In Kunlun Mountain, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man gazed toward the Big Dipper and sighed. "Time really flew. The children have all grown up!"
"Yes. That little brat who used to clamor about becoming sworn brothers with you has grown up too. He's become a man who can hold up the sky."
A graceful, noble-looking beautiful woman teased him from beside him.
"Don't mention that brat. He kept insisting on becoming sworn brothers with me. He called me Big Brother, I called him Second Brother, and Xuanyuan called him Little Uncle. He was simply lawless."
"Really? Didn't you two get along quite well before?"
"Cough, cough. How could that be? What could that even count as? I was only humoring a child." Shennong spoke with some guilt.
"Oh, really?"
The beautiful woman looked at him suspiciously.
"I heard Great Emperor Hengyu left behind a lineage on Ziwei Star?"
"That wasn't left behind by Great Emperor Hengyu. It was left behind by one of his close friends," Shennong hurriedly explained.
"Besides, I'm Shennong, not Hengyu."
"The Goddess Furnace has absolutely nothing to do with me!" Shennong declared firmly.
"I'll believe you for now."
"Opportunities and dangers coexist on the Big Dipper. I hope that child Nüwa can be saved." Shennong sighed.
"She's just too strong-willed," the beautiful woman sighed as well.
"That brat Ji has the most tricks up his sleeve. He'll definitely be fine. Besides, with the Shennong Ding and Xuanyuan Sword, two Quasi-Emperor Weapons, in his hands, it's still uncertain who'll be the unlucky one." Thinking of Ji Hao's personality, Shennong shook his head and smiled.
"But this is the Big Dipper. What can Quasi-Emperor Weapons amount to? Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons are everywhere."
As she spoke, the beautiful woman grew worried again.
Seeing this, Shennong could only comfort her. "Don't worry. It's not as if he doesn't have any Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons. Though I really don't want to admit it, in a sense, he is an Emperor's Son. The Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons he can borrow are far more than just one."
"The Ji Family's Void Mirror, the Jiang Family's Hengyu Furnace—would either of them dare refuse him? And if that doesn't work, there's still the Emperor Weapon of the Ancient Hua Dynasty in Central Province!"
Ji Hao stood atop a mountain peak.
In the distance lay rolling, beautiful mountains. Strange jutting rocks and ancient trees shaped like coiling dragons stood tall, brimming with vitality.
As he carefully examined everything before him, he could not help but marvel inwardly. As expected of Ruthless Emperor's training ground, it was truly extraordinary. With his cultivation, he could already sense an unknown force devouring his vitality and plundering his years. It should be the power of "Desolation."
Above his Life Spring, an ordinary Stone Bowl gave off a faint milky fragrance, perfectly blocking the power of "Desolation."
Ji Hao sighed. "Anything produced by a Heavenly Emperor has to be top quality."
Though Ji Hao was only in the Dao Palace Realm, one had to know that there was a cultivation method in this world known as the Single Secret Realm Cultivation Method.
He did not even know how high his current realm was. At the very least, he could rival Dragon Transformation Realm experts.
As a super Emperor's Son, this was only because he had deliberately slowed his cultivation speed. The Death Qi within his body would also grow stronger along with his cultivation. Until he resolved the Death Qi, he would never know peace.
"This is wonderful. It truly is a beautiful world, even more scenic than many 5A-rated national scenic areas. Too bad my phone's out of battery, or I'd take some nice pictures."
"Finally, we don't have to live in fear anymore," someone said, weeping with joy.
Pang Bo stood atop the mountain and roared into the distance, "I can finally see the sun again!"
Clang!
Just as everyone was sighing with emotion, the massive Bronze Coffin let out a metallic tremor. They discovered that the coffin had been sitting at the edge of a cliff and had fallen into the abyss, leaving everyone with lingering fear.
After carefully observing their surroundings, they found that nine great mountains were linked together, encircling an incomparably enormous valley. Looking down, all they could see was pitch-black darkness.
"What place is this?"
"There's half a Stone Tablet over there!" Zhang Ziling pointed toward the mountaintop.
There was a pile of rubble atop the mountain, along with several vigorous ancient trees and old vines as thick as water buckets. Amid the tangled vines lay half of a broken Stone Tablet, its traces of artificial polishing obvious.
Everyone quickly walked over, pulled aside the withered vines, and brushed away the dead branches and leaves covering the broken tablet. They immediately felt an ancient air emanating from it. Three ancient characters were carved upon it, their strokes powerful and solemn, vigorous as dragons, carrying the aura of years. No one knew how long it had existed.
"What does it say?" Many people were confused.
"Ancient Forbidden."
What did that mean?
"There's another broken piece!" Everyone searched through the area and finally confirmed it. Put together, the four characters read: Ancient Forbidden Land.
"If we connect them like this, wouldn't it be 'Ancient Forbidden Land'?" One of the students put the four characters together. The moment he read them aloud, his expression changed, and everyone else frowned as well.
That name was truly hard to associate with anything good. Many people began to worry faintly.
A forbidden land immediately brought many unpleasant associations. The more observant among them noticed that although there were flowers, grass, vines, and trees around them, there was not a single trace of living creatures. It completely defied science!
Ji Hao, however, understood everything perfectly, though he did not reveal anything. Once they reached the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, he would no longer interfere. After all, he still needed the Nine Wonders Divine Medicine and Sacred Spring.
Nüwa was still waiting for the Nine Wonders Divine Medicine to save her life! The Nine Wonders Immortal Medicine had originally been Divine Emperor's Immortality Elixir. It possessed unique effects in the aspect of transformation, and Ji Hao also needed it to suppress his Death Qi and enter the next realm.
There was no point in continuing the Single Secret Realm Cultivation Method any further.
The Bodhi Seed also needed Sacred Spring Water to grow. An entire family depended on him. What a miserable life!
Listening to everyone talk, Ji Hao's wicked sense of humor surfaced again. He said, "Who says there are no living creatures? There's an eagle over there."
Following the direction Ji Hao pointed, they saw an eagle circling in the sky. Its entire body was golden, and even from so far away, they could still sense its dazzling brilliance. It was like it had been cast from gold, its body gleaming with golden light.
At that moment, the golden eagle flew closer to their area, becoming clearer and clearer. Then it suddenly dove toward a stretch of mountains. A moment later, it soared into the sky again, clutching prey in its talons as it flew toward a distant cliff.
Seeing this, everyone could not help swallowing.
"I... I'm not seeing things, am I?!" Pang Bo, who had always been carefree, began stammering on the spot after witnessing that sight.
The others were nearly petrified as well, standing there blankly like clay statues and wooden carvings, utterly unable to believe their eyes.
"It's nothing. Just a Monster Beast."
Ji Hao turned to face everyone. "Welcome to the cultivation world—cruel, yet captivating."
Everyone looked at one another, not knowing what to say.
"Brother, how are ordinary people like us supposed to survive in the cultivation world?" Zhou Yi asked worriedly.
"You'll have to find that out for yourselves."
Ji Hao cursed inwardly, Damn it, I failed to restrain my urge to show off in front of others again. Wouldn't it have been better to just let Ye Fan pick the fruit? Why did I have to meddle?
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