight Great Bans upon his body, sealing something away and severing his connection to the Great Era... What do you suppose would happen if we were to break them?"

"We can give it a try," Taiyi nodded indifferently.

The two Near Transcenders were incredibly shrewd. Having discovered the anomaly on Qing Xuan, they focused their attacks on the eight Great Bans that were formed from the eighth-generation Qing Xuan.

The Great Bans soon began to waver...

Qing Xuan coughed up blood, his expression listless and his face pale. 'This time...'

'It seems I've truly fallen into a hopeless situation.'

He stood at the very edge of the Era End Point, in the deepest heart of layered destruction and silence. Struck by a combined blow from the two Near Transcenders, his Daoist Robe disintegrated into dust. The eight Great Bans on his Physique also vanished into nothingness...

The nine great wounds reappeared. But that was not all.

Qing Xuan did not belong to this time, but to the previous complete cycle. Now that he was unleashing his full power against two Near Transcenders without the protection of the eight Great Bans, he naturally suffered a backlash from the Great Era.

The tenth great wound slowly emerged.

Ten wounds meant the death of the body and the dispersal of the Dao. There would be no salvation.

It seemed a dead end, with no glimmer of hope in sight.

The Qing Xuan Daoist began to blur, being devoured piece by piece by the Great Era. And yet, a smile appeared on his face.

(More to come later.)