Golden Immortal Late Stage, Directly Aiming for Quasi-Saint

Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.

The moment Shi Ji, holding Nezha, disappeared into the sky above Chen Tang Pass.

"Pfft!"

Venerable Yuanshi spat out a mouthful of golden Saint's blood and swayed, nearly falling from his cloud bed.

He wasn't angry; his Dao heart had suffered an unprecedented shock, triggering a backlash from his own Great Dao.

"Shi Ji... Shi Ji..."

He repeatedly muttered the name, his eyes bloodshot and filled with madness.

"How dare she! How dare she!!!"

Venerable Yuanshi let out a howl of extreme anguish.

This roar contained endless rage, humiliation, and a trace of fear he himself refused to admit!

A Jiejiao demon immortal, whom he had killed and whose soul and form were destroyed, had not only resurrected but had also, in front of everyone, snatched away the chosen pioneer of the Calamity that his Sect of Explanation had designated!

What was this?

This was a blatant slap in the face!

It was like rubbing his face, Venerable Yuanshi's face, repeatedly on the ground!

He could almost hear the countless powerful beings throughout the Primordial Era secretly mocking him.

"Look, that's Venerable Yuanshi, unable to even protect his own disciple's descendant!"

"Indeed, to have him snatched away by a dead person, what a huge joke!"

"The Sect of Explanation is finished, its destiny has run out!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Venerable Yuanshi clutched his head, feeling as if his soul was being torn apart by these imagined jeers.

"Senior Brother! Calm down! Guard your Dao heart!"

Grand Supreme Elder Laozi, standing nearby, saw this and his expression changed drastically. He immediately pointed a finger, sending a Pure and Effortless Grand Clarity immortal light into Venerable Yuanshi's brow.

Venerable Yuanshi trembled, and a sliver of reason finally returned to his frenzied eyes.

However, the aura emanating from him remained extremely violent.

"Senior Brother! You saw it! You saw it all!" he pointed at the void, looking like a madman. "This is absolutely not something Tongtian could do! For someone whose soul and form were destroyed to be resurrected, even the Dao Ancestor might not be able to do it easily! Behind this, there must be a terrifying existence we don't know about, targeting my Sect of Explanation!"

Grand Supreme Elder Laozi's expression also became extremely solemn.

How could he not know the gravity of the situation?

A dead person resurrecting and snatching the Son of Destiny.

This was no longer a simple struggle for a Calamity; this was clearly an attempt to cut off the lineage of his Sect of Explanation from its roots!

"You stay here, I'll be back soon!"

Grand Supreme Elder Laozi left these words, and his figure instantly vanished from Jade Void Palace.

The next moment, he appeared before the Purple Firmament Palace, thirty-three layers of heaven away.

However, no matter how he called out or prostrated, the eternally existing palace's doors remained tightly shut, with no response whatsoever.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun seemed to have completely severed his connection with heaven and earth.

A moment later, Grand Supreme Elder Laozi returned to Jade Void Palace with a dark expression.

"The Dao Ancestor... will not respond."

These three words were like a basin of ice water, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in Venerable Yuanshi's heart.

Even the Dao Ancestor wouldn't intervene?

Could it be that the Heavenly Dao truly intended to destroy his Sect of Explanation?

"No! I will never believe it!"

A furious flame reignited in Venerable Yuanshi's eyes.

"Since the Dao Ancestor won't intervene, I'll investigate myself!"

"I refuse to believe that even digging three feet into the ground won't reveal this rat hiding in the dark!"

He slammed his cloud bed, and his entire body shot up into the sky, hovering above Jade Void Palace.

"Pangu Banner, appear!"

With a furious roar, a simple, chaotic banner radiating endless killing intent of creation appeared in his hand.

It was his treasure of enlightenment, the innate supreme treasure, the Pangu Banner!

"Heavenly Dao above! In the name of Pangu's true lineage, I command all heavens to trace back time and reveal the truth!"

Venerable Yuanshi madly poured all his Saintly magical power into the Pangu Banner.

Hum--

The Pangu Banner vibrated violently, chaotic energy swirling across its surface as bolts of heaven-splitting divine lightning flashed.

An invisible force, capable of tearing through space-time, emanated from the banner, surging against the river of time, flowing upstream!

He intended to forcibly break through the mist of Heavenly Secrets and see how Shi Ji had been resurrected!

A Saint, using a treasure that proved the Dao, pushing his deductions to the limit – what a terrifying spectacle that was?

The entirety of Kunlun Mountain, and even more than half of the East Victory Continent, experienced distortions in space-time.

Countless living beings, at that moment, witnessed bizarre and fantastical sights.

In the sky, the sun blazed fiercely at times, the starry river glittered at others, and then it would revert to the primordial chaos before the separation of heaven and earth.

All the powerful beings were alarmed by this surge of power.

In Huoyun Cave, the Three Sovereigns simultaneously opened their eyes, their faces etched with horror.

"It's Saint Yuanshi! Has he gone mad? Daring to disrupt the river of time and space like this!"

Deep within the North Sea, in the Demon Master's Palace, Patriarch Kunpeng was so terrified that he immediately hid himself in the deepest part of the palace.

"Mad, they're all mad! This Calamity is too terrifying!"

In the Sea of Blood, Patriarch Minghe's expression also changed drastically. He quickly activated the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, shielding the entire Sea of Blood.

Meanwhile, within the Investiture of the Gods Space.

Shen Zhaochi felt the terrifying power attempting to pry into the past and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Old Yuanshi, finally cornered into flipping the table, are we?"

"You want to use the Pangu Banner to reverse time? Did you ask the Investiture of the Gods in my hand first?"

Shen Zhaochi's eyes also sharpened.

Although he was merely a newcomer who had just gained control of the Investiture of the Gods, the Investiture of the Gods' status was that of a genuine Chaos Supreme Treasure!

In terms of origin and foundation, it was even superior to the Pangu Banner!

"Primordial Violet Qi, circulate for me!"

Shen Zhaochi's mind stirred, and the Primordial Violet Qi converter began to operate frantically.

Streams of Primordial Divine Power, refined to the utmost purity, were continuously injected into the main body of the Investiture of the Gods.

"In the name of the Lord of Godhood, I decree: Heavenly Secrets, be confounded! Causality, be reversed! Past and future, all are illusions!"

Buzz!!!

The Investiture of the Gods, suspended in the center of the divine domain, erupted with an unprecedented radiance, even more dazzling than all previous times combined.

A formless yet supreme divine law of Godhood spread from the banner, instantly covering the entire river of Heavenly Secrets in the Primordial Era.

Venerable Yuanshi, who was fully activating the Pangu Banner in an attempt to see into the past, suddenly felt his vision blur.

The river of time in his eyes instantly became incredibly chaotic.

The past concerning Shi Ji's resurrection, which had initially been a mere mist, now transformed into a black hole that devoured everything!

His power, capable of tearing through space-time, plunged into this black hole only to vanish without a trace, like a clay ox entering the sea.

Not only that, but a backlash force, so powerful it made him tremble, surged back along his connection with the Pangu Banner!

"Not good!"

Venerable Yuanshi's expression changed drastically. Without thinking, he tried to sever his connection with the Pangu Banner.

But it was too late!

"Pfft—"

He spat out another mouthful of Saint's blood, his entire body like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily from mid-air and smashing a large pit into the incredibly hard white jade floor of the Jade Void Palace.

The Pangu Banner in his hand also let out a mournful cry, its light dimming as it fell to the side.

"Master!"

"Senior Brother!"

Grand Supreme Elder Laozi and the remaining nine Golden Immortals were utterly terrified and rushed forward.

They saw Venerable Yuanshi lying in the pit, his hair disheveled, his aura extremely weak, with golden blood seeping from his seven orifices.

He had actually... been backlashed by Heavenly Secrets and severely injured!

A Saint, actually severely injured by a backlash from Heavenly Secrets!

If this news were to spread, the entire Primordial Era would explode!

"How... how could this be..."

Venerable Yuanshi struggled to sit up, looking at his trembling hands, his eyes for the first time revealing an emotion known as "despair."

He had lost.

He had lost completely.

He didn't even know who his enemy was.

The other party merely obscured the Heavenly Secrets, yet it caused him, a Saint holding an innate supreme treasure, to suffer such a severe backlash.

Just how terrifying must the other party's true strength be then?

Could it be... truly on the level of the Dao Ancestor, or even a being surpassing the Dao Ancestor?

At this thought, Venerable Yuanshi felt a chill run down his spine.

He completely lost the courage to confront them.

"Senior Brother..." he said, his voice hoarse, grabbing Grand Supreme Elder Laozi's sleeve, "I was wrong... I was truly wrong..."

"Seal the mountain... Seal the mountain immediately!"

"Issue my decree: all disciples of the Sect of Explanation are forbidden to step out of Kunlun Mountain by half a step! This Calamity, the Sect of Explanation... will not participate!"

After saying this, it was as if all his vitality had been drained. His eyes rolled back, and he directly fainted.

The entire Jade Void Palace fell into a deathly silence.

The remaining nine Golden Immortals, looking at their Master who had fainted and then at Venerable Taishang, whose face was so grim it looked like water could drip from it, were all struck dumb with fear. They didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

They knew that the heavens of the Sect of Explanation had fallen.