Chapter Fifty-Three: One of a Kind

It was as if they had stirred up a hornet’s nest!

With another long sigh, Wuyun searched for a location, tore open a spatial passage, and appeared within the Profound Magnetic Void. The array diagram, as before, was half-stuck in the spatial tunnel and half-emerged into the Qianluo Realm.

But who could have imagined that the Profound Magnetic Void was the dwelling, birthplace, and living space of the Spirit of Space itself!

“We must leave immediately. We cannot let disaster descend here again, or I’ll be a criminal!” Long Yi summoned Ji Wang, the descendant of the Seven Qi Dynasty he had once established, and who had yet to be crowned King of Luo Fu Star, for a private conversation. In the end, he gifted him several treasures and divine artifacts, admonishing, “You must not turn your swords against one another. In the future, that king of the Seven Qi Dynasty—who gained his throne in exchange for food—will have to rely on you for protection!”

Moved to tears, Ji Wang took thirty thousand soldiers and departed. Wuyun, displeased, snapped, “Old loach, the one I chose is a man of talent and virtue, not a butcher like yours!”

“All those ancient seniors are better than little dragons!” Long Yi replied with a veneer of respect but clear disdain, gesturing toward the spirit of the array. “Senior, I am gravely wounded, and my old injuries from the Golden Bridge haven’t healed. I need rest. Please, keep an eye on that… my father. Don’t let him ruin my peace!”

Wuyun nodded, gave a few pointers, and said, “The Divine Dragon’s Nine-Nine Transformation has eighty-one levels in total—cultivate well. In the divine realm, a place among the future sovereigns awaits you.”

Xiong Laosan, full of envy, dragged the Battle King forward to beg for a divine technique. Wuyun glared but still picked out two techniques and embedded them into Xiong Laosan’s divine consciousness. Instantly, the latter roared, “The Celestial Thunder Star Art! One thousand and one levels! At this rate, I won’t master it till the end of time!”

Wuyun waved his hand in resignation. “There’s nothing to be done. In countless ages, I’ve rarely befriended bears! And this one is such an unruly oaf. This is the last cultivation method for him, but if he doesn’t work hard, he’ll perish under the divine tribulation.”

“Aren’t gods supposed to be immortal and eternal?”

“Even beings of higher dimensions cannot guarantee true eternity. When order collapses and balance is broken, there will always be gods who fall, reincarnate, or journey to other realms. Work hard, young bear—no one has ever cultivated this art beyond eight hundred layers!”

Stunned by Wuyun’s explanation, Xiong Laosan was left speechless. As for the Battle King, he already possessed a body-forging technique, but another profound method came to him, one not inferior to the Pan-Chan Eternal Divine Art.

At that moment, the little insect approached, but Wuyun only shook his head. The Buddhist path values cause and effect—the little insect’s fortune would rise naturally, its own blessings flowing in due course.

As for the Jiaoying and Liu Ruyan, they only received the most basic divine techniques; as for higher arts, it was said they would not remember them anyway, so nothing could be done.

With Wuyun’s tireless instruction, a sense of foreboding grew among the group—especially when the Spirit of Space appeared, an omen of the world’s end.

Combining the powers of space, order, and the heavenly way, the Spirit of Space manifested as a hazy figure, standing at the edge of the array diagram where it protruded into the Qianluo Realm. His eyes were bright and wise, his tone sincere as he uttered a celestial sound: “You, who have come mysteriously, have once been favored by the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. If you have unfinished business, I can fulfill it in your stead.”

For the first time, the Spirit of Space addressed Wuyun as an equal, speaking with calm and peace. The group was both honored and alarmed, but Wuyun replied coldly, “What, are you afraid now? Afraid that the many Immortal Emperors and Kings from the celestial realms will break through your space? Afraid that those beyond the Immortal Emperor might refine you? And where were you then?”

The hazy figure only smiled. After Wuyun rambled on for several hundred words and was about to assign the Sword Mountain Sect, the figure spoke again. “I know all you have experienced and can take care of them. Please, will you leave now?”

Wuyun laughed. Leave?

The next instant, after a few hurried instructions, he fled in panic!

In the Qianluo Realm, within the Profound Magnetic Void, twenty new spatial rifts suddenly appeared. In an instant, the might of Immortal Emperors and Kings surged through, vast and overwhelming.

Accompanying this imperial might was the divine consciousness of Immortal Emperors, sweeping the realm in search of its strongest presence. Instantly, Wuyun was locked on by twenty strands of divine sense, with no place to hide—neither in the Qianluo Realm nor the spatial rifts.

“The Sacred Overlord hails from the sole Divine Realm of this dimension, traversing countless celestial worlds to end up here. I advise you to communicate with the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. If you escape, your friends will not be spared!” Having spoken, the Spirit of Space’s figure vanished.

The twenty spatial rifts widened further. The first to emerge were emperor-grade artifacts, which after layers of weakening became dao-grade artifacts, wedged in the rifts awaiting their masters’ arrival.

“Go!” Wuyun was about to steer the array diagram to escape when his aura was suddenly locked. Within the spatial rift, two attacks struck, one before and one after.

The first attack came from the spatial tunnel, weakened by many layers, yet still a strike from a peak Immortal Emperor, landing on the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Array Diagram.

The array diagram resisted steadily, but the next attack came from the Qianluo Realm: a torrent of imperial might and emperor arts, gathering all the realm’s spiritual energy in its path, bolstered by lower-realm emperor artifacts, risking destruction for a full-force blow.

This pincer attack shattered the equilibrium and tore open a corner of the array. The first to bear the brunt was Jiaoying, who was sucked out and shifted forms to resist.

The green feather he had obtained on the Golden Bridge glowed, shielding his whole body. After the blow passed through him, it pierced Liu Ruyan’s fully unfurled bone-flower markings, then struck Wuyun himself, who was completely unprepared.

Ripples spread through the Qianluo Realm. The attack carved a river of spatial fissures, and just as Long Yi moved to shield Wuyun, the little eagle tumbled out of the array, and Liu Ruyan, trying to save him, was pulled out as well.

“Unique and peerless!” Wuyun, reeling from the Immortal Emperor’s strike, muttered an incantation and pointed at Jiaoying and Liu Ruyan. Immediately, two layers of clouds appeared above their heads—one demon, one human.

Then, with a furious roar, he cried, “Where is Emperor Qianju?”

A surge of powerful soul force burst from the array, swept over the two, and vanished. Next, the Spirit of Space appeared and directly banished Qianju’s location.

The three vanished without a trace, but with Qianju present, they would surely make for the Fourth Celestial Realm.

Then Wuyun pointed again, chanting. The curse of misfortune he had acquired in the spatial rift flew from his hand and struck the emperor artifact.

“Man and artifact as one, all shall know misfortune!”

As this ancient curse was unleashed, Wuyun’s body shattered like molten rock, his blood boiling within.

Yet this counterattack had an effect: the fearsome presence in the spatial tunnel began to take notice, momentarily halting the relentless assaults.

Afterward, already wounded, Wuyun spat blood and fell unconscious, shielded by Long Yi.

In dire straits, the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Array Diagram activated its defenses as programmed and returned to Zuo Ming Celestial Realm—the Third Celestial Realm.

The array diagram, impervious to any further attack, ascended smoothly from a lower to a middle realm as if passing a tribulation. The pursuing divine senses and emperor artifact attacks were completely dispersed once the array entered the Third Celestial Realm’s passage.

Only a few strands of divine sense remained, locked tightly on the array!

Ascending is easy, descending is hard. The entire spatial passage was like a rotating, bladed grinder—dangerous but ultimately safe, and finally, with a reversed momentum, they endured a thousand cuts and broke through.

As time passed—how long, none could say—once the array recovered, boundless immortal energy flooded into it, and everyone’s cultivation soared.

Even Long Yi, thanks to the rich immortal energy, was fully healed. Only Wuyun, still slumbering, remained at the peak of the Shattered God stage, not even having reached the basic Condensing Spirit level of the immortal realm after ascension.