"Is that so? You would do well not to underestimate them. Though the Human and Monster races are unremarkable among the
The white-robed woman's expression had returned to one of calm composure as she spoke.
"We naturally took all of that into account when devising this plan," the black-robed young man replied, unmoved. "No matter what trump cards those clans may hold, opposing the Holy Race is nothing but a pipe dream. If not for the risk of drawing the attention of the great powers in the Spirit Realm, I would have already mobilized the full might of our race to crush them utterly. Hmph—even if someone among them truly has ties to the Immortal Realm, it changes nothing. Our Holy Race has its own backers in the upper realm. Besides, according to the iron laws of the Immortal Realm, unless those few most forbidden events occur, the people of the upper realm will not intervene even if an entire realm is destroyed and ceases to exist. Why should we worry about things that may never come to pass?"
Ancestor Yuan
"If you are all so confident, then consider my earlier words as never having been spoken." The white-robed woman paused briefly. "However, before coming here, I made a trip to the Land of the Original Seal. Though I only observed from a distance, the gaps in the seal have widened several times over compared to my days as an Ancestor. The creatures surging out from within have grown vastly more powerful as well. In just two battles I witnessed, a Demon Venerable and over a dozen high-level Void Refining cultivators fell, and the ordinary seal guards suffered casualties numbering in the thousands. And that was with hundreds of puppets and demonic beasts fighting alongside them. What concerned me more was that I did not see Friend Nie Pan in either battle—instead, one of
Her tone shifted suddenly, and what she said caused a flicker of unease to cross Ancestor Yuan Yan's expression.
"You didn't attack that incarnation of Liu Ji's, did you?"
"Of course not. Though I no longer hold the title of Ancestor, I am still a member of the Holy Race. The Land of the Original Seal is where the Great Catastrophe will erupt—I would hardly act recklessly there. But if it had been Liu Ji's true body instead, that might have been a different matter." She gave Ancestor Yuan Yan a deep look. "That said, from this angle, the dire situation you described earlier does not appear to have been an exaggeration."
"Hmph, what times are these—would I try to mislead you about something like this?" The black-robed young man rolled his eyes, looking thoroughly put-out.
"Still, I find myself wondering something. Are you not afraid that thing might suddenly awaken and use its true body to assault the seal? The seal may hold, but a single incarnation of Liu Ji's would barely qualify as a snack for it." Bao let out a cold laugh as she posed yet another question.
The black-robed young man's expression turned peculiar at these words. After a long moment, he answered with a bitter smile:
"You're a bit late to ask that. That thing's true body already awakened for the second time six thousand years ago—and the power it displayed was far more terrifying than during its first awakening."
"Six thousand years ago! It woke up again? That's much earlier than the original projections." A visible change came over Bao's face, and a trace of genuine fear flickered through her beautiful eyes.
"At the time, Liu Ji and I rushed over the moment we received word of its awakening. But by the time we arrived, Friend Nie Pan had already activated his Three Nirvana Transformation and fought it to a mutual standstill, barely managing to force it back. However, that battle left Friend Nie Pan gravely weakened. He had to recall all of his incarnations and retreat his true body into a state of semi-sleep. Unwilling to rest easy, I sacrificed one of my clones to infiltrate the sealed region. It appeared that the power that thing had accumulated had been largely spent, and it had similarly fallen back into slumber. In other words, Friend Nie Pan, much as you did the first time, bought our Holy Realm a brief reprieve. During that interval, having a single incarnation of Liu Ji's guard the seal at the Land of the Original Seal was sufficient. After all, as long as that thing's true body doesn't emerge, everything else throwing itself at the seal is merely its progeny—the strongest among them are hardly more formidable than an ordinary Demon Venerable. But the seal has been further loosened in the process, and I estimate that next time it awakens, it will be somewhat sooner than before." Ancestor Yuan Yan sighed, his face heavy with resignation.
"The Three Nirvana Transformation of the Nirvana Sacred Body can rival a true and powerful True Spirit in the short term—and yet it was still forced into a draw with that thing? During its first awakening, it was nowhere near this powerful." Bao's expression shifted with genuine emotion.
"There is nothing strange about that! Did you truly believe that thing's real strength was limited to what it showed? As the seal loosens, its true power is recovering bit by bit. The next time it awakens, its strength may rival that of an Immortal from the upper realm. None of us will be able to stop it from breaking free. And once it surges out of the Land of the Original Seal with its countless progeny, given their race's horrifying rate of reproduction, there will be no place left in the Holy Realm for us. Most critically, it can devour both spiritual energy and demonic energy without discrimination, and combined with those terrifying numbers unleashed upon reproduction… Countless realms have been utterly destroyed in precisely this manner. Otherwise, in ancient times, the Immortal Realm would never have sent people down personally to blockade it within the Holy Realm and seal it inside the Land of the Original Seal. Unfortunately, after all this time, the seal has finally begun to fail. We must claim a foothold in the Spirit Realm before the seal breaks, so that the Holy Race has somewhere to go. To prevent panic, for now only we and the other Ancestors are aware of this—everyone else remains in the dark. But that cannot be kept hidden for many more years." The black-robed young man's voice was laced with bitterness.
"That the seal has held until now is already more than I expected. And the Holy Realm is vast—I imagine some of those fellows don't see eye to eye with you either." The white-robed woman showed no surprise whatsoever.
"Hmph. The ones making the most noise are precisely those backed by the Beast Venerable Hall." Ancestor Yuan Yan let out a cold snort, seeming to have a thorough grasp of the entire situation.
"Oh? That is rather curious. Though Nie Pan is recuperating, you and Liu Ji are hardly ones to be trifled with. To just watch them disregard the bigger picture like this—have you both grown so indecisive since we last met?" A flicker of puzzlement crossed Bao's features.
"If it were ordinary Ancestors, Liu Ji and I could certainly keep them in line. But among those supporting the Beast Venerable Hall are two old codgers—Tian Qi and He Yan. They competed with you for the title of Ancestor back in the day, so you know better than anyone how formidable their powers are. Neither Liu Ji nor I are willing to confront them head-on." A strange expression passed over the black-robed young man's face, and after a lengthy pause, he continued in a measured tone.
"Tian Qi… He Yan…" The moment those two names reached her ears, Bao's expression darkened instantly.
Seeing the white-robed woman's reaction, Ancestor Yuan Yan let out a soft chuckle and said nothing more.
…
At that same moment,
Soaring trees, several hundred zhang tall, blanketed the entire space!
Each one was a lush, vivid green, radiating threads of multicolored light almost visible to the naked eye. The ground was covered with unidentifiable low shrubs and all manner of grasses filling the spaces between the great trees, each also emitting a faint five-colored glow.
As for the void above, clusters of five-colored light spheres, each about the size of a thumb, drifted in and out of visibility throughout the sky—creating an almost unsettling sensation of being trapped in a perilous place.
And in the pond beneath Han Li, the perfectly still surface was a pale silver color, thick and viscous like mercury, lending it an impression of extraordinary weight.