The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 279 - 246: The Collapse of Luck and the Leakage of Dragon Qi

Chapter 279: Chapter 246: The Collapse of Luck and the Leakage of Dragon Qi

Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch schemed against the Various Heavens, yet he hadn’t anticipated that the Various Heavens would deliberately comply with his scheme, instead uncovering Laozi’s true body and location. They revealed the projections they had earlier hidden among the Four Great Continents, intending to destroy both his and Laozi’s physical forms.

The Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch arrived in time to seize one Heaven-Avoiding Coffin, but there was another Heaven-Avoiding Coffin still up for grabs. The three grand projections from the Various Heavens struggled to obtain it, each with a fair chance of succeeding.

Among his brothers, Heaven-Penetrating might not have possessed the highest mana, yet once he deployed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, everyone, save for the Four Saints, was compelled to retreat three measures. This sword formation could not be broken by anyone other than the Four Saints!

With the deployment of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, killing intent surged skyward, humming intensely, and caused the Queen Mother’s Yao Pond to tremble chaotically, with countless Flat Peach Trees withering away.

As Sect Hierarch Heaven-Penetrating set up the sword formation, facing off against three at once, the key was ensuring that they could not harm the flesh within the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin. If it were a direct slaughter, the three projections would indeed struggle significantly against Heaven-Penetrating’s Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation. After all, regarding combat power among the Saints, Heaven-Penetrating was, perhaps, the strongest! The Saints represented the pinnacle of cultivators, equivalent to the existence of the Heavenly Dao itself, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Nine Heavens.

These three grand projections had lain in wait for countless ages before infiltrating the world of the Heavenly Dao. The nine grand projections were directly summoned by the Tathagata using the Guiding Great Formation, so naturally, their mana could not be compared. The mana of these three projections fell short of the other nine by several tiers of heaven!

A single inch in mana translates to a hierarchy of heaven, and the difference was estimated to be just that few inches... a case of a miss being as good as a mile.

Sect Hierarch Heaven-Penetrating boasted the strongest combat power among the Saints. Facing three opponents alone, he fought fiercely, his vital essence billowing like beacon smoke, reaching high into the sky and obscuring the heavens and the earth.

The Immortals above the Yao Pond, sensing this terrifying sword intent and killing aura, had long since hidden themselves away, to say nothing of coming to watch the battle.

When Immortals fight, mortals suffer; and when Saints clash, even Immortals are imperiled. Although the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch made every effort to contain his power, preventing it from spreading outward and even neutralizing many of the terrifying magical attacks launched by the projections of the Various Heavens, the entire West Cow He State and Southern Toad Continent would have sunk if he hadn’t!

The Four Swords of Celestial Slaying flickered and leaped, constantly flashing as they slashed at the three grand projections.

"This is bad!" exclaimed Sect Hierarch Heaven-Penetrating as his expression suddenly changed. The battle had affected the Dragon Veins, with Kunlun Mountains being the progenitor of all Dragon Veins on earth. Located in the far northwest of the Southern Toad Continent and in close proximity to West Cow He State, it was only separated from West Cow He State by a mountain range.

All earthly Dragon Veins originate from Kunlun. During Ancient Times, Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch’s site for practicing the Dao was established upon Kunlun Mountains. Back then, those who came to Kunlun to pay respects to the Saint were as numerous as the hairs on an ox. After several great calamities, individuals like Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch opened up the Three Heavens—Shangqing, Yuqing, and Taqing—and moved to the sky.

This move was also a political maneuver. The Jade Emperor had the audacity to challenge Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch for authority during the great calamities, demanding the Twelve Celestial Chiefs to declare fealty. Although the Three Pure Ones had their disagreements during Divine Enthronement, they were still brothers. If they let the Jade Emperor, a junior, completely dominate them, how would they cope? Hence, they joined hands to create the Third Heaven, situating it above the Thirty-Three Skies, moving from the mortal world to heaven.

The logic behind their actions was simple, it served as a message to the world: we, the Three Pure Ones, are more formidable than the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor must remain beneath us!

But back to the matter at hand. As Sect Hierarch Heaven-Penetrating battled the three grand projections, he shook Kunlun Mountains’ Dragon Vein, causing it to tremble and the Dragon Qi to seep out.

"This is terrible, truly terrible! The Kunlun Dragon Vein protects the fate of the Southern Toad Continent. In fighting these three projections, I’ve inadvertently disturbed the Dragon Vein, causing the Dragon Qi to leak out! Now what? This will just benefit those barbarians from the Uttara Kuru Kingdom! The fate of the Southern Toad Continent is likely to crumble," lamented Sect Hierarch Heaven-Penetrating, distressed. He unleashed his Divine Skills, and as the Four Swords of Celestial Slaying flickered and leaped, he fended off a projection. Grasping a meditation mat, he surged forward and struck another projection, shattering it into countless fragments with a loud bang.

This was the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch’s Mixed Yuan Meditation Mat, "Mixed Yuan" was itself an intriguing and profound term found mentioned in countless Taoist scriptures.

The projection had not anticipated that the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch’s meditation mat could strike people; taken by surprise, it was smashed to pieces.

Amongst saints, the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch had the most magical treasures. He was known as the Spiritual Treasure Celestial Venerable, and once had a disciple named Daoist Duobao! One could imagine just how many magical treasures he possessed. Had the Divine Enthronement battle and the Middle Ancient Times battle not destroyed and damaged so many treasures, or had they not been confiscated by others, he could have used his magical treasures to crush these three projections of the heavens alone.

The Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch then launched his Blood Shadow Needle, Heaven Concealing Chart, and other magical treasures, coordinating with the Four Swords of Celestial Slaying, forcing the two great projections to retreat again and again.

"Hmph, destiny, destiny! At first I didn’t realize that The Eastern Land’s fate was as solid as a metal soup, impregnable. How could it crumble? I never expected that our battle with you would damage the Dragon Vein!"

The Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch was even more irked in his heart, but he had no way to deal with it, and could only fight doggedly. The sword formation unleashed water, fire, wind, and thunder; Sword Qi stretched across thirty thousand miles, reaching up to the ethereal skies and down to the Yellow Springs, terrifying numerous spirit beasts and scaring countless demons to death. Such was the momentum that could frighten the less experienced to the point of splitting guts in fear, akin to the time Zhang Yide of The Three Kingdoms era roared so mightily at Changban Slope that the opposing soldiers had their guts split and fell from their horses.

The Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch also did not expect that their battle would damage the ancestor of the Dragon Veins, which was as sturdy as a metal soup! Even if it were struck with the Immortal-slaying Sword, it might not necessarily break, yet this battle had indeed damaged the Dragon Vein, and the Dragon Qi leaked! It was incomprehensible and all he could do was to look up to the sky and heave a long sigh. Destiny!

"Spiritual Treasure, go intercept the fleeing Dragon Vein, I will deal with these two projections with Big Brother!" Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and Laozi finally arrived. They didn’t have physical bodies and didn’t possess the abilities like Heaven-Penetrating, and if they forced their way through space and time, they would probably be swept into the chaotic currents of time and space, ending up in an endless Chaos, which was extremely dangerous. If they couldn’t find their way back in the Chaos, then they could only spend their lifetime in that endless void.

Chaos represents emptiness, nothingness, the lack of everything. It is a silence that could drive one insane.

Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch’s physical body had already been taken into the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation by the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch. Only Laozi’s physical body was still contested.

Laozi took up his crutch and brought out the Purple Gold Calabash and the Tai Chi Diagram, ready to unleash a great slaughter!

Once Laozi took action, it was quite terrifying! Among the Three Pure, his mana was the highest and his knowledge the deepest.

Laozi said, "You really are quite cunning, actually plotting against the physical bodies of me and Yuan Shi! Had we not been timely, you almost succeeded!"

The projections from the heavens said: "Although we didn’t manage to slay your physical bodies, the collapse of the Dragon Vein and the leakage of its energy are already sufficient! The Southern Toad Continent is blessed with exceptional people and a supernaturally fertile environment, possessing the greatest fate among the Four Great Continents, inextricably linked with the Heavenly Dao. If the fate of the Southern Toad Continent is ruined by foreign races, then a great catastrophe between heaven and earth is not far off! Three projections in exchange for the damage to the Dragon Vein, that’s an acceptable trade!"

Both Laozi and Yuan Shi were so angry that they felt as though their crowns might explode with rage, while the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch had already gone to intercept the scattering Dragon Qi. Whatever could be saved would be saved, and something was better than nothing.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the following episode. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)