Chapter 423: The Source Ancestor God-King Emerges

"It is a pity, but a dead genius, no matter how monstrous, is useless."

The silver-helmeted, saber-wielding youth said in a deep voice, "You saw the projection too. Hope is slim. If you take the Immortal Severing Pill, your cultivation level won't recover in a short time. The Demon King Kui might not be stoppable by our military array and Immortal Treasures alone. This matter is too risky, is it worth it?"

The woman with the red-tasseled spear softly replied, "I promised him, but I broke my word. If I can't personally see the end of this, my heart will be uneasy! Besides, with this person's talent, to cultivate to this extent in a pseudo-realm, unless he had the help of an Immortal Emperor lineage, he's very likely to be assessed as a King-class Heavenly Son!"

"If we can bring back a King-class Heavenly Son, the Immortal Merit will even surpass slaying a hundred thousand True Immortal realm Ancient Demons! Isn't this worth risking? If it succeeds, we split the Immortal Merit fifty-fifty, how about it?"

Hearing 'King-class Heavenly Son,' the silver-helmeted youth's eyes flickered, and he became somewhat hesitant.

"Alright then, I'll give you an incense stick's worth of time. Be quick."

The silver-helmeted youth said in a deep voice.

This was exactly what the red-tasseled spear woman was waiting for. Hearing this, she broke into a radiant smile. For a moment, even the desolate and silent ancient road valley seemed to brighten up.

Then, she acted decisively, taking out the Immortal Severing Pill and swallowing it in one gulp.

"Aren't you worried about something happening to yourself…" the silver-helmeted youth couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"It's fine, my spear will protect me."

The red-tasseled spear woman smiled faintly, her expression returning to its cold demeanor. Within her body, however, Immortal Force rapidly contracted, as if all of it was being absorbed into one place like a sponge. Soon, her aura changed, her imposing presence withdrawn. She said to her Silver Tassel Camp subordinates from before:

"Follow me!"

As she spoke, she took the lead and plunged into the Gate of the Mysterious Female.

The dozen or so silver-armored soldiers and the Centurion hastily followed, secretly delighted in their hearts.

This was a rare opportunity to get so close to their Commander. They had to perform well.

As they left, only the Saints remained, stunned in place. They were all somewhat at a loss and in disbelief. By now, everyone could see that the woman of extremely high status clearly cared deeply about the Honored Celestial Haotian, even risking danger to check and confirm his death.

After the red-tasseled spear woman and her group entered the Gate of the Mysterious Female, Saint Ming and the others exchanged glances, cautiously expressing their thoughts.

The silver-helmeted, saber-wielding youth glanced at them. It wasn't impossible to bring these Saints back to the Heavenly Palace. He nodded in agreement, but only said:

"Although I can bring you back to the Heavenly Palace, whether you can be nurtured will depend on your own aptitude. If your aptitude is mediocre, don't complain or regret it."

The Saints repeatedly shook their heads, indicating they wouldn't. They were all very confident in themselves. After all, they were all monstrous talents who had cultivated step by step to become Saints, and had once been the best in their respective eras. It was only when compared to monsters like the Honored Celestial Haotian that they paled in comparison.

On the other side.

Inside the Gate of the Mysterious Female, within the ancient hall.

The red-tasseled spear woman led more than a dozen Silver Tassel Camp soldiers through, and immediately saw corpses of Ancient Demons all over the ground. Judging by the marks, they were all killed by her subordinates.

She glanced around, then spread out her divine sense. She quickly discerned that this ancient hall was somewhat unusual.

"This seems to be a palace where an Immortal King powerhouse resided…"

A hint of solemnity appeared in the red-tasseled spear woman's eyes. Such existences were great beings who guarded a True Domain in the True World.

However, this palace was too old. Besides a faint lingering charm, no treasures remained.

Or perhaps they had already been looted clean by people of this realm.

She glanced around and didn't linger. Then she led her dozen or so soldiers out of the ancient hall, traversing the void all the way to a minor world.

In this minor world, all the factions had returned to their respective cities. The red-tasseled spear woman found a Half-Saint and directly used Immortal Arts to search the other's memories. She quickly learned all sorts of information about this realm.

"That youth…"

After searching the memories, the red-tasseled spear woman was slightly taken aback, her eyes flickering slightly.

From the Half-Saint's memories, twenty years ago, a monstrous talent had emerged out of nowhere. It was the very person she was looking for.

This person suddenly rose to prominence, quickly becoming famous throughout the heavens. And in this calamity, while all the Saints of this realm were fleeing for safety, he had suddenly stepped forward, engaging in a life-and-death battle with the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon.

The red-tasseled spear woman was slightly silent. From the Half-Saint's memories, she sensed a peerless youth with a childlike innocence, radiating brilliance, unmatched in both battle prowess and character, admired and revered by countless people in this realm.

Her heart was also somewhat touched. If such a monstrous talent were in the Heavenly Palace, how could it be his turn to take such risks, fighting to the death?

Moreover, she hadn't expected that the other party had only become a Saint for less than twenty years.

Too young. In the True World, this amount of time was just a blink of an eye. Comprehending a single Immortal Art might take hundreds of years.

In her eyes, the other party was no different from a child, yet he had saved the world he was in.

Whoosh!

The red-tasseled spear woman's figure flickered, rushing towards the Forbidden Ground, the Twin-Cleft Demon Valley, in the Half-Saint's memory.

As she descended into this realm, with the Ancient Demons being slain, joy filled all the heavens and realms. In a certain forbidden ground, a majestic palace stood tall.

Suddenly, the palace doors opened, and a figure walked out of it, trembling slightly.

It was none other than the youthful-looking Source Ancestor.

His original Dao Body had cost him countless efforts, created using an ancient Immortal Art inherited from his ancestors, but it had been eaten by that Ancient Demon.

Fortunately, this Dao Body had also fulfilled its purpose, shielding him from this overwhelming, unavoidable calamity.

"Honored Celestial Haotian, oh Honored Celestial Haotian, you really are something, you actually solved even that True Immortal realm Ancient Demon…"

The youthful Source Ancestor muttered to himself, his gaze leaping over the barren forbidden ground before him, looking towards a certain void. His other body, a Half-Saint made using puppetry, which he had left outside, had already detected what was happening outside.

He hadn't expected that such a world-ending disaster would actually be withstood by Li Hao.

"Now all the Saints are going to the Immortal Gate to block it, and haven't made any more mistakes. It's time for me to take action too, otherwise if another True Immortal realm Ancient Demon comes, no one will be able to stop it."

The youthful Source Ancestor sighed lightly, somewhat wistful. He turned around and deeply looked at the palace behind him. No one knew that this was his ancestral home.

And the corpse of his ancestor was buried here, already zombified, thus becoming a forbidden ground.

Only he, relying on his bloodline, could hide here, coexisting with his ancestor's Immortal corpse without being harmed. This was a place of shelter only he could inhabit.

Whoosh!

The youthful Source Ancestor flew out, heading towards the Immortal Gate, pondering his wording when he met the Saints.

On the other side, at the bottom of the heavens, the Nine Nether Lands.

In the dim and deep Nine Nether Lands, a ghost-like figure drifted and swayed.

"Hmm?"

This figure suddenly stopped, then a few traces of shock appeared in his eyes, "That kid…"

He actually perished together with a True Immortal Ancient Demon?

His heart was shaken. That was a True Immortal! He prided himself on being the number one genius of the heavens, pioneering the extreme path cultivation system. In just a millennium, he had caught up with Source Ancestor who had cultivated for countless years. But at this moment, he felt like he had been severely struck.

"Unexpectedly, in my lifetime, I can actually see such a foolish person."

"If he had been born in the same era as me, maybe we could have become friends. Unfortunately, our paths are different, so we cannot cooperate!"

"However, I do owe him this favor, humph!"

He used the Blood Source Method, seeing what was happening outside through the eyes of his descendant God Race. Among the God Race, he had already selected three to become his Blood Source Seeds, capable of being his eyes and hands, acting on his behalf, and also helping him better control the vast God Race.

Whoosh!

His figure flickered, flying out from the Nine Nether Lands, leaving this place.

Now that Li Hao had fallen and the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon was also dead, he had to go see the situation at the breach.

If it could be blocked, this time it must be blocked with all their strength. Even if another True Immortal realm Ancient Demon broke in, it would take some time for the other party to recover to True Immortal realm strength. They had been careless before, caught off guard, which allowed the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon to recover his realm under the cover of his companions. But they wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"Source Ancestor that guy, he should come out too, right? If he continues to be a coward, I'll personally drag him out!"

The God-King narrowed his eyes, heading at full speed.

At this time, the red-tasseled spear woman had arrived at the Twin-Cleft Demon Valley.

"This is the number one forbidden ground of this realm?"

The red-tasseled spear woman stopped, surveying this forbidden ground in the void before her.

At this moment, many people were successively arriving here in the void. The red-tasseled spear woman and her group restrained their auras, not attracting much attention.

Those who arrived like shooting stars were using realm stones to see the projection of this forbidden ground as Li Hao's burial place, coming here specifically to worship and commemorate Li Hao's heroic spirit.

In the void, sorrowful cries calling for the Honored Celestial Haotian were everywhere. Many people's family members had died tragically, some sects were destroyed, powerless to seek revenge, but Li Hao had avenged them.

"That seems to be Immortal Dao Law!"

The red-tasseled spear woman stared intently, faintly sensing that the power within the rift was somewhat unusual. Immortal Dao Law was something only Immortal Monarchs could master, but it was actually present here, and persistently undiminished.

Her eyes flickered slightly, and she flew towards this forbidden ground.

"Immortal Monarch!"

The silver-armored Centurion and the others were startled. They all saw that the rift was extremely dangerous, giving them a very uneasy feeling. Yet the Immortal Monarch actually flew directly over. They had to remember that she had taken the Immortal Severing Pill, and her realm was the same as theirs right now!

"Look, what are those people doing?"

"They seem to be going into the forbidden ground."

"Are they also here to commemorate the Honored Celestial Haotian? Even if they're in deep grief, this is too reckless."

"Quick, quick, stop them, going further in, they won't be able to come back!"

Many Half-Saints guarding here also hurriedly took action.

The red-tasseled spear woman's figure flickered rapidly, stepping out from the天地裂缝 tiāndì lièfèng (天地裂缝 - heaven and earth rift), and in the blink of an eye, she arrived at the front of the forbidden ground's rift.

The silver-armored Centurion and others followed closely behind, wanting to stop her, but as soon as they approached, they felt a strong suction force enveloping them. Their bodies and souls uncontrollably rushed towards the rift.

"They… are Saints?"

"Such long-distance instantaneous movement, even Returning Void cultivators can't do it. Only Saints' heaven and earth rift traversal can do it."

"If they are Saints, why have we never seen them before?"

Many people were looking up, their faces filled with astonishment.

The red-tasseled spear woman, standing under the law of the forbidden ground, immediately felt the danger. Her expression slightly changed. No wonder the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon and that youth couldn't return. Only Immortal Monarchs could withstand the devouring power of this law.

If she had time, waiting for the Immortal Severing Pill's effects to dissipate and her realm to recover, she might be able to withstand this law and go in to explore. But right now, she didn't have that much time, nor did she dare to risk it.

"All of you, come in."

Seeing her soldiers beside her all uncontrollably falling into the rift, the red-tasseled spear woman quickly took them all into her Immortal Domain.

Then, she tightened her grip on the red-tasseled spear in her hand. The spear shaft vibrated slightly, instantly erupting with a terrifying destructive force, breaking free from the Immortal Dao Law, and carrying her out of the rift's suction force against the current, back to the outside of the forbidden ground.

This scene left countless people here completely dumbfounded.

This was the first time they had seen someone break free from the forbidden ground. It was too incredible.

"Who, who are they?"

"It seems we've never seen them before. Who is that female Saint? The Saint of Medicine I know doesn't look like that."

Amidst the shocked and沸腾 fèiténg (沸腾 - boiling, seething, bubbling with excitement) discussions, the red-tasseled spear woman deeply gazed at the rift, sighing inwardly. If it were other dangers, she could rely on her red-tasseled spear to break through and see what was inside. But this dangerous place before her, even she faintly sensed danger from it. That youth was likely truly gone for good.

She remained silent for a moment, then turned around and abruptly disappeared, leaving behind a scene of clamorous discussion.

Not long after, the red-tasseled spear woman arrived in another void.

Here, a strange palace stood, seemingly real and illusory.

The moment she saw this palace, she immediately felt an Immortal Dao Law reflected in her eyes. That power entwined around her body, locking onto her like a curse.

"Immortal King Palace? It still retains some power…"

The red-tasseled spear woman's eyes flickered slightly. This place before her was the second forbidden ground of this realm. She had searched out its location from the Half-Saint's memories. Having just seen the first forbidden ground, and with time still relatively ample, she wanted to see what this second forbidden ground was like.

"It seems I'm in luck."

The spear in her hand vibrated slightly, breaking free from the缠绕 chánrào (缠绕 - to entangle, to twine) law power.

And the Heavenly Net Palace in the void, in an instant, changed from real to illusory, seemingly about to disappear.

The red-tasseled spear woman was slightly startled, her expression changing slightly. She quickly took action, holding her spear and rushing towards the palace.

But by the time she arrived, the palace had completely turned into a phantom. Her red-tasseled spear swept across, and the Immortal Dao Law impacted, but still couldn't force the phantom back, let alone keep it.

Her expression slightly changed. The power left behind by this treasured palace was stronger than she had imagined. It should be an Immortal Treasure of the palace type.

"If we have no affinity, then so be it."

She slightly shook her head and sighed, no longer lingering, turning back towards the Gate of the Mysterious Female.

With continuous long-distance heaven and earth rift traversal, she quickly returned to the front of the ancient hall.

Just as she arrived here, two other figures were also rushing towards this place at full speed, almost simultaneously teleporting over one after another.

The red-tasseled spear woman's divine sense was strong. Sensing two powerful auras in the void, a trace of surprise couldn't help but appear in her eyes.

These auras were only at the Saint level, but they surpassed ordinary Saints, reaching the God realm level!

Although only a single God realm, being able to cultivate to this level at the Saint level was already quite remarkable.

She slightly paused, glancing towards the two auras.

In the void, Source Ancestor and God-King, who were rushing here, also sensed each other's auras. Both smiled inwardly, feeling a sense of familiar understanding like old friends.

But at the same time, they also noticed another aura. Although extremely restrained, it gave them an extremely terrifying feeling, even sending chills down their spines.

Both their expressions changed. This feeling, could it be that the Honored Celestial Haotian had come back to life?

Although they hadn't felt such a terrifying sensation from the Honored Celestial Haotian before, among the heavens, it seemed only that youth had the potential to give them such a feeling.

Amidst suspicion, both of them felt themselves locked onto by a divine sense, and immediately understood they had been noticed.

Fortunately, that aura was not an Ancient Demon, and they were slightly relieved.

"Hmm?"

When they appeared, Source Ancestor and God-King both saw that the other party was a stunningly beautiful woman, with a world-toppling, peerless divine face, but her expression was extremely cold, her brows carrying a murderous intent, giving people a feeling of being stern and unsmiling.

"This is…"

Source Ancestor sensed that the other party was human, but he had never seen such a face before. When he noticed the armor on the other party, his expression changed. He had seen too many things in the heavens, so many that he was almost omniscient. But the armor structure and appearance on this woman before him, he had never seen before.

Not something from the heavens, then it was… the True World Immortal God reinforcements Li Hao had spoken of?!

Source Ancestor immediately became somewhat excited, transmitting his voice, "May I ask if you are from the True World?"

He used to call it Immortal World, but only learned the true name from Li Hao, and had changed his way of speaking.

The red-tasseled spear woman glanced at the two of them, her eyes slightly narrowed. She communicated with her divine sense, directly exchanging consciousness, bypassing the language barrier between them.

"You two are the strongest in this realm. Why weren't you seen participating in that battle?"

Her words carried a questioning tone.

Having searched the Half-Saint's memories, she recognized the identities of these two at a glance. However, from the Half-Saint's memories, including the previous projection, in the battle against the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon, from beginning to end there was only that youth, and the surrounding vast, imposing armies that were actually useless.

Hearing the other party's words, Source Ancestor's heart skipped a beat. How did this outsider know about them?

But he didn't ask, instead his mind rapidly turned, and he said with a smile, "You misunderstand. Our previous incarnations were all killed. In that final battle, Honored Celestial Haotian fought alone, and was not certain of victory. Letting us stay was also considered leaving a spark of hope. He said there would be True World Immortal Gods coming to reinforce, is Your Excellency one of them?"

His words both answered her question, and cleverly explained things, while also turning the question back to the red-tasseled spear woman.

Beside him, God-King, seeing Source Ancestor had spoken, also kept silent, only muttering 'old fox' inwardly.

Just with a question and an answer, he had smoothly justified himself. Truly, he could lie through his teeth without batting an eyelid.

It was a pity for that "honest person," who had perished. He saw his past self in Li Hao, also an honest person, and was thus tricked by this old fox into being sealed for countless years, almost dying.

Seeing Source Ancestor's natural expression, his smooth response, and even a timely flash of grief in his eyes, the red-tasseled spear woman didn't blame him further. Instead, she wondered, reinforcement… had that youth told the people of this realm that she would reinforce them?

In her mind, a scene seemed to appear: in the dark and desperate situation oppressed by the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon, the youth confidently made a will-like entrustment, telling everyone that there would be Immortal God reinforcements, and then resolutely went to his death…

Her fingers slightly tightened. She was late.

Her brows furrowed, and suddenly she was in no mood. She glanced at the two, then turned and started to return.

Source Ancestor was stunned for a moment seeing her about to leave, and hurriedly said, "Immortal Maiden, please wait!"

The red-tasseled spear woman paused slightly, turning her head to look back: "?"

Source Ancestor chuckled awkwardly, quickly saying, "Immortal Maiden is from the True World, can you take us to the True World as well? We have learned that Ancient Demons are rampant in the True World, and we two are also willing to contribute our strength, to slay demons and eliminate evil!"

The red-tasseled spear woman understood the meaning of his words, and calmly said, "The Ancient Demons of the True World are inexhaustible, it won't make much difference to have you two more. I can only temporarily send someone to guard this realm. If more Ancient Demons invade, you two are the strongest combat power of this realm, you should stay to guard it."

Source Ancestor's expression immediately stiffened. The persona he had just established was at risk of collapsing in an instant.

His mind raced, and suddenly sorrow welled up in his eyes, "Immortal Maiden does not know, this Ancient Demon invasion has already caused countless deaths. We two have cultivated in this realm for countless years, but are already at a bottleneck, and it is difficult to advance further. We only hope to learn Immortal Arts, to slay demons and eliminate evil, and to kill all these Ancient Demons."

God-King nodded, cooperating from the side, "That's right, we want revenge!"

The red-tasseled spear woman's gaze was indifferent, as if seeing through the two of them, but she was too lazy to expose them. In the Half-Saint's memories, besides seeing that youth, she also saw the other party being smeared by the Saints and bearing the grievances of the heavens. It was precisely because of this that the other party still had the courage to sacrifice himself for the common people. This character left a very deep impression on her heart.

It was a pity the other party was dead, otherwise she would never have allowed such a person to be buried in such a place.

"Then follow along."

The red-tasseled spear woman said, not refusing these two, treating them as two portions of Immortal Merit.

Being able to cultivate to the God realm at the Saint level, there was a very small chance they could be assessed as King-class Heavenly Sons. Even if not, they were very likely to have hope of cultivating into Immortal Monarchs. Bringing back two such potential newcomers could also be considered a great merit, enough to offset her guilt for leaving the Southern Territory battlefield this time.

When her master inquired, she could also have an explanation.

"Thank you."

Source Ancestor was overjoyed when he heard the other party agree, but a gentle smile appeared on his face.

The red-tasseled spear woman was too lazy to waste words, raising her hand and beckoning, taking them into her Immortal Domain.

Before Source Ancestor and God-King could react, they found themselves in the other party's domain, and couldn't help but be horrified.

They had only thought the other party was also a Saint level cultivator, but now they realized that even at the Saint level, the other party seemed even more terrifying than that Honored Celestial Haotian, giving them a feeling of powerlessness to resist.

How was this possible?

Soon, the red-tasseled spear woman arrived at the ancient hall, traversing back to the True World.

On the ancient road, all the Saints were here.

With the arrival of God-King and Source Ancestor, the Saints were all stunned. And Saint Ming and the other Supreme Saints suddenly widened their eyes.

"Source Ancestor, God-King?!"

Many Saints present hadn't seen the youthful Source Ancestor before, but Saint Ming and other Supreme Saints had, and they were all astonished.

Source Ancestor and God-King's expressions were calm, having long expected such a thing to happen. Source Ancestor said, "We two barely escaped from the hands of that Ancient Demon, almost dying. It's truly not easy to see you all again."

Saint Ming and the others were not so foolish. By now, who couldn't figure out the reason? Their previous rearguard action was clearly leaving themselves a way out.

But the True Immortal realm Ancient Demon had said he had eaten them. That could only mean that what they had been seeing all along were incarnations they had created.

They had been using incarnations to risk their lives alongside them, while they were actually risking their lives!

Thinking of this, the Saints couldn't help but think of the already fallen Li Hao, and waves of bitterness welled up in their hearts. Only Li Hao had truly sacrificed himself for this!

"Truly not easy ah!"

Saint Ming said with a cold face, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Supreme Saint Mo also said with a cold face, "The Honored Celestial Haotian perished together with the True Immortal Ancient Demon, do you two know about this?"

Source Ancestor heard the meaning in his words, and said in a low voice, "I heard. At that time, did you all help him?"

Hearing his counter-question, Saint Ming and the others' expressions also turned ugly, all feeling a kind of anger but nowhere to vent it.

Truly, don't talk about others if you are no better yourself. They were all about the same.

"Confirmed?"

At this time, the silver-helmeted youth looked at the red-tasseled spear woman and asked.

Seeing her expression, he already understood the result.

Glancing at these two she brought back, he immediately noticed they were significantly stronger than the Saints beside them. The Saint Dao power in their bodies had already undergone a qualitative change, having cultivated the God realm!

"These two's talents are also quite good ah. Although we lost that one, these two combined can also make up for it."

The silver-helmeted youth couldn't help but praise. He hadn't expected that this realm actually had such geniuses.

The red-tasseled spear woman was too lazy to respond to these words. In her heart, these two were simply incomparable to that one.

Honored Celestial Haotian… she silently remembered his title in this realm. Although this title had fallen, she would remember it in her heart.

She said to the silver-helmeted youth, "Let's go, hurry back."

"Mm."

The silver-helmeted youth was in a good mood. In his view, the gains from this risky trip were much greater than he expected. After all, in his view, the youth in the projection was basically certain to die. He hadn't expected Chi Ying to make a trip and actually pick up two geniuses with equally great potential. It would depend on how the aptitude assessment in the Heavenly Palace went, but it definitely wouldn't be too low.

"Let's go."

He took out an Immortal Treasure, a flying ark, and had Source Ancestor and the others board it, which could isolate their auras.

And although the other silver-armored soldiers were also Saint level, the armor on their bodies was enough to conceal their auras, allowing them to traverse in this Ancient Demon battlefield.

"May I ask, senior, where are we going?"

As they set off, Source Ancestor couldn't help but cautiously transmit his voice to the silver-helmeted youth, asking.

"Heavenly Palace, the place where you will live and cultivate in the future, and also the place where you will establish Immortal Merit. The True World is extremely cruel, of course, if your aptitude assessment is very excellent, you will receive key nurturing from the Heavenly Palace, and in the future, you will not only become a True Immortal, but also be able to command True Immortals!"

The silver-helmeted youth's attitude towards this God realm youth was extremely good, smiling as he transmitted his voice in response.

Source Ancestor's eyes flickered slightly, not only becoming a True Immortal, but also able to command True Immortals?

He faintly sensed that his future, radiant and boundless, was about to arrive.

If that Haotian hadn't fallen, perhaps he would have been even more dazzling, dazzling to the point where they would all pale in comparison.

But now, his brilliance had arrived.

"This calamity has passed, surviving a great disaster will surely bring great fortune. It's a pity about Haotian, originally a peerless monstrous talent, now just turned into white bones. There are countless capable people in the world, living, living to the end is the true strong one…"

Source Ancestor thought inwardly. He had lived for too long, seen countless monstrous talents emerge suddenly, only to rapidly fall. Although those monstrous talents couldn't compare to Li Hao, they had all shone brilliantly for a time.

He had seen countless ephemera, but after many years, only he was still standing tall in the heavens.

(End of Chapter)