“Hall Master Luo, this is a disaster! The life tablets of all the monstrous talents our branch sent into the secret realm have shattered! Their soul lamps have all been extinguished!”
The voice was frantic. A black-robed Quasi-Emperor rushed in, his face ashen, his body trembling as he looked at Luo Yunyang.
Luo Yunyang’s face was grim and savage, his fists clenched tight. “To dare kill my son—you have a death wish! My Great Emperor imprint has already locked onto this person, though I don’t know their identity yet! But no matter who they are, I will ensure their death!”
Just then, the Great Emperors standing beside Luo Yunyang, who hailed from other branches of the Heavenly Net Hall, changed color. Their communication jade slips all began to vibrate violently.
As the Great Emperors injected their divine sense, their expressions quickly turned extremely ugly.
The Thirteenth Elder frowned slightly. “What has happened?”
A boundless killing intent erupted from the Great Emperors, their faces cold as ice.
“All the prodigies sent by our Baizhou branch have perished!”
“All the talents from our Fengzhou branch are dead!”
“All of ours…”
The Great Emperors from the various branches were consumed by a chilling, murderous rage.
The Thirteenth Elder was shocked. “How is this possible?”
They had sent dozens of the younger generation’s elite from ten Heavenly Net Hall branches! To think they had all been annihilated in the secret realm!
Who was the culprit?
“Whoever they are,” one roared, “the moment they step out of that secret realm, they will die by our hands!”
The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Elders’ expressions were dark. “We will have the experts at the main hall perform a divination. We must find a lead.”
Luo Yunyang and the other Great Emperors bowed in thanks.
***
Several days later.
Ancient Qin Family.
Inside a vast, ancient hall, the Qin Family Old Ancestor, Qin Wuyang, gathered the Patriarch and the core elders. Qin Wuyang deployed countless seals and restrictions. Brilliant formation patterns flowed across the hall, completely shielding the heavenly secrets of this place.
Once everyone was seated, Qin Wuyang’s gaze was deep and somber. “This time, regardless of whether Qin Xiao manages to kill Ye Chen, the Heavenly Net Hall will intervene in the shadows! Their target isn’t just the Grand Dao Sect’s younger generation; it includes the Cangxuan Old Ancestor and the Peak Masters as well!”
The elders were stunned. They hadn't expected the Heavenly Net Hall to truly begin its retaliation against the Grand Dao Sect.
The Qin Family Patriarch smiled faintly. “This time, the Grand Dao Sect will suffer immensely. With Mu Yunhai dead, the Grand Dao Sect will surely go mad! A war with the Heavenly Net Hall is inevitable!”
Qin Wuyang sneered. “No matter. The Ancient Qin Family only provides resources to the Heavenly Net Hall. They have sworn a Vow to the Great Dao not to expose us!”
At this, the Qin Family elders all broke into bright smiles.
Suddenly, the communication jade slip in Qin Wuyang’s storage ring vibrated incessantly. He injected his divine sense, and a voice filled with panic immediately transmitted out.
“Old Ancestor! This is a disaster! Xiao’er’s life tablet has shattered! His soul lamp is extinguished!”
Qin Wuyang was aghast. “What?!”
He instantly dispelled the seals on the hall and, along with the Patriarch and the elders, flew toward the Qin Family’s Life Tablet Hall.
Inside the hall, rows of life tablets belonging to the younger generation had shattered, turning into dust. The soul lamps beside them were completely extinguished.
Dead.
The Qin Family Patriarch’s face twisted into a savage snarl, his eyes bloodshot with fury. “How is this possible? Who dared to do this?!”
Just then, Qin Wuyang frowned. “Wait. Qin Wang’s life tablet is intact.”
Everyone immediately looked at Qin Wang’s life tablet and soul lamp. Everything was fine.
The elders were utterly bewildered. All the other disciples were dead! How could the weakest one, Qin Wang, have survived? Even Qin Xiao had perished—how could Qin Wang be alive?
Qin Wuyang sighed toward the heavens. “This matter is a secret of our Qin Family, known only to the Patriarch and a select few. Qin Xiao possessed a Supreme Secret Art from the Supreme Profound Sect. When near death, he could activate it to escape as a soul body, seeking a new body to be reborn. The closer the bloodline of the new host, the greater his recovered strength.”
The elders were shocked. But Qin Xiao’s soul lamp was extinguished.
Qin Wuyang’s expression was grim. “Xiao’er was ultimately killed by Qin Wang.”
The elders fell silent. The Qin Family Patriarch closed his eyes, his chest heaving with rage. “To think the frailest one, Qin Wang, was the one to survive.”
They had originally intended for Qin Wang to gain some experience in the secret realm, never imagining such a shocking twist.
Qin Wuyang’s eyes flashed with fierce resolve. He made an immediate decision. “Since things have come to this, announce Qin Wang as the new Family Heir! I must personally visit the Supreme Profound Sect to secure his position as the Divine Son candidate!”
The elders nodded. With Qin Xiao’s sudden death, the Qin Family could not afford to stagnate. Their relationship with the Supreme Profound Sect had to be maintained.
Qin Wuyang’s face was cold. “If I’m not mistaken, this must be the work of the Grand Dao Sect! We cannot contact Qin Wang right now, so we don’t know the exact situation in the secret realm.”
The Patriarch clenched his fist, his voice venomous. “That damned Grand Dao Sect!”
Qin Wuyang immediately used a secret art to contact the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Elders of the Heavenly Net Hall, informing them of the situation. He learned that all the younger generation from the ten Heavenly Net Hall branches had also perished.
It was now clear: a disciple from the Grand Dao Sect had annihilated both the Qin Family and the Heavenly Net Hall’s younger generations!
Everyone was shocked. They had truly underestimated the strength of the Grand Dao Sect’s prodigies this time.
The Thirteenth Elder’s voice was chilling. “Rest assured, this time, not only will Ye Chen die, but Mu Yunhai and those Peak Masters will also perish!”
Qin Wuyang gritted his teeth. “Excellent! Let them die!”
Not long after, Qin Wuyang looked at the Patriarch. “Summon Nangong Baixue.”
Soon, Nangong Baixue arrived. Hundreds of yards from the Life Tablet Hall, she began to wail in grief, tears streaming down her face like falling rain. She appeared utterly heartbroken, swaying as she walked as if she might collapse at any moment.
Her face was pale as she cried out loudly.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible…”
“My husband was a man destined to ascend to the Southern Wilds’ peak! How could he die so easily? I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it! Old Ancestor, you must be mistaken…”
Nangong Baixue suddenly dropped to her knees before Old Ancestor Qin Wuyang, clutching his robe, her voice choked with tears. “Old Ancestor, please find a way! How could my husband die?”
Qin Wuyang pointed to Qin Xiao’s life tablet, which had turned to dust. “Qin Xiao is dead. That is a fact.”
Nangong Baixue cried out, “Old Ancestor, give me the ashes of his life tablet! I must mourn my husband!”
As she spoke, Qin Wuyang simply flicked his sleeve. Qin Xiao’s ashes scattered on the wind, and the remnants of his soul lamp vanished.
Nangong Baixue froze. What did this mean?
Qin Wuyang looked at her. “Baixue, I summoned you to inform you of something. Qin Xiao is dead, but Qin Wang has become the new Family Heir. He is also the Patriarch’s son! You will remain the Heir’s wife. What do you say?”
Nangong Baixue was stunned. The Heir had changed, but she was still the Heir’s wife!
A torrent of thoughts rushed through her mind. In an instant, she realized she hadn't truly loved Qin Xiao. Even his face had become somewhat blurry.
As long as she remained a woman of the Ancient Qin Family, perhaps the identity of the Heir didn’t matter!
With this thought, Nangong Baixue decided to feign hesitation. “Old Ancestor, my feelings for Qin Xiao were as high as the mountains and as deep as the sea. How could I marry another? Just let me crash my head against the wall and die! I can’t live!”
Saying this, Nangong Baixue dramatically lunged toward Old Ancestor Qin Wuyang.
Qin Wuyang pressed down on her head with one hand, his expression grave. “This is not a discussion; it is a notification. You don’t need to mourn Qin Xiao yet. Come with me.”
With that, Qin Wuyang tore the void and took Nangong Baixue with him, flying toward the Supreme Profound Sect.
He needed to meet Pill Saint Yunyang and Yuan Qingzi. Nangong Baixue was a disciple of the Supreme Profound Sect, and with Qin Xiao dead, she was the Ancient Qin Family’s sole link to the sect. Qin Wuyang intended to use her to secure the Divine Son candidate position for Qin Wang.
As a powerful figure, Qin Wuyang had seen too many geniuses fall. The past was irreversible; Qin Xiao was dead. Furthermore, Nangong Baixue possessed the Primordial Yin Body, and the Qin Family would never hand her over to anyone else!
What mattered most was the future of the Qin Family. Let Qin Xiao’s death continue to serve its purpose.
***
Martial Dao Great Emperor Inheritance Secret Realm.
Qin Wang piloted his spirit boat, quickly distancing himself from the Emperor’s Palace. He knew he was no match for Ye Chen and could only temporarily retreat.
Though Qin Xiao was dead, he had left behind all his cultivation insights and inheritance for Qin Wang.
Qin Wang couldn’t help but sigh. “Brother’s insights truly were powerful.”
But at this moment, the person Qin Wang thought of most was Nangong Baixue. Her tender, pale skin, those full, luscious curves, that hourglass figure, those jade-like legs as white as porcelain…
A dark fire rose in Qin Wang’s abdomen. He muttered, “The thought of being held by those jade legs, or even stepped on by those jade feet, must be an incredibly profound experience! And she possesses the Primordial Yin Body!”
After indulging in these thoughts for a long time, Qin Wang found a hidden cave and deployed numerous seals and restrictions. He watched the memories of Qin Xiao’s death while using a more traditional method to release his tension.
Several breaths later.
Exhausted, he lay sprawled in the cave. “Was that… my brother’s Persistent Thought acting up?”
Qin Wang felt a familiar sense of everything is tasteless. After a brief rest, he began plotting how to eliminate Ye Chen.
He quickly settled on a plan: using another’s knife to kill.
Qin Wang left the hidden cave, used a shape-shifting technique to alter his appearance, and began piloting his Ancient Spirit Boat, frantically spreading the news of the Martial Dao Great Emperor’s Palace inheritance.
“Hmph,” Qin Wang sneered. “With so many monstrous talents clashing with Ye Chen, I refuse to believe he won’t die!”
In an instant, the entire Martial Dao Great Emperor Secret Realm was in an uproar. Disciples from numerous overlord-level factions were alerted.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Prodigies from the Cangmu Academy, the Yao Family, the Pill Fragrance Sect, and the Supreme Profound Sect all flew toward the Emperor’s Palace, their divine rainbows surging like countless rivers of stars.
Meanwhile, at the Emperor’s Palace’s underground location, Ye Chen was unaware of the chaos.
He was meditating, healing his injuries, and waiting for the true disciples like Liu Xuan and Fang Yan to recover.
Not far away, Chen Changsheng remained calm and collected, observing in the shadows.
Over the next few days, Chen Changsheng, still concealed, used a formation plate to survey the underground palace. The Martial Dao Great Emperor’s underground palace was nestled within the grand landscape, ancient and majestic, possessing the natural momentum of a Coiled Dragon.
The mountains resembled ancient Azure Dragons lying across the ridges, and the turbulent waters flowed like the sea. Every mountain and stream was naturally formed, perfectly aligned with the Great Dao. Although the seals and restrictions had broken down after endless ages, this natural Heaven and Earth momentum was eternal.
It was as if this inheritance secret realm had been waiting for his arrival.
Chen Changsheng had always believed that in the affairs of Heaven and Earth, there was a predetermined fate. Since the Great Dao had guided him here, his opportunity was surely at hand.
However, Chen Changsheng did not immediately enter the inheritance. He prepared to perform another divination.
He found a secluded spot, deployed numerous seals, and took out an ancient tortoise shell. His hand seals shifted, and countless obscure forces flowed over the shell. Profound energy surged around him, emanating waves of divine light.
Ring after ring of spiritual patterns appeared.
“Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Li, Dui!” (Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, Fire, Lake!)
A moment later, Chen Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, looking at the resulting hexagram. His gaze swept past Ye Chen and the others toward the underground palace. He muttered, “My opportunity for eternal life is right before me! Could it be hidden within the underground palace?”