Chapter 4184: The Three Titans of the Undying Blood Clan
On the Santu River, along the Yin-Yang Path.
Yan Wushen, walking by the riverbank, stopped and turned his head to look behind him.
"Splash!"
The golden staff in the hands of the Mother of Weak Water radiated ripples of golden light.
The patterns on the staff pulsed and floated.
Despite her efforts to suppress it, it still trembled, eager to fly away.
"If I were you, I would send that calamitous object away right now. Perhaps it could still yield some value," Yan Wushen said.
The golden staff, left behind by Ancestor Yin, was the ancestral artifact of the Undying Blood Clan.
The Mother of Weak Water said, "A mere Ancestor corpse isn't enough to push me to that point. Even if he wants to take something, he should first take the Ancestor Blood Wings from Xue Jue."
Yan Wushen neither agreed nor disagreed, then suddenly asked, "After Zhang Ruochen died, did you obtain the Heavenly Demon Stone Knife?"
"Why do you ask that?" the Mother of Weak Water said warily.
Yan Wushen said, "Rumor has it that the Heavenly Demon is not dead."
"Where did you hear that? Did Yan Ancestor tell you?" the Mother of Weak Water asked.
"Don't worry about that."
Yan Wushen's expression turned serious: "I'm telling you this because possessing both Ancestor Yin's and the Heavenly Demon's war weapons at the same time is extremely dangerous."
"You don't need to worry about that. The Heavenly Demon Stone Knife has long been handed over to someone else. The distribution rights for the spoils after Zhang Ruochen's death were decided by Yan Ancestor," the Mother of Weak Water said.
A flicker of amusement passed through Yan Wushen's eyes: "So, you did participate in that battle?"
"So what if I did?" the Mother of Weak Water said.
Yan Wushen said, "Zhang Ruochen has come back to life. What do you think will happen to you?"
"With Yan Ancestor around, what can he do?" the Mother of Weak Water said.
The waters of the Santu River surged violently, mirroring Yan Wushen's inner turmoil.
He said, "Do you think Yan Ancestor will save you? Don't forget how Red Crow King disappeared."
"Red Crow King was suppressed by Void Heaven and died without a clear cause. But Yan Ancestor, in order to form an alliance with the Hell Realm, kept silent about the matter and didn't pursue it. Clearly, in his eyes, your life and death aren't that important."
The Mother of Weak Water's eyes sharpened as she warned, "Watch your words. He is your master. Aren't you afraid I'll relay what you just said to him?"
Yan Wushen shrugged, completely unconcerned, and said, "He is also the Old Woodcutter's master! But he killed the Old Woodcutter's entire family and took over the name Yu Linsheng, all to stay in the open and openly manipulate the cosmic situation."
"He is Bai Qinger's master! But Bai Qinger and the Goddess Twelve Pavilions are just pawns in his hands. Don't forget, Bai Empress died at the hands of the Quantity Organization. Need I say who is behind the Quantity Organization?"
Yan Wushen continued, "To him, as long as the greater situation demands it, anyone can be sacrificed. Anyone is just a tiny chess piece. A man with no humanity, only schemes—are you sure you want to work for him?"
"In today's universe, without an Ancestor as a backer, survival is impossible," the Mother of Weak Water said, testing the waters. "If not for Yan Ancestor, then for the God Realm? Have you defected to the Eternal True Ruler? A man who has lived for nearly ten million years yet claims not to be an Immortal? A man who calls himself the Second Confucian Ancestor, preaches loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, yet specializes in digging up Ancestor corpses?"
Yan Wushen laughed: "Haha! Such a man is indeed even less trustworthy than Corpse Yan. Corpse Yan is fine—at least he never claims to be righteous."
Hearing the words "Corpse Yan," the Mother of Weak Water realized that Yan Wushen was truly preparing to break with Yan Ancestor, not just testing her.
"Then who are you planning to side with?" the Mother of Weak Water asked curiously.
A transcendent and domineering confidence radiated from Yan Wushen: "Zhang Ruochen, without reaching the Half-Ancestor realm, could spar with an Ancestor. Chi Yao, forging twenty-six layers of heavenly domain, could shatter the God Realm's gate with a single punch against an Ancestor. If I, Yan Wushen, step into the Half-Ancestor realm and still cannot contend with an Ancestor, how dare I call myself a hero of this era?"
"A fine hero of this era indeed."
In Yan Wushen, the Mother of Weak Water seemed to see the shadow of the young Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable.
"Before I went to find you at the Vast Exhaust Sea, Corpse Yan asked me if I had sensed the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror. Guess why?" Yan Wushen said.
The Mother of Weak Water began to understand the reason for Yan Wushen's impending break, and said, "He's starting to suspect you!"
"Exactly! If not for suspicion, he wouldn't have asked that question voluntarily. Because the Yan Wushen he fully trusts would have immediately reported the news of the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror to him," Yan Wushen said.
The Mother of Weak Water said, "When an Ancestor begins to suspect you, it means he can no longer see through you. Isn't that proof that your strength has made him wary? That he feels you might slip out of his control? I'm curious—did you actually sense the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror?"
"I didn't even tell Corpse Yan. Would I tell you?"
Yan Wushen thought for a moment, then revealed a carefree and unrestrained smile: "Since I've been able to talk to you to this extent, there's really nothing to hide. If you tell me how Zhang Ruochen died back then, I might tell you about the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror."
Yan Wushen had long known that Zhang Ruochen's killer was Corpse Yan.
But when Corpse Yan recounted the event, Yan Wushen sensed omissions in his words.
Thus, he had always been curious about what Corpse Yan was hiding.
The Mother of Weak Water felt the danger in Yan Wushen's gaze and said, "I've suddenly lost interest in the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror."
The smile vanished from Yan Wushen's eyes as he stepped toward her, his aura overwhelming, and said, "You don't think I've been talking this much just to complain like a child, do you? I'm not expecting you to make a choice right now. I just want you to satisfy my curiosity. Is that so hard?"
The Mother of Weak Water felt as though the space around her was collapsing inward, threatening to bury her in a six-path world.
At the same time.
Behind her, the Swastika Azure Dragon flew out from a spatial rift.
By harnessing the power of the Vast Exhaust Sea, the Mother of Weak Water had recreated the Weak Water Clan, greatly increasing her combat power. She had believed that few below the Ancestor realm could rival her.
But facing Yan Wushen, she realized that even escaping might be impossible today.
Everyone was striving to improve.
To improve slowly was no different from regressing.
With Yan Wushen's current strength, how could he possibly fear Corpse Yan?
Even if she reported him to Corpse Yan, Corpse Yan might not be able to do anything to Yan Wushen.
"It's not hard."
The Mother of Weak Water uttered these two words with difficulty and bitterness, then began to recount the events before and after Zhang Ruochen's self-destruction.
After listening, Yan Wushen's eyes sparkled with intense interest: "I thought the Dark Cauldron falling into the Dark Sovereign's hands was a deal between him and Lady Shiji. I didn't expect it to be a deal with the Nether Ancestor faction."
"Sigh, Zhang Ruochen, after all, died at the hands of a woman. I've always said women can't be trusted, especially women like A Fuya and Lady Shiji, who have lived for ages. They seem like aged wine—the older, the more fragrant—but in reality, they're bowls of bewitching soup. No one knows what ingredients went into it."
The Swastika Azure Dragon spoke: "If Zhang Ruochen heard that, he'd say, 'A man who can't be captivated by a woman isn't a real man. A man who doesn't love women can never love all living beings.'"
Yan Wushen laughed heartily, pointing at the Swastika Azure Dragon, and said, "So, I am the Buddhist Yama, and he is the romantic Imperial Dust. A Buddhist renounces the world and cultivates in solitude, keeping to himself. A demon follows his own will, lawless and unrestrained."
"But he, Zhang Ruochen, chose to walk the mortal world, so he must bear the burden of all under heaven. Who told him to love the mortal world? The ties of the mortal world entangle him, and the tribulations of the mortal world are his to bear."
"The one who saves the world must be the one most deeply immersed in it. I can live only for myself, but he cannot."
"If there truly is fate in this world, then character is destiny, and conduct determines fortune. The direction of his fate and mine was already set by our character and actions."
The Mother of Weak Water had little interest in Zhang Ruochen and didn't want to hear him ramble on. She said, "You still haven't told me about the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror."
"Didn't I already say it earlier?"
Yan Wushen smiled, flicked his sleeve, and strode forward.
...
The once top-five divine temple of the Paradise Realm, the "Blood Sea Hidden Heaven Divine Temple," had been rebuilt, thanks to the emergence of a prodigious talent from the Blood Wing Angel lineage, Jia Cangtian.
It was said that Jia Cangtian had the bloodline of Lord Bula and was the half-brother of the once-feared great god Jia Tianxia.
At the bottom of the "Hidden Heaven Blood Sea," the ancestral land of the Blood Wing Angel lineage, Jia Cangtian and two other deities dared not absorb blood energy as usual. Instead, they employed the most exquisite aura-concealing techniques to hide their heavenly secrets and auras.
Outside the Paradise Realm, turmoil erupted one after another, terrifying to behold.
Now, a Spiritual Power Ancestor had emerged, standing atop the Seventy-Two Layer Tower. Although separated by an immense spatial distance from the Paradise Realm, to the three at the bottom of the sea, it seemed as if Sovereign Mu Rong's eyes could survey the entire universe, and any trace of movement would be detected.
Ice Emperor said, "I told you, the three of us shouldn't stay together. If we're exposed, we'll all be wiped out!"
Undying War God disagreed with his view: "If one person is exposed, facing an Ancestor, death is certain. But if three of us are together, even if exposed, at least..."
"Even if exposed, at least we can die neatly together," Jia Cangtian interjected quickly.
This Jia Cangtian was, of course, a fake.
His real name was Xue Jue.
Undying War God frowned and glared at him: "What nonsense are you talking? If the three of us join forces and form a battle formation, even an Ancestor would have to think twice."
"Yes, think twice about crushing us in his hand."
Seeing that Undying War God was about to lose his temper, Xue Jue Clan Leader quickly changed the subject and asked, "Is the Undying Bone inside Ice Emperor still burning?"
Ice Emperor said, "It's been suppressed for now."
Xue Jue Clan Leader sighed, "The Ancestor Blood Wings are still burning. Fortunately, my Fivefold Sea is powerful enough to suppress them tightly, and I've sealed them with Profound Meaning, so the aura hasn't leaked out. Ancestor Yin is too formidable. Even as a corpse, he forces us to use every trick we have."
Ice Emperor's face was cold and noble as he said, "Ancestor Yin is far stronger than we imagined. Thirty-one pairs of blood wings—unheard of, shocking the world."
"It's thirty-two pairs. I have one pair here," Xue Jue War God said.
Ice Emperor said, "But the phantom manifested by the Undying Bone only shows twenty-seven pairs of blood wings."
Undying War God said, "Ancestor Yin's situation might be similar to that of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable. After stepping into the Ancestor realm, he discovered he could only cultivate twenty-seven pairs of blood wings. After the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable became an Ancestor, he kept seeking breakthroughs, his cultivation level continuously rising. So, in extreme cases, he could further manifest six layers of heavenly domain phantom, reaching the terrifying state of thirty-three heavens."
"Old fellow, if you put it that way, I remember something!"
Xue Jue Clan Leader took over the conversation, speaking seriously: "Twelve eons ago, an epic Ancestor-level battle broke out. The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable used the Witch Cauldron in the Jade Emperor Realm to summon several Witch Ancestors from the River of Time. At that time, Blood Shadow Divine Mother sensed his aura in the universe."
"This suggests that Ancestor Yin was also summoned by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable to that era, participating in the battle against the Immortal."
"Could it be that the method Ancestor Yin used to continue cultivating blood wings was based on the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's method of extending the thirty-three heavens? After the battle in the Jade Emperor Realm, Ancestor Yin returned to his own era and cultivated the later blood wings?"
Ice Emperor said, "You mean that 'twenty-seven' is a number used to lock an Ancestor's cultivation? That the same Immortal might have guided both Ancestor Yin and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable to become Ancestors?"
"That's not impossible," Xue Jue Clan Leader said.
Ice Emperor said, "Doesn't that mean our Undying Blood Clan might just be an experiment of the Immortal? Or a failed product on someone's path to seeking the Immortal method? But what does twenty-seven represent? Some limit? Some boundary?"
Xue Jue War God said, "I think it might represent finitude."
Undying War God felt that Xue Jue's thinking was too erratic, even leading the usually steady Ice Emperor astray. So, he interrupted their conversation: "What you're discussing is meaningless. The most important thing now is to figure out how to deal with this Ancestor corpse with thirty-one pairs of blood wings. The connection between him, the Undying Bone, and the Ancestor Blood Wings is too tight. No matter how you hide, there might be a subtle resonance."
Xue Jue Clan Leader had some white hair at his temples and was no longer young, but he always liked to stay optimistic, deeply influenced by the previous clan leader. He smiled and said, "If the three of us stay together and form a battle formation... ahem, well, I think it's better to hide in the Ancestor Realm! Hiding in the Ancestor Realm should be enough to cut off the Ancestor's perception."
"But it also makes it easy to be trapped like a turtle in a jar!" Ice Emperor said.
Undying War God said, "Exactly. Entering the Ancestor Realm can indeed evade the Ancestor's divine thoughts and spiritual power, but we will also lose our perception of the outside world."
Just then, a voice echoed simultaneously in the minds of the three: "Get to the Maer Temple as fast as you can and rendezvous with me."
It was Feng Tian's voice. (Chapter End)