Chapter 287 – The Underworld Here, Where to Find the Heavenly Palace?

Amidst the vast, misty white clouds, anomalies reappeared.

From the White Jade Southward Sky, to the Nine-Colored Rainbow Bridge, and then to the Langya Immortal Pavilion…

The unparalleled heavenly palace style martial arts belonging to the Lord of Heaven, Wu Chao, gradually unfolds before the world.

The invincible martial arts that have suppressed several eras.

Lu Yuan was sent flying by a palm strike from Wu Chao.

The “black meteorite” exploded, and the anomalies around him shook violently like paper scraps.

Lu Yuan stood at the edge of the high platform, half-bowed, breathing deeply, trying to adjust his state.

“Creak, creak-“

The injury in his chest caused by Wu Chao began to protrude and recover.

His aura gradually stabilized.

“Still a bit short,” Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

He stepped towards Wu Chao again, his flowing black hair barely concealing his strong, majestic back.

The enormous Blood-red Lotus Eye on his back seemed to have faded after enduring Wu Chao’s two moves.

The pattern of muscle and blood vessels originally bulging intensely was gradually smoothing, giving a feeling of fading away.

Yet, Lu Yuan’s momentum seemed to rise instead.

The anomalies around him continued to evolve.

The once flourishing ancient city, after the fall of the black meteorite, was shrouded in a layer of black mists.

The tone of the epic was progressively becoming solemn and deep.

“Once more,” Lu Yuan said calmly, his figure flickering as he quickly approached the Lord of Heaven, Wu Chao.

Wu Chao’s eyes gleamed with a strange light, as if he had seen something in Lu Yuan’s actions.

However, he merely smiled without saying a word.

He was the Lord of Heaven from Penglai!

“Heavenly Palace Style Fifth Form – Ascending Dragon Platform!”

With an air of ease, Wu Chao moved.

Lu Yuan met him head-on.

His every move was seamless, fluid like flowing water.

Every strike created layers of shockwaves, each gesture exuding overwhelming power.

Yet, regardless of the technique or angle he used, all his attacks were effortlessly blocked by Wu Chao with just a few casual moves.

During this process, the celestial phenomena above the high platform continued to increase and manifest.

The layers of vast, blurry clouds unfolded one by one, as if the heavenly palace from mythical legends was truly descending.

Wu Chao’s aura also continued to build and rise.

Gradually, his entire figure almost completely merged with the celestial phenomena behind him.

His presence became lofty and elusive, majestic and untouchable.

On the high platform, the area Lu Yuan could occupy dwindled.

Most of the space was dominated by Wu Chao’s overwhelming aura.

The ethereal and magnificent celestial phenomena gradually expanded to encompass the entire high platform, hanging over the peak of Penglai, bathed in a radiant glow, making it even more mysterious and unfathomable.

Lu Yuan was forced to retreat to a corner of the high platform.

All he could see before him were the heavenly palace phenomena.

At this moment, he seemed like a demon being driven to the brink, exposed under the majestic will of the supreme celestial court, with nowhere to hide!

…

“So this is the Lord of Heaven!”

On the white square, the silver-haired sect leader of the Rock-Smashing Style looked up at the vast and lofty celestial phenomena on the supreme high platform with a mix of reverence and fervor. He murmured, “Penglai Martial Saint Island has never been short of grandmasters, nor figures like The Five Elders.

Even if all the grandmasters in Penglai perished, the Lord of Heaven alone… would still be enough to support all of Penglai!

Back then, he dared to cross hundreds of kilometers of sea with just his physical body to become the disciple of the Last Martial Saint soon after becoming a grandmaster… Only someone like him could create such astonishing and unparalleled martial arts as the heavenly palace style.”

After the silver-haired old man finished speaking, an oblivious disciple of the Rock-Smashing Style naively asked, “Master, if the Lord of Heaven is so strong, then won’t the God Emperor of the Deity Martial Alliance be defeated?”

“Isn’t that obvious? The outcome was determined the moment this battle began.”

The silver-haired old man responded dismissively, then couldn’t help but smirk and shake his head slightly. “What’s a God Emperor? At the end of the day, he’s just a clown who doesn’t know his limits…”

“Looks like the guy who came with you is about to die.”

At the edge of the giant pit below the steps, the disheveled Cai Huazhang stared intently at the situation on the highest platform, his face showing signs of hopeful anticipation and satisfaction.

He turned to face Liu Daoyuan, who was standing in front of him, and sneered, “The Lord of Heaven never leaves survivors.”

A dozen gun barrels were aimed at Cai Huazhang from Liu Daoyuan’s side. Liu narrowed his eyes, also focusing on the battle at the top of the platform.

Suddenly, Liu Daoyuan spoke, “Why don’t we make a bet?”

Cai Huazhang was taken aback by this and instinctively asked, “Bet on what?”

Liu Daoyuan turned his face toward him, his expression indifferent, and said, “Bet on whether my disciple can defeat Wu Chao. If he wins, you’ll willingly hand over the banner of the Sky Water Stream. If he loses… I won’t kill you today.”

Cai Huazhang was momentarily stunned, then laughed angrily, “Liu Daoyuan, what makes you think you can kill me?

With that hunk of junk you’re carrying? Dreaming of killing a Grandmaster?! Ridiculous.”

“Try me,” Liu Daoyuan said calmly. Then, all the gun barrels adjusted their angles simultaneously, aiming directly at Cai Huazhang’s lower body.

Cai Huazhang instantly felt a chilling breeze down his pants, and his scalp began to tingle.

“You’ve got some nerve…”

Cai Huazhang gritted his teeth and said to Liu Daoyuan, “Fine, I’ll take your bet. Liu Daoyuan, just you wait. Once that kid dies… you won’t be leaving the Martial Saint Island today either.”

Liu Daoyuan’s face remained impassive as he turned his head back to continue watching the match on the high platform.

“The Lord of Heaven will win.”

“The undefeated myth of two hundred years will continue, and it’s likely no one will be able to break it in the future…”

“What a pity for this kid. If he were given a few more decades, the outcome of this battle might be completely different.

But it’s a shame he doesn’t have that chance; he’s about to die…”

The Grandmasters on the high platform were discussing among themselves, having a clearer understanding of the situation.

It was evident.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was at the end of his rope, and being crushed by the majestic heavenly palace above him…

Only one last step remained.

“Whoo-“

In a corner of the platform, with only a small spot left to stand on, Lu Yuan exhaled a long breath.

This breath carried a faint mist of blood.

He seemed to be severely injured.

His perfect 2.5-meter-tall body was covered in the marks left by the Lord of Heaven, Wu Chao-palm imprints, fist marks, and finger streaks…

His long, black waterfall-like hair was disheveled, draped over him like a battle-worn cloak.

Yet Lu Yuan’s expression remained calm.

Wu Chao was incredibly powerful, so strong that his heavenly palace style of martial arts continuously inflicted marks imbued with his martial will onto Lu Yuan’s body. Despite Lu Yuan’s exceptional constitution, these marks were hard to heal in a short period.

But Lu Yuan lowered his eyelids, ignoring the injuries on his body, focusing all his attention on the intense changes occurring within him.

His chest echoed with thunderous sounds; his Five Viscera glowed with light.

His mental power was dense like mercury; his blood surged like a mighty river.

At the center of his chest, numerous blood threads were swirling and gradually transforming from a vortex into the shape of a sphere.

“Just a bit more…”

Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

His body was just one step away from completing its transformation.

He could feel that his mental power, physique, and martial arts accumulation had reached a nearly overflowing state.

When water is full, it overflows.

Now, what he needed was that one drop to make the cup overflow completely.

Removing his consciousness, Lu Yuan looked around.

At this moment, the high platform was almost entirely occupied by the aura and phenomena of the Lord of Heaven, Wu Chao.

The grand and magnificent heavenly palace stood above Lu Yuan’s head, among the clouds.

Golden light spilled from the clear blue sky, merging with the radiant glow below, enveloping the entire phenomenon.

Wu Chao stood within this phenomenon, his figure lofty and ethereal, seemingly not of this world.

And Lu Yuan was left with only this small standing area beneath his feet.

The surrounding ancient cityscape phenomenon seemed lifeless.

The once-thriving scene had completely vanished.

All that remained was a desolate, bleak, ruined landscape, void of any vitality.

It mirrored Lu Yuan’s current condition.

“Just a bit more… the final step.”

Lu Yuan said to himself.

“You really are quite impressive.”

A grand and ethereal voice echoed from the heavenly palace phenomenon in front.

It was Wu Chao’s voice.

Lu Yuan looked up, squinting at him.

He could see the warmth and clarity in Wu Chao’s eyes.

Wu Chao seemed to be smiling.

“It’s been a long time since anyone forced me to use the heavenly palace style to this extent. So long that… I almost forgot the last time I had to use this form…”

“You’re old.”

Lu Yuan responded calmly.

A light laugh came from within the cloudy palace.

Wu Chao ignored Lu Yuan’s remark and continued, “I know what you’re waiting for. You’re waiting for a breakthrough. You want to use my hand to achieve it. Your martial arts are quite interesting…”

Wu Chao’s gaze fell upon Lu Yuan, and he softly said, “I can see that your martial arts and current state are on the verge of a breakthrough. Don’t worry, I’ll give you that opportunity. I’ll let you get what you want because…”

Wu Chao sighed softly, “I haven’t had this much fun in a very long time.”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered.

In the next second, he suddenly lunged forward, like a blade stabbing straight into Wu Chao’s field.

The high platform was entirely within Wu Chao’s Grandmaster Field, along with the imposing aura of the heavenly palace style.

The dense, liquid-like aura made every step Lu Yuan took incredibly difficult, as if he were moving upstream against a roaring current.

Majestic heavenly palaces and misty clouds surrounded Wu Chao, who stood with his hands behind his back, calmly watching Lu Yuan approach, as if he were observing an insect crawling toward him with all its might.

Finally…

Lu Yuan closed in on Wu Chao, raising his fist.

It was at this moment that Wu Chao moved.

He casually lifted a finger, gently tapping Lu Yuan on the forehead.

“Ding-“

“Heavenly Palace Style: The Eighth Form-Enter the Lofty Skies!”

“Boom-“

With Wu Chao’s light tap, an extremely magnificent, grand, and awe-inspiring golden hall rapidly emerged from the heavenly palace phenomenon on the high platform.

The hall’s name was “Lofty Skies.”

And the final corner of this majestic heavenly palace complex was unveiled with it.

The overwhelming, ancient-immortal-palace-like aura instantly magnified more than tenfold.

“Boom!”

Lu Yuan was blasted away as if struck by a cannonball, flying backwards until he nearly reached the edge of the high platform. He staggered, barely managing to steady himself.

The fully revealed heavenly palace phenomenon now emitted an unparalleled, terrifying pressure. It pressed down layer by layer like divine wrath, causing the air around to warp in large swaths.

Even the onlookers felt an inexplicable suffocating sensation just by glancing at it.

As for Lu Yuan, who was within this immense pressure, he seemed like an insect about to be crushed and obliterated.

Slowly, he raised his head with difficulty, looking up at the heavenly palace and Wu Chao.

His eyes…

They shone brilliantly, more dazzling than ever.

“You are mistaken.”

Lu Yuan spoke softly.

“I’m not waiting for a breakthrough. I’m waiting for you.”

“Waiting for you to push your so-called heavenly palace style martial arts to the extreme.”

“You’re already so old, like a sunset on the verge of collapse. But I am the rising sun of the morning.”

“You are the last face of an old era…”

“For me, it’s already an unfair fight. If I don’t let you use your ultimate technique to the fullest…”

“Even if I kill you…”

“People will still say I won without honor.”

Saying this, Lu Yuan smiled slightly.

“Boom!”

In that moment, his Grandmaster progress bar finally hit one hundred percent.

On his professional panel, a prompt rapidly popped up-

[All prerequisites for career advancement met. [Martial Artist] profession advancing.]

Lu Yuan’s mental power swiftly gathered towards the center of his brain.

Inside his chest, the blood threads quickly intertwined, forming a blood sphere the size of a fist in the blink of an eye.

This blood sphere was connected to his entire body.

At the center of the blood sphere, a pitch-black crow feather gently swayed.

Thunderous sounds echoed continuously from his chest.

His Five Viscera, blood, flesh, and bones all began to glow at that moment.

The light quickly seeped through his body, spilling out from every pore on his skin.

In an instant, all of Lu Yuan’s external injuries vanished.

The faint blood-red lotus eye pattern on his back also completely disappeared.

“Crack, crack-“

Lu Yuan’s entire body was being reformed. An indescribable, mighty aura emanated from him like a column of smoke, surging upwards, unstoppable like the rising sun.

The terrifying pressure that had surrounded him was shattered and dispersed by this aura. Even the clouds above were blown away, causing the once majestic and awe-inspiring heavenly palace phenomenon to waver, revealing its illusory nature…

In that instant, Wu Chao’s expression changed dramatically. A look of disbelief and shock crossed his face.

With a serious expression, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he leapt into the air. His form seamlessly merged with the wavering heavenly palace phenomenon, becoming indistinguishable.

Standing atop “Lofty Skies,” he gazed down at Lu Yuan with an icy, almost divine detachment, then struck out with a palm from afar.

His voice echoed coldly and indifferently:

“Heavenly Palace Style: The Ninth Form-I Rule the Heavenly Palace!”

As Wu Chao delivered his strike, a gigantic white hand, visible to the naked eye, materialized beneath the vast sky. It carried the entire heavenly palace phenomenon, crushing the air as it roared towards Lu Yuan below.

This mythical feat left the onlookers almost breathless with awe, momentarily paralyzing their thoughts. They watched, stunned, as the gigantic hand descended.

Penglai Lord Wu Chao was immensely powerful, the absolute ruler of his era. But it was only at this moment that everyone truly understood… just how powerful was Wu Chao?

A legend!

A pure martial artist’s legend!

This was undeniably a figure who could be enshrined in martial history, a pinnacle of unparalleled achievement!

However.

Faced with Wu Chao’s god-like, reality-shattering strike, Lu Yuan remained completely unfazed.

Lu Yuan’s body was still undergoing its transformation, his internal metamorphosis continuing.

His eyes shone brightly as he watched the enormous white hand descending from the sky with a look of admiration.

After a moment of appreciation, his gaze shifted to something more regretful and sorrowful.

“Whoosh-“

A darkness more profound than the night rose behind Lu Yuan. It silently spread towards the white hand and the heavenly palace above it.

From the beginning, he had been maintaining an ancient epical phenomenon of a city-state’s evolution.

And now, this phenomenon was reaching its final chapter-

On the decayed, lifeless ground of the ruins, a black crow with wings that blotted out the sky and 999 eyes on its head silently revealed its form.

It was an apocalypse, a harbinger of doom.

When it spread its wings, the light of the sun, moon, and stars was consumed.

All things in existence… would utterly return to the underworld.

Lu Yuan stood on the high platform, his entire body glowing.

The Hundred-eyed Nether Crow phenomenon rose behind him.

He pointed lightly at the white hand, the heavenly palace phenomenon, and Wu Chao, who sat loftily above on “Lofty Skies.” He murmured softly, “This place is the underworld… where would one seek the heavenly palace?”

As the words left his mouth.

Everyone present on Penglai’s martial saint island, their consciousness and five senses… all plunged into eternal night.

It was as if the world itself was swallowed by blackness.