The Genesis Cloud could counter all arts, so what about Dao Arts?
Yes, but also no.
The Great Daos were supreme, and nothing could resist them.
Daos were the foundations of the world, irreversible, unalterable, undefiable. From this perspective, Dao Arts could not be countered.
But when two Dao Arts, both possessing the utmost authority, collided, their attribute played a pivotal role.
Normally, there were two kinds of results. The first was that when two Great Dao attributes were in conflict, they competed in Dao nature and Dao power. The former represented quality and the latter represented quantity, and the two combined determined the level of the Great Dao. If the levels were different, the higher level would win, and if the levels were similar, they would neutralize each other.
The other was that if their attributes were different and didn’t interfere with each other, then level didn’t matter, and both would work.
The Genesis Cloud was a natural Dao armament of Karma, while Skyrend Swordfall was Tang Jie’s Slaughter Dao Art.
In terms of level, the Genesis Cloud was clearly of a higher level. As a natural Dao armament, it had incorporated Dao Runes into its composition. Just by existing, it could draw in the Dao power existing in nature, and, barring special circumstances, its Dao power would never run out. In comparison, Tang Jie had yet to reach the Dao-Controlling level, so his Dao power was limited, which left it far behind the Genesis Cloud.
The Skyrend Swordfall was a manifestation of Slaughter, and to break and damage was its nature, which was completely unrelated to the Dao of Karma.
Thus, when the two collided, it was the second result: both worked.
A bizarre scene played out.
The unique powers of the Genesis Cloud caused an unprecedented mutation in the Skyrend Swordfall as it rushed toward Flowing Wind.
The Skyrend Swordfall should have manifested as a dazzling and majestic flood of swords, but under the influence of the Genesis Cloud, this impressive sight shrank down into a thin sliver of sword light. It was like a leaf on the wind, lacking any sense of weight or grandeur.
This was because Dao Arts had both a Dao component and an Art component. The Skyrend Swordfall used Tang Jie’s sword will as its basis and was formed through such sword arts as the Longevity Sword. However, the Genesis Cloud made it so that all spell arts, including sword will, were stripped away, leaving only that pure Slaughter Dao Will.
But this sliver of Slaughter Dao Will couldn’t be stripped away by the Genesis Cloud. It pierced through the cloud and slashed at Flowing Wind, creating a splash of blood.
While Flowing Wind immediately had the cloud turn the powerful sword will of the Skyrend Swordfall against Tang Jie, without the Slaughter Dao Will, this attack had a tenth of its usual power and was easily beaten back by Tang Jie.
The flaws of a defensive Dao armament immediately became apparent. The Genesis Cloud was far above Skyrend Swordfall in terms of level, but its unique property of defending and then counterattacking made it hard to threaten Tang Jie. A stripped Dao Art was too weak to do much to Tang Jie, and, having seen this problem, Tang Jie laughed. “So you can’t reverse the Great Dao, right? True—if even Great Daos could be reversed, you would be invincible. Since you can’t turn the Slaughter Dao back on me, let me try the Dao of Destruction too.”
He unleashed the Ten Extinctions Blade.
Slaughter was the process, and Destruction was the result.
The specialty of the Slaughter Dao was rather similar to the Sovereign Blade, able to ignore defenses to a certain extent. Thus, this Dao Art’s primary purpose was to obliterate all existences with powerful defenses.
The Ten Extinctions Blade was the opposite. Even Immortals obliterated by the Dao of Destruction would lose a life, and if it was a strong power of Destruction, one strike could reap several, or kill them permanently, turning the undying and everlasting property of Immortals into a joke. Ȑ
Thus, after figuring out how far the Genesis Cloud could go, Tang Jie used the Ten Extinctions Blade.
The Genesis Cloud could counter all arts, but it had few other defensive properties to speak of. The Ten Extinctions Blade shot forward, and while the Genesis Cloud was able to strip away its flames and aura, this blade of pure power of Destruction still twinkled with a lethal light in Flowing Wind’s eyes.
This was an attack he could not ignore, and he let out a low roar, upon which clouds swept in, a gentle rain beginning to fall.
This was an autumn drizzle, drenching the world in sorrow and melancholy.
“The Ethereal Rain Divine Connection?” Tang Jie muttered.
He had seen Flowing Wind use this Divine Connection earlier. It had held back the old dragon and left him completely helpless.
While he hadn’t known what was going on then, now that he was in the middle of it, he finally realized what was so special about it.
Every drop of rain was imbued with a power that could corrode the soul, filling Tang Jie with helplessness. But a moment later, Tang Jie gathered up all his strength and charged at Flowing Wind. His body cultivation was enough to resist this corrosive power.
The splendor of the Ten Extinctions Blade fell upon Flowing Wind’s head, slicing it into two. But a moment later, his body dissolved into clouds. It turned out that Flowing Wind had already moved away.
The Ethereal Rain Divine Connection didn’t only weaken one’s will to fight. More importantly, every drop of rain had a powerful illusory effect that could fool the senses.
Flowing Wind had seized that moment to evade.
Tang Jie turned his head and saw Flowing Wind standing behind him, still holding that Fate Candle. It was just that a small part of the candle had melted away over the course of their clashes.
Flowing Wind smiled. “Brother Tang, I have heard that you have the ability to transform yourself in various ways, and my Ethereal Rain Divine Connection also has a transformation ability. I wonder how it compares to yours.”
A moment later, drops of rain took on the appearance of Flowing Wind. In a flash, the world was full of Flowing Winds, all of them holding candles and smiling at Tang Jie, as if Flowing Wind had used Tang Jie’s Reflections of Floating Life.
Besides people, the drops of rain also turned into birds, beasts, bugs, fish, and many other lifeforms besides. An entire illusory world was born, so lifelike that one could easily get lost within it.
Tang Jie naturally wouldn’t be fooled, but finding the real Flowing Wind in all of this wouldn’t be easy.
But he simply sneered, “It’s certainly not a weak Divine Connection, but it’s of no use against me.”
The Celestial Eye on the center of his forehead opened. “Dispel!”
A light flashed from his Celestial Eye, and all the illusions shattered.