Chapter 405

Chapter 405: Fearless and Unafraid, Selfless and Invincible

Jigui Wu suddenly burst into laughter, starting with a chuckle and building into a maniacal roar. It was as if he had just heard the most absurd joke imaginable.

“Ant!” he sneered.

“You don’t even qualify to be an ant in my presence, and yet you dream of killing me? How laughable!”

“You think that by forcing me out of the Seventh Prince’s body, you can kill me? I am unkillable! In your eyes, I am immortal, eternal and all-powerful. If you wish to kill me, then you are simply courting death!”

His laughter was wild, yet filled with rage. His aura surged violently, the pressure around him intensifying.

In truth, he was one with the Seventh Prince, their realms perfectly matched due to their full integration. Jigui Wu had long since intended to seize the prince’s body entirely.

The Seventh Prince stood at Opening the Sky Realm, Level Three; and so did Jigui Wu. In other words, his cultivation level matched Zhang Yang’s. The Seventh Prince was the only one who had never fallen behind Zhang Yang in realm, and Jigui Wu was no exception.

But in a moment of madness, Jigui Wu drew a deep breath, and in an instant, broke through two minor levels, ascending to Opening the Sky Realm, Level Five.

“Kill me?” he mocked. “You think someone like you, an ant can kill me?”

“Naive, foolish native! You will never comprehend what an immortal truly is, nor will you understand that your so-called ‘realm’ here means nothing to me…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Zhang Yang had no interest in listening to him.

Whoosh!

He unleashed his full power.

Crack! Even at Level Three, the sheer force of his aura caused even cultivators at the Small Boundless Realm to shrink back in fear. Their hearts trembled as he shattered the void, moving far faster than sound—faster than the eye could follow.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yang stood before Jigui Wu.

Boom!

He struck with the Initial Understanding of the Soul Binding Saint Power, a supreme technique designed to target the soul.

Despite his ferocity, Jigui Wu’s Remnant Soul was still tethered to the Seventh Prince. He had planned to take over the prince’s body, shedding all previous immortal path techniques to be reborn anew, becoming a supreme and unique existence.

But in this true confrontation, Jigui Wu felt the pressure. Caught off guard, he instinctively lashed out.

World-Destroying Hand!

This secret technique, once used by the Seventh Prince, became even more terrifying in Jigui Wu’s hands. His palm seemed to bring the apocalypse, radiating a suffocating dread.

But it made no difference.

The Soul Binding Saint Power targeted the soul, not physical strength.

Boom!

Jigui Wu’s Remnant Soul suddenly exploded, scattering into dozens of fragments.

But in the next moment, the fragments gathered together, re-forming his figure. He looked slightly weaker than before.

“Immortal? Not that impressive,” Zhang Yang said flatly.

Jigui Wu snarled,

“Native, you’re bringing destruction upon yourself. I cannot be killed, and if I don’t die, then you will!”

He threw his head back and howled. His hands formed a series of strange seals as eerie whistles escaped his lips, each carrying a twisted rhythm that shook the entire long street.

“My soul has withstood immortal tribulations, fused with the Power of Eternal Night, and absorbed the essence of the sun and moon! No one can kill me, no one can harm me! I will become the supreme ruler beneath the Eternal Night, I will…”

Bang!

Zhang Yang punched again, unleashing the Soul Binding Saint Power and shattering Jigui Wu’s Remnant Soul once more.

“Enough with the ‘I’ already.”

The soul began to reform.

Bang!

Another punch.

Reformation.

Bang!

Another punch.

After seven consecutive punches, Jigui Wu’s Remnant Soul, already flickering like a dying candle, was nearly extinguished, growing more faint and blurry with each blow.

No matter how much Jigui Wu boasted, no matter how invincible he claimed to be, he could not withstand the relentless assault of the Soul Binding Saint Power. He was nothing more than a wisp of Remnant Soul, a shadow of the immortal path’s former glory under Eternal Night.

“Enough!”

At last, after enduring countless blows, Jigui Wu erupted in fury, roaring,

“Foolish native! You’ve enraged me, I…”

Bang!

Zhang Yang stepped forward and punched again, shattering him on the spot.

This time, the Remnant Soul did not reform immediately.

Instead, it erupted into black flames, swirling violently and condensing into a ferocious, blazing soul surrounded by strange, unsettling sounds.

Then, a scene unfolded that struck terror and panic into the hearts of everyone in the Crimson Flame Imperial Capital.

The once bright sky, adorned with stars and moonlight, was suddenly consumed by darkness, the celestial bodies vanishing without a trace.

The entire capital was plunged into a darkness so profound that one couldn’t even see their own hand in front of their face. A chilling wind howled through the void, and people instinctively clutched their garments tighter.

But that was only the beginning.

At the far end of the long street where Zhang Yang and the others stood, a faint glimmer of light pierced through the suffocating darkness. Then, a massive head slowly rose from the horizon, as if lifting the heavens and the earth along with it.

The head was so colossal that it seemed to support the darkened sky itself.

With its emergence, every person in the Crimson Flame Imperial Capital suddenly felt as insignificant as ants. Their lives became as fragile as paper, teetering on the edge of annihilation.

The giant head… resembled Jigui Wu.

The terrifying visage opened its eyes, and in that instant, blood-curdling screams echoed across the capital. It was as though the people were being targeted by a sinister immortal, their bones gripped by an ancient, soul-deep dread.

Then came the sound of kneeling.

It wasn’t just the ordinary citizens, those even on the same street dropped to their knees with a heavy thud.

Even gifted cultivators like Jin Zhihong, Yan Chihuo, and Lu Hengkong could hardly resist the suffocating fear.

They had once overcome their fear of saints, but this was different. This was the fear of the immortals.

If even they felt powerless, how could anyone else endure?

At that moment, Zhang Yang felt something unprecedented, something deeply strange.

Back when he was in the Returning to Origin Realm, he had already achieved a state of fearlessness. That fearlessness came from his understanding of the immortal path and the profound truth that immortals, too, were subject to the Great Path.

Now, his heart still held no fear, but while his mind remained undaunted, his body trembled uncontrollably. It frustrated him. It embarrassed him. But he could not suppress it.

“Fearless and undaunted… tsk tsk,” came Jigui Wu’s sinister voice, echoing through the night sky.

“Even when faced with my true immortal form, you manage to maintain your poise. You surpass the Seventh Prince, you truly satisfy me. Perhaps… possessing you would be the better choice.”

Zhang Yang’s heart remained calm, his blood boiling with intensity. The Stone Monkey from the “Xiao” Hall in his bloodline world opened its eyes, emanating a fierce killing intent, yet still his body trembled without his consent.

“A fearless heart, but a trembling body, hahaha!” Jigui Wu laughed.

“Born in this vast world, your very soul carries the root of fear toward immortals. You possess a courageous heart, yet your body betrays you. In the end, it is meaningless.”

He sneered. “Your body fears me… your body is honest.”

Zhang Yang trembled as he raised his head, looking past the Remnant Soul toward the giant head rising on the horizon. He stared into those timeless, soul-piercing eyes that seemed to strip bare every secret of the human heart, eyes that filled one’s soul with terror, and whispered:

“If my body fears, then I shall forget the body… forget myself… forget everything, until only my heart remains. And in my heart, there is only me.”

Jigui Wu’s expression changed drastically.

Zhang Yang’s voice grew louder:

“To forget myself is to be without self. Without self, I shall be… invincible!”

His eyes gleamed, and the words of the Headless Monk from the Abyss of the Buried Immortals surfaced in his mind:

“All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dew and lightning. They should be viewed in this way.”

“My heart remains unmoved. All else is illusion.”

His murmured thoughts deepened Jigui Wu’s frown.

As a being from the Great Silence Immortal Realm, one who had once stood at the pinnacle of the fourth great stage of the immortal path, Jigui Wu possessed deep understanding of the Buddha-Immortal path.

He roared,

“You’ve misunderstood! The teachings of the Buddha and the immortal path are not to be interpreted this way!”

But Zhang Yang grinned widely.

“That’s exactly why I think this way. So now… I am fearless and undaunted, with no self, and no defeat!”

His body stopped trembling.

His steps grew steady.

And once more, he struck his eyes locked on the terrifying giant head on the horizon, as he charged toward Jigui Wu again.