Chapter 379

Chapter 379: Tribulation (Part Two)

"Master Pavilion."

Li Ruoyu slowly stepped into Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Quite an unexpected guest." Ye Xu gave a half-smile, pointing to the magnificent sight beneath the heavens as he praised, "This grand spectacle forged by my Daoist friend’s hand is truly a masterstroke."

"Above and below, the creatures of all Heavens—even visitors from alien universes—are all pieces upon your chessboard."

"This game…is brilliantly devised."

Li Ruoyu sat down by himself. He produced a wine pot, handed Ye Xu a bottle, and settled into a corner drinking alone.

"In all this vast world, not a soul truly understands me." Li Ruoyu chuckled wryly. "The Master Pavilion knows all things under heaven. Surely, you must know the thoughts weighing on my mind."

Ye Xu smiled without answering. Honestly, he didn’t know.

"By my own hand I forged eternal peace, gathered the fortunes of heaven and earth, bore limitless merit…so why does transcendence elude me?" A cup of wine down, Li Ruoyu’s eyes flashed with resentment.

"When Nuwa repaired the heavens, she meant to save all sentient beings and mend the Heavenly Way."

"Have my deeds truly fallen short of hers?"

His voice brimmed with bitterness and defiance.

"Master Pavilion…do you know the reason?"

Li Ruoyu fixed his gaze on Ye Xu.

Ye Xu smiled. "Daoist friend, surely you haven’t forgotten the rules of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Li Ruoyu fell silent. Even his heart held a place of frailty. Why else would he seek refuge within these walls this day?

To Li Ruoyu, all that came before was nothing but failure. He wouldn’t delve into the seeds of that failure. Road blocked? Then blaze a new one!

"…Will he die?" Li Ruoyu asked.

Ye Xu stiffened slightly. The "he" Li Ruoyu spoke of could only be the human ancestor.

An icy detachment settled on his face. "You set events in motion toward this very end, my Daoist friend. Does your heart truly lack an answer to whether the human ancestor will perish?"

"…Good."

Li Ruoyu managed a smile, though it twisted upon his face more painfully than a grimace. He understood his former master’s nature perfectly. From the moment his scheme had taken shape, the bond between him and his teacher was doomed.

Their bond had come to an end. Enemies. Fated to kill or be killed. Their lives were death warrants on each other.

…

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

The River of Time convulsed. Foamy crests shimmered with fleeting illusions only to dissolve instantly into nothingness under the divine magic of Si Ming. Her hands moved with lethal grace—seals forming with one hand, a sword gripped in the other. Every strike robbed lives.

The Ancient God of Origin wielded the Origin Dao Seed, using a whisk like a sword, firmly suppressing the human ancestor.

Slash!

After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the Origin Dao Seed broke through the human ancestor’s defense. The Ancient God of Origin slashed through the Merit Golden Body with one stroke. The sword tip pierced the human ancestor’s chest. The Path of Origin erupted, blasting the human ancestor’s physical body into fragments of flesh and blood.

"Annihilation of the Heavens!"

Si Ming gave a sharp cry. The Path of Death and the Life Dao illuminated each other—one life, one death—like a giant millstone, beginning to grind away at the human ancestor’s flesh and blood.

Boom!

The Nuwa temple flew in. Mighty divine power struck the Door of Life away. Merit power surged violently. The human ancestor’s primordial spirit was undying. The power of the Xuantian Merit Dao Embryo constantly flowed out, immediately reconstructing his physical body.

"One thought brings god or demon!"

The Ancient God of Origin let out a long cry. The Origin Dao Seed fell into his mouth. The power of the Path of Origin reached its peak. From within his physical body, a deity full of demonic energy stepped out.

This deity’s cultivation level was obviously at the same level as the Ancient God of Origin.

The two Innate Divine Beings, one a god and one a demon, coordinated seamlessly and charged at the human ancestor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For a time, the three top Immortal Emperors joined forces. The pressure on the human ancestor doubled. His physical body was shattered time and again. But with the help of the Xuantian Merit Dao Embryo, it was immediately reconstructed.

"Dead old man, I want to see how many times you can reconstruct your body?" the Ancient God of Origin sneered.

"Huh!"

The human ancestor took a deep breath.

"Epoch Golden Book!"

He stirred up his magic power. Mighty power broke through the River of Time and descended upon the Yuan Realm.

Hum!

At that moment, in Dawn City, Nangong Zhandao’s body shook violently. The Epoch Golden Book was drawn and detached itself from his Purple Palace on its own, transforming into a beam of golden light and flying toward the River of Time.

"Husband, what…" Lan Youruo was puzzled and confused.

The expressions of the two Immortal Kings of the Moon God Clan were grave.

The Epoch Golden Book was a treasured artifact for the luck of the Yuan Realm, concentrating the luck of the Yuan Realm. This golden book leaving Nangong Zhandao would inevitably greatly affect him.

"It is the human ancestor."

Nangong Zhandao said gravely. He could sense the direction of the Epoch Golden Book.

"Has he reached a desperate situation?" Nangong Zhandao thought to himself.

The Epoch Golden Book concentrated the luck of the Yuan Realm and belonged to him.

Unless absolutely necessary, the human ancestor certainly would not borrow away the Epoch Golden Book.

Nangong Zhandao vaguely perceived the human ancestor’s peril.

"He used his trump card."

The Heavenly Emperor watched from afar that beam of golden light, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The human ancestor borrowing the luck of the Yuan Realm was taking a great risk.

If there were the slightest carelessness, the Yuan Realm would be plunged into eternal calamity.

If not for being in dire peril, the human ancestor would never have considered borrowing the luck of the Yuan Realm.

Whoosh!

The Epoch Golden Book flew into the River of Time, unfurling before the human ancestor, as ancient mystical characters soared out one after another, and a vast fortune surged into his physical body.

The aura of the human ancestor abruptly surged explosively.

"Fortune of the ancestral home?"

The Ancient God of Origin and Si Ming exchanged a glance, their brows furrowing.

"We mustn’t give him a chance to catch his breath!"

The Ancient God of Origin and Si Ming exclaimed in unison.

Boom!

Three figures traversed the River of Time, with supreme treasures at the Immortal Emperor level blasting toward the human ancestor. The explosion of top-tier divine techniques instantly caused the River of Time to churn ceaselessly.

The body of the human ancestor shook violently, growing two heads on either side of his neck and four arms beneath his armpits. With each hand wielding a divine technique, he struck toward the three opponents.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The divine techniques landed, shattering his own techniques. A terrifying power blasted him into the upper reaches of the River of Time, as the force of the future Great Dao of Time washed over his body, rendering it incredibly aged.

The two ancient gods pressed their advantage in pursuit.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the entire Yuan Realm trembled violently.

Those golden ancient characters flew into the Purple Palace of the human ancestor, merging with the Merit Dao Embryo. In that split second, the human ancestor became one with the Yuan Realm, borrowing its power.

The body of the human ancestor recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming into a middle-aged man.

Boom!

The next moment, Pangu’s Daoist Temple shook.

The Nine Towering Divine Pillars shuddered violently, as nine torrents of power poured into the body of the human ancestor, transforming into a vast cultivation force that caused his aura to surge dramatically.

"Damn it!"

The expressions of the Ancient God of Origin and Si Ming changed greatly.

They absolutely couldn’t have imagined that the Epoch Golden Book borrowed by the human ancestor could not only borrow Yuan Realm power but also resonate with Pangu’s Daoist Temple to borrow its divine power.

This matter was entirely beyond their expectations.

The cultivation of the human ancestor skyrocketed. He transformed from a middle-aged man into a youth, then into a young lad.

In just a few breaths, the Xuantian Merit Dao Embryo was completely refined by him.

Vaguely, the human ancestor seemed to have touched that profoundly mysterious state.

It was separated by only a hair’s breadth.

"How could things be so coincidental?"

Li Ruoyu found it unbelievable.

It just so happened that the human ancestor was the first child of fortune from the ancestral home. It just so happened that Pangu’s Daoist Temple emerged. It just so happened that this triggered the collapse of the Immortal Realm…

So coincidental.

Ye Xu’s eyes flickered slightly.

He hadn’t anticipated that amid such calamitous variables, a change beneficial to the human ancestor could arise.

Empowered by Pangu’s Daoist Temple and fortified by the Yuan Realm’s strength, the human ancestor had leaped to become one of the paramount Three Yuan Proof experts, verging infinitely close to transcendence. His prowess now likely rivaled the Heavenly Emperor’s.

"Man proposes, God disposes," Ye Xu remarked.

Even so, Ye Xu remained pessimistic.

The future could be altered.

But the difficulty equaled defying heaven itself.

The human ancestor’s fate was already sealed.

It must be remembered that the masters of the Primordial Daoist Sect had yet to join the fray.

Daoist Qing Xuan’s cultivation fell just a hair’s breadth short of the Heavenly Emperor’s. Should he intervene, the human ancestor would still face certain doom.

"That may not be the case," Li Ruoyu countered dismissively.

At this very moment,

witnessing the transformation of Pangu’s Daoist Temple, Zun’s expression darkened.

"We cannot allow the human ancestor to survive. Otherwise, control of Pangu’s Daoist Temple falls to him," Zun declared coldly. "He must die. Otherwise, we’ll never set foot inside."

By channeling Pangu’s Daoist Temple’s power, the human ancestor effectively mastered it.

Whether the temple could be accessed now rested solely on his whim.

"It’s time we stretched our limbs," Daoist Qing Xuan remarked lightly.

Previously, the moment for their involvement hadn’t arrived.

But now, shifted by the Epoch Golden Book, Pangu’s Daoist Temple had mutated. They must act swiftly to eliminate the human ancestor—delay invited disaster.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three Immortal Emperors of the Primordial Daoist Sect, alongside Zun the Chaotic Demon God, soared toward the Jianmu divine tree, charging straight into the River of Time.

"They’ve finally joined," Li Ruoyu murmured, a faint smile curling his lips.

In his designs, these three from the Primordial Daoist Sect, after Pangu’s Daoist Temple surfaced and merged with the Immortal Realm, were destined to strike at a pivotal moment.

Now, every chess piece had entered the game.