Archfiend

The clouds were slowly spinning, but in this instant he sensed… that something was coming… 

Something was coming in the wake of the clouds!

He couldn’t see, couldn’t touch, but… he could confirm that something was above his head!

A kind of entity… that could only be called an ideology! It was forming above his head!

“Among any of the Fifteen Heavenly Daos, any path that oneself wishes to walk isn’t something that a cultivator themself can dominate. Instead, the Heavenly Dao repays, converting the body itself and driving one’s carving through the will of the Heavenly Dao. Everything within one’s heart is carved.” He stood up and looked to the sky. A formless wind pressure caused his spiritual sense to whistle and flutter.

“The Fifteen Heavenly Daos don’t want me, and the Three Great Sacred Daos don’t favor me… so I want to see… what is this finally coming?”

BOOM! A ray of white light ran through the world. Infinite golden runes fell, like butterflies flitting through the air, and Xu Yangyi studied his hand, lost in thought.

His hand… for the first time, raised up without the slightest awareness.

There was a Dao that answered him!

It didn’t belong to the Fifteen Heavenly Daos, and it didn’t belong to the Three Great Sacred Daos. On the contrary, it had never appeared before! At the very least, it was another kind of Dao that had never been recorded in the ancient texts!

Of those who walked the Dao, path, choice, and frame of mind, none of these were illusory. Rather, they existed forever in each person’s heart.

In his astonished gaze, his fingers separated apart more and more. No longer were they in the shape of a blade, but instead… they were clutching something.

An object… that was very long!

BOOM! In the next second, beyond all control, his hand waved forth, and a great sound that shocked the heavens rang out! Chips of the boulder splashed everywhere!

As the heart willed, the hand followed! Like moving clouds and flowing water, natural and unforced!

In this instant, he sensed the agreement between his soul and this nameless Dao.

“Huff…” He took a deep breath, and his right hand was pulled back by that unseen Dao. In mere moments, he struck once more and an explosion roared again! The scatter of the boulder’s debris became even more violent!

Bang bang bang! Endless rumbling noises echoed in his spiritual sense for ages. A day, or perhaps a week, a month… 

As he finally lowered his hand, all that remained of his entire body was his head and his right hand. At last, he came to a halt.

In front of him was a statue, a spitting image of life itself. It was a hundred meters tall. To Xu Yangyi’s amazement, he’d made it through strong and heavy slams!

And he… was too familiar with this sculpture. Perhaps it could be said that every single Chinese person could be no more familiar with it!

In a trance, he gazed on forever, bursting into joyous laughter in the end.

“It was you?”

“So it was you!”

“Hahaha… that’s right, yes, it’s you, and it could only be you!”

After he laughed to his heart’s content, Xu Yangyi collected his smile and nodded. “Your Dao, Junior has received.”

RUMBLE! In the next second, his spiritual sense charged towards the stone sculpture like a tide!

Huuummm… At the same time, over a dozen helicopters had already raced over to Beifeng City’s surroundings!

“That’s!!!” All of a sudden, Zu Huai’en stood up. While qi was ordinarily invisible, the spirit-masters could now actually see in their eyes that District A-31 seemed to have been draped with a thick layer of muslin! Boundless white fog shrouded the entire crystallized mountain range!

The qi was so rich that it had solidified!

Yes this qi shockingly formed a maelstrom. In the eye of the maelstrom, a white pillar of light soared straight to the horizon!

“My god…” State-Magus Mu likewise stood up in shock inside the airplane. His hands clenched tightly. “How… could there be such heavy qi?!”

In the seven other aircrafts, not only were the spirit-masters dumbfounded, but so was everyone else. In normal times, the crystallized mountain range ventured as far as the eye could see, unable to be concealed. However, it now resembled hills of clouds and seas of mists. In the Clearcloud Realm, such a situation, such strong qi, had never once occurred! 

“This place is the Li Family’s territory?” On an aircraft, a quasi-high spirit-master’s gaze flushed red. “If our Chen Family can win it… in that case…”

“I advise you not to think about unrealistic things.” Behind him, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out. “Don’t tell me you haven’t sensed it?” 

“What?” The quasi-high spirit-master was stunned. Soon, he spun his head back and said respectfully, “Your Excellency Sixth Snake… you said you sensed something?”

A woman wearing a mask with a snake symbol on it sat behind him. She appeared calm, but in fact, both her fists inside her long sleeves were clenched so tightly that her veins were bulging out. She forced herself to breath as peacefully as possible. “You haven’t sensed… that god-like aura hidden within?”

What?

What god?

The quasi-high spirit-master stared blankly for three seconds. He spread out his senses carefully and shook his head. “Your Excellency… apart from this extremely dense qi, I can’t feel a thing.”

Sixth Snake nodded. “So, you’re only quasi-high rank. Not high rank.”

Sixth Snake, Twelfth Boar, and Seventh Horse.

Not only were three state-magi here, but there were also three high spirit-masters who had sensed the disturbance and come! They were the only ones… In the entire nation, only they could sense it.

Inside the eye of the storm was a qi that made their souls run cold upon sensing it! It was coalescing at a dizzying pace! 

Half an hour later, everyone arrived a thousand meters outside of District A-31’s surroundings.

However, they saw one person.

Tian Guotao.

“My apologies,” Tian Guotao said neither haughtily nor humbly. “Master Xu said that those who enter within a thousand meters before his breakthrough ends is to be killed without mercy.”

“Master Tian…” State-Magus Mu stepped forward, his expression like a lake. “Move aside.”

Tian Guotao said nothing. Simply, his actions already answered everything.

He wouldn’t retreat by a step!

“Good… very good…” State-Magus Mu coldly brushed an eye over him. “The top figure below the state-magi? I really want to see—how far away are you from comparing to us?”

Before his voice even fell, he flicked out a finger. A dragon’s cry followed, and a two-meter-long azure dragon screamed forth! Spiritual light shot out everywhere!

“That’s State-Magus Mu’s divine ability: Dragonbreaker Finger!” a quasi-high spirit-master yelped out excitedly.

Only one person hadn’t advanced.

Zu Huai’en’s gaze was shimmering. Not only did he not go forward, but he instead drew back a step as his body faintly shook, his complexion pale! No one whatsoever saw it. Only he could feel a pair of icy-cold hands pinching the nape of his neck!

“It’s ‘him’, ‘he’ came… It’s definitely him!!!”

In the spiritual sense world, Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense had already rushed before the stone sculpture!

It didn’t have a face. The sculpture’s face would only appear after a cultivator’s spiritual sense harmonized. However… he no longer needed to guess whose Dao this was, because the sculpture’s figure was incredibly distinct, possessing its own symbolism!

A violet-gold crown, a changpao, golden armor, an iron rod in the right hand, and a tail at the back. If he still didn’t recognize who this was, then Xu Yangyi was unworthy of being a son of China!

The Buddha of Triumphant Battle!!!

Sun Wukong!

The Fifteen Heavenly Daos didn’t want him, and the Three Great Sacred Daos didn’t favor him. Ultimately, not even in his wildest dreams could he imagine that the Dao that found a kindred spirit in him was actually the legendary Buddha of Triumphant Battle, the Dao of Sun Wukong!

Great freedom and great liberation!

What use was heaven and earth? It couldn’t be used as a woven mat. What use was the wind and moon? It couldn’t be eaten or drank.

What use was a speck of dust? Among all living things, what use was there in change? The way of the Dao was in the rule of the self.

What use was there in this life? It couldn’t be the enjoyment of life’s merriment. What use was there in this death? It wasn’t in the diminishment of madness and pride.

Does origin matter? To live in the same world and delight in song and music together, the Grand Dao traversed in full.

Hum… In this moment, his spiritual sense and the foreign Dao united as one, the entire hundred-meter-tall sculpture erupted with towering violet light!

Without the faintest trace of resistance, his entire spiritual sense, utterly broken because it was already used up, began to turn warm as if he had returned to his mother’s body.

“This is my Dao!” Xu Yangyi smiled faintly and shut his eyes.

In the outside world. Tian Guotao was currently clutching his chest and hacking up blood. However, he still didn’t withdraw a step.

“Scram.” State-Magus Mu didn’t make the killing blow.

He dared not.

Tian Guotao was very strong. The old man had fought fiercely with him for an hour. It had actually taken him over a dozen moves until he won! Nonetheless, this wasn’t enough to frighten him.

What truly frightened him was the tide-like spirit cloud behind Tian Guotao!

Huuummm… At this time, the sound of aircraft droned out again at the horizon.

Seven helicopters flew through the air. Each one had the image of a zodiac beast.

At this moment, the twelve high spirit-masters had all arrived in person!

“This… might be that Master Xu whose been in seclusion for ten years…” In an aircraft above, Fifth Dragon’s entire body was flushed red. White qi currents were emitting from his seven apertures. “What a devil… How could there be such a strong person in this world… It’s too extreme!”

“What in the world is he doing?” At the side, Seventh Horse gripped an armrest so tightly that cracks ran along it. His face was ashen. “Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me… this is Ascension?”

“I’m not sure… I only know that I never wanted to see this person… I feel that even the state-magi might… L-Look!!! Twelfth Boar cut off mid-sentence, his voice suddenly screeching. His finger flung towards the sky.

Everyone was shocked.

A hundred meters, two hundred meters… Within an area of a thousand meters, countless motes of qi were slowly wafting out from the thick fog. They were just light fireflies whizzing in joy, rushing straight into the eye of the maelstrom!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh! In the sky, a brilliant display of fireworks blossomed, fiery trees and silver flowers! A rainbow of qi motes transformed the valley into a long river of vibrant color! It was like an immortal realm!

“Heavens…”

“Quickly! Look quickly!!!”

“Oh, fuck! It’s beautiful! Are those fireworks?!”

“God, what is that thing? An astrological phenomenon?”

In this instant, all of Beifeng City’s citizens exploded into an uproar!

A steak of spiritual light alone was perhaps not too dazzling in the light of day. Moreover, it were nothing more than a beam of light. Yet right now, the valley’s thousand-meter area surged like a gathering storm! A galaxy of varied color! It rendered the city’s residents dumbfounded upon looking at it!

“Foundation Establishment… Foundation Establishment… the Grand Completion of Foundation Establishment!!!” There was clearly no one behind Zu Huai’en, yet at this moment an aged and raspy voice burst into great laughter, seemingly carrying an unrestrainable excitement. “A nebula like a river, qi soars to the Milky Way! If this was on Earth… hahaha! There would already be countless powers getting ready to express their congratulations right now! It’s a pity, how ridiculous! This group of people truly don’t even know what this represents!”

Huuummm… All the qi rays rushed into the eye of spiritual light! In a twinkling, they formed a rainbow-colored tornado, illuminating the world into a brightly lit expanse!

Swoosh… All of a sudden, a white light flashed. Everyone present were unable to open their eyes. After no less than a minute, the three state-magi were the first to regain sight. State-Magus Mu immediately looked to the sky.

Over yonder was a man sitting cross-legged.

He was handsome, but also wild in nature. Nonetheless, his features were a minor matter. What was important… was that right now, a kind of lofty and inherent nobleness seemed to be leaking out from his body!

“Who… Who are you…?” State-Magus Mu kept his voice down and asked, restraining the terror in his heart.

The man opened his eyes, and his gaze swept over everyone present. He smiled faintly.

“This Throne is Xu Yangyi.”

  Spoiler Meme