Tai Li exclaimed, "Didn't that old fellow Ku Rong's news come out thousands of Yuan Hui ago? How did he suddenly appear at this moment?"
Ancestor Yin Yang said mysteriously, "No need to ask further. Fellow Daoist, just wait with peace of mind, and let me push this great tribulation into its depths!"
...
In the Eastern Wasteland, skies of verdant brilliance clashed with purple fire, the fire being immortal fire, the wood being the Tongtian Wood.
Black Phoenix Sacred King's alluring and enchanting face was etched with frost. She intended to burn this Jianmu, which had brought her countless humiliations, to ashes!
Even if it meant bearing the evils of heaven and earth, she would spare no expense.
This decision was not a rash one; from the Black Phoenix Sacred King's perspective, it was the optimal solution.
She and Qing Ling were already at odds. If she delayed further, the taller Jianmu grew, the greater the karmic debt for destroying it would become.
Destroying it now, though the consequences would be painful and severe, like breaking bones, would not cost her life.
But if she delayed further, that terrifying karmic force of heaven and earth might indeed drag her into a tribulation from which there would be no return.
Qing Ling's primordial spirit trembled slightly, a sensation from the mark of the Serpent Ancestor, and this fluctuation originated from the Dragon race.
The purple fire that filled the sky was immortal and unquenchable, burning all things. As long as there were living beings, as long as life persisted, this fire would not extinguish, hence it was immortal.
He truly could not extinguish this immortal fire.
But that did not mean he had no means to suppress it.
Qing Ling still did not open his eyes. It was precisely because he had closed them for ten thousand years that his eyes had seen nothing, and thus his heart could stir, sensing a trace of the Dragon race's destiny.
He had means, but he could not use them.
He could only delay. He needed more energy to face the unknown.
Seeing that the Douguang Outer Evil Qi shield and the verdant brilliance were about to be burnt away, Qing Ling flipped his hand and grabbed.
All ten directions of spring essence returned, and endless verdant brilliance gathered from all over the Primordial World.
The divine personality of the Spring God in his palm vibrated intensely. The Spring God wielded the life force of the Primordial World to resist this raging, ferocious fire.
The Black Phoenix Sacred King raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Even if you delay, how long can you last?
If you were alone, I might not have the patience to outlast you.
But you are also protecting the vast Eastern Wasteland. This is not something a great heaven and earth authority can achieve."
Qing Ling smiled, and his voice echoed throughout the Eastern Wasteland.
"Since I am the Lord of the Eastern Wasteland, I should protect the living beings of the Eastern Wasteland!
As I live, so do the living beings live.
As I perish, so do the living beings perish."
The words of a great authority, perceived by heaven and earth, once spoken, could not be regretted.
Countless living beings in the Eastern Wasteland, upon hearing these words, felt gratitude in their hearts.
Great authorities were aloof, viewing all beings as ants, using them as pawns.
But above the Jianmu, a deity vowed to protect all beings with his own being.
The deity protected all beings with his body, and all beings worshipped the deity with their hearts!
"We pay homage to the Dao Lord of the Eastern Wasteland!"
"Homage to the Dao Lord of the Eastern Wasteland!"
"Homage to the Dao Lord of the Eastern Wasteland!"
At this moment, the four great clans and nearly a hundred minor clans, regardless of race, all bowed in gratitude to the Jianmu.
A vast torrent of destiny surged, overwhelming the purple fire in one area, obscuring the calamitous energy in the sky, and converging at the top of the Jianmu.
The Eastern Wasteland, spanning hundreds of millions of miles, was not small in the Primordial World, but not insignificant either. Its living beings numbered in the hundreds of millions.
Among them were mortal-level, ignorant flying birds and beasts, spiritual beasts of the Profound tier, cultivators of the Heaven and Earth tiers, Venerables of Golden Immortals of the Dao, ancient Grand Unity cultivators, and even Grand Unity beings who had attained immortality.
The destinies of countless beings, large and small, all converged. The python of destiny above Qing Ling's head instantly transformed into a sky-devouring giant python, resembling a divine dragon, no less in status than the Ancestral Dragon.
After all, even though Qing Ling was a great authority of heaven and earth, he was, in the end, a subordinate of the Dragon race. Within the Dragon race's territory, and even among the three great races, non-direct lineage groups controlling hundreds of millions of miles were absolutely forbidden.
Under normal circumstances, even with Qing Long protecting him, other Ancestral Lords would have come to question him.
But now, with the great tribulation, this was the only loophole!
What Qing Ling was absorbing was not the destiny of a world where less than one in ten beings survived the great tribulation, nor was it the destiny later divided among the Dao, Buddhist, Witch, and Demon races. It was the most ancient and purest destiny, devoid of any impurities.
The Black Phoenix Sacred King's expression changed, her eyes burning with even greater fury.
She intended to destroy the Jianmu, but instead, Qing Ling borrowed her power, gaining a legitimate excuse to rule the Eastern Wasteland.
Previously, Qing Ling ruled the Eastern Wasteland by the Dragon race's decree. Now, it was his own.
If she had not destroyed the Jianmu, there would have been no endless immortal fire to burn the Eastern Wasteland, and no casualties among its inhabitants. Then, Qing Ling would not have had the opportunity to swear an oath to win the hearts of the living beings, and he would not have gained the title of Dao Lord of the Eastern Wasteland!
Qing Xuan Dao Lord, Dao Lord of the Eastern Wasteland. The title had changed, but the difference was immense.
Just as the Black Phoenix Sacred King was consumed by rage and about to erupt, a voice as gentle and warm as fine jade arrived.
"Little Nine, you are still too young."
The void trembled instinctively, and space spontaneously made way. A gentle and graceful woman in palace attire emerged.
Upon hearing this voice, the Black Phoenix Sacred King quickly turned her head and bowed, "Jiu Shou has failed the Ancestor's trust and is willing to accept punishment."
Qing Ling's primordial spirit trembled. Although he had not opened his eyes, he could still sense the terrifying presence of the newcomer.
This was the first supreme great authority he had ever encountered!
The supreme being of the Phoenix race, Ancestor Qing Luan!
Her aura was even more terrifying than before. He could no longer discern her realm.
Within the Ten Ultimate Formations, the ten Great Luo beings wore grim expressions. The power of the Ten Ultimate Formations could at most trap one great authority of heaven and earth. Chong Ming's severe injuries and disorientation were the result of Qing Ling's intervention.
The newcomer was one of the three supreme Ancestors of the Phoenix race, an existence that shook the heavens and earth. They were utterly incapable of resisting her.
Ancestor Qing Luan smiled indifferently, "Punishment is indeed deserved, but first, I must punish the one who made you suffer, so that my heart may be at ease."
Saying this, she pointed a slender jade finger, and the wind currents surged like a sea. The wind fueled the fire, the fire rode the wind's might, and the immortal fire instantly intensified a hundredfold.
Furthermore, the wind currents transformed into myriad sword qi. The sword light, piercing the heavens and the earth, made it impossible to even conceive of resistance.
Qing Ling's eyes instantly opened, and the world lost its light.
One glance, ten thousand years. Ten thousand years of sealed eyes were only for this single glance.
The Great Dao of life and death, of time, coexisted. The Luo Sheng flower was planted.
The heavens seemed to freeze, the earth solidified, the sun and moon halted, and time fell silent.
Ten thousand years were but a fleeting moment in his opening of his eyes.
In the instant time was held still, the Four Seasons Diagram above Qing Ling's head spun, and the cyan jade umbrella unfurled.
The Four Seasons protected Jianmu, the cyan lotus protected the Eastern Wasteland.
"Bang~"
Like the sound of shattering glass, the frozen time was broken.
Ancestor Qing Luan chuckled, "Not simple. A good great authority of heaven and earth. This Jianmu of yours must be cut down sooner rather than later!"
The wind in the world suddenly stopped, and then a tempest erupted.
Ancestor Qing Luan's palm, though no larger than a speck, held all the wind in the Primordial World except for the East Sea.
The winds of the East Sea belonged to the Dragon race.
Even the four winds of spring, summer, autumn, and winter from the Four Seasons were all mobilized. This was because her Great Dao of Wind surpassed others in realm.
Gathering ninety percent of the wind power from heaven and earth, it transformed into a wind blade in Qing Luan's hand. The blade was wind, its essence was Dao, and its power was law. A single sweep of this wind blade could extinguish all in the ten directions!
Qing Ling's primordial spirit remained exceptionally calm. The Luo Sheng flower seed in Qing Luan's heart grew rapidly, but before it could bloom, it was sliced apart by her Great Dao of Wind.
Her heart had already become a heart of wind. Qing Ling's power over life and death could invade the flesh and blood of living beings, but it was difficult to invade the Dao itself.
The world-destroying wind blade, with a wave of Qing Luan's hand, slashed towards the giant Jianmu at the center of the Eastern Wasteland. Its power was as immense as the heavens, and nothing could stop it!