Chapter 1823: Deep Fractures Upon The Body (I)

Boom!

The earth shook as a golden silhouette fell from the sky and slammed into a mountain peak, shattering the rock and scattering Radiant Fire everywhere. The golden Radiant Fire spear, renowned throughout the north, stood embedded at the center of the web of cracks left by the impact, its shaft trembling faintly.

Yet its glow had dimmed, paling beside the brilliance of the golden axe in the sky.

The golden-eyed man in ink-black armor stood quietly in the air. His lavish royal cloak no longer draped his shoulders, and his brilliant, imposing halberd had fallen into the valley. His lips were a shade paler than usual. However, even with only an axe in his hand, he was even more terrifying than when he had arrived in full regalia, leaving every cultivator present breathless and speechless.

Boom!

Thunder rolled ceaselessly through heaven and earth. The gloomy clouds seemed to lighten, and the Guzhou Cauldron's shimmering black hues drifted briefly across the sky before dispersing.

White sand and glass began to fall from the sky with a soft rustle. The white sand was as fine as dust, pouring down like a blizzard and blanketing all of Baixiang Valley. Countless pieces of glass tumbled down, some as large as human heads, others glittering like stars, mingling in a torrential rain.

Amid this downpour of glass, a shadow spread over the earth. It was a head as vast as a mountain, crowned with a lotus-shaped fleshy protuberance.

Guangchan's dharma body was particularly unusual. It seemed to have been formed with outside aid rather than through his own cultivation. When the dharma light collapsed, it did not shatter at once, but instead fell from the sky like a meteor!

The countless monks who had stood atop the head were gone. Its glassy eyes, which had resembled two grotto heavens and blessed lands filled with golden halls and palaces, had turned dull and gray, their palaces collapsing. Its mouth hung open limply, with nothing beneath its interlocking rows of sharp teeth.

The white cicada that had crouched inside its mouth was gone. A line of brilliant gold, fading to white, had appeared on the fleshy crown of its head, running down between its brows, across the bridge of its nose and lower lip, all the way to the neck, which looked as though it had been bitten through.

Boom!

The enormous head crashed into the valley and toppled sideways. The two halves of its face slowly parted, then fell to either side with a thunderous crash, exposing jade-like brain matter and white bone.

Split in two, the Maha had fallen.

Guangchan is dead. Killed in a single blow.

An utter silence gripped Baixiang Valley. Standing beside Guangchan's remains, Li Jiangliang felt a chill run through his entire body and turned to his two brothers. Li Jiangxia stood frozen without a word, while Li Jianglong watched quietly, equally silent.

The same incredulous thought rose in all three minds.

A single stroke of the axe...

Changyun silently pressed his palms together in understanding. Tuoba Ci, however, seemed dazzled by the blazing golden light. He stared in disbelief at the corpse's ashen pupils. Even with all his pride, he could only remain silent.

“......”

Guangchan was dead! He had fallen before he could even establish a connection with Jeweled Fang!

Is he... even human?

Who was Guangchan? He was the master of the Jeweled Fang Golden Land. It was no exaggeration to say that he was treasured by the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm, and held in high regard throughout the entire Buddhist Dao lineage. Even the lord of the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm had personally watched over him...

His death meant far more than the loss of a Fifth Incarnation Maha. The [Jeweled Fang Golden Land], which the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm and the Buddhist Dao had considered firmly in their grasp, had spread its wings and flown free, slipping from their hands once again!

His death was comparable to the loss of a great Maha of the Seventh or even Eighth Incarnation!

Gao Fangjing felt dizzy and faint. Not daring to raise his head, he silently lowered his gaze.

He outmaneuvered them all... With [Severed Crimson Arrowhead], the Emperor of Wei tricked the Baiqiang[1] into crossing the Tao River four times and brought about their destruction. Now, in his hands, this divine ability has left Tuoba Ci and Changyun utterly irrelevant... They even ended up helping him...

The same question arose in everyone's mind.

Do we keep fighting?

But it was the five Merciful Ones who felt the greatest terror and disbelief. None of them even spared a thought for the crack-riddled [Heaven-Venerating Gate]. As white sand and glass rained from the sky, four of them hesitantly turned toward the same Merciful One!

He was Guangchan's Merciful One, serving under the Sattva Seat!

The golden figure stood rooted to the spot, his face deathly pale, as though trapped in a dream. He had never imagined that, in the time it took him to turn around, his own Maha, a mighty Fifth Incarnation Maha, would fall on the spot!

The Jeweled Fang Golden Land had vanished, yet his position was still within it, still contained within Guangchan's inherent rank!

When the Wrathful Manifestation had fallen and its Buddhist land had sealed itself off, even the esteemed Dharma Protector of the North Demon-Subduing Temple, its direct inheritor, had been left half-dead. For all his abilities and cultivation, he had been forced to drag a half-paralyzed dharma body through life. How much worse would it be with the small Jeweled Fang Golden Land, which was already unstable...

He had only enough time to reveal a trace of despair before the shimmering hues of his body vanished. His life force poured out like floodwater through a broken dam. In the span of a single breath, he gave a piercing scream and burst into a cloud of blood in midair.

There was no glass nor golden sand, as though he were merely a mortal.

Yet his scream abruptly set the silent Baixiang Valley trembling. Pure white sword light shot into the sky, but countless pink pupils exploded in midair. A brilliant treasure pearl burst apart, blasting the green-white light to pieces, and the thousand-eyed golden figure standing atop the hills abruptly vanished!

Seeing that the situation had turned against him, this Maha had abandoned his treasure without a word and vanished, paying a steep price for his escape!

What is there left to fight for? Even Guangchan, who held the Jeweled Fang Golden Land, is dead!

Zhelu found it so unbelievable that it bordered on absurd.

The south's plans lay dormant until they struck with devastating effect. After killing him, Li Zhouwei is merely a little pale, with his divine ability shaken... What does that mean? The north has practically lost Guangchan for nothing, a man whose fighting strength ranks among the top three of everyone here!

Such a shift in the balance of power was enough to overturn the outcome of a major battle! And what would the other cultivators think after witnessing this? The Guzhou Cauldron's hues were still shimmering. Who would be the next to suffer banishment and die for good?

Zhelu certainly would not gamble on whether these immortal cultivators had any means of restraining Li Zhouwei!

The moment Zhelu, the strongest among them, fled, divine abilities of every color erupted in the sky, streaking off in different directions in a dazzling riot of light. Before the rolling dark clouds could blanket the earth, one golden body after another resolutely destroyed itself! Amid these earthshaking explosions of brilliant light, the northern Daoist Masters fled for their lives!

Yet the Guzhou Cauldron's shroud spread with terrifying speed under Yang Ruizao's control, expanding in an instant. Those farther away, who had previously been drawn into [Severed Crimson Arrowhead], fared somewhat better. The Merciful Ones nearby, struggling against the three Profound Holders, had no time to destroy themselves. They could not even exercise that choice!

Amid the exploding brilliance, one of them was cast down by the Banished Essence and died on the spot. The remaining two stood frozen, utterly speechless... [Unenlightened Water-Fire] still blazed fiercely over their bodies. There was no escape for them in heaven or earth!

As white sand filled the sky, Great Zhao's forces suffered a crushing defeat and scattered like a receding tide!

Chen Yin, who had been facing Helian Wujiang, and Xianyao, who had been barely holding out against Murong Yan, had both been struggling merely to buy time. Now freed from their opponents, they retreated in disarray and exchanged looks of relief and astonishment!

Whether it was Chen Yin, his expression grave and his sword on his back, the silent Xianyao, the astonished Tinglan, or even Liu Bai, who approached cradling his sword, all turned toward Li Zhouwei. Words of admiration and amazement caught in their chests, leaving them silent as they looked up at him.

So this is what Yang Ruiyi planned...

It has been an act staged by Yang Ruiyi and Li Ximing from the very beginning... A scheme that reaches as high as a Dharma Master is no ordinary affair. Even we were all kept in the dark...

Finally, of course, there was Daoist Master Zhaojing, Li Ximing, walking through the air with his head held high, his chest out, and a smile on his face.

Heh!

1. A tribe. ☜

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