Li Qiye had two choices before him. First, either gamble and see if they would be the first to fall or Samsara’s past self. The second was to recall his dao heart back in order to stop this Chrono Disk.
“Buzz.” The momentum wasn’t the only victim to the disk. Even Samsara was aging at a rapid rate.
In just a short time, Samsara had lost all of his vigor and life. He became only skin and bone with fingers like chicken feet.
The trade-off in using the Chrono Disk was immense and to make it even worse, the past self was using it. If it was his present self was doing so, there was still a chance to recover. This wasn’t the case for the past self. This physical expenditure was permanently lost.
This was the reason why he was so hesitant on using the disk despite his immense power.
“Buzz.” The two sides were suffering the withering property of the disk. Who knows who will make it to the end?
“Fellow Daoist, I don’t think I’ll be the first to fall.” Samsara was decrepit with one foot in the grave but his temperament remained the same - cool and collected.
“I feel the same way about myself.” Li Qiye chuckled. Though he and the emperors were mustering all the power in their wills, it was still a desperate struggle due to the power of time. Just being one step late was more than enough for Samsara to take advantage of the situation and for the disk to corrode the grand momentum. Li Qiye’s group couldn’t stop this from going worse, let alone reversing the tide.
Samsara had a way with words: “I used to have such confidence but as I lived long and longer, a few things changed. Live long enough and watch yourself become a saint, or a devil, or going insane all together. Which one are you, Fellow Daoist?”
In this juncture between life and death, he still spoke so profoundly. He and Saint were timeworn existences; one became a saint while the other a devil.
The insane crowd remained a mystery.
“None of the three, I am me.” Li Qiye was nonchalant despite being at a significant disadvantage: “If there is no path in front of me, I’ll make my own way.”
“I do hope for your success, but first, you need to get through this today before talking. I doubt your grand momentum will last much longer.” Samsara’s gray hair was fluttering in the wind. Some were even falling off but this didn’t bother him in the slightest.
“Crack! Crack!” Finally, the heavily withered barrier had multiple cracks. It has yet to completely collapse but weakening was inevitable. It was as if just the touch of a finger would topple it entirely.
“This doesn’t look good...” The emperors were startled and crazily channeled the power of their wills into the momentum. Alas, this last-ditch effort was still useless. Just these cracks alone were fatal.
“He needs to recall his dao heart now!” The spectating emperors felt their heart hanging on a thread.
Alas, Li Qiye had no intention of doing so. His dao heart was still in the river of time, resonating with Saint in order to destroy the darkness of the wildland.
“Rumble!” More cracks appeared everywhere on the barrier, too many to count.
It wouldn’t be long before the barrier goes down.
“Rumble!” More detonations resounded but it wasn’t from the grand momentum but rather, the horizon of the wildland.
The spectators outside turned their gaze. At the broken firmament was a person walking over. Each of his steps crushed the sky and left behind nearly permanent footprints.
It was an armored man with a fierce gaze. He had a spear; each step was oppressive as if he was already wrestling on the battlefield.
A frightening battle-intent emanated from him, rising above the nine skies. This was a man ready to fight to the bitter end. Any ancestor would shudder after feeling his aura and lose the courage to take him on.
“Immortal Emperor Bu Zhan! Another one from the nine worlds!” An ancestor outside recognized him and shouted. [1]
“Bu Zhan is there now.” The spectating emperors in the shadows were instantly attracted. They still felt respect though he was a peer.
This was an emperor famous from his numerous battle exploits, capable of sweeping through all the mighty enemies. Thus, few in the world wanted to stand in his way.
His eyes exuded a terrible light as he focused on the grand momentum. A process of dao derivation began.
“Sacred Teacher, no need to worry, Bu Zhan is here to help you.” He shouted and his will appeared above him after a loud detonation.
He only had one will from the nine worlds. It was unreasonably thick, spanning across the sky like a mountain range. He chose the path of evolving his Heaven’s Will so he didn’t shoulder more from the tenth world.
“Fellow Daoist, lend me a hand now, let me borrow your Yin Yang Path for a bit.” Immortal Emperor Bu Zhan, eager to fight, shouted at Immortal Emperor Ming Du.
“Brother, go, I shall pave the way for you.” Ming Du chanted an ancient mantra as if he was calling for lost souls.
More detonations ensued. In front of the emperor was a dark road coming together. It looked like the path to hell opening up, filled with nether winds.
Everyone felt a chill because they felt as if they could see hell at the end of the road. This was the emperor’s Yin Yang path, utilizing a bizarre law to cross over an area.
“Buzz.” Bu Zhan immediately started walking on it. In the next second, his figure flashed back and forth multiple times on the path just like a ghost. It was as if he was going through the eighteen steps of hell.
Finally, he appeared inside the momentum but this wasn’t actually the case upon closer inspection. He was standing inches next to Li Qiye, but his spatial coordinates were ominous just like a part of hell. Nevertheless, this place was still connected to the grand momentum.
Thus, he was allowed to join and even go all out without breaking the balance of the momentum.
“Boom!” He raised his spear and instantly became one with his Heaven’s Will. Next, both the will and the spear disappeared.
In the next second, a spear appeared above each of the eighteen emperors and Li Qiye. With a metallic ringing, the spears imprinted themselves onto the members.
With this new empowerment, the group felt their Heaven’s Wills become a sharp spear, allowing them to break through the temporal separation.
Just like that, they were able to pour energy into the barrier once more, allowing it to exude a brilliant light. The grand momentum was able to stop the corrosive power of time and turned it to ashes.
. Bu Zhan is Step/march + War