Chapter 3289: That Punch

Master Qing Cao sighed. “It was a mistake to make them the Boundary Guardians. Four cowards who refused to even attempt to overcome Dukkha... Even when combined, they can’t compare to you alone. However, your ambition is too great, and you refused to become a Boundary Guardian.”

True God stared at Master Qing Cao. “You’re the one whose ambitions are too great. You wish to break past your limitations again, and the only way to do that is by resetting a megaverse. I merely wish to become an Immortal, but ultimately, I will always remain beneath you.”

Master Qing Cao chuckled. “Immortality is the end of the line. There are no breakthroughs left. I’m simply trying to reduce the restrictions that bind me.”

True God fell silent. He knew that Master Qing Cao had to have some plan, and given the current circumstances, the man could no longer remain hidden.

“They’ve already set out,” Master Qing Cao said.

True God’s eyes flickered. “The Spirit Nidus?”

“There’s no other way. I thought that there would be no need for the Spirit Nidus to act directly. After all, waging war against two megaverses simultaneously would bring about more harm than good. Who could have imagined that the Tianyuan Megaverse would give rise to someone like Lu Yin?” Master Qing Cao sighed.

He then started walking away. “It’s a shame Tai Hong died. Out of everyone from her generation, I had the most hope for her—so persistent and pure. A pity, such a pity.”

The old man’s voice grew faint and erratic before eventually fading away entirely.

True God looked at the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm that surrounded him. Was it truly a pity that Tai Hong had died? No, not at all. She would not have been herself if she had acted any differently. At the same time, without that personality, she would have had no chance of overcoming Dukkha. Her actions had been predetermined by her character.

A few days later, Ancient God stood in a dark corner of the Wildblade Domain. A thread of power fell, piercing through the Dominion Realm as it made its way towards the Higher Realm and the Lu Sanctum.

Before the thread could even leave the Dominion Realm, the power dissipated.

Ancient God’s face twitched, and he suddenly spun around. Behind him, he saw Master Qing Cao smiling warmly.

“The first time I saw you, I mentioned that all of Tai Chu’s disciples are impressive. You’ve suffered great humiliation, joined Aeternus, and endured countless years of infamy. You even risked humanity’s extinction without ever revealing yourself. It was all for me, wasn’t it?”

True God approached from the distance, always staring at Ancient God. “You were under my control, and yet you still had thoughts of rebelling?”

Ancient God remained calm. He had anticipated being discovered. “You’ve been watching me this whole time?”

True God’s eyes glittered with a cold light. “There had to be a human spy within the Seven Skygods. After eliminating everyone else, the least likely candidate became the most likely: you.

“I didn’t trust you after you first betrayed humanity and joined me. That is why I placed you under my control. I never imagined that you’d be able to resist even that and try to pass on information at such a crucial moment.”

Master Qing Cao praised, “You waited for countless years, just for this moment. I’ve shown myself, but you won’t be able to tell anyone.”

Suddenly, Ancient God struck out. His fist was covered with Wielder - God as he attacked Master Qing Cao.

Only an Immortal could stop Gu Yizhi. True God was restrained by the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and neither Blackless God nor Skydog could stop Ancient God.

Besides, the man wanted to test the power of an Immortal for himself.

Master Qing Cao sighed. “I’m giving you one last chance. Complete abandon your identity as a human, or else I will be forced to take action.”

Ancient God remained unmoved. His punch was not simply aimed at Master Qing Cao; he intended to shatter the entire Dominion Realm in order to draw the rest of the Perennial World’s attention.

His fist passed by Master Qing Cao, and the attack continued on into the distance.

However, the punch vanished without a trace.

Forget shattering the Dominion Realm, Gu Yizhi failed to destroy so much as a single speck of dust.

Ancient God stood frozen, unable to believe his eyes.

How... how could this be?

Master Qing Cao stood calmly in front of Gu Yizhi. Less than a meter separated the two men, and Master Qing Cao stared at Gu Yizhi with a gentle expression. “Child, life only comes once, and there’s no way to live it again. I’m offering you an opportunity. You should be able to sense the vast difference between us.”

Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao. “You... are restricted.”

Master Qing Cao sighed. “You wish to trade your life to slightly alter my limitations? Is it worth it?”

A black-gray force swirled across Ancient God's body. “Yes!”

He lunged at Master Qing Cao while unleashing the black-gray power in an eruption that engulfed everything nearby. This was a level of power that Ancient God had never demonstrated before—neither in the Scourges, nor at the Immemorial Citadel. This was his full power with Wielder - God realm battle force, and it was all directed at Master Qing Cao.

The old man stood where he was, unfazed. The black-gray power, which absolutely terrified Blackless God, instantly vanished, as though it had never existed at all.

True God’s eyes fell to Master Qing Cao’s wrist, where a small mark had appeared.

Ancient God might be an Ortuser, and even if an Immortal could afford to completely ignore the power of an Ortuser, to those watching, it seemed as though Ancient God’s power had simply disappeared.

To both Ancient God and Blackless God, it looked as though Ancient God’s incredible power was less than dust before Master Qing Cao. It had disappeared at the faintest breeze, if that was even necessary.

Ancient God was stunned. He had never imagined that he could be so thoroughly suppressed. Was this the power that a living creature could possess? Ortusers and Dukkhans? Neither could ignore Yu Ghizi’s power in such a manner. Only an Immortal could.

“To make all matters disappear—that is the power of the Immortal realm,” Master Qing Cao spoke slowly, as though commenting on something trivial.

“To me, all substance and even the laws of the universe are nothing more than fleeting illusions. Nothing can approach me. This is the power of an Immortal.

“Child, I will give you one last chance. I will guide you personally. If Yong Heng is capable of becoming an Immortal, then so are you. After all, you’ve already taken the first step.”

Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao in shock. “Nothing can approach you?”

Was that really the ability of an Immortal? Who could stand against such power? It was impossible to resist. To all others, an Immortal might as well be a god, as only a deity could possess such power.

This was the power that True God sought to gain by sacrificing an entire megaverse.

Ancient God’s hand pulled back, and he stared blankly at the ground. The power he had just seen was enough to overwhelm anyone. In the face of such power, numbers lost all meaning.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Master Qing Cao remained standing in the same place, a calm smile on his face.

Blackless God and Skydog watched in silence from a distance, both too terrified to even make a sound.

They had just witnessed the true pinnacle of power, and it was an overwhelming force that could control everything. This was a level of strength that nothing could even approach. Such power was beyond their comprehension.

Ortusers could not be touched by the laws of the universe, which was already terrifying enough, but Immortals could not be touched by anything at all. This was the power of a being that transcended all others.

Ancient God had unleashed his full strength, and yet he had failed to stir up even the slightest ripple.

He had simply wanted to create enough of a commotion that the Perennial World would be alerted, or even Lu Sanctum, which was so close.

A once revered Ortuser, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, suddenly found himself unable to even make a bit of noise.

Some distance away, Nong Yi stood on a branch of the Mother Tree, staring towards Seed Garden. As a Progenitor, he could easily see the region of the Dominion Realm where Ancient God was standing, but no matter what Ancient God did, he could not attract Nong Yi’s attention. To Nong Yi, the Dominion Realm appeared to be completely peaceful.

Ancient God’s expression fell and grew ominous as the black-gray energy around him faded away.

Blackless God’s expression shifted. Had the man accepted his fate?

Suddenly, Ancient God’s body let out the sound of thunder. His skin cracked, and blood splattered into the air, staining the area around him red. His bones and meridians both shattered everywhere as a terrifying, indescribable aura blasted out.

Blackless God was terrified. What was this power? Just the shards of Ancient God’s shattered bones and meridians flying through the air were enough to force Blackless God to retreat. How could the man possess such power? However, he had already shattered his body, so what more could he do?

True God was similarly astonished. He had not expected Ancient God to be capable of unleashing such power. This force was in no way inferior to what True God himself had unleashed with his Natural Art when he had uprooted the black Mother Tree.

Ancient God raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes. This was the law that he had comprehended: Enhancement.

Just as objects could be enhanced, so too could his own body.

At this moment, Ancient God was targeting his own body, enhancing his strength without limits. He continued to enhance his body, even after he pushed beyond what he could physically handle. His flesh was destroyed as his meridians shattered. No matter what sort of attack he was capable of unleashing at this moment, he was doomed to die in the following moment.

Master Qing Cao frowned. “Why bother? Any power that falls under the limitations of the megaverse can never touch an Immortal.”

A deep roar emanated from Ancient God as his five fingers curled into a fist. The terrifying power emanating from the man caused even True God to retreat several steps. Blackless God was incapable of even getting close, and Skydog let out a howl as it fled with its tail tucked between its legs.

A gust of wind swept through the area.

As a punch was thrown at Master Qing Cao, Ancient God's body started to crumble, starting from his legs, and working up from there. His bones, meridians, and flesh disintegrated, layer by layer. The destruction spread across his torso, reaching his arms and even his head. In a mere instant, Ancient God looked like nothing more than a decaying corpse. It was as though throwing this one punch had caused him to age countless years.

This punch should have shattered everything before it. It was the most terrifying attack in human history.

It was a punch that should have stirred the River of Aeons itself, making it difficult for future generations to trace the punch through time.

The punch should have embodied the glory of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

Instead, the punch failed to produce a breeze or even create the slightest ripple.

In the distance, Nong Yi was still peering down at Seed Garden. In his old age, he found joy in watching the younger generation, and he saw them as his legacy. Overseeing his family’s prosperity was truly comforting.

If man had simply glanced to the side, he would have seen Ancient God’s desperate, final punch.

But Nong Yi never looked. Ancient God’s punch lacked the power to cause Nong Yi to merely shift his gaze. The attack had been erased in front of Master Qing Cao.

The old man looked at the skeletal remains of Ancient God’s fist, and said, “Your name is Gu Yizhi. I will remember you.

“From the moment I became an Immortal, you are the first one to have gotten so close to striking me.”

Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao, and his skeletal frame started to crumble, completely devoid of all power. His efforts had been useless. His desperate strike had accomplished nothing. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to harm Master Qing Cao in any way.

Did humanity really have no future?

Impossible. There must be something that we haven’t discovered yet. If not, why hasn’t this man already reset the megaverse? What is the Immemorial Citadel to this man? What is the Heavens Sect? The Three Realms and Six Daos? Even Lu Yin. All are completely insignificant, as they can be easily swept away with a flick of his fingers.

And yet he hasn’t taken action against us, and that’s because he is restricted

.

Those restrictions must be severe, to the point where he needs to reset the megaverse to weaken them. They prevent him from personally taking action.

Ancient God’s eyes, deep in his skeletal head, flickered with light as his mouth opened and he started to speak, “When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancient lands is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards... Leap into the cosmos and crouch... Harmonious with the common people... Devour the hundreds of rivers... Leap into the boundless skies and crouch...”

True God was shocked. “No! The Origin Progenitor’s Sutra!”

With a casual wave of his hand, Master Qing Cao sent Ancient God flying back, his body nearly shattering.

At that moment, throughout the entire megaverse, anyone who had ever practiced the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra suddenly saw a face; it was Master Qing Cao’s face. It was the last sight that Ancient God saw.