Sea of Primordial Tribulation - Chapter 75 — Rhapsody on the Epang Palace - 清風書屋

"At the very least, I'm immortal now. Ugly as sin, maybe, but the perks are plentiful!" Zhou Sheng was likewise brimming with joy.

Unlike the dharma body, the Second Origin Derivation could amplify the power of true essence and cast Daoist arts—in effect a second self—yet it had no direct bond with the original body. The Second Origin Derivation was meant from the first to ward off disaster and withstand heavenly tribulations; when the original body perished, the Second Origin Derivation perished with it. But if the Second Origin Derivation were destroyed, the original body suffered only damage to its divine consciousness and would recover before long. The dharma body was wholly different. You could say that Zhou Yan's six-zhang golden body of four faces and eight arms was now Zhou Yan's true self, while the original flesh had become something like a Second Origin Derivation—so much so that even if the original flesh were destroyed, it would not matter in the least to Zhou Li! Of course, Zhou Xuan would never simply cast the flesh aside. Quite apart from other reasons, the dharma body was newly formed and far from solid; it was nowhere near the stage of endless transformation and eternal indestructibility, and still required further cultivation. Against enemies its power was indeed vastly greater, but it was inconvenient.

"Break for me!" After repeated probings to no effect, Zhou Xuan resolved to shatter the formation by brute force. With the dharma body now greatly accomplished and true essence abundant, he wielded the Blood Transformation Saber with far greater ease, and its power had risen by a whole grade. A blood-red radiance like a bolt of silk unfurled and swept outward, scattering the primal chaos qi around him outright—yet no matter how far the blood light surged, all remained chaos on every side, as though the world had never been opened from the primordial murk. "Could this be a tiny world of its own?" Zhou Que wondered doubtfully.

Among formations, the truly powerful ones could indeed open up space of their own. The Two Modes Fine Dust Formation was said to be able to turn a speck of dust into the primordial cosmos! Trapped within such a formation, one was as good as inside a world; however heaven-reaching one's means, there was naught to be done. Zhou Xuan truly had no other way, and so he brought out his last resort: breaking formation with formation. Twelve gold-embroidered command banners were flung out and floated in the air, and Zhou Xuan actually sensed the power of the Capital Heaven Divine Malice—to his great delight, his confidence rose another notch. The twelve banners spun rapidly as Zhou Xuan's hands flew through dharma seals, light and effortless. Suddenly twelve blood-red beams flashed out of thin air—precisely the Capital Heaven Divine Malice drawn in by the formation's rending of the void. The twelve beams coiled and twisted like giant pythons. Explode! At the word spat from Zhou Xuan's mouth, the twelve banners and the twelve blood beams burst as one, and the enormous force of the blast blew a black hole clean through the chaos. With a flicker, Zhou Xuan's body darted into the black hole and vanished from that unopened world.