"Brother Xiao!"
"When will you come for Xun'er?"
In a beautiful secret realm belonging to the imperial Gu Clan, a lovely young woman sat in a pavilion, holding a silver necklace in her delicate hand. A captivating smile graced her pretty face as she gazed into the distance in a slight daze, thinking of someone at the sight of his keepsake.
"Bad news, miss! Something has happened..."
Just then, an old woman suddenly appeared beside her, panting for breath.
Gu Xun'er frowned. Like a cold, aloof goddess, she let nothing enter her heart, and she had initially intended to rebuke the old woman for disturbing her peace of mind.
But an ominous feeling suddenly arose in her heart. Had something happened to Brother Xiao?
At that thought, she could not help asking, "What happened?"
The old woman said, "Disaster has struck the Xiao Clan. Xiao Huohuo offended the Lin Clan's imperial scion. The Xiao Clan was destroyed, and Xiao Tianzhan died in battle!"
Gu Xun'er, who had remained aloof until then, sprang to her feet. Hearing that something had happened to Xiao Huohuo, she looked alarmed, little pearls welling up in her eyes. Anxious beyond measure, she said, "What?! What about Brother Xiao?"
She did not care about the Xiao Clan. She cared only about her Brother Xiao.
Seeing this, the old woman sighed. "Your Brother Xiao is fine..."
Originally, she had not wanted to tell her young mistress about Xiao Huohuo. But when she thought of how deeply infatuated her young mistress was, she feared the girl might do something desperate if she kept it from her. In the end, she chose to tell her.
Her young mistress was none other than the divine maiden of the illustrious imperial Gu Clan.
Had she not once escaped from the clan, encountered danger, and fortunately been rescued by Xiao Huohuo, how could she ever have fallen for a disciple from a minor clan like him?!
The two had privately pledged themselves to each other for life. Even the ancestor could do nothing and could only set an agreement: if he became a Great Emperor within thirty years, he could marry the young mistress.
Gu Xun'er said, "Let's go to Luo River Province. No one will kill Brother Xiao!"
The old woman's pupils contracted. "Miss, the Lin Clan is not an existence our Gu Clan can afford to provoke!"
Perhaps in ancient times-but after what had happened a few days ago, who did not know that undercurrents were surging through Archaic? Even the supreme imperial Wang Clan had lost two Great Emperors.
What waves could a mere Sage King like herself and her young mistress, who was in the Purple Mansion Realm, possibly stir up?
Unless the clan's ancestor emerged from seclusion.
Gu Xun'er said, "I'm not trying to oppose the Lin Clan. I only want to protect Brother Xiao. The Lin Clan merely lost a few ant-like Sages. At worst, our Gu Clan can compensate them!"
"I believe that with enough compensation to preserve the Lin Clan's dignity, and out of regard for our Gu Clan, the Lin Clan won't go too far."
The Primordial Chaos Realm!
An endless blue sky, lush green forests, and rich Spiritual Qi made up the scenery within the Primordial Chaos Realm.
Roar! Roar!
This was a primeval forest. Ancient trees towered into the sky, each a hundred zhang tall, while gnarled, dragonlike vines as thick as buckets wound everywhere across the ground and through the trees.
Divine light flickered in the void amid ripples from a formation. Lin Fan emerged from within and landed in the primeval forest.
Lin Fan looked around and found no one else there.
Ji Kun had disappeared at some point, and he realized that the immortal gate had teleported everyone randomly, separating them all.
Roar! Screech!
Beast cries shook the heavens.
An Archaic demonic beast dozens of meters long flew overhead, whipping up terrifying gales. The savage bird blotted out the sky and sun, its belly covered in blue scales.
Lin Fan was surprised. "An ancient variant, the Azure Spirit Eagle! A ferocious beast that vanished from the Three Thousand Provinces can actually be seen everywhere here. Is this what you'd expect of ruins left by an immortal?"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Before he could react, the ground began to shake, rocks bouncing as though in an earthquake. A lion-tiger beast as large as a small mountain came charging toward him.
Both beasts were fifth-rank demonic beasts, overlord-level predators of this territory.
The lion-tiger cast Lin Fan a cold glance, paying no heed to a mere Pill Condensation Realm ant. Its huge foot made no deliberate attempt to avoid him, intending to crush the ant.
Roar!
The next instant, the lion-tiger let out an earthshaking scream of agony. It stared at its own foot in terror, where a gaping, bloody hole had appeared.
He could not believe that a tiny ant had actually injured him.
Whoosh!
At some point, Lin Fan had appeared on the lion-tiger's shoulder. Blood Qi surged through his arms as he tore savagely, ripping the fifth-rank lion-tiger apart with his bare hands.
"A variant lion-tiger. Its flesh and blood are comparable to precious medicinal herbs!"
Lin Fan put the entire lion-tiger into his storage ring to keep it fresh. He could eat it when he was hungry.
Spreading his divine sense, he checked his surroundings. Once he knew his location, delight appeared on Lin Fan's face. This place was close to the Ancient God Body Refining Art.
"Such a coincidence?"
Lin Fan looked toward the highest peak deep within the primeval forest. The mountain pierced the clouds, and a towering divine statue loomed faintly atop the cloud-covered summit, radiating a faint glow like a deity descending into the mortal world.
He would seek out the Ancient God Body Refining Art first.
As for Xiao Huohuo, a vague feeling told him that the two of them would meet in the end.
As for Ji Kun, he had his own fortuitous opportunities.
As for the Chaos Origin, he had heard it was in the heart of the Primordial Chaos Realm, which was also in the direction of the Ancient God Body Refining Art.
At that thought, Lin Fan turned into a streak of light and vanished, heading deeper into the primeval forest. Although he could not open up a Spirit Sea, he could strengthen his body!
About half an hour passed.
Only then did a hundred-zhang divine statue appear before Lin Fan. The man wore golden battle armor and had a solemn expression. His imposing divine body stood as tall as the heavens, exuding an ancient, weighty presence.
Below the divine statue was a large plaza, where hundreds of people had gathered. Many cultivators stood beside a cloud stairway. Some climbed the steps, their strides heavy and labored, their expressions pained, as though under immense pressure.
The Heaven Ascension Stairway!
It had a thousand cloud steps in total, a trial that tested the physical body!
With every step upward, the pressure one had to bear grew greater than on the previous step.
It was said that the inheritance here had been left behind by an Archaic Sacred Body. The requirements for obtaining it were so harsh that no one had succeeded to this day.
This statue depicted a fully accomplished Archaic Sacred Body of a past generation.
"Ah... no!"
A cultivator who had achieved some success in tempering his body could not withstand the pressure. His scream rang throughout the plaza as the cloud stairway blasted him back down into it, his fate unknown.
At this sight, many cultivators sighed and clicked their tongues, thoughts of retreat rising in their hearts.
"As expected of an Archaic Sacred Body's inheritance. Ordinary people have no chance of reaching the top. At most, they can climb a few hundred steps and obtain some benefits. As for the Archaic Sacred Body's inheritance, don't even dream of it!"
"Exactly. Look at Wang Bo of the Wang Clan. He possesses the Gilded Sacred Body and is hailed as a prodigy of body cultivation, yet didn't he still fail at the seven hundred and forty-ninth cloud step?"
Lin Fan reached the plaza below. After hearing the cultivators' discussion, his gaze settled on a figure still making his way down, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.
"So it's you! What a coincidence!"
It was a young man in blue robes. Lin Fan recognized him as the Wang Clan disciple who had wanted to attack him back at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
"Lin Fan?"
Sensing Lin Fan's gaze, Wang Bo first froze, then could not help feeling delighted.
Finally, he burst into utterly unrestrained laughter. "I was still brooding over not being able to kill you at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion earlier. I never imagined Heaven would favor me so much as to give me another chance to kill you!"
He looked at Lin Fan as though he had spotted prey. "As it happens, my Gilded Sacred Body has just achieved some success, and my body has grown much stronger. I'll use you to try it out!"