Chapter 4746: Treading the Heavenly Dao Ancestor

"Nine Dao Ancestors!" Wang Mengbin gasped.

"They are all in the past," Shen Lei sighed. "They all died in the Great Dao War. We've been waiting for our patriarch to reincarnate for nearly a billion years! With all the Dao Ancestors fallen, our Sky-Treading Sect chose to withdraw from the world. Initially, we still had many Grand Unity Golden Immortals, but now only I remain."

The Sky-Treading Sect, at its peak, boasted nine Dao Ancestors—what a glorious past! Now, the highest cultivation level in the sect is a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and there is only one.

"Has your Sky-Treading Sect not produced any Dao Ancestors over all these years?" Wang Yingjie asked, puzzled.

"Of course, we've had Dao Ancestors born," Shen Lei explained, "but they died in the Immortal-Chaos War, and their attempts to reincarnate all failed."

"The Immortal-Chaos War? The Great Dao War? What's the difference between them?" Ye Haitang asked, confused.

"The Immortal-Chaos War was a conflict between Immortals and Chaos Beasts on the Chaos Continent," Shen Lei patiently explained, his face full of worry. "Even if we lost, at most, the Immortals' situation would become more difficult. However, the Great Dao War affects the entire Immortal Realm. If Immortals fail, many beings in the Immortal Realm will be annihilated by Chaos Beasts, and history will be erased. Cultivators from lower realms ascend to the Immortal Realm, powerful beings fall into slumber, and the Immortal Realm slowly recovers its prosperity. The Great Dao War has erupted many times, and we have failed every time."

"Oh no, Great Elder," Wei Shan exclaimed, "Someone easily broke through our sect's protective formation!"

"It is I, Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor." A man's voice, full of ancient wisdom, resonated.

As soon as the words fell, a strong wind picked up, and yellow sand filled the sky, from which a figure emerged.

It was a handsome young man in yellow robes, with a resolute face, exuding a powerful sense of pressure with every movement.

"Are you truly the patriarch of our Sky-Treading Sect?" Shen Lei asked, somewhat incredulously.

"I placed three items in the Patriarch Hall: a handwritten note, a small mirror, and a small seal," the young man in yellow asked, a look of reminiscence on his face. "Are the peach trees I planted still there? And the immortal fish I raised? In the Patriarch Hall, there's a secret compartment under the sixth tile from the top left corner, where Junior Sister Xu put a wooden sword."

"It really is the Patriarch!" Shen Lei choked up, tears welling in his eyes. For nearly a billion years, the disciples of the Sky-Treading Sect had been waiting for their patriarch's return, and they had successfully waited for this day.

These matters were closely guarded secrets of the Sky-Treading Sect, known to very few.

"Disciple Shen Lei respectfully welcomes the Patriarch!" Shen Lei knelt down.

Wei Shan and a large number of other Sky-Treading Sect disciples all knelt down, saying in unison, "Disciples respectfully welcome the Patriarch!"

The expressions of the Sky-Treading Sect disciples varied: excitement, elation, but mostly unfamiliarity.

It had taken Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor nearly a billion years to reincarnate and return to the Dao Ancestor realm. The older generation of the Sky-Treading Sect was no longer alive, so the new generation of disciples felt very unfamiliar with Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor.

Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor looked at Shen Lei and the others, sighing softly, and said, "It seems only I succeeded in reincarnating; they all failed."

His gaze fell upon Ye Haitang and the other two, and he asked, "Are you disciples of the Dao Family Wang?"

"Indeed!" Ye Haitang nodded, her expression somewhat nervous.

"Patriarch, thanks to their help," Shen Lei said, "otherwise, our sect would have been annihilated by Chaos Beasts."

"I heard that Fellow Daoist Wang is skilled in artifact refining," Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor said, flicking his sleeve, sending a yellow storage bracelet flying towards Ye Haitang. "These fifth-grade immortal materials are for him, as a token of our gratitude for your help to our Sky-Treading Sect. Also, please pass a message to them: the Great Dao War is not far off. Tell him to establish new fundamental laws as soon as possible. One supreme fundamental law against a Dao Ancestor with two special fundamental laws isn't a big problem, but Chaos Beasts are very powerful, and Chaos Era Dao Ancestors of Chaos Beasts possess Dao artifacts."

Ye Haitang took the yellow storage bracelet with both hands, bowed, and said, "Thank you for the senior's reminder. After I return, I will certainly convey this to my uncle and aunt."

"Nephew Shen, please escort them out!" Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor instructed. "Also, do not widely publicize my existence. It would be bad if the Chaos Beasts found out."

"Yes, Senior," Ye Haitang and the two others readily agreed.

"Fellow Daoists, please follow me," Shen Lei said, making a very polite inviting gesture.

Ye Haitang and the other two bowed to Sky-Treading Dao Ancestor, then followed Shen Lei and departed.

***

Wind-Thunder Immortal Domain, Wind-Thunder Ruins.

Over a sea filled with lightning and thunder, where fierce winds raged, a lotus platform constantly shimmering with green light flew high in the sky. Wang Changsheng, Wang Tunian, Wang Mengli, and three others stood upon it, their expressions solemn.

"According to the map, that person passed through this sea region and saw Thunder-Restraining Wood!" Wang Tunian said, holding a piece of green beast skin in his hand.

High above, lightning flashed and thunder roared, as massive, multi-colored immortal lightning bolts struck down.

Wang Changsheng released a circle of green light, utilizing the Law of Karma, effortlessly blocking these immortal lightning bolts.

"Speed up!" Wang Changsheng said.

As soon as he spoke, the green lotus platform burst forth with dazzling green light, accelerating its escape speed.

In less than ten breaths, the green lotus platform left the lightning-filled sea region and appeared above a calm, tranquil sea.

"Master, there's an island ahead," Wang Tunian said, his eyes glowing with a dazzling yellow light. "The restrictions are too strong; I can't clearly see what's on the island."

"A formation!" Wang Changsheng frowned.

Following his gaze, they saw a massive island enveloped in a shroud of white mist, revealing only its outline.

Rumbling thunder resounded, as a massive nine-colored thundercloud appeared above the island, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.

The nine-colored thundercloud churned and swelled, continuously expanding in area.

"Dao Ancestor Lightning Tribulation! Someone is attempting to break through to Dao Ancestor realm! Could it be Qingshan?" Wang Changsheng exclaimed in surprise.

More than fifteen million years had passed since the Immortal-Chaos War ended. At that time, Wang Qingshan was already at the mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm and had encountered a bottleneck. He later resolved the bottleneck and, after consuming an immortal pill refined with ten-colored crystal cores, successfully advanced to the late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. With over five million years having passed since then, it was not surprising for Wang Qingshan to have cultivated to the Grand Perfection of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

If he had an immortal pill or a miraculous medicine for breaking through to Dao Ancestor, he could attempt to reach that realm.

The sea churned and surged, raising massive waves, as flying swords appeared high in the sky, blotting out the sun and turning this sea region into a sword domain.

Wang Tunian's eyes emitted a dazzling yellow light, but he still couldn't see the situation on the island.

Wang Changsheng flipped his right hand, and an oval golden orb appeared in it. He infused immortal elemental energy into it.

"A fifth-tier immortal formation! That's strange," Wang Changsheng said with a frown, as he also couldn't clearly see the situation on the island.

A fifth-tier immortal formation was set up on the island. Logically, if Wang Qingshan were to attempt to break through to Dao Ancestor, returning to Green Lotus Immortal Island would be more suitable. Why would he come here to do it?

If it wasn't Wang Qingshan, then who was it?

Wang Changsheng pondered for a moment, deciding to wait and observe. No matter who it was, it would become clear once they completed their lightning tribulation.