Chapter 453: Dantian Realm (Part 1)

The Black River surged for eight hundred *li*, its layered chains holding them captive.

Inside the True Martial Domain, the human gods and demons pondered a solution.

"We cannot be trapped here," King Qianmu said solemnly from inside the Fiery Star Cauldron. "We must find a way to break this grand formation."

"How do we break it?" asked King Ronghuo.

King Zhenwu waved his hand, conjuring a phantom image that displayed the eighteen Black River guards nearly a hundred *li* away. "These eighteen demon kings are controlling this grand formation, which spans eight hundred *li*," King Zhenwu explained. "They are at its very center. Look at the runes appearing on their bodies… they *are* the core of the formation. If we kill just one, the formation will likely break! Even if it persists, its power will be greatly diminished."

"How can we kill them?" Peng Mu asked. "They are nearly a hundred *li* away; even a demonic spike can't reach them."

"If my physical body charges into that black water, it would instantly be crushed to dust," King Tongming stated. "Only King Zhenwu can withstand the formation using his domain. None of the rest of us could; even if we barely resisted, we would be captured alive."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly in agreement. His Bloodblade Disk provided defense, but even if he was fortunate enough to withstand the Black River formation, its suppression would make flight and movement extremely difficult. Lord Peacock and Saint Master Qiansi, working together, could easily capture him alive. The Protector's body was formidable, virtually indestructible, but its actual combat strength was weaker, making it vulnerable to capture.

"If there were a portable grotto-heaven I could borrow, everyone could hide inside it," King Tongming suggested hesitantly. "I could then carry the grotto-heaven and attempt to escape by submerging into the shadow world."

"That method won't work."

Meng Chuan frowned and shook his head. "For gods and demons to be placed into a grotto-heaven, they must offer no resistance! While King Zhenwu uses his domain to resist the demon formation, we *could* hide in a grotto-heaven. But what about King Zhenwu? If he doesn't release any power or offer any resistance… the demon formation would sweep through this area, shattering the void, and Saint Master Qiansi and Lord Peacock's killing moves would descend. King Tongming, you can't put King Zhenwu into a grotto-heaven without interference. Are you suggesting we all escape together and leave King Zhenwu behind?"

"That method won't work," King Ronghuo likewise rejected. "If we hide in a grotto-heaven, we'll be completely defenseless! If the demon race has a way to breach the shadow world, we could easily be wiped out."

King Zhenwu nodded. "This method is too dangerous. I can breach the shadow world, and the demon race possesses profound capabilities. We haven't fully understood the various techniques of this mysterious formation, so we cannot take such a risk." Although it was highly probable the demon race couldn't threaten the shadow world, they couldn't gamble with the lives of a group of Marquis gods and demons! Trapped within a grotto-heaven with no escape, being wiped out completely would be a tragic fate.

"Everyone, don't panic. My junior brother Meng and I can attempt a breakthrough," King Zhenwu announced. "I will use my domain to resist the formation, and my junior brother Meng will carry me while employing his movement technique. Although our speed will be significantly reduced under the formation's suppression, with us both fighting desperately, we might still manage to cover ten or twenty *li* in a single burst. We'll charge directly towards those eighteen demon kings. As long as we can get within fifty *li*, King Qianmu's demonic spike can strike them."

"This is a viable plan; we can try it," everyone agreed, their eyes brightening. Even if they failed, they would still be safe within the True Martial Domain.

"I was injured while performing my last killing move and need a day to fully recover," King Zhenwu stated. "We will attempt our counterattack after one day."

"Understood," Meng Chuan nodded.

Flying under the suppression of the demon formation—how fast could they actually move? Meng Chuan was unsure. It depended on the strength of King Zhenwu's True Martial Domain. King Zhenwu clearly needed to heal first and return to his peak condition before attempting this.

However, the demon race would not allow King Zhenwu to recover at leisure; they sought to force the human gods and demons to deplete their strength more quickly.

*Boom*. A long spear churned the black water, attacking once more.

*Boom*. The numerous threads from the Nine Lives Cocoon once again coalesced into a white serpent, surging into the True Martial Domain. The True Martial Domain was too powerful; if Saint Master Qiansi's cocoon threads were to split into three white serpents, they would be even more severely suppressed, rendering their threat negligible.

King Zhenwu frowned slightly. "The demon race doesn't want me to recover peacefully." He immediately sent out a palm strike, piercing through several *li* of void to block the incoming spear.

Meng Chuan also unleashed eighteen bloodblades, which formed a sphere, seemingly creating their own miniature world, to block the white serpent.

*Clang, clang, clang.*

With each collision between the white serpent and the eighteen bloodblades, one blade would fly backward, only to be instantly replaced by another. These bloodblades continuously rotated and interchanged, naturally forming an incredibly resilient sphere that withstood the white serpent's assaults. Although aided by the suppression of the True Martial Domain, Saint Master Qiansi had, after all, reached the late Grotto-Heaven realm, and the white serpent's techniques were indeed remarkably refined.

"Fortunately, I managed to barely block it by activating the rune formation within the Bloodblade Disk," Meng Chuan mused. "If I had relied solely on my own skill and cultivation, I would have been defeated long ago."

"The Bloodblade Disk's defensive formation is truly formidable."

"Eighteen bloodblades, rotating and interchanging, forming their own miniature world."

"The bloodblades are like 'roaming dragons,' yet these eighteen roaming dragons still form a world..." Meng Chuan marveled at the Bloodblade Disk's rune formation. At his current cultivation, he could only activate it at a superficial level, for it was, after all, a tribulation-level secret treasure crafted by a powerful Soul Cultivator at the Seventh Tribulation Realm.

As Meng Chuan marveled at the formation's profundity, he suddenly froze.

"Eighteen roaming dragons, forming a world?"

"Roaming dragons, forming a world?"

"That's right."

"For the Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent movement technique, I've sought the ultimate in transformation, believing it should be centered on the 'Roaming Dragon Aspect,' much like Venerable Roaming Dragon Ye Hong," Meng Chuan pondered. "But perhaps I should shift my perspective and center it on the 'Nine Heavens Aspect' instead?"

Meng Chuan felt a profound insight. While actively using the Bloodblade Disk for defense, a torrent of thoughts surged through his mind. The Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent movement technique was a unique art Meng Chuan had created based on the 'Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Blade,' aiming for the ultimate in movement transformation. Senior Ye Hong, who called herself 'Venerable Roaming Dragon,' indeed centered her movement technique on the 'Roaming Dragon Aspect,' moving unpredictably throughout the world. Meng Chuan had also believed this path was correct, merely integrating the mysteries of Yin-Yang transformation into Senior Ye Hong's foundation.

Yet…

After years of cultivation in the World Gap, he had been stuck at a bottleneck, unable to fully integrate his years of insights and achieve the Grotto-Heaven realm. At this moment, however, the rune formation of the Bloodblade Disk sparked an epiphany within Meng Chuan.

Roaming dragons, no matter how profound their movements, still operate within the confines of heaven and earth. But what if it were centered on the 'Nine Heavens Aspect'?

*Boom.*

As numerous ideas emerged, Meng Chuan's years of accumulated understanding in the Cloud Mist Dragon Serpent movement technique naturally began to merge. He started to combine it, centering on the Nine Heavens Aspect, with the Roaming Dragon Aspect and Yin-Yang Aspect as supplementary elements. It was as if divine aid had descended, and a Grotto-Heaven realm ultimate art slowly began to take form.