Chapter 1303: What's the hurry? One by one, like monkeys.

Too enormous!

An azure finger descended from the sky, carrying boundless might that erased all other sights from view.

It was as if the world contained nothing else but this finger.

This evoked memories of the Demon Emperor Hei Long's Black Dragon Tail Swing, which once lifted the Nether Ghost Capital and smashed through the Abyss of Fall, instilling sheer terror.

Ephemeral as mayflies in the vast world, insignificant as a grain of sand in the sea.

Compared to the power of a Shengdi, even a Bansheng felt utterly minuscule.

Xu Xiaoshou, facing it head-on, watched in heart-pounding alarm.

He hoped the Wang Ze Shengdi could retract his finger, holding it back to prevent Rao Yao Yao from being harmed.

Yet against this finger, he had no means to delay or defend directly.

"Is this the end?" Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts raced wildly.

In the midst of crisis, sacred power rippled from afar, and nine dragon phantoms soared into existence, emerging through blood escape as a hurried figure appeared.

"Sheng Gong Bai Lian, greets Wang Ze Shengdi!"

The newcomer was Bai Lian, who had just broken through to Taixu and consumed sacred blood, briefly attaining Bansheng capabilities to flash into the battlefield.

But who among those present wasn't sharp-minded?

Even onlookers could see that Bai Lian's actions were not out of respect, but to buy time for Xu Xiaoshou.

The azure finger showed no hesitation.

The shadowy figure descending from the Tian Ti didn't even spare Bai Lian a glance.

"Boom!"

Before Bai Lian could get close, the storm blasted him away.

Protected by the Nine Dragons Incinerating Ancestor Sacred Image, the residual force of the azure finger didn't harm him much—it merely shattered the image and hurled Bai Lian back to the Absolute Ember Fire Domain.

Back to where he came from.

"Sheng Gong Bai Lian, I am Sheng Gong Bai Lian!"

"I represent my master and grandmaster, extending greetings to Wang Ze Shengdi, and I have important matters to discuss... Ah—"

He vanished.

The wind carried away even his final words, let alone his figure.

"Rumble!"

The supreme sacred tribulation teetered on the brink of collapse.

Only over two hundred thunderbolts remained—it was just half a step away.

If he could achieve Feng Sheng, Shui Gui wouldn't be so desperately on the defensive.

After all, an Ou Yi Bansheng and an Ou Yi Taixu were worlds apart.

But...

Under the Shengdi's overwhelming pressure, would even the common folk of Void Island have to bow their heads?

"Xu Xiaoshou, fall back!"

Shui Gui's eyes bulged with rage, feeling the blood in his veins—stagnant for decades—boil and scorch in this moment.

Facing the azure finger, he gripped the Yu Hai Shen Ji and shouldered the immense pressure, gritting his teeth as he surged forward and upward.

"Come! Fight!"

In an instant, Shui Gui charged into the final clouds of the supreme sacred tribulation, swinging the Yu Hai Shen Ji.

The water-system Ou Yi array expanded, unleashing a deep sea invasion.

The remaining tribulation clouds were utterly consumed by Shui Gui's ultimate extraction force, not a trace left.

"Sizzle..."

"Crack, crack, crack!"

Sparks of electricity burst from his cracking body, drawing out blood.

Flowing thunder slurry coursed through Shui Gui's form, both destroying and forging it.

The void trembled.

In that instant, even the azure finger paused slightly.

Shui Gui's eyes, filled with pain, squeezed shut as the Bansheng position on his crown accumulated power, reaching perfection.

Moreover, under this great peril, an surging aura of Dao principles emanated from him.

This...

Onlookers gazed up, feeling as if they were witnessing the scene when Xu Xiaoshou had his epiphany of the Tian Ji technique atop the dragon head.

"Enlightenment?"

"Even now, can Shui Gui achieve enlightenment?"

"Is this the Yu Mo Great Demon King?"

Amid the crowd's focused attention, mere moments passed before Shui Gui's eyes snapped open, his voice carrying sacred tones as he declared:

"Supreme goodness is like water, embracing all things."

With these words, heaven and earth transformed.

The rules of the Great Dao manifested over Void Island, and hazy water mists suddenly rose from the various absolute domains.

Void Island, once devoid of clouds, now saw a fine drizzle that quickly turned into a torrential downpour.

"Whoosh..."

Accompanying the ink-black rain, invisible water waves rippled through space, sweeping across all of Void Island.

Everyone, whether in the fray or on the sidelines, felt a gentle breeze like spring, their minds soothed as if caressed by a sacred maiden, shifting from unease under the Shengdi's pressure to profound calm.

"Pop, pop, pop..."

Subtle sounds echoed in their ears, like bubbles forming.

All were startled, thinking they had entered the deep sea.

But searching around, they found nothing—no source for the sounds.

"It's not a real sound!"

Suddenly, a voice cried out from the crowd, "It's the sound of Feng Sheng—Shui Gui has achieved Feng Sheng!"

Everyone turned in shock.

There in the sky, Shui Gui, who had uttered "Supreme goodness is like water, embracing all things," was no longer tormented by the residual forces of the supreme sacred tribulation; his expression was serene and at peace.

Though the tribulation's power still raged within him, destroying wildly, he embraced it all like the sea, accommodating the forces without fully absorbing them, temporarily making them his own.

Thus, he stepped into Bansheng ahead of schedule, before the tribulation clouds fully dissipated.

Enlightenment in the heat of battle!

Breakthrough in the midst of chaos!

Unlike Ye Xiao's eerie sounds during Feng Sheng or Rao Yao Yao's legendary sword cries...

Shui Gui's moment of achieving Sheng, while enduring the strongest sacred tribulation, was as subtle and nourishing as a gentle rain.

Water benefits all things without striving, dwelling in places that others shun, thus nearing the Dao.

"No one can make me bow my head—neither Ba Zun An nor the Shengdi..."

Shui Gui murmured silently in his heart, steadying his half-golden beast mask as he lifted his gaze.

"Boom!"

The azure finger shattered space, crushing his body to the verge of collapse.

Yet water has no fixed form; any collapsing shape, in Shui Gui's eyes at that moment, was self, was the sacred Dao.

As long as the sacred Dao endured, Shui Gui endured.

Where water mist arose, Shui Gui persisted.

Shui Gui raised the Yu Hai Shen Ji high, pointing it at the azure finger as he struck through the air.

"Feng Lei Hai!"

The water-system Ou Yi array unfurled in an instant, blanketing Void Island and overshadowing the azure finger in everyone's view, summoning a world of ink and water.

With the power of a Bansheng, he directly challenged the Shengdi!

Shui Gui commanded the thunder sea, fearless and composed!

All could see that the vast watery realm had formed into a massive sphere, with thunder slurry churning within, having incorporated the forces of the supreme sacred tribulation.

At this point, everyone was deeply shaken.

"The Shengdi couldn't force him to bow, and even the residual power of the supreme sacred tribulation was absorbed by him..."

"This is an Ou Yi Bansheng! This is Shui Gui's reliance, his trump card!"

"But in 'Feng Lei Hai,' where is the 'wind'?"

As doubts lingered in the crowd's minds, the azure finger pierced through the rules of the Great Dao, slamming directly into the thunder sea.

Gale winds howled, and the thunder sea roiled.

Upon contact, one-third of the ink-water world Shui Gui had summoned was erased.

Yet the water-system Ou Yi array flared brightly, and the remaining thunder sea forces enveloped the azure finger.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."

One thunder-water vortex after another spiraled up from the ink-water world, blasting in all directions.

Shui Gui's ink-water realm, after incorporating the supreme sacred tribulation's power, was directly devouring the Shengdi's energy from the azure finger and using it against itself!

"Wind... Thunder Sea?"

"So, that's the 'wind'?"

Supreme goodness is like water, embracing all things... On the dragon head, Xu Xiaoshou surveyed the scene, his expression shifting.

Earlier, Rao Yao Yao had faced the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, breaking through on the spot to comprehend the Sword of Forgetting Emotions—a talent that had shocked everyone.

Yet unexpectedly, Shui Gui could do the same!

He went even further, achieving enlightenment under the Wang Ze Shengdi's pressure during a hasty Feng Sheng, advancing his water-system Ou Yi to new heights.

But...

He couldn't hold it back!

An Ou Yi Bansheng was powerful, but not enough against this azure finger!

Though Shui Gui blocked the Wang Ze Shengdi's strike for several breaths, his Feng Lei Hai quickly shrank from vast expanses to something measurable by the eye.

How much longer could he withstand?

"Xu Xiaoshou, get out of here now!" Shui Gui finally roared amid the chaos.

Wang Ze Shengdi remained silent, not deigning to strike again.

The azure finger's persistent grinding force alone eventually shattered Feng Lei Hai, leaving Shui Gui with limbs torn apart and flesh scattered.

"Crack, crack..."

Even the golden beast mask cracked, ultimately flying off and disintegrating into dust.

Xu Xiaoshou's face was a mix of emotions, offering no response.

It felt like returning to the Eight Palaces, to the moment when Sang Lao had stepped forward to take the arrows for him, only to end in madness.

This time, the wave wasn't just a bit reckless—it was truly disastrous...

"Roar—"

Mo Di Hei Long could wait no longer, shaking his head and flinging Xu Xiaoshou from his head.

In that instant, various images flashed through its mind:

Scenes of grand entrances, crushing Xu Xiaoshou, lifting lands to smash foes, and the judgment of the Demon Emperor...

All these, though brief, had given it a beautiful vision through Xu Xiaoshou.

— The romance of freedom!

This temptation, yearned for over so many years, was something Mo Di Hei Long couldn't control. It had agreed, so it had cooperated with Xu Xiaoshou all along.

But after that Demon Emperor Judgment, the deadlock remained unbroken, and it had exhausted itself to the point of inaction.

Mo Di Hei Long had already lost much hope of pursuing freedom.

It had become a mere ornament, bound by rules that prevented action.

But it couldn't tolerate Wang Ze Shengdi acting so arrogantly before it!

So, even if it expended its last bit of avatar's will, even if it meant being slain by the rules, as long as it could block this strike...

The Shengdi's moves on Void Island were limited.

Xu Xiaoshou might still have a chance to escape.

This time, there were no equal trades or prior promises—it was simply Mo Di Hei Long acknowledging Xu Xiaoshou and wanting to do something more.

As for "why"...

It racked its brains but couldn't find a reason.

Perhaps it was just a mutual understanding between dragon and human!

Mo Di Hei Long charged forward like a resolute warrior, without looking back, full of abandon, straight toward the azure finger, leaving only his final words:

"Xu Xiaoshou, if fate allows, we'll meet again."

With a tremendous boom, the five-clawed black dragon's body expanded massively, its demonic breath shrouding the sky and sun, brushing past the bloodied and flying Shui Gui.

It met the azure finger head-on, exhaling its last breath to unleash its dragon pearl in an attack, offering its final swan song:

"Wang Ze! You are like a worthless cur! Showing only one claw! Daring not to bark! Hiding your head and tail! A mere rat among birds! You and that Ba Zun... Roar—"

Its temper flared, and the insults grew harsher.

But the last words never came, as Void Island's rules detected it.

A black maw tore open in the air, space fractured, Great Dao chains and light like guillotines slashed down fiercely.

In agonized screams it thought it had suppressed, Mo Di Hei Long was sliced into countless pieces by the rules' force, its residual cries swept away by the storm and vanished.

Yet the power of its dragon pearl had already triggered!

The Demon Emperor Judgment blasted upward from below!

"Bang, bang, bang..."

After grinding away Feng Lei Hai, the azure finger struck the endless demonic breath.

If Mo Di Hei Long were still present, it could have contended with this finger, but now its power waned without support.

It barely lasted a dozen breaths.

"Ba Zun An! What are you waiting for? You coward!"

Outside Miracle Forest, Mei Si Ren was furious, his eyes fixed only on his student Xu Xiaoshou, who had been used and discarded.

Bai Lian, Shui Gui, Mo Di Hei Long...

One after another, they sacrificed themselves like moths to a flame.

Yet this mastermind behind Void Island's scheme, "Ba Zun An," had been silent since Wang Ze Shengdi's arrival, despite his earlier casual banter.

Was he scared?

Mei Si Ren refused to believe it!

But with even Mo Di Hei Long slain by the rules, and Ba Zun An still unmoving, who else could stand behind Xu Xiaoshou?

No one!

"Shh." Faced with the challenge, Ba Zun An simply raised a finger to his lips, indicating someone above and that speech was unwise.

Are you afraid Wang Ze Shengdi will notice you?

You're just a common mortal now—who would pay attention?

And if you're so fearful, why set up this scheme in the first place?

Did you never anticipate the scheme's end would summon a Shengdi?

"You're infuriating me to death!" Mei Si Ren bellowed, itching to slash Ba Zun An with his sword, but Xu Xiaoshou had no time left.

He drew the Tai Cheng Sword, flashing it before departing into the sky.

Ba Zun An grabbed the old sword saint's sleeve and shook his head slightly.

"Get off!" Mei Si Ren didn't know how long this useless man planned to hide, taking his schemes to the grave.

What could a Houtian Sanjing accomplish under a Shengdi's power? Mei Si Ren didn't know.

He only knew the azure finger was initially locked on Xu Xiaoshou and wouldn't stop until it was erased.

Xu Xiaoshou would surely die if hit!

Mei Si Ren shook off Ba Zun An and soared upward.

"Wait!" Ba Zun An called out helplessly.

Mei Si Ren turned back with a glimmer of hope—he knew this guy had a plan; he just needed pushing.

"The game is over; I've never stopped you from leaving, but you can take the communication talisman back."

Ba Zun An spoke in a hushed voice, as if terrified of Wang Ze Shengdi overhearing.

Mei Si Ren's eyelid twitched, his thunderous anger nearly spilling from his sword edge.

He almost leaped up to strike, but after his lips trembled, he pulled a talisman from his robe and flung it over.

"Wait!" Ba Zun An called again.

Mei Si Ren, about to leave, felt a spark of retained hope and turned, thinking, Xiao Ba might still be trustworthy...

"Do you have a sound transmission stone? The kind for wide-range broadcasts. If you die under that finger, I might step in to help..."

"Pah!" Mei Si Ren spat heavily, nearly hitting Ba Zun An's face.

"You're powerless to act..."

"Still better than you!" Mei Si Ren tossed the sound transmission stone and bolted, not daring to linger.

"Wait!" Ba Zun An called for the third time.

"You little brat, spit it out!" Mei Si Ren's hair flew wildly, but he halted again, unable to ignore Ba Zun An—he must have a way... right?

"What is Xu Xiaoshou doing?"

"That's it? That's your only... question?"

"Mm, otherwise?"

"You've been, all this time, not seeing the battlefield, wh-what happened?"

"I'm only at Houtian Lianling..."

"You fool!" Mei Si Ren was so angry he nearly choked, glancing back and exploding in rage, "He's just like you—scared stiff!"

With a bang, Mei Si Ren shattered space and vanished.

Time waits for no one; any more delay with this traitor Ba Zun An, and Xu Xiaoshou would be beyond saving.

"Sigh..."

Watching the old sword saint disappear, Ba Zun An sighed deeply.

So, to the very end, you never caught on to such obvious stalling?

He was only at Houtian Lianling, but the surges of power from those rushing to their deaths in the battlefield had overflowed to Miracle Forest—plainly visible.

No need to look; just by sensing the auras, Ba Zun An knew how heavily the word "Shengdi" weighed on their hearts.

As heavy as ten thousand jun!

More terrifying than the sky collapsing!

Merely Wang Ze's finger descending had thrown everyone's prior composure into disarray.

Even Shui Gui, in his final moments, couldn't easily dispel the gods and Buddhas in his heart, becoming another Gou Wu Yue.

This was the tragedy of the era...

The imprint of "Shengdi" in the hearts of Sheng Shen Continent's people was impossible to erase easily.

Without breaking these self-imposed shackles first, how could they speak of storming Sheng Mountain, pursuing freedom, and finding answers?

Empty talk!

Delusion!

"Good thing..."

"There's still one who's scared stiff..."

Ba Zun An chuckled to himself, unable to just watch the old sword saint Mei Si Ren die for his student.

He held the communication talisman in his left hand and the sound transmission stone in his right, gripping them as he waited.

A long wait...

Ba Zun An narrowed his eyes, eventually closing them, tilting his head to savor the surging pressure from afar, the residual power waves, and the amusing screams.

"Swish..."

That was the wind stirring the gravel.

"Drip, drip..."

Raindrops pattering on broken wooden stakes.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

A heartbeat, not very strong, but steady.

One breath, two breaths...

Ten breaths, twelve breaths...

If Mei Si Ren were here, he'd be shocked to see Ba Zun An enter a state of enlightenment with just a close of his eyes—one as rare as comprehending ancient sword techniques.

He merged with Void Island, no different from grass, wood, flowers, or stones.

His spirit roamed thousands of miles, dreaming through all directions.

"Swoosh!"

Soon, a faint sword qi flew in from outside the forest.

The skin on Ba Zun An's chest, torn earlier by Mei Si Ren's words, was sewn back by the sword qi like a needle, completing the mend.

That qi yearning for freedom was hidden away once more.

"Crack."

That sounded like stone splitting, but it was his Dao foundation cracking again.

Ba Zun An's face paled further, his condition worsening.

His realm dropped from Houtian Lianling Sanjing to Erjing.

Only then did he open his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"What's the rush? You're all like monkeys jumping around..."

He raised his right hand with the sound transmission stone.

After thinking, he switched to the left with the communication talisman, pulling a spirit crystal from his robe before carefully infusing it with spiritual energy.

The sensation of his qi sea being drained nearly made Ba Zun An collapse.

But the communication talisman's one-way array lit up.

Heh, a master of sword arts but a fool with spirit arrays—Mei Si Ren is truly out of touch with the times...

Ba Zun An chuckled softly, clutching the talisman and leaning on a tree stump for support, then took a deep breath and boomed with full force:

"Cough... Cough, cough!"