The Next Ancestral Return Requires Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Cultivation!

Inside the Main Hall, the Dao Sound echoed faintly.

Taishang, Zhen Yuanzi, and Hong Yun, three Quasi-Saint Great Experts, sat cross-legged. Above their heads, their Celebratory Clouds unfurled, countless Azure Lotuses flickering in and out of visibility. Every word that fell from their lips contained the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

The Great Dao Sounds collided with one another, stirring up layer upon layer of ripples. The entire Wuzhuang Temple was enveloped in an atmosphere of profound mystery.

Niu Ben lay propped to one side. The vast life energy transformed from the Ginseng Fruit surged through his body like a Celestial River in wild, untamed flood.

It resonated strangely with the Great Dao Sounds.

His comprehension rate skyrocketed in an unimaginable way!

Time lost all meaning amidst the discourse on the Dao.

Primordial Aeons Pass Uncounted; in the mountains, there are no seasons.

The Chaos Singularity within Niu Ben's body exploded with a roar, transforming into a small, gray, hazy space. Within it, the phantom of the first Earth Fiend Divine Ox slowly began to take shape.

Its entire body was composed of pure energy—ox-headed and human-bodied, with bulging muscles, radiating a thick, primeval aura.

It worked!

Niu Ben rejoiced inwardly. He continued guiding the remaining medicinal power of the Ginseng Fruit, along with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drawn in from outside, to begin condensing the second, the third...

Meanwhile, the three Great Experts in the hall had long since sunk deep into their exploration of the Great Dao, utterly oblivious to the earth-shattering changes taking place in the little Azure Ox beside them.

They spoke from the beginning of the Immortal Path, discussed the Golden Immortal realm, touched on the Primordial Unity Dao Fruit and the Zenith Heaven Supreme, and finally pointed straight at the Quasi-Saint method of Slaying the Three Corpses.

Hong Yun was free and easy, following his heart.

Zhen Yuanzi was steady and composed, bearing virtue with depth.

Taishang was non-contending, clear and tranquil.

And so, at the intersection of three different paths, three thousand years slipped away in the blink of an eye.

Above Wuzhuang Temple, Auspicious Clouds coiled and Auspicious Qi rose in billows.

Inside the Main Hall, the profound Dao Sound finally began to fade.

"Haha, what a joy! Three thousand years of Dao discourse with you, fellow Daoists, surpasses a hundred thousand years of solitary cultivation!" Hong Yun clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

Zhen Yuanzi also smiled faintly, clasping his hands in salute. "Fellow Daoist Taishang's Dao of Non-Action is truly unfathomable. This poor Daoist has gained immensely."

Taishang nodded slightly, his expression still calm, but a hint of clarity flickered in his placid, well-like eyes.

"Boom—"

A dull clap of thunder exploded without warning in the Nine Heavens Above!

The entire Longevity Mountain Blessed Land trembled faintly.

"A Heavenly Tribulation?"

Zhen Yuanzi's brows knit tightly, his face full of confusion.

"My Wuzhuang Temple is a place where the Primordial Realm's fortune converges, Immune to All Calamities. How could it attract a Heavenly Tribulation?"

Taishang's gaze swept across the Tribulation Cloud. His profound eyes seemed to pierce through the layers of dark clouds, staring straight at its origin.

And at that very moment, the "Stone Sculpture" lying prostrate in the hall finally moved.

Niu Ben slowly raised his Ox Head and let out a long breath of turbid air.

That nap was amazing!

He sank his mind into his body and was instantly stunned by the earth-shattering changes, his heart surging with excitement.

His cultivation had already firmly stepped into the Mystic Immortal realm!

And within the Chaos Space in his Dantian stood five hundred majestic Earth Fiend Divine Oxen!

Each one radiated a fierce aura comparable to a Houtian Spiritual Treasure!

His physical strength had increased by more than a hundredfold compared to three thousand years ago!

"Ding!"

"Detected host's cultivation reaching Mystic Immortal. Conditions for first Bloodline Ancestral Return met."

"Bloodline Ancestral Return about to begin!"

"Warning! Heavenly Tribulation detected descending. Please prepare, host!"

Holy crap!

So it really is my tribulation!

Niu Ben's heart jolted. He had only broken through to Mystic Immortal—how could this have drawn a Heavenly Tribulation?

The only explanation was that this heaven-defying Bloodline Ancestral Return had triggered the Heavenly Dao Rules!

The gazes of the three Great Experts finally, at this moment, all fell squarely on him.

The source of the Calamity Qi was this ox!

The atmosphere, in that instant, became utterly bizarre.

Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun's faces were filled with disbelief.

A cow?

A cow that had just broken through from Heavenly Immortal to Mystic Immortal?

Had attracted such a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation?

The oppressive Tribulation Cloud, with its overwhelming might, surpassed even the scene of an ordinary True Immortal undergoing tribulation!

How could a Mystic Immortal possibly draw a Thunder Punishment of this level?

"This..." Hong Yun opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words, and could only turn his head to look at Taishang.

Niu Ben, at this moment, had no time to care about anything else.

The Heavenly Tribulation had already locked onto him, pressing down so heavily that he could barely breathe.

He shook his massive Ox Head and respectfully sent a thought to Taishang Daoist: "Master, this little ox... needs to go undergo the tribulation."

His voice was steady, without a hint of panic.

Taishang Daoist gave him a faint glance.

"Go."

Just one word, yet it seemed to grant Niu Ben the greatest permission and confidence.

Niu Ben acknowledged, and with a sudden push of his four hooves.

"Moo!"

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering Ox Roar resounded through the skies!

His colossal body turned into a streak of Azure Lightning, bursting through the roof of the Daoist Temple, charging without hesitation toward the pitch-black Tribulation Cloud.

Boom!

The moment he rushed out of Wuzhuang Temple, the aura of his Mystic Immortal cultivation was fully unleashed without reserve.

And the Tribulation Cloud above the heavens, as if provoked, spun even more violently!

The purple Thunder Dragon and the azure figure collided with a thunderous crash, and the violent Lightning Light instantly engulfed Niu Ben entirely.

Purple Lightning Snakes wildly slithered over his solid muscles, only to emit a series of crackling sounds, utterly unable to tear through his skin, which was comparable to a Magic Treasure.

"Exhilarating! Again!"

Niu Ben felt every inch of his flesh and blood being tempered and strengthened by the lightning, and the sense of transformation originating from the depths of his bloodline grew clearer, making him unable to resist raising his head in a long roar.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

The Heavenly Tribulation seemed thoroughly enraged, as the second and third divine thunders followed one after another, each thicker and more violent than the last!

Niu Ben accepted them all without refusal, using his body as a furnace and the Heavenly Tribulation as fire to refine himself, accelerating the atavistic process of his bloodline.

Under this terrifying Thunder Punishment, his body did not collapse; instead, it exuded an increasingly ancient and noble aura.

It was a pressure that surpassed ordinary Innate Beings!

"His Origin... is rising!" Hong Yun exclaimed in shock.

"How is this possible! A being's Origin is fixed from the day of birth; unless there is a heaven-defying fortune, it can never be improved after birth!" Zhen Yuanzi muttered to himself, his usually composed Dao Heart now in complete disarray.

He stared at the figure bathed in Lightning Light in the sky, as if witnessing the birth of a myth.

Only Taishang Daoist's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Boom!"

The ninth, and final, Heavenly Tribulation finally descended!

It was a bolt of lightning that had almost turned pure black, carrying a destructive aura that made even a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal change color!

Niu Ben's eyes turned bloodshot as he pushed the power of all the Earth Fiend Divine Oxen within him to its limit, transforming into a massive Chaos Ox Shadow that surged skyward.

"Break!"

After the earth-shattering explosion, the sky-filling Tribulation Cloud dissipated into smoke.

A brilliant golden light descended from the Nine Heavens Above, enveloping Niu Ben.

This was the Heavenly Dao Gift, the reward for successfully overcoming the tribulation.

And the changes within Niu Ben's body reached their peak at this moment!

"Moo—"

A distant, desolate Ox Roar, as if from the age of Chaos, erupted from his mouth.

The Bloodline Shackles within him were completely shattered!

A faint, yet utterly pure, Chaos Qi began to emanate from his body.

His Origin had completed an epic leap at this moment!

From an ordinary Innate Being, he had risen to become an Innate Divine Being Origin!

The bottleneck of his cultivation, under the scouring of this transformative power and the Heavenly Dao Gift, was torn through like paper in an instant!

Mystic Immortal mid stage!

Mystic Immortal late stage!

Golden Immortal early stage!

His cultivation surged forward triumphantly, finally settling steadily at the early Golden Immortal stage!

"Ding!"

"The next ancestral awakening requires Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation!"

Niu Ben slowly descended from the air, his massive form reverting to human shape, and bowed deeply to the three Great Experts within Wuzhuang Temple.