Chapter 666: Break Through Wantonly

Chapter 666: Break Through Without Restraint

The second layer, the third, the fourth, the fifth...

Layer upon layer of sky was ceaselessly surpassed before Dao Qiankun, while world upon world surged beneath his feet.

Amidst the uprisings of the Finance Department, the demonic sects, and the evil gods, Dao Qiankun watched as every tier of the heavens was dyed crimson by flames that soared to the skies.

He saw the once obscure and tirelessly toiling students let out roars, transforming into furious beasts that rampaged in all directions.

He saw cities emit heart-wrenching cries as skyscrapers piercing the starry void collapsed, palaces perched upon the clouds plummeted, and countless magnificent pavilions and towers were reduced to ruins in the battles of cultivators.

He saw boundless assets burning, turning to flying ash, reflecting the desperate faces of the wealthy.

He saw death truly descend upon the world, witnessing countless cultivators' souls never entering the Spirit Realm again, vanishing into the material world in sheer terror.

He saw Soul Formation cultivators unleash furious roars, their twisted primordial spirits stirring up financial tsunamis, like dying beasts desperately thrashing against the sixth-layer world that was akin to a cage.

As Dao Qiankun trod upon the void, stepping across the boundaries of heaven and ascending step by step to the very zenith above the skies, blood and tears continually fell from the layered worlds beneath his feet, along with streaks of drifting ash scattering down to the lower realms.

Raising his head, Dao Qiankun gazed at the boundless sky, which resembled a pitch-black abyss.

He seemed to discern within that sky an immensely majestic silhouette, standing guard at the pinnacle of the sixth layer, shielding the layered worlds below behind his back.

That figure turned his head slightly, his gaze colliding with Dao Qiankun's.

After a single exchanged glance, a trace of sorrow flashed across Dao Qiankun's face before his entire being transformed into a streak of flowing light, merging with dozens of other streaks to plunge completely into the sixth-layer world.

At the same time, the virtualization of the entire sixth-layer world accelerated once more, as if a brand-new world, a future of infinite possibilities, was gradually emerging before Dao Qiankun's eyes, compelling him to unconsciously open his arms and embrace it.

Having glanced at Dao Qiankun and the other streaks of light falling into the sixth layer, that figure turned back once more to face what lay ahead.

"Ying Xintian..."

From high above the Nine Heavens, a woman's voice descended: "You have been defeated. What more is there to say?"

The man said nothing, merely closing his eyes and allowing the endless immortal light to shine upon him, ceaselessly tearing, crushing, and... devouring his body!

The flesh and blood of his arms, steeped in rich immortal qi, were relentlessly ripped away and swallowed; drops of blood radiating a sun-like brilliance were scrambled for and consumed; skin and flesh imbued with the might of immortal artifacts were stripped inch by inch and fought over.

"Eat..."

The man grinned, laughing slowly: "If you're not full, then let's add another course!"

Accompanied by his resounding shout, it was as if a hundred thousand suns ignited high above the Nine Heavens, only to be detonated.

Those were his countless assets, scattered across the layered realms of Kunxu.

In the next instant, myriad powerful forces that had long awaited this moment transformed into tangible and intangible divine radiance, yet they acted like the most primal, greedy, and ravenous taotie beasts, frantically devouring everything he had.

Watching it all, the man spoke slowly: "Today, I return everything this demonic domain has given me back to you."

"Look at yourselves now. In your pursuit of profit, to grow stronger, to not fall behind your rivals... even if the world below crumbles, you must first scramble for the best treasures..."

"Is this truly the purpose of your cultivation?"

No one answered; the various forces devouring the man merely grew more frenzied and swift, as if terrified of eating less than the others.

In the next moment, amidst wild laughter, the man erupted with his final strength, swinging his mangled remains to strike blow after blow toward the sky.

The black sky was gradually torn asunder, and the sixth-layer world flickered incessantly, as if it would vanish from everyone's sight at any second.

From high above the Nine Heavens, the woman's voice echoed once more: "Ying Xintian, you have scattered your cultivation, bankrupted your estate, and brought about your own death and the annihilation of your clan, all to buy a fleeting moment for a swarm of insects. Was it worth it?"

The man replied indifferently: "I chose to do this simply because I wanted to."

"If I did not pay such a price, how could I wrest a sliver of opportunity from your hands?"

"As for whether it was worth it or not, I have no heart left to discern."

"Immortality and indestructibility, absolute dominion over the world, or perhaps flawless karma and limitless cultivation... perhaps these ambitions and desires can manipulate you, can drive Kunxu forward, but they simply cannot alter my mind at this moment."

In the next instant, a blinding brilliance erupted from the sky of the sixth layer, illuminating every layered world below.

As the light gradually faded, amidst the bewildered gazes of countless people, the sky of the sixth layer had vanished without a trace, leaving only the man's voice descending like rolling thunder, echoing in all directions.

"Break through without restraint!"

"Break through Foundation Establishment, break through Golden Core, break through Nascent Soul, break through Soul Formation, and strike beyond Soul Formation!"

"From this moment on, no Heavenly Court or sect can stand in your way!"

"In three years, I will return, return to take you all away..."

...

At the same time.

Just as the sixth layer of Kunxu vanished completely, just before the connection between the Heavenly Court, the sects, and the lower realms was utterly severed.

A message had already descended into the lower realms, traveling along the Spirit Realm network to fall into the ocular implants of every single person.

Within the university town of the Myriad Methods University.

Sovereign Magnetic Pole slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the message before her.

"Within two years, the Heavenly Court will reopen the connection between the fifth and seventh layers."

And this was merely the unified message from the Heavenly Court that ordinary people could receive.

Beyond this, every teacher and student at the Myriad Methods University received additional, extra messages.

Sovereign Magnetic Pole's gaze shifted slightly as she thought to herself: "For these two years, I am to serve as the acting president of the Myriad Methods University?" Along with the message, a profusion of Spirit Realm light flashed continuously, representing certificate after certificate of permission from the Heavenly Court and the sects.

There were five Soul Formation certificates, fifty Nascent Soul certificates, five hundred Golden Core certificates, and five thousand Foundation Establishment certificates, all entrusted to Sovereign Magnetic Pole, the president of the Myriad Methods University, for distribution.

"How truly... unusually generous."

"However, with nearly all Soul Formation true bodies having departed along with the sixth layer, if they didn't issue more Soul Formation certificates, they would be forcing people to break through illegally."

A faint smile graced Sovereign Magnetic Pole's face as her gaze continued to sweep downward, taking in the other orders from the Heavenly Court.

At the same time, she could sense that similar messages, also containing a vast number of certificates, had been sent to the other top ten universities.

Sovereign Magnetic Pole sighed with emotion: "In the era to come, there will be more Soul Formation cultivators between the second and fifth layers, and their numbers will far exceed those of the past."

...

Just as everyone was plunged into astonishment, tension, lingering dread, fear, and other emotions while reading the final message left by the Heavenly Court.

The moon in the night sky of the second layer was suddenly shrouded in a layer of dark qi.

From the magical treasure known as the Long Night Jade Palace came bursts of manic laughter belonging to the evil gods.

"It's not as if only you can send mass messages."

In the next instant, layers of bloody light seeped from the moon, dyeing the entire second-layer world in a scarlet hue.

The very next moment, everyone found messages from the evil gods recruiting believers and advertisements from the demonic sects continuously popping up in their ocular implants.

"The Heavenly Court and the sects are never coming back!"

"From today onward, all Spirit Realm networks are also under our control!"

"Break through with peace of mind; no certificates will ever restrict you again!"

At this moment, a jolt of shock flashed through the minds of countless people: "The moon has been hijacked?!"

And from this day forth, a blood moon hung high in the night sky of the second layer.

Whenever the moon hung at its zenith, an endless torrent of eldritch god lore and eldritch god assaults would flood the entire Spirit Realm network of the second tier.

Any attempt to connect to the Spirit Realm by night had become a perilous endeavor, risking corruption into a cultist of the demonic sects or a devout follower of the eldritch gods.

Even for cultivators of the utmost prowess, navigating the Spirit Realm network under the cover of night had grown infinitely more arduous than in days of yore.

...

A streak of iridescent light soared into the heavens from the Myriad Laws University City.

Though she had chosen to break through the very moment she obtained her certificate, and surged toward the moonlit sky the instant her ascension was complete, the Sovereign of Magnetic Poles was ultimately a step too late.

Gazing upon the blood moon hanging in the firmament, she sensed the latent aura of a Spirit Transformation cultivator lurking within its crimson depths.

"Another who has only recently broken through? Though it seems... an unlicensed ascension."

"Yet for the eldritch gods to seize control of the Long Night Jade Palace so swiftly, there must surely be a traitor within."

The figure of the Finance Department flickered in the mind of the Sovereign of Magnetic Poles.

Frowning faintly, she mused inwardly, "After today, I fear many whose potential is spent, whose lifespans are waning, or whose ambitions burn too fiercely will choose to ascend without a license."

"Alas, at this moment in Myriad Laws, I alone have taken the vanguard in breaking through; the others still require time."

Choosing not to contest or entangle herself upon the blood moon, despite the myriad thoughts swirling in her mind, the Sovereign of Magnetic Poles wasted not a single second more, already hurtling toward the Sun-Patrolling Golden Crow.

The moon was already lost to their control; the sun, therefore, could not be allowed to fall.

Simultaneously, the Sovereign of Magnetic Poles dispatched an avatar, sending it flying toward Zhang Yu's location.

Recalling the mission assigned by the Heavenly Court, she thought to herself, "The immortal dao techniques within the 'Kunlun in the Palm' can be used to dismantle the arrangements they have left across the second to fifth tiers."

"I fear it will not be long before Zhang Yu finds himself targeted by the Finance Department, as well as those eldritch gods and demonic cults."

...

Heavenly Sword University.

Countless flying swords surged forth like a tidal wave, encircling the floating university campus and weaving invisible Spirit Realm defense lines to repel any eldritch gods from the outside world.

Similar scenes unfolded across every academy; as the blood moon rose, to guard against the elusive eldritch gods, each institution raised its own Spirit Realm barriers, transforming into isolated islands of information adrift beneath the scarlet moonlight.

...

Outside the Heavenly Demon University.

Countless low-born demon descendants howled at the sky, incited by the ceaseless stream of eldritch god lore manifesting within their eye sockets.

Whenever a demon descendant could not resist the urge to break through to Foundation Establishment, they were immediately set upon and slaughtered by the surrounding horde.

The outer perimeter of the Heavenly Demon University had become a vast hunting ground, where every demon descendant battled the impulses and desires within their own hearts, all the while watching for any unlicensed ascensions among their peers.

Meanwhile, a greater multitude of demon descendants sought to flee into the inner sanctums of the university, only to be repelled by layer upon layer of Spirit Realm barriers and formations, crashing against them like endless waves of a tide, barred firmly from the gates.

Xiong Wenwu gazed upon the seemingly endless tide of refugees, a trace of bewilderment rising in his heart: "The future... what will it ultimately become?"

(End of Chapter)