"Clang~"
"Jingle~"
"Jingle~"
A thousand bells chimed, their echoes reaching the heart of the Dao, a peculiar bell sound resonating within every Golden Immortal.
Above the heads of a hundred Golden Immortal Venerables, a bell hovered, its ringing causing their primordial spirits to lose focus.
Within each bell lay the sound of another, and each of the hundred bells chimed in unison, like a hundred birds singing, or the symphony of all creation.
Surprise flashed in the old man's eyes. He stood with his hands behind his back amidst the surging golden sound waves, his beard and hair flying. He trod on empty space, igniting ripples of fire beneath his feet. Twin waves of golden fire surged and vibrated between heaven and earth.
"Not bad. You've managed to touch upon the profound art of sound-based divine abilities. Among my Phoenix Clan, you are indeed a standout Golden Immortal."
Qing Ling flicked his wrist, and something seemed to streak across the void above, yet also nothing at all.
He said faintly, "Naturally, I cannot compare to the Phoenix Clan, who are born with an innate understanding of the Dao of Sound."
For a million years, Qing Ling had listened beneath the Jianmu tree to the sounds of ten thousand birds, their joyous chirps, their sorrowful cries, the calls of new hatchlings, of mating pairs, of progeny, and the songs of the dying. All these avian melodies entered his ears and imprinted themselves on his heart.
From the myriad sounds of birds, he then listened to the sounds of all beasts. From the sounds of birds and beasts, he progressed to the sounds of vegetation withering and flourishing, and the murmur of mountains and flowing water.
Thus, he entered the realm, and took his first step into the Dao of Sound.
In the desolation of several million years, while nurturing his spirit and refining his Qi, Qing Ling began to comprehend the Dao of Sound. Within Dugguang Land, he was akin to a mighty being. When a mighty being dedicates a million years to comprehending a single Dao, progress is inevitable.
His Dao of Sound, originating from the sounds of ten thousand beasts and all things, pushed forth to encompass the sounds of all living beings across the four directions. From these sounds, he delved into the sounds of the earth, and then, following the earth's sounds, entered the heavenly sounds through the footsteps of all beings.
Heavenly sounds were high and unfathomable, the sounds of all beings were complex and ever-changing, and the sounds of the earth, in their silence, harbored grand and magnificent power.
The three sounds merged into one, and he created a sonic domain, a world forged from all sounds.
The old man walked slowly, each step igniting a sea of fire. Where the blazing true fire rolled, all turned crimson.
His crimson aura permeated heaven and earth. Behind him lay an endless sea of fire, its majestic, fierce flames imbued with supreme pressure, dispelling evil and illusions, piercing falsehoods to reach the divine. This was truly the righteous aura of the Chongming Divine Bird, protecting all that is good.
"Fellow Daoist, the four realms have been broken. It is time for you to be apprehended."
The old man's colossal form was like a divine judge sentencing demons, like the righteous Qi of heaven and earth expelling evil spirits. The sea of fire descended with a roar, akin to the judgment of hell. Its fearsome might made Bai Fu and others hiding behind the Jianmu tree tremble, their minds plunged into profound terror.
Qing Ling raised his head to the sky. A smile finally appeared on his face. "For a god to be apprehended, the judgment of heaven and earth is required. You are not worthy."
Chongming shook his head. "In my eyes, the strong reign supreme. There is no such thing as a god's inherent nobility."
The sky-filled sea of fire descended like a world of infernal flames from the firmament. Fire in all four directions, flames from all eight, infernos from all ten. The crimson world plunged down. Beneath the old man, no one could escape, nor was there anywhere to flee.
Qing Ling stepped forward, his divine form manifesting. A human body with a serpentine tail, accompanied by wind and rain to his left and right, and ten thousand trees bowing in front of him.
"Chongming, you can still withdraw now. Must you truly fight me to the bitter end?"
The old man Chongming stood on the fiery sea in the sky, its power descending from all directions, unstoppable. He seemed more divine than any god. He raised his voice and laughed, "The four realms are broken, but that is merely a minor art. Capturing you should be a simple matter!"
Qing Ling's gaze instantly turned cold. He had held back somewhat out of respect for the Phoenix Clan's mighty elder, but if the elder wished him dead, he would ensure the elder met a terrible end!
Divine patterns flickered on his brow. Beneath the descending sea of fire, a gentle spring breeze began to blow, carrying warmth into the raging flames, yet the wind only fanned the fire, making it burn even hotter.
"Rise!"
Qing Ling's sleeves billowed. The power of his primordial spirit surged forth from his brow, and ten acres of auspicious clouds unfurled.
A vast tide of wind swept across heaven and earth. Beneath the sea of fire, which was now less than ten thousand feet from the ground, an ancient scroll slowly unrolled. The scroll's width was the ridge of the sky, its height spanned heaven and earth. Within the scroll lay a landscape of exquisite beauty.
There were the sounds of gentle breezes, of high mountains and flowing water, of ten thousand beasts roaring. Heavenly, earthly, and all-being sounds constructed a sonic domain. This domain, merged with the Spring Order Diagram, transformed into reality.
A flicker of surprise appeared in the old man Chongming's eyes. He hadn't expected this youth to condense ten acres of auspicious clouds. But his surprise did not lead to panic. The three flowers and five qi above his head bloomed fully, revealing a vast hundred acres of auspicious clouds.
Though ten times that of Qing Ling's, one had to remember that the old man had cultivated for hundreds of epochs to reach this point, while this youth, merely a pseudo-Great Luo, already possessed ten acres of auspicious clouds.
Beneath the hundred acres of auspicious clouds, the already vast world of fire was propelled to expand, completely engulfing that vibrant, flourishing scene of spring.
The old man smiled faintly, about to utter a few words, when he suddenly noticed that the illusion of the ancient green wood diagram still existed within the sea of fire.
He frowned slightly and pressed his hands down through the void. The world of fire also pressed down, sinking the world of the ancient green wood diagram.
Qing Ling pointed a finger and exclaimed, "Life and Death Revolve!"
The ancient green wood diagram instantly manifested a layer of life-and-death light screens, expanding for countless miles and then countless more. The black and white life-and-death energies revolved like a vast abyss, an endless, boundless black and white vortex. It expanded and grew, completely swallowing this descending world of fire.
Furthermore, the spring scenery on the ancient green wood diagram finally began to transform into the splendor of summer!
The scorching summer sun, presided over by the Dao of Life, drew power from the sea of fire within the black and white Dao of Life and Death, manifesting a blazing sun in the sky.
The old man Chongming's expression turned grave. "Having lost the power of the four realms, how can you still possess the ability to suppress with life and death?"
Qing Ling smiled faintly. "I govern Dugguang, and it is not by relying on others. The four great domains are all mine. As long as the Four Boundary Steles remain unbroken, I shall not fall from the realm of Great Power!"
The old man Chongming said coldly, "So, the scheme lies here!"
He had always believed that Qing Ling had ordered his subordinates to defend the four realms to prevent their domain from falling out of control and causing him to descend from Great Luo. He had never imagined that the root of the problem lay with those four boundary steles!
The four boundary steles, facing the four directions, were not only attached to Qing Ling's divine sense but also connected through the depths of the earth to the roots of the Jianmu tree. Wherever the roots of the Jianmu spread, his power as a Great Power could reach.
"I underestimated you. But today, you must still come with me!"
As his voice fell, the old man vanished abruptly, transforming into a magnificent colossal bird a million feet in size. With a single sweep of his wings, he blotted out the boundless sky. His terrifying aura, the aura of a top predator, instilled fear in all living beings.
The Chongming Divine Bird descended with heavenly light. Vast and boundless, only the crimson light of heaven remained. The true form of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, once revealed, crushed the fighting spirit of the multitude of beings with its invincible will.
Qing Ling let out a cold laugh. He reached out and grabbed. The summer diagram flipped over. One diagram became one realm. Unlike the old man's slowly descending world of fire, his ancient diagram world overturned in an instant, enveloping the Great Luo's body.
The Chongming bird was drawn into the summer diagram. Without hesitation, Qing Ling placed the summer diagram beneath the Jianmu tree.
His scroll of ancient diagrams, attempting to trap a Great Luo Golden Immortal, was a foolish aspiration in itself. But the diagram, suppressed by the Jianmu, he cruelly decided to suppress both the diagram and the person beneath the Jianmu.
Let alone Chongming the elder escaping, even Qing Ling himself would be unable to retrieve the diagram now.
This was a technique that cost him dearly, sacrificing one thousand to injure the enemy eight hundred!
But he also received compensation.
The sustenance from the Golden Immortals and Taiyi cultivators of the four invading clans before him.
This reminded Qing Ling that he was still a Hua Xia person.