Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

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Watching Agi Ni admit defeat and surrender, the live broadcast room fell into utter silence, as no one had anticipated such a sudden turn of events.

The only person unmoved was Xu Yang, who, without uttering a word, sheathed the Heavenly Punishment Blade and swiftly confiscated the corpse of Surya along with the Sun God Armor.

Outside the Divine Domain, a group of Enforcement Cultivators who had been waiting for a long time entered in succession, arresting related personnel and seizing their properties and items.

Inside the Sun Golden Palace, the members of "Elder Qian Da" were at a loss, but seeing the tragic state of Agi Ni and the golden blood left by Surya, they dared not resist and could only surrender.

While the harboring of Susano might likely have been solely the act of Surya, as the lord of a day, his subordinates and vassals shared in both honor and disgrace; these Elder Qian Das, as subordinate deities, could not escape involvement. The specific culpability would be judged accordingly.

Nevertheless, from today onward, the Brahman Sect's Sun God Sect would become a sacrificial cult to the evil god, with its incense fire certainly prohibited and losing the ability to spread its teachings, just like Susano before them.

This was undoubtedly a deterrent, a great deterrent!

Although the previous battle at Fu Long Ming Xiao had also ended in defeat, with the grand plans of the various Divine Systems failing before fruition, the battle had stopped short of being a total loss, and the Divine Systems still maintained a bit of self-assurance.

But now...

With the sword of Damocles hanging overhead, that bit of self-assurance had vanished into thin air.

Three supreme True Gods and a Tenth Order Divine Artifact, fighting on home ground within the Divine Domain with all the advantages of time and place, yet still they could not match the Heavenly Punishment Blade; in an instant, two were dead and one injured, suffering a disastrous defeat.

Such capability, such combat power, was even above the Roaring Sky Dao Method and the Innate Five Elements Great Formation.

Powerful as the Roaring Sky Dao Method and as formidable as the Innate Five Elements may be, they just manage to turn Agi Ni to ashes; still, there could be a possibility of defeat, restricted by the formation. Although the various Divine Systems were wary, they were not truly fearful.

This Heavenly Punishment was different, not being a formation-based power; with few limitations, its combat strength was extremely formidable. With no Earth Immortal emerging, perhaps no one could contend with it, and even the deeply entrenched Divine Systems had to fear and yield to such an existence.

Thus...

"This battle has brought us a millennium of peace!"

"Without an Earth Immortal emerging, the various Divine Systems dare not stir any further."

"They can only play low, with heads ducked and endure day by day!"

"Now we can focus fully on that Heterodox Demon Realm."

"Does this Heavenly Punishment Mecha truly match an Earth Immortal?"

"..."

In the live broadcast room, everyone was deep in discussion, but ultimately it did not affect the overall situation. Everything had settled.

In this fashion, a few days later.

Fu Long Mountain, Mingxiao Taoist Temple.

In the Ancestral Master Hall, Xu Yang sat alone, a broad smile on his face as he looked at his attribute panel, which was now gleaming with two lines of gold.

Dao Method: Yin and Yang and Five Elements!

Govern the World: True Law Heavenly Punishment!

...

After thousands of years, through countless transformations, the various worlds have progressed, needless to say, the results.

Cultivation increased, realms were broken through, and mana crafting advanced to the Eighth Order, finally achieving True Immortal Power.

Regarding the foundation of his rise, skill characteristics also saw several breakthroughs, with Yin and Yang and Five Elements and Taoist Heavenly Punishment being paramount.

The former, needless to say, was the outcome of his laborious cultivation in the Mysterious Gate Immortal Law and study of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements across countless millennia.

True to its name, this skill characteristic can enhance the effectiveness of the Yin and Yang Dao and The Five Elements Law.

This includes but is not limited to the Five Colors Divine Light, Innate Five Directions Banner, Innate Five Elements Great Formation, and various Divine Powers, Spiritual Treasures, Elixir and Talisman Techniques, and Formation and Artifact Skills within the categories of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, essentially enhancing any aspects that fall under Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.

As for the enhancement effects, they could be glimpsed from the battle at Fu Long Mountain.

In the battle at Fu Long Mountain, he alone faced five of the Five True Gods, each a top-notch character from the various Divine Systems, each with an Immortal Treasure by their side, their strength no lesser than the Earth Immortal Realm's Phoenix Master, Demon Lord, Demon Emperor, Great Sun Mahavairocana, and other supreme True Immortals. They directly countered his Five Elements Mana Point, making the restraint extreme.

But in the end, he still triumphed with One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, Innate Five Elements Formation, and Ding Jia Divine Fire.

All three were key, but the core to victory was still the Innate Five Elements Great Formation.

Without this formation as the foundation, even with the Divine Power of One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, it would be difficult to withstand the decisive assault of the Five True Gods, let alone activating the "Heavenly Immortal Level" Ding Jia Divine Fire to stabilize the battle situation.

The Ninth Order Innate Five Elements Great Formation, had his Formation skill reached such a realm?

Not yet!

Ten thousand years ago, he was only a Seventh-Order Formation Master. Though the benefits of accelerated time flow and the opportunities of the Heavenly Secret Realm allowed progress across various worlds and incarnations, they just barely brought his Formation skill to the Eighth Order.

Ninth Order?

An insurmountable distance remains in this vast sea of knowledge!

With only Eighth Order skills, how could he set up the Nine Tribulations Immortal Formation?

It must have been with external assistance!

Two types of external help were involved, one being Formation Instruments, and the other being characteristics.

The former goes without saying. After millennia of painstaking effort and assistance from the Heavenly Dao, using the opportunity of the Red Moon calamity, he successfully replicated the Innate Five Directions Banner, obtaining five top-quality Immortal Artifacts blessed by the favor and merit of the Heavenly Dao.

Though just top-quality Immortal Artifacts, with the power of merit from the Heavenly Dao, their role in the formation was no less significant than that of an Immortal Treasure, perhaps even surpassing it, as the essence of a formation is to mobilize the forces of heaven and earth. In this aspect, merit-based Formation Instruments have advantages not even Immortal Treasures can match.

With five such merit-based Formation Instruments, the Innate Five Elements Great Formation had almost stepped into the Ninth Order.

That was half the step; where did the other half come from?

It must have been the characteristic enhancement!

The newly added Yin and Yang and Five Elements, together with the existing Daoist Law Ancestor and a suite of Formation skills characteristics, successfully bridged this gap, elevating his Five Elements Formation beyond the limits of heaven and stepping into the Ninth Order.