“No! Please, no!” The pleas were desperate, laced with terror. “Sir, have mercy! We were wrong, truly, we were!”
But the palm descended regardless, a cosmic hammerfall. It wasn't just their bodies that crumbled to dust, but their very Great Daos, their essences, utterly erased as if they'd never existed. Instant annihilation. They were beyond dead.
A moment later, the cosmic dust settled, and the boundless sky above returned to its pristine, clear blue. All five Ancient Ancestors were gone.
From a safe distance, countless powerful cultivators had been secretly watching, their breaths held tight. Now, a collective gasp ripped through their ranks, quickly followed by a stunned silence.
“When did the White Robe Star Venerate become so terrifyingly powerful?”
“He’s only Eight-star Myriad Phase Realm!”
“Lu Xuan… he’s truly invincible!”
“This is beyond us. We can’t get involved in this level of power.”
Yet, a few still furrowed their brows, trying to rationalize the impossible. “There are differences even among Ancient Ancestors,” one muttered. “These five were on the weaker side. They’re not in the same league as Shenwu Emperor Tianye or Yang Zhengshan, the Mountain-Moving Ape!”
Lu Xuan stood effortlessly in the void, his white robe pristine, not a speck of dust clinging to it. He gave a casual flick of his wrist, as if shooing away an invisible fly, then slowly turned.
The very next instant, Ah Li surged forward, a blur of pink, tears streaming down her face, an unstoppable torrent.
“Sir!” she cried, her voice choked with emotion. “Master!”
She threw herself into Lu Xuan’s arms, a soft, fragrant bundle. Her pink dress, slightly disheveled from her rush, brushed against him, her body yielding and warm. Lu Xuan simply accepted the embrace, unbothered.
Lu Xuan offered a faint smile, patting her head. “Since you’re so eager, then let’s make it official. Become my disciple.”
Thump! Ah Li dropped to her knees without a moment’s hesitation, her eyes shining with devotion. “Master!”
In her past life, she had yearned for this, dreamed of it! But ‘Sir’ had never taken a formal disciple, not even when Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen had pleaded countless times. This was a dream come true.
Lu Xuan chuckled, gently stroking her hair. “Alright, then. From this day forward, you are my Sixth Disciple!”
Just then, Chen Changsheng’s brow furrowed. “Master,” he said, “I need to go out and draw away the Mountain-Moving Ape and the others. Tianzhao and Tamamo-no-Mae are currently being hunted down!”
Lu Xuan blinked, a flicker of mild surprise crossing his face. Old Third, actually taking the initiative? This is a first.
Ah Li turned to Chen Changsheng, her expression thoughtful. “You’re one of Dao Yi’s two sub-souls, aren’t you?”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “Indeed. The other is Wuwu, currently cultivating at Du’e Temple. He hasn’t awakened his past life memories yet.”
“Is Dao Yi truly dead?” Ah Li pressed. Chen Changsheng replied with a wry twist of his lips, “A little bit dead.”
Lu Xuan’s face twitched imperceptibly. ‘A little bit dead’? So, not entirely dead, then.
Dao Yi had been the main soul, after all. When he entered the cycle of reincarnation, his three sub-souls had followed him. Even though Dao Yi’s physical form had been destroyed in the Primordial Realm, as long as Chen Changsheng and Wuwu existed, a karmic link persisted. For a former Ancient Ancestor like Dao Yi, that karmic thread was far from severed.
Lu Xuan gave a faint shake of his head. Doesn’t matter now.
He was already invincible. Once Ah Li’s synchronization feedback was complete, his true cultivation would also reach the Eight-star Myriad Phase Realm, allowing him to effortlessly annihilate Ancient Ancestors.
He looked at Chen Changsheng. “Go,” he said simply. It’s not every day Old Third shows this much eagerness. Might as well let him have his fun.
Chen Changsheng nodded, and with a mere thought, the Bronze Ancient Palace materialized.
A thunderous BOOM! echoed as the colossal Bronze Ancient Palace emerged from the depths of the void, a mountain range of bronze. Endless, ancient Dao Patterns, arcane and profound, were etched into its surface, radiating an aura of primordial mystery that washed over everything. This was not the same Bronze Ancient Palace that had first appeared in the Southern Wilds. It was now fully activated. Its Ancient Ancestor-tier might, deep as an abyss and vast as the sea, exuded an oppressive, utterly enigmatic aura.
Seeing this, the distant observers gasped. “The Bronze Ancient Palace! Lu Xuan truly has it!”
“What secrets did ‘Sir’ leave within that Bronze Ancient Palace all those ages ago?”
“With this artifact revealed, even the Eerie Race will surely be alerted!”
Chen Changsheng turned to Lu Xuan, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Master, I’ll need to impersonate you for a moment.”
Lu Xuan simply smiled. “No problem.”
Whoosh! A ripple of light enveloped Chen Changsheng. His form began to shift, a series of soft crackles echoing as his bones and muscles rearranged themselves. In moments, Chen Changsheng was an exact replica of Lu Xuan. Not just his appearance, but even the subtle fluctuations of his divine soul bore a striking resemblance.
Ah Li stared, utterly dumbfounded. “Chen Changsheng, what in the world have you been doing all these years?”
For the first time, Chen Changsheng offered a glimpse into his heart, a wry, self-deprecating smile on his face. “I always felt… a profound lack of security,” he confessed. “Until I became Master’s disciple.”
Ah Li and Qingqiu exchanged a look of shared understanding, a touch of melancholy in their eyes. Indeed. In life, one’s ultimate reliance should be oneself. But what if even that failed? Dao Yi was the perfect example. As the main soul, he had dragged both Chen Changsheng and Wuwu, his sub-souls, into his downfall. Ah Li gazed at Chen Changsheng, her sympathy evident.
In a flash, Chen Changsheng, now a perfect doppelganger of Lu Xuan, held the Bronze Ancient Palace aloft in one hand. He shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning, streaking away from the Fox Fortune Holy Land.
At the same moment, the potent aura of the Bronze Ancient Palace, combined with the familiar fluctuations emanating from ‘Lu Xuan’s’ body, instantly froze Master Kongwu and the other Ancient Ancestors who had been waiting outside the Fox Fortune Holy Land.
Master Kongwu shot to his feet. “The Bronze Ancient Palace has appeared! It is Lu Xuan! He’s already killed those five Ancient Ancestors!”
In the next breath, several other Ancient Ancestors appeared, their expressions grim. “Finally, the Bronze Ancient Palace reveals itself!”
Master Kongwu immediately sent a telepathic message to the Ancient Ancestors still chasing Tianzhao and Tamamo-no-Mae. “What’s your status?”
Yang Zhengshan, the Mountain-Moving Ape’s furious roar echoed through the mental link. “Those two are like slippery eels, utterly infuriating!”
“Amitabha,” Master Kongwu intoned, though his tone held no peace. “Since you haven’t captured them, return at once and deal with Lu Xuan. He has revealed himself, along with the Bronze Ancient Palace.”
“Excellent!” Yang Zhengshan bellowed. “We’ll return immediately! Once Lu Xuan is dead, Tianzhao and the others will be powerless to stir up any more trouble! He hasn’t fully recovered yet, so let’s strike now!”
In an instant, several Ancient Ancestors changed course, rushing back.
Meanwhile, on the distant Eerie Plateau, several Ancient Ancestor-level presences flared to life, instantly locking onto the Bronze Ancient Palace in Chen Changsheng’s hand. A palpable wave of killing intent surged across the cosmos.
High above the void, Chen Changsheng, still bearing Lu Xuan’s likeness and cradling the Bronze Ancient Palace, allowed a faint, knowing smirk to touch his lips. His form blurred, then vanished. A single step carried him a million zhang.
Master Kongwu let out a cold snort. A bronze mirror appeared in his hand. “My Dao!” he declared. The power of the starry sky itself seemed to bend to the mirror’s will, and a blurry image of Chen Changsheng flickered across its surface. “By my name, reveal his path!”
Moreover, the ‘Dao of Self’ technique sent a tremor through Chen Changsheng’s divine soul. It was one of the few vulnerabilities he possessed. But Chen Changsheng paid it no mind, continuing his frantic flight, the Bronze Ancient Palace still clutched in his hand, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the Fox Fortune Holy Land.
“Pursue!” Master Kongwu commanded. Swiftly, over a dozen Ancient Ancestors converged, giving chase to Chen Changsheng.
Back within the Fox Fortune Holy Land, Lu Xuan watched the distant pursuit with a faint smile. “Well, look at Old Third,” he mused aloud. “He actually steps up sometimes.”
The disciples around him chuckled.
Just then, the familiar chime of the System echoed in Lu Xuan’s mind. “Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing the mission: ‘Accept Sixth Disciple’! Rewards are now being distributed.”
“Ding! Host has received a massive cultivation foundation!”
“Ding! Host has received a fragment of the River of Time!”
“Ding! Host’s Medical Dao Attainment has been elevated to Ancient Ancestor tier!”
“Ding! Host’s Spatial Array Patterns Attainment has been elevated to Ancient Ancestor tier!”
“Ding! Host has received Sir’s Remnant Dao Rhyme from the Ancient Epoch!”