Chapter 1764: The Ancestral Court Prison Cage
Yue Heavenly Sovereign, You Heavenly Sovereign, Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and the others immediately seized the opportunity to break free, their figures landing one after another on the Ferry World Golden Ship, gazing excitedly at the middle-aged man at the bow.
The forty-two-year period had arrived. Kaihuang Qin Ye had finally emerged from the Ferry World Golden Ship!
Kaihuang Qin Ye stood at the ship’s bow. Behind him, the Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm reappeared, displaying an even more magnificent sword dao brilliance!
Within the Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm, countless sword lights converged, directly forming a Sword Dao Dao Tree!
The speed at which this Grand Celestial Realm formed made Hao Heavenly Sovereign, watching from afar, stare in disbelief.
He and Kaihuang Qin Ye were alike—both had their Grand Celestial Realms destroyed and their Dao Trees extinguished.
When Yun Heavenly Sovereign had refined and killed Second Young Master’s clone, his Grand Celestial Realm and Dao Tree had also been destroyed by Yun Heavenly Sovereign. To rebuild his Grand Celestial Realm and achieve enlightenment through force, he needed constant polishing, imprinting his own power onto the void.
And that required time.
Up to now, after several days, he had not yet rebuilt his Grand Celestial Realm a second time.
As for Kaihuang, Fourth Young Master Zixiao had destroyed everything, leaving only his Dao Flower drifting into the Ferry World Golden Ship. Logically, even if Kaihuang revived and began cultivating his Grand Celestial Realm anew, he would only be slower than Hao Heavenly Sovereign!
Yet the moment Kaihuang Qin Ye appeared, he directly used his thirty-six-layer Dao Realm to imprint the void and rebuild his Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm. His speed left Hao Heavenly Sovereign dumbfounded and utterly outmatched!
More crucially, wasn’t Kaihuang supposed to be dead?
That string from Fourth Young Master Zixiao’s zither had been personally drawn by Hao Heavenly Sovereign from the Chaotic River in the Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital City, tied to the Creation Divine Artifact. In the Youdu Battle, he had planned to use that string to wipe out all his opponents in one stroke!
His greatest target was to kill Ling Heavenly Sovereign!
In the end, it was Kaihuang Qin Ye who blocked the power of that string for Ling Heavenly Sovereign, dying in her place!
Even if Kaihuang Qin Ye could preserve his Dao Flower, it was impossible for him to appear before them so intact. Hao Heavenly Sovereign had personally witnessed Kaihuang Qin Ye die before his eyes—there was no way he could be mistaken!
Those killed by Fourth Young Master Zixiao could never come back to life!
So how did Kaihuang Qin Ye survive? Who could have saved him from Fourth Young Master Zixiao’s divine ability and sent him back to this day, forty-two years later?
Hao Heavenly Sovereign couldn’t help but shiver. The shadow of Qin Mu loomed before his eyes, as if looking up, he could see Qin Mu’s towering figure and the cold, mocking smile on his face, like someone watching a puppet.
“Seventh Young Master Qin Mu—he’s been secretly manipulating all of this!”
Hao Heavenly Sovereign shivered several more times, a chilling sensation creeping over him.
Seventh Young Master Qin Mu had rescued Kaihuang Qin Ye right under Fourth Young Master Zixiao’s nose, without Fourth Young Master even noticing. This showed that after returning to the past, Qin Mu’s cultivation, strength, and divine ability mysteries had already surpassed Fourth Young Master!
Back then, in the Youdu Battle, although the Heavenly Court seemed to have won a great victory and Fourth Young Master Zixiao, despite not descending personally, had used a single zither string to dominate the future direction of the Seventeenth Epoch, the reality was that Seventh Young Master Qin Mu had been secretly contending with Fourth Young Master and had gained the upper hand!
This was evident from the course of events after the Seventeenth Epoch.
After occupying Youdu, the Heavenly Court unified all heavens and myriad realms, reaching an unprecedented peak of power. They then raised a massive army to attack the Yuan Realm.
In that battle, the Heavenly Court first lost the Southern Heaven Granary, then had their Earth Master destroyed in the Battle of Carefree Village. They suffered consecutive defeats in the Western Lands, Northern Frontier, Eastern Sea, and Southern Sea, culminating in a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lanfeng Valley!
From then on, the Heavenly Court never recovered, losing Xuan Du and Youdu, and fleeing back to the Ancestral Court!
Now, all the Heavenly Court’s forces had completely collapsed!
On the surface, this was a struggle between the Heavenly Court and Yankang, but beneath it, it was likely a game between Seventh Young Master and Third and Fourth Young Masters!
Third and Fourth Young Masters knew nothing of the future, but Seventh Young Master Qin Mu knew what was to come. Therefore, Seventh Young Master Qin Mu could set up various contingencies early on, striving for a better future!
As these thoughts swarmed his mind, Kaihuang’s Grand Celestial Realm and Dao Tree had already been reborn. His sword dao condensed to a high degree, forming a Dao Flower, which spun and formed a Dao Fruit.
His Dao Fruit rotated, and sword dao interwove like bricks, screens, jade pillars, and flying dragons, forming a Sword Dao Sacred Hall within the Grand Celestial Realm!
The Sword Dao Sacred Hall was taking shape rapidly, causing the three hall masters—Hehuan, Fenghuang, and Zhaoyang—to look grim.
On Zhaoyang Hall Master’s brow, a hole appeared, piercing through front and back. It was a wound inflicted by Kaihuang’s sword strike. Within the wound, the power of sword dao continuously expanded, destroying his physical functions, primordial spirit, and great dao.
For those who achieved enlightenment through the Dao Realm, the Dao Realm consisted of thirty-six layers. After the thirty-sixth layer, one could imprint the Ultimate Void. The thirty-sixth layer was the Grand Celestial Realm.
However, the Dao Realm could go further, cultivating the thirty-seventh layer—that was the Dao Tree.
If the enlightened one gained extraordinary insights, they could cultivate the thirty-eighth layer, which was the Dao Flower.
If they went even further, the thirty-ninth layer would yield the Dao Fruit.
For those who achieved enlightenment through the Dao Realm, reaching this point meant there was no path ahead—they had reached the peak. This was the cultivation path of enlightened beings from the past sixteen cosmic epochs.
But the wound Kaihuang’s sword strike had inflicted contained the fortieth layer of the Dao Realm, forcing Zhaoyang Hall Master to fully mobilize his cultivation to suppress the sword dao’s Dao injury!
The fortieth layer of the Dao Realm was something only the ancient beings of Miluo Palace and the Heavenly Capital City could cultivate. In Miluo Palace, seventy-two had achieved the fortieth layer, and these seventy-two were honored as the Seventy-Two Hall Masters.
In the Heavenly Capital City, there were thirty-six, known as the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Beings, who had once opened up the Seventh Epoch universe alongside the Lord of the Heavenly Capital.
Cultivating the fortieth layer of the Dao Realm meant transcending the scope of the Dao Tree, where the great dao reached its extreme and formed a treasure hall.
The treasure halls of the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Beings of the Heavenly Capital City were actually learned from Miluo Palace. The fortieth layer of the Dao Realm was pioneered by the master of Miluo Palace to break free from the flaws of imitating the World Tree, creating the Eternal Hall.
The Heavenly Capital City and Miluo Palace had once enjoyed a period of peace, working together for the future of the universe, but they eventually parted ways in the Seventh Epoch, becoming as incompatible as fire and water.
Clearly, Kaihuang had not been idle during those forty-two years of disappearance. His sword dao had advanced by another two or three steps!
Back then, although Kaihuang had cultivated the Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm and refined the Dao Tree and Dao Flower, he had only a vague understanding of the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth layers of the Dao Realm and didn’t know how to use them. Because there was no path ahead of him, he had created something from nothing, being the first to achieve enlightenment through the Dao Realm.
He was the pioneer of Dao Realm enlightenment in the Seventeenth Epoch.
But now, Kaihuang had cultivated to the fortieth layer of the Dao Realm, equal in realm to the Seventy-Two Hall Masters of Miluo Palace.
“During those missing years, many things must have happened to this native of the Seventeenth Epoch!” the three hall masters thought simultaneously.
What they didn’t know was that Kaihuang Qin Ye had once traveled to the Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital City, crossed the sixteen Chaotic Rivers, and met with Seventh Young Master Qin Mu in the Chaos Hall beside Miluo Palace.
He had spoken at length with Seventh Young Master Qin Mu in the Chaos Hall.
It must have been then that he received guidance from Seventh Young Master Qin Mu, comprehending an even deeper sword dao. As a result, when he reappeared forty-two years later, his cultivation and strength had made astonishing progress!
Fenghuang and Hehuan Hall Masters exchanged a glance, then came behind Zhaoyang Hall Master. Both looked at the hole piercing through Zhaoyang Hall Master’s head and frowned deeply.
Zhaoyang Hall Master’s injury was severe. Kaihuang Qin Ye’s appearance had caught them off guard. Fenghuang and Hehuan Hall Masters had each lost one Dao Fruit, and the sword wound on Zhaoyang Hall Master’s brow greatly limited his cultivation and strength.
“Dao brother, being able to cultivate a Great Dao Treasure Hall means you have some affinity with our Miluo Palace.”
Fenghuang Hall Master said politely, “You are Kaihuang Qin Ye? Your skills are extraordinary and align with the great dao of Miluo Palace. I see that you have also inherited the dao techniques of Miluo Palace, passing down the same lineage. In that case, why not abandon the darkness and join us in discussing great matters? When Miluo Palace descends in the future, you, Dao brother, will be one of the Seventy-Two Hall Masters.”
As her words fell, the Ancestral Court suddenly rumbled and shook. Fenghuang Hall Master frowned and looked toward the source of the tremor. In the distance, the earth continuously rose, forming a giant stone wall connecting heaven and earth, growing higher and higher, reaching beyond the heavens.
The three hall masters were all puzzled.
Fenghuang Hall Master withdrew her gaze and continued, “Dao brother, although you can already be called a hall master, compared to our foundations, you still lack some refinement. Not to mention that Miluo Palace still has dozens of hall masters and thousands of enlightened beings waiting to descend, just the three of us—which of us hasn’t cultivated for countless billions of years? We have been tempered and honed through cycles of destruction and calamity. Even if a few Dao Fruits are destroyed, it doesn’t greatly affect our strength.”
As she spoke, the Ancestral Court’s tremors grew more intense.
Fenghuang Hall Master couldn’t help but glance again at the stone wall rising between heaven and earth. Mountains and rivers stood tall on the wall, seas surged, and the wall stretched from the southern end of the Ancestral Court to the northern end. Its height had already surpassed the Ancestral Court’s World Tree, becoming even more magnificent.
The other two hall masters also noticed the scene and couldn’t help but look.
On the Ferry World Golden Ship, Yue Heavenly Sovereign, Xu Shenghua, and the others turned their heads to look, their expressions shifting to doubt and unease.
That stone wall was too magnificent!
Even more spectacular was that the mountains, rivers, and geography on the wall were constantly changing on their own. The trends of the terrain shifted like runic changes, even displaying the splendid sight of dao patterns and dao chains!
This was clearly not a natural formation. Someone was using immense power to fold the eastern part of the Ancestral Court, distorting space!
Lan Yutian and You Heavenly Sovereign quickly looked at Yue Heavenly Sovereign. Yue Heavenly Sovereign shook her head and whispered, “I can’t do it. My magical power isn’t enough, and to alter geography, using it as runes, dao patterns, and dao chains—my knowledge and foundation are also insufficient…”
She looked at Kaihuang Qin Ye, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
Kaihuang Qin Ye had now reappeared in the world. Did he already possess such terrifying magical power, cultivation, and insight?
But if he had done it, why was he folding the Ancestral Court?
“I went to see Seventh Young Master. He told me some things about the future. The first thing was that I would die.”
Kaihuang Qin Ye pressed down on his sword light with one hand, gazing at the three hall masters before the Ferry World Golden Ship, and said leisurely, “The second thing was that the Heavenly Court would be defeated. The third thing was that I would appear forty-two years later to witness the most spectacular upheaval. The Ancestral Court Prison Cage.”
The three hall masters were puzzled, their eyes fixed on his face.
“The Ancestral Court Prison Cage?”
Zhaoyang Hall Master’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “May I ask, Dao brother, what does the Ancestral Court Prison Cage mean?”
“Seventh Young Master said that after returning from the Abandoned Land, he was deeply moved and thus built an Ancestral Court Prison Cage to seal off the Ancestral Court. Wuyai the Elder and Miluo Palace are both sealed within the cage, cut off from the outside world.”
Kaihuang Qin Ye flicked his sword light and said, “And we will fight to the death within this cage against the forces of Miluo Palace and Wuyai the Elder. This is the first wall. Soon, there will be a second, third, and fourth wall, completely sealing the Ancestral Court!”
————Zhu Yue is dead, happy birthday~ Book friend with this name, um… Happy birthday!