The Lightless Dao Fruit, the Greater Game Behind It!

High above the sky, the cold wind is like a knife.

Deep within the Profound Lightning Ancestral Court stands an ancient Dao Platform carved entirely from Nine Heavens Tribulation Jade; the platform floats between void rifts, surrounded by chaotic and disordered void currents.

In the void, only billions of cyan-purple arcs of Principle electricity, like an inverted ancient waterfall of starlight, cascaded down from the depths of the Nine Heavenly Gang Sha, roaring endlessly around the Dao Platform.

This is the place where the Profound Lightning Beast Emperor attained enlightenment, and it is also the most important thunderous location in the entire Eastern Lands of the Beast Realm.

At this moment, at the edge of the platform.

On either side of a blue stone table sat two ancient and simple figures.

The old man on the left is a Profound Lightning Beast Emperor, clad in a white and blue robe wrapped in lightning, with broken horns and withered flesh. His eyes are lowered, his flesh is shrunken on his jagged skull, and he is surrounded by an intense, irresistible aura of death in the twilight.

Opposite him sat a tall, imposing old man draped in a dark blue feather cloak.

The old man had an aquiline nose and hawk-like eyes, and his eyebrows were like two ancient lapis lazuli swords piercing the sky. Even without activating a single bit of his Law Power, the void around him was constantly tearing and reassembling, creating countless whirlwinds of nothingness that could cut everything in the world into dust.

One of the six great royal families of the Beast Realm, the supreme being who holds the [Heavenly Wind] position, the Wind Ancestor of the Black Eagle Imperial Clan, the Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable!

Above the stone table between the two, a three-foot square black glass mirror floated.

Within the black mirror, black energy surged, and blood rain swirled.

The Polar Night Sacred Abyss collapsed, the Night Beast Emperor was annihilated, and the raging Divine Firmament Giant Bear stood with its spear, stubbornly resisting the residual power of the Extreme Realm.

The scene of the Profound Lightning Imperial Clan and the three Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators fleeing in disarray was reflected in the mirror in great detail.

"An interesting little guy."

Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable picked up a jade teacup on the table, its surface gleaming with frost. With a slight movement of his fingertips, the millennia-old essence floating within the cup rippled out in circles of profound Dao patterns.

His gaze shifted from the white-robed giant bear shattering the void on the mirror's surface, a half-smile playing on his lips:

"That old scoundrel, E Gu, has truly chosen a fine seedling."

"Not even two thousand years old, with a body combining the divine orthodoxy of the Divine Firmament and the Barbarian Bone of the barbarians, he hadn't even pushed his defensive Dao Artifact to its limit. Yet, relying solely on his mastery of the Deathly Fiend and the Three Foundations of Thunder Essence, he was able to withstand a near-death blow from the Five-Foundation Extreme Realm."

"If this child were to cultivate to the fifth level, among his peers throughout the Nine Realms, even the little white deer born from the jade of the Spirit Race a few years ago would be no match for this extraordinary Lightning Bear."

Upon hearing this, the Old Profound Lightning Beast Emperor's cloudy eyelids trembled slightly.

His withered chest heaved slightly, his voice hoarse and low, like the opening and closing of an ancient coffin. "If he didn't possess such a ferocious foundation capable of fighting at the Extreme Realm, why would I have given him a fragment of ancestral wood out of thin air, luring him into this game as a hostage?"

"The Giant Bear Clan has always been known throughout the world for its thick skin and tough flesh."

"Years ago E Gu fought a bloody battle against the Spirit Race at the boundary. He was pierced through seven layers of his Dao Body by the combined power of three Dao Venerable, his physical body shattered, yet he was still able to fight against the Spirit Race Venerables."

"This little bear has Barbarian Bone savage and E Gu nature flowing in its veins, just like the beast itself; letting him confront its sharp edge is the most appropriate course of action."

Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable put down his teacup, his gaze falling on the vessel of the fruit, which was being tightly clutched in Lei Jin's arms and was constantly emitting black light.

His gaze lingered on the crystal for a long time, his eyes gradually turning cold, and his tone revealing an undisguised sigh:

"Though Shi Jian is fierce, he is ultimately just a dull knife you borrowed."

"Old Lei, now that things have come to this, are you really planning to lead the Profound Lightning Line down this path of no return?"

The roaring thunderbolts surrounding the platform suddenly fell silent in that instant.

Only the swirling winds of the void and the subtle friction of the surging tribulation lightning filled the space between heaven and earth.

The Profound Lightning Beast Emperor raised its head, two faint blue flames flickering in its sunken eye sockets, but it did not utter a rebuttal.

Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable couldn't help but sneer, leaning forward slightly, his sharp, hawk-like gaze piercing his old friend's face:

"The Profound Lightning the rhythm of life and death, fierce and intense, representing the ultimate pure Yang of the Nine Heavens; while this path of Lightless is the method of all things Return to the Ruins, to darkness and oblivion."

Yin and Yang are incompatible, water and fire are irreconcilable.

"Your Profound Lightning Clan has a bloodline spanning hundreds of thousands of years, each generation born with lightning. Now your lifespan is exhausted, and there is no successor. Don't you think of finding a successor among the lightning cultivators of my realm?"

Instead, they attempted to use a treacherous technique to reverse the bloodline of their own clan's prodigies and forcibly absorb this damaged Dao of Darkness vessel.

"Do you realize that once this succeeds, your Profound Lightning Clan will no longer be the Profound Lightning Clan it is today?"

At this point, Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable suddenly waved his sleeve.

The scene in the black mirror suddenly zoomed out, revealing the outer edge of the Lightless Dead Realm, that vast, Lightless, and intangible boundary wall.

"Even if you exhaust the resources of your entire clan and manage to create a [Lightless] Dao Venerable before your death, so what?"

The voice of the Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable rose several decibels, each word piercing the heart, sounding particularly chilling against the backdrop of the Thunder Sound:

"Do you really think that this position in the world is so easy to attain?!"

"I have wielded the [Heavenly Wind] Dao Fruit for tens of thousands of years, and my combat strength, even among the kings of the entire Beast Realm, can firmly be ranked among the top three; yet, in all these ten thousand years, have I ever stepped outside the territory of the Beast Realm even half a step?!"

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I'm unable."

A chilling glint flashed in Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable's eyes, and his tone was filled with an unyielding resentment and violence that had lasted for millennia:

"Within the Heaven Realm, the foundation of the Space Heaven Clan is incredibly profound!"

"That immortal Heavenly Emperor attained the Dao Embryo Realm three eras ago, and alone wields the three great fruits of Cold Wind, Clear Wind, and Mist Wind!"

"Non-Self Beast Realm has the powerful Dao Embryo Emperor, Peak Mountain Emperor Lord, protecting me, if I dared to step out of the Beast Realm even half a step, Heavenly Emperor old man's Dao Embryo form would instantly descend and kill me on the spot."

"Take away my Dao Fruit and use it to perfect his Great Rule of Ten Thousand Winds!"

"That Gen Earth Dao Venerable of the Spirit Realm, clinging to life, didn't he meet the same fate?"

"He cowers beneath the Myriad Spirits Ancestral Tree day and night, never daring to cross the threshold of the Thunder Pool. If he were to reveal himself outside the realm, the Emperor's Mountain-Overturning Seal would instantly crush him!"

Heavenly Wind Dao Venerable withdrew his gaze, staring at the withered face of the Old Profound Lightning Beast Emperor, and said coldly, "This 'Lightless Dao Fruit ' may seem to be without an owner, but in reality, it's a death warrant hanging over our heads."

"Throughout the Nine Realms, no Dao Embryo giant has ever Life Dao in the Dao of Darkness Path."

"But the Nether River Imperial Clan of the Nether Realm have already cultivated the Path of Death Dao to its Extreme Realm, and are now making grand plans to Darkness Devouring and Vague and Ethereal, aiming to achieve hegemony through the fusion of Death, Darkness, and Soul!"

"We are both well aware of the Nether River Emperor's methods."

"Currently, our Beast Realm and the Nether Realm are allied, maintaining a semblance of stability and sharing the benefits of the Nine Realms' fortune. But what if your Profound Lightning Clan suddenly produces a Lightless Dao Venerable of the Dao of Darkness?"

"If you were to reach into the Dao of Darkness passage map, what do you think the Nether River Emperor would think?!"

He will regard my Beast Realm as treacherous and disloyal!

"This painstakingly maintained alliance between the two realms could be reduced to dust in an instant, and the hard-won favorable situation could be completely lost!"

"At that time, your newly promoted Lightless Dao Venerable will likely be blasted to pieces and annihilated in the Beast Realm by the combined forces of the Nether Realm's Venerables as soon as he is born."

The words struck the Profound Lightning Beast Emperor like thunder, landing heavily on his heart.

The void surrounding the altar creaked and trembled under the heavy pressure of cause and effect.

However, the Profound Lightning Beast Emperor remained completely unmoved by his old friend's probing question.

He simply stretched out his withered arm, his fingertips brushing across the surface of the black mirror, and gently scooped up the illusory image of the Lightless Dao Fruit floating in the very center of the mirror into his palm.

"Heavenly Wind."

The Old Profound Lightning Beast Emperor finally spoke, his voice hoarse and strained, carrying the composure and desperate gamble unique to the dying:

"I am well aware of all the advantages and disadvantages you have mentioned."

"The Profound Lightning has shifted, weakening the clan; they have turned to cultivating Dao of Darkness, but are now surrounded by powerful enemies."

"But if we don't fight for this sliver of hope, what will become of my hundreds of millions of pure-blooded descendants of the Profound Lightning Clan when my bones turn to ashes two thousand years later?"

The old Beast Emperor suddenly raised his eyelids, and the dark blue flames in his eye sockets suddenly shone brightly. A desolate yet magnificent Dao Venerable pressure swept out, causing the ten thousand miles of thunder waterfall to surge upwards!

"The orthodox Dao of Lightning is passed down in the Dao Realm Firmament, Divine Firmament Primal Lightning is sealed by the Heaven Realm, and the Frenzied Thunder is scattered among the various races of the Wilderness."

"Among the young generation of my Profound Lightning Line, the most talented is none other than Lei Jin. He has cultivated for five thousand years and is still struggling at the third level of the Spirit Transformation, not even having touched the threshold of perfection!"

"Within two thousand years, he will not be able to achieve the Six-Foundation Perfection, and he will not even be able to touch the Five Foundations."

"Once I Death Dao and my Dao dissipates, the vacant [Profound Lightning] position will surely attract vicious dogs from all over the Nine Realms to fight over it; at that time, what fate will the Profound Lightning Imperial Clan, deprived of the Dao Venerable's protection, suffer?!"

"Those billions of creatures that depend on my race will be torn apart and devoured! The Lei Yuan Spirit Land, accumulated by my race over hundreds of thousands of years, will be completely devoured by the various powerful races!"

Even with the protection of the Peak and Mountain Imperial Clan, making it difficult for outsiders to interfere, do you really think the Tiger Sha, Giant Bear, Kui Lang, and Giant Ape aren't envious?

The old Beast Emperor could only sigh helplessly, each word Blood Dao:

"I would rather my descendants betray our ancestral teachings and live as ferocious beasts in the Dao of Darkness than watch my Profound Lightning Dao lineage become fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others."

"As long as we possess the Dao Fruit, and as long as there is still a Dao Venerable in our clan, our Profound Lightning Clan will remain the royal family of the Beast Realm!"

"As long as people live, the incense Indestructibility, and the lineage will continue. Even if we are trapped in the Beast Realm for hundreds of thousands of years, there will be a day when we can turn the tide."