Chapter 1741 : Weapons of Immortal Might

A cultivator's journey from mortal to immortal spans hundreds of thousands, even millions of years. Through year after year of tempering, the physical body undergoes a gradual metamorphosis, culminating in a fundamental qualitative transformation.

The Immortal Body [a body refined to an immortal state], the World-Opening True Body [a physique capable of splitting the heavens and cleaving the earth], and even the Innate Physique [a constitution bestowed by heaven at birth] approach a state of near Immortality [the quality of being undying] and Indestructibility [the quality of being unbreakable]. In their later stages, they grow increasingly comparable to divine iron of the same rank in terms of durability.

It is precisely for this reason that lower-level cultivators favor refining flying swords and ancient treasures, while high-level Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality] often prefer weapons like spears, halberds, glaives, staffs, and lances.

Consider Eldrin Chen's Chaos Heaven Halberd, Worthy Pursuit Chen's Immortal Iron Staff, Diyang Tai Cang's Polarity Immortal-Slaying Spear, Imperial Sun Golden Crow's Solar Divine Spear, or even Great God Vast Azure's life-bound Innate Spiritual Treasure [a treasure born from one's own spiritual essence]—the Vast Azure Heavenly Halberd. These are all supreme treasures of the halberd and spear category.

Such weapons are not only wielded with ease but also allow one to unleash the full, formidable power of Fleshly Body Sanctification [the art of refining and empowering the physical body]. They can also be employed as Immortal Treasure [a treasure of immortal grade] to be summoned forth and suppress powerful foes.

These types of armaments unleash their greatest might only through the path of Fleshly Body Sanctification. For those like the Divine Abyss Path Master who first cultivated Path Principle [the fundamental law or truth of one's chosen cultivation path] and broke through to the Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm [the seventh tier of the Celestial Immortal stage] with an Innate Path Principle [a Path Principle inherent from birth], their combat prowess is subtly diminished by roughly a third.

This is precisely why, despite the Divine Abyss Path Master's peerless Slaughter [an ability focused on absolute destruction] technique wielded with the Divine Abyss Ancient Sword and executed through the Divine Abyss Sword Art, he still finds himself slightly pressured when facing the Western Essence Heavenly God.

Even with the protective power of the Myriad Abyss Ancient Cauldron, lacking the empowerment of a Great Completion Immortal Body [an Immortal Body cultivated to its peak], he ultimately cannot match the overwhelming dominance of a peerless physical form.

Of course, this is not an absolute rule. After all, the way of Path Principles achieves its maximum destructive potential only when paired with powerful Divine Ability [supernatural techniques] and ancient treasures.

If both combatants had cultivated a Half-Step Patriarch Level Divine Ability [a Divine Ability nearing the power of a Patriarch], or if one held an Innate Ancient Treasure [an ancient treasure of innate, heaven-bestowed quality] as a trump card, then the power unleashed by the Divine Abyss Path Master through his mastered Innate Path Principle would undoubtedly far surpass that of the Western Essence Heavenly God. The story continues at audio~novel.com.

Returning to the main narrative, with the surrender of Western Essence Heavenly God [a powerful deity], this first round of the sword duel thus came to a close.

Gazing at Eldrin Chen, Pure Void could not help but exclaim in admiration, "The Sword Path Divine Art [a supreme mystical technique of the sword] you have created, Fellow Daoist, its power is in no way inferior to the Void Sword Art."

"It seems that among the ten great Sword Path Divine Arts of the Vast Azure Immortal Domain, another supreme art ranking within the top three has been added."

Eldrin Chen shook his head, replying modestly, "The Void Sword Art encompasses all things, containing a full nine forms of Sword Path Divine Arts. My Primordial Unity Void Cosmos Sword Energy is still far from reaching that level."

Pure Void nodded. To his knowledge, the Void Sword Art was divided into nine forms. The first three were orthodox-level Divine Arts [supreme mystical techniques]; the middle three were Patriarch Level Divine Arts [techniques of a power level befitting a Patriarch]; and the final three were even Half-Step Patriarch Level Divine Arts [techniques approaching the power of a Patriarch's ultimate arts].

Relying on these nine forms of the Void Sword Art, the Void Sword Master had remained undefeated while roaming the Vast Azure Immortal Domain for tens of millions of years, hailed as the foremost in offensive power beneath the Ancient Immortal [an immortal of immense age and power] realm.

Although the power of Eldrin Chen's Primordial Unity Void Cosmos Sword Energy was not inferior to the Void Sword Art, it ultimately lacked the latter's complete, seamlessly integrated lineage.

"It still lacks one final sword formula to fully integrate my Sword Path and unleash the ultimate potential of this Divine Art,"

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly. He vaguely understood that having just broken through to the Celestial Immortal Realm [the realm of a true celestial immortal], there were still many aspects requiring refinement.

The Sword Path had always been peerless in slaughter and combat; its lethality was nearly unmatched among those of the same cultivation realm. Even Eldrin Chen had to regard it with the utmost seriousness.

With this thought in mind, Eldrin Chen withdrew his focus and returned to the present moment.

They saw Pure Void nod, then speak: "Since that is the case, let the second bout commence."

Upon hearing this, everyone present gave a slight nod of agreement.

Eldrin Chen acknowledged the assembly with a dip of his chin, his gaze settling upon Exquisite Jiang, Verdant Consort, Nyssa Qu, and Ethan Chen.

These four were all prodigies of the Forbidden Domain. Both Verdant Consort and Nyssa Qu possessed combat power rivaling the Mid Celestial Immortal Realm. Though Ethan Chen was slightly less formidable, he was still comparable to an ordinary cultivator at the third level of the Immaculate Celestial Immortal realm.

Exquisite Jiang was even more profound and unfathomable, having opened twenty-one celestial layers within her body. She was the second most powerful figure in the clan, surpassed only by Eldrin Chen himself.

Seeing this, the two opposing Grotto-Heaven factions ultimately dispatched their strongest combatants: Golden Flame Patriarch and Vast Sea Heavenly God.

In this kind of sword duel contest, any strategy of holding back one's strongest—akin to the fable of Tian Ji's horse race—was meaningless. If the opponents reserved their most powerful, Golden Flame Patriarch and Vast Sea Heavenly God, for the final round, the Returning Abyss Immortal Alliance could simply substitute their own lineup before the battle began.

After stepping onto the platform, Golden Flame Patriarch swept his gaze over the assembled figures. His expression remained placid as he spoke:

"Let us witness now what manner of prodigies this Path Tribulation [a cataclysmic era of trials and upheaval for all cultivators] has brought forth."

Vast Sea Heavenly God [a powerful deity associated with the ocean] also arrived, his divine spear in hand, and pointed it towards the four Mortal Path [a profound cultivation technique]. "Come, let us do battle!"

"Then let it begin."

With Pure Void's declaration, the second sword duel commenced in an instant.

The battle erupted into a white-hot frenzy from the very start. It was undeniable that Golden Flame Patriarch and Vast Sea Heavenly God were truly formidable.

This Golden Flame Patriarch, as an Immaculate Celestial Immortal [a Celestial Immortal who achieved a flawless foundation], had been the most dazzling figure in a certain Path Tribulation [a grand trial of fate and cultivation] within the Western Essence Divine Abyss Sea one hundred million years ago. After his breakthrough to the Celestial Immortal realm, he was recruited by the Divine Abyss Patriarch and became the Second Supreme Elder of the Divine Abyss Grotto-Heaven.

Now, after nearly one hundred million years, the Golden Flame Patriarch's cultivation had reached the sixth layer of the Celestial Immortal realm. With his foundation as an Immaculate Celestial Immortal, his combat prowess ranked among the very best within the entire Vast Azure Immortal Domain. Continue your cultivation journey at audio-novel.com.

Were it not for the immense difficulty of breaking through the great bottleneck of the Late Celestial Immortal Realm, and the extreme rarity of Innate Energy [the primordial energy of creation], the Golden Flame Patriarch would have long since cultivated to the Seventh Layer of the Celestial Immortal Realm.

To break through the Late Celestial Immortal Realm, one not only required sufficient Innate Energy, but also special resources for assistance.

For example, to cultivate a Great Completion Immortal Body [a perfected immortal physique], one needed the aid of a Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill to shatter the ultimate barrier of the Immortal Body's true form.

However, the Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill was far too precious; refining a single pill required the entire flesh and blood of a Ninth Rank High-Grade Chaos Ancient Beast [a primordial beast born from chaos].

As for a Ninth Rank High-Grade Chaos Ancient Beast [a primordial monster born from the chaos of creation], it would require the combined efforts of at least several cultivators at the Great Perfection Celestial Immortal Realm [the pinnacle of the Celestial Immortal stage] to have a reasonable chance of slaying it.

Attempting to slay a Ninth Rank High-Grade Chaos Ancient Beast [a primordial monster born from the chaos of creation], even with several Late Celestial Immortal Realm [cultivators at the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm] joining forces, would entail risking their very lives for a mere possibility of success. More likely, the beast would be grievously wounded and escape.

Furthermore, cultivating one's Innate Path Principle [an innate divine ability embodying a fundamental cosmic principle] and Path Fruit [the condensed essence of a cultivator's comprehension of a specific cosmic law or 'Path'] to their Great Perfection stage also presents immense bottlenecks. Breaking through these barriers requires similarly rare treasures.

Without taking such risks, relying solely on one's innate talent and potential to shatter these bottlenecks would demand a bitter grind of over a hundred million years, with the ever-present possibility of failure.

In his day, Golden Flame Patriarch was a peerless genius who laid a Triple Primordial Unity Foundation [a legendary, supremely stable foundation for cultivation formed by unifying three primordial energies]. Yet, he has been stuck at the sixth level of Celestial Immortal [the realm of celestial immortals] for tens of millions of years, never even glimpsing the threshold to the Late Celestial Immortal Realm [the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm].

Vast Sea Heavenly God is slightly less formidable. As a fifth-level Immaculate Celestial Immortal [a Celestial Immortal who has achieved a flawless, pure state of being], he has only walked his path for fifty million years, yet his combat prowess is profoundly impressive.

Such an Immaculate Celestial Immortal [a Celestial Immortal who has achieved a flawless, pure state of being] is incredibly difficult to overcome. Even an Imperial Scion Level Figure [a prodigy with talent rivaling that of an imperial prince] who has stepped into the Ten Tribulations Forbidden Domain [a legendary realm of power attainable only by surviving ten heavenly tribulations] would find it nearly impossible to challenge one while still at the Early Celestial Immortal Realm [the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm].

Golden Flame Patriarch was brimming with confidence. He believed that with their combined strength, even if Exquisite Jiang and her companions were all prodigies from the Forbidden Domain [a legendary realm of power attainable only by supreme geniuses], they stood no chance against him and his ally.

Yet, the moment the battle commenced, they were utterly shocked. Exquisite Jiang alone, facing Golden Flame Patriarch, did not show the slightest hint of being at a disadvantage.

The other three, joining forces against Vast Sea Heavenly God, not only held their ground but actively pressed the attack, forcing him onto the defensive.

"How could this be!" Continue your cultivation journey at audio-novel*com.