Chapter 412: Chapter 354: Proving Oneself in Battle, Matching in Rivalry
Seventy-two Song Lin, seventy-two spells and magic artifacts.
In the sky, the Cloud Seals of the Five Mountains True Form Map appeared again.
The Tianhe faced the pressure of the Five Mountains True Form Map directly, feeling the suppression of five forces similar to the Taiyue Dao.
Right now, he couldn’t use the Heavenly Master’s Dao fully and could only rely on the strength of his ordinary Primordial Spirit.
But even with just the power of the Primordial Spirit, can you withstand it?
Tianhe waved his large hand; the pitch-black sky curtain fell once again.
It’s still better to keep this hidden from others.
The Ghost King recovered entirely and began gathering toward this side.
From the darkened firmament fell streaks of eerie green starlight.
The starlight resembled a meteor shower and carried the power of filthy Divine Soul spells.
This was the Nine Nether Soul-Destroying Divine Light.
When it touched the Divine Soul, it would instantly extinguish it completely.
Tianhe unleashed another killing blow.
He showed no mercy; though he didn’t understand why the Taiyue Dao was being suppressed, now wasn’t the time for such questions.
He resolved to capture Song Lin first and interrogate him later.
Seventy-two Song Lin faced the overwhelming Divine Light and the charging Eight Ghost Kings, like small boats in a vast ocean, on the verge of being capsized by the waves.
Each of the seventy-two Song Lin brought out the Nine Elders Immortal Capital Seal.
"Command!"
Another Cloud Seal flew out from the Twelve Cloud Seal Technique.
"Gate."
A pure golden gate radiated brilliance, with fifty-seven golden characters dancing upon it.
"Lift eyes from heavenly vision, bright stars, lesser achievements... Xin-Ren Yuan-Bing, Upper Xin..."
Pitch-black heavens were instantly imbued with golden light, spanning over 1,400 firmly closed mystical gates.
The gate panels were engraved with lifelike divinities.
These gates formed a semicircular shape, enveloping ten miles of land within.
Boom boom boom!
The Divine Light blasted the gates, shattering one after another.
The Eight Ghost Kings were also momentarily blocked.
This was the Cloud Seal of the character "Gate."
Its origin was a passage from the Little Three Emperors Scripture, the Human Emperor’s inner text: "Twenty positions form the Eight Diagram; external evil shall not intrude; divine spirits guard the gate. Do not let it be seen or read by anyone."
By now, more than half of Song Lin’s semblances had already rushed in close to the two.
Tianhe distinctly sensed the killing intent in Song Lin’s eyes.
Twenty streaks of Emperor’s Sword Energy descended.
Then came a hundred streaks of Eight Sceneries Divine Sword.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter; flowers, wind, snow, and moon.
The ultimate techniques of seventy-two Tribulation Crossing experts were not trivial.
Tianhe retreated a step, summoning forth the One Qi God Transformation Tripod and the Golden Jade Seal nearby.
The tripod transformed all laws; the seal manifested all methods.
Countless spells flew from Tianhe’s side.
All the spells collided endlessly.
Within a thousand-mile radius, dazzling light flashed relentlessly, just a glance of which brought tears to one’s eyes, while some went blind instantly.
Tianhe no longer wished to conceal his power.
Compared to the Spirit Killing Talisman brothers, the rewards for killing Song Lin were far greater. If he could take down Song Lin, he could dismiss all the losses from before.
A definite kill!
Staring at the countless magical explosions in the air, Tianhe thought inwardly.
Song Lin had progressed too quickly. He was now able to resist Tianhe’s spells, but if left to grow further, there would be no telling what he could become.
The two sides’ spells collided, instantly destroying more than half of the seventy-two Song Lin figures.
The golden gates in the sky were shattered, and the Eight Ghost Kings each unleashed their respective spells.
Boom boom boom...
A continuous barrage of spells rained down as if spilling wantonly.
Eight Primordial Spirit-level Ghost Kings combined with two Innate Spiritual Treasures—there was no chance of survival.
At least, that’s what Yunhai thought, watching the raging smoke with lingering fear.
In this battle, regardless of which side he faced, Yunhai believed he’d have no means of surviving.
Thankfully, Song Lin was dead. Thankfully, it wasn’t him who was the target.
Swish!
From the smoke and debris floated a mangled mass of meat.
Hm?
Indeed, it was mangled meat.
As the mangled mass flew, it regenerated rapidly into the full form of Song Lin.
Even Tianhe was caught off guard by this spectacle.
Eight Primordial Spirits, two Innate Spiritual Treasures—how was he still alive?
"Impossible..."
Yunhai exclaimed in shock.
How could this kid deal with him?
"Hmph!"
How overconfident!
Tianhe’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Boom!
The One Qi God Transformation Tripod unleashed Xuanhuang Qi.
Swish!
The Xuanhuang Qi swept viciously, instantly erasing Song Lin’s upper body.
Swish!
Then it regenerated again.
"Heh heh, you cannot kill me!"
At that moment, Song Lin chuckled coldly.
"Sword" Cloud Seal.
A myriad of swords erupted simultaneously, shattering Yunhai’s thousand-zhang dharma body.
A moment later, Song Lin was struck by Tianhe and embedded deeply into the ground.
A golden palm soon pressed down upon him.
Sure enough, it was blocked again by the Five Mountains True Form Map.
"Heh heh, Tianhe, you can’t kill me."
Song Lin sneered wildly.
With that, the two began their offensive and defensive battle centered on Yunhai.
The Twelve Talismans transformed endlessly.
Divine Gate Guard, summon troops and formations, Five Mountains True Form, Eight Sceneries Divine Sword, Shenxiao Thunder Skill, 72 Transformations, as well as killing spells like Ghost Killing Spell and Imperial Edict from within the Little Three Emperors Scripture.
A total of twelve dharma powers.
They were unleashed continuously without pause. The 72 Transformations generated seventy-two identical Song Lin figures.
Despite the enormous consumption, Song Lin was an expert in alchemy.
Relying on the immortality of the Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body, Song Lin handled everything without showing weakness.
He didn’t aim to kill Tianhe, only to eliminate Yunhai right under Tianhe’s gaze—or at least cripple him.
The first offensive broke Yunhai’s dharma body.
The second sliced apart Yunhai’s third eye.
From nearby Donghua Jungle onlookers and various factions observing from hundreds of miles away, everyone witnessed this scene.
What many had thought would be Tianhe clearing out his sect in a decisive sweep instead revealed Song Lin, who had just broken through, easily maneuvering under Tianhe’s grasp.
Step by step, he forced Yunhai, a Thunder Tribulation master, into a helpless position.
Unbelievable!
"Shadow Heavenly Master" had originally been a term meant to mock Tianhe, ridiculing him for failing to manage his Daoist leadership.
But now, with Song Lin’s strength on full display, nobody doubted the truth behind those mocking words.
Even the Spirit Talisman brothers and others fully conceded, no longer questioning Song Lin’s worthiness of his reputation.
"Tianhe, you disregard rules, let your disciples kill one another, and act unworthy of your position. Your lackey Yunhai has committed countless atrocities—today he must die!"
Song Lin wielded words to unravel the rationality of both men.
Two Ghost Killing Spells once more shattered Yunhai’s dharma body.
Blurt!
Following that, under Tianhe’s enraged gaze, the Emperor Sword pierced through Yunhai’s Dantian.
The Lord of Xuanyu City, Yunhai, was gravely injured!
Song Lin stood sword in hand, with his Taoist robe billowing in the storm and his dharma body glowing brilliantly.
Under countless gazes, Song Lin in that moment seemed every bit a Heavenly Master, facing Tianhe from afar in confrontation.
Titles like "Magic Meeting," "Reputation," "Grandmaster" were ultimately meaningless; only this battle truly proved Song Lin’s worth.
The Eight Ghost Kings formed into an array, morphing into eight towering mountains.
Demonic Qi surged high, transforming into colossal peaks encircled by infinite dark locks.
Tianhe finally abandoned thoughts of obliterating Song Lin outright, opting for confinement and suppression instead.
In reality, dealing with the Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body was quite simple: stop trying to kill it directly.
Not just Tianhe; even if Yunhai had considered this at the start, Song Lin might have found things tricky.
Unless one possessed the Buddha’s enlightenment golden light, capable of transforming from the soul and essence.
Under the surrounding gazes, Tianhe’s expression turned dark.
If Song Lin wasn’t killed, there would be no resolution.
In that instant, all spells were unleashed.
Eight Ghost Kings, Tianhe’s primary Ghost King dharma form, two Innate Spiritual Treasures, and the Taiyue Dao.
The Heavenly Master struck with full force; the earth trembled across a thousand miles, sweeping away all clouds in an instant.
"Song Lin, you little brat—today I will suppress you!"
This time, Song Lin wouldn’t escape.
Tribulation crossing experts were still tribulation crossing; Heavenly Masters were still Heavenly Masters.
No matter how refined the techniques, once the weaknesses were exposed, crossing ranks to battle was still impossible.
Such was the power of a Heavenly Master.
Song Lin stood motionless as if he had given up all resistance.
Boom!
The pitch-black heavens were ripped apart once again.
The Nine Yang Demons, the Nine Sons Ghost Mother, Divine Intent Brightness, the Heavenly Slaughter’s Killing Sword Dao True Intent, Earth Vein Mother Qi of the Earth Evil.
"Haha, Tianhe—I’ve returned!"
Prince Zhonghuang laughed heartily.
Everyone surged toward Tianhe.
Song Lin had stalled long enough, and finally, reinforcements had arrived.
The Five Mountains True Form Map hung from each person’s waist, and though it couldn’t counteract, the Taiyue Dao from the Heavenly Master no longer affected them.
Two Thunder Tribulations, one Fire Tribulation, two Wind Tribulations, plus Song Lin, a combatant of Thunder Tribulation-level strength.
The seamless coordination of the group left Tianhe with no advantage even against an ordinary Primordial Spirit.
Boom!
The Eight-Armed Ghost King and the Bat-winged Ghost King showed signs of losing control.
These were the corpses of two past Palace Masters from Yin Spring Palace.
Tianhe’s expression changed dramatically; after a moment’s resistance, he fled embarrassedly.
At that moment, Song Lin met Tianhe’s gaze, complex emotions flashing through his expression before he spoke with a smirk:
"Tianhe, I also have my allies."
Indeed, he was no longer fighting alone; the entire Taoist lineage relied on his existence.
My Dao shall never be solitary.
"Should we pursue him?" Zhonghuang asked, "This might be the best chance to capture Tianhe."
"No, don’t chase him."
Song Lin rejected resolutely, smiling proudly:
"I can still break through. Prince Zhonghuang, you can still ascend to the Primordial Spirit. Elder Zhengxin is about to cross his tribulation."
"We are continuously progressing; opportunities will always favor us."
Tianhe’s forces weren’t weak; even if captured, it would result in pyrrhic victory.
The timing is ours; there’s no need for needless risk.
Song Lin glanced at Wu Yi nearby—his plan had yet to unfold, summoning the Sun Jade Carriage shortly after.
"Let’s go! Return home, farm, and cultivate!"
The Donghua Alliance experts had triumphed over Tianhe, severely injuring Yunhai.
Song Lin’s battle sealed his reputation.
He was the Grandmaster, the Tribulation Crossing expert; his Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body shone brightly, and the Twelve Cloud Seals proved endlessly variable... Such feats now circulated atop the desks of major power leaders.
After this battle, the Donghua Alliance and Tianhe’s forces found themselves in a state of equal rivalry.