News of the Zhou Family's destruction spread rapidly through the secular cultivation network, sweeping through most of the lower and middle power circles of the Heavenly Gift Dynasty in just one day.
In the minds of the lower-level cultivators of the outer sect, the Zhou Family, with its Twelfth Tier patriarch in charge, was already a top-tier powerful family that ordinary people could come into contact with.
However, within the true hierarchy of the Heavenly Gift Dynasty, the Zhou Family was nothing more than insignificant ants and lackeys from beginning to end.
The vast Heavenly Gift Dynasty are truly at the top of the pyramid, where the Fifteenth Tier powerhouses hidden among ancient sects and reclusive families are, and even the legendary Sixteenth Tier ancestors who are half a step beyond the realm of immortality.
Those supreme experts who wield terrifying cultivation levels of the Fifteenth Tier and Sixteenth Tier are the true behind-the-scenes giants who firmly suppress a region and control the dynasty's destiny.
In their eyes, the Zhou Family, a secular family with only Twelfth Tier combat strength, is far from even qualified to be a vassal.
This is why the news of the Zhou Family being completely wiped out overnight did not alarm the real power at the top of the dynasty; it only plunged the middle and lower aristocratic families into endless panic and suspicion.
Second-rate- and Third-rate families dispatched their members to the battlefield on the official road to investigate the situation. However, upon arriving at the scene, all they could do was stare at the empty, clean land and feel a chill run down their spines.
The entire battlefield was devoid of any signs of fighting, any residual spiritual energy, or any fragments of blood and flesh, as if the dozens of high-level experts from the Zhou Family had never gathered, never fought, and never existed.
The elders from various families who went to investigate were all ancient cultivators who had lived for tens of thousands of years, with a perspective and experience far exceeding that of ordinary cultivators. Yet, the scene before them still left them trembling and speechless for a long time.
A Thirteenth Tier elder from Second-rate family stood in the center of the open space, his face extremely solemn. He spoke in a low voice to his family members behind him, "No residue, no shockwave, no sign of escape."
"The Zhou Family's Twelfth Tier patriarch and a group of Tenth Tier Ninth Tier elites were instantly and completely annihilated; not even their divine souls could escape."
A young disciple behind him looked on incredulously and couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice.
"Elder, Twelfth Tier expert is already a rare powerhouse in our mortal world. Who could have achieved this? Could it be Fifteenth Tier expert from deep within the dynasty who has taken action to eliminate them?"
The old elder slowly shook his head, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.
"Fifteenth Tier powerhouse like him wouldn't waste his energy targeting an insignificant family like Zhou Family."
"The person who made the move must be a top-tier cultivator with a mysterious background and extraordinary strength, and also decisive and ruthless, leaving no room for future trouble."
After those words, all the accompanying disciples felt a chill in their hearts.
No one dared to delve deeper into the truth. Everyone hurriedly recorded the situation at the scene and rushed back to their families to report the news.
Overnight, all the mid-level forces of the Heavenly Gift Dynasty tightened their Lie Dormant and went into hiding, completely severing all past ties with the Zhou Family.
They knew perfectly well that the existence capable of wiping out the Zhou Family with a flick of their fingers was not someone they could afford to offend. Even if the other party were to casually eliminate ants, it would be enough to reduce them to ashes.
This minor worldly disturbance is, in the eyes of Chen Du now, nothing more than a trivial and insignificant matter.
Having undergone the initiation of the Thunder Dao Origin over three thousand Ji Yuan, and possessing the complete acceptance of the Seventh-Grade Fundamental Law of Thunder, coupled with the hundredfold increase in the origin of his Soul Heart, his true cultivation level had already been firmly established at the Fourteenth Tier.
Now, he has completely broken free from the rigid cultivation methods of low-level cultivators, and has evolved his own unique divine weapon from his own Great Dao origin, which can be transformed in countless ways at will.
The entire Thunder Dao Evolution Divine Weapon is a self-contained system, requiring no hand seals, no charging, and no prelude. It can be formed in an instant and kill all beings in the heavens. Its moves are purely comparable to those of high-level powerful beings.
The First Form of the Ji Yuan Godslaying Sword: [Primordial Calamity Annihilation]
The Second Form of the Ji Yuan Godslaying Sword [Thunder Era Collapse]
The original magical power of the thunder path [Thunder Prison Locks the Heavens] [Instant Thunder Heavenly Strike] [Myriad Thunders Return to the Ruins]
Faced with this set of fundamental techniques, Twelfth Tier and Thirteenth Tier cultivators were extremely vulnerable and not even worthy of triggering a single one of his moves.
Let alone raising his hand to draw his sword, he couldn't even exhale a wisp of breath.
Even a wisp of the residual heat from the leaked Thunder Dao Origin could instantly annihilate all cultivators at the Thirteenth Tier and below, reducing their physical bodies, souls, and Dao foundations to Return to the Ruins.
In his eyes, the Zhou Family's fighting strength was nothing more than dust blown away at will. The entire annihilation of them could not even be considered a battle, but merely a simple cleanup.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Du returned to the Ancient Path Holy Land with unhurried steps, continuing to maintain his low-key Lie Dormant pace.
Deep within the sacred land, the Sixteenth Tier ancestor of the sacred land, who had been sleeping for countless years, once again sensed the subtle turbulence in the mortal world and slowly awoke from his ancient slumber.
This supreme powerhouse, who has lived through countless Ji Yuan, is a genuine top- Sixteenth Tier -order combatant, a terrifying existence at the very top of the entire Heavenly Gift Dynasty.
His Divine Thought was vast and boundless, and once it spread out, it enveloped the entire Ancient Path Holy Land, screening and deducing layer by layer, trying to capture the mysterious energy that repeatedly disrupted the cause and effect of heaven and earth.
However, the innate talent of Beyond Cause and Effect deep within Chen Du's sea of consciousness continued to operate autonomously, perfectly shattering and concealing all his Dao Resonance, aura, and traces of cultivation.
Despite the Sixteenth Tier ancestor's Divine Thought sweeping through the area three times and deducing it ten thousand times, he still couldn't find anything.
In the end, the patriarch of the holy land gained nothing. With a hint of lingering doubt, he withdrew his Divine Thought and returned to eternal silence once more.
This supreme expert at the top of the dynasty would never have imagined that the ordinary youth Lie Dormant right under his nose was already at the Fourteenth Tier.
After resting for a day in his private courtyard within the inner sect, Chen Du fully integrated into the inner sect's daily routine, embarking on an extreme development mode of working at night and sleeping during the day.
The inner sect's authority far surpasses that of the outer sect, except for a few core forbidden areas where Sixteenth Tier ancestors reside.
Ninety percent of the ancient secrets, medicinal treasures, and ancient traditions accumulated over tens of thousands of years in the sacred land are fully open to inner disciples.
During the day, Chen Du consistently suppressed his terrifying origins as a Fourteenth Tier domain lord, only revealing a shallow aura of his Eighth Stage cultivation, and quietly blending in among the inner disciples.
At this moment, dozens of newly recruited inner disciples were chatting in groups on the inner sect's preaching plaza, exchanging their assessment experiences and comparing their cultivation progress, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
A disciple dressed in an inner sect blue robe, whose cultivation was stuck at the Early Stage of the Ninth Tier, tilted his head back and chuckled, his tone tinged with self-satisfaction.
"This outer sect assessment was just so-so. Among all the newcomers, only Junior Brother Zhang Shun's Eighth Stage cultivation was somewhat impressive; the rest were all quite ordinary."
A Middle Stage -Ninth Tier disciple standing nearby quickly chimed in, his eyes filled with deep envy.
"Indeed impressive. He rose from a menial servant to the Eighth Stage of the inner sect in less than a year. Such talent is unparalleled even among the outer sect members in the last hundred years."
"However, in the end, his foundation is still shallow. He has just entered the inner sect and his foundation is not stable. If he wants to break through to the Ninth Tier or Tenth Tier, he will have to endure several years of hard work."
A perceptive disciple frowned slightly and spoke softly.
"Don't underestimate Junior Brother Zhang Shun. There were rumors in the outer sect that he personally crippled Zhou Jingxuan, and the Zhou Family's numerous schemes failed to harm him in the slightest. This person is definitely not simple."
The previously smug disciple waved his hand, a nonchalant smile on his face.
"Even if it's not simple, it's only at the Eighth Stage, which doesn't even rank in the inner sect."
"Even a core disciple of our inner sect starts at the Eleventh Tier, and the elders are at the Twelfth Tier or Thirteenth Tier. With his cultivation level, he can only be considered a promising newcomer."
The surrounding disciples echoed their opinions, all convinced that Chen Shun had a shallow foundation and low cultivation, and was merely an ordinary genius with outstanding luck.
Chen Du stood quietly at the edge of the crowd, listening to all the conversations without feeling a ripple in his heart.
The Eleventh Tier, Twelfth Tier, Thirteenth Tier that these disciples desperately looked up to were heights they could only reach after spending half a lifetime or even a lifetime. But in the eyes of this Fourteenth Tier disciple, they were nothing more than ants that could be blown away with a breath.
The elders they revered as powerful warriors of the mountains, the cultivation realm they so desperately pursued, didn't even qualify him to use the techniques of the Divine Weapon.
He was too lazy to argue or show any of his strength. He simply maintained the mild and indifferent demeanor of a newcomer, quietly listening to the chatter of the crowd, occasionally nodding slightly in agreement.
After a day of idle chatter, the disciples dispersed to continue their cultivation, and the square gradually became empty and quiet.
After the sky had completely darkened, the mountains were utterly silent, and all the inner disciples had gone into seclusion to rest, Chen Du finally shed all pretense and quietly set off to travel to various secret locations within the sacred land.
The seventh-grade Thunder Dao Origin transformed into tiny, invisible lightning threads that enveloped his entire body, perfectly shielding him from all array detection, Divine Thought probing, and spiritual energy capture. His figure was ethereal and silent, traversing the dark ancient land.
His first destination was the Myriad Laws Wall, which had stood for eternity on the back mountain of the inner gate.
The entire hundred-zhang-long stone wall is engraved with ancient Dao patterns dating back to the founding of the Ancient Path Holy Land, containing the profound mysteries of the laws. Even if ordinary disciples spend years trying to comprehend it, they can hardly understand even a fraction of its meaning.
Chen Du stood before the stone wall, simultaneously activating his three heaven-defying talents: Become a Saint on the Spot, the World as a Book, Super Upgrade.
The ancient, silent Dao Resonance of the stone wall instantly revived, and a vast and boundless ocean of laws surged into it.
All of it was poured into his sea of consciousness, and finally condensed into a complete and flawless Fourteenth Tier top-tier cultivation technique, "The True Explanation of the Return of All Laws to the Source".
The technique contains a complete set of Level-Six Fundamental Water Medium Core Laws, which can devour and reverse all external techniques. The stronger the enemy's laws and the more complex their moves, the more terrifying the amplification it will receive.
Having thoroughly mastered the entire Water System Dao, Chen Du's legal system was once again perfected.
He then turned and silently slipped into the Millennium Hundred-Herb Garden behind the alchemy room.
The entire garden is filled with spiritual energy and ancient trees reaching for the sky. Ancient medicinal herbs that are tens of thousands of years old are everywhere. Many of these plants were planted by the founding patriarch himself, nurturing their natural Dao Resonance and spirituality.
Chen Du stood in the corner with the richest spiritual energy in the garden, activating the Infinite Sign-In stacking Super Upgrade, and top-level rewards that spanned several grades instantly descended.
A Fourteenth Tier superior divine Hundred-Herb Soul-Restoring Pill Dao Resonance, materialized out of thin air.
The elixir contains the secret to reversing life and death, capable of reviving the dead, repairing shattered foundations, and salvaging fragmented souls; it is the ultimate trump card for survival in dire straits.
After carefully storing the divine pill, Chen Du headed straight for the ancient earth vein passage beneath the inner sect's martial arts arena, which had been abandoned for hundreds of millions of years.
This ancient main vein of spiritual energy has long been diverted and abandoned. It is dark, deep, and rarely visited by people, yet it contains the most profound and pure source of the earth that the sacred land has accumulated over tens of thousands of years.
Upon reaching the core of the earth's origin at the end of the veins, all three talents were fully activated once more, and the profound mysteries of the earth element, which had been dormant underground, rose up.
A complete and flawless Fourteenth Tier top-level defensive technique, "The Earth Vein Profound Comprehension Record," has been completed, accompanied by a full set of Level-Six Fundamental Earth Medium Core Laws. It can control mountains and rivers, suppress earth veins, condense a barrier of ten thousand miles, and defend against all Heaven Slayer.
As the cultivation technique is completed, Infinite Sign-In will trigger the ultimate treasure reward once again.
A powerful and majestic treasure fell into his palm. It could draw upon the earth's veins for thousands of miles to seal the void, solidify his own foundation to prevent it from breaking, and its defensive capabilities were unparalleled among those of the same level.
Overnight, Chen Du gathered the three sets of sixth-level fundamental laws of fire, thunder, water, and earth, and the four intermediate cores were perfectly integrated, thus maximizing his four-dimensional combat power of offense, defense, assimilation, and control.
His current cultivation foundation far surpasses that of all the inner and outer sect elders of the Ancient Path Holy Land.
In the days that followed, Chen Du maintained an extremely Lie Dormant profile, day after day.
During the day, he mingled among his fellow disciples, appearing as an honest, decent, and reasonably talented ordinary newcomer in everyone's eyes. He listened to the disciples around him discussing the difficult breakthroughs to the Tenth Tier and Twelfth Tier, and watched as the elders exhausted their efforts to overcome the bottleneck of the Thirteenth Tier.
At night, he transforms into a reaper of secret realms, using his domain lord-level primal power to rampage through various ancient lands and hidden treasures, gradually emptying out the ancient foundations accumulated over tens of thousands of years in the Ancient Path Holy Lands.
Throughout the entire Ancient Path Holy Land, no one knew that the seemingly weak Eighth Stage newcomer was actually Fourteenth Tier cultivator.
No one knew that the maximum combat power of all the ordinary Thirteenth Tier elders of the Holy Land, even at their strongest, was merely a speck of dust that he could annihilate with a single breath.