Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

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“Boom!”

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Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the thunder, and ten thousand heavenly thunders roared down into Ghostly Spirit Ridge, shaking the Ghost Gate and making the Netherrealm shudder; even the Lord of the Nether in Senluo Hall lost his color.

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It was indeed one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Techniques — Mastering the Five Thunders!

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Over the years, thanks to the Pill Origin Gathering, Xu Yang had collected a total of six Heavenly Gang Divine Powers, namely Infant Transformation, Whip Mountain Move Stone, Five Elements Great Escape, Submerge into the Abyss and Compress the Earth, Great Minor Compliance, and Mastering the Five Thunders.

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The so-called Five Thunders are not only thunder but also the five qi, corresponding to the five organs and the Five Elements. When the qi of the Five Elements converge into one, joining with the Dao, the marvelous use of Mastering the Five Thunders can be attained, enabling one to command lightning, pray for rain or shine, dispel calamities, exorcise demons, eliminate locusts, refine ghostly spirits, and it stands as the foremost offensive Great Art within the Heavenly Gang techniques.

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Xu Yang, with a Five Elements Spiritual Body and knowledge of thunder magic, found the cultivation of this Divine Power to be divinely facilitated, and in just over seven hundred years, he had used his Lower Realm experience to bring this Divine Power into the Great Achievement Realm.

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Just at Great Achievement, yet capable of shaking the seventh-tier great array—do the Heavenly Gang Divine Powers truly possess such strength?

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Not necessarily!

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The Ghostly Abyss Great Formation ranks at the seventh tier, and even the Heavenly Gang Divine Power, if not perfected, would find it difficult to shake.

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However, Xu Yang’s practice was not just about the technique, he had connections as well.

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Daoist Law Ancestor!

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Boosted by skill characteristics, leveling up a great step, this Great Achievement Divine Power then possessed the force of perfection.

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Therefore, in Yin Heavenly Lord’s view, Xu Yang’s Five Thunder Righteous Skills were not merely at the Great Achievement Realm but had reached Heavenly Gang perfection.

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Heavenly Gang perfection is equivalent to Dharma Body; under such a Five Thunder attack…

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Everything in the world interacts with mutual generation and opposition, and though his Ghostly Abyss Great Formation was not constructed to withstand heavenly tribulations, it was still governed by the just laws of heaven and earth and susceptible to thunder.

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Facing the already established Dharma Body of the Heavenly Gang’s Five Thunder, it was at an absolute disadvantage, restraint of restraints.

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Don’t ask why he didn’t deploy a formation that could counter the heavenly thunders—he couldn’t, even if he wanted to.

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Such is his cultivation base, such is his foundation; he’s helpless!

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“Boom!”

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As the heart of heaven operated rigorously and the Five Thunders were spurred on precipitously, the relentless bombardment elicited even more distressing wails from the ghostly spirits.

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Yin Heavenly Lord, helpless, could only grit his teeth and endure, pushing the battle into the most intense and grueling phase of attrition.

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At this point, he had no way out; even if consuming immortal power harmed his Mahayana foundation, he had to persist in this war of attrition with his opponent.

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If he could outlast, he would win the fight.

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If not…

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Three days later!

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“Boom!”

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Three days of torrential rain, with unceasing thunder.

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Another thunderbolt from high above struck down, crashing into the Ghost Gate and upon Senluo Hall, causing the manifested Dharma Body of Yanluo, the Lord of the Nether by Yin Heavenly Lord, to stagger and retreat step by step, deepening the damage to the formation and exacerbating its collapse.

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“How is it possible, how is it possible, how can it be possible!” Yin Heavenly Lord roared in shock and rage, looking up at the sky: “Such a Divine Power, sustained for three days, even I within the formation feel severely depleted; you, from outside the formation, alone with your own power, how do you persist, how do you persist?”

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In his words was sheer astonishment, utter disbelief.

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A Mahayana True Immortal cultivates with immortal spirit, and that cultivation consumes immortal spirit.

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He practiced four paths, enduring for over seventy thousand years, achieving Mahayana perfection. Though difficult to cross the tribulation, his foundation was solid, his immortal power profound, greatly surpassing those of the same realm, enabling him to awe South Observance and instill fear among peers.

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But this man, who had only ascended to Mahayana less than eight hundred years ago, who had held pill conferences and refined Divine Powers, and who had still studied hundred arts and techniques, would be doing well to have a stable foundation at all; how could he possibly compete with him in a battle of immortal powers?

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Could it be… he possesses some precious treasure?

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Yin Heavenly Lord’s pupils contracted as he suddenly understood it all.

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But it was already too late; another thunderous strike hammered down, targeting the lifeline of the formation.

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In the matter of Mahayana foundation and immortal power, he truly couldn’t equal Yin Heavenly Lord, who had bitterly cultivated for over seventy thousand years.

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But he wasn’t fighting alone.

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The White Jade Capital, the Immortal Spirit Mech Armor; with each passing moment, a mass of spirit stones vaporized to aid his Daoist Divine Powers.

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Do you think I’m challenging your foundation? In reality, I’m pitting my resources against yours!

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Although the spiritual power converted from spirit stones and the immortal power cultivated through Mahayana had some disparities, the transformation from quantity to quality, coupled with the effects of skill characteristics, was enough to make up for it—it simply meant consuming more spirit stones.

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The depth of Xu Yang’s resources goes without saying; throughout these years scouring South Observance of demons, he had plundered countless Mahayana patrimonies, with uncountable spirit stones and even obtaining numerous Precious Jade and Ruyi that could only be produced in Ancient Secret Realms.

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With that, what can Yin Heavenly Lord possibly use to contend, and why should he exhaust himself in a battle with him?

In the end…

“Boom!!!”

Another thunderbolt crashed down, exploding into the Ghost Gate, knocking Yin Heavenly Lord to the ground as his Yanluo Dharma Body disintegrated. The Ghost Gate and Senluo Hall also began to crumble, and the already struggling Ghostly Abyss Great Formation collapsed.

Divine Power breaks the Formation, Five Thunder destroy the Netherworld!

As the Dharma Body shattered and the Formation crumbled, Ghostly Spirit Ridge reappeared before men, and White Bone Mountain stood ghastly and pale.

Seeing this, Xu Yang did not say much, he retracted the sky-full of thunder and entered the mountain with his hands behind his back.

“Pfft!!!”

Inside the Cave Mansion, everything was in complete disarray, the Mana Altar toppled to the ground, and Yin Heavenly Lord’s complexion was even paler as he spewed out a mouthful of hot essence blood.

His cultivation was of four paths, half-dead and half-yin, no longer consisting of ordinary flesh and blood. This mouthful of essence blood was from the flow of his vital meridians, showing the severity of his injuries.

Already struggling with the Crossing the Tribulation, wholly reliant on the great Formation of the Dao Court, now not only destroyed by someone, but he also sustained grave injuries…

“Zhen Yuanzi!”

“This enmity of destroying my Dao, is irreconcilable!”

With an anguished howl, Yin Heavenly Lord’s eyes filled with hatred, he turned into a dark stream and disappeared into the earth.

Soon after, a bolt of lightning rushed forth, hammering into the White Bone Cave Mansion, and revealing the awe-inspiring figure of the Taoist Man.

“Escaped?”

Seeing the mess and the absence of anyone in the White Bone Cave, Xu Yang smiled nonchalantly, indifferent as he simply pinched a Dharma Decree and opened the Yin-Yang Passage.

Earth Sha’s seventy-two techniques—Pierce the Ghostly Abyss!

The world has Yin and Yang; the realms divide life and death.

In the World of Dao and Law, there has long been the concept of two lives of Yin and Yang. The Upper Realm for the living, the Netherworld for the souls to reincarnate.

Such is the case in the World of Dao and Law in the Lower Realm, and the Earth Immortals in the Upper Realm is similar, also divided into the worlds of Yin and Yang, which correspond to the layout of the Four States and Two Regions.

That Yin Heavenly Lord must have escaped into the Netherworld, heading towards the South Observation Nether Palace, seeking refuge in East Victorious Fengdu.

This was an expected development and also the purpose of his trip. Xu Yang was not surprised, merely unfolding the Earth Sha’s technique to Pierce the Ghostly Abyss, and stepped into the Yin-Yang Nether Realm.

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In the Nether Realm, the Ghostly Abyss!

A streak of ghostly light hurriedly passed through and eventually arrived at a city gate.

“Who dares to intrude into the South Observation Nether Realm?”

At the Ghost Gate, there stood Ox-Head and Horse-Face, two ghostly guardians, intending to stop the ghostly light.

“Hmph!”

“Is that the Eleventh Prince?!”

From within the ghostly light, a cold snort sounded out, which startled the Ox and Horse guardians, causing them to halt their movements hastily and bow, retreating to their original positions.

Without paying them any attention, Yin Heavenly Lord passed through the Ghost Gate and headed straight for the Senluo Hall.

Yin and Yang worlds are parallel. Just as there are Four States and Two Regions in the Upper Realm, there are also Four States and Two Regions in the Netherworld.

Currently in South Observation, being relentlessly pursued by Zhen Yuan, fleeing to East Victorious Fengdu was obviously impractical. His only option was to seek refuge in the South Observation Nether Palace.

Fortunately, the Nether Palaces in Fengdu belong to Immortal God Taoism. Apart from East Victorious Fengdu, the other three states also have their distributed Nether Palaces, each presided over by a Calamity Immortal Yanluo, no less formidable than the Dragon Palace in the Southern Sea.

Yin Heavenly Lord rushed into the city gate and went straight to the Senluo Hall.

Inside Senluo Hall, several Mahayana Cultivation figures appeared and greeted him respectfully: “We pay our respects to the Eleventh King!”

In Fengdu Nether Palace, besides the Ninth Calamity True Immortal Fengdu Emperor, there are ten Yanluos, all Calamity Immortal cultivators.

Being from the Nether Palace and a direct disciple of the Fengdu Emperor, with a cultivation close to the limit of Crossing the Tribulation, Yin Heavenly Lord is revered as the “Eleventh King” beyond the ten rulers and enjoys extraordinary status within the Nether Palace.

Now, the figures present were only Mahayana Realm Lord of the Nether, without the status of a Yanluo, and thus paid him their respects.

Without the time for pleasantries, Yin Heavenly Lord urgently asked, “Where is my elder brother?”

His elder brother was of course the Yanluo of that place and a Calamity Immortal Lord of the Nether.

Hearing this, they, too, sensed the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly said, “The king is cultivating in seclusion, we did not dare disturb him. We are unaware of what pressing matters His Highness has.”

“I…”

“Report!!!”

Before Yin Heavenly Lord could speak, a throng of ghost soldiers rushed into the hall, hurriedly reporting.

“Sires, something terrible has happened!

“Outside the Ghost Gate has arrived a Taoist Man, accompanied by thunder, fierce and formidable in demeanor.

“He claims that a demon has escaped into the city and demands to search within. If we refuse, he threatens to storm in!”