Yefutidaolu

Chapter 332 The Twelve Realms!
hum...

An indescribable stillness, seemingly emanating from the deepest depths of the netherworld, purer and heavier than the obstacle before, descended without warning!

This silence swallowed all sound! The roar of the airship's engine, the sound of airflow inside the cabin, even the heartbeats of everyone... all seemed to be wiped away in an instant by an invisible hand!

Outside the porthole, the clear sky that had just returned was instantly replaced by a deeper, purer darkness! This darkness was not viscous or filthy, but rather like the finest black jade—smooth, cold, and devouring all light! Against this absolute backdrop of darkness, a figure, silent and seemingly existing since time immemorial, hovered directly in front of the airship, less than ten feet from the massive glass porthole inscribed with protective runes!

The figure was gaunt, wrapped in a large black robe that seemed to absorb all light, with the hood hanging low, obscuring the face.

He made no movement, nor did he exude any aura. He simply floated silently in the void, yet he seemed to be the center of the entire world! The enormous force of the flying boat, which was powerful enough to tear apart the gale, was like being trapped in the thickest amber before him, unable to even stir up a ripple.

The moment the newcomer appeared, all the protective runes inside the cabin dimmed and went out instantly, like fireflies encountering their natural enemy! They didn't even struggle! This chill didn't come from temperature, but from a freezing sensation at the soul level, instantly engulfing everyone inside! Daoist Yunmiao's face was ashen, his body trembling uncontrollably—the instinctive fear of a low-level life form facing a supreme being that is incomprehensible and impossible to contend with!
Gao Jian's calm was finally shattered. His pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints, and the fingers that had been lightly tapping the porthole froze instantly! It was a tremendous sense of crisis that transcended calculation and strategy!

The gaunt figure slightly raised its head.

Beneath the shadow of the hood, two deep, cold lights, like those leading to an endless abyss, pierced through the heavy glass porthole and landed precisely and without obstruction on Gao Jian's face.

A hoarse, dry sound, like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing together, resounded directly in the depths of everyone's souls, ignoring the barriers of space and the protection of the airship:
"Truly impressive, no wonder he killed Huang Chengshi and Xue Haijun."

Gao Jianze turned around and replied, "Haha... Senior, I killed Huang Chengshi, but I didn't kill Xue Haijun..."

“You can’t fool me, I see it… the karma that’s binding you.”

Gao Jian felt a slight chill. Not only was the opponent terrifyingly strong, but they also seemed to be able to glimpse deeper layers of cause and effect.

He remained calm and humble, saying, "Senior, your vision is sharp and your understanding is profound. Regarding the Blood Sea Lord incident, my plans were solely for self-preservation and for the peace of Liangzhou. As for Elder Huang Chengshi's demise, it was a consequence of his mutual destruction with Chief Qilin Shen, something I could not have foreseen and was certainly not my wish. The fall of such a powerful figure is truly a tragedy for the cultivation world."

"Peace? A scheme?" The black-robed man's voice seemed to carry an almost mocking tone, his gaunt figure appearing as a frozen silhouette in the pure darkness.

"Using the border as a chessboard, luring in powerful forces, driving tigers to devour wolves, and ultimately reaping the benefits, taking advantage of all three sides... What a 'peace'! What a 'self-preservation'! Brilliant! Your ambition and methods may fool those ants, but they cannot fool me."

Gao Jian's heart sank. The other party clearly had a clear understanding of the entire situation in Liangzhou. He took a deep breath and became even more respectful: "Senior's insight is astute, and I dare not refute it. However, Liangzhou has become a place of trouble. The Jin family, Youmingdi, and various tribes of strange beasts are entangled in endless disputes, causing chaos on the border. What I have done is merely to go with the flow, to use their strength against them, in order to quell the conflict as soon as possible and restore peace to the border. This is what the Divine Dynasty wants. As an imperial envoy of the Divine Dynasty, I have only used a few methods. In the eyes of someone like you, it is nothing more than showing off my limited skills and is not worth a second glance."

“Peace?” The man in black robes seemed to have lost interest in continuing to talk about “righteousness.” The two points of eerie light were firmly locked onto Gao Jian, as if they could penetrate his skin and look straight into his soul: “I don’t care about those things. I just want to ask if you are willing to give up the population of Liangzhou. I can buy it.”

Gao Jian's knuckles were slightly white as he rested his hand on the rusty knife at his waist. The other party had indeed set their sights on this; how blatant!
He forced himself to calm down, and was about to speak again, trying to brush it off by saying that he had "used someone else's help"—

"Enough." The black-robed man's voice suddenly turned cold, his hoarse tone revealing obvious impatience. As these two words fell, the absolute silence within the cabin was abruptly shattered!

No, it has been replaced by a deeper, more absolute "movement"!

Om-!
It wasn't a sound, but a tremor of space itself! The entire massive flying ship, along with its internal space, seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand and squeezed inward! The incredibly sturdy dragon bones emitted a teeth-grinding groan, and the protective runes, powerful enough to withstand attacks from the ninth realm, instantly shattered into specks of light! Daoist Yunmiao let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground, fine beads of blood seeping from his seven orifices, his soul severely injured!

This was not a physical attack, but a crushing force from divine will! This void itself, under the black-robed man's will, transformed into a cage and instruments of torture!

Gao Jian's pupils constricted sharply! Under the threat of death, the power within his body instinctively surged wildly, but he knew that his meager strength was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of such a being.

However, he had a rusty knife.

In that instant, Gao Jian's heart was as clear as a mirror.

The rusty knife remained as calm as ever, only slightly gleaming. It seemed that nothing could shake the tranquility of Takami's heart in this state. The ripples within Takami's heart were frozen, condensed, and sublimated at this moment, transforming into an invisible mirror.

The mirror clearly reflected the oppressive divine intent.

However... it wasn't without its costs.

Even with the rusty knife protecting his mind, the pressure from the other party still put a huge strain on Gao Jian's body. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swayed violently, and his face turned deathly pale.

However, his eyes remained clear and bright!
His mind was completely unaffected. Although his physical body was severely injured, these were mere fatal wounds, nothing to Gao Jian who had just opened his seminal gate. The vital energy within his seminal gate surged out rapidly, repairing his physical body.
The rusty knife had already gleamed.

The lake of my heart is clear, reflecting the sky like a mirror.

The fear and chaos emanating from the black-robed man's terrifying pressure, which was enough to freeze the soul and crush the will, melted away the moment it came into contact with this clear and pure aura, like snow being splashed with boiling water!
Gao Jian's soul, which was almost crushed and driven to madness, easily withstood the suppression at this moment.

That clear lake of the heart clearly reflected the terrifying nature of the man in black robes, as well as his own absolute disadvantage at this moment! Cold sweat soaked his back, but this cold sweat came from the perception of the physical strain, not from a wavering of the mind.

Let me see your divine will!

boom--! ! !
If it were an ordinary sixth realm cultivator, daring to directly confront the divine will of this black-robed man, they would probably experience what hell is like in an instant.

His brain felt as if it were being pierced by millions of red-hot steel needles at the same time! Indescribable, unbearable pain instantly overwhelmed all his senses, and his soul seemed to be thrown into a rapidly spinning black hole vortex filled with countless chaotic and terrifying information.

But at this moment, with his mind clear and calm, Gao Jian was completely unaffected by the pain and chaos. His mind was like a stabilizing force, forcibly opening a brief "passage"!
Fragments of information, broken and distorted yet containing vivid images, flooded Gao Jian's consciousness like a burst dam:
Under the absolute protection of a "clear, mirror-like mind," a terrifying torrent of information surged forth, yet it could not shake the core of Gao Jian's will. The flowing light of the mirror did not reflect an endless void or the river of time, but rather pierced through the seemingly withered and decaying appearance, reaching the very core of its existence! What the mirror reflected was a deep, boundless "sea," radiating divine light!
This sea is not water, but is composed of the purest, most condensed essence, radiating a warm, jade-like quality and containing endless vitality! It exists in the deepest part of the black-robed man's body, especially concentrated within the seemingly fragile spine and skull wrapped in the black robe! This is what the ancient texts describe as the Sea of ​​Marrow.

"Sight and hearing are oblivious, intention is focused in the heart; spirit emanates from the marrow sea, expelling evil influences. Furthermore, essence and energy are never wasted; one can learn from the immortals of Penglai."

Ancient proverbs naturally surfaced in Gao Jian's clear and insightful mind. At this moment, he clearly "saw":

That withered, emaciated body, seemingly drained by evil spirits, was purely a disguise! It was a deliberate illusion presented to the world, misleading people into believing it was the inevitable result of practicing evil and demonic arts and suffering backlash!

Its true foundation lies in this vast and magnificent sea of ​​marrow, brimming with divine light! Within this sea of ​​marrow, divine essence flows, endlessly regenerating!
Bone marrow generates qi and blood. Under the mirror's light, the seemingly withered bones reveal bone marrow that is like a boiling furnace, containing unimaginable vitality and power! It is this continuous and extremely pure qi and blood generated by bone marrow that supports the terrifying power contained in his every move, enough to easily crush the void! His physical strength far exceeds imagination!
The brain produces intelligence, and the core of the marrow sea within the skull shines with divine light, as if it contains thousands of stars! This powerful brain marrow is the source of his supreme wisdom, insight into cause and effect, and divine thoughts as vast as a prison!

and……

Gather your Qi and let it flow into your marrow; let the Qi circulate through your bone marrow and let your true Qi run within your bones!
In other words, in addition to overcoming the two mental barriers, he also reached the state of having his Qi flow through his bones and marrow.

This is very difficult. It requires the successive unblocking of one's acupoints, meridians, skin, and muscles. Only after these tissues and organs are saturated with vital energy can the vital energy flow to the bone marrow. As long as the energy can be transformed within the body, it can rise and fall freely, and can be guided inward into the bone marrow at will. This indicates that one has reached the pinnacle of human potential.

The divine gate has been opened, the brain marrow has been refined, and divine will can be seen.

The seminal vesicles have been opened, and the blood and energy in the bone marrow are frighteningly abundant.

The Qi gate has been opened, and Qi has flowed into the internal marrow.

The marrow sea has reached the final stage of cultivation!
Gao Jian immediately regained his senses, staring wide-eyed at the other person.

Three barriers! Nine orifices! Twelve realms!
This person is just one step away from becoming an Earth Immortal!

This realization instantly extinguished all of Gao Jian's wishful thinking.

This extraordinary power is rooted in the vast and boundless Sea of ​​Marrow, brimming with divine essence! It is the pinnacle of cultivating the "essence"! The physical body and the soul, the three gates of essence, energy, and spirit, are all nourished and governed by this Sea of ​​Marrow, achieving an incredible, near-perfect unity and strength!
But at the same time, under the hood, those two deep, abyss-like cold lights seemed to flicker slightly, as if they were surprised that Gao Jian could maintain such a clear mind under his pressure and even glimpse his origin.
Clearly, he had discovered that Gao Jian seemed to have noticed something about his background.

really interesting.

“You…are indeed quite good,” the hooded man said calmly. “I think we can talk.”

Gao Jian took a deep breath.

Then, he chuckled softly, "If you wish to speak, senior, I will listen attentively."

"You can still laugh?" the other person asked, seemingly surprised by the insightful comment.

Just moments ago, Gao Jian was covered in cold sweat, but now, in a mere instant, he has regained his composure and even started to act as if he were in a pretense.

Ah.

But pretense was useless. Everyone knew that this terrifying being at the twelfth realm could wipe him and this flying ship from the world with a single thought! Any schemes or trump cards were meaningless in the face of such a being!

There is absolutely no way to contend with them; they are an enemy that cannot be defeated!
Yunmiao was even more shocked.

The twelfth-level patriarch of the Netherworld actually took action personally!

Just how much of Youming's plan did Gao Jian interfere with?!
Yun Miao was barely holding on. Just now, he had been unable to withstand the impact of this terrifying information and the backlash from the divine will, and had suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face turned deathly pale, and his body swayed violently. Had he not grabbed the bulkhead in time, he would have collapsed to the ground. His hand, resting on the wall, was white at the knuckles from the excessive force and was trembling violently.

It wasn't because of pain, but rather it stemmed from the deepest part of the soul, an uncontrollable force confronting an existence that was absolutely insurmountable.

Fear and despair!
All his trump cards and all his reliance seemed so laughable and fragile in front of this man in black robes! With just a thought, the other party could completely annihilate him and his flying boat into the void!
Youlu Sect had actually prepared for Youmingdi's ambush long ago, but they were still willing to take action because they knew that Youmingdi had many things to do at the moment, and that Gao Jian's identity was special, so Youmingdi probably didn't want to break off relations.

After much evaluation, Youlu Zongcai decided to help Gaojian.

But now, all is gone.

A powerful patriarch of the twelfth realm from the Netherworld, whose three gates and nine acupoints were all open and whose human body had reached its peak, personally took action—

This has exceeded Youluzong's expectations.

However, Gao Jian simply said, "If you wanted to kill someone, I'm already dead. Why wait until now? Since you're not planning to kill anyone, what's wrong with me pretending?"

(End of this chapter)