Chapter 531: [The Great Wind Rises!]

Chapter 531: Chapter 461: [The Great Wind Rises!]

‘Everyone is a pest.’

‘The strong joining forces, to grow bigger and stronger?’

‘In any case, the Burial Realm Demon King is the one who will take the blame. It has nothing to do with the Primordial Sect.’

‘I can just hide in Shanhai Pass and direct things from afar.’

‘There are no Primordial Demons within the Primordial Sect, either.’

‘As long as he doesn’t willingly expose himself, the Dragon Hunting Tower won’t discover that its collaborator is actually its enemy.’

‘Once the Primordial Demon has grown…’

‘One of them will be worth a whole group.’

‘The Human World would be nothing to fear. It wouldn’t even be a problem to be exposed and turn hostile toward the Dragon Hunting Tower.’

Unfortunately…

It was all just wishful thinking in the end.

Putting all else aside…

There was the fundamental problem of demand. The Dragon Hunting Tower only wanted Transverse Cultivation Celestial Prides; it wasn’t like the Primordial Sect or the Human World, which weren’t picky eaters.

For now…

The Primordial Sect could barely sustain the costs of his Cultivation. If things got truly desperate, he could temporarily send out some of his incarnations to handle matters. There was no need to take a risk and bargain with a tiger for its hide.

But what Wu Dao couldn’t have expected was that before long, the Dragon Hunting Tower would stop being a picky eater too.

…

「Inside Shanhai Pass.」

As numerous “big fish” were rooted out, the Ninth Elder was dismissed.

The intensity of the Commander’s Law Enforcement Team’s purge lessened. The remaining spies were hidden too deeply, and those that had been found were merely suspects who had been “accidentally” exposed.

To ferret out the real “big tigers”…

…was still impossible in the short term.

However, after a month, the great purge that had affected the Ten Celestial Gates could no longer continue.

Because…

…the Mountain and Sea side had already consolidated the territory they had previously occupied. They were sharpening their blades and preparing their forces, getting ready to launch another all-out assault!

A rather obvious change was the high frequency of Abyss Tasks being issued. Wu Dao’s various incarnations received an Abyss Task almost every other day.

Wu Dao knew in his heart.

‘The Great Dao has sensed the crisis.’

‘It wants to preemptively disrupt the Mountain and Sea side’s plans. Otherwise, the Abyss Tasks wouldn’t always be about assassinations and destroying the spatiotemporal teleportation nodes in the Mountain and Sea Territory.’

The increasing frequency of tasks didn’t have much of an effect on Wu Dao, as he completed every mission perfectly, maintaining an incredible one hundred percent success rate.

But in the torrent of this war between civilizations, an individual’s Power was ultimately just a drop in the bucket. No matter how many incarnations he had, he could at most accept Abyss Tasks for a few territories.

A single territory had countless Primordial Battlefields, as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

A single Celestial Gate had tens of thousands of territories.

Not to mention, this was the Seventh Celestial Gate.

The Mountain and Sea could dispatch Peak Ancestor Kings, and if they got ruthless, they could even transport All Heavens Emperor-level Power over.

Trying to stop them in advance with assassinations and sabotage was truly unrealistic.

Of course, Wu Dao had no delusions of being a savior. The only thing he cared about was how long Hongyuan could hold out.

This concerned his time to develop.

If Hongyuan couldn’t hold on, if the Mountain and Sea Realm quickly breached Shanhai Pass and the Great Tribulation officially began, then it went without saying, he’d be totally screwed.

His current strength was far, far too weak. He didn’t even have the qualifications to enter the field as a player.

Both the Mountain and Sea and Hongyuan were eyeing him like tigers stalking their prey. No matter which side ultimately plucked the Dao Fruit of this tribulation, he would be purged.

‘Hide?’

‘That’s just deceiving myself.’

Before a Daoist transcends, they can briefly remain within the Great Dao. That period is very special; they possess almost all the authority of the Great Dao for that one tribulation.

‘No matter how you hide, they can drag you out.’

However, Wu Dao had always had a question.

How did those two Tribulation Masters, the Slaughter Emperor and the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon King, escape the purge?

A Daoist controls the authority of a tribulation’s Dao.

You could call it a conceptual-level erasure.

No matter how supreme the Slaughter Emperor and the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon King were in life, logically speaking, it should have been impossible for them to escape the purge.

‘Could it be related to Dao Artifacts?’

Wu Dao thought of the Dao Artifacts, those special existences within Hongyuan that each formed their own Dao. Every single Dao Artifact could be considered a Daoist within the Great Dao.

If he relied on the protection of a Dao Artifact, it might indeed be possible to evade the great purge.

The Great Freedom Heavenly Demon King’s ambition lay in the Sea of Suffering, and the Slaughter Emperor was defeated at Buzhou Mountain.

The Reincarnation Emperor had connections to the Eighteen Netherworlds.

The three titans he knew of who had escaped the purge were all intricately connected to various Dao Artifacts.

In other words, if he still hadn’t grown strong enough by the end of the Great Tribulation, unless he possessed a Dao Artifact, he would ultimately be unable to escape death.

But to gain the recognition of a Dao Artifact…

“It’s impossible to obtain without fate.”

Wu Dao sighed. He had actually come into indirect contact with quite a few Dao Artifacts so far.

The Endless Sea of Suffering, the Eighteen Netherworlds, Buzhou Mountain, the Dao Celestial Stele, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and more recently, the Primordial Life Mother Tree and the First Innate Spirit Root, the Profound Yellow Mother Tree.

Not a single one gave him the feeling that they were fated to be together.

Wu Dao suspected it wasn’t just a matter of fate, but also a case of like repelling like, because he too was forming his own Great Dao!

In the natural world, they would be Hunters of the same order.

How could they possibly accept him?

The only glimmer of hope was probably the tiger’s skin he wore—the Celestial Treasure Bitter Dust Robe. It had reached 100% of an Emperor’s Artifact’s power back when he was weak.

It seemed to be just a hair’s breadth away from becoming a Dao Artifact.

But the final ritual to become a Dao Artifact would likely require Wu Dao to truly cross the Sea of Suffering, then achieve his own Attainment Dao, all while blessed by immense fate.

That was a contradiction in itself.

If he had already attained the Dao, what would he need the Bitter Dust Robe to hide?

Thinking it over and over, Wu Dao deeply understood what it meant to be swept up by the tide of destiny. It was a torrent that was hard to resist, and the weak truly had a difficult time fighting back when crushed by such a flood.

He also understood the meaning of living on borrowed time.

Whether Hongyuan could hold back the Mountain and Sea was a complete unknown. Because of that old schemer, the Great Celestial Venerable, the things he wanted to do would be easier if the Great Tribulation began sooner.

With troubles both within and without, Shanhai Pass, which appeared to be an iron wall on the surface, could actually collapse at any moment once the Martial Ancestor, its supporting Celestial Pillar, fell.

It was said that ever since the Mountain and Sea’s all-out assault began three years ago, the Martial Ancestor had been at the very forefront of the Chaos Abyss, confronting and intercepting two of the Mountain and Sea’s Desolate Ancestors.

The specifics of the battle were unknown to anyone below the level of Peak Primordial Chaos.

But fighting one against two, coupled with the territory Hongyuan had lost, it was clear the situation was not good.

In this situation, the attitude of the Sword Ancestor from the Daluo Celestial Domain was somewhat subtle. He hadn’t supported the Martial Ancestor, clearly leaning toward the Celestial Court.

Hongyuan currently had three Daoists.

Only the Martial Ancestor was single-handedly holding back the heavens. If nothing changed, Hongyuan’s fate was already sealed.

He could only hope that the Martial Ancestor Panwu Emperor, who had attained the Dao in the same era as the Great Celestial Venerable, could hold on and buy a little more time.

…

After the horn for the Mountain and Sea’s all-out assault sounded, an atmosphere of an impending storm enveloped the entirety of Shanhai Pass. The great purge was forced to a halt, and all the Celestial Gates were frantically conscripting soldiers.

Because, this time, the Mountain and Sea’s move was enormous.

Every day, as Wu Dao accepted Abyss Tasks, he discovered that behind the border, the number of elite armies from the Mountain and Sea’s various Di Races was increasing daily.

And even deeper within, there were armies of the Four Great Primordial Races!

Not only that, the Mountain and Sea was also doing the same thing as Hongyuan. Strong experts, acting as Marshals, frequently crossed the border to launch surprise assassination raids within the Seventh Celestial Gate.

It seemed they also wanted to assassinate and weaken as much of Hongyuan’s high-end Power as possible before the great battle.

Among those targeted were the Celestial Prides on the Emperor’s List.

They received “special attention” from the Mountain and Sea.

Because every one of them was a seed for a future Great Emperor of Hongyuan, carrying immense fate and shouldering Hongyuan’s future.

Killing even one was a huge loss for Hongyuan.

The Little Martial Ancestor, number one on the Emperor’s List, was one of the Mountain and Sea’s primary assassination targets. He faced all sorts of attacks every day, but he was strong enough to fight a Great Emperor.

Coupled with the protection from Hongyuan’s experts, no major problems had occurred.

As for the others, the situation was somewhat grim.

In just half a month, many names from the bottom to the middle of the Emperor’s List were extinguished. Some died in battle beyond the pass, while others were killed in sneak attacks by Mountain and Sea experts.

Correspondingly, Hongyuan’s side was also hunting with crazed fervor.

But overall, the Mountain and Sea’s results were better. Because at the same level, unless you were a monster among monsters like Long Chen or those at the top of the Emperor’s List, the Hongyuan side simply couldn’t defeat the Desolate Gods, who had the advantage of their Ancestral Bloodline. They could only win by using superior numbers, piling on bodies to achieve victory.

But there was an exception.

And that was the freak, Wu Dao.

His many top-tier incarnations had all made it onto the Emperor’s List. Scattered across the major territories of the Seventh Celestial Gate, they frantically accepted Abyss Tasks.

While others were terrified, he took the initiative to hunt down Mountain and Sea Celestial Prides. Those at the same realm were no match for him, and if he couldn’t win, he could quickly flee.

For a time, he actually caused a great deal of trouble for the Mountain and Sea.

They couldn’t figure it out.

Where did such a group of freaks come from?

The military headquarters of the Seventh Celestial Gate also noticed the strangeness of Wu Dao’s group of incarnations, but it was merely a passing note. After all, low-level Quasi-Emperors were simply too weak.

In the upcoming great battle, no matter how valiant they were, it would be difficult for them to have much of an impact on the overall situation.

Another month passed like this.

The Mountain and Sea completed their troop reinforcements on the other side of the border outside the pass. The border was now as solid as a Divine Wall; even a Great Emperor who entered rashly might perish, their Dao dissolving!

Hongyuan’s side also completed its conscription.

In the Primordial Battlefield under Wu Dao’s command, the number of soldiers and experts reached more than five times the original amount, all coming from the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms!

Most of them were green recruits.

They also possessed the noble arrogance cultivated in Hongyuan.

This was normal.

After all, in the Seventh Celestial Gate, even a Venerable was, strictly speaking, just a common soldier, whereas in Hongyuan, Venerables were all revered as supreme ancestors.

Also on this day.

Wu Dao suddenly discovered that the Abyss Tasks were no longer refreshing. In their place was a single, blood-red protection mission that everyone had received—

Defend the Celestial Gates, Protect Hongyuan!

‘A protection mission. Every soldier in the Ten Celestial Gates receives it. It was only issued once before, three years ago, during the Mountain and Sea’s first all-out assault on Hongyuan.’

Deep within the Miasma Abyss.

Wu Dao looked at the sole mission woven from iron, blood, and beacon fires on his Battle Merit Order, and realized the severity of this all-out assault from the Mountain and Sea.

Three years ago.

The Mountain and Sea attacked Hongyuan for the first time.

The Dao Celestial Stele had also issued the same “Defend Hongyuan” mission to everyone. To put it in gaming terms, it was more terrifying than a world boss mission.

And that time, three years ago…

…Hongyuan was utterly defeated!

The loss of territory from the Sixth to the Tenth Celestial Gates was also due to the failure to defend in that battle, which caused Hongyuan’s Dao fortune to weaken and the Mountain and Sea Dao to encroach.

This was also why, after crossing the border, one would lose contact with Hongyuan and feel as if they had entered a strange Exotic Realm.

In the territories controlled by the Mountain and Sea, the Hongyuan Great Dao was infinitely weakened, with only its basic suppressive abilities remaining. In essence, thirty percent of it already belonged to another Dao System.

As for the Celestial Gates further ahead, this situation was even more severe.

In other words, if this battle was also a failure, Hongyuan would lose even more territory. Or even worse…

WHOOSH~

Putting away the Battle Merit Order.

Wu Dao paused his Cultivation and focused his mind on his many incarnations in the outside world.

The grand-scale course of events was something he was powerless to influence or change right now.

The only thing he could do was to put forth his greatest effort in the upcoming offense-defense battle between the two realms, to earn battle merits and harvest more Dao Source to grow stronger quickly.

This feeling of being swept along was infuriating!

But what good was being infuriated?

It was just like his situation in the Red Fire Mine when he first descended into this World—

If your Power is less than others, you deserve to suffer!

Rather than blaming heaven and earth, it was better to seize every opportunity to climb up quickly, to fledge his wings so he wouldn’t be eliminated by the torrent of nature!

To this day.

Having come this far from being a mere mortal, his path could be summarized in a single sentence—

To become the king of all living beings, first devour the gods, dragons, and elephants!

Now, he wished to become the king of ten thousand Daos!

It was only right that he should experience more tribulations!

Once he succeeded…

‘Players?’

‘I’ll swallow the whole damn board!’