Chapter 225: How High Is the Dao

The Great Dream Penetrating Vision Wondrous Technique shattered with a deafening crash.

Their two divine senses returned to their respective bodies. Immediately after, both Wang Ping and Kunyun retreated in streaks of light, putting a vast distance between them across the sky.

The next second, Kunyun spoke.

"Fellow Daoist, just this one strike."

His tone was as placid as an ancient well, carrying only unwavering resolve. He intended to use this strike to forge a future for himself, carving a path of survival through the suffocating layers of his life tribulation!

Rumble!

Lightning surged as the Jade Horned Dragon emerged once more. The majestic True Dragon coiled within the sea of clouds, riding the lightning, its claws anchoring firmly to the firmament.

At first glance, it appeared to be a mere imitation of a demon race's form, nothing extraordinary. Some independent cultivators might even consider it beneath his station. Yet, only cultivators truly at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer could understand just how precious such a destiny form was—simply because it did not exist in reality.

Indeed, there was no demon race known as the Jade Horned Dragon between heaven and earth.

The Jade Horned Dragon that Kunyun transformed into—every single scale and every whisker—belonged exclusively to him. It was his symbol within the torrent of destiny.

This was destiny's annotation of him.

This destiny form signified that he was a horned dragon yet to ascend to the heavens. Though noble, he had not yet shed his mortal coil; he was only one opportunity away from transforming into a True Dragon.

And that opportunity—

"Is right now!"

In that moment, Kunyun's magical and Divine Powers began to climb to their absolute peak. Solid lightning poured from his eyes, and even his physical body began to disintegrate within the rolling thunderous fire.

Everything fueled his Divine Power, A Single Dust Enclosing a Sea of Realms, channeling the entirety of its spatial profundity into his destiny form, the Jade Horned Dragon. Looking from afar, one could see the majestic True Dragon covered from head to tail in blazing light birthed by the Divine Power, which ignited every single scale.

'He's... risking his life?'

High in the heavens, Dashun Taizu lowered his gaze, his expression tinged with surprise. "It's the Dissolving Flying Immortal Profound Art. To think he actually practiced such a technique?"

Simultaneously, the spectators below also witnessed this scene.

"This is bad!"

Chenlong was no longer shedding tears, but weeping blood. His eyes could barely withstand the radiant majesty emanating from the True Dragon coiling across the firmament.

However, since this concerned Wang Ping, he pushed his Blood Qi True Gang to its limits, stared at the apex of the sky, and gritted his teeth. "First Seat, can we really not intervene?"

The higher a cultivator's Realm, the more stable their foundation became; strength was strength, and weakness was weakness. Kunyun's current, illogical surge in power clearly came from some self-destructive method. Chenlong knew many martial arts of a similar nature, but none possessed such terrifying efficiency. It was obvious Kunyun was risking everything.

An Immortal Gate True Transmission disciple at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer.

For a cultivator of that caliber to put his life on the line at this moment, risking everything for a chance to break through to the next level—it would inevitably be an earth-shattering strike!

At this thought, Chenlong grew even more anxious.

Thus, he couldn't help but speak up, hoping the First Seat would act now. He absolutely could not accept it if Wang Ping died here for nothing.

"Relax, he won't die."

A gentle breeze blew past. The figure of a woman in white stood in the unseen void, hidden from all, her ethereal voice echoing alone. "The one holding the advantage is still Yin Hu."

"However... a slight variable has indeed appeared."

Rumble!

In another corner of the sky, Wang Ping similarly stretched out his arms. Behind him, the Solar Radiance Crow belonging to Kunlun spread its wings to their absolute limit.

Screech—!

Extreme Bing-Fire burned above his head, while his Gui-Water magical power and continuously surging Wu-Earth Divine Power all served as fuel for the raging inferno.

Beyond that, the Xun Trigram spread across heaven and earth further stoked the flames. The blazing divine light even swallowed his figure entirely. If one looked up from the ground, they would only see a rising sun floating within the sea of clouds. Even spiritual senses would be incinerated into nothingness just by approaching it.

Unlike Kunyun.

Kunyun had ignited his own being, sparing no cost to exchange it for an elevation beyond his limits. Yet, Wang Ping merely stood in place and activated a Divine Power.

'When Timing Aligns, Heaven and Earth Share the Same Strength!'

For the first time, Wang Ping profoundly understood the true meaning of that phrase. He had done nothing, yet the scale of his power increase surpassed that of an all-out Kunyun.

The two sides were separated by a whole major Realm, but under the blessing of multiple external forces, this was the final result. Even though Kunyun had discarded his physical body, wrung dry his magical power, and exhausted his Divine Powers, the resulting boost still couldn't compare to Wang Ping, who had done absolutely nothing the entire time.

'Because Wood qi and Fire qi mutually generate each other.'

'So however much Kunyun elevates himself, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I am elevated just as much... No matter how much he boosts his power, I will always suppress him by a head!'

A spark of comprehension dawned in Wang Ping's mind.

'This isn't my ability, nor is it something I can control. Rather than saying Kunyun is clashing with me, it's more accurate to say he is fighting against the heavens and the earth!'

At the same time, Kunyun realized this as well.

His physical body had already dissolved. Only a single thread of divine sense remained to maintain his ego, clinging to the Jade Horned Dragon as he stared unblinkingly at Wang Ping, who had transformed into a blazing sun.

Yet, in his eyes, the enemy was no longer Wang Ping, but a destiny named "death." In a daze, he felt as if he had stepped into that boundless torrent of destiny. He stood squarely before it, like a solitary reef, facing the roaring rush of destiny all alone.

Behind him was the cliff of "death."

Before him was the downstream rush of destiny, intent on sweeping him over the edge. And at the source of this torrent lay the very thing he dreamed of day and night.

'Qi Refining...'

This was the first time Kunyun clearly saw his own life tribulation.

Before this, the life tribulation in his eyes had merely been a whirlpool within the torrent of destiny—indistinguishable, indescribable, impossible to sever, and utterly tangled.

Only at this moment did he witness the true form of his life tribulation: a raging river. He stood right in its waters. To be swept downstream meant death. Only by surging against the current and reaching the river's source could he be considered to have survived the life tribulation, earning the right to attempt Qi Refining Entering the Dao. It was just that simple and direct.

Kunyun looked back. The cliff of death was no more than a step or two away from him.

Meanwhile, the source of the river of Qi Refining was completely obscured by the endless torrent of destiny, hiding it from his sight entirely. It showed just how critical his current situation was.

'At the very beginning, I shouldn't have been standing here.'

'Originally, I should have been standing in the exact center of the river. But every decision I made caused my position within this river to shift.'

Kunyun felt a trace of bitterness.

After all, the fact that he was standing on the edge of the cliff right now proved that almost every choice he had made previously was wrong. That was why his situation had deteriorated to this point.

'If all my previous decisions had been right, then when I finally confronted my life tribulation, I wouldn't be standing on the brink of death. I would be standing where I could easily see the river's source. At that point, taking a single step forward would be enough to pluck the fruit of Qi Refining Entering the Dao.'

Did he regret it? Was he in despair?

Taking a step back right now to become a Corpse Dissolution Immortal carried a much higher chance of success. Even if his grand path in cultivation became hopeless, he could at least roam free for ten thousand years. Why not gladly take that path?

Refusing to turn back until one hit a brick wall was the act of a fool.

Flexibility and adaptability were the true ways of the Immortal Gate.

—Countless thoughts tried to claw their way into Kunyun's mind, only to be completely severed in the very next second. The Jade Horned Dragon he had transformed into abruptly reared its head.

Rumble!

Kunyun moved.

With this movement, not only did the Jade Horned Dragon in the real world fully extend its draconic body to charge at Wang Ping in a desperate, point-of-no-return final strike, but within the torrent of destiny, Kunyun also took a firm, steady step against the raging waters, walking toward the river's source.

Did he regret it? Of course he did!

Was there despair? That existed too!

But even so, he still had to press forward. He would indeed harbor such inner demons, but he could not allow them to drag him down, simply because he had to keep moving ahead.

Therefore, he would not take a step back to cultivate as a Corpse Dissolution Immortal.

Therefore, even if he were to smash his head until it bled, he would never turn back.

As for flexibility and adaptability... those were merely methods. The reason he could be adaptable in any situation was to protect this very Dao heart that refused to bend.

'I must keep walking.'

'Walk until I can no longer support myself, walk until my body is crushed to powder and my bones are shattered, just to see with my own eyes... these Twenty-Four Qi, these Early Heaven Eight Trigrams, this Dao—just how high are they!'

How high is the Dao, and can I reach it?

At this thought, Kunyun suddenly felt his body lighten... This was something that should have been absolutely impossible, yet it had truly, indisputably happened to him.

All his previous comprehensions regarding the relationship between Wood qi and lifespan extension transformed into resources at this moment. They ignited the light of wisdom, triggering a resonance with the Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Azure Thunder Qi he cultivated. Thus, the surging floodwaters split and shattered. At the very edge of his vision, he abruptly saw a blinding, radiant glow.

He hadn't managed to walk against the current to reach the source.

Yet, the river's source—the symbol of Qi Refining Entering the Dao that had previously been hidden behind heavy torrents, utterly beyond his sight—was actually moving toward him on its own!

He saw it—Qi Refining Entering the Dao!

It was close, truly close, barely a dozen steps away. Just witnessing its brilliance instantly swept away all of Kunyun's exhaustion and weakness.

However—

'My strength is spent... My strength is actually spent? How can my strength be spent!'

Kunyun roared in his heart.

But he truly had exhausted all his strength. By burning everything, he had finally managed to take three steps within the torrent of destiny, yet the source remained forever out of reach.

He saw how high the Dao was, but he could not touch it.

There was no greater grievance in life!

The next second, the world spun. All his illusions of destiny crashed back into reality, and unimaginable agony instantly hammered into Kunyun's divine sense.

In reality, for Kunyun's final strike, the Jade Horned Dragon had already charged into that blazing sun. Its draconic spine was collapsing section by section, starting from the dragon head, then the forelimbs, followed by the waist and abdomen—as every vertebra disintegrated, its scales were stripped away by the fiery radiance.

Kunyun instantly realized.

'I'm going to die...'

Within the torrent of destiny, he had already been washed over the cliff. The outcome of death had seized him; there was absolutely no second possibility.

Yet he still refused to give up.

His shattered divine sense erupted once more. As if leaping forward within the floodwaters, fully aware of its futility, he still stretched out his hand toward the source with all his might.

Just then—

"Senior Brother, consider this you owing me a favor."

In his dying moments, Kunyun suddenly heard a voice transmission. "The Great Dao has been impossibly high and hard to seek since ancient times. I can only lower it by half a measure; the rest is up to you to grasp!"

As his words fell, Wang Ping's mind entered the Taiping Sutra.

Perish Together with the Sun, activate!

In an instant, a formless profundity crashed down, instantly striking Dashun Taizu at the very apex of the heavens—or, more accurately, the Old Emperor he was possessing.

Immediately, the national destiny shattered and scattered!

With its dispersal, Dashun Taizu, who had previously been relying on the national destiny's cover to act without restraint within the Eight Trigrams Furnace, experienced a drastic change in expression, revealing a look of utter terror:

"Ah!!!"