Chapter 492

Chapter 492: It Was the Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion!

"Are the deaths of Dao Sovereign Ziyang and Dao Sovereign Tianxuan your doing, Daoist brother?"

Waves of shock surged through the crowd.

The Taixu Domain was the evolved Great Dao World of the masked man. The fact that Dao Sovereign Ziyang and Dao Sovereign Tianxuan had perished here could only prove one thing.

The masked man was the culprit behind the death of the two Dao Sovereigns.

"You’re not completely stupid, at least."

The masked man’s voice turned icy cold. A heavenly blade appeared in his hand. The blade seemed forged from stars of the ninth heaven, gleaming with dazzling starlight. Tendrils of starry divine patterns coiled around its length, each pattern refined from a single star.

"Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion! I’m irreconcilably opposed to you!"

A One Tribulation Dao Sovereign bellowed.

Meng Qingluo and Dao Sovereign Penglai also wore dark expressions.

The two Dao Sovereigns weren’t killed by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, but that didn’t make him a good man.

Combined with the stone tablet from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, they already believed it was the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion luring them into a trap, attempting to use the masked man’s hand to eliminate them.

As for the motive?

With their lives on the line, who had time to consider such things?

"It was the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion who directed you to come and steal this sovereign’s power?" The masked man’s gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping coldly over the twelve Dao Sovereigns.

"Steal?"

Dao Sovereign Penglai’s expression shifted slightly. "Daoist brother, we have not stolen the slightest bit of power from the Taixu Domain."

"Daoist brother, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion must be manipulating things behind the scenes!"

"He wants to frame us!"

Meng Qingluo said, "Daoist brother, this must be a misunderstanding."

"Senior, I can guarantee it was the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion who did this," Dao Sovereign Lingxu declared emphatically. "If you don’t believe me, Senior, I am willing to swear an oath."

"Swear an oath?"

The masked man sneered. "Whether it was him or not makes little difference."

"After this sovereign finishes slaughtering all of you, I shall pay Heaven’s Secret Pavilion a visit."

Clang!

The masked man violently channeled power into the starry heavenly blade. With one slash, thousands of stars shone in concert, their flickering starlight coalescing into terrifying sword energy. One stroke engulfed all twelve Dao Sovereigns within the derived supernatural ability.

Meng Qingluo’s eyes sharpened.

"Dao Sovereign Penglai, this man is strange," Meng Qingluo transmitted her voice.

"How so?"

Meng Qingluo replied, "As he said, his physical form evolved the Taixu Domain. But there are nearly a hundred Dao Realms here. Yet, while attacking us, he hasn’t mobilized the power of any Dao Realm."

Cultivating to the World Master Realm, the refined Great Dao World became the source of their power.

The more Dao Realms a cultivator possessed, the more force of the Great Dao they could wield, and the more derived supernatural abilities they could manifest.

The most suspicious point was that the masked man was merely a primordial spirit, seemingly unable to manipulate a physical body.

Roar!

With a slash of the masked man’s blade, Dao Sovereign Penglai let out a furious roar and suddenly revealed his true form: the Tánglù. Its body resembled a tiger, bearing a pair of long tusks, its entire frame covered in golden fur.

As one of the Four Fiends, Dao Sovereign Penglai’s strength was undeniably immense.

Among his attributes, his physical body stood as his greatest asset.

Thud!

Dao Sovereign Penglai swiped his massive claw toward the masked man, tearing through the curtain of stars as if seeking to shatter the masked man’s divine art. Yet in that fleeting moment, the starry sky blade fell, effortlessly severing the Tánglù’s tail.

Sword-like shards of starlight rained down, riddling Dao Sovereign Penglai’s body with countless wounds as he plummeted from the sky.

The eleven other Dao Sovereigns immediately unleashed their divine arts. Dao Sovereign treasures soared forth, filling the sky with overwhelming divine powers and Great Dao energies, all crashing toward the masked man.

Their combined assault created an awe-inspiring spectacle.

However,

the masked man was far too formidable. As a Four Tribulations Dao Sovereign, even in this primordial spirit form, he wielded a world-shaking, earth-shattering power.

Swish!

With a single stroke of his blade, ten thousand laws were extinguished.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Dao Sovereigns were sent flying, one after another, each bearing a distinct slash wound upon their bodies.

“…”

Feng Wuji, concealed within the shadows, witnessed this scene as a fierce twitch pulled at the corner of his eye.

He strained to channel the Dutian Dao Xuanjing, shifting his aura according to the unique origins of each world within the Taixu Domain, hiding himself with impeccable perfection.

But at this very moment,

Feng Wujin spotted the masked man cast an almost imperceptible glance in his direction.

"I’ve been exposed!"

A chill shot through Feng Wuji’s heart.

Though he could draw upon the mysteries of his one hundred and eight Great Dao Worlds to shift through one hundred and eight distinct auras, seamlessly merging with the Taixu Domain, the Taixu Domain itself was forged from the masked man’s physical body.

How could he possibly remain hidden while existing within the masked man’s body?

The only saving grace was that the masked man didn’t seem to realize that the one siphoning power from the Taixu Domain was Feng Wuji.

"While they’re still tangled up, I must seize the chance to flee."

Feng Wuji poured his all into his escape, streaking toward the outer reaches of the Taixu Domain.

"For years, I plotted," the masked man’s voice, laced with venomous hatred and escalating murderous intent, echoed. "I deliberately spread news of the Taixu Domain across all realms, intending to open it the very day I succeeded in forging one hundred and eight Great Dao Worlds. My plan was to lure Dao Sovereigns from across the world into the trap!"

"That way, success would have been utterly assured."

"You fools have ruined my plan!" He gritted his teeth, the killing aura thickening like smoke. "The only compensation… is your lives."

Boom!

The masked man drove the Stellar Heavenly Knife, and strands of divine patterns rose up, evolving into three thousand six hundred stars that illuminated heaven and earth. Stellar Dharma Images manifested one after another.

In an instant, the three thousand six hundred Dharma Images stood tall, grasping star light as if it were whips, lashing toward the twelve Dao Sovereigns.

"In this world, there aren’t many people who can cultivate the Stellar Great Dao to this level!" Meng Qingluo exclaimed, her gaze terrified.

Bang!

Suddenly, the masked man’s gaze abruptly changed, his aura became weak. The three thousand six hundred stellar Dharma Images twisted into illusions and showed signs of collapse.

Strands of stellar whips, still in mid-air, collapsed without warning.

The domain condensed from the Stellar Great Dao collapsed.

"I guessed right after all," Meng Qingluo thought, overjoyed, the masked man must have had something wrong with himself, which was why he left his physical body in the Taixu Domain, and only his primordial spirit could act.

Otherwise, with the power of a Four Tribulations Dao Sovereign, if he had unleashed his full strength, he could have instantly killed their entire crowd without needing any great effort.

"Daoist brother Penglai, fight out!"

"Fight out!"

The twelve Daosovereigns were greatly shocked.

Boom!

Dao Sovereign Penglai charged at the forefront, his physical body swelling into a towering ancient beast. With a sweep of its long tail, it swept away stars one by one.

Two beams of chaotic divine light erupted from his eyes, piercing through multiple Great Dao Worlds.

"Hurry and go!" yelled Dao Sovereign Penglai.

Dao Sovereign Penglai immediately fled.

"Go!"

Dao Sovereign Lingxu was covered in wounds, divine blood flowing everywhere. He transformed into a Three-Legged Golden Crow. With a flap of its wings, it flew through innumerable Great Dao Worlds.

Their speeds were all not slow.

Almost in the blink of an eye, they vanished from the masked man’s sight.

"His condition is too bizarre," Meng Qingluo hesitated slightly.

The current masked man had pitifully weak power, and if she attacked to kill him, there was a certain chance of success.

But upon second thought,

Meng Qingluo abandoned the idea.

She dared not gamble.

Once they gambled and lost, they would all die there.

The twelve Dao Sovereigns were extremely fast. In just a few breaths, they traversed many worlds, completely flew out of the Taixu Domain, and escaped that nightmare place.

"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is utterly treacherous! Next time I see him, I’ll make him pay!" cursed Dao Sovereign Lingxu. His cultivation level was the lowest, and his injuries were the most severe.

"We can discuss that after defeating him."

Dao Sovereign Penglai couldn’t be bothered to speak more.

"Earlier this person claimed we stole his power—that statement likely held truth," Meng Qingluo’s eyes gleamed with intelligence. "There must be another presence within the Taixu Domain."

"Someone else?"

The group was startled.

"The one stealing the power must surely be that other individual,"

Meng Qingluo continued. "Moreover, even if it wasn’t the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion himself, it is deeply connected to him."

"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is truly despicable."

"He used vile schemes, treating us as bait, nearly getting us all killed here."

The Dao Sovereigns itched to tear Ye Xu apart limb from limb.

"Let us leave first,"

Meng Qingluo said.

The masked man was still nearby. Recovering his strength, he might resume his pursuit.

After all, he had schemed for countless years, linking the Taixu Domain to the Celestial Scriptures. Even after slaying Dao Sovereign Ziyang, he released false rumors as bait to lure others in.

Yet after today, the deception involving the Taixu Domain and the Celestial Scriptures would be utterly exposed, and all would know it was merely a trap.

"Thanks to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, our feud with this Four Tribulations Dao Sovereign is now entirely set," Dao Sovereign Penglai smiled bitterly. His intention was merely to seize some gains; instead, he’d earned the enmity of a Four Tribulations Dao Sovereign.

The group scattered.

Two incense sticks later.

The masked man’s aura finally steadied.

"This technique, while capable of enabling me to cultivate the 108th Dao Realm and laying the foundation to advance to Heavenly Sovereign, is fundamentally incomplete."

"My very physical form has been constrained here, creating a profound and dangerous weakness."

The masked man’s expression darkened profoundly.

The cultivation method he practiced was named the Zhoutian Dao Xuanjing.

Yet, when he obtained it, he had already reached the Three Tribulations Dao Sovereign realm—his foundation solidified, preventing him from starting fresh as he could in the World Master Realm.

It was precisely because of this limitation that he conceived the scheme to devour other Dao Sovereigns, using them to repair himself and forge ninety-nine Great Dao Worlds, paving his path toward the Heavenly Sovereign realm.

Yet advantage brought disadvantage.

Having devoured multiple Dao Sovereigns and forged ninety-nine Great Dao Worlds, a rift had gradually formed between his primordial spirit and his physical body, preventing coexistence.

His primordial spirit could no longer mobilize the strength of his physical form.

He had ceaselessly searched for solutions.

This journey abroad followed the promise of a method, leading him across dozens of immortal domains to Yuqing Palace, beseeching a Heavenly Sovereign personally for elucidation.

Ultimately, he returned empty-handed.

"The one pilfering the power from my physical form is the same individual. They targeted every Dao Realm without exception; it wasn’t that group of Dao Sovereigns," the masked man’s eyes flashed with sharp light.

Even Meng Qingluo, the strongest among the twelve Dao Sovereigns, only cultivated seventy-six Great Dao Worlds—she couldn’t possibly have stolen such vast strength.

That left only the individual he sensed at the World Master Realm, that young man.

"Heh heh…"

The masked man let out a strange, menacing laugh. Feng Wuji had thoroughly captured his attention.

After all,

perfection in harmonizing with ninety-nine Great Dao Worlds sounded far too coincidental.

"If you can rapidly cultivate to the Dao Sovereign realm, all the better," the masked man’s lips curled slightly upward. He had already marked Feng Wuji as his prey.

Feng Wuji’s actions this time, while not shattering his foundation, necessitated over a hundred thousand years to fully recover his power.

Moreover,

having already forged ninety-nine Great Dao Worlds, he needed only nine more Dao fruits to achieve perfection. Finding Dao Sovereigns whose Great Dao precisely matched the principles within the Zhoutian Dao Xuanjing was challenging.

Feng Wuji… could serve as a viable alternative path.