Chapter 711: A Chance of Victory?
Moreover, at this very moment, Gu Jing had directly activated his dao rhyme, that almighty power which touched upon cause and effect and the laws of heaven and earth, to force the activation of his natal divine ability.
Countless tiny pitch-black cracks appeared around Gu Jing's body, and the face of this Eighth-Generation Ascended Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, with the activation of the Dao of Withering and Flourishing, instantly aged as though it had traversed an extremely long span of years in but a moment.
After the Great Chaos of the Immortals in the past, neither Qiu Siruo nor Gu Jing were in their peak condition any longer.
And they would never return to their peak condition again.
But the might unleashed by someone like Gu Jing, who directly employed his origin and dao rhyme to forcibly activate his natal divine ability, would not be affected by Gu Jing's physical condition.
Countless emerald-green vines began to spread outward from Gu Jing's body, as though absorbing his life force to grow exuberantly, and then an extremely terrifying might pierced through these emerald-green vines, flying toward the direction of the Mystic Maiden Statue.
And in that very instant, the countless emerald-green vines all withered and dissipated in a flash.
The Mystic Maiden Statue suspended above Du Cang Mountain still maintained its pose with hands pressed together in prayer.
This statue, which according to the Tianji Sage had originally been a "weapon" belonging to the Creating Illusion Realm great power Lord Qingluo who governed the Three Thousand Worlds, did not move at all, simply allowing that glassy sword qi and the Dao of Withering and Flourishing to surge toward it.
And both the glassy sword qi and the Dao of Withering and Flourishing merely landed upon the Seven-Colored Golden Light that completely wrapped around the Mystic Maiden Statue.
At the instant the glassy sword qi struck upon the Seven-Colored Golden Light, the already incomparably magnificent and dazzling Seven-Colored Golden Light instantly blazed even brighter, as though it could fully illuminate even that rift of spatial rifts spanning several hundred thousand li in the sky.
Immediately after, the terrifying might of the Dao of Withering and Flourishing also slammed into the Seven-Colored Golden Light of the Mystic Maiden Statue.
And at the moment the Dao of Withering and Flourishing pierced into that radiance, the originally resplendent light suddenly dimmed.
But that was all.
After one flash of brightness and one of darkness, the Mystic Maiden Statue still held its hands together in prayer, radiating boundless light.
As though nothing at all had happened.
After the activation of the Dao of Withering and Flourishing ended, Gu Jing's appearance reverted from its just-now aged state back to that of a youth, and his expression looked rather grim as his outstretched right hand kept trembling faintly.
And upon his palm, many black cracks had already appeared.
The same was true for Qiu Siruo, who continued flying toward the Mystic Maiden Statue in the sky.
The moon-white daoist robes she wore, as well as the skin of her neck, face, and hands exposed beyond the robes, had all given rise to countless cracks, and these cracks were entirely covered by glassy light and flames.
As a possessor of the Glazed Pure Body who had cultivated the Pure Dust Glazed Art, Qiu Siruo's tolerance for Dao Basis damage and dao rhyme backlash far exceeded that of other Immortal Ascension Realm cultivators.
This too was where Qiu Siruo's greatest trump card lay.
Immediately after, Pure Dust True Person's left hand gave a gentle flick, and then another long sword appeared in her left hand.
After a soft shout, Qiu Siruo's body spun once more in midair, and then two streaks of glassy sword qi, each imbued with enough power to distort space and stretching ten thousand zhang long, slashed once again toward the direction of the Mystic Maiden Statue.
Those two streaks of glassy sword qi, too, were like stones thrown into the deep sea, completely swallowed by the Seven-Colored Golden Light surrounding the Mystic Maiden Statue.
All of this occurred within the span of three breaths.
And these three breaths were already enough for Qiu Siruo to arrive before the Mystic Maiden Statue.
Compared to that Mystic Maiden Statue towering thousands of zhang tall, Qiu Siruo's figure was so tiny.
The moon-white daoist robes she wore flapped and snapped loudly in the fierce wind that blew at such high altitude, and the glassy-colored light and flames were continuously swept up by the gale, dissipating into the air.
The Immortal Ascension cultivators on the Myriad Laws Platform all watched this scene.
Then, the Mystic Maiden Statue suspended above Du Cang Mountain, whose eyes had just earlier opened a sliver, opened a little wider still.
An immense sense of crisis instantly swept through Chen Yan's spiritual sense and perception.
Or rather, through the spiritual sense and perception of every Immortal Ascension cultivator present.
"Stop!"
Chen Yan bellowed once more, forcibly severing the causal connection between the Mystic Maiden Statue suspended in the air and Qiu Siruo who had appeared right before it.
Yet Qiu Siruo still coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, and the many cracks across her body that brimmed with glassy light and flames began to split even more grotesquely.
The Qiu Siruo who had originally been standing in midair instantly lost her balance, and the two long swords she held in her hands were shattered into countless fragments in an instant, beginning to plummet toward the direction of Du Cang Mountain.
Only just before nearly falling onto Du Cang Mountain did Qiu Siruo finally manage to right herself, landing upon the Myriad Laws Platform in a standing posture, yet she still looked utterly bedraggled.
Qiu Siruo's face grew increasingly pale, her whole body trembling madly, glassy light and flames constantly surging from her wounds, her injuries appearing quite severe.
This was the true "enemy from beyond the heavens."
Even though the Immortal Ascension cultivators had nearly exhausted every trick they had, they still could not budge it in the slightest.
The grim-faced Realman Lingxuan, Gu Jing, raised his head, his gaze falling upon the Heavenly Summit Palace suspended two thousand zhang or so above Du Cang Mountain.
If it truly came down to the very end...
"It seems... it's working."
Just then, Qin Qingyu suddenly spoke up.
Although this Realman Yuexu of Star Heaven Sect had ascended to immortality merely over a hundred years ago, the combat power she could actually bring to bear now was already above that of any Immortal Ascension cultivator present, with the exception of Chen Yan who could simultaneously activate one hundred thousand immortal artifacts.
It was working?
The various Immortal Ascension cultivators on the Myriad Laws Platform all raised their heads one after another, gazing up at that Seven-Colored Flowing Gold Mystic Maiden Statue, thousands of zhang tall, in the sky.
Indeed it was so. After the attacks just launched upon it by Qiu Siruo and Gu Jing, these two Immortal Ascension Stewards of Heavenly Summit Mountain, the Seven-Colored Golden Light surrounding the Mystic Maiden Statue's form had indeed dimmed somewhat compared to when it had first descended upon Chenping Continent.
If this continued...
"Everyone, strike!"
Realman Sun-Eroding Liang Huan of Mirage Palace bellowed from the side:
"I implore True Person Chen to provide us assistance!"
Immediately after, Realman Sun-Eroding soared into the air, charging headlong toward that Mystic Maiden Statue in the sky.
Not only Realman Sun-Eroding, but the entire host of Immortal Ascension cultivators on the Myriad Laws Platform rose one after another to meet the battle.
Upon the Myriad Laws Platform, only three people remained: Chen Yan, Mr. You, and the gravely wounded Qiu Siruo.
Chen Yan raised his head to gaze at the sky, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Perhaps, facing that Mystic Maiden Statue, was there truly a chance of victory?
And at the very instant this thought surfaced in Chen Yan's mind.
In a daze, within that enormous rift at the edge of the heavens, even more Seven-Colored Golden Light flickered forth, like a sky full of stars.