After a while, a huge sect square entered my vision.
Spanning an entire plateau with all sorts of buildings and structures, and a grand jade fountain at the center of it all.
It had dozens of unique swords embedded into it with an especially exceptional sword, the aura of which made even my sword tremble as I entered its range, inserted into the topmost spout of water.
I saw a black haired muscular man with blood at the corner of his mouth being supported by a leaner, similar looking man, both of whom wore the same blue robes as the woman I met earlier.
Before them was a wrinkly old man, with gray hair turning white and a disgusting grin upon his face. He wore bright flaming robes and held a horsetail whisk that was surging with a bright red aura.
The moment I came close enough to hear their voices, the conversation stopped and all three of them looked at me as though finally detecting my presence.
"Xuanyuan! Don't let him disrupt Wushuang's breakthrough!" The leaner, black haired man shouted at me anxiously while pointing at the old man as the more muscular one coughed up further blood.
I glanced towards the old man, meeting his gaze as I jumped onto the concrete road.
Looking around, it seemed to be a marketplace because there were numerous disciples and elders nearby, watching the scene with complicated gazes.
I was not explicitly told to fight, but I have this unceasing itch to fight anything that moves.
This was a grave mistake, though, as the moment I cracked my knuckles in provocation to the old man, that wrinkled bag of meat and bones released a horrifying burst of killing intent that instantly registered onto my system.
| Creature: Human
| Cultivation: Firmament Founding Realm (Mystic Path)
| Threat Level: Just Run Away
That was an old monster in the Firmament Grade, a literal heaven away from my Core Coalescence Realm cultivation in the Nuclear Grade, thus it was not inaccurate for the system to deliver such a shameless judgment.
But I was once the Demon Ancestor. Even if my cultivation is suppressed, this person can still only be considered a junior.
I sheathed my sword, which caused the old man to raise an eyebrow alongside his horsetail whisk, ready to strike at any moment.
But I did not step forward as he had expected.
Instead, my foot fell back, and the very air twisted at my heel as I prepared to dash forward.
Or so the old man thought, and so he attacked directly without any pretenses.
But as he realized it was a feint, it was already too late, for I did not gather strength in my foot to advance forward, but to escape backward.
Then as the old man lunged towards me once more, I could not help but internally mock his poor battle IQ despite being so old.
Feinting once more, I utilized a special movement technique I had derived by myself during my third life.
I called it the Fool's Step.
Twisting my ankle at an unnatural angle, I immediately appeared behind the old man and slapped the back of his balding head and rushed back without hesitation.
For in the very next instant, the old man's aura burst forward, and his horsetail whisk shattered the air behind him in a merciless swipe.
But the damage was done, and his face burned with shame as all the onlookers plastered stunned expressions upon their faces.
And even the black haired duo were no better, as their mouths fell agape.
But the more muscular fellow could not help but burst out in laughter as he truly enjoyed the sight of that old man being slapped on the head like a child caught in mischief.
"Insolent junior!"
The half-step grave realm expert shouted out in embarrassment as he rushed towards me, and I could not respond back.
"Go fuck yourself, you fossil!"
And just as these words left my mouth, I did not waste any time before turning tail and running for my life.
But how could I escape the chase of a being an entire grade beyond myself?
Of course, there was only one way, at least for now.
"Watch this you expired monkey, it is called the Fool's Step!"
I shouted at the old as I turned around to see his horsetail whisk crashing down onto me.
My ankle turned unnaturally once more as I appeared behind the old man, but this time he was prepared, and I was unable to strike the same position.
However, what he did not realize was that his scalp was not my target at all this time, and so when he turned around to strike me with his horsetail whisk, I executed Fool's Step once more.
Twisting my ankle, I appeared behind the old man and slapped him on the back of his head yet again, and in the same spot at that.
Twice. I had slapped his bald patch twice. This was a level of insult the old man had probably never received ever since he shifted to this appearance of a senior.
The sect's disciples and elders were all beaming with joy, as I had properly avenged whatever the old man had done to that muscular black haired man before.
However, this time the old man was properly enraged and held nothing back as he charged at me with boundless pressure.
But at this moment, I was not alone as the leaner black haired man arrived at my side and shared some of the pressure with me.
In the next moment, the muscular black haired man also arrived at my other side. He had wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth, and his aura was surging as well.
The system registered both of them immediately.
| Creature: Human
| Cultivation: Core Tracing Realm (Mystic Path)
| Threat Level: Masochism
For the leaner one, and
| Creature: Human
| Cultivation: Core Revolution Realm (Mystic Path)
| Threat Level: Don't Be Stupid
For the muscular one.
The downwards force on my shoulders were alleviated greatly upon their appearance, and when the lean figure rushed forward first, I could not help but admire his courage.
Yet only when he finally clashed with the aura of the old man did I realize something was terribly wrong.
That old beast's strength was greatly nullified upon the impact of mystical energies, and the lean figure was only flung back a short distance while the more muscular figure closed in.
I followed closely and executed Fool's Step to create a threat behind the old man to give the muscular man an opening to strike him.
But how could I, with my cultivation base four major realms, an entire grade, beneath the old man, possibly even accomplish something like that?
With such a vast difference in levels, even if I were to self-destruct, that old man would still be able to ignore most of the damage and focus on the muscular man.
And so I believed the old man would totally disregard my attack and block the strike of the muscular man instead.
My assumption was proven correct, as Fool's Step finally brought me behind the old man in the next instant, and he flung his horsetail whisk at the muscular man.
However, that was his worst mistake, as I am not limited to just these few techniques.
Although this body of mine is weak and has not tempered or refined the physique, my methods are not restricted by cultivation.
Cognition is more important than cultivation - this is a fact recognized by countless experts across the entire Endless Heavens. Upon reaching a certain level, it becomes universally acknowledged.
As somebody who had once survived the destruction of a Masterworld, I am qualified to acknowledge this statement as well. Not only that, I am also qualified to act upon it.
So, with the mind as the deity and the body as the shrine, use the power of memories to drive forth a strength that defies the times and breaks apart the future, denying that which is absent in the river of memories.
This is a technique from my fourth life and belonged to my disciple-brother, Yu Nanyang. Called the second Demon Ancestor, he was parallel only to me. This is a Dao Technique from his Path that uses pure, unbridled mental power to tear away at all laws and draw power from one's memories!
Curling my fingers into a fist, I gathered all that strength into one strike and delivered it straight to the old man's back.
Yet, the fact remained that he was an entire grade above me in cultivation - an unbridgeable gap.
He sensed the danger immediately and dodged directly, avoiding both my and the muscular man's attacks.
Thankfully, the lean man was prepared and unleashed a pale blue sphere from within his chest.
It expanded rapidly, and soon it covered all four of us.
Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a Domain.
There are four Main Paths to cultivation.
The Mystic Path requires one to absorb and refine mystical energies from the world to cultivate.
The Spirit Path presses one to channel spiritual power from outside or refine one's own soul to cultivate.
The Body Path forces one to temper and fortify their physique using any and all means to cultivate.
The Dao Path needs one to comprehend the mysteries of the universe and understand the Dao to cultivate.
Additionally, these four paths are not mutually exclusive, and one can cultivate all four simultaneously.
However, there exist certain paths of cultivation beyond these four called Side-Doors, and they can be achieved through special training.
This Domain is one of them, and requires great precision in the handling of energies to achieve.
This lean figure's Domain had something extra, though. It was imbued with the Dao of Water and was transformed into a Dao Domain.
As I looked around, I realized the internal condition of the Domain resembled the bottom of a pool.
My own control of mystical energy was very high, despite having never practiced the Mystic Path, and this allowed to me witness the countless microscopic beads of water that filled this Domain. That lean figure far surpassed me in terms of control.
But the old man was no pushover either. He had his own mastery over a different Side-Door, that of Avatar Manifestation.
As he spread his arms, a blazing red power spread out from him and rapidly created a colossal figure made of pure mystical energies that enveloped him and separated him from the Dao Domain.
The figure had the body of an extremely muscular human and the head of a bengal tiger. The burning mystical energy gave the figure a dangerous red hue, giving it a bloodthirsty and violent appearance.
Seeing such a powerful enemy, my current body began to quiver involuntarily as it was not used to being subjected to such overbearing pressures.
Yet my spirit remained unwavering, a silent flame had been subconsciously lit within my consciousness and it only blared further as a pitch black liquid flowed out of my skin and covered my body like a second layer of skin.
Only there were lines on this liquid, three gray ones, to be precise.
My body was invigorated and I felt absolutely unstoppable as boundless strength coursed through veins and filled each of my cells till the burst, exuding a hazy aura that burned the air around me.
This black liquid spread across my entire body and the gray lines swam rivetingly throughout, I clasped my fingers into place once more as I dashed towards the old man, joining the black haired duo in their fight once more.
This is Battle Spirit, or rather, Battle Force, another one of the six Side-Doors.
Executing Fool's Step, I arrived at an unguarded location on the old man's giant avatar.
Condensing those three gray lines on my fist, I clenched my hand tightly as I gathered my mental power to use the mind as the deity and the body as the shrine - this is the Punch of God!
My fist made direct contact with the old man's avatar and although I could not immediately shatter or even crack his shell, he was forced to take two whole steps back.
This gave the black haired duo the opportunity to release their respective attacks onto the old man as his balance was changed and his focus dissipated.
But in the very next moment, I realized that I had fallen into a trap.
The avatar held in it's hand the old man's horsetail whisk, now enlarged hundreds of times to become a colossal weapon that swept at me.
A full contact strike.