Jiang Liu held a sword in his hand, his fingers making a grasping motion. Countless cracks appeared in the air around the sword, but they could not harm Jiang Liu.
The sword trembled incessantly as the river current surged through it, as if it were holding a real dragon. With this violent trembling, countless spatial rifts appeared, and this strangely shaped sword seemed about to slip from his grasp and escape.
This sword is actually square, perfectly straight, much straighter than a ruler, seemingly the most upright sword in the world.
One side of this sword represents mountains, rivers, plants, and trees; the other side represents the sun, moon, and stars; one side represents humanity and moral education; and the other side represents fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture.
This is the "Panhuang Life Sword"!
Pan, an ancient sage emperor and disciple of the Longevity Emperor, was a master whose physical body shattered the void and whose soul became a Yang God. This "Pan Emperor's Life-Giving Sword" was Pan Emperor's personal sword, forged with "courage, wisdom, benevolence, and integrity" as he slew countless demons and commanded all living beings under heaven!
It is hailed as the number one divine weapon of ancient times!
Back then, the Holy Emperor "Pan" conquered all directions, dominating the Immortal Path, Ghost Path, Human Path, and Demon Path, wielding the "Sword of Life" and wearing the "Primordial Dragon Armor." With this sword and armor, he was invincible.
Legend has it that whoever obtains this sword will possess the power of an ancient holy emperor and control all living beings under heaven.
This sword trembled violently in Jiang Liu's hand, even causing the space around it to collapse.
It did not want to be controlled by Jiang Liu; it wanted to escape into the void once more.
Jiang Liu stared at the Holy Emperor's Sword in his hands, gripping it tightly with both hands, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Legend has it that the Panhuang Life Sword requires a sage to possess all four virtues—righteousness, courage, benevolence, and wisdom—to unleash its full power. Marquis Champion, you do not possess these four virtues, so why should you allow him to protect you?"
"You...you want to take my sword? You're delusional..." Champion Marquis's hands trembled violently, his face contorted in a grimace, his mind in turmoil. He had lost the "Sorrowful Light Divine Spear," he had lost the Creation Gourd, and he couldn't afford to lose the Panhuang Life-Giving Sword as well.
He was scared...
Without this sword, unless one completely submits to a certain power, there is absolutely no chance of survival.
Without a doubt, the Panhuang Life-Giving Sword is an extremely powerful weapon. It was with this sword that the Marquis of Champion was able to defy Emperor Yang Pan, compete with Hong Xuanji, and even flirt with the Heavenly Serpent King.
The sword of Pan, the first holy emperor of ancient times, not only has great symbolic significance, but also possesses the power to kill the creator.
"If I were to wield this sword, and possess the Buddha's robe, I would roam freely throughout the world!"
Jiang Liu gritted his teeth and whispered, "Unfortunately, the compatibility between his soul and the Panhuang Sword is not very high."
Jiang Liu did not possess the four virtues of a gentleman as described in the Panhuang Sword. A Qi cultivator cultivates to follow their heart's desires, not to become a saintly emperor.
"What a pity...what a pity...Yang An, here you go!"
In an instant, Jiang Liu threw the "Panhuang Life Sword" in his hand, and it disappeared into the spatial rift in the Qiankun Bag.
"You still can't take him away from me!"
Champion Hou slowly exhaled, gritting his teeth and revealing a hateful look in his eyes.
Jiang Liu ignored him and instead looked at the crack above his head. This Qiankun Bag was a sturdy little world. With his current strength, to destroy it to this extent, he would need to use the "Power of a Province" Zhen word technique at least nine times in a row.
But it was cleaved into this state by the "Panhuang Life Sword" in a single strike.
Moreover, without the barrier of the Qiankun Bag, Jiang Liu would not have been able to catch this sword without being injured.
"Yang An, with that Imperial Life-Giving Sword in existence, I indeed cannot kill you. However, I never intended to kill you. I promised to bestow upon you a great fortune, and I keep my word!"
As he spoke, he took out a huge stone from the gourd of creation. The stone looked like a piece of uncut jade, more than a person tall, shaped like an egg, with several holes on it. Inside the stone, it seemed as if something was being nurtured, and there was a shape that was neither human nor monkey.
It was the stone core that Jiang Liu had been plotting for a long time.
"How is this possible?" the Marquis of Champions screamed, his pupils dilating in shock. "How is this possible? How did you know I obtained this stone embryo? Nobody knows, I didn't let anyone know!"
Jiang Liu smiled mysteriously, then tossed the jade gourd in his hand toward the Marquis of Champions, saying, "Here's the gourd back. I'll cleanse your marrow and refine your bones again..."
As he spoke, a thunder dragon flew toward him, entered his body, and circulated through his meridians and acupoints for nine cycles.
Another memory entered his mind. Jiang Liu watched him writhe on the ground in pain and said, "This is the method of cultivating acupoints. One hundred and eight acupoints are enough for you to deal with the situation for now."
"Perhaps there will be another opportunity to cooperate next time. I look forward to meeting you again. I hope you will surprise me! I'm sending you back now..." With that, he threw Champion Marquis onto the large ship and then disappeared.
Fatten them up before killing them—that's Jiang Liu's plan.
Lying on the deck, Champion Marquis Yang An looked up at the thick dark clouds above and let out a heart-wrenching roar.
As soon as Jiang Liu took out the Qiankun Bag, he originally wanted to call the demon ape "Ba" and leave, but he saw that the sky was full of extremely thick black clouds, covering the entire area of a hundred miles.
The demonic ape "Ba" stood beneath the dark clouds, baring its teeth as it watched the vast, ever-changing dark clouds stretching for miles.
"Great Ancestor of Zhou, so you're not dead! What? Want to have a go at me? Three hundred years have passed, have you honed your skills to perfection? Da Gan destroyed your Great Zhou Kingdom, and Meng Shenji chased you for three years three hundred years ago, yet you didn't go after them, but instead came to attack me, your ancestor!"
The thick black clouds kept changing, and countless soldiers appeared and disappeared, with a chilling aura of thousands of troops enveloping the entire space.
The dark clouds spread across the entire sky, but stopped in front of Ba, clearly showing extreme apprehension. Ba, the ancestor of the Mighty Vajra Divine Ape, was an ancient monster who had lived for over a thousand years. He began cultivating when the ancient philosophers emerged, and was one of the most powerful figures in the vast world. This being known as the "Great Ancestor of the Great Zhou Dynasty" naturally knew the old ape's strength.
The dark clouds slowly parted, revealing the scene inside. Amidst the churning clouds, a colossal throne, or rather a dragon chair, was revealed, its sides exceptionally wide, with five-clawed golden dragons coiled around its armrests.
On the enormous throne sat a man dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a flat crown. A beaded curtain hung down, obscuring his face and making it impossible to see his features.
Dark clouds rolled around the throne, sometimes coalescing into divine guards dressed in strange armor, wielding spears, swords, or knives.
The grand entrance, imposing and domineering, was certainly unique and eye-catching.
"Ba, so you're still alive! I've also comprehended some supernatural powers in recent years. How about we exchange them? You want to keep that leaked aura of treasure all to yourself? My fists won't let you have it!"
"Heh heh, I'm afraid you won't return alive!" A cold laugh came from the ferocious maw of the demonic ape, the sound waves trembling incessantly, causing the entire dark cloud to boil.
"Heavenly Demon Soul-Seizing Demonic Sound! Ba, you have ultimately failed to reach the realm of the Creator!" The emperor who sat on the throne stood up.
"Heavenly Demon Slayer God, Rupture the Heavens!" With a roar, Ba stretched out his two hairy hands, making a tearing motion towards the void.
With this tear, the void in front of the "Great Ancestor of Zhou" was as if it had been truly ripped apart, revealing a dark crack that swallowed everything around it.
The ancestor narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself: This old monkey's strength has increased again; his spatial abilities have reached such a level.
"Imperial Supreme Domination! Great Annihilation Divine Fist".
The Great Zhou Emperor threw a punch at the spatial rift. The enormous fist seemed to instantly suck away the air within a radius of more than ten miles, turning it into a vacuum. Then, with a sudden release, the air from all sides rushed in and collapsed mercilessly, just like the destruction of a small world!
With a single move, he slayed gods and tore the sky apart, devouring heaven and earth. His Great Annihilation Fist unleashed the power to collapse even a minor world. The two collided with a deafening roar, annihilating each other and restoring order to the universe.
The dark clouds dispersed instantly, leaving only a patch of black clouds where the Great Zhou Emperor had been standing.
The spatial tremor spread outwards, causing even the place where Jiang Liu was hiding to tremble slightly. The demonic ape "Ba" and the Great Zhou Ancestor were both experts at the sixth level of the Thunder Tribulation, and they could detect even the slightest spatial fluctuation. Knowing that he could no longer hide, Jiang Liu walked out openly, clapping his hands and laughing, "Clap clap clap clap... What a magnificent imperial hegemon, what a magnificent Great Zhou Ancestor! Legend has it that you, Ancestor, once conquered all directions, slaughtering countless people, with rivers of blood flowing. After each battle, you would collect the intense killing intent from the battlefield and refine it into a throne. This is the Avici Throne. Even the black clouds surrounding the throne have boundless power. Any cultivator who falls into it will be trapped in an endless world of slaughter."
"And who are you?" Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhou immediately stared at Jiang Liu.
Ba grinned maliciously: "Master, why waste words with him? If we join forces, he won't be able to escape!"
"Oh no, this person is in cahoots with the old monkey!"
Immediately, the Great Zhou Emperor considered retreating. However, retreating was not the same as fleeing. Having lived for three hundred years, this old man naturally knew when to advance and when to retreat. He threw a punch at the two men, then soared away.
Chapter 212 A Powerful Enemy Spying
Seeing that Jiang Liu had no interest in making a move, the demonic ape "Ba" also withdrew its attack, grinning as it said, "Master, why not stop him? With the two of us joining forces, he has no chance of escaping. The Great Zhou Emperor must possess quite a few treasures!"
Jiang Liu looked at the spatial fluctuations that had vanished and shook his head, saying, "The Emperor's Extreme Reversal Technique! He managed to escape even from Meng Shenji's hands. Moreover, keeping him alive is more useful than killing him. With Da Gan destroying Da Zhou, he is unlikely to cooperate with Yang Pan for the time being. It's not bad for him to keep Da Gan in check for us."
Moreover, I was struck by the "Panhuang Life Sword" and am currently in a weakened state, so I can't let you see it... Jiang Liu thought to himself.
"To restrain Yang Pan, that guy was the emperor who overthrew the Great Zen Temple with one hand. How can he threaten you and me in just a few decades? How is that possible?" The demon ape said with a look of shock. He was indeed surprised. You have to know that he had cultivated for nearly a thousand years to have such strength. Others have reached his current level in a few decades. If he is not surprised, what else is there to be surprised about?
In the decades to come, if you knew that someone could kill you with a wave of their hand after only three years of cultivation, wouldn't you be scared to death?
Jiang Liu recalled Hong Yi's tribulation in one year and his creation as a creator in three years, making him invincible under heaven. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Meng Shenji supervised the world on behalf of Heaven, single-handedly destroyed the Great Zhou Dynasty, and assassinated two emperors of the Great Gan Dynasty. Twenty years ago, his immortal body was destroyed by the Great Gan Emperor Yang Pan and Hong Xuanji, and even now, he has not been able to take revenge. What do you think of their strength?"
"Master, are you saying... Meng Shenji can't kill him?"
"Perhaps in a year or two, their strength will be enough to kill Meng Shenji..." With that, he rode the wind and returned to Chuyun Kingdom to prepare for seclusion, refine his second external avatar, and break through to the Human Immortal realm.
...
In the Hidden Dragon Temple in Izumo Province, Jiang Liu began his seclusion with peace of mind. The Azure Emperor's strength was considerable, enough to suppress the demonic ape "Ba".
First, enter the Qiankun Bag. At this moment, the space inside is already in chaos!
The small world, which should still have two thousand years of life left, had begun to collapse after being cleaved open by the "Panhuang Life-Giving Sword." Originally, the entire space of the Qiankun Bag was extremely stable, but since the Champion Marquis's Panhuang Life-Giving Sword pierced it, it had suffered indelible damage and was constantly losing its vital energy. According to Jiang Liu's calculations, if left unchecked, this small world would completely collapse within sixty years. Streaks of clear light darted violently, and many cracking sounds emanated from the four walls; the entire space trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
This is a sign that the entire Qiankun Bag is on the verge of collapse.
Jiang Liu had already witnessed the power of the Panhuang Life Sword; it was the number one divine weapon capable of even cleaving through the barriers of the Middle Thousand Worlds.
Looking at the collapsing little world, Jiang Liu felt no heartache; on the contrary, he was very happy. He clenched his fist and said, "Since that's the case, I'll put in more effort and make the collapse even more complete... Shake..."
A punch was thrown, causing the space to tremble.
"Crack...crack..." The entire space began to truly crack and collapse. Cracks, powerful enough to shatter everything, cut through it from all sides.
In an instant, the cracks widened rapidly, and darkness began to devour everything. The once solid earth fell into the darkness and was swept away by spatial turbulence, turning into nothingness. The entire space of the Qiankun Bag suddenly collapsed! Spatial cracks and collapsing black hole vortexes appeared everywhere; even a sixth-stage tribulation expert would not escape death if trapped inside!
Darkness rapidly engulfed everything. Jiang Liu stood silently in the center of the small world, sensing the process of spatial collapse. No words could compare to the awe-inspiring power of witnessing it firsthand.
At the last moment, Jiang Liu tore through space and escaped.
"Ten years of enlightenment is not as good as experiencing it firsthand! If I could witness the destruction of a planet, if I could see the collapse of the universe, if I could experience the Big Bang when the universe was created... I could definitely cultivate the Six-Character Mantra of Destruction to its highest level."
Boom!
The entire human-immortal skin of the Qiankun Bag shattered into dust the instant the space inside broke apart.
At the same time, a page of dark gold light, resembling a palm-leaf scripture, floated out from the inner pocket of the person's pocket.
Faintly visible on this page of the palm-leaf Zen sutra is a picture of a majestic Buddha standing tall, with lotus flowers blooming with each step, one finger pointing to the sky and the other to the earth, as if he were the only one worthy of respect in heaven and earth.
The aura of this giant Buddha possesses the power to dominate the present and be invincible throughout the universe!
"!"
Jiang Liu stretched out his palm and caught it.
Heaven and earth shattered, and the Tathagata appeared.
This represents the strongest power!
The meaning of "Tathagata" is "to come to the other shore by the true way".
This book emphasizes martial arts cultivation, using the strongest power to cross the sea of suffering and reach the other shore. Everything else is illusory; only power is real—the true path.
Jiang Liu placed it beside him without looking at it much, and instead took out a huge stone, a stone core with nine orifices.
For a placenta to emerge from a rock, it would take millions, even tens of millions of years. It would involve countless extraordinary encounters! This is a miracle of nature.
This is unlike those stone-formed monsters; it is a true creation, nurtured by nature for countless years. Just like Sun Wukong, who was born with extraordinary powers.
"Compared to the Azure Emperor, this stone embryo is much more difficult! It's a human immortal body, and I'll have to put in a lot of effort to refine it... Moreover, it contains the will of the Marquis of Champion, and I'll need time to refine it... Oh well, let's take it one step at a time!"