Near the heart of the secret realm, a battle had erupted into chaos beyond description.
Torrents of water dozens of meters high surged up from the earth, sweeping away everything within hundreds of li. The bodies of cultivators were flung into the air before being mercilessly crushed by the crushing pressure of the water.
Moments later, thousands of bloodthorns followed in pursuit, sparing not even the hidden shadows that had narrowly escaped the first wave. Screams pierced the air, and death spread like a plague.
Zhou Luohen narrowly evaded the next wave of destruction, his robe torn by the impact. His current condition was far from ideal.
Standing atop a stone platform amidst the water, Sui Zimeng had her arm shattered by the force of the attack. She turned and locked eyes with Jin Su and Bai Xian, who were floating not far from her. The four of them had escaped by a hair's breadth… but all of their followers had been completely wiped out by the deadly onslaught without leaving a trace.
"Target that blood-controlling girl first!" Bai Xian growled through gritted teeth, his voice thick with anger.
"I'll hold off Mu Nansi," Sui Zimeng muttered in response as she released a blade aura that rippled through the air.
Behind Bai Xian, a rift opened in the void for just a breath, and Zhou Luohen didn't miss his chance for even an instant. He launched himself toward Bai Xian, his intent as sharp as the sword energy condensed to its very limit.
But before his blade could even graze the edge of Bai Xian's robe, a warning rang out in his mind like a death knell.
[Detected threat at a level capable of endangering the host's life. Activating emergency defense system.]
Before he could fully react, Zhou Luohen's body radiated with light. The power of the system spread out in a golden protective veil, encasing him completely. Yet from the heavens, a sword of light struck down with blinding speed, overwhelming the sight of everyone around and submerging the entire battlefield in brilliant radiance.
Mu Nansi, lips curved into a faint smile, instantly recognized the power. Only Han Ming could wield light of that caliber. She had prepared to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
"Waiting for a long time…"
Her voice was cut off.
The blade of light suddenly turned and shot toward her instead. A sharp "fwoosh" sliced through the air as the beam of light streaked directly for her throat.
But before the blade could touch her skin, a black barrier erupted from a man in dark robes who emerged from the shadows without warning. The sword of light clashed with the barrier, shaking the heavens and the earth with a deafening boom.
An old man's voice rang out from behind with unwavering authority.
"We must retreat now. This tomb is a trap. The God of Herbs has begun absorbing the life force of everyone within the secret realm."
Mu Nansi, startled for a brief moment, turned and asked,
"How strong is this incarnation of Grandfather?"
The man in black replied, "In this tomb, I only possess Saint-level strength. The highest output I can release is at the level of a Great Emperor. But that's beside the point. What matters now is that the God of Herbs seems to be absorbing the blood from the corpses of the fallen to begin restoring his body."
He paused for a breath, then continued,
"If we withdraw now, it won't be considered a loss. We've already obtained millions of rare herbs. As for Zhou Luohen, we can no longer kill him. It appears that the Zhou clan's ancestor has already been awakened and brought into this miniature world."
Mu Nansi clenched her teeth, then nodded slightly in agreement, her gaze turning to the golden figure who had just struck at her with that blinding sword of light.
"Grandfather... who was that golden being?"
The man in black was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
"I'm not entirely certain... but his true body must be unimaginably powerful."
As his voice faded, he activated a teleportation formation, and both he and Mu Nansi vanished in an instant.
Meanwhile, Zhou Luohen's system barrier had begun to crack, and the sword of light was gradually piercing through it inch by inch.
His eyes widened in alarm, but just then, Shadow Number One burst forth from the void, long sword in hand, and swung directly at the neck of the golden figure.
"...…."
Yet the blade passed cleanly through as though cutting through air.
The golden figure did not seem to possess a physical body... no blood, no flesh. It was merely... a tangible projection of something without substance.
In that instant, twenty-seven strands of fragmented soul force burst out from Zhou Luohen's body.
"Father... Mother... Grandfather...!"
Those souls were none other than the ancestors of the Zhou Clan and Zhou Luohen's own parents. The combined power of all twenty-seven erupted skyward, shaking the entire Hidden Tomb with violent force. An overwhelming aura of immortal energy surged from their forms, wild and unrestrained. Cracks in space began spreading throughout the entire tomb.
And it wasn't just the Hidden Tomb that trembled. The entire Lower Realm... was quaking in response.
The Heavenly Tao of this miniature world, which had long been observing the Hidden Tomb with strict vigilance and dared not interfere, now found itself confronted with something far beyond its ability to contain.
What was awakening inside the tomb... was an Immortal Emperor. A being before whom even the Heavenly Tao did not dare raise its eyes.
In the end, the Heavenly Tao chose to retreat. It released all restrictions, feigning blindness and deafness, forsaking its duties to ensure its own survival. As a result, every barrier that had once prevented cultivators above the Great Emperor level from descending into this world was lifted completely.
From now on, anyone no matter their level of cultivation could freely enter the Lower Realm.
Within the private hall of the Myriad Ocean Trading Guild, Wang Fangxian, once the eldest disciple of Heaven Bamboo Peak, was seated in casual conversation with her four junior sisters. The five of them appeared at ease, yet Fangxian's gaze never once strayed from the signals coming in from the outside world as they discussed recent events.
Before their conversation could reach its end, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by the door being thrown open.
Their personal guards rushed in, their faces stricken with a tension none of them had shown before, and spoke in unison with urgent voices.
"Young Mistress... we can no longer remain in the Lower Realm!"
Wang Fangxian's brows furrowed immediately. "What happened?"
Before any explanation could be given, the world trembled once more this time with a violence that dwarfed every quake before it. The shaking split the stone walls with deep cracks, as though the entire world were on the verge of collapse.
The guards didn't wait for the five women to make their decision. They activated the teleportation stone on the spot, using it to forcibly extract them from the Lower Realm, regardless of their wishes.
At the same time, outside the Hidden Tomb, on the deck of a colossal spirit vessel from the Holy Land of the Immortal River.
Mu Nansi stood beside the man in black, her eyes fixed on the figure of an old man with white hair seated silently at the bow. He sat like a statue, unmoving, as if he had remained still for centuries.
The silence stretched long, until at last she broke it.
"I wonder, what brings the esteemed ancestor of the Zhou Clan here?"
The old man turned with a gentle smile. His expression still seemed kind, but deep within his eyes was something far too inscrutable to grasp.
"To be honest, I've always wished you... could become my granddaughter-in-law."
The words came out as though in jest, yet his tone was so calm that no one dared to laugh.
"If you and Zhou Luohen were to marry and have a child together, that child... might be the only one capable of bringing order to the chaos that is soon to come, perhaps even rising to become its leader."
He paused briefly, his expression thoughtful.
"But on the other hand, I'm afraid... because Chen'er is still young and far too inexperienced to handle someone like you. If the two of you truly did marry, the Zhou Clan might very well be swallowed whole by the Mu Clan before long."
He gave a faint smile and continued.
"If today I hadn't chosen to burn my lifespan just to climb out of my coffin, I would have had no choice but to sit and watch Chen'er rebuild his cultivation from scratch after death. And the next thing to happen would surely be you... pushing the Zhou Clan and our allies into open war with the Myriad Heavens Alliance, wouldn't you agree?"
As he finished speaking, he slowly raised his hand and revealed what he held. A terrifying aura of death burst forth from the formation etched there.
It was a formation designed to destroy stars.
The very same formation Mu Nansi had once asked her grandfather to create. A formation with one single purpose... to kill Zhou Luohen and annihilate the entire miniature world along with him.
The old man smiled and asked, "Did I guess right?"
Mu Nansi smiled and replied, "As expected of you. The Mu Clan will prepare a suitable apology for the Zhou Clan."
The old man chuckled and said, "I wonder what it'll be this time. Poison, perhaps? Or something else... Heh. Doesn't matter. I'll take whatever comes."
With those words, he shot straight into the Hidden Tomb, leaving Mu Nansi standing in silence. She let out a soft sigh and murmured,
"Prediction techniques are starting to become unreliable now. Ever since someone developed a skill that can alter prophecies... it's getting harder to tell truth from deception. How annoying."
She then spoke more firmly. "Order all forces to withdraw from the Hidden Tomb."