The Curtain Falls

In the Water God Palace.

A flush of crimson appeared on the Eighteenth Prince's face.

Clearly, the conflict within his sea of consciousness had affected him significantly.

"The battle within the sea of consciousness is extremely perilous."

"If not for the Profound Nether Weak Water Bead suppressing my sea of consciousness, this single battle would have destroyed my divine sense completely."

Although he was heavily injured.

And the life-saving measures left by Father God were also exhausted.

As long as he could obtain the Water God's Golden Seal and control the authority of the Wei River.

Then everything would be worth it.

The Eighteenth Prince didn't even glance at the mess in the hall. He stepped forward and grabbed the Water God's Golden Seal.

He was about to refine it in an instant.

But just then.

A bamboo staff suddenly appeared behind his head.

Streams of pure, profound light flickered incessantly.

Bang!

The bamboo staff swung, sealing the user's five senses and six consciousnesses.

The Eighteenth Prince was already at the end of his rope. With this blow, his already precarious Dao Body collapsed onto the ground.

In the instant before he lost consciousness, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

"Who exactly is plotting against me?!"

Zhou Yuan looked at the unconscious Eighteenth Prince lying on the ground and sighed:

"If I hadn't been cautious and sent more puppets to stir up trouble."

"I'm afraid I would have fallen for you this time."

The offspring of a veteran Dao Lord indeed had many tricks up their sleeve.

However, Zhou Yuan merely sighed briefly.

The victor becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit. No matter what, he was the one standing in the Water God Palace now.

"The Water God's Golden Seal."

This item was formed from the origin authority of the Wei River.

It was also a manifestation of the origin of heaven and earth.

Zhou Yuan reached out and grasped the Water God's Golden Seal, refining its core with his divine sense.

Instantly.

The entire Wei River secret realm, and even the Wei River itself, began to boil.

Countless water element spiritual energies evolved into myriad profound mysteries.

Rivers, lakes, and seas flowed endlessly; countless water veins were within his palm lines.

Zhou Yuan's Primordial Spirit ascended, and everything in the Wei River was encompassed within his vision.

From the smallest, unintelligent fish and shrimp to the water element cultivators above and below the Wei River.

Every blade of grass, every tree, myriad living beings, all known and omnipotent with a single thought.

The Water God's Golden Seal, floating in the void, fell into his Primordial Spirit's sea of consciousness.

The entire secret realm stirred, and then a magnificent divine path aura ascended.

The water element laws transformed into myriad canopies.

Golden flowers bloomed, and golden lotuses emerged.

Daoist music and immortal melodies sounded around his Dao Body.

"Amidst the gathering of the three lights, the five regions of rivers and seas are clear, the heavens descend with nine-colored energy, and the earth gives birth to all things."

Zhou Yuan, wearing a crown and a sky-blue ornate robe, held a golden seal, displaying divine authority and majesty.

He ascended, standing above the void of the secret realm.

Like a great sun illuminating eternity.

Rumbling divine sounds echoed throughout the entire secret realm.

"I now ascend to the position of Water God of the Wei River."

"I shall re-establish laws and order."

"You who trespassed into the Water Mansion and interfered with the central hub of the Wei River's water element."

"Shall serve in the Water Mansion for one Yuan Assembly."

The beings searching for treasures and spiritual materials throughout the Water Mansion immediately changed their expressions.

A Heavenly Human and Divine Demon looked up at the vast divine light above the Water God Palace and said:

"Divine Lord, the Water Mansion was previously ownerless, which is why we dared to enter. Now that Divine Lord has ascended to the great position, we naturally wouldn't dare to linger. We hope Divine Lord will investigate clearly."

Twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty years of a One Yuan Assembly.

They were all powerful figures in their own right outside, how could they be willing to waste their years in this Water Mansion.

"Noisy!"

Zhou Yuan frowned upon hearing this and lightly flicked his finger. The Heavenly Human and Divine Demon who had just spoken instantly turned into a stream of water and vanished without a trace.

This decisive act of killing made the beings present tremble with fear and fall silent.

"It is decided."

"Who agrees? Who opposes?"

Zhou Yuan scanned the surroundings, and not a single being dared to meet his gaze directly.

"We respectfully obey Divine Lord's decree."

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan nodded slightly.

He then selected several more Heavenly Humans and Divine Demons to act as overseers. He had them lead the other beings to either repair the Water God Palace, cultivate spiritual medicine, refine divine gold and spirit ore, or nurture spirit beasts.

All the necessary materials would naturally be drawn from the remains of the beings from the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty and the previous master of the Water Mansion's treasures.

The Water Mansion secret realm would also be closed, and no beings would be allowed to enter or exit.

After making these arrangements, Zhou Yuan returned to the Water Mansion.

"Refining the Wei River Origin Divine Seal is not something that can be accomplished in a short time. However, just by initially grasping the authority of the Wei River, my comprehension of the Great Dao of Water Element has increased significantly. I can only say, worthy of being an Innate Ancient God."

Zhou Yuan sighed slightly.

In the beginning of the Primordial Era, gods and the Dao were one. The 'gods' here referred to the Innate Ancient Gods who controlled the authority of the world, not ordinary Innate God Clans.

When chaos first began and the Primordial Era was first established, the Primordial Great World was the world of powerful Divine Path beings. The Innate Ancient Gods, born with the fortune of heaven and earth, were the darlings of heaven and earth. Such deities were far beyond comparison to the deities later enfeoffed by the Investiture of the Gods, or those who achieved divinity through incense offerings. They controlled the authority of heaven and earth, their might concentrated within themselves. By using the origin of heaven and earth to comprehend the Dao and cultivate, their progress was often rapid, and they were accompanied by great fortune.

"It's a pity that so many gods perished when the Primordial Heavenly Court fell. The number of Primordial Great Gods who died at the end of the Dragon-Han Tribulation is immeasurable, still burying ninety-nine percent of the Divine Path's foundation. When these Innate Ancient Gods perished, the authority of heaven and earth they controlled was naturally reabsorbed by the Heavenly Dao. When the Primordial Era first began, the Heavenly Dao was still in its infancy, and the gods divided the authority of heaven and earth. But after the Dragon-Han Red Bright Tribulation, a large number of gods were destroyed in the final tribulation. The Heavenly Dao instinctively reclaimed the divine authority usurped by the gods, and from then on, no more Innate Ancient Gods appeared. By the time Dao Ancestor Hongjun merged with the Dao, the Primordial Heavenly Dao was completely perfected. The Heavenly Dao is supreme, eternal, and indestructible, maintaining the order and rules of the Primordial Great World. However, the Heavenly Dao has forty-nine variations, with one escaping. Although heaven and earth would no longer deplete their own origin authority to nurture Innate Ancient Gods, it would not pursue those gods who had already boarded the chariot. It's like the saying 'new rules for new people, old rules for old people'."

"And what I now possess is a ticket to the Origin Divine Path."

A brilliant light flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. He had not expected that this Divine Path Golden Seal was actually transformed from the authority of the Innate Water Element.

"The Water Lords of previous generations were too deeply hidden. No, perhaps it's better to say that the Water Ancestor's legacy is too profound."

Zhou Yuan also did not expect that after the Water Ancestor, who contended with the Ancestor Dragon for the supreme Water Element Black Emperor position in the Primordial Era, perished, a trace of its True Spirit could still escape.

"Incredible, truly incredible!"

Zhou Yuan exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration.

According to the information conveyed by the Divine Path Golden Seal.

The Water Ancestor, a former Innate Dao Lord, had not only successfully reincarnated through that wisp of True Spirit but had also, relying on his own foundations and contingency plans, recondensed the authority of the Water Element. This opened the door for him to ascend once more to the position of an Innate Ancient God.

One must understand that the Water Ancestor's status was extremely high; in his prime, he was an existence capable of contending with the Ancestor Dragon for the position of Black Emperor.

The Divine Path Golden Seal he condensed, though it appeared to be merely a physical manifestation of the Wei River's authority, held immense potential.

For in the Water Ancestor's most powerful days, he had controlled the Four Rivers of the Primordial Era and all the water veins across the Primordial Great World.

His status was so high that he was only one step away from the supreme authority of the Water Element position and the Black Emperor divine seat.

Therefore, this Divine Path Golden Seal possessed limitless possibilities.

Theoretically, if the Water Ancestor could reintegrate all the water veins of heaven and earth, he could recondense his authority and position.

However, this move was an attempt to seize authority from heaven and earth, and naturally, it was rejected by them.

"When fortune smiles, heaven and earth conspire to assist; when it turns, even heroes are powerless."

Despite his extraordinary talent allowing him to reclaim the divine seat of the Wei River Lord, he could not escape destruction during the final tribulation of the Archaic Era.

The subsequent Wei River Lords who took up the mantle of Innate Ancient Gods inherited the Water Ancestor's legacy. They did not directly attempt to undermine heaven and earth. Although their cultivation paths encountered occasional setbacks, over generations, by accumulating great merit and fortune through benefiting the Wei River, the Karma associated with this divine seat was gradually worn away.

However, these few Water Lords were ordinary beings from the Wei River who had attained enlightenment. Their foundations were shallow, and they often perished on the path to enlightenment before they could even prove themselves as Innate Dao Lords.

This continued until Zhou Yuan formally inherited the legacy of the Wei River lineage.

"So, does that mean I now have the qualifications to contend for the supreme position of Water Element and the Black Emperor's legacy?!"