Huo Wenxiu kept a close watch on the progress of Xu Ying's sacrifice while monitoring High General Long Yu's aura. His voice was hoarse as he said, "Bai Yu, if I have to leave in a moment, you will take charge of the overall situation!"
Beside him, a dragon immortal nodded silently.
A moment later, Huo Wenxiu sensed Long Yu's aura erupt—extraordinarily solemn and brilliant, yet tinged with a tragic air.
Huo Wenxiu looked up toward the sky. Strands of Far Ancestor dragon qi continuously drifted downward, burrowing into Xu Ying's head.
"Failure is not an option..."
His eyes reddened, and a low sob escaped his lips. "Tens of millions of years of waiting cannot end in failure! If we fail, the Dragon Court will fall into enemy hands, and our Dragon Race will be doomed beyond redemption!"
Right at that moment, Long Yu's aura suddenly vanished.
Huo Wenxiu turned and strode away. Layer upon layer of Dao realms bloomed around him, within which his Primordial Spirit coiled—a blazing fire dragon, its Dao realms appearing as if forged from roaring flames.
Bai Yu stepped into his place to maintain command, saying in a heavy voice, "After I leave, Yingshan, you will take my place."
A muscular dragon immortal with wings on his back answered, "Go with peace of mind."
After a short while, Huo Wenxiu's aura faded, and Bai Yu turned to depart.
"Zhu Qianli, after I leave, you take my place," Yingshan's voice rang out.
"Zhu Qianli accepts the command!"
***
"Martial Nephew, did you sense that?"
Wei Xu's long hair fluttered wildly, his face brimming with exhilaration as he turned to Zulong. "Did you feel that supreme powerhouse? His strikes are swift, and the might of his divine abilities is astonishing! It's been an eternity since I last encountered an expert of this caliber!"
Laughing uproariously, he swept into one of the Dragon Court's immortal palaces like a whirlwind, reaching out to seize the Ten Thousand Dragon Banner enshrined within!
Zulong's heart leaped in shock. The Ten Thousand Dragon Banner harbored the Primordial Spirits of ancient Dragon Court experts—most of them Heavenly Monarchs, and some even more formidable. Most of the immortals who had entered the Dragon Court on this expedition had already perished beneath its power!
No matter how mighty Wei Xu was, could he truly withstand the possession attempts of ten thousand dragons?
Just as the thought crossed Zulong's mind, the savage giant gripped the banner. Dragon qi instantly swirled across its fabric, and dragon immortal Primordial Spirits poured out one after another, burrowing frantically into Wei Xu's body!
"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! Today let's see whether you possess me or I refine you!"
Wildly thrilled, Wei Xu circulated his profound arts, forcibly refining the dragon immortal Primordial Spirits as he laughed. "Once I finish refining you all, I will be restored to my peak and can duel that expert to see who stands superior!"
To others, the Ten Thousand Dragon Banner was a deadly relic; to him, it was a potent tonic—a weapon to swiftly restore his cultivation!
Had the Dragon Race Far Ancestor's consciousness not been so overwhelmingly powerful, Wei Xu would have charged right onto the altar to plunder and refine the Far Ancestor's mental energy as well!
His cultivation climbed steadily, the savage aura about him growing thicker and more terrifying by the second!
"Senior Brother, you really know me best after all. Sending me to the Dragon Court was truly the right call!"
Wei Xu's eyes gleamed with ferocity. The Eight Views of his bodhimanda grew clearer and more dazzling as his refinement of the dragon Primordial Spirits accelerated.
"To me, this place is nothing short of a Supreme cave abyss!"
The remaining dragon Primordial Spirits inside the banner were utterly cowed by this peerless fiend, cowering back and no longer daring to emerge. Yet in the very next instant, Wei Xu projected his own Primordial Spirit from his body and plunged directly into the banner, devouring every last one of them!
His Primordial Spirit flew back out and tossed the now-blank Ten Thousand Dragon Banner to Zulong. Grinning, he stepped outside. "Martial Nephew, follow me. I'll take you to see a clash between the mightiest beings in this world!"
Zulong stowed the banner away and hurried after him, thinking silently, *Martial Uncle Wei is an absolute villain, yet he is also an undeniable hero!*
***
Long Yu, Huo Wenxiu, Bai Yu, and Yingshan fell one by one before the Heavenly Venerable. By now, the Heavenly Venerable had arrived near the altar. Zhu Qianli walked out; having already settled his affairs, he was prepared to meet death with composure.
Even if he fell, another would take his place to ensure the summoning of the Far Ancestor continued.
Just then, an extraordinarily colossal giant strode forward, his muscles rippling and disheveled hair whipping wildly about his face. Before the man had even drawn near, Zhu Qianli's heart began hammering erratically, and an uncontrollable dread seized him, as though mountains of corpses and seas of blood were rolling toward him.
The sheer savagery emanating from this figure crushed his very mind.
Zhu Qianli did not fear death, yet facing this peerless monster, he could not even muster the courage to raise a hand!
"Heavenly Venerable?"
The giant looked toward the Heavenly Venerable and chuckled. "I hear you are the foremost beneath the Immortal Emperor?"
The Heavenly Venerable met his gaze. The look carried a searing intensity that made him distinctly uncomfortable—like being stalked by a wild beast that might pounce at any moment to tear out his throat!
"Wei Xu, I know of you."
The Heavenly Venerable smiled faintly. "In the past, half your body had already stepped into the Supreme realm, an extraordinary achievement. Yet you were outcalculated and ended up sealed away for over five hundred thousand miserable years. Now that you have escaped, it ought to be cause for celebration. But having barely fled the wolves, you walked straight into the tiger's maw and fell into the Supreme's hands. Truly, your fate is cursed with tribulations."
Every word was intended to cut to the bone.
Wei Xu was utterly unfazed, answering lazily, "Back then, my skills were inferior and I fell victim to a scheme; that's only natural. There is no shame in being outmaneuvered by someone more capable than oneself. But if someone lacks the capability yet insists on plotting against those stronger than him, that is truly courting death."
The Heavenly Venerable shook his head. "I have already formed a Dao fruit and am just as close to the Supreme realm as you. No matter how powerful a diviner's art may be, they cannot calculate my fate! Even if they could, I would detect it at once!"
Wei Xu shook his head and sneered. "Heavenly Venerable, you truly do not know the height of heaven or the depth of the earth. Rather than letting yourself be plotted to death, why not just surrender your flesh and Primordial Spirit to me and let me eat you?"
An eager light flared in his eyes, ready to pounce at any instant. "Devouring an expert like you will surely raise my strength to the next level!"
Such sheer brutality caused even the Heavenly Venerable to frown. *The Supreme is so poised and elegant—how could his junior brother be such a savage beast?*
Wei Xu let out a thunderous roar. The shockwaves detonated through the air, violently roiling Zhu Qianli's blood and vital qi and forcing him to retreat!
The Heavenly Venerable's Myriad Realms bodhimanda unfurled, his Dao tree towering within. Wei Xu paid it no heed and slammed headlong into the bodhimanda. Regardless of how terrifying the Myriad Realms Supreme Indestructible Scripture was, he shattered it with a single punch!
It was an invincible battle will that not even the Myriad Realms bodhimanda could suppress, nor could the Dao tree that anchored myriad worlds make him feel the slightest pressure!
His fist was the sharpest blade, the heaviest hammer, the swiftest arrow, and the most domineering spear under heaven!
Unstoppable as splitting bamboo, he tore through the bodhimanda straight to the Heavenly Venerable's face—his assault was just that domineering, that direct, that vicious!
The Heavenly Venerable's expression shifted slightly. He raised a hand to block, only to be struck by an unrivaled force that sent him and his bodhimanda hurtling straight backward!
Yet the Heavenly Venerable did not lose his composure. Beneath his Dao tree, an additional Dao fruit suddenly manifested—this was the ginseng Dao fruit bestowed by the Immortal Emperor Supreme, refined after ingestion.
He possessed only a single Zuzhou cave abyss, and the immortal spiritual qi it supplied was barely enough for his daily breathing and cultivation; it was insufficient even for breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm!
Let alone the Supreme realm!
Thus, the immense value of a ginseng Dao fruit was obvious—it was a treasure vastly superior to any Heavenly Monarch cave abyss!
The moment this Dao fruit emerged, boundless power surged forth within him, rendering even Wei Xu's invincible might far less daunting.
He raised his palm to meet Wei Xu's blow. As their palms collided, the Dragon Court trembled violently, as though two immense worlds—Yuanshou and Longxing—had smashed into each other!
Zhu Qianli fell back at top speed, his face draining of color. Beings as mighty as Wei Xu and the Heavenly Venerable were scarce even in the era of the Dragon Court!
To think that figures of later generations could reach such heights!
"Exhilarating! Exhilarating! Since breaking free from my seal, I have faced monsters like Xu Ying and many fragile weaklings, but only against you can I fight to my heart's content!"
Wei Xu laughed uproariously, his strikes coming faster and faster like a tempest. His bodhimanda manifested, its Eight Views shining ever more brilliantly; even without a Dao fruit, he was in no way at a disadvantage!
In fact, he took the upper hand, commanding eighty percent of the offensive!
In all his life, the Heavenly Venerable had never encountered such a fearless, reckless style of combat!
Wei Xu grew fiercer as the fight went on. Suddenly executing the Taiji Wuji Continuous Hands, he unleashed thirteen consecutive heavy blows. The primordial hues shifted, and the transitions between Wuji and Taiji were seamless, finally shattering the Heavenly Venerable's defense. The decisive strike slammed heavily into the Heavenly Venerable's chest!
*Boom!*
The Heavenly Venerable tumbled backward through the air. Yet though his physical body was hurled away, his Primordial Spirit remained where it stood!
Wei Xu's palm left a deep depression in the Primordial Spirit's chest, but beneath that imprint, flashes of indestructible spiritual light faintly shimmered!
Wei Xu looked up in astonishment to see indestructible spiritual light radiating across the Heavenly Venerable's entire Primordial Spirit, blindingly bright!
"Indestructible True Spirit, Indestructible Primordial Spirit!"
Wei Xu's expression turned to sheer disbelief as he blurted, "You refined your True Spirit and Primordial Spirit to the Supreme realm?"
"Indeed. Wei Xu, back then you refined your physical body to an indestructible degree, being the first to attain the Supreme realm in flesh. But even back then, I had already studied under the Ancestral God and achieved the Indestructible True Spirit and Indestructible Primordial Spirit."
The Heavenly Venerable's physical body was mangled and battered. Coughing blood, it walked back toward its Primordial Spirit.
Wei Xu's strike had inflicted catastrophic damage, pushing the body to the brink of death.
"The reason my scripture is called the Myriad Realms Supreme Indestructible Scripture stems from this very achievement. I am indestructible; I will never die!"
With those words, the Heavenly Venerable coughed up a great mouthful of blood and collapsed dead.
Yet outside his Primordial Spirit, flesh immediately began to grow anew, swiftly forming another Heavenly Venerable, who smiled. "Your indestructible flesh against my indestructible Primordial Spirit—I wonder which is superior?"
"Undoubtedly mine!"
Wei Xu charged forward once more, even more thrilled. "Devouring your indestructible Primordial Spirit will elevate me to an even greater height!"
The Heavenly Venerable laughed heartily, brimming with bravado. "Against an expert like you, I would also love to fight to the death to test our wits and martial prowess, but I have no time to waste on a duel with you! Wei Xu, let me teach you a lesson on what it means to seize the initiative!"
Dodging Wei Xu's attack, the moment his words fell, the Great Dao of heaven and earth throughout the entire Dragon Court was mobilized by him!
"The reason I walked so slowly was precisely to awaken the Dragon Court's Heavenly Dao and master it! The Dragon Court was the court of the Dragon Race in ancient times—just how formidable is its Heavenly Dao?"
The Heavenly Venerable's aura soared continuously. He raised a hand to meet Wei Xu's blow; though the entire Dragon Court shuddered violently, he deflected the strike with ease.
The knuckles of Wei Xu's fist split apart to reveal pale bone, and his face changed drastically.
Having harnessed the power of the Dragon Court's Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Venerable now wielded strength superior to his own. With just a single clash, Wei Xu could tell that a considerable gap had formed between them.
This was the advantage of seizing the initiative.
Although Wei Xu had arrived at the Dragon Court before the Heavenly Venerable, he was not proficient in the Heavenly Dao, and even if he were, he could never match the Heavenly Venerable's depth of attainment.
Though the Heavenly Venerable had arrived later, he had taken control of the Dragon Court's Heavenly Dao step by step, ultimately establishing an overwhelming advantage in this battle!
Had this clash occurred anywhere else—even in the Immortal Court—it would have been impossible to predict who would prevail. But in the Dragon Court, the Heavenly Venerable's advantage was far too absolute.
The Immortal Court's Heavenly Dao was beyond the Heavenly Venerable's command, but the Dragon Court's Heavenly Dao was his to control.
The Heavenly Venerable turned his hand over and delivered a second strike. Wei Xu met it, only to be knocked staggering backward, a sweetness rising in his throat as blood threatened to spill.
He was injured—and an injury to a Supreme physical body was no trifling matter.
To be one step ahead was to be every step ahead.
Wei Xu leaped into the air, taking the Heavenly Venerable's third heavy blow squarely on his back. Using the impact to propel himself forward, he snatched up Zulong and tore through the void to escape.
The Heavenly Venerable gave chase, but after just two steps he stopped. Wei Xu had already plunged into the Dragon Abyss with Zulong at a speed that left him staring in awe.
"Proper business comes first!"
The Heavenly Venerable flicked his sleeve, turned, and strode toward the Dragon Court's altar, his mind surging with excitement.
Now that he controlled the Dragon Court's Heavenly Dao, he finally possessed the supreme leverage to negotiate with—or even coerce—the Dragon Race Far Ancestor!
"Hm? That dragon immortal on the altar looks rather familiar..."
He suddenly froze, his expression altering drastically. "He's... my sworn brother Xu Ying, Celestial Venerable Xu! No, he isn't a native of the Yuanshou world—if the Dragon Race Far Ancestor possesses him, the Far Ancestor is doomed!"
In that split second, countless thoughts flashed through his mind until he finally reached a verdict: *I must save the Far Ancestor!*
Chapter 550