Defiance of the Yasha Half-Ancestor

The Golden King was a woman of extraordinary beauty, with long golden hair and skin as white as snow, smooth as spring water. But her methods were exceedingly ruthless; over the years, she had even caused Wu Ming to suffer several major setbacks.

"The White Tiger clan's strength cannot be underestimated. Since they want to draw Xiao Chen out and kill him, they must have full confidence. However, this Xiao Chen seems to be a variable—things related to him always end in unexpected outcomes. When the time comes, we'll send the Tiger family a big gift and help them finish off that bastard surnamed Xiao."

The Golden King spoke lightly, her golden eyes shimmering with dreamlike radiance as she stood silently before the glazed window, gazing at the clouds in the distant sky.

"Even if the White Tigers didn't act, I was thinking of how to lure that bastard surnamed Xiao out," said the Sea God King, his tone somewhat sinister, his eyes cold and fierce. "He must die. There's no need for him to continue living in this world."

Not far away, the Fire Spirit King nodded. "That's right. It's time to thoroughly eliminate him. But before that, what do you think of Wu Ming? He was severely wounded by a mysterious expert. Should we go to Yan Capital and finish him off first?"

The beautiful but eerie Golden King shook her head. "I think Wu Ming might be spreading rumors to set a trap for us. Don't take it lightly."

News of Wu Ming's severe injury had naturally reached the ears of the Five Element Heavenly Kings. The Sea God King and the Fire Spirit King could no longer restrain themselves and wanted to go to Yan Capital to kill Wu Ming.

The Golden King swirled the crystalline goblet in her hand, took a sip of the golden nectar, and said, "We won't move. Give the chance to kill Wu Ming to others. Let me see what tricks he can pull."

At this moment, Xiao Chen was already submerged in purple light. Light and radiance swirled all around him, boundless purple haze flowing like water waves. He was deep in the underground ruins of Yan Capital, enveloped by the purest earthly essence, being baptized by the most refined energy of the land.

These ruins had once shone brilliantly through the ages—the legendary Forbidden City, the ancient capital of six dynasties, one of the most glorious famed cities of the Nine Provinces. But under the grinding wheels of time, everything had been worn away. The magnificent Forbidden City had crumbled into ruins buried beneath the earth, become a legend.

Xiao Chen sat in the underground ruins, his body flowing with iridescent light. It was only natural that a site chosen as the capital of several ancient dynasties was no ordinary place. The underground energy of Yan Capital was dense with purple qi surging to the heavens—truly the root of ten thousand veins, a sacred ground for cultivation. In the Nine Provinces, few places could compare; it was a treasure land that cultivators dreamed of.

From the other side came the sound of light snoring. Little Keke slept especially soundly, curled up like a child, with a pile of spirit fruit pits beside her emitting a rich fragrance. The Seven-Colored Sacred Tree was planted in front of her, radiant light flowing over it. Though only as tall as a palm, it inspired awe. Its roots, coiling like a dragon, pierced deep into the earth. Each jade leaf was crystalline and dazzling, with faint shadows of an Ancestral Dragon winding around the tiny tree.

Boundless purple essence surged forward from the earth beneath, and the little tree drank it in like a whale swallowing a river, its root veins absorbing all the spiritual energy without reserve.

The sixth purple jade leaf had already grown from a bud the size of a grain of rice to the size of a fingernail, condensing boundless divine splendor, dazzling like a tiny purple sun, slowly growing as it absorbed the essence of the land.

It could be said that this sacred tree gained the most—it could directly condense the essence of heaven and earth for its own use, needing no refinement, completely absorbing it into itself. Before long, the sixth jade leaf would fully form and reach perfection.

Moreover, Paradise Lost was wide open, absorbing purple spiritual energy like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

Of course, Keke and Xiao Chen also benefited enormously. Though the little beast lay lazily on a golden silk rug, boundless purple light had already drowned her. For her, sleeping was the best cultivation. As long as she could grow normally, her strength would advance by leaps and bounds. In a sense, racial talent truly mattered. The little creature was uniquely favored by heaven—there was only one like her in the world, born so extraordinary. The day she matured would be the day her cultivation reached completion.

But because of this, she incurred heaven's jealousy. In infancy, she suffered many trials, making it hard to grow. Fortunately, she had weathered many storms and would not wither young.

In her sweet sleep, the little beast seemed to dream of delicious food again. Her eyelashes fluttered constantly, and she made soft, childish murmurs. Her fur kept changing colors—first from a jade-white hue to a crystalline luster, then turning a golden shade, then transforming into emerald green. She cycled through four colors, and finally a touch of crimson red appeared. But her favorite was pure white, so when awake, she always maintained that state.

On the other side, Xiao Chen sat as still as a statue, motionless in meditation. His heart was utterly empty and serene, letting his profound art circulate on its own as his spirit wandered through the void.

On his body, three hundred divinized acupoints bloomed with multicolored auspicious light, like countless stars branded into his flesh, drawing the boundless purple essence of the earth to surge into those divinized cavities. Each of the three hundred divinized acupoints was a strange space in itself, where Xiao Chen stored his important artifacts.

Vaguely, Xiao Chen felt his spirit split into dozens or even hundreds of parts, each entering a divinized acupoint. His heart was utterly tranquil as he gazed into each transformed cavity—they seemed to be miniature universes, each full of endless secrets waiting to be unearthed. Between those universes, mysterious divine meridians connected them all, and an unimaginably vast power flowed through.

In a trance, each of Xiao Chen's divinized acupoints became a cosmos, and in each cosmos, a hazy silhouette gradually emerged. On the surface of his body, countless diagrams rose slowly like a veil of gossamer, swirling around his flesh.

When Xiao Chen tried to probe into the spaces between the three hundred small universes, he suddenly felt a surge of immense power, and his dozens or hundreds of split divine thoughts were driven back out of the divinized acupoints.

In the underground ruins of Yan Capital, Xiao Chen was not the only one absorbing the essence of the land to refine his body. Several others were also cultivating there. Several hundred zhang away, Wu Ming was immersed in purple light. The Divine Bell and the Heavenly Thunder Hammer—peerless treasures that they were—had been fully repaired under the nourishment of purple spiritual energy.

On another side was a woman named Miaochi, with water-blue hair shimmering with points of light, naturally flowing down. Her brows curved like distant hills, her nose delicate, her lips moist. She sat quietly with eyes closed, giving a clear, serene impression. She was a woman from the Curse World, a top expert that Wu Ming had befriended. She shared with Wu Ming and a few others the underground spiritual root of Yan Capital.

The other few were all elderly, far away from each other, seeming unwilling to interact with others. Only blurry silhouettes could be seen. In truth, they rarely even associated with Wu Ming or the outside world, spending all their days cultivating in this underground space. Wu Ming did not explain their origins to Xiao Chen in detail; he seemed to hold them in great reverence.

Half a month later, Xiao Chen opened his eyes, twin beams of purple lightning shooting out. Over these days, aided by spirit fruits and the earth's spiritual root, he had fully divinized all three hundred and sixty-five principal acupoints. He felt a vast power stored within his body, but he was surprised to find that this was not the end. The divinization continued, spreading to other important acupoints beyond the principal ones, as well as many mysterious hidden cavities.

The divinization went on, extending into those points. Xiao Chen felt his control over the War Swords become even more agile, as if commanding his own limbs. And the divinized acupoints grew increasingly mysterious and unfathomable. In a deeper meditative state, he saw three hundred and sixty-five hazy silhouettes sitting upright in those cavities, each one like a true universe.

Keke also turned over, still half-asleep, stretching her tiny limbs lazily, letting out a small yawn—utterly endearing.

The sixth purple jade leaf of the Sacred Tree had fully grown. Now the ink-jade leaf, white-jade leaf, golden-jade leaf, emerald-jade leaf, crimson-jade leaf, and purple-jade leaf all shone brilliantly, overflowing with life.

In the distance, Wu Ming opened his eyes and nodded to Xiao Chen before beginning his meditation again. Xiao Chen led the little beast out of the Forbidden City ruins and back to the surface.

"Let's go—take a look around."

"Ya ya!" One person and one beast left behind two afterimages as they vanished into the sky.

Over the following days, the latest news spread: the severely wounded Wu Ming, while healing in Yan Capital, was ambushed by old enemies, driven out of the northern continent, gravely injured, his whereabouts unknown. Some said he had returned to the Cultivation World; others claimed he was still near Yan Capital, waiting for a chance to take revenge.

Xiao Chen went overseas, but the defenses of the Holy Race were even tighter now, making it impossible to penetrate deep inside. Seeing this, he immediately turned and fled—he had no doubt that a Half-Ancestor was stationed there. He had no desire to die so ignominiously.

Returning from overseas, Xiao Chen rode a small boat upstream along the Yangtze River.

"That is—"

At the mouth of the Yangtze, he saw Tianwaitian and Renwairen. It was completely unexpected. These two Half-Ancestors had absolutely no bearing of peerless experts. One had a head of frizzy yellow hair, like a ruffian youth; the other was fair and plump, looking about eight or nine years old, like an innocent little brat.

The two Half-Ancestors were utterly at ease, sitting cross-legged on a bamboo raft, playing a game of weiqi. The raft was laden with various dishes and wine; they drank as they played, drifting with the current, as leisurely as could be.

"Oh! It's you, kid!" Tianwaitian laughed heartily. "Didn't expect to see you here!"

Xiao Chen steered his boat with his qi, gliding forward like a fish in the river, until he reached the bamboo raft.

"Greetings, seniors."

"No need to be formal with us. Hey—" Renwairen, fair as a child, stared smilingly at the Heavenly Fruit in Keke's hand. "I was just thinking of having some fruit. Little one, joy shared is joy doubled."

Keke quickly hid the Heavenly Fruit behind her back, looking wary as if guarding against a thief.

Xiao Chen smiled. "Take out a few fruits for the seniors to taste. They won't treat you poorly."

Keke wrinkled her brows, made a bitter face, and reluctantly picked a few Nether Ginseng Fruits and Peaches, placing them on the bamboo raft.

The two Half-Ancestors, utterly lacking any expert demeanor, laughed heartily, grabbed the peaches, and bit into them, juice dripping.

"Delicious! Little one, you should eat too. Don't be shy."

"Ya ya! Those were mine to begin with," Keke huffed, staring angrily at Tianwaitian and Renwairen.

"A dozen years ago, when you disappeared, I really thought that old Yasha had killed you. I almost fought him over it. Never thought you'd pop back up," Tianwaitian said while eating a peach.

"Oh, right—didn't we make an appointment with that old Yasha today?" Renwairen slapped his own smooth forehead. "He should be arriving soon. Xiao Chen, you two hide first."

"No need to hide. Your ancestor is here!"

From the sky descended a thin, withered old Yasha with green hair and a fierce expression, glaring at Xiao Chen with almost savage fury.

"Boy, you've lived too long! How dare you still show your face in this world? There's a road to heaven, but you won't walk it; the gates of hell come uninvited. Today, leave your life behind!"

The old Yasha's eyes shot two beams of green light, sweeping toward Xiao Chen.

Facing a Half-Ancestor, Xiao Chen dared not be careless in the slightest. He unleashed the Eight Origins Sounds, which could shake Half-Ancestor treasures. The Weng sound and the Duo sound condensed into physical forms, becoming dozens of massive characters, shining like a meteor shower, colliding incessantly with the two green beams, producing ear-splitting roars that sent waves crashing at the mouth of the Yangtze.

"Old Yasha, you go too far!" Tianwaitian spread all five fingers, sending forth five divine rainbows that shattered the green light from the Yasha Half-Ancestor's eyes. Renwairen flew up, blocking between the old Yasha and Xiao Chen.

"Both of you, get out of the way! I must kill him!" The Yasha Half-Ancestor's killing intent was palpable, his voice sinister. "This brat is too vicious! He made over a thousand experts vanish in body and soul back then. If I don't kill him, heaven and earth will not tolerate it!"

Renwairen, though childlike in appearance, spoke bluntly. "What kind of talk is that? Acting like an old fogey! A dozen years ago, when the Trial War began, those men wanted to kill Xiao Chen. He only acted in self-defense. Whose fault is that? Life and death are fated. It's perfectly normal. You're a Half-Ancestor—what business have you getting involved?"

"Yasha Half-Ancestor, you've tried to kill me several times. Your intentions are clear to all. You made the rules—do they only allow yours to kill me, and not allow me to resist? Your grievance is nothing but that I killed nearly twenty foreign kings. Your selfishness is too great. You have no right to speak of heaven's intolerance."

The Yasha Half-Ancestor's voice was icily sinister, staring at Xiao Chen like a venomous snake. "You little bastard, how dare you shout in my presence? Don't think that because they back you, I can't kill you. Before me, you're nothing but an ant—a mere Perfected Man. I can crush you with a single finger. Killing you is like smashing a clay dog!"

Called an ant and a boy repeatedly, Xiao Chen had long lost any reverence for Half-Ancestors. He bellowed, "Go to hell, you old wretch! You're only good for throwing your weight around in front of the younger generation. When the false gods' cataclysm hit back then, where were you cowering? When the Yellow Emperor and the Ancestral Gods fought Hongjun and the otherworldly Half-Ancestors, in which corner were you hiding? Now you crawl out and act the peerless master. Wipe that look off your face and scuttle back to your nest! If you piss me off, Half-Ancestor or not, I'll destroy you!"

"You, an ant, dare to boast of destroying me?" The Yasha Half-Ancestor's face turned green with rage, laughing in fury. "Today, I'll crush you, you little bastard. No one can save you!"

"You arrogant fool—you think I can't destroy you?" Xiao Chen showed no fear, staring straight at the old Yasha.

"You ant dare such brazen talk? Let's see how you survive!" The Yasha Half-Ancestor's eyes were completely green.

Xiao Chen remained unafraid. "You old piece of trash, you truly deserve to be ground to dust."