Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-560

The Nine Heavens Calamity Blade was one of the greatest feats Tang Jie had achieved from his cultivation in the Celestial Flame Pagoda.

These blades of calamity were so powerful that even He Chong found it extremely taxing to fend them off.

Every Heavenly Blade he took would erupt in intense flames, and while this power was not as enduring as the original body, the instantaneous power was many times greater. Purely in terms of offensive power, they far surpassed Tang Jie's original body.

As for that lightning striking He Chong's body, it was like lightning from the heavens, forcing He Chong to devote half of his energy to dealing with it.

The consequence was that the attacks from Tang Jie's original body instantly increased in frequency, the three heavy weapons howling as they swung at He Chong.

He Chong could no longer restrain himself, and his eyes flashed with ruthlessness.

He knew that he could not stay like this forever. The cultivation boost from the Divine Will had a time limit, and once his cultivation level fell, he would be no match for Tang Jie.

The original body was too tough to kill in short order, but the avatar was strong in offense and weak in defense, so he might as well start there.

He Chong immediately turned to the avatar.

His eyes simply flashed with lightning, and a lightning bolt streaked out of the roiling clouds to strike Tang Jie's avatar.

The key here was to strike swiftly.

Pa!

The lightning bolt fell upon the avatar, blasting him away. He Chong heartily laughed at this, even considering that subsequent strike from the original body's weapon onto his body a worthy tradeoff.

But a moment later, the tumbling avatar stopped and acted as if nothing had happened, his hands continuing to maintain the sign for the Nine Heavens Calamity Blade, causing countless Heavenly Blades to descend. After one round had passed, another round was unleashed, Tang Jie liberally using his power to rain down attacks.

"How?" He Chong's soul almost flew off.

He knew his power best. Let alone Spirit Ring, even a Heart Demon cultivator couldn't have taken it.

But he then saw a suit of armor under the tattered robes of the avatar.

The armor flashed gold and appeared unusual, though the style was rather similar to Godhead Armor. But He Chong knew that there was no way this could be Godhead Armor.

Ordinary Godhead Armor couldn't take an attack from him, but his attack just now hadn't even left a dent in that suit of armor.

So what the hell was it?

A ray of sunlight fell upon that suit of armor, and in that dazzling light, He Chong was finally able to clearly make out what this armor was.

"Mother Cloud Essence Metal!" he shrieked.

He had never imagined that the avatar would be wearing a suit of armor made from Mother Cloud Essence Metal.

"Not just him! I have it too!" The original body laughed. "Chop!"

The cleaver once more sliced at He Chong's head.

"Hah!" He Chong roared as he punched.

The fist blast clashed with the saber light, but it was the saber light that sliced through the fist and bit into He Chong's arm.

"Aaagh!" He Chong bellowed in pain as the original body's saber shattered his arm.

He frantically retreated, and as his mind turned, his lost arm was quickly restored. At the same time, the distant avatar threw out an item.

It was a diagram, one that flashed with countless dazzling stars.

As soon as the diagram emerged, it filled up the world, countless beams of light surging out from it.

There was a five-clawed golden dragon spear, a three-legged golden crow with wings unfurled, a bull-headed man holding a giant axe, a half-man–half-snake holding a silver whip, a mandrill worshiping the sun and moon, a giant mountain descending from the heavens, a sacred pagoda circling in the air, a lotus platform shining with resplendent light, and also thirteen divine swords that broke through the firmament and danced among the stars.

The Treasure Cosmos Formation!

Not even He Chong could sit back and do nothing in the face of this formation that concentrated so many art relics in one place, and he could only manifest spell arts to fight back. But as he was summoning all these countless spell arts, the original body restarted his offensive, the three weapons bashing open He Chong's barrier and obliterating half of his body.

Howling, He Chong desperately repaired his shattered body, but the combined attack of the original body and avatar refused to let him go. The avatar would hold him down while the original body attacked, and then the original body would defend while the avatar attacked. Two bodies shared by a single soul allowed for extreme flexibility, and nobody could possibly match their teamwork.

In the middle of this frenzied offensive, He Chong found that even when he was at the Violet Palace Realm, he was still no match for Tang Jie.

He cried out in fear, "This isn't possible! It's not possible! I'm at Violet Palace!"

"Nothing is impossible," the original body coldly replied. "A Violet Palace cultivator has refined their Divine Soul until it is almost physical, the Violet Palace covering like a golden bell. While you have the Godhead Will to serve as the protective bell, has your Divine Soul been refined? Without the refined soul, how can you command the will of the world?"

His voice rang out like a bell, awakening He Chong from his arrogance.

Yes, his Divine Soul had not been refined, so how could he be considered to be at Violet Palace?

His true self was still at Soul Transformation, and even with the protection of the Godhead Will, he was still only a fake.

"I… am not at Violet Palace," He Chong dejectedly said.

"So long as you understand!" Tang Jie shouted as he charged once more.

Seeing that he couldn't stop Tang Jie, He Chong snarled, "So what if I'm not at Violet Palace? This Godhead Will is real, and you think this is all it's capable of? You're wrong! Tang Jie, the power of the Godhead is far beyond what you can imagine!"

As he roared, the manifestation behind He Chong erupted with light.

He had given up on using the Godhead Will to protect his soul, instead truly unleashing the original might of the Godhead Will. Although it was only a single attack, it was imbued with a peerless divine might.

That manifestation of the Guangfa Celestial Sovereign gradually solidified.

He was like a giant standing in the sky, with a crown in the shape of a moth and a feathered belt, holding a book in his hand.

He lightly raised a hand and pointed a finger at Tang Jie.

Thus, all the world seemed to be reduced to this single finger.

As if the pillar of heaven was descending.

Tang Jie even sensed that if he tried to block this finger, his body would be obliterated.

Was this the power of one thousandth of a Godhead's Divine Will?

One thousandth was already this immense. What was the actual person like?

Tang Jie felt a little dazed as that finger, that pillar of heaven, descended.

In the face of this attack, he even felt like conceding.

This finger hadn't even hurt him yet, but it had already damaged his mind and weakened his will to fight.

The firebird's eyes began to gleam upon seeing this, flames rising up on its body. It seemed to be considering whether it should intervene.

And then Tang Jie suddenly erupted with fighting intent, shattering the heavenly pressure of that Godhead's finger.

Looking up at that descending finger mountain, Tang Jie fiercely laughed. "Even if the sky falls and the earth crumbles, I will feel no fear, raising up my blade against the heavens. Who cares if you are a supreme Godhead? I will still fight it out with you! Kill!"

As he shouted the word "Kill!" the avatar threw out the Sovereign Blade.

Tang Jie's fourth arm grabbed the Sovereign Blade and instantly turned it into a long and slender cudgel. Four weapons and two fists mustered up all their strength and thrust at the heavens.

Charge!

Charge!

Charge!

With all of his fighting intent and madness, Tang Jie charged, swinging his weapons at that descending finger.

The strongest gale in this entire battle erupted in the sky.

The gale swept away the clouds, and then it cracked open mountains, shook the earth, and even slammed into the barrier in the sky, letting off powerful flames of energy.

Time seemed to stop.

Tang Jie, He Chong, and the Godhead finger were all frozen in the air.

A moment later, there was a crack.

A long crack suddenly appeared on the fingertip.

The crack began to spread at an insane speed, webbing outward until it covered the entire finger.

The finger began to crumble, piece by piece, dissolving into the air, and that Godhead manifestation also began to collapse. This collapse traveled all the way to the head, but just when it was about to totally disappear, the firebird let out a sharp cry.

The Godhead manifestation froze, and then it turned into a divine light that streaked toward the firebird. The firebird opened its mouth and swallowed up the divine light.

At the same time, Tang Jie's motionless body swayed and then exploded into a cloud of blood.

The divine might of the Godhead finger had shattered every bone in his body, blasting every bone down to the finest grain, and all of his blood and flesh had turned into a mist, leaving not even a shred of skin intact.

Biologically, Tang Jie's original body was thoroughly deceased.

But as he exploded into a cloud of bloody mist, the avatar pointed at the remains, and that shattered flesh began to recover.

The Dao of Life.

This was also thanks to the avatar's presence. While the Dao of Life was powerful, unless one was the Lord of Life, it was nigh impossible to recover from being dead.

But Tang Jie was different. He was one soul in two bodies. From a certain perspective, one body was only half of his life. For Tang Jie, this wasn't resurrection, but reconsolidation.

Even then, this still wasn't enough.

Fortunately, he had also comprehended the Dao of Yin Yang, and the first Yin Yang Dao Will he had comprehended was Life and Death.

As the avatar thrust out his finger, life and death changed places, the avatar throwing up blood as his aura weakened. But at the same time, for the original body, death shifted to life, and the flame of vitality was lit once more, after which the Dao of Life strengthened the flame and reconsolidated the original body.

This was the hidden card that Tang Jie had been relying on the most in this battle.

Even so, the original body was too powerful, so reviving it like this had used up 100 years of the avatar's lifespan. And this was only a reconsolidation. If it had to be revived from nothing, draining the avatar dry wouldn't even suffice until he deepened his understanding of the Dao of Life. The deeper one's understanding of the Dao of Life, the smaller the lifespan one needed to pay.

Through the Dao of Life, the mist of blood scattered, and the original body began to reform.

He stepped into the air, brought back from death. But rather than being delighted at being reborn, he seemed to have comprehended a little about what it meant to be reborn from the ashes like a phoenix.

He clenched a fist and muttered, "This… is Life and Death!

At that moment, 18 Dao Runes appeared and branded themselves into his body.

After going between life and death, he had developed a greater understanding of these concepts, and that very direct experience had allowed him to instantly condense 18 Yin Yang Dao Runes.

The moment the original body was revived, he waved his hand at the avatar. The avatar's withering body grew healthy. It was now the original body's turn to heal the avatar, but the ordeal was much easier this time.

He then turned around and slowly said, "So, do you have anything else?"

Without the Godhead Will, He Chong had nothing left with which to contend with Tang Jie.

After a momentary daze, he bellowed, "NO!"

He charged at Tang Jie.

There was no thought for his life or his resentment, only one last counterattack born out of despair.

He no longer wanted to win or kill Tang Jie. He was simply acting out of instinct, unaccustomed to giving up.

The Celestial Moongrave gathered up a chilling saber energy in his hand and unleashed it at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie simply stood there.

As that saber energy was about to strike him, he raised his hand and punched.

This punch thundered through the air with seemingly boundless might, a little like the Godhead finger.

He Chong's final attack collided against Tang Jie's fist blast and became like a breeze blowing against a mountain, dissolving into nothing. Meanwhile, that mountain kept going and hurtled toward He Chong.

He Chong closed his eyes and awaited his death.

But as that fist blast touched his body, he felt a gentle wind caress his face, and that frenzied fist blast blew past him without hurting a hair on his head.

"An illusion?" He Chong blurted. But he realized that if it had been an illusion, it wouldn't have dispelled his attack.

But what spell art could shatter his saber energy yet not hurt him?

He Chong was baffled.

Tang Jie casually said, "The Dao of Yin Yang. A little trick to interchange reality and illusion."

After those Dao Runes entered his body, Tang Jie was finally able to control his attacks like the firebird. While it wasn't to the same level of freedom as the firebird, as he was still unpracticed and unfamiliar, it still appeared like a work of the divine in He Chong's eyes.

"The Dao of Yin Yang, interchanging reality and illusion…" He Chong muttered. "You've already comprehended that many Great Daos?"

He blankly looked up at the sky, a realization finally dawning upon him.

He had lost!

Any further struggle was meaningless. He had utterly lost, with no hope of turning the tables.

In reality, he had long ago known that things would turn out this way.

The ending had been decided from the day he entered the hidden realm. Tang Jie controlled everything here. He had just been unwilling to accept this, wanting to struggle a little longer to escape his foreordained destiny.

But when defeat truly came, He Chong felt at peace.

Gone were his hesitation, confusion, and fear. He Chong simply said, "I've already lost, so why aren't you finishing it?"

He closed his eyes and waited for death to come.

"By killing you?" Like a giant looking down on an ant, Tang Jie sneered and said, "Why do I need to kill you? If I wanted to do that, you would have been dead long ago. You don't have to wait until you're strong to kill someone. For me, you're more valuable alive than dead."

He Chong was startled, and then he understood and laughed, "You want me to sell out Godhead Palace? Tang Jie, are you dreaming? Kill me if you want, but it's impossible for you to make me sell out Godhead Palace!"

Cocking his head, Tang Jie sneered in disdain. "'Godhead Palace'? You think I need you to betray it for me to deal with it?"

With a flip of the hand, the distant avatar produced the Supreme Mystery Bell. He Chong trembled. "Master Xuan Zhong… You killed him?"

"Not just him," Tang Jie callously said. "The 12 Hawks of the Hawk Hall, Elders Gold and Silver, He Yueyang, Li Song, Ao Chihu, Feng Buzhi…"

One illustrious name after another came from Tang Jie's mouth. Other than the people from Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate, there were also members from countless minor sects of Nadir Hill. He Chong shivered in fear, crying out, "No! No! It's not possible!"

"'Not possible'?" Tang Jie raised an eyebrow. The avatar came over with Duan and Deng, throwing out the Treasure Cosmos diagram. This wasn't to attack him, but to summon the thirteen stars within it.

Those were the thirteen divine swords of the Peerless Sword Pavilion.

"The swords of the Sword Mound are all here. Most of them ended up like this…" Tang Jie thrust his finger at He Chong's Celestial Moongrave.

The art relic shattered, leaving behind a golden grain that fell into Tang Jie's hand and fused with the Sovereign Blade, leaving He Chong stunned.

"Now, you should understand that I truly don't need you to deal with Godhead Palace." As he spoke, Tang Jie went back to his original size, blood energy radiating outward, congealing into a crimson cloak that draped his body in a majestic and intimidating aura.

"Then why are you keeping me alive?" He Chong glared at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie chuckled. "He Chong, although you are at the Soul Transformation Tier, your strength is rather poor among your peers. Your true expertise has never been in battle."

"Formations?" He Chong finally understood what Tang Jie wanted.