Chapter 4140: Ancestor Realm Within Reach
Azure Deer Divine King's deer eyes sharpened, his voice startled: "So you, this Daoist, are..." "That's right, this poor Daoist is a man of the Dark Venerable Lord. The Nether Ancestor wishes to launch a Minor Calamity, but has he asked for the Venerable Lord's opinion? This heaven and earth, the ten directions, the universe's three realms, are not entirely under the control of your Nether Ancestor Faction!"
"Myriad Forms Formless!"
Zhang Ruochen roared loudly, his beard and hair flying upward, divine radiance bursting forth.
Two Wuji circles, each about a zhang in diameter, condensed before and behind him, rotating slowly.
The circles were not circles.
The circle before him evolved into the form of the "Myriad Forms Formless Seal," twisting space with unpredictable changes. Form within formlessness, myriad forms unfolding.
The circle behind him condensed into a "Black and White Life-Death Seal," with life energy and death energy circulating within the seal, cycling endlessly.
Then, "Whoosh!"
The life divine light and death divine light in the gray sea were intercepted. A quarter surged toward the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven, half flowed into the Life-Death Realm, and the final quarter was absorbed by Saint Si Daoist's Black and White Life-Death Seal.
It must be known that within these life divine lights and death divine lights were various life energies absorbed by the Minor Calamity from the Heavenly Desolate Universe: blood energy, life force, lifespan, soul spirits, knowledge...
"This old Daoist's Life-Death Seal can actually rival the Nether Ancestor's clone, Three Reflections Heaven, seizing part of the Minor Calamity's life fruit. Could his mastery over the Way of Life and the Way of Death have reached the Ancestor level?"
Within the war city, the deities of the Eight Divisions Followers were shocked.
Instantly, their regard for Saint Si Daoist rose several levels.
Lan Shi Deity looked at Azure Deer Divine King and said, "The Myriad Forms Formless Seal is genuine—profound and unpredictable. Could this old Daoist be a part of the Dark Venerable Lord's body transformed?"
All deities under heaven knew that the Dark Venerable Lord was one of the Immortals. In ancient times, during the struggle with the God Realm and the Nether Ancestor Faction, he was defeated, his body severed and suppressed in various places.
Each part of his body formed an independent consciousness with terrifying combat power.
Azure Deer Divine King said, "Your guess has merit! In ancient times, if not for the God Realm and the Nether Ancestor joining forces, the Dark Venerable Lord would not have been defeated so badly. A three-way struggle ultimately became a contest between two powers."
"At his peak, the Dark Venerable Lord, with his Myriad Forms Formless level of spatial mastery, could contend with the Nether Ancestor on equal footing, battling for countless eons without either prevailing." "This shows the power of Myriad Forms Formless—not just anyone can comprehend its essence." "This Daoist, using the power of Myriad Forms Formless to cut off the gray sea from the outside world, must have mastered its essence, not just its form. Coupled with his formidable physical strength..."
Azure Deer Divine King paused, then proposed a new guess: "Could he be a fusion of the Life-Death Elder's remnant Ancestor soul and a part of the Dark Venerable Lord's remnant body?"
Lan Shi Deity said, "The Dark Venerable Lord spent one hundred and thirty years in the starry sky, recondensing the Origin Cauldron. Now that the Origin Cauldron appears in Saint Si Daoist's hands, he is undoubtedly connected to the Dark Venerable Lord."
The death divine light and life divine light absorbed from the gray sea entered Zhang Ruochen's body through the Black and White Life-Death Seal, quickly converging toward the palm of his right hand, gradually condensing.
Unfortunately, the power of the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven and the Life-Death Realm was too strong; he could not fully seize the life divine light and death divine light flowing back into the gray sea.
But there was still a way.
If he could defeat the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven and then take control of the Life-Death Realm, then he, Zhang Ruochen, would be the greatest beneficiary of this Minor Calamity launched by the Nether Ancestor.
It was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth—extremely dangerous.
If Ksitigarbha King and the others could not hold back the Nether Ancestor's true body, and it returned to the gray sea, Zhang Ruochen would be like a turtle in a jar, unable to escape.
Of course, if Zhang Ruochen could restore his cultivation and achieve Minor Perfection before the Nether Ancestor's true body returned to the gray sea, he would have enough confidence to face any storm.
The prerequisite for restoring cultivation in one thought was having enough energy and no Ancestor-level interference.
In the gray sea, energy was limited, far less than the vast universe outside. He could only continuously absorb the life fruits harvested by the Santu River from various worlds and planets.
By borrowing the momentum of the Nether Ancestor's Minor Calamity, he could secretly restore his cultivation.
If he were outside, releasing the Wuji circle to absorb the heaven and earth's energy and rules, Zhang Ruochen was very worried that an Ancestor-level existence would disrupt his restoration process, possibly even killing him from afar.
In this era, whoever stuck their head out would become the target of everyone.
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood that his restoration process was built on the deaths of countless beings in the Heavenly Desolate Universe. But what could he do?
He could only, while restoring his cultivation, do his best to prevent the Minor Calamity from spreading to the wider universe.
A myriad of thoughts flashed in an instant.
Zhang Ruochen shifted his position, transforming into formlessness, dodging the divine ability unleashed by Er Jun Tian. "No matter who you are, once you enter the gray sea, you leave your life behind."
Er Jun Tian was skeptical of Saint Si Daoist's identity, feeling that this Daoist was very dangerous and posed a threat to the Nether Ancestor's grand plan. He had to be eliminated quickly.
Being able to absorb the Minor Calamity's life fruit was not something a cultivator below the Ancestor level could do.
Zhang Ruochen did not engage Er Jun Tian head-on; he simply could not win. Relying on his understanding of Myriad Forms Formless, he continuously dodged, leaving a trail of afterimages on the sea surface.
This was not sustainable!
The gray sea was cut off, and the Nether Ancestor's true body would arrive as quickly as possible. The longer he delayed, the worse it would be for him.
Zhang Ruochen looked into the distance.
He noticed a problem: if he attacked him, that was the most important thing to do now.
Clearly, the sword strike from the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven earlier had severely wounded him.
But at this moment, who knew if he really could not act? "Confucian Ancestor, the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven is the biggest threat right now, and he is at his weakest. Hao Tian's spiritual will cannot be easily extinguished by him; he is being counterattacked by Hao Tian's blood energy and soul spirit within his body!"
Zhang Ruochen dodged Er Jun Tian while transmitting his voice.
"No, Hao Tian is already dead. Even if some spiritual will remains, it absolutely cannot break through the Nether Ancestor's suppression. The most important thing now is to attack the Green Fall Pass and stop the Minor Calamity." "That is an Ancestor! That is the Nether Ancestor! One sword breaks all laws, and no one below the Ancestor can stop him."
Zhang Ruochen's transmission entered his ears, stirring no ripples.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen stepped through space, trying to approach him, intending to use the Wuji circle to extract the curse from his body.
But as soon as this thought arose, the Heaven-Opening Axe came crashing down.
"Boom!" "Pfft!"
The Myriad Forms Formless Seal in front of him was split open, the Origin Earth Cauldron was sent flying, and the Heaven-Opening Axe slashed across Zhang Ruochen's chest, breaking bones one after another, blood gushing out.
The violent Half-Ancestor energy contained in the Heaven-Opening Axe invaded Zhang Ruochen's body.
The flesh at the wound on Zhang Ruochen's chest began to burn, turning to ash. The fierce Dao force and immense power of a peak Half-Ancestor had a terrifying destructive effect on all beings below the Ancestor level; even a wisp could reduce them to nothing.
Zhang Ruochen refined the burning Dao force invading the wound and retreated rapidly. "Daring to be distracted while fighting me?"
Er Jun Tian's aura was domineering. He pressed the attack, swinging his battle axe horizontally, splitting heaven and earth into two layers.
He had indeed been injured in his battle with Hao Tian, but he still believed that in the Half-Ancestor realm, he was unrivaled. A mere Heavenly Venerable-level opponent, no matter how mysterious and subtle his Dao techniques, could be slain in a few exchanges.
The axe light killing intent locked onto him, breaking the Myriad Forms Formless, sealing all space. It was not that Myriad Forms Formless was easily broken, but that Zhang Ruochen's understanding of it could not withstand the Dao insights of a peak Half-Ancestor like Er Jun Tian.
If it were the Dark Venerable Lord at his peak, even standing still and letting Er Jun Tian strike, he would not be able to harm a single hair.
Zhang Ruochen unleashed his fastest speed, but still felt a crisis of having nowhere to escape, knowing he absolutely could not withstand this strike. He could foresee his body being cut in two.
Once his body was severed, his combat power would plummet.
Er Jun Tian would not give him a chance to reassemble his body; victory or death would be decided in the next moment.
North of the gray sea, colorful clouds stretched for ten thousand li.
Shang Tian's giant divine body burst out of the colorful clouds, carrying blazing divine radiance, emitting a piercing mournful sound, charging at the speed of light toward the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven. "Hao Tian has fallen, Shang Tian follows." "Heaven grows old, earth decays; all gods face dusk."
Er Jun Tian felt the unparalleled fury and hatred emanating from Shang Tian, a killing intent so absolute it could make even a Half-Ancestor tremble.
After swinging the Heaven-Opening Axe horizontally, Er Jun Tian had no choice but to abandon the chance to further wound Saint Si Daoist and rush back to guard the gray-haired Three Reflections Heaven.
Hao Tian's death had a tremendous impact on Shang Tian's heart.
He became reckless, his killing intent soaring, as if he had no more attachment to life, only wishing to follow.
Hao Tian had always been Shang Tian's goal to pursue, the highest mountain in his heart.
Since Hao Tian was heading toward death, he would chase after death.
Zhang Ruochen knew the opportunity had come. Instead of fleeing, he raised the Abyssal Ancient Sword and charged into the horizontal slash of the Heaven-Opening Axe.
Since he could not avoid it, he chose to endure it first to buy more time for recovery.
"Pfft!"
The Heaven-Opening killing light collided with the blade of the Abyssal Ancient Sword. The power did not diminish—sharp, piercing, burning... A large amount of blood mist sprayed from Zhang Ruochen's body.
Zhang Ruochen's body, along with the Abyssal Ancient Sword, was sent flying. But his severed body quickly reassembled in midair.
As soon as his body reformed and landed on the sea surface, he saw that in the distant place, Shang Tian's massive body exploded, blinding divine radiance engulfing Er Jun Tian and Three Reflections Heaven.
The destructive energy from the self-detonation of the divine source surged in all directions, also hitting Zhang Ruochen.
Fortunately, he was far enough away.
Zhang Ruochen raised the Earth Cauldron to block, the Origin divine light shining like a star, but he was still sent flying.
The self-detonation of a Heavenly Venerable-level divine source was no small matter. In the universe, it could destroy an entire sea of stars, erasing all matter.
"Boom, rumble!"
The storm of destruction surged toward the Green Fall Pass, colliding with the protective city formations and talisman seas of the six war cities, causing the entire gray sea to boil.
This terrifying light power even outshone the brilliance of the Life-Death Lamp, seemingly aiming to interrupt the Minor Calamity.
The Nether Ancestor gazed into the gray sea, seeing the Wuji circle outside it. The formless circle resembled the outline of the Dao.
How could He be fooled by the power of Myriad Forms Formless? He saw through it at a glance, discerning the identity of Saint Si Daoist. "A fine Wuji, the ultimate of the Dao." The Nether Ancestor murmured softly.
He had lost all perception of the heavenly mechanisms and causality within the gray sea. His spiritual will could no longer be projected there. The only thing he could still do was continuously draw life fruits from the Life-Death Realm to strengthen himself.
The Minor Calamity was making Him more powerful. But the number of life fruits had decreased!
Clearly, some variable had occurred in the gray sea. Even the Ancestor-level Nether Soldier Puppet could not suppress it; someone was stealing His fruits. "The dying Xuan Yuan Hao Tian is the strongest Xuan Yuan Hao Tian. It seems the Nether Soldier Puppet is being held back by him!" Although the Nether Ancestor could not sense the heavenly mechanisms in the gray sea, He could deduce it precisely.
He knew that the Nether Soldier Puppet had absorbed Hao Tian's blood energy and soul spirit, suffering backlash.
"Whoosh!"
Nether light illuminated the universe, condensing into a lightning-like form, flying toward the gray sea.
The Nether Ancestor intended to project a stronger spiritual will there, while also breaking through the Wuji circle to regain control of the gray sea. "A variable has arisen. Nether Ancestor, today you are destined to fail."
Gandharva stood within the blood-red battle soul, unleashing the Six Desires Divine Furnace. The furnace expanded to the size of a planet, with myriad Brahma flames like a herd of beasts galloping through the starry sky, colliding with the incoming Nether light lightning.
The Brahma flames were continuously shattered.
Finally, the Nether light lightning collided with the Six Desires Divine Furnace. The Nether Ancestor's spiritual will clashed with the six desires of the mortal world, and the blood-red battle soul was knocked back millions of miles.
The battle soul became much dimmer.
Gandharva's spiritual power body also became much more transparent.
Even by burning the Meng family disciples and extinguishing the clan to forge the battle soul, she had only barely elevated Gandharva's combat power to the Ancestor level. Before the Nether Ancestor, the gap was enormous.
Heavenly Mother was eight hundred billion miles away from the Nether Ancestor's true body. The attacks she launched could not even approach His body, dissipated by formless power.
Heavenly Mother had once fought face-to-face with the Ancestor-level Corpse Yan. In her view, Corpse Yan was already terrifyingly powerful, and even with Zhang Ruochen's help, they could only suffer a miserable defeat. But it was not as hopeless as this moment.
Because Corpse Yan could still be fought, could still be wounded, and there was a chance to self-detonate the divine source and perish together.
But now, the attacks she launched were ignored by the Nether Ancestor!
From start to finish, the Nether Ancestor did not look at her once, nor did He use any divine ability against her. Yet her divine abilities could not touch His body.
Looking into the distance, Gandharva's spiritual power body was constantly fading, while Ksitigarbha King had also activated forbidden arts, his Ancestor golden body continuously burning.
He used forbidden arts, burning his Ancestor Dao foundation as the price, to block the Nether Ancestor's true body.
He faced the enemy head-on, neither retreating nor avoiding, even if it meant shattering to pieces.
Such spirit and momentum, no matter how strong the Nether Ancestor, would make Him wary, not daring to get too close.
Because the Nether Ancestor had never doubted Ksitigarbha King's determination to self-detonate his Ancestor divine source. If He got too close, when the Ancestor divine source shattered, He might not be able to retreat unscathed. That was right.
The Nether Ancestor was not afraid of Ksitigarbha King self-detonating his Ancestor divine source, but only if He maintained enough distance. Thus, He was blocked outside the River of Forgetfulness. "If you keep burning like this, in at most half a day, you will lose your Ancestor realm. Then, killing you will be easy. Leave now, and I promise to spare you and Meng Weiyang." The Nether Ancestor said.
Ksitigarbha King faced the Nether Ancestor across the starry sky, shaking his head, "The Ancestor realm is not what I seek. In this life, I have done too many things I regret; I do not want one more. If I can exchange a lifetime of Ancestor cultivation for half a day of contention with the Nether Ancestor, is that not a great joy in life?"
The Nether Ancestor stood in the Nether light, silent for a moment, then said, "You may last half a day, but Meng Weiyang may not."
Ksitigarbha King looked toward Gandharva.
Gandharva controlled the Six Desires Divine Furnace, staring at the Nether Ancestor. She declared loudly, "If I wanted to live in hiding, I would have followed you! Since I chose to fight, I never thought of surviving today. Given the current situation in the gray sea, even half a day, let alone an hour, could bring earth-shattering changes. As long as we break the Life-Death Realm and stop the Minor Calamity, all sacrifices will be worth it."
The Nether Ancestor said, "If you truly want to stop the Minor Calamity, you could return to the gray sea and self-detonate your divine heart and divine source, destroying the Life-Death Realm and the gray sea. Provoking me with words like this, you want to force me to attack at close range, so you can both die together with me."
Ksitigarbha King said, "Before my realm falls, if the Minor Calamity has still not been stopped, then self-detonating my Ancestor divine source to destroy the gray sea and the Life-Death Realm will be my only choice. But now, killing you is my greatest wish."
"Do you really think you alone can stop the Minor Calamity? Do you really think you can kill me?" The Nether Ancestor said. "At least I can severely wound you, wound you as badly as before, so weak that you dare not show your face in the universe. And I will inherit their will to continue attacking you until death. So, from start to finish, this battle is not just Ksitigarbha King alone." Heavenly Mother stepped forward, appearing within a hundred billion miles of the Nether Ancestor.
She was closing the distance!
The closer the distance, the stronger the divine abilities she unleashed, the more likely she could break through the Nether Ancestor's rule order and threaten Him.
At the same time, the danger increased.
When Ksitigarbha King faced the Nether Ancestor alone, he could not use the threat of self-detonating his divine source to restrain Him. Because the Nether Ancestor, across vast spatial distances, could defeat him and shatter his Ancestor golden body.
With Gandharva and the Meng family clan soul sharing the burden, the situation changed slightly.
Heavenly Mother's arrival undoubtedly gave Ksitigarbha King another measure of confidence—the confidence to hold the Nether Ancestor back for half a day.
Diting had said that Saint Si Daoist was the Sixth Patriarch.
The one who had refined the Sixth Patriarch's eighty-three thousand nine hundred and ninety sarira into his body was Zhang Ruochen.
If Zhang Ruochen wanted to leave, Ksitigarbha King would first help him hold off the Nether Ancestor, then self-detonate his divine source to destroy the gray sea, stopping the Minor Calamity with death.
Since Zhang Ruochen chose to stay, Ksitigarbha King naturally respected his choice and would do everything to buy him half a day, blocking the Nether Ancestor outside the River of Forgetfulness.
This was all their generation could do.
The Nether Ancestor finally looked directly at Heavenly Mother, gazing at her.
This gaze contained the time power of "Instant Red Dust, Years, and Corpse," crossing hundreds of billions of miles of space in an instant, landing on Heavenly Mother, intending to cut her with time power.
As the time force descended, the Houtu Wedding Gown instantly blazed with brilliance, dazzling and vivid, every thread like a blood river flowing.
"Whoosh!"
Heavenly Mother formed seals with her ten fingers, and ancient, profound Dao patterns condensed before her, forming a ring, transporting all the incoming time force back into heaven and earth, becoming part of the River of Time again.
The Nether Ancestor's voice carried slight surprise: "Endless! You have actually comprehended Empress Houtu's Endless Dao. It seems the Ancestor realm is within reach."
The greatest value of the Houtu Wedding Gown was not its defensive power or the speed boost it gave the cultivator.
Rather, it was that it contained Empress Houtu's Endless Dao.
It must be known that Lady Shiji had always been pursuing the "Finite" realm, believing that achieving "Finite" would allow her to prove the Ancestor Dao.
And Finite was still one level lower than Endless.
The ring-shaped Dao patterns that Heavenly Mother had just condensed were already the outline of the Endless Ancestor Mark, a manifestation of entering the Endless Dao. However, these Dao patterns were still blurry, not clear or stable enough.