Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 805 - 788: Reconciliation Through a Handshake
In the sky, Zhou Yang looked at the solemnly murderous Tongtian Yaowang, hesitating in his heart.
The Dayan Tiangang Sword Formation is just one of his killing moves, but he has at least three powerful attacks that can harm Tongtian Yaowang.
He hasn't even summoned his external incarnation yet.
However, from the brief exchange just now, he has glimpsed Tongtian Yaowang's formidable strength, especially those overwhelmingly powerful spatial powers, which are truly unreasonable.
Of course, what he fears most is that silver-gray spindle artifact which ripped through space.
This artifact doesn't seem like a Tier Seven Immortal Artifact, yet its power is simply outrageous, directly tearing the fabric of space!
Moreover, Zhou Yang knows that when he exterminated Celestial Killer Corpse King in the Sea of Death, Tongtian Yaowang seized the Tier Seven Demon Artifact Demon Dragon Blade from its hands.
Though the artifact's attributes might not align with Tongtian Yaowang, it serves as a potent trump card.
Therefore, even though Zhou Yang holds back several trump cards, he has no assurance that deploying these would guarantee victory over his opponent.
"How on earth did Lan Daoist manage to gravely injure him then?"
Zhou Yang sighed inwardly, with a wave of his sleeve, he recollected the scattered flying swords.
Then, with a flicker, he summoned forth his external incarnation, possessing equal cultivation to himself.
Upon appearing, the incarnation cupped his hands respectfully toward Tongtian Yaowang, saying, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, your powers are awe-inspiring; Zhou acknowledges defeat. Zhou apologizes for any offense previously spoken and hopes for your forgiveness."
"Fellow Daoist Zhou sure has some means, cultivating an incarnation with equal cultivation!"
Tongtian Yaowang, with a serious expression, gazed at Zhou Yang's incarnation, deeply astounded.
He knew Zhou Yang practiced external incarnation, yet he never imagined the incarnation's cultivation was on par with Zhou Yang himself.
In nearly ten thousand years, he has never witnessed such an occurrence.
Having witnessed Zhou Yang's sword formation divine techniques, he understood the great significance of this incarnation for Zhou Yang.
This means Zhou Yang can entrap enemies with the sword array while letting the incarnation wield the Tier Seven Immortal Artifact Vermilion Bird Fan, or harness other powerful divine techniques requiring buildup.
Originally, Tongtian Yaowang felt that although Zhou Yang's strength was decent, it was not sufficient to challenge him.
But now, seeing Zhou Yang's incarnation, he had to abandon this notion.
He conceded that currently, Zhou Yang truly has the credentials to stand on equal footing with him.
Thus, when Zhou Yang's incarnation admitted defeat, Tongtian Yaowang did not become too arrogant, recognizing Zhou Yang's status.
With a single sway, Tongtian Yaowang transformed into a humanoid form of a middle-aged man in a blue robe, solemnly addressing Zhou Yang: "I have no intention of being an enemy of Fellow Daoist Zhou. However, the secret realm space concerns my opportunity for enlightenment. Should you refrain from obstructing me, I will owe you a favor!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang could only smile wryly and said: "I have even less desire to conflict with Fellow Daoist Tongtian. Yet, on this matter, I'm indeed caught in a difficult position. I only hope that upon meeting with Fellow Daoist Lan, you both can devise a mutually beneficial plan, sparing me from hardship!"
After saying this, without waiting for any further promises from Tongtian Yaowang, he waved goodbye and said: "Enough, let's set this aside. I shall lead Fellow Daoist Tongtian to the secret realm space, and you may discuss the matter directly with Fellow Daoist Lan."
Seeing Zhou Yang's firm stance, Tongtian Yaowang, though unsatisfied, didn't argue further, tacitly agreeing with his proposal.
Immediately, Zhou Yang accompanied him to the location where the Celestial Pit was.
Having witnessed Zhou Yang's strength, Tongtian Yaowang no longer brought along the Great Power Ape King, letting it return to Broken Cloud Mountain Range first.
Alone, he felt confident that even if Zhou Yang and Lan Daoist united to ambush him, he could escape unscathed.
Without Tribulation Crossing True Immortals intervening, Tongtian Yaowang couldn't believe any cultivator in this realm could threaten his life.
Thus, upon reaching the bottom of the Celestial Pit, Zhou Yang made no secret of activating the Bronze Altar using spirit stones to open the Space Gate alongside Tongtian Yaowang entering the secret realm space.
Even though he visited previously, upon entering the secret realm space and perceiving the power of spatial origin contained there, Tongtian Yaowang still felt an uncontrollable urge.
A deep-seated longing from within his bloodline compelled him to restore his true form to absorb and refine the power of spatial origin.
Zhou Yang noticed the changes in expression of the blue-robed middle-aged man beside him, yet asked nothing, merely awakening Lan Daoist, who dwelled within the Five-Colored Boulder.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, I've brought Fellow Daoist Tongtian as requested."
As Zhou Yang's deep voice echoed in the secret realm space, a mist of five-colored aura rose from the ground, materializing into Lan Daoist's indifferent visage in mid-air.
This scene succeeded in drawing Tongtian Yaowang's focus away from the power of spatial origin, making his expression grow solemn.
Being gravely injured by Lan Daoist previously, though due partly to his own unguardedness and being ambushed, he knew well that even if he was fully prepared, defeating Lan Daoist within the secret realm space would be challenging.
"Fellow Daoist Tongtian, though initially unknown to one another, thanks to Fellow Daoist Zhou bridging this meeting, let us openly discuss a resolution!"
Lan Daoist's face remained motionless in mid-air, yet his voice filled the entire secret realm space, marvelously echoing.
Tongtian Yaowang felt this was a show of strength, displaying his control over the secret realm space and asserting his role as the proprietor.
He glanced at Zhou Yang, who simply looked up at the sky, maintaining an uninterested posture.
Seeing this, Tongtian Yaowang's gaze deepened, addressing solemnly: "My conditions have been conveyed to Fellow Daoist Zhou. Here, I will reiterate before Fellow Daoist Lan. The spatial origin power here is integral to my opportunity for enlightenment, an item I must acquire regardless of the presence of a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal!"
"Fellow Daoist Tongtian must realize that the secret realm space is sustained by the spatial origin power present. If such power is extracted, the secret realm space will inevitably collapse!"
Lan Daoist's indifferent voice reverberated throughout the entire secret realm space.
"Of course, I am aware, but what harm is there if a mere half-finished secret realm space collapses?"
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King looked up at the multi-colored human face in the sky with a proud tone and said, "As long as Fellow Daoist makes things easier, once I achieve the Dao, I will certainly create a perfected grotto heaven secret realm for Fellow Daoist to return this favor!"
He spoke as if once he could absorb the power of spatial origin here, he could immediately achieve enlightenment, easily passing the True Spirit Celestial Tribulation without a hitch.
"But does Fellow Daoist Tongtian know that I am also relying on the power of this secret realm space to forge my foundation in the Dao? If Fellow Daoist destroys this secret realm space, it is tantamount to destroying my opportunity to achieve the Dao. How can a mere grotto heaven secret realm make up for that?"
Lan Daoist's voice suddenly turned sharp, the cold shout resounding across the heavens, causing the Heaven-Reaching Demon King to change color drastically.
He raised his head to the sky with his expression full of uncertainty and said, "Could Fellow Daoist be joking? My eyes must be failing me; I couldn't tell how Fellow Daoist is using the power of this secret realm space to forge the foundation of Dao!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but look towards the place where Lan Daoist's true form was.
He had, of course, examined the five-colored giant stone, although he could tell it was a rare exotic treasure, he didn't know it was nurturing the Innate Spiritual Object, the Innate Five Elements Jade, within the Five Elements Origin Stone.
He had thought that Lan Daoist had sealed himself within to cultivate some kind of divine technique or secret technique, but he never thought it was to forge the foundation of the Dao.
In response to his skepticism, Lan Daoist merely replied coldly, "This concerns my personal privacy; there's no need for Fellow Daoist Tongtian to know. Just understand that I must rely on the existence of this secret realm space to forge the foundation of the Dao!"
Knew it would be like this!
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King felt a sinking in his heart, then he glanced around at the four corners of the secret realm space, his eyes suddenly sharp as he said solemnly, "I understand now, you are also extracting the origin power from this secret realm space for nourishment, it's just that the power of spatial origin cannot be utilized by you, which is why it spreads everywhere!"
"But once you've extracted all the power of the Five Elements Origin, without these forces maintaining balance, the secret realm space will also collapse!"
"More importantly, for some reason, this secret realm space is already on the path to annihilation, with the power of spatial origin dissipating. If we wait for a few hundred years, even if there's still power of spatial origin left, it surely won't be enough for me to achieve enlightenment!"
Zhouyang, who had originally been looking up at the sky, finally lowered his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at the Heaven-Reaching Demon King.
He knew the moment of truth had arrived.
If it weren't for this irreconcilable conflict, they could have just let the Heaven-Reaching Demon King wait for Lan Daoist to finish cultivating, after all, he had already waited for thousands of years, a few hundred more wouldn't matter.
Only to hear Lan Daoist slowly say, "It seems Fellow Daoist Tongtian finally understands the reason. So then, how do you propose we resolve this matter?"
"This..."
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King frowned deeply, wanting to speak but hesitating.
He naturally wanted to prioritize his own path to the Dao, but he also clearly understood that Lan Daoist likely thought the same.
If he insisted on doing so, then this conversation would be pointless.
Therefore, after some contemplation, he changed tack and said, "How about this, both I and Lan Daoist cultivate here in seclusion, with me only absorbing and refining the power of spatial origin, without competing for other origin powers with Fellow Daoist!"
"Hehe, does Fellow Daoist Tongtian think I am a fool? If I allow Fellow Daoist to absorb the power of spatial origin from this place, in less than ten years, this secret realm space would probably collapse. How would I fare then? Such little tricks are better left unused!"
Lan Daoist let out a cold laugh, his tone icy.
Indeed it wasn't feasible!
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King showed no embarrassment at having his little scheme exposed, only disappointment as he shook his head, realizing that trying to fool Lan Daoist with some trickery was unlikely to succeed.
After a long moment of careful thought, he spoke again, "Then let's each take a step back. I'll absorb the power of spatial origin from here once every thirty years, dividing it into three times to complete the absorption and refinement. This way, it won't cause the space to collapse due to absorbing too much spatial origin at once, and it will also give Lan Daoist ample time to forge his foundation in the Dao!"
"This won't work either. There's no way I can finish this in just ninety years, doubling the time might be acceptable."
After a moment of silence, Lan Daoist flatly rejected the Heaven-Reaching Demon King's suggestion.
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King wasn't pleased, angrily retorting, "Lan Daoist, this shows a lack of sincerity. In one hundred and eighty years, at least half of the spatial origin power will naturally dissipate; I cannot tolerate such waste!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Daoist coldly replied, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, I respectfully disagree with you. This place was discovered by myself first, and allowing you here to absorb and refine the power of spatial origin is already a favor from me. If Fellow Daoist is ungrateful, let it be, but to sacrifice my path to the Dao to fulfill yourself, do you think I'm so easy to bully?"
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King found himself at a loss for words, his anger quickly dissipating.
It wasn't that he was so reasonable, persuaded by Lan Daoist's rationale, but rather he suddenly realized that Lan Daoist was not someone he could simply bully or manipulate, acknowledging Lan Daoist's intimidating power.
His eyes flickering uneasily, his face alternating between blue and red, he seemed to struggle with a difficult decision internally.
After a long while, he finally settled his expression and said solemnly, "After considering it thoroughly, I find Fellow Daoist Lan's reasoning undeniable. Thus, I will compromise further: the first two extractions will still be every thirty years, but the final extraction will be postponed to one hundred and fifty years. Meanwhile, I will manipulate the Space Law to perform certain repairs to this secret realm space, delaying its collapse and dispersion!"
"If Fellow Daoist Tongtian can indeed perform repairs on this secret realm space, then we can follow Fellow Daoist's plan."
With Lan Daoist's agreeable response echoing, both the Heaven-Reaching Demon King and the silent observer Zhouyang breathed a sigh of relief.
The Heaven-Reaching Demon King immediately declared, "I never boast, and since Fellow Daoist Lan doubts my capability, I will now demonstrate it to you."
With that, he reverted to his Azure Heaven Beast form, flying around the secret realm space while inspecting and searching for points of action.
Once he completed a round of exploration, he went directly to where he had previously torn open the space to enter the secret realm, and from his mouth, expelled his demon pill.
He then used the power of this space-attributed demon pill to draw in the power of spatial origin, simultaneously absorbing and refining the spatial origin power, and taking advantage of the space law being manipulated by the power of spatial origin, he began to perform repairs on the secret realm space.
Seeing this, Zhouyang's eyes gleamed as he intently focused on observing the process.
Having already experienced the Heaven-Reaching Demon King's formidable skill in Space Divine Techniques, Zhouyang was not about to miss this valuable learning opportunity.
