CHAPTER 885: CHAPTER 608: TEN MILLION ZHANG

Shangguan Xue was very angry.

She understood that Lu Chenzhou was trapped in an illusion.

She also knew the crisis Lu Chenzhou was facing—even if an Eternal Immortal came, things might not be better than for Lu Chenzhou. The enemy Lu Chenzhou was up against was currently among the top combat powers of the Three Thousand Realms.

She knew everything.

But she still felt a bit wronged.

"Your grandaunt crossed thousands of miles, burned origin power to use the Cosmic Light Sword to find you, risked the invasion of the Will of the Stars, was possessed by the Kun Gu Realm’s will, went deep into flesh, battled fiercely for seven days and nights, got the Heart of the World for you, to give you a helping hand, and you still want to kill me? Open your eyes wide and see, am I an illusion!"

Yaochi Immortal was pinching Lu Chenzhou’s heart.

Lu Chenzhou was stunned.

Then, with sound reasoning, he said:

"Even more fake, Yaochi Immortal is a very gentle senior, she would never be so vulgar."

"Fuck!"

Shangguan Xian laughed angrily.

But at least Lu Chenzhou could communicate now, not attacking her on sight, which was a breakthrough.

She countered:

"Are we very close?"

"Not close."

"Then how do you know I’m very gentle."

"The you I met was like that."

"...Are you stupid? It’s exactly because we’re not close that I have to keep up the airs of a master. The me now is the real me. Do you know what the Martial Artists of old Da Xia used to call me?"

"I don’t know."

"They called me the Undying Witch. The people I killed when I was young are more than the salt you’ve eaten."

Yaochi Immortal glared fiercely at Lu Chenzhou.

"..."

Lu Chenzhou stood frozen, clutching his head.

"Don’t try to fool me."

"An illusion can’t conjure things out of thin air that don’t exist in your memory. Let me ask you, those 1,300 Yaochi Immortals you killed before—what were their personalities like?"

"Very good."

All of a sudden,

Lu Chenzhou jolted awake, as if a thunderbolt tore through his mind, pulling him out from the confusion of being "inside the mountain" to re-examine the person before him.

Yes, what makes an illusion most powerful is that it’s based on his memories. Every thought of Yaochi Immortal in his mind was that of a gentle, great senior.

So the more "fake" it felt in the illusion, the more "real" it actually was—a vulgar Yaochi Immortal was impossible for the illusion to produce, but in reality, when Yaochi Immortal’s defenses break, this side might truly emerge.

This should have been easy to spot, but he’d been tormented and attacked nonstop by an enemy whose cultivation and Dao crushed him on every front, his spirit long exhausted, relying solely on his Immaculate State of Mind and Martial Arts Tree, persevering with all his might.

His heart gave a heavy thud.

"Senior?"

"I’m an Immortal, looks like you’re awake now."

"Sorry, I really couldn’t tell... the enemy is far more powerful than I ever imagined."

"I know, the one who ambushed you is a descendant of the Ancient True Spirit Gu Diao, cultivation at Middle Stage of the Eighth Realm, and already at the seventh rank level of Illusion Realm Dao... Put it this way: among those Seventh Rank Dao practitioners active in the Three Thousand Worlds today, there may be fewer than a handful."

Of course, Yaochi Immortal wasn’t truly angry.

"Gu Diao..."

Lu Chenzhou could only sigh in resignation.

He’d lost with utter conviction.

This was one of the three great illusion giants of the Great Universe, only lower than the Heart Emperor and Ancient Mirage Dragon. He even had a transformation into Gu Diao among his 36 Transformations.

"This is given to you by the will of Kun Gu Realm, a gift to aid you in saving all living beings here. This is its last ripple." Yaochi Immortal’s form suddenly dispersed, leaving behind nothing but a pure white heart at the spot.

"The Heart of the World?"

Lu Chenzhou’s eyes flashed in shock.

"Kun Gu..." The Heart of the World was not a real object but the core of a world’s laws. The world’s will has consciousness precisely because of this thing. That’s why a wisp of Yaochi Immortal’s thought could bring the Heart of the World down into Lu Chenzhou’s mind and soul.

Lu Chenzhou felt a vast influx of World Dao Essence and Creation Power. He saw spring, summer, autumn, winter; birth, aging, illness, death; wind, thunder, rain, snow... The Heart of the World was like a core program code, scripting the chronicle of myriad beings for a whole world.

In the face of this thick Dao Essence, the Martial Arts Tree in his mind showed no great excitement.

Because it signified the fall of a world.

"Let’s give it a try."

Lu Chenzhou cradled the Heart of the World in his hands. Pure white qi flow turned into countless streams of information, rushing into his soul.

At the same time, under the World Tree, a pure white figure with tightly knitted brows opened eyes as still as an ancient well. In her left eye was reflected the Milky Way, in her right a bleak, decaying doomsday world.

The old woman’s form was thin as paper.

"So I, too, come from the stars."

"Thank you."

"This is my last ripple."

The old woman faded, Kun Gu’s will belonged to the past. Lu Chenzhou’s will replaced the World Will. Torrents of Dao Essence flooded into his mind. Lu Chenzhou’s eyes shone with clarity, shattering the prison that lay ahead completely.

Martial Arts Tree, breaking through to ten million zhang tall!

[Chaos: Fifth Rank (100%) → Sixth Rank (1%)]

After breaking through to Sixth Rank, there was still a vast amount of residual Dao Essence endlessly elevating the Martial Arts Tree. Through Kun Gu Realm’s Dao Essence, Lu Chenzhou saw how a true world operated—Kun Gu was the best teacher!

"So that’s how it is."

Lu Chenzhou’s understanding grew even deeper.

The Martial Arts Tree surged wildly, rising a hundred thousand zhang in the blink of an eye, then slowing only when it reached thirty million zhang, finally halting at thirty-three million zhang.

[Chaos: Sixth Rank (33%)]

Lu Chenzhou’s soul quaked. After the Sixth Rank, every 1% of Dao Understanding might take an ordinary Eight Realms cultivator ten years to comprehend. From Sixth to Seventh is enough to block most run-of-the-mill talents—even among Eighth Realm cultivators, only the very best can break through. From Seventh to Eighth Rank can take tens of thousands of years or more.

Yet he’d just pushed it by 33% in one go. This was Kun Gu’s gift—the effect of the Heart of the World.

As Chaos Dao improved...

The other Daos also advanced at breakneck speed.

[Withering and Flourishing: Fifth Rank (56%) → Sixth Rank (3%)]

[Mixed Cave: Fifth Rank (12%) → Fifth Rank (60%)]

[Yuji: Fifth Rank (50%) → Sixth Rank (1%)]

[Void: Fifth Rank (44%) → Fifth Rank (92%)]

[Causality: Fifth Rank (45%) → Fifth Rank (93%)]

[Great Dream: Fifth Rank (23%) → Fifth Rank (78%)]

[Power Extreme...]

As the Fifth Rank Daos advanced greatly, the Fourth Rank Daos—Vibration, Penetration, Five Elements, Wind and Thunder, Severe Poison—also all broke through to Fifth Rank in one go.

Lu Chenzhou had never felt such a wild surge in improvement before; he felt as if he could punch through the world.

"I wonder what new feature the Martial Arts Tree’s Sixth Rank brings?" Lu Chenzhou muttered to himself.

...

Under the World Tree.

Heaven Gu Daoist’s gaze was filled with shock and uncertainty. The giant tree before him was growing taller, sturdier and thicker by the moment, like a supernova bursting forth, its trunk like a river of stars, branches like galactic arms, leaves glittering like stars, blotting out half the universe.

The Withering and Flourishing law at Sixth Rank circulated. The speed at which he destroyed was gradually falling behind the World Tree’s recovered rate. To Lu Chenzhou, as long as the Dao Realm difference didn’t exceed two Ranks, with his Dao Quality and quantity, he had enough to stand against his enemies.

The pure white soul grew more and more solid, bathed in loftier and loftier rays of spiritual light. Lu Chenzhou and the World Tree merged as one, becoming a Cosmic Level giant.

"Get the hell out!"

The giant swung his hand, the Heaven Gu Daoist’s form reeling as if struck heavy. He hurriedly used Seventh Rank Dao to create countless illusion barriers, only for them to be smashed through by a single punch from the giant.

The sea of stars rippled open, and the Milky Way split in two.

The spiritual world settled to calm.

...

Within the Illusion Realm.

Heaven and earth shattered. Feathers drifted down from the void, burning to ash. Lu Chenzhou’s spiritual consciousness was finally freed, returning to his physical body in the real world.

The memories that had been tampered with were restored as he broke through, memories before high school flooding his mind.

"This is the complete me."

He looked withered now, like a decayed chunk of wood. A small hand stretched out before him, and when opened, there was a bottle from which a drop of Heavenly Immortal Dew flew out, its thick fragrance instantly filling his nose and surging down his throat.

Yaochi Immortal folded her arms over her chest, looking down at him. Golden Silk Shoes tapped the void, her bearing intimidating—like a homeroom teacher scolding a student.

Lu Chenzhou couldn’t see her expression behind the veil.

Presumably, Yaochi Immortal was very angry.

The vast vitality of Heavenly Immortal Dew instantly restored his qi-blood and spirit. After his Dao breakthrough, his spiritual power poured forth like a flood bursting its banks.

3,400,000.

3,600,000.

Uncontrollable.

It finally stopped at 6,000,000.

5,000,000 is the peak of the Seventh Realm.

7,000,000 is the Seventh Realm’s limit.

His shriveled body swelled like it was being inflated, veins bulging, steam gushing from his pores. Sparking friction came from his bones growing and developing. In seven breaths, a trillion of his cells had completed a full cycle of replacement, his whole body renewed.

Qi-blood reached 5,110,000.

The peak aura of the Seventh Realm exploded forth, even greater than Yaochi Immortal’s before him. This left Yaochi Immortal with complex feelings, both annoyed and gratified. She’d long foreseen this day would come—a little punk of a great-grandson generation surpassing her after she’d cultivated for hundreds of years.

"How dare you ruin my plans!"

At some point, a gray-robed Daoist appeared silently, sharp gaze fixed on Yaochi Immortal. With a lift of his hand, he conjured an Eagle Claw, its mid-Eighth Realm pressure like a great mountain pressing the two into a valley.

"Descendant of True Spirit stooping to bully the weak—what shameless conduct!" Yaochi Immortal was perfectly calm, stepping back to hide behind Lu Chenzhou. "Land Army Master, are you confident?"

"If it were an ordinary Eighth Realm, maybe I’d try. But with a mid-Eighth Rank Gu Diao descendant, I think we better retreat for now. My Dao just entered the Sixth Rank, my cultivation technique and divine skills haven’t yet transformed—I’ll need some time to study. I’ll settle up with him later."

After all this,

Lu Chenzhou was even more cautious.

"Good idea. Let’s force him back together, then I’ll use the Cosmic Light Sword to get you out."

Yaochi Immortal’s face was pale as blood. The Cosmic Light Sword slashed forth a world-shattering sword light. Lu Chenzhou activated the Kun Character Technique, pushing his qi-blood above ten million, barely reaching the early Eighth Realm. His arm became a spear, flesh stretched tight, Nine-Colored Power flowing ceaselessly over his skin.

Divine Power·Nine Tribulation Lotus!

The Ruins Sea was pried open, and a three-thousand-li-wide Nine-Colored Millstone descended, spinning. Nine primordial spirit entities, each a starry sky behemoth, stood in the perimeter. Nine types of law power formed a dazzling Divine Lotus!

Tens of billions of Cauldron Level power erupted at once.

Before them was sword light, behind was the Nine-Colored Lotus. Heaven Gu Daoist was locked within. He transformed, becoming the true form of Gu Diao with wings spanning a hundred li. Behind Gu Diao, more than a dozen crimson-eyed figures emerged.

These were mighty beings he’d bewitched and controlled, the weakest at Seventh Realm, the strongest an early Eighth Realm ancient variant shaped like a Grey Wolf.

The Grey Wolf slashed at the sword light, but in the next instant was struck by the Nine-Colored Lotus, its waist torn in half.

Heavenly Tribulation Power exploded.

Flesh, blood, and pelt vaporized.

Only stark white bones remained.

Still, it managed to block the combined onslaught of the two.

Heaven Gu Daoist, seeing Lu Chenzhou and the others flee, didn’t give chase. He shifted back to Daoist form, crouched in the Ruins Sea, and vomited a mouthful of inky True Spirit Blood.