Chapter 1294: The Three Mountains

The Crucible of the Divine Lands descended into the Two Elements of Creation Formation and the magic formation continued to spiral around. It was dense and heavy like the great Divine Lands, yet it appeared vast and boundless like the heavens above.

Eve though Zhu Yi had directed the Two Elements of Creation Formation, he could feel that the connection between himself and the Two Elements of Creation Formation had an unprecedented intimacy and clarity. The power of the magic formation fused into the essence of his virtual entity and both entities amplified the other, while the Crucible of the Divine Lands' power also directed itself within.

The Crucible of the Divine Lands trembled explosively inside the magic formation before it transformed into layers of a world that folded over one another. This world expanded outwards like an actual supreme land and integrated seamlessly with the Two Elements of Creation Formation and with Zhu Yi's virtual entity at the same time.

Zhu Yi's virtual entity exploded in physical size. When he was standing on the Higan Golden Bridge before this, his size was so small compared to the sprawling golden bridge that they couldn't even be compared on the same scale. However, he seemed even larger than the golden bridge at this point.

However, with Zhu Yi's direction, the Higan Golden Bridge also erupted in size and the two ends of the bridge stretched into the far ends of the horizon with no visible end. It was as if the golden bridge connected the two corners of the world together and extended over the Ying Sea.

Zhu Yi slapped out a Dao of the Way spell and his mana merged with that of his magic items and his aura became stronger and stronger.

All the brightness in the world seemed to dim suddenly as the flowing lights in the space above the Ying Sea disappeared altogether. The surface of the ocean water no longer reflected and light and became an entire patch of black.

Everything in the void seemed to descend into a world of darkness.

It wasn't a darkness that came about from a lack of light. This was a darkness that represented the very beginning of the universe when heaven and earth first came about, the Alpha of the great barren lands, a state of obscurity and an enigma.

Just at this moment, specks of fire popped into vision like the beginning of first life. The light of wisdom sparkled with the specks of tiny firelight and everything connected together to light up the barren, primordial and enigmatic world. The firelight trailblazed as it extended into a path continuously - it appeared like an enormous fire dragon from afar, yet it also resembled a road to travel.

Everybody that witnessed this scene had a revelation in their minds. "A single spark can start a huge blaze! Human wisdom can prevail over nature!"

A giant golden rainbow that appeared like a path and also like a bridge emerged from the firelight. The Fire of Humankind and the Fire of Wisdom separated into two sides and extended forward with the golden rainbow continuously. They continued to develop and continued to absorb.

The nine light circles flickered above the golden rainbow and Zhu Yi stood above it. He strode forward with a steady pace, yet it felt like nothing could stop him.

The Twelve Divine Generals were no longer positioned below the bridge and all of them shifted on top of the Higan Golden Bridge. Shi Tianhao stood before them and his Origin Holy Light and his Final Holy Light separated into two different lines from the middle of his eyebrows as they radiated in unison. The Origin Holy Light infused into the Higan Golden Bridge while the latter propelled against his opponent.

This vast and formidable force collided with Zhu Hongwu's world-annihilating fist in the sky.

This was a clash that was even more violent and brutal than the previous one, and the swelling waters that were agitated wreaked even more havoc inside the Ying Sea.

Even the Nameless Ancient Formation that sealed off the space around the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain rippled with water-like waves and patterns that bounced back and forth incessantly.

Both Zhu Hongwu and Liang Pan felt their hearts sink. Zhu Hongwu was still unstable, and he couldn't battle for long, while channeling the Supreme Reign Divine Light to unify so many different extremely powerful existences was also taking a toll on Liang Pan's strength. If they couldn't end the battle as quickly as possible, they would crumble very soon.

Not being able to defeat Zhu Yi as quickly as possible meant that their efforts to assimilate the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain or to break through the seal placed around the region by the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain in front of him and the Higan Golden Bridge was practically committing suicide.

Zhu Hongwu's body was like translucent glass as Buddhist lights surged around. However, there was only hostility between his yes and he punched out once more.

The effects of the Supreme Reign Divine Light infused boundless energy into this punch. The energy spiraled around in the void and condensed into a single streak before it transformed into an enormous spinning wheel.

The roulette was split into three different regions. One region flickered with the image of countless worlds and streaks of Dao transformed into lustrous flowing energy.

Another region displayed a sprawling Nirvana World, and there were innumerable Buddhas, Bodhis and Vajras sauntering around inside as they crossed long distances of Buddhist land.

The last area showed the Divine Lands - an existence of supremacy, of unassailable dignity that watched over all living beings in the world and dictated all destiny.

The wheel started to rotate gradually in the air as Zhu Hongwu punched out with his fist. As the wheel began to spin, the three different regions suddenly started to merge.

Ring after ring of Supreme Reign Divine Light surrounded the edges of this spinning wheel and spiraled along with it.

Liang Pan didn't make a sound inside the Imperial Palace as he suddenly fired a streak of black light.

There were a few drifting pages of a book inside this black light, and they contained the profundities of the cycle of the life and death. It was obtained from the time when he joined forces with the tribe leader of the Ancients, Gu Jun, in the pursuit of the Emperor of the Dead who was severely injured by Lin Feng. Both of them obtained two pages from the Life and Death Book each and he had preserved them to slowly understand and study them. In this moment of life and death, he couldn't be bothered anymore and threw them out as well.

Besides that, whatever Cheng Heaven Great Void Celestial Light that he had left was also infused into Zhu Hongwu's body.

The Almighty Celestial Destroyer Formation was activated once more inside the Imperial Palace. The troupe of Divine Martial Army cultivators all trembled vigorously as they were pushed to their very limit, and those relatively weaker cultivators died straight away and collapsed on the spot.

At this point, whatever energy that could be channeled was concentrated by Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu and injected into this battle. They sought to break out of this hopeless situation and turn the tables around somehow.

Lin Feng sat atop the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain and watched on with the typical calm and casual expression his face. His look was one of faint amusement as a he casted a spell in his head. Inside Zhu Yi's virtual entity and from the Crucible of the Divine Lands that he had fused with, a sphere of golden gradually rose into the air and radiated brilliantly.

It was a glowing tiny disc - the Origin Golden Cup!

The Origin Golden Cup didn't fly out of Zhu Yi's body like when Lin Feng fought valiantly against the Illusory Sun Hades and directly faced his enemy. Instead, it released streak after streak of golden light that integrated with Zhu Yi's body and boost his power and that of the Higan Golden Bridge as they rose up to meet Zhu Hongwu's second terrifying punch.

The Fire of Humankind and the Fire of Wisdom swayed in the wind continuously as if they were about to be extinguished at any time. Even the path that they set out grew dull and obscure, and gave people a feeling of doubt, hesitation and even a tinge of hopelessness.

However, Zhu Yi's mentality never wavered - not even once. Whatever obstacles that were before him were ultimately broken through by the great unstoppable force of humankind as all hearts were unified and pressed forward.

The golden bridge gleamed with blinding light once again and a thousand images flickered within. The specks of firelight dotting its two sides flourished once more from their wilting state, when they were like candles in the billowing wind. The fires grew stronger and stronger and burned ever so bright before they finally transformed into towering pillars of flame that pierced right through the clouds, as if they were really setting the skies on fire.

Zhu Yi's eyes met with Zhu Hongwu's gaze. Zhu Yi's hands were behind his back as he suddenly started to laugh, "I have removed your mastery and your martial ways, Zhu Hongwu, and now you have taken the Buddhist Golden Form to remake your body in an attempt to regain your mastery. However, you couldn't go any faster and you've been forced to come out of reclusion before the time was right and planted many seeds of hidden damage."

"If you completely assimilate the Golden Form, you can possible rise to the next level. However, you only have the appearance but not the substance at this point and I truly am disappointed."

As the Way of Changes continued to play out, Zhu Yi could see Zhu Hongwu's current state as clearly as it could get.

"You're improving, and I am also improving. After the battle at the Arctic State, the situation between you and I have been completely reversed - I am more powerful than you are, and I am improving faster than you are. You will never have a chance to come back. I can completely cripple you once, means I can cripple you a second time. I will incapacitate you as many times as you recover, and I will ultimately capture you and drag you before my mother's grave."

Zhu Yi's speech was slow and deliberate, and the immense self-confidence he had pierced right through Zhu Hongwu's heart. "The higher you climb, the further you fall. I will remove your martial ways once again and turn you into a normal person. I wonder what else you can do to get back up on your feet?"

The higher the level of mastery, the greater the fall back into the mortal coil, and the heavier the hit on the soul. When his martial way was crippled back then, there was only wrath in Zhu Hongwu's heart but there wasn't much hopelessness. The reason was because there was still something he and Liang Pan could do, and he still had some kind of backup. However, if he failed yet again, he would lose everything, and it would be an impossible task to rise back up again.

The moment this thought appeared in his head, he froze slightly in shock. He actually let Zhu Yi get into his mind and his mentality and willpower actually wavered before Zhu Yi's words to the point where he started to question himself.

He stabilized his mind and his expression became one of composure once more. He replied coldly, "You think you have won for sure, bastard? You guys simply aren't aware that you guys are the ones who are going to lose!"

Just as his voice dropped, the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain hovering in the void started to tremble violently and streaks of dull gold chains reached deep into space. It suddenly broke through the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain and the Nameless Ancient Formation's force barrier as it established a connection with the Ying Sea.

Liang Pan's avatar crossed his legs inside the great hall on the summit of the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain. His hands made gesture after gesture as he finished the last step to re-assimilate the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.

They had parted with the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain for a long time, and it was finally back in their control. No matter how stable Liang Pan's mind was, he found it hard to keep his cool at this point.

What was substantially more important was that the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain gave them hope to break through the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain's barrier, and it gave Liang Pan's original body and Zhu Hongwu a chance to break free and escape, after which they would take the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain and submerge into the Ying Sea. Unless the Ying Sea opened up again, Lin Feng and the others wouldn't be able to find them even if they had the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain by then.

Even though they lost the throne and the entire Great Zhou Empire, this would give them a chance to breathe and they could continue playing around with the Celestial Sect of Wonders.

Liang Pan's eyes sparkled as thoughts spun around in his head to varying degrees. His main concern right now was that Lin Feng couldn't resist bringing his original body into the Ying Sea.

"Hongwu, we have achieved our target - let's go!" Liang Pan didn't waste any valuable time as he channeled the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain at once. He wanted to try and break through the seal placed by the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain onto the surrounding regions.

Zhu Hongwu punched out for a third time against Zhu Yi and the Higan Golden Bridge. "Bastard - after today, the tables between us will turn around once again. I don't need much time to destroy you under my fist!"

With that, he attempted to jump onto the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain to escape with Liang Pan.

However, just at this moment, a hole opened up in void space and a giant entity that wasn't hindered by the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain's barriers descended upon this region.

It was thousands of kilometers wide, and there was the Dark Sea surrounding it as nine streaks of clear energy surged out and specks of luster glowed around this mystical mountain.

"Penglai?!" Both Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu shuddered at the sight and they froze with their mouths half-open. They almost felt as if their logical minds were no longer working, as if their bodies were thrown into a freezing tundra and all they could feel was coldness.

Lin Feng's Nine Qi Avatar sat on top of the Penglai Celestial Mountain. He grinned before he launched the Penglai Celestial Mountain right towards the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.

This scene made Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu's hearts skip a beat as a familiar scene unwittingly surfaced in their minds.