Chapter 187 - Slaying Gods with Martial Might

“Ninety thousand levels of the Innate realm?”

The Emperor of the Underworld Court was aghast. What sort of cultivation realm was that? Qi cultivation had only nine realms: Qi Gathering, First-Gate Knocking, Transmutation, Second-Gate Knocking, Pagoda, Jasper Pool, Divine Bridge, Third-Gate Knocking, and Ascension. At the ninety-thousandth level of the Innate realm, a cultivator would have ascended far beyond the Heavenly Realm!

Xu Ying’s killing intent battered his spirit and shook his mind. His vision turned blood-red, as though a boundless sea of blood were surging toward him. Even a being as powerful as he suffered hallucinations against this god-slaying martial Dao killing intent!

This was the seventh of the Eight Arts of the Combat God: the God-Slaying Art. Its killing intent soared to the heavens, surpassing every other move in the art.

But the emperor was, after all, an immortal corpse, powerful by his very nature. Though the immortal Dao power from beyond the heavens suppressed him, formidable power still lingered within him.

Bam!

He collided with Xu Ying’s God-Slaying Art. The impact sent the underworld emperor’s vital energy churning. Still, he quickly realized Xu Ying’s martial Dao true qi at the “ninety-thousandth level” lacked the substance of his own remaining mystical power.

The illusory sea of blood vanished from his sight. He changed techniques and laughed.

“I thought ninety thousand levels of the Innate realm would be impressive. So this is all you amount to! Take my God-Shaking Finger!”

He thrust a finger forward. Chilling winds rose on all sides as nether qi swirled around him, his cloak snapping in the wind as darkness swallowed the area. Like the true emperor of the underworld, he struck Xu Ying’s soul directly.

The God-Shaking Finger specifically targeted a cultivator’s Primordial Spirit, Golden Core, or soul, destroying it with a single thrust.

The power of his finger strike was boundless. Yet, to his surprise, Xu Ying neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he closed in and used the Dao-Hammering Art, trying to shake the emperor’s Primordial Spirit with martial Dao.

Before finger or fist connected with flesh, the attacks struck Xu Ying’s soul and the emperor’s Primordial Spirit.

Xu Ying swayed while the emperor’s Primordial Spirit was knocked clean out of his immortal corpse and sent flying backward several dozen li!

“Impossible!” he cried, staring at his immortal corpse floating before Xu Ying.

Xu Ying was merely a young man. Even if he had forged a Primordial Spirit in his mother’s womb, it could never match an immortal's.

Yet the fact remained: both had unleashed divine abilities targeting the soul or Primordial Spirit, and the ruler of the Underworld Court had suffered the greater blow.

Surely my God-Shaking Finger destroyed his soul?

Hope rose in the emperor’s heart as he raced back.

But then Xu Ying unleashed the Heaven-Flipping Art. His fist blasted through the sky like an immortal artifact descending from another world and smashed the head of the Emperor of the Underworld’s corpse!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Xu Ying rained down heavy blows. Within moments, he had hammered a deep crater into the corpse's head.

Even after several consecutive strikes of the Heaven-Flipping Art, Xu Ying had failed to shatter its head. He couldn’t help but admire the immortal corpse's toughness. An immortal’s corpse, indeed.

Just then, Li Xiaoke charged toward him. Xu Ying promptly swept his leg across, driving a heavy kick into the immortal corpse’s neck.

The corpse tumbled through the air toward Li Xiaoke.

Li Xiaoke used Visualization to manifest the Carefree Bell. The Dao Avatar of the great bell appeared, blocking the hurtling immortal corpse. A thunderous clang rang out as Xu Ying’s fist followed close behind, smashing into the corpse’s face and driving its head against the Carefree Bell’s wall of light!

Fairy Qingbi had already destroyed the true Carefree Bell. This one was merely a divine ability. With his cultivation suppressed by the immortal Dao, how could the mystical power he barely mustered withstand Xu Ying’s full-strength martial Dao assault?

Though Xu Ying’s fist struck the corpse in the face, the force crashed through into the bell, spreading cracks across its surface.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Xu Ying hammered down punch after punch, each blow ringing out like a tolling bell. He smashed the immortal corpse’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose deep into its face, and the manifested Carefree Bell shattered with a crash.

The impact sent Li Xiaoke staggering backward, his vital energy churning. Suddenly, the enraged underworld emperor charged in, his nether qi taking the shape of the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber. He spun forward, the saber whirling, and delivered three ringing slashes at Xu Ying!

Xu Ying guarded his waist with his right hand and his neck with his left. His strength erupted, stopping two of the blows, but he could not block the third. The Nether Pagoda Divine Saber struck him squarely in the forehead.

“Got him!” exclaimed the emperor in delight.

The blade scraped across Xu Ying’s forehead with a sizzling hiss, scattering sparks and leaving only a white mark. The underworld emperor recoiled in horror.

However, the blow had left Xu Ying somewhat dazed, and Li Xiaoke seized that opening. He twirled his sleeve and gave it a gentle flick. A large bell took shape, its mouth aimed at Xu Ying, and let out a thunderous peal!

Sound waves piled upon one another, shredding the clothes over Xu Ying’s chest and hurling him backward.

Li Xiaoke formed a sword seal with his other hand. Streaks of sword qi shot through the air from behind him, hissing as they struck Xu Ying in rapid succession!

In moments, sword strikes had landed on Xu Ying’s eyes, ears, throat, Baihui acupoint, heart, waist, kidneys, and elsewhere. Sword light engulfed him!

When the light dispersed, Xu Ying stood on the thick chain securing the jade coffin, his clothes in tatters. Not a single wound marked him!

Li Xiaoke’s expression grew grave. He curled his fingers slightly, recalling the sword qi he had sent out. It shot down from the sky with a series of whistles and returned through the crown of his head.

The emperor took the opportunity to enter his own corpse. Xu Ying had battered a depression into the immortal corpse’s forehead and smashed its face inward. He tugged his nose, eyes, and mouth back out, one after another.

His eyes were still not quite right, leaving his vision askew. Li Xiaoke laid a hand on him and transferred some immortal herbs of longevity from his Mud-Pill Grotto Heaven. Only then did the injuries to the emperor’s head and face begin to heal.

“Sword Divine Abilities lose power with distance. The farther they travel, the weaker they become.”

Li Xiaoke stared at Xu Ying and continued in a low voice, “A sword unleashes its greatest power only when held in the hand. It has been a long time since I fought with sword qi in my palm.”

Controlling the immortal corpse, the emperor seized the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber.

“This body of mine may be dead, but its greatest asset is not mystical power; it is physical strength. Only with the saber in hand can I wield that strength to its fullest!”

They charged Xu Ying from the left and right, moving almost simultaneously!

Both men seethed with humiliation and rage. One was the exalted sect master of Mount Jiulong, an Exorcist Immortal who consumed others’ cultivation. He had roamed unchallenged for three thousand years and had nurtured more than ten Exorcist noble clans.

The other was the supreme sovereign of the Underworld Court, commanding all the prefecture's deities and receiving the faith of its people.

Yet now Xu Ying had beaten them!

Turning their humiliation and fury into a murderous aura, they rushed toward the iron chain.

“We must kill him, no matter what, or our reputations will be ruined!”

They exchanged a glance, each understanding the other’s thoughts.

“Today’s events can’t come to light! We must silence the disciples and ghost gods afterward!!”

Xu Ying sped along the iron chain. Rather than continue fighting, he activated the Extreme Intent Freedom Art and left the two men behind.

He thought, The Extreme Intent Freedom Art really is wonderful. Fleeing whenever you can’t win damages the martial Dao spirit, but this art truly lets you run fast!

The iron chain securing the jade coffin was immense, far thicker than even a divine dragon. Huge scales covered its surface, each formed from silver iron plates etched with intricate patterns.

Now those patterns were lighting up, humming as they glowed with profound, mysterious power.

Xu Ying raced onward, darting around to avoid the glowing patterns until he followed the chain to the summit.

His pace gradually slowed. Even with the Extreme Intent Freedom Art, he could no longer move freely.

Terrifying pressure bore down from every direction. The chains transmitted binding power, the crater of Five-Color Immortal Mountain radiated forbidden power, and the immortal Dao runes floating around the jade coffin radiated suppressive power.

Above, the revived immortal corpses had joined forces to form a suppressive formation. Beyond the heavens, a towering figure cast spells across the world boundary to seal the mountain!

By the time Xu Ying reached this point, the pressure weighed on him like a mountain.

He looked ahead. The summit of Five-Color Immortal Mountain resembled a volcano, and the coffin’s burial site lay within a crater of unknown depth. Five-Colored qi surged from the volcano. This mysterious primordial qi activated the various seals on the crater’s inner walls, as well as the markings on the chains.

The primordial qi even reanimated the immortal bodies in the sky, assimilating them into the seal. It also powered the immortal Dao runes surrounding the jade coffin!

Together, these seals formed Five-Color Immortal Mountain’s vast sealing system, suppressing the jade coffin within the mountain. This strange primordial qi sustained it all.

“No wonder primordial qi spills out whenever the jade coffin tries to break free,” Xu Ying said, finally understanding.

He drove his vital energy to its utmost limit and strode along a chain, braving the pressure as he made for the jade coffin. His target was the purple immortal plant growing on it!

“Huh? This immortal Dao rune is almost identical to the ‘imprison’ Dao rune in my seal!”

His gaze swept over the coffin. One of the immortal Dao runes on its left side mirrored the structure of the “imprison” rune. The very mark he understood most profoundly and had deciphered most thoroughly. A single glance unveiled its mysteries.

Suddenly, Li Xiaoke and the Emperor of the Underworld Court arrived and attacked from behind.

Xu Ying relied on the speed of the Extreme Intent Freedom Art, while his pursuers were two of the greatest experts alive.

Li Xiaoke had entered the Domain of Six Immortality, but could barely keep more than forty grotto heavens open behind him. The Emperor of the Underworld Court had a powerful Primordial Spirit and possessed an immortal corpse.

Both attacked Xu Ying at once. Despite the immense suppression, their saber qi remained ferocious, and their sword light flashed, still powerful enough to threaten his life!

Three figures leaped from chain to chain. Xu Ying pushed the Eight Arts of the Combat God to their limit, meeting the two peerless experts head-on. Under current conditions, he could defeat either one alone, but fighting both at once was more than he could handle.

The jade coffin shuddered and slowly began to sink. Apparently, it could no longer withstand the five layers of suppression and confinement and was being forced down.

Anxiety gripped all three men. They continued fighting as they advanced toward the coffin. If the coffin were suppressed and it returned to the mountain crater, who knew when it would surface again?

Li Xiaoke and the underworld emperor were especially desperate. Each bore grave injuries and needed immortal herbs to heal!

Just as the three were about to fight their way onto the jade coffin, the chains rattled and shook. The coffin sank, dragging the chains with it, while the pressure from above grew ever heavier!

The being inside was losing its struggle against the fivefold seal.

As the coffin descended, the pressure on them doubled. Four more grotto heavens behind Li Xiaoke were forced shut, and even the underworld emperor’s steps grew sluggish.

Xu Ying grunted. With great difficulty, he unleashed the Earth-Shattering Art to block the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber, but Li Xiaoke’s sword qi darted toward his throat.

He caught the sword qi with two fingers, but its tip pressed against his throat, driving him backward until he slammed into the jade coffin.

The emperor swung the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber at Xu Ying’s waist!

A large hand reached out and seized the emperor’s wrist. Unable to complete his swing, the emperor turned in alarm. He found himself face-to-face with a burly, white-haired old man, and a fist growing larger in his vision.

Bam!

The punch smashed his features inward and nearly knocked his Primordial Spirit out of his body. Shock and rage surged through him.

“Xu Ying!” shouted the tall, white-haired old man to Xu Ying, though his eyes were bewildered.

Xu Ying was both astonished and delighted. “Heavenly Venerable Wu, you’ve come back to life? Your Majesty, Xiaoke, now you can experience the power of the millionfold Innate realm of the martial Dao!”

Heavenly Venerable Wu reached out with his left hand, curled his fingers, and flicked them against Li Xiaoke’s sword qi, shattering it with a series of metallic rings!

“Xu Ying?”

Heavenly Venerable Wu looked at him and smiled, delighted as a child. A blade flashed as the underworld emperor seized the opening and struck him on the head. A deafening clang rang out, and the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber rebounded high into the air.

The emperor recoiled in alarm. Li Xiaoke swept his sleeve, sending the great bell flying straight at Heavenly Venerable Wu’s face.

A thunderous toll rang out!

The force sent ripples through the white-haired elder’s skin, bunching it into wrinkled layers. Then he opened his mouth and roared, sounding like ten thousand dragons crying out in unison. The great bell shattered. Li Xiaoke gave a muffled grunt and staggered back two steps!

Heavenly Venerable Wu struck with a hand seal. Li Xiaoke spat blood and flew backward, bitter dismay filling his heart. Why wasn’t this old bastard suppressed?

The emperor closed in. Relying on the fleshly body of his immortal corpse, he met Heavenly Venerable Wu’s blows head-on, until his arm snapped with a sharp crack.

“Brother Xiaoke, together!” shouted the underworld emperor.

Li Xiaoke charged back, sending him immortal herbs of longevity, and the two joined forces against Heavenly Venerable Wu.

Just then, the sky darkened. They glanced up to see it fold in on itself and press down on them.

The jade coffin finally caved under the suppressive force of the fivefold seal. It was being forced deeper and deeper into the volcano! The surrounding seals blazed with light, steadily gaining the upper hand. Once the sky above their heads had finished folding, none of them would be able to escape this terrifying fivefold seal!

Li Xiaoke and the Emperor of the Underworld Court abandoned Heavenly Venerable Wu and Xu Ying at once and rushed for the exit. But Heavenly Venerable Wu caught up and held them back.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Furious and desperate, the two fought to break upward. Li Xiaoke shouted, “If you want to die here, that’s your business! We’re not dying with you!”

Iron chains soared into the air. The dragon-like scales upon them flew up in succession, gradually obscuring the sky and leaving fewer and fewer gaps.

We’re done for!

Despair filled both their hearts.

Xu Ying looked toward the immortal Dao rune for “imprison.” An idea stirred in his mind, and he charged toward it, calling, “Heavenly Venerable Wu!”

Heavenly Venerable Wu let go of Li Xiaoke and the underworld emperor. He leaped over to Xu Ying’s side and gave him an honest, innocent smile.

He was like a three-year-old child now. His memories hadn’t returned, so he could only barely remember Xu Ying.

Xu Ying unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at the immortal Dao rune for “imprison.”

“Do as I do!” he shouted.

Heavenly Venerable Wu copied him, attacking the rune with his own punches and kicks. His techniques and movements matched Xu Ying’s exactly.

In that brief exchange, Heavenly Venerable Wu had already beaten Li Xiaoke and the Emperor of the Underworld Court black and blue, breaking their bones and tearing their tendons. As they healed, the sight sparked understanding, and they exchanged a glance.

“There’s only one way to get out alive. We must break the immortal Dao rune and let the being inside the coffin break through the great seal for us! That’s our only chance of escape!”

The two hurried toward one of the immortal Dao runes. Without another word, they unleashed their most powerful techniques against it!

Crack!

Terrifying immortal light erupted with a deafening blast. Li Xiaoke and the emperor realized something was wrong, but they were already hurtling backward, powerless to stop themselves.

A moment later, immortal light pierced them. Their ethereal voids were riddled with holes, and even their Primordial Spirits were perforated. Their current injuries were countless times worse than those Xu Ying and Heavenly Venerable Wu had inflicted!

Both were utterly bewildered. “What happened? Why did the immortal Dao rune strike back at them...?”

The ultimate martial Dao technique Xu Ying was using was precisely the means to unravel the immortal Dao rune for “imprison.” Though Heavenly Venerable Wu had returned from the dead, he had the mind of a three-year-old and did not understand how to unravel an immortal Dao rune. Fortunately, he could copy what he saw.

Their hands and feet moved at blinding speed. In moments, they had unleashed countless punches and kicks, striking one vital spot after another on the immortal Dao rune.

The rune abruptly lost all its power and shattered with a hum!

Xu Ying withdrew his hand and watched the jade coffin anxiously. It was still sinking, its iron chains rattling, and the suppressive force descending from above had not diminished at all.

Then the jade coffin stopped.

Every flickering rune on the crater walls blazed to life, and the iron chains pulled taut.

Crack!

The enormous jade coffin shot skyward, dragging the chains behind it!