The clouds collapsed, the sky cleared for a hundred miles, and a single finger descended from the heavens.
Gu Wen looked up, as if the entire world had come to a halt.
The dead leaves caught in the air by the swirling wind suspended in mid-air.
The hundred-zhang tall golden figure raised its shield to face the celestial light of the true immortal from the sky.
He felt the similarity in Dao foundations between him and Yu Hua.
Although the difference in power was like heaven and earth, he could still sense the gap more clearly than his perception of Wenren Wu.
It was like a towering mountain, a ten-thousand-zhang giant.
He felt like an ephemeral creature gazing at the sun.
Yu Hua's strength, nine perfected Dao foundations.
Rumble!
The heavenly finger descended, and the law-like soldier figure knelt, causing the entire capital to tremble.
The ten-zhang-wide main road of the capital caved in, countless stone slabs shattered into fragments.
Wenren Wu knelt on the ground, exerting all his strength to prop up his hands.
Blood gushed from his palms, and his skin and flesh tore beyond their limits.
Eightfold Dao foundation strength, the power of three perfected levels, the law of ten thousand soldiers.
He exhausted all means and strength, fighting for a sliver of life.
"Ah!!!!!!"
Half a step up, lifting the heavens!
The golden figure supported the heavenly finger, contending with the celestial power of the Daoist maiden with his eightfold Dao foundation.
Such a feat was the work of an extraordinary genius.
In the land of immortals, there were no mediocrities.
Wenren Wu, who had suppressed the nation's destiny at the border for ten years, countered the five barbarian tribes, repelled Hu cavalry to the north, and faced the covert attacks of various true lords, was among the top combatants of his time.
In the outside world, he could easily dominate, but unfortunately, this was the land of immortals.
The heavenly finger pressed down again, and the soldier-like figure shattered like frost, breaking into pieces.
Roar!
A low dragon roar came, and a golden light enveloped Wenren Wu, shifting him half a zhang away, narrowly avoiding the heavenly finger.
The finger touched the ground without a sound, only slightly raising a wisp of dust.
The heavens tilted like a mountain falling, the force receded gently like the wind.
Wenren Wu looked at his empty right arm, and despite his near-death experience, he laughed heartily.
"This true lord can also resist celestial power to some extent, magnificent indeed!"
In the distance, Gu Wen held the broken spear, the dust slowly settling.
Wenren Wu dragged his injured body up, holding a halberd with his left hand, and walked towards Gu Wen step by step.
Gu Wen advised, "General, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."
He walked forward because Wenren Wu's energy still locked onto him, relentlessly holding on.
"If you escape, I am firewood. This time, I only defeated your true lord foundation. With your talent, you should have a ten percent chance of winning." Wenren Wu introspected himself, finding his magic power reduced to one-tenth, his right arm severed, and his law-like figure damaged.
He appeared as fierce as a tiger, exuding a momentum that seemed to swallow the world.
He loudly declared, "I am a hundred-battle true lord of the military family, a disciple of the third rank military family, Hunyuangate, formerly ranked third on the human list, eighth on the land list! Boy, state your name. I do not kill the nameless."
"Gu Wen, inheriting the methods of Yuqing, without a sect or faction, ranked tenth on the human list, fifth on the land list."
Gu Wen's voice was calm, his strength reserved for the life-or-death struggle.
All around, people from various factions gathered once again.
Some stood on the city walls in the distance, peering through the haze, while others stood on rooftops a few miles away.
Those with greater courage and skill positioned themselves within a hundred-zhang radius to watch closely.
Lu Chan gracefully landed on a roof, her snow-white skin starkly contrasting with the black tiles.
In the distance, a pale, handsome young man also descended.
"Crane Master from the ninth position on the Human List?"
The handsome young man nodded slightly. "Greetings, Fox Immortal."
The two were previously unacquainted, but below them, the battle had already begun.
An elder generation of prodigies and a new generation, it was the first time a newcomer challenged an established True Lord from the older generation.
Boom!
Gu Wen and Wenren Wu moved faster than the wind, their collisions as loud as thunder.
"He's holding his own?!"
The faces of the young prodigies were filled with astonishment.
They had already realized Gu Wen's strength, recognizing him as one of the top prodigies of the current era.
However, no matter how talented, there should be a limit.
After all, Wenren Wu was a True Lord, a master of martial combat.
Lu Chan's eyes shone brightly.
She didn't specialize in close combat, so she turned to Crane Master and asked, "Crane Master, how would you fare against a True Lord?"
Crane Master didn't immediately respond.
He gestured for payment, and only after receiving a pill did he reply, "I wouldn't last ten moves against him. A hundred-battle True Lord uses his body as a battlefield, capable of reversing eight directions. Moreover, the techniques of the military family excel in close combat, whereas I am more of a body cultivator, unable to compensate for my weaknesses."
"And what about Gu Wen?"
"He will die. His spear technique is pure killing."
"Then can Gu Wen defeat the True Lord?"
Lu Chan's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She saw a shadow of someone from the Three Purities Dao Sect in Gu Wen.
Crane Master shook his head. "Gu Wen cannot defeat a True Lord, at least not yet. He is at a disadvantage. My True Lord and Hundred-Battle True Lord are acquainted, but I am not familiar with Gu Wen. Fox Immortal, understand that those with shoes fear those who go barefoot. If he challenges me, I would definitely concede."
Lu Chan remained silent.
She could understand relying on one's background, but Crane Master was simply too pragmatic.
Boom!
The two combatants below separated for the first time from their entangled fight, then exerted all their strength, clashing like two meteors.
Spear met halberd, warrior faced general, each demonstrating the ultimate techniques of their respective long weapons.
Above them, the heavenly finger descended again, and the yellow dragon rose to meet it.
Yu Hua rode a white dragon horse, speeding through the high sky.
In the Land of Immortals, flying was difficult, and the dragon horse's hooves bled continuously.
Occasionally, golden light shot through the distance.
This was already a battle at the third realm in the outside world, yet it was taking place in the Land of Immortals.
It was madness, pure madness!
The old donkey couldn't fathom how powerful the Daoist Emperor was outside.
He was also a True Lord, but the Emperor's strength was beyond comprehension.
Similarly, he couldn't grasp the depth of Yu Hua's strength, the extent of the celestial power she possessed.
The difference between the fourth realm and above was like that between heaven and earth.
The boundary between immortals and mortals was an unbridgeable chasm.
Heaps of dirt piled into mountains can't become clouds.
"Fairy Yu Hua, you and I shouldn't be enemies," the Daoist Emperor's voice echoed.
Yu Hua got straight to the point, "I just need to take him away."
"This does not comply with the agreement; he must stay in Bianjing and become the Crown Prince of Da Qian," the Daoist Emperor refused.
Not only was it due to Gu Wen's talent, but also because he needed leverage against the Daoist Sect's fairy.
Without the protector's identity in his hands, he would have no leverage regarding the immortal elixir.
Thus, he would gain no benefit and leave a huge hidden danger outside.
"I will treat it as my own sect's disciple, teach him everything, and he will be free once the Land of Immortals concludes."
"Get lost."
Yu Hua's voice carried a few more traces of killing intent.
This had already touched her reverse scale.
Gu Wen was a jade she discovered and nurtured, and she believed he would surely walk the path of the ancestral master again, surpassing all current True Lords.
The Daoist Emperor obviously saw some clues, thus wanting to reap the rewards.
But Yu Hua had witnessed Gu Wen's growth from start to finish.
If not seen with her own eyes, she couldn't imagine someone reaching the third level of Dao Foundation in just half a year.
Whoever fought her for him would die!
"Fairy Yu Hua, I will only teach him to offset the karmic repercussions; I don't need to take him as a disciple."
"Get lost."
"Fairy Yu Hua, why go to such lengths?"
The Daoist Emperor's voice carried a bit of frustration.
He could understand Gu Wen, a young junior, being hot-headed, thus not worth getting angry over.
Forcibly keeping him and continuously showing goodwill would gradually tame him.
But why was Yu Hua, like Gu Wen, also so hot-headed? He had already backed down, almost saying, "Give me a chance to make up for it."
Even the old donkey felt it was excessive.
The Daoist Emperor wasn't an ordinary person, and the conditions he proposed didn't harm them in any way.
However, as the guardian beast of the Three Purities Dao Sect, he frequently saw young love-struck people every year.
Once it involved emotions, people became irrational.
At this moment, it wasn't about right or wrong; it was about taking sides.
As the guardian beast of the Three Purities, why would he help the Daoist Emperor over Yu Hua?
The old donkey transmitted his thoughts, "Little ancestor, right or wrong can be discussed later, but remember, once offended, kill without leaving any chances!"
"Got it," Yu Hua nodded.
Suddenly, a white light shot up from Bianjing's direction, piercing through the barrier of the Land of Immortals.
In the imperial palace, the furnace blazed intensely as the Daoist Emperor continuously added spiritual herbs into it, a process he had been repeating for ten years.
A thousand years ago, he learned of the existence of the immortal elixir.
To scheme for it, he sold his Dao lineage, exhausted personal relationships, and founded Da Qian in the Land of Immortals.
Now, the Three Purities fairy had entered, possessing celestial power—this was the first change.
Gu Wen, the sole survivor of the Gu family, hidden for five years and reaching the third level of Dao Foundation—this was the second change.
"The world is unpredictable, but the outcome remains unchanged."
Before the Daoist Emperor were two decree plaques, one white and one black.
The white plaque could transmit messages out of the Land of Immortals directly to the main sect of the Three Purities Mountain, costing spiritual treasures equivalent to a thousand medicinal fruits.
The black plaque could resonate throughout the heavens and earth, piercing through the nine depths, from the Nine Heavens of the Three Purities Mountain to the Nine Abysses of the Demon Sect, from the human territories to the Jianmu Monster Sea, from the Ghost Valley to the Outer Heavens, with a value comparable to half a Dao weapon.
The greatest reliance of the Daoist Emperor in his transaction with the Three Purities Dao Sect was not merely the protector's token, but these two decree plaques before him.
He activated the white decree and, with a wave of his hand, sent it out of the Land of Immortals.
The Dao Sect would help him hold back the Daoist Fairy; if that failed, they would call upon all the True Lords of the world to intervene.
The name of the celestial guardian once dominated the world, nearly suffocating all beings under its weight.
The three sacred places of the Daoist Sect—Jade Purity, Supreme Purity, and Great Purity—were once united.
The Buddha Sect, which once had forty lands, was reduced to four, and the Demon Sect's eighteen divisions and nine abysses were left with only four divisions and eight abysses.
The Jianmu Monster Sea, which once boasted one hundred and eight grotto-heavens, was beaten down to just thirty-six grotto-heavens.
His return to the present era would mean the end of the Great Dao for many of the world's top experts.