“This is...” everyone looked at the center of the explosion, all with shocked expressions.
“What level of battle is this!”
“I didn’t expect such an existence within the Heavenly Dao Academy,” the Half-Moon Saint sighed.
“The Heavenly Dao Academy has stood for countless years. It’s not surprising for such an existence to appear,” Universal True Immortal said calmly. “It’s just that this old man is interesting. Even I have never heard of his name.”
Back then, Universal True Immortal also carried the Heaven’s Will alongside Master Merciful Voyage. That era was already far in the past.
It could be said that he had heard of most things, and most people.
“You still have the heart to worry about others?” The voice of the woman in the white dress came from the side.
Another lotus reflected the heavens, its eight petals blooming and turning into a rain of flowers.
“Dean, we admit that you are strong, stronger than expected,” Universal True Immortal said. “But the destruction of the Heavenly Dao Academy is fate. Even you, half-step into Nirvana Void, cannot reverse it.”
“That is none of your concern,” the woman in white said calmly.
...
The explosion at the center slowly dissipated.
In the aftermath, the void that had completely collapsed was self-repairing.
Xu Zimo’s figure and the White Tiger remained locked in stalemate.
The sound of “crack, crack” suddenly rang out after long silence.
Xu Zimo looked down. Perhaps because of the pressure being too great, cracks had begun to appear on Shadow Tyrant.
It might not be long before the entire blade shattered into fragments.
“In terms of technique, I do not lose to you,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “It’s only in raw power that I fall short.”
“Short by quite a lot,” Ancestor White Tiger laughed.
Indeed, in the clash just now, God Desolation was absolutely not weaker than the opponent’s War Celestial.
But purely in strength, the Nirvana Void realm was several levels higher than Xu Zimo’s current God Meridian realm.
This was fundamentally a battle of mismatched power.
“Your Nineteen Forms of Dao-Seeking. Show me the last two as well,” Ancestor White Tiger said.
“No need,” Xu Zimo slightly shook his head. “If it were the same realm, the first seventeen would be enough.”
“So you’re looking down on me,” Ancestor White Tiger chuckled.
“But what you said is true, you carry the bearing of a young emperor. Even stronger than many of the emperors I once knew.”
“That’s enough,” Xu Zimo shook his head. The result he wanted had been achieved. “Though I admit your talent, you must understand: a genius who has not yet grown up is nothing.”
Beside him, the White Tiger glared at Xu Zimo, ready to pounce at any time.
“Hey, I can’t beat him, I’ll leave him to you,” Xu Zimo shouted to the woman in white who was fighting nearby.
The woman in white smiled faintly. The white lotus in her hand bloomed once more, directly forcing Universal True Immortal and the other back.
“Then I’ll leave them to you,” the woman in white smiled.
“Master, please give me your guidance.”
“White girl, you really want to fight me?” Ancestor White Tiger said. “Back then it was I who taught you to cultivate.”
“For the sake of the Heavenly Dao Academy, I have no choice,” the woman in white replied.
“Those old fellows ascended to the Outer Heavens, leaving such a mess for you. These years have been hard on you,” Ancestor White Tiger laughed.
The woman in white shook her head slightly and said, “Since Master knows the hardship, why stab the academy in the back at such a critical moment?”
“You know the reason,” Ancestor White Tiger’s smile gradually faded.
The White Tiger stood majestically at his side, radiating immense beastly might.
“Then forgive me,” the woman in white said coldly.
She strode forward, lotuses blooming under each step.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xu Zimo looked toward Universal True Immortal and the Half-Moon Saint.
“You hold him off, I’ll head into the Treasure Tower first,” Universal True Immortal said.
The Half-Moon Saint hesitated slightly but still nodded.
It was not Xu Zimo he hesitated over, but the fear that Universal True Immortal would seize all the treasures of the Treasure Tower for himself.
“Little brother, you’d best not stand in the way,” the Half-Moon Saint said, the crescent mark above his head glowing.
He said calmly, “That elder just now was only testing you, he never struck you with true force. You should be grateful. If you leave now, perhaps you can still preserve your life.”
Xu Zimo chuckled.
Shadow Tyrant slowly lifted, and he slashed downward.
He did not use God Desolation again, afraid that in its current state Shadow Tyrant would not withstand the pressure and shatter outright.
The Sixteenth Style, Lifeless, was unleashed.
A boundless world emerged within the light of blades and swords.
As Shadow Tyrant pressed down with sonic booms overhead, the Half-Moon Saint quickly raised his hands.
A bright moon rotated above his head, blocking the strike.
The blade fell, the moon shattered, shadows spread.
With a boom like a cannon shot, the Half-Moon Saint’s figure was blasted backward.
“Care to repeat what you just said?” Xu Zimo stood in place, Shadow Tyrant in hand.
The aura around him rose higher and higher.
He activated the War God’s Nine Transformations.
Through Azure Dragon’s Seventh Transformation, then Blue Cloud’s Eighth, and finally the War God’s Ninth Transformation.
The War God’s armor condensed around Xu Zimo, battle intent overflowing.
The winds and clouds churned, dragons roared, tigers howled.
The Half-Moon Saint steadied himself, glaring darkly at Xu Zimo.
“Better to deal with him first, then head to the Treasure Tower,” he said to Universal True Immortal.
“Troublesome,” Universal True Immortal snorted coldly.
He placed his palms together in a Buddhist salute, standing tall as the Buddha light grew stronger.
“First light of the Buddha, Buddha light shines everywhere.”
Radiant Buddha light surged into the sky, covering everything around.
But this Buddha light was strange, it seemed to have no attack at all.
Yet when Xu Zimo touched the Buddha light, he suddenly felt something unusual.
In his eyes, Universal True Immortal had already become a true Buddha.
As though this Buddha light seeped into every crack, peering into his inner world.
All anger, delusion, hatred, rage, greed, all negative emotions were drawn out.
In an instant, countless dark thoughts wrapped around him, as if to drown Xu Zimo entirely.
“They say Buddhist light suppresses evil, drives away misfortune. Yet your Buddhist light breeds darkness. In the end, you are only defying the Buddha,” Xu Zimo laughed lightly.
“You are unaffected,” Universal True Immortal said calmly.
“Your realm is not enough,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Heavenly Buddha descends,” Universal True Immortal snorted. Then, with a boom,
As endless Buddha light surged, a colossal Buddha statue descended from the heavens.
The Buddha’s expression was calm, faint Sanskrit chanting echoed through the air.
The Buddha’s palm struck downward, raising thousand-layered waves.
Time and space rippled, as a giant hand suppressed from above.
Xu Zimo was not to be outdone. Shadow Tyrant slashed fiercely upward, clashing with the Buddha’s palm in midair.
The collision erupted in a massive explosion.