Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 428: Chapter 272: Dragon Tiger _1

The battle between light and darkness was in full swing.

Meanwhile…

In the Dragon and Tiger Domain, Dragon Chapter City.

This was one of the forty-eight domains of the world, dominated by the “Dragon and Tiger Platform” of the Divine Martial Heritage. It boasted numerous influential forces, including the illustrious and long-standing Beggar’s Guild. The former headquarters of this number one guild in the world had been the Dragon and Tiger Platform before the two separated after the great catastrophe for governance reasons.

As part of the Divine Martial Heritage, the Dragon and Tiger Platform possessed the twelfth stele of the War God’s Atlas, “Subduing Dragon and Tiger,” capable of taming the dragon and tiger energies of heaven and earth and refining the renowned “Dragon and Tiger Golden Core,” which was highly effective in increasing one’s Yuan Skill.

With this, the Dragon and Tiger Platform, despite having only one War God’s Atlas, was on par with the Evergreen Palace. The Divine Martial Heritage never ceased, even producing multiple Divine Martial Venerables. Its position in the Alliance of the Righteous Path was almost equivalent to the Six Great Holy Lands. It was famed for its profound True Yuan and fierce physical prowess, earning the title “the strongest in the world!”

Now, within the Dragon and Tiger Platform in Dragon Chapter City,

Shi Jinglong opened his eyes with a frown.

A sudden whim, an unease!

Where did this unease come from?

Could it be related to Iron Heart Fortress?

To propel the birth of “the seventh sacred place” and to avoid any mishaps, the Righteous Path had mustered considerable strength, drawing Divine Martial Venerables from various regions to escort and protect the marriage alliance at Iron Heart Fortress.

In such an affair, the Dragon and Tiger Platform, being an entity second only to the Six Great Holy Lands within the Righteous Path Alliance and possessing three Divine Martial Venerables, naturally had to contribute its share of effort.

Thus, the strongest and fully realized Divine Martial Venerable, the Platform Master Shi Huxiong, personally went to Iron Heart Fortress. As for his successor, the newly ascended Divine Martial himself, he was left to hold the fort in Dragon Chapter City. Another Divine Martial Venerable headed to the strategic location of Tiger Jumping City to guard against any attacks from the Demon Sect.

This distribution and arrangement had no issues.

The journey to Iron Heart Fortress was fraught with danger, but Platform Master Shi Huxiong was the strongest among them. Even in peril, he could assure his own safe withdrawal.

As a newly minted Divine Martial with slightly less power, Shi Jinglong, stationed at the headquarters, could rely on the Dragon and Tiger Great Array, created by the War God’s Atlas, to take advantage of the timing, location, and harmony of people. Unless the Demon Sect dispatched a pinnacle-level Divine Martial force carrying another War God’s Atlas to attack, it was impossible to break through the Array and threaten their base.

The distribution of combat power had no issues.

So whence did this unease arise?

Was it a misguided feeling of worry?

Shi Jinglong didn’t think so.

As a Divine Martial Venerable, attuned to the Unity of Heaven and Man, any whim he had could not be without cause.

So, what exactly was it?

Movements from the Demon Sect?

Impossible!

The Demon Sect openly had only the two pinnacle-level enforcers—left and right—already hard-pressed against the Six Great Holy Lands. How could they afford to be divided?

Even if they split their forces, they should be targeting Iron Heart Fortress. What did it have to do with his Dragon and Tiger Platform?

Shi Jinglong’s brows were tightly knit, confusion and unease consuming him.

At this moment of doubt and hesitation…

“Boom!”

Like thunder from a clear sky, it suddenly burst forth.

“Hmm!?”

Shi Jinglong’s gaze sharpened as he looked up.

He saw a clear sky for thousands of miles, from which ominous clouds descended rapidly, rolling in, an uncharacteristic natural phenomenon.

“Whoosh!”

The ominous clouds gathered, layer upon layer. Amid the clash of thunder, a torrential downpour ensued, enveloping the entire Dragon Chapter City.

“This is…”

Shi Jinglong stood up, his emotions a mix of shock and uncertainty.

As a Divine Martial Venerable with the ability to sense the divine workings of heaven, he could affirm that this thunderstorm was not a natural occurrence. His sense of Unity with Heaven revealed a disturbance in the Prime Spirit, wholly uncharacteristic of the norm.

Who had mobilized the Prime Spirit of heaven and earth to bring about this storm?

Could it be…!?

Shi Jinglong’s eyes narrowed, his expression shifting dramatically as he immediately focused his mind on the Subduing Dragon and Tiger stele before him.

Subduing Dragon and Tiger, the War God’s Atlas, was a Treasured Instrument, a universally powerful instrument. It could not only tame the dragon and tiger energies to create the coveted Dragon and Tiger Golden Core but could also unite the forces of heaven and earth to construct a Dragon and Tiger Array, utilizing the auspicious timing and geographical advantages. Even as a newly ascended Divine Martial like himself, in this Array, he could contend with a pinnacle Venerable without a War God’s Atlas, due to the home ground advantage.

Although the identity of the incoming enemy was unknown, an enemy was an enemy, and Shi Jinglong refused to believe that the person behind this thunderstorm was merely jesting with him.

Therefore…

“Boom!”

Subduing Dragon and Tiger, the War God’s Atlas, the floating stele suspended in mid-air shook violently, radiating brilliance.

Subsequently, dragons soared, and tigers leapt. The two energies intertwined, activating the entire Array. Instantly, a dragon and a tiger emerged as mighty shades above Dragon Chapter City, assuming the positions of Dragon Coiled and Tiger Crouching to protect the city, including the Dragon and Tiger Platform at its heart.

The Dragon and Tiger Great Array was fully activated!

No sooner had the Array opened than the Prime Spirit of the surrounding heaven and earth was drawn by its power. It not only strengthened the city but also weakened the enemy.

A Divine Bridge Master could use human effort to construct a Divine Bridge, wielding the might of heaven and earth. A Divine Martial Venerable went a step further, aligning the human heart with the heavenly heart to control the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit and the forces of the Great Path more deeply.

Hence, in combat between Divine Martial entities, aside from the struggle of physical prowess, it mainly involved a contest for control over the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit.

If you are stronger by a little, your opponent becomes weaker by that much.

If you are weaker by a little, your opponent becomes stronger by that much.

That’s why the home ground advantage provided by the War God’s Atlas was crucial, enabling a significant degree of control over the Prime Spirit of heaven and earth, amplifying one’s own strength and diminishing the enemy’s.

As expected, once the Array was activated, the thunderclap from the brooding clouds receded, and the violent storm was greatly diminished.

The mighty power of the War God’s relic and the force of the Array snatched the Prime Spirit from heaven and earth, weakening Taoist Divine Skills!

Are Taoist techniques inferior to Treasured Instruments, Divine Skills inferior to the Array’s power?

That depends on whose Taoism and whose Divine Skills are in question!

“Boom!”

The thunder and rain, which had subsided for only a moment, surged back with a vengeance, forcibly reclaiming the Prime Spirit of heaven and earth and transforming it into the might of Taoist Divine Skills.

“Whoosh!”

With thunder booming and rain pouring again, the entirety of Dragon Chapter City was enveloped in the tempest below the darkened curtain of heaven, and bolts of lightning split the sky, casting a ghastly pallor over all below.

“What…!?”

Seeing this scene, even the Divine Martial Venerable Shi Jinglong couldn’t help but change his color.

The opponent could actually compete with the Dragon and Tiger Great Array for control over the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit?

There was only one possibility, one explanation!

Only the Divine Martial can stand against the Divine Martial!

Not only was the opponent’s cultivation far superior to his, but they also carried the War God’s Atlas to vie for the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit?

Which Divine Martial, which atlas?

Could it be Tianshu Thunder Rage from Heaven Trace Peak?

Impossible, Heaven Trace Peak is also a Divine Martial Heritage belonging to the Righteous Path; why would they attack under Dragon and Tiger Platform without reason?

Shi Jinglong’s thoughts were in turmoil, filled with shock and uncertainty.

Despite the shock and uncertainty, his hands moved swiftly as he immediately mobilized the Subduing Dragon and Tiger stele to stabilize the array and defend with all his might.

No matter who the enemy was, since they came bearing the War God’s Atlas, they were evidently determined to win. As a newly ascended Divine Martial, he had no capital to confront them outside the city; he could only firm up his array, blocking the soldiers as they came and covering up with earth as the water surged.

Although the situation was somewhat unfavorable, the advantage of being on home ground was still present.

What was just contested was only the control of the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit outside of the array, around Dragon Chapter City.

Inside the array, the power of the Prime Spirit in Dragon Chapter City had always been controlled by the Dragon and Tiger Great Array.

This was the advantage of the home field, a profound potentiality accumulated over ten thousand years of inheritance of the Dragon and Tiger Platform!

Even if the opponent came with the War God’s Atlas, he could still maintain an advantage through this.

This was also the reason why, despite the weakening of the Evil Path and the Demon Sect, they were still barely able to withstand the onslaught of the Righteous Path.

The advantage of the home field was truly too great; even if the number of Demon Sect Divine Martial was less than that of the Six Great Holy Lands, they could defend their cities by leaning on this edge, leading to a protracted struggle with the Righteous Path.

Unless the array could be broken, otherwise…

“Boom boom boom!”

Thunder roared again, and the world trembled.

Shi Jinglong’s heart skipped a beat, feeling deeply uneasy.

Looking up, he saw the dragon coiled and the tiger crouching, the War God’s Atlas suspended in mid-air, shining brilliantly. The power of the Dragon and Tiger Great Array was fully activated, protecting Dragon Chapter City and the Dragon and Tiger Platform within it, without a single gap to speak of.

In such a case, where did the unease come from?

As the confusion showed no sign of clearing, suddenly there was a sound…

“Quick!”

Between heaven and earth, a stern shout resonated, and the spell was fiercely accelerated.

“Boom boom boom!”

Then amidst the storm and thunder, a phantom figure appeared.

A phantom figure, indeed a Venerable God, the Thunderbolt Venerable God!

One could see this Venerable with disheveled hair, a third eye on the forehead, fully displaying an image of thunderous wrath, astride a dark inky Kylin, holding a Ruyi scepter in one hand and a golden whip in the other. Even as a phantom, an indistinct figure, it possessed boundless authority.

It was none other than the Taoist Thunder Ancestor!

As the Thunder Ancestor appeared, a flick of the golden whip and suddenly the sky filled with thunder, the boundless storm gathered itself into a thunder whip, lashing out heavily.

“Roar!”

With the whip’s crack, the earth and heavens shook, a mournful cry echoed, and the dragon and tiger phantoms coiling over Dragon Chapter City were split in half by a stroke of lightning, dissolving into energy that scattered away.

The Dragon and Tiger Great Array, broken in one strike!

Even though it was a War God’s Treasure, a Divine Martial array, in the end, it was only Fifth Tier. In front of a Sixth Order Grandmaster of the Array Path, it was not to say it was riddled with flaws, but it was certainly full of loopholes.

With the Taoist divine skills unleashed and the Thunder Ancestor’s divine might revealed, it was fiercely shattered on the spot.

“Pfft!”

The great array was broken, and the backlash was immediate. Shi Jinglong’s body trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his eyes bloodshot.

“How could this be?”

“Damn it!”

Although the backlash from the broken array was severe, a Divine Martial Venerable was still a Divine Martial Venerable after all, and with the War God’s Atlas, such a treasure to share the burden, his core was not injured. Quickly regaining his composure, Shi Jinglong issued a high-pitched command, “The enemy attacks! Where are the Dragon and Tiger Protectors?”

“Roar!”

No sooner had his words fallen when the energy of the dragon and the tiger surged forward, forming the figures of two individuals, both Grandmasters at the peak of Divine Bridge Mastery.

Seeing Shi Jinglong in such a state, both protectors were also startled, “Young Master?”

Shi Jinglong waved his hand and commanded with a deep voice, “An enemy has attacked and broken our array. There must be arrangements nearby. You two quickly lead the Dragon and Tiger armies to sweep the surroundings and break their foundation!”

“Yes!”

Upon hearing this, the two protectors did not dare to delay, each leaping away to lead their troops outside the city.

“Gather!”

Shi Jinglong then turned around, stimulated the Dragon and Tiger True Yuan within his body, and poured it into the Subduing Dragon and Tiger stele.

“Buzz!”

With the True Yuan infused into it, the stele under his control, now serving as the Commanding Point of the array, quivered instantly, rapidly coalescing its form and turned into a shadow of a dragon and a tiger, shooting straight into Shi Jinglong’s body.

With the Dragon and Tiger Great Array already broken and the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit in chaos, even though he still had strength left and the War God’s Atlas retained its power, it would be difficult to restore the array formation immediately.

Therefore, he decisively incorporated the Subduing Dragon and Tiger stele into his body, merging with heaven and earth, activating Divine Martial power, while trying to restore the Dragon and Tiger Great Array, he prepared to face the powerful enemy that had struck.

Just as the dragon and tiger were being re-absorbed…

“Boom boom boom!”

Lightning erupted once more, with thunder filling the sky.

A threatening cloud, carrying wind and thunder, crashed down into the center of the Dragon and Tiger Platform.

“Bang!”

The threatening cloud fell, and thunder struck with a tremendous force that caused the Dragon and Tiger to quake, stones breaking and clouds swirling, as dust and smoke billowed up.

In the midst of the dust and amidst the storm, the figure of a man gradually became clear, tall and majestic, his eyes cold as if holding thunder and lightning within, his murderous intent overwhelming.

Shi Jinglong’s pupils constricted as he recognized the identity of the newcomer.

It was…

“Heaven Martial—Xu Qingyang!!!”