Qi Yuan extended a finger. Floundering on its back with all four limbs in the air, the turtle struggled sluggishly and clumsily, attempting to bite at his finger. Yet its limbs were far too short and its strength far too weak, leaving it utterly incapable of rolling over.
A terrifying existence at the second layer of the Yang God Realm was currently as dim-witted as an ordinary turtle. How could this not terrify everyone present?
Xianling Yingjun and the other three stared at Qi Yuan, the shock in their hearts plain to see.
The Yang God hiding within Wu Chun's consciousness manifested her form at that moment as well.
Looking at Qi Yuan, her body trembled as she bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Senior."
Snapping out of their daze, Wu Chun and Tong Chang also hurriedly bowed in deep reverence. "Greetings, Senior!"
Qi Yuan's single display had thoroughly stunned them.
A majestic being of the Yang God second layer had been subdued by the man before them with effortless ease.
Just what level of cultivation was this?
Could it be the legendary Great Ultimate Principle?
As for the even higher Realm Lord, they didn't dare even imagine it.
To them, a Realm Lord was like a Yang God to a mortal—separated by an impassable gulf.
Xianling Yingjun blinked, his facial expression contorting. "Did you... really become a Realm Lord?"
He recalled the message Qi Yuan had sent him.
At first, he had been bewildered.
Later, he managed to convince himself that his bro wasn't driving a Land Rover, which restored his peace of mind.
Yet now, damn it, his bro was piloting an aerospace battleship.
The hearts of the other three tightened.
A Realm Lord?
A cosmic hegemon of a Realm Lord?
This absurdly young man before them was a Realm Lord?
"Yeah, a Realm Lord. Didn't I already tell you? Or did you come down with amnesia and forget?" Qi Yuan replied casually.
Xianling Yingjun's heart was doing somersaults. He stared at Qi Yuan, countless thoughts racing through his mind.
As for the other three, their expressions were even more colorful.
A Realm Lord—a legendary Realm Lord!
In the Zhou Universe, Realm Lords stood aloft and practically never revealed themselves in the mortal world.
An ordinary Yang God might not have the privilege of meeting a Realm Lord across their entire lifetime.
Yet here they were, witnessing... a living Realm Lord?
In the next breath, however, Xianling Yingjun's reaction left them completely speechless.
"Hey... Brother Qi Yuan, cough cough, don't you still owe me a few favors?" Xianling Yingjun possessed immense nerve, his expression both fawning and comical.
The other three were dumbfounded.
Addressing a Realm Lord directly by name—was he not afraid of dying so thoroughly that not even his true spirit remained?
Moreover, directly telling a Realm Lord 'you owe me favors' showed a catastrophic lack of tact.
Was he not worried that the Realm Lord might take offense and slaughter them all in a fit of rage?
"Yeah," Qi Yuan nodded calmly.
"How about this... I take you as my... grandfather?" Xianling Yingjun said shamelessly.
As for taking him as an adoptive father or godfather, he didn't dare presume so much.
After all, the gap between him and a Realm Lord was simply too immense.
Watching this, the three onlookers found Xianling Yingjun utterly audacious on the one hand, and thoroughly shameless on the other—to think he could utter such words.
"Forget it. I don't want my daughter ending up with a godson; she's still too young," Qi Yuan flatly refused.
Qi Jianjun was still young. To have her become a mother at such an age was something Qi Yuan couldn't bear.
Seeing his offer rejected, Xianling Yingjun didn't panic. "Then... how about I become your disciple?"
He waited eagerly.
Were it any other Realm Lord, he certainly would not dare act so brazenly.
Yet Qi Yuan was different.
In Qi Yuan's eyes, everything in the world seemed to hold the exact same weight.
"I'm too lazy to take disciples, too much trouble... How about this: I'll adapt your cultivation method to boost your strength... or maybe... help you casually comprehend an embryonic rule?" Qi Yuan offered.
This explanatory NPC truly had helped him a lot, and Qi Yuan had always been clear-cut about debts and gratitude, repaying every kindness.
Even though the repayment he offered was often vastly greater than what he had received.
Yet he didn't care in the slightest.
In this life, he did as he pleased, acting entirely according to his whim.
Xianling Yingjun's eyes flashed with ecstatic joy.
The three onlookers felt deep envy, though they dared not let a trace of it show.
After all, they weren't familiar with this Realm Lord.
If... this Realm Lord decided to kill them, no one could save them.
Nor did they dare speculate on a Realm Lord's thoughts; attempting to guess the mind of a being at that level was like an ant trying to fathom a god.
...
[Guiling Source: Derived from the origin of Heitian. Possesses boundless energy and corruptive properties... Wherever guiling source exists, Heitian is present.]
Looking at the guiling source in his hand, curiosity flickered across Qi Yuan's eyes.
He had extracted a wisp of guiling source from this Yang God.
As for the guiling source on Qi Huang, it had already been activated and could not be extracted.
The guiling source before him was roughly the size of a grain of fragrant long rice, translucent and crystalline, giving off a mesmerizing sheen.
"It seems the guishen of Heitian and Heitu want to use guiling source... to invade the Zhou Universe?"
Through the guiling source and the turtle Yang God, Qi Yuan had learned a great deal.
This Yang God of Heitian and Heitu had been fishing by means of guiling source contamination.
In Void Paradise, there were numerous missions to record the aura of guiling source.
Many Voidwalkers traveled to the Divine Wood Universe to record these auras.
When they did, the Yang Gods of Heitian and Heitu would strike, controlling these Voidwalkers, implanting guiling source into their true spirits, and having them carry it back into Void Paradise.
That way, guiling source would take root within the Zhou Universe.
To Heitian and Heitu, the Zhou Universe was merely a second Divine Wood Universe.
"Are Heitian and Heitu really that confident?" Qi Yuan was astonished.
The Zhou Universe was nothing like the Divine Wood Universe.
The Zhou Universe possessed Realm Lords of the Heaven-Opening Realm.
In terms of sheer power alone, a hundred or even ten thousand Divine Wood Universes would be no match for the Zhou Universe.
Yet Heitian and Heitu actually had the audacity to make a move on the Zhou Universe.
"Just what... is Heitian?"
"I really want to catch a glimpse of Heitian with my own eyes."
Qi Yuan murmured.
If he could see Heitian with his own eyes, he would be able to discern its true foundation.
He truly wanted to see what kind of entity this so-called Heitian was.
...
Yuxian Realm.
Shangguan Qingteng wore black robes, looking like an ordinary old man.
Shangguan Qingmiao sipped his wine, a trace of despondency lingering in his gaze.
"Qingmiao, things have already come to this. Grieving serves no purpose," Shangguan Qingteng consoled.
Under Yuan's orders, the two of them had journeyed from the Tai Star Domain to the Chaotic Star Domain to rescue Qi Yuan, a prodigy with hopes of breaking through to the Ancestral God Realm.
Before they departed, seventeen full armies from the Tai Star Domain—including the Azure Cloud Army, the War Star Army, and the Smear Star Army—had marched to the front lines to hold off the forces of Heitian and Heitu.
Combined, these armies numbered well over a hundred million troops.
Marching at top speed without a single moment of rest, wave after wave pressed forward, heedless of the trials.
The march had taken three years. The moment they arrived, they plunged directly into the vanguard, and in less than three months... all of them were wiped out.
Sweat, flesh, and blood filled the front lines.
Yet in the end... the front lines still fell.
Having just received this news, Shangguan Qingmiao's state of mind was easily imagined.
He was overcome with profound grief.
"Big Brother, tell me... was their death... worth it? Can future generations... truly protect these magnificent rivers and mountains?" Shangguan Qingmiao asked in anguish.
This was far from an isolated case.
Over the years, the heroic spirits of the Divine Wood Universe buried along the front lines numbered far beyond hundreds of millions.
The Void Sea was like a colossal meat grinder of blood and bone.
Shangguan Qingteng sighed wistfully, able only to say helplessly, "Do all that is humanly possible and leave the rest to fate."
Surrender meant certain death, and resisting also meant death, but at least... one died standing.
"If you ask me, we might as well have defected to the Radiant Society. Maybe there would have been a sliver of hope!" Shangguan Qingmiao said resentfully.
A profound light flashed through Shangguan Qingteng's eyes. "A universe may have those who drift along, but it also requires those who dare to fight. And we happen to be those who dare to fight."
Within the Radiant Society, the highest leader on the Divine Wood Universe's side was Yuan's younger brother, Yi.
Yuan had chosen Mankind-Kindled Light.
Yi had chosen God-Kindled Light.
If Mankind-Kindled Light fought to the bitter end, God-Kindled Light could carry some sparks of the Divine Wood Universe to rekindle them within the Yaoguang Universe.
Of course... was the Yaoguang Universe truly benevolent? Would they actually grant a way to survive?
No one could predict that.
"Forget it. I've always been used to throwing my weight around. Making me play the obedient grandson in the Radiant Society is something I could never do," Shangguan Qingmiao muttered, draining the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Shangguan Qingteng tapped his fingers against the table, his mood similarly melancholy. "Once we bring Qi Yuan to the Tai Star Domain, if he manages to break through to the Ancestral God Realm, it will add to our combat power."
"Right. The Boss said this Qi Yuan has astonishing talent, and he might even have a shot at reaching the second layer of the Ancestral God Realm in the future." Reaching this point, Shangguan Qingmiao's expression grew somewhat energized.
This could be counted as a piece of good news.
What the Tai Star Domain lacked most right now was high-end combat power.
Both the Mankind-Kindled Light and God-Kindled Light plans had been underway for tens of thousands of years.
Countless implement masters had perished for this cause.
To date, there were already seven treasures of Mankind-Kindled Light.
Facing the invasion of Heitian and Heitu, the Divine Wood Universe was no longer completely defenseless, unlike several hundred years ago when Yuan had ventured into the Void Sea alone to confront enemies outnumbering him several times over.
Right now, what they lacked most was high-level combat strength.
"Heh, now that Heitian and Heitu are invading, we'll make sure to tear a chunk of flesh off them," Shangguan Qingmiao chuckled.
As for the final outcome, they already knew it. But did knowing mean they shouldn't resist?
"Hmph, even if they have guiling source and can revive endlessly... we can still grind down their guiling source by attrition!" Shangguan Qingteng said.
In truth, he knew that guiling source was limitless and impossible to exhaust.
Didn't you see that even the Void Realm Lord of the Zhou Universe was unwilling to provoke Heitian and Heitu?
Still, being able to take a bite out of Heitian was a victory in itself.
"My Lord, disaster!"
Right then, a God-rank weapon wielder hurried over, his face etched with anxiety.
"What happened?" A premonition of dread flashed through Shangguan Qingteng's heart.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to use the nearest teleportation array," the God-rank weapon wielder reported.
Teleporting Ancestral God-level experts required an immense amount of energy.
Thus, Shangguan Qingteng and Shangguan Qingmiao had lingered in this realm, waiting for this operative from the Renqi Society to pull the necessary strings before teleporting to the Kuijin Realm.
"What went wrong?" Shangguan Qingmiao pressed urgently.
"I heard... fifteen Yang Gods are heading toward the Kuijin Realm. Martial law has been declared across all neighboring worlds... No one knows what major catastrophe occurred in the Kuijin Realm," the God-rank weapon wielder said gravely.
Shangguan Qingteng's expression shifted slightly. "Could it be..."
A terrifying conjecture formed in his mind.
Yuan had previously stated that ninety-nine guishen in the Kuijin Realm were hunting Qi Yuan.
Qi Huang of the Kuijin Realm was a renowned second-generation scion possessing countless treasures, enough to encircle and slay Mythological experts.
Now that over a dozen Yang Gods were rushing toward the Kuijin Realm, it indicated... Qi Huang had likely been slain by Qi Yuan.
It was very likely that Qi Yuan had broken through to the Yang God Realm mid-battle.
Such talent was truly frightening.
However...
"Over a dozen Yang Gods... Qi Yuan is as good as dead."
With over a dozen Yang Gods mobilizing, never mind Qi Yuan having just broken through to become an Ancestral God—even if the two of them joined forces, they would be hard-pressed to withstand it.
"No, we have to resort to brute force now. We'll storm the teleportation array, grab Qi Yuan, and flee toward the Tai Star Domain. That's the only chance of survival!" Shangguan Qingteng declared.
This was their sole opportunity. Every second counted, leaving no room for hesitation.
"Alright!" Shangguan Qingmiao nodded.
He knew that the slightest misstep would mean perishing in the Chaotic Star Domain, but there was no better alternative.
They could die, but the seeds capable of wielding Mankind-Kindled Light... could not.
They were the hope of the Divine Wood Universe.
"Let's go!"
Instantly, two terrifying auras soared into the sky, rocketing toward the teleportation array.
The might they unleashed was appalling.
The guishen attempting to block them couldn't hold out for even a single breath before perishing on the spot.
Taking action meant exposing themselves; what awaited them next would be endless pursuit.
"Move."
At that moment, within the Kuijin Realm.
Qi Yuan wore a languid expression.
"Sure enough, with nobody bothering me, my progress in transforming into a mortal has accelerated quite a bit."
Currently, his progress had already reached 10%.
There was still some distance to completion.
"If I can just lounge around peacefully like this for another three or four years, I should be able to reach completion and succeed in transforming into a mortal."
Qi Yuan muttered to himself.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, a look of helplessness surfaced in his eyes.
"Alas, gold shines wherever it rests."
"With looks as handsome as mine, even if I never step foot outside all day, those guishen can still track me down to get in the way of my mortal transformation."
"So... how about... I just slaughter all the guishen in the Chaotic Star Domain? Would that let me transform into a mortal in peace?"
A sudden whim struck Qi Yuan.
No one was going to stop him from transforming into a mortal!
Right at that moment, two terrifying auras descended from the heavens.
Those two terrifying auras were enough to shake any guishen.
A vast, resounding voice echoed across the surroundings:
"Where is Qi Yuan? We are Ancestral Gods of the Renqi Society, entrusted by Yuan to escort you to the Tai Star Domain!
Over a dozen guiling Yang Gods are currently pursuing us from behind—we must leave immediately!"
The two Ancestral Gods did not hesitate, stating their purpose swiftly.
They had already detected that those dozen-plus Yang Gods were rushing toward this location and would arrive shortly.
If they didn't leave now, it would be too late.
"From the Renqi Society?" Qi Yuan was surprised.
He hadn't expected Yuan to actually send people to fetch him.
Remembering the Master of the Academy, he realized it was likely at his request.
"No need to worry. Now that my divine arts are perfected, I have already become a Realm Lord. Trivial enemies can be slaughtered with a wave of my hand," Qi Yuan responded faintly.
High in the sky, hearing Qi Yuan's reply, the joy that had just surfaced on the faces of Shangguan Qingteng and Shangguan Qingmiao instantly turned into sheer bewilderment.
Did this Qi Yuan... cultivate so hard he broke his brain?
How the hell did he become a Realm Lord?!
How could he possibly be a Realm Lord?
Without a moment's hesitation, the two descended into Qi Yuan's courtyard.
"There's no time to explain. We need to leave at once. The Tai Star Domain is safe."
The Kuijin Realm was situated in a war zone, the domain of guishen; they could not linger here for long.
"Don't worry, it's very safe right here. I'm a Realm Lord—who dares mess with me?" Qi Yuan said nonchalantly. "Besides, I'm busy transforming into a mortal to break through to the Yang God Realm. I don't have time to go to the Tai Star Domain with you."
Qi Yuan refused.
Hearing this, Shangguan Qingmiao was utterly speechless.
This Qi Yuan truly had cultivated his brain into mush, babbling in complete contradictions.
Just moments ago he claimed to be a Realm Lord, and now he was transforming into a mortal to break through to the Yang God Realm.
Chapter 554