Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 933 Heavenly Blade Cuts Through the Demon's Heart

"Lord of all demons?"

A soft laugh echoed from all directions, and then one after another, illusory masks fell from the void, surrounding Chu Tai.

These surfaces are made of stone, wood, woven grass, or animal hide, or even simply of paint and geometric shapes.

"It's one thing to try to comprehend my Dao Fruit, but now you want to tear it apart? Should I say you're incredibly audacious, or that you're courting death? You've actually divided your power into so many variations—are you worried I won't find a place to attack?"

The power of the Heavenly Demon began to manifest, and more and more power gathered around Chu Tai.

Terrifying demonic energy surged continuously, absorbing the concept of all demons and transforming into various ferocious giant beasts and demons that roared at Chu Tai, attempting to break free from the shackles and envelopment of the Taiyi Dao.

In an instant, demons danced wildly, beasts fought fiercely, and countless terrifying plants emerged. Mountains, rocks, and rivers gained sentience, and battles raged among them, recreating a wild and untamed landscape around Chu Tai.

One after another, fierce, evil, eerie and terrifying demonic energies reappeared amidst the struggles and killings of all beings. The auras of slaughter, death, strife, devouring, greed, anger, and fear contained within them continued to spread, attempting to corrupt more of the Taiyi beings under the Taiyi Dao.

Unexpectedly, Chu Tai did not resist the Heavenly Demon's actions at all, and even showed signs of encouraging them.

The Heavenly Demon was somewhat puzzled, but he was not afraid; instead, he poured in even more power.

The creatures around Chu Tai, which were originally quite normal, began to mutate continuously. They became dark, filthy, chaotic, and twisted. Under the observation of the Heavenly Demon, various powers that could change at will emerged from all kinds of creatures. The terrifying power directly materialized, altering reality and distorting truth.

Originally just a manifestation of demonic energy, they all transformed into tangible beings, wailing before Chu Tai as they turned into puddles of murky mud.

The demonic energy at the core of these sludge swamps is like a swamp itself, not only incredibly chaotic and turbid, but also possessing terrifying corrosiveness, assimilative properties, parasitic properties, and adaptability that are unimaginable to ordinary people.

The many changes arising from the Way of Taiyi are quickly assimilated and corroded in the face of this sludge. Even the few that can be suppressed and resisted are quickly parasitized and then gradually assimilated.

'Is this why even the many subsequent Sage Emperors who witnessed the Immortal Manifestation and the Great Heaven's Transformation were unable to resist?'

Having fully comprehended his own path to the first rank, Chu Tai, with the help of the Eastern Emperor Bell in his hand, could clearly see the circulation of countless primordial energies beneath the mud.

Or rather, at this moment, Chu Tai truly saw the core of the Heavenly Demon's Dao Fruit and understood what he relied on to pull the two Great Heavens into this situation.

The Heavenly Demon's Dao Fruit Core has four parts.

One is the way of extreme change, which is the source of that terrifying demonic nature that turns the impossible into the possible, and also the foundation of all the power of the Heavenly Demon.

Secondly, there is the path of differentiation, which is the mind of differentiation, the mind of distinction, the source of depravity, betrayal, and fear. The seven emotions, six desires, love, and hate that the Heavenly Demon controls are all subordinate to this power.

The third is the Way of Chaos, which refers to the original, undifferentiated overall state, symbolizing the peculiar state in which qi, form, and substance exist without separation. It can be considered an alternative all-encompassing state, and at the same time, it is the source of its corrosive and assimilative power.

Finally, there is the path of calamity, which corresponds to his relationship with the Heavenly Emperor.

These four forces, when combined, not only exert influence on the outside world, but also influence each other.

'But the core element is change; in fact, you could say the other three abilities exist solely to accommodate change…'

Chu Tai's eyes shimmered with the light of the Taiyi Treasure as he stared at the changes within the demonic energy.

The essence of the Heavenly Demon's "change" is the manifestation of difference. As long as there is a non-zero difference, regardless of whether this difference is actually seen or perceived, and no matter how small this difference is, as long as it exists, it can construct "change".

The other three Dao Fruits, the Dao of Separation and the Dao of Chaos, are designed to address those that may exist or are fixed in a state of "unchanging" and "zero difference" by special Dao Fruits.

The Dao fruit of "separation," at a lower level, is still applied to people, causing them to develop a sense of difference, and thus controlling their seven emotions and six desires.

But at the level of a Heavenly Demon, one can differentiate complete power. For example, why can't essence, energy, and spirit be independent of each other? Why can't the physical body and magical power coexist harmoniously? Separation can create opportunities for change within the unchanging.

Chaos, on the other hand, has fuzzy boundaries, adding gaps of difference within zero difference.

It can be said that the combination of the three makes the Heavenly Demon's "Transformation" Dao Fruit the most common phenomenon in the world, and one of the fundamental reasons for the existence of all things.

Such power, combined with the Dao Fruit of [Catastrophe], naturally brings about an incredibly terrifying impact.

A thought suddenly flashed through Chu Tai's mind.

'Could this guy have blurred the relationship between the Heavenly Emperor and Heaven and Earth, making the Heavenly Emperor's tribulation the tribulation of Heaven and Earth, and then using Heaven and Earth's tribulation to drag the Immortal Manifestation and Transformation of the Great Heaven into the tribulation, putting all living beings in a state of tribulation?'

By blurring the boundaries with chaos, the Heavenly Emperor and all things in the universe are mixed together. Then, the scale and size of the calamities are blurred, and the calamities are equally distributed to each person.

Logically speaking, the power of the Heavenly Demon shouldn't have been able to suppress the power of the Heavenly Emperor and the many gods at that time, but...

Chu Tai recalled something else: when he first learned that the Heavenly Emperor had manifested the Dao and become the Great Heavenly Emperor, he was told that the Heavenly Emperor was asleep because the twelve ancestors of the human race had gone to heaven hoping to obtain the sovereignty of heaven.

Although someone later told Chu Tai that this matter had no direct connection with the Heavenly Emperor's slumber.

But what if the two are actually related?
Following the idea of ​​the Heavenly Demon dragging the world into a great calamity, if the Heavenly Emperor had approved of the human race's idea, it would have created a separation between the Heavenly Emperor and all things in the universe. At the same time, the gods would not have thought there was anything wrong with this separation, thus giving the Heavenly Demon its initial opportunity to invade.

Then, the Dao Fruit of Separation took advantage of the situation to pull down the power of the gods, causing them to lose control briefly due to the changes and chaos. This, in turn, affected the Heavenly Emperor who wanted to save people. During this time, there may have been some interference from the heavens, disrupting the Heavenly Emperor's sovereignty.

This ultimately led to the current outcome.

As soon as this thought arose, a sliver of understanding dawned on Chu Tai.

Therefore, the seniors of the Great Luo Heaven did not take action regarding the tragedy of the two days; they were either aware of the inside story or unable to do so.

After all, according to this logic, the two days should be considered as the time of tribulation in the Great Luo Heaven, rather than as the time of some irreversible impact. All the methods by which the ancestors who ascended to the Great Luo Heaven wanted to lower their power would be restricted. Even if they tried their best, they might not be able to shake the power of the Heavenly Demon. It would be better to support them secretly or help them silently.

At the same time, Chu Tai also realized that he was the most suitable person to target the Heavenly Demon, and also the most likely person to be targeted by the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon's Dao Fruit of "Separation" should have reached a level sufficient to shake an individual and their own innate spiritual light. The Dao Fruit of "Chaos" has blurred the boundaries between him and related information. Therefore, knowing his secrets will lead to him knowing them, and thus being influenced by him.

The reason why Chu Tai was not ranked in the second or first rank in the past and why we could not know him was very simple: his Dao Fruit of Separation was enough to destroy Chu Tai who had separated from the innate spiritual light, and could even tear apart his Taiyi Dao of the separation between heaven and man.

But now, Chu Tai has comprehended his own First-Rank True Dao and further mastered the Eastern Emperor Bell, so he is no longer afraid of the opponent's [Separation] and [Chaos]. After all, if the opponent cannot shake the Eastern Emperor Bell, then he cannot shake Chu Tai's Taiyi Dao.

Therefore, everything before our eyes is nothing but an illusion!

Chu Tai raised his hand, and the Eastern Emperor Bell shook. The ancient bell sound directly suppressed the power of the Heavenly Demon. Then, he spread his five fingers, and the radiant light swirled, revealing many profound truths.

The Heavenly Demon roared, and the mud continued to surface. All sorts of extreme emotions began to manifest. The power of [Chaos] blurred the order, and [Change] distorted the order, causing the principles derived from Chu Tai to gradually twist and collapse, eventually turning into chaotic mud.

"In the beginning of time, who passed on the Way? Before heaven and earth took shape, how could we investigate it? In the darkness and obscurity, who could fathom its depths..."

Chu Tai's voice echoed in all directions along with the sound of bells, and then the second-grade Dao Fruit [Residing in the World (Earth Immortal)] in the Eastern Emperor Dao Fruit system manifested, with the core concept of void emerging, first anchoring the surrounding void.

The Heavenly Demon laughed loudly: "If you want to anchor yourself in the void, you'll have to see if I agree!"

The demonic energy surged, but in Chu Tai's eyes, it was a change that altered the concept of space and disrupted the power of the [Residual World (Earth Immortal)].

But Chu Tai didn't care. He continued to strike the Eastern Emperor Bell, and the power of the cosmic light began to flow from the second-grade Dao Fruit of the Xiangjun and Xiangfuren Dao Fruit system, namely, the Time-Controlling (Life-Controlling) Dao Fruit.

Anchored in the void, the light of time flowed, and the primordial order began to differentiate. The Heavenly Demon was furious, looking at the Eastern Emperor Bell with exasperation. If it weren't for this object, how could he have been unable to shake the structure of space and time? But as the [Supreme Sage (Great Saint)] manifested, it began to differentiate [Chaos], giving rise to [Purity and Turbidity] and [Yin and Yang]. The Heavenly Demon could no longer hold back and wanted to unleash more power.

It was at this moment that a sharp blade pierced through the concept of the Heavenly Demon, the blade containing wisps of pure, supreme, and unparalleled aura.

"You! How could this be..."

The Heavenly Demon turned around, and the aura of the heavens was continuously flowing into the blade.

Chu Tai was unaware that the Heavenly Demon's true form had been injured, but he wouldn't let the opportunity to pause go to waste.

Chu Tai used the [Residual Immortal] and [Time-Controlling] to anchor time and space, determined the original origin, and then began to sculpt chaos and reorganize all things.

After all, chaos, while capable of obscuring order and generating a reverse order through change, can assimilate space and time, erode all things, and restore everything tangible and intangible in the world to its original state.

But since this state is called the beginning, it is naturally also the starting point.

If we compare the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth to a perfect ice sculpture, then by using water to carry different pigments, once frozen, they can be pieced together to create an incomparably magnificent scene.

So, [chaos] is the original water, capable of melting ice sculptures and mixing pigments into a murky black.

However, after Chu Tai used his own Taiyi Dao as the core and constructed a suitable venue with [Zhu Shi (Earth Immortal)] and [Si Shi (Destiny Master)], he was naturally able to separate the pigments with the Eastern Emperor Bell and use the second-grade Dao Fruit [Shang Zhen (Great Sage)] of the Yun Zhong Jun system to reshape the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth with these primordial materials.

Chu Taiqing shouted, and a burst of light emanated from his hand, followed closely by the power of numerous Dao Fruits.

A vast and powerful aura danced and flew, enveloping the [Wooden Duke] and guiding life, separating the contaminated parts from the usable parts.

The normally used portion transformed into a sky full of colorful clouds, and with Chu Tai's will, it became part of the operation of the Taiyi Great Dao.

The turbid part sinks down, where the power of [Absolute Qinghua (Fengdu Emperor)] is faintly visible, manifesting holy blue lotus flowers that repair the nascent spirituality within, allowing the demons evolved from these celestial demons to manifest.

The spiritual light of 【Revival (Shao Siming)】 gave them new life, enabling them to walk normally between heaven and earth.

[The State] helps them build the foundation of civilization. As light and shadow change, countless wondrous scenes emerge: bustling cities with dazzling lights, tranquil farmlands, and magnificent celestial palaces...

Various illusory images of civilizations are constantly emerging, and various orders are beginning to manifest. Rules are transformed into crisscrossing threads, and principles and laws intertwine and weave together, constructing a barrier like a net, further enveloping the chaotic sludge completely.

These orders and civilizations are constantly changing, intertwining, influencing each other, and continuously improving the path of order.

Finally, the power of [Demon Suppression (Imperial Ruins)] fell into it, attempting to suppress the will of the Heavenly Demon under the Eastern Emperor Bell.

"Don't think about it!"

Faced with Chu Tai's actions, the Heavenly Demon could no longer afford to fight with the Heaven and tried to spare some of his consciousness to stop Chu Tai, but was pulled away by the Heaven again.

“Useless!”

A voice, as if all things were speaking at once, emanated from the heavens: "Your Dao Fruit is useless to me! [Change] cannot change my essence, [Separation] cannot separate my essence, [Chaos] cannot blur my essence, and as for [Calamity], I am also [Calamity]..."

As the voice of the heavens echoed in the ears of the Heavenly Demon, the bells on Chu Tai's side also continued to torment his consciousness and power.

"What on earth do you want to do!"

"You can't do it, but I want to see if he can!"

The power of Heaven manifested, and through the interaction between himself and the Heavenly Demon, a portion of that power was injected into the changes that Chu Tai was undergoing.

In an instant, the echo of the Eastern Emperor Bell paused, and the ancient bell sound was interrupted by noise.

"Ok?"

For the first time, Tian's voice revealed a hint of surprise and joy.

The Heavenly Demon sensed something was wrong. The power of the heavens carried him to collide with the Eastern Emperor Bell, attempting to further stimulate Chu Tai's power transformation, allowing him to tear apart his own foundation and Dao Fruit.

"Are you crazy!"

The Heavenly Demon roared, but Heaven laughed heartily: "You are merely his pawn. Originally, it was because of your [Separation] Dao Fruit that I went along with your wishes, giving you the opportunity to fight for what didn't originally belong to you. But now that there's a better option, why should I help you fight against him? It's better to use you as a stepping stone to strengthen that brat below, or to give him the opportunity to interfere with that brat. As for you..."

The Heavenly Demon could no longer speak. He could feel his power being constantly crushed by the power of the Heaven and the Eastern Emperor Bell. During this time, the Heavenly Emperor, who manifested the Dao and transformed into the Great Heaven, seemed to have also sensed something and exerted pressure from the outside, cutting off his possibility of escape.

The Three Pure Ones, the Buddha, the Bodhi Patriarch, and the Heavenly Emperor of the Journey to the West also manifested one after another, exerting pressure.

Under immense pressure, Chu Tai actually tore off a small piece of the essence of the Heavenly Demon's Dao Fruit.

(End of this chapter)