Chapter 581: The Gold Immortal's Dao Ground

"But eradicating the minions of the Celestial Court isn't about who has a deeper understanding of the Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture, it's about strength."

Wu Guanyun flew up into the air, charging at Chen Shi to stop him from severing the other chains!

Chen Shi formed a sword seal with his right hand, his arm as straight as a blade, and swung it. Behind him, thirty-six sword auras rose one after another in sequence, executing the fourth move of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture: The Azure Sky Is Dead.

The Azure Sky Is Dead, the Yellow Springs Shall Rise!

This move was pure slaughter, carrying boundless killing intent. The allusion hidden within the technique was the war in which Zhou overthrew Shang. The Great Shang Celestial Court revered the Dark Bird as their supreme god, calling it the Azure Sky. In later ages, the Jade Emperor of Haotian was called the Yellow Springs or the Imperial Sky.

The so-called "Imperial (Yellow) Sky and Empress Earth" referred to the Jade Emperor of Haotian and the Empress of Earth, one of the Four Sovereigns.

The Azure Sky Is Dead, the Yellow Springs Shall Rise meant fusing the deadly peril and slaughter of that war against heaven into this very move!

Even though Chen Shi had endured countless perils in the mortal world of the Western Ox New Continent, and had fought countless battles as a ghost in the underworld, he could never have comprehended the fierce killing intent hidden within this move on his own.

But the moment he executed it, the scenes of battle and slaughter from the war against Shang came flooding toward him, visions of gods and immortals bleeding across the heavens, allowing him to grasp the profound mysteries of the technique.

"You overestimate yourself!"

Wu Guanyun flew straight at him, raising his sword box. His sword box was no ordinary one, an Azure Dragon was coiled around its exterior. When he unleashed the sword aura within, the Azure Dragon flew out, transforming into a beam of green light hidden within the sword aura, meeting Chen Shi's attack head-on.

As their sword techniques clashed, Wu Guanyun's attack was already broken by Chen Shi, but his immortal essence surged, and immortal power swirled around him. Chen Shi's sword aura merely pierced his body without causing any harm.

However, Wu Guanyun's expression darkened. He sensed that Chen Shi's technique was slightly more powerful than before, enough to make him feel a sting of pain and a sense of threat!

Chen Shi's cultivation couldn't have improved in that instant, so the reason his technique had grown stronger could only be that he had also fully comprehended the move, The Azure Sky Is Dead, the Yellow Springs Shall Rise!

Every move in the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture contained a different Dao technique. Any single move would require an immortal to spend a great deal of time observing heaven and earth, comprehending the mysteries of the natural Dao, before they could unlock its subtleties and unleash the full power of the sword technique.

But Chen Shi was still very young. He clearly hadn't had enough time or energy to comprehend such things. So how had he managed to grasp the mysteries of the Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture?

At the same time, the Azure Dragon, hidden within Wu Guanyun's sword aura, suddenly erupted with draconic might the moment it closed in on Chen Shi. It revealed its true form and lashed out with its claws toward Chen Shi.

Chen Shi looked up and saw the green claws spanning the sky like the heavens themselves, sealing off everything around him, trapping him in what felt like a small world of its own with no escape.

This Azure Dragon was actually an immortal-level cultivator, even higher in realm than Chen Shi. On top of that, it was a dragon, with overwhelmingly vast immortal power.

The green sky above Chen Shi came crashing down, threatening to crush him to pieces. He could no longer afford to hold anything back, pouring everything he had into mobilizing his Dao Realm and marshaling all his immortal power!

In the West Heaven Expanse of the Celestial Court, within a vast territory spanning ten thousand li, radiant light suddenly burst forth from every direction, countless beams, all drifting toward the same destination!

Chen Shi had achieved Dao Unification within the Celestial Court. Although the West Heaven Expanse was only the outer perimeter, it was still no small matter. The spiritual energy here was dense, and the Dao techniques ran deep. As Chen Shi mobilized his Dao Realm, he felt his cultivation and power surge explosively. The spiritual energy, spiritual power, and Dao power of heaven and earth came flooding in to bolster his strength!

He raised his left hand to meet the Azure Dragon's attack. Although his cultivation was still far inferior to the dragon's, this move was the Small Heavenly Cycle Tribulation Formation, a divine ability from the Great Wilderness Ming Dao Collection!

He didn't know many divine abilities from that collection, but the Small Heavenly Cycle Tribulation Formation was the one he was most proficient in. As he raised his hand, the starlight of the ancient star domain was summoned, transforming into a cycle of heavenly stars surging upward with boundless tribulation power!

Even though he had pushed his cultivation to its absolute limit, he still couldn't match the depth of a divine race immortal's power.

Chen Shi's expression darkened slightly. But at that very moment, he suddenly felt another vast and profound torrent of power surging toward him, and the might of the Small Heavenly Cycle Tribulation Formation began to swell exponentially!

Chen Shi was stunned. Where was this power coming from?

Without a second thought, he channeled this inexplicable surge of power to meet the Azure Dragon's strike.

The Azure Dragon Immortal was a creature raised by Wu Guanyun. Life for the dragon race in the Earth Immortal Realm hadn't been easy either. Though dragons were naturally powerful, they had to walk one of two paths to cultivate, either the immortal path or the divine path. Their racial gifts were strong, but cultivating immortal techniques or gathering incense offerings was extremely difficult for them. Their bloodline held them back considerably.

Moreover, the dragon race in the Earth Immortal Realm was subservient to the Celestial Court. To rise above the rest, they had to attach themselves to the gods and immortals.

The Azure Dragon Immortal was a descendant of the Azure Dragon lineage, with even nobler blood, but circumstances were stronger than dragons. He could only pledge himself to Wu Guanyun, seeking immortal pills and Dao techniques, in order to have a chance at Dao Unification, to cultivate to the immortal realm, and become a true immortal free from the cycle of reincarnation.

His cultivation was indeed tremendously profound. The divine ability he used this time was called World in the Palm, a Buddhist Sect technique, but he hadn't fully mastered it. Even so, with his power behind it, the might of this technique was unfathomable, far surpassing the divine abilities of other True Immortals!

"Boom!"

As the man and the dragon clashed, the Azure Dragon Immortal's expression shifted dramatically as he felt his World in the Palm shattered!

"Crack!"

One after another, his draconic fingers were struck by tremendous force, bending backward. Terrifying tribulation power surged, shredding the scales of his claws, tearing through flesh, and exposing gleaming white bone!

Chen Shi's palm strike carried the destructive power of the ancient star domain upward. In the dragon's eyes, it looked like an endless starfield bearing down on him!

That starfield had already enveloped him, leaving him no room to dodge, nowhere to hide. He could only be crushed to dust within its crushing pressure!

Zhong Lin was still locked in battle with the heavenly soldiers. He caught a glimpse of this scene in passing and his heart shook violently. "Brother Chen is indeed the Gold Immortal recorded in the Celestial Strategy! He's hidden it so well! Now, he's finally shown his hand!"

His thoughts were in chaos. From his research into the Celestial Strategy's records, he had discovered that Chen Shi was the Gold Immortal described as "not one of the good sort." But after spending these past few days with him, he found that Chen Shi wasn't a bad person at all. He was clever and sharp, decisive and resolute in his actions, and he carried a mysterious aura of the Celestial Way about him.

Was he really supposed to report him, hand him over to the Celestial Strategy Bureau?

"Why am I even thinking about this?"

He laughed at himself bitterly. His own situation was already desperate, with no hope of survival. There was no point dwelling on such pointless thoughts.

"Brother Chen doesn't look that old. How did he already cultivate to Gold Immortal?"

He was deeply curious. "Though, his Gold Immortal state seems a bit impure, something feels off about it."

Western Ox New Continent.

Grand Secretary Hu Feifei of the Cabinet stood in the sky, her expression grave, gazing out over the mountains and rivers of the Western Ox New Continent.

Before her eyes, countless beams of great Dao radiant light suddenly seemed to receive a command, rising from the mountains and rivers, from the fields, from the sea of clouds, from the sun and moon, all drifting toward the same direction!

She had never seen anything like this before.

Especially at Qianyang Mountain, closest to the Imperial Capital, where the Dao radiant light was most intense.

Hundreds of earthly treasures and spiritual roots were planted there, including the towering mulberry tree. The mountain also housed a sacred ground for cultivation, with radiant light swirling and rising in dense mist.

Grand Secretary Hu knew this place had always been extraordinary, so it was only natural for all this Dao light to emerge, but the key question was why all of it was appearing at the same time.

"Ever since His Majesty left, the Western Ox New Continent has been getting stranger and stranger," she murmured.

Just as the Azure Dragon was about to be destroyed by Chen Shi's divine ability, a sword light suddenly tore through the starfield, colliding thunderously with Chen Shi's technique. No matter how exquisite his divine ability was, under that sword light, the starfield was shattered, obliterated in a single surge of sword energy!

To protect his own five fingers, Chen Shi drifted backward, forming a sword seal with his other hand. Two crisp clangs rang out as two more chains were severed by him.

Wu Guanyun heard those two sharp sounds and his heart sank. He looked down and saw two more chains on the ground with perfectly smooth cut surfaces. Even with his own sword technique, he could do no better. When it came to precision, he was actually inferior to Chen Shi.

The Azure Dragon Immortal, having narrowly escaped death, immediately flew up and positioned himself behind Chen Shi.

Chen Shi stood with both feet on the edge of the furnace, his heart growing heavier and heavier. Wu Guanyun stood opposite him, also at the furnace's edge, with the Azure Dragon floating behind him.

If those two experts attacked together, he would surely be in grave danger!

The Azure Dragon Immortal's eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he glared viciously at Chen Shi's back. Their earlier clash had nearly killed him under Chen Shi's palm, and now he was both shocked and furious, itching to lunge forward and tear Chen Shi apart.

Wu Guanyun, meanwhile, stared at Chen Shi with an unreadable expression, hesitating to make a move.

The Azure Dragon Immortal suddenly let out a low draconic roar, summoning thunder as he prepared to launch his attack. But Wu Guanyun seemed to have made up his mind, abruptly raising his hand and shouting, "Everyone, hold!"

Regional Commander Zhang Xian was dragging his severely wounded body, directing the twelve hundred immortals in their siege against Black Pot and Zhong Lin. Though he had been beaten to a critical state, his insight and experience remained intact. He directed the crowd to set up formations, trapping Black Pot and Zhong Lin. Despite the duo's extraordinary strength, they were gradually losing steam under the layers of sword formations surrounding them.

Many of these immortals had been wounded or killed by the pair, but there were simply too many of them. Teams of fifty formed a single Primordial Chaos Sword Formation, allowing them to clash head-on and suppress their opponents!

Zhang Xian had the upper hand and was calculating how long it would take to grind Black Pot and Zhong Lin to death. When he heard the order, he was momentarily stunned. Though reluctant, he still raised his hand and shouted, "Everyone, hold!"

The sword formations came to an abrupt halt.

Black Pot and Zhong Lin stood back to back, both covered in blood, their own and others'.

The man and the dog were panting heavily, filled with wariness and uncertainty.

Around them, the immortals were equally uncertain, but more than that, they were shocked.

They were all ascended immortals, having risen to the Earth Immortal Realm around the same time, all learning the same Primordial Chaos Dao Scripture and Primordial Chaos Sword Scripture taught by the Celestial Court. Never did they imagine that in besieging Black Pot and Zhong Lin, they would still lose so many to this man and dog. It was a disgrace to all immortals!

Wu Guanyun's expression had already returned to normal. He looked at Chen Shi, then suddenly stepped forward, dropped to one knee, raised his clasped hands, and bowed his head, speaking in a clear voice: "Wu Guanyun, Commander of the Chen Character Guard's Chen Character Office, pays respects to the Young Master! I have been most presumptuous just now, I hope the Young Master will forgive me!"