Chapter 1636: Thirty Years of Sowing Causes and Reaping Fruits, Countless Secret Stakes Before and After

A shocking blow! Emperor Rao Wanze’s mind felt utterly scrambled. His entire body caved inward, organs squeezed to the sides, and then…

“Splat!”

Before everyone’s eyes, two lumps of minced flesh exploded on the spot, a horrifying sight.

The Overlord’s immense durability unquestionably surpassed the defenses of the Spirit Refining Emperor, who hadn’t even had time to retrieve his defensive artifact!

This sudden turn of events on the field dumbfounded everyone present.

“How much hatred could there be?”

Under his Yellow Springs mask, Huang Quan’s face turned somewhat pale. He hadn’t even heard the young man’s introduction, and right after entering, the Emperor’s physical body was smashed to pieces? Before killing someone, at least leave your name! That’s an Emperor; show some respect, okay?! Also, Xu Xiaoshou aside, are all young people nowadays this fierce?

“No killing intent.”

The misty Specter Yin, hovering atop a pavilion on the first floor, discerned something unusual from this close-range strike. It was similar to the previous strike that shattered his divine throne form. This combination of "Shen Yi," "Dao Qiongcang," and "Thunder-element Spirit Refining brat"—Cao Yihan—was too skilled in combat!

From start to finish, even when aiming the Overlord at Rao Wanze, he never revealed a hint of killing intent. Either he was an unparalleled assassin, or his control over "killing intent" and "malice" involved a clever evasion method, making it undetectable even by an Emperor. Even an Ancestral God couldn't detect it!

“But it wasn’t guidance…” Specter Yin saw through it clearly. This wasn’t the result of guiding power. Because even a god who manipulates guidance, no matter how strong "Cao Yihan" was, how could he surpass it?

But as an existence living from ancient times to the present, Specter Yin racked his brains yet couldn’t find an answer to this question. He even began to doubt if his revival was incomplete, if he had forgotten something, making him seem somewhat… ignorant?

The answer was actually very simple: Specter Yin was simply ignorant!

Hiding killing intent was probably difficult for others, and deceiving an Emperor was mere wishful thinking. But what killing intent could be emitted if the attacker could briefly switch to a "Heavenly Mechanism Puppet"—an object without spirit, soul, or consciousness, that only executes commands? Heavenly Mechanism Arts, something Dao Qiongcang had innovated to an extreme degree in the new era, was such a devious thing that without experiencing it firsthand, even Emperors and Ancestral Gods wouldn't know its true nature.

But as for experiencing it firsthand… Rao Wanze’s current fate was the best proof of Heavenly Mechanism Arts’ "unpredictability."

Several people in the tower were quite accomplished in the path of the soul. As soon as Emperor Rao Wanze's physical body shattered, they each switched to their unique soul-observing abilities. They saw the Emperor’s soul body squeezed out in mid-air, like a compacted ball.

“'Very 'bloated'!" Xu Xiaoshou’s perception swept over it, and he could only use that word to describe it.

Rao Wanze’s soul body was too massive, a "cluster" of soul energy like a small giant. What is a "cluster"? It was clear that most of this soul energy body wasn’t cultivated by himself, but was instead artificially induced through some method. Perhaps even plundered!

But undoubtedly, this made him very "sturdy." Although a soul body has no muscles, "fatty" chunks of flesh were piled up in large, fatty-looking masses. He wore a soul helmet, covered in talismans; every character on his armor held a mystery, and every bead on his belt had a special meaning—clearly, they were all defensive soul artifacts.

“Too wealthy!” Xu Xiaoshou marveled.

Emperor Rao Wanze’s soul body was practically armed to the teeth. Evidently, he never imagined his physical body would one day be shattered by a single blow, but he was always on guard regarding his soul.

However… doesn't it show that the more prepared a person is for something, the less confident they are about it?

Based on "Detailed Explanations," Dao Qiongcang hadn't specifically noted Emperor Rao Wanze's expertise in the path of the soul, so Xu Xiaoshou had reason to believe: His soul was more fragile than his physical body.

“Hungry Ghost Path!”

As expected, as the Overlord spun, Dao Qiongcang shouted, without hesitation or mercy, intent on relentlessly assaulting the soul body. The Gates of Hell immediately descended from the sky. The flashy old Taoist held the staff in one hand, and with the other, directly plunged it into the massive Gates of Hell.

"'The Hungry Ghost Path of the Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts specializes in soul attacks, capable of inverting spirit and flesh, allowing the powerful physical strength of an ancient martial artist to act upon the soul body.'" As this information, submitted by that kid from the Qianshi Dao Clan in the past, flashed through his mind, Rao Wanze felt a slight sense of relief. "Thankfully, there was Dao Qiongcang! Thankfully, this time, he understood the situation!"

Emperor Rao Wanze, whose soul body had been forced out, now acted like a Spirit Refiner with the combat awareness of the Three Realms. Or rather, that blow had instantly jolted him from his years of pampered comfort back to the bloody, deceitful times of his youth in the Wurao Imperial Realm.

He didn't even say an extra word. He turned around. His soul body split. One half rushed towards the wooden door, attempting to break out of the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes. The other half rushed towards Kong Yuhen, the intention obvious: this young man was striking wildly, and as the master of the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes, shouldn't he intervene?

—Yes, my eggs, Rao Wanze's eggs, are never put in the same basket!

“Kong Yuhen, quick, save me, I will surely repay you!” Concise and to the point, because Emperor Rao Wanze truly didn't have much time to speak further.

But… the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes simply didn’t have enough space for him to leisurely put his eggs into two baskets!

After splitting his soul, to exit through the wooden door, he would first have to pass through the Gates of Hell, guarded by the gatekeeper deity. Dao Qiongcang watched as one half of Emperor Rao Wanze’s soul body charged directly at him.

“Walking into a trap?” A smirk played on his lips; he didn’t even need to think, as a contingency plan flashed through his mind—"Rao Wanze’s Escape Routes and Subconscious Responses in Battle."

With a "boom," the Hungry Ghost's Hand surged out from the Gates of Hell, but it didn't grasp forward towards where Emperor Rao Wanze's original soul body should have burst forth. One hand split into two parts. One part blocked in front of him, using only thirty percent of its strength, to prevent Emperor Rao Wanze from having a sudden idea and attempting to seize his body. Although Emperor Rao Wanze would certainly look down on his physical body—Emperors despised others from the bottom of their hearts, regardless of whether their physical bodies were strong or not—but what if?

Dao Qiongcang was someone who even guarded against "what ifs." What he had also anticipated was, "After all, my physical body’s performance later on will indeed be 'overly powerful,' so I must guard against it!"

On the other side, the other part of the Hungry Ghost’s Hand, after emerging from the Gates of Hell, preemptively struck in the opposite direction, grabbing towards… the wooden door!

“Impossible!!!” Rao Wanze’s cry of alarm was truly a subconscious reaction born of horror. He rarely uttered words that would diminish his status. But the current situation truly made it seem like he was walking into his own trap, rushing forward to leap into the Hungry Ghost’s Hand, like a moth to a flame.

How could this be? Did he manipulate my actions? It was one thing for Specter Yin to be able to guide, but where did this guy come from, to also possess such powerful guiding force, making it undetectable to me?

Crackling… The Hungry Ghost's Hand clenched tightly. Emperor Rao Wanze’s half-soul body, along with all his defensive soul artifacts—gold beads, jade pendants, precious talismans—cracked and shattered. The Hungry Ghost's Hand was accompanied by lightning. The purple lightning was so powerful that it could easily shatter various protective spirit artifacts, almost comparable to the power of a Saint Ancestor!

A thought… Emperor Rao Wanze hadn't stooped to learn "Thorough Divine Thought" or anything like that, but he did know about some products of the new era. In his moment of crisis, his soul body’s face contorted, unleashing the power of a Saint Ancestor, and a tearing roar burst from his throat:

“You think you can crush me?!”

Between his eyebrows, a light suddenly shone. The void hummed with a tremor, and a large, clumsy bell descended from the sky, covering the Gates of Hell.

“Great Obedient Bell, break it for me… sever!”

"'The Hungry Ghost Path summons the Gates of Hell, thus inverting spirit and flesh. So, the key countermeasure is either to destroy or sever the Gates of Hell, or to seal it with a spirit artifact. In short, don't let the enemy's various diversionary tactics distract us; we only need to attack the key point. As soon as the Gates of Hell are severed, separating spirit and flesh, the Hungry Ghost Path of the Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts will collapse without needing to be attacked… thus, the offensive and defensive dynamics between us and the enemy will reverse!'"

In his mind, a scene emerged: on Mount Eight Directions in the Wurao Imperial Realm, a young face spoke eloquently and incessantly even before the Five Emperors. What he proposed was a hypothetical plan on how Spirit Refiners should react if they ever encountered an ancient martial artist. And what they were discussing was still that "Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts"?

It must be said, this "armchair general" exercise was incredibly interesting! At that time, Emperor Rao Wanze had yet to witness what a truly skilled ancient martial artist looked like or what abilities they possessed. He didn't listen much before his attention was drawn away, and he pointed at the spirited, flamboyant young man below, chuckling as he asked:

“What is this boy's name?”

The attendant replied: “Dao Qiongcang from the Qianshi Imperial Realm, who just won one of the Ten Venerable Seats. The hypothetical enemy he's discussing is Shen Yi, also one of the Ten Venerable Seats.”

"Ten Venerable Seats?" Just a small competition for the Holy Divine Palace to select talent periodically… Emperor Rao Wanze chuckled and nodded at the mention, saying no more. He only heard the person below continuing his impassioned lecture, gesticulating wildly:

"'Once offense and defense swap, the enemy will first be startled, exclaiming 'Impossible!' 'Absolutely impossible!', and only then will they react. What we must seize is not the opportunity after that, but the chance we gain between the 'impossible' and the 'impossible'. Again, the reaction must be swift! Once the Gates of Hell are broken, and spirit and flesh are inverted, his original soul attack methods will all revert to physical forms. Should we attack his physical body at this point? No, no! At this moment, we should attack his soul! Attacking where the enemy least expects and is least prepared will yield twice the result with half the effort. He hasn't yet reverted from the Hungry Ghost Path's soul attack mindset. If I immediately pull out a soul artifact and decapitate him, his subconscious reaction will only be to raise his hands to block—after all, I am the Hungry Ghost Path; my physical defense is my soul defense, that's what he'd think. In such a scenario, a mere nameless soul artifact would gain the defense-ignoring power of a Mystical Sword, the soul-slicing and spirit-severing advantage—meaning our enemy would defend against me with their physical body, while I, with one strike, would take their soul's head! That's all!'"

Emperor Rao Wanze’s memory was excellent. Even now, recalling Dao Qiongcang's "armchair general" discussion, filled with laughable self-conceived notions, he vaguely remembered how helpless his immediate reaction had been. After listening, he couldn't even offer a comment. After a long silence, he could only praise it indirectly:

“Qiongcang, Qiongcang, this boy's mind truly defies heaven!”

At that moment, the awkward atmosphere in the great hall dissipated. The one from the Cold Palace Imperial Realm also chimed in with a chuckle: “Haha, my Li’er often calls him 'Dao Defying Heaven'… Oh, no disrespect intended, no disrespect at all, just a nickname!”

Just suppress his Gates of Hell! This is the key! The Great Obedient Bell can be used to trap people and also to suppress and sever the Gates of Hell, cutting off the "critical connection" for this ancient martial artist to invert spirit and flesh. Furthermore, this was by no means the end, but the beginning of a counterattack.

Dao Qiongcang's future achievements had already proven how powerful his "prejudgment" and "calculation" abilities were. Therefore, his "armchair general" tactics were by no means as simple as he had once thought. They definitely had merit! Just do as he said! A humorous saying circulated within the Holy Divine Palace and even among the Emperor's secret realms: "If it's an order from Dao Qiongcang, never question it, and don't bother adding unnecessary flourishes; you're not worthy!"

“I, the Emperor, cannot fall into the hands of this fiend.” Emperor Rao Wanze's inner voice was seething. “Dao Qiongcang, if you return to the Wurao Imperial Realm this time, I, the Emperor, will certainly reward you with a return to innocence. The Holy Divine Palace should be managed by you! For this contingency plan of yours from thirty years ago, you are worthy!”

The Great Obedient Bell descended as summoned. But before it could suppress and shatter the Gates of Hell, severing the critical connection between spirit and flesh… The young man holding the Overlord seemed to have anticipated it; he acted one step ahead and severed his own arm! His hand remained in place, maintaining the gesture of reaching into the Gates of Hell. His body, wielding the Overlord, rose up in defiance almost simultaneously with the Great Obedient Bell’s descent… even a fraction faster!

“Clang—”

The staff struck the great bell. Inside the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes, a deep, resonant, yet lingering bell chime echoed, causing eardrums to swell and inducing dizziness.

“Clang clang clang clang clang—”

Dao Qiongcang, with one staff strike, created five shadows. The first blow halted the descending Great Obedient Bell. The subsequent five strikes forcefully sent the bell flying into the sky.

The purple mist hovering atop the first-floor pavilion quickly dispersed. The great bell struck the pavilion roof, causing endless ripples in space, seemingly dissipating its force. But the Overlord's five consecutive strikes truly had overwhelming offensive power. The Great Obedient Bell itself had extremely strong defenses, and the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes' defenses behind it could be described as terrifying. Under the mutual push and pull, space itself became distorted, and the direction of force shifted repeatedly. Consequently, the great bell, like a deflated balloon, ricocheted erratically, displaying a chaotic character more befitting a "Great Clumsy Bell" than the "Great Obedient Bell."

“Boom boom boom boom boom…”

The Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes’ tables, tea stands, and various wooden carvings and wooden clocks were all knocked to the ground. Surprisingly, these items belonging to the pavilion itself were protected by a mysterious force. They appeared to shatter, only to immediately mend themselves the next second. Only the Great Clumsy Bell was unprotected; after several ricochets, it crashed through the Pavilion of Ancient and Modern Woes’ window and flew out.

“It’s gone…” Emperor Rao Wanze was briefly stunned for a moment. “Dao Qiongcang’s script wasn’t written like this! Shouldn't that boy below have been unable to react, and then it would be my turn to counterattack? Why is it that you seem to have preemptively predicted my attack strategy—is this also a form of guidance?”

“Impossible!” As he cried out this alarm again, Emperor Rao Wanze had already realized the true nature of this oddity. “Damn it, he's not Shen Yi; it seems I'm the hypothetical enemy, Shen Yi, from Dao Qiongcang's script back then? Not the 'strong' image, but the 'beaten' image!”

“Shatter!”

With a snap, the half-soul body of Emperor Rao Wanze, held in the Hungry Ghost's Hand, after multiple unforeseen events, was, without any suspense, crushed into fragments.

“Pain!”

“So much pain!”

“It’s too painful!”

The half-soul body rushing towards Kong Yuhen sensed the death of its split self mid-way. And so, half of its soul body was convulsing and twisting in pain.

How many years has it been? How many years since he suffered such severe injuries! This boy deserves to die; I, the Emperor, will surely kill him! However, the prerequisite for killing him was to first survive this myriad of unexpected events, countless traps, and even somewhat… no, more than somewhat inexplicable "odd situations."

Even at this moment, Emperor Rao Wanze still hadn’t figured out what grudge or hatred this young ancient martial artist held against him, or why he would push the situation to such an extreme state.

“Kong Yuhen…” He was too weak to think. He just wanted to survive; after all, his true body had entered the Divine Vestige. Emperor Rao Wanze realized that this might be the closest he had come to death in a hundred years, even more terrifying than when he first encountered Specter Yin moments ago!

“Kong Yuhen, quick, save me! Save me, your Emperor!”

The frantic cries came directly at him. Xu Xiaoshou stared intently at the approaching soul body, momentarily speechless. “In your eyes, am I a mere Path-Severing rookie who can't even see a soul body? When I fought you on Void Island back then, you didn't really think it was entirely due to the power of the Four Divine Pillars aiding me, did you? You're truly too arrogant! You, Rao Wanze, how dare you!”

Xu Xiaoshou, with a backhand motion, drew his Four Swords and made a feigned slash forward, saying in an exasperated tone: “Stop right there. I just want to play support; don’t force me to act… Just so you know, I’m very powerful.”