Chapter 217: All Cards on the Table

At this very moment, if a Mortal were to gaze up from the earth, they would witness a rare spectacle—one unseen for centuries—unfurling across the heavens.

It was high noon, a time when the blazing sun should have hung high in the sky. Yet now, that magnificent sun had dimmed, replaced by the faint glimmer of a single candle flame.

Crackling lightning surrounded the candle flame, striking down like stars plummeting from the firmament. The crashing bolts triggered flashes of light that battered the aura of flames protecting the candle, yet failed to shake it. A myriad of colors intertwined, fusing together to ultimately tear open a massive rift across the sky.

Through the rift lay only a pitch-black void.

It was a glimpse of the void beyond the sky. Amidst the faint, brilliant glow of the stars, a billowing auspicious cloud and a giant Buddha were locked in an endless struggle.

That was the view from afar.

Looking closer, a resplendent, golden expanse of ancient Buddhist temples stretched across the air, and within its grounds, a flying sword was rampaging recklessly.

Fierce battles raged everywhere.

Yet at the true epicenter of this great war—where the martial brothers Kunyun and Kunlun stood—neither side unleashed their Divine Powers immediately.

"I assume you are also undergoing your life tribulation, Junior Brother?"

"I am."

Kunlun gave a slight nod. "You are my life tribulation, Senior Brother. As long as you die, this tribulation will be considered passed."

"How simple for you!"

Kunyun burst into laughter. "Do you know how I have lived recently? I have truly been walking on thin ice, trembling at every step, terrified of making a single wrong move."

"Has it been any different for me?" Kunlun sighed deeply. "My life tribulation simply began much earlier than yours. I started crossing it the moment I was banished into the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Your life tribulation has only just begun. I have already reached the end, which is why our paths cross now."

His words were as calm as ever.

Kunyun's face instantly darkened. He scoffed, "Are you saying that encountering you is the greatest hurdle of my life tribulation, while for you, encountering me means your tribulation is almost complete?"

"Not exactly."

Kunlun shook his head, a strange look entering his eyes as he gazed at Kunyun—a mix of pity and mockery. Finally, he spoke in a soft, distant tone.

"You suppressed your killing intent to chat with me, Senior Brother. Are your preparations just about complete?"

Before the last word fell, Kunyun struck. His sleeve flared open, revealing a profound light that had clearly been gathering power. Following the motion of his pointed fingers, it shot forward.

'Tianshu Mysterious Lightning Wondrous Technique!'

Lightning crackled as the heavens executed their punishment. Left with no room to evade, Kunlun's face instantly turned pale. His divine sense burned with searing pain, as if it had been rolled through fire.

With the spell paving the way and the initiative seized, Kunyun didn't hesitate for a second. He was already forming hand seals. A faint, grey grain of light gathered at his fingertips before violently expanding. A mustard seed transforming into Mount Sumeru—layers upon layers of magnificent, mountain-heavy light instantly filled Kunlun's entire field of vision.

A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms!

The Divine Power bore down. Kunlun had barely recovered from Kunyun's sneak attack, but before he could regain his footing, the light of Sumeru smashed into his body.

"Boom!"

From just this single strike, Kunlun was blown to pieces on the spot. This was the might of A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms—transforming a mustard seed into Mount Sumeru, unleashing ten parts of power with only one part of effort.

To put it bluntly, among all the cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer in the Immortal Gate, not a single one could match him head-on in a pure contest of Divine Powers and sheer output. They could only rely on the profound subtleties of their own Divine Powers—their underlying mechanisms—to counter him. And even then, he could likely shatter their Divine Powers directly through brute force!

Yet at this moment, Kunyun felt no joy.

Kunlun's shattered corpse had suddenly dissolved into a sky full of radiant light. It reassembled in the distance, condensing back into a physical form, and he stepped out completely unharmed.

"Harmonizing Brilliance and Congealing Light Wondrous Technique."

Kunyun's gaze was piercingly cold. "Dodging with spell techniques isn't your style, my good Junior Brother. Have you forgotten our clashes in the past? Bring out your Divine Power."

"We will fight head-on—decide the victor, and determine life and death!"

"Since you insist, Senior Brother..."

Kunlun lowered his eyes. A brilliant luster swelled in his palm, slowly rising before instantly manifesting into an orange-red flame.

Seeing this, Kunyun pushed his Divine Power to its absolute limit. He knew his good Junior Brother's Divine Power perfectly well. Born from the heavenly Yang fire, the Radiant Universal Illumination Six Harmonies Qi, it was the purest Divine Power of slaughter. In terms of raw might, it might not match his own, but in terms of profound subtlety, it far surpassed it.

"...Then I will respectfully obey."

Major Divine Ability, When the Kalpa Fire Blazes!

The flame surged and plummeted. Wherever it passed, all color and form were erased, leaving behind nothing but pitch-black emptiness—the vista of the Cosmos beyond the sky.

A sky rift!

This was an anomaly that usually only appeared when Qi Refining experts battled. Yet now, it had been triggered by Kunlun's Divine Power, even if its scale was much smaller and lacked that level of grandeur.

Looking across the sky, there was only a meteor-like crimson flame dragging a rift through the heavens. It crashed violently into A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms, tearing through layer after layer of Sumeru. It was on the verge of breaking within three zhang of Kunyun when it was finally, barely stopped. The two sides plunged into a deadlock.

The mustard seed and Mount Sumeru, unparalleled in magnificence.

The blazing kalpa fire, destroying the vast universe.

The two Major Divine Abilities collided in midair. The flames incinerated all phenomena, while the colors of Sumeru constantly exploded and shattered, raining down from the zenith of the sky.

But no matter how much was destroyed, Kunyun simply circulated his magic power, transforming it into more Sumeru to replace the losses. Under such a collision, the disparity in their magic power consumption was immense.

After all, on Kunyun's side, turning a mustard seed into Mount Sumeru allowed him to unleash ten parts of power for every one part of magic power he spent. On Kunlun's side, however, the magic power drain of his slaughter Divine Power was exceptionally severe. The key to victory in this clash lay in whether Kunyun could hold the line against Kunlun's fierce assault, or if Kunlun could break through Kunyun's defenses before exhausting his own magic power.

Yet right at this moment.

Directly behind Kunlun, a figure silently materialized. Gripping a longsword, the figure thrust it viciously right into Kunlun's back.

"You haven't changed at all, Senior Brother."

Kunlun looked back helplessly and sighed. "One face in public, another in the shadows. You talk about fighting head-on, but your mind is entirely focused on a sneak attack from behind."

Squelch!

In the blink of an eye, the blade pierced straight through Kunlun's body. However, he once again transformed into a sky full of glowing light, on the verge of dissolving and reforming in the distance.

'Hmph, trying to leave?'

Kunyun's gaze remained frigid; he felt absolutely no shame about his sneak attack. A head-on clash? Please, this was crossing a life tribulation. Did he think they were playing house?

Victory is justice!

In a flash of lightning, Kunyun had already stabilized his grip on the longsword. His divine sense chanted the incantation: "Ren links the heavenly river, firm and righteous in virtue! Quell its flames, let not rampant waters break restraint!"

The moment the words fell, an aqueous light surged from the blade—majestic, unyielding, and perfectly impartial. With a point of the sword tip, it was as if an invisible rift had been torn open. A heavenly river breached its banks, and rolling waves poured out from within, crashing over Kunlun and washing the radiant light around his body to pieces on the spot!

Heavenly River Suspended Encompassing Sword!

"How is it? I prepared this magic sword specially for you. It originates from the Hanging River Endlessly Circulating Qi, the heavenly Yang water. Are you satisfied, Junior Brother?"

Kunyun sneered. Having been a true transmission for so many years and having managed the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, calling him a multi-treasure cultivator wouldn't be an exaggeration. The magic treasures in his hands were by no means few.

Compared to him, what did his good Junior Brother have?

After wasting away in the Eight Trigrams Furnace for so many years, it was a miracle he had even recovered his cultivation base. Naturally, he couldn't possibly possess any magic treasures, let alone other hidden methods.

'From the very beginning, he was never my match.'

Kunyun's gaze remained icy. Although this thought flashed through his mind, he didn't relax in the slightest. After all, there was still one massive hidden danger in this battle.

In the next second, the world suddenly blurred.

Kunlun, who had been pinned down by the scouring sword qi—unable to escape as glowing light and on the verge of perishing—suddenly regained the leeway to move.

"Hm!?"

Kunyun stared blankly at the sight, but he immediately reacted.

'Time-Stealing Thief?'

In this instant, Kunlun was gifted extra time. Only then did he have the chance to form hand seals and chant, enduring the scouring sword qi as he rode a streak of radiant light and forcefully escaped.

Almost simultaneously, Kunyun resonated his magic power. A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms smashed down violently, forcefully shattering the influence of the Time-Stealing Thief. He then swept his large sleeve and drew out yet another item. It was a thin book, but the moment it appeared, Kunlun froze in place in the distance.

Comprehensive Records of Arrayed Immortals!

The Spiritual Treasure that had previously exposed You Xuexin's identity was now held in Kunyun's hands. It scoured heaven and earth, instantly capturing that lingering ripple of the Time-Stealing Thief!

"Did you think striking from afar would keep you safe?"

"I've been waiting for you!"

Kunyun sneered. Gripping the Spiritual Treasure book firmly, he poured rolling waves of magic power into it while chanting an incantation: "Verify the Dao of the ancient tomes; share in the trials and peace of the world!"

Boom!

In a flash, the Comprehensive Records of Arrayed Immortals burst with brilliant light. It plunged into the void, piercing through layers of mountains and rivers, and projected the image of a figure whose face could not be seen.

Heaven-Stealing Thief!

Simply because of this single act of assistance, Kunyun—who had been prepared all along—seized their energy signature and exposed them directly with the Spiritual Treasure! The thief fell into the sight of countless people!

Seeing this unfold, the Heaven-Stealing Thief looked up helplessly.

At first glance, the clear expanse of the sky seemed completely empty. Yet to the thief's eyes, the area outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace was packed with countless figures!

They were entrenched within the Twenty-Four Qi.

Breathing the qi of heaven and earth, their cold, gloomy gazes bore straight into the thief, radiating undisguised malice. And then—they all reached out their hands toward the thief simultaneously.

"Sigh..."

Immediately after, the figure shattered!

There was no strange phenomenon, nor could naked Mortal eyes perceive the true form. One could only see the Heaven-Stealing Thief's figure scattered by a violent wind, dissolving completely into heaven and earth.

At the same time, several voices—which Mortals were forbidden to eavesdrop upon—echoed through the unseen void.

"Dead?"

"No. It was an identity stolen using the Merit-Stealing Thief, not their true self... After all, as a descendant of immortals, it's actually not strange for them to possess such an ability."

"A pity we cannot enter the Eight Trigrams Furnace."

"Isn't Mingyou watching over it? Why not give it a try?"

"Mingyou knows their limits perfectly and hasn't completely enraged that blade... Besides, if we were to go in and Mingyou suddenly washed their hands of the matter, what would we do then?"

"I was merely jesting just now..."

The voices quickly faded into the distance, eventually returning to silence. In reality, this manifested as the violent wind that had just scattered the Heaven-Stealing Thief rapidly dying down.

Witnessing this scene, Kunyun also breathed a sigh of relief.

'The Heaven-Stealing Thief has been eliminated!'

Turning his head, he looked again at Kunlun not far away, a smile finally surfacing on his face. "It seems I have still won this battle, Junior Brother!"