Chapter 857: Dao War

Aboard the Light of Humanity warship.

Divine Martial Emperor, Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi, Gu You, Ji Shun, Bi You, Heng He, Dong Xu, along with the Sacred Monarchs aboard the vessel, as well as Yao Ji, Emperor Ara, and the other participants of the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War, all of them instinctively leaned forward, eyes wide with shock as they watched that dazzling clear light bloom from the golden ocean that was once the Grand Primordial Domain.

Though they had claimed absolute confidence in Li Pin, none of them could truly shake the unease that lingered in their hearts.

Now, seeing that brilliant light erupt from Li Pin and stand firm against the killing technique Divine Emperor Yuan Jie unleashed through a Supreme Divine Weapon, an overwhelming surge of astonishment swept through them like a tidal wave. It filled every inch of their being, leaving them gasping in disbelief.

"He blocked it!"

"Incredible!"

"Li Pin... actually managed to resist the Grand Primordial Domain? That's a killer move Divine Emperor Yuan Jie unleashed through his Supreme Divine Weapon! How is this even possible!"

Buzz! Buzz!

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie's expression stiffened slightly at the sight of the radiant light radiating from Li Pin.

Despite all his earlier accusations, calling Li Pin arrogant and overconfident, he had never once let his guard down. On the contrary, just as he had declared, he had gone all out and fought at full force.

He had used a Supreme Divine Weapon, a technique he developed himself, and on top of that, a specialized cultivation method—one capable of converting energy into Supreme power. This strike was the culmination of his full strength.

And yet... his Grand Primordial Domain was being corroded.

This wasn't the typical erosion caused by the Void of Chaos weakening Supreme power. It was more like a higher form of energy. Or rather, a higher-order concept overwriting a lower-order one and its corresponding rules.

Wherever that light passed, the Grand Primordial Domain, born from Supreme power and a Supreme Divine Weapon, would melt like snow exposed to blazing sun, dissolving into a stream of liquid. It was dissipating at a staggering speed.

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie knew this wasn't Void Force, but he couldn't explain, much less understand it. All he could do was cling to his knowledge of Void Force, using it as a frame of reference to resist this incomprehensible power.

"What's this? A tamed form of Void Force? Or... a Void Divine Weapon that defies even the concept of existence?" scoffed Divine Emperor Yuan Jie. "I've gone deep into the Void of Chaos. I can even survive there for decades! And you, a mere Sacred Monarch, how long do you think this pathetic power of yours can last? Die!"

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie put his palms together and charged forward. The Six Paths Wheel behind him burst into a radiant golden brilliance. In that instant, he seemed to transform into a blazing golden sun, casting its light across the heavens.

But in response, the clear light emanating from Li Pin only grew more intense and resplendent.

"No matter how strong, borrowed power will always remain borrowed," Li Pin unleashed the full might of his power. "Only my Dao endures—eternal, unchanging, and absolute."

He stepped forward, letting himself be swallowed by the golden sea. No matter how fiercely the golden tides surged, they couldn't shake that clear light in the slightest.

The Divine Martial Emperor declared firmly, "This is a qualitative breakthrough!"

He started trembling all over, yet he didn't even know why. He didn't understand why his heart was filled with such an overwhelming, indescribable emotion.

He thought it was the shock of witnessing Li Pin go head-to-head with Divine Emperor Yuan Jie. He thought it was the joy of finding hope in what had seemed like certain death. But only much later did he come to understand that it was awe and emotion that shook him.

What rattled him wasn't simply the clash between a Sacred Monarch and a Divine Emperor, not the ecstasy of surviving a hopeless battle. It was... an understanding. For the first time, he witnessed the Dao. He truly grasped what it was. That understanding moved him, shook him, and filled him with joy. This... was the path forward. It was a path that led beyond the Supremes and the Highlords.

While most Supremes and Highlords believed they had already reached the pinnacle, lost the will to progress, and even dragged the Heavenly Emperors below them into stagnation, he, a mere Heavenly Emperor, saw what lay ahead in the mist. He saw... a path.

In the depths of despair, a light had broken through. And in that heart of his, numbed by countless years of hopelessness, a primal surge of yearning and joy erupted once more.

Even as a Heavenly Emperor, he couldn't hold back. He quivered. He trembled. He rejoiced from the bottom of his heart.

Behind him, Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi couldn't stop himself from stammering, "This... is a power that surpasses even the Supreme Realm..."

And he wasn't alone. Heavenly Emperors Gu You, Bi You, and Dong Xu also felt their minds buzzing, as if their thoughts had come to a halt.

A power beyond the Supreme, and they were witnessing with their very own eyes!

A path beyond the Supreme Realm truly existed! Supremacy wasn't the end of the road!

While the Divine Martial Emperor, Tai Yi, and the others were overcome with joy and elation, Divine Emperor Yuan Jie stood frozen, as if his mind had suddenly gone blank. "How... how is this possible!"

It took a long moment before his thoughts began to move again, slowly and sluggishly.

He looked at the vast Grand Primordial Domain he had poured all his strength into, now dissolving like rotten wood, eroded and torn apart. For the first time, his inner spirit suffered a devastating blow.

Ahead of him, Li Pin, bathed in that serene, clear light, was walking forward, each step calm and unhurried, drawing ever closer.

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie suddenly shuddered, as if waking from a nightmare. "You... th-they've contacted you too?"

"I am myself." Li Pin's voice was calm. "I am Dao. I am One. I am creation and destruction. I am all things."

Only then did Divine Emperor Yuan Jie recall what Li Pin had said before he made his move. "Dao..."

The Dao. The Great Dao Radiance! So... he had been telling the truth? Back then, he had already wielded this Dao to debate and contend with Black Abyss? And he rejected Black Abyss's offer to make him a disciple because of it? Because their Dao... were different?

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie trembled, his eyes filled with violent inner conflict. "Dao... the Dao... the power of Dao..."

Flickers of ruthlessness, confusion, killing intent, and even a glimmer of relief flashed through his gaze.

Li Pin walked forward step by step until he stood right in front of him. He calmly looked the Divine Emperor in the eye. "Do you want to learn it?"

The Divine Emperor's heart skipped a beat. He jerked his head up and locked eyes with Li Pin.

"I'll teach you," Li Pin said steadily.

Yuan Jie's pupils widened. His eyes filled with a disbelief so overwhelming it shattered everything he believed.

What had they, the Divine Emperors, done in pursuit of the power beyond? They had cleansed the Astral World. They had slaughtered ninety-nine percent of the Astral Gods, all to earn the title of "Universe's Child."

They had tried to wield that title—and the fortune it granted—to tread a path outsiders mistook for the Supreme path, though it was not. It was merely a road they had staked all their hopes on, praying it might one day surpass the Supreme.

Such actions... exposed the very core of what cultivators truly were.

But Li Pin—he had brought with him a path beyond the Supreme, and it wasn't some bait of questionable authenticity, left behind by

Them

. This was a real path, one he had already begun to walk. It was a path with clear direction that had already taken form.

This path, this priceless inheritance, he is... actually willing to share it? To teach it?

A flood of thoughts slammed into Yuan Jie's mind, shaking his very soul, nearly causing his True Spirit to collapse. Even the Grand Primordial Domain, conjured through his Supreme Divine Weapon, trembled violently, nearly disintegrating into a shower of golden light.

Just as Yuan Jie's Dao Heart was about to collapse, he snapped awake. And then, a surge of humiliation unlike anything he had ever known flooded his heart, followed by a raging fury so intense he wanted to destroy everything. "Impossible!"

Golden light burst from his body, flooding into the Six Paths Wheel. The previously unstable Grand Primordial Domain instantly stabilized, its brilliance growing even stronger, flooding everyone's vision and perception.

Even in the Abyssal Rift, where laws did not exist, the golden light still illuminated everything in all directions. "Absolutely impossible!"

The Divine Emperor shook his head hard. He refused to believe someone like this could exist. Someone so selfless that he would willingly share a path that pointed beyond the Supreme, a path so precious it would drive any Divine Emperor, even the Supremes themselves, to madness.

At this moment, the light radiating from Li Pin was unbearably bright. So bright that it made Yuan Jie feel the urge to destroy everything within sight.

The Divine Emperor growled, "You speak delusions to shake my Dao Heart!"

This had to be a spiritual attack! It had to be an inner spirit secret art!

He stretched out his hand, and the Grand Primordial Domain violently contracted, shrinking from ten thousand li to just ten in an instant. Its core essence transformed into brilliant golden light, forming a golden spear visible to the naked eye, which he hurled straight at Li Pin.

Rumble!

The golden spear, condensed to the limit, tore through space and shot toward Li Pin.

Yet just as it neared, a clear radiance erupted around Li Pin, relentlessly wearing away the spear's golden light.

At ten meters, the spear still shone brightly. At six meters, its light had visibly dimmed. At three meters, most of its power was gone. By the time it was one meter away, only a fraction remained.

Just as the golden spear reached him, Li Pin's arm transformed into pure, clear light, and he reached out and calmly caught it.

Buzz, buzz!

A ripple exploded outward the moment he grasped the spear.

The entire Grand Primordial Domain stuttered under the impact of that invisible wave.

In that instant, Li Pin kept walking forward, each step cutting through the golden light in his path, until he stood face to face with the Divine Emperor.

Yuan Jie stared at him. Li Pin stared back.

The wisdom and composure from earlier were gone. So too was the confidence and pride he had carried at the start of the fight. All that remained in Yuan Jie's eyes was shame, rage, pain, unwillingness, killing intent, destruction, and a faint trace of regret.

Li Pin let out a sigh. "Divine Emperor..."

Before the golden light could erupt from Yuan Jie again, the golden spear in Li Pin's hand flashed and shot forward.

Whoosh!

It pierced straight through Yuan Jie.