Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 580 - 354: Interception

At the Southern Sea border, billions of miles away.

"Boom!"

The void shattered, divine light shone forth, and the figure of a person materialized, his steps slightly unsteady.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Xu Yang steadied his body, and before he could adjust his internal breath, he heard sounds around him, and wisps of green smoke rose, with a great amount of ash falling off.

These were fragments of a magic artifact!

Just as the South Sea Dragon King and several Mahayana cultivators had thought, achieving such results in just over six hundred years was truly illogical—there had to be a reason behind it.

What reason?

It was the assistance of an incarnation, plus the effects of special traits.

During these six hundred years, "Zhen Yuanzi" in the Earth Immortal Realm focused on consolidating his cultivation, while "Li Liuxian" in the World of Dao and Law and "Xu Qingyang" in the Divine Martial World, took advantage of the time flow rate, pondering various mana points collected from the Pill Origin Gathering.

The flow rate of time in the World of Dao and Law and the Divine Martial World was the same, ten times faster than in the Earth Immortal Realm. Six hundred years there equaled over six thousand years, and these two incarnations, utilizing their skill characteristics and the wisdom of all beings, pondered various mana points and achieved some success, which was then practiced by "Zhen Yuanzi".

Such a method was akin to re-cultivating with the experiences of two major incarnations as a foundation. Even the cultivation of Heavenly Gang Divine Power progressed by leaps and bounds.

Moreover, with the enhancement of skill characteristics, he was able to consolidate his Mahayana cultivation and master the Heavenly Gang Divine Power in less than a thousand years.

This was the power of an external cheat!

But it also came to an end there.

In terms of cultivating skills divine magic, one could make rapid progress by relying on the experience of re-cultivation and quickly master them, but there was no such shortcut for body refinement. One must take it step by step, relying on the accumulation of time and effort to achieve it.

Therefore, Xu Yang’s physique was not strong and couldn’t be compared to a Mahayana body refinement cultivator like the South Sea Dragon King.

In this way, in the recent fight, up close and personal, how could he possibly fight against four dragons alone?

He relied on external objects!

Middle-grade Mecha, Five Elements Immortal City—White Jade Capital!

On the surface, he had entered the Dragon Palace alone, but in fact, he had already activated the mecha and brought the White Jade Immortal City into the Southern Sea Dragon Palace.

As a middle-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor, the White Jade Capital, with an Artifact Level of five billion, its might was above ordinary Superior Immortal Implements and could even suppress Supreme Immortal Artifacts without a wielder. The three Demon Artifacts of the World of Dao and Law were an example.

Thus, he was not actually confronting the Mahayana Jiao Dragons of the Southern Sea with his physical body, but rather, he was using the power of a billion artifacts from the mecha, combined with the abilities of a Mahayana Immortal Spirit, to contend against the four dragons of the Southern Sea and the Great Void Azure Sea Formation.

As the crystallization of the civilization of the World of Dao and Law and the highest creation of the Wandao School, the power of the Immortal Spirit Mech Armor needs no further elaboration. Even when battling away in enemy territory, fighting alone against six dragons, he did not fall behind, thanks to his Mahayana cultivation and skill characteristics.

But this was only true for Mahayana Jiao Dragons!

The middle-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor, ranking sixth tier, in comparison to Return to Void, if an ordinary cultivator piloted it, he could at most transcend by one realm, contending against an Integration cultivator.

Xu Yang was not ordinary; he possessed skill characteristics and various enhancements, and this middle-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor, coupled with his abilities, successfully entered the first-class realm of Mahayana. As long as a Calamity Immortal did not appear, he was almost invincible.

But this time, a Calamity Immortal did appear!

The South Sea Dragon King, a True Dragon of Four Calamities!

The middle-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor could not withstand the power of a Calamity Immortal.

With just one strike, only one, it shattered his protective divine power, causing tens of millions of magical artifacts’ components to disintegrate into ash and smoke, and even the main body inside the mecha, despite multiple layers of protection, was severely damaged from the impact.

This was still with the opponent exercising restraint and not using his full strength!

If the True Dragon of Four Calamities had not feared karmic repercussions and intensified the Heavenly Tribulation, using his full power could have probably destroyed the White Jade Capital in one strike, turning the middle-grade Immortal Spirit Mech Armor of five billion artifacts into ash and smoke.

This was a Calamity Immortal—one realm, a world apart. Integration was already vastly different from Mahayana, and Mahayana from Crossing the Tribulation was an even greater chasm, like a mortal challenging an Immortal. To not only battle across realms but to withstand even one strike was an extreme danger.

Heavenly Mechanics Methods, Immortal Spirit Mech Armor, although they were methods against the heavens, they could only bear one strike without his full force.

The damage from this one strike, coupled with the subsequent overload of the mecha and the consumption from using the Five Elements Great Escape to the fullest to flee, caused nearly two billion of the White Jade Capital’s five billion Artifact Level components to disintegrate into ash and smoke, with the remaining three billion also damaged to various extents.

Repairs were necessary, and it would not be able to participate in battle in the short term.

The cost was heavy.

But it was within expectations.

Coming to the Southern Sea was to gather Mysterious Iron Refined Gold, and secondly, to test the power of a Calamity Immortal.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

Without understanding the power of a Calamity Immortal, how could he confront one?

Based on the strike from the True Dragon just now, Xu Yang had a certain measurement in his heart.

Next, according to the plan, he could steadily push forward.

...

Three months later, in East Victorious Divine Continent.

Of the four Earth Immortal states, East Victorious is the greatest, the center of spiritual energy, with Heavenly Court Palaces above and various veins of the Earth Realm below, with long-standing inheritance and profound potential, undoubtedly the premier Tao lineage of the Immortal Realm.

"Fellow Daoists, this is where I bid you farewell."

"Star Lord, take care!"

"Children, why haven’t you brought the Star Lord’s mount yet?"

Inside the mountain gate of an Earth Realm, the cultivators gathered around a central figure like stars around the moon as they saw him out.

The person they were seeing off looked young but had the cultivation of Integration, his mana pure to an extreme, even hinting at an Immortal Spirit, clearly showing that his roots were not ordinary.

As they reached outside the gate, the cultivators stopped, and two Taoist children brought over a mount, which was a magnificent Qingluan bird.

"The Star Lord’s Qingluan is truly extraordinary."

"A Qingluan of the Phoenix kind, if it can revert to its ancestors and cultivate Phoenix True Blood, the future looks promising for reaching Mahayana."

"With the Star Lord’s exceptional talents, advancing to Mahayana is inevitable. With a Phoenix-blood Qingluan as a mount, even in the Heavenly realm, you will be remarkable."

Admiring the magnificent Qingluan, the cultivators praised it with hardly any restraint in their flattery.

"Ha ha ha!"

Although it was flattery, it was quite enjoyable. The young man chuckled, "Turning back into a phoenix is not easy. I have fed it for nearly a thousand years, and it has barely reached the Return to Void stage. If it can advance to Integration in the future, that would be the fortune of its cultivation journey."

"You’re being too modest, Star Lord!"

"Within the Heavenly Court, everyone knows the Star Lord has a method with beast taming; this bird will surely reach the Mahayana level."

"The Heavenly Court, high in the Ninth Heaven, nourishes with the Qi of the immortal spirits; certainly, it can enable this luan bird to turn back to its ancestral phoenix form."

The cultivators once more voiced their admiration, making the young man’s smile grow even wider: "With such words from my friends, I dare not contradict. Should it truly transform, I shall host a Phoenix and Luan Gathering, inviting all my friends to a grand banquet in the heavens, for three days of revelry without returning sober!"

"Are you serious, Star Lord?"

"Then we shall await the moment!"

"Ha ha ha..."

The crowd erupted in laughter, heating the atmosphere, dispelling the sadness of farewell as the final moment approached.

Amid the sounds of laughter and farewells, the young man leaped onto the back of the Qingluan, waving his hand as he said, "My friends, no need to see me off, I am off!"

No sooner had he spoken than he spurred his mount; the Qingluan cried out, flapping its mighty wings to ascend, whipping up a storm of sand and dust.

"Whoosh!"

Caught off guard, the people were blasted with wind and sand. Although protected by their cultivation, they were left in a somewhat awkward state.

"This Qingluan..."

"What a temper it has!"

"Hmph, riding on the coattails of its master!"

Although the crowd murmured their criticisms, smiles still graced their faces as they saw him off.

Meanwhile, the young man paid them no mind, riding the Qingluan straight up into the high sky.

At that moment...

"Whoosh!!!"

A sudden chill wind arose, and darkness fell upon the earth.

A streak of black light, coming from nowhere, swept across like a tempest, turning the sky dark as night, stirring up whirling sand and stones.

"What...?"

"Which demon dares to make trouble?"

The color drained from everyone’s faces, and they hastily retreated back to the mountain gate.

In the high sky, the young man was also startled, about to deploy his magical treasure for protection.

Yet unexpectedly, the black light swept over him like a gaping abyss devouring the heavens, engulfing his sight in an instant.

"Star Lord!"

"Not good!"

The ones who had just retreated into the mountain gate only saw a stroke of black light sweep across the sky, wiping the Star Lord and his mount from view, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Which demon dares to cause chaos in East Victorious Divine Continent?"

"The Star Lord’s Integration stage of cultivation is almost Mahayana; he is no match for it in a single encounter?"

"Could it be..."

"A Mahayana demon?"

"Such capability, it must surely be Mahayana without a doubt!"

"A Mahayana demon, how dare it enter East Victorious Divine Continent; could it be that..."

"Quick, report to the Heavenly Court, a Mahayana demon has caused chaos in East Victorious Divine Continent and has even kidnapped the Star Lord Yuling!"

...

Within White Jade Capital, inside the Kylin Palace.

A dark, oppressive black light whistled down, revealing a man and a bird as it hit the floor of the palace.

The man sprawled onto the ground, looking disheveled but uninjured and unrestrained, immediately propping himself up to look around in bewildered shock.

The Qingluan bird too appeared shocked and surprised, glancing around left and right.

Just then, a glimmer of spirit light emerged, transforming into the figure of a person, dressed in blue like jade, with a dignified immortal bearing.

"Hm!"

The young man’s pupils constricted, and he appeared even more perplexed.

He had assumed that his captor would have been some demon or practitioner of evil ways, but to his surprise, the person in front of him radiated an extremely pure immortal power, no weaker than the great Mahayana Star Lords of the Heavenly Court, clearly an orthodox cultivator of the immortal path.

Why would an orthodox cultivator of the immortal path kidnap him, and in the midst of East Victorious Divine Continent, under the watchful eyes of many? Did they not fear the Heavenly Court’s pursuit?

The young man’s heart was filled with shock and bewilderment, but there was no time for further thought; he had to maintain his composure and bowed, "Junior has seen the senior; may I inquire why senior has brought me here..."

He couldn’t complete his words, as they stuck in his throat, unable to continue.

It was not that someone had silenced him, but rather the person had simply passed by him without a glance, heading straight towards what was behind him...

"Cree!!!"

The Qingluan cried out; its wails were full of both distress and joy.

The young man’s body stiffened as he struggled to look back, only to see his own Qingluan mount, emitting sorrowful cries, tears pouring like rain as it kneeled down in front of the newcomer.

The person extended a hand to help it up, sighing and speaking softly, "My friend, I have arrived late!"