Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 536

Chapter 536: The Twelve Great Daos

The attacks aimed at Cang Qingfeng suddenly became sharp, concentrated, and threatening.

Amid those streams of spell arts, Cang Qingfeng yowled as he jumped around.

He left behind afterimages in the air as he moved around like a bolt of lightning. With powerful defense, numerous spell arts and art relics, and nimble speed, this bastard truly didn’t have any significant weaknesses.

As he fell back, Cang Qingfeng shrieked, “Tang Jie, you’re seeking death! You really think this old man can’t do anything? A Great Dao Realm… This old man has one too!”

As he roared, a light spread from Cang Qingfeng’s feet, expanding outward like with Tang Jie.

This was clearly another Great Dao Realm.

Everyone was stunned.

Cang Qingfeng howled as he charged forward, a sawtoothed saber appearing in his hand, which he swung at Ao Chihu. Ao Chihu swung back with his heavy sword, but to his surprise, Cang Qingfeng chose to directly take on the sword.

The sword hacked into Cang Qingfeng’s body. This attack contained all of Ao Chihu’s strength, and even Cang Qingfeng’s defense couldn’t stop it. There was a crimson eruption as Cang Qingfeng was almost cleaved open. Meanwhile, Cang Qingfeng’s toothed saber bit into Ao Chihu’s body.

The two of them parted, and while Cang Qingfeng was covered in blood, his toothed saber had acted like the Heartbreak Saber, taking away a section of Ao Chihu’s intestines with it.

The two of them had both suffered heavy wounds, but while Ao Chihu howled in pain, Cang Qingfeng stood there as if nothing was wrong.

The vicious wound inflicted by Ao Chihu rapidly healed, and a thick Life energy circled around him. While covered by this Life energy, no matter what injury he sustained, it would be rapidly healed.

“The Realm of Life!” Tang Jie called out. “As expected of the Black Tortoise’s Reincarnation! The Azure Dragon controls Fate, the White Tiger controls Space and Time, the Vermillion Bird controls Yin and Yang, and the Black Tortoise controls Reincarnation… Every Dao has its pair. Since the Black Tortoise is the Lord of Reincarnation, it naturally must be the Lord of Life as well. With that constant stream of life force, the Black Tortoise is the most unkillable of the Four Sacred Beasts. It has the strongest defense and the strongest healing, and even if you do manage to kill it, it will just reincarnate.”

Cang Qingfeng chuckled. “Since you know all this, you still dare to offend me?”

With his ability to constantly reincarnate, Cang Qingfeng truly did have the right to be arrogant. This person could not be lightly offended, for if you killed him, he might appear from the shadows at some point to deliver a lethal strike, just like what had happened with the Basking Moon Sect’s Shen Wujie.

Tang Jie casually smirked. “What’s so bad about it? While your strength is Reincarnation, your weakness is also Reincarnation. With every reincarnation, you have to start from the beginning. Even with your ten thousand years of experience and constant incarnations, you’ve always had to start from zero, which has caused you to fall behind your former comrades. Those who had existed alongside you in that very first era might have already died, but if they survived, they would all be existences that you could only look up at, having left you far behind. This sort of sensation can’t be very comfortable, right?”

Cang Qingfeng shuddered.

Tang Jie was right. His strength was Reincarnation, and so was his weakness. Having to start from the beginning meant that he had fallen behind his former comrades.

Take Xiao Biehan as an example. He had been of a much later generation than Cang Qingfeng, but he was now the mighty and illustrious Swordholder of the Basking Moon Sect, grasping the Merak Sword Dao armament, dominating the Rosecloud Domain, and was a Violet Palace True Lord with his sights set on the Immortal Platform Realm. In comparison, because he had to be reborn, Cang Qingfeng was far weaker than Xiao Biehan. While he could flaunt his strength here, one hand from Xiao Biehan would be enough to kill him. Even though he was the Black Tortoise’s reincarnation, even though he had existed for ten thousand years, he would never be able to stand at the apex.

This was the fate of the Black Tortoise!

He was unwilling to accept this fate, so he constantly sought an opportunity to break these shackles, longing to one day reach the peak.

Tang Jie’s words had struck at the most tender point in Cang Qingfeng’s heart, and his eyes raged with flame. “You’re seeking death! Black Tortoise Armor, True Martial Divine Art!”

Black waves of spiritual energy erupted from him, enclosing him. Space seemed to freeze up, and Cang Qingfeng emerged wearing a suit of armor.

He charged at Tang Jie, thrusting a black sword at Tang Jie.

The golden blade left a dazzling glow as it was swung at Cang Qingfeng.

The Black Tortoise Armor seemed to be made of paper in front of the golden blade. The blade sliced through Cang Qingfeng’s arm, sending it flying. At the same time, Cang Qingfeng’s black sword plunged into Tang Jie’s body.

Once again, it was injury for injury. A moment later, that severed arm returned to Cang Qingfeng and linked back to his body.

Cang Qingfeng kept moving, thrusting his sword at Zhu Yun.

His speed was incredible, constantly taking the initiative and trading injury for injury. Supported by the Realm of Life, he wasn’t worried about injuries at all. In a flash, he had suppressed all opposition. Compared to his Realm of Life, Tang Jie’s Realm of Insight seemed rather weak.

Under Cang Qingfeng’s frenzied offensive, he once more pushed back He Changan. He laughed and said, “All of you must die!”

He thrust his sword at He Changan.

As always, he was trading injury for injury.

But the moment He Changan’s halberd touched Cang Qingfeng’s body, Cang Qingfeng suddenly howled and backed away.

The halberd had broken the bone of Cang Qingfeng’s arm, but unexpectedly, Cang Qingfeng’s Realm of Life had not immediately healed the wound.

No—to be more precise, there was healing happening, but it was much slower than before.

“Destruction!” Cang Qingfeng yelled as he angrily glared at He Changan.

A black-gray stream of energy lingered around He Changan’s halberd, letting off an eerie glow. But this glow wasn’t as obvious as those of Tang Jie or Cang Qingfeng. It simply coiled around the halberd while exuding death.

But it was the black energy of death that lingered around Cang Qingfeng’s arm, preventing his Realm of Life from working.

The Dao of Destruction!

No one had expected He Changan to have comprehended the Dao of Destruction. This was the bane of the Dao of Life, as attacks empowered by the Dao of Destruction were basically impossible to heal from.

But He Changan clearly had only a basic grasp of the Dao of Destruction. He could not create a Realm of Destruction, let alone completely counteract the Realm of Life. Even so, Cang Qingfeng had a very difficult time recovering from the wounds inflicted by He Changan.

Pointing his halberd at Cang Qingfeng, He Changan coldly said, “I have been through countless battles in my career and dealt with numerous troublesome foes. But none of them have ever been as troublesome as you. As the reincarnation of the Black Tortoise, you truly deserve to be called an old monster who has lived for thousands of years. Even though we are both at the Soul Transformation Tier, I admit that I am greatly inferior to you. But if you underestimate me because of this, you are mistaken. You have your tricks, and we have our own. Do you think my title as chief is an empty one?”

He reached into his Mustard Seed Bag and pulled something out.

It was a black pearl that radiated a strange glow. The moment it came out, it emitted such powerful energy that everyone was stunned, and even the suppression of Cang Qingfeng’s True Martial Divine Art on the surrounding space was weakened.

“A supreme treasure!” Ao Chihu cried out while clutching his belly.

Although he didn’t know exactly what it was, he could tell from its aura that this had to be a supreme treasure.

He Changan glanced at Cang Qingfeng and snorted as he swallowed the black pearl.

As he swallowed it, the hall exploded with the howling of dragons and roaring of tigers.

He Changan’s body became surrounded by energy, black streams of Destruction energy traveling all over his body and forming a Realm of Destruction.

This was a supreme treasure that could increase one’s Dao Will! It was no wonder He Changan had been reluctant to use it.

At this moment, there were three people present with Dao Realms, and as this Realm of Destruction appeared, He Changan grew even larger, scales growing on his body and his muscles bulging. It appeared that this object enhanced not only Dao Wills, but also one’s strength.

Most shocking of all was that two pairs of arms grew from He Changan’s back, and two heads grew from his shoulders.

Three heads and six arms!

“Raaa!” He Changan let out a majestic roar, and when he breathed in and out, flames flashed in the air.

In a rumbling voice, he said, “Old turtle, die!”

The Halberd of Desolate Heavens unleashed a surging wave of halberd energy at Cang Qingfeng.

Cang Qingfeng didn’t dare to take this attack directly. He produced a warhammer and swung it at the halberd.

Boom! The warhammer was sent flying by the halberd, and an immense energy slammed Cang Qingfeng into a wall, the impact making the entire hall shake.

He Changan was like a supreme demon supreme-ruler, and he stepped forward and gave chase. Cang Qingfeng yelped and jumped to his feet, but for the time being, he was held fast to his location by He Changan. Everyone was delighted, and started attacking as well. Even Nan Ningjiang used the opportunity to heal his broken arms and then join the assault. At this time, rather than seizing the moment, Tang Jie chose to sit back and play the bystander.

For him, having both sides come out of this badly wounded was the best choice. If Cang Qingfeng really couldn’t hold on, he might even consider turning to help Cang Qingfeng.

But Tang Jie was sure that this wasn’t the last of Cang Qingfeng’s strength. Someone who had experienced ten thousand years of reincarnation, and experienced numerous lives, couldn’t be underestimated, even though his current form was that of a cultivator who was only a few centuries old.

He had to have another hidden card.

A real trump card, one that was all his own.

So Tang Jie waited.

Whoosh!

He Changan sent Cang Qingfeng flying with another sweep of his halberd, the Black Tortoise Armor unable to resist the fierce assault of the supreme Heavenly Demon. Cang Qingfeng threw up blood, and as his Realm of Life had barely any effect, he staggered, almost tumbling to the ground.

But at this moment, Cang Qingfeng laughed.

He chuckled, his voice eerily resounding through the hall.

He Changan was alarmed by this laughter.

Sure enough, Cang Qingfeng said, “As expected of an elite, dealing with you while holding back isn’t easy. Since that’s the case, I’ll let all of you experience this old man’s real strength.”

He stood up, raised his hands, and shouted, “Diagram… of the Twelve Daos!”

As he spoke, twelve astrolabes appeared in the air.

Each of these astrolabes had two characters carved into them in ancient script: “生命” (Life), “轮回” (Reincarnation), “因果” (Karma), “命运” (Fate), “阴阳” (Yin Yang), “五行” (Five Elements), “智慧” (Wisdom), “真理” (Truth), “杀戮” (Slaughter), “毁灭” (Destruction), “时光” (Time), and “空间” (Space).

Around the Twelve Great Daos were various flashing Dao Runes. Combining with those ancient characters, they produced countless images before ultimately combining into what Tang Jie clearly recognized as the Heavenly Dao Law Wheel!

The light of the twelve astrolabes fell on He Changan’s body and rendered him immobile.

“This is…” Everyone was stunned.

“The Twelve Great Daos…” Tang Jie muttered.

He finally understood what Cang Qingfeng’s trump card was.

This undying old bastard!

Yes, while hundreds of reincarnations made it impossible for him to preserve the strength he had cultivated, he had retained his insights.

And ten thousand years of cultivation, countless life experiences, and traveling across myriad domains had endowed Cang Qingfeng with the keenest understanding of the world.

In these circumstances, Cang Qingfeng had actually comprehended all twelve of the Great Daos.

Of course, it was only comprehension.

Entering the Dao was connected to one’s own cultivation and was not something that could be resolved purely through comprehension. Thus, other than Life and Reincarnation, he had only comprehended the other ten Daos. His innate limiter made it extremely difficult for him to enter any of the other ten Daos. As for Life and Reincarnation, they were part of the nature of the Black Tortoise, so he was able to easily enter these Daos.

Cang Qingfeng had thus racked his mind for a way to solve this, and after multiple lifetimes, he had developed a supreme Immortal art that used the Great Daos as their basis: the Diagram of the Twelve Daos.

To be more precise, this was not a spell art or Divine Connection. It was a Dao Art.

As the Diagram of the Twelve Daos appeared, they manifested a terrifying power that paralyzed He Changan.

Everyone knew that they were in trouble and immediately attacked Cang Qingfeng.

Cang Qingfeng laughed. “Seeking death!”

While using the Dao Diagram to suppress He Changan with his left hand, he threw out the black sword in his right, which swiftly detonated.

As the art relic detonated, his right hand unleashed three talismans, which turned into swords that attacked Ao Chihu, Zhu Yun, and Tang Jie. He then took out another art relic, with which he attacked Nan Ningjiang and Xu Mingyue. In the face of all these opponents, he seemed relaxed and confident.

Tang Jie suddenly paled and yelled at He Changan’s remaining servant, “Fall back!”

His Realm of Insight was still present, and at this moment, he could see that Cang Qingfeng’s real target was that servant.

That servant rapidly backed away, but Cang Qingfeng simply laughed and thrust out his palm, attacking the area behind that servant. With no other choice, the servant had to retreat to the side. But as he dodged, a fissure opened up in front of Cang Qingfeng’s chest, and that giant python rushed out from it and bit at the servant.

“Aaagh!” That servant cried out in despair, and then that giant python bit him in two.

“He Shang!” He Changan cried out in grief.

These two servants had been with him for many years, and though they were servants, he treated them like brothers. But after getting through so many trials, they had died here.

He Changan let out a furious roar, and his body swelled with power as he pushed back against the radiance of the Diagram of the Twelve Daos and stood back up. His halberd glowed as he pointed it at the diagram. Cang Qingfeng’s face tightened, and he hastily reapplied pressure, managing to stalemate with He Changan.

Upon seeing this, Tang Jie shouted, “He needs at least 60% of his strength to control the diagram! What are you standing around for? Together!”

Everyone attacked as one.

Sure enough, He Changan’s show of power forced Cang Qingfeng to use a great deal of his power to restrain him. Even with the power of the Diagram of the Twelve Daos, he couldn’t completely suppress He Changan. However, Cang Qingfeng at 40% of his power still wasn’t easy to deal with.

In the face of five people, Cang Qingfeng was clearly still having an easy time. He had astounding talent, formidable defenses, and incredible healing powers. So long as He Changan’s Destruction-infused attacks didn’t hit him, he was basically immune to the attacks of others.

The only thing that could threaten him was Tang Jie’s golden blade, but while the golden blade could ignore his defenses, it could not stop his healing. As for the others, they would find it hard to even hurt him.

And given that he was throwing out art relics and art talismans like they were free, the combined might of his five opponents was incapable of taking him down. Meanwhile, He Changan was slowly being ground down.

How could a man contend against the laws of the Great Daos? If it weren’t for the fact that Cang Qingfeng had only comprehended the Daos and not entered them, the Diagram of the Twelve Daos could have made the heavens and earth crumble. For He Changan to last this long had not been easy.

Tang Jie saw that things were only getting worse, so he was forced to take out some of the Shamblers. But the power of the Shamblers rested in how difficult it was to kill them, and their offensive power was mediocre. They posed basically no threat to Cang Qingfeng.

The situation got worse and worse, and everyone started to fear that they were going to lose.

At this moment, He Changan shouted, “All things will be born and be destroyed, and between life and destruction is its own principle!”

“Huh?” Tang Jie looked at He Changan in surprise.

He saw that a wisp of black energy had left He Changan’s halberd and was flying toward him.

The moment this black energy touched Tang Jie, it rushed into his body. Tang Jie’s mind received a jolt, and the world before him became one full of blood and slaughter. A disaster was playing out before his eyes, countless scenes brimming with destruction flitting through his mind. Tang Jie experienced an unprecedented shock, and amid all those scenes, various Dao Runes flew past him.

Destruction Runes!

Flowing past him like a river, they foretold the birth and destruction of all things.

Just as He Changan had said, all things would be born and would be destroyed. Destruction did not signify darkness, only an end, an inevitable phenomenon.

Tang Jie suddenly understood.

He understood why, after comprehending so many of the Great Daos, he had never truly comprehended Slaughter and Destruction.

It was because those represented darkness in his heart.

But He Changan had made him understand that they did not represent darkness, only an inevitable part of the order of this world.

The Heavenly Dao and the Great Daos were all part of this order.

Slaughter and Destruction were similar important parts of this order.

If not for He Changan’s reminder, Tang Jie might have needed a long time to comprehend this. But now, He Changan had given that most important understanding of Slaughter and Destruction to Tang Jie.

Of course, this wasn’t because he admired Tang Jie. It was because Tang Jie was the only one present who could alter the situation.

Tang Jie’s golden blade was the only thing that could ignore Cang Qingfeng’s defenses, and the Dao of Destruction was the only thing that could ignore the Realm of Life. Insight could let Tang Jie find the best area to attack. Finally, Tang Jie was the one who could comprehend the Dao of Destruction in the shortest amount of time.

Tang Jie’s eyes flashed with black-gray energy.

In that brief moment, Tang Jie finally gained that Dao Will that he had been lacking the most.

Exhaling, Tang Jie said, “I really didn’t think that comprehension of Slaughter and Destruction would come from a member of supreme-rulerhead Palace. This must be Fate.”