Chapter 20: Lord Fubo

"All eight of you will likely be in the Outer Domain," said the horned powerhouse. "Let me briefly mention some taboos in the Outer Domain. The dangers there mainly come from certain mysterious places."

The horned powerhouse began to introduce them, listing the most famous dangerous places. Generally, places with great opportunities also came with risks!

He spoke for over an hour.

"Let me also talk about cultivators," said the horned powerhouse. "In the Outer Domain, many Dao Lords live in seclusion. There are also many World-level cultivators like you seeking opportunities. You don't need to worry too much about them, as long as you don't offend any powerful Dao Lords. After all, no one dares to make a move here."

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

"What you truly need to be wary of are the two Eternal Emperors living in seclusion in the Outer Domain," said the horned powerhouse. "If you anger them, you'll be in trouble. Even if they attack you, they'll only receive minor punishment from the Divine Destruction Palace."

"These two Eternal Emperors are Lord Beipu and Lord Fubo," said the horned powerhouse.

"Lord Beipu is manageable; he probably won't act rashly. But Lord Fubo... he truly cannot be provoked." There was even fear in the horned powerhouse's eyes. "Lord Fubo now might go on a killing spree at any moment, and even if he does, the Divine Destruction Palace won't do much to him. I've heard that even the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace is trying to win him over."

"Win him over?" Ji Ning and the other seven were puzzled.

"Lord Fubo was originally a low-key Eternal Emperor, but that arrogant and crazy Lord Sancan killed his beloved disciple, finally angering Lord Fubo. Tsk tsk..." The horned powerhouse shook his head in amazement.

Ji Ning, Qing Huan, Feng Yi, Huo Jin, and Tianhuo Mangya were all startled.

Lord Sancan?

They had been worried about being hunted by Lord Sancan.

"Lord Fubo was enraged and pursued Lord Sancan," said the horned powerhouse in awe. "The strength he displayed shocked the entire universe. His power far exceeds that of ordinary emperors. Lord Sancan, notorious and having offended many great beings, had always lived freely due to his exceptional survival abilities. But now, he is being hunted miserably by Lord Fubo, forced to flee everywhere and dare not show himself. This pursuit has already lasted nineteen chaos cycles."

"Nineteen chaos cycles?" Ji Ning and the others were dumbfounded.

Wasn't that too crazy?

"Lord Fubo has declared that whether it takes ten, a hundred, or even a thousand chaos cycles, as long as he lives, he will kill Sancan," the horned powerhouse laughed heartily. "That Lord Sancan can only hide and never show himself again."

Ji Ning and the other four breathed a sigh of relief.

Good.

A good hunt! With Lord Sancan busy saving himself, they were safe.

"Lord Fubo is most skilled in the 'Way of Talismans,'" said the horned powerhouse. "The Lord Fubo now living in seclusion in the Outer Domain is just one of his talisman avatars."

"Talisman avatar?" Ji Ning and the others were confused.

"It's an avatar formed from a single talisman," said the horned powerhouse. "It is said to possess nearly eighty percent of his true body's power! And he has nine such talisman avatars!"

"What?" Ji Ning and the others couldn't believe it.

A talisman avatar could be that strong?

Consider that great beings like Lord Damo and Lord Tianyi painstakingly cultivated a single dharma body, and they could only focus on nurturing one! This was a common technique in the endless territories, including the other universes.

The 'talisman avatar' created by Lord Fubo was simply too heaven-defying.

"This is his unique secret art, which only he can perform. Even his disciples cannot learn it," said the horned powerhouse. "It must be a terrifying secret art he developed after becoming an Eternal Emperor. His mastery of talismans is now unfathomable, and he is recognized as the number one in talismans throughout the Divine Destruction Palace! Because of his unfathomable talisman skills, even the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace is trying to win him over."

"He is now full of murderous intent. The Master of the Divine Destruction Palace and the Sixteen Star Lords are all trying to win him over. So even if he kills some World-level cultivators, no one will offend him over it." The horned powerhouse pointed into the distance. "Look, that's the tallest floating mountain in the distance. On that mountain resides one of Lord Fubo's talisman avatars."

Ji Ning and the others looked.

About ten billion li away, there was a faintly visible floating mountain emitting powerful ripples. Ji Ning and the others felt admiration. To reach the pinnacle of the universe in the art of talismans was truly remarkable. Perhaps he had been so low-key before because he was entirely focused on studying talismans.

Ji Ning and the others were also grateful. It was because Lord Fubo was hunting Lord Sancan that they had no further worries.

...

Inside the floating mountain.

In an ordinary cave dwelling.

"Hmph."

Lord Fubo, wearing a deep blue Daoist robe and a tall crown, had a gaunt face and narrow eyes. His expression was grim.

"Master, I went to seek an audience with Lord Bai. Lord Bai said that if you offer eight 'Life Talismans,' he can guarantee to persuade the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace to revive Second Senior Brother," said a young man kneeling below.

"Eight Life Talismans? Hmph, those two are too..." Even with his good temper, Lord Fubo trembled with anger.

The Master of the Divine Destruction Palace held the highest status.

Next were the Sixteen Star Lords, among whom there was a hierarchy. The three 'Ancient Star Lords' among the Sixteen Star Lords held a special status, as they were said to have existed since the birth of the universe.

Lord Bai was one of the three Ancient Star Lords and also the master of the Divine Destruction Palace's Master! However, the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace had surpassed him and now dominated the entire universe, unifying it.

"The Master of the Divine Destruction Palace demands nine Life Talismans to revive my disciple. His master asks for a bit less, but still eight." Lord Fubo gritted his teeth. "Those two must have conspired to take advantage of me."

Life Talismans.

They were Lord Fubo's highest achievement in talismans, possessing incredible power. If killed by an enemy, one could instantly be reborn through the Life Talisman!

One Life Talisman equaled one life!

Over endless years, Lord Fubo had exhausted countless treasures, faced repeated failures, and spent immeasurable time to painstakingly refine only two Life Talismans. Even for him, the creator, such heaven-defying talismans had a high failure rate and were extremely difficult to refine. He had previously asked the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace to reverse time and space to revive his beloved disciple.

His second disciple was like a son to him, and he was willing to pay any price!

Unfortunately, the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace directly refused: "Reversing time and space to revive a Dao Lord on the verge of dao integration is impossible. I have never revived even my own followers or disciples."

The refusal was blunt.

But when Lord Fubo presented a semi-finished Life Talisman, the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace was stunned after sensing it! As an existence of his level, he immediately understood the value of the Life Talisman and changed his tune: "With my strength, only some ancient great beings from other universes pose a threat to me. If you can produce nine Life Talismans, I am willing to go to any lengths to reverse time and space and revive your disciple."

Nine?

The complete process of refining a single Life Talisman, not counting the treasures, required over three chaos cycles! And if it failed, everything was lost! Moreover, during the refinement, one had to devote all their energy every day, extremely exhausting, persisting for over three chaos cycles, and the result was usually failure. The toll on the mind was astonishing.

In endless years, Lord Fubo had only refined two.

"My Life Talisman equals a life. Hmph, the Master of the Divine Destruction Palace is truly greedy." Lord Fubo gritted his teeth. "Just wait; he will come to beg me eventually."

Lord Fubo believed that refining a Life Talisman was too difficult.

The Master of the Divine Destruction Palace also believed that reversing time and space to revive a great being on the verge of dao integration was too difficult. As for killing Lord Fubo? The Master of the Divine Destruction Palace never considered it, because with the Life Talisman, Lord Fubo was probably the hardest being to kill in their universe.

...

The flying boat moved forward.

That Dao Lord Yuxiao ate and drank heartily on the flying boat, boasting as well. Ji Ning and the others listened.

"Any skill, when pushed to its extreme, becomes incredible. Lord Fubo has achieved great heights in talismans," said Dao Lord Yuxiao. "I've heard that Lord Bai, one of the Sixteen Star Lords, has achieved unimaginable mastery in the Way of Metal, beyond what you can imagine."

Ji Ning and the others were happy to listen to his boasts.

The flying boat occasionally teleported through space, continuously heading toward the center of the Origin Land.

"See that?" Dao Lord Yuxiao pointed into the distance.

Ji Ning and the others were stunned.

Ahead, the land of the entire Origin World had a terrifyingly deep abyss. Above the abyss floated a world about a billion li in radius, emitting all kinds of radiant light. Countless terrifying auras spread out, many comparable to Eternal Emperors.

Numerous chains penetrated that floating world, their other ends rooted in the Outer Domain continent.

"That is the Inner Domain! The entire universe's origin is in that world," said Dao Lord Yuxiao. "There are eight Origin Chains connecting the Outer Domain and the Inner Domain. What you need to do is walk along the chains, step by step, into the Inner Domain."

"Of course, if you're careless and fall into the abyss beneath the chains... let alone you, even a Fourth Step Dao Lord would be devoured by the abyss and die without a doubt," said Dao Lord Yuxiao.

...