Chapter 1432 - Killing Shen Tian

Shen Tian had no other options. He had already lost contact with portions of the Universal Gourd's internal world, and he couldn't afford to let things drag on now that it had slipped partially out of his control.

If Liu Wuxie were allowed to obtain complete control of the Universal Gourd, the consequences would be disastrous.

Left with no choice, Shen Tian decided to gamble with his life by entering the Universal Gourd's internal world to kill Liu Wuxie personally.

After all, he stood at the third-level Earth Immortal Realm and refused to believe that Liu Wuxie could truly surpass him, no matter how terrifying the latter's combat strength was, especially when he still held the dominant control over the gourd.

He pulled out the stopper and darted into the Universal Gourd's internal world.

"Liu Wuxie, die!" Shen Tian roared the instant he entered, striking out with his palm. With his cultivation at the third-level Earth Immortal Realm, his attack carried a frightening force, the condensed result of refining countless experts at the fourth and fifth level of the Earth Immortal Realms over the years.

"I've been waiting for you," Liu Wuxie replied with a devilish smile. Although he had already begun refining the Universal Gourd, gaining complete control over it would require time. It would take several months at the very least.

After all, Shen Tian had spent centuries refining this gourd.

Shen Tian's decision to enter the gourd's internal world was precisely what Liu Wuxie had been hoping to see. If he were to kill Shen Tian here, the Universal Gourd would become ownerless, and refining it would become several times easier by then.

With that in mind, Liu Wuxie wasted no time and immediately unleashed his ultimate techniques. Rumbling sounds echoed as the gourd's spiritual arrays activated. Shen Tian was trying to use the Universal Gourd's internal spiritual arrays to suppress Liu Wuxie.

"Gate of Darkness!"

"Heaven-Severing Strike!"

"Divine Purgatory Palace!" Liu Wuxie unleashed three of his trump cards in succession as his true essence surged out like a tidal wave. He had only one chance to kill Shen Tian before the latter fully activated all the spiritual arrays.

Once those arrays had come to life, they would transform into a terrifying suppression that would crush Liu Wuxie's cultivation. Shen Tian was naturally confident. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to enter.

"Liu Wuxie, do you really think that I don't know what you're capable of?" Shen Tian sneered as his figure vanished.

Inside the Universal Gourd, he was the king. All the oncoming attacks missed him entirely and slammed into the crystalline walls instead, sending deafening shockwaves throughout the internal world.

Liu Wuxie's eyes narrowed. He realized that he had been a step too slow. Shen Tian was more cunning than he had anticipated. Instead of facing him head-on, Shen Tian chose to stall for time, constantly interrupting his refinement of the gourd.

If the fight dragged on, Liu Wuxie would be the one to suffer. Shen Tian could attack Liu Wuxie whenever he was focused on refining the gourd, forcing him to burn through his true essence with each powerful technique.

The desolate world no longer expanded, which meant it wouldn't be easy for Liu Wuxie to increase the quantity of his true essence any further. All he could do now was refine its purity.

"Liu Wuxie, let me see how long you can last," Shen Tian taunted as he flitted across the internal world of the gourd. He would occasionally appear on Liu Wuxie's left, right, or behind him, constantly forcing Liu Wuxie to strike.

Unknowingly, an hour passed, and Liu Wuxie's true essence began to deplete at an alarming rate. An unseen force rapidly drained the soul energy from his soul sea.

"Gong Gong, you old fossil. I know that you're doing this on purpose! Wake up now, or I'm going to die here!" Liu Wuxie finally roared. He threw all hesitation aside and wrapped Gong Gong in demonic flames, forcing him to awaken.

Ever since they returned from the Celestial Jade Star, Gong Gong had fallen into a deep slumber. Liu Wuxie had been feeding him witcher energy every day, and now it was finally time for Gong Gong to repay that investment.

Under normal circumstances, Liu Wuxie had no desire to wake Gong Gong too early; the stronger Gong Gong became, the more helpful he would become in the future.

However, he was trapped in a life-and-death crisis. If Gong Gong were to stay asleep, all of them would die inside the gourd. The Universal Gourd's power had far exceeded his expectations.

Gong Gong, however, had no intention of opening his eyes. He had already awakened briefly when Liu Wuxie devoured the True Samadhi Fire with the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Fire and water couldn't coexist, and the True Samadhi Fire was Gong Gong's natural nemesis.

The Divine Heavenly Feather Robe rendered Liu Wuxie nearly impenetrable on defense, but defeating Shen Tian was an entirely different matter. If they were outside, Liu Wuxie could easily rely on the Gate of Darkness to claim Shen Tian's life.

Inside the Universal Gourd, however, countless spiritual arrays filled the internal world. Once they were fully activated, they would stack atop one another like mountains, crushing down on Liu Wuxie.

When Gong Gong finally appeared in the Universal Gourd's internal world, a terrifying force exploded from him. That aura swept across the entire space, and even Shen Tian shuddered in the face of it.

Gong Gong's presence was comparable to the high levels of the Earth Immortal Realm.

A terrifying Wheel Witcher Blade materialized in Gong Gong's hands, formed purely from laws. There were no flashy movements to it; the attack had entirely returned to its most primal and simple state.

Shen Tian was horrified and instinctively tried to flee from the gourd. He had calculated countless possibilities beforehand, yet he had never imagined that Liu Wuxie would harbor such a horrifying existence within his body.

Very few people knew of Gong Gong's existence. Only his senior brother, Shi Yuan, and a handful of others were aware of him.

With a sharp crack, the Wheel Witcher Blade cleaved Shen Tian cleanly in half before he could escape.

Even so, he did not die instantly. Earth Immortals possessed formidable physiques; even if someone destroyed their bodies, they could still regenerate as long as their head remained.

Even if their head were shattered, their primordial spirit could still flee.

The two halves of Shen Tian's body wriggled toward each other, struggling desperately to fuse back together. If they merged, he would survive.

"Die!" Liu Wuxie struck without hesitation, refusing to give Shen Tian another chance. He unleashed the Soul Spear, the Soul Fire, and the Great Five Elemental Mythical Art all at once.

At this moment, Shen Tian felt only despair and regret. He wanted to cry. He regretted provoking a monster like Liu Wuxie. Victory had already been within his grasp, yet a terrifying existence had suddenly appeared and shattered everything.

In his second awakening, Gong Gong's figure had grown even larger, with a human body and a serpent's head—an utterly dreadful sight. No wonder Luo Hai and A'Lei had turned pale the first time they saw him.

Shen Tian attempted to flee with his primordial spirit, but the Soul Fire enveloped him completely.

"I'll use you for my Martial Soul Art," Liu Wuxie said.

Shen Tian was an expert at the third-level Earth Immortal Realm and carried an immense quantity of laws inside him. Liu Wuxie had drained his desolate world and soul sea almost dry, but refining Shen Tian's energy and laws would allow him to replenish his true essence rapidly.

Afterward, Gong Gong returned to the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to continue cultivating. He had already reached the high levels of the Earth Immortal Realm by his second awakening, and Liu Wuxie could hardly imagine how powerful he would become after his third awakening.

Wouldn't that place him at the very pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm?

With each slumber and awakening, Gong Gong recalled more of his memories. This time, however, he spoke even less, which meant that an even larger portion of his memories had returned.

Without Shen Tian's control, the surrounding True Samadhi Fire gradually weakened.

"Liu Wuxie, please don't refine me! I'm willing to be your dog, and I can even give you the Tranquil Meteor Star! Just spare my life!" Shen Tian's primordial spirit pleaded frantically while trembling.

Soul Fire had ensnared him, and he had no way to escape.

"Too late," Liu Wuxie said, his eyes devoid of emotion. He summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron without hesitation and swallowed Shen Tian's primordial spirit whole.

Moments later, the refining power turned Shen Tian into liquid essence, which poured into the desolate world. All of Liu Wuxie's exhausted true essence recovered, and its purity also rose to a new height. His soul energy returned in full, and several new golden strands appeared within his true essence, pushing his combat strength to an even greater level.

Without Shen Tian's control, the True Samadhi Fire began to rampage wildly, spewing flames in all directions. Facing the surging fire, Liu Wuxie launched his counterattack, continuously refining the True Samadhi Fire.

True Samadhi Fire existed in many grades, with the highest tier being violet-gold, capable of incinerating everything in existence. The True Samadhi Fire in the Universal Gourd was dark-gold, belonging to the mid to high-grade range. Even so, it still ranked among the top flames in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.

Now that Shen Tian was no longer around to interfere, Liu Wuxie's refining speed increased dramatically.

Shen Tian was dead, but Liu Wuxie remained trapped inside the Universal Gourd; if he wanted to leave, he had no choice but to refine the gourd itself.

The Universal Gourd's internal world was immense. If he were to fly around blindly, he would not find an exit even after several years. Thus, he began forming seals and injecting them into the gourd, steadily refining it from within.

......

Three days passed, and the Tranquil Meteor Star returned to its usual calm. Everyone believed that Liu Wuxie had died at the hands of the planet lord.

By then, Liu Wuxie's divine sense had already penetrated deep into the Universal Gourd, and more and more regions fell under his control.

What Shen Tian had taken centuries to accomplish, Liu Wuxie achieved in three days at a rudimentary level. This alone showed the vast difference between them.

First, Liu Wuxie had already comprehended the profundity of yin-yang. Second, he had used the power of immortal runes while refining the Universal Gourd.

"Time to leave," Liu Wuxie muttered as his figure flickered forward and a faint light appeared ahead.

The next instant, he flew out of the Universal Gourd and emerged in a cultivation chamber. This was no ordinary cultivation chamber; Shen Tian had forged it from carefully selected materials. Even cultivators at the Earth Immortal Realm would find it difficult to break in from the outside. Yet no one could have imagined that Liu Wuxie would kill Shen Tian from within the gourd instead.

"So many treasures!" Liu Wuxie exclaimed softly. A hidden chamber lay within the cultivation chamber, and when he pushed it open, a dazzling trove of treasures greeted his eyes. Shen Tian had spent countless years amassing this hoard, helped greatly by his position as the Tranquil Meteor Star's planet lord.

"Astral crystals! So many astral crystals!" Liu Wuxie grinned when he saw the glittering piles of astral crystals.

Shen Tian's interspatial ring contained mostly pills and only a few astral crystals. The bulk of his wealth lay in this hidden chamber.

"We've struck gold! I was worried that we wouldn't have any materials to use when we head to Nightmare City. With this stockpile, we can increase the Heavenly Dao Society's overall strength, and we can also refine a mountain of pills..." Liu Wuxie murmured as he swept every last treasure into his possession.

All the wealth Shen Tian had accumulated over the centuries now belonged to Liu Wuxie. There were ten thousand astral crystals, more than a hundred seventh-grade spiritual pills, and five eighth-grade spiritual pills.

At first, Liu Wuxie considered using the five eighth-grade spiritual pills to break through to the third-level Void Realm, but he soon dismissed the idea. The difference between the second and third-level Void Realm wasn't that significant, and breaking through wouldn't improve his combat strength by much.

Instead, he decided to use the seventh and eighth-grade spiritual pills to help Bi Gongyu and the others reach the Primal Origin Realm. Once they stepped into the Primal Origin Realm, he would no longer need to micromanage the Heavenly Dao Society. They would finally be able to operate it independently.

Their low cultivation level was the reason he had to handle everything personally so far. Besides, he had already consumed an eighth-grade spiritual pill before, and taking more of the same grade would yield minimal benefit. On top of that, these eighth-grade spiritual pills couldn't compare in quality to the one his master had given to him.

Lastly, Liu Wuxie turned his gaze toward the Universal Gourd floating in mid-air and beckoned it over with a wave.

"Small," he said, and the Universal Gourd shrank in an instant to the size of a seed.

"Big," he said, and the gourd swelled in a blink, expanding until it filled the entire hidden chamber.

"What a treasure. With another trump card like this, it will be much more convenient for me to refine pills in the future, and I can even store things inside," Liu Wuxie said with a chuckle, gently stroking the surface of the Universal Gourd.

The spiritual arrays within the Universal Gourd had yet to fully activate. Once they were active, Liu Wuxie would even be able to contend with cultivators at the high levels of the Earth Immortal Realm.