Chapter 1742 : The Unforeseen Defeat

"How could they be so formidable?"

Witnessing Vast Sea Celestial God [a powerful deity] being pushed back step by step, Golden Flame Ancient Ancestor [an ancient progenitor] was utterly astounded. He understood that if this continued, Vast Sea Celestial God might face defeat within less than a thousand exchanges.

Thus, with a surge of resolve, he unleashed his ultimate, trump-card technique, pouring all his power into the assault in a desperate bid to defeat Lyra Jiang and shatter the deadlock.

Yet, Lyra Jiang merely raised an eyebrow. With a flick of her sleeve, a set of Formation Flags [enchanted banners used to set up magical arrays] flew forth, instantly ensnaring him within a Formation [a structured magical array].

"Innate Eight Trigrams Formation Flags!"

Golden Flame Ancient Ancestor felt a jolt of alarm, his face betraying a flicker of dread.

Ever since the Eight Trigrams Treasure Tree [a mystical tree embodying the eight trigrams] ascended to become a Primordial Ancient Trees [trees of immense age and power from the dawn of creation], the Eight Trigrams Formation Flags [flags forming the Eight Trigrams Array] had also advanced to the Innate Realm [the realm of innate, primordial power]. The combined might of these Formation Flags now rivaled that of a Slaughter Formation [a formation of extreme lethal intent] from the Late Heaven Immortal Realm [a high stage of immortal cultivation].

Now, with Lyra Jiang deploying this formation against him, even Golden Flame Ancient Ancestor was hopelessly outmatched. He was utterly defeated in a mere three hundred or so exchanges.

After Golden Flame Ancient Ancestor's defeat, Vast Sea Celestial God's fate was sealed without any suspense, falling to the combined efforts of the others.

"Two victories out of three bouts. The outcome of this Sword Competition [a grand martial contest] is now beyond doubt." This chapter appears courtesy of audio-novel dot com.

Witnessing the victory in the second Sword Competition, a faint smile graced the face of Eldrin Chen.

Of the three rounds of the Sword Competition, the first and second were the most crucial. Securing victories in these two rounds would guarantee the Abyssal Immortal Alliance at least half of the share in the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea.

The third and final round was merely an added bonus.

Nevertheless, neither side was willing to concede the last contest.

After final deliberations, the Western Qi Grotto-Heaven and the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven dispatched Yuanzhi the Daoist and the Netherwater Celestial God. Both were Flawless Celestial Immortals who had established a Triple Taiyi Foundation [a supreme and flawless foundation for immortality]. The former's cultivation had reached the fourth level of Heaven Immortal [a mid-tier celestial immortal realm], while the latter was also a Third Heaven Celestial Immortal [a celestial immortal of the third heavenly tier].

For its part, the Abyssal Immortal Alliance fielded four Flawless Celestial Immortals of Imperial Son-grade talent: Xander Qing Chen, Qing the Ancient Ancestor, the Separated Flame Deity, and the Ancient Ruins Yin Lord.

These four were all prodigies of their generation. Having their foundations remolded by the Thirty-Three Heavens Grand Formation, their innate talent and Deep-Seated Foundation [the quality and depth of one's cultivation base] were now incomparable to their past selves. Among them, Xander Qing Chen stood out; her current strength was on par with that of the Verdant Consort.

The ensuing battle held little suspense. Xander Qing Chen engaged Yuanzhi the Daoist, while the remaining three joined forces to besiege the Netherwater Celestial God. In less than a thousand exchanges, the Netherwater Celestial God was defeated.

Though Yuanzhi the Daoist possessed formidable combat prowess, he could not withstand the combined assault of the four prodigies. In the end, he too was forced to yield.

Following the defeat of Yuanzhi the Daoist, Chunxu Zi declared with a slight smile, "The Abyssal Immortal Alliance has achieved a clean sweep, winning all three rounds of this Sword Competition."

"However, the two Grotto-Heaven are also formidable in strength. In my opinion, the authority over this Heavenly Dao Source Artifact should be split four-six. What do you think?"

At this point, Chunxu Zi continued, "The Abyssal Immortal Alliance takes six shares. As for the remaining four shares, you two Grotto-Heaven can split them equally?"

Upon hearing this, Western Qi Celestial God's brow furrowed slightly.

Originally, Western Qi Celestial God held six-tenths of the authority over the Heavenly Dao Source Artifact. After this battle, he was left with only two-tenths, a result that left him deeply dissatisfied.

In his initial expectations, myself should have retained at least four-tenths, with the remainder divided between the Abyssal Immortal Alliance and the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven.

The Divine Abyss Daoist also wore an unpleasant expression. Unfortunately, having been defeated by Eldrin Chen in this battle, he lacked the standing to argue further. With a cold snort, he turned and departed.

Seeing the Divine Abyss Daoist leave, Western Qi Celestial God had no choice but to abandon further contention. Without the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven's support, his own strength alone was insufficient to challenge the current Abyssal Immortal Alliance.

Watching the two Grotto-Heaven Ancient Ancestor depart, a faint smile touched Eldrin Chen's lips. He promptly clasped his hands towards Chunxu Zi and said, "Today, we owe you our thanks for your assistance, Fellow Daoist."

Chunxu Zi smiled slightly, stroking his beard as he replied, "No need for such formalities. It was but a small favor. The credit for securing such a significant share lies primarily with the formidable prowess of all you Fellow Daoist."

Hearing this, Eldrin Chen understood. In this world, the power of one's fist ultimately dictates who has a voice. Had the Abyssal Immortal Alliance lacked sufficient strength, even with Chunxu Zi's backing, they might not have secured such a substantial portion.

Of course, Chunxu Zi's role as the intermediary, transforming the imminent clash between the two sides into three rounds of Sword Competition, was also a matter of great significance.

Otherwise, given the strength of the two great Grotto-Heaven—Divine Abyss and Western Qi—if all three parties truly engaged in a full-scale war, the outcome would likely be mutual devastation.

After all, while the Heaven Immortal of the Abyssal Immortal Alliance possessed formidable combat prowess, they were ultimately all newly-advanced Heaven Immortal. Facing the several mid-to-late stage Heaven Immortal from the two great Grotto-Heaven, their Deep-Seated Foundation [the profound and stable cultivation base accumulated over time] was ultimately somewhat shallow.

If both sides were to fight to the death, the cultivation at the Early Celestial Immortal Realm would ultimately prove somewhat inadequate, especially for the several Flawed Celestial Immortal [Celestial Immortals whose advancement was imperfect, leaving them weaker than true peers]; there was a significant chance they would fall.

Returning to the main thread, after defeating the two great Grotto-Heaven, Eldrin Chen and the others strode into the Cavernous Abyss Sea. In the blink of an eye, they arrived before a certain Chaos Abyssal Cavern.

"Is this place the Chaos Abyssal Cavern?" For the best reading experience, visit audio-novel .c om.

Gazing at the Chaos Abyssal Cavern before him, a trace of solemnity surfaced on Eldrin Chen's face.

There, in the depths of the Cavernous Abyss Sea, an immeasurable cavernous abyss pierced through the Boundless Void, reaching straight into the heart of the Boundless Chaos.

Within the vast cavernous abyss, endless Chaos Currents [turbulent streams of primal, formless energy] surged and roared, held at bay outside the Chaos Abyssal Cavern by a single Super Formation.

And at the very core of that grand formation, a dazzling ancient seal floated and sank, inhaling and exhaling the boundless Chaos Qi [the primal, undifferentiated energy of creation] and transforming it into the energy of the Boundless Chaos.

"This object is the Heavenly Dao Source Artifact of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea—the Primordial Chaos Ancient Seal."

Gazing upon this Heavenly Dao Source Artifact, Vast Sea Celestial God spoke slowly, a trace of covetousness flickering across his visage.

The Primordial Chaos Ancient Seal is the foremost treasure of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, one of the most supreme Innate Ancient Treasure. It bears the authority over the Great Dao [the fundamental principle underlying all existence] of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea. By fully refining it, one could gain the empowerment of the entire Primordial Chaos Ancient Seal.

If he could refine this artifact and receive the Heavenly Dao [the Way of Heaven, the natural order of the cosmos] empowerment of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, he would possess combat power rivaling the Ancient Immortal Realm.

More importantly, the wielder of a Heavenly Dao Source Artifact can anchor their Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core of a cultivator] within the ancient seal, gaining a near-immortal and indestructible capability. Even if slain, they could be resurrected by drawing upon the Heavenly Dao Origin [the primordial source power of the Heavenly Dao] of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea.

Of course, with the Heavenly Dao of the Azure Firmament Immortal Domain now scattered and no Great Luo Golden Immortal to guard it, resurrection via a Heavenly Dao Source Artifact has become far more difficult.

Relying solely on the innate power of the Heavenly Dao Source Artifact, it could at most resurrect someone once before depleting most of its internal Primordial Source [the foundational, primordial energy]. To attempt a second resurrection would require accumulating power for at least one hundred million years.

"This Heavenly Dao Source Artifact seems analogous to the Heavenly Layers supreme treasures of an Earth Immortal World."

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, understanding that this Heavenly Dao Source Artifact was essentially a Heavenly Layers supreme treasure that had undergone continuous sublimation.

For instance, within Eldrin Chen's Abyssal Heaven, each of the twenty-four heavens contained a supreme Heaven and Earth Origin treasure, such as the Abyssal Grotto Flask, the Pure Yang Scepter, the Star Pearl, the Ethereal Void Mirror, the Aurora Vial, and others.

Within each of these Primordial Source [the foundational, primordial energy from which all things originate] supreme treasures lies the authority over a single layer of the Great Dao [the fundamental, all-encompassing principle of the universe]. By completely refining such a treasure, one can ascend to become an Imperial Lord of a Realm [a sovereign ruler whose power is intrinsically linked to a specific domain or realm], wielding combat prowess equivalent to the Taiyi Realm [a profound cultivation stage signifying the unity of heaven and earth].

These Imperial Lords have their Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and true essence of a cultivator's being] anchored within their respective Primordial Source treasures. Even if they fall to calamity and perish, Eldrin Chen can expend the Primordial Source reserves of the Abyssal Heaven [a celestial realm of profound and unfathomable depths] to facilitate their resurrection. Read, share, and discuss at audio-novel`com.