Although Gu Tiangang was a newly ascended saint, his strength far surpassed that of starry beasts of the same realm. However, compared to the Saint of Divine Firmament, he was still significantly lacking.
This indicates that within the Ten Transitions of a Saint, each transition represents a significant difference in power.
With Gu Tiangang's profound cultivation, he could be roughly comparable to a saint of the second or third transition.
Lu Qingyang's gaze locked onto Gu Huang, as Zhang Ming and others jointly besieged Gu Tiangang, fully exposing a major shortcoming of the Qingyang Realm:
A lack of truly top-tier experts to hold the fort.
Indeed, Lu Qingyang could suppress Gu Tiangang himself, but he couldn't handle everything personally. What he needed were formidable allies who could help him conquer myriad realms and spread faith, not a group of pampered greenhouse flowers.
Declaring war on Gu Huang Cave was a test of their mettle.
However, Lu Qingyang would not stand idly by.
If no one could balance Gu Tiangang, he would personally step in to eliminate him.
Yet he sensed that once he intervened, it might awaken some ancient slumbering beings.
Regarding this, he calmly said, "If that's the case, I'll solve them all at once. I doubt Gu Huang can awaken a quasi-emperor to deal with me!"
Even at the peak of the Golden Age, quasi-emperors were rare. Saints were already uncommon, and quasi-emperors even rarer.
Lu Qingyang didn't believe that Gu Huang could truly summon a quasi-emperor to challenge him.
Even if a quasi-emperor did appear, what was there to fear?
Currently, his dharma body had reached quasi-eighth rank, the half-step quasi-emperor realm.
If he fought with his true body, Lu Qingyang was confident he could contend with early eighth-rank experts, namely, early-stage quasi-emperors.
Though he might struggle against mid-stage quasi-emperor Zuo Shenfeng, he was confident against saints or those who had just stepped into the quasi-emperor realm.
In his own Qingyang Realm, he would even dare to confront an emperor, should one truly emerge.
According to the history of the No Immortal Realm, emperor-level powerhouses often only appeared in the later stages of the Golden Age, ascending to the emperor throne with invincible prowess.
At the start of the Golden Age, quasi-emperors were nearly extinct, and the emergence of a saint was already rare.
For this reason, Lu Qingyang had the confidence to declare war on Gu Huang Cave, as his current strength left little room for concern.
Without the emergence of an emperor, all else was not an issue.
As his cultivation advanced further, truly stepping into the eighth rank, even an emperor's arrival would not daunt him.
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Qingyang's gaze never left Gu Huang.
The million-strong army of the Qingyang Immortal Nation had completely suppressed the forces of the Gu Huang Sacred Land. The reason being, Gu Huang Cave did not represent the full strength of the entire Gu Huang region, but was merely one of many factions.
In contrast, the Qingyang Immortal Nation had mobilized almost all its elite from the Qingyang Realm.
Though Gu Huang Cave was weak, had the Qingyang Realm still been in the age of the end of the law, the outcome might have been different.
Fortunately, the seeds sown twenty years ago had now grown into towering trees. Many sixth-rank experts had come to aid them this time. Though none were saints, their strength far surpassed the forces of Gu Huang Cave.
However, other cultivators were secondary.
The key to this battle still lay with Gu Tiangang.
If Gu Tiangang fell, Gu Huang Cave would pose no threat; conversely, if no one could balance Gu Tiangang, even slaughtering all the strong cultivators of Gu Huang Cave would be futile.
Seeing Zhang Ming and others wielding saint treasures yet still being forced back step by step by Gu Tiangang, Lu Qingyang couldn't help but sigh.
The strength of the Gu Huang Sacred Physique was formidable. Without the protection of saint treasures, they would have been defeated long ago.
At this moment, Lu Qingyang's gaze turned to Shen Xue.
While everyone was trying their best to restrain Gu Tiangang, she had retreated to the rear, chanting an unprecedentedly powerful forbidden spell.
"The power of this forbidden spell... probably approaches the limit of the sixth rank!"
Sensing the spell's potency, Lu Qingyang was secretly startled.
The Heavenly Court was currently only at the sixth rank, thus could only produce sixth-rank items, with the strongest forbidden spell being of the highest quality at the sixth rank.
However, a top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell was extremely powerful. When fully unleashed, it could rival the strongest attacks below the seventh rank.
Now, as Shen Xue's forbidden spell was still incomplete, its power was already approaching the sixth-rank limit. When fully cast, it might touch the threshold of the seventh rank.
This was not only due to Shen Xue's exceptional talent, having gained a deeper understanding of the original top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell, but also because she possessed the Dharma Spirit Physique.
Lu Qingyang thought to himself, "The Dharma Spirit Physique not only allows the instantaneous casting of spells of the same rank but also enables the casting of forbidden spells one rank higher, enhancing the spell's power. Shen Xue has worked hard on the top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell for years. Now, with the power of the Dharma Spirit Physique, achieving an attack on par with the seventh rank is not impossible. This shows the immense potential of spellcasters."
While his thoughts wandered, over at Gu Huang's side, the top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell chanted by Shen Xue was already complete.
Endless magical power coalesced in the void into a golden spear of destruction, its tip exuding a destructive aura that silently shattered the space before it.
"This is the Spear of Extinction!"
"A top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell, Shen Xuezhu is indeed the number one spellcaster!"
The spellcasters of the Qingyang Immortal Nation were all shocked at this sight.
The Spear of Extinction, a top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell, was something they had only heard of, never seen.
Seeing it today, they finally understood how terrifying a top-grade sixth-rank forbidden spell could be.
Even the mere overflow of its aura made them feel as if they were being stared at by death itself, causing their blood to tremble slightly.
As the target of the Spear of Extinction, Gu Tiangang felt the shadow of death loom over him.
Looking up at the sky, he saw the Spear of Extinction piercing through the void, its destructive power comparable to a saint's strike.
Ordinarily, he wouldn't fear the Spear of Extinction, but being tightly entangled by everyone at the moment, facing such a heavy blow, he found himself in a life-and-death crisis.
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