บท 984: Chapter 984: The Dominance of Tian Shenzi
Tian Shenzi stepped out of the palace on Tianxia Peak, his expression cold and indifferent, clearly displeased at being awakened. As his gaze swept across the surroundings, a wave of dread washed over everyone present.
Tianlao immediately flew over to him. "Ancestor!" Tianlao greeted him with deep respect.
Tian Shenzi ignored Tianlao and instead looked up at the Xiaojin Beast in the sky. He quickly identified the creature as the one responsible for disturbing his seclusion.
The Xiaojin Beast, sensing the danger emanating from Tian Shenzi, watched him warily, a primal sense of fear slowly rising within its heart.
"We've arrived in the Grand Thousand World?" Tian Shenzi asked calmly.
"Yes, this is the Grand Thousand World. The Holy King has already created it, but now an Ancestral Immortal has come to cause trouble. He's currently fighting with the Holy King in the heavens, and this Xiaojin Beast is under the command of that Ancestral Immortal!" Tianlao quickly explained.
"Mm," Tian Shenzi responded with a light nod.
"ROOOAAARRRR!" The Xiaojin Beast roared arrogantly. Despite feeling threatened, its pride wouldn't allow it to back down. It attempted to provoke Tian Shenzi, seeking to gauge his strength.
"Ancestor, the Xiaojin Beast is too powerful. We're powerless against it; we can't stop it!" Tianlao said urgently.
"Powerless? It seems you haven't been diligent in your studies. The Feng Shui technique I taught you last time should have been enough to deal with it, yet you say you're powerless?" Tian Shenzi's eyes flashed with a hint of anger.
"Yes, I haven't fully mastered it yet, but this Xiaojin Beast is...," Tianlao stammered, not daring to argue.
"A Xiaojin Beast? In the prime of the Tian family, it would have been nothing more than a gatekeeper," Tian Shenzi remarked dismissively.
A gatekeeper? Tianlao was stunned. Just how powerful had the Tian family been in the past?
Overhearing Tian Shenzi's words, the Xiaojin Beast's eyes flashed with rage. Was it only fit to guard a gate? The fear it had felt was instantly replaced by burning anger.
"ROOOAAARRRR!" The Xiaojin Beast launched another sonic attack, this time directing it straight at Tian Shenzi and Tianlao, as if intending to obliterate them both.
Tianlao showed a flicker of fear, but Tian Shenzi remained utterly unperturbed. He stared at the incoming shockwave, and as he watched, the powerful spatial ripples mysteriously calmed and dissipated.
That was a full-force attack powered by the Xiaojin Beast's connection to the Heavenly Dao, yet it had vanished so strangely?
Unwilling to believe it, the Xiaojin Beast roared again, unleashing another potent attack, but just as before, the attack dissipated in front of Tian Shenzi as if it had never existed.
This time, the Xiaojin Beast seemed to remember the fear it had felt earlier. It hesitated, recognizing the true danger it was in.
Tian Shenzi cast a cold gaze at the beast, and then, without warning, he made his move.
His eyes glowed with a brilliant red light, and the Xiaojin Beast let out a howl of pain.
"ROOOAAARRRR!"
The beast's cry was filled with agony as its tail, and then its body, began to turn to stone. The transformation spread rapidly toward its head, turning the once invulnerable creature into a lifeless, grayish-brown statue.
Petrification? Tian Shenzi had used some form of ocular magic to turn the Xiaojin Beast to stone!
In the plaza before the Longevity Hall, the officials watched in shock and awe. It was clear that Tian Shenzi had intervened, but the sheer power of his ability left them speechless. Was he truly this strong?
"BOOM!"
The Xiaojin Beast plummeted from the sky, its stony body fracturing upon impact. Fear filled its eyes—how could it fight when its supposedly indestructible body had been turned to stone?
Tian Shenzi slowly extended his right hand, and with a simple gesture, he drew a blue energy from the Xiaojin Beast's body, absorbing it into his palm.
The moment the blue energy was drawn out from the Xiaojin Beast, it turned completely to stone—no, it disintegrated into fine dust. A gentle breeze scattered the remains, leaving nothing behind.
"Kneel and meditate," Tian Shenzi commanded.
"Yes!" Tianlao obeyed without hesitation.
Tian Shenzi reached out and directed the blue energy into Tianlao's head, accompanied by a subtle spell. Instantly, Tianlao entered a state of deep meditation.
An hour later, Tianlao slowly opened his eyes, extending his hands and gazing at them in astonishment. What had just happened?
"The Feng Shui techniques I taught you are not fully comprehensible without the necessary cultivation. Just now, I elevated your cultivation directly to that of an Ancient Immortal. How do you feel?" Tian Shenzi inquired.
In the distance, the officials of Da Yin were left speechless, their minds reeling.
Tianlao, who had been at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm, had suddenly ascended to the level of an Ancient Immortal? Could this be real? Was this raggedly dressed man truly that powerful? When had such a figure appeared in Da Yin?
The scene shocked everyone. The concept of an Ancient Immortal was beyond reach for most—something they could never hope to achieve in their lifetimes. Yet Tianlao had ascended to this level simply by recognizing an ancestor? Some among the onlookers even entertained the idea of acknowledging Tian Shenzi as their own ancestor.
"Thank you, Ancestor!" Tianlao said with great excitement.
"This is merely an elevation of your cultivation. Achieving the corresponding realm will depend on your own efforts. If you fail to reach the Ancient Immortal realm within a century, your cultivation will revert to that of a Great Immortal," Tian Shenzi warned.
Revert to the Great Immortal realm? Even that would be worth it—after all, advancing by an entire realm was no small feat. Reaching the Great Immortal level was already an incredibly difficult achievement.
"Yes!" Tianlao replied immediately.
At that moment, none of them noticed the subtle change in Da Yin's other Golden Dragon of Fate—the one with the cinnabar mark on its forehead. The cinnabar slightly shifted as the dragon's eyes focused intently on Tian Shenzi, as if scrutinizing him.
Even Tian Shenzi seemed unaware of the dragon's abnormality.
After a brief moment, the cinnabar-marked Golden Dragon of Fate returned to its usual appearance, standing atop the sea of fortune clouds, roaring defiantly at the heavens, where the battle raged on.
Tian Shenzi looked skyward.
A golden streak of light flashed across the sky.
"Boom!" Zhong Shan crashed down.
His clothes were slightly tattered, evidence that his battle with Zilu hadn't gone well. The Baji Heavenly Tail rested on his shoulder, indicating that it had joined the fight as well. Despite this, they had been unable to defeat Zilu.
Ancestral Immortals were, after all, extraordinarily powerful.
A flash of white Heavenly Dao light appeared in the sky as Zilu reappeared above the Lingxiao Heavenly Court.
But where was the Xiaojin Beast?
Zilu quickly scanned the area—it was truly gone. He could sense it: the Xiaojin Beast was dead! But who in Da Yin could have killed the Xiaojin Beast?
How could this be? The Xiaojin Beast, ranked twentieth among the divine beasts, dead? It seemed impossible.
In an instant, Zilu spotted Tian Shenzi.
Tian Shenzi?
The mere sight of Tian Shenzi filled Zilu with an overwhelming sense of dread. Even standing within the Heavenly Dao, Zilu felt an intense, oppressive force emanating from this man.
Who was he? How could he be so powerful? Was he one of Da Yin's people?
"My name is Zilu. May I ask for your esteemed name?" Zilu asked in a deep, respectful tone.
The world had many Ancestral Immortals, but Zilu was familiar with most of them, either having met them or heard of them. Likewise, Zilu was well-known across the land—both for his status as an Ancestral Immortal and as a disciple of Confucius.
Who in the world didn't recognize Zilu?
"Never heard of you," Tian Shenzi replied indifferently.
Zilu's confidence wavered—never heard of him? How was that possible? Was Tian Shenzi trying to provoke him? But no, the tone was too straightforward, too genuine. He really didn't know who Zilu was.
What kind of monster was this? Could he have come from the underworld? Even if he were from the underworld, how could he not know Zilu? The man's emaciated frame and the strange golden gem on his forehead were unsettling.
Zilu was sure that if it were simply a matter of qi, he would have recognized it immediately. But the golden gem on Tian Shenzi's forehead had merged with his body, changing in appearance, making it difficult to identify. Unlike Ying, who had identified it at first glance, Zilu failed to recognize its nature.
"You've never heard of me? No matter. My master is the great Sage Confucius!" Zilu declared proudly.
"Confucius?" Tian Shenzi seemed to be searching his memory.
Zilu nodded, expecting recognition.
"Nope, never heard of him either," Tian Shenzi said, shaking his head.
Zilu: "…"
The officials of Da Yin: "…"
Only Zhong Shan, Tianlao, and a few others knew that Tian Shenzi wasn't intentionally trying to insult Zilu—he truly had never heard of Confucius.
"You've never heard of my master?" Zilu was visibly displeased.
"Is that important?" Tian Shenzi replied nonchalantly.
Zilu: "…"
"You've disturbed my meditation," Tian Shenzi said coldly.
Zilu scrutinized Tian Shenzi, unsure of his origins or strength.
"If you've never heard of him, then I suppose I must enlighten you," Zilu said, his voice tinged with coldness.
With those words, Zilu produced a scroll—the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Once again, the Spring and Autumn Annals made an appearance, but this one was clearly more powerful than those belonging to Kong Lietian and Yan Hui.
As Zilu unfurled the scroll, massive black characters materialized in the sky, emanating profound principles of the Heavenly Dao.
"This is the Dao of our Confucian sect, contained within this Spring and Autumn Annals. Since you're unfamiliar, you should read it," Zilu said sternly.
As he spoke, Zilu slowly opened the Spring and Autumn Annals. Instantly, the black characters in the air expanded to a hundred times their size, and an overwhelming aura radiated in all directions.
"The Spring and Autumn Annals?" Tian Shenzi's expression turned serious.
He raised his long purple staff and tossed it into the air.
In the sky, the purple staff expanded, shooting upwards and shattering the black characters formed by the Spring and Autumn Annals.
The purple staff was none other than the Buzhou Mountain Staff!
Zilu's expression shifted as he threw the Spring and Autumn Annals into the air, where it also expanded. As the two artifacts grew, they charged at each other, gathering momentum until they collided with tremendous force.
"BOOOOM!"
The impact created a massive black hole, sucking in everything around it. Though the black hole wasn't large, it quickly closed, returning the Buzhou Mountain Staff to Tian Shenzi's hand and the Spring and Autumn Annals to Zilu's.
While the Buzhou Mountain Staff remained undamaged, the Spring and Autumn Annals showed a crack in one of its bamboo slips.
Zilu's face darkened as he looked at Tian Shenzi, realizing that Tian Shenzi had been calm throughout the exchange. He hadn't wanted to fight, but if they had, Tian Shenzi would likely have had the upper hand.
"May I ask for your name?" Zilu asked, more seriously this time.
"You shouldn't have come here. Leave," Tian Shenzi replied without offering his name.
Tian Shenzi's demeanor was so calm that it made Zilu feel a sense of inferiority.
After a cold glance at Tian Shenzi and then at Zhong Shan, Zilu realized that avenging his comrades was impossible today. Frustrated, he turned and vanished, intending to consult his master.
Zhong Shan, however, understood Tian Shenzi's reasoning. Tian Shenzi wasn't afraid of battle—he was mindful of the seventeen other living dead within Tianxia Peak, and perhaps even more so of the mysterious door they had seen before. Who knew what—or who—might be behind that door?
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8
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