Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 772 - 755: Immortal Slaying Finger
How Lei Wanpeng managed to wield the power of the laws so adeptly was now irrelevant; what mattered was how to stop him.
Seeing Zhouyang's attack prove futile, Yin Hanguang's face hardened, as if making a certain resolution.
With a raise of his hand, an artifact silently appeared in his grasp.
It was a human skull, as white as jade, only the size of an adult's fist, its entire body as pristine as fine jade, emitting a shimmering light.
Once it appeared in Yin Hanguang's grasp, it immediately captured Zhouyang's and Lei Wanpeng's attention.
"That is..."
Zhouyang stared at the crystalline, jade-like human skull in Yin Hanguang's hands, as if struck by a realization, his eyes full of astonishment.
"Impossible! How can you possibly wield the Skull of Light?"
Lei Wanpeng exclaimed in utter shock, quickly confirming Zhouyang's suspicion.
He had long ago researched that the Great Brightness Immortal Palace possessed three Tier Seven Immortal Artifacts: the Skull of Light, the Eye of Light, and the Scepter of Light—all crafted by True Monarch Guangming using his own Immortal Body as material.
Yet upon reaching the Land of the Far West, he had only ever seen traces of the Scepter of Light and the Eye of Light among his experiences, never the Skull of Light.
Further inquiry revealed that unlike the other two Tier Seven Immortal Artifacts, the Skull of Light had unique requirements for its user's constitution.
Over the millennia, only a handful of Great Brightening Immortal Palace cultivators could wield this Tier Seven Immortal Artifact.
Since the emergence of the Anti-Light Alliance, only once had a Great Brightness Immortal Palace cultivator capable of using the Skull of Light appeared.
At the time, the cultivator was only in the Early-Stage Nascent Soul, yet by sacrificing his life to activate this Tier Seven Immortal Artifact, he instantaneously killed an Anti-Light Alliance cultivator of the Seventh-Layer Nascent Soul, astonishing countless onlookers.
Could Yin Hanguang be a cultivator with such a unique constitution?
Under Zhouyang's uncertain yet expectant gaze, Yin Hanguang suddenly bit his tongue, spraying essence blood onto the human skull, swiftly reciting an incantation.
In an instant, two points of dazzling, lamp-like white spiritual light appeared in the hollow eye sockets of the skull.
"Please, Ancestor Master, manifest!"
Yin Hanguang respectfully held the skull aloft with both hands, fervently and devoutly shouting.
Crack, crack!
The skull abruptly flew from Yin Hanguang's hands, turned to look at him, its mandible slightly opening and closing, emitting a creepy sound.
"Hmph, just playing tricks!"
Lei Wanpeng snorted coldly with a changeable expression, quickly forming a seal with his hands, sending a thick silver arc of electricity hurtling towards Yin Hanguang.
Yin Hanguang, witnessing this, remained unfazed, as though he hadn't noticed it at all.
Soon, a shocking scene unfolded.
The white jade skull's slightly ajar mandibles neatly swallowed the incoming silver arc as if it was voluntarily seeking doom.
As the skull swallowed the silver arc, its jade gleam suddenly became several times brighter, as though it had consumed something immensely nourishing.
Before Lei Wanpeng could react to this unbelievable transformation, the white jade skull flew atop Yin Hanguang's head, sitting like a crown.
Boom!
A powerful and mysterious aura of magical power surged from Yin Hanguang.
The fervently devout expression on Yin Hanguang's face turned calm, his demeanor serene as if nothing had stirred within him.
Calmly, he gazed at Lei Wanpeng, pointing a finger which radiated a dazzling, intense white light.
The next moment, the intense white light coalesced into an arm-thick beam, shooting towards Lei Wanpeng.
"Celestial Thunder Body Protection!"
Lei Wanpeng, seemingly recognizing the beam's dreadful power, cried out, as silver electric serpents spiraled around him, forming a spherical shield of electricity to protect him.
Yet all this was in vain.
The white beam emitted from Yin Hanguang's finger, though not visibly grand, melted the protective electric sphere enveloping Lei Wanpeng as if sunshine on snow, piercing through his chest.
A fist-sized void appeared in Lei Wanpeng's chest, piercing through completely.
He looked down at the void in his chest, disbelief filling his eyes.
Even now, he couldn't comprehend what just happened.
Why did the Thunder Law Power he commanded completely collapse in an instant?
Was this the power of the Skull of Light?
He struggled to look up at Yin Hanguang before his body suddenly exploded into countless fragments of flesh and blood with a "bang".
Within the torrential blood rain, a dim silver thunder spear and several magical artifacts scattered into the air—Lei Wanpeng's last remnants in this world!
A Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortal" cultivator perished just like that, inexplicably.
From afar, Zhouyang silently watched this scene unfold, immense shock filling both his eyes and heart, an indescribable awe and fear filling his spirit, unsettling his mind.
He had seen powerful figures act before; back in the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm, Du Chongyang's might when acting as a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal was much stronger than Yin Hanguang's strike.
But Du Chongyang was a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal!
No matter the chaos he wreaked, Zhouyang wouldn't be as shocked as now.
After all, in his understanding, a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal inherently possesses the power to ascend.
But Yin Hanguang?
Yin Hanguang was merely a Seventh-Layer Nascent Soul cultivator!
Even though Lei Wanpeng had been severely wounded by the Vermilion Bird Fan, he remained a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortal" realm cultivator.
Moreover, seeing how he was wielding thunder, his strength had not diminished before his final moment.
Yet even so, he couldn't withstand a single move from Yin Hanguang.
This left Zhouyang in utter shock.
He couldn't help but fix his gaze on Yin Hanguang, a newfound wariness mixing with his shock.
"Fellow Daoist Yin, with power such as this, why did you even need to..."
Zhouyang's lips moved slightly, intending to ask Yin Hanguang why, despite such ability, he had to exhaust favors and even gift him the [Immortal Spirit Jade Dew] to seek his assistance.
However, he hadn't finished his question when he was dumbfounded by the change happening to Yin Hanguang.
Yin Hanguang's well-maintained youthful appearance suddenly became inundated with white hair and wrinkles, making him seem to age a thousand years in an instant.
"Does Fellow Daoist Zhou understand now?"
Raising his hand, Yin Hanguang removed the White Jade Skull from his head and put it away, responding to Zhouyang with a hoarse voice.
In an instant, Zhouyang was left speechless.
"Is there anything Zhou can assist with?"
After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice.
"Of course, although Lei Wanpeng is dead, other cultivators of the [Anti-Light Alliance] remain. If Fellow Daoist Zhou can help the Immortal Palace eliminate a few more, Yin and the Immortal Palace would be exceedingly grateful!"
Yin Hanguang nodded slightly and expressed his request without hesitation.
Though Zhouyang hadn't played a significant role in dealing with Lei Wanpeng earlier, it was only because Lei Wanpeng's [Celestial Thunder Body Infusion] Secret Technique increased his power too quickly, far beyond Zhouyang's normal range of response.
Given another opponent, changing to other Seventh-Layer Nascent Soul or Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivators, Zhouyang's performance would undoubtedly be exceptional.
This, Yin Hanguang had no doubt.
"Then Fellow Daoist Yin, rest well. Zhou will go first."
Gazing at Yin Hanguang's aging face, Zhouyang said this and flew towards the nearest battlefield.
As Yin Hanguang had anticipated, when dealing with other Nascent Soul stage cultivators, Zhouyang's displayed strength was overwhelmingly dominant.
After joining the battle, within less than half an hour, he had already slain two, helping the side of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace to secure a decisive victory.
With the death of Lei Wanpeng and the addition of Zhouyang's powerful new force, the remaining Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the [Anti-Light Alliance] realized the situation's futility and desperately fled.
The Nascent Soul stage cultivators on the side of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing cultivators.
By the end of the pursuit, of the seventeen Nascent Soul cultivators from the [Anti-Light Alliance] who participated in this war, only twelve managed to escape back to their respective sects and clans, two of whom only managed to escape with their Nascent Souls.
Including Lei Wanpeng, five Nascent Soul stage cultivators fell directly under the assault of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace and Zhouyang.
Of course, while the Great Brightness Immortal Palace achieved victory, it wasn't without cost.
One of their Nascent Soul cultivators died in an opponent's Nascent Soul self-detonation, another had their body destroyed, and Palace Master Yin Hanguang, using power beyond his limit, suffered a significant lifespan reduction, ending his cultivation path.
Nevertheless, victory was victory, and as the victors, the Great Brightness Immortal Palace quickly launched a comprehensive counteroffensive.
Within two months, they not only reclaimed all territories occupied by the [Anti-Light Alliance] but also invaded the [Anti-Light Alliance]'s lands, seizing vast tracts of land and population.
They only halted their offensive when the battle lines reached the mountain gates of several major sects under the [Anti-Light Alliance].
The mountain gates of major sects were equipped with powerful Mountain Protection Arrays, and with these arrays' support, a single Nascent Soul stage cultivator could hold off two or even three peers.
Though the Great Brightness Immortal Palace now held a substantial advantage in the number of top-tier cultivators, relying solely on brute force to break the [Anti-Light Alliance]'s major sect mountain gates was still challenging.
This wasn't even the primary reason the Great Brightness Immortal Palace halted their assault.
The true reasons were twofold: firstly, several Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the rest of the Westernmost Cultivation Realm who had remained neutral and reclusive, unwilling to see the Great Brightness Immortal Palace obliterate the [Anti-Light Alliance] and become unrivaled, had been persuaded to join the latter.
Secondly, Yin Hanguang's aging and decay made some individuals within the Great Brightness Immortal Palace entertain different ideas and not wish for the accomplishment of destroying the [Anti-Light Alliance] to fall upon him.
With such internal discontent and external pressure, the Great Brightness Immortal Palace had no choice but to stop their assault.
"These old bastards should be killed!"
In a cave abode, with silver hair and an aged face, Yin Hanguang, in front of the outsider Zhouyang, without any scruples, expressed his profound disgust and hatred for some internal forces dragging down the Immortal Palace.
To kill Lei Wanpeng, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice five hundred years of his lifespan to exchange for that Immortal Slaying Finger, reducing his originally seven- or eight-hundred-year lifespan to only two or three centuries remaining.
Such a short lifespan wasn't even enough for his cultivation to advance to the Eighth-Layer Nascent Soul!
Forced into paying such a hefty price, Yin Hanguang naturally harbored a bone-deep hatred for the [Anti-Light Alliance], wishing to eliminate them quickly.
On the other hand, given the hopelessness in the path to immortality and drastic reduction in lifespan, if he could lead the destruction of the [Anti-Light Alliance], a centuries-old adversary of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace, achieving what generations of Palace Masters had not,
Then he, Yin Hanguang, would feel it worthwhile even if he were to pass away two to three hundred years later.
However, it was apparent that some did not wish to see him accomplish this monumental task and accrue such an immense achievement, thereby increasing his prestige.
It's often said that thwarting someone's path is akin to killing their parents.
Faced with this situation, it would be surprising if Yin Hanguang could contain his anger.
"What does Fellow Daoist Yin plan to do now?"
Zhouyang looked at Yin Hanguang with a calm expression and asked, without commenting on Yin Hanguang's angry words.
Because he knew that they were merely words spoken in a moment of anger by Yin Hanguang.
In reality, with only two to three hundred years of lifespan left and difficulty in progressing his cultivation path, Yin Hanguang currently had no power to kill Elder Lin.
Moreover, such internal strife was most taboo within the current Great Brightness Immortal Palace.
If Yin Hanguang dared to do so, even those elders who originally supported him would likely abandon him immediately.
After all, the formation of the [Anti-Light Alliance] and the decline of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace were both consequences of the internal strife several thousand years ago.
With such historical lessons, how could future cultivators allow such events to recur?
"Earlier, when examining Lei Wanpeng's relics, Yin discovered a treasure that I believe will greatly interest Fellow Daoist Zhou."
Yin Hanguang didn't answer Zhouyang's question but brought up another topic.
"Oh, what kind of treasure might it be?"
Zhouyang was indeed prompted by his words and followed up with inquiry.
Seeing this, Yin Hanguang nodded in satisfaction and, without further suspense, said immediately: "A Secret Technique for breaking through a bottleneck. Lei Wanpeng's breakthrough to the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul was due to this Secret Technique."
What?
Zhouyang's face shook with astonishment as he looked at Yin Hanguang.
After a long while, he gazed solemnly at Yin Hanguang and said, "What conditions does Fellow Daoist Yin require for Zhou to view this Secret Technique?"
