Chapter 299: Martial Ancestor's Shuraba.
[Inorin's Note: "Shuraba" (Asura-ba) is a Japanese term, commonly used in Chinese web novels, meaning a chaotic scene or "battlefield," especially one involving a love triangle.]
Monstrous Devilish Qi surged across the sky, a black tide that seemed to swallow the heavens. The very earth cracked and groaned under its oppressive weight.
In the face of this, Lin Dong's figure stood firm, unswayed as a primordial mountain against the towering waves of malice.
When he spoke those words of arrival, he turned his head to look at Ling Qingzhu. In that instant, a certain, unspoken light shone in both their eyes.
Ling Qingzhu's heart, usually as calm as a glacial lake, was in utter turmoil. She had imagined this reunion for so long, but not like this, not in the midst of her sect's potential annihilation.
While she was still hesitating, caught between relief and a thousand complex emotions, Lin Dong bent down and acted.
He didn't ask. He directly scooped her up by the waist, a strong arm locking around her.
The moment her feet left the ground, Ling Qingzhu's mind went completely blank. She almost forgot to resist, her body freezing in shock at the sudden, bold contact.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already being held securely in Lin Dong's arms, pressed against his chest.
She struggled, purely out of instinct and years of ingrained propriety. "Lin Dong, what are you... put me down!"
"Don't move!"
Lin Dong's deep, commanding voice reached her ears. Ling Qingzhu's body stiffened, her token resistance vanishing. She then looked up, her gaze tracing his familiar, now-matured face.
A tremor ran deep within her soul. Her tightly clenched hands, hidden in her sleeves, showed the true unrest she felt at that moment.
"Senior Brother Lin Dong!"
Before Ling Qingzhu could react or process her own feelings, the other disciples of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace were already exclaiming in excitement.
Su Rou and the others looked ecstatic, their faces lit with hope. A group of her fellow disciples surrounded Lin Dong, their previous despair forgotten.
What a harmonious, joyous scene of reunion!
Ying Huanhuan's fists clenched at her sides, making a grinding sound as her nails dug into her palms.
She had followed him here, worried for his safety, only to watch this.
She hadn't realized Lin Dong was so "popular" outside the Dao Sect. "Popular" wasn't the word. This was intimate. This was the look of two people who had a story she was not a part of.
"The powerful enemy has not yet retreated. It's not too late to talk about love after they've gone!"
Ying Huanhuan glared straight at Lin Dong, her voice dripping with a sinister, icy tone.
Upon hearing this, everyone snapped out of their surprise at seeing Lin Dong. Their faces paled as they remembered. Indeed, the Yuan Gate army was still eyeing them covetously, like tigers watching their prey.
Lin Dong, who was still holding Ling Qingzhu, finally heard Ying Huanhuan's words. He flinched, suddenly realizing he hadn't come alone.
"Ahem... the rest will be handled by our Dao Sect. You all protect her…"
Lin Dong gently put Ling Qingzhu down, his expression carrying a clear hint of guilt.
Ling Qingzhu's gaze shifted, moving back and forth between him and the icy, beautiful girl who was glaring daggers at them. A hint of sadness, almost imperceptible, flashed in her eyes before she masked it.
"Friend of the Dao Sect, thank you for your help today. I, on behalf of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace, thank you in advance."
She took a small step back, her voice becoming polite, distant.
"However, if we cannot repel the enemy, I hope you will leave first... Even if our Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace is destroyed and its people perish, we will never compromise with the Yuan Gate!"
Ling Qingzhu's beautiful eyes lowered slightly, and she spoke softly, her tone formal, as if speaking to a helpful stranger.
Upon hearing this, a hint of anger flashed in Lin Dong's dark eyes. He completely ignored Ying Huanhuan, who was standing right beside him, radiating cold.
"What 'friend of the Dao Sect'? After all this time, don't you know my name?"
Before she could answer, Lin Dong reached out a hand. He didn't grab her, he didn't attack. He moved directly towards Ling Qingzhu's face and, in a shockingly intimate gesture, pulled off her white veil.
After the veil was removed, the almost perfect, otherworldly face hidden beneath it was exposed to the air.
In an instant, the very air seemed to brighten. Her beauty was not just stunning; it was divine, making the world around her seem crude.
"You!"
Ling Qingzhu hadn't expected Lin Dong to do such a thing. It was a violation of her sect's rules, a deeply personal act done in front of everyone. A hint of genuine anger appeared on her usually cold, fair face, a blush staining her cheeks.
Seeing her angry, however, Lin Dong chuckled teasingly. "This looks much better than just now."
He leaned in slightly, his voice low enough for only her and Huanhuan to hear. "Don't play aloof in front of me, Qingzhu. I don't fall for that!"
"Who cares what you like!" Ling Qingzhu retorted angrily, but the words had no bite. Her flustered, angry expression showed a unique charm, a vulnerability no one else had ever seen.
The two of them, standing close, arguing with a charge in the air... it looked exactly like they were flirting.
It hardened.
His fist hardened.
Ying Huanhuan watched the two of them, grinding her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
She was being cuckolded. Right in front of her. He was flirting with another woman, right in front of his wife! (Okay, not yet, but she was the Ice Master, he was her man, this was decided!)
"Damn it, you idiots!"
Ying Huanhuan angrily turned her gaze to the experts of the Yuan Gate.
These absolute idiots.
At a time like this, they were just watching? Staring coldly, letting the two of them flirt and deepen their bond?
Are you enemies or are you damn matchmakers?!
It serves you right, Yuan Gate, for falling! You deserve to be annihilated!
...
Under the nervous gazes of countless disciples of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace and the indifferent, confused stares of the Yuan Gate experts, Lin Dong slowly stepped forward.
He looked at the people of the Yuan Gate, his previous teasing expression vanishing. He broke into a smile, but it was a smile that held a boundless, terrifying killing intent.
"Lin Dong! Is your Dao Sect truly going to interfere in our Yuan Gate's affairs?"
The Yuan Gate's Grand Elder, a man radiating deathly energy, spoke with a sinister and cold expression.
The Yuan Gate had dealt with the Dao Sect before. They had crossed paths in the Great Sect Competition. They naturally knew of Lin Dong's existence.
"Not only will I interfere," Lin Dong's dark eyes looked sharply at the Yuan Gate elders, his voice faint but carrying across the battlefield.
"But today, I will also completely destroy your Yuan Gate!"
"Boy, you're looking for death!"
An Elder of the Yuan Gate, known for his fiery temper, was enraged upon hearing this.
The next moment, his figure shot out. Vast, black Origin Qi swept forth with astonishing momentum. A fierce punch tore through the sky, striking hard towards Lin Dong.
[Inorin's Note: "Origin Qi" (Yuan Li) is the primary form of energy cultivated in the Wu Dong Qian Kun universe.]
This punch was very strong.
Its power was enough to shatter the earth for miles.
But it made Ying Huanhuan feel a bit speechless.
'Now? Now you decide to act?' she thought furiously.
'They finished flirting, they had their romantic reunion, and now you decide to act? Where was this initiative thirty seconds ago?!'
Ying Huanhuan was well aware of Lin Dong's current strength. It was monstrous.
It could almost be described as invincible in this Eastern Xuan Region.
Let alone one Yuan Gate Elder...
Even if the entire Yuan Gate army attacked together, they wouldn't cause him the slightest trouble.
If this idiot had acted just now, during that tender moment...
He could have prevented Lin Dong and Ling Qingzhu's feelings from deepening! He could have removed a major love rival for her!
Acting now? It was too late!
Just as Ying Huanhuan expected.
Lin Dong didn't even flinch. He took half a step forward, and a slender, crystal-clear palm pierced through space, moving at a speed the elder couldn't even perceive.
It landed directly on the Yuan Gate Elder's head.
Then, a surge of terrifying, annihilating power erupted from his palm.
Bang!
The Yuan Gate Elder's body, a body that had cultivated for hundreds of years, directly exploded into a fine mist of blood.
A shrill, terrified scream echoed as his Primordial Spirit appeared, trying to escape.
[Inorin's Note: "Primordial Spirit" (Yuan Shen) is the cultivator's soul. As long as it escapes, they can potentially survive.]
But just as it was about to flee, Lin Dong's palm grabbed it from the air and then directly, mercilessly crushed it.
In just an instant...
A super expert of the Reincarnation Stage was completely annihilated. Body and soul.
[Inorin's Note: "Reincarnation Stage" (Lún Huí Jìng) is one of the pinnacle cultivation realms, where experts have touched upon the laws of reincarnation.]
Clean and decisive.
The moment Lin Dong made his move, Ying Huanhuan also acted. She would not be outdone.
"Ice Phoenix Demon Suppressing Lock!"
A cold shout, filled with a chilling Qi that seemed to come from the dawn of time, rang out.
Ten giant, majestic ice phoenixes condensed from the swirling ice and snow in the air. The ice phoenixes shrieked and transformed into immense chains of ice, tightly sealing off the surrounding space.
An astonishing chill emanated from the chains, instantly immobilizing the shocked people of the Yuan Gate.
Ying Huanhuan stepped through the air, and beautiful, ice-colored lotuses formed beneath her feet with each step. Her slender, jade-like finger pointed forward.
The swirling snow around them transformed into a towering wall of ice, completely sealing off the retreat path of these people.
"Frostfall from Heaven!"
She snorted coldly. The snowflakes dancing in the sky turned into razor-sharp ice shards that shot straight towards everyone from the Yuan Gate, a blizzard of death.
Applied crowd control.
Restricted movement.
Dealt massive area-of-effect damage.
She unleashed a full, devastating combo.
After this sequence of moves, the Origin Qi within her body was less than one-tenth of its original amount.
If it were a normal battle, Ying Huanhuan's fighting style would be suicidal. After unleashing one massive burst, she would be at the mercy of others.
However, with Lin Dong present, Ying Huanhuan naturally didn't need to worry about such things.
She was very, very angry right now and urgently needed to vent.
If she couldn't teach Lin Dong a lesson (yet), could she not teach these people from the Yuan Gate a lesson?
...
Watching Ying Huanhuan, who exuded a world-ending chilling Qi and fought with such fierce, almost personal hatred, Lin Dong inexplicably felt a chill run down his own spine.
What was with this inexplicable feeling of unease?
He looked around. Could it be that the Yuan Gate still had a hidden trump card?
What kind of trump card could make him feel uneasy?
Although he felt a little uneasy, since Ying Huanhuan had made her move, Lin Dong naturally followed suit. He had to show his own prowess.
"A bunch of scoundrels colluding with the Otherworldly Demons. Today, I shall first destroy you, and then I will completely annihilate the Yuan Gate and those Otherworldly Demons!"
"Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger!"
"Five Fingers Move the Universe!"
Lin Dong snorted coldly, then pointed a single finger at the sky.
"You want to kill us? Delusional!"
The Yuan Gate's Grand Elder snorted coldly, then joined forces with the many other remaining Yuan Gate Elders to attack together.
Their power was pushed to the absolute extreme. The black, beastly light within them was incredibly dense, and their faces were filled with a violent, evil Qi.
Behind them, a colossal demonic shadow, thousands of feet tall, suddenly appeared, roaring at the heavens.
"Heavenly Yuan Demonic Fist!"
A low roar emanated from the throats of all the Yuan Gate members.
The immense demonic shadow behind them swung its giant, mountain-sized fist, carrying a terrifying force capable of destroying heaven and earth. It struck upwards, towards Lin Dong.
The attack had not yet landed.
But the terrifying fist wind had already warped space, causing it to shatter.
The disciples of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace and the disciples of the Dao Sect looked on with confusion after seeing this scene.
This Demonic Fist of the Yuan Gate, combined with the power of so many Reincarnation Stage experts, was too powerful. Just feeling its aura could make one's face change drastically from fright.
Hadn't Senior Brother Lin Dong also used a Martial Skill?
Why was there only the Yuan Gate's massive Heavenly Yuan Demonic Fist on the field, but no sign of Senior Brother Lin Dong's Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger?
Countless people were confused.
Just as they were wondering...
The entire world trembled.
"It's... dark?"
The light instantly dimmed, as if the sun had been snuffed out. It had turned to night.
Countless people were stunned.
It was clear skies just a moment ago. How did the sky suddenly turn dark in the blink of an eye?
They looked up at the sky, and at some unknown point, the entire sky... was covered by something.
Something was covering the entire sky, obscuring the sun and the moon.
And this thing was rapidly falling.
The people of the Yuan Gate were stunned. The demonic shadow they summoned was thousands of feet tall, and a casual movement from it could cause the sky to collapse and the earth to quake.
But now...
That demonic shadow had no comparison whatsoever in front of that sky-obscuring object.
It was like an ant comparing itself to the sun, moon, and stars.
"Five Fingers… This is... This is impossible! This is impossible!!!"
The Yuan Gate's Grand Elder and several other highly cultivated Elders barely managed to glimpse the appearance of this sky-obscuring object.
They were five fingers.
Five ancient, colossal fingers, emanating an immense, primal pressure, like heavenly pillars that held up the cosmos.
Five fingers descended from the sky, obscuring the universe, hiding the sun and moon.
[Inorin's Note: The text explicitly references the scene from Journey to the West where the Buddha's palm descends upon Sun Wukong, showing the scale of the attack.]
From a great distance, one could barely discern its shape as a hand.
But as the distance closed, the five fingers continuously magnified in everyone's sight.
From far to near, the patterns on the five fingers—like the whorls of a fingerprint—began to appear. As the distance continuously shortened, and then shortened even more...
On the fingers, any single pattern appeared as vast as a mountain range to everyone below.
"What a joke…"
"Are we supposed to... block this move?"
The Yuan Gate's Grand Elder was completely, utterly dumbfounded. Was this a move that a human could unleash?
Was this a move that they could block?
But it had already come to this. Clearly, even if they couldn't block it, they had to try.
"Roar!"
The demonic shadow let out a final, desperate roar. Monstrous Devilish Qi condensed in front of it, then transformed into an immense Devilish Qi light array. The light array was filled with terrifyingly evil Devilish Qi.
With the help of the Devilish Qi light array, the demonic shadow held its hands up to the sky, striking a pose as if propping up heaven and earth.
It intended to block the sky-obscuring five fingers with this.
However, it was clear that their actions were merely an ant trying to shake the heavens.
The giant five fingers descended.
When it pressed down on the thousand-zhang-tall demonic shadow, that massive shadow was only propping up an insignificant, tiny point on the patterns of one of the five fingers.
The five fingers felt no obstruction. They pressed straight down without the slightest decrease in speed.
Not a single sound was heard.
The entire space was almost leveled. The mountains, the valleys, the Devilish Qi... all were pressed into non-existence.
After the terrifying five-finger phantom disappeared...
There was no trace of the Yuan Gate people on the ground. Not even dust.
Lin Dong's move was too terrifying. Let alone the people of the Yuan Gate, even the people of the Dao Sect and the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace were almost scared to death by him.
"The upgraded Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger is truly effective…"
Lin Dong looked at his masterpiece with great satisfaction.
Using the current Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger against the people of the Yuan Gate was, as he suspected, like using a cannon to swat a fly.
During his recent seclusion, he had gained a lot of power and comprehension of the Dao from the chat group. After several deductions, the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger was no longer what it used to be.
He had originally intended to combine the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger with the Great Collapse Technique and other high-burst Three Thousand Daos to enhance its power.
[Inorin's Note: The Great Collapse Technique and Three Thousand Daos are crossover concepts from Eternal Life (Fang Han's world).]
However, Journey to the West and Fang Han's Five Elements Land in that world gave him some inspiration.
Why bother fusing other Daos?
The Great Five Elements Technique was the most compatible with the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger.
[Inorin's Note: The Great Five Elements Technique is another powerful Dao from Eternal Life, controlling Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.]
The Great Five Elements Technique, with its principles of mutual generation and mutual overcoming, perfectly corresponded to the five fingers.
One finger corresponded to one technique, and the five fingers perfectly corresponded to the Great Five Elements Technique.
Once the Dao of Five Elements was complete, the Five Elements would mutually generate and overcome each other, forming a perfect, self-sustaining cycle.
At that time, his Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger could truly imprison the heavens. Five fingers sealing the sky.
As strong as the Great Five Elements Technique was, so strong would the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger be.
By deducing in this direction, the power of Lin Dong's Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger had increased dozens of times.
This current wave...
Was just a small test.
"It's a pity the opponent is too weak. I can't truly test the current strength of the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger…"
Lin Dong sighed, feeling a bit regretful.
With his current strength, he was almost invincible in this world. It was getting boring.
It was almost time for him to consider Ascension.
"The Yuan Gate still has the Spatial Ancestral Talisman… When I destroy the Yuan Gate, I'll take the Spatial Ancestral Talisman as well!"
[Inorin's Note: The "Ancestral Talismans" are the eight most powerful divine objects in the WDQK universe. The Spatial Talisman was held by the Yuan Gate.]
Lin Dong stood in the air, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Senior Brother Lin Dong, you're truly amazing!"
Su Rou of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace looked at Lin Dong with pure, unadulterated adoration.
The other disciples also looked at Lin Dong with excited, shining eyes.
If Lin Dong hadn't helped today...
The Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace might have become history.
And most importantly...
Lin Dong was truly too strong. So strong it was breathtaking.
Lin Dong felt the admiring gazes of the crowd and chuckled lightly. He still quite enjoyed this feeling.
"The Legend of Martial Ancestor" has a new highlight moment.
Lin Dong was pondering what words to use to describe today's epic experience when he suddenly heard a cold snort by his ear.
"Hmph!"
He looked towards the sound and met a pair of icy, sharp blue eyes.
Those eyes looked at him, then looked into the distance. A slender hand tucked a strand of icy blue hair that had fallen by her ear, and her beautiful, proud face was inexplicably divine.
Needless to say.
This was Ying Huanhuan.
Lin Dong followed her gaze and saw another stunning woman, seemingly born from the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, who was also looking at him.
Ling Qingzhu!
Lin Dong felt a bit awkward, and his previous triumphant mood immediately became uncomfortable.
The relationship between the three of them was indeed a bit awkward now.
Because of this simple scientific principle...
Ying Huanhuan, this charming, fiery, and lively girl, held a very important place in Lin Dong's heart. Having spent so much time together at the Dao Sect, they had long since grown accustomed to each other.
Only a thin veil remained unbroken between them. She was... family.
Ling Qingzhu also held a completely different, but equally important, position in Lin Dong's heart.
Ling Qingzhu was the woman Lin Dong once had to look up to, the goal that spurred him on. Now, Lin Dong had risen, surpassing her.
It was like how his good friend Xiao Yan was looked down upon and almost had his engagement broken, leading to a three-year agreement.
Lin Dong and Ling Qingzhu also had a strange, unspoken agreement between them.
A tacit understanding.
They competed with each other, both wanting to surpass the other.
So, deep down, Lin Dong had a considerable, powerful desire to conquer Ling Qingzhu. Beneath this desire for conquest was also a man's powerful possessiveness.
Only I can conquer her.
She belongs only to me.
The white moonlight and the cinnabar mole... Lin Dong wanted them all.
[Inorin's Note: "White moonlight, cinnabar mole" is a famous Chinese literary reference describing two types of unforgettable love: the pure, unattainable one (white moonlight) and the passionate, permanent one (cinnabar mole).]
But the problem was...
Both of these girls shone as brightly as the sun and had their own immense pride.
It would likely be very, very difficult to win them both over simultaneously.
"A Shuraba!"
"To think that I, the Martial Ancestor, would also get entangled in matters of love!"
Lin Dong sighed, feeling a headache far worse than any battle.
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