Chapter 483: Half of the second rank

Zhu Fengdan was even more despicable than expected.

Of course, this also perfectly aligned with his character; if you're going to act, then act directly. This young Master isn't interested in playing gentlemanly duels with you.

Battles where one bows and says, "Please," before fighting would never happen with Zhu Fengdan.

If you want to fight, he'll definitely accompany you directly.

And... there's absolutely no such thing as a gentleman.

Zhu Fengdan's fighting was extremely purposeful, and his actions were very clear.

He would never attack head-on if he could ambush, and he would never rush to the front to clash if he could use traps.

If he could ram you with a World Cluster, he would absolutely not use a Spiritual Artifact.

If he could use a Spiritual Artifact, he would absolutely not just use a Daoist Art.

If he could use a Daoist Art, he would absolutely not fight bare-handed.

In other words, it was a very simple principle:

Never cripple if you can kill, never chop off a hand if you can chop off a head.

So, in the next instant, Zhu Fengdan's body suddenly dissipated, and then, above the Hell's sky, four constellations appeared.

These were things every Shaman knew.

They were the Four Symbols.

Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise.

These weren't illusory images like 'anomalies,' but true starry skies!

Within the Avici Hell, endless stars truly appeared, and these stars formed the Four Symbols!

This was something every Shaman knew when they were not yet Ranked; it was the source of the Four Symbols Qi they used to build their foundations.

For example, Li Qi, Li Qi had sacrificed to the Four Symbols for a full year before finally advancing to the Ninth Grade.

However, once they advanced to the Ninth Grade, low-Rank Shamanes rarely interacted with the Four Symbols anymore, and at this point, sacrificing to the Four Symbols would generally not yield a response.

Because... their Rank was too high. Eighth Grade Shamanes didn't even have the qualifications to sacrifice to the Four Symbols. As the Celestial Four Symbols governing the stars, they were terrifying existences spanning across all heavens.

And the reason why low-level existences like the unranked could sacrifice to the Four Symbols was actually very simple.

The Shaman Gods personally came forward and negotiated with the Four Symbols, exchanging an unknown price for all Shamanes to receive responses from the Four Symbols when they were unranked.

This way, all Shamanes would have an incredibly solid foundation, as the Inner World constructed by the Four Symbols Divine Qi was far more resilient than ordinary杂气.

And after being unranked, what Rank was qualified to communicate with the Four Symbols through sacrificial methods?

The answer was—Second Grade.

When the Four Symbols constellations appeared in the sky, the Dragon King's Third Prince and that Demonic Dao Cultivator both felt a jolt in their hearts.

"When Ordained Invoker performs rites to all gods, it will inevitably cause changes in wind and thunder. The Wind Lord will clear the dust, and the Rain Master will clear the way. When the work is done, it will benefit heaven and earth, as if heaven and earth have become higher and thicker, and can match their Dao with high virtue... This is a Ordained Invoker method... Second Grade?! Didn't he cut off his Dao path?!" The Demonic Dao Cultivator couldn't help but shout loudly!

And the Dragon King's Third Prince didn't even shout, only let out an "uh"—

Because the battle was already over.

Immediately, the starry sky in the firmament flickered once, then transformed back into the gloomy sky of Hell.

The Four Symbols arrived, and Ordained Invoker's method appeared. In just an instant, a head had already been taken by Zhu Fengdan.

"Alright, I'm tired of waiting. I'll just deliver some takeout to my Disciple later and leave. Remember, just observe, don't overstep your bounds and bully the weak, or else I'll knock on your door." Zhu Fengdan held a head in his hand, smiling easily.

After he finished speaking, under the stiff gazes of the two, his body suddenly vanished.

Only the Demonic Dao Cultivator and the Dragon King's Third Prince were left, looking at each other.

"He... didn't he shatter his Inner World? The Demonic King himself told me that." The Demonic Dao Cultivator's voice sounded somewhat hoarse.

"Yes, but it seems... the impact isn't that great. No wonder he's favored by the Shaman God; he has a strong backing. It's a good thing this fool here helped us scout the way. The rest of the matters are now clear. Hmm, I suppose things here are concluded for now. After the battle ends, we just need to bid farewell to the Ghost Emperor." The Dragon King's Third Prince, after taking a few deep breaths, quickly returned to normal, puffed out his belly, and continued to observe the distance.

That Demonic Overlord said nothing, only shook his head, seemingly not thinking that someone dying just now would affect anything.

— — — — — — — —

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Li Qi was fully immersed in the battle, desperately analyzing the opponent's Dao pulse, striving to find the perfect solution.

With True Knowledge Dao Resonance fully activated, countless pieces of information flowed through Li Qi's mind, then disassembled, recombined, integrated with the current situation, and pieced together into applicable tactics.

This was an extremely brain-intensive moment, and all of Li Qi's attention was focused on it.

Completely engrossed, utterly concentrated.

But, at this very moment, someone suddenly patted Li Qi's shoulder.

Li Qi nearly jumped!

Just like someone being startled while concentrating, Li Qi abruptly turned around, raising his hand, ready to unleash a Daoist Art!

But it was gently patted away by a hand, all Daoist Arts dispersed without a trace.

Li Qi sharply looked up, only to see Zhu Fengdan's smiling face.

He smiled quite arrogantly, still holding a head Li Qi didn't recognize.

"Here, Disciple, this is for you. Now Master doesn't owe you anything," Zhu Fengdan said, stuffing the head into Li Qi's arms.

"Owe...?" Li Qi was startled, but immediately remembered what was going on.

Back then, when Zhu Fengdan faced the Human Dao Utmost Persons, he chopped off two heads on the spot and gave them to Li Qi. Those two heads were thrown into the three lives ancient mirror by Li Qi during his first encounter with the Heavenly Demon, accelerating the mirror's overload.

However, at that time, Zhu Fengdan said it was to vent Li Qi's anger, but there were three Utmost Persons then, and one was rescued by an Earth Immortal.

So at that time, Zhu Fengdan said he owed Li Qi a head and would deal with it later. (See Chapter 222)

Now, this counts as... making up for it?

So that means?

Li Qi reacted, shivered, his hairs stood on end, he gasped, and his hands started trembling, almost dropping it!

This head in his hand, was it a Third Grade head?!

He immediately looked at Zhu Fengdan, only to find that he had already disappeared.

Li Qi felt his heart almost leap out of his chest.

Damn it, he just stuffed a live grenade into his hand!

— — — — — — — —

While Li Qi was shocked and terrified, Zhu Fengdan had already arrived in Boundless Outer Domain, a place uninhabited.

He didn't know where this place was, but he couldn't even see starlight around, seemingly a desolate area in the Universe.

Zhu Fengdan no longer had any trace of his carefree demeanor.

His body was shattered, a large amount of blood spilled out, his entire being was almost broken into pieces, all his bones turned into small fragments, all his muscles became strands, his internal organs were sliced into pieces, and even his Spirit Soul had numerous cracks.

He looked completely like a dead person, his body fragments scattered in Boundless Outer Domain, having spread out over tens of thousands of miles.

A person's flesh and bones, diffused to such an extent, could barely be seen as a thin mist.

What kind of impact must one endure for a Third Grade body to shatter into such a state?

However, even so, his mouth still didn't stop. His completely shattered body was still vibrating, emitting a sound: "Pfft... Forcing me to act forcefully for this Disciple, tsk, old man, is this also 'Heaven's Will'? You really want to push me to my death, huh? I'm not a Puppet for you people, I'm... free."

But at this moment, an old man unknowingly descended upon this place. With two fingers, he gathered the flesh and blood scattered for tens of thousands of miles, forcefully reassembling them into Zhu Fengdan's form.

Then, the ordinary-looking old man looked at Zhu Fengdan and asked, "Is that so? Free? In this world, who can be called free?"

"To follow one's own will and walk one's own Dao path, that is freedom, cough, cough, cough..." Zhu Fengdan coughed a few times, but still gave his answer.

"What good is your will? I can easily modify your will," the old man said.

"After you modify it, is it still my will? Old man, you can mold me however you like, but you can't control my heart, because once it's controlled by you, it's no longer mine," Zhu Fengdan said, taking out two Medicinal Pills and stuffing them into his mouth, his body's aura becoming more stable.

"Let's not talk about these things. You have your own ideas, and I won't meddle too much. It's just that this time, you've wasted another use of the Four Symbols' power. Your contract with the Four Symbols isn't much left, is it? Moreover, with your current Third Grade cultivation, every time you invoke the Four Symbols, you suffer immense losses. This time... you'll probably have to cultivate painstakingly for tens of thousands of years to recover, right?"

"If it's gone, it's gone. Anyway, it was your arrangement. You wanted me to use the Four Symbols' power to advance to Second Grade. Now I've abandoned this path, so what if I've used it all up? It doesn't matter. As for cultivation, it's only a few hundred thousand years, a small matter," Zhu Fengdan said indifferently, chewing on the Medicinal Pill.

"If it's gone, with your current reputation, I'm afraid you won't live to see the next day," the old man said with a smile.

"They don't know I've used it all up. Look at these bumpkins, they don't even know I still hold the Four Symbols contract. Others are pretty much the same. Do they really dare to risk their lives to test it?" Zhu Fengdan pouted.

"They don't dare to risk their lives, but they are very brave to risk the lives of a few other bumpkins. Do you really think that person today was an accident?" the old man said.

"Of course it wasn't an accident. I know there are no accidents with me. Even with all this trouble, running all over the heavens, no accidents have ever happened. The things I've snatched, the people I've provoked, are all part of the arrangement. After all, this is 'Heaven's Will', isn't it? I'm just a naughty child who wants to jump out of the cage, but no matter how much I jump, I always end up circling around at home. So it's better to accept your suggestion earlier. That way, inheriting your Dao Orthodoxy in the future, Second Grade is within reach, and First Grade is promising, right?" Zhu Fengdan showed a mocking expression.

"That wasn't my arrangement. Ever since you shattered your Inner World, I haven't arranged a single thing for you. It's just that, as you know, at this position, every action can no longer be free. There will always be people watching you. This is the power of the net of Karma. Even the Buddha cannot escape it. The freedom you desire simply does not exist," the old man said.

"What I detest has never been 'Heaven's Will', old man, you should understand that," Zhu Fengdan straightened his neck, his tone changing from playful to serious.

"Then do as you like. The Dao path, after all, must be walked by oneself. But let's not talk about that, these are minor matters, things decided long ago. I didn't stop you from wanting to cultivate back on your own. It's just... I'm really curious, why are you so concerned about that Disciple? You haven't even spoken many words to each other, have you?" the old man asked.

"Refusing the Dao Protector assigned by the sect for him, deliberately not bothering with him, letting him wander on his own—these are not good things. Don't ruin him for your own obsession," the old man reminded.

"He shouldn't have been exposed to 'Heaven's Will' in the first place. As for favoritism, you can just call it love at first sight," Zhu Fengdan rolled his eyes, casually pulling out an excuse.

"In this world, there is no love without reason. You are so fond of him, yet you are unwilling to approach him. I am truly curious about what you are thinking. Tell me about it, perhaps you might gain something yourself, right?" The old man still maintained his gentle demeanor and soft voice.

Seeing the old man in front of him say this, Zhu Fengdan seemed unable to refuse, so he took the bait and said, "Well, then you should know, he's very special."

"Indeed special, an outsider. To be so far outside is truly rare, and I don't know how he drifted over. Moreover, I heard he's also been targeted by the Heavenly Demon, but I haven't looked into this much, because as you know... it's best not to know too much about the Heavenly Demon. The more you know about the Heavenly Demon, the more the Heavenly Demon knows about you," the old man said.

Zhu Fengdan nodded; he certainly knew this.

This was the most terrifying aspect of the Heavenly Demon.

Everyone had their own mind, and within the mind, there would inevitably be demonic thoughtss.

Aside from the Buddha, no one in the entire world dared to claim they were completely free of demon thoughts; it just depended on whether they could control them.

Therefore, even high-level existences would deliberately avoid contact with the Heavenly Demon. While being influenced by demonic thoughtss was not likely, demonic thoughtss were, after all, a part of oneself.

So... what the Heavenly Demon said, that the entire world, all things and people, were 'his' will projections, was not a joke.

The Heavenly Demon existed in all things.

When you understood the Heavenly Demon, the Heavenly Demon was also understanding you.

"The Heavenly Demon seems to think that someone so far away might be able to escape this situation, so he's very interested in him. The one currently challenging Li Qi is also someone from the Heavenly Demon, seemingly a Demonic Prince, but I haven't investigated specifically which one, and I don't really dare to investigate too much." Zhu Fengdan readily admitted he was a coward.

He could act like a Master to those Third Grade Cultivators, but in front of the Heavenly Demon, he didn't dare to say much.

"So, he's very special, and so what? Is that the reason you favor him?" the old man pressed.

But Zhu Fengdan's expression was conflicted, as if he didn't really want to say.