Techniques and Dao

Chapter 76 Blazing Sun and Golden Flames
Then they saw a tall building with golden lights, the Guangzhou International Finance Center, which was over 440 meters high. Tianjizi stopped and landed on the roof of the building, and used the talisman in his hand to shoot down at the descending beasts. However, there were too many of them, and the beasts that landed on the ground immediately caused chaos among the crowd who were releasing sky lanterns.

Screams and shouts echoed through the city as many adults and children dropped their prayer lanterns and fled in all directions. Tianjizi leaped from the Tianhe area, where the strange beasts were most concentrated, and flew towards the open square.

Upon landing, they saw many citizens holding bamboo poles, confronting several Gu Diao and Qiongqi beasts. Some even brought out fire extinguishers to try and drive away the strange creatures. However, these were only temporary measures, and police cars sped through the streets, rushing to every corner of the city.

While using his whisk and talismans to fend off the attacks of numerous Qiongqi and Gu Diao, Tianjizi shouted for those around him to get away quickly. Suddenly, he saw a gigantic Qiongqi pounce on a four- or five-year-old child sitting on the ground, wailing like a hungry tiger. Seeing the child about to be torn to pieces, Tianjizi immediately used his teleportation technique to disappear, scooping up the child. But this action left him with his back to the Qiongqi, exposing a large opening, and claws pierced his back like sharp blades!
Just as Tianjizi was about to be killed on the spot, a white shadow flashed past him at the critical moment. The enormous Qiongqi was kicked away by the white shadow, and the brute force smashed a public bus parked by the roadside into two halves with a loud bang. In an instant, sparks flew and ignited the broken fuel tank, plunging Qiongqi into a sea of ​​fire.

Tianjizi was taken aback. He thought to himself that the disciples of the Xiyuan Academy who accompanied him were all far away from him, and he really couldn't think of anyone within a hundred miles who could have such divine power.

He turned his head and saw a child of about seven or eight years old standing behind him. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the child was wearing the Taoist robes of the Taoist Academy, and there were more than a dozen disciples of similar age following behind the child.

"Didn't Dao Ling Xing Jun say that none of the younger disciples in the Xiyuan Academy would participate in this Qiankun Guard War? How did you few manage to come along?" Tian Ji Zi was worried about the safety of this group of "Xiyuan Boy Scouts" composed of immortals, spirits, and humans.

“Our senior brothers are fighting desperately, how can we stand idly by in Shengping?” said one of the children leading the charge.

How did you come to be on Earth?

“We never left the Academy; we’ve been hiding in the pavilion of the Academy.”

Tianjizi shook his head: "The battle situation is extremely dangerous right now. You should find a place to hide quickly and make sure you don't hurt yourselves!"

A little girl from the academy next to them covered her mouth and laughed: "Senior brother, you're still talking about us? Who saved you just now?"

Tianjizi was about to argue when he realized it was true and asked, "How many of you actually came?"

"More than two thousand disciples!"

"Why so many!"

"Now everyone is deployed to guard the various cities. Senior brother, you can rest assured. Your magic arrays will protect the troposphere and stratosphere, and we'll handle any strange beasts that occasionally fall to the ground!"

Tianjizi was quite surprised and exclaimed that the younger generation was formidable: "You must take care of each other, do not force yourselves, and never hurt yourselves."

"Yes, sir!" the little boy stood up and bowed.

Tianjizi bowed to the children. After dealing with several strange beasts nearby, he rode a cloud back into the sky. In the air, the six disciples who had separated earlier were seen ascending to heaven on clouds.

"Why are you back?" Tianjizi asked.

The group exchanged knowing smiles and said in unison, "The junior disciples of the Xi Academy..."

It turns out everyone encountered those junior disciples guarding the ground as well. Human defenses have increased by more than one level, so it seems there won't be any major trouble in the city for now.

Tianji flew headlong into the clouds in the troposphere!
While Tianjizi and the junior disciples of the Shudao Academy were protecting the troposphere and the surface city, the fierce melee in the stratosphere continued.

Since Master Jueguang disappeared in the explosion and Master Yuran was seriously injured while resisting the ice arrows, the remaining disciples of the Cone-shaped Golden Light Array and the Fish Scale Ice Array were temporarily incorporated into Master Huolei's camp. Originally, there were more than 20,000 disciples in the three camps, but now only seven or eight thousand remain with combat power.

About three thousand of them, led by the Fire and Thunder Immortal Master, directly engaged in fierce combat with the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent, while the remaining disciples were ordered to cooperate with the Supreme Lord's Crane Wing Heavenly Absolute Formation to jointly resist the groups of strange beasts descending from the stratosphere.

Having lost two formations, the Taoist Academy now had to protect the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation within the academy while also preventing a large number of strange beasts from invading the lower realm. The remaining disciples were drenched in sweat and covered in wounds.

Fire Thunder Immortal Master rode a crane to Tai Shang Xiao Jun's side and shouted, "If this continues, we won't be able to hold out for long. I'm afraid that before we even have a chance to fight Ming You, our protective formation will be destroyed. I have thought of a way."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun, having just used the Lingxiao Taiji Sword Technique to kill two Qiongqi beside him, replied, "What are your thoughts, Immortal Master?"

Fire and Thunder Immortal Master replied, "Why don't we flank Mingyou from both sides and catch her off guard? Once Mingyou is defeated, there will be no reason for the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent to control the moon. If the moon returns to its normal orbit, Dao Ling Star Lord and the forty-eight Immortal Masters will be free to subdue the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent in one fell swoop!"

"Does the Immortal Master mean that we should try again to see if we can attack the Netherworld's true form through the Jupiter Veil?"

"Exactly!"

"But my grandfather said that only the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) can break the Jupiter Veil. I have already sent Hua Sheng to borrow this divine weapon from the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Besides this, does the Immortal Master believe there is a second method?"

“Indeed. The situation is changing rapidly. As you know, Master Taishang Xiaojun, I am formed from the golden flames of the blazing sun. If you were to envelop your Ganjiang and Moye swords with this divine flame, you could make them burn at their hottest temperature.”

"Blazing sun and golden flames?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun knew it was a boundless level fire immortal technique, a divine fire from beyond the heavens with a temperature exceeding twenty million degrees Celsius above the core of the sun. However, according to his understanding, no immortal master in the Daoist Academy could manipulate this technique. Even the flame in his grandfather's alchemy furnace was only the Six Ding Divine Fire, which belonged to the same Lingxiao level as the Samadhi True Fire.

If the Fire and Thunder Immortal Master were to reveal his true form of blazing golden flames, it would mean dissipating his immortal aura and vanishing into nothingness. "Immortal Master, are you going to perish together with the Netherworld? Absolutely not!" The Supreme Lord Xiaojun felt deeply distressed. "Now that the whereabouts of the Awakening Light Immortal Master are unknown, and the Yu Ran Immortal Master is seriously injured, and now you are risking your life again, what if it all ends in vain?"

"Supreme Young Master!" Master Huo Lei grabbed Supreme Young Master Le by the collar of his Daoist robe. "Look at the disciples of the Daoist Arts Academy! Look at them! The various formations have suffered heavy losses in protecting the academy! How can I watch my disciples fall one by one? They are not only just teenagers, but also children of the Daoist Arts Academy!"

"But can it work? The Blazing Sun Golden Flame is no ordinary weapon; it is a boundless fire technique. If it were to merge with my sword, I wonder if I could control it. Even if I could, how can I guarantee that the Blazing Sun Golden Flame could truly subdue the Netherworld?"

"The temperature of the blazing golden flames is similar to the core temperature of the sun after burning for five billion years. If you were to wrap it around your Gan Jiang and Mo Xie swords, it would surely burn a hole in the Jupiter Veil! Then your sword could directly pierce the Netherworld's true form." The Fire and Thunder Immortal Master's tone was firm, leaving Tai Shang Xiao Jun speechless. "There is no choice but to risk everything and try it!"

"But the Star Veil is a time vortex. How can you be so sure that the extremely high temperature can burn away time?"

“Little Jun, there is nothing in this world that exists yet cannot be destroyed, including time,” Huo Lei said. “Since the Jupiter Veil is woven from time, I believe it must have been made by a divine craftsman from a higher dimension. That is why it can take the form of an object and be draped over the body like a thin veil.”

"So what if it looks like clothes?"

“Like clothes, they will inevitably tear,” Huo Lei said. “The Blazing Sun Golden Flame needs a vessel to concentrate all the divine fire into one point. You must cast a spell to merge the Gan Jiang and Mo Xie swords into one. The Blazing Sun Golden Flame can only last for a few seconds in the mortal realm; it must strike with a single, decisive blow. There will be no second chance!”

"Disciple understands! But if the divine flame escapes control, it would be tantamount to detonating hundreds of nuclear bombs in the stratosphere, which would inevitably injure the disciples of the Dao of Arts Academy!"

Fire Thunder Immortal Master nodded: "How could I not know? But you also know that Hua Sheng and Ming You's relationship is extraordinary. He is just a mortal, and it's inevitable that he will be troubled by feelings. If he hesitates even slightly because of personal feelings towards Ming You, what good is it even if he has a divine weapon? We cannot gamble with billions of lives!"

"Immortal Master, this disciple believes in Hua Sheng! He will definitely stand on the side of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and consider the bigger picture!"

While wielding his longsword to deflect the attacking claws of the strange beast, the Fire and Thunder Immortal Master said, "Supreme Young Master, I understand that you and Hua Sheng are close friends and classmates. But with a formidable enemy at hand, we don't know when he will arrive. The Academy has already suffered heavy losses. If we don't find a way to eliminate Ming You, defeat could happen in an instant, and once the raging flood is unleashed, it will be difficult to reverse the situation. What use would it be to defeat Ming You then?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright! As long as Immortal Master is confident, this disciple is willing to do everything in my power to help!"

"Come with me, we'll approach the Netherworld from the flank!"

The two instructed the disciples in the formation on how to hold off the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent, then bypassed the giant serpent and ascended to the top of the stratosphere where Mingyou was located.

“We’ll be surrounded and attacked if we wear Taoist robes,” said Taishang Xiaojun. “Let’s use an illusion.”

"What you said is absolutely true."

So, Taishang Xiaojun and Huolei Xianshi quietly transformed into two Qiongqi with wings on their sides. The two Qiongqi flapped their wings, occasionally using the prayer lanterns in the air as a foothold, leaping higher and higher. Because their transformed appearance was so lifelike, they did not attract the attention of the beasts, even though they were moving in the opposite direction to the army of strange beasts.

Standing high above the black smoke, Mingyou was intently observing the battle below. Behind him, a dozen black ribbons danced in the air, and against the backdrop of the giant moon, they formed the silhouette of the Moon Goddess Chang'e.

Upon seeing this, Taishang Xiaojun secretly harbored doubts.

When they were less than a mile apart, Taishang Xiaojun and Huolei Xianshi stopped. Although they had transformed into the form of strange beasts, they still possessed immortal energy, and it would be difficult to conceal their presence if they took another step closer.

"Next, we'll use the Teleportation Technique to fly behind it. I'll transform into a blazing golden sun and attach it to the divine sword. You'll then stab its back with all your might, which will surely injure the Netherworld's true form!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun nodded. Although he was mindful of their camaraderie, defeating Ming You would end the battle. Stopping Ming You would not only save hundreds of millions of lives but also extricate the disciples of the Magic Academy from danger. Moreover, it was uncertain how long the two teams, the Six Ding Six Jia Formation and the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, could hold out.

After calculating the distance, Taishang Xiaojun and Huolei Xianshi moved several prayer lanterns from the surrounding area to block their way, and then transformed back into human form.

"Quickly! There's no time to lose!" Fire Thunder Immortal Master said, silently chanting the immortal incantation of blazing sun and golden flames. His eyes were tightly closed, his teeth were clenched, and bright white flames ignited around his body.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun kowtowed to Huo Lei Xian Shi: "On behalf of billions of living beings in the mortal world, Tai Shang Xiao Jun kowtows to thank Huo Lei Xian Shi for his universal salvation!"

"Little Jun! There is no time to lose. I cannot bid farewell to all the teachers and students of the Academy. I entrust this battle to you. You must do your best..." As his voice faded, the figure of the Fire Thunder Immortal Master gradually disappeared into the white flames.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun's voice choked with emotion: "Immortal Master, rest assured, this disciple will do everything in my power!"

The bright white divine flames of the sun tightly coiled around the two swords. Tai Shang Xiao Jun took a deep breath and then suddenly disappeared.

When it reappeared, it was less than two zhang behind Mingyou! Taishang Xiaojun threw Ganjiang and Moye, which were covered by the blazing sun's divine flames, at Mingyou, and then roared: "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Behold my blazing golden sun flames!"

In an instant, the blinding blaze of the sun illuminated half the night sky, turning the stratosphere into daylight!

Hundreds of strange beasts in the vicinity were instantly incinerated to ashes under the light. Those further away were also ignited by the divine flames, and the mournful cries of the beasts rose and fell.

Mingyou first saw a flash of white light, followed by a strong burning sensation on her back. She turned around abruptly—

Two sharp swords wreathed in bright white flames were thrusting at him from behind!
(End of this chapter)