Chapter 952: A Clash with the Golden Crow

The Noble Dharma, the leader of the Dark King Sect, and the Celestial Master of the Celestial Charm Sect were all renowned figures in the mortal realm.

Now, the three of them surrounded the Guardian Ruler, and the air was thick with killing intent. If the Guardian Ruler had been at full strength, he would not have feared them. Even if he could not defeat all three, he would have had no trouble breaking through their defenses and escaping.

However, he had just taken a heavy blow from Evil Ksitigarbha. Even before he had the time to heal from his injuries, he was surrounded and caught in such a situation.

"You cowardly rats, come at me together! You think I’m afraid of you?" the Guardian Ruler shouted boldly, but anyone looking on could see how serious the situation had become.

The emperor, still riding on the back of the Golden Crow, spoke in a soft voice. "They came for me. Guardian Ruler, you should retreat first. Tonight will not end in peace. There’s no reason to let me drag down the Yu Dynasty’s pillar of strength."

"Cut the crap," the Guardian Ruler snapped without the slightest trace of respect. "Running before the fight even starts? And what happens to my pride then? If things get bad later, I’ll throw you off myself. I don’t need you telling me what to do."

"Oh." The emperor said no more.

The Guardian Ruler’s body ignited once more with blazing yang fire, and in an instant, light surged out in all directions. The emperor, standing closest to him, frowned as the intense heat pressed in. If his cultivation had been any lower, he would not have needed an enemy to strike him down. He would have been roasted alive by the Guardian Ruler's power alone.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Great Dao of Ultimate Yang, the Noble Dharma, Lin Poyun, and the Celestial Master all paused in hesitation.

The Noble Dharma had always been a powerful cultivator and was well versed in many divine techniques. He had lived for countless years, mastered a wide range of worldly arts, and reached the brink of ascension to the ninth realm. However, his Great Dao of Longevity was not meant for battle. Most of his abilities were focused on preserving his life rather than engaging in direct combat. If that had not been the case, he would not have needed to go to such great lengths to gather so many powerful allies.

Compared to the top-tier combat prowess of the Great Dao of Ultimate Yang, the master of the Great Dao of Longevity really couldn’t measure up.

Lin Poyun’s Great Dao of Profound Darkness was indeed powerful in combat. However, his greatest strengths lay in controlling yin spirits and using ghostly arts, which were exactly the kinds of powers the Guardian Ruler was best at countering.

Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to face the Guardian Ruler directly without the True Form of Ksitigarbha. On top of that, he had suffered serious injuries earlier in the netherworld and had yet to recover. That was why he chose only to block the escape route and kept his distance.

As for the Celestial Master, that went without saying. He had always operated from the shadows, manipulating events from behind the scenes. There was no reason for him to confront the Guardian Ruler directly.

Now, even though the Guardian Ruler was clearly wounded, his determined and defiant stance made the others pause. All three of them had their own hidden plans, and none were willing to be the first to strike.

The Guardian Ruler, seeing their hesitation, grew even more furious and shouted in a low voice, "If you don’t dare fight, then get lost already!"

The inferno flame radiated an intense, scorching heat!

The Noble Dharma swept his wide sleeves and formed a seal with both hands.

He had sacrificed much of his spiritual energy in the netherworld to summon Evil Ksitigarbha, leaving him severely weakened. Yet, everything changed once he returned to the realm of the living. As countless lives were lost, the vital energy they released flowed into his Great Dao of Longevity.

As a result, his cultivation had returned to its peak, and the divine light around him was fully restored. Perhaps, just as he had claimed, the true nature of the Great Dao of Longevity was rooted in plunder. The more death there was in the world, the more he could take for himself.

Bong!

A deep chime echoed through the air as a shimmering golden bell projection appeared around Noble Dharma. Its surface was covered in countless flowing inscriptions, faintly depicting celestial scenes from a Buddhist kingdom.

He pushed the great bell forward, sending it toward the Guardian Ruler.

The Guardian Ruler responded without hesitation. He ignited with divine yang flames, and he hurled a powerful punch straight at the incoming bell.

Booooooom!

In the deafening explosion, the Guardian Ruler punched a hole straight through the great bell. However, the powerful rebound from the impact shook his entire body.

It became clear that the true strength of the Noble Dharma’s bell seal lay in its recoil. No matter how destructive the incoming force, the golden bell would reflect that power back at the attacker.

Without caring about his injuries, the Guardian Ruler commanded the Golden Crow’s Soul Essence, aiming to charge through the opening and strike down Noble Dharma directly.

But the Noble Dharma made another hand seal, and a precious glazed bottle appeared around him, forming a complete barrier. When the Guardian Ruler landed a punch on it, the surface rippled like water and absorbed the full force of the attack.

From the Noble Dharma’s chest, countless Buddha hands emerged and gathered into the shape of a lotus. Every hand stretched forward, reaching toward the Guardian Ruler.

He was using long-lost ancient Buddhist seals, each one imbued with mysterious power and immense strength. The Guardian Ruler was completely caught off guard.

The countless Buddha hands clung to his divine body of ultimate yang, grasping at the surrounding Golden Crow’s Soul Essence. Although the hands were instantly destroyed by the intense heat, they continued to regenerate, reforming endlessly from golden light.

For a brief moment, both the Guardian Ruler and the manifested form of the Golden Crow's Soul Essence were trapped.

In that fleeting moment, the Noble Dharma pointed into the void, and a golden-colored Devil-Suppressing Pestle descended from the heavens, smashing down toward the Guardian Ruler, who was still entangled by countless golden arms.

"Ahhhhh!" the Guardian Ruler roared, activating the Golden Crow’s Soul Essence to its limit.

The three-legged golden bird's flames erupted, transforming into a divine figure so immense it blotted out the sky. In an instant, it enveloped both the Guardian Ruler and the emperor.

Bang!

The golden-colored Devil-Suppressing Pestle struck the manifested form of the Golden Crow’s Soul Essence, but it was instantly engulfed by the raging Samadhi True Fire. As it was gradually consumed by the flames, it sank lower and lower, and the golden light surrounding it dimmed until it completely disappeared.

All the golden light, including that of the Noble Dharma, was swept away in an instant, leaving only the brilliant glow of the Golden Crow shining across the sky.

The Guardian Ruler’s ability to unleash such power despite his severe injuries left the three men completely stunned.

However, once the flames faded, the scene atop the Golden Crow’s Soul Essence had changed.

The Guardian Ruler stood tall on the Golden Crow’s back. He appeared imposing, fully shrouded in blazing divine light. Yet, a short sword had been driven deep into his side, piercing clean through his flank.

It was the personal sword of the Emperor of the Yu Dynasty, a sword normally used to summon and command the Night Dragon Hall guards. And now, it was in the emperor’s hand. As the Guardian Ruler turned with a frown, he saw red light burning in the emperor’s eyes.

The Celestial Master of the Celestial Charm Sect stood nearby, holding his polearm upright as he activated a divine technique with all his strength. In the void, countless invisible threads extended toward the emperor’s shoulders and back, making him move like a puppet under the Celestial Master’s control.

The emperor’s eyes showed clear signs of struggle. Beneath the red mist, his gaze silently conveyed a plea for the Guardian Ruler to flee. Although he had reached the seventh realm, he had spent many years focused on state affairs and had not fought in a long time. On a battlefield of this scale, he understood that he was nothing more than a burden.

The Guardian Ruler narrowed his eyes angrily and let out another roar. "Golden Crow, reveal yourself!"

Back then, he had watched the Golden Crow in the Divine Ruins, and it was through that experience that he gained control of the Great Dao of Ultimate Yang. He was the best at using the Golden Crow's Soul Essence. At this critical moment between life and death, he suddenly erupted with terrifying power.

The golden three-legged divine bird lifted its head and let out a piercing cry that echoed through the heavens before it lunged fiercely toward the Noble Dharma. Its aura radiated certain death, and blazing flames trailed behind it like a sun plummeting from the sky!

The Guardian Ruler intended to die together with the Noble Dharma!

In that instant, the three other cultivators understood his intent. With no path left to retreat, the Guardian Ruler had chosen not to flee, but to unleash his final strength and bring down the one he believed was most responsible for the chaos to come.

The Noble Dharma was instantly engulfed by the Golden Crow’s Soul Essence and dragged away as they crashed into a distant mountain.

Rumbleeee.

The earth shook without end as the mountain peak crumbled into a deep ravine. Pillars of fire shot high into the sky, and golden, mushroom-shaped clouds billowed upward. Half the sky lit up, glowing as bright as daylight.

Only after a long time did the land finally begin to settle.

"This Guardian Ruler is so fierce and ruthless," Lin Poyun muttered, still feeling a chill in his heart. He was deeply relieved that he had not acted earlier, so he had escaped becoming the target. "Even when he had the strength to flee, he didn’t. Instead, he fought to the death just to take someone down with him."

"Esteemed Teacher..." The Celestial Master of the Celestial Charm Sect stood silently, gazing at the scorched earth below.

As the Noble Dharma’s most secretive disciple, he knew better than anyone how powerful his teacher truly was. The world thought that the Noble Dharma had lived for several hundred years and was the longest-living human in the world. However, the truth was far beyond that...

Even the Celestial Master, despite being his closest disciple, did not know how long his teacher had truly been alive for. He only knew that over countless years, the Noble Dharma must have encountered danger time and again, yet he had always survived.

It was true that few threats had ever matched the Guardian Ruler’s final, desperate attack. But even the fight with the Demon God’s life essence had failed to kill the Noble Dharma. Could the Guardian Ruler's attack really kill him?

...

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Behind the Holy Mountain of the Northern Regions, there was a hidden oasis surrounded by endless ice and snow. In this cold Frostveil Domain, a small patch of green land filled with life stood out like a miracle.

In the middle of the forest, there was an old and plain-looking tree. At that moment, it looked like it had been struck by lightning. Its trunk cracked and began to dry up. But in the next instant, it started to recover. New branches grew out quickly, and bright red lotus flowers the size of a human head began to bloom.

A few moments later, one of the lotuses opened. First, an arm came out, then a head, followed by a body. In the end, a full-grown, naked man stepped out from the flower.

This naked man looked just like the Noble Dharma!

Though his face was pale and his primordial qi greatly weakened, he remained alive and whole.

This was the secret behind his survival through so many deadly encounters. The so-called longevity of yang wood was not just a saying. He had planted a seed of his life essence in this place. No matter how many times his corporeal body was destroyed, he could regenerate as long as enough vital energy had been gathered.

The Noble Dharma’s gaze flickered with regret as he looked into the distance and muttered to himself, "To think I’ve had to regenerate twice in such a short time. That stubborn Guardian Ruler had to take someone down with him when he died, and now my cultivation has been dragged down with him."

He then added, "Still, the Emperor of the Yu Dynasty is dead, and Evil Ksitigarbha has done what it was meant to do."