The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 27: The Battle

The website contacted me last week about signing a contract, and today the signing was successfully completed. Everyone can feel free to add this to your favorites. I’ve been publishing on this platform for over two years now. I’ve completed two novels: one was an unsigned *Panlong* fanfiction—written purely out of personal interest because I love *Panlong* so much—and the other is *Tian Dao Credit Card*, a nearly 2 million-character urban sci-fi novel. If you’re interested, feel free to check it out. I had originally planned to write another urban entertainment novel, but unfortunately, the editor wasn’t optimistic about it, so I gave up on that idea. Although I’m not a full-time author, having gone through the process of writing my last book, I can at least guarantee consistent updates and a completed manuscript. During the early stages of this new book, I’ll post two updates daily, each 6,000 characters—not too much, not too little. It’s not easy making it in this field, and how far I go depends entirely on your support. If you find this book has some merit and can help pass the time, please don’t hesitate to support me by bookmarking, clicking, and recommending it—these actions are all a great encouragement to me. Thank you very much! The name *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* had already been a household name to Zhou Tianci in his previous life. Although he still hadn’t figured out why the Primordial Chaos world bore such a striking resemblance to ancient Eastern myths and legends, that didn’t prevent him from understanding the immense power of this cultivation technique. According to legend, the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* was attained by the The Three Purities—manifestations of Pangu’s primordial spirit—through their contemplation of Pangu’s creation of heaven and earth. It seeks to attain the Dao through strength and is considered the supreme physical cultivation technique. The message transmitted by the Tree of Eternal Creation confirmed this legend and proved the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art*’s supreme power! After retrieving the information on the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art*, Zhou Tianci couldn’t wait to begin studying it. To his considerable disappointment, however, what he had obtained was only the most rudimentary part of the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art*. “This outcome isn’t bad at all,” Zhou Tianci consoled himself amid his disappointment. “How many laws of power could a single Thousand-Jun Stone possibly contain? If the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* had fallen into my hands so easily, it would hardly live up to its reputation.” Zhou Tianci carefully studied the foundational sections of the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* and gained a great deal of insight. Even the basics of a cultivation technique that leads directly to the State of Ultimate Unity were beyond what ordinary people could imagine. “As the name suggests, the *Nine Transformations Mystical Art* should consist of nine transformations. What I’ve obtained is likely only a small portion of the first transformation. However, if utilized well, even this small portion is enough to serve as my foundation for establishing myself in this world!” After advancing in cultivation, Zhou Tianci seized the moment to consolidate his new achievements. He focused intently on harmonizing the True Qi within his body, and the vortex of spiritual energy surrounding him gradually dissipated, restoring calm to the tent. “The spiritual energy fluctuations have vanished. I wonder if the Lord has successfully broken through,” Li Feng mused, sensing the atmosphere inside the tent. At the same time, he was also considering the future of his three brothers. The three of them had been defeated by Zhou Tianci and, as promised, were following his orders for the time being. However, once they emerged from the Barbarian Wilderness, they would regain their freedom. “If the Lord achieves the Xiantian realm, following him would be an option,” Li Feng thought to himself. He was nearly forty; without a special stroke of luck, he would plateau at the peak of the Houtian realm for the rest of his life—a prospect he naturally found hard to accept. Yet no matter how much he resented it, reality was inescapable. “If I could break through to the Innate Realm, I’d be able to successfully establish a martial arts clan to protect my second and Third Brothers…” Li Feng felt a pang of melancholy. For the past 13 years, the three brothers had been striving for their own breakthroughs, but unfortunately, their path had come to an end. “Since I cannot break through myself, seeking protection under a powerful Innate Realm cultivator isn’t entirely unacceptable. Perhaps the Lord will truly honor his promise and help us break through to the Innate Realm…” Eighty li north of Shepan Mountain, a fierce battle suddenly erupted. “You Huang family are far too overbearing! This is the Barbarian Wilderness, not the City of Tears and Blood—why are you attacking us?!” roared Gu Dali, leader of the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild, with grief and fury. At that moment, Gu Dali was covered in blood, and his battle armor had been slashed open. The Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild was the most renowned in Jiangzhou, and its leader, Gu Dali, was a rare Innate-level cultivator among independent practitioners. Aside from Gu Dali, the guild boasted over twenty Peak Post-Heaven cultivators and more than 2,000 ordinary adventurers—a force that rivaled many martial clans. Huang Bai sent Gu Dali reeling with a single palm strike and said coldly, “You lot have no sense of your own mortality—how dare you tail the Huang Clan? Gu Dali, you’re quite bold to come and join the fray. Since that’s the case, you’ll stay right here!” Gu Dali was a towering figure, wielding twin axes and looking extremely imposing. Unfortunately, at that moment, he appeared somewhat defeated. Facing Huang Bai’s relentless advance, Gu Dali was forced to retreat step by step. The Huang Clan disciples were mercilessly slaughtering the members of the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild. Organized into groups of five, they moved with flawless coordination—advancing and retreating with precise strategy, their blades, fists, and feet delivering devastating blows. Although the Huang Clan outnumbered the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild by only slightly, the battle had turned into a one-sided rout; within a few minutes, nearly half of the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild had already fallen. “Ah!” Seeing this, Gu Dali let out a mighty roar and shot up three feet in height. His bulging muscles tore his already shattered battle armor to shreds as he swung his twin axes recklessly at Huang Bai. Huang Bai looked at the nearly zhang-tall Gu Dali and smiled. “You’ve earned quite a reputation in Jiangzhou, and you certainly have what it takes. This must be the cultivation technique you’ve been practicing—the ‘Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force,’ right? I’ve heard that the ‘Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force’ cultivates both the internal and external, surpassing many other techniques in strengthening the physical body. It seems that’s indeed the case. Gu Dali, if you voluntarily hand over the ‘Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force’ to me, I might spare your life.” Gu Dali, whose body had swelled to the size of a giant deity, roared, “You’re delusional!” His twin axes never ceased their assault—one swing after another, fueled by his immense strength, capable of cleaving even a small mountain in two. The towering trees around them, each over a hundred meters tall, were struck by the axes and toppled one after another. Unfortunately, Gu Dali could not land a single blow on Huang Bai. “Stubborn fool!” Huang Bai weaved effortlessly through the blinding flashes of the axes. “Since you refuse to take a hint, then die!” Huang Bai was a core member of the Huang Clan, a Mid-Xiantian True Essence Realm cultivator. He practiced the Huang Clan’s supreme technique, the *Azure Dragon Transforming into Wood Art*, and also cultivated the *Azure Dragon Palm* and *Roaming Dragon Steps*. His combat prowess far exceeded that of the average Mid-Xiantian cultivator; the moment he took the fight seriously, the pressure on Gu Dali instantly multiplied. “Watch my Azure Dragon Palm!” Huang Bai struck out repeatedly with both palms. The True Yuan of the *Azure Dragon Transforming into Wood Art* formed a phantom image of an Azure Dragon in his palms—the dragon bared its fangs and claws, a truly terrifying sight. Under the suppression of Gu Dali’s Yin-Yang Axes, the Azure Dragon in Huang Bai’s palms darted up and down unpredictably, managing to counter and suppress Gu Dali’s pair of massive, thousand-jin axes. “Gu Dali, I’ll ask you one last time: will you surrender or not?” Huang Bai shouted. Out of the corner of his eye, Gu Dali saw that the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild—which he had painstakingly built up—was on the verge of total annihilation. Though he felt anguish, his hatred for the Huang family far outweighed it. “Even if I die, I’ll take you down with me!” Gu Dali’s body shot up another foot. Huang Bai lost his patience: “Then go ahead and die!” Huang Bai’s form shifted unpredictably as he struck one of the giant axes with a palm strike; the illusory image of the Azure Dragon split the axe clean in two. The thousand-jin axe flew a hundred zhang away, embedding itself into a slab of green stone. “Uncle, that was brilliant!” Huang Can, who had been watching from the sidelines, said with a smile. As one of the top disciples among the Huang family’s fifth generation—and a practitioner of both the *Azure Dragon Transforming Wood Technique* and the *Azure Dragon Palm*—he remarked, “It seems Uncle has mastered the Azure Dragon Palm to a transcendent level; a single strike actually shattered that high-grade steel axe!” The other members of the Huang clan nodded in agreement. The *Azure Dragon Palm* was one of the Huang clan’s most powerful martial arts secrets, possessing immense power and accessible only to core disciples. With the rest of the Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild either killed or captured, they naturally seized this opportunity to observe the display closely. Gu Dali was no match for Huang Bai to begin with, and now that he’d lost one of his axes, he could do nothing but let Huang Bai dominate him. As time passed, Gu Dali’s posture began to slump—a side effect of using his trump card, the *Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force*. “It seems he intends to capture me alive.” Though Gu Dali was a rough-and-tumble sort, he was actually quite perceptive; he sensed that Huang Bai had not yet given up on the *Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force*. With this in mind, Gu Dali slowly began to move toward the west. Seeing Gu Dali’s momentum wane, Huang Bai’s heart leapt with joy; he harbored some anticipation regarding Gu Dali’s “Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Force.” This technique was a rare physical cultivation method among先天功法, and the Huang family possessed only one such manual. Huang Bai waited. To prevent Gu Dali from taking his own life, he decided to wait until Gu Dali grew even weaker before capturing him in one fell swoop and forcing the “Flying Bear Leaning on the Mountain Technique” out of him. Blinded by greed, he failed to notice that Gu Dali was deliberately moving westward. “Take another blow from my axe!” Gu Dali, who had been held in check by Huang Bai, suddenly erupted with fury. The axe in his hand emitted a blazing red glow as it came crashing down toward Huang Bai’s head. Huang Bai remained impassive; he clapped his palms together, and the two Azure Dragons swayed left and right, actually striking through the axe. “Damn it!” Huang Bai realized that Gu Dali had suddenly retreated and was charging toward Huang Can. It was his own carelessness—he hadn’t noticed that Gu Dali had closed the distance to within ten zhang of Huang Can. Huang Bai immediately gave chase, but for an Innate-level expert, ten zhang was merely the blink of an eye; even though Huang Bai was faster than Gu Dali, he was too late. “You want to wipe out my Giant Bear Adventurers’ Guild? I’ll kill someone from your Huang family first!” Gu Dali roared, grabbing the helpless Huang Bai and hurling him toward a nearby rock wall. His strength was immense; with that single throw, Huang Can was certain to have his skull shattered and his body torn to pieces! “Damn it!” Seeing this, Huang Bai, unable to spare a thought for pursuing Gu Dali, immediately changed direction and shot forward at full speed. Huang Can was his nephew, a young man with exceptional cultivation potential who held promise of reaching the Innate Realm; naturally, Huang Bai could not stand by and watch him die. Huang Bai, pushing his speed to the absolute limit, was a terrifying sight, and he managed to catch Huang Can just before he struck the rock face. “Damn you, Gu Dali!” Huang Bai looked down at Huang Can in his grasp; one of his shoulders had been crushed by Gu Dali’s grip, and he had already lost consciousness. While Huang Bai was busy rescuing Huang Can, Gu Dali killed more than a dozen members of the Huang clan and freed his captured subordinates. There was indeed a world of difference between the Post-Heaven and Pre-Heaven realms; the Huang clan members were utterly powerless against Gu Dali and had their skulls crushed with a single blow. “Scatter!” Gu Dali ordered his men before fleeing into the jungle himself. “Don’t let a single one get away!” Huang Bai was truly enraged. “I’m going to kill Gu Dali. You all wait here for me!” Zhou Tianci’s party was only a day’s journey from Shepan Mountain. After covering these 700 li, everyone had come to deeply appreciate the brutality of the wild forest and felt deeply pessimistic about the road ahead. “Let’s rest here for the night,” Zhou Tianci ordered, setting up camp by a river over ten meters wide. “Sir, let’s go catch a few wild beasts,” Li Feng said. “Go ahead.” After the Li brothers left, Lei Dong followed closely behind Zhou Tianci, never falling a step behind. “Lei Dong, Shepan Mountain is extremely dangerous; you really shouldn’t have come,” Zhou Tianci said, gazing toward the south. Lei Dong smiled with his usual good-natured simplicity. “As long as I can follow you, Sir, that’s all that matters.”