Chapter 285.1: Destroying the Supreme Sky Sect! The Primal World is shaken! (I)

"What? The formation... has been broken?"

The cultivators of the Supreme Sky Sect watched in disbelief as their sect's defensive formation shattered, leaving the entire base exposed.

"Cough, cough!"

"Agh!"

Those who had been maintaining the formation suffered an immediate backlash. Their faces turned deathly pale, and they coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Still, the physical backlash was hardly their greatest concern. With the formation destroyed, the Supreme Sky Sect had lost its most important line of defense.

Even the Deity Transformation grand elders were stunned. They stared at the enormous palm in the air, struggling to comprehend how it had shattered their defenses so easily.

While the Supreme Sky Sect reeled from the shock, the cultivators of Divine Sword Manor were overjoyed. After years of pent-up frustration, they had finally broken through the defenses that had kept them at bay.

Several years earlier, Divine Sword Manor had entered the Primal World with grand ambitions. Their campaign had begun successfully with the destruction of an Immortal Dao sect, but just as they were preparing to expand their influence, they had crossed paths with the Supreme Sky Sect.

The ensuing battle had been devastating. Divine Sword Manor suffered heavy losses, including the death of an Earthly Saint, and the defeat brought their plans for the Primal World to a grinding halt. For years afterward, they made virtually no progress, all because of that disastrous confrontation.

But now, the very formation that had once stopped them lay in ruins. With the Supreme Sky Sect finally vulnerable, Divine Sword Manor had its long-awaited opportunity to avenge that humiliation.

"Kill them all!"

"The Supreme Sky Sect has finally met its match!"

"Xuan Lin, you old bastard! You killed one of our Earthly Saints back then. Come out and face your death!"

The eight Earthly Saints of Divine Sword Manor unleashed their Dao Bodies, their massive forms stretched across the sky like gods. They blotted out the sun as they loomed over the Supreme Sky Sect, their overwhelming presence leaving little doubt that they intended to wipe out everyone below.

With their defenses destroyed and eight Earthly Saints bearing down on them, the Supreme Sky Sect had reached a moment of life and death. The Deity Transformation grand elders immediately rallied their forces, their voices thundering across the entire sect.

"The sect is in grave danger! Ring the bell nine times!"[1]

"Every elder and disciple must answer the summons! Even those in seclusion must come forth!"

"The Supreme Sky Sect's million-year Dao tradition cannot be allowed to perish on our watch!"

"Slay these evil demons and protect our Dao tradition!"

Their commands echoed throughout the base, summoning every cultivator to the Supreme Sky Sect's defense. In the eyes of the sect, the martial artists of Divine Sword Manor were evil demons bent on destroying everything their predecessors had built. With their protective formation gone and the enemy closing in, reconciliation or retreat was no longer a possibility. They would have to fight to the death to preserve their legacy.

Lu Changsheng surveyed the scene before him. The Supreme Sky Sect had stood for a million years, and its foundations ran deep. Countless cultivators remained fiercely loyal to the sect, and there was no possibility of bringing them over to Divine Sword Manor's side. Knowing this was destined to be a bitter battle of life and death, Lu Changsheng made up his mind to hold nothing back.

"The Bell of Disintegration!" A Deity Transformation grand elder summoned the Supreme Sky Sect's sect-guarding treasure, an ancient black bell with a plain, unadorned surface.

BONGGGG...!

A deep, resonant toll rang out from the bell, its sound spreading across the area until it reached everyone's ears.

BONG!

With each toll, a ripple swept outward, passing through everyone in its path.

The effect was immediate. Cultivators throughout the battlefield shuddered as their bodies suddenly seized up, leaving them completely unable to move. Only those at the Human Saint level fared slightly better, though even they felt as if they were trapped in a swamp, struggling against an unseen force with every movement.

Not even the Earthly Saints were spared. Their enormous Dao Bodies seemed to be burdened with an immense weight, with a crushing pressure pushing down on them from every direction. Despite their tremendous strength, their movements were severely restricted.

"Wh-What kind of treasure is this?"

"It can even restrain our Earthly Saint Dao Bodies?!"

"That's the Supreme Sky Sect's sect-guarding treasure, the Bell of Disintegration! They say it has the power to suppress and silence all things!"

"I can definitely feel the suppression part... but what about its power of disintegration?"

The answer came almost immediately. One of Divine Sword Manor's Human Saints suddenly began trembling. He looked down at himself in disbelief and discovered that his Saint Body was slowly disintegrating. His flesh was crumbling away, scattering into the air like sand carried off by the wind. As he watched his own body fall apart, his disbelief gave way to terror.

"M-My body... Help! Help me!"

But there was nothing anyone could do. His Saint Body continued to disintegrate, and within moments, the Human Saint had been reduced to powder. There was no violent explosion, no earthshaking disturbance, or any other extraordinary phenomenon to mark his death. His body had simply crumbled away, quietly and almost imperceptibly, until nothing remained. Just like that, a mighty Human Saint had perished without the slightest commotion, as though an invisible force had silently erased him from existence.

The cultivators of Divine Sword Manor were horrified by the death of their comrade.

"It's the Bell of Disintegration!"

"The bell tolls, and things simply disintegrate?! What the hell is up with this treasure?!"

"Destroy it! Quick!"

The eight Earthly Saints immediately launched their attacks, determined to destroy the bell before it claimed any more lives. Unfortunately, their Dao Bodies were already under the bell's influence, and their movements had become painfully sluggish. The Bell of Disintegration, meanwhile, could change its size and position at will, making it exceedingly difficult to hit.

Of course, terrifying power like this naturally came at a cost. Activating the bell consumed an enormous amount of energy, and although it could severely restrict Earthly Saints, it lacked the power to kill them instantly. Still, against anyone below the Earthly Saint level, its effects were devastating. Even Human Saints were helpless before it, as their Saint Bodies were unable to withstand its power of disintegration.

Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes as he observed the ancient bell. He had heard its tolls and sensed the invisible waves sweeping across the battlefield, but unlike the other Earthly Saints, he was almost entirely unaffected.

His Earthly Saint Dao Body had reached a level of strength that was virtually unmatched. Among Earthly Saints, he was invincible, and even a powerful treasure like the Bell of Disintegration could not do much against him.

Lu Changsheng sighed softly. "A pretty powerful enchanted treasure. It's a pity..."

Then, he threw a punch.

It was an ordinary punch, executed without any elaborate technique, but the power behind it was anything but ordinary. Driven by the overwhelming strength of his Dao Body, the blow carried enough force to seemingly split the heavens and shatter the earth.

Crack!

The terrifying impact struck the Bell of Disintegration, and cracks immediately spread across its ancient black surface.

"The bell!" The Deity Transformation grand elder who had summoned the treasure stared in horror, his eyes turning bloodshot.

The bell was the Supreme Sky Sect's most precious sect-guarding treasure, a powerful enchanted treasure capable of suppressing even Earthly Saints. And yet, Lu Changsheng had nearly shattered it with a single punch!

The Deity Transformation grand elder was beside himself with rage. "You evil demon! I'll obliterate you!"

Buzz...

A streak of black light shot through the air, revealing itself to be an extraordinary flying sword moving at astonishing speed. It appeared before Lu Changsheng almost instantaneously and plunged straight into his Dao Body. However, it failed to produce the expected effect.

Lu Changsheng lowered his gaze to the sword that had struck him. Despite the force behind the attack, its blade had failed to penetrate his body, and the impact sent it rebounding through the air. His Dao Body was undamaged.

"Is that all?" asked Lu Changsheng as he shook his head.

To him, those Deity Transformation cultivators were simply too weak. Whether they relied on spells, formations, or enchanted treasures, none of their methods posed the slightest threat to him.

At some point, Lu Changsheng had grown so powerful that he could look down upon virtually all other cultivators. Even ordinary Earthly Saints were no longer capable of threatening him, much less those at the Deity Transformation level. In his eyes, there was scarcely any difference between a Deity Transformation cultivator and one at the Nascent Soul level. Both were equally powerless before him.

Lu Changsheng extended his hand and caught the sword that had rebounded. With a casual squeeze, he snapped the blade in two. Then, bringing his enormous hands together, he reached toward the Deity Transformation grand elder. His colossal palms closed in from either side, leaving the elder barely an instant to react before they slammed together with devastating force.

Boom!

A thunderous sound shook the area. The Deity Transformation grand elder was crushed between Lu Changsheng's palms without the slightest chance to resist. His physical body was instantly destroyed, and even his Nascent Soul was obliterated by the impact.

However, destroying a Deity Transformation cultivator's body and Nascent Soul was not necessarily enough to kill them. Unlike Nascent Soul cultivators, those who had reached the Deity Transformation level possessed something even more fundamental to their existence: the primal spirit.[2] And as long as the primal spirit survived, the cultivator could not truly be considered dead.

Whoosh!

The primal spirit's greatest advantage was its extraordinary speed, far surpassing anything a physical body could achieve. The instant Lu Changsheng crushed the Deity Transformation grand elder's body and nascent soul, his primal spirit escaped the destruction and immediately attempted to flee.

Lu Changsheng, of course, had no intention of letting him escape. His enormous Dao Body drew a deep breath, then opened its mouth and exhaled with tremendous force.

Whoooooooo!

A violent gust of wind shot forth with overwhelming power. What had begun as a single breath became a raging storm that engulfed the fleeing primal spirit.

"Ahhh!" The Deity Transformation grand elder's agonized scream rang out as the gale swept him up. The fierce winds tore relentlessly at his primal spirit, shredding it apart. Unable to resist the destructive force, his primal spirit quickly dissipated into nothingness.

1. The number of bell tolls functions as a standardized emergency broadcast system for a cultivation sect or martial school. The number nine holds supreme significance in Chinese numerology, representing the absolute maximum or ultimate scale. Conventionally, 1-3 bell tolls = Daily routines, shift changes, or opening sect doors for guests; 4-6 = Standard alerts, elder convocations, or internal trials; 7-8 = Major events, foreign invasions, or the death of a senior elder; 9 = Maximum emergency or extinction-level threat. ☜

2. The fully realized, refined form of the spirit itself, located in the upper dantian (sea of consciousness). In many power systems, the nascent soul eventually matures and transforms into the primordial spirit. ☜