Chapter 4038: Encounter at the Great Wall
Those who can be called an ancestor may not necessarily have the cultivation of a Primordial Ancestor, but they must have made extraordinary achievements in a certain field.
The First Confucian Ancestor was a pioneer, creating something from nothing.
The Second Confucian Ancestor was one who expanded and glorified, pushing the Confucian Path to its peak and spreading its teachings across the universe.
The Third Confucian Ancestor created the Righteous Qi, opening a path for Confucian disciples to cultivate martial arts and temper their bodies.
The Fourth Confucian Ancestor entered the Dao through "painting" and cultivated others and disciplined himself with "virtue." Although he was not a pioneer, nor did he reach the pinnacle like the Second Confucian Ancestor, he was the most brilliant and extraordinary figure of the Confucian Path.
He simultaneously inherited the Spiritual Power of the Second Confucian Ancestor and the Righteous Qi of the Third Confucian Ancestor. At less than a million years old, his Spiritual Power broke through the ninetieth rank, and his martial Dao broke through the Indestructible Infinite.
The Dragon Lord once said that his cultivation talent surpassed even his own, and if he had not fallen, he could have been expected to become a Spiritual Power Ancestor in the future.
Qing Su looked at the painting and felt a chill run down her spine. "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor isn't still alive, is he?"
Chi Yao was momentarily breathless. She looked around, then released her divine thought to probe the entire Arctic Main Star.
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned much more serious. "We saw the blood-stained Confucian robe of the Fourth Confucian Ancestor, and we also found the incomplete scroll he left behind at the Heavenly Academy. All the evidence points to his fall. But... there is no corpse to be found."
Chi Yao said, "Sometimes, what we see is what others want us to see. The answers we find are the answers others have carefully arranged for us."
"Shua!"
Zhang Ruochen wrapped Chi Yao and Qing Su in divine light and rules, and they once again arrived at the landing site of the Divine Ancestor Monarch's Imperial Ship.
The ship was already gone without a trace.
They immediately rushed back to the divine ship anchored in the bay.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God, who had stayed behind to guard the ship, looked at them as they hurried back, his expression strange. "What kind of expressions are those? Seeing me, you seem quite surprised."
Qing Su said, "Of course we're surprised. You have no idea what a dangerous situation we just encountered."
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's expression was disdainful. "Just a Divine Ancestor Monarch, what's so dangerous about that? Zhang Ruochen didn't even need to make a move; Chi Yao and Zangjin Baihu could have taught him a lesson. What, was there another strong one?"
Chi Yao looked at Zhang Ruochen, who had been silent all along. "Did the divination yield any results?"
The divination was, of course, about the Divine Ancestor Monarch.
Trying to divine that old man in the blue Confucian robe was simply impossible.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The Heavenly Mechanism is in chaos. Someone has erased all traces of him. It seems we really have encountered a formidable figure this time."
Chi Yao said, "Should we inform Hao Tian?"
"No need. Zhuo Yunzhen joining the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom is already an open secret."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "The Divine Ancestor Monarch has his own thoughts and ideals. That's how he reached his current level of cultivation, and he will have infinite possibilities in the future. If he were to become a mere appendage of Hao Tian or myself, losing his own judgment and decision-making ability, then he would never reach the Heavenly Venerable rank in the future."
"So, whether it's me or Hao Tian, although we may gradually drift apart from him in the future, we will definitely respect his choices. Unless he first becomes our enemy."
Upon hearing Zhang Ruochen's objective evaluation of the Divine Ancestor Monarch, Qing Su was moved and also deeply admired his character. Her eyes were full of admiration.
Such a magnanimous heart truly befits an emperor.
Qing Su said, "The Monarch has always regarded Master as a close friend and Hao Tian as a role model. Even if he chooses a different path, he will never become your enemy in the future. Someone like him would never betray his own bottom line and principles."
To all cultivators of the Imperial Dao Great World, the Divine Ancestor Monarch was a mythical existence.
Any young cultivator embarking on the path of cultivation regarded him as a role model.
Qing Su herself was born in the Imperial Dao Great World. Being able to worship Zhang Ruochen as her master was something the Divine Ancestor Monarch had personally facilitated.
For her, this was a great opportunity that changed her life.
Whether out of respect or gratitude, she had to say these words.
"Qing Su, don't go to the North Marsh Great Wall. It's too dangerous. Return to the Kunlun Realm and deliver this painting to Wen Tianjun."
After sending Qing Su away, Zhang Ruochen began to set up a Space Teleportation Array.
The North Marsh Great Wall was incredibly far away, measured in trillions of miles. Even an ordinary god would need to fly for a hundred thousand years to reach it.
Back then, Fei Ma Wang, with her Infinite Realm cultivation, had spent nineteen years traveling from the Arctic Main Star to the North Marsh Great Wall.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, he naturally wouldn't need that long.
But he still needed to set up formations and perform multiple teleportations.
Chi Yao gazed into the starry sky. "It's too dangerous. Sending Qing Su to deliver the painting might get her killed."
"The methods of the God Realm are still somewhat different from those of the Nether Ancestor Faction. That old man in the blue Confucian robe will definitely not make a move against Qing Su. Truly top-tier figures have their own pride. At the very least, one must be at the Indestructible Infinite level to catch their eye," Zhang Ruochen said.
"The formation is complete. Let's go!"
...
The universe is vast, with no concept of up, down, left, or right.
The North Marsh Great Wall is not a single, straight, complete wall. It has long been broken into countless sections, scattered and suspended in the void.
Some sections are only a few dozen miles long, while others are hundreds of thousands of miles or more, with no end in sight. One can only wonder how long it was when intact—did it stretch across the entire universe?
Entering the star domain where the North Marsh Great Wall is located, the Space Rules become completely different. There are many Space Rifts, Space Vortexes, Space Wormholes...
The space here is chaotic and broken, like the end of the universe.
In the middle of one broken wall, ten thousand miles long, sits a pitch-black war city.
The war city was built by hollowing out a planet. Its iron content reaches sixty percent, making it extremely hard.
Feng Tian, wearing a veil and holding the Auspicious Ruyi, walked into this dilapidated war city.
Behind her were a host of Divine Realm powerhouses from the Destiny Temple. Most of the leaders of the three divisions and twelve palaces were present, with Gates of Destiny floating above their heads.
"Back then, when the seventy-two pillar demon gods awakened, this was a very important battlefield," she said.
Yan Ju had not participated in that battle and was very curious. "How could this war city withstand a Boundless-level battle without being destroyed?"
Feng Tian raised the Auspicious Ruyi and waved it, releasing Fate Divine Light. Immediately, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Rules were triggered. Space unfolded like a piece of paper, revealing the hidden world.
Black soil filled the void, extending into the distance.
The Adjudication Venerable said, "The North Marsh Great Wall is full of dangers, and the space is bizarre and treacherous. Even an ordinary beacon tower might harbor great evil. Everyone should be careful."
Just then, Xue Tu flew out from a beacon tower and landed in the war city.
His armor was blood-red, and his aura was fierce.
Xue Ye Wutong, who had taken human form, looked at him with suspicion. "Where did you go just now?"
Xue Ye Wutong knew that before setting out, Xue Tu had sent his wife and children to the Yama Clan, so she had been keeping an eye on him.
"I, the Emperor, was naturally searching for traces of the Chongming Ancestor," Xue Tu said with an air of arrogance.
Xue Ye Wutong said, "With the Hall Master's Divine Soul strength, if the Chongming Ancestor had left any traces here, they would have been detected. How could it be your turn to search? You've been acting mysteriously the whole way, often leaving the group. I have reason to suspect you've been sending messages to the Nether Ancestor Faction."
Xue Tu was indignant. "You underestimate me, the Emperor! If I wanted to defect to the Nether Ancestor Faction, why would I wait until now?"
Hai Shang You Ruo was now the Palace Master of the Life Divine Palace. The gods gathered around her were mostly from the Hai Shang clan.
Xue Ye Wutong and Xue Tu had quarreled before, so she was used to it.
Approaching Feng Tian, Hai Shang You Ruo said, "There has been no trace of the Chongming Ancestor along the way. Could it be that the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom deliberately lured us here, with the real target being the Abyss of Darkness defense line?"
Feng Tian said, "The destruction of the Abyss of Darkness defense line does not align with the current interests of the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom. The North Marsh Great Wall stretches from east to west, spanning who knows how many trillions of miles. Finding the Chongming Ancestor will certainly take some time."
Just as she finished speaking.
A massive shadow flew over their heads, like a giant bird.
"The Ancestor's Spiritual Power has reached the ninety-third rank. Concealing his aura and Heavenly Mechanism is no difficult task. Feng Caiyi, you overestimate yourself by coming to the North Marsh Great Wall. You are simply courting death." The voice of the Peacock Heavenly Empress came from the sky.
Hai Shang You Ruo swung her sword, and the sword energy turned into a River of Time, striking the shadow in the void.
It was the Time Sword Art!
In the darkness, space twisted, and the River of Time vanished without a trace.
Xue Ye Wutong became even more suspicious of Xue Tu. She glared at him. "Still saying it's not you? From the moment we set out, the Hall Master has been using the Fate Essence to conceal the Heavenly Mechanism. Only you have left the group."
As she spoke, she moved to capture Xue Tu, but Bore stopped her.
"I can vouch that he will never betray the Destiny Temple," Bore said.
Xue Tu quickly chimed in, "Exactly! Senior Sister-in-law understands reason. Would I even have the guts to betray the Destiny Temple?"
Que, who had been holding his sword in silence, finally spoke. "Since the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom can lure us to the North Marsh Great Wall, they can also tell the Chongming Ancestor that we are here. Their goal is to make us fight among ourselves here. Suspecting our own people is meaningless. Prepare for battle!"
"Form the formation!"
Bore was the first to summon a formation flag and thrust it heavily into the ground.
The gods of the Nutian Shenzun Palace gathered around her, simultaneously releasing their Gates of Destiny and Divine Qi to activate the formation flag.
Que, Hai Shang You Ruo, Xue Tu, Chan Ming Ya, Yan Ju... and other emerging Infinite Realm powerhouses of the Destiny Temple, along with the older Palace Masters and Venerables, each activated their formation flags, constructing a small-scale Fate Twelve-Phase Divine Formation.
In reality, this Fate Twelve-Phase Divine Formation was not small. It contained over a thousand gods.
Calling it "small" was because the cultivations of the gods presiding over the twelve palaces were relatively weak, unable to unleash the full power of the Fate Twelve-Phase Divine Formation.
"Bringing so many gods here, aren't you afraid they'll all die at the North Marsh Great Wall?"
"If they all die here, the Destiny Temple will be finished."
...
One after another, gods with dense demonic auras appeared around the war city.
Their bodies were enormous, some birds, some beasts. One of them had a head several times larger than the war city, with golden eyes that seemed capable of swallowing an entire star domain in one bite.
Some of the demon clan gods were shrouded in thick death energy, enveloped in gray clouds. They were clearly ancient powerhouses who had repossessed their own corpses and returned.
From the very beginning, the Chongming Ancestor's philosophy had differed from Hao Tian's. He had been actively welcoming the remnant souls of ancient powerhouses. For this reason, the core force he commanded was never the gods of the demon clan, but these ancient powerhouses hidden in the shadows.
Feng Tian's eyes locked onto a black figure standing on a broken wall. This person's aura was the most terrifying, with abundant death energy. He had no legs, only a long, scale-covered tail.
Teng Zu was completely shrouded in a black robe. He met Feng Tian's gaze and let out a sinister laugh. "Where are Xu Fengjin and Kong Fan Nu? Surely you didn't come alone?"
Xue Tu roared, "What kind of eyes do you have? Aren't we people?"
Green light rain fell from the sky, covering the war city.
The Chongming Ancestor appeared in human form, standing in the light rain, exuding an air of elegance. He smiled. "The Abyss of Darkness, the Nether Mountain has collapsed. The Twelve Ancient Clans have undergone great changes. The Hell Realm's defense line is in jeopardy. Xu Fengjin and Kong Fan Nu cannot come."
Feng Tian's gaze was calm as she looked around. "Why would I need them to come? I, this Hall Master, alone can sweep this place clean. If there are others, call them all out. Otherwise, you lot are not enough to kill."
"It seems Hall Master Feng has not yet understood the situation."
Teng Zu let out a sarcastic laugh, releasing the aura of the mid-stage Indestructible Infinite. Countless Rule Divine Marks condensed into a divine ability seal and struck into the war city.
"Courting death."
Feng Tian flicked her sleeve and threw out the Auspicious Ruyi.
The Ruyi spun through the air, piercing through the divine ability seal and blasting apart the gray mist in front of Teng Zu.
Teng Zu's expression changed in shock. He immediately manifested his thousand-mile-long Teng Snake true body and fled into the deep void.
"Puchi!"
His abdomen was pierced by the Auspicious Ruyi, and his corpse blood stained thousands of miles of the Great Wall.
"Retrieve!"
How could the Chongming Ancestor miss this rare opportunity? He immediately released his Spiritual Power, condensing it into a green waterfall that wrapped around the Auspicious Ruyi, attempting to seize this divine artifact of the Destiny Temple.
When facing a Spiritual Power cultivator, close-quarters combat was the advantage.
Feng Tian spread a pair of brilliant phoenix wings and flew out of the war city. Her speed broke the Space Rules, and she appeared before the Chongming Ancestor, colliding with countless rule orders.
The Chongming Ancestor had long since constructed defensive orders and divine formations around him. He was not afraid of Feng Tian at all. Instead, he revealed a profound smile. "Feng Caiyi, you are too arrogant. Do you think reaching the Heavenly Venerable rank makes you invincible? At the North Marsh Great Wall, even a Half-Ancestor might not survive, let alone you."
"Hua!"
The Parasol Tree Divine Tree manifested above Feng Tian's head. Its countless roots, like thousands of divine dragons, pierced through the Real World, the Void World, and Lihentian.
Attack power came from all directions, leaving Feng Tian no chance to escape, aiming to suppress her.
This Parasol Tree Divine Tree was planted by the Demon Ancestor and descended to this era together with the Demon Ancestor Ridge. Its power could be imagined.
"Boom!"
The Heavenly Cauldron flew out from Feng Tian's sleeve, its Fate Divine Light illuminating the starry sky, colliding with the roots of the Parasol Tree Divine Tree.
Large areas of space exploded.
The Chongming Ancestor's expression tightened slightly. He immediately retreated, putting distance between himself and Feng Tian.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The twelve powers of the Fate Twelve Phases manifested around Feng Tian. She pointed a finger.
The twelve Fate powers twisted together, like a spinning light shuttle, piercing through layers of defensive divine formations and orders, heading straight for the Chongming Ancestor's brow.
The Chongming Ancestor had no choice but to give up on retrieving the Auspicious Ruyi. He formed a claw with his five fingers, drawing void lightning to meet Feng Tian's finger strike.
"Puchi."
The power of Kong Mie Fa Yi's Fate was extremely strong. It pierced through the dozens of void lightning bolts summoned by the Chongming Ancestor, struck his body, and sent him flying backward.
Just as Feng Tian was about to press her advantage, she suddenly sensed that her connection with the Auspicious Ruyi had been severed.
She turned to look.
Ba Er's tall and majestic figure stood on a beacon tower, casually playing with the Auspicious Ruyi in his hand.
He said, "Such an obvious trap—anyone with half a brain wouldn't jump into it. Yet you came. With a mentality like yours, how can you be worthy of being the Hall Master of the Destiny Temple?"