Five Imperial Dao Immortal Arts, Thirteen Life Palaces Opened: The Only One in All Eternity!
Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, more than two years had passed.
During that time, a piece of earthshaking news had spread far and wide, until the entire Li Lineage knew of it.
The previous Divine Son Li Xiaoran's offspring had broken free of his seal and been born after five years of gestation within a golden immortal-source cocoon.
The moment he entered the world, he awakened the Ancient Sacred Body and the Longevity Immortal Pupils, stepping into the Purple Mansion in a single stride and breaking the records of the Li Lineage's ancient ancestors.
He had even astonished the Ninth Ancestor into emerging in person and granting him the position of Divine Son.
Nine out of ten Li Lineage members admired him and were endlessly envious.
They knew only that Li Xunyuan had awakened the Ancient Sacred Body and the Longevity Immortal Pupils; they knew nothing of the Innate Chaos Sacred Body Dao Embryo.
Under the Ninth Ancestor's spoken orders, the clan elders present had all kept their lips sealed and refrained from spreading the news at once. One could never be without caution toward others.
As soon as word spread that Li Xunyuan had become the Divine Son, it stirred up towering waves within the Li Lineage.
At the same time, a sky-soaring will to fight rose in the hearts of every young prodigy in the Li Lineage.
They all wanted to test for themselves just how much this fellow who had stirred the Ninth Ancestor upon his birth was worth, and whether he was truly qualified to hold the position of Divine Son.
The prodigies qualified to compete for the position of Holy Son were especially eager to try, itching to challenge Li Xunyuan at once.
After all, the chain reaction from defeating Li Xunyuan would draw far more attention and be far more worthwhile than defeating those holding the nine Holy Son positions.
The Ancient Sacred Body could suppress many divine bodies and strange phenomena, making it the undisputed foremost sacred body.
In the current flourishing era, the Ancient Sacred Body had been cursed by the laws of heaven and earth. Each of its nine phenomena had been reinforced with a layer of sealing, leaving it unsuitable for cultivation and long since different from what it had once been.
Even with the Ninth Ancestor himself as a teacher, at most three layers of the sacred body's seal could be undone.
That was the limit; no more could be undone.
To the Li Lineage's prodigies, a crippled Ancient Sacred Body posed hardly any threat.
Many wanted to use Li Xunyuan as a stepping stone to make a name for themselves!
Within an ancient realm.
Two or three wooden cottages stood among swaying bamboo, while a gentle breeze drifted through.
The evening clouds blushed crimson, and the shadows cast by the setting sun's last light stretched long across the forest. The scenery was as beautiful as a painting.
"The Immortal-Slaying Art, the Immortal-Severing Art, the Immortal-Butchering Art, the Immortal-Quelling Art, and the Immortal-Suppressing Art-you've learned all five of the Li Lineage's Imperial Dao sword arts?"
In front of a wooden cottage, the Ninth Ancestor wore an incredulous expression. Unable to restrain himself, he sprayed out the tea he had just swallowed.
"I learned them all. They were just Imperial Dao immortal arts, nothing I couldn't pluck with a reach of my hand."
Li Xunyuan nodded obediently, with the confidence of one unmatched beneath the heavens!
"If you don't believe me, watch."
Then, right before the Ninth Ancestor, he began to demonstrate.
Clang!
A clear sword cry rang through the clouds. At once, winds rose and clouds surged overhead as piercing sword light spiraled up through the nine heavens and into the celestial palace above.
In an instant, a sword Dao presence capable of cleaving the heavens and annihilating the earth howled outward from Li Xunyuan like a hurricane of unimaginable force.
The sword light was piercing and bone-chilling. It spread in every direction, becoming a sea of brilliant white swords that filled heaven and earth, its radiance illuminating ancient times, the present, and the future.
Under the Ninth Ancestor's twitching gaze, Li Xunyuan switched back and forth between immortal arts just like Aphelios, like a performer doing acrobatics.
At one moment it was the Immortal-Slaying Art, its sword shining over the nine provinces as it slaughtered immortals by the host!
At another it was the Immortal-Butchering Art, its fighting Qi soaring into the heavens and staining the sky with blood!
At another it was the Immortal-Quelling Art, tempering his Dao heart, his might equal to heaven!
The suffocating sight left the Ninth Ancestor completely numb.
Just what kind of monster was this?
Even he could not fully master all five of these Imperial Dao sword arts.
Imperial Dao sword arts were also known as immortal arts and could be cultivated all the way to the Great Emperor level. Their difficulty could well be imagined.
In all these years, the entire Li Lineage had not produced a single person who could master all five Imperial Dao sword arts in one go.
Now it seemed someone had broken that record too.
"Stop, stop, stop. I understand."
The Ninth Ancestor waved his hand, his beard trembling with shock.
Li Xunyuan obediently stopped what he was doing, and the sword light between heaven and earth vanished like smoke.
Over the past two years and more, he had mastered more than just these five Imperial Dao immortal sword arts.
Li Xunyuan had also sifted the chaff from the grain of all the divine abilities and secret arts the Li Lineage openly displayed, grasping and integrating their essence until he knew them inside out.
It couldn't be helped. Heaven-defying comprehension was just that willful.
No matter the divine ability or cultivation art, he could comprehend it with a single glance and automatically refine it to perfection.
"Ninth Ancestor, what's the greatest number of Life Palaces anyone in the Li Lineage's younger generation has opened?" Li Xunyuan asked.
Over the past two years and more, the foundation of his Purple Mansion had been forged incomparably solid.
The Ninth Ancestor had once said that breaking through to the Life Palace Realm after mastering the Immortal-Severing Art would bring an unexpected effect.
Li Xunyuan had waited far too long for this day and could hardly wait to break through.
"Ten Life Palaces!"
The Ninth Ancestor answered, "Your father also opened ten Life Palaces when he was in the Life Palace Realm."
"Later, he turned his chaos phenomenon into a Life Palace and reached the eleven-Life-Palace realm. As for how many Life Palaces he has now and how strong he is, I'm not really sure myself."
Then the Ninth Ancestor continued, his gaze full of hope, "Now that you've awakened the Innate Chaos Sacred Body Dao Embryo, you can try to reach the twelve Life Palaces recorded in ancient texts."
"As for whether those twelve Life Palaces are real, I can't guarantee it. Do only what you're capable of; I'll stand guard beside you!"
"Twelve Life Palaces..." Li Xunyuan murmured to himself.
Since his father had been able to open eleven great Life Palaces, he naturally could not let that illustrious reputation fall short.
Having decided to break through to the Life Palace Realm, Li Xunyuan no longer suppressed his cultivation at the peak of the Purple Mansion. Everything was already set, and success followed as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
Buzz!
Li Xunyuan sat cross-legged in the air and entered a special state, his heart still as water, his mind clear and bright.
The immortal bones within him burned, and his bloodline boiled.
Ethereal immortal music sounded between heaven and earth, and the great Daos of the heavens thundered.
Rumble!
Just then, eight deafening peals of thunder erupted one after another in the void.
Then eight magnificent, mysterious ancient Life Palaces appeared in succession above Li Xunyuan's head, like eight dazzling suns.
Strands of Chaos Qi hung down, seemingly capable of crushing the eternal blue heavens.
"Eight Life Palaces opened at once?"
The Ninth Ancestor froze. Everything ought to proceed step by step.
The unprecedented sight of eight palaces appearing in a chain left him utterly dumbstruck.
When Li Xiaoran had opened his Life Palaces, it had been an extremely gentle process, one palace appearing after another until he had opened a perfect ten.
How could he have been as fierce as Li Xunyuan? The boy was practically a beast!
Yet this was only the beginning.
The next moment, two more Life Palaces appeared beside the first eight, pouring forth boundless Chaos Qi.
"Ten great Life Palaces!"
The Ninth Ancestor stood with his hands behind his back, a glint flashing in his eyes.
He drew a deep breath and focused all his attention on Li Xunyuan's condition.
That way, he could respond swiftly to any sudden mishap.
Ten great Life Palaces stretched across the sky like ten eternal, undying suns, blazing with dazzling immortal radiance.
Strands of Chaos Qi streamed down from either side of the Life Palaces, completely shrouding Li Xunyuan below.
"Do the twelve Life Palaces recorded in the ancient texts truly exist...?"
The Ninth Ancestor's gaze was as deep as an abyss, with a hint of anticipation showing through.
Ten great Life Palaces might not be the limit of the Innate Chaos Sacred Body Dao Embryo!
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound suddenly rang out high in the heavens. In an instant, primordial immortal light bloomed, and countless streams of primal Chaos Qi flowed.
A black abyss silently split open in the void. Within that abyssal fissure, two ancient, weathered Life Palaces broke free of their seals.
The twelve Life Palaces spanned past and present, eternal and imperishable, like a miracle from the creation of heaven and earth!
"Good! Good! Good!"
The Ninth Ancestor breathed rapidly, his eyes full of excitement. Even with his composure, he clapped and cried out in delight!
He had only wanted Li Xunyuan to try for twelve Life Palaces, but he had never expected him to succeed!
Twelve Life Palaces!
He could be called the foremost in the Life Palace Realm throughout history, peerless in splendor and unmatched through the ages!
Rumble!
As soon as the Ninth Ancestor's voice fell, winds and clouds suddenly rose high in the heavens. Heaven and earth changed color, and boundless immortal light of the epochs burst across the sky!
In that instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the depths of the heavens, and hundreds of millions of seven-colored lightning bolts tore across the sky.
Countless strange phenomena descended through the void, representing the will of all living beings.
Seven-colored lightning split the chaos, sending imperishable primordial radiance bursting forth as boundless immortal light continued to bloom!
Buzz!
The outline of an exceedingly plain, ancient-looking palace flickered in and out of sight amid the chaos.
It seemed to be the first ancient palace from the creation of heaven and earth, the beginning of all things and the source of the Dao.
"That's... the thirteenth Life Palace!"
As the thirteenth Life Palace emerged from the chaos, an earthshaking glint flashed through the Ninth Ancestor's profound eyes, and he cried out in shock.
Boom!
As his words fell-
With a tremendous boom, the thirteenth Life Palace above Li Xunyuan's head took form from the chaos!
Then it leaped into the heavens, stretching across the skies and the world!
Thirteen Life Palaces hung in the sky, like an Immortal Emperor descending to the mortal world and looking down upon the nine heavens!
Undying through the ages, eternal and imperishable!