All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 566 - 167: Fall into the Divine Repository

Chapter 566: Chapter 167: Fall into the Divine Repository

In the murky fragments of the Netherworld, dust and mud rain filled the air while the explosive sounds of battle continued to boom like thunder, reverberating between heaven and earth. Amidst this indistinct turmoil, Demonic Qi churned, obscuring any clear view of what secrets lay hidden.

"Heavenly Dao, you truly show no mercy."

Amidst the center of the Netherworld fragments, An Jing strove to stand upright, using his final bit of strength to tightly bind his wound, reattaching his severed arm at the elbow. Although it appeared whole, only heaven knew how long it would take for it to completely heal.

However, he wasn’t worried about any long-term effects: with the Son of Heaven Method, Heaven and Earth Root, and the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban, each one could perfectly restore his bodily injuries. Even if his hand was ground to dust, An Jing could still gradually ’reforge’ his limb using the Divine Weapon forging technique.

But this also meant that An Jing was truly pushed to his limits at this moment.

Every secret he had, even those originating from the Tianyuan Realm, had to be employed to barely survive this ordeal.

Swordsman Xie was indeed no simple opponent. In fact, one could say that between Da Chen, Swordsman, and the You Patrol Envoy, each one of them was a definite killer to An Jing.

No need to mention Da Chen. This clearly was an incarnation of some Town King. Claiming he wouldn’t be ruthless, but once caught by him, his identity as the Heavenly Mandate couldn’t be hidden at all. It would be quickly uncovered, and An Jing couldn’t even fathom what would happen next.

Not to mention the You Patrol Envoy. As soon as An Jing saw him, he understood that the opponent was a ’top-tier Divine Repository’, akin to his master Mingguang Dust. If classified by the levels he was familiar with, at the very least, the opponent was a new frontline Martial Artist, and possibly even a central metropolitan-level Martial Artist! And Swordsman Xie was at most a True Transmission of a Great Sect, perhaps not even a core transmission, just a top Martial Artist from a second or third-tier provincial capital at most.

If he made a move, even if An Jing could resist for a while, there was absolutely no chance for a counter-kill.

Being caught by the You Patrol Envoy, An Jing was well aware of what the Tianyi Demon Sect would do; even if he wasn’t flayed and de-boned, he’d still end up imprisoned for life as a test subject. Not to mention, there should be Fate Pattern checking equipment in Endless Heavens, albeit very rare. But considering the You Patrol Envoy’s strength, An Jing felt that the opponent would sooner or later discover his Heavenly Mandate identity.

It was only because An Jing was on good terms with the Virtuous King and Weng Cuiyu, and had interactions with the Northern Patrol, escorting Bai Qinghan and deepening their connection and responsiveness—Northern Patrol could come so swiftly because Bai Qinghan, sensing the resonance of their Fate Patterns, immediately notified him, allowing Northern Patrol to trace and arrive quickly.

One can only say, if An Jing had a little less favor, he wouldn’t be able to deal with these two, whom he absolutely couldn’t withstand with his pure strength.

And the reason Swordsman Xie failed was merely because of the setting of the Netherworld fragments, which theoretically indeed completely countered ’Jiuli Commanding General’, but couldn’t restrain the Heavenly Mandate.

The Spirit Qi absorbed by An Jing from Tianyuan, shifted to Embracing the Void to use, naturally wouldn’t easily lead to Immortal Fall, and the Demonic Qi was even burned by An Jing using Lifebound Qi purified with the Heavenly Profound True Talisman, otherwise, how could he advance his Martial Meridian and have the strength to counter the moves? He would probably have been beaten down by Swordsman Xie from the start, losing the ability to fight.

With An Jing able to absorb both Demonic Qi and Spirit Qi, the Netherworld fragments turned the tables on Swordsman Xie. Otherwise, with Divine Repository True Person’s connection linking the Three Realms, Heavenly Sea, and Earth Vein, with a continuous supply of Spirit Qi, it was impossible for him to exhaust his strength after just a few moves.

Even so, what ultimately killed Swordsman Xie was the Annihilation Sword Intent and Demonic Qi entering his body.

"What he said isn’t wrong," Subdue Evil, equally exhausted, remarked: "If a Body Refinement practitioner, or one immune to Demonic Qi, had come, we’d have been in trouble."

"Next time, it will surely be a Body Refinement practitioner," An Jing sighed, "We have to prepare well now."

"Don’t be afraid, from ancient times, Qi Refinement fears Body Refinement, and Body Refinement fears Artifact Refining."

Subdue Evil Sword Spirit comforted: "Let’s properly practice the techniques of Artifact Refining. With both Body Refinement and Artifact Refining, when you cast the Divine Skill Law Sword, we’ll see what the Body Refinement practitioners can do."

"That’s reassuring." Having vanquished a formidable foe, An Jing was indeed relieved: "The question is, what does Artifact Refining fear?"

"I fear poverty," Subdue Evil sighed. "Luckily, we aren’t poor."

It’s hard to say actually, An Jing doesn’t consider himself wealthy, but Subdue Evil thinks that with An Jing’s cultivation, he is already quite rich—.

As An Jing and Subdue Evil idly chatted and relaxed their spirits, the surrounding moonlight grew increasingly dense.

Soon, An Jing, who noticed this, witnessed the most complete, undisturbed process of ’Divine Repository Abyss Fall’.

After the demise of Swordsman Xie, his body decomposed, turning into a sky full of moonlight and an expanse of Netherworld Yin Evil.

Starting from the Martial Meridian, a Martial Artist’s flesh and blood gradually get replaced by the Spiritual Fiend cultivated, eventually turning into various Spiritual Objects. For instance, An Jing, whose bones have transformed into something close to Jade Cutting Steel—Flawless Iron Bones, and his flesh and blood are filled with Metallic Evil of Geng Metal, making him entirely suitable, if taken for Artifact Refining, to forge a Divine Weapon.

Once reaching the Divine Repository Realm, Martial Artists open the three Divine Repositories of heaven, earth, and man. The physical body further evolves, shifting from solid to a Dharma Body that lies between the real and the ethereal, merging with the cosmos. If a Martial Artist is considered a chunk of iron, then a Divine Repository Martial Artist is akin to supercomputers crafted from various rare metals, various magic artifacts, and divine weapons.

Of pivotal importance is, of course, the physical essence of the artifact itself. However, just as crucial are the Flowing Formation Patterns and Spiritual Fiends in the artifact—specifically the power of Divine Skill circulating in particular ways. Without the latter, the former can hardly last and maintain circulation; devoid of the latter, the former is merely a chunk of iron, even less sturdy than that in the Martial Meridian Realm.

Because of this, when a Divine Repository powerhouse dies, rather than disintegrating like a Martial Artist in the Martial Meridian Realm—forming a scatter of Spiritual Objects—their body transforms into fragments of Divine Skill along with the internal ’Formation Realm’, scattering and reshaping the surrounding heaven and earth.

This is what An Jing is seeing right now.

Countless streaks of moonlight fall, turning into myriad rivers of light, which gather at the large crater created by Swordsman Xie’s ’Moonfall Sword’, forming a serene Netherworld Sea emitting a faint, glowing moonlight.

Then, as icy moonlight condenses in the water, a bright and flawless Netherworld Moon slowly rises, accompanied by mists and chilling winds.

In the dim and lightless fragments of the Netherworld, a grand moon suddenly appears. Wherever the moonlight shines, mud and rain cease, haze and dust settle, and moisture spreading across the ground freezes into spires and ridges of ice. This should have signified death, but as the Xuanming Sea transforms into the Shaoyin Moon, silvery mist follows the moonlight, cascading from the sky like a waterfall.

The grand moon is like a heavenly cave, and moonlight is like cascading waterfalls, its light like myriad rivers forming a vast sea.

This is the transformation of Swordsman Xie’s fundamental Divine Power.

Under the nourishment and irrigation of Moonlight Spirit Evil, what was once barren land suddenly sprouts large patches of Ice Stem Ghost Grass, among which masses of Ghostly Firefly Flowers grow unrestrainedly. The buds swell visibly, blossoming, their hearts releasing light blue luminescence similar to rain flowing upstream, swiftly permeating the surroundings with dense Shaoyin Spirit Qi.

Vitality.

Once again, life emerges on this long-dead Netherworld land.

"Is this... Divine Repository Abyss Fall?"

An Jing stoops down, gently picking a Ghostly Firefly Flower.

These inconspicuous, rank-less Spiritual Objects would typically only be effective in the Inner Breath Realm, but the Ghostly Firefly Flowers before him surely numbered in the thousands?

With the death of a Martial Arts Real Person.

The long-dead vitality of heaven and earth is revived.