173: Chapter 173: Twenty-three floors is too much, what about twenty-four or twenty-five?

"Heaven Opening."

These two words, like an ancient proverb, were uttered by Xu Ruyu, and the air across the entire Law Execution Platform suddenly solidified.

This was no metaphor.

It was a literal solidification.

With Xu Ruyu as the center, the air within a radius of ten zhang ceased to flow.

Falling ice crystals hung suspended in mid-air, rising dust froze before one's eyes, and even the light seemed to be bound by some invisible force, becoming sluggish and distorted.

Lin Feng's pupils constricted sharply.

Three hundred years of combat instinct screamed wildly within him—Danger!

Extreme danger!

"Disperse!"

He practically roared it out, his voice carrying an unprecedented urgency.

The six figures retreated violently at the same time, moving as fast as lightning, leaving six afterimages in the air.

They retreated extremely quickly, but even so—

"Hum—"

The point of white light between Xu Ruyu's brows expanded.

It was not an explosion, nor was it a shockwave, but rather an… indescribable "unfolding."

It was as if an invisible giant hand had torn a rift in the Void Realm.

Inside that rift, there was no darkness and no light, only an expanse of Chaos, constantly evolving in color—first grayish-white, then multicolored, and finally returning to a deep darkness that seemed capable of devouring everything.

The speed at which the Chaos unfolded was not fast; it was even somewhat slow.

But Lin Feng and the other five discovered with horror that no matter how fast they retreated, that expanse of Chaos remained shrouded above their heads, like the shadow of fate, impossible to shake off.

"What kind of Divine Ability is this?!"

The black-robed Chen Yun's voice trembled.

"It is not a Divine Ability…" The gray-robed Fang Yue's face turned deathly pale. "It is… Dao Rhyme! He has invoked the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth!"

Dao Rhyme!

These two words struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Golden Core Cultivators touch the edge of Law.

Nascent Soul Cultivators catch their first glimpse of the path to Dao Rhyme.

This is common knowledge in the Cultivation World.

Yet now, a Disciple in the Qi Refinement Stage had actually invoked the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth, which even Nascent Soul Cultivators found difficult to control?!

"Impossible…" Lin Feng stared fixedly at the slowly unfolding Chaos, the veins on his hand gripping his sword bulging. "Unless… unless he is not in the Qi Refinement Stage at all! He is hiding his cultivation!"

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

That was it.

Only this could explain it.

Why he could withstand Leng Ningshuang's frost Sword Qi head-on.

Why he could point out the flaw in Leng Ningshuang's Dao Heart with a single sentence.

Why he could casually neutralize the first strike of the Six Harmonies Immortal Slaying Array.

Because he was not in the Qi Refinement Stage at all!

Was he a Nascent Soul? Or… something higher?

Lin Feng dared not think any further.

"Change the Formation!" he shouted sternly. "Six Harmonies Immortal Slaying—Third Transformation: Endless Life!"

"Understood!"

The six people changed their hand seals again.

This time, they did not retreat but dispersed, surrounding Xu Ruyu in a hexagonal Formation.

The six of them formed seals with both hands simultaneously, outputting spiritual power frantically, outlining a massive hexagram pattern in the air.

The hexagram rotated slowly, emitting a soft yet resilient cyan light.

The Endless Life Array—the final transformation of the Six Harmonies Immortal Slaying Array—abandoned all attacks to focus on defense and trapping enemies.

Once this array was formed, the six people's spiritual power would circulate endlessly; as long as one person did not die, the array would not break, and it could trap an Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator for three days and three nights!

This was their only choice when facing a "suspected Nascent Soul" opponent.

Trap him.

Wear him down to death.

At this moment, the Chaos between Xu Ruyu's brows finally unfolded completely.

It was a Chaos Domain five zhang in diameter, hovering three feet above his head, rotating slowly.

Within the Domain, the Five Elements Qi constantly evolved, collided, annihilated, and were reborn; every cycle emitted palpitations-inducing fluctuations.

However, Xu Ruyu's complexion paled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, his breathing became rapid, and even… his body began to tremble slightly.

"He cannot hold on!" Fang Yue's eyes lit up. "This Dao Rhyme Domain consumes too much! His cultivation is insufficient; forcing it will only cause a backlash against himself!"

Lin Feng also saw it.

Xu Ruyu's aura was declining rapidly.

Although that Chaos Domain was terrifying, it clearly lacked follow-up power; the speed of rotation was slowing down, and ripples of instability were even beginning to appear at the edge of the Domain.

"As expected…" Lin Feng felt slightly relieved. "He truly only has the spiritual power reserves of the Qi Refinement Stage; he just doesn't know what method he used to invoke the Dao Rhyme. Junior Brothers, maintain the Formation and drain him dry!"

"Understood!"

The six people's spiritual power output became more stable, and the hexagram's cyan light grew more solid, locking Xu Ruyu and that expanse of Chaos Domain firmly in the center like a cage.

On the platform, Xu Ruyu slowly closed his eyes.

He smiled bitterly in his heart.

Fang Yue was right.

The "Heaven Opening" technique was the opening move of the second volume, Five Elements Evolution Chapter, of the True Explanation of Taixu Source Energy. Its principle was to simulate the state of Chaos at the beginning of the Universe by extremely compressing and manipulating the Five Elements elements in the air, thereby invoking a trace of the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth.

But the consumption of spiritual power for this move was terrifying.

With his reserves of Taixu True Qi at the twenty-third stage of Qi Refining, he could only maintain it for three breaths.

After three breaths, if he could not defeat the enemy, his spiritual power would be exhausted, leaving him at their mercy.

And now…

Two breaths had passed.

The rotation speed of the Chaos Domain had slowed down significantly, and the edges of the Domain were beginning to blur, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

Below the platform, Zhao Yan clenched his fists, his brows tightly locked.

Ning Caihe stared fixedly at the platform, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Qingyan dared not look anymore and turned her face away.

They could all see that Xu Ruyu… could not hold on much longer.

Inside the high pavilion, a trace of a smile finally appeared on Xiao Nianyin's cold face.

It was over.

Forcibly invoking Dao Rhyme without sufficient spiritual power to support it would ultimately only lead to being backlashed by the Dao Rhyme, resulting in the complete destruction of one's cultivation.

As for those six… trapping a cripple with exhausted spiritual power was more than enough.

She picked up her teacup and took a gentle sip.

The tea was warm, just right.

On the platform.

The third breath.

The Chaos Domain shook violently, its edges completely blurred, and it was about to dissipate.

Xu Ruyu opened his eyes.

In his eyes, the Chaos faded, returning to a deep black.

He glanced at the Domain above his head that was about to dissipate, then looked at the indestructible hexagram cage around him, and sighed softly.

"As expected… it was still too strenuous."

As his words fell—

The Chaos Domain dissipated completely.

That palpitations-inducing Dao Rhyme fluctuation receded like a tide.

Xu Ruyu's aura instantly plummeted to the bottom, not even comparable to a first-stage Qi Refining Cultivator.

He staggered a step, knelt on one knee, and used his hand to support himself on the ground so he wouldn't fall.

"If the twenty-third stage is too strenuous, then what about the twenty-fourth stage? Or the twenty-fifth stage?"

Facing such a situation, Xu Ruyu showed no fear; instead, a sense of heroism welled up within him.