"Why did his sigh sound like it came from a wizened old man? I thought Chen Beixuan had killed all the elders in the Yuntian Palace, including Cloud Heaven Thearch. Who is this old man?" someone questioned.
"I wager that he's not just any ordinary elder. He must be a legendary character," an elder said with a solemn expression laced with disbelief.
Countless gazes landed on the mirror expectantly.
Chen Fan stood on top of a patch of cloud, looking down at Kunxu curiously. Could there be someone else inside the Yuntian Palace? If that was the case, how did he compare with the Azure Mystic Sect Master and the Cloud Heaven Thearch? It would take at least eight Core Formation cultivators to defeat Chen Fan.
The voice came up again, "Fellow cultivator has a great potential. There's no doubt that you will reach the Golden Core in time. But why do you push me again and again?"
Golden Core?
Everyone was shocked.
What was that? No one had ever heard of such a thing.
"You know of the Golden Core, so you must be an old practitioner, a survivor of the ancient cultivation world. You must also know that this world is nothing but a jail for me and I am only after one thing."
Chen Fan sneered.
For people on Earth or Kunxu, a Sky Immortal was the peak of cultivation. They had no clue what was beyond the Sky Immortal realm.
However, for the real cultivators, the Grand Golden Core was only the beginning of the cultivation journey. After that, Essence Core, Soul Formation, Void Returning… each level was more powerful than the one before. A Dao Reunion cultivation could wield as much energy as the solar system.
Then and only then, a cultivator would be considered a sage.
"The Path of Heaven."
People in Kunxu were shocked when they heard the name.
"The Path of Heaven? I thought that was only a legend that had been debunked a long time ago. Does it really exist? Is that why Chen Beixuan is here?" many people asked themselves.
Even the sect masters were perplexed by the revelation.
People were convinced that Chen Fan had gone there to subjugate the Realm of Kunxu. It was that conviction that united them under the same banner, driving them to sacrifice themselves for the future of Kunxu. However, little did they know that Chen Fan didn't intend to lord over Kunxu. There was no point in paying the ultimate sacrifice from the outset.
The thought chaffed people's minds. The members of the Seven Exalted Sects even broke down in tears.
"The Path of Heaven is sealed, please return." the voice said lightly.
"Let me in, or else I will topple your sect and kill all of your disciples. I will find you and hunt you down no matter where you are." A flame came up in Chen Fan's eyes.
"Do you think I'm a pushover?"
The timbre of the voice grew cold.
"Open the Path of Heaven or come out and fight me," Chen Fan pressed on.
"Very well. I, Yun Tianxuan have presided over Kunxu for eons, and you are the first one to challenge me. The thought of your hard work to achieve such a high level of attainment made me take pity on you, but since you don't appreciate my good will, I will have to do away with you."
There was anger and conceit mixed in that sharp and cold voice.
The girl in a black outfit watched as his master started to shake uncontrollably in fear.
"Master, are you all right?" the girl asked.
The Sect Master of Black Water Sect stammered as he replied, "Yun… Yun Tianxuan! That's the real name of Ancestral Patriarch Yunxiao!"
"Ancestral Patriarch Yunxiao?"
The girl was taken aback at first and then her face paled.
It was a household name for the people of Kunxu. Everyone knew that he was the disciple of the founding Ancestral Master of Yuntian Palace. The last Sky Immortal in Kunxu.
"I thought he had reached nirvana three thousand years ago."
The girl was shocked, and even as she was going to ask more, a loud blare was heard.
"Boom!"
A puff of Aether Qi was shot out from the Yuntian Palace that pierced the clouds, creating a large hole that revealed a starry sky. Suddenly, a terrifying presence rose from the Yuntian Palace, as if a ravenous beast was waking up.
A deadly pressure and heaviness hung in the air.
Bang!
The ground around the Heavenly Capital gave in and sank about three inches. It was as if a giant palm had pressed onto the land.
Many people were forced onto their knees, and even the Immortal State Warriors struggled to remain standing. Fortunately, an iridescent dome appeared above the city, sheltering the residents from the deadly pressure.
A vast wave of energy was swept across the land.
"This… this is?"
Many people gaped in disbelief.
"Clank!"
The gate of a stone chamber at the innermost courtyard of Yuntian Palace was blasted open. Amidst the dust, an iron boot emerged first. The boot was covered with mystical patterns.
As soon as the foot passed the threshold, an icy gale was roused stirring the clouds.
Then, a godly warrior wearing a black battle armor emerged from the stone chamber. His exposed skin was cadaverous, and there was a thick lethargy hung in the air around him. It was as if he were half dead.
He was half human and half demon.
Essence Qi from a few hundred miles away rushed toward him, as a moth would to a candle flame.
Many people felt that their life-force was being sucked out of them. Many Earth Level Deities noticed that they could no longer draw a shred of energy from the environment. It was as if the old man had turned off the tap.
"An energy realm. I had heard that a sky immortal could create an energy realm around him, turning him into the ultimate arbiter of other people's fate. He really is a Sky Immortal!"
The development shocked millions.
Many elders were drenched in tears, kneeling on the ground. The disciples of the Yuntian palace shouted, "Ancestral Patriarch! Please avenge our sect master and elders!"
Meanwhile, Qi Xiu'er and Lu Yanxue were disheartened by the turn of events.
"You have forced me to break my oath and reveal myself under broad daylight. I will annihilate you today, not even your soul will remain!"
The man straightened his back and landed a piercing gaze on Chen Fan.
Crack!
As two cracks of lightning flashed across the sky, Chen Fan felt a suffocating pressure coming down on him. So overwhelming was the attack that Chen Fan's knees almost gave in. Any ordinary Earth Level Deity would have dropped to his knees to beg for mercy.
However, Chen Fan's golden aura turned brighter and held out against the pressure.
"I suspected that someone like you was still alive. A Golden Core cultivator can live for a thousand years, but you've lived longer than that. It's not an easy task."
Chen Fan smirked, but a seriousness rose in his eyes.
He was up against a Golden Core cultivator.
The gap between a Golden Core and a Connate Spirit was unbridable. A Golden Core cultivator could traverse space and crush spaceships with his bare hands. Many Golden Core cultivators were lords of an entire planet.
Chen Fan's foe continued his derisive silence.
"There are only a few methods you can use, so it's not that difficult to guess. The lack of Spirit Qi meant that you wouldn't be able to use grand divine powers such as the Phoenix Rebirth, neither could you use Divine Treasures to prolong your life. The only possibility is that you have used the Life Origin Stone," Chen Fan said readily.
"Hm!"
The man in black armor snorted and took a furious step forward; fire spilled out from his eyes.
The entire world seemed to echo his anger as endless thunder clapped in the sky and the earth trembled as if there was an earthquake. The ground gave in again, toppling many houses in the city.
Many were startled.
Such was the power of a Sky Immortal. He proved once again that people's belief in a Sky Immortal's power and their reverence was not because of mere superstition.
"A Life Origin Stone could be sealed in order to prolong life, but it turned you into a zombie and forced you to stay in the stone chamber for centuries. You might as well be dead. Plus, you'll never be able to start the process again the moment you walk out of the stone chamber. Only death awaits you now. Am I right, Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao?"
Chen Fan's words had hit the mark and the Man's face turned pale.
Countless lightning bolts slammed into the mountains, removing a few peaks in an instant. Suddenly, the smell of death and decay permeated the air.
"You bastard!"
Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao hissed. His voice carried deadly icy energy that killed a few bystanders.
And so it was. A Golden Core cultivator could kill people with words.
"Let's fight!"
There was no turning back for Chen Fan.
He had slaughtered members of the Yuntian Palace and forced the Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao out of hiding. This was going to be a battle of life and death and Chen Fan was unfazed by the challenge.
His energy surged and transformed into the Thunder Loch Beast. He hacked with his blade, dividing the shower of lighting before him.
The Thunder Divine Blade!
The strike had sliced open the curtain of sizzling energy and created black crack on it.
Chen Fan had to bring down Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao if he wished to enter the Path of Heaven. He might as well do it right then.
"Piece of cake."
Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao shot a derisive glance at Chen Fan and flicked a finger at the Thunder Divine Blade.
"Clank!"
The impact let out a metallic din.
Under everyone's shocked eyes, Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao had stopped Chen Fan's invincible blade with a finger.
"So powerful!"
Many people felt a mix of fear and admiration.
The setback didn't deter Chen Fan. He doubled down on his attack and hacked his foe with deadly Blade Auras.
The final showdown had finally begun.