Heavenly Wheel Ascension

Zhi Xuan gazed at the six giant projections with bated breath. Each possessed facial features identical to his own, yet they radiated an aura of darkness far purer and more ancient, as if they were remnants of rage from a time before light was created.

"Six shadows," Zhi Xuan whispered. "So this is... calling upon myself to fight alongside me?"

"Correct, while the practitioner world often produces Demon Transformation techniques," Ruo Xianxue replied. "You do not need those techniques because you can utilize your main body as a catalyst for the skill itself. You, with that Heavenly Leaf Sutra, possess the resilience to keep your Dao Heart from being possessed by demons while using this art."

Zhi Xuan did not answer immediately, weighing his options. "I will study it later. For now, I still have the Mountain and River Style of the Ten Great Secrets."

"Cautious, aren't you?" Ruo Xianxue let out a small laugh. "You do not need to study the Demon Transformation, Zhi Xuan. You only need to release the clarity of your Dao Heart for a moment and let the Demonic Thought possess you again. Then this Six Heavenly Demon Transformations Art will function as it should."

"I know," Zhi Xuan said. "The Six Heavenly Demon Transformations is indeed as staggering as its name suggests. But for now, using it amidst the confusion of my Dao Heart will only trap me in further stagnation."

Zhi Xuan flipped his palm, and the giant projections instantly dissolved back into the darkness of his sea of consciousness, leaving behind a cold silence. He withdrew his awareness from within, slowly opening his eyes in the real world.

Outside the pavilion, the wind of Sky Furnace Mountain roared, carrying heat from the ancient crater that resonated with the remnants of the five elements energy he had scattered earlier. The reddish moonlight of Chi Di slipped through the window cracks, falling directly upon the marble floor surface that was still cracked.

Zhi Xuan rose to his feet, his steps light yet leaving a trace of invisible authority. He walked toward the pavilion balcony, looking toward the settlement of Red Flame City which now appeared like a ghost town trying to rise from its grave. The Shen Clan disciples were seen busy lighting guardian lanterns, their faces still haunted by the shadows of death.

The sky suddenly thundered, and a vortex of black clouds moved from afar toward Red Flame City, causing the ground beneath Zhi Xuan to vibrate faintly. Zhi Xuan looked up, staring into the sky where Ao Sheng and Xiao Die shot toward him.

In the void of the sky, several figures walked with arrogance, each step shaking the heavens. The Ancient Shen Clan disciples, who had just begun to feel at ease, now appeared before Zhi Xuan with pale faces.

"Senior! Those... those are the Weaver experts from the Sky Mountain Alliance and the Sacred Flame Pavilion!" whispered the male disciple with a voice nearly lost in the sky's roar. "They have come here themselves!"

Xiao Die and Ao Sheng landed before Zhi Xuan, clasping their hands. Ao Sheng was the first to speak. "There are at least six Weaver experts and dozens of Soul Transformation practitioners, Senior. This time, they truly intend to plunder."

Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes, his sapphire glinting coldly beneath the shadow of the reddening moon. "It seems they do not believe I am here, considering me an impostor."

Above the night sky, the pressure from the Weaver experts slammed into the formation dome of Red Flame City. The formation dome developed large cracks without being able to be prevented, and the Ancient Shen Clan disciples began to panic again.

"Disperse!" roared a voice that thundered from behind the black clouds, like lightning splitting the silence of the night.

The five elements formation dome woven by Zhi Xuan finally shattered into pieces, breaking into spots of light that drifted down like burning snow. Six figures in grand robes emerged from behind the mist, standing with arrogance followed by dozens of Soul Transformation experts behind them.

"Who dares to pose as Gu Fengyan?" the voice was heavy, coming from one of the Weaver experts. "Red Flame City no longer belongs to the Ancient Shen Clan. Thousands of years have passed; it is high time this land changed hands."

"What do you mean?!" shouted one of the Ancient Shen Clan disciples. "This has always been part of the Ancient Shen Clan sovereignty! It does not mean that after we experience misfortune, you can take what does not belong to you!"

"The majestic Ancient Shen Clan can now only hide behind the back of a stranger?" a Weaver expert in flaming red robes from the Sacred Flame Pavilion laughed mockingly, his voice shaking the sky. "If your Patriarch were still in this Lower Realm, perhaps we would think twice. But now? You are merely the rotting remains of grandeur!"

"Presumptuous!" The male Shen Clan disciple whom Zhi Xuan had protected stepped forward, his hands clenched until his knuckles turned white. "You attack while we are weak, claiming to be righteous sects yet acting more despicably than the Soul-Devouring Demon Sect! Where is your dignity as Chi Di practitioners?!"

"Dignity will not fill the coffers of essence, boy!" replied an old woman with silver hair standing on the right. "This world belongs to the strong. If the Shen Clan is unable to guard the Earth Fire Core, then let the Sky Mountain Alliance manage it for the safety of the Chi Di Plains!"

"Safety or plunder?!" The female disciple shouted with eyes watering from rage. "You watched our comrades be slaughtered and you only watched from afar, waiting for the right moment to pounce! You are nothing more than vultures dressed in silk!"

"Enough of this nonsense," said one of the Weaver experts. "My elder said that the figure of Gu Fengyan held a scythe as reported. The eyes of low-level practitioners can be deceived, but to us, that is merely a boastful scythe equated with Gu Fengyan's."

"A boast?" Zhi Xuan murmured low, his voice not loud but somehow traveling through the air, silencing the thunder of the black clouds above.

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He stepped slowly toward the edge of the balcony, letting his body be clearly seen by the hundreds of pairs of eyes floating on the horizon. Xiao Die and Ao Sheng immediately took positions behind him, like two guardians of eternity ready to explode their anger at any moment.

"That’s him! The one posing as Gu Fengyan! Scaring us earlier with that scythe. We didn't know before and only ran when he brought out the scythe as if he were the real Gu Fengyan!"

"Right, look at him now! Dressed like Gu Fengyan, we were too hasty to see clearly. Now, you are no more than a trapped ant, stranger!"

"If he were Gu Fengyan, he should be in the Ancient Shen Clan territory, perched in their pavilions, not being here and posing as Gu Fengyan to attract the interest of small clan disciples!"

Zhi Xuan let the mockery flow like river water passing over stones—cold and unmoving. He slowly stroked the marble balcony surface, feeling the overflowing vibrations of hatred from the sky. In his eyes, the existence of these Weaver experts was nothing more than a small ripple on a calm pond.

"The world is indeed strange," Zhi Xuan said, his voice calm. "When I gave you a chance to live, you instead crawled back to beg for death. Does the breath you take feel so burdensome?"

"Presumptuous!" one of the Weaver experts stomped his foot in the sky, which immediately created an explosion wave that collapsed the pavilion below.

The Ancient Shen Clan disciples collapsed, pressed against the ground. But Zhi Xuan merely stepped into the void, each step forming a wave that swept his surroundings, pressing back the heavy force.

Zhi Xuan continued to step up into the sky, each of his footfalls on empty air creating silvery ripples that extinguished the aura pressure of the Weaver experts. His black and white robes fluttered calmly, in contrast to the energy storm raging around him.

"One peak Weaver Transformation, three mid-stage, and two early-stage," Zhi Xuan murmured, his eyes cold as sapphire ice sweeping over the six figures before him. "Plus dozens of Soul Transformation practitioners who can only follow. Is this the strength that makes you dare to challenge the authority of an Ancient Clan?"

"How amusing," Zhi Xuan said, raising his finger as the air grew heavy. "Seeing other mortals trying to challenge an Ancient Clan like me, it looks very funny now if they do not have sufficient ability."

"Ancient Clan?" The red-robed Weaver expert laughed uproariously, his laughter triggering tongues of flame dancing in the air. "You call yourself a challenger of the Ancient Clan? A rogue practitioner like you can at most only steal a few crumbs of treasure from the ruins. We are rulers who have planted roots for thousands of years!"

"If I still held the Heavenly Sword, perhaps you wouldn't be able to speak a single word to me," Zhi Xuan murmured. "But now, I am not in the mood to spend long responding to faces like yours."

Zhi Xuan waved his hand, summoning the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron which immediately floated above his palm. Instantly, the weight in the area dropped, the pressing Xuan-Huang energy and the aura of the Jiu-Quan river water surged.

The sight of the Divine Cauldron spinning above Zhi Xuan’s palm instantly changed the color of the sky. The chill from the Jiu-Quan spring crept like death-serpents in the air. At the same time, the weight of the Xuan-Huang energy overflowing from the cauldron’s mouth made the air feel as if it were solidifying into metal plates crushing the chests of every practitioner present.

"That cauldron... what rank of treasure is that?!" The red-robed Weaver expert gasped, his mocking laughter caught in his throat. He could feel his soul as if being forcibly pulled to prostrate before the low-vibrating bronze object.

Zhi Xuan did not answer. His eyes, cold as sapphire, stared straight at the six Weaver experts, while his fingers began to form ancient mudras that triggered a hum from the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron.

"You say I am a liar posing as someone else?" Zhi Xuan said, his voice now carrying an echo that traveled through the black clouds. "Gu Fengyan needs no acknowledgment from the mouths of practitioners like you. That name was woven from the blood and fear of thousands of unstoppable practitioners."

From the Divine Cauldron, nine dragons emerged, formed from the Jiu-Quan river water, carrying the thick scent of death from the underworld river.

"Once released, you still returned," Zhi Xuan hissed. "Then for the second time, stay here forever."

The sembilan dragons twisted and shot sharply toward the line of Weaver experts. Zhi Xuan turned for a moment. "Ao Sheng, Xiao Die, the Soul Transformation practitioners are your food."

Hearing the command, Ao Sheng grinned widely, revealing rows of fangs that radiated a golden sheen, while Xiao Die nodded gracefully with a flap of transparent wings that scattered light powder.

"With pleasure, Senior!" roared Ao Sheng. His body expanded, twisting and roaring low, charging into the ranks of Soul Transformation practitioners who were still frozen.

"Do not let a single one of their souls escape this death dance," whispered Xiao Die, transforming into her giant form, her wings flapping and creating spiritual waves as she surged forward.

The Weaver experts responded to Zhi Xuan’s attack; one of them brought out a treasure shaped like an umbrella. The umbrella glowed golden and repelled the Jiu-Quan river water dragons. Zhi Xuan snorted coldly, his eyes flashing.

He spread both hands, and immediately his True Domain, the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk, expanded for dozens of li in its full form, enveloping Red Flame City and instantly locking down the region. This ensured the Weaver experts, who were not at his level, could not release their own Domains.

The color of the horizon above Red Flame City instantly changed. The sky that was once thick with black clouds was now split by the appearance of a giant wheel spinning slowly, emitting six different colored glows—representing the inevitable paths of reincarnation. Above the void, six gates appeared, carrying an unimaginable weight.

"Asura Path: Open!" Instantly, the aura emitted from the Asura gate expanded, possessing every practitioner and filling their hearts with a reckless battle intent.

The gate opened, and immediately Asura shadows emerged, filling the air with an unbearable battle intent. The peak Weaver expert clenched his jaw; he spread both hands, and immediately his Domain appeared as a False Domain, which could only suppress half of the True Domain.

"World of Eternal Red Desert!" roared the peak Weaver expert. Behind his back, an image of a red fire desert world appeared in the form of a scroll painting.

The scroll painting manifested an ocean of fire desert surrounding Red Flame City, drowning and devouring the Asura warriors emerging from the Asura Gate. The pressure eased slightly, but the Weavers below the peak remained suppressed by the True Domain that served as the height of enlightenment.

"Merely a False Domain, yet you dare call me a boast," Zhi Xuan said with a condescending tone, clasping his hands. "Demon Path!"

Instantly, the second gate of the giant disk creaked open. A howl that did not originate from a human throat shook the dimension, carrying a thick, suffocating purple mist. From within the rift of the gate, black chains filled with essence thorns shot out, darting like hungry snakes aiming for the Weaver experts' heartbeats.

The black chains were absolute. Under the pressure of the Reincarnation Domain, two early-stage Weaver Transformation practitioners collapsed after their bodies were pierced by the black chains. Their frames were pulled by Zhi Xuan, their vitality instantly uprooted by the Demon Path.

The four remaining figures parried and dodged the black chains under immense pressure. One of them created a formation seal that circled in the air, causing the sky above to churn with striking lightning.

The lightning struck ferociously, tearing through the sky dome that had been locked by the reincarnation disk. The mid-stage Weaver expert spat a mouthful of blood, activating the World-Destroying Lightning Seal. He roared, hoping that heavenly punishment could sever the thorn chains that continued to chase them.

Zhi Xuan snorted coldly, raising one palm, and his scythe reappeared. He raised the scythe handle high into the air, creating a giant scythe shadow hundreds of feet tall.

"Your time is up," Zhi Xuan hissed. "Then feel for yourselves whether this is fake or not. Slaughter Gods Crescent, fall!"