134: The number one person in the vast world

True Monarch Taihe was still somewhat skeptical, and he spoke tentatively.

“Ten thousand years have passed. Even Primordial Spirit Dao Lords would have reached the end of their lifespan and perished, right? Can your Primordial Spirit power really be preserved for so long?”

“Then come and try it!”

The Xuan Yin Palace Master did not back down, speaking with equally strong conviction: “This statue of mine only holds the power for one strike. It is the greatest trump card of my Xuan Yin Palace. I originally did not intend to use it unless it was a matter of life and death! It is you who forced me to bring it out!”

“You are right. After ten thousand years, even I am unsure how much power this Primordial Spirit energy retains, as my Xuan Yin Palace has never truly used it before.”

“Perhaps it has decayed to the point where it can't kill you—at most, leaving you severely injured and near death, or crippling your Dao path and severing your road to Ascension?”

The Xuan Yin Palace Master grew more agitated as he spoke, even stepping forward proactively.

“What do you say, Taihe? Are you willing to gamble with me?!”

“Do you dare to gamble??”

True Monarch Taihe fell silent.

This was indeed a gamble.

It was evident from the fact that Xuan Yin Palace did not immediately produce the statue, and even now, dared not make the first move.

It was highly probable that the Xuan Yin Palace Master himself did not know exactly how much power remained within the statue.

After all, ten thousand years had passed.

If he had been truly confident in killing True Monarch Taihe with a single strike, he would have acted long ago and certainly wouldn't be gambling here.

It was precisely this type of gamble, where neither party knew the outcome, that made True Monarch Taihe hesitate.

If he won the gamble, Xuan Yin Palace would be destroyed by him.

If he lost the gamble... everything would be over.

True Monarch Taihe would likely become the laughingstock of the entire Cangmang Realm.

A moment later.

True Monarch Taihe still chose to depart.

Time was on his side; why seek momentary satisfaction out of spite?

Once he successfully achieved the Primordial Spirit Breakthrough, wouldn't the entire Cangmang Realm be his to command?

...News of this battle quickly spread throughout the entire Cangmang Realm.

“True Monarch Taihe achieved a battlefield Breakthrough to Dharma Aspect Peak, fought one against four, defeated Thunder Roc, routed Sword Lord, and pursued the two Venerables, Xuan Yin and Zhong Haoran, for a million miles, directly pressuring the Xuan Yin Palace mountain gate...”

Every single word was like a clap of thunder, resounding in the hearts of countless Sects, Loose Cultivators, and Yao Race magnates.

The Three Continents were shaken and uproar, the Four Seas churned ceaselessly, and the Cangmang world looked on in awe.

The title of "Foremost Person Under Heaven" was henceforth undisputed!

Although True Monarch Taihe ultimately retreated due to the deep foundation of Xuan Yin Palace, no one looked down upon him because of it.

This was the sensible choice.

In the eyes of the Cultivation World, Xuan Yin Palace was merely clinging to life by relying on the lingering Divine Might of Dao Lord Jintuo.

If True Monarch Taihe successfully achieved the Primordial Spirit Breakthrough, the lingering Divine Might of Dao Lord Jintuo would be nothing but a joke... Early October of the twenty-fifth year of the lunar calendar.

Inside the Pill Cauldron Hall, Yu Xuzi, who had just emerged from a month of "closed-door cultivation" in his Immortal Cave and was submitting his Alchemy mission, learned a shocking piece of news.

“The war is over???”

“That's right. Junior Brother Qiu, you were in closed-door cultivation for over a month and just happened to miss the process of the Sect Master displaying his great Divine Might. What a pity, what a pity.”

“Ah, this—”

Yu Xuzi's expression was odd. He looked around and indeed found that all the Taihe Sect Disciples were beaming with happy and proud smiles.

“It just ended like that? Did our Sect achieve a great victory?”

“Of course! With the Sect Master acting personally, it was naturally a great victory!”

“Senior Brother, may I ask if there is a detailed battle report?”

“I knew you'd ask for this. During this time, almost every Disciple in the Sect has come to ask for the battle report. Take it and read it.”

The administrative Disciple of the Pill Cauldron Hall smiled and tossed out a Jade Slip, which contained the detailed battle report officially drafted by the Taihe Sect.

This item was not a secret; rather, it was a means for the Taihe Sect to extensively publicize and spread the glorious reputation of True Monarch Taihe externally.

Now that the conflict had ended, the details were rapidly spreading across the Three Continents and Four Seas of the entire Cangmang Realm, shocking countless people.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Yu Xuzi gave a simple bow, took the Jade Slip, and headed toward his Qingmu Peak Immortal Cave.

On the way back, he had already finished reading the battle report, and a look of surprise involuntarily appeared on his face.

“One against four, achieving a Breakthrough mid-battle—truly terrifying!”

“As expected of the Son of Destiny.”

Yu Xuzi was speechless.

Once True Monarch Taihe broke through to Dharma Aspect Peak, there would be no entity in the Cangmang Realm that could threaten his existence; he would be truly unrivaled under heaven!

“True Monarch Taihe, when are you Ascending?”

Yu Xuzi smiled helplessly and shook his head, wondering how many more years he would have to wait... Several days later.

At Yu Xuzi's Immortal Cave, Shen Feiyang came to visit again.

He was excitedly recounting the news he had heard from various sources, and Yu Xuzi did not interrupt him, listening with interest.

“Junior Brother Qiu, you wouldn't believe it. At the time, the Sect Master achieved a Breakthrough mid-battle and displayed great Divine Might.

In the blink of an eye, the Thunder Roc Demon Lord broke his feathers and burned his crest, fleeing in disarray back to the South Sea; Spotless True Monarch's Dharma Body and Physical Body collapsed, and he only managed to escape far away to the Liulan Continent using just his Sword Heart Dharma Aspect.”

“Subsequently, at the Peak of his power, he held up the Taihe Divine Mountain to suppress Xuan Yin, wielded the Bronze Light Treasured Mirror to illuminate the Profound Yellow, and pursued the two Venerables for a million miles all the way to the Xuan Yin Palace mountain gate, where they barely survived by relying on the Ten Thousand Souls Vicious Array, daring not to fight.”

“If it weren't for the lingering Divine Might of Dao Lord Jintuo, this battle would surely have reduced Xuan Yin Palace completely to ashes!!”

“Hahaha, it was truly exhilarating! Exhilarating!”

Shen Feiyang laughed heartily.

After all, the Shen Family was a Family deeply bound to the Taihe Sect. Everyone understood the principle that the stronger the Taihe Sect became, the stronger they could become.

“I heard that Xuan Yin Palace also had Dharma Aspect True Lords perish?”

Yu Xuzi asked casually.

“That's right. True Monarch Youquan and True Monarch Xue Po were simply unlucky. They happened to run into the returning Sect Master, who casually annihilated them; even their Dharma Aspects couldn't escape!”

“And that Yingu Cult, which is annoyingly close to our Taihe Sect—now their Cult Master, True Monarch Hungu, is gone too. Our Sect will immediately turn south and destroy them. Truly satisfying!”

“With the Sect Master present, starting today, our Taihe Sect is the number one Sect in the Cangmang Realm! Hahaha!”

Looking at the extremely excited Shen Feiyang, Yu Xuzi smiled, nodded, and said nothing more.

Burning bright like oil on a raging fire.

This scene, this frenzied atmosphere—why did he feel like he had seen it somewhere before?

Oh, the Huangtian Dynasty.

Yu Xuzi remembered.

He smiled.

He raised his Spirit Wine Cup toward the direction of Taihe Mountain.

“To the Sect Master.”