Chapter 4129: Welcoming the Nether Ancestor
Although the battle within the Ancestral Order Field had turned heaven and earth upside down, with Indestructible Infinite cultivators falling one after another, on the Gray Sea, Hao Tian and Er Juntian had only exchanged a few moves.
Only a short time had passed.
Large swaths of the Gray Sea were swept up into the sky, the gray mist burning.
The vast star domain manifested by Er Juntian's "Ten Thousand Star Blazing Gold Armor" was also burning, as if he were carrying a sea of stars and a domain of fire while clashing with Hao Tian, his power seemingly inexhaustible.
"Boom!"
The Heaven-Splitting Axe and the Xuan Huang Halberd clashed once more, the sound waves shaking time and space.
Er Juntian was blasted back hundreds of thousands of miles, and within the star domain behind him, a large number of stars exploded.
Clearly, even with the advantage of terrain, even possessing the Heaven-Splitting Axe and the Ten Thousand Star Blazing Gold Armor, Er Juntian was still slightly inferior in terms of absolute power.
But the mere fact that he had exchanged several moves in this battle, if spread, would already be enough to make Er Juntian shake the universe and become one of the top five existences below the Ancestor level.
After all, with Hao Tian's current level of cultivation, there were very few cultivators who could receive one of his strikes without injury.
The earth-shaking divine sounds of Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe came from the direction of Qing Mountain.
The two on the Gray Sea temporarily stopped.
Hao Tian was slightly surprised and glanced at Er Juntian.
Outside Wangchuan, he had intercepted Er Juntian and the others precisely to seize the "Book of Life and Death" and rescue Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe. However, Er Juntian and Qinglu Divine King were no ordinary figures; he couldn't detain them, only suppressing two of the leaders.
Given the cultivation and ability Er Juntian had displayed, how could he challenge Wu Tian without properly handling the "Book of Life and Death"?
That was precisely why Hao Tian was surprised.
He didn't believe Er Juntian would make such a blunder!
A strong sense of ominous foreboding rose in Er Juntian's heart. He absolutely refused to believe that Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe could escape the "Book of Life and Death" through their own power.
Who had entered Tianhe and rescued them?
"Boom!"
Yan Huanyu, holding the "Book of Life and Death," coordinated with the Abyssal Divine Sword from within to break open a gap in the forbidden layer of the Ancestral Order Field.
The life-and-death radiance emitted by the "Book of Life and Death," along with the flowing rain of words, propped up the gap, preventing the broken forbidden layer from closing.
Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Ruochen, Huang Tian, Shang Tian, Baozhu Dizang, and Tantuo Dizang immediately fled to the edge of the Ancestral Order Field, entered the radiance of the "Book of Life and Death," and retreated behind Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe.
The "Book of Life and Death" was said to have been refined by the Life-and-Death Elder at Biluo Pass.
"Rumble!"
Dust flew, and yin energy was thick.
Hun Mu, San Ying Tian, Meng Huang'e, Lan Shi Shen, and the Eight Divisions Followers army gathered, with Gandharva taking the lead.
Their divine might was one stronger than the next, and the radiance emitted by their physical bodies was one more brilliant than the other.
Gandharva hovered in midair, showing no signs of decrepitude, and said, "Yan Huanyu, you're too late. If you had arrived before..."
Yan Huanyu chuckled: "An old, decaying man like me is content just to have broken through to the Half-Ancestor realm. I don't have the spirit of someone like Hao Tian. No more drive left, just waiting for the day I'm buried."
Yan Huanyu had already lived for...
Back when the Twenty Heavens fought the Nether Ancestor in the Void Exhaust Sea, Yan Huanyu had burned a great deal of his lifespan and blood qi. To have survived until now was already quite satisfying.
His blood qi was in a state of constant depletion, so naturally, he couldn't compare to the surging Hao Tian.
Zhang Ruochen observed Yan Huanyu.
Compared to the last meeting before Zhang Ruochen went to the North Marsh Great Wall, Yan Huanyu had aged far too much. His white hair was sparse, his body had shrunk, and he was slightly hunched—a clear sign of severely declining blood qi.
Even compared to the meeting during the Entropy Calamity, he had visibly aged a notch.
Gandharva said, "With your current blood qi and lifespan, how many more times can you strike? If you fight me, you'll probably have to be buried here. For the sake of the connection between the Meng Clan and the Yama Clan, leave the 'Book of Life and Death' and return to the Outer Heaven to spend your remaining years in peace!"
"Meng Weiyang, do you still remember that you are a daughter of the Meng Clan?" Meng Naihe said.
Gandharva didn't even bother to lift her eyelids and said, "Meng Naihe, it's been many years. How are you still only at the Heavenly Venerable rank? Is breaking through to Half-Ancestor that difficult? If you don't work harder, you'll probably be surpassed by the women of the Meng Clan again! If Meng Zheruo were still alive, seeing you so unambitious, so far behind me, would he be furious?"
"Such a venomous tongue. The Heavenly Venerable rank is definitely among the top in the universe, but she makes it sound so shameful." Baozhu Dizang stood beside Zhang Ruochen and said in a low voice.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What a terrifying Meng Clan. One quasi-ancestor in spiritual power, two Heavenly Venerables. With such strength, aside from the current Ancestors, only the Xuanyuan Clan can compare."
Cihang Zunzhe said, "As long as the Imperial Dust does not perish, the Zhang Clan will definitely not lose out."
Baozhu Dizang nodded, saying, "That's true! It is said that before the Imperial Dust died, he already possessed the combat power to directly receive an Ancestor's attack. Add to that Jie Tian, who inherited the Divine Source of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, and Chi Yao, who inherited the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's cultivation technique."
"Kong Fannu and Kong Fanning were originally supposed to be surnamed Zhang."
"What a pity. The Zhang Clan, which had the power to command the universe, was like the Meng Clan and the Yama Clan—divided from within, shattered, and collapsed."
"In terms of scheming, the Immortal is still one step ahead."
With the arrival of Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe, Baozhu Dizang was in an excellent mood and quite talkative.
She expressed some regret, saying, "What a pity I never saw the Imperial Dust's demeanor! I heard he was the most dazzling figure in ten thousand ages..."
Zhang Ruochen felt uncomfortable being praised and said, "Seeing is believing. What dazzling figure? Just an ordinary person. If he could really steal the hearts of all the women under heaven, why would he suffer so much at their hands?"
Baozhu Dizang said, "Daoist, are you jealous? Jealous of a dead man, and you still claim the Love Soup hasn't affected you?"
Zhang Ruochen was speechless.
Cihang Zunzhe smiled without speaking.
Huang Tian, on the other hand, was staring at the Abyssal Divine Sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand, calculating something in his mind.
On the other side, Meng Naihe's expression was extremely ugly as he stared at Meng Huang'e.
He had never imagined that among the younger generation of his clan, there would be such an extraordinary figure.
Just this ability to conceal heaven and cross the sea, this cunning and wisdom, was already extremely terrifying.
Moreover, she had only cultivated for eight hundred thousand years. Regardless of whether she had used the power of time or other opportunities, this was an abnormally terrifying cultivation speed.
Meng Huang'e gracefully bowed and said, "Greetings, Ancestor."
"What about Meng Ba and Meng Ershiba?" Meng Naihe asked.
Meng Huang'e summoned Meng Huangni and Meng Ershiba and said, "I am different from Grandmother. I will always be a daughter of the Meng Clan and will not harm the clan's children. In the future, after you, Ancestor, have passed, I will still be the head of the Meng Clan."
Seeing Meng Huang'e's serious expression, Meng Naihe was so angry his lungs felt like they would explode.
He had a straightforward and upright personality, hating evil as much as his enemy. How could he tolerate such words?
Yan Huanyu observed the formation world above Qing Mountain for a moment and laughed, saying, "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor hasn't been completely suppressed yet. You have to divert part of your power to maintain the formation. I'm afraid you won't be able to keep us here."
As he said this, Yan Huanyu secretly transmitted a message to the people behind him: "Gandharva's spiritual power is terrifyingly strong, just half a step away from the Ancestor level. We must retreat immediately. After leaving the Ancestral Order Field, scatter and flee, first getting out of the Gray Sea."
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."
Zhang Ruochen, Cihang Zunzhe, Huang Tian, Baozhu Dizang, Tantuo Dizang, and Shang Tian decisively split into six directions and disappeared into the gray mist.
"Where do you think you're going? You are all sacrifices."
Gandharva gently waved her right palm, and her spiritual power surged forth, condensing into six Chaotic Heavenly Rivers that shattered space and shot straight toward the six directions.
It wasn't pursuit.
It was directly seizing the six great experts from the spatial level.
Yan Huanyu shot toward Qing Mountain like a stream of light.
The radiance and words of the "Book of Life and Death" clashed with the six Chaotic Heavenly Rivers.
"With just you?"
Gandharva waved her wooden staff, and hundreds of millions of Ancestral Orders flew out, piercing through the life-and-death radiance and the rain of words, blasting Yan Huanyu back.
Fortunately, the six Chaotic Heavenly Rivers were shattered by the "Book of Life and Death."
Meng Naihe, who had been supporting the gap in the forbidden layer, executed a circular shield-seal divine ability, intending to catch Yan Huanyu, but was sent flying instead.
Both were injured. The gap was too great!
Yan Huanyu had never intended to leave. He handed the "Book of Life and Death" to Meng Naihe and said, "Go. Hurry and go. As long as they don't get the 'Book of Life and Death,' there's still hope."
"Where do you think you're going?"
Gandharva struck down with a palm from across the void.
The palm print condensed into a dragon claw thousands of feet long, sharp and domineering.
Countless talisman patterns flickered inside the dragon claw, containing the terrifying power to extinguish indestructible matter.
Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe propped up the "Book of Life and Death" and clashed with the dragon claw. Their bodies flew out again, both spitting blood.
Meng Naihe's chest even exploded, revealing stark white ribs.
Without giving them a chance to catch their breath, Hun Mu, San Ying Tian, Meng Huang'e, and Lan Shi Shen rushed out of the Ancestral Order Field, each unleashing a divine ability.
Just as Yan Huanyu and Meng Naihe were about to be covered by the four divine abilities.
Zhang Ruochen appeared first, wielding the Thousand Armies War Banner in his hand. He swept Meng Huang'e's "Void Calamity" into the banner's surface and swung it back.
Shang Tian and Huang Tian manifested their divine abilities, neutralizing the attacks of San Ying Tian and Lan Shi Shen.
Hun Mu's power was blocked by Yan Huanyu.
"Why have you all come back?!"
Yan Huanyu's chin and beard were stained with blood, and he was extremely angry in his heart.
He was an old man with nothing left to look forward to. Being buried in the Gray Sea would be a worthy death.
But Shang Tian, Huang Tian, Cihang, and these younger ones had infinite possibilities in the future and should not die today.
Yan Huanyu had already prepared to die on the way to Qing Mountain.
He had a final trump card, not a self-destruction of his divine source, but not inferior to one either. As long as Gandharva wasn't a Spiritual Power Ancestor, she definitely couldn't stop him.
He was waiting for these younger ones to leave the Gray Sea before using that final move to take out the Eight Divisions Followers at Qing Mountain in one fell swoop.
Now that Zhang Ruochen and the other six had returned and appeared before him, how could he not be angry?
"We can't escape! The path on the Gray Sea is gone!"
Cihang Zunzhe, Baozhu Dizang, and Tantuo Dizang also returned outside Qing Mountain.
"How could it be gone?" Meng Naihe asked in confusion.
Not to mention him, even San Ying Tian, Meng Huang'e, and the others who had been cultivating on the Gray Sea for years showed surprised expressions.
"Whoosh!"
Gandharva, Hun Mu, Yan Huanyu, and Zhang Ruochen sensed something. Their expressions changed drastically as they all looked up at the sky and then at the Gray Sea.
The gray mist was moving in a regular pattern, strands intertwining, finally turning into visible rivers flowing in chaotic disorder.
These gray mist rivers were woven together like a ball of yarn, trapping heaven and earth, giving an infinitely oppressive feeling.
"The Great Desolate Heaven Seal!"
Shang Tian struck out with all his might, burning ten thousand miles of colorful clouds.
The palm print was like the hand of the Heavenly Dao.
But even the full-force strike of a Heavenly Venerable only slightly shook the gray mist rivers, unable to shatter a single one.
Every cultivator present changed color.
The higher the cultivation, the greater the shock in their hearts.
Gandharva pressed her hand to her heart, lowered her head, and bowed to the formless void: "Welcoming the Nether Ancestor!"
"Boom!"
Yan Huanyu, Meng Naihe, Zhang Ruochen, Huang Tian—every cultivator present, without exception—felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in their minds.
"Paying respects to the Nether Ancestor!" "Welcoming the Nether Ancestor!"
One after another, the armies of the Eight Divisions Followers knelt on one knee in unison.
They didn't know where the person they were kneeling to was.
But just the two words "Nether Ancestor" were enough to make any cultivator under heaven kneel.
The aura and pressure of the entire heaven and earth grew stronger and stronger, far surpassing Gandharva's Ancestral Order Field. All rules and Dao methods disappeared.
The pressure, fear, and worry that came from the depths of the soul made even Indestructible Infinite cultivators unable to stop their legs from trembling.
The gray mist swallowed even the Ancestral Order Field!
The Nether Ancestor had arrived, and all laws ceased to exist.
This oppressive feeling continued to build. Huang Tian found it unbearable and roared up to the sky.
But there was no sound.
In the presence of the Nether Ancestor, no noise could exist.
"Whoosh!"
The "Book of Life and Death," which had been tightly gripped in Yan Huanyu's hand, flew away, unable to be restrained even by Half-Ancestor rules and Half-Ancestor order.
The "Book of Life and Death" leaped over the crowd and landed in Meng Huangni's hands.
At this moment, Meng Huangni seemed to have completely transformed into a different person. She slowly rose from the ground, holding the "Book of Life and Death" in her hand.
Her gaze was indifferent, deep, cold, and carried the vicissitudes of having witnessed ten thousand ages of splendor.
The Eight Phases of the Nether Book manifested around her.
The Nether City was more majestic than Qing Mountain, the Nether River flowed eternally, the Nether Soul captivated the mind, and the Nether Sea hung upside down from the sky...
This kind of aura crushed all cultivators below the Indestructible Infinite realm. Those below the Heavenly Venerable rank couldn't even lift their heads.
Only Yan Huanyu and Zhang Ruochen dared to overcome their inner fear and look directly at Meng Huangni.
Zhang Ruochen was certain that Meng Huangni was not the Nether Ancestor's true body. It should be a projection of the Nether Ancestor falling upon her, using her body as a medium to reclaim the "Book of Life and Death."
The reason Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Meng Huangni was to confirm the Nether Ancestor's identity, to know whether the Nether Ancestor was actually Ji Fanxin.
A lotus mark appeared on Meng Huangni's brow, causing Zhang Ruochen's heart to sink into the valley, abandoning any remaining illusions.
The source of her power, the source of her aura, was that lotus mark.
The entire heaven and earth fell silent, with only the sound of wind.
Meng Huangni's gaze fell upon Cihang Zunzhe. Without any visible leakage of power, Cihang Zunzhe, whose cultivation had reached the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite, had her body uncontrollably fly toward her.
Just as all cultivators were intimidated by the Nether Ancestor's might.
Zhang Ruochen broke free from the ancestral might's suppression of his divine soul. Lifting the Abyssal Divine Sword, he slashed directly at the formless space between Meng Huangni and Cihang Zunzhe.
All cultivators were stunned by the courage of Saint Si Daoshi.
The first person in the current age to draw a sword against the Nether Ancestor!
Yan Huanyu also reacted, releasing his Half-Ancestor divine qi to rescue Cihang Zunzhe from another direction.
The Nether Ancestor ignored him, a Half-Ancestor, and also ignored the infinitely promising Huang Tian. He only seized Cihang Zunzhe, showing how important she was.
She had to be saved.
"Boom!"
The Abyssal Divine Sword struck the space between Cihang Zunzhe and Meng Huangni. An irresistible force surged out, sending him flying.
At the same time, Meng Huangni raised her arm and waved her hand, sending Yan Huanyu crashing straight down to the ground.
That void giant hand showed no sign of stopping. It clearly intended not just to suppress Yan Huanyu but to completely annihilate him.
A wisp of clear, divine radiance illuminated heaven and earth, making it impossible for everyone present to open their eyes.
"Boom!"
Hao Tian, wielding the Xuan Huang Halberd, struck down heavily, shattering the void giant hand that was suppressing Yan Huanyu.
Even the earth sank, with countless substances turning into primordial particles and nothingness, a scene of chaos.
In the chaos, Hao Tian, who had somehow already donned the Heavenly Punishment Divine Armor, stood tall and straight. His spirit and energy had risen to an unprecedented peak. The threefold radiance of Xuan Huang Body Qi, Xuanyuan Clear Radiance, and Heavenly Punishment Divine Light illuminated heaven and earth, even shining upon parts of the past and future.
Meeting the Nether Ancestor again.
He had been waiting for this day for far too long!