บท 348: Karmic Destruction
When the Spirit Plane Lord saw that Yaan had somehow resisted her divine might, and that he was continuing on with his evil actions, clearly intending to incite an unknown catastrophe with that strange wooden sword, she at first thought that he had deceived her. She thought that somehow, he was unaffected by her methods, and that he had just pretended to be caught. She felt enraged when she thought this - did this heart demon only know how to deceive others and nothing else?!
However, when she stared into Yaan's deep, crimson eyes…
All she saw was a bitter gaze.
'Goodbye, June. With your sacrifice, I am finally free from the shackles of emotional connection…finally, I am free from those mortal constraints…so why is it, that it doesn't feel good at all? I don't know if my plan will work, but your selfless sacrifice has given me one last ray of hope. I hope that when your remaining karma is completely severed, and your dao is devoured to fuel my formation, that somehow, somewhere, in some place, you are able to find peace…I hope that with the ending of your dao, you will be able to leave this cursed world, blessed with the eternal rest that you deserve…'
"You despicable monster, just what the hell are you-?!"
The Spirit Plane Lord reached out and tried to grab the wooden sword as Yaan stabbed down, but to her shock, she completely failed to grasp it!
Yaan was finally forced to act with resolve, piercing the wooden sword into this seemingly ordinary space. It looked like any other area of space within this palace hall, however, it was actually the region which had once held the cycle of rebirth's formation core!
In this moment, right as Yaan acted, June finally severed her karmic links.
The instant that Yaan stabbed down into his unseen target, the wooden sword seemingly morphed into an ethereal illusion. Even Yaan could no longer touch the sword - he could only watch as its immaterial form slipped through his grasp and went on to phase through everything in its path. To everyone's shock, the sword even phased straight through the Spirit Plane Lord's palm when she reached out and tried to seize it. The ethereal and illusory wooden sword simply drifted through her hand unobstructed, as if it wasn't even there!
At this point, the Primordial Sage and the Divine Court divinities, as well as two other divinities whom Yaan recognised from a book that he found in the Spirit Palace's library many years ago, all charged into the golden palace. Now that the Spirit Plane Lord had involved herself, they no longer bothered holding back; not one of these mighty beings hesitated to make their move, now that the time to act had finally arrived.
But everyone could only stare in shock and bewilderment as the untouchable wooden sword pierced…into nothingness.
When Yaan stabbed down with the wooden sword, he knew that he didn't need to force the treasure into the ground. He only needed to pierce the seemingly ordinary one mile wide region, situated in the centre of the Central Hall of Rebirth.
Back when he entered this palace, before anyone else could follow, Yaan made sure to quickly place himself inside of this crucial region. He managed to remain within this zone, despite being stuck by the Spirt Plane Lord with such might that he collapsed to his knees. As he knelt there, injured, weakened and heavily pressured and suppressed, Yaan used the last of his strength to conceal his subtle movement with a basic yet very convincing illusion, and very slowly lifted the sword above his head. As soon as June severed the karma between them, he let his arm and the wooden sword drop down, pointing the sword tip downwards and finally penetrating his Dao Treasure into this seemingly empty mile wide zone with the piercing motion!
This region really was just an empty space… but in the past, this empty zone had been filled with a divine formation like no other in this world - the cycle of rebirth's formation core!
Yaan smiled in relief as the ethereal looking wooden sword hovered in a set place. It had moved of its own volition after he successfully pierced it into this region of empty space, yet the sword was still so close to him that he could reach out and touch it.
The Spirit Plane Lord's entire body trembled. She had seen June severe her own karmic links, those grand karmic chains connecting her, a Dao Treasure Spirit, to the very Dao Treasure which she belonged to…and to Yaan, the Dao Treasure's creator and owner.
But then, in her pitiful, fading state, wherein she no longer possessed any tangible karmic links connecting her to anything in this world, June suddenly shut her eyes, and a giant karmic chain erupted from her spirit body, instantly connecting her dao to this strange region of space itself - the same region that Yaan had pierced with the wooden sword, fusing his Dao Treasure into this space for reasons that nobody but Yaan fully understood.
June's newly formed karmic link almost seemed like a fusion between her former karmic links to the Dao Treasure and to Yaan. This new karmic link, which took on the form of a profound, sturdy chain, was just as strong as her previous two karmic links combined!
June's unusual karmic severance, followed by her sudden formation of a new, impossibly powerful karmic link, which bizarrely connected to a region of what appeared to be empty space, instantly caused a chain reaction.
Finally, all of the present divinities were able to confirm that Yaan had actually succeeded in using his Dao Treasure to create a formation core, completing his grand formation which spread across the 13 Core Layers of the Spirit Plane!
The newly formed core in the Central Hall of Rebirth, and the 2,999 sub-formations across the Central Layer, instantly linked together and became a single entity, transforming into a giant formation that covered the entire Central Layer of the Spirit Plane.
A moment later, the core of this formation erupted outwards, manifesting a chain of karma so large that even the most experienced of the present divinities doubted their eyes when they witnessed its grandeur.
This grand karmic chain originated from the core formation within the Central Hall of Rebirth, and it grew rapidly in two opposite directions. In one direction, the chain stormed up through the 6 Core Layers of Heaven, then in the opposite direction, the chain sank down through the 6 Core Layer of Abyss. The giant karmic chain travelled through each of the Halls of Rebirth, connecting to each keystone formation and creating a giant vertical karmic chain which pierced through the Spirit Plane's 13 Core layers!
Finally, with this last karmic chain which became the unshakeable pillar of the world-shaking grand formation, the countless separate sub-formations, 39,000 in all, were finally connected together in full, completing the end formation that Yaan had been working towards for so many years!
If before, the present divinities felt afraid and uneasy, then now, they were outright terrified. It took a lot to thrust a divinity into such an extreme emotional state…
But when 39,000 solid karmic chains manifested suddenly and without warning all across a World Plane…
And when these karmic chains firmly connected every sub-formation on each layer to the layer's keystone formation…
And when all 13 of those keystone formations were connected to one another via a karmic chain so thick that it actually tore apart every single Hall of Rebirth directly, killing countless immortals and forcing the stunned divinities to flee for their lives…
Of course they felt terrified!
The intricate network of 2,999 karmic chains spanned across each layer, combining with that monstrous, 3,000 mile wide karmic chain, which pierced through the Spirit Plane's Core Layers and connected together the 13 keystone formations in each of the Halls of Rebirth.
The death toll from the sudden manifestation of these chains numbered in the millions.
Moments later, as the chains erupted with an aura of absolute karmic destruction that had never before been seen in this world, the death toll reached the billions.
The divinities all fled, unwilling to get close to those karmic chains.
In the Central Hall of Rebirth, only Yaan remained, his hand still loosely grasped on the wooden sword.
He refused to let go. He sunk his consciousness and his understanding of karma into the monstrous network of karmic chains, feelings June's presence, as she burned away her very dao to strengthen the karmic chains, enhancing them to their maximum potential…using her maximum potential, the potential that she could only reveal at the blazing end of her life.
Unknowingly, Yaan had got back up to his feet, and his grievous wounds were mysteriously healed.
Aside from Yaan, the mad elephant remained nearby. Unlike the others, it looked enthralled by the giant karmic chain and kept running around it playfully, as if it wasn't a world-destroying pillar of cataclysmic devastation.
Yaan smiled sadly as he felt June gradually fading away, but he still held onto the sword.
It was just seconds later, that finally, the last remnants of June's dao were devoured into the formation.
The wooden sword underwent a subtle change, now looking half-illusory, and adorned by patterns of the very same karmic chains that made up this formation. Each and every one of these chains was imbued with an aura of destruction so magnificent, that others would feel afraid just looking at it.
The divinities didn't dare to approach. They understood that Yaan could survive standing so close because of his intrinsic link to this formation. As for the mad elephant…
The Primordial Sage's eyes flashed indiscernibly. She didn't speak, but a few moment's later, the Spirit Plane Lord showed a furious expression and hastily explained the situation to those who were now completely lost.
Ever since learning that Yaan was not her brother, but her brother's heart demon, she stopped caring about being delicate with her investigation and directly examined each of the formations that Yaan had placed down.
"So that's why he used the heavenly tribulation elephant of destruction to choose the locations for the sub-formations on each layer! This elephant has a natural sense for regions of destruction - by following the elephant's whims, the cursed heart demon was able to locate the 2,999 regions filled with the strongest aura of destruction on each layer! He then built each layer's final 3,000th formation, the keystone formations, into the skeleton zones that once held the core formations in the cycle of rebirth! He concealed his tracks well, only connecting the countless formations at the very end…but now, this formation…karmic chains have connected the 3,000 regions of destruction on each layer, and each of the Spirit Plane's Core Layers have been connected through the 13 keystone formations! This heart demon…he not only remodelled the formation skeleton of the cycle of rebirth…he went on to create a new formation of even greater terror!"
The Spirit Plane Lord gritted her teeth and wanted nothing more than to tear Yaan apart, limb from limbing. Thinking about how she had actively helped him on his journey, assisting in his creation of this monstrous formation, filled her with rage, shame, regret…and terror.
"He actually remodelled the entire collapsed cycle of rebirth, turning it into a formation of karmic destruction! Like with the former cycle of rebirth, the Core Layers are now perfectly connected via karma…but also via destruction! And this destruction has been amplified 3,000 fold thanks to the supporting sub formations on each layer! This, this…and he actually…"
The Spirit Plane Lord trailed off as she further analysed the formation. The other divinities couldn't understand it nearly as well, they only knew that it was terrifying - so terrifying that even just approaching carelessly could spell their deaths, because they could easily accidentally cause the entire thing to destruct!
Aside from the Spirit Pane Lord, the Primordial Sage actually understood this formation best. The Spirit Plane Lord felt rage and betrayal towards her sister, but right now, she knew that they needed her expertise in order to work out just what was going on…and how exactly such an immensely powerful formation, with a completely unknown effect, had actually been completed!
"By using the old formation skeleton of the cycle of rebirth, but without using the dao of life and death, Yaan has successfully connected this grand formation to the Qi Plane." The Primordial Sage stated plainly.
The divinities erupted into discussion.
They now felt that the immense destructive aura emanating from those monstrous karmic chains was subsiding, emboldening them to finally, slowly approach.
Well, they wouldn't get in close, but they would capture Yaan from a distance! No matter what, they could not allow him to fully complete this formation, or god-forbid activate it!
The Primordial Sage simply hovered to the side and watched silently as the Spirit Plane Lord strengthened her resolve. She pointed towards Yaan and released a golden beam so fast that Yaan couldn't hope to react in time. Before he knew it, a golden, burning net had wrapped around him, and was attempting to drag him away from his wooden sword, which was now firmly imbedded into the very centre of the formation.
He held on for dear life, but let out a sigh as he realised that within seconds, he would be dragged away. He could not resist the force of a divinity; this was his limit.
Yaan ignore the divinities entirely. Instead, with a tranquil smile, he turned to look at the stunned mad elephant.
"It would have been best to continue stabilising the formation, but it seems that this is as far as I can go. Little elephant…you must try your best to survive."
The mad elephant's eyes widened, but before it could even growl out in response, Yaan suddenly pushed the wooden sword in deeper, with a single, simple thrust.
The wooden sword instantly vanished into the coil of karmic chains on the ground beneath his feet.
For a moment, nothing happened.
In the next moment, the Spirit Plane Lord reacted. She threw caution to the wind, and actually charged towards Yaan with bloodshot eyes.
"YAAN! What did you do?! What…did you do?!"
Yaan turned to face the Spirit Plane Lord with a calm expression. She tried to reach out and grab him with a giant manifested golden hand, but he didn't so much as flinch.
CRACK!
The space between them suddenly cracked.
A moment later, a dozen more of these giant cracks in space appeared.
In the next instant, the entire Central Hall of Rebirth became a death-trap, filled with cracks which all emanated an aura of absolute destruction.
The Spirit Plane Lord stared at Yaan, stopping her assault as she looked into his eyes with a dumbfounded expression.
Another moment passed by, and the cracks encompassed the entire Central Layer.
A moment later, the 1st Layer of Heaven and the 1st Layer of Abyss were also ripped apart by the cracks of destruction.
Which each passing moment, more of the Spirit Plane's Core Layers became afflicted by the cracks of destruction. Barely a few seconds had passed by but by this point, the 6th Layer of Abyss all the way up to the 6th Layer of Heaven, were all plagued with those monstrous black cracks.
It all happen too fast, nobody could even process the fact that trillions of lives had been lost in these few moments.
In the next instant, the 13 Core Layers separated.
The Spirit Plane's Core Layers were no longer connected together; the million year old bonds between them had finally been broken.
Following this, the upper Layers of Heaven and the Lower Layers of Abyss were also ripped away from one another, no longer stabilised by the Core of the Spirit Plane.
As soon as the 19 layers separated, the destruction amplified a hundred fold in a single instant.
Every single layer, without exception, was torn apart into exactly 3,000 chaotic, uneven, destruction ridden fragments.
The stable Spirit Plane which had long consisted of 19 firmly connected layers…now exploded into 57,000 fragments of space.
Each of those fragments of space further deteriorated, with some directly exploding, other ripping apart into another myriad of smaller fragments, and only a few remaining intact as complete fragments.
The Spirit Plane Lord stared at Yaan as the space between them was torn apart and expanded. Their two fragments were thrust in opposite directions, and the region between them was filled with pure destruction, further amplified in its ferocity by the karmic links which had suddenly reversed in their usual effect, forcefully pushing every single separate fragment away from one another.
Yaan continued to stand on the main coil of karmic chains. As his fragment separated from the rest, he reached out, and his wooden sword shot out from the thickest karmic chain.
For a moment, the chaotic destruction seemed to freeze in time.
Slowly, Yaan turned towards a certain direction. He could not see his target, but he could see the thick karmic chain which connected them.
He lifted the wooden sword up slowly, showing no surprise that every single major karmic chain - the 39,000 karmic chains which made up the network of his formation - fused into the sword and caused it to glow with a monstrous green and black power.
The power emanating from this sword was so incredible, so immense, that even the shocked survivors on the other hurtling fragments stopped and stared.
Across the entire devastated Spirit Plane, the simple wooden sword, now empowered by the karmic destruction of an entire World Plane, became the centre of the world, overpowering any and all other things.
Throughout the Four Planes, there was no living being capable of producing such overwhelming power, as the power of karmic destruction contained within Yaan's wooden sword in this moment.
Yaan pointed at the karmic chain…the karmic link which connected him to the Primordial Devil on the Qi Plane.
Finally, after so many years of preparations, it was time to complete the final activation of his true formation.
The destruction of the Spirit Plane was only the first step in the activation of his formation. This alone would leave others in disbelief towards the monstrosity that Yaan had created.
He knew that he only had one shot. After activating the formation, the power of karmic destruction would gather within his Dao Treasure. His formation would collapse inwards, gathering within the wooden sword and exploding outwards in a single strike.
Once initiated, he could only attempt to channel the power of his collapsing formation into this strike, prolonging and strengthening it by as much as possible. Yaan had no doubts in his mind that this was going to be an absolute storm of chaos, and he had no idea if he would be able to make it out alive.
But that was all irrelevant. Right now, he had to finish what he had set out to do.
Yaan, alone on this fragment of the Spirit Plane, spoke with a soft, clear and calm voice, and yet somehow, his voice fused into the countless karmic chains, spreading across the entire destroyed Spirit Plane…and even travelling along his karmic link with the Primordial Devil, causing the entire region around Planet Yushu to become suppressed beneath a voice that sounded like the essence of destruction, karma, and fate.
"Karmic Annihilation Formation…activate."
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