"Heaven and Earth hold the Ruomu, day and night melting away mortal years."
"In life and death there is no reincarnation; only longevity endures..."
Li Ping was not startled by Ruomu's sudden appearance. Instead, he unhurriedly chanted the lines, slowly turning around to look straight at the most ancient tree in the Heaven and Earth of Xuanhuang.
Ruomu scrutinized the Faceless Sacred Emperor, a flicker of doubt passing through his aged eyes.
Yet Li Ping's next words caused the furrows on Ruomu's face to crease deeply.
"All of your fortune and creation were originally bestowed by Heaven and Earth. Had the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao not favored you, the so-called 'Gen-Huan-Huan-Heng-Yuan' would have been nothing more than an ordinary large tree."
"When the Heavenly Dao fell into peril, you did not rise in resistance, but merely clung to a wretched existence in this world..."
"It was you who betrayed the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao first, not Heaven and Earth abandoning you." Li Ping showed not the slightest hint of sympathy, mocking him without mercy.
The expression on the elder Ruomu's face froze solid.
Not far away, the ancient tree's true body rustled slightly with its branches and leaves. The countless cultivator fruits hanging upon it swayed back and forth along with them.
"Rise in resistance? Even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao was suppressed—what was I supposed to do? And as for you, cultivating by devouring the Heavenly Dao in the body of a cultivator—don't you find it laughable to say such things to me?" Ruomu stared at Li Ping for a long while, unable to discern the other's true depth.
Still, all cultivators in the world were largely alike.
Furthermore, the faint, elusive aura belonging to the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao emanating from Li Ping led Ruomu to form his judgment and retort.
He merely retaliated with sharp words, not daring to strike directly.
It was not that Ruomu had undergone a sudden change of temperament or become mild-tempered, but rather...
He truly stood no chance in a fight.
Though he did not show it outwardly, the spiritual senses in Ruomu's heart were sounding wild alarms. As the most ancient spiritual entity between Heaven and Earth, Ruomu's intuition had reached a miraculous state where he could almost glimpse visions of what might unfold in the future.
Ruomu was completely certain that if he were to fight this uninvited guest, the one to perish would inevitably be himself.
And the imposing pressure radiating from Li Ping, far more overwhelming than that of any Longevity realm cultivator he had encountered before, only reinforced his judgment.
Indeed. Ruomu was already terminally ill and deeply decayed, but he was still alive, after all.
Naturally, he would not seek his own death.
"What wrong is there in Us reclaiming what is Ours?" Li Ping stopped suppressing himself and released the aura of the Xuanhuang evil thoughts he had devoured.
"This is?!" Ruomu's mind shuddered violently at once.
He could naturally tell the difference between fragmentary principles devoured and refined by a cultivator and the complete Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.
But how could this be possible?
"Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang?" The thought flashed across Ruomu's mind, only to be dismissed almost instantly.
Even though he had lost the vast majority of his might, the deep-seated bond between him and the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao remained. If a new Great Heavenly Venerable had taken the seat, it would have been impossible for him not to notice.
*Reclaiming his own things... Could he be the Heavenly Dao itself?* Ruomu thought, finding it hard to believe.
While this conjecture was utterly incredible, it matched reality best.
He could not be certain yet, but that did not stop Ruomu's attitude from shifting drastically.
"For what purpose have you come here?"
Li Ping naturally stated his intention to take back Ruomu's power.
Before Ruomu could react, Li Ping pivoted: "When the Heavenly Dao was in grave danger, the ancient Xuanhuang entities turned a blind eye and did nothing to save it. Thus, the Heavenly Dao instinctively began reclaiming your power.
"Though external forces have aided in the Heavenly Dao's revival, the reclamation process has not stopped. Every sip and bite is predestined. You have no cause for resentment.
"I have come to bring an end to it once and for all."
Li Ping turned his gaze once more to that towering, decaying ancient tree,
and to the countless Golden Core cultivators submerged in slumber upon it.
"However, looking at it now, it is not as though you did nothing at all. Even if it was merely a drop in the ocean, you did contribute some effort."
A boundless golden power suddenly erupted from Li Ping.
A gigantic golden palm materialized in an instant near Ruomu's true body, gently plucking one of the cultivator fruits hanging from the treetops.
With a gentle squeeze, the cultivator's body turned to ashes on the spot, leaving only a damaged, incomplete Golden Core floating in the air.
Li Ping's act of plucking one of his fruits did not cause the slightest ripple in Ruomu's heart.
Only an instinctive trace of vindictive satisfaction flickered in his eyes.
"Do you believe the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm today are in the wrong?"
Silence hung over the Simmering Mortal Longevity pocket space for a moment before Li Ping suddenly asked.
"Wrong? It is far more than that! I wish I could turn every single one of those ungrateful wretches into fruit and torment them for eternity," Ruomu finally answered through gritted teeth.
"The world's cultivators are indeed at fault in some regards, but the root of the conflict between them and Heaven and Earth is the true essence," Li Ping said with utter calm. "Why must cultivators devour Heaven and Earth? It is simply because they have no other path to walk. The source of it all lies with that Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa."
Li Ping's voice reverberated continuously, and Ruomu fell silent.
Everyone understood this truth.
Yet what could be done?
Having defied the principles of Heaven and Earth, Chuanfa had become far too powerful; even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao itself could not resist him, let alone the living beings of the Xuanhuang Realm.
"We intend to right what was wronged, execute Chuanfa, and restore the Dao to Heaven.
"Are you willing to aid Us?"
Li Ping's cold voice reached Ruomu's ears.
Had anyone else spoken such words to Ruomu, Ruomu would have laughed, turned them into a fruit, and hung them from the highest treetop to mock day and night.
Yet the one delivering such grand words right now was someone who could very well be the Avatar of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao...
For a time, Ruomu had no idea how to respond.
Ruomu knew that if he refused, a great battle between the two of them would be unavoidable.
Setting aside who was stronger and who was weaker, this was where his true body resided. If a great battle broke out here,
even if he could win, he would surely suffer grievous wounds again, not long from total ruin.
Yet to yield to a single speech left hundreds of resentments and reluctance in Ruomu's heart.
"Aside from your own injuries, your decay stems from being cut off from the Heavenly Dao.
"If you submit to Us..."
Li Ping stepped forward, and his form shattered with a thunderous roar. Empowered by the golden light enveloping him, his thirty-three-foot-tall body expanded tens of thousands of times in a flash, growing almost as massive as Ruomu's true body.
He placed a hand onto Ruomu's trunk.
*Boom!*
In the dim, deathly silent sky of Ruomu's space, a vortex abruptly appeared.
A reflection of the Xuanhuang Realm emerged within the vortex.
A verdant, bluish-green qi was drawn out of the vortex, drifting slowly toward the decrepit Ruomu.
"This..."
Ruomu straightened his hunched back in excitement, his eyes brimming with pleasant surprise and disbelief.
He felt the heavenly favor that had slowly seeped away over thousands of years return to his body for the very first time!
Li Ping was right. All of his creation had come from the Xuanhuang heavenly favor.
Without the nourishment of the Heavenly Dao, he was like a tree without roots or water without a source, slowly drying up and sinking into a lingering death.
Yet at this moment, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao was unprecedentedly infusing a wisp of power into him once again!
Even if it was not the familiar power of life and death, it still excited him immensely, reviving his vigor.
From top to bottom, the withered, yellowed branches and leaves of Ruomu's true body shook violently.
Quite a few cultivator fruits plunged from above as a result, smashing to smithereens upon impact and leaving only fractured Golden Cores gleaming with disparate lights to rest quietly on the ground.
Wisps of green crept over Ruomu's body.
Several tender, bright green buds sprouted on the boughs, transforming the ancient tree's aura entirely.
Just as Ruomu was reveling ecstatically in the vigorous life force he had not felt in ages...
The golden giant that Li Ping had transformed into abruptly pulled his hand away from the trunk.
The vortex above Ruomu vanished in an instant.
The heavenly greenery also burst like foam, scattering with the wind as specks of green light, refusing to settle upon Ruomu.
"No!"
Amid Ruomu's wail of despair, the newly sprouted buds instantly withered, yellowed, and fell,
drifting down slowly from the top of the tree.
"I want more!"
"Give it to me!"
The elderly incarnation of Ruomu erupted with terrifying ferocity.
He glared viciously at Li Ping.
Yet upon seeing the empty, blank face before him and feeling the chillingly cold aura, Ruomu immediately cooled down.
His ferocious expression froze on his face, not daring to take another step.
Li Ping merely gazed at him in silence.
For a moment, the scene became eerily quiet.
Only when that withered yellow leaf happened to drift above Li Ping and he caught it with a gentle reach of his hand did Li Ping break the silence.
He finished what he had left unsaid earlier: "Just as you have seen and experienced firsthand.
"If you turn back from your astray path and stand on Our side once more, it is not impossible for you to return to the heights of your ancient prime."
Ruomu's expression visibly wavered.
After struggling on the brink of death and enduring thousands of years of torment, having finally tasted that fleeting sip of youth, how could he bear to give it up again?
How could he possibly let it go?
"We know that in ancient times you suffered grievous wounds, and cultivators seized the greater half of your core power.
"Yet the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao today is also not what it once was.
"If you can recover your complete authority, you will undoubtedly be even stronger than before," Li Ping continued.
"We grant you one month to consider.
"When the time comes, We shall return."
Li Ping did not press Ruomu to make an immediate decision on the spot.
Leaving behind only those words, his silhouette vanished without a trace.
This was a space Ruomu ruled, yet Ruomu had not even sensed how his visitor departed.
With the outsider gone, this place returned once again to the deathly stillness that had defined it for thousands of years.
Narrowing his eyes, Ruomu continuously relished the taste of that newfound vigor.
Contrasting it with his present state, an empty feeling of loss could not help but well up in his heart.
...
In the Great Qi.
Upon the Sacred Emperor Throne.
Having returned, Li Ping immediately issued an imperial decree,
reassigning another group of the You people to the work on the sea of gloomy darkness in order to appease the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.
*In my current state, forcibly compelling the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao to channel power to Ruomu still caused some backlash.*
*Even if it was just a tiny wisp...*
*Aside from the rift caused by devouring the Xuanhuang evil thoughts earlier, it also had to do with Ruomu's status.*
*After all, in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, these ancient Xuanhuang entities are scarcely different from traitors,*
Li Ping pondered slowly.
This excursion could hardly be considered returning empty-handed.
Having tasted the marrow, Ruomu would certainly not refuse Li Ping's demand.
It was merely a matter of giving him some time to make his decision.
As for why he had not opted to act by force and directly devour him as he did the Xuanhuang evil thoughts...
Li Ping had his own concerns.
*Unlike the Xuanhuang evil thoughts that were separated and sealed away for ages, Ruomu, though decaying and ruined, is an ancient entity that has existed since the dawn of Xuanhuang.*
*The Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao created it, and it has become a permanent part of the Xuanhuang Realm. If its heavenly favor is naturally drawn back by the Heavenly Dao, causing it to wither and die, turbulence might still be avoided.*
*However, if I rashly devour it, firstly, it would alert the other Longevity realm powerhouses of this realm.*
*Secondly, the anomaly in the Xuanhuang Realm might be detected by Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa across the distant sea of stars.*
Li Ping did not care about the five Heavenly Venerables of the Five Elders Association,
but he had to take into account the existence of Chuanfa and the Heavenly Physician.
*Now is not yet the time for a true showdown against them.*
*I just have to wait a little longer.*
Li Ping possessed ample patience.
He believed that in less than a month, Ruomu would contact him on his own accord.
Before then, he still needed to mend his relationship with the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao as much as possible.
Before Li Ping's eyes, memories of several entities abhorred by the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao surfaced once more.
...
Jiushan Province.
At the border between the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association.
Sun Erlang easily passed through the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' border defenses and entered the territory of the Five Elders Association.
"The treasures Master bestowed are truly marvelous. The formations of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals can be breached almost in an instant."
Sun Erlang carefully inspected his surroundings.
"It doesn't seem any different from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"Still, Master said the power of a Heavenly Venerable defying the principles of Heaven envelops this entire territory. It's best to keep a low profile."
A simplified map surfaced in his mind. After orienting himself, Sun Erlang concealed his figure and sped forward.
Following the instructions of the Faceless Sacred Emperor, he headed straight for the Kingdom of Truth.
"I wonder just how one goes about meeting this 'Heavenly Venerable Truth'?"
Sun Erlang pondered as he flew.
With the formations and secret arts passed down by Li Ping masking his aura, no one along the way managed to detect him.
Just as he drew very close to the Kingdom of Truth, an anomaly nearby caught Sun Erlang's attention, causing him to slow down.
A massive flying boat that felt strangely unreal abruptly emerged in the sky.
From the flying boat, more than a dozen cultivators clad in armor flew out together.
Holding bizarre magical artifacts, they shouted and clamored:
"Right here, hurry! We can't let other squads beat us to it!"
Flying over a patch of forest on the ground, their magical artifacts simultaneously unleashed beams of light in various colors.
The beams locked on, and a giant snow-white ape abruptly appeared in the forest, letting out an earth-shaking roar.
Sun Erlang's pupils constricted.
This demonic beast had hidden itself so ingeniously that he hadn't sensed even a shred of its aura beforehand.
Even now, as the giant ape was locked in fierce battle with that squad of cultivators,
Sun Erlang could not sense the breath of any living creature from that beast whatsoever.
Chapter 1245