Chapter 1 A Divine Power Presses Down

A divine power pressed down, and the world resounded with a deafening roar.

A shadow, as dark as ink, hung over Qingdu City, as if the sky itself was collapsing. The dispersing air currents whipped up accumulated snow, sending it spiraling into the sky like dragons.

The Tianyi Sect's headquarters, bearing the brunt of the attack, was instantly plunged into darkness. The immense pressure roared down, threatening to sink the entire northern part of the city into the earth. The ground trembled like waves.

In the sky, the various Zhenren scattered in all directions, none daring to confront the divine power head-on for the Tianyi Sect.

"Ah!"

Beneath the ruins of the great hall, Yi Gong, Xiao Feng, and Jiu Yan emerged in a disheveled state, roaring in fury.

But before they could act, a calm, unwavering sigh echoed from within the Tianyi Sect's headquarters:

"Heaven is boundless, earth is limitless, the river of time flows ceaselessly, and how many heroes have there been?"

"I underestimated you."

With a soft sigh, Tianyi Dao Ren slowly raised his eyes, his deep, cold gaze reflecting the divine power pressing down from hundreds of miles away.

It was a finger, yet not a finger.

It was like a giant club cleaving through the waves, or a divine mountain pressing down. With a flick of the finger, the earth's aura shifted, creating a nearly earth-shattering change.

It resembled a feng shui formation, yet it was more than that. Its inner mysteries were greater, its power greater, and it was not as rigid as a formation.

During their exchange outside Mount Taiji, he had assumed that this person could only unleash such power by relying on the earth's veins and mountains.

He had not expected that it was not the person who sought the mountain, but the mountain that sought him!

The two were not on the same level.

Hu!

As the sigh echoed, Tianyi Dao Ren met the attack with a finger of his own.

His finger was like a sword, ringing with a metallic sound. Then, the sword light split into thousands, erupting from the void. For a moment, the sword light in the world was like a shimmering sea, and the air currents, snowflakes, and dust stirred up in the void were all shattered.

They were cut into incredibly minute particles.

Aang~

Then, a dragon's roar exploded in the sky.

Within the sea of sword light, a sword dragon seemed to rise from the ground, carrying the滔滔 (tao tao) sea of sword light, striking horizontally against the sky.

This sword dragon was so grand.

Rising from the earth, soaring into the sky, it was like a heavenly pillar connecting heaven and earth, seeking to support the collapsing sky!

Rumble!

In an instant, before Xiao Feng and the others could even act, the earth-shattering sound of the collision had already echoed above the heavens. Above the thousands of feet high, the air currents raged and surged, and the smoke and dust, like millions of swords, tore apart and gathered the dark clouds and rain.

For a moment, all colors intertwined in the world, illuminating the entire Qingdu City with flickering light.

Countless people were terrified and horrified.

Even within the most heavily guarded imperial city, everyone was plunged into immense fear.

With power like this, even emperors and generals seemed incredibly insignificant.

Within the hall where the imperial examination was being held, the faces of the civil and military officials were pale. Feeling the power of the collision, which seemed like the wrath of heaven, their faces were ashen and their legs trembled. Some were even trembling so badly that they were about to lose control of their bowels.

Sa Wuling sat cross-legged in the corner, shaking his head inwardly. The roots of this Da Qing were already rotten, and none of these civil and military officials were worthy of his attention.

He had still come.

Although Yan Xiake had said that he had methods to deceive these people, it was not as convenient as coming himself.

On his wrist, a small white bone jade pendant trembled slightly.

Unaffected by any external factors, he waited to fulfill the last obsession in his heart.

The old emperor rarely attended court anymore, but he could not possibly miss the imperial examination.

As long as he waited, he would have another chance to strike.

Rumble!

Air currents rolled in the sky, and the dispersing aftershocks ravaged the sky like lightning.

After one collision, both sides dissipated into nothingness.

The various cultivators in Qingdu City all had solemn expressions and horrified hearts. In this one collision, the unknown expert had not even allowed Tianyi Zhenren to gain the upper hand.

In the void around the Tianyi Sect's headquarters, the various Zhenren were also shaken.

They could see clearly that the white-robed Daoist had neither Yuanshen aura nor the aura of thunder tribulation. It was clear that he was at most a Zhenren level.

But how could he contend with a Yuanshen Zhenren?

This was completely illogical.

How vast was the gap between a Zhenren and a Yuanshen Zhenren?

A Yuanshen Zhenren's divine power could kill a Zhenren even from tens of thousands of miles away.

Who exactly was this person?

Hu~

The smoke dissipated, and the air currents fell.

Tianyi Dao Ren strode into the sky, ascending step by step, his tone gentle and calm:

"The Myriad Laws Assembly will be held sooner or later. Since you have come from afar, Daoist friend, you might as well come a few days earlier. What do you say, Ruyi?"

He stood in the sky, his green robe fluttering, his aura pressing down on Qingdu City, stopping the shaking of the entire city.

"Amitabha."

In the deep, sonorous voice of a Buddhist chant, golden light illuminated the sky south of the city, and the light of compassionate Buddha streamed down upon everything within sight.

In a trance, it seemed as if a towering Buddha was sitting cross-legged in the void. His body was in Qingdu City, but his Buddha's head reached high beyond the sky, with the clouds passing no higher than his chest.

It seemed as if a golden dragon was coiling around his body.

Om~

The golden light flashed and disappeared.

On the thirty-three-story Sharira Pagoda, Ruyi Seng stepped out, lotus flowers blooming beneath his feet. Behind him, dozens of Vajra-like great monks followed in silence, and the voices of countless monks and believers chanting scriptures rang out.

"Tianji Daoist brother, if you are interested, why not show yourself?"

Tianyi Dao Ren glanced at Ruyi Seng, and then said loudly:

"To determine a level of victory or defeat will avoid more entanglements in the future!"

His voice was neither too high nor too low, but it was like the ringing of a sword, piercing through the void and seeming to echo from thousands of miles away.

"Tianji Zhenren?"

"Tianji Zhenren is here too?"

"Yes, this person was once the national teacher of Da Qing. It is reasonable for him to come to the Myriad Laws Assembly."

The various Zhenren were first shocked, then realized the situation.

As soon as Tianyi Dao Ren's voice fell, an old voice drifted from the distant horizon:

"In that case, very well."

The person arrived with the voice.

His voice was still echoing over Qingdu City, and he had already stepped out of the void outside the city.

His sleeves fluttered, his white hair flew, and his old face carried a faint smile.

"Unfortunately, there are still many Daoist friends in the world who will not come this time."

Tianyi Dao Ren sighed softly.

There should be two hands' worth of Yuanshen Zhenren in the world, and Da Qing had six. However, not every Yuanshen Zhenren would come.

Or perhaps, they were watching this scene, but would not come in person.

Hu~

Without seeing how his figure moved, he had already stepped onto West Mountain.

After the previous collision, the snow that had accumulated for hundreds of miles had already been sent into the sky. At this time, among the mountains, countless craftsmen were all evacuating towards Qingdu City, not daring to stay at all.

Huhu~

In Qingdu City, many Daoists also stepped forward. The Yuanshen Zhenren were discussing the Dao, and of course they would not miss it.

In the center of the Myriad Laws Platform, An Qisheng sat cross-legged, watching the three Yuanshen Zhenren who were stepping forward.

Ruyi Seng, Tianyi Dao Ren, Tianji Dao Ren.

These three were the three most active Yuanshen Zhenren in Da Qing and even in the world today.

He had also heard of their names long ago.

Xiao Feng stepped forward, and his expression changed slightly when he saw this scene.

The center of the Myriad Laws Platform was Tianyi Dao Ren's seat. This person had come with ill intentions.

An Qisheng glanced at Tianyi Dao Ren:

"It has been hard for you to come from afar. Just find a place to sit. I imagine you don't mind."

"A seat is just a seat. Who sits there doesn't matter, does it?"

Tianyi Dao Ren smiled casually, pressing down with his palm, and then lifting it up.

With a loud 'rumble', the earth and soil rolled, and blocks of earth, stone, and sand gathered upwards. In an instant, a platform a hundred zhang high had risen from the ground.

Hu~

He landed on the high platform and sat down cross-legged, facing An Qisheng from afar.

Bang!

Bang!

Almost at the same time.

Outside the many platforms, the earth wriggled, and two more platforms rose.

Ruyi Seng and Tianji Dao Ren just happened to take their seats.

Ruyi Seng, Tianyi Dao Ren, Tianji Zhenren, the three stood like a tripod, and An Qisheng sat in the center. For a moment, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, and the void seemed to have become solid.

This caused the expressions of the various Zhenren to change slightly, and they were somewhat hesitant to sit down.

The Myriad Laws Platform occupied a considerable area, with a radius of thirty miles.

However, thirty miles could be reached with a flick of the finger for the various Zhenren, not to mention these few.

Sitting among them was really like sitting on pins and needles.

"Now that we are all here, we naturally need you all to be witnesses."

Tianyi Dao Ren said lightly.

"Naturally, we must listen to the insights of the various Zhenren!"

Xiantian Dao Ren smiled and stepped into a seat.

There was also a lot to be said about taking a seat.

The center where An Qisheng was located was originally the highest point in the Myriad Laws Platform, at ninety-nine zhang. The rest were divided into two levels, one at sixty-four zhang and the other at thirty-six zhang.

Seeing that someone had already taken a seat, the various Zhenren could not hesitate to be ridiculed by the world, so they also stepped into seats.

Om~

When the various Daoists took their seats, ripples rippled on the Myriad Laws Platform, and visible formation patterns spread out, reaching the farthest distance.

The void seemed to be stretched at this moment.

Qingdu City, more than a hundred miles away, seemed to have disappeared for a moment, extended by an unknown distance.

And in the eyes of the many craftsmen and mortals who were far away from West Mountain, the area where West Mountain was located was shrouded in thick fog, and the mountains seemed to have disappeared.

"Our discussion of the Dao naturally does not need to be watched by ordinary people."

Tianyi Dao Ren waved his sleeve, his gaze sweeping across many people, and finally landing on An Qisheng, with a rare hint of solemnity:

"In just three years, Daoist friend, you have undergone such earth-shattering changes, which is really surprising..."

Three years was not a long time for ordinary mortals, and it was even less for Yuanshen.

But the current An Qisheng was vastly different from what he had seen three years ago when he had gone to Mount Taiji in his incarnation.

So much so that he had to say the words 'earth-shattering'.

Such a change could no longer be described as supreme talent. In his opinion, it was very likely that an ancient old monster had been reborn with some kind of backup plan.

Although this situation was also extremely rare, it was not unheard of.

But who could it be?

"Just a little progress."

A ripple flashed deep in An Qisheng's eyes:

"But it can't compare to you, your incarnation has already reached the Yuanshen level..."