Chapter: 3986 Meeting a Half-Ancestor
Legend has it that the Seventy-Two Layer Tower was refined by the Space-Time Human Ancestor from rare treasures gathered across the world, but in all his life, he only completed the first step of refinement.
Countless ages later, during the Primordial Era, a figure unparalleled through the ages, the "Sixteenth Day," was born. He split the Seventy-Two Layer Tower into four parts, each with eighteen layers.
One part was refined by the Sixteenth Day into the Eighteen Layers of Nether Refining Hell World.
The second was refined by the Sword Ancestor into the Eighteen Layers of the Sword Pavilion.
The third was refined by the Heavenly Demon into the Eighteen Layers of the Nether Prison.
The fourth was refined by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable into the Eighteen Layers of the Ghost Gate Pass.
It could be said that the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, through the refinement of the Space-Time Human Ancestor, the Sixteenth Day, the Sword Ancestor, the Heavenly Demon, and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, had been successfully completed.
All that remained was to reunite them into one.
After leaving A Fuya, Zhang Ruochen headed straight for the Sword Pavilion in the Kunlun Realm.
From the moment he stepped into the first layer of the Sword Pavilion, Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, carefully sensing the subtlety of every inch of space.
The Seventy-Two Layer Tower was once a single entity, connected together.
Back then, Huang Yanchen entered the Eighteen Layers of the Ghost Gate Pass, endured the baptism of Nether Fire and Nether Calamity Lightning, and ultimately turned to ashes, transforming into a wisp of a ghostly soul. After passing through the Eighteen Layers of the Ghost Gate Pass, she appeared in the Nether Refining Hell of the Hell Realm.
This undoubtedly proved that a spatial channel existed between the Ghost Gate Pass and the Nether Refining Hell, transcending the rules of space.
Did such a channel also exist between the Sword Pavilion and the Nether Prison?
Arriving at the eighteenth layer, Zhang Ruochen once again saw the crimson Sword Ancestor Divine Tree, its leaves crystal clear and sparkling in the wind, its trunk covered in scales.
Beneath the tree, the Sword Ancestor's skeletal remains, draped in a silver-white divine robe, sat cross-legged, one hand forming a sword finger, the other holding a branch.
Before him, small figures practicing sword techniques were drawn.
All of this was the work of Void Heaven.
He claimed that to comprehend the sword path deduced by the Sword Ancestor before his death, one must restore the Sword Ancestor's state at the moment of his passing and imagine oneself as the Sword Ancestor.
At this moment, Void Heaven had disheveled hair and vacant eyes, leaning back-to-back with the Sword Ancestor's skeleton. His expression was quite dejected, as if he had suffered some heavy blow.
Zhang Ruochen ignored him, searching the eighteenth layer of the Sword Pavilion.
If a spatial channel existed between the Sword Pavilion and the Nether Prison, Nether Refining Hell, and Ghost Gate Pass, it would most likely be located on the first or eighteenth layer.
Void Heaven noticed him and said impatiently, "What are you pacing around for? Didn't I say no one is allowed to disturb my sword comprehension?"
Zhang Ruochen arrived beneath the Sword Ancestor Divine Tree, standing straight and imposing. "I am searching for the legendary spatial channel between the Seventy-Two Layer Towers. It might be possible to break the rules of heaven and earth and enter the Nether Prison directly."
Void Heaven was jolted alert by Zhang Ruochen's words, his gaze sharpening. "Are you insane? Even if such a special spatial channel exists, the Sword Ancestor would have certainly concealed it back then. Besides, what do you want to do in the Nether Prison? You're even more arrogant than I am. Do you want to compete with a Half-Ancestor, or fight an Ancestor?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Not me. Us."
Void Heaven became even more alert. He rested his arm on the Sword Ancestor's skeletal shoulder and stood up. "No, absolutely not. Don't drag me into this. I still need to continue comprehending the sword."
"After all these years of sword comprehension, have you gained anything?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Of course, of course I have. Great gains. Soon, cultivators across the world will hear the sound of a sword—the kingly sound of Sword Twenty-Five dominating the world," Void Heaven said.
"You are deceiving yourself."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "The sword path is never about shutting oneself away. The sword path is a path honed through battle after battle. Without contending with experts, how can you know the shortcomings of your own sword path? Without enduring the pressure of life and death, how can inspiration burst forth and lead to a higher realm?"
"Void Heaven, you, venerable sir, have accumulated experience at the Heavenly Venerable rank for fifty thousand years. You only need to comprehend Sword Twenty-Five to have a chance to break through to Half-Ancestor with your sword. Half-Ancestor—that is a Half-Ancestor, someone who can go down in history, truly worthy of being called an Ancestor."
"Your talent, venerable sir, is among the top in this era. Hao Tian, Heavenly Mother, Yunshen Daozhu, and Fengdu Dadi have all reached the Half-Ancestor realm. Are you willing to stop below Half-Ancestor?"
"In the endless ages to come, people will only remember this era—the beacon fires, the horn calls, the rise of heroes, countless legends. They will write about it extensively. But only Hao Tian, Heavenly Mother, Island Master, and Fengdu Dadi will be the protagonists. Even if someone mentions the name Xu Fengjin, it will only be as a supporting leaf, no different from Jing Daoren or the Black and White Daoists."
Void Heaven, of course, knew Zhang Ruochen was using provocation, but his mouth still twitched. He said coldly, "Jing the Second and the Black and White Ghosts are worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as me?"
"Who will know, millions of years from now?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Void Heaven paced around the Sword Ancestor's skeleton. "Alright, what's your plan?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The spatial channel of the Sword Pavilion was most likely sealed by the Sword Ancestor. Entering the Nether Prison directly from here is almost impossible. Let's go directly to the star region where the Nether Prison is located."
"And then what? Fengdu Dadi said the entrance to the Nether Prison has been sealed by three Half-Ancestors," Void Heaven said.
"But Fengdu Dadi never said he couldn't break it open. He was only worried that breaking the seal would disrupt the plans of the three Half-Ancestors and release the Ancestor's calamity."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "Recently, the Nether Prison has become extremely active, with large amounts of demonic energy leaking out. This undoubtedly shows that the sealing power of the three Half-Ancestors has developed cracks and could shatter at any moment."
Void Heaven's expression turned serious. "And if we go?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have two plans. First, hide outside the Nether Prison. If the Ancestor's calamity emerges first, we ambush It. Even if we cannot suppress or kill It, we will severely wound It, rendering It harmless for a short time."
"Second, enter the Nether Prison directly and rendezvous with the three Half-Ancestors."
Void Heaven said, "Just the two of us?"
"Whoosh!"
Chan Bing stepped out of Zhang Ruochen's Divine Realm World and said, "Xu Fengjin, why are you being so indecisive now?"
Void Heaven laughed. "Chan Bing, how old are you? Following Zhang Ruochen around all the time—do you like them young?"
Chan Bing's expression was icy. "Void Heaven, you old ghost, if you don't dare to go, just say it outright. I'll go with Zhang Ruochen."
"In my entire life, the one thing I cannot accept is being looked down upon by a woman. Fine, I'll go. If you, Chan Bing, dare to go, how could I not dare?"
After his forceful declaration, Void Heaven suddenly said, "Zhang Ruochen, what do you think would happen if I ground the Sword Ancestor's skeleton into powder and swallowed it all? Would it be useful?"
Zhang Ruochen thought of the Sword Heart in the Nether Prison and suddenly understood.
Void Heaven's sword path had hit a bottleneck. How could he possibly not want to go to the Nether Prison?
"Let's go. Set out." Zhang Ruochen said.
He couldn't be bothered to waste more words with him.
Void Heaven said, "You haven't answered me yet! I'm thinking of swallowing the Sword Ancestor Divine Tree and the Sword Source Divine Tree too. Can you help refine them with the Earth Cauldron?"
...
Zhang Ruochen had deliberately set the time to close the Sundial at three months later, precisely to lull the enemy into thinking he would stay in the Wuding Divine Sea for those three months.
In the starry sky, Void Heaven used the Heavenly Mechanism Brush to conceal their tracks as they headed toward the star region where the Nether Prison was located.
"Letting A Fuya lead the War Ancestor Divine Army is not a wise choice. First of all, you haven't slept with her. Second, I haven't slept with her either. If you want a woman to be utterly devoted to you, you have to sleep with her. Or make her bear a child, so she has something to worry about."
Void Heaven had been brooding over Zhang Ruochen not trading A Fuya to him and kept bringing it up along the way.
"How about trying it yourself, Void Heaven, venerable sir, when we get back?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Really?" Void Heaven asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "A Fuya is now the Arrow Dao Overlord, possessing an Ancestor's body and Ancestor Divine Source. With your Heavenly Venerable rank cultivation, venerable sir, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle her. A Half-Ancestor might be enough."
Void Heaven fell silent. Recently, Zhang Ruochen had been constantly talking about Half-Ancestors in his ear, driving him a bit mad. It was as if, if he didn't break through to Half-Ancestor, his entire life would be ruined, and he would be lumped together with Jing Daoren and the Black and White Daoists.
Void Heaven said, "How has Feng Caiyi been all these years? Hasn't she come to the Wuding Divine Sea?"
"No."
"She didn't even come to your wedding? At that time, half the universe's deities came to congratulate you! If I'm not mistaken, it's because of the heavy slaughter she committed back then. She doesn't dare face the deities of the Sword Realm. Women—once they fall in love, they become sentimental. I still prefer the old, decisive Feng Caiyi."
"Void Heaven, venerable sir, your years of sword comprehension must have been truly dull. How long has it been since you last spoke with anyone?"
Void Heaven smiled without speaking. After a long pause, he said, "Are those two children really Wu Yue's? Can Wu Yue have children? Could they be the Moon God's?"
Zhang Ruochen clearly did not want to delve deeper into this topic. "Venerable sir, can you restrain yourself a bit? Why do you always talk about such things? There's a child present!"
The Space Chaos Worm, "Xiao Qi," followed behind Zhang Ruochen, holding a stick of sugar-coated hawthorns.
"What child? She doesn't even know how old she is!" Void Heaven said.
Zhang Ruochen had brought Xiao Qi to the Nether Prison instead of the Sword Pavilion, mainly because the Seventy-Two Layer Tower was only missing the Sword Pavilion to be complete.
Bringing it would be too dangerous!
If the Sword Pavilion were taken, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Nether Prison was located in the star region that was once the Soul Realm, at the convergence of the Western Universe, Southern Universe, and Hell Realm, far from the core areas densely populated with major worlds.
However, Lian Xi, with the help of Lady Shiji, had devoured the Soul Mother's soul and seized her Half-Ancestor body.
And the Soul Mother's Half-Ancestor body was precisely the Soul Realm.
Thus, the Soul Realm no longer existed!
The Nether Prison resembled a broken star tower, floating in the starry sky. Demonic energy leaked out in large quantities, forming dense nebulae that covered a star region spanning millions of billions of miles.
Above the Nether Prison, space was shattered, with many tributaries of the Santu River flowing through.
Because this star region was filled with surging demonic energy and active demonic dao rules, it had become a paradise for demonic cultivators. Some demonic deities had even relocated a seventh-level main star here.
Apart from demonic cultivators, along the way, Zhang Ruochen also saw sacred realm beings from various demon clans, men and women from the Rakshasa Clan, and even angels and elves.
For places that made even Indestructible Infinite cultivators tremble with fear, these cultivators seemed completely unaware of the terror.
After all, nothing had happened in fifty thousand years.
They landed on that seventh-level main star.
"Lord Chen!"
The Swallowing Elephant Rabbit greeted Zhang Ruochen from afar, hopping and skipping to welcome him.
Under the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's guidance, Zhang Ruochen soon found Gai Mie in a garden filled with beautiful women.
Only Xiao Qi accompanied Zhang Ruochen; Void Heaven and Chan Bing were hidden in the Divine Realm World.
By a misty pond, Gai Mie sat on a divine wooden chair, his robust and broad arms wrapped around a peerlessly beautiful woman of top-tier cultivation.
He drank wine while fondling her.
Zhang Ruochen recognized the beauty—it was the Peacock Heavenly Empress, a first-rate figure among the demon clans.
Zhang Ruochen stopped by the pond. "Supreme Pillar, your life is truly comfortable. It makes me a bit envious!"
"What is there to envy? Who in the world doesn't know that Imperial Dust's harem is filled with peerless beauties, all extraordinary women of the world?"
Gai Mie said, "Hurry and offer Imperial Dust a seat. I want to drink with him until we're both drunk."
The Peacock Heavenly Empress was alluring and charming, her beautiful eyes carefully observing Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen showed no intention of sitting. "Supreme Pillar, don't forget the important matter. What is the current situation with the Nether Prison?"
Gai Mie's expression turned serious. "The matter of the Nether Prison is not urgent. I have a friend here who has been wanting to meet you."
The ground trembled.
A towering stone man stepped out from the void, walking to the other side of the misty pond.
Although the stone man's aura was completely restrained, his mere presence compressed the space, making it solidify. The mist on the pond's surface stopped moving.
Zhang Ruochen became wary. "Di!"
The stone man's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen. "Since our parting in the Phantom Extinction Star Sea, Imperial Dust has risen from a young prodigy to an unparalleled overlord. Congratulations!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I did not expect to meet a Half-Ancestor here. Supreme Pillar, don't you owe me an explanation?"
Gai Mie pondered for a moment. "He is a Half-Ancestor and has come with great sincerity. I think it wouldn't hurt for Imperial Dust to meet him."
"So, you are making decisions for me?" Zhang Ruochen said bluntly.
Gai Mie sensed the coldness in Zhang Ruochen's tone and said nothing, but the hand gripping the Peacock Heavenly Empress's snow-white thigh sank five fingers into her flesh.
Di said, "Imperial Dust, there is no irreconcilable deep hatred between us. I have come this time precisely to resolve our conflicts and enmity."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Oh? You are a Half-Ancestor, after all. My cultivation is far beneath yours. Your humble attitude only makes me more uneasy."
Di said, "A Half-Ancestor with an incomplete body would never dare to show off in front of Imperial Dust. Yunshen Daozhu is already a spiritual power Half-Ancestor, Wen Tianjun is in seclusion to break through, and the War Ancestor Divine Army shakes the universe. Offending Imperial Dust would make anyone lose sleep."
Zhang Ruochen said, "In that case, why not kill me? Today would be a good opportunity."
Di said, "Imperial Dust is joking again! Even at my peak, I would not be confident in killing you as you are now. Besides, how could Imperial Dust have come to the Nether Prison alone?"
After a moment of thought, Zhang Ruochen nodded with a smile. "Gai Mie, you said he came with great sincerity. Where is the sincerity? I don't see it."