Chapter 27: Struggle

Ji Ning held the divine sword Ziguang Qiong in his hand; the blood-colored divine sword rapidly expanded until it was tens of thousands of zhang long.

"Break." Facing the hazy space, Ji Ning shouted, raising the enormous divine sword high and slashing it forward.

Whoosh.

Once the Heaven-Collapse Style was unleashed, its artistic conception was not far behind that of Pangu, who had split Heaven and Earth. Pangu was born wielding the 'Chaos Heavenly Dao,' and his act of creation was more instinct; among World Gods, he was actually the weakest. Those who truly cultivated to become World Gods could still open up a Chaos World without dying or having their souls extinguished.

"Boom, rumble~~~" Where the divine sword passed, everything rumbled.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning frowned. "Though it trembles, this formation is very stable—far more stable than the previous one."

Breaking it by force wouldn't work.

What to do?

"Whoosh." Ji Ning moved, quickly beginning to fly within the formation. Outside, the battle must be extremely fierce, and Buddha Tathagata was facing a crisis. But Ji Ning suppressed all thoughts; all he could do now was break out of the formation as quickly as possible.

After flying for only a single breath's time, Ji Ning stopped.

"No danger at all..."

"In just one breath, I've flown hundreds of thousands of li, yet no danger has come, no illusions—only endless haze." Ji Ning was startled. "Could this be... the 'Endless Road'?"

"Those six stone pillars—yes, damn it, it's the Endless Road formation!" Ji Ning's expression turned very ugly.

Northrest World God had taught Ji Ning many things. When traveling through the endless Chaos, one needed to know some common knowledge, including some very common yet troublesome formations... He had told Ji Ning about one formation called 'Endless Road.'

In the endless Chaos, there were worlds far larger than the Three Realms, and many mighty figures...

They also needed to cultivate, so bartering was very common! Many Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals were willing to buy some powerful formations, including the 'Endless Road.'

The principle of the Endless Road formation was very simple.

It used the mysteries of the Dao of Space to expand a region of tens of thousands of li into a range of over a hundred million li! The trapped person was at the center of the formation.

To leave the formation, one had to fly that immense distance. Since teleportation was impossible within the formation, it took a lot of time—enough to delay an enemy or escape. That's why this formation was very popular in the endless Chaos; whenever a formation master offered it, people would scramble to trade treasures for it.

Of course, one could also break it by force!

But such a formation, though seemingly simple, contained profound mysteries of the Dao of Space. Even a World God or Chaos Immortal would need some time to break it. Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals had no hope at all.

"I can only fly!"

Though Ji Ning was extremely anxious and his expression grim, he had no choice.

Swish!

Ji Ning transformed into a black electric serpent, flying at high speed in a fixed direction.

...

"Save Tathagata."

Outside the formation, the battle was utterly frenzied.

Fuxi led Kuafu and Yuding in a furious assault, while the golden-armored one-armed man 'Blade Zun' transformed into a giant ten thousand zhang tall, wielding a single blade. Under his cold, fierce blade light... Fuxi and the others could not cross. Fuxi was only a True God, and though his insights into the Dao were very high, his main focus was on formations.

Using formations, he barely managed to hold off 'Blade Zun,' but he was completely on the defensive.

Only someone like Ji Ning, a half-step Ancestral God with the divine sword Ziguang Qiong and a powerful divine body, could trouble 'Blade Zun.' Even the Great Demon God Cixiu could do nothing to Ji Ning and was forced to use the precious 'Endless Road' formation to trap him.

"Damn it."

"Kill."

"Kill."

Kuafu, Yuding, and the others used formations to attack from afar, but these were easily blocked by 'Blade Zun.'

Meanwhile, the golden-armored servants under the Great Demon God Cixiu, along with the group of True Gods and Daofathers from the ancient ruins, maintained the great formation to resist the Water-Fire World-Destruction Formation while occasionally launching attacks.

For a time, Fuxi and the other mighty figures were held back by 'Blade Zun' and his group.

"This one-armed alien is too powerful." Fuxi gritted his teeth.

Among the mighty figures of Nüwa's camp, Fuxi usually focused on controlling various formations to influence the overall situation, not on one-on-one combat.

"Tathagata, hold on." Fuxi moved his mind.

The boundless 'Grand Yin Dark Water' and 'Imperishable Blazing Fire' near the Great Demon God Cixiu transformed into two dragons—a water dragon and a fire dragon—that coiled around Cixiu. This was the true 'Water-Fire World-Destruction,' but because Fuxi had to divide his attention to deal with Blade Zun, he could only maintain the 'Water-Fire World-Destruction' in a limited area, clearly intending to use it to restrain Cixiu.

"Sizzle, sizzle~~~" The water dragon and fire dragon intertwined. The Great Demon God Cixiu's divine body was formidable, so he ignored them.

"These Ancestral Water and Ancestral Fire, when combined, have such mysteries—they can even bind me." Cixiu soon found the formation troublesome, then sneered, "But this Tathagata is done for."

Despite the water and fire binding him, Cixiu continued to furiously attack Buddha Tathagata.

After the original formation was broken, Buddha Tathagata had stood up, trying to flee.

But...

Cixiu was faster than him. No matter how Tathagata tried, he couldn't escape.

"My divine power is almost gone." Buddha Tathagata sighed softly.

Whoosh.

A benevolent-looking Buddha wearing a kasaya, with a compassionate expression, suddenly flew out from within Buddha Tathagata's body. His entire body blazed with light as he struck a palm at the Great Demon God Cixiu.

"Haha, a last struggle? Burning your Dharma Body?" Cixiu laughed wildly. Boom, boom, boom—after just three exchanges, the burning Dharma Body collapsed and dissipated.

"It's the Medicine Buddha Dharma Body." Fuxi, watching from afar, felt a pang of pain.

Shakyamuni was the true body, possessing four Dharma Bodies in total.

This time, Shakyamuni had brought two Dharma Bodies with him. In the previous battle, the divine power of the true body and the two Dharma Bodies had been exhausted. Now Shakyamuni had to send one of his Dharma Bodies to die, buying time.

A Dharma Body painstakingly cultivated... now lost in an instant.

But the true body was the most important. As long as the true body lived, he could slowly cultivate new Dharma Bodies.

"Go." Buddha Tathagata fled desperately, and another Dharma Body flew out from his body. This Dharma Body was ablaze with flames, like the sun—it was the Great Sun Buddha Dharma Body. In terms of offense, this Dharma Body was even more formidable than the Medicine Buddha Dharma Body.

But...

In terms of skill, both were inferior to the true body. Since the true body couldn't withstand the attack, how could the 'Great Sun Buddha Dharma Body' hold off the Great Demon God Cixiu?

"Still struggling." Cixiu was furious, attacking wildly. In a few moves, the Great Sun Buddha Dharma Body dissolved in light and vanished.

Swoosh.

Cixiu quickly chased after Buddha Tathagata.

"Trying to join Fuxi?" Cixiu's tail suddenly swept. Whoosh—a streak of light surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Dao struck at Buddha Tathagata. Tathagata tried to block, but with a bang, he was sent flying backward, then stumbled to the ground.

A dim light appeared in Buddha Tathagata's eyes, then returned to calm.

He pressed his palms together, calmly watching the distant Cixiu.

"Tathagata!" Fuxi cried out in pain.

"Killing you really wasn't easy." Cixiu also breathed a sigh of relief. By now, Buddha Tathagata should have no divine power left; all the blood and flesh in his body had been converted to divine power and consumed, leaving only the most basic Golden Body. His method of cultivating the Golden Body was unique—once forged, it granted immense power. But the Golden Body could not be converted back into divine power. After death, only the Golden Body remained.

In the Buddhist faith, many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas left behind Golden Bodies after death.

Of course, Buddha Tathagata had cultivated the Golden Body method to its highest level.

"In this calamity, I am the first to face my fate." Buddha Tathagata calmly looked at Cixiu.

"Planning to strike me one last time before you die?" Cixiu dared not be careless. Killing Tathagata had not been easy; he had paid a considerable price—the Four Imperial Lords were almost entirely wiped out, and he had even used the 'Endless Road' formation to trap the Northmont Sword Immortal. Now, at the final moment, he didn't want to suffer a loss while killing Tathagata.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud explosion. The hazy formation in the distance dissipated, revealing six stone pillars, and a figure appeared—Ji Ning, holding the blood-colored divine sword.

"Northmont Sword Immortal?" Cixiu's expression changed drastically. Then, with a ferocious face, he ignored everything and attacked Buddha Tathagata. "Die!" His sharp claws descended toward Tathagata. Ji Ning, far away, couldn't intervene in time.

Seeing Ji Ning emerge, Buddha Tathagata's calm face showed joy. With a low shout, he pushed his palms forward. Rumble—it was as if two vast worlds crushed toward the Great Demon God Cixiu.