Chapter 1318: Battle of the Law Dao

Chapter 1318: The Battle of Law

Xu Qing’s voice echoed above the imperial capital of humankind, resounding across the heavens and piercing into the minds of mighty beings from ten thousand races.

Every formidable expert present felt their soul tremble.

They had assumed this battle was merely a calamity brought forth by this ancient immortal—but now, having heard the exchange between Xu Qing and the ancient one, it seemed…

This conflict was far more than it appeared on the surface. Beneath it lay a deeper, grander design.

Even the Empress fell into silent contemplation.

Seventh Master lifted his head, gazing toward the starry void, then fixed his eyes upon the shattered visage of Shanghuang, lost in thought.

As for Zhou Zhengli and the others, their eyes gleamed with sharp realization—they recalled the mysterious, unknown foes they’d encountered on their journey back with Xu Qing.

Had Xu Qing’s strength not been sufficient, their return might never have reached its end; they would have perished en route.

These memories swirled into countless thoughts, spreading throughout Wanggu.

Above, the ancient immortal stared at Xu Qing, fell silent for several breaths, then let out a dry, amused chuckle.

“Interesting.”

“It seems you’ve done some digging into my origins.”

“So be it. Those matters lie beyond even my control. Today, between you and me—only this battle matters!”

“My Law—you wish to see it? Then… why not let you witness it!”

With those words, the ancient immortal raised his right hand and struck his own forehead with sudden force.

The impact unleashed a thunderous roar surpassing even celestial lightning, shaking the firmament itself.

His body shuddered violently.

Dust seemed to slough off him. His once-withered, tangled hair instantly restored to lustrous vitality. The cracks upon his face softened back into mere wrinkles.

Within his frame, the desiccated bones of an immortal flickered suddenly with translucent, glass-like radiance.

Thirty-six thousand hidden meridians blazed simultaneously with silver light. From the fissures gnawed by karmic corruption seeped forth flames of Law—brighter and hotter than the sun itself.

Like a dying star erupting in final glory, these Law-flames lifted his frail form high into the sky, casting over the heavens the colossal silhouette of an immortal!

Majestic beyond measure!

His aura, cultivation, soul, and karma—all transformed in that single strike, shifting instantly from utter decay back to pristine perfection.

Xu Qing watched, eyes narrowing.

With his level of insight, he saw clearly: this was no simple reversal, no ordinary restoration!

Though the ancient one’s earlier injuries had carried a hint of deception, they were undeniably real—Xu Qing’s Law-infused Refraction of Ten Thousand Realms had inflicted genuine, essential harm.

Unless one had attained the rank of Immortal Sovereign, such wounds could not be so easily undone.

Yet this ancient immortal had done precisely that.

“You didn’t heal yourself. You didn’t restore yourself. You remade yourself anew!”

Creation from nothingness. Manifestation from emptiness. Turning impossibility into reality!

Xu Qing’s voice grew low and grave.

“Your Law…”

He locked eyes with the ancient immortal.

The ancient immortal stood suspended in midair, gazing down upon Xu Qing.

“Have you discerned my Law?”

“If not, I shall show you further!”

“Heaven-Sundering!”

His voice boomed like divine decree. As he spoke, his entire being blazed with incandescent radiance amidst the burning Law-flames. The void around him cracked open under their heat, fissures spiderwebbing through space beside his immense immortal manifestation.

From each crack spilled primordial violet qi—the breath of chaos at the dawn of creation.

This primal energy swiftly coalesced around him, forming countless figures.

Thousands upon thousands—limitless in number!

And every single one bore the face of the ancient immortal himself!

Though insubstantial and devoid of combat power, any of these phantoms could instantly replace his true body the moment it suffered injury, becoming the vessel for his rebirth!

At this sight, Wanggu trembled. All living beings quaked. The ten thousand races sank into despair.

Truly, the might of this ancient immortal was terrifying beyond words!

“Life and death—I command them.”

As he spoke, he lifted his right foot and stamped downward.

Beneath his sole, space shattered inch by inch—but from the fractures surged ten thousand silver runes, weaving beneath his feet into a “Wheel of Karma” a thousand zhang wide.

Upon its surface were carved every tale of his existence!

Now, ignited by the Wheel’s authority, these stories burned into stardust, lifting his already radiant immortal form ever higher.

“Karma—I command it as well!”

With a sweep of his right hand, the corrupted threads of causality reversed course, reassembling themselves. The fleshy, tumor-like knots formed by defilement exploded outward, transforming into pure immortal light that flowed back into his body.

The entire continent of Wanggu shuddered. Its spiritual veins boiled suddenly. Even the surviving fragments of the Heavenly Dao emerged trembling, bowing in worship.

Behind him unfolded the myriad realms shaped by his Parallel Law.

The worlds Xu Qing had inverted were now being restored.

Within them, the World-Guarding Immortal Trees—once collapsed due to his decline—now sent roots growing backward into the void, their crowns lifting his manifestation aloft. Every leaf chanted the sacred words he’d spoken when founding his Dao.

Elsewhere, spirit springs hung upside-down as rivers of stars; glacial ice shattered into storms of Geng Metal swords. All errors were being corrected, all karmic debts returned to him, weaving in the void the awe-inspiring majesty of an ancient immortal descending into the world.

“And your Parallel—I command that too!”

“Not to mention the Heavenly Dao.”

The ancient immortal spoke calmly. His tattered dharma robe now shimmered anew, adorned with mystic totems older than the Heavenly Dao itself.

Then, with supreme dominance, he turned his gaze upon Xu Qing.

“Youngster, my Constitution began as numberless, evolved into the infinite, and ultimately gave birth to the power of Law!”

“This Law… before me, none had ever known!”

“I name it… Omnipotence!”

His voice now swelled into something vast and earth-shattering—not mere sound waves comprehensible to mortals, but divine resonance detonating directly within the sea of consciousness of every living being.

Wherever it reached, cultivators of the ten thousand races spat blood and collapsed to their knees. Their brows writhed as flesh reshaped itself, involuntarily carving the visage of the ancient immortal upon their foreheads.

“I am undying, unending. I can manifest countless Constitutions, wield infinite Authorities, and create all things. Tell me—youngster—how will you possibly fight me?”

The ancient immortal lifted his right foot and took a single step forward.

An immense and terrifying pressure surged toward Xu Qing like a tidal wave crashing against mountains, intent on crushing him into dust.

At that moment, Xu Qing resembled a solitary boat tossed amid furious waves, swaying helplessly in the storm.

Yet his expression remained calm—though his robes whipped violently in the gale, his figure transcended that of a mere vessel, standing firm as a reef amidst the churning sea.

Through the tempest, he gazed at the ancient immortal, lost in thought.

Since becoming Xia Xian, Xu Qing had gained deeper insight into the life-or-death struggles between immortals.

Whether from Elder Bai’s teachings or his own experiences on the journey back, he now understood clearly: the essence of immortal conflict lay in the battle of Xian!

Though such battles manifested in countless forms, they ultimately boiled down to two aspects—Art and Dao.

The contest of Art was the outward expression of Xian.

The clash of Dao, however, was an inner collision of Laws—a fundamental annihilation striking at the very root.

In a sense, touching upon another’s Law meant attacking the deepest logic within their comprehension of Xian’s principles, causing them to collapse from within!

Such confrontations were perilous, often decided in an instant.

Thus, the prerequisite… was to see through the opponent’s Law!

And now, Xu Qing saw it clearly.

“Omnipotence?”

Xu Qing shook his head.

“I have grasped your truth.

Your Xian is not infinite—it is causality. Your Law is not omnipotent—it is self-consistency.

Indeed, such a Xian is rare…”

“Therefore, you require every matter to possess cause and effect, forming a closed loop. Hence, you first decree for yourself a result named ‘omnipotence.’”

“From this result, you retroactively derive a cause also named ‘omnipotence’!”

As these words left Xu Qing’s lips, the imposing aura of the ancient immortal faltered—the latter’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“In truth, I could have crushed you outright. But to sever your path entirely…”

A glint of frost flashed in Xu Qing’s eyes. Slowly, he raised his right hand and pointed distantly at the ancient immortal through the raging storm.

“I shall break your Xian—annihilating you utterly at the root!”

“And your Xian-Law… is not difficult to sever.”

As he spoke, seven lamps instantly appeared before him!

It was the Seven-Lamp Netherflame Curse!

This curse, once instrumental in many of Xu Qing’s battles during his Yun Shen phase, targeted vitality, drew upon soul-flames, wielded causality as its power, and used illusory lanterns as its foundation.

Its original effect: when the lamps extinguished, so too did the target—capable of wounding the soul itself.

But now, under Xu Qing’s Xian-Law, its essence was instantly deconstructed and reconfigured.

What changed was the causal force embedded within the Seven-Lamp Netherflame Curse!

“Transform the illusory lanterns into a cage!”

In an instant, the seven lamps merged, soaring upward to become one—enclosing all eight directions.

“Within it, the soul-flame becomes the wick!”

The flame drew forth the immortal’s soul, coalescing into a blazing core—a spark poised to ignite.

“Vitality becomes the lampshade, revealing the shadow-puppet of causality!”

A dark gleam flickered in Xu Qing’s eyes!

Immediately, a lampshade formed around the soul-lamp, and the soul-flame burst into full blaze, casting light upon the shade—and there emerged… the silhouette of the ancient immortal!

Like a shadow-puppet play!

Bound to the ancient immortal by threads of causality!

“As for the content of this puppet show…”

Xu Qing looked toward the distant ancient immortal, whose expression had now twisted in alarm, and spoke calmly.

“Your Law claims omnipotence—claims the power to create all things, does it not?”

“Now your causality and my divine art are intertwined as one. With but a thought, you can manifest this causal shadow-puppet.”

“Then, O omnipotent one—show me: can you create a stone so heavy that even you cannot lift it?”

At these words, the ancient immortal’s face drained of color in an instant, his gaze locking onto Xu Qing with desperate intensity.

Xu Qing’s eyes burned with piercing brilliance as he took a step forward.

“If you, who claim omnipotence, truly can create a stone you cannot lift—then you are not omnipotent!”

As his foot landed, the shadow-puppet upon the lampshade twisted violently—the sign of a causal paradox!

And the ancient immortal staggered backward once more.

“But if you, who claim omnipotence, cannot create such a stone—then you… are equally devoid of omnipotent power!”

Xu Qing’s words carried the weight of cosmic law, his voice shaking heaven and earth.

Having discerned the ancient immortal’s Xian-Law, Xu Qing knew precisely what was needed to sever it—to annihilate it utterly: a paradox!

By enhancing and reshaping the causal force within the Seven-Lamp Netherflame Curse, he forged a self-negating contradiction against the very concept of “omnipotence.”

Thus arose a causal paradox!

Transforming the technique from “lamp extinguished, person perishes” into “lamp extinguished, causality collapses!”

Its name could no longer be the Seven-Lamp Netherflame Curse—it was now the Causal Shadow-Puppet Play.

The puppet writhed; the ancient immortal’s face turned ashen, his body trembling. His Xian… was fracturing. His Law… was inverting.

For immortals, the clash of Xian and the war of Law struck at the very foundation of existence.

He opened his mouth to speak—his inner Xian-Law stirred—but he… could not complete it!

Xu Qing shook his head and waved his hand.

The soul-flame within the lamp snuffed out in an instant.

At that moment of extinction, the ancient immortal spat forth a torrent of blood, his entire body withering instantly. His aura, his soul, his cultivation, his immortal form—all trembled violently.

For his Xian… his Law… was collapsing!