Escape! This was a word Zhao Xuanlang had never considered.
However, the grand spectacle before him was something he hadn't even witnessed in his Wan Shou Immortal Palace underground!
At the same time, he understood that the Ascended Realm was, after all, the Ascended Realm, and by no means comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm!
"Escape, escape form Dharma Realm!"
He trembled with fear, yet the heavens and earth, the four directions, were all surrounded by heavenly soldiers. Where could there be any space to escape? No matter where he fled, heavenly soldiers awaited him!
The three hundred and sixty thousand heavenly soldiers had the entire Dharma Realm sealed tight. Myriad soldiers and weapons advanced, a formation that terrified Zhao Xuanlang to his very soul!
Unable to resist, he was engulfed by the heavenly soldiers, who dragged him towards the Fu Li Heavenly Gate. Zhao Xuanlang roared in terror, shouting, "Who will save me! Holy Ancestor, save me!"
Zhao Xuanlang's voice pierced through the Dharma Realm and echoed back into the mortal world, but it did not summon any aid. In the Wu Shang Pavilion, a tremor stirred within the Jing Zhen sword housed inside the Jade Emperor's statue, catching Ji Xiang's attention. He glanced back, sensing something within the statue.
Following this, countless talismans flew out, and Ji Xiang charged into the Heavenly Gate!
The talismans adhered to Zhao Xuanlang's entire body. Several Great Might Divine Curses were affixed to his forehead, chest, waist, and arms, while the Five Thunder Divine Curses covered his entire being, not to mention other talismans for warding off evil, dispelling spirits, and golden light.
Zhao Xuanlang was enveloped by the talismans, transforming into a paper talisman man!
The Heavenly Gate shone with great radiance. The three hundred and sixty thousand heavenly soldiers surged forward, seizing Zhao Xuanlang and dragging him into the Heavenly Gate. Ji Xiang flew towards Fu Li, with the power of the Heavenly Marshal still capable of lasting for another minute and a half!
However, upon returning to Fu Li, the full might of the Ascended Realm could be unleashed!
Boom! Ji Xiang's aura surged continuously!
Jade liquid returning to the elixir, nascent soul emerging, pearl falling to the yellow court, innate transformation, refining spirit in the void, mending the sky and bathing the sun, ascension in broad daylight!
Although Zhao Xuanlang's eyes were obscured by talismans, as a Nascent Soul expert, he could perceive the outside world through his thoughts without seeing. Ji Xiang's transformation greatly alarmed Zhao Xuanlang. He couldn't understand why someone who was merely at the Golden Core Earth Immortal stage in the lower realm had truly become an "Ascended expert" after entering the Heavenly Gate!
"Your cultivation has recovered!"
Facing impending death, with no hope of rescue, Zhao Xuanlang knew he was doomed. He might have had a chance to fight against an "original Ascended expert" with only Golden Core cultivation, but facing a true Ascended expert, he had no room for resistance whatsoever!
Ji Xiang's gaze was sharp, and he let out a thunderous roar!
"The immortal path values life, and the boundless save all beings! Yet you poisoned the populace, cruelly slew divine generals, performed acts of slaughter, stripped the flesh from divine generals, controlled their skins, massacred ordinary people, and caused rivers of blood to flow in Shun Tian!"
"There are gods watching three feet above your head. Did you truly believe no one could strike you down?"
Ji Xiang channeled the divine talismans. The Great Might, Five Thunder, Evil Dispelling, Spirit Slaying, and Golden Light Divine Curses all unleashed their power simultaneously!
His physical body disintegrated completely. Zhao Xuanlang had been able to resurrect himself through his will, but the repeated obliteration of his form and spirit by so many talismans filled him with terror!
To ensure no accidents, Ji Xiang employed his third divine ability of the Ascended Realm! In the lower realm, Ji Xiang had feared his body could not withstand it, his physical form turning to dust, hence he dared not use it. But back in Fu Li, the powerful and complete Dao cultivation protected his body, making it much less problematic!
"Heavenly Manifestation!"
Ji Xiang radiated divine might, transforming himself into a colossal being ten thousand feet tall, towering over the Five Sacred Mountains and surpassing the starlight!
With three heads and six arms, he stood between heaven and earth, illuminating the Fu Li Heavenly Gate. Wielding six divine weapons, he obscured the sun and covered the sky, embodying the creation of heaven and earth!
The four seas and thousand mountains bowed in submission; the nine netherworlds and ten classes were all eradicated!
However, the rate at which this third divine ability consumed his mana and vital energy was terrifying. The Heavenly Marshal's form, which could originally last for three minutes, could now only sustain for a minute!
Ji Xiang's physical body could not withstand such power either, already cracking with countless massive fissures. Yet, though the physical body and the true self were connected, they could not feel each other's pain. Ji Xiang's manifestation extended its sky-obscuring hand and reached for Zhao Xuanlang!
The heavens and earth rumbled, and all phenomena roared!
"If you kill me, the hundred thousand immortal officials of the Wan Shou Palace will forever watch you! Should anyone around you die, their souls will be seized by immortal officials and turned to ash!"
Zhao Xuanlang knew he was doomed, his eyes blazing with fury as he roared incessantly!
"Within the boundaries of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, all living beings, and any souls you have transcended, shall not ascend to heaven for rebirth! My companions will watch you from below, sow chaos in your methods, spread your infamy, until the day you die!"
"If I cannot kill you, I can always kill those around you! Not everyone is an Ascended expert!"
Zhao Xuanlang's will could not remain attached to Ji Xiang; instead, it transmitted to a deeper realm. And in the profound depths, Ji Xiang sensed a gaze, that of an immensely grand position: the "Jade Emperor"!
The Jade Emperor marked Ji Xiang, responding to Zhao Xuanlang's plea!
"Hmph! That old Jade Emperor!"
Ji Xiang snorted, then laughed heartily, unconcerned. Zhao Xuanlang's nascent soul attempted a final struggle but was also subdued by the Great Heavenly Law. Ji Xiang held him in his hand, his power vast, his voice immense!
"According to heavenly laws, all evil gods who resist righteous law with evil methods shall be divided!"
"According to heavenly laws, all evil gods who presumptuously enter homes and kill righteous gods shall be divided!"
"According to heavenly laws, all evil gods who falsely impersonate forms and shadows, follow ghost soldiers, and coerce the deceased, causing the living to die, shall be condemned to ten thousand deaths and ten thousand lives, suffering for ten thousand kalpas, with no pardon granted!"
He unleashed his full Dao cultivation and gave a violent shake!
Shattering the void!
Zhao Xuanlang, this avatar of the Holy Ancestor, was instantly annihilated, his form and spirit extinguished!
...
Within the Dong Yue Temple, the colossal ghost god looked towards the west city. The myriad black miasma spirits and forms within the Dong Yue Temple felt that overwhelming divine power and were thrown into a panic!
"What is happening? Why would the Holy Ancestor's avatar seek our help?"
"In this Shun Tian Prefecture, who else could possibly contend with the Holy Ancestor's avatar after it has reclaimed its body?"
"The Biao Shan He has grown weaker year by year. For thirty years, no Nascent Soul expert has been seen in Shun Tian. After True Master Zhang departed, a single Nascent Soul expert could roam here with impunity..."
"Zhang... has he returned?"
The first thought of the black miasma spirits and forms was of True Master Zhang. If anyone could make the Holy Ancestor's avatar cry out in agony, it could only be the number one in Biao Shan He, Old Zhang.
And Old Zhang used to be a guard at the Forbidden City's Wu Ri Zhi Fang, just a gatekeeper.
"This is bad. If True Master Zhang arrives, we'll all be in trouble. Quickly, send the great ghosts to assist!"
"Let us quickly kill these heavenly generals..."
"Don't bother with them. Yin and Yang have been reversed, and Shun Tian will soon sink into the earth. We cannot afford any mistakes at this time. We will also soon obtain new bodies and go directly to help the Holy Ancestor's avatar!"
These black miasma spirits and forms obtained new vessels, retrieving their wills placed in the flesh altars. Just as the great ghosts were about to ascend, a tall old Taoist with white hair and a youthful complexion arrived at the entrance of the Dong Yue Temple, carrying a small red-haired fox.
"You are in such a hurry, where are you going?"
True Master Zhang entered the Dong Yue Temple and saw the fallen divine generals, as well as the half-dead Luo Si Gong and the trembling Liu Meng Yin.
True Master Zhang patted Luo Si Gong's shoulder, comforting him, then dropped the little fox and said:
"Go. Haven't you just successfully learned the Golden Light Charm? Go and kill that demon. If you kill it, you can go back to school."
The little fox clutched a handful of talismans, looked with difficulty at the gods and ghosts inside the Dong Yue Temple, and then flung them out!
The Golden Light Talisman emitted light, flying into the depths of the Dong Yue Temple, but it caused no ripple. Instead, a burst of laughter came from within!
"Where did this little fox spirit come from? This is considered a talisman!"
The little fox was instantly flushed with shame. True Master Zhang shook his head and sighed, "Is that all? Do you still want to come back to school?"
"It seems you have no talent for learning the Golden Light Charm. I will teach you another useful one. Watch and learn."
The little fox looked up at True Master Zhang.
True Master Zhang then took a firearm from Luo Si Gong, raised his arm, and recited the "Great Dipper Divine Charm," aiming the dark muzzle of the firearm at the gods and ghosts inside the Dong Yue Temple.
All sorts of sorcery, this is firearms!