‘His power already possesses a tenth of the Tao Realm’s manifestations. If anyone in the world today has the greatest hope to achieve the Tao Realm, it undoubtedly is Qing Yu.’

Even the Supreme Taoist, who had accepted the Heavenly Dao Power, faced intense suppression. Qing Yu’s prowess truly refreshed the Supreme Taoist’s understanding.

Perhaps if the Limit of Human and God were breached now, Qing Yu would have at least a fifty percent chance of achieving the Tao Realm.

‘Such an opponent is both awe-inspiring and terrifying, yet…’

The Supreme Taoist’s eyes faintly revealed a trace of extraordinary light, “Also, delightful!”

With the utterance of “delightful,” the Supreme Taoist’s expression turned indifferent, and the suppressed Heavenly Wheel spun once more, “Supreme Heavenly Wheel, Heavenly Dao pardons.”

The Mysterious Dao Map appeared atop the Heavenly Wheel, emitting endless Dao might as it revolved, shaking the Divine Hand.

“Dong——”

The collision between the two was like the thunderous sound of a great bell echoing across the four directions, the Supreme Taoist retreating three steps in mid-air, the Heavenly Wheel trembling.

And Qing Yu, surprisingly, also retreated a step.

“The breath of the Heavenly Dao,” Qing Yu’s eyes assessed the Supreme Taoist, catching sight of his Qi Mechanism, “You’ve begun Harmonization. No, just started, yet this path is not the right one.”

“Without the pressure you gave, I wouldn’t have easily started Harmonization. I must thank you.”

The Supreme Taoist, now less human, gently flapped his sleeves, stopping the trembling of the Heavenly Wheel, letting it once again float above his head, “With an opponent like you, I have hope for Dao attainment. Originally, I thought the chance of Dao attainment by borrowing Heavenly Dao Power in this great tribulation was fifty-fifty, but due to your presence, I can say it’s one hundred percent.”

“Is attaining the Dao through Harmonization worthwhile?” Qing Yu asked.

After Harmonizing with the Heavenly Dao, it was hard to say if the Supreme Taoist was still himself or merely a personification of the Heavenly Dao.

With Harmonization, human nature was lost. If the previous Supreme Taoist still had human emotions, from now on, his emotions would slowly fade away.

This was no longer Supreme Forgetfulness, but Heavenly Dao Heartlessness.

“To learn the Dao in the morning and die in the evening is enough,” the Supreme Taoist replied indifferently, “Human emotions, human mentality, compared to Dao attainment, are insignificant.”

“Indeed, to learn the Dao in the morning and die in the evening is enough. You’ve surely calculated to quickly attain the Dao through Harmonization long ago,” Qing Yu sighed lightly.

The Supreme Taoist’s sole desire was Dao attainment, caring for nothing else. In that case, how would abandoning everything else for Dao attainment be any different?

Perhaps from the very start when setting his plan, the Supreme Taoist already had this thought for today. Only until today, under Qing Yu’s pressure, did he finally let the Heavenly Dao harmonize with him.

“If that’s the case…”

Qing Yu’s eyes closed, and the Calamity Cloud reappeared above the Heavenly Vault, covering the sky and blocking the sun, “Let me witness your power after beginning Harmonization.”

“Dusk and Dawn·Dual Heaven and Earth.”

The Calamity Cloud slowly opened a pair of eyes, under their gaze, all phenomena stagnated, passively enduring the lethal gaze that silenced heaven and earth.

Two rays of eye light, one gold and one black, arrived instantly. The Supreme Taoist raised a hand in response, the Heavenly Wheel standing before him, “Heavenly Dao Defense.”

Primordial Energy condensed into an invisible barrier, obstructing the eye light.

In the next moment, as the two forces touched, the barrier silently dissolved, while the eye light gradually weakened.

“One Qi to Three Pure Ones.”

As both sides remained locked, the Supreme Taoist’s Pure Qi Avatar reemerged, three figures withdrew from his back, “Three Pure Ones Form the Primordial Body.”

The Three Pure Ones Avatar once again merged into the Supreme Taoist’s form, seemingly never having appeared, yet his momentum nearly doubled.

“Break.”

The Heavenly Wheel crushed the eye light into pieces.

“Punishment Ban.”

A light wheel suddenly appeared around Qing Yu, encasing him within. Forty-nine beams shot toward Qing Yu in the center of the light wheel.

Not only did the Supreme Taoist withstand Qing Yu’s attack, but he also launched a counterattack.

“Useless.”

Forty-nine invisible hands seemed to surround him, grasping the beams as they drew near. Qing Yu gently shook his arm, these unseen forces grabbed the beams, spun the light wheel, and sent it flying back towards the Supreme Taoist.

“Heavenly Wheel.”

The Supreme Taoist raised his hand, and the Heavenly Wheel moved again, freezing the light wheel before it exploded, sending a blast of Qi encompassing Qing Yu.

“Even after beginning Harmonization, I can’t put Qing Yu at a disadvantage?”

Through rolling waves of Qi, the Supreme Taoist seemed to see through the chaos, aware that the figure within remained completely unharmed.

“Qing Yu now can truly be called the World’s Number One.” He calmly made this assessment.

In today’s world, where warriors abound, none could match the one within the Qi waves. The title of “The World’s Number One” bestowed upon Qing Yu was well-deserved.

However······

“Who will the deer fall to? It’s still unknown now.”

Whether it’s the Demon Buddha or the Supreme Taoist himself, they have great confidence to continue advancing. Others might also progress. The closer it gets to the end of the great tribulation, the weaker the suppression of the Heavenly Dao becomes.

This is because the Heavenly Dao must stop the two people beyond the limit of human and god, to prevent them from colliding with the limit as the Tribulation Qi rises. Therefore, all matters of the human world are entrusted to the Supreme Taoist, the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao.

“When Chi You’s Banner descends, you and I shall battle again.”

The figure of the Supreme Taoist dissipated, merging into the void.

The moment after he left, the air wave instantly solidified, the burst Qi Force also stagnated in mid-air, as if time drew a full stop at that moment.

“Gone?”

Qing Yu waved his right hand to the side, and the stagnant air wave and Qi Force disintegrated like sand, “Merged with heaven and earth, with the power of the Heavenly Dao as a shield, once he escapes, it’s really hard to find him.”

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing all around, trying to track down the Supreme Taoist’s whereabouts.

Unfortunately, even though Qing Yu’s strength is higher than that of the Supreme Taoist, he cannot locate him under the cover of the Heavenly Dao’s power.

In this world, the power of the Heavenly Dao can be considered the most mystical force. With this power bestowed upon him, the Supreme Taoist cannot be found as long as he doesn’t wish to reveal himself, beneath the Tao Realm.

It was by relying on this point that he managed to ambush the Human Emperor on the East Sea coast, and attempted another backstab today.

Qing Yu couldn’t detect him before he acted. The reason he failed the Supreme Taoist’s assassination today was simply that Qing Yu was more vigilant.

The figure that appeared before Amaterasu and Suzan Ming Venerate was merely a false one, Qing Yu’s true self was always hiding behind the Candle Dragon’s Pupil, never revealing.

After all, with the prior example of the Human Emperor, Qing Yu did not want to follow in his footsteps.

“When Chi You’s Banner descends, we’ll battle again? It seems he’s determined to trip me up, Supreme Taoist······”

Qing Yu’s form slowly disappeared amidst the apocalyptic wasteland.

··························

Three hundred miles away from where Qing Yu and the Supreme Taoist battled, a camp was stationed.

The Japanese army, half advancing with Suzan Ming Venerate towards the front lines as beastly army leaders, while the other half remained here, conducting indoctrination on the captives.

Suzan Ming Venerate left a crystal of Demonic Qi here, under the guard of his lieutenant Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with Toyotomi Hideyoshi as the commander of this army. This shows the importance and trust placed in Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

This is no surprise, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose from a mere light foot soldier to the current army commander, all due to the promotion by Suzan Ming Venerate’s former self, Oda Nobunaga, so having this trust is natural.

This time, as Suzan Ming Venerate led the army to attack, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was brimming with confidence, convinced they would achieve success, but the previous earth-shattering booms, and the incredibly strong Qi mechanism fluctuations even two hundred miles away, still caused him various concerns.

“Lord Toyotomi, the Tomb Sword Saint has returned.” Someone reported from outside the camp.

“Quickly invite······ no, quickly take me to see the Tomb Sword Saint.”

Toyotomi Hideyoshi hurriedly dashed out of the camp to meet with Takahara Bocchuan.

Takahara Bocchuan had been sent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to investigate what was happening at the front, now returning, Toyotomi Hideyoshi wished he could fly to him immediately and ask about the situation on the front line.

And when he saw Takahara Bocchuan, before asking anything, his heart sank.

‘Something happened.’

This was Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s first thought.

Takahara Bocchuan, one of the Sword Saints of Japan, with supreme strength and always as steady as a mountain, was fine when he went to investigate, but returned in a dazed state.

Being a martial arts master as well, Toyotomi Hideyoshi knew at a glance that his mind suffered a huge blow, with his mental state nearing collapse.

To make someone like Takahara Bocchuan, who lived for the sword, suffer such a blow, proves the magnitude of what he discovered.

“Tomb Sword Saint, what exactly happened at the front?” Toyotomi Hideyoshi dismissed his aides and asked in a low voice.

The situation was indeed serious, and to prevent panic within the army, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose to inquire alone. Knowing that even someone like Takahara Bocchuan could become so distraught, letting others know would decimate morale.

“The front······” Takahara Bocchuan lifted his gaze vacantly, “On the front line, I saw a god··· die······”

“Amaterasu, the Sun God of Japan, was killed.”

He couldn’t help but recall the scene he had witnessed before.

Amaterasu transformed into flames, melting the earth, turning the vast battlefield into an instant lava field, showcasing divine might. But even with such divine might, Amaterasu was brutally crushed and killed.

If it were only Amaterasu’s death, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, after all, someone like Takahara Bocchuan, a Divinity Realm martial artist, possessed his own vision and will, unlike the lower masses who knew nothing but to worship, holding Amaterasu as the supreme deity.

Amaterasu was merely a powerful martial artist, and Takahara Bocchuan knew this well.

Being a martial artist implied there would be a time of death.

If Amaterasu had died in an intense battle like a martial artist, Takahara Bocchuan would have been shocked, but not to the point of being scatterbrained. However, the fact was, Amaterasu didn’t die in battle; he was crushed to death by a single hand.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep