Translator: CinderTL
"So fast?!"
"Something's wrong! Li Chunjun's Void Storm Dharma Aspect is off! Its power... far exceeds expectations!"
"Venerable Tai Long not only cultivated a high-grade dharma manifestation, but his Qi has been refined for 36,000 years, giving him a combat power of 90,000. He once fought a newly ascended 3,000-year Supreme Sage to a standstill, yet he was defeated in a single exchange! There's something fishy about Li Chunjun!"
Gasps of shock erupted from the Dharma Manifestation Venerables as they scattered to evade the onslaught.
However, some remained unfazed, as if this outcome were entirely predictable.
"It's normal for something to be off! Did you really think Li Chunjun would dare challenge all the Dharma Manifestations of the Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect simultaneously with just a Void Storm Dharma Aspect?"
"We were right to avoid his initial assault! We must reach the balanced zone as quickly as possible. There, free from the devouring power, we can finally leverage our numerical advantage!"
"Regardless, the Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect have made thorough preparations for this battle! Victory will undoubtedly be ours!"
"Exactly! With over two hundred dharma manifestations combined, what can Li Chunjun do, no matter how extraordinarily talented and unprecedented he may be? If we can't overwhelm him with our numbers, especially in this deathmatch environment of the dark horned prison, we might as well go find a corner and bash our heads against the wall!"
The dharma manifestations, who had long been mentally prepared for this, remained remarkably calm.
They showed no grief whatsoever over the loss of their four fallen comrades.
Partly because they weren't particularly close to each other.
But more importantly...
While the four dharma manifestations had sacrificed themselves to buy time against Li Chunjun, the others had swiftly advanced toward the stable zone where the devouring power had reached equilibrium.
Several of the most powerful cultivators, especially those skilled in escape techniques, had already breached the balanced zone.
At this rate, Li Chunjun would be able to launch only two or three more waves of attacks before they completely escaped the devouring power's grasp.
Once free from external interference, the true battle would begin—a clash of blades and skills, where each would rely solely on their own abilities.
"Killed a Level 35 creature, Experience +27,211!"
"Killed a Level 35 creature, Experience +27,985!"
"Killed a Level 36 creature, Experience +63,996!"
"Killed a Level 35 creature, Experience +28,007!"
[Life Level: 39 (285,211/900,000)]
"Just as I thought!"
Li Chunjun, who was annihilating the four great dharma aspects with the thunderous force of the Void Storm, glanced at the status of the Human Emperor Banner.
His expectations were confirmed!
Although the number of dharma aspects from the Wu Ji Sect and Heavenly Palace was slightly fewer than he had anticipated, their quality far exceeded his expectations.
The mere four dharma aspects had granted him a staggering 140,000 experience points!
Among them, Tai Long, who had cultivated a high-grade dharma manifestation, alone contributed nearly 64,000 experience points!
This figure...
Approached one-fourteenth of the total experience required to advance from Life Level 39 to 40!
In other words, just fourteen dharma aspects of Tai Long's caliber would be enough to complete his Life Level advancement!
With his current fully unleashed combat power of 300,000, facing dharma aspects of this level, he was confident he could crush them head-on and slaughter them—not just fourteen, but even twenty-four at once!
"In the Dharma Manifestation realm, the strength of a dharma aspect depends more on the power of its Mystical Powers and dao techniques. When one's Mind Realm reaches the sixth layer and their Qi reaches the current stage's limit, they essentially attain the highest Life Level of that stage. The terms 'high-grade dharma manifestation,' 'top-tier dharma manifestation,' and 'supreme dharma aspect' only exist among humans. The root cause lies in the Human Race's overwhelming strength!"
The Human Race's strength allowed them to develop cultivation paths beyond the standard dharma manifestation, leading to high-grade dharma manifestation, Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation, and Supreme Dharma Aspect.
Aside from the Human Race, all other Foreign Races remained at the standard dharma manifestation stage, equivalent to Eighth-Tier Life.
Only a handful of royal bloodlines, divine descendants, and Special Life forms could achieve combat power comparable to high-grade dharma manifestation through their innate divine abilities.
Take Tai Long, whom Li Chunjun had just slain. As a high-grade dharma manifestation with 36,000 years of Qi, he would be considered merely exceptional among humans. Yet among the Foreign Races, he was an unparalleled prodigy, a legendary figure who would illuminate an entire era.
This was the power of heritage!
The heritage of a Supreme Race!
Though Li Chunjun's suspicions were confirmed, he remained cautious.
"The experience these dharma manifestations will provide will undoubtedly exceed my expectations. However, facing over two hundred dharma manifestations simultaneously, including more than a dozen Top-Tier Dharma Manifestations with combat power exceeding 100,000, will still pose a considerable challenge for me at my current level."
His mind cleared: "If there's a Supreme Dharma Aspect hidden among them, along with a powerful one-use Supreme Treasure, I risk perishing. To ensure absolute safety, I must quickly raise my Life Level to 40..."
At that point, facing these two hundred Dharma Aspects would be nothing more than a slaughter.
He could even use their combined power to push his Life Level directly to 41!
Level 41!
If his calculations were correct, that would be the realm of a dao unification dao venerable!
Moreover, during the peak of Level 40, he would have precious time for sudden enlightenment.
If he made good use of it, his strength would increase dramatically.
Perhaps...
Without needing to become a Supreme Sage or accumulate tens of thousands of years of Millennial Magic Power as a Law-Based Lifeform, he could achieve combat power comparable to the Heavenly Emperor—a Quasi-Tenth-Tier existence!
With such power...
In the Great Thousand Worlds, where Dao Venerables suffer Dao Rhythm backlash, he would be invincible!
With this thought, Li Chunjun controlled the Void Storm Technique's power, once again sweeping toward another group of six Dharma Aspects.
Seeing Li Chunjun charging toward them, the six Dharma Manifestations lacked the courage to engage him directly. They hastily activated their life-saving artifacts and unleashed their full array of techniques, transforming into streams of Escaping Light as they fled toward the stable zones untouched by the devouring power.
However, with Li Chunjun having already unleashed a fraction of his true combat power, even preserving their lives proved difficult for these Dharma Manifestations, whose combat power barely exceeded 100,000.
In just two rounds of slaughter, over ten Dharma Manifestations perished.
At this moment, these top-tier figures—who would have been revered as founders and patriarchs in the outside world—were no different from the Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Primordial Spirit cultivators, and even the Void Refining experts from the Star Abyss that Li Chunjun had previously annihilated.
They were merely NPCs providing experience points.
Having paid a heavy price, the remaining Dharma Manifestations from the Heavenly Palace finally reached the central balanced zone.
Of the 140 Dharma Manifestations who had charged out, they immediately split into two factions.
One group of sixty-three, led by Universal Transformation Venerable and the top-tier Dharma Manifestations from the Council of Elders, formed a Battle Formation to collectively resist the formidable enemy.
The other faction, led by the Blood Eagle Three Brothers and others, comprised seventy-seven great dharma aspects.
These dharma aspects had mostly been summoned or invited by the Dragon-Elephant Imperial Lord, a venerable and influential figure among the old-guard Imperial Lords.
Some had even been tricked into coming.
Before arriving, they had no idea Li Chunjun was this powerful.
Or perhaps they knew of his strength but, considering the sheer number of them entering the dark horned prison, believed they had the advantage in numbers.
Moreover, they dared not refuse the Dragon-Elephant Imperial Lord's invitation, so they steeled themselves and joined the assault on Li Chunjun.
The battle began with the loss of fourteen dharma aspects. This terrifying casualty rate shattered their courage, and they retreated in panic to the rear lines.
In such disarray, the seventy-seven dharma aspects naturally lacked any semblance of a battle formation.
Rather than forming a cohesive formation, they had merely huddled together for warmth and psychological comfort.
At that moment, the fifty-nine great dharma aspects led by the Wu Ji Sect swiftly approached.
In contrast to the Heavenly Palace's divided and somewhat scattered forces, the Wu Ji Sect's fifty-nine members were not only elites but had also clearly undergone years of coordinated training.
Some even wielded Superior Dao Artifacts that could serve as Array Flags.
As the fifty-nine cultivators descended, bearing the brunt of the devouring power, Li Chunjun tentatively unleashed his Void Storm Dharma Aspect. The eight Venerables at the forefront, each having cultivated Top-Tier Dharma Manifestations, combined their array's power to crush it instantly.
Li Chunjun's expression darkened.
Unless he unleashed his full combat power, he doubted he could break through the Wu Ji Sect's fifty-nine-man formation.
But if he went all out...
The dark horned prison still needed time to contract further, until the devouring power could shred even dharma manifestations.
If these cultivators realized he possessed combat power exceeding 300,000, they would likely scatter and desperately flee the dark horned prison.
He had to wait a little longer.
"I timed my arrival perfectly. The dark horned prison will become a death zone with no escape in at most a day or two. These next two days..."
Li Chunjun pivoted, charging straight toward the disorganized rabble led by the Blood Eagle Three Brothers.
The balanced zone at the heart of the dark horned prison.
The Blood Eagle Three Brothers' eyes lit up as they witnessed Li Chunjun's failed attempt to breach the Wu Ji Sect's Battle Formation. "He's not invincible after all!" one of them exclaimed. "Even though his Dharma Aspect's power surpasses even the Supreme Dharma Aspect, if we unite our strength, we can still defeat him!"
His words rallied some morale among the assembled cultivators.
Immediately, a coalition of over a dozen Dharma Manifestation Venerables, led by the Blood Eagle Three Brothers, the Six Wind Catchers, and the Cloud Mountain Three Venerables, launched a coordinated assault against Li Chunjun, who had manifested the Void Storm Dharma Aspect.
In an instant, the sword qi storm filling the sky seemed to be invaded by a host of Innate Divine Beings.
Colossal, majestic figures materialized, churning wildly within the Void Storm, attempting to tear its power apart.
The vanguard, consisting of the Blood Eagle Three Brothers and twelve others, proved particularly formidable.
Each of them possessed combat power comparable to Tai Long's, and several had manifested Top-Tier Dharma Manifestations, their combat power exceeding 100,000. They charged through the Void Storm, somehow withstanding its crushing force.
Of course, only those who had forged Top-Tier Dharma Manifestations could withstand the Void Storm's crushing force.
Venerables who had cultivated ordinary or high-grade dharma manifestations, with combat power ranging from 40,000 to 60,000, were instantly torn apart by the storm's residual force, their dharma manifestations shattered and their lives extinguished.
Overall, the battle was a fierce back-and-forth, full of spectacle and intensity.
This scene stirred the hearts of the fifty-nine great dharma aspects of the Wu Ji Sect, who had effortlessly breached the balanced zone.
"Judging by Li Chunjun's strength, he likely possesses 150,000 to 160,000 combat power—a true apex among Supreme Dharma Aspects. Even if we form a Battle Formation to kill him, we'd likely suffer heavy losses. Why not let the Heavenly Palace exhaust his Qi first before we strike?" one of the dharma aspects immediately suggested.
The proposal resonated with many.
But Long Xingyu, hidden deep within the ranks, vehemently opposed it. "Delay invites disaster! We must seize this moment, while our combined momentum is at its peak, and eliminate Li Chunjun swiftly! Have you already forgotten the lessons of Star Abyss? Do you want to see that tragedy repeated?"
Long Xingyu's warning jolted the top-tier dharma manifestation leading the Wu Ji Sect forces.
Star Abyss...
After exchanging a glance, they dared not hesitate any longer. They issued the order decisively: "Attack!"
"A lion hunts a rabbit with all its might!"
"Kill!"
The fifty-nine great dharma aspects, united in purpose and fortified by their collective will, formed a Battle Formation and charged directly into the Avatar Storm where Li Chunjun was slaughtering the Heavenly Palace's dharma aspects.
(End of the Chapter)
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