Chapter 1331 — Ambush of the Strange Beasts in the Hidden Valley

At last they entered the shrouded domain of the Azure Heaven Canopy. Shen Mu let out a long breath and said, "No need to belittle yourselves. These old hands of the jianghu were merely born before us and have seen more of the world's affairs—that does not necessarily make them smarter than we are. If living longer made one wiser, then turtles would have ruled the world long ago."

Long Qilin could not help but laugh. "Sect Master, turtles are not the longest-lived species."

Shen Mu chuckled. "The longest-lived are the Ancient Gods—yet have I not slain many of them? Clearly, a long life does not make you smarter. What is truly terrifying is that a long life makes you rely more and more on experience rather than your own wits. Once you are trapped within experience, that is when the danger begins."

Long Qilin felt these words were pearls of wisdom and committed them carefully to memory. "Perhaps I can use this in my Scripture of Human Husbandry..."

"If the Great Emperor suffers a grave injury this time, may I reclaim the Primordial Stone?"

Shen Mu blinked and stroked the beard on his chin—stubborn hairs that would grow back no matter how often he plucked them.

"If I take the stone back, then the one I gave to Heaven Venerable Xiao would have been wasted, would it not? Still, the Primordial Stone is indeed very tempting..."

Meanwhile, Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and the others passed through the Rift of Heaven and finally arrived at the Ancestral Court.

"What a treasure land!"

The group gazed in every direction, marveling without end. This place was more like Heaven than Heaven itself—everywhere divine mountains composed of god-metal, everywhere rivers formed of葵 water, drifting white clouds condensed from spiritual energy, pattering rain transformed from spiritual power.

The soil on the ground was Breath Soil, capable of growing of its own accord; a single clump could transform into a stretch of land.

The mountain ranges rolled and undulated like divine dragons in every posture. If one possessed the rare talent of a Dragon Herder, one could subtly alter the geography and make the mountains form true dragons.

And the vegetation in the wilds—lush and verdant—countless spiritual flowers, exotic herbs, and precious blooms, all rare in the outside world.

As for the colossal beasts that walked the mountains and flew through the clouds and mist, they were simply beyond belief.

"No wonder the Sect Master kept urging me to come here."

Xu Shenghua could not help but praise, murmuring, "The treasures here are truly too many. The natural patterns on those giant beasts contain profound principles—if one could master them, one's achievements would surely be extraordinary. The lay of the mountains and rivers, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures—this is clearly a land where emperors rise!"

Lan Yutian sensed the Great Dao here and murmured, "This will be the place where I achieve my Dao..."

Xu Shenghua nodded as well. "I sense it too. This will be the place where I achieve my Dao."

The two exchanged a glance. Lan Yutian led five thousand god-people down from the sky, walking according to his own senses, and said, "I sense five peculiar Great Daos here, extraordinarily intense, connected to my Dao arts and divine powers."

Xu Shenghua sensed carefully and praised, "Brother Lan's aptitude still surpasses mine. My perception is not as clear as yours—I can barely sense those five Great Dao auras."

The group followed the two in a winding procession, crossing mountains and fording rivers. Along the way they saw countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, dazzling to the eye.

Some god-people were affected in their Dao hearts by the treasures and stopped to seek them out. By the time they found what they sought, Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and the others had already vanished from sight.

As they walked on, fewer and fewer god-people remained behind them, until only three thousand were left, still following with unflagging determination.

Strangely enough, some giant beasts they encountered actually joined the ranks of the followers.

When Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua stopped to discuss Dao arts and divine powers, these ancient beasts would sit down in imitation and listen.

Some god-people wanted to drive these beasts away, but Xu Shenghua stopped them. "All things have spirit, all things have Dao—all can cultivate."

Lan Yutian's perception grew ever sharper, and even Xu Shenghua admitted he could not match it. After walking for dozens of days, they finally arrived beside a Sea of Chaos.

This Sea of Chaos was filled with incomparably ancient chaos qi—utterly dense and heavy, dissolving all things, extremely perilous. Even the giant beasts of the Ancestral Court dared not set foot here.

Xu Shenghua looked around and shook his head. "The Great Dao here has dissipated, leaving only its aura."

Lan Yutian shook his head. "It has not dissipated. The Great Dao has always been here—it is just that someone used the Great Dao of this place to achieve their Dao. After achieving it, their realm became too profound to need this place, so they left."

Just then, the sky suddenly darkened. The group looked up one after another and saw countless six-legged giant beasts with two pairs of fleshy wings gliding across the sky.

Those beasts were somewhat more massive than the other giant beasts, their bodies marked with extremely peculiar patterns. As they flew through the sky in dense flocks, they filled the heavens.

None of the group had ever witnessed such a spectacular sight, and they all craned their necks to look.

Xu Shenghua murmured, "Sect Master Shen once taught me several kinds of void patterns, saying they contained a Void Great Dao. Those patterns resemble the ones on these giant beasts... Yes, these are Void Beasts!"

The moment he spoke, the herd of giant beasts near the Sea of Chaos suddenly seemed startled, scattering in all directions. Even the few beasts that had followed Lan Yutian trembled and prostrated themselves, as if trying to hide.

Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and the others knew little about Void Beasts, but the other giant beasts knew well the terror of the Void Beasts. Void Beasts could be called the natural predators of all giant beasts. With so many Void Beasts on the move, they could truly slaughter everything in their path!

Strangely, however, the Void Beasts in the sky paid no attention to the fleeing beasts below. Instead, they were rushing toward a single direction—and that direction was another opening in the sky above the Ancestral Court!

There were two openings in the sky. One was the Rift of Heaven caused when Kaihuang split Heaven with a single sword strike. The other was a great circular hole blasted through the divine seals when Shen Mu triggered the eruption of the Taishi vein.

The Void Beasts were heading straight for that circular hole.

Just as countless Void Beasts surged toward that great hole, the sky suddenly trembled violently. A round, incomparably massive eye emerged from the void, pressing against the sky and causing it to crack continuously.

The other Void Beasts fled in all directions, yielding a space.

Then the giant eye probed downward, gradually revealing the even more massive head of a Void Beast.

BOOM—

The sky quaked. A claw several times thicker than a mountain range reached out from the void, grinding against the air and sending lightning flashing and thunder rolling, fire and lightning careening wildly.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The beast's six claws emerged from the void, and its complete body descended—it was the Void Mother Beast!

This Mother Beast was the very one Long Qilin had once controlled, but now it had returned to the Great Emperor's dominion.

Countless Void Beasts surrounded the Mother Beast, escorting her toward the great hole in the Ancestral Court. It appeared they intended to flee the Ancestral Court!