# Chapter 4214: White Jade Divine Emperor
No matter how high the cultivation realm of an Immortal might be, it is impossible for them to know everything and understand all.
Human power has its limits.
There is only one possibility—that is, during these hundreds of thousands of years, he had come to Divine Ancient Nest, arrived at Heluo Sea, and gained insight into Ling Yanzi's cultivation realm and state, having a clear understanding of whether she could successfully guide the Great Venerable to this era.
Only then would he not take the bait.
It could be said that from the very beginning, Zhang Ruochen had prepared two options.
If he came, then a death battle.
If he did not come, he could still lock down the identity of the Immortal in the God Realm.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
The high-pitched and excited barking sounds traveled from the starry sky all the way into Divine Ancient Nest.
By the time Golden Lion Ancestor arrived, Zhang Ruochen had already left.
Before leaving, Zhang Ruochen clearly informed Ling Yanzi and Ancestral God that after this incident, Divine Ancient Nest had been pushed to the forefront of the storm, and at any moment, it could face the risk of being overturned.
The result of their discussion was that Ancestral God and the various elders would pilot the Divine Wood Nest and fly toward the Heavenly Court.
"Splash!"
The waves surged in a rhythmic pattern.
Ling Yanzi sat on a reef by the Heluo Sea, watching the tides rise and fall.
On one hand, she was comprehending the Heavenly and Earthly Rules of this era; on the other, she was studying the Taiji circle that Zhang Ruochen had left behind.
In this great era, everyone was pushing forward desperately on the path of cultivation.
Golden Lion Ancestor's body was now only a little over one meter long. It rushed onto the reef, its eyeballs as if soaked in water, silently expressing its longing for its mistress.
"You actually managed to survive into this era. That's truly not easy."
Ling Yanzi reached out her hand and stroked the soft and thick golden fur on Golden Lion Ancestor's neck.
Even though the other party's cultivation had now caught up to hers.
Golden Lion Ancestor's age did not exceed fifteen Eons; it had been adopted after the Great Venerable and Ling Yanzi got together. Moreover, it had long been sleeping in the King Mountain Tomb Forest, in a state of suspended animation, with its lifespan draining extremely slowly.
Ling Yanzi was different.
About thirteen Eons ago, she had entered the River of Time, heading toward the future, and waited for hundreds of thousands of years at the broken section of the River of Time.
This meant that while thirteen Eons had passed in the outside world, her lifespan had only consumed hundreds of thousands of years.
Upon arriving in this era, she naturally suffered attacks from the Heavenly and Earthly Rules and the backlash of time.
Other cultivators, including the Chaos Ancient Demon Gods, Que, and Lady Shiji, had not completely left the spatial dimension and traveled through the River of Time to reach the future.
The only one who had wanted to do so, to defy fate and change destiny, was Gong Nanfeng, and he had failed.
For those who crossed the River of Time, the intensity of their participation in battle and the extent of their impact on the future era would both cause the Heavenly and Earthly Rules' attacks and the backlash of time to become stronger.
Only the higher her cultivation, the greater Ling Yanzi's freedom in this era.
The Taiji circle that Zhang Ruochen had passed on to her was used to isolate the Heavenly and Earthly Rules, like a bubble in seawater, an oasis in a desert.
---
Jade Emperor Realm.
White Jade Divine Emperor stood within a massive chaotic vortex with a diameter of one light-year, possessing a human body and a tiger head, his entire form shimmering with divine radiance, his aura vast and awe-inspiring. With each breath, he caused the entire chaotic vortex to expand and contract.
This chaotic vortex was his Divine Realm World.
Located within Jade Emperor Realm, yet transcending beyond its boundaries, it formed its own independent space.
The chaotic vortex was like a nascent universe, in a state of heaven-splitting and earth-cleaving. No one knew whether it would continue to grow in the future, whether it would give rise to stars and life.
Heavenly Mother, who had come to understand the situation regarding the Great Calamity, stood at the edge of the chaotic vortex, with red clothes and white hair, directly scrutinizing the figure at the center of the vortex.
"The Great Calamity..."
White Jade Divine Emperor muttered to himself, then said, "Regarding the Great Calamity, this Emperor's understanding is not much greater than yours. You must have misunderstood, thinking that this Emperor, like Houtu Empress and Hongmeng Black Dragon, is an Immortal who cultivated from the beginning of heaven to the end of heaven and survived the Great Calamity."
Heavenly Mother, based on the various fluctuations of power in the chaotic vortex, calculated White Jade Divine Emperor's cultivation realm in her mind and said, "So, my guess was wrong?"
"Not entirely wrong! It's just that during the chaotic years at the beginning of this Epoch, many major events occurred that even this Emperor's memory has become blurry about. Too long ago, so long that I'm almost forgetting who I am."
White Jade Divine Emperor's voice was distant, like the wind, like a flowing stream.
Heavenly Mother could understand.
After all, according to legend, one Epoch was fifty thousand Eons—how incredibly long that was.
The legends might not be true. Even an Immortal who had personally experienced from the opening of heaven and earth to the end of an Epoch could not clearly say how many Eons were in between.
Even the events that occurred had become blurry; who could still remember the length of time itself?
"Your becoming an Ancestor surprised this Emperor greatly. It seems that after the Brilliant Era, breaking through realms has indeed become easier." At this point, White Jade Divine Emperor paused, then said, "Apologies, this Emperor is not skilled at conversation, and I did not mean to belittle you."
As if talking to himself, he continued, "The longer one lives, the less one wants to talk to others. There are very few cultivators worth conversing with. For many people, many things, I have actually lost interest."
"Seeing you comprehend Houtu Empress's Endless Path and reach the Ancestor Realm strikes this Emperor as a very interesting thing, truly remarkable. So I just say whatever comes to mind... Am I explaining too much?"
Heavenly Mother said, "Not too much."
"After careful calculation, almost all of the Immortals from the previous Epoch have already died. Even Hongmeng Black Dragon, who has awakened, has probably not recovered much of his memory and may not know the situation of the Great Calamity. Of course, he has already been suppressed and killed, so let's not mention him."
White Jade Divine Emperor continued, "Let me tell you some of what I know myself! When discussing the Great Calamity, one must inevitably talk about one place and one person."
"What place? What person?"
"The Demon Land and the Calamity Demon."
---
Xiang Chunan had arrived at the broken starry sky of the Hell Realm only to find that Zhang Ruochen had already left.
Now, the entire universe was in turmoil, with Ancestor-level confrontations erupting in more than one place. More importantly, he had learned a piece of news. It turned out that not only the Heaven and Earth Altar was a threat, but any altar used for sacrifices to obtain Divine Martial Marks carried risks.
He had to rush back to Truth Divine Temple as quickly as possible, to begin cleaning up Truth Heaven Domain, as well as the altars on the great worlds and planets that were attached to Truth Divine Temple.
Ancestor-level battles determined the future structure, determined life and death, success and failure.
Cultivators below the Ancestor level also had their own responsibilities; they had to actively play their part. Only then could Imperial Dust and Heavenly Mother and the others have an extra chance of victory.
Even if that chance of victory was minuscule!
"Eh... This is..."
Xiang Chunan's gaze condensed, sensing that the Wu Dao Rules of Heaven and Earth had become extremely active.
Following that, the Truth Heart substance integrated into his body went out of control, as if ignited, about to incinerate his physical body and soul.
His robust body seemed to turn into a torch.
"Which petty scoundrel dares to hide? Don't you know that my big brother is an Ancestor?"
Xiang Chunan mobilized his Truth Esoterica to suppress the burning of the Truth Heart substance, his blood flowing wildly.
From the depths of the universe came a hair-raising dangerous aura.
"Whoosh!"
A divine blade several hundred million miles long slashed down in an arc, burning with Ancestral flames, splitting this star region in two.
That was...
That was a single strand of an Ancestor's hair.
Under attack from an Ancestor, Xiang Chunan's heart sank to the bottom. He knew that today, he could not escape his fate.
But facing an Ancestor, Xiang Chunan also had the courage to fight; he would not have his spiritual will crushed.
"Roar!"
He let out a long roar, stomped his foot fiercely, and his Truth Realm Form unfolded.
With a booming sound, billions of Indestructible Infinite Rule Divine Patterns burst forth, condensing in the void into a dazzling Heavenly Blade, slashing toward the incoming Ancestral white hair.
"Rip!"
The Truth Realm Form was split apart like a gorgeous piece of paper, and the Heavenly Blade clashed with the Ancestral white hair.
The Heavenly Blade was like tofu, broken with a single cut.
This was a strand of hair pulled out by Corpse Yan, slashing across endless star domains. One could imagine how terrifying its power was.
"Roar!"
Xiang Chunan's eyes bulged like copper bells. He burned his divine blood within, his body rapidly growing, turning into a giant radiating Truth Divine Flame. He threw a punch, intending to clash head-on with the Ancestral long hair.
But something strange happened. Just as the Ancestral long hair reached him, it dissipated into smoke.
"Knocked it out with one punch?"
Xiang Chunan was momentarily stunned, thinking that his Truth Realm Form and fist power had worn down the Ancestral long hair. He was about to mock, "An Ancestor is nothing special," when...
Behind him came Zhang Ruochen's voice.
"Don't go running around alone when there's nothing important. It's very dangerous."
"Big Brother!"
Xiang Chunan was ecstatic. His body returned to its original size. He turned around, rushed out, opened his arms, and tightly hugged Zhang Ruochen, laughing wildly.
He was completely unlike other cultivators, who would consider the differences in cultivation and status.
After hugging, he heavily punched Zhang Ruochen twice in the chest and complained, "Big Brother, I don't want to run around either, but you hid yourself too well. If you had said earlier that you were the Life and Death Heavenly Venerable, why would I have bothered going to the Hell Realm? Do you know how heartbroken I've been for these thirty thousand years?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "With a mouth like yours, how could I dare to tell you such a great secret? How many tens of thousands of years old are you now? Why are you still as unreliable as back then?"
Xiang Chunan scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile: "It's not like the higher one's cultivation and the older one gets, the more one has to put on a stern face, hold in one's breath, and steady one's heart. That would be so boring! By the way, what happened just now? Why did that Corpse Yan want to kill me? With my cultivation level, is it worth an Ancestor resorting to underhanded tactics?"
It was not just a strand of hair; it was a killing divine ability executed by an Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It should be for the Truth Heart! Fortunately, your cultivation is strong enough to suppress the Truth Heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't have needed that strand of hair to slash at you; you would have already turned to ashes."
Xiang Chunan felt a lingering fear. He remembered that the Immortal in the God Realm could, with a single thought, collect all the fragments of the Seventy-Two Layer Tower scattered across the universe. Corpse Yan, relying on the Wu Cauldron, could definitely also collect the Truth Heart with a single thought.
If his cultivation had been any weaker, he would have been killed by the Ancestor with a single thought.
"Fortunately, Big Brother was here. Having an Ancestor as a backer is really different. From now on, not just that woman at home, but even my master will probably have to give me some leeway." Xiang Chunan's mind was wandering, thinking about who knows what, and he chuckled.
Zhang Ruochen smiled: "With the Truth Heart helping you, your cultivation hasn't fallen too far behind Miss Qing's. It's best if you behave yourself at home in the future. It's hard to say who will be stronger in the end."
Xiang Chunan put away his smile and said seriously, "What about Hongchen and Feiyu sister-in-law..."
"All minor matters."
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the cosmic direction where Paradise Realm was located and said, "Corpse Yan has reached a dead end and has no choice but to fight to the death. He took my Wu Cauldron and can use it to absorb the power left by the Wu Ancestor. If I'm not mistaken, he is trying to impact the realm of Consistent Unity. You, Compassionate Navigation Venerable, Uncle Long, and Feng Yan are all his targets."
Corpse Yan's true body had gone to Paradise Realm.
Xiang Chunan didn't know what the realm of Consistent Unity was, nor did he care to know. Looking at the nebula formed by Ancestral Divine Qi spreading toward Paradise Realm, his expression changed: "Compassionate Navigation Venerable is in Paradise Realm. Big Brother, we can't just stand by and watch them die."
"Don't rush."
Zhang Ruochen was very calm: "Paradise Realm has the main altar of the Heaven and Earth Altar. The God Realm is more anxious than we are. Moreover, the Myriad Realms Grand Formation of the Heavenly Court Universe has already been activated. It won't be so easy for Corpse Yan to break into Paradise Realm."
Xiang Chunan was infected by Zhang Ruochen's calm and composed demeanor and smiled: "I don't know why, but being by Big Brother's side gives me a sense of security, as if even if the sky falls, it's no big deal. What do we do now? Just watch the show?"
"Yes, let's watch for a while."
Zhang Ruochen knew too well how terrifying the energy an Ancestor could unleash in a desperate situation. Back then, King Ksitigarbha, in his death-defying state, could even block the Nether Ancestor for half a day.
What kind of energy would Corpse Yan, trapped in a desperate situation, unleash?
How would the God Realm respond?
Would they use the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, or some other hidden power?
Zhang Ruochen somewhat understood why those Ancestors liked to hide in the shadows and watch the show. They were all waiting for the Ancestor to self-destruct his Divine Source and take away the Ancestor of the God Realm.
At this moment, he was the same.
---
The colorful nebula surged forward mightily toward Paradise Realm.
"Boom rumble!"
Still thousands of billions of miles away from Paradise Realm, the nebula collided with the formation inscriptions of the Myriad Realms Grand Formation.
Space shook violently. The Divine Throne Planets outside Paradise Realm flickered on and off, some unable to withstand the pressure of the Ancestral Divine Qi and exploding, turning into devastating impact waves.
Not just Paradise Realm, but the gods of hundreds of nearby great worlds all felt as if a great enemy was upon them.
Shang Tian, Fan Chen, Compassionate Navigation Venerable, Meng Ge, and a group of Heavenly Court Universe experts stood at the top of Shang Hill, striking out Divine Qi and Spiritual Power beams into the sky, activating the Myriad Realms Grand Formation.
They were the first line of defense against the Ancestor!
From the day the Myriad Realms Grand Formation began construction, they knew that this day would come.
Once the formation was breached, the entire Paradise Realm would face a catastrophe.
Shang Tian sensed something and glanced toward the horizon: "Corpse Yan has taken control of the Wu Cauldron, the Truth Cauldron, and the Time Cauldron. He can ignore the defensive power of the Myriad Realms Grand Formation and mobilize the Wu Dao Rules, Truth Rules, and Time Rules within Paradise Realm to launch attacks from the inside."
"Everyone be careful, here it comes!"
The Nine Cauldrons were too profound; even the formation could not defend against them.
The three types of rules rapidly gathered above the various continents of Paradise Realm, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, condensing into three clouds. Then, under Corpse Yan's control, they transformed into divine abilities and great techniques.
The cloud formed by the Wu Dao Rules, ancient and profound in aura, turned into a bronze great cauldron the size of a mountain, streaking across the sky like a meteor, striking toward Shang Hill.
From the cloud formed by the Truth Rules flew a Heavenly Bell, smashing toward the main altar.
The cloud formed by the Time Rules turned into a wide river, following the bronze great cauldron, surging like an overturned sea toward the Heavenly Court gods gathered at Shang Hill.
The Ancestral Talisman that Shang Tian had held had long been taken back by Murong Overlord. He could only rely on the formations of Shang Hill to resist.
"All Paradise Realm cultivators, hear my command! Activate the defensive formations at full power!"
"Boom!"
Tens of thousands of formations rose from the vast land, clashing with the bronze great cauldron.
As the formations shattered, screams rang out continuously, and corpses littered the ground.
The power of an Ancestor, even separated by the Myriad Realms Grand Formation, could still crush cultivators below the Ancestor level. No matter how many cultivators there were, they were like ants. The bronze great cauldron broke through all the formations and heavily landed on Shang Hill.
"Boom!"
Shang Hill was leveled to the ground, sinking downward, with dust flying into the air.
In an instant, dozens of Heavenly Court gods fell, and countless others were severely injured. Many gods had their physical bodies blasted apart, turning into clouds of blood mist.
Shang Tian, Meng Ge, Fan Chen, and Compassionate Navigation Venerable bore the brunt, blocking the most ferocious wave of attacks. All of them were heavily injured.
Compassionate Navigation Venerable, whose cultivation was shallower, had his entire body covered in blood and flesh, but the Buddha light around him remained sacred and brilliant.
"Rustle!"
They were given no time to catch their breath.
The surging river of Time Rules was already upon them.
The four had to once again mobilize their Divine Qi and rules, joining forces to meet the attack. Behind them, the surviving gods all released their Divine Realm Worlds and followed closely.
Facing an Ancestor's attack, the gods had to step up.
"Ten Thousand Buddhas Illuminate the Universe."
"Thousand Spirits Blood Fiend."
"Heaven Desolate Earth Old."
"Buddha Dharma Boundless."
Over a thousand divine abilities and tens of thousands of war weapons converged into a dazzling Heavenly River of divine radiance, clashing with the river of Time Rules below the main altar.
In an instant, the storm of destruction spread out for millions of miles.
Fortunately, the World-Protecting Grand Formation had already been activated, and the Myriad Realms Grand Formation also enveloped the star domain, blocking Corpse Yan's Ancestral true body outside.
Otherwise, this collision alone would have destroyed Paradise Realm.
Just as the two forces were clashing, the Truth Heavenly Bell rang out, unleashing deafening sound waves carrying billions of pounds of force, smashing down toward the towering main altar.
With the majestic Ancestral might, who knows how many cultivators were pressed to the ground, unable to stand, let alone fight.
After the main altar was activated by the Second Confucian Ancestor's Spiritual Power, it absorbed the energy of Heaven and Earth, and the thick beam of light that surged out connected to the God Realm.
Any cultivator who attacked the main altar would attract the lightning of the God Realm.
It was like divine punishment, suppressing and killing them.
The Truth Heavenly Bell attacking the main altar was no exception.
"Crack!"
At the other end of the light beam, the God Realm appeared faintly. Amid the rumbling sounds, thousands of bolts of lightning, each as thick as an Ancestral Dragon, descended, striking the Truth Heavenly Bell.
The brilliance of the lightning was so bright that it could be seen from the depths of the universe.
"Who is that?"
Meng Ge squinted his eyes, looking at the top of the main altar.
There, a black figure clearly stood, bathed in the lightning, ignoring the Truth Heavenly Bell that could fall at any moment.
"It's him! Has he chosen the God Realm, or Imperial Dust?"
Fan Chen recognized the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord held the Thunder God Hammer, turning into a black streak of light that shot out of Paradise Realm's atmosphere, dragging a tail of lightning tens of thousands of miles long. He coldly shouted, "Corpse Yan, this Lord has been waiting for you in Paradise Realm for many days!"
"Boom!"
The two Ancestors instantly clashed.
The Thunder God Hammer fell, piercing through all of Corpse Yan's defenses and landing on his body.
"Pfft!"
With a single strike, Corpse Yan's chest was pierced by the heavy hammer, blood flowing endlessly.
After Corpse Yan flew out, he immediately fled, his face full of shock: "You've reached Consistent Unity? How is this possible? It's the Desolate Moon... the God Realm returned the Desolate Moon to you..."
Corpse Yan instantly understood the most crucial point.
But because he had not anticipated that the Dark Lord's cultivation had taken a major step forward, he was severely wounded due to underestimation, and had fallen into absolute disadvantage.
"Consistent Unity is not such an impressive realm. This Lord's peak was the Beginning to End. With the Desolate Moon, naturally, I can instantly grasp the Ancestral power of Consistent Unity. How was that hammer? Not pleasant, was it?"
The Dark Lord wielded space. The starry sea beneath his feet instantly folded. With just one step, he easily caught up to Corpse Yan.
"Boom!"
The Thunder God Hammer fell again.
Endless lightning turned into a purple sea, condensing into hundreds of thousands of lightning beasts, crashing into Corpse Yan.
The space of the entire star domain shattered.
Corpse Yan used the three cauldrons to protect his body, but he was still sent flying, his body falling into Lihentian.
---
White Jade Divine Emperor said, "The Demon Land, as you should know, is the cultivation ground of the Lihentian Yan Clan, and also the ancestral land of the Yama Clan. It is known as one of the relics of prehistoric civilization."
"It is indeed a piece of prehistoric territory preserved under the Great Calamity of the previous Epoch."
"The reason you later cultivators call it the Demon Land is because of the Calamity Demon, an extremely terrifying existence from the Grand Beginning Era. The Calamity Demon was the residual Calamity Fire of the Great Calamity, which gave birth to spiritual intelligence and condensed into a Grand Beginning life form."
"He is the ancestor of the Yama Clan. The Yama Clan should have been called the Yan Clan."
Heavenly Mother suppressed the shock in her heart and said, "The destructive power of the Great Calamity could actually give birth to spiritual intelligence and even transform into a life form?"
"Who said that the power of a Calamity must represent destruction?"
White Jade Divine Emperor asked in return, then continued, "Later cultivators, upon reaching the peak of Grand Void Great God, all go to Lihentian to absorb and comprehend the power of Calamity. This power of Calamity is the residual power of the Great Calamity. The fact that you can cultivate to the Infinite Realm is essentially comprehending the power and Dao essence of the Great Calamity."
"The Great Calamity both destroys the previous Epoch and opens up the next Epoch. It represents both death and life."
Heavenly Mother thought of something and asked, "What is the relationship between Corpse Yan and the Calamity Demon?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like! The corpse of the Calamity Demon was given new spiritual intelligence by the Nether Ancestor, beginning his second life. Of course, after the Calamity Demon died in the Grand Beginning Era, the Calamity Fire of the Great Calamity within his body dispersed into Lihentian, turning into the power of Calamity that you are familiar with. So Corpse Yan's corpse body is not considered powerful." White Jade Divine Emperor said slowly.
Heavenly Mother said, "The Calamity Demon's cultivation should have been quite remarkable. How did he die in the Grand Beginning Era?"
"Shouldn't you be more curious about how he managed to nurture spiritual intelligence and life right under the noses of Immortals like Houtu Empress and Hongmeng Black Dragon?" White Jade Divine Emperor said.
Heavenly Mother thought for a moment and asked, "Why?"
"Because of the third Immortal of prehistory, my mother, Bai Ze! It was she who seized the residual Calamity Fire of the Great Calamity, cultivated spiritual intelligence, shaped life, and later gave birth to me with the Calamity Demon."
White Jade Divine Emperor looked at Heavenly Mother and said, "This Emperor and that Zangjin Baihu can be considered half-siblings! Zangjin Baihu counts as a prehistoric egg; this Emperor does not."