Old Master, Times Have Changed - Chapter 703 (Patreon)

Chapter 703: Interception

Ka!

As that cold voice spread through the Taiyi Realm, Yuan’s already illusory figure completely dissipated.

The sky over the Tai Yi Continent instantly split open with cracks like a spiderweb.

Brilliant, bright, pure!

A vast Fist Will that rode above all things became a glare too dazzling to look at directly, stabbing through from beyond the heavens and shining across the firmament.

The Taiyi Realm, which had already begun its energy-level ascension, was forced to halt its metamorphosis because of that heaven-descended punch.

The momentum of the three great worlds—Kongji, Dongming, and Yuanxu—merging into the Taiyi Realm came to an abrupt stop.

“All paths must revere me!”

It was still that one punch!

Boom!

It felt as if the entire Taiyi Realm were trembling. Even the very concept of space seemed to become chaotic beneath the blow, and the sky canopy was torn open into a huge hole.

In an instant, dark clouds churned and wind and thunder surged.

Measureless, resplendent light poured down from the breach high above, illuminating the cosmos.

All beings of the Taiyi Realm looked up, yet only felt that within the blinding radiance—so bright it forced their eyes shut—a figure was slowly walking forward.

With every step, it was as if she were treading on the very center of the world.

Rules, Dao, laws—everything in existence gathered before her, submitted, and finally spread into a stairway of ten thousand Daos and ten thousand laws, welcoming her into the realm.

Whether it was the chaotic Tai Yi Continent, or the Thirty-Six Higher Heavens and Seventy-Two Lower Heavens, each in different conditions—

All conflict stopped at this moment.

Every living being in the Taiyi Realm, whether willing or not, was forced to look at that figure who walked into the realm at an unhurried pace, towering above everything.

Pure World Dao Lord!

It was like a brand seared into the deepest layer of the soul, making everyone recall all they had done in their entire life.

With the Dao Lord before them, the merits and deeds amassed across countless lives, the karmic manifestations of past existences—nothing could hide!

And within the gap between the Tai Yi Continent and the Higher Heavens, Dongming Sacred Lord stared blankly at the scene, his expression dazed.

Things he had once encountered yet somehow forgotten now appeared with perfect clarity in his heart.

A game?

Was this what he called a “game”?!

That “Taiyi Mandate” he had regained—was it because of the Taiyi Realm itself, or because of that mysterious existence from that day?

The True God suppressed by the Taiyi Realm, the two visitors from beyond the heavens, and even Kongji…

What roles had they played in this “game”?

He had discovered the traces of those two outsiders and used that to grasp a sliver of the beyond-the-heavens True God’s lucid will—could that have been pushed along in secret?

And even…

That sliver of lucid will breaking free—could it have something to do with him?

Countless doubts erupted at this moment.

After all, to stand out from innumerable living beings, how could he be a stupid, slow-witted man?

On the contrary—his talent surpassed the vast majority of all beings.

So the moment the influence of confusion vanished, he saw through most of the truth.

But Dongming Sacred Lord had no time to think further.

Because of Ji Yinxue’s arrival, he had already begun uncontrollably recalling everything he had done in his life.

…

…

Above the high heavens of the Taiyi Realm.

Ji Yinxue walked upon ten thousand Daos, looking down at the Tai Yi Continent and the One Hundred and Eight Heavens, whose metamorphosis had stopped and which were beginning to fracture.

All matters of the world were like palm-lines in her hand; the thoughts of all beings were clear at a glance.

Closing her eyes, Ji Yinxue let out a soft breath. When she opened them again, her gaze was no longer as indifferent as before, but incomparably sharp.

The good and evil of this realm—she had already grasped it completely!

“Utter evil shall rule this realm!”

She raised her right hand—slender, long, fair as jade—five fingers reaching to seize before her.

Visible to the naked eye, the fortune of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas; the myriad human fires of the mortal world; even the rolling grand势 of an era’s rise and fall from ancient times to the present—

All of it gathered as she clenched her hand!

A vast, river-like tide of phenomena surged, like ribboned drifting rosy rainbows.

Count them carefully, and you would find thirteen such rainbow-ribbons. They circled Ji Yinxue’s right hand, each occupying a direction, answering to the myriad forms of Taiyi, surpassing the myriad forms of Taiyi!

In the cultivation system of the Tai Xuan Realm, nine was the extreme, twelve was perfection.

These thirteen rainbow-ribbons transcended perfection—an emancipation beyond the very concept of “world,” corresponding as well to the thirteen True Immortal patriarchs.

What she used was the most primordial method; thus, no name could contain its might.

The many secret arts of the Tai Xuan Realm that targeted Heaven’s Will were all derived from this method.

The thirteen rainbow-ribbons linked together.

Gradually, a shallow silver that was noble, sacred, bright, and dazzling churned forth from the very center of the thirteen.

Rumble—!

It felt as if the entire Taiyi Realm were trembling.

Formless, intangible, ethereal “Heaven’s Will” was truly drawn out of the Taiyi Realm by force under the pull of those rainbow-ribbons.

Again!

Again!!!

Heaven’s Will was frantic in its heart.

It had only just returned to the Taiyi Realm, and yet it was being torn out again.

And this True God…

This True God felt even stronger than Xu and Yuan!

One punch.

With only one punch, she had interrupted the Taiyi Realm’s metamorphosis.

Even among True Gods, she was a being who had reached the very summit!

Crack!

On the Tai Yi Continent, a massive chasm suddenly split open—like a hideous scar—cutting across a full third of the landmass.

The backlash of the failed energy-level ascension had arrived.

“I can fix it! I can fix it! If this continues, more living beings will die in the disaster!” Heaven’s Will hurriedly said.

Within that Fist Will that towered above all things, it had sensed that this True God’s power nature resembled Yuan’s—both were力量 not belonging to “rituals.”

So it gambled, gambling that this True God was the same kind of person as Yuan.

Someone who cared for all beings!

When Heaven’s Will intervened proactively, it could ease, to some extent, the backlash brought by the failure of energy-level ascension.

Unfortunately…

“So what.”

Ji Yinxue’s utterly calm sentence extinguished Heaven’s Will’s hope completely.

“This age is vicious. Wicked, feral, perverse sorts breed everywhere—every one of them fit only to be killed.”

The thirteen rainbow-ribbons formed from the qi of all phenomena connected to each other, binding Heaven’s Will into a sphere and continuously grinding away its essence.

Ji Yinxue did not spare it another look. She directly turned her gaze to the crumbling Tai Yi Continent and the teetering One Hundred and Eight Heavens.

She would never let the wicked and feral go. Those who had not done evil, she would naturally protect.

Because the interruption point had come too early, the backlash the Taiyi Realm suffered was not too severe.

If it had been allowed to reach the final critical moment and then fail, it truly would have been beyond saving.

After examining the entire Tai Yi Continent, her expression remained cold.

Resplendent light fell from her side. Wherever it shone, nothing was harmed—but the places it did not cover continued to collapse.

Gale winds mixed with magma burst from the deep chasm. Dust filled the sky, and lightning tore the heavens in streaks.

Like the end of days.

Heaven’s Will trembled—not because of Ji Yinxue’s words, nor because of the continent’s collapse.

But because, at this moment, it distinctly felt its own existence being erased.

Ji Yinxue’s gaze passed over the Tai Yi Continent and saw clearly, deep within the world, Yuan—sealed jointly by the Tai Yi Continent and the One Hundred and Eight Heavens, completely sunk into silence.

Layer upon layer of chains bound it—condensed from the Taiyi Realm and the aspect of measureless worlds by the “Take Chaos, Refine the Origin, Seek Truth Ritual.”

At this moment, the chain representing the Tai Yi Continent was already riddled with cracks, as if it could shatter at any time. Even the other chains were constantly shaking, clanking like the wavering One Hundred and Eight Heavens.

“I took it.”

Huo’s voice sounded from the depths of her mind.

Immediately after, she saw a hand appear abruptly in the depths of the world.

Compared to Yuan’s towering Soul Transformation body, that hand looked unimaginably small—like sand beside the stars.

And yet, with a casual squeeze, it was as if it could seize the vast cosmos itself.

That hand directly grabbed Yuan into its palm, took it away, and vanished without a trace!

Only the many “chains” were left swaying violently.

True Immortal might was beyond fathoming…

Realizing that Senior Huo had already left the Taiyi Realm, Ji Yinxue shifted her attention back to the Tai Yi Continent and the One Hundred and Eight Heavens.

Just as she was about to act further—

A power comparable to a top-tier Integration realm suddenly lit up in a corner of the Tai Yi Continent.

Visible ripples spread outward from that point of bright light.

Wherever they passed, the collapsed chasm recovered, the storm clouds dispersed, and the trend of the Tai Yi Continent’s fracturing halted.

Disaster-Shift Sacred Lord, one of the Sacred Lords of the Taiyi Realm’s old-law era.

Before Kongji Sacred Lord had even risen to prominence, he had once founded an era of incomparable splendor.

Seeing this, Ji Yinxue made no move.

This Disaster-Shift Sacred Lord was not truly good, but he also did not fall into the category of “evil.”

If one insisted on labeling him, one could only say he was a Sacred Lord who “went with the times.”

When Ji Yinxue did not act, the other reclusive Sacred Lords could no longer hold back.

Very soon, a streak of black light lit up in another corner of the Tai Yi Continent and radiated outward.

Wherever it passed, the collapsed land also began to “recover,” but the restored regions carried an indescribable sense of “decay.”

Just as the other Sacred Lords and Sacred Kings were about to follow suit—

Boom!

A resplendent fist-seal smashed down, cleansing everything. In an instant, it erased that spreading black light, and even the reclusive Sacred Lord who had not shown his face was smashed to death by that single punch!

Silence—

Absolute silence.

Even the Disaster-Shift Sacred Lord, who had acted first, was frightened into stillness.

That was a Sacred Lord—one with a terrifying reputation…!

A terrifying reputation…

What was it again?

Many reclusive Sacred Kings and Sacred Lords who knew the inside story discovered in shock that they had completely lost any memory of that Sacred Lord!

Was this the higher existence that stood above Sacred Lords?

While the reclusive Sacred Kings and Sacred Lords of the old-law era were horrified, the extraordinary practitioners of this era reacted completely differently.

“To fight a powerhouse like this—dying would be worth it!”

No one knew who said it first.

In an instant, streams of light leapt up from every corner of the collapsing Tai Yi Continent, like meteors flying逆 against the sky as they charged toward Ji Yinxue.

One after another shouted, their eyes holding not a shred of fear—only excitement they could not suppress.

Their levels varied. Extraordinary practitioners of the “Saint tier” made up the overwhelming majority. There were more than ten Saints who had reached the peak of the Saint tier, and there were even two Sacred Kings who had gone a step further.

Yes.

To fight a powerhouse like this—dying would be worth it!

On the Tai Yi Continent today, the pursuit of power was the mainstream.

Facing this, Ji Yinxue only swept her gaze over them, confirming that there were no “unkillable” people among them.

She did not hesitate.

She raised her hand and threw a punch!

Boom!

Just like before, the resplendent fist-seal crashed down, shaking the cosmos and the heavens.

An unstoppable torrent swept through. Those extraordinary practitioners who had leapt upward did not last even an instant before being completely erased.

High above, only Ji Yinxue remained once more.

That brutal scene directly stunned the other extraordinary practitioners who had been about to rush up.

Compared to the first wave, they lacked decisiveness to begin with.

After seeing this, they could not help but ask themselves—

Could this kind of meaningless, suicidal strike really count as challenging a stronger existence?

…

…

In the gap between the Tai Yi Continent and the Higher Heavens.

More precisely, beyond Fushu Heaven.

Dongming Sacred Lord finally came back to himself and looked ahead. The heavy shadow before him was dispersing.

Without a doubt, this operation had been a great success.

That escaped sliver of lucid will had been erased by him.

But…

Did any of this truly matter?

He looked at Ji Yinxue above the Tai Yi Continent’s high heavens and could not help doubting in his heart.

This True God…

Could she also be connected to that existence’s “game”?

The Taiyi Mandate…

He had believed himself born by receiving the “Taiyi Mandate”—was any of it real or fake?

Unlike him, who had fallen into confusion—

Not far to his side, Kongji Sacred Lord—who had just ceased fighting with Dianling and Cuojiu—stared blankly at the constantly collapsing Tai Yi Continent, as if he had made some decision.

A hint of resolve flashed in his eyes.

Then his whole body ignited with dazzling golden flames. His withered aura instantly surged to its highest point.

Within the roaring blaze of golden radiance, he shot upward.

…

…

Elsewhere.

In the still-under-construction Third Realm-Domain.

Having lost the “Light of Doubt avatar,” Ning Wanzhu and Mingyu stared anxiously toward the direction of the Taiyi Realm.

Because Senior Huo’s script had ended, the two of them were no longer affected.

Naturally, they also noticed that many things they had done in the Taiyi Realm were riddled with irrationalities.

Without a doubt, this was Senior Huo’s handiwork.

And only he could do it so silently.

But what exactly was Senior Huo’s purpose in doing all this?!

Looking back at everything that had happened in the Taiyi Realm, they truly could not find a motive for Senior Huo to plan it all.

Yuan was only Soul Transformation, while he was a True Immortal patriarch!

Um…

But then again, since it was Senior Huo, anything he did somehow felt reasonable.

“Yuan…” Mingyu said, worried.

What she feared most was that Yuan did not know they were the Light of Doubt avatar and would do something irrational.

“He’ll be fine,” Ning Wanzhu said softly.

Senior Huo wouldn’t go so far as to坑 Yuan…

Probably…

Just as the two waited in anxiety, a faint, inconspicuous streak of Light of Doubt flashed past them and fled toward the Tai Xuan Realm.

Neither of them noticed it at all.

But the instant that streak of Light of Doubt crossed the boundary of the Third Realm-Domain and arrived in the [Second · Xunyuan Realm-Domain]—

It was as if a gaze descended from an immeasurable height, precisely locking onto that streak of Light of Doubt.

Humm—

A nearly imperceptible line of crimson edge flashed by, as though taking something away.

Only after the Light of Doubt fled a bit farther did it finally realize something was missing, and it could not help but freeze in place.

Next Chapter >