Putting on an Act!

"We can't wait any longer!"

The Elder Yuan appeared to be changing the line on a newly taken-out fishing rod, but his eyes were filled with madness.

"In this battle for destiny, those useless fools from the Wujian Gate can't hold out much longer. The final battle could break out at any moment."

"Now Zhou Hao has broken through again, and he has mastered one of the higher-level Heavenly Dao, the ' Heavenly Dao of Destruction'..."

There are ten Heavenly Dao in the Three Realms.

Among them, the Five Elements Heavenly Dao is the fundamental basis of the world and the easiest to comprehend. Even after mastering it, it is the weakest among the Ancestor Immortal, merely an ordinary True God Dao Ancestor, which is a Lower Heavenly Dao.

The four principles of 'Yin and Yang', 'Destruction and Life', if one comprehends and masters any one of them, is equivalent to comprehending three or four of the 'Five Elements Heavenly Dao ', reaching the level of a top-tier True God Dao Ancestor, which is called the Upper Heavenly Dao.

The next step is to comprehend and master all the 'Five Elements Heavenly Dao ', or the two relative superior Heavenly Dao such as 'Yin and Yang', 'Destruction and Life', so that even with a third-class Ancestor Immortal Core, one can be comparable to ordinary Ancestor God and first-class Ancestor Immortal, and be called a leader-level great power.

Zhou Hao's original foundation and strength surpassed all the old-established Dao Ancestors of the Three Realms. Now, six hundred years later, his Dao realm has improved even further.

The Wujian Gate has always been at a disadvantage in the struggle for destiny, and now Zhou Hao has made a breakthrough, which may very well be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Elder Yuan knew very well that the Wujian Gate could no longer wait.

"The insidious erosion and infiltration have been going on for over six hundred years. Although that kid's soul is strong, his Dao heart is questionable."

Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

Inside the main hall of Five Village Temple.

The chaotic vortex of air dissipated.

As Zhou Hao, clad in black robes, sensed the Ancestor Immortal that had been refined and enhanced once again by the aura of the Heavenly Dao, and his divine soul that had surged and grown even stronger, his mouth stretched wider and wider until he finally burst out laughing.

"With the breakthrough of my Second Primordial Spirit, my divine soul has soared by nearly 30%. The nurturing effect of my original body, Blue Flower, is a hundred times better than mine. The day when I successfully refine the Void Holy City is not far off."

Wow.

Zhou Hao, dressed in black, rose and left the main hall.

Just as I stepped out of the main hall, I saw Elder Yuan carrying a fish basket and swaying towards me.

"Haha, young friend, you've broken through again! This old man just caught a spirit fish, which is perfect for cooking. Congratulations!" Elder Yuan said with a smile.

"I'm sorry to have troubled Fellow Daoist Yuan with your concern," Zhou Hao said with a smile.

"Look at these fish..." Elder Yuan lifted the fish basket to show Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao didn't take it seriously at first, but then a mysterious and unpredictable fluctuation suddenly emanated from the Elder Yuan, instantly invading his body and attacking his soul.

At the same time as this fluctuation swept in, a powerful and vast invisible force also erupted outside Zhou Hao's divine soul and true spirit.

In an instant.

Even with Zhou Hao's strong spiritual power, he froze on the spot, his eyes losing focus.

"Can it work?" Elder Yuan's eyes shone with hope.

He was well aware of his own strengths and methods, but Zhou Hao was not like an ordinary native. Even after all these years of getting along, he still hadn't seen through him.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Two sword lights, one black and one white, suddenly attacked, aiming straight at Elder Yuan was not far away.

These were originally the Patriarch Styx's two swords, ' Yuantu ' and ' Avici ', which Zhou Hao activated with the magic power of a half-step Chaos Immortal, combined with the fifth-level Taiji Power contained within the swords...

Its power was so great that even top-tier Ancestor God would change color in its presence.

"So it failed again..." Elder Yuan sighed, and the fish basket in his hand instantly turned into dust, giving rise to a whisk.

He then simply held his whisk in front of him and blocked the incoming black and white sword light.

"Among the Four Ancestors of Source River, it seems that Fellow Daoist Yuan has kept his secret the deepest." Zhou Hao looked at the rapidly retreating ' Elder Yuan ' with his eyes full of inquiry.

The skill displayed by the ' Elder Yuan ' was already comparable to that of a top-tier Ancestor God. Moreover, the whisk in his hand was a Chaos Treasure. Regardless of whether it was a realm, strength, or magic weapon, it had already exceeded the limits that a normal Elder Yuan could reach.

"Could it be that this alien race wants to confront me?" Zhou Hao felt a little heavy-hearted.

It wasn't that he was worried about not being able to subdue this alien race; it was just that his true self had not yet returned, and his Second Primordial Spirit alone was not enough to enslave this alien race with his soul. He was also worried about the powerful beings in the Three Realms whom he secretly controlled.

There is particular concern that among these people might be powerful leaders from Nuwa Faction, as well as close associates like Uncle Xiaoyao and Lü Dongbin.

"Haha, young friend, what makes you say that?"

The ' Elder Yuan ' brandished his whisk, continuously deflecting the sword light.

"If the old man didn't have some strength, why would he keep thinking about leaving the Three Realms to venture into the endless chaos in order to reach the World Realm? It's precisely because the old man's strength has already reached the peak of the Three Realms that he disdains the battle between the two factions, finding it boring."

Hearing what the ' Elder Yuan ' said, Zhou Hao felt reassured, understanding that he didn't want to reveal his alien identity yet, so he decided not to expose him for now and played along.

"Since you find the factional struggle uninteresting, and I have never forced Fellow Daoist Yuan to choose a side, allowing you to remain an observer, then why?" A trace of pain appeared in Zhou Hao's eyes.

Why?

The Elder Yuan's eyes turned cold. "I asked you for the Sanqing Ones' ' One Breath Transforms into Three Pure Ones ' secret technique, but you refused to give it to me. Yet the Wujian Gate is willing to give away three great secret manuals! You've seen how much strength Styx and Lu Ya have increased after obtaining the manuals. Since you won't give me the method I need to improve my strength, I naturally have no choice but to agree to the Wujian Gate."

"Can't Fellow Daoist Yuan see the current situation clearly?" Zhou Hao earnestly advised, "The Wujian Gate is destined to lose..."

"So what if we lose?" ' Elder Yuan ' sneered. "With the speed of the Wind Demon, even if we lose in the end, he can still take us away from the Three Realms. Anyway, I'll leave sooner or later. As long as I'm strong enough, I don't care if I destroy the Three Realms."

As he spoke, ' Elder Yuan ' had already retreated and flown out of Mountain of Ten Thousand Longevities.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, this is the last time I will address you as 'Fellow Daoist'." Zhou Hao's eyes were icy cold, and his aura of killing intent surged.

"Hahaha..." Elder Yuan laughed, his beard and hair trembling with laughter, "On the path of cultivation, one person is enough, why need fellow Daoists!"

"Then you shall go alone!" Zhou Hao's figure transformed into lightning as he rushed towards ' Elder Yuan '.

"Since I dared to launch an attack, how could I not have taken precautions against failure?" The ' Elder Yuan ' neither dodged nor evaded, as if everything was under his control.

"Hmm?" Zhou Hao's heart stirred as he sensed a powerful aura suddenly entering the Longevity Realm, arriving almost instantly before him.

Boom!

Two hands caught Zhou Hao's 'angry blow'.

Again, the invisible mental energy of the ' Elder Yuan ' transformed into sharp blades and swords that shook his soul. Zhou Hao 'angrily' looked at the blue-haired, red-robed man who suddenly appeared in front of the ' Elder Yuan ' and roared, "Wind Demon, it's you again!"

"Boom!" The sky above the Longevity Realm changed color.

The very essence of the world was converging here under Zhou Hao's control.

"Let's go." The Lord of Myriad Demons' expression changed. He grabbed the ' Elder Yuan ' and instantly transformed into a stream of light. Before the world's primordial energy could gather, they escaped from the Longevity Realm and then disappeared through the void.

"Hmph!" Zhou Hao glared angrily in the direction where the two figures had disappeared.

Fortunately, there was the Wind Demon.

Zhou Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If you get too caught up in the role and force the "Elder Yuan" to reveal more of his true colors, then all your efforts will be in vain, and all those years of waiting will have been for nothing.

"Big brother."

Wow.

A flash of sword light revealed a young man in white robes.

"Ji Ning." Zhou Hao nodded slightly, his anger still lingering.

"Was the one you just fought, Brother? The Lord of Myriad Demons?" Ji Ning's eyes flashed with a cold sharpness.

For over six hundred years, his Second Primordial Spirit had been in the Longevity Realm. Having spent a long time with Zhou Hao, and grateful for his teachings and life-saving grace, he began to address him as "elder brother."

"And there's Elder Yuan," Zhou Hao sighed. "Elder Yuan has been concealing his strength, and this time he has also joined the Wujian Gate."

"Elder Yuan has actually joined the Wujian Gate? Didn't he want to avoid getting involved in the conflicts of the Three Realms?" Ji Ning asked in surprise.

"He doesn't want to get involved in the conflict, but in order to gain benefits from the Wujian Gate, he'd probably be willing to directly destroy the Three Realms." Zhou Hao briefly recounted the story told by the ' Elder Yuan ' earlier.

"He's really gone mad from cultivating." Ji Ning shook his head.

Among practitioners, there are all sorts of people; some have even killed their wives, children, or parents in their pursuit of enlightenment.

In his view, the Elder Yuan was the same.

"Let's not talk about him anymore." Zhou Hao waved his hand. "Everyone has their own ambitions. We'll settle accounts with him during the final battle. Anyway, one more person from the Wujian Gate won't make a difference."

Ji Ning nodded.

"By the way," Zhou Hao looked at Ji Ning, "You haven't been able to contact the original body yet?"

This is indeed a strange story.

During his six hundred years of secluded cultivation, Zhou Hao's strength and realm improved rapidly, and Ji Ning's cultivation speed was not slow either.

After rescuing Yu Wei's soul, Ji Ning first asked Zhou Hao to send Yu Wei's soul into a small-scale Six Paths of Reincarnation of Reincarnation in the Realm of the Longevity Realm reincarnation. He then accelerated the changes of time to make Yu Wei grow up quickly and regain her physical body.

In just a few days, Yu Wei survived the tribulation and became a celestial being. The family of three was finally reunited and lived a peaceful life.

Because he had agreed to the Wujian Gate, Ji Ning was not allowed to interfere in the struggle for destiny. He spent almost all of his six hundred years in the Sword Immortal World, comprehending the ' Five Treasures Sword Art '.

Just a few years ago, Ji Ning mastered the ' Five Treasures Sword Art ' and was able to enter the fifth peak of ' Wubao Peak Peak' to obtain all the inheritance left by ' Daoist Fuju '.

This should have been a cause for celebration, but unexpectedly, Ji Ning's true body disappeared without a trace, and even the avatar and Second Primordial Spirit that remained could not contact the true body.

For this reason, Zhou Hao even personally went to the Sword Immortal World to investigate.

However, the restrictions that the Daoist Fuju set up at ' Wubao Peak ' were not from the Three Realms, and did not even seem like something a Ancestor Immortal could set up, which puzzled Zhou Hao for a long time, but he was helpless.

"There's no connection whatsoever." Ji Ning shook his head. "I clearly feel that my true form hasn't perished, but I still can't get in touch with it. It would be better if it just perished, so I can cultivate back to its original state. Otherwise, when the final battle comes, it will be useless to help."

Zhou Hao passed on to him a miraculous secret technique called "The Sole True Self," which could merge all his clones into one and transform them back into his true self.

Ji Ning fused seventeen of the eighteen avatars created from the cultivation of the Tao Wu's Eighteen Gods and Devils by his main body and Second Primordial Spirit. All of them had been upgraded from True Immortal Golden Core to First-Class True Immortals, truly possessing the foundation of a top-tier True God Dao Ancestor.

In addition to the ' Five Treasures Sword Art ' which surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Dao and the ' Heart Sword Technique ' with its heaven-defying attack power, Ji Ning's strongest true form is considered extremely powerful even among leaders.

Nuwa Faction has already regarded it as a trump card comparable to Gonggong, and has placed high hopes on it.

But now that his main body is 'out of contact', relying solely on his Second Primordial Spirit, which is barely comparable to a leader-level powerhouse, Ji Ning can forget about playing a key role in the final battle.

"It's good to know that you haven't perished yet," Zhou Hao comforted him. "Perhaps Daoist Fuju left behind was a great opportunity, and you are lucky to have obtained it."

After seeing the profound restrictions on ' Wubao Peak ', Zhou Hao already had some guesses.

Ji Ning must have received some kind of fortuitous inheritance this time.

If even he himself could obtain such a heaven -Heavenly Dao Lord inheritance as the ' Starry Sky Holy Lord ' in the Void Sea, it's not surprising that Ji Ning, as the original owner of the story, would also obtain an opportunity left behind by a World Realm or Dao Lord level powerhouse.

After all, the death of the Daoist Fuju was suspicious. After leaving behind the legacy of Wubao Peak in the Sword Immortal World, he entered the Chaos alone. When the Three Realms found his body, there were no signs of fighting. Instead, his true spirit collapsed and died on its own. In Zhou Hao's view, it was more like the work of another Dao Lord failed to merge with the Dao.

"I wonder what secrets lie around the Three Realms, and where did so many Dao Lord come from?" Zhou Hao was puzzled, but he could only wait for Ji Ning's true form to return before investigating further.

The Myriad Demon Realm.

The Lord of Myriad Demons appeared with the Elder Yuan.

Inside the main hall, Huan Wood Master, Demonic Hand Dao Ancestor, Patriarch Styx, Kunpeng True God, and Luya True God were all waiting.

"Big Brother." Patriarch Styx, Kunpeng True God, and Luya True God all stood up from their seats when they saw the Elder Yuan appear.

"There's no need to talk about the past, and there's no need to address me as 'elder brother' anymore." Elder Yuan said calmly as he walked to an empty seat and sat down.

"We'll all be on the same side from now on, and we'll still be good friends and brothers," Huan Wood Master, trying to smooth things over.

"I've told the Wind Demon all my demands: give me the three great secret manuals, and in the final battle, I'll side with you. After the battle, if you win, I'll leave the Three Realms myself; if you lose, take me with you." The Elder Yuan looked at the Lord of Myriad Demons. "This request shouldn't be too much, right?"

"Not excessive." The Lord of Myriad Demons shook his head.

In any case, those three secret manuals all belonged to the Heart Demon Lord. Back then, in order to win over his subordinates, the Heart Demon Lord passed on many of them to the powerful figures of the Wujian Gate.

The Seven Hearts technique is somewhat special. It was only taught to the Heart Demon Lord after he merged with the Heavenly Dao, because the Lord of Myriad Demons saved the entire Wujian Gate.

However, the Seven Hearts is a method of cultivating mental strength. Without reaching the fifth level of mental strength, one cannot comprehend it and it is useless for improving one's strength.

For the Lord of Myriad Demons, exchanging the three great secret scriptures for a helper with the combat power of a top-tier Ancestor God is a very worthwhile deal.

After all, if they lose the battle between factions, they will wander in chaos like stray dogs, and keeping their methods secret will be useless.

"Alright, prepare a place for me to stay. Don't disturb me before the final battle." Elder Yuan nodded calmly.

Having failed to enslave Zhou Hao's soul, he needed to carefully consider his next plan and naturally had no time to deal with these natives.

I'm a little tired.

That's one update for today.

We'll continue tomorrow.

I'll be helping my child with online classes, so updates might not be very regular.

But updating twice a day shouldn't be a problem.