Yefutidaolu

Chapter 405 Tribulation and Dao Heart
Before me stood two earth immortals.

The thought had barely formed when the killing intent arrived!
The Sun God did not move, but a piece of the dazzling sunlight surrounding him suddenly separated and transformed into countless fine, hair-like, yet incomparably sharp golden needles, which pierced Gao Jian's major acupoints and the location of his soul!
At the same time, the Night Wanderer's figure, which had blended into the shadows, completely disappeared. The next instant, the shadow beneath Gao Jian's feet seemed to have come to life, suddenly twisting and expanding, turning into countless black tentacles that wrapped around him!

These shadowy tentacles not only bind the physical body, but also directly penetrate the sea of ​​consciousness, bringing endless drowsiness, lethargy, and forgetfulness.

Light erodes the soul, shadow binds body and mind!
The alternation of day and night is a manifestation of reincarnation. The two work together seamlessly, almost completely sealing off any possibility of Gao Jian's evasion or resistance.

Gao Jian's pupils suddenly contracted.

Severely injured, his mental energy was sluggish, and his physical reactions were even slower. However, his battle instincts, honed through life-and-death experiences, still managed to react at the critical moment.

He couldn't completely dodge it, so he had no choice but to take the hit head-on!
He frantically squeezed out the depleted essence within his body, forcibly driving his body to roll to the side, while simultaneously using the rusty knife, now reduced to ordinary iron, to block the densest concentration of golden light needles—he chose to withstand the attack of the Sun Wanderer! Because he sensed that the binding of the shadow tentacles was even more bizarre; once completely entangled, there would probably be no chance of escape.

Chi Chi Chi -!
A series of soft, rapid sounds exploded. The radiant sunlight needle struck the rusty knife, producing a sound like metal clashing against stone! The rusty knife was made of extraordinary material; even though it had lost all its spiritual energy, its hardness was still beyond imagination. The light needle failed to penetrate it, but the "scorching" intent it contained pierced through the blade and slammed into Takami's arm holding the knife!
"Ugh!" Gao Jian groaned as his entire right arm turned charred black instantly, the flesh withered and cracked as if it had been scorched by the blazing sun, and the pain was excruciating.

Even more terrifying, a scorching divine power surged up his arm, heading straight for his dantian, threatening to ignite his sea of ​​consciousness.

The instant his body froze as he parried, the shadow tentacles of the Night Wanderer wrapped around his legs and waist, and a cold, deathly power surged in, trying to freeze his blood and numb his nerves.

A strong sense of drowsiness swept over him, as if to drag him into an eternal darkness devoid of dreams.

"In vain." The Sun God's cold voice remained unwavering. The light and shadow coalesced once more, and an even thicker spear of light began to take shape.

The Night Wanderer remained silent, but his shadowy tentacles tightened ever more.

Beset by internal and external troubles, in dire straits!
Gao Jian's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost ground his teeth to powder.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain of his torn meridians, and forced himself to circulate the meager, almost non-existent, vital energy.

"Go away!"

He let out a hoarse roar, his charred right arm muscles bulging, enduring the burning of the light needles, and wielded his heavy rusty knife, not to slash at the light or shadow, but to slash fiercely at the side of his left leg, which was entangled in shadow—that empty ground!

The rusty knife was blunt and devoid of any spiritual energy; this strike was purely brute force. Yet, where the blade passed, it seemed to stir up some invisible energy channels.

The day and night wandering gods simultaneously let out a soft exclamation.

Gao Jian's strike, seemingly useless, actually struck precisely at the most subtle juncture where sunlight and shadow alternated and power flowed!
This was the only discordant note he had caught in that instant, thanks to his perception of the deathly stillness of the energy flow!
hum!
The forces of light and shadow intertwined and clashed briefly due to this brutal slash. Though weak, it was enough to cause the shadow tentacles binding Gao Jian to pause slightly, and a crack appeared in the drowsy feeling surging into his sea of ​​consciousness!
It's now!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gao Jian suddenly exerted force with his left leg to break free of some of the restraints, and his body rolled over in a disheveled manner, narrowly avoiding the attack of the newly condensed light spear of the Day Wanderer!

Boom!

The spear of light struck the spot where he had just been standing, blasting open a scorched crater, and the sand and gravel near the Yellow Springs instantly vaporized.

Gao Jian knelt on the ground, breathing heavily. His right arm was charred and hanging down, while his left leg was still entangled in a stubborn shadow that continued to drain his strength.

In just a brief exchange, he had exhausted all his strength and his injuries were even more severe, while his opponent had clearly not yet used his true abilities.

The figure of the Day and Night Wanderer re-condensed, its gaze, as if it were tangible, falling upon him.

"To be able to glimpse the gaps where time intersects... it seems your secret is more valuable than I expected." The voice of the Day Wanderer carried a hint of genuine interest, rather than pure greed.

"Capture him, and slowly prepare him." The shadow of the Night Wanderer spread once more. This time, the light in the entire space began to flicker, and the frequency of day and night alternation suddenly accelerated, as if forming an invisible domain to completely trap Gao Jian within it.

Gao Jian gripped the cold, heavy rusty knife in his hand, his heart sinking.

The tough battle has only just begun.

The supernatural powers of these hellish officials are unpredictable and far beyond imagination.

"In the end, they are just people from a small world," said the Night Wanderer.

"Get rid of it as soon as possible, suffer less," the day-roaming god added.

As they spoke, the two gods rose up, one on the left and one on the right, hovering high in front of Gao Jian.

The two gods spoke in unison: "We're giving you one last chance. What do you want?!"

Gao Jian didn't speak, but simply swung his sword again.

The shadow of the Night Wanderer instantly surged, transforming into countless icy ghostly hands that grabbed at Gao Jian: "Stubborn fool!"

A brilliant idea of ​​resistance is not even a form of confrontation.

The day and night wandering spirit didn't even need to use any real means; the divine power that instinctively rebounded after being slightly stung was like an invisible giant mountain, crashing heavily into Takashi's body.

"puff--!"

The blood that Gao Jian spat out was vaporized in mid-air by the scorching divine light. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, his ribs cracking with a teeth-grinding sound, and his consciousness almost instantly vanished.

This isn't resistance; it's a statement of attitude; it's... contempt.

The day and night wandering spirits naturally sensed it as well.

So they stopped holding back.

Sunlight and Eternal Night, two terrifying forces that are completely opposite, are like the two ends of a millstone, closing in fiercely towards the tiny, broken figure in the middle!

Rumble——! ! !
The terrifying explosions, beyond description, swept across the area.

At the boundary between light and darkness, a destructive energy tide erupted. The black earth near the underworld shattered and collapsed layer by layer like a fragile eggshell, swept up into the dim sky by the energy torrent, only to be crushed into dust by an even more powerful force.

In the distance, the stone forest collapsed and evaporated in patches, and even the rushing torrent of the Yellow Springs was briefly cut off and vaporized, exposing the dry riverbed, which was then filled in by an even more turbulent torrent.

The destruction spread wildly, reaching hundreds of miles, then two hundred miles, and then four hundred miles!

As far as the eye could see, the earth was shattered, as if it had been repeatedly plowed by a giant with a plowshare, leaving no trace of its former integrity. Blazing flames and chilling, corrosive energy intertwined and raged, creating an absolute forbidden zone for life.

At the epicenter of this devastating bombardment, no living being could survive. However, at the very pinnacle of destruction, the day and night wandering spirits almost simultaneously "awakened."

It wasn't external interference, but a sudden awakening stemming from one's own position and Dao heart—something's wrong!

The light and shadow suddenly receded, like the tide receding.

The two gods hovered in mid-air, coldly scrutinizing what lay below.

Then they fell silent.

The hell before my eyes... remains unchanged.

The Yellow Springs still flowed beneath their feet, the black earth, though barren, remained intact, and the distant stone forest still stood rugged and imposing, even their previous positions unchanged. The terrifying attack that had just occurred, capable of reshaping the terrain and evaporating rivers, seemed like nothing more than a vividly realistic illusion.

There was no explosion, no destruction, and not even any residual energy fluctuations.

Everything remained the same, deathly still.

"An illusion?" The light and shadow of the Day Wanderer rippled slightly, and for the first time, his voice carried a clear sense of surprise and uncertainty.

But the brilliant insights are gone.

There was no blood, no lingering breath, nothing at all, as if he had never been seriously injured there, never swung that futile blade there.

The next moment, countless shadow tentacles burrowed into every inch of land and every crack in the stone as if they were living things; the blazing divine light swept across every area like a searchlight, and even the rushing waters of the Yellow Springs were forcibly penetrated and explored by the divine sense.

However, just a moment later, the Night Wanderer's shadow receded, carrying a hint of disbelief and astonishment: "His aura... has completely vanished? Along with the aura of that sword... how is that possible? He was so severely injured that his soul should have been scattered, and he should have nowhere to hide!"

The light and shadow of the Day-Wandering God swept across the murky Yellow Springs, then looked at the intricate stone forest fissures in the distance. Beneath his cold voice lay a barely perceptible wavering: "What method could simultaneously confuse both of our senses? So be it, just a broken body, a piece of scrap metal. It's just… a pity about that secret…"

“Our Dao heart…” The shadow of the Night Wanderer writhed lowly, “that we would all lose control at this moment, falling into a shared illusion… Has the silence of this hell even eroded us to this extent?”

The light and shadow of the Day Wanderer flickered, seemingly unwilling to delve into the topic, and simply said indifferently, "If we hold out for a while longer, the Yama Kings will eventually have time to restore order. At worst... we can follow the Ghost King's example, find a place, seal our senses, and fall into a deep sleep."

"Ah."

The two divine figures lingered in place for a moment, then slowly dissipated like ink paintings merging into the void, as if they had never existed.

The edge of hell has once again returned to its age-old desolation and deathly silence.

Four or five miles away, deep within a crevice.

Gao Jian's body was stuck in a narrow crevice, covered in blood, his breath so faint he was practically dead. His consciousness sank into the boundless darkness.

Only his right hand remained tightly gripping the hilt of the knife—

But he is still alive.

His consciousness sank completely into boundless darkness, with only a faint trace of his true spirit teetering on the edge of annihilation.

Only his right hand remained firmly gripping the cold, heavy rusty knife handle, as if it had been welded in place.

Just now, the last strike he unleashed was not imbued with his remaining strength, but with demonic energy from the realm of desire.

This demonic energy does not harm the physical body or destroy the soul; it only erodes the senses and stirs up inner demons.

Without a sound, the Dao heart of the wandering god, which had become numb from the long wait and was now stirred by greed, was dragged into an incredibly realistic illusion constructed by their own power.

He used himself as bait and demonic energy as a catalyst to ignite the distracting thoughts in the hearts of the gods, thus gaining a sliver of hope that was extremely slim.

He made the right bet.

The illusion created by the demonic energy allowed him to escape successfully.

The price was that, already exhausted, his spirit was completely depleted, and he fell into a deep sleep from which he might never wake up.

Deep within the crack, deathly silence reigned.

Takashi was embedded in the rock strata, and only his faint, almost imperceptible heartbeat proved that he was not completely dead.

The wisp of demonic energy from the realm of desire that had triggered the illusion and saved him from his predicament did not dissipate after the spell was successfully cast. Instead, it clung to the rusty blade like a living, dark vine, and then seeped into his palm through his right hand, which was gripping the hilt tightly.

The excruciating pain and severe injuries nearly caused his body's defense mechanisms to collapse, leaving him utterly defenseless against the intrusion of this foreign energy.

The demonic energy flowed upwards along his depleted meridians, defying the usual path of vital energy circulation. It seemed to be driven by some instinct, heading straight for the core of his life—his heart.

The demonic energy touched his heart, but it did not cause any destruction. Instead, it was like a drop of ink falling into a still pond, quietly spreading outwards.

The heartbeat seemed to freeze for a moment, and the demonic energy strangely merged with a faint glimmer of spiritual light in the heart. Then, this merging force did not linger, but instead surged upwards along a hidden meridian connecting the heart and brain, directly piercing the skull!
The mind is the primordial spirit, pure and without action, naturally ethereal; the heart is the conscious spirit, with countless thoughts, intelligent yet not empty. These two, one innate and one acquired, together govern the mind and thoughts of the practitioner, and are the foundation of cultivation, and also the source of its prohibitions. Ordinary cultivators all diligently guard their minds and hearts to prevent external demons from invading.

At this moment, Gao Jian, who had never actively drawn in the demonic energy of the Desire Realm, unexpectedly barged into this supreme forbidden area at his weakest moment, connecting his heart and mind, consciousness and primordial spirit.

The demonic energy lingered within, no longer flowing, as if it had taken root in this temple of thought.

While still unconscious, Gao Jian's body convulsed violently, and an unconscious groan mixed with blood and foam escaped his mouth. His brows were tightly furrowed, and the veins on his forehead bulged, as if he were enduring immense pain or waging an extremely fierce struggle.

He started dreaming.

In his dream, he found himself in a bizarre and indescribable place.

There is no up, down, left, or right here, and no sense of the passage of time.

As far as the eye can see, there are constantly twisting and rotating patches of color, which sometimes turn into hideous ghost faces and sometimes into blurry fragments of past scenes—fragments of memory are being frantically pulled and deformed, mixed with bizarre symbols that have no logic and incomprehensible whispers.

He felt as if he were rushing through a tunnel made up of countless broken mirrors, each mirror reflecting a different "self": some were spirited, some were old and frail, some were ferocious like demons, some were compassionate like Buddhas... But these images were fleeting, shattered, and merged into the chaotic torrent of colors around him.

(End of this chapter)