Chapter 2056: Revival

Whoosh—

The mournful Dao sound of the Five Domains reverberated, lingering ceaselessly.

This was no longer a rare occurrence. Since the War of Godhood and Ancestorhood began, similar sounds had been heard on several occasions.

However, the Ancestral God who had fallen this time possessed a remarkably ancient status.

"The Dao sound of a God's demise, an Ancestral God has fallen..."

"When Lord Shou's punch landed, did it not only shatter the Divine Court's Slow Law Heavenly Kingdom but also directly kill Sheng Xin himself?"

"No, in my view, the Blood Demon Fate Reversal Art is quite potent. Lord Shou was clearly targeting the Divine Court; shattering Sheng Xin was merely incidental. The fallen Ancestor must be someone else entirely."

"Could it be Sui Yin?"

This was truly an unprovoked disaster.

It was clear to everyone that Lord Shou's punch was absolutely not aimed at Sui Yin.

Unfortunately, at the precise moment the punch landed, Sui Yin was still being refined by the Dao. If Sheng Xin couldn't escape, then Sui Yin certainly had no chance.

Sheng Xin, on the other hand, had the Slow Law Heavenly Kingdom as a shield and ultimately threw out many treasures. While this was a desperate and perhaps ill-advised act, it did manage to reduce a considerable amount of the damage.

Even if he were truly struck, with the Blood Demon Fate Reversal Art sustaining his life for billions of years, he should have barely clung to a few breaths.

But what about Sui Yin? How could Sui Yin be protected?

Its condition was already precarious.

With its consciousness already refined away and only half a step from having its Dao seized, it was inevitable that Sui Yin's Dao would collapse when Lord Shou's punch struck.

"If I recall correctly, with the War of Ancestral Gods having lasted this long, isn't this the first Ancient Ancestral God to have fallen?"

"The Demonic Medicine Sui Dao... is Sui Yin the first to be eliminated?"

"So, who's next in line?"

The spectators in the Apricot Realm, surprisingly, felt little astonishment.

Six months ago, if anyone had suggested Sui Yin's demise, few would have believed it, no matter how much you tried to convince them.

But with the situation having evolved to this point, let alone a mere Sui Yin,

Even if Sheng Xin were to suddenly lose his mind and drag Shennong Baicao into a self-detonation, or if Lord Shou were to win only for Dao Qiongcang to seize the Dao as a 'fisherman's profit,' everyone would find it acceptable.

And if not, what then?

Who else could possibly step forward and alter the grand scheme of things?

"Where is Lord Shou?"

"Sheng Xin was shattered by a single punch, but how did Lord Shou also vanish? Was he perhaps killed by the backlash?"

After the single punch, a brief calm descended upon the battlefield.

The Apricot Realm's Transmitting Heaven Screen searched for a long while, but could no longer detect any sign of Sheng Xin or Xu Xiaoshou.

Meanwhile, at the very heart of the battlefield, as dust and mist gradually cleared and space and Dao laws slowly re-coalesced, the truly horrific devastation was finally revealed to all.

From a bird's-eye view, the entire Central Domain had completely collapsed, no longer resembling its former state as the "Jade Capital, a haven of gentle dreams." More than a hundred cities across various realms lay in ruins, reduced to utter desolation.

Had Lord Shou not guided people into the Apricot Realm beforehand, that single punch might have annihilated a quarter of the Five Domains' population.

It was no wonder that upon his avatar's appearance, he directly declared the Sacred God Continent was no longer a place for permanent residence and was destined to become a battlefield.

Perhaps he had foreseen this very outcome all along?

The waters of the Four Seas cascaded down like a celestial silver river. After the tides receded, they also submerged many sunken continents along the edges of the Central Domain.

Following the newly formed rivers and streams, the Central Domain was carved into countless fragmented and disjointed sections, leaving no single piece of contiguous land.

With everyone gone, it appeared to be a mutual defeat.

However, there was only a single sound signaling a God's demise, indicating that Ancestor Shou and Ancestor Mo had likely survived, with Sui Yin being the sole casualty.

Had Sui Yin truly perished?

Initially, some remained unconvinced, until, at the site of the God's fall, fragmented Dao laws converged, slowly coalescing into an ancient stone tablet inscribed with the character "Sui."

At that moment, a profound sense of absurdity washed over everyone's hearts.

"Truly gone..."

The True Primordial Stele: The appearance of the character "Sui" unequivocally signified the irreversible demise of the ever-changing Sui Yin. Its significance was far profounder than that of the Ancestors who had fallen before.

After all, this was the Dao-manifestation of the Ancestor of Arts, who had once spearheaded an entire glorious era of the Art Dao. It was simply incomparable to lesser figures like Ancestor Hua, Ancestor Li, Ancestor Han, or Ancestor Nian.

While the Thorough God-Sense might have pioneered a new path, it was merely its inception.

The Art Dao, even before the Spirit Refining Era, was single-handedly established by the Ancestor of Arts into the Grand Ancestral God Dao, persisting for an entire era and continuing to this day.

Yet, from the beginning of its resurgence to its eventual demise, Sui Yin, despite its moments of glory, never truly unleashed its ultimate brilliance.

From start to finish, it had been meticulously manipulated.

The silent manifestation of the "Sui" character, devoid of any final lament from Sui Yin, nonetheless served as proof to the world of one undeniable fact:

The legacy of the Art Dao was, as of today, officially severed.

"Hiss..."

A faint, unusual sound stirred.

Above the True Primordial Stele, inscribed with the character "Sui," a slick, silver-white tentacle emerged from a fractured black spatial rift.

"What is that?"

With neither Sheng Xin nor Ancestor Shou visible, the "Sui" character naturally commanded all attention, and everyone witnessed the appearance of this tentacle.

Was Sheng Xin playing a trick? Or were figures like Ancestor Yao and Ancestor Dao coveting Ancestor Shou's spoils?

*Slipping sounds*

Before anyone could react, the tentacle latched onto the "Sui" character.

With a twist, it vanished, carrying the newly formed True Primordial Stele with it.

"Are you behind this?" From above the starry sky, Dao Qiongcang, astride Zero, called out from a distance, his voice directly piercing into the distant dragon's body.

Xu Xiaoshou's punch, even in retrospect, remained unfathomable.

Nevertheless, the Divine Court was shattered, and judging by the intensity of that punch, Sheng Xin would be unable to reform himself for quite some time.

Currently, Xu Xiaoshou had been temporarily "killed" by the backlash from his own punch.

Sheng Xin, having likely seized nearly seventy percent of Sui Yin's Art Dao through his calculations, would have no reason to covet the "Sui" character any longer.

Since he himself had not made a move, the only one who could possibly desire the "Sui" character was Shennong Baicao.

"Nonsense!" Ancestor Yao, who had been dawdling with Dao Qiongcang, tacitly holding back and doing little at the edge of the battlefield throughout the entire conflict, was instantly enraged.

This Dao Qiongcang was too underhanded, even surpassing Yi Ji in cunning.

It was clear that both Sheng Xin and Xu Xiaoshou were severely injured, and he himself dared not make another move. Dao Qiongcang was the only one left who could possibly still be eyeing the Art Dao.

Not only did this fellow make his move, but after taking the item, he immediately tried to pin the blame on him, clearly trying to leverage his fragile friendship with Xu Xiaoshou to gain an advantage.

How could he tolerate this?

But if he couldn't tolerate it, how could he possibly refute it?

Dao Qiongcang, at the very least, was considered Xu Xiaoshou's friend; even if he had been merely holding back, he had still exerted some effort on Xu Xiaoshou's behalf, making them allies.

He, however, was unequivocally an adversary of Xu Xiaoshou.

Once that fellow finished with Sheng Xin and turned his attention, he would inevitably come after him too.

"I cannot allow him to delay me!"

Shennong Baicao had lost all desire to bicker. With a long, mournful cry, it shifted its dragon body and sought to escape into the River of Reincarnation.

It was over! This battle was officially declared ended here!

Ancestor Yao did not know how much Life Potion Pool energy Xu Xiaoshou had expended to deliver that punch; it was simply incalculable.

But that punch, quite apart from Sheng Xin, had utterly shattered Shennong Baicao's will to fight.

It possessed no Slow Law Heavenly Kingdom.

Nor any additional magic artifacts.

Its only means of resistance, the Life Potion Pool, had paradoxically become the very nourishment that empowered that devastating punch. What could it possibly use to defend itself now?

There was no alternative but to flee!

This era now belonged to Xu Xiaoshou.

It would willingly sink into the cycle of reincarnation, to re-emerge billions of years later, when new Ancestors regenerated and could challenge Xu Xiaoshou, perhaps then seizing an opportunity to contend for a new Heavenly Realm.

But for now...

Even Shennong Baicao saw not a glimmer of opportunity.

"Dao Embryo Reincarnation, myriad laws await rebirth!"

"Activate!"

The golden dragon danced. As the River of Reincarnation unfurled, it plunged headfirst into its currents, splitting itself and fleeing into various alternate worlds to evade detection by Xu Xiaoshou and other Ancestors.

He surmised that by now, even Sheng Xin would understand how Xu Xiaoshou managed to deliver that punch.

What Shennong Baicao feared now was more than just Xu Xiaoshou.

It instinctively felt that Sheng Xin already considered it a major enemy. In short, there was only one solution: flight.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Although Dao Qiongcang had largely held back during the earlier fight, he understood that victory or defeat rested not with him, but on the outcome between Sheng Xin and Xu Xiaoshou.

His role was not to defeat Ancestor Yao, but to simply keep him occupied.

If he allowed Ancestor Yao to escape now, all his previous efforts would be for naught, and Xu Xiaoshou would surely come to settle accounts later!

"Grand Knowledge Art!"

A distant art was cast, and an imprint, previously branded deep within Ancestor Yao's memories, swiftly locked onto the myriad selves into which Ancestor Yao had fragmented.

Memory infusion temporarily suppressed its reincarnation art.

Dao Qiongcang then reactivated the memory imprint, this time conversing with another entity residing within Ancestor Yao's body: Bei Huai!

"I imagine I don't need to elaborate; you must already know."

"If Shennong Baicao successfully escapes, after a hundred cycles of reincarnation, your only fate will be to be refined, divided, and ultimately consumed by him, giving birth to a new seed."

Truthful advice is not always unpleasant to hear.

Dao Qiongcang didn't even need to intervene directly; he merely needed to employ a small trick, pointing out a conjecture already well-known to all.

To protect itself, Bei Huai could not possibly allow Ancestor Yao to escape successfully!

"Ayao..."

"Silence!"

As Bei Huai's voice resonated in its mind, Shennong Baicao simultaneously suppressed the influx of what it considered extraneous memories and, with a swift move, sealed Bei Huai away.

"How could this Ancestor not know that you've long harbored intentions of betrayal?"

While Dao Qiongcang used Bei Huai, had not Shennong Baicao been wary of Bei Huai all along?

It had been even more cautious; previously, even when being ridden and brutally assaulted by all, it had not dared to release Bei Huai.

At such a crucial moment, how could it allow this mad dog to emerge and cause havoc?

"But Ayao..."

The penetration of the Grand Knowledge Art, however, was too thorough.

The Sea of Memory unfurled beneath Zero, confronting the River of Reincarnation that had failed to disappear completely. This was the suppression of an Extreme Dao Realm by a perfected Grand Dao.

With just that half-step difference, under the interference of the Grand Knowledge Art, Shennong Baicao could distinctly hear Bei Huai's fragmented voice emanating from the gaps:

"I want... to live..."

A howl— The River of Reincarnation surged with turbulent waves. From the five-clawed golden dragon's body, numerous Sophora branches shot forth like tentacles, binding its form and refusing to allow it to sink.

Furthermore, they pulled taut within the River of Reincarnation, attempting to sever Ancestor Yao's spell and drag the golden dragon back to the battlefield.

"Insolence!" Ancestor Yao was on the verge of collapse: "In this current predicament, you and I are bound together. If we truly return, do you believe your solitary strength can contend with Sheng Xin, Dao Qiongcang, and Xu Xiaoshou?"

"Ayao..."

The response was a voice both calm and frantic: "If I return with you... will you allow me... to live?"

Argh! Die! Die!

Ancestor Yao could not simply crush Bei Huai, as they were, after all, a single entity with dual consciousnesses.

All it could do was continuously twist its dragon body, breaking and shattering the Sophora branches, and generating colossal waves in the River of Reincarnation.

But as long as Ancestor Yao's host body remained indestructible, Bei Huai, though sealed, could continually draw upon strength with the aid of the Grand Knowledge Art.

When the Sophora branches were severed, they would simply re-form. When Ancestor Yao broke free, they would re-bind it.

This back-and-forth meant that Ancestor Yao, who should have seized this prime opportunity to escape into reincarnation while Sheng Xin and Xu Xiaoshou were both incapacitated,

was now dragged along in the starry sky, losing far too much time.

Then, at a certain moment, a faint power of names rippled across the River of Reincarnation.

A corner of Dao Qiongcang's lips curled upwards.

He had arrived.

"Bei Huai—" Sensing this anomaly, Ancestor Yao's heart turned cold. It wished it could drag Bei Huai out and devour its flesh raw, drink its blood.

It couldn't do it!

If a Ghost Beast host could fully consume its parasitic Ghost Beast, its research would never have continued to this day. How could Hua Changdeng, a prodigy of his generation, have failed to break free from the Ghost Ancestor's shackles until his death?

Now, the very cage Ancestor Yao had constructed in the past had trapped itself—with Bei Huai as a parasite, feeding on its own being, it found itself unable to remove it!

*Buzzing*...

The power of names surged forth, parting the waves, permeating every single drop within the River of Reincarnation, and invading its Dao laws.

The desperately struggling five-clawed golden dragon appeared utterly frenzied. Though still continuously sinking, as if on the verge of complete disappearance,

it could no longer perceive any hope of truly escaping the battlefield!

That fleeting glimmer of hope for survival, ultimately, under the confines of the cage, remained out of reach, slipping away directly before its eyes.

"Arghh—" Ancestor Yao descended into complete madness.

For on its dragon body, specifically at its right front claw, an imprint suddenly illuminated.

"Xi!" The Name Ancestor... no, Ancestor Shou, controller of the Dao of Names, had come to claim his life!

As this indifferent voice resounded, the "Xi" character imprint suddenly spread across its entire dragon body, dense and numerous, like cursed runes.

With a *whoosh*, colossal waves surged from the River of Reincarnation. The five-clawed golden dragon, now completely overwhelmed, was yanked from the river as if a marionette caught by an invisible, massive hand of the power of names.

"Argh—" It roared in a desperate struggle, yet it was utterly powerless against the interference of the Sea of Memory and the manipulation of the Sea of Intent.

Its dragon body writhed, but however unwilling it was, Ancestor Yao was forced to traverse from the starry sky and return to the Sacred God Continent.

Upon entering this realm, the Dao law enhancements of the New Heavenly Realm took effect.

With the amplified will of billions of cultivators from the Apricot Realm boosting it externally, the invisible, colossal hand of Name Intent surged in power by more than just one level.

The golden dragon let out a pained shriek, its body coiling into a ball, and was flung directly onto the East Sea.

It was as if struck by a paralyzing needle; its entire body suddenly tensed, then its dragon head arched back, letting out a tormented cry:

"God's Descent Art!"

Amidst a tearing sound, the golden scales on its neck ruptured, and a giant hand emerged, seizing hold of the golden dragon.

"Lord Shou's hand!" exclaimed the people of the Apricot Realm.

It appeared to be a left hand, with no other body parts visible, prompting wild speculation:

"Could it be that Lord Shou only managed a strained attack?"

"The backlash from that punch was so immense that he hasn't yet fully re-coalesced his body, managing only to form a single arm before confronting Ancestor Yao?"

"Isn't that a bit overconfident? Lord Shou fighting Ancestor Yao with just one arm?"

An opportunity! Shennong Baicao, once again trapped in a perilous situation, suddenly perceived a glimmer of hope.

Indeed, the backlash from that punch was too severe. Even though Xu Xiaoshou had manifested the River of Body Dao, possessed Life Elixir, and had comprehended the Dao of Sword-Self Interdependence for ancestral sealing and returning to zero,

building from nothing, severe injuries would still require a considerable amount of time to heal.

This was evident from Sui Yin's persistent inability to fully recover to its peak state.

Time was precisely what Sui Yin lacked.

And Xu Xiaoshou, at this moment, was he not akin to Sui Yin in its initial stages of recovery from the God's Ruins?

"A battle is possible!"

Upon this realization, Shennong Baicao's intent to flee instantly vanished.

Since Bei Huai refused to let it go, and Dao Qiongcang continued to impose restrictions, it decided not to flee after all.

It would stay! And it would fight!

Conveniently, its own condition was merely average, while both Sheng Xin and Xu Xiaoshou were severely incapacitated. As for Dao Qiongcang, while seemingly exploiting the chaos, he was truly an opportunist.

If it could genuinely defeat Xu Xiaoshou, Dao Qiongcang would naturally shift his allegiance towards it, just as he had shifted from Sheng Xin to Xu Xiaoshou.

And if it truly stayed and genuinely faced a life-threatening situation, could Bei Huai truly remain unaffected?

If it wanted to leave, Bei Huai was a hindrance. If it stayed, Bei Huai would be forced to exert effort, or at least temporarily abandon its obstructive intentions.

After all, while there was conflict between Yao and Bei at this moment, they were fundamentally bound by life and death; it was an internal struggle.

Externally, if Shennong Baicao were to be killed, Bei Huai would gain nothing and would be destined to be buried alongside it.

They were all Ancestral Gods; who would willingly labor for another's benefit without gaining anything themselves?

"Xu Xiaoshou, you truly underestimate this Ancestor!"

As expected, with the rekindling of its fighting spirit, Bei Huai no longer restrained it.

Shennong Baicao seized the opportunity to breathe, immediately activating the River of Life and drawing immense power from the Dao.

At that moment, on the golden dragon's body, vitality reversed, erupting with a dense aura of death. It was, astonishingly, pushing its own state to yet another extreme, through a reverse collapse into the ultimate realm.

Through this, Shennong Baicao was able to break through the seals of the Grand Knowledge Art and the "Xi" character imprint, tearing free from the large hand gripping its dragon neck, and letting out a ripping roar:

"You think you can defeat this Ancestor with just one hand?"

"Delusional!"

The golden dragon danced through the air, its presence immense.

On the Apricot Realm's Transmitting Heaven Screen, Ancestor Yao's prior weakness was gone, replaced by the sheer courage for a fight to the death.

But then...

Just as Shennong Baicao's words faded, the enormous hand of Xu Xiaoshou, which had been broken free, indeed shattered.

Yet, from its base, two soft, slick tentacles extended, as if connecting to some otherworldly dimension, and gently pulled.

*Slipping sounds*

From within the dark void, two figures were pulled forth by the silver-white tentacles.

The first figure was colossal, standing ten meters tall, crowned and armored like a giant. In his left hand, he wielded a shattered shield, and in his right, a dragon-painted halberd. His eyes blazed like torches, reflecting the mountains and rivers:

"Shennong Baicao, it's been a long time."

Behind him was a despondent figure, head bowed, holding a bronze lamp in his palm. Its flickering flame seemed to contain myriad lingering resentful spirits, as if filled with billions of ghosts from Fengdu.

"Heh..." As that sigh reached it, Ancestor Yao's spirit couldn't help but tremble, as if it had heard something terrifying reawaken.

It lifted its eyes in disbelief, and upon clearly seeing the faces of the two figures, its entire dragon body tensed as if it had seen a ghost, erupting into a horrified cry:

"Ancestor Zhan Wu?"

"Hua Changdeng?"

"No! This is impossible—"