The Gu Daoya had long since disappeared into the clouds, but the stagnant air inside the hall did not move with it. Instead, it was like a pool of stagnant water that kept sinking, making people feel uneasy.
The Eastern Exalt's suppression of the Ancient Races's Half-Saint with a flick of his hand certainly shocked the entire audience once again. Less than a year had passed since he Severing the Dao his Dao, and such progress was beyond description as "astonishing".
However, after their initial dazzle and infatuation with this being who repeatedly defied common sense, the Holy Lords developed an almost numb understanding of him.
Since it was Eastern Exalt's doing, no matter how illogical it may seem, it will ultimately appear as if it were perfectly reasonable.
What truly pierced my spine like an icicle was the irreversible torrent revealed in the letter.
An era belonging to Primordial Races is slowly unfolding as the earth's veins stir.
This land is destined to never have peace again.
After this cataclysmic storm, how many sects will remain standing? And how many once-glorious lineages will be reduced to mere blurry footnotes in the annals of history?
Dynasties and holy lands that wield Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon and possess ancient heritage sealed by Divine Source can still maintain a semblance of calm.
But the faces of those who inherited the next level of power were as pale as paper.
In the past, during the difficult times, a Mighty Figure at the second level of the Immortal Two Realm could roam freely in the Big Dipper and even contend with the ultimate forces on certain occasions.
Over time, many sects inevitably developed a false sense of security, as if the gap between themselves and those immortal lineages that had produced Great Emperor was not insurmountable.
However, the awakening of the Primordial Myriad Races will be like an invisible giant hand, crushing this false balance along with the entire old era.
The era when the Immortal Two of immortals reigned supreme and Mighty Figure could roam freely across the universe has come to an end.
The Yaochi Grand Gathering was not yet over, but the palace was already devoid of any festive atmosphere.
With the jade cup in hand, even the finest wine tastes bland and tasteless.
A chilling feeling, as if a mountain rain had descended upon the entire building, leaving no place to hide, gripped the soul of everyone present.
The holy masters lowered their gazes, some staring at the gently rippling wine on the table, others unconsciously stroking the cold magical artifacts with their fingertips. Their thoughts had already flown back to their respective mountain gates, which might soon face turbulent waves.
Thousands of miles away, deep in the desolate mountains.
The silver light that the Gu Daoya transformed into fell down and merged with seven or eight figures shrouded in a hazy halo who had been waiting there.
A hushed conversation quickly broke out, conducted in an obscure, Primordial Divine Language, with short, intense syllables.
"Insolent fool! How dare you, a mere human, speak like this?!"
A deep growl came from an ancient creature covered in jet-black scales and bearing a single horn, causing the surrounding rocks to crumble into dust due to the vibrations of the sound waves.
His vertical pupils burned with rage, yet also concealed a trace of fear at the golden hand that covered the heavens and earth.
" Kui Luo of the Blood Moon Clan, Half-Saint, was suppressed with a flick of his hand. Could that Eastern Exalt of the Human Race be a king?" Another Dao Body spoke. It resembled a human body, but its entire body was covered with winding blood-red patterns, as if magma was flowing beneath its skin. Its voice was hoarse.
"Disgrace! This is an insult to the entire Primordial Races!" a creature with four arms on its back and a ferocious face roared. " The Gu Daoya represents the kings in conveying the divine decree. How can the human race be allowed to disrespect it? This matter must not be left unresolved!"
The Ancient Races representatives who had awakened one after another and participated in this joint operation now shared a common sense of anger and unease.
They were furious at the human race's audacious attitude and uneasy about the terrifying, unfathomable strength displayed by the figure in black.
"I will report to Your Majesty everything I have seen and heard at Jade Pool today, without missing a single word."
The three faces of the leader of the Gu Daoya were shrouded in the same gloom, and the muscles beneath the silver scales were slightly distorted due to tension.
Only after completely leaving the Jade Pool area did the invisible yet ever-present oppressive feeling around him recede like the tide.
He paused slightly, turning back to gaze at the misty, celestial land. The fear in his six eyes gradually subsided, and the suppressed arrogance and ferocity surged back up.
Silver light flowed again between the scales, even more dazzling than before.
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, which condensed into frost in the cold air. His voice also deepened, regaining some of the coldness characteristic of the Primordial Royal Clan.
"Human arrogance must be repaid with blood."
"Good!"
"Our king will certainly not stand idly by!"
"A race as weak as a bloodsucker dares to dream of standing on equal footing with all other races? What a joke!"
Several ancient creatures expressed their desire to return to their ancestral lands and requested the decision of the slumbering Ancestor King.
After a brief reunion, seven or eight Dao Body transformed into rainbows of different colors and soared into the sky, rushing off in different directions.
The Yaochi Grand Gathering ultimately came to a close in an indescribably solemn atmosphere.
Outside the mountain gate, cloud boats and precious carriages rose into the sky one after another, but the streaks of light that streaked across the sky no longer had the ease they had when they arrived.
The leaders of each religion silently ascended their carriages, their robes billowing in heavy arcs in the fierce wind.
Occasionally, when acquaintances make eye contact, they merely nod slightly, and where their eyes meet, a somber shadow hangs in the air.
"Brother Wang, take care."
"Sect Leader Li, let's talk again another day."
The farewell was brief and dry, as if the last notes were frozen by the cold, dry air of the Northern Region.
No one uttered a single unnecessary word, nor did anyone mention the animal hide letter, the Half-Saint suppressed outside the Primordial Ancient Mine, or the phrase, "If you want to talk, let the Ancestor King come in person."
Some words are too heavy; once spoken, they become mountains that can crush the road back home.
Inside the jade boat, the emperor of a dynasty in the Central Continent, which was only below the Four Great Dynasties, sat with his eyes closed, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the sandalwood armrest.
The sound was deep and rhythmic, yet it carried a hint of anxiety.
He suddenly opened his eyes and said to the general standing beside him, "Send down the order: double the garrison in the thirty-two border cities. Withdraw all prospecting teams."
The general trembled and replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, those newly discovered dragon veins..."
"Withdraw." The emperor interrupted him, his voice resolute. "The mine can be found again if it's lost. But if people are gone..." He didn't finish his sentence, only gazing at the rapidly receding sea of clouds outside the porthole, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.
On the other side, on a bronze chariot pulled by a nine-headed Azure Luan phoenix, the Tai Shang Elder of a certain holy land in the Eastern Wasteland was arguing quietly with the Holy Lord.
"Senior brother! How can we just give up those 100,000 miles of territory like that?" The Tai Shang Elder's hair and beard bristled, and his breathing became unsteady.
The Holy Lord was a middle-aged Daoist priest with a gaunt face. He slowly turned a warm jade pendant between his fingers, his voice calm yet tinged with weariness. "You won't let me pass? Junior brother, can you withstand the king of the Ancient Races? If that Half-Saint of the Blood Moon Clan from the Jade Pool Palace were to descend upon our sect's gate today, who among us could withstand a single blow from him?"
The Tai Shang Elder choked, his face flushed, and after a long while, he said dejectedly, "So, we're just going to accept this?"
"It's not about acknowledging," the Holy Lord said, gazing out the window, his gaze seemingly piercing through the clouds to fall upon the vast and perilous barren land to the north. "It's about waiting. Waiting for those who can truly withstand the heavens to make their choice."
He paused, lowering his voice even further, almost blending into the whistling of the chariot cutting through the wind. " The Eastern Exalt's suppression of the Half-Saint today is both a statement and a warning. But this pool is too deep. For us fish in the mud, the most important thing right now is not to be washed away by the first wave."
Anxiety spread silently among the senior members of the various religious groups on their return journey, like a plague.
They ruled over a region, and could shake the land for thousands of miles with a stomp of their feet. But when faced with the thousands of ancient races about to awaken, and those " Ancestor King " who were comparable to " Ancient Saint," a long-lost sense of powerlessness, almost like ants looking up at a giant dragon, gnawed at their Dao hearts.
However, compared to these preoccupied and seemingly aged hundreds of years in an instant, the younger generation reacted much more "lively."
" The Qishi Mansion is finally opening!" A young man dressed in purple, with outstanding features, stood on the deck of his sect's flying shuttle, his eyes burning with fervor. "Geniuses from the Five Regions gather, dragons and tigers clash! This is the stage we should be on!"
Someone nearby chimed in excitedly, "That's right! The Primordial Myriad Races are for our ancestors to worry about. Right now, we should be fighting for a spot in the Qishi Mansion! I've heard it holds the secret to the Starry Sky Ancient Road!"
" Starry Sky Ancient Road!" These words seemed to possess a magical power, causing a group of young geniuses to catch their breath.
Their eyes reflected a longing for the vast starry sky and a thirst for an invincible path, temporarily diluting the solemn atmosphere emanating from their elders.
There are also some who are relatively sober, such as a descendant of a certain ancient family. He leaned on the railing and sneered, "A bunch of idiots. The birth of the Ancient Clan will change the pattern of heaven and earth. The selection process for the Qishi Mansion will probably be far more difficult than in previous generations. Maybe the geniuses of the Ancient Clan will come to intervene."
"It's even better that they've arrived!" The purple-clad youth raised his head, his fighting spirit surging. "I was just about to weigh in on them, to see just how much this so-called prodigy of the Primordial Royal Clan really has!"
Their arguments, aspirations, and even a touch of arrogant ignorance contrasted sharply with the deathly silence of the elders inside the shuttle cabin.
As the tide of the times rolls in, the older generation is already calculating their escape routes and costs, while the younger generation is eager to jump into the waves and test their swimming skills.
Before a storm arrives, the ignorant are often the most "brave."
The Eastern Wasteland seems to have truly begun to "calm down".
After the Yaochi Grand Gathering ended, cultivators from various regions returned, but the news they brought did not cause the uproar that ordinary cultivators had imagined.
Specific information about the " Primordial Myriad Races " has been kept under wraps by various major powers to avoid causing widespread panic.
For the vast majority of cultivators who may never be able to leave their own domain in their entire lives, the "revival of Ancient Races " is more like a distant and vague legend, far less tangible than the discovery of a new mineral vein by a neighboring sect or the acquisition of a new top-grade magic artifact.
But the underlying changes are like a surging undercurrent beneath the ice.
In the Northern Region, centered on the Primordial Ancient Mine, a vast area spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, human presence began to decrease at a visible rate.
Mining teams from Great Saint and source seekers from independent cultivators retreated like the receding tide.
The once bustling Source City quickly became deserted, leaving only some small forces that were unwilling to give up their foundations or who were still waiting and watching.
Occasionally, daring cultivators riding Divine Rainbow soaring through the sky would be astonished to discover that in some desolate valleys and the depths of dried-up ancient riverbeds, an indescribable ancient aura was slowly rising.
Beneath the earth, a colossal creature, seemingly slumbering for millennia, is adjusting its breathing.
An invisible, suffocating "force" began to envelop the Northern Region and slowly seep southward.
Meanwhile, the Central Continent Plains presented a completely different picture.
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The news that Qishi Mansion was about to open was like Mars thrown into boiling oil, completely igniting the passion of this ancient and sacred land.
Cultivators from the Five Regions, especially the younger generation of geniuses and prodigies, began to flock here.
The ancient city was overcrowded, and colorful streaks of light could be seen intertwining in the sky every day. The fighting and battles in the training grounds and the arena of life and death suddenly became several times more frequent.
The winds of change are quietly gathering in the Central Continent from the temporarily dormant Eastern Wasteland.
The Jade Pool Pure Land, at the deepest part of the Queen Mother of the West's Palace.
This place is the true core forbidden area of a lineage; throughout the ages, only a handful of people have been able to set foot here.
The palace is not grand; it is cast from divine stone mixed with celestial jade, and is cold and hard to the touch, carrying an ancient chill.
The walls are covered with ancient engravings worn away by time, vaguely outlining an epic scroll of the Queen Mother of the West's enlightenment and pacification of the Dark Turmoil.
The air was filled with a thin, primordial atmosphere, as if the world had never been created, and a deathly stillness that seemed to have settled to its extreme, so that even breathing sounded abrupt.
The hall was sparsely furnished, with only three or five dull prayer cushions on the floor.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged on the main futon, his black robes as dark as night, appearing like a streak of ink cutting through the darkness against the backdrop of the chaotic stone wall.
On the left-hand cushion sat a middle-aged man.
Her aura was extremely restrained, like a withered stone, with only her eyes occasionally revealing a sense of desolation amidst the vicissitudes of life.
One of the secrets of Jade Pool, a contemporary Saint resurrected from the Divine Source.
On the right, a tall figure sat quietly cross-legged.
His face was blurred, only his eyes were clear, and when they opened and closed, a terrifying spectacle seemed to flash by, as if the sun and moon were collapsing and the Milky Way were turning back.
Simply by existing there, the surrounding light and space produced subtle distortions and folds, as if unable to bear its weight; this was none other than the Great Saint, Gu Tianshu.
In the Void directly in front of Li Qingshan, two faint lights floated.
A sliver of light emitted a mysterious glow, constantly shifting its shape, sometimes transforming into a hazy, giant bell.
On the bell wall, ancient carvings depicting the worship of all spirits and the initial separation of chaos can be faintly seen. Although only a wisp of energy is manifested, it exudes a majestic imperial might that overwhelms all heavens and causes all paths to groan.
The sacred stone inside the hall creaked under its own weight, and the space rippled like water.
Another glimmer of light, as warm and gentle as clear water, evolved into the outline of a nine-story Immortal Pagoda.
The tower cascaded down in wisps of azure light, peaceful and serene, yet containing a supreme law that silently nourishes and cleanses all evil, completely different from the domineering bell shadow, standing in stark contrast to it.
All the supreme power currently available to Jade Pool is gathered here.
"Cough."
A soft cough broke the absolute silence.
The Jade Pool Saint slowly spoke, "The shackles of heaven and earth are loosening. I can hear the joy of the Great Dao; the Golden Age is about to arrive."
Each word uttered caused ripples to spread through the thin, chaotic energy within the hall.
"I sensed it," Gu Tianshu replied, his voice calm yet carrying a metallic, penetrating power that reached straight to the soul. " This Lifetime is very different. The suppression of the Great Dao is about to dissipate, and the Road to Immortality through the Big Dipper will appear. It is an opportunity for all ages, but also a cataclysmic calamity. Those supreme beings who have severed themselves in the forbidden zones will go crazy, and these Ancient Races sleeping underground will naturally crawl out to fight for food."
He turned his gaze to Li Qingshan: "You spared that Half-Saint's life today not just to suppress a mere insect and make a sound, right?"
Li Qingshan met his gaze without changing his expression.
He extended his index finger and gently touched the flickering flame on the Bronze Lamp beside him.
"Laugh."
The flames flickered, casting shifting light and shadow in his dark pupils, illuminating half of his face in an indistinct light.
"Uncle Gu has keen insight." Li Qingshan withdrew his finger, his voice clear as a jade chime in the absolute silence, " The Blood Moon Clan, one of the ten most ferocious clans of antiquity. Their name is built from the bones of humans. Saint King should be presiding over the clan."
The Jade Pool Saint turned his eyes slightly and looked at Li Qingshan, remaining as silent as the stone walls inside the hall.
"Such a force is very powerful, and in this world where the path to enlightenment is fraught with difficulty, it is far more troublesome than ordinary holy lands. If we act rashly and use drastic measures to annihilate it without a legitimate reason, the commotion will be too great." Li Qingshan continued, " With the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, we can naturally wipe it out. But that will inevitably alarm the royal families deeper within, and may even attract the attention of the forbidden zones."
He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Gu Tianshu's blurry figure, then over the two faint lights of the Emperor Weapon that made even Saint' hearts tremble.
"This doesn't suit my style of play."
"Chess strategy?" Gu Tianshu's lips seemed to curve into an almost imperceptible arc. "Your chess strategy, is it?"
"Fishing." Li Qingshan uttered two words, his tongue seemingly carrying the taste of rust. "I crippled him, Half-Saint, yet spared his life. This is a thorn in the face of the Blood Moon Clan, a slap in the face of all the ancient elders. With the arrogance of the Fierce Clan, they will not tolerate it. If they want to remove the thorn, if they want to avenge themselves, they must come to me."
He paused, and the temperature inside the hall seemed to drop several degrees.
"They themselves put their necks under the guillotine; we were merely the ones being guillotined."
"At that time, even if we exterminate this clan, leaving mountains of corpses and staining the Northern Region with blood, the other royal families can only watch. Are you suggesting that we risk our two Emperor Weapon from Jade Pool for the sake of a few self-destructive royal families, in a battle for the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon sublimation, and sink the Eastern Wasteland?"
The stone hall fell silent once more.
Only occasionally did the lamp flame crackle and burst open, revealing a glimmer of light—the silent collision and annihilation of the Dao principles.
"Adventure." The Jade Pool Saint spoke again, his voice filled with tangible concern. "When you cast your line, you never know whether you'll pull up a fish or a dragon that will drag you into the abyss before the line snaps. If the Blood Moon Clan unites with other clans, with their Ancestor King by their side, and they might even borrow Ancient Emperor Weapon, the Pure Land will be stained with blood—a bad omen."
She has guarded the Jade Pool heritage for too long, witnessed countless rises and falls, and her code of conduct has long been marked by "preservation first".
" The Saint need not worry about it."
Li Qingshan's voice remained steady, yet it was like a cold iron grinding stone, each word chiseling into the silence of the palace wall.
"Since I cast the bait myself, I can naturally lift the fishing rod." He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the faint glow of the Emperor Weapon floating in the Void, finally settling back on the face of the Jade Pool Saint. " Ancestor King? In my eyes, they are no different from weeds in the wind. If one comes, I will cut it down."
He paused, a faint yet chilling smile curving his lips.
"Even if we were to truly catch a dragon, to my Jade Pool, it would be nothing more than a long worm with a few extra scales, barely capable of stirring up a few waves. With Uncle Gu wielding the Emperor Weapon, he is more than capable of suppressing those royal family Great Saint and Ancient Emperor Weapon hiding in the shadows, their minds wavering."
At this point, a cold glint suddenly gathered in his eyes, like a star core collapsing, and his voice deepened:
"Moreover, when I Severing the Dao Tribulation, I sensed that one of the two Emperor Weapon that secretly intervened was an Ancient Emperor Weapon."
The air inside the hall suddenly froze, and even the faint light of the two Emperor Weapon seemed to pause slightly.
"If they dare to reach out again this time..."
Li Qingshan raised his finger and gently tapped the Void.
No sound came out, but an invisible rhythm spread out, causing the chaotic energy within the entire stone hall to flow backward and swirl.
"We have to leave something behind."
He leaned slightly forward, his black robe trailing on the ground.
The light from the Bronze Lamp behind him elongated his shadow, casting it onto the ancient mural depicting the scene of the Queen Mother of the West quelling the turmoil.
The distorted, swaying shadow momentarily overlapped with the majestic, awe-inspiring imperial figure depicted in the mural.
"I have never liked killing, only stopping killing," Li Qingshan said slowly, each word like an ice bead falling onto a jade plate. "But the Primordial Myriad Races are about to awaken, and their minds are still filled with the outdated ledger of viewing humans as mere prey. If we don't use the most ferocious and domineering methods from the very beginning to twist off the heads of the most eager ones and hang them on the Heavenly Gate for all to see,"
His eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light, like an ice blade buried deep within the snow line of a mountain peak being unsheathed, instantly cleaving through the stagnant chaos within the hall.
"The blood shed in the future will stain the entire river of history red."
"I want them to remember with their very bones that in this era, the sky above their heads was held up by the Great Emperor of Humanity. Every inch of the soil beneath their feet was bought with blood; it either belongs to them or it belongs to us."
As soon as the words were spoken, they resonated subtly on the stone wall, carrying the lingering sound of metal clashing.
Gu Tianshu at Li Qingshan, his gaze deep, as if trying to pierce through his skin and look directly into the core of his soul.
After a long silence, he nodded.
"Character, courage, and methods—all are sufficient." His approval was no longer concealed. "Back then, the Great Emperor also carved out a peaceful world. In chaotic times, harsh measures are unnecessary; appeasement will only make wolves crave your flesh and blood."
The tone suddenly shifted. "But you seem to be in a hurry? You mentioned before that you wanted to travel the Starry Sky Ancient Road, and even return to your hometown?"
"Yes," Li Qingshan answered decisively. " On the Other Shore of the starry sky, on the Primordial Ancient Star, I will keep my promise. Before I leave, I must clear away all obstacles and establish rules for Jade Pool and for the human race. I want those Old Gu that crawl out of the ground to open their eyes and see clearly the first thing they see: the flag of Jade Pool and the sword of the human race."
"Break the hardest tooth, and the rest will learn to lick with their tongues," he concluded, his tone calm yet containing a will as powerful as a mountain splitting the sea.
"Break a tooth," the Jade Pool Saint repeated softly. In the depths of her calm, still eyes, a thunderous mark that had been sealed for millennia seemed to flash slightly.
"Since your mind is made up and your plans are well-thought-out," she slowly raised her head, looking at the faint light of the Western Emperor Pagoda floating in the Void, her voice carrying a sharpness unlike anything she had before, "These old bones of mine have been sealed away for too long; it's time for them to be touched by blood, lest they rust through. Having guarded this pure land for millennia, watching the clouds rise and fall, it's good that I see blood and fire before I enter the earth."
The emerald green pagoda swayed gently, casting a warm, ethereal glow that enveloped her, as if in response.
The shadowy bell emitted a deep, resonant hum that transcended hearing and shook the very soul.
"Thump!!!"
The waves of the bell swept away all doubt, cowardice, and gloom, leaving only an iron will to fight.
Gu Tianshu's projection slowly stood up, and the surrounding light and shadow distorted even more.
The shadowy bell emitted a deep, resonant hum that transcended hearing and shook the very soul.
"Thump!!!"
The waves of the bell swept away all doubt, cowardice, and gloom, leaving only an iron will to fight.
Gu Tianshu's projection slowly stood up, and the surrounding light and shadow distorted even more.
"Then so be it." His voice was resolute. "I will secretly protect you with the Emperor Bell. Use it as you see fit. If the Blood Moon Clan comes, your Five Fingers Mountain will be their entire clan's tombstone."
Li Qingshan also stood up, his black robes fluttering even without wind.
He turned his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of palaces and endless formations, landing on the desolate red land of the Northern Region, and on the newly built Five Fingers Mountain that suppressed the Half-Saint of the Fierce Clan.
The bait has entered the water.
Now, let's wait for that bloodthirsty monster to follow the scent of blood and stumble into the net.