Perfect World: The First King of Immortal Ancient

The Heavenly Horned Ant Clan had made another's strength their faith. It felt unreal!

After Yu spoke, everyone's heart jolted. Such might still did not represent Lin Yue's true strength. It was simply staggering.

Yet those on the Nine Heavens' side who knew something of the battle in Qingwei Heaven were not surprised. Back then, before entering the Extreme Dao, Lin Yue had fought and defeated four peerless talents from the Foreign Realm's Emperor Clans. All of them were prodigies no weaker than Qi Yuan, and the young man named Chi Xie possessed talent unmatched in his age.

Lin Yue's great hand crushed Qi Yuan's divine ability into dust as though brushing away dirt, then reached for Qi Yuan!

"What terrifying Extreme Dao divine strength! An almost instinctive attack destroyed every divine ability and even warped the void, preventing his enemy's divine runes from taking shape!"

Qi Yi spoke with a grave expression!

Seeing his secret art rendered useless, Qi Yuan remained unperturbed, as though everything had been within his expectations!

"Open!"

Qi Yuan roared. His ten grotto-heavens spun wildly, manifesting from behind him to stand before him and resist Lin Yue's great hand. The chaos qi churned under the pressure!

Within the grotto-heavens, ever more powerful immortal radiance was forming. Qi Yuan, too, had made astonishing progress during this battle. Compared with his earlier fight against Yan, he seemed to be in an entirely different realm.

An ordinary divine ability would probably have shattered beneath such might. Unfortunately, Lin Yue was wielding the ultimate divine strength of his flesh-and physical Extreme Dao divine strength belonging to the Immortal Dao at that. Qi Yuan's ten grotto-heavens resisted for less than three seconds before being crushed in his grasp, and Qi Yuan was then slapped out of the formation.

"So strong!"

"He's too strong! No, he defies heaven! Is this the power gained after breaking the Venerable's curse? It surpasses everything cultivators understand about the Human Dao realm. It leaves you in despair, with no hope of victory in sight!"

"Lord Lin Yue is invincible! He subdued his opponent in a single move! As expected of the Nine Heavens' strongest Venerable-he has no equal!"

On the Nine Heavens' side, almost everyone except the few supreme figures of the Immortal Dao rose to their feet and cheered! This was their greatest prodigy!

"It's over! I thought that even if Qi Yuan couldn't win, he wouldn't lose so quickly. I never imagined he would be overwhelmed like this!"

A prodigy from the Immortal Domain spoke. There was nothing to do but marvel!

Qi Yuan had truly done his utmost. His talent was extraordinary; even defeating a young Immortal King of the Heavenly Horned Ant Clan who had employed his secret art was no certainty, yet Qi Yuan had accomplished it, displaying the makings of a king. And still, another young man had subdued him with a raised hand! Qi Yuan was not weak-his opponent was simply too strong!

"He already counts as someone of the Immortal Dao, doesn't he? Such might completely overwhelms a Venerable. Only the Immortal Dao possesses power like this!"

"Thank you for the match!"

"Brother Lin, your talent is unmatched. I, Qi Yuan, concede wholeheartedly!"

"I imagine you'll soon step onto the Immortal Dao! Still, you should temper your body further. That will let you travel farther in the future. The body and primordial spirit are the foundations of us human cultivators; everything else is merely external! You also have too little experience in actual combat. Fight more battles. The very boundary between life and death offers an excellent chance to glimpse a higher realm!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Dao brother!"

Lin Yue stepped out with Yin-Yang Reversal beneath his feet and returned to the Nine Heavens' camp in an instant, sitting cross-legged before Yan and Yu once more.

This time, no one wondered why the Heavenly Horned Ant Clan willingly honored him and sat behind him. This was the standing that absolute strength bestowed!

"Congratulations, Senior! The Nine Heavens has gained another peerless powerhouse! We accept our defeat in this exchange wholeheartedly!" Faced with someone as heaven-defying as Lin Yue, everyone from the Immortal Domain, Qi Yi included, was filled with emotion. They had witnessed the rise of a peerless prodigy. The Nine Heavens still could not be underestimated!

"You flatter us. The Immortal Domain is a supreme great world. I hear it has more than one outstanding talent like Qi Yuan. In that sense, Lin Yue had the advantage!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the group from the Immortal Domain slowly settled down. Even so, they occasionally glanced at the handsome young man across from them, who was resting with his eyes closed. They could hardly help it. Who knew what changes a supreme prodigy who opened a path forward and surpassed his predecessors would bring to this world?

"Senior Jing Ci, we came this time concerning the decisive battle in Great Red Heaven! I imagine you have received word as well. Kings from the other side descended earlier and were driven back by our domain's kings, but they will return. A great war is coming!"

Qi Yi spoke first, his voice filled with boundless emotion and trembling!

After the world-destroying battle at the beginning of the Immortal Ancient war, another unparalleled war was about to erupt!

During that earlier war, the Kings of the Nine Heavens had still been present, and darkness had still been lurking. Several kings from both sides had fought, shattering this Primordial Ancient World. It had then broken apart into nine great worlds and countless ancient lands, giving rise to the Nine Heavens!

Jing Ci said, "Indeed. Kunpeng and several other Dao friends have issued decrees. It seems a supreme secret treasure has emerged in Great Red Heaven. The Foreign Realm is determined to obtain it. Several kings have already descended to search for it!"

"It is difficult to imagine what sort of secret treasure could draw even kings into the struggle themselves! Could it concern a realm above kings?"

The True Immortal from the Primordial Chaos Clan spoke, leaving everyone stunned! Since the previous era, there had been no news of anyone breaking beyond kingship to become an emperor. Everyone was searching for a higher realm! Countless people had therefore gone to the Boundary Sea in search of a breakthrough. Now that such a secret treasure was about to emerge in the Nine Heavens, no one could remain calm!

"So that's why! No wonder the Foreign Realm hasn't attacked the city lately. They've all gone to Great Red Heaven! We must send reinforcements!"

A Supreme Dao Venerable spoke, and many cultivators agreed with his proposal!

"We have come bearing the will of several kings of our world. We must gather our forces and settle things with the Foreign Realm once and for all! We cannot delay any longer. The situation is unfavorable for us! What do our Dao friends of the Nine Heavens think?"

After the True Immortal named Ao Jin spoke, everyone fell silent!

An unknown amount of time passed. Even Lin Yue slowly opened his eyes and looked at the True Immortals gathered there!

"Very well! This time, we will give our all and settle things with the Foreign Realm. We cannot let them take a mile whenever we yield an inch!"

After a long silence, the Nine Heavens' old quasi-king spoke, his expression resolute.

"Indeed. Constant retreat will only see us slowly ground away. We should settle this sooner and fight to win a clear, bright world for our descendants!"

The youngest immortal on the Nine Heavens' side spoke!

"Yes! This time, we decide victory or defeat. We cannot drag this out any longer, or the Nine Heavens will cease to exist!"

Once the cultivators of the Nine Heavens learned of their leaders' decision, all of them responded, supporting this decisive battle!

Chapter 40: A gift of a sword

In the Divine City at the Border Pass, after the group from the Immortal Domain departed, bells rang out far into the distance!

Apart from a few Extreme Dao figures left to guard the city, nearly the entire army of the Nine Heavens mobilized! This was a battle to decide the outcome, and they could not afford the slightest carelessness. Everyone wore a grave expression!

Inside and outside the Divine City, people could be seen saying farewell everywhere. Young wives bid their husbands goodbye, and old mothers gave their children final reminders. There was reluctance and encouragement, but above all, hope that they would return safely!

Looking at the countless warships floating before him, Lin Yue was filled with emotion. The most brutal war of the final years of Immortal Ancient was about to begin! Who knew how long this battle would last? Yet he still could not play a decisive role!

A Supreme Dao Venerable was no weakling in any age. Even in a great world like the Immortal Domain, such a figure could rule over a region.

The pinnacle of the Human Dao was no empty phrase! Unfortunately, in a war like this, those of the Immortal Dao led the fighting, and kings were the ones who tipped the scales toward victory!

Ah...! Did I arrive too late? Or too early? Is there truly no way to change this brutal battle?

At that thought, Lin Yue, who had already become part of this age, knitted his brows and refused to loosen his fists. Was there really nothing he could do?

"Lin Yue! Don't worry. The Immortal Domain's Immortal Kings will fight as well!"

Watching the invincible young man beside him refuse to relax his brow, Yan knew he was worried and offered words of comfort!

"That's right. I heard the Immortal Domain's Immortal Kings will intervene. And we have our own battles to fight. Don't worry too much. Once you grow stronger, you'll surely be able to turn back the raging tide!"

Yu, a peerless beauty, did not want to see Lin Yue so troubled either. She actually spoke in praise of the Immortal Domain's kings, leaving her somewhat embarrassed, given her longstanding hostility toward the Immortal Domain!

"The Immortal Domain!"

Lin Yue murmured. At the mention of the Immortal Domain, killing intent filled his eyes. Some people there did indeed regard the Nine Heavens as an ally, and some had even died fighting for it. Yet others had never taken the Nine Heavens seriously from beginning to end. While the Nine Heavens' Immortal Kings were still present, they had at least been courteous. Now, they did not regard the Nine Heavens at all.

They had even exploited the chaos of war to gather the Nine Heavens' scriptures and lost ancient artifacts, seizing some of its heaven-defying ancient seeds and treating them as their own possessions. They regarded the Nine Heavens entirely as their back garden!

"Don't worry! We will win!"

As the three spoke, an old man approached. He was the Nine Heavens' old quasi-king.

"Senior!"

The three bowed respectfully. Whether judged by his strength or his contributions to the Nine Heavens, this old man was a hero beyond dispute!

"No need for such courtesy!"

Jing Ci waved his hand and took a black sword from his Storage Ring!

The Black Sword was straight, long, and weighty, with a seven-inch hilt. Its guard resembled outstretched butterfly wings and was engraved with several ancient characters. Those archaic red characters faintly emitted a crimson glow that seemed to come from an abyss, seizing the soul. Chaos qi faintly wreathed the entire blade. One glance was enough to know it was a peerless divine weapon!

"Lad of the Lin Family, I heard your sword was shattered in the last great battle. This immortal weapon was forged from star sand immortal gold and fused with such heaven-defying materials as yin-yang stone crystals. It is so rare that even True Immortals covet it. It was left behind by an old friend of mine! I fear only you can keep it from gathering dust. Please do not refuse!"

"I would not dare refuse a gift from an elder!"

Lin Yue respectfully accepted the ancient sword. Feeling the blade resonate, his heart jolted. At the very first touch, without any adjustment, it felt like an extension of his arm, transmitting its own unique pulse to its master. The sword had awakened spiritually and gained a nascent consciousness. No wonder even True Immortals coveted it!

Divine weapons in this world found it extremely difficult to develop consciousness. Even ordinary Ancestral Artifacts could not give rise to awareness. This was unlike those immortal-hero novels, where a weapon could gain consciousness after a little casual refinement, and even chatter and act coy like a child. That felt utterly exaggerated.

Refining an inanimate object until it awakened spiritually was like granting it life-something even the Heavenly Dao found difficult. This was the evolution of a living being. Even some innate Dao embryos required far more than hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of years of change to develop consciousness.

Once a weapon developed consciousness, however, it meant it had the potential to become a Primordial Chaos Ancient Artifact!

"A fine sword!"

"I knew it. It was waiting for a master like you!"

"Thank you, Senior!" Lin Yue bowed again!

This was an immortal weapon, akin to a Primordial Chaos Ancient Artifact. After nurturing, it could serve as his life-bound ancient artifact. If its master grew powerful enough to feed strength back into it, it could even become an Immortal King weapon in the future, capable of contending with an ordinary Immortal King without difficulty.

"That old friend of mine died in battle before he had time to nurture its spiritual awareness. What a sorrowful thing!"

Lin Yue said, "Rest assured, Senior. This sword's name will surely resound throughout all the heavens and worlds!"

"Good, good, good!"

Jing Ci voiced his approval repeatedly, then fell silent for a long while. He looked again at Lin Yue, then at the sister and brother of the Heavenly Horned Ant Clan, and then at the Nine Heavens' cultivators boarding the warships!

His gaze, once still as an ancient well, now rippled with relief, sorrow, and helplessness! It even affected the void, conveying his emotions throughout the Divine City. Many people stopped what they were doing.

Such was a quasi-king's might. A word, an action, even a glance naturally influenced heaven and earth and stirred people's hearts!

"I leave the Nine Heavens in your hands!"

His voice was filled with endless lamentation!

"Senior!"

The three were deeply worried. The old man seemed to be bidding farewell! Before the battle had even begun, he seemed to have glimpsed its ending. A king's divine consciousness could roam the river of time and see through falsehood. Though he was only a quasi-king, he probably had an ominous premonition about this battle!

"Senior, do not worry too much. No one knows what the future holds. But one thing I can say for certain is that the Nine Heavens will not sink into ruin here. We will win the final victory, sweep the cosmos clean, and purge the darkness!"

Lin Yue raised the black gold in his hand and declared his resolve!

"Hahahaha! Indeed! Worrying now over what lies in the future-I was the one who fell short! The Nine Heavens will pour forth all its strength, destroy the Foreign Realm, and quell the darkness! Everyone, march with me!"

Jing Ci's aura erupted, carrying traces of a king's divine might. It swept through the Divine City, banishing every worry!

"Destroy the Foreign Realm! Quell the darkness!" Inspired, the Nine Heavens' cultivators roared, their resolve shaking the firmament!

"Lad of the Lin Family, I originally intended to have you stay behind. Now it seems no amount of words would help. Ever since Lord Wuzhong and Lord Reincarnation disappeared, the Nine Heavens has grown almost numb! We need to rebuild our faith in victory. Promise me that you will live! Do not let that faith truly collapse. The Immortal Domain's kings are still sustaining our will to fight, but they cannot be relied upon. The Nine Heavens needs its own king, and you must step forward! You must live!"

The old man pressed a hand to Lin Yue's shoulder and spoke with a grave expression!

"Rest assured, Senior. From the day I took up the Lin Family's battle standard, I have carried the Nine Heavens on my back. Whatever the future brings, this world will stand behind me!"

"Hahahaha! Let's go! Let those Foreign Realm scum witness our resolve!"

Jing Ci strode toward a warship!

After watching the old quasi-king board, the three began boarding a warship as well!

Aboard a warship.

Looking at the densely packed flying ships before him, Lin Yue felt awe rise in his heart, like an ordinary person standing on a mountaintop for the first time. This was the momentum of war!

Lin Yue stood at the bow, his fitted black battle armor giving him an extraordinary bearing! His lustrous black hair danced behind him, making him look spirited and heroic!

Because he had attained the Extreme Dao so quickly, he looked incredibly young. His appearance of twenty-three or twenty-four suggested a young man at most in the Heavenly God Realm, rather than an invincible figure at the Apex of the Extreme Dao!

Beside Lin Yue stood a peerless beauty and another young man. Having undergone their transformations, the two had slowly refined away the horns on their foreheads unique to the Heavenly Horned Ant Clan. Though some traces remained, they were impossible to discern without careful attention! Once the two refined them completely, even True Immortals would probably be unable to contend with them!

"Lad, how does it feel?"

Lin Zhong, the Lin Family's ancestor, came up to the bow!

"I thought you would stay behind!" Lin Yue said, looking at his ancestor!

"You're the one who should have stayed!"

"Yes! Young patriarch, you should stay behind. We cannot let anything happen to you!"

"Exactly!"

This was the Lin Family's warship, and everyone aboard belonged to the Lin Family. They wanted Lin Yue to stay behind!

"Why don't you stay behind, Lin Yue?" Yu spoke too, hoping he would remain!

Lin Yue turned around. Without his noticing, countless members of the Lin Family had gathered behind him!

"Seeing you all like this, how could I bear to stay behind? Don't worry too much! We will win!"

Everyone was moved by Lin Yue's tone. They said no more, their eyes filled with unwavering resolve.

Faith seemed to have begun spreading!