Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 367 Trampling the Heavens! Slaying the Jade Emperor! (Part 1)

Zhang Daoren is dead.

This living immortal, marked with eight golden stars, had his head severed by Duncan's sword.

Everything around them began to collapse. The jade-like dome crumbled and fell piece by piece. Duncan held Zhang Daoren's head in his palm, feeling the cultivation and supernatural powers that the human body had taken from him. His expression was calm. Suddenly, he said to the headless corpse in front of him, "This calamity was caused by you. Did you think that by giving up a human incarnation, you could escape this great calamity?"

The person is indeed dead.

Duncan did indeed take away his cultivation.

However, at this moment, Duncan's true essence bar had increased significantly, and his cultivation level had improved dramatically, but he had not obtained the most crucial thing.

Divinity, divine nature, divine office.

Upon hearing Duncan's words, the collapsing jade dome in front of him instantly reversed as if time had turned back, and in the blink of an eye, it returned to its original golden splendor. The head that Duncan held in his palm gradually turned into dust and disappeared, and even the headless corpse in front of him gradually turned to ashes.

Above the golden palace, an unfathomable phantom appeared. He wore a crown and a dragon robe, his expression majestic, like an unparalleled king who ruled over the three realms. His cold eyes slowly opened, and his voice, like thunder, was filled with divine authority. He coldly looked down at Duncan before him and said slowly, "I have already faced this calamity in mortal form. This cause and effect is now settled."

"Why are you pressing me so relentlessly!"

Duncan stood in the white jade hall, looking up at the figure that had finally revealed the Dharma form of the Jade Emperor, and calmly said, "It's not that I'm forcing you, it's just that Heaven wants your life!"

"Besides."

"This is a tremendous karmic consequence; the death of just one human incarnation is not enough to atone for the karmic debt."

Under the rule of Heaven, he is the number one enforcer.

The legendary gold card held by the Great Dao, the Heavenly Dao, and the Human Dao: Chief Cleaner.

Zhang Daoren's cultivation level is indeed very high.

The eight-star golden mark, in the extended world of Dungeons & Dragons in the Western world, would be roughly equivalent to a level 40 or higher professional, which could be considered the pinnacle of existence. A spellcaster of this level, in a world with fewer restrictions on laws, could easily sink a continent, destroy a plane, blow up a planet, and even slay a god would not be difficult.

However, compared to the Jade Emperor's status, Zhang Daoren's strength was somewhat insufficient.

The living immortals in this world are roughly equivalent to weak to medium-level gods in the Western world. The eight-star golden mark is an insurmountable barrier for mortals, but for beings at the level of true gods, this strength is merely the threshold for participating in the creation of the world.

After realizing that he had lost the initiative, Zhang Daoren had the idea of ​​sacrificing a pawn to save the king.

He was originally a mortal being who had undergone the cycle of reincarnation in the human world, roughly equivalent to one of Duncan's human forms, except that he was a reincarnation of a divine soul, which was quite different from Duncan's incarnation.

This action is no less drastic than cutting off an arm to save one's life.

When Zhang Daoren saw Duncan in his Dao-integrated state, he first tried to appease him. When Duncan remained unmoved, Zhang Daoren prepared to turn the tables and fell into Duncan's trap. He was then severely injured by the backlash of the law of causality and was beheaded by Duncan with a single sword stroke.

He is using his own death to bear all the karmic consequences and preserve his most fundamental primordial spirit, which is the Jade Emperor's Dharma form before him.

According to his deduction, after he was destined to die, the karmic backlash should be eliminated.

In this lifetime, Zhang Daoren's mortal body can be considered as repaying his karmic debts.

Everything is settled.

It will not affect his next life, nor will it affect the status of the original being.

But what he didn't expect was how much the Heavenly Dao of this world wanted him to die completely. The Heavenly Dao took the initiative to lure the Great Freedom Demon Lord here, and the calamity it laid out was not just enough to kill his human incarnation in this life.

No matter how many times you go through the cycle of reincarnation, the Heavenly Lord has summoned the Great Freedom Demon Lord to sever your reincarnation and will never give you any chance to turn things around.

Duncan first slew the extraterrestrial demon god, then killed so many extraterrestrial heavenly demons, and now he has severed Zhang Daoren's mortal body. Logically speaking, with his supernatural power to seize other people's cultivation, he should have been forced to ascend to heaven and shatter the void long ago, but at this moment he is firmly nailed to this world.

The Jade Emperor's Dharma form stared at Duncan before him, instantly comprehending the laws and seeing the countless mortal energies surrounding Duncan. Millions of wishes were bound to him like shackles, and from those shackles came the cries and expectations of the people. The countless calls of His Majesty made even the Jade Emperor's Dharma form before him look horrified.

"You actually used the power of human vows to bind this body?"

The Jade Emperor Daojun looked somewhat incredulous and slowly said, "Aren't you afraid of the backlash from karmic causes in the mortal world, ultimately leading to your death and the dissipation of your Dao?"

Big aspirations.

If hell is not empty, I will never become a Buddha.

Duncan's promise to his child is the same principle; before he could fulfill his great ambition, his body was bound to the world by the power of human desires.

However, his grand ambition is far more dangerous than the imperishable hell, because Duncan's human form is already deeply bound to the fate of the Central Plains dynasty, and with the blessing of the Heavenly Dao in the state of merging with the Dao, it is as if the power of the three paths of Heaven, Earth and Man has locked his human form.

If anything goes wrong, such as a change of dynasty on earth and widespread suffering, the resulting karma could cause Duncan's human form to die on the spot.

Da Hongyuan borrowed money from loan sharks at exorbitant interest rates!
Even the fate of a normal dynasty couldn't save Duncan. If it were only a dynasty with a lifespan of two or three hundred years, the karmic retribution would cause Duncan's human form to vanish into nothingness. It would have to be a golden age far surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties to repay a portion of the power of his grand ambition, and even then, it would only be enough to repay a small part. If the world were to perish, Duncan, being so deeply bound to the fate of the Central Plains, would still be unable to escape death and annihilation.

No wonder He used the Great Derivation Number to divine so many times, and the results all showed that the world was very auspicious and it was not advisable to confront this person head-on.

As long as things haven't completely collapsed, then go all out.

Duncan remained calm and said indifferently, "Since I am going to compete for the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, I will naturally protect China for all eternity and ensure that the land of China will never fall under the iron hooves of foreign races."

"If it can't be done."

"I will repay the fate of heaven and earth with this body and this life."

What does it matter if one dies and one's spiritual path is extinguished?
You want to seize the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, yet you also want to leave yourself an escape route. You've taken all the advantages; what a pipe dream!

Duncan's expression held a hint of disdain as he gazed calmly at the Jade Emperor's image before him and slowly said, "When undertaking great tasks, how can one be concerned with personal safety?"

"Don't you still know why you lost?"

They only want to reap the benefits, not bear the consequences.

Is God not messing with you?

Who are you targeting?

Duncan is going to set a precedent in this world and prove himself to be the Heavenly Emperor; there is no turning back!

Looking ahead and behind, hesitant and timid.

There is only one way to die!
Duncan's body is already deeply bound to the power of human desires. In addition, his state of merging with the Dao after comprehending the laws means that this human body is half human and half heavenly. Human desires are like usury, and the laws of heaven are also like usury.

Only when Duncan has accumulated enough high-interest loans will he have room to maneuver and make adjustments.

If he really has a mountain of debt and has run away.

It wasn't him who had a headache.

If the Great Freedom Demon Lord doesn't become a deadbeat, then he should honestly repay his debts. After all, he can take over the human body; it's just a waste of a few hundred years. But if the Great Freedom Demon Lord really does become a deadbeat, what can anyone do to him? Even the Heavenly Dao of this world can't catch up with his true form in a dimension beyond.

In short, success or failure is the only measure of a hero. It's not wrong for Taoism to promote the Jade Emperor, it's not wrong to elevate the Jade Emperor to compete with Buddhism, and it's even acceptable to bestow the title of Jade Emperor upon the dynasty's fortune.

As long as Taoism can help the Song Dynasty stand at the pinnacle of the world like the Han and Tang dynasties, it doesn't matter if it's shamanism, Taoism, or Buddhism—they're all equally meritorious. But what exactly did Taoism do during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the Song Dynasty? The Northern Song Dynasty was already in such a mess, yet they still bestowed titles upon a whole bunch of Taoist deities, deceiving the emperor into believing he was the reincarnation of the Great Emperor Changsheng. They even desecrated the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, which symbolized the orthodox destiny of the Central Plains. In fact, starting from the Five Dynasties period, Taoism had been stealing the destiny of the Central Plains.

These stolen blessings have made the Jade Emperor before us!
Even Duncan suspected that the Jade Emperor's original spirit was replaced by a Taoist master, because there was no Jade Emperor's divine position in history; it suddenly appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Following the chaos of the Five Barbarian Tribes, the Northern and Southern Dynasties began, which was also the period when Taoist deities emerged in the most.

Above the golden palace, the Jade Emperor's phantom remained silent.

Although He stole the secrets of Heaven first, Duncan's stakes were too heavy, like a seesaw that lifted Him off course. In comparison, the stakes He paid to steal the power of Heaven were pitifully small, not even enough to give the destiny of a unified Central Plains dynasty.

He certainly has plenty to eat, but the rest of the world may not.

When comparing the two, it's clear that Heaven's will favor neither side.

If He dares to make a heavenly oath, that after He has attained the status of the Jade Emperor today by borrowing the destiny of the Central Plains, if China encounters a catastrophe, He Himself will immediately die, His Dao will perish, and His soul will be annihilated.

Heaven might just tolerate it, and it certainly won't invite the Great Freedom Demon Lord to face the calamity.

To sit in the position of the Heavenly Emperor, one must bear the karmic consequences of being the Heavenly Emperor.

For the Jade Emperor before him, Duncan's move was tantamount to mutual destruction, because the fate of the Central Plains dynasties is cyclical. Unless he can resolve the cycle of history and protect himself with a world-shaking achievement, he will be finished in two or three hundred years at most when the dynasty changes.

But no matter what the future holds.

Duncan was incredibly strong at that moment!
The Jade Emperor's phantom seemed to know that only one of the two could survive today; either He would perish, or the Great Free Heaven Demon Lord would die and his Dao would dissipate.

As He slowly rose and raised His hand, everything before His eyes seemed to shatter reality, space overlapped, and time reversed. Drifting immortal clouds and mist surged in from all directions, and the golden palace also changed, becoming more magnificent and majestic. The two were as close as if they were worlds apart. Between Duncan and the Jade Emperor, phantom images of gods gradually emerged.

—Lingxiao Palace!

hum.

Above the dimension.

A dense array of blood-red notifications appeared.

"Alarm! Alarm!"

"Extraordinary divine power that alters space has been detected!"

"Alarm! Alarm!"

"You have entered the special divine realm plane [Lingxiao Palace]!"

Click.

Suddenly, the human figure in the projected image split in two, and in the instant blood flashed, Duncan's head was severed on the spot.

"Offending the imperial majesty deserves execution!"

The Jade Emperor, holding the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, spoke with the Heavenly Mandate, his words becoming law. The surrounding space suddenly changed; the Lingxiao Palace was still there, but Duncan's figure appeared on an execution platform. As the word 'sever' fell, a dazzling stream of light sliced ​​off his head.

—The Execution Platform.

Duncan's headless body stood still, and he took the severed head in his hand, then slowly pressed it back in, moved his neck a little, and the head grew back.

They finally forced him to unleash his Undying Demon Body!

This is the first time Duncan has used the Heavenly Demon Undying Body's decapitation and regeneration ability since he came to this world.

"Divine might is like a prison, karmic fire and heavenly punishment!"

This is truly speaking with divine authority, a level higher than Duncan's "words become law." After all, this world is the domain of the Jade Emperor, who has gradually earned the title of Jade Emperor in the mortal realm from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the present day.

A raging inferno burned Duncan's body like karmic fire, and countless weapons formed a celestial prison, trapping his flesh within.

On the execution platform, a giant axe descended from the sky, seemingly about to cut Duncan, who was trapped in the Heavenly Prison, in half on the spot.

clang!
Mars shattered.

Duncan's figure was like an indestructible diamond, with a head of bronze and shoulders of iron. A chip appeared on the axe blade, but he stood still and patted the dust off his shoulders. Endless heavenly fire surrounded his body, but it could not harm his flesh in the slightest. Countless human destiny was like inscriptions, and the laws of heaven condensed behind him, like a great sun.

Heavenly Demon Art!

Duncan took a step forward, and a terrifying shockwave swept across the entire sea of ​​clouds, transforming into a towering cloud roar that crashed into the Lingxiao Palace in front of him. The Execution Platform beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, his bones and muscles exploded, and countless weapons and heavenly punishments were shattered. Karmic fire, like the shockwave of a nuclear explosion, surged out in a hundred-foot-high sea of ​​fire.

—Three heads and six arms!
boom.

At this moment, it was as if the entire Lingxiao Palace was about to be crushed. Everything on the Execution Platform was shattered by an unparalleled force. All karma was no match for me. What could the stolen Heavenly Dao karma do to me?

The three-headed, six-armed Dharma body stirred up the entire sea of ​​clouds, and everything outside the Lingxiao Palace was collapsing.

Since Duncan dared to come, he must be confident he could demolish the Jade Emperor's Lingxiao Palace.

—A mountain-splitting axe!

Faced with Duncan, who revealed his three heads and six arms, the Jade Emperor merely raised his hand, and a giant axe descended from the sky, transforming into a colossal object thousands of feet tall. Its terrifying power enveloped everything, and in the instant it cleaved down, the sea of ​​clouds within a radius of ten thousand feet was split in two, and void-like cracks appeared beneath the shattered space.

"That explains why I couldn't find any of the magical artifacts."

"So it was all here with you!"

Duncan's right hand tore through the void, drawing the Cursed Spear. The terrifying force sent him flying back hundreds of feet. The moment he landed, the Jade Emperor's phantom raised his hand again, a streak of light piercing through heaven and earth, instantly cutting through the vast sea of ​​clouds. Duncan's three-headed, six-armed Dharma form was pierced through the heart.

—The Immortal-Slaying Sword!

Duncan's wounds were healing rapidly. He roared and slammed down with his six arms. The jade pillars outside the Lingxiao Palace collapsed and were casually grabbed by him. The three heads changed positions, and the one in the center was the face of the god of war and slaughter.

In this world, the position is called the 'Master of War'.

—The exquisite tower!

A magnificent pagoda descended from the sky, and countless Dao seals and laws pressed down heavily, enveloping Duncan's figure.

—The Heaven-Sealing Seal!

A large seal applied the laws of this world, and the seal transformed into a stream of light that struck Duncan's soul, ignoring his physical body and directly injuring his soul and sealing his Heavenly Demon Divine Power.

This Lingxiao Palace is His divine kingdom and the abode of His soul.

………………

(End of this chapter)