Amidst the continuous thunderous rumble of the collapsing cliffs and mountain walls...
Chen Kuang's loud laughter, despite the chaos and the Martial Saint's might, rang out clearly across the heavens, aided by the spread of his borrowed Dao Domain.
If, before this moment, the vast crowd of cultivators who had come to spectate had only been curious about Chen Kuang's fate, or to put it more bluntly, curious to see how someone who dared to oppose a Martial Saint would die...
Then now, their hearts were shaking, and their eyes, showing signs of being genuinely moved.
This man had witnessed with his own eyes the terrifying might of the Martial Saint, splitting the two canyon walls with a single punch and yet, faced with such terrifying force and overwhelming presence, he still stood tall, laughing, and reciting poetry?
Just looking from a distance at this scene was already enough to shatter their courage.
If they themselves were standing before Mu Zhao right now, they might collapse to their knees from the sheer oppressive aura alone...
Let alone dare to oppose him.
But Chen Kuang, standing in the face of that power, was still able to laugh freely!
That laugh, it sent a jolt through them. A tremor of awe. And even a faint trace of shame and self-disgust.
Though Chen Kuang's cultivation level was lower than many of theirs, at this moment, within that one laugh, they saw the shadows of the heaven-defying prodigies they had once read about in ancient texts or barely glimpsed in their youth.
In contrast, although the sudden appearance of the Kunpeng had also been shocking, the crowd quickly accepted it. After all, they had heard the rumors, how Chen Kuang had once offered a man's head in sacrifice to the so-called "Lake Dragon King."
Now they realized:
So that "Lake Dragon King" was the Kunpeng!
They clicked their tongues in amazement.
At first, everyone had assumed that Chen Kuang was merely a disposable chess piece under Huo Hengxuan's hand.
But now? Now he seemed more mysterious than ever. A man increasingly impossible to see through...
Among the many cultivators observing from afar, the one with the best view was an old man with a jade flute at his waist.
He wore a dark purple robe embroidered with faint patterns, and a headband inlaid with jade. If not for his snow-white hair and the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes betraying his age, his dress and bearing might have mistaken him for a wealthy young noble.
Even in his old age, he remained refined and elegant, he was undoubtedly someone dashing in his younger years.
This purple-robed elder sat cross-legged atop a stone peak, gently stroking the jade flute at his waist. His eyes were filled with hesitation.
"If he survives... this child will become something great in the future. Especially with his strange bond with Brother Mengquan..."
He murmured with his brows furrowed:
"But if, because of this, we end up offending the Martial Saint, then for my Heavenly Sound Pavilion, the price might not be worth it."
The jade flute in his hand began to emit a soft, fluctuating glow, dimming and brightening along with the rise and fall of his thoughts, as if his heart could not find peace.
Then, suddenly, his frown deepened.
"Transferring a Dao Domain? What nonsense is this?!"
"No matter how peerless Chen Kuang's Divine Abilities may be, his physical body is still only at the Tower Ascension Realm. A Dao Domain is not just a simple domain independent from Heaven's rules."
"To wield a Dao Domain... one must first survive the rewriting of rules within it!"
"If his strength is lacking, he'll be the one consumed and crushed by the domain!"
The laws of this world were long since set. A human living within them was no different from a fish in water.
Fish that lived in the deep ocean had adapted to darkness and pressure. Bring them up to the shallow waters, and they would die immediately. And vice versa.
Humans, or cultivators, were the same.
A Dao Domain... was like entering a space where the rules had been altered. A deep-sea fish dragged into shallow water. The only outcome...
Was death.
Even if Chen Kuang wasn't slain by the Martial Saint, he might still die under the weight of that domain.
Finally, the purple-robed elder sighed heavily and released his grip on the jade flute,
He had made his decision.
...
On another mountaintop, however, for the two from Liberty Mountain, their focus was quite different.
Lin Eryou suddenly stood up, his pupils contracting, as he stared at the Kunpeng soaring through the clouds.
"That poem...!"
Zhang Zhizhou, still holding a white stone piece above the Go board, froze mid-move. His face was full of surprise and bewilderment.
Lin Eryou glanced at his senior brother and immediately knew he hadn't been mistaken.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, still uncertain, and asked:
"Senior Brother... this poem Chen Kuang just recited, it... it seemed to have sparked a flash of, of 'talent aura', didn't it?"
Zhang Zhizhou remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Tsssss!"
Lin Eryou drew in a sharp breath, completely disregarding his composure or dignity.
And truly, no one could blame him.
Even if their own Master, the Scholar-Sage, had been present today, he might've been stunned too...
Because Liberty Mountain's cultivation method was utterly unique. Its focus... was on scholarship.
Or rather, on "literary talent".
Just as the Mysterious Divine Path Sect revered "Virtue," Liberty Mountain revered "Scholarship."
The deeper one's scholarship, the more Heaven and Earth would acknowledge it. In turn, one could cultivate a thread of "talent aura," and with that, activate various Divine Abilities.
But there was a prerequisite, one had to undergo "Enlightenment," and open up a separate "Sea of Learning" within the spiritual consciousness to store "talent aura."
This was a self-contained system of cultivation, just like sword cultivators or music cultivators had their own unique systems. Outside of Liberty Mountain's disciples, no one could possibly possess "talent aura."
If that weren't the case, then every learned mortal could have attained the Dao through sheer talent.
But right now, before their very eyes, a phenomenon that shattered common knowledge was playing out.
Chen Kung, who was not a disciple of Liberty Mountain, had just recited a poem...
And that poem had sparked a flicker of real "talent aura"!
Lin Eryou's mind spun.
Isn't this... creating something out of nothing?
Or wait could it be... that Chen Kuang was secretly the Master's illegitimate son?
Cough.. Okay, probably not. But... maybe a secret disciple?
Zhang Zhizhou, however, didn't look particularly surprised. Instead, as if recalling something, he murmured solemnly:
"It's possible..."
"Our teacher once told me that 'talent aura' is not something we cultivate on our own. It was a 'Dao' established in the ancient days by a great being known as the 'Confucian'. A Celestial Vastness Realm cultivator."
"When he passed, his Dao Domain and his will merged into Heaven and Earth itself, becoming part of its rules. Only then could his disciples, and those that followed after, inherit talent aura."
"Otherwise, how could 'talent aura' exist without a source?"
Lin Eryou blinked. This was the first time he'd heard this explanation.
Celestial Vastness Realm...
That was a realm above even Saints, one that no longer existed in the current era.
After the War to Hunt the Heavens in ancient times, the cultivation world fell into chaos and endless decline.
Since then, no one had ever approached the Celestial Vastness realm again.
The only one who'd ever come close... was the Sword Saint, whose corpse still rested within the Void Chamber Mountain.
And even he, before his death, failed to grasp the path of Celestial Vastness.
"His will fused into Heaven and Earth..."
Lin Eryou repeated the words, thinking deeply, and soon understood:
"Senior Brother, you mean, if that Confucian's consciousness recognizes someone, even someone outside our sect, they can still gain a thread of 'talent aura'?"
Zhang Zhizhou nodded slowly, his expression solemn:
"Exactly."
Lin Eryou exhaled slowly, his heart churning with mixed emotions.
Before, he had acknowledged Chen Kuang's brilliance.
But that was just appreciation and admiration. Chen Kuang hadn't yet touched upon the field that Lin Eryou himself had specialized in.
But now, what this meant was that Chen Kuang's poem... was so exceptional, that it was so transcendent, that even the very fabric of Heaven and Earth acknowledged it!
As a proud disciple of Liberty Mountain's current generation, one of its brightest, Lin Eryou's heart was... not exactly balanced anymore.
He clenched his jaw.
That bastard Chen Kuang...
I can't tell if I want to worship him or punch him in the face!
That said, this poem really was undeniably excellent. Lin Eryou felt genuine admiration welling up from within.
It burst forth from his nature, a heroic spirit soaring to the heavens!
"Even if the wind should die and drop me down, still could I churn the depths of the vast sea..."
Lin Eryou looked complexly at the Kunpeng that was now diving downward and murmured,
"I hope it is truly just a momentary headwind that prevents you from rising with the winds."
"Pa!"
Zhang Zhizhou finally placed down the white stone he had been holding for so long.
"Eryou, it's your move."
Lin Eryou hesitated for a moment, then sat back down. When he swept a glance over the board, his face turned rather ugly.
Zhang Zhizhou's skill at Go was astonishing. Ever since childhood, Lin Eryou had rarely beaten him.
This game, at the very beginning, when Lin Eryou was still unsettled, he had already fallen into disadvantage.
But later, he had managed to claw back a portion of the lead and was preparing to capitalize and turn the game completely.
But now, with just this single white stone Zhang had just dropped, Lin Eryou realized that all his regained advantage... was actually a trap laid by Zhang Zhizhou all along.
That seemingly harmless white stone now bared its teeth, revealing a lethal intent.
Lin Eryou's expression grew solemn as he focused, picking up a black stone.
He took a deep breath... and slowly made his move.
...
As soon as the two lines of Chen Kuang's poem were recited, the "Poetic Madness" passive was instantly triggered!
The surging heroic momentum within the poem transformed into vast clouds and wind spanning ten thousand miles, supporting the massive body of the Kunpeng. It no longer appeared as if it were about to plummet straight down like before.
Chen Kuang could feel that this wasn't even his senior brother's actual physical form but a complete manifestation of his Dao Domain.
While standing on the back of the Kunpeng, Chen Kuang could see beneath the glittering scales, there was no flesh or blood inside, but an endless expanse of ocean!
And beneath that sea... floated layers of drifting clouds, dreamlike and ethereal.
Within that sea and cloud layer, there drifted a single small fishing boat, its lantern flickering faintly in the waves, a single warm color amidst all the cold and majestic scenery.
This was the full manifestation of Wen Si's Dao Domain.
Everything that Chen Kuang had seen before when Wen Si used his power, those illusions, were merely a drop in the ocean of this domain.
At the very instant of the Kunpeng's descent, Chen Kuang felt a tremendous pressure surging back into his body.
He had a premonition, if he just charged forward like this and clashed with Mu Zhao's force using the strength of the Dao Domain...
He would be the one to die first.
But, he was also confident that he could "ferry" all the injuries he received back to Mu Zhao.
With all his passives activated simultaneously, that would be enough to injure a Martial Saint!
Perhaps... not just injure!
At this moment, the passive ability "Poetic Madness" was further stimulated, within the poetic lines, two distinct forces split off.
The first:
"The great Roc rides the wind one day, soaring ninety thousand miles", the meaning of pressing forward, unhindered and unstoppable.
Under this intent, Wen Si's Dao Domain condensed even further, its power approaching the full extent of what Wen Si himself could exert.
The second:
Was similar to the effect of "Returning Light", a sudden explosion of power right at the moment of death, when life was on the brink of extinguishing.
For Chen Kuang, it wouldn't be enough to save his own life, but it was more than enough to leave a memory that Mu Zhao would never forget.
In the span of an electric flash, the Kunpeng plummeted from the clouds, and Chen Kuang finally met the figure's gaze,
And saw the figure's true form.
It was not the Martial Saint's body.
Chen Kuang's pupils shrank.
This figure wasn't particularly tall, only about s 6 feet, with a sturdy, athletic frame, just like a teenage youth. His skin was dark, his face plain and honest, and he wore a light green headscarf and patched-up short tunic.
Any discerning person could tell, this clearly wasn't the Martial Saint's appearance!
It was another, entirely unfamiliar youth!
But what was terrifying, was this youth's body.
It was bulging with blood-filled muscle that glowed crimson beneath his skin, veins bulging out like writhing worms over his entire body.
As he raised his head, blood dripped from all seven orifices on his face, his eyes completely bloodshot, twisted and fearsome.
His skin seemed to be on the verge of rupture, ballooned to a translucent state, moments away from bursting.
Chen Kuang suddenly recalled the warning that Shen Liangcai had given him, and his heart dropped with alarm.
The true body of the Martial Saint was still in seclusion and unable to come in person, but he had chosen to possess another's body with a split divine soul, granting this vessel a portion of his power.
But Chen Kuang had not expected, this borrowed body to be so grotesque and unnatural.
He could even vaguely see in the boy's eyes, a flash of pain and resistance...
The original consciousness was still intact, it was clear that this possession was not voluntary.
At least at this moment, this body and the will occupying it, were in direct conflict.
But it lasted only for a blink.
That struggling gaze was quickly replaced with cold arrogance and disdain.
That look, Chen Kuang recognized well.
Back then, Li Hongling had looked at him the exact same way.
Master and disciple, indeed, they were the same breed of people!
Chen Kuang's expression cooled as well as he took a deep breath.
Descent from Tusita Heaven, Seventh Layer!
White Lotus Rebirth.
Twin Dragons Bathe the Buddha..
Moon-Clad Kasaya!
A white lotus bloomed beneath his feet, lifting him up like a lotus seat beneath the Buddha.
Two dragon-shaped energies coiled around his arms, and a thin, misty kasaya fluttered over his shoulders.
From afar, he looked like an enlightened monk descending to the mortal world.
But this Buddha had not come to deliver salvation, he had come to destroy karmic sin!
Within his mind, the "Sword of the Mind" buzzed. The killing sword hovering above trembled in excitement, and the Dragon Gums Zither cradled in his arms had its first string drawn taut.
All his Spiritual Energy surged, rushing into the Dao Domain to maintain its operation.
The Kunpeng let out a thunderous cry, siphoning river, cloud, and sea, and dove down like a collapsing sky!
Just then, "Mu Zhao" raised his hand and calmly uttered his second sentence:
"I have waited for so long, is this all you've got?"
He exhaled softly and clenched a fist:
"If you are truly just a Tower Ascension Realm cultivator, then this has already exceeded my expectations."
"But if you aim to be my enemy... then you are destined to disappoint."
"Today, you will not injure me in the slightest."
The moment his words ended, Chen Kuang's pupils shrank.
His "Blood Premonition" blared like a siren, and his qi and blood surged into his brain, bringing with it a trace of... primal fear!
"Mu Zhao" raised his fist and faced him head-on, his voice booming like a temple bell, echoing through the sky, rolling like thunder:
"To kill you, I need only one punch!!!"
And so, he truly threw one punch.
A single punch, and the heavens changed color.
In the dark sky, streaks of light tore open the curtain of night!
It was as if the entire sky had been shattered by that punch!
And shattered along with it, was the Kunpeng.
Its cloudlike wings and world-shrouding form disintegrated in an instant.
The sea poured down and the clouds scattered.
The Dao Domain, collapsed completely.
Chen Kuang's figure broke through the clouds, falling straight down like a speck of dust.
"Mu Zhao" turned his eyes away, his interest already lost as he sneered coldly:
"Tricksters full of deceit. You killed my disciple, today I purge the evil demonic. Cultivator and warn the world!"
These words, were clearly said for the benefit of the many onlookers.
Having spoken, he turned to leave, sleeves fluttering.
But then, "Why don't you take another look... at who the real 'evil cultivator' is?"
A cheerful voice suddenly rang out.
Mu Zhao's eyes contracted violently, he spun around, only to see the figure that had plummeted to the ground—brushing off dust from his robes, rising leisurely to his feet, utterly unharmed.
"You?!"
"Mu Zhao's" calm finally cracked, his eyes flickered with confusion and disbelief.
Ssssshh,
A faint, ominous sound came from his own body.
He looked down..
At some point, his body had been sliced open by a wound.
His flesh, already overexpanded to the brink, was like a balloon filled to bursting.
All it took was a pinprick...
Pffssht! Pffssht! Pffssht!
Wounds burst open all across his body, skin tearing apart, and dark-purple blood gushed out in fountains.
In a blink, his whole body looked like a broken sprinkler...
All of it, were the reflected injuries rebounding from Chen Kuang's passives!
They weren't fatal, but...
They were humiliating!
A mighty Martial Saint... now dripping blood like a leaking wines kin, stood frozen, expression twisted.
Chen Kuang stood tall, brushing back his hair, his voice cold and forceful:
"Today, let the world bear witness!"
"Who really... looks more like a demonic cultivator?!"
In that moment, with the clouds blown away and the mountains leveled, the scene of the "Sprinkler Saint" was laid bare for all the cultivators watching in the distance...