Chapter 55 This era is destined to be the era of me, Donghuang Taiyi

Eastern Emperor Taiyi looked at the members of the Taoist school with utter disdain.

Had the leaders of the various philosophical schools present all attacked together, he might have felt a three-tenths sense of caution and been forced to invite a deity to descend for suppression.

However, against merely the four remaining Taoist elders, he could simply fight them however he pleased.

Though Huan Yuan’s divine ability was shattered, his expression remained completely unperturbed. With his right hand held behind his back, a roll of yellowed bamboo slips was gripped tightly in his palm.

The masters of the hundred schools standing behind him all felt a shock in their hearts upon seeing this item.

Could that be the legacy left behind by Master Zhuang?

In this generation, the Taoist school—whether in terms of prodigies and talents or supreme divine abilities—ranked only moderately among the various philosophers.

The emergence of Master Zhuang and Master Lie seemed to have completely exhausted the Taoist school's fortune for the next hundred years.

Yet, the fact that the Taoist school could still stand proudly at the pinnacle of the hundred schools naturally had its reasons.

Take the bamboo slips in Huan Yuan's hand right now, for instance.

They were the relics left behind by Master Zhuang back in the day.

Once these bamboo slips were unrolled, the divine ability of Master Zhuang could be unleashed.

The Carefree Wandering.

Mountains and seas were bridged in a single step, and ten thousand miles were brought within inches.

As long as he could rescue Master Shen and bring him back to the group, Huan Yuan would be able to activate the Carefree Wandering and instantly transport everyone back to the Jixia Academy.

Along the journey, the masters of the hundred schools had marched while discussing countermeasures.

The initial move to coerce Eastern Emperor Taiyi into executing Master Shen seemed like a threat, but it was actually a calculated strategy designed to make him too afraid to do so, serving as one of their countermeasures.

Should this tactic fail, they would initiate the second plan: a frontal assault.

So what if a deity descended into the mortal world?

They would all charge forward together; the moment they snatched Master Shen, they would be able to return to the Jixia Academy in the very next instant.

If that deity of his was capable of reaching across a distance of ten thousand miles to wipe them all out in one fell swoop, then they would have nothing more to say.

"Charge!"

Yin Wenzi took the lead in the charge, his entire body bursting with boundless golden light that completely enveloped him from head to toe.

He moved like the wind, as swift as lightning.

Upon seeing this, Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang hurriedly moved to intercept him.

They watched as a great river descended from the heavens, surging and cascading downwards with unstoppable momentum as it rolled fiercely toward Yin Wenzi.

The divine abilities of the two of them were both connected to the great rivers.

Lord Xiang’s divine ability was known as the Heavenly River.

Lady Xiang’s divine ability was known as the Dujiang River.

If the two of them joined forces and harmonized their divine abilities, they could manifest the Dujiang Heavenly River.

Drawing the waters of the heavenly river down from the void to submerge all things, it felt just like a natural disaster.

The rolling heavenly river poured down in a torrent, its surging floodwaters utterly unstoppable.

Yet, facing the monstrous flood, Yin Wenzi did not retreat even half a step; instead, his pace as he rushed forward grew even faster.

"Get out of my way!"

With a stern shout, Yin Wenzi delivered a heavy punch.

A dazzling golden light shot forth, forcefully tearing through the heavenly river and blasting open a grand pathway.

As a leader of the Taoist school, his divine ability was naturally not to be underestimated.

Yin Wenzi had studied the Tao Te Ching for thirty years and attained enlightenment at the Hangu Pass for another ten.

Later, he entered the Jixia Academy, contemplating the Scroll of Laozi Leaving the Pass day and night.

At last, he comprehended this divine ability.

The Xuandu Golden Light.

With the golden light enveloping his body, he became as indestructible as vajra.

And when unleashed in an offensive strike, its sharpness was peerless.

Although the joint forces of Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang, invoking the inverted heavenly river, possessed formidable might, they still found it difficult to withstand the razor-sharp edge of the Xuandu Golden Light.

"Eastern Lord, Lord of Clouds, Great Scribe of Fate, Lesser Scribe of Fate, come and help us quickly!"

Seeing the sharpness of the Xuandu Golden Light drawing ever closer, Lord Xiang’s expression turned pale with shock.

The next moment, four brilliant lights erupted from the royal palace.

The Eastern Lord’s Solar Divine Light, the Lord of Clouds’ Cloudy Dream Marsh.

The Great Scribe of Fate’s Life and Death Hook, the Lesser Scribe of Fate’s Wheel of Misfortune and Fortune.

Four divine abilities burst forth simultaneously, heading straight for Yin Wenzi, who was charging at the forefront.

No matter how valiant Yin Wenzi was, he could not withstand so many divine abilities at once.

Behind him, Xunzi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

They had all made their moves?

That was wonderful.

This was precisely the moment he had been waiting for.

"The Separation of Heaven and Man."

Xunzi struck the ground with his cane, and a black-and-white domain instantly expanded outward.

No matter what divine abilities they were, whether heavenly rivers or great marshes, they were instantly reduced to nothingness in a split second.

Yet, Yin Wenzi remained completely unaffected.

The Xuandu Golden Light retained its fierce sharpness.

Bang, bang, bang!

Lord Xiang and Lady Xiang vomited blood as they retreated in a frenzy.

The Eastern Lord, the Lord of Clouds, the Great Scribe of Fate, and the Lesser Scribe of Fate, who had rushed over to help, also received heavy blows to the face.

High up in the sky, Eastern Emperor Taiyi wore a grave expression.

Before Lu Ge appeared, there was a good reason why Xunzi could be revered as the supreme number one person in the world.

With a single move, he suppressed your divine abilities while his own side remained completely unaffected.

How was one supposed to fight this?

Fortunately, the area covered by the Separation of Heaven and Man was not particularly large.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi stood suspended high in the air, having calculated the distance well in advance to remain safely outside the range of the Separation of Heaven and Man domain.

Otherwise, once trapped inside, he would likely fall straight down and smash to his death right now.

"I have long heard of Xunzi’s formidable divine abilities; seeing them today, they are truly well-deserved."

Eastern Emperor Taiyi said in a resonant voice.

Xunzi raised his head slightly, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.

This old fellow was far too cunning.

He had remained suspended in mid-air all along, safely outside the coverage of the Separation of Heaven and Man.

"Now only he remains."

"Why haven't you all made your moves yet?"

Too lazy to respond to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Xunzi spoke directly to the masters of the hundred schools.

"We naturally should act."

"Behold my black and white intersecting webs."

"The penal cage."

"The Five Elements Magnetism Divine Light."

"Ten thousand great paths, bound to a single sword."

"My wife, assist me."

"......"

The various masters executed their techniques one after another.

A black-and-white chessboard shrouded the heaven and earth, with lines crisscrossing horizontally and vertically.

Countless threads converged to form a cage.

Five-colored divine lights of red, cyan, black, white, and yellow swept backward across the firmament.

An unparalleled beauty in a long dress stepped forth from the void.

Sword light cut across the sky, slicing through ten thousand miles of white clouds.

All sorts of miraculous phenomena instantly swallowed Eastern Emperor Taiyi in the air.

A bird’s cry rang out from amidst the boundless phenomena.

Above Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s head, a three-legged Golden Crow spread its wings and soared.

The Great Divine Ability: Golden Crow Patrols the Heavens.

The Golden Crow flapped its wings, blocking numerous divine abilities for Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

No matter how the masters of the hundred schools unleashed their divine abilities, they still found it difficult to inflict even the slightest injury upon Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

"Hahahahaha."

"And here I thought you people were truly formidable."

"Turns out you are nothing much after all."

"Still, being able to force me to use this divine ability can be considered not bad."

"You must know, when I fought Master Lu that day, I never even used this move."

Looking at the Golden Crow above his head, Eastern Emperor Taiyi felt completely secure in his heart.

He was the foremost walker among mortals for the deity Taiyi.

He possessed four divine abilities in total: Gathering Qi into Weapons, True Solar Fire, Golden Crow Patrols the Heavens, and Walking on Air, which he had comprehended himself.

Earlier, fearing he couldn't block the masters of the hundred schools, he had even prepared to sacrifice his lifespan once more to invite a deity to descend.

To his surprise, the masters of the hundred schools were not as formidable as he had imagined.

Heh, this was great; he would live for another ten years.

He had made a massive profit.

"You bunch of worthless dogs, you are nothing at all."

"What Master Lu, what Xunzi, so what if they are strong?"

"I have the protection of the deities, and I carry the Mandate of Heaven."

"This era is destined to be the era of Eastern Emperor Taiyi."

"Several centuries of troubled times will also end in my hands."

"The future will undoubtedly belong to the State of Chu to unify the world."

Filled with high spirits, Eastern Emperor Taiyi stood at the edge of the clouds, looking down upon the world with arrogance.

His life had reached its absolute peak.

Below him, the expressions of the masters of the hundred schools were all extremely ugly.

Wasn't this simply cheating in broad daylight?

Everyone else had to toil away bitterly, reading the sages' books and observing the ways of heaven and earth, only to finally manage to comprehend a single divine ability with great difficulty.

Yet this old fellow merely kowtowed and bowed before that divine statue, and was able to kowtow his way into acquiring so many divine abilities.

Moreover, every single one of these divine abilities was so fiercely powerful.

Could it truly be the Mandate of Heaven?

Master Shen’s eyes were pitch black and desolate as he looked toward the masters of the hundred schools.

"Everyone, the Ancestor is already dead, and I have no desire to live on."

"For today’s kindness, I can only repay you in the next life."

"Go, leave quickly."

"Do not wait until he invites a deity to descend; by then, you won't even be able to leave if you want to."

"My death is of no consequence, but I cannot let all of you fall into ruin here as well."

Master Shen’s voice was hoarse, every single word dripping with blood.