Boom!
Golden and blue mysterious runes erupted violently from Ma Liang's body all at once. Immediately after, a layer of golden radiance blazed outward from his frame, but in the next flash, a layer of blue flame surged forth from within the golden light. Then, flecks of golden luminescence materialized seemingly from thin air within the blue flame…
One layer of golden radiance, one layer of blue flame — the two interwove and flickered wildly, layering over one another in untold numbers in the span of an instant.
The speed of transformation was so extreme that even Yin Gangzi and the others standing not far away felt a wave of dizziness just glancing at the spectacle.
Every one of these Mahayana powerhouses was shaken, and without exception, they each raised their vigilance to the absolute maximum.
Ming Zun's expression shifted subtly as well, a cold glint flickering through his eyes.
At that very moment, Ma Liang let out a booming laugh. The radiance across his body suddenly solidified into a brilliant, resplendent gold. Then, with a single step forward, his figure surged upward with a whoosh, expanding countless times over in an instant to become a colossal golden giant standing over a thousand zhang tall. At the same time, his hands formed a series of mudras, and golden spirit patterns surfaced one after another across his skin. Flecks of golden light poured endlessly into the surrounding void, and another wave of law-based power shrouded the entire sky.
Under the bombardment of this force, the law-based power of the Two Polarities Dust Microcosm Formation fell into utter disarray — it was weakened by more than half in a single breath, barely clinging together on the verge of collapse.
"Domain! He's actually able to unleash a Domain's power in this world. That's impossible — under the restrictions of this realm's laws, how could he possibly accomplish such a thing!" Lady Wu Ling blurted out, her face twisted in utter disbelief.
Yin Gangzi and the others, all Mahayana-stage powerhouses in their own right, instantly recognized the origin of the ability Ma Liang had employed after his transformation. Their expressions changed just as drastically, some even showing a trace of genuine alarm.
If this True Immortal could wield a Domain — a power that only a True Immortal at full strength could deploy — did that not mean his power had been fully restored, no longer suppressed by the realm's restrictions?
Proud as these cultivators might be, when faced with a True Immortal whose strength was no longer constrained, they possessed just enough self-awareness to know that even combining all their forces, they stood no chance of victory.
"Heh heh, you call this a Domain? But I suppose a true Domain is something you insects of the lower realm will soon have the privilege of witnessing. If you have any other tricks, now would be the time to use them. Otherwise, once I make my move, don't say I didn't give you the chance." The golden giant's body blazed with golden brilliance — one eye radiating piercing golden light, the other roiling with blue flame — and his voice thundered forth like rolling storms. With that, he thrust one hand skyward and pointed.
A muffled boom echoed as a pillar of golden light shot from his fingertip straight into the heavens, vanished in a flicker, and vanished beyond the highest reaches of the sky without a trace.
In the very next instant, the entire void shuddered violently. The golden specks of light that had filled the sky detonated simultaneously into massive spheres of golden radiance, painting nearly the entire expanse in a blazing, crimson-gold hue.
Below, the earth itself cracked open in a series of quaking tremors, golden fissures splitting across the ground. From those fissures, golden volcanoes erupted with terrifying speed, and torrents of golden lava poured forth in raging cascades.
In a single breath, the entire world had become a golden ocean.
This horrifying spectacle made the hearts of Yin Gangzi and the others sink like stones.
"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to panic!" Ming Zun's face looked equally grim, but he immediately raised his voice in a sharp shout. "Even though we don't know how he's still able to unleash a Domain, he absolutely cannot sustain it for long. If he could, he would have done so from the start — why bother using puppets to toy with us for so long?"
Lady Wu Ling and the others heard this and found some logic in it. But after exchanging glances, they each still caught a flicker of hesitation in their companions' eyes.
At that moment, the golden giant across from them stood motionless in place with his eyes half-closed, appearing to be regulating the Magical Power within his body.
Meanwhile, the golden Domain continued expanding outward in every direction at a speed visible to the naked eye. Ming Zun and the others, who had been standing nearby, were forced to retreat rapidly backward, not daring in the slightest to let themselves be caught within the golden radiance the Domain exuded.
Yin Gangzi steadied himself, his expression dark and brooding. After his eyes darted about for a moment, he suddenly turned to Ming Zun, who had also landed nearby, and asked:
"Given his current strength, I'm afraid even we can't hold him back. The slightest misstep could mean our demise. Brother Ming — isn't it time you brought out some of your other trump cards? This one certainly doesn't believe you prepared only the Two Polarities Dust Annihilation Formation as your sole killing move."
"Hmph, rest easy, Fellow Daoist Yin. Since this immortal intends to deploy his true immortal-level techniques, I naturally won't just stand by. I have indeed prepared two specific countermeasures against a Domain, and I will absolutely not send you all to your deaths for nothing." Ming Zun snorted and replied without a moment's hesitation.
The words had barely left his lips when he took a deep breath, formed a single-handed seal, and gave both sleeves a vigorous shake. Black crystal spheres shot out one after another from within, each one flickering with restless light, wheeling and dancing through the nearby void like a cluster of enormous black lotuses blooming in midair.
With a muffled pop, the black spheres suddenly flashed and combined into a massive, dark-lustered light formation. It expanded wildly outward, enveloping Yin Gangzi and the rest beneath its canopy, and forcibly held back the golden radiance emanating from the opposing Domain, preventing it from advancing even a single step further.
Within the black light formation, various dark runes surged ceaselessly, and faint sounds of sacred Buddhist chanting drifted outward — a sound that, upon hearing it, filled the listener with an inexplicable sense of deep relaxation and enchantment of body and soul.
"The Blissful Pure Land of the Brahma River! Isn't that the Buddhist sect's great protective treasure in our realm? To think it ended up in your hands!" The woman in palace robes exclaimed upon clearly seeing the form of the black light formation, her voice carrying both astonishment and elation.