The tall one among the Four Sages of the Ancestral Court was named Gao Yang. With his upper body concealed in the clouds and mist, he abruptly thrust out a colossal hand. Its splayed fingers spanned dozens of mu as it pressed straight down!
Beneath the palm, flames roared furiously, resembling dozens of mu of burning fields!
The speaker's cultivation was by no means weak. He immediately cast up the immortal artifact Profound Mechanism Shield to meet Gao Yang's massive hand. The immortal artifact collided with the Ancestral Court technique—a clash between the forces of two distinct systems, immortal runes and Dao runes. Dazzling rays of light burst forth between the Profound Mechanism Shield and Gao Yang's hand like the wings of a colorful butterfly!
Although the immortal artifact could withstand the blow from Gao Yang of the Four Sages, internal fire erupted within the cultivator's body, incinerating his Primordial Spirit and Realm of Xiyi. In an instant, his physical body was burned to ash, and his Primordial Spirit was completely consumed!
With his death, the immortal artifact instantly lost control and tore through the void as a streak of immortal light.
On the other side, Ai Chen, the shortest of the Four Sages, suddenly tunneled through the earth and yanked a great master of the Earth Knot World underground, where the two clashed beneath the surface.
A massive mound abruptly swelled from the earth, and an immortal artifact burst through the soil, flying into the sky—its owner had already fallen by Ai Chen's hand.
The other two sages—the fat one named Pang Hou and the lean one named Shougong—likewise embarked on a slaughter against the experts attempting to flee the Ancestral Court!
"Bastards!"
A dozen or more figures flew through the sky, expressions grim. Each sacrificed their sect-guarding immortal artifact, bearing down on Shougong in unison, sneering, "The Demonic Realm has enjoyed peace all these years, and you have survived until now, solely because you cowered in your secluded corner without resisting! Now you actually dare to rebel? Do you seek the extinction of your race?"
Shougong was pinned down, unable to move. But the other three sages arrived in unison, their Primordial Spirits soaring like four primordial deities. The chanting of common folk offering sacrifices resonated loudly, holding up the immortal artifacts and preventing them from descending!
Pang Hou laughed heartily. "If Celestial Venerable Xu hadn't ascended back then, we would have rebelled long ago!"
Uniting their strength, the Four Sages knocked the immortal artifacts away and lunged forward, ruthlessly striking down the dozen or more Qi Refiners from the myriad worlds.
Meanwhile, an Exquisite Golden Pagoda flew in, radiating tens of thousands of golden rays. Yuan Gongtong led many disciples of the Linglong Heavenly Sect, charging into the Ziwei Remnant Realm.
"The Little Celestial Venerable has resolved to rise up and resist the oppression of the myriad worlds—how could we not follow?"
Yuan Gongtong stood atop the towering Exquisite Golden Pagoda, its Seven Treasures blazing with light to counter the immortal artifacts. He laughed aloud. "Today is the day the Ancestral Court holds its head high!"
Just then, another Ancestral Court sect charged into the fray. It was the master of the Wuzhuang Temple, who held up a withered tree and roared, "We have been insulted as demons, and our Dao vilified as demonic! They slaughter our people, then spit on our corpses, preaching about slaying demons and defending the Dao! We should have wiped out these little bastards long ago!"
The sect master of the Cuihua Sect also joined the slaughter. The treasure he wielded was likewise tattered and dilapidated—a leaky bell-jar carved with nine golden dragons.
The Cuihua sect master cast up the battered Nine Dragons Shroud, transforming it into nine fire dragons that surged toward the fleeing experts from various worlds. He shouted furiously, "In the past, you so-called righteous cultivators came and went from the Ancestral Court as you pleased, killing whomever you wanted! Even the Little Celestial Venerable's disciple, Chu Tiandu, was repeatedly challenged by you in our Ancestral Court's holy lands. But that ends today!"
There was also an expert of unknown sect who sacrificed a battered glazed bottle. Only the bottom half remained, holding half a bottle of water.
The woman cast forth the water, and when splashed out, it turned into an ocean, trapping an expert of the Sweet Dew World along with his immortal artifact. She sneered, "In the past, we hid our heads like turtles. Now we dare to strike back!"
For a time, experts from every faction of the Ancestral Court stepped forward; even the gods and demons enshrined in temples mobilized to intercept and slaughter the fleeing experts of the myriad worlds.
They had harbored resentment against the heavens of the myriad worlds and the Immortal Realm for ages. The only reason they had never dared act, tolerating endless abuse, was partly because the Ancestral Court was leaderless, and partly because the myriad worlds were vastly more powerful—the Ancestral Court was simply no match. Provoking them would bring about the extinction of their people.
The Ancestral Court was rife with immortal Dao anomaly zones and fraught with mortal perils. To the myriad worlds, it was a desolate, godforsaken wasteland not worth conquering.
Ordinarily, outsiders merely came to "slay demons and defend the Dao," killing a few demons before leaving; there was no need to invade and conquer the Ancestral Court.
However, if the Ancestral Court struck back and slaughtered every invading Qi Refiner, the myriad worlds and the Immortal Realm might bring armies to their gates and wipe the Ancestral Court clean.
Yet that was the past.
Now, the Little Celestial Venerable had faced down the heroes of the myriad heavens and repelled Immortal Kings, instilling immense confidence in them.
Such was the role of a leader!
The surviving experts of the myriad worlds fled at top speed toward the outer realms, suffering ambushes and interceptions all along the way.
In the past, whenever they entered the Ancestral Court, everyone except a few brave challengers had been exceedingly meek. But now, these people actually dared to fight back!
The attacks and interceptions multiplied, as did the casualties. Terrified, the survivors wished their parents had birthed them with a few extra legs.
Outside Hunyuan Palace, Xu Ying looked up to see the Little Celestial Venerable descending slowly from the sky, planting the Heavenly Halberd outside the palace.
Xu Ying praised, "Little Celestial Venerable, you were hiding your true strength after all. I never imagined you would recover so well."
True Lord Yan stood atop Cloud Mist Palace, bowing to the Little Celestial Venerable. "Brother Dao, I never accepted you in the past, but now I am thoroughly convinced! In the Ancestral Court, you are the Venerable and I am the Lord! So long as you live, I will never harbor divided loyalties!"
Straightening his posture, he led the women of Cloud Mist Palace toward the edge of the Ziwei Remnant Realm, letting out a long roar: "I'll go strike down a few foes!"
The Little Celestial Venerable stood silently, watching True Lord Yan depart.
Xu Ying frowned slightly, sensing something amiss. He immediately walked over and tested the waters: "Little Celestial Venerable, are you hurt? Is it serious?"
The Little Celestial Venerable turned around and smiled. "Master, let me first unseal those four characters for you."
Xu Ying drew closer, his brow furrowing deeper. An ominous premonition stirred within him. "Don't worry about unsealing those four characters just yet. I saw the transcription of the seal you made; your comprehension hasn't reached the level where you can fully unravel them. Let me check your injuries first!"
He reached the Little Celestial Venerable's side and activated the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture, observing his body with the Heavenly Eye. Xu Ying's heart jolted.
Faint fissures were appearing in the space around the Little Celestial Venerable!
Looking into his physical body, Xu Ying saw that his Realm of Xiyi was riddled with fractures. The Five Sacred Immortal Mountains, the heavenly mountains and heavenly rivers, the Three Passes and the Jade Pool—all were thrown into utter chaos!
What was more, his God Bridge was severed, and immortal fire raged within his Jade Capital!
Around his Primordial Spirit, Great Dao chains were snapping and collapsing!
His condition was catastrophic—a hundred times worse than when he had fallen unconscious from injuries before!
Xu Ying immediately unleashed his Primordial Spirit, surging into the other's Realm of Xiyi to help suppress the injuries.
"Master, do not trouble yourself."
The Little Celestial Venerable grasped Xu Ying's hand with a smile. "I underestimated the Immortal Kings. I displayed the Seventh Revolution of the Divine Art in front of them, and they spotted its flaw. Although I managed to force them back, my life force was severed in the process. Master, there is no need to waste your efforts..."
His aura suddenly fluctuated violently as his injuries began to erupt.
Xu Ying's heart sank. According to the Xu family's ancestral methods, the Mud Pill Palace cave-heaven could steal immortal medicine to resurrect the dead and flesh out bare bones; the Yellow Court cave-heaven could restore utterly depleted spirit; the Bubbling Spring cave-heaven could repair shattered souls and Primordial Spirits; the Crimson Palace could replenish heart power; the Jade Pool could restore drained primordial qi; and the Jade Capital held even more miraculous creation, using the two qi of yin and yang to mend flaws in oneself.
However, the Little Celestial Venerable's injuries were simply too severe.
He was right: he should not have displayed his incomplete Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art before the Immortal Kings.
Once exposed, its flaw was immediately detected by both the Five Extremes Immortal King and the Ninth Immortal King.
Taking on two Immortal Kings at once, he had relied on peerless might to force them into retreat, but they had also severed his life force!
Grief wrenched Xu Ying's heart. He immediately brought out Jade Pool immortal water and made the Little Celestial Venerable drink it without brook of refusal.
Yet the Little Celestial Venerable was different from Dongyue, the Northern Emperor, Cangwu, and the others. They were deities whose innate primordial spirits endured even when their physical bodies died.
The Little Celestial Venerable, however, had the life force of both his physical body and his Primordial Spirit severed together.
Drinking the Jade Pool immortal water merely improved his complexion slightly, postponing his death without replenishing his severed life force.
Xu Ying's mind raced frantically, racking his thoughts for a way to save him, but he dismissed method after method.
The Little Celestial Venerable forcibly suppressed his injuries and stirred his final reserves of dharmic power. Behind him, his Primordial Spirit manifested, pinning Xu Ying in place.
"Master, having cultivated to my current realm, I understand life and death better than anyone."
The Little Celestial Venerable smiled. His Primordial Spirit was grievously wounded, his three souls and seven mortal spirits torn and tattered. The combined strike of the two Immortal Kings had left an indelible Dao injury within his Primordial Spirit!
As the four-character seal of Ling, Yu, Juan, and You was slowly undone, Xu Ying's older memories began to awaken one by one, rolling backward from the era of Jin Buyi.
Anxious and desperate, Xu Ying shouted, "You know you cannot undo all my seals, so why force yourself to use dharmic power? You can't awaken all my memories! Stop this at once! Let me suppress your injuries—saving your life comes first!"
Unmoved, the Little Celestial Venerable continued unraveling the four-character seal. He had usually spoken little in Xu Ying's presence, but now he seemed eager to pour out everything held within his heart for over forty thousand years.
"I used to wonder: after undoing Master's seals, what would I do?
"Scold you? Demand answers? Or attack and kill you?
"I thought about it over and over, but I could never do it.
"Master, you raised me and taught me divine abilities hand in hand. I could never do it!"
Older memories were turned like pages in an open book, flipping backward leaf by leaf, tracing the deeper history of Xu Ying's life.
Xu Ying wanted to break free of his suppression, yet found he could not—he feared that using force would harm the Little Celestial Venerable.
"This time, I did it."
The Little Celestial Venerable smiled. Having finally unraveled the portions of the four-character seal he had comprehended, his body swayed.
The unsealing of Xu Ying's memories halted at thirty thousand years ago.
As the Little Celestial Venerable swayed, Xu Ying rushed forward to support him, keeping him from collapsing.
"Look at the Ancestral Court today. Because of my battle, so many have regained their fighting spirit, regained their confidence. The Little Celestial Venerable is not Celestial Venerable Xu, but the Little Celestial Venerable can inspire everyone!"
Clasping Xu Ying's hand tightly, he said with a smile, "Master, you once told me that Nuo methods include a Qi Refinement technique: flaying the face of a heavenly god and refining the god's essence, qi, and spirit into it to craft a mask. By wearing it, one can take on the form of that heavenly god. Flay my face..."
Cutting off Xu Ying's protest, he continued of his own accord: "The Little Celestial Venerable cannot die—not yet. But I cannot go on living. Put on my mask. The Ancestral Court still needs the Little Celestial Venerable."
His aura waned precipitously.
"Master, you can do better than I ever did..."
Strength drained from his body, his limbs growing heavier and heavier, the light fading from his eyes. "This time... don't leave again."
Just then, Zhou Yashu came running over, staring blankly at the Little Celestial Venerable.
Though his cultivation was modest, even he could see that the Little Celestial Venerable's condition was dire in the extreme.
Seeing him, the Little Celestial Venerable smiled faintly. His body went limp and he collapsed into a seated position on the ground. He said to Zhou Yashu, "Yashu, come quickly and bow to your Patriarch. He is my master, the one who raised me. From now on, your Patriarch will instruct you in my place."
Weeping bitterly, Zhou Yashu rushed forward and kowtowed to him.
The Little Celestial Venerable snapped, "Fool! Bow to the Patriarch!"
Zhou Yashu turned toward Xu Ying and kowtowed to him.
Xu Ying's lips moved, but no words came out.
"Master, this boy is as foolish as I was back then. I leave him in your hands."
A smile touched the Little Celestial Venerable's lips as he straightened his collar, chuckling softly. "It is a pity Tiandu is not here. Perhaps it is better that way. If Master lives on in my place, he will not have to grieve. Master, Yashu... do not tell him."
With these words, his head slumped forward, his breath ceased, and he passed away.
Xu Ying clenched his fists. Beside him, the Heavenly Halberd let out a sorrowful wail.
Behind Xu Ying, purple qi surged like a billowing banner.
In the distance, the Black Tortoise divine turtle, bearing Penglai upon its back, was making its way toward them.
Above the Penglai Immortal Mountain, a bright moon rose, its radiance illuminating only a single person. Under the quiet moonlight, a divine goddess departed the immortal mountain and walked toward Hunyuan Palace.
Chapter 361