Get Out

Two purple thunder dragons—

one on the left,

the other on the right—

clamped down on the arms of the immortal in blue.

The Immaculate Kindling

followed the cracks in his immortal bones

and rapidly burrowed into his body.

Hiss!

Black smoke billowed into the air.

Below one half of the blue-robed immortal’s face,

countless fungal tendrils scurried frantically away.

“Get out!”

His immortal voice exploded like thunder.

The two purple thunder dragons

were shattered inch by inch by the terrifying force.

But the instant the blue-robed immortal struck,

the Dragon-Slayer leaped from the deck.

His broken legs

rang out with crisp cracking sounds

as they reassembled.

His entire body transformed into a razor-sharp sword intent,

piercing through the heavens of lightning scattered by the exploding thunder dragons.

With a single slash, he struck the twenty-seventh formation nexus.

Boom!

The nexus collapsed.

The Dragon-Slayer, however, was blasted away by the aftershock of immortal power.

His body spun through the air before crashing back onto the warship.

Crack!

His legs

broke for the third time.

The Dragon-Slayer lay on the deck,

staring up at the starry sky.

His lips trembled.

“In this old man’s entire life…”

“If I ever stand up again…”

“I’ll be a dog.”

The old official from the Ministry of Revenue lowered his head and glanced at him.

“Senior Dragon-Slayer.”

“That last strike…”

“Damaged the warship’s railing.”

The Dragon-Slayer closed his eyes.

“This old man is already dead.”

The old official flipped open his account book.

“Your death benefit will be used first to offset the repair costs.”

The Dragon-Slayer’s eyes flew open.

“Help this old man up!”

“This old man can still make another slash!”

The fleet continued advancing.

The thirtieth formation nexus.

The fortieth.

The fiftieth.

The Ancient Immortal Ferry trembled violently.

On either side of the shattered ancient road,

the corpses of countless worlds that had floated there for untold ages

began to plummet into the abyss.

Behind the white-haired female immortal,

the remnants of the moons rotated in unison.

Her ten black tentacles

pierced through the immortal gate

and shot straight toward the Great Xia flagship.

A-Li gripped the helm tightly.

She made no attempt to evade.

“Activate the flagship’s entire formation!”

“Overload the Imperial Cannon!”

A soldier’s face went pale.

“Commander!”

“If we keep overloading it,

the main cannon will explode!”

A-Li gritted her teeth.

“Before it explodes…”

“Blow up whatever’s in front of us first!”

At the very front of the flagship,

a black-gold ram forged from ninth-realm materials

slowly extended.

A-Li took control of the flagship

and drove it straight toward the sixty-first formation nexus.

The white-haired female immortal’s tentacles

drew closer and closer to the flagship.

Ten thousand miles.

Three thousand miles.

Five hundred miles.

Every formation across the flagship

issued a pained, overloaded wail.

Just as the tentacles were about to pierce the flagship,

the Imperial Dao River suddenly plunged downward.

Wang Hao appeared before the ten tentacles.

He raised his right hand.

“Heaven-Prisoning Earth-Covering Palm.”

“First strike!”

A golden palm print

smashed the first tentacle to pieces.

“Second strike!”

The compound eyes covering the second tentacle

exploded all at once.

“Third strike!”

The entire Ancient Immortal Ferry

sank ten thousand zhang.

“Fourth strike!”

All ten tentacles

were ignited by Imperial Dao golden fire.

The white-haired female immortal let out a piercing shriek.

Black liquid flowed simultaneously

from countless compound eyes.

“You insect!”

“How dare you burn an immortal body!”

Wang Hao did not stop.

“Fifth strike!”

Boom!

The half of the white-haired female immortal’s arm

that had reached through the portal

exploded in the middle.

Wang Hao seized the severed arm

and flung it backhanded toward the sixty-second formation nexus.

Immortal blood collided with the formation runes.

The entire nexus

was blasted to pieces by the white-haired female immortal’s own power.

Wang Hao looked toward her.

“Thanks for cooperating with the demolition.”

The white-haired female immortal’s shriek

rang across the sea of stars.

At that very moment,

the black-gold ram of the Great Xia flagship

slammed heavily into the final formation nexus.

Rumble!

All sixty-three guiding formation cores—

destroyed.

Above the Ancient Immortal Ferry,

a sacrificial formation spanning hundreds of worlds

fully manifested.

At the center of the altar,

there was no offering.

The place that had once stored the origin of worlds,

the vital essence of all living beings,

and three thousand years of accumulated faith from the Wusheng Merchant Alliance—

was empty.

An ancient will

awoke from the depths of the ferry.

【Insufficient offerings for the guiding ritual.】

【Guiding ritual suspended.】

【The Immortal Gate is beginning to close.】

For the first time, the face of the cyan-robed male immortal changed completely.

“Where are the offerings?”

Wang Hao lifted the account book, now stamped with the seal of Great Xia.

“Confiscated.”

“Illicit gains.”

“Returned in full to their rightful owners.”

The cyan-robed male immortal glared at Wang Hao.

“That was immortal tribute!”

Wang Hao nodded.

“You’ve already said that.”

“His Majesty does not accept verbal appeals.”

“If you have an objection,”

“go to the Great Xia yamen and file a formal complaint.”

Boom!

The immaculate gate

began to close.

The broken road of the Ancient Immortal Ferry

rapidly withdrew into the gate.

Black chains

appeared across the three immortals’ bodies.

They were not the power of Great Xia,

but the guiding laws of the Immortal Gate itself.

With the ritual’s failure,

the portions of their immortal bodies

that had crossed into the lower realm

would be forcibly dragged back.

The cyan-robed male immortal roared.

He seized the gate with both hands,

trying to stop it from closing.

The three thousand eyes of the white-haired female immortal

erupted with immortal radiance all at once.

The red-clad child opened his mouth wider still

and bit down on the edge of the Immortal Gate.

Crack!

The immaculate Immortal Gate

had a piece bitten off.

What flowed from the broken edge

was not stone dust,

but blood.

The Immortal Gate

was actually alive.

A system notification

suddenly appeared.

【Settlement of all sixty-three branches of the Wusheng Merchant Alliance completed.】

【The origins of the three hundred sacrificed worlds have all been restored.】

【The summoning ritual of the Wusheng Merchant Alliance’s main headquarters has been suspended.】

【Settlement progress: 100%.】

【Calculating special rewards.】

【Reward: Sixth level of the Transcendence Realm cultivation.】

【Reward: Seventh level of the Transcendence Realm cultivation.】

【Reward: Eighth level of the Transcendence Realm cultivation.】

【Reward: Ninth level of the Transcendence Realm cultivation.】

【Reminder: This system is only responsible for granting cultivation. It is not responsible for helping the host survive tribulations.】

Wang Hao’s eyes narrowed.

The next instant,

four indescribable forces

surged into his body at once.

Deep within his imperial soul,

a sixth shackle emerged.

The Shackles of Life and Death.

All living beings fear death.

Cultivators seek life.

To transcend life and death,

one had to abandon the flesh,

abandon emotion,

abandon everything subject to decay.

Wang Hao looked at the shackle.

His imperial soul raised a hand

and struck down with one palm.

“I do not seek immortality.”

“I only demand that those who deserve to die—”

“die before me.”

Crack!

The Shackles of Life and Death

shattered with a thunderous blast.

Sixth level of the Transcendence Realm!

The seventh shackle followed close behind.

The Shackles of Time.

The past could not be changed.

The future could not be seen.

No matter how powerful a being was,

it could only be pushed forward by the flow of time.

Yet behind Wang Hao,

countless annals of Great Xia began to turn.

One by one, the names of those who had died

stepped out from the pages.

Uncle Shi.

Soldiers who had fallen in battle.

The countless living beings

who had died beneath the butcher’s blade of the Wusheng Merchant Alliance.

They could not be brought back to life,

but neither had time erased them.

Wang Hao stepped forward.

His imperial soul shattered the River of Time.

“As long as Great Xia still remembers them,”

“they have not lost to time.”

Crack!

The seventh shackle exploded.

Seventh level of the Transcendence Realm!

The eighth shackle

was the Shackles of Heaven and Earth.

Cultivators were born beneath Heaven and Earth.

They grew beneath Heaven and Earth.

They absorbed the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth.

They comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

In the end,

they would also be bound by Heaven and Earth.

To transcend,

one had to leap beyond the confines of Heaven and Earth.

But Wang Hao did not leap.

The Great River of the Imperial Dao.

Instead, it connected to sixty-three worlds.

Beneath his feet,

three hundred worlds that had only just awakened

lit up at the same time.

“Under all the heavens,

not everything belongs to the king.”

Wang Hao raised his head.

“But all the king’s lands

beneath the heavens

must be governed by Me.”

The shackles of heaven and earth

contracted violently,

attempting to crush his imperial soul.

In the next instant,

countless living beings raised their heads at once.

The worlds beneath their feet

voluntarily opened a path for Wang Hao.

Heaven and earth refused.

But all living beings gave way.

Boom!

The eighth shackle

was jointly shattered by sixty-three worlds.

The Eighth Level of the Transcendence Realm!

The final shackle

had no form.

No color.

Not even any power.

It was Wang Hao himself.

The Ninth Level of Transcendence.

What had to be severed

was the self.

After cultivating to this point,

all attachments,

all desires,

all darkness,

all good and evil

would become the final lock.

If one severed the self,

one could attain a flawless Great Dao.

But from then on,

one would also be without sorrow or joy.

Before Wang Hao’s imperial soul,

another version of himself appeared.

That figure

wore an icy, indifferent expression.

Behind him was no Great Xia.

No subjects.

No family or friends.

Only a Great Dao so pure

that it was immaculate to the extreme.

“Sever everything,

and you can become an immortal.”

Wang Hao glanced at him.

“Too clean.”

“You look like a pauper.”

The figure opposite him

showed its first sign of agitation.

Wang Hao raised his hand

and slapped him across the face.

“What belongs to Me—

no one gets to make Me throw it away.”

Boom!

That flawless figure

exploded on the spot.

All its fragments

flowed back into Wang Hao’s imperial soul.

Good and evil.

Greed.

Partiality.

Deviousness.

Even refusing to repay debts—

not one of them was missing.

The Ninth Transcendence Shackle

vanished completely.

【Current Realm: Ninth Level of the Transcendence Realm!】

Rumble—

The entire myriad heavens

suddenly darkened.

It was not a single world.

Nor a sea of stars.

It was every heaven and earth

that Wang Hao could sense,

all losing their light at once.

Above the Ancient Immortal Ferry,

a boundless sea of lightning

slowly emerged.

Within the sea of lightning,

ancient celestial palaces drifted and rose and fell.

Countless indistinct figures

stood upon the ruins of those palaces,

looking down at Wang Hao.

The Crone of Hundred Burial Mountain’s expression changed drastically.

“An Immortal Tribulation.”

“His cultivation in the Ninth Level of Transcendence

advanced far too quickly.”

“The Immortal Tribulation has come directly!”

The Dragon-Slayer had just managed to stand up.

Upon hearing this,

he lay back down again.

“This old man thinks

it’s safer to stay down.”

At that moment,

the Immaculate Boundary Stele

shattered completely.

A quarter of an hour

had passed.

The final layer of transparent light

dissipated.

The pollution aura of the three immortals

descended together with the vast Immortal Tribulation.

The Great Xia fleet

was caught between two apocalypses.

A-Li shouted:

“All forces, fall back!”

“Get out of the tribulation cloud’s range!”

Wang Hao took one step forward

and walked into the Ancient Immortal Ferry of his own accord.

A twisted smile

appeared on the blue-robed immortal’s face.

“Mortal King.”

“You dare approach us

while crossing your Immortal Tribulation?”

Wang Hao raised his hand.

The Imperial Dao River transformed into chains,

wrapping around the bodies of the three immortals

as they reached out through the portals.

“Illegal entry.”

“Resisting arrest.”

“Obstructing the law.”

“And carrying large-scale contamination.”

Wang Hao clenched his five fingers

and dragged all three immortals

into the range of the tribulation clouds at once.

“According to Great Xia law,

a comprehensive physical examination is required.”

The blue-robed immortal’s eyes shifted.

“What are you planning to do?”

Wang Hao raised his head

and looked toward the endless sea of lightning.

“Please, gentlemen,

accompany Me through the tribulation.”

Boom!

The first bolt of lightning descended.

It was not a pillar of lightning,

but an entire galaxy.

Countless stars of lightning

revolved within the sea of thunder.

Every single star

was powerful enough to shatter a Martial God’s dharma form.

“Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!”

Wang Hao raised his hand.

The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda

charged into the sea of lightning.

The gates of the nine-story pagoda.

All opened at once.

Rumble!

Thunder filled the sky.

It was forcibly swallowed into the pagoda.

The first level lit up.

Then the second.

All the way to the ninth.

The entire Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

Expanded at terrifying speed.

Cracks.

Split open across the surface of the tower.

It could imprison thunder.

But the lightning of the Immortal Tribulation.

Had already exceeded the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda’s original limits.

The very first tribulation bolt.

Had nearly filled all nine levels.

Wang Hao raised a hand and waved.

“If it can’t hold it…”

“Then spit it back at them.”

The gates of the nine-story pagoda turned around.

The Immortal Tribulation lightning it had just swallowed.

Was blasted toward the three contaminated immortals.

The male immortal in blue tried to dodge.

But the Imperial Dao chains around his body.

Suddenly tightened.

Boom!

The immortal lightning struck him squarely in the face.

His crystalline immortal bones.

Were charred black in an instant.

The black carpet of fungus was torn apart by the lightning.

Countless human-faced insects.

Tumbled out from beneath his immortal bones.

The three thousand compound eyes of the white-haired female immortal.

Melted simultaneously beneath the glare of the lightning.

The black sun in the red-clad child’s arms.

Shuddered violently.

The countless immortal heads inside it.

All shouted in unison.

“Strike him!”

“Strike him dead!”

“He’s the filthiest one of all!”

The red-clad child lowered his head and looked at the black sun in his arms.

A darkness utterly unlike a child’s.

Appeared on his young face.

The second tribulation bolt.

Had already descended.

A heavenly blade formed from thunder.

Stretched across dozens of worlds.