đź“– Chapter 1305 - Gift
For all living beings of the Immortal Astral Continent, the ninth bridge was something holy. Throughout all of history, there were only four people who had managed to cross it!
Of these four, one was the master of the entire Immortal Astral Continent, and the other three were the strongest of the Grand Empyreans.
And now, there was one more person!
At this moment, the eleventh sun of the Immortal Astral Continent brightened again, giving off dazzling rays that seemed to bathe the entire world in their light.
Standing at the end of the ninth bridge, Wang Baole’s eyes were shining. There was a powerful resistance in front of him that was preventing him from moving any further.
It seemed… that his path of trampling the heavens would stop here.
“I won’t stop here!” Whispering softly, Wang Baole slowly raised his head. The light in his eyes suddenly changed, turning into a dim glow. This dim glow was like a drop of ink falling into water, rapidly disseminating in all directions.
In an instant, his eyes turned black, and an aura of death erupted from his body. This aura was so powerful that to everyone watching, Wang Baole no longer looked like a living person at all. He was more like… a corpse!
Black mist burst out of all of Wang Baole’s pores, rapidly filling his surroundings and bringing death and decay. This was… Wang Baole’s Dao of Underworld Yin!
At this moment, everyone looking at Wang Baole had varying degrees of bafflement filling their eyes. There on the ninth bridge in the sky, all that black mist suddenly gathered into a massive statue!
This statue… looked exactly like Wang Baole, aside from being dressed in a pitch-black robe and wearing a cold face that showed no emotion. There was a book in the statue’s hand, and this book seemed to control all death in the world. An infinitely ominous aura spread out from it.
“The incarnation of the Death Dao!”
“According to legend, after mastering the Dao of Death and becoming a sourcepoint, it’s possible to transform into… the Lord of the Underworld!”
“Is this… the form of the Lord of the Underworld?”
Just as the minds of all the Immortal Astral Continent’s cultivators shook, that statue formed by black mist… took a step forward!
This step seemed to split the heavens and rend the earth, causing the starry sky to rumble as violent fluctuations swept across the Great Universe.
This step made all directions quake, and the gazes of countless people converged on the spot as thunder exploded in their minds.
This step was like moving from the world of mortals to the world of immortals and gods. This step… was the completion of the fourth step of cultivation, as well as… a sign that the fifth step was nigh!
At this moment, endless rumbling reverberated in the sky, the vault of heaven was drowned in shadow, and the wind and clouds seemed to explode. There was also the unmistakable sound of something shattering apart, as if some barrier had been destroyed. As all of this happened, the statue’s figure finally stepped off the ninth bridge, appearing in the void between the ninth and tenth bridges.
As it landed, the statue seemed to have exhausted all its strength. With a gust of wind, it scattered back into black mist, revealing… the figure of Wang Baole within!
“Is this the peak of the fourth step?” Standing in the void between the ninth and tenth bridges, Wang Baole’s expression was calm as he sensed his current condition. He had the feeling that with just one finger, he could completely destroy his past self.
The gap between then and now was far too great.
Although he had previously cultivated the Eight Extremes Dao to a level that could also be considered the fourth step, it was only the Wood Dao with which he reached the level of sourcepoint. As for his other Daos, although they seemed to have also become sourcepoints, in reality they only had his own power.
But now, every move he made tugged on the metal, earth, water, and fire elements of the universe itself. Although they weren’t true sourcepoints, and there were others out there who also wielded pseudo-sourcepoints of the five elements… this was already the limit a cultivator could reach with the five element Daos.
Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to become the exclusive sourcepoint of any one of the five elements.
Of course, Wang Baole’s Wood Dao was a different story!
Moreover, his Dao of Underworld Yin had fused with the Great Universe’s Dao of Death, allowing him to transform into the Lord of the Underworld. Thus, at this moment, although his cultivation base was still considered to be in the fourth step… he could suppress almost any other fourth step cultivator!
Most others had only become sourcepoints in a single Dao, but Wang Baole had become the sourcepoint of five different Daos, as well as the true and unique sourcepoint of the Wood Dao. Compared to him, those of the fourth step could only be crushed.
It could even be said that the Wang Baole right now was the strongest fourth step cultivator, bar none.
However… this still wasn’t the end for Wang Baole. Standing in the void between the ninth and tenth bridges, he lifted his head and looked over at the tenth bridge in front of him. With his current cultivation base, he could see the figures of three mighty beings there on the bridge.
Wang Baole was no stranger to these three figures. Two of them were standing at the front of the tenth bridge; they were the two Grand Empyreans who had made him feel danger when he arrived at the Immortal Astral Continent.
And standing in the middle of the tenth bridge was… Situ, who had played go with him.
There were no figures at the end of the bridge, nor could he see anyone on the eleventh.
This phenomenon could have two reasons behind it. Either no one had made it there, or… the one who made it there had already gone on to an even further realm, leaving no traces behind on these bridges.
But no matter what, in Wang Baole’s eyes, there was no one beyond the middle of the tenth bridge!
“Can I… step onto the tenth bridge?” Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He knew very well that the ninth bridge which he had just crossed represented the fourth step, while the tenth bridge… was the fifth step!
As long as he could step onto it, it would mean that he had reached the fifth step. Walking to the middle of the bridge would mean that he was halfway through the fifth step, and reaching the end would mean completion of the fifth step.
But Wang Baole didn’t move. His Dao… had already been exhausted.
Although there was still the Dao of Sacred Yang, he didn’t have a treasure to carry it. The same was true for his Fetterless Dao.
“What a pity…” Wang Baole sighed.
But at this moment!
In front of the first bridge, Father Wang suddenly spoke.
“Baole, go!”
As these words echoed in Wang Baole’s ears, his eyes flashed brightly. Various thoughts filled his mind as he suddenly stepped out, and as he did so, the aura on his body suddenly transformed. The deathly aura of the Dao of Underworld Yin disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming life force.
This was… the Dao of Underworld Yin’s antipodal opposite… the Dao of Sacred Yang!
This Dao was of the highest holiness, filled with a majestic meaning that burst into the sky. The brightness of its light swept away all darkness, and the richness of its life force suppressed all death!
Unfortunately… this Dao was illusory and not solid, just like a river without a source or duckweed drifting on the water surface. It seemed powerful, but this power was only superficial!
This was because Wang Baole’s Dao of Sacred Yang had no carrier. He hadn’t found one in the stele world, so this Dao was incomplete until now.
But at this moment… the moment Wang Baole unleashed his Dao of Sacred Yang, Father Wang slowly raised his right hand. An irregularly shaped stone appeared in his hand.
This stone was only the size of a fist, but it exuded a sense of grandeur. Although it wasn’t large, the impression it gave off was that of an infinite vastness. Moreover, looking carefully, numerous mysterious runes could be seen shining on it. This stone… actually seemed to share a common source with the Heaven Trampling Bridge!
“This bridge stone was left over when I built the eleventh bridge. Now, I gift it to you… to carry your Dao!” As he spoke, Father Wang casually waved his hand. Shining with brilliant light, the bridge stone flew over to Wang Baole.
As soon as it neared, it immediately fused into his body!
Wang Baole trembled violently. His Dao of Sacred Yang instantly erupted with power!