Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu snorted, which was his response. It must be said that after being sealed away for twenty thousand years, Xiang Yu's temper was no longer as volatile as it had been twenty thousand years ago. At least, he wasn't launching into a tirade now, was he?
"Your strength has improved very quickly. As far as I know, it has only been two years since the Heavenly Dao lifted the seal on the sixth rank, and your strength has already reached the mid-stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm. I am really curious." Xiang Yu asked Zhang Jiao, who was standing to the side.
Theoretically speaking, there are countless opportunities in the universe. It's not impossible to gain a significant boost in strength by acquiring just one.
However, it's extremely rare for someone like Zhang Jiao to advance directly from the peak of the Earth Immortal realm to the mid-stage of the Celestial Immortal realm in less than two years. After all, not every cultivator is like Sun Wukong.
(In just a few years, Monkey King directly rose from a mortal state, at or below the third rank, to at least the sixth rank of Celestial Immortal.)
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiao smiled wryly and said, "It was just a coincidence, nothing to mention, nothing to mention."
At the same time, a tremendous change occurred in the sky. A powerful barrier, centered on Luoyang City and using the fortune of the Han Dynasty as its raw material, instantly pierced through the entire world. All thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty were covered within the barrier's embrace.
Above the barrier, a divine dragon, hundreds of millions of feet long, appeared. The dragon's head was in Luoyang, while its body coiled and spread outwards in circles.
Wherever the dragon went, the fortune of the local people was instantly gathered and transformed into fiery red power, which replenished the dragon.
Sensing the immense power emanating from the divine dragon, Xiang Yu couldn't help but frown. He was indeed powerful; in terms of raw strength alone, a half-step seventh-tier cultivator was already the strongest person in this world. However, this didn't mean he was truly invincible. Otherwise, he would have already stormed into Luoyang City and reclaimed his body.
"I never expected that the younger generation would be so strong! Amazing, truly amazing!" Xiang Yu couldn't help but exclaim.
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Chapter 53: Lord of the Four Seas, Chief of the Dragon Clan, Lord of Scales and Armor, King of All Beasts...
On the East China Sea, in the waters near Qingzhou, the once calm and still sea suddenly began to boil.
On the sea, three Taoist priests appeared. From a distance, their faces were completely obscured, clearly due to concealment. Indeed, their actions were shady, after all.
"Brother, do we really have to do this? They're outsiders. If we do this, won't we become their lackeys, colluding with them?" Zhang Liang asked, puzzled.
Of the three brothers, Zhang Liang looked more like a general than a Taoist priest. His powerful muscles were so prominent that even his wide Taoist robe couldn't conceal them.
"Third brother, do you really think the Burning Legion can defeat the Great Han? Besides, it's just Archimonde and Kil'jaeden now, what's there to be afraid of?"
"I never expected them to actually destroy the Han Dynasty! Compared to the Immortal Qin, they are nothing more than small pawns crossing the river. This time, they might not be able to return." Zhang Jiao, dressed in black robes, said expressionlessly.
The man in black robes is not actually Zhang Jiao, but merely an avatar of him. In popular parlance, he is called an "evil corpse." He is a powerful figure in Taoism who created the Three Corpses secret technique, imitating the Taoist patriarch's "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones" method.
This Three Corpses Secret Technique is extremely mysterious. Once one severs the three corpses, one's strength can increase by leaps and bounds! At the same time, it is said that one can possess three avatars that are no less powerful than the original body, making it incredibly convenient in battle.
(The Three Corpses Secret Technique in the Primordial Era allows for power increases that are like having a cheat code. With a Primordial Spiritual Treasure, one can advance from a Great Luo Immortal to a Quasi-Saint with their eyes closed.)
"Hiss, those two commanders are genuine late-stage Celestial Immortals in terms of strength. In terms of cultivation, they are even above you, elder brother. Could it be that the Han Dynasty has become so powerful?" Zhang Bao asked, somewhat puzzled.
In his view, the Heavenly Dao seal had just been broken, and in terms of strength, it was impossible for anyone to improve faster than Zhang Jiao—it made no sense! Especially when facing two experts at the late stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm.
It's important to understand that the Great Han is not Azeroth. In this world, the upper limit is not the fifth tier, but the sixth. The two Grand Commanders of the Burning Legion can preserve their full strength.
“Alas, cultivation is only one part of strength, nothing more! Spiritual treasures, formations, destiny, merit—all can be transformed into combat power when needed, instantly changing the course of battle. Moreover, I always feel that the Han Dynasty has a trump card. Once this trump card is revealed, even Xiang Yu might perish.” Zhang Jiao said, frowning.
Then, seeing the surprised looks on his two brothers' faces, Zhang Jiao said, "Alright, now that all thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty are within the barrier, let's make our move from here."
With that, Zhang Jiao waved his sleeve, and a massive stone gate appeared. As soon as the stone gate appeared, it instantly grew to a height of hundreds of feet.
The material of the stone gate is incredibly mysterious; it was obtained by Zhang Jiao from the world of Azeroth. It is extremely sturdy; in terms of hardness alone, even a fifth-tier expert, using their full strength, might not be able to break the stone gate.
Moreover, on either side of the stone gate stood two incredibly mysterious yet towering stone statues. Zhang Jiao knew that these statues depicted a human named Medivh.
"The Gate of Darkness? Is it really possible to teleport across worlds through this gate?" Zhang Bao frowned as he sensed the aura emanating from the stone gate.
"Indeed, that's true. This Dark Gate is truly miraculous, capable of traversing worlds, ignoring the Chaos Ocean, and directly transporting one world to another. It just goes to show that we shouldn't underestimate the people of this world. Even these barbarians from beyond the realms have capable individuals," Zhang Jiao exclaimed.
As he spoke, streams of extremely powerful yet pure magical energy erupted instantly and surged into the Dark Gate.
At the same time, the Gate of Darkness also changed. The once empty gate suddenly lit up. Then, it twinkled like a galaxy, and at first glance, it was quite beautiful.
Seeing this, Zhang Jiao nodded, and then disappeared along with Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao. They had done what they could; now it was time to see what the Burning Legion would do.
The three Zhang brothers had just disappeared when the galaxy behind the door transformed into streams of murky, yet chaotic energy.
This chaotic energy, or evil energy, was so blatantly malevolent at this moment. It's important to understand that in the Han Dynasty, both acquired and innate spiritual energy were essentially transparent. Furthermore, things like the aura of dawn and pure yang energy possessed color.
However, no matter what, it wouldn't be as disgusting, chaotic, or polluting as fel energy. The moment it appeared, it contaminated the entire surrounding space.
Even many fish in the ocean age instantly upon contact with fel energy. Of course, some survive and evolve.
At this moment, these evolved fish grew two enormous fangs, and their skin instantly turned blackish-red. Their eyes became utterly chaotic. Fearlessly, they attacked their struggling companions around them.
roar!
With that dragon's roar, a blue dragon instantly emerged from the depths of the sea. At the same time, countless shrimp soldiers and crab generals appeared on the surface of the sea.
Among them, the shrimp soldiers were equivalent to the second level of Body Refinement, while the crab generals were all at the third level of Body Refinement. As soon as these shrimp soldiers and crab generals appeared, they began a massacre of the infected fish.
In an instant, countless streams of black and red blood mingled together, turning the entire sea black.
Seeing this, Azure Dragon subconsciously frowned. These extraterrestrial demons were far too arrogant! Originally, if you wanted to confront the Han Dynasty, that was your business, a matter for the land. Azure Dragon could have pretended not to know and ignored it.
But you swaggered off from above the East China Sea without any attempt to conceal your identity. Did you really think I was a dead dragon?
Just as the Azure Dragon God was complaining, the Gate of Darkness officially opened. A giant thousands of feet tall appeared.
The giant was a thousand feet tall, draped in a green cloak, and held a staff in his hand. He also wore several glittering gemstone rings on his wrist.