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Bai Xu stood atop the Demon Continent, his Five Elements Body Dharma Idol spanning the heavens like a giant overlooking the world. His eyes were two wheels of five-colored suns, his peerless aura surging and overwhelming, collapsing the surrounding space.
Having achieved this physique, he had uncovered some of its mysteries.
To forge the Five Elements Body required opening the Mysterious Mansions within the body—in other words, unlocking internal gateways. These Mysterious Mansions were astonishing; they could nurture an entire world, derive myriad spirits, condense Dharma Idols, and more, with myriad uses.
A large Mysterious Mansion could form a great universe within the body; a small one could make a single cell a secret realm. There was no limit to their number. In theory, one following this path could infinitely stack them until life itself transformed.
As the saying goes: vast without exterior, minute without interior.
What is the ultimate realm of cultivation?
Unity of heaven and man?
No. From the macroscopic to the microscopic—from the universe to galaxies, planets, and humans—all things are interdependent, linked by a strange vein. The gateways along this vein are what we call Mysterious Mansions.
This vein exists within the human body as well.
Of course, this would require further cultivation by Bai Xu to verify. It was said that reaching the end allowed one to glimpse the truth of life and all mysteries of cultivation—this might be the origin of everything, the path of physical evolution.
The Divine Forbidden was the development of the brain, harboring many secrets yet to be fully explored. What was known was that each layer unlocked caused a cultivator's strength to explode. If stacking secret realms was additive, unlocking Divine Forbidden layers was exponential growth—terrifyingly so.
"Let's go!"
With Bai Xu's command, the Demon Plane, which had been quietly suspended in the cosmos, began slowly moving in a certain direction.
"Connecting a plane passage to descend upon Douluo Continent is too inefficient. Since I've already remade the Demon Plane, I'll gift it to you for fusion. Why not descend directly and save the trouble!" Bai Xu declared boldly, somewhat inflated but not misjudging. His current plane status equaled that of Douluo Continent's Plane Master. With his inner world just formed, he was barely on par with Tang Hao in status, but in combat power… even the Abyss Sage Monarch, a first-level god, likely couldn't gain an advantage against him.
Excluding the God King, Bai Xu was invincible.
Most importantly, his primordial spirit had fully healed, meaning he now had the foundation to assault the first layer of the Divine Forbidden.
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Douluo Continent.
A few days later, Tang Hao received word: the Silver Dragon King was willing to cooperate and deliver a critical blow to Bai Xu at the pivotal moment.
Tang Hao was unfazed. He hadn't expected the Silver Dragon King to succeed anyway. Her current stance only proved she wasn't siding with the outsider, Bai Xu. If she refused and chose the demon from beyond the heavens… then soul beasts would have no value. Once the Silver Dragon King's secrets were exposed, human soul masters would surely attack the Star Dou Great Forest first, leaving soul beasts with no chance of resurgence.
As the Plane Master, Tang Hao had to ensure no internal traitors and allow no one to disrupt Xiao San's ten-thousand-year plan.
Given Douluo Continent's current state, without the Abyss Plane's origin to replenish it, the continent might disintegrate and perish in a few thousand years. Humans could migrate interstellarly to other planets, but Tang Hao was the Plane Master, and Ah Yin the Life Core. Detached from Douluo Continent without the divine realm's immortal spiritual energy, they might age and die before Xiao San returned.
"Ah Yin, contact Da Ming again. Have him relay to the Silver Dragon King to hand over the Dragon God Core. That way, Xiao San and I can trust her," Tang Hao sighed lightly.
"The Dragon God Core… you want to give it to Wulin?" Ah Yin exclaimed. As husband and wife, they had naturally heard of the great Dragon God, whose power was immeasurable, though long deceased and split into Gold and Silver Kings.
"Yes. Only then can I be at ease. As compensation, I'll allow the Silver Dragon King to break the plane's restrictions and restore to god-level," Tang Hao said meaningfully. With his second-level god suppression, no one on Douluo Continent could become a god if he willed otherwise.
If Bai Xu could be severely wounded, with Xiao San's divine sense cooperating with his second-level god strength, it should suffice to deal with a demon from beyond the heavens whose trump cards were unknown—of course, this all hinged on first resolving the Abyss Sage Monarch.
If the Abyss Sage Monarch discovered that Douluo Continent's Plane Master had already condensed form, he wouldn't proceed so carelessly according to Xiao San's plan, nor allow any contact between the Abyss and Douluo Planes. One misstep, and he could be counter-devoured.
But…
On the other side…
With the Abyss Sage Monarch's aid, the Demon Sovereign, infinitely close to god-level, had embarked on the mad path of the Silent Extinction World.
"Let it begin. This world once destroyed me. Now, let me destroy this world."
At the center of a massive pit stood a five-layered altar. Atop it sat a figure. Surrounding the altar were soul guide arrays. Horrifyingly, within these arrays flowed purple-black liquids reeking of foul odor.
Dried blood. How much blood was needed to fill arrays in a pit over a thousand meters in diameter!
"Borrow the power of heaven to seal the firmament. Borrow the power of earth to connect destruction."
Ghost Emperor's eyes burned with madness as he laughed wildly, "With the blood of a hundred thousand as sacrifice, with the Demon Sovereign's strength infinitely approaching divinity—today, we blind the plane and open the future world! In this moment, great Demon Sovereign, you are god; you possess divine power. Open it—open the passage that brings us the future and destroys the entire world!"
In the extreme north, vast ice sheets began collapsing. Cracks appeared in deep caverns, and terrifying auras emanated from within.
The Demon Sovereign had fallen into madness long ago. Back then, Tang San had slain her husband, the 990,000-year Deep Sea Demon Whale King, shattering her family. Now that Tang San had become a god, revenge was hopeless, so she turned her malice upon the world, intent on dragging Douluo Continent into the abyss.
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This Day.
The Blood God Legion, Federation armies, Spirit Pagoda, Tang Sect, and Shrek all received shocking news: an Abyss Tide had returned, not surging from the Abyss Passage but erupting directly from the extreme north. The frenzied Abyss creatures were encroaching inland step by step.
In an instant, all high-level forces mobilized, with no time to concern themselves with the demon from beyond the heavens' fate. They rushed to the extreme north to combat the external threat.
Within the Spirit Pagoda, Gu Yuena set out immediately, murmuring, "This is perfect to buy some time. Bai Xu's final battle has begun. I hope… you return."