Chapter 4201: Ancestors Converge
The rolling ancestral chariot caused the star sea to undulate like water’s surface, yet Murong Zhuzai did not retreat.
Since when did an ancestor retreat without a fight?
The light in his left pupil surged, ancestral talisman patterns interweaving.
Then, from within that pupil, ten thousand beasts roared, as if it housed a great world nurturing all manner of divine creatures. Endless ancestral talisman patterns flew from his left eye, all in beast forms—dragons and tigers, lions and leopards, Kun Pengs, snakes and scorpions...
This was an ancestral talisman he had condensed over an entire eon, a true trump card.
It was immeasurably more powerful than divine talismans casually drawn.
“Boom, rumble!”
The talisman patterns collided head-on with the oncoming ancestral chariot, erupting in a blinding, sustained radiance.
The divine beasts and chariot formed from ancestral rules could not withstand the impact of the Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestral Talisman; they shattered and scattered.
Inside the chariot, Heavenly Mother wore the Houtu Wedding Garb, draped in a multicolored cloud-and-mist shawl, crowned with a golden-flowered, eight-treasure phoenix crown, and cinched with a jade belt—like a bride on her wedding journey.
The moment the ancestral chariot shattered, her delicate, bride-like beauty transformed into earth-shattering demonic qi.
She crossed time and space in an instant, her finger like a sword, thrusting toward Murong Zhuzai’s heart.
Coming, it could not be stopped; going, it could not be halted.
Ancestors have no weaknesses.
If one forcibly seeks weaknesses, then a martial ancestor’s weakness is their divine source, while a spiritual ancestor’s weakness is their divine heart.
But in truth, when a cultivator’s cultivation reaches the Indestructible Infinite or Heaven Round No Lack realm, they gradually break free from the constraints of divine source and divine heart, seeking further transcendence.
At the height of an ancestor’s cultivation, their reliance on divine source and divine heart is extremely low.
Every drop of blood, every strand of hair, every piece of bone possesses the characteristics of divine source and divine heart, containing dense ancestral divine qi, ancestral rules, and ancestral order.
Just like the Hongmeng Black Dragon—even without a divine source, it possesses ancestral-level combat power.
Even a remnant palm of the Dark Lord’s body could battle a half-ancestor.
Of course, low reliance does not mean complete irrelevance. Self-destructing one’s divine source or divine heart as a deterrent—a scorched-earth tactic—is rarely replaceable by secret arts.
At the same time, if an ancestor truly ends up like the Hongmeng Black Dragon or the Dark Lord, finding their own ancestral divine source from their prime would greatly increase the possibility of returning to their peak state.
“Sizzle, sizzle!”
Heavenly Mother’s finger was like a dark, mysterious white jade.
Not a sword, yet surpassing a sword.
The divine beast talisman patterns of the Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestral Talisman could not block it; they shattered one by one.
Even the ancestral order field that Murong Zhuzai erected only slowed Heavenly Mother’s advance.
Murong Zhuzai finally retreated, and he did so with increasing urgency—each step spanning a world.
This was Heavenly Mother’s accumulated, strongest strike. If he clashed head-on, even if he withstood it, he would inevitably be injured.
Avoiding her sharp edge, waiting for her momentum to weaken, then counterattacking—that was the wiser course.
A moment later, Heavenly Mother’s finger force waned. Murong Zhuzai took a deep breath, and the scattered ancestral talisman patterns, like ten thousand beasts returning to their nest, all flew back into his left eye.
The next instant, his entire left eye flew out of its socket.
The energy contained within that eyeball was countless times more powerful than a star.
If it exploded, its power would be far more terrifying than a half-ancestor self-destructing their divine source, and even an ancestor would suffer severe injury.
But Murong Zhuzai dared not easily detonate the eyeball and talisman, because from start to finish, he had been unable to lock onto Heavenly Mother with his spiritual power.
Unable to lock on, he could not determine her temporal-spatial position, nor guarantee to wound her.
If a single strike failed, the loss would be immense! It was better to keep the eyeball and talisman, at least as a deterrent.
“Whoosh!”
Heavenly Mother crossed time, appearing in a flash before Murong Zhuzai, within his ancestral order field, her finger force transforming into a fist.
The fist struck down heavily!
Her arm, wrist, and fingers all bore the special ancestral rule patterns of the Endless Dao.
An ancestor’s fist is harder than most divine artifacts, and its power is greater.
Only the most powerful first-rank divine artifacts are of some use to an ancestor.
Murong Zhuzai’s expression shifted sharply. He had no time to control the distant eyeball and talisman; his right hand slapped out.
A series of formations emerged from his palm, expanding outward. Each formation ring was constructed from countless ancestral-level formation inscription patterns, one formation linked to the next. Each formation was as complex as an entire world, with inexhaustible power.
“Boom!”
After a single clash, Murong Zhuzai staggered backward.
Heavenly Mother’s second fist arrived in an instant.
Murong Zhuzai, while unleashing palm formations, used his overwhelmingly powerful spiritual power to draw the world’s qi toward himself.
The range of his influence expanded, draining all world qi wherever his spiritual power reached.
Given tens of thousands of years, he could draw the world qi of the entire universe, constructing a supreme plane. As long as his spiritual power endured, the plane would not collapse.
But no ancestor would do this.
Because even an ancestor’s cultivation could not bear the world qi of the entire universe. Beyond a certain threshold, drawing too much becomes a burden instead.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
In an extremely short time, Heavenly Mother and Murong Zhuzai clashed over twenty times.
Murong Zhuzai’s palm formations were completely shattered. His body was blasted through space by the fist force, crashing into the dark Void World.
In an instant, Murong Zhuzai used some unknown spiritual secret art and vanished without a trace in the Void World.
Heavenly Mother did not pursue further. She returned to the Lihentian void where the seven great experts of the Hell Realm were stationed, worried that Murong Zhuzai might disregard his status as an ancestor and strike at them to rescue Wushou Jiaye.
In particular, Void Heaven held the Heavenly Mechanism Brush, which Murong Zhuzai coveted greatly.
“Greetings, Heavenly Mother!”
The seven great experts bowed in unison, all showing utmost respect.
Previously, even though Heavenly Mother was powerful, she was only at the half-ancestor level, and several present could stand as equals with her.
But reaching the ancestor realm was entirely different!
This was true transcendence—combat power, lifespan, and life essence all separated by a chasm-like gap. Even if they self-destructed their divine sources, they likely could not take her down with them.
Murong Zhuzai reappeared in a more distant location, surrounded by swirling formations. He said, “Such formidable Houtu Wedding Garb, such profound Endless Dao—truly inexhaustible power. In close combat, I am no match for you.”
Murong Zhuzai knew well that his inability to lock onto Heavenly Mother earlier was fundamentally due to the Houtu Wedding Garb.
Otherwise, a mere girl who had just entered the ancestor realm could never have forced him into the embarrassing position of fleeing.
Void Heaven knew Murong Zhuzai had long had his eye on him, so he laughed without restraint: “Old Murong, you lost, so just admit it. Don’t go making excuses about the Houtu Wedding Garb being powerful or the Endless Dao being profound. And blaming it on close range—I’m embarrassed for you.”
The sound of horns and war drums came from the depths of the multicolored chaotic Lihentian void.
Clouds churned, and energy fluctuations grew intense.
Moments later, two World Trees appeared before the crowd, stopping tens of thousands of miles to Murong Zhuzai’s left and right.
The World Trees were colossal, their size far beyond that of stars. Each leaf on the tree was an entire world, home to billions of cultivators.
The two World Trees had been lit up by countless formations. But the ones controlling them were no longer the gods of the Destiny Temple and Fengdu Ghost City, but rather the “Divine Talisman Army” and “Stellar Knight Legion” of the Divine Realm.
The billions of still-living cultivators were forced to help them activate the formations.
Feng Tian, Void Heaven, and Nutian Shenzun all fixed their gazes on the World Tree where the Fate Divine Domain was located. There, the soldiers of the Divine Talisman Army occupied all the important leaf positions.
The most powerful Talisman Marshal stood atop Fate Divine Mountain, radiating half-ancestor-level energy fluctuations.
The skeleton of the Hongmeng Black Dragon lay sprawled across the divine domain, crushing countless cities into ruins, as massive as Fate Divine Mountain itself.
The shadow of the Black Dragon Talisman Beast coiled around the World Tree, like an epic cosmic dragon, its aura rivaling that of an ancestor.
Nutian Shenzun muttered to himself, “Is this their purpose in seizing the World Trees? After lighting up the World Tree, this talisman army’s combat power might not lose to an ancestor.”
“That divine army riding stars as mounts might be even stronger. After lighting up their World Tree, the pressure they give me is greater than Murong Zhuzai’s.” Chan Bing’s expression darkened, regretting her earlier call for Hell Realm cultivators to march on Eternal Heavenly Kingdom together.
If it were just Murong Zhuzai, the Hell Realm would not fear him—at worst, they would fight to the death.
Adding Eternal True Arbiter, they could still put up a fight, as Life-Death Heavenly Venerable would not stand idly by and could likely hold him off for a time.
But the two World Trees before them, erupting with such overwhelming might, crushed all their hopes.
Murong Zhuzai said, “If you all wish to fight this battle, the Divine Realm will certainly see it through. Heavenly Mother, are you determined to lead the Hell Realm cultivators to their deaths?”
Before Heavenly Mother could respond.
Zhang Ruochen, wielding the Xuan Huang War Halberd, crossed space and arrived, his ancestral divine voice booming: “Leave the two World Trees, and we cease hostilities today.”
He wore a Daoist robe with wide blue sleeves, exuding a refined, scholarly air.
But the cold gleam of his war halberd, the firmness of his voice, and the intensity of his battle intent chilled the two divine armies on the World Trees, making them want to retreat. This aura was too much for even half-ancestors to bear.
Zhang Ruochen knew well that the Divine Realm had only just obtained the two World Trees; the two divine armies had not yet fully formed ancestral-level combat power.
But given time for Murong Zhuzai and Eternal True Arbiter—both spiritual ancestors—to prepare, the armies’ power would become terrifying beyond measure.
Murong Zhuzai said, “Life-Death Daoist, we are close friends. Why are you helping outsiders?”
The news that Murong Zhuzai and Life-Death Heavenly Venerable were close friends had spread across the universe thirty thousand years ago.
After all, Murong Zhuzai had once given Life-Death Heavenly Venerable the precious ancestral talisman. Life-Death Heavenly Venerable had also ordered the Heavenly Court universe’s heavens to fully cooperate with the Divine Realm in building the Heaven-Earth Altars.
Zhang Ruochen knew that the ancestral talisman must have contained a hidden agenda, and he had long since given it to Shang Tian, never carrying it on his person.
Zhang Ruochen had no patience for further pretense with the Divine Realm. He said, “Whether you are close friends or not, you know better than anyone. You wage war and slaughter across the Heavenly Court universe, stirring up conflict everywhere. Do you truly think I have no temper?”
Murong Zhuzai fell silent for a moment, then sneered: “Most of the disasters in a person’s life come from losing control of their emotions. How does the Heavenly Venerable compare to the Nether Ancestor?”
Zhang Ruochen understood his implication and said, “I have experienced the battle at Gray Sea. The reason the Nether Ancestor was suppressed by the Seventy-Two Layer Tower was that he had divided too much of his power. Besides, the Divine Realm’s Immortal—a mere skulking coward—why should I fear him? If he dares to show himself, I dare to fight.”
“Truly ignorant.”
Murong Zhuzai said this, but inwardly he was suspicious, wondering if Life-Death Heavenly Venerable might indeed be the Nether Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You cannot represent the Divine Realm. Call out Eternal True Arbiter; I wish to speak with him.”
Murong Zhuzai was genuinely angered now, but facing the possibly Nether Ancestor Life-Death Heavenly Venerable, he was somewhat cautious. So he called out into the void: “True Arbiter, how do you want to fight this battle?”
Void Heaven relaxed, grinning at Nutian Shenzun, Undying War God, and the others: “The Heavenly Venerable is truly tough. With him and Heavenly Mother appearing together, Old Murong backed down immediately! Have you ever seen an ancestor so cowardly?”
Blood Absolute Clan Leader said, “I don’t know if ancestors are cowardly, but you are certainly brave. Didn’t you see Old Murong’s gaze? If the Heavenly Venerable and Heavenly Mother weren’t standing in front, I bet you’d already be skinned and flayed.”
Zhang Ruochen frowned and barked coldly: “Who allowed you to attack Eternal Heavenly Kingdom without authorization? Overestimating yourselves!”
The seven great experts had varied expressions, but before they could retort or explain, Zhang Ruochen slapped them all away with a single palm, sending them flying like seven meteors back into the real world’s Yellow Spring Star River starry sky.
Heavenly Mother did not stop him.
She understood Life-Death Heavenly Venerable’s intent. The seven experts had no purpose staying here. Once an ancestral melee erupted, no one would have the spare strength to protect them, and they would likely die.
But sending them back to the Hell Realm, they could be of greater value.
They could even form the “Fate Twelve-Phase Divine Formation,” which was ancestral-level combat power.
“Here they come!” Heavenly Mother gazed into the boundless multicolored sea of clouds.
A figure in a Confucian robe with a white beard walked unhurriedly, rotating a black and a white chess piece in his right hand. He moved slowly, but each step covered vast distances.
In just a few dozen steps, he appeared opposite Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother, less than a thousand miles away.
Both were spiritual ancestors, but the confidence he exuded was something Murong Zhuzai lacked.
Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother felt an overwhelming aura, as if the entire Lihentian was under his control.
The space behind him was chaotic and twisted, filled with surging energy.
“You are not the remnant soul of Life-Death Elder achieving the Dao!” His next words shocked both Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother: “Because the remnant soul of Life-Death Elder was captured, comprehended, and absorbed by me eight million years ago. Chess—one black, one white, life-and-death struggle—can prove the ancestral path. Life-Death Elder’s Daoist knowledge contributed greatly to this.”
“We all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors to reach our current cultivation. Heavenly Mother, do you agree?”
Heavenly Mother knew that the Second Confucian Ancestor was trying to seize the initiative in this battle of wills.
He exposed Life-Death Heavenly Venerable’s hidden identity, attacking his Dao heart. He also pointed out that she relied on the Houtu Wedding Garb to prove the ancestral path, trying to unsettle her.
Heavenly Mother said, “The Confucian Ancestor is an unparalleled sage and teacher of past and present, authoring scriptures, explaining classics, spreading teachings and lectures—every word is a maxim. How dare we juniors disagree?”
The Second Confucian Ancestor laughed: “I thought all demonic cultivators were like the Heavenly Demon—true to their nature. I didn’t expect Heavenly Mother to be skilled in sarcasm. Sage and teacher—the First Confucian Ancestor deserves that title, the Third Confucian Ancestor deserves it, the Fourth Confucian Ancestor deserves it. As for me, forget it; I care more about winning and losing.”
Heavenly Mother said, “Before the Heavenly Demon reached the ancestor realm, he too had to choose forbearance. So what is absolute true nature? Confucian Ancestor, have you not always preached benevolence, righteousness, and virtue? Why have you changed your tune?”
“Benevolence, righteousness, and virtue—to me, they are tools to deal with the ignorant, means to win. Of course, if someone truly embodies them, I admire them deeply and would teach them everything I know,” said the Second Confucian Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen spoke: “Has the Confucian Ancestor finally become candid?”
The Second Confucian Ancestor smiled: “How do you know this is candor? Chess is full of deception. When you play and think you see through your opponent, you have often already fallen into a trap.”
Confucianism excels in debate; chess excels in deception.
Zhang Ruochen felt that continuing this dialogue would only let the Second Confucian Ancestor lead them by the nose. There was no need to challenge him in his own domain of sophistry.
Zhang Ruochen nodded with a smile: “The Confucian Ancestor is indeed a teacher by trade. Meeting you, we have learned something new. But today, a battle is likely unavoidable. I would very much like to test the mettle of a ninety-sixth-step spiritual ancestor.”
Zhang Ruochen no longer wished to hide his strength.
Given the current situation, he had to display enough power to restore confidence among the world’s cultivators. He had to show an awe-inspiring, world-swallowing divine might to lift the weight of “ninety-sixth-step spiritual power” and “Immortal” pressing on everyone’s hearts. Who else but him?
“Since you have such confidence, how could I refuse? But have you thought about what you are fighting for?” asked the Second Confucian Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen knew he was about to engage in sophistry again, so he cut straight to the point: “How about these two World Trees?”
The Second Confucian Ancestor shook his head: “The Divine Realm paid such a heavy price to obtain these two World Trees. How could I easily return them to you? If you want the World Trees, we fight to the death.”
Heavenly Mother said, “Does the Confucian Ancestor think we dare not fight the Divine Realm to the death?”
The Second Confucian Ancestor said with certainty: “You dare not! Because you have no chance of victory. Even if you fight to the death, the final result will only let those hiding in the shadows reap the benefits. Is that what you want?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “We dare to fight to the death, not because we think we can win. But because we believe the Divine Realm fears failure and death more than we do. In this battle, Heavenly Mother and I are prepared to die. Are you?”
Every word from Zhang Ruochen was like a sword, displaying unparalleled resolve. His heart was like divine iron, unshakable.
In this psychological battle, it was only at this moment that the Second Confucian Ancestor took a step back, intimidated by Zhang Ruochen’s displayed determination.
The moment the Second Confucian Ancestor fell silent, Zhang Ruochen acted without hesitation. He stepped forward, shattering heaven and earth, his momentum shaking time and space.
“Fight!”
His roar was like thunder.
Blood qi roared within him. His Xuan Huang Halberd fell like a heavenly pillar. The halberd’s edge cut through the ancestral order field, slashing toward the Second Confucian Ancestor’s true body. The strike was irreversible.