The Bite of an Ant

The enormous human face, radiating immense pressure, materialized and appeared.

Chen Lingxi raised her head and felt an indescribable, terrifying aura crashing down from the sky.

That aura was too vast, too ancient, too majestic; it was beyond imagination.

The face hung there in the sky, like a dark golden sun occupying half the firmament, dazzling and impossible to look directly at.

Its entire body is constructed of some indescribable, mysterious radiance, its outline indistinct, as if looking at the moon reflected in the water through an eternal, unchanging fog.

I couldn't make out its features or its expression.

One could only vaguely sense those emotionless, indifferent eyes slowly opening above the sea of clouds, at the very top of the sky.

There was no emotion in those eyes, only a pure, aloof indifference.

Chen Lingxi's breath hitched suddenly.

Under this gaze, the Dragon-Stripping Dao Platform trembled violently, and the Thunder Prison Thunder-Prison Profound Root, which had grown into a large tree on the Dao Platform, involuntarily curled up, and the Weiji Thunderlight swirling around the Profound Root dimmed.

Within the Inner Divine Palace of his body, the phantom of the Heaven-Inviting Great Sage suddenly opened its eyes, and the Great Sage Aura surged forth overwhelmingly, attempting to resist this terrifying pressure.

But as soon as the Great Sage Sage's phantom appeared, it was crushed inch by inch by the indescribable power contained in his gaze, turning back into nothingness and dissipating deep within his body.

"This is the True Lord!"

Chen Lingxi's emotions surged wildly!

Chen Lingxi had already seen this terrifying being in the Total Perception Divine Chamber before.

He was the head of the Quexing Xi Family, a great cultivator who controlled the Cauldron-Artifact World-Melting Furnace, ruled over the ten stars of Quexing, and could decide the life and death of billions of living beings with a single word.

At this moment, he merely cast a glance, merely manifested his unfathomable will as the outline of a human face, and the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven trembled!

Between the brows of that enormous face, a phantom was floating.

It was a young man dressed in a silver robe.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties, with long hair flowing down his shoulders, a cold and stern face, and an extremely deep and pure Dao Origin fluctuation surrounding him.

He stood between the brows of that enormous human face, like a silver moon hanging in the center of a dark golden sun. Though not as dazzling and unapproachable as the human face, he possessed an innate and awe-inspiring presence.

He looked down at the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, his gaze finally settling on the Heaven Gate Sea and on Chen Lingxi.

His gaze was extremely calm.

Yet, beneath that calm lay an air of indifference.

"This Cauldron Vessel can belong to the many mystical sects and immortal clans of the Nine-Towers Land, but it cannot belong to any Celestial Person."

When the young man in the silver robe spoke, his voice was like a resounding bell, echoing throughout the world.

He paused, his gaze still fixed on Chen Lingxi, a barely perceptible hint of coldness flashing in his silver eyes. "This Cave Heaven has now been settled."

The grand sound then faded away.

The young man in the silver robe slowly turned around and bowed to the giant human face.

"We beseech the True Lord!"

The moment those four words were uttered, the swirling clouds surrounding the giant face began to spin wildly, as if summoned by some irresistible force.

The speed of the rotation increased rapidly, and in an instant it transformed into a massive vortex that stretched across the sky.

At the very center of the vortex, the Void began to collapse and shatter, revealing the bottomless, dark Void behind it.

Then, the young man in the silver robe exuded a blazing aura, and the silver Dao Origin fluctuations around him suddenly surged, transforming into a dazzling silver pillar of light that shot into the sky and pierced straight into the clouds.

His voice, like a divine decree, resounded throughout the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven, reaching the ears of every cultivator.

"The fate of the Cave Heaven has been decided. We request all sects to Rebirth Pool to guide cultivators Truth-Seeking Realm."

I urge all fellow Daoists to disperse their avatars!

Rumble!

Thunder suddenly erupted in the sky.

The lightning bolt, a pale golden color and as thick as a pillar, crashed down from the very center of the vortex, cleaving a massive rift across thousands of miles in the churning sea of clouds.

At the end of that rift, where the lightning struck, a massive vortex was slowly forming in the Void.

That vortex was completely different from the vortex around the giant human face earlier.

Its entire body is light blue, like a huge mirror suspended in the sky. Mystic Light flashes within the mirror surface, and countless fine array patterns can be vaguely seen slowly flowing within it.

At the same time, ancient and primordial energy flowed within it.

This is also a Cauldron Vessel!

Without a doubt, this Cauldron Vessel is the legendary Rebirth Pool!

Chen Lingxi immediately saw numerous streams of light rising from all directions of the Heaven Gate Sea, flying rapidly towards the direction of the Rebirth Pool.

To know those many Truth-Seekers in the Rebirth Realm.

Not far away, Yu Jiangwei, whose incarnation had not yet dissipated, stood on the azure cloud, the mist formed by the Substitute Dao Body Grand Divine Ability around her slowly dissipating.

Her deep, unfathomable eyes pierced through the churning mist and landed on Chen Lingxi.

There was no resentment or murderous intent in his gaze, only a faint, indescribable sense of regret.

It's like a teacher who cherishes talent seeing a sapling that could have grown into a towering tree, but is destined to be uprooted in the coming storm.

Daoist Shurong Chi Jianshu stood on the Northern Dipper Jade Ruyi, gazing at the silver pillar of light descending from the sky, at the slowly rotating Rebirth Pool, and then at Chen Lingxi, who was still standing beside the ancient Dao-Seizing Ancient Tree.

She sighed.

Then, she bowed respectfully in the direction Chen Lingxi was facing.

It was as if he were saying goodbye to a true fellow practitioner.

Then, Daoist Shurong flicked his sleeve, and the surging Dao Origin carried Lin Suri and the others swiftly toward the Rebirth Pool. The Dao Origin was so dense that the scene within could not be seen.

Then one could hear Lin Suri calling out loudly, "Brother Dao!"

At this very moment!

Suddenly, a furnace appeared in the Void!

The furnace was so enormous and towering that it resembled a real sun hanging behind the giant human face.

The furnace was a dark gold color, exuding a terrifying, suffocating pressure.

As the furnace rotates, flames burst forth from its opening.

The flames were a deep white, extremely hot, and even from such a great distance, Chen Lingxi could still feel the wave of heat hitting her face.

Wherever the heatwave passed, the sea of clouds evaporated, the heavenly wind dissipated, and even the Rebirth Pool in the sky above was scorched and trembled slightly.

At that moment, the giant human face vanished.

A figure slowly emerged from behind the furnace.

It was as if the True Lord had descended!

That figure was so majestic, like a galaxy in the universe!

His indistinct figure hovered behind the furnace, surrounded by endless radiance of Dao principles.

Those principles of the Dao flowed around him slowly like chains that stretched across the Milky Way, making him appear like an ancient deity who created the world.

Everything in the world is no more than an ant before him.

As the World-Refining Furnace rotated, it burned, melted, and refined everything.

The will of that True Lord is like the will of Heaven, beyond question, beyond disobedience, and beyond resistance.

"The True Lord intends to refine the Cave Heaven using the World-Refining Furnace..."

Chen Lingxi gazed at the furnace fire that burned everything in the sky, at the heartless and emotionless eyes of the True Lord, and at the streaks of light that were frantically flying towards the Pool of Rebirth Pool...

Then, a slight smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"But... it can't be that easy."

In Chen Lingxi's eyes, the two balls of Weiji Thunderlight that had been dimmed to the point of almost extinguishing suddenly blazed brightly at this moment!

He lowered his head, his eyes, burning with lightning, gazing at the Storm Immortal Pivot in the Void, then at the Lake Immortal Pivot and the direction of the Ancestral Mountain.

The next instant, his eyes suddenly flashed with anger, and then he took a long breath.

"True Lord, the Great Sage regards the billions of living beings in my Weiji Grotto-Heaven as ants. Since that's the case..." He paused, "I'll show you just how much flesh these ants can bite off in their dying act!"

In an instant!

Chen Lingxi's Divine Sense flowed like water into the Hongdong Bag at his waist, and into the communication Jade Slip used to contact Emperor Daye Ying Xian.

"Fellow Daoist, it's time."

Above that Heaven Gate Sea, in that chaotic Void scorched by the furnace fire and the blazing sun.

Amidst the dense fog of the Heavenly Decline Method, Emperor Daye Ying Xian of the Great Cause, in the prime of his life, slowly emerged from the surging gray-white mist.

Then, his eyes also flashed with murderous intent.

He did not pursue Zhao Duanxuan, whose avatar was slowly dissipating.

He simply raised his head and looked up at the face of the True Lord that blotted out the sky above, and at those emotionless and asexual eyes.

Then, he suddenly grinned!

The next moment!

A surge of energy poured into the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation that permeated the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven!

Then, through the transmission of the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation, it traveled far away to the Volcano Immortal Pivot.

In an instant, the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation formation within the Volcano Immortal Pivot vanished.

Then a drop of river water dripped from it!

That single drop of river water exuded an extremely ancient and mysterious aura of the Dao.

It followed the last remaining veins of the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation, falling silently and landing squarely in the deepest part of the Volcano Immortal Pivot, in the churning magma!

"The river's spiritual energy dripped into the Four Immortal Pivot, and the Great Sage's true form descended..."

Chen Lingxi was overwhelmed with emotion.

Then, everything changed.

At the very instant that drop of river water fell into the Volcano Immortal Pivot, all four Immortal Pivot of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven simultaneously lit up with dazzling light.

The four beams of light, like four torches lit at the same time, shot into the sky from the four directions of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, piercing straight into the clouds.

At the very center where the four beams of light converge, a massive black hole is slowly opening.

Within that black hole, countless hazy Void Turbulence were churning wildly, but at the deepest part of those currents, a faint, Long River was rapidly approaching.

As the Long River drew nearer in an instant, I realized it was an ancient, raging Long River!

The Long River surged forth from the depths of the black hole, like a galaxy flowing from the ages, carrying unparalleled and immense power, and crashed down upon the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

The river water was a pale blue color, crystal clear to the extreme.

The river was incredibly wide, stretching as far as the eye could see.

As the river surged, it stirred up towering waves, each wave containing a terrifying power capable of destroying the world.

The waves crashed against the Void, producing a deep, resonant sound like a great bell, causing the entire Heaven Gate Sea to tremble.

Then, the Long River began to steam.

Countless dense streams of water vapor rose slowly from the river surface, frantically converging towards the sky above the Long River, growing denser and more solid with each passing moment.

Finally, the water vapor condensed and took shape, transforming into a figure.

The figure was surrounded by endless pale blue water ripples, which flowed around her as if they were alive.

Her face was blurred, obscured by the surging waves, with only a pair of deep, abyss-like eyes slowly opening.

Great Sage Luo Yuan!

Arrive!

The instant she opened her eyes, the overwhelming, blazing white flames of the furnace were swept away by the waves of the river and vanished silently into the Void.

The figure of the Great Sage Luo Yuan stood on the Long River, the water around him surging, exuding a terrifying pressure that made people suffocate.

Her mere presence caused the flames of the World-Refining Furnace to momentarily halt, and even made the enormous, sky-covering human face in the heavens tremble slightly.

Behind that furnace, the blurry figure of the True Lord suddenly unleashed an aura like a storm sweeping across countless stars, terrifying and furious.

Chen Lingxi gritted her teeth and stood beside the Dao-Seizing Ancient Tree, which was now within reach. She wanted to take down the complete Cauldron Vessel, but she was unable to move because of two completely different kinds of pressure.

He could only force himself to raise his head, his eyes bloodshot as he gazed at the two terrifying figures that had begun to confront each other in the sky.

The flames gushing from the World-Refining Furnace, the vast Long River surging behind the Great Sage Luo Yuan.

"One is True Lord, the other is Great Sage."

Chen Lingxi murmured to herself.

Both of these are terrifying beings capable of easily crushing this Weiji Grotto-Heaven and regarding the billions of living beings within Cave Heaven as mere ants and firewood.

At this moment, he forcibly dragged them onto the same chessboard.

He couldn't help but grin.

"Both the True Lord and the Great Sage desire to refine the Cave Heaven! How can they do so without paying a price!"

"Let me see for myself whether the True Lord or the Great Sage is stronger!"

After the World-Refining Furnace, the aura of that blurry True Lord suddenly became like a terrifying storm sweeping across countless stars.

Even the silver-robed young man standing between his brows showed a deep look of surprise in his eyes.

"There are actually such beings in this Cave Heaven?"

He muttered to himself, his usual composure and arrogance completely gone.

At the same time, above the Heaven Gate Sea Void, beyond the chaotic sky stirred up by the World-Refining Furnace and the Great Sage Long River, countless spiritual energies broke through the void and descended upon this place.

These inspirations are not tangible entities, but rather powerful Divine Sense projected from the distant Great Xuanzhuo Realm, traversing the Void Turbulence and the barriers of the Cave Heaven.

They seemed to originate from many powerful beings outside the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

These brilliant ideas all contained a formidable pressure. As they collided and intertwined, it was as if many high-ranking beings were observing this sudden change from a great distance!

Amidst the clash of inspirations, countless Divine Sense seemed to whisper amongst themselves in the Void.

"Immortal Capital... there was actually a hidden trick in this Cave Heaven?"

"The true form of the Great Sage Luo Yuan has awakened and descended? This doesn't conform to cause and effect, nor to the past or the future!"

"Fortunately, this Great Sage was injured, and his Killing Power is reduced to less than one-tenth!"

"How could the Great Luo Heaven Sky-Illuminating Mirror have missed such remnants of the Immortal Capital? Could that Mysterious Lord be...?"

Many powerful figures whispered among themselves, their minds inevitably filled with shock and astonishment.

They seemed to be exchanging some secrets that Chen Lingxi couldn't fully comprehend.