Chapter 1709: Apricot Realm Rebuilds Tianxuan Gate, All Five Domains Fall into My Grasp

## Chapter 1693

The Apricot Realm Recreates the Heavenly Profound Gate; All Five Domains Fall Under My Control

"Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born with special blood?"

Cao Erzhu roared, shaking the entire God's Relics three times.

Feng Yujin's hand trembled, almost tearing apart Mo Mo's newly refined physical body. His eyelids twitched wildly as he suppressed the urge to turn around and kill the big oaf, instead focusing on the fusion of spirit and flesh.

He couldn't win. Although Feng Yujin was an old Saint Emperor, he knew roughly the level of the Ten Esteemed Ones due to the existence of the venerated Black and White Twin Veins. Despite being a Saint Emperor, he truly lacked the confidence to withstand the wrath of the never-before-seen Kui Leihan, even though he'd heard the man surnamed Cao hadn't even achieved sainthood yet.

"Saint..."Saint: both a peak and the beginning of a path, varying from person to person.

The ground was shaking. Elder Sang and Water Ghost looked surprised, astonished that a single roar from Cao Erzhu could unleash such power. Soon, they realized.

"No!"

The earthquake wasn't because of Cao Erzhu at all. It was because something had happened to the God's Relics!

"What's happening? The Relics aren't collapsing, are they?" Elder Sang looked up at the sky, which was distorted and clearly abnormal.

"Not that bad..." Water Ghost still had some faith in Xu Xiaoshou. "He already has the Core of the Heavenly Domain. As long as it's not Gui Yin returning... there's no way he'd let Gui Yin find the Relics!"

"That's not what I meant." After hearing this, Elder Sang's expression grew even more solemn. "It's precisely because Xu Xiaoshou is the owner of the Core of the Heavenly Domain that the sudden collapse of the Relics wouldn't be surprising."

"Heh heh..." Water Ghost could only respond with a sneer. Sleeveless, oh Sleeveless, what if you've comprehended profundities after becoming a Half-Saint? You're still so indecisive, and Xu Xiaoshou has really gotten under your skin, hasn't he? That kid's ability to cause trouble is indeed strong, but have you considered what the God's Relics are? Is this the Pill Pagoda? Is this the White Cave? No, neither. This is the inheritance ground of the God-Slaying Official Ran Ming, the place where the Evil God Gui Yin revives, built upon the foundation of the Heavenly Domain Triangle! With such a powerful, "explosive" foundation, how could Xu Xiaoshou possibly blow it up? What would he use to blow it up? Your Ashblaze lineage's demolition techniques?

"Boom!!!" Just as he thought this, the sky exploded like a giant pill compressed to its limit, unable to contain a certain force. Elder Sang, Water Ghost, Cao, Feng, and others looked up in shock, seeing a huge hole torn open in the Heavenly Domain, with countless fragments scattering down like streaks of light. Hauntingly beautiful, utterly devastating.

"No..." Water Ghost was stunned: "Did it really explode?"

Elder Sang seemed to be expecting it. He took off his trembling straw hat with one hand and rubbed his numb scalp with the other, muttering, "That's why you don't understand Xu Xiaoshou..."

How familiar was this scene? From the Spirit Treasury Pavilion to that kid's escapades in the outside world, Elder Sang, even from the Dead Sea, would occasionally hear about Xu Xiaoshou's demolitions. In his eyes, this kid was a walking explosion. The Void Island wasn't completely ruined by him, perhaps because the Door to the Sub-Plane ultimately fell into Bazun'an's hands, one of the few who could restrain this "Son of Demolition." Now, with the God's Relics under Xu Xiaoshou's control, just plowing through its three layers of heaven was clearly not enough. It could only function normally at noon, because it was bound to explode sooner or later!

"But why?" Elder Sang couldn't understand. The God's Relics already belonged to Xu Xiaoshou, so why would it explode? Did Water Ghost's words come true? Had the Evil God Gui Yin returned?

"Look!" Cao Erzhu had sharp eyes. In the shattered sky, through the black hole, he vaguely caught sight of a fleeting, deep teal willow shadow. "What was that?" Of course, Cao Erzhu recognized willow trees and willow branches. But he had learned to be smart; he wouldn't speak recklessly about uncertain things. To say that the God's Relics suddenly exploded because of a willow branch... Erzhu thought it sounded absurd and couldn't be sure, so he looked at Uncle Sang and the others, waiting for an answer.

"Willow..." Water Ghost murmured, lost in thought. Was it really a willow? I thought I saw it wrong.

"Willow...""That can explode...""Is it an Ancestral Tree?" Cao Erzhu asked. Ever since leaving Qingyuan Mountain, he had seen either supreme divine artifacts, supernatural weapons, Ancestral Trees, or Ancestral Gods... Without exception, all these things were prefixed with "Nine Great" or "Ten Great." Cao Erzhu thought this number might be figurative; "nine" could represent infinity, which wasn't impossible. Otherwise, how could he have seen things that supposedly only exist in quantities of nine or ten on the Holy Divine Continent countless times in just a few months? Now when he saw a sword, his first thought was either the Divine Chaos Sword, the Supreme Divine Sword, or the 210,000 famous swords. Now when he saw a tree, his first thought would also be an Ancestral Tree, as if the continent was covered in them.

"An exploding Ancestral Tree..." Erzhu was ignorant, and Elder Sang and Water Ghost couldn't recall an Ancestral Tree with such an attribute; there was, however, an exploding Sky-Shattering Hammer. But they knew about the Ancestral God's Willow, God-Worshipping Willow. They exchanged glances, and their eyes showed surprise: "Xu Xiaoshou fought Ai Cangsheng on the Holy Mountain, angering and activating the God-Worshipping Willow. Now, the God-Worshipping Willow has come to the God's Relics to destroy his 'transit station'?"

The God's Relics indeed served as a transit station. Many of Lord Li's people had successively arrived from the five domains, taking Xu Xiaoshou, who had returned here in a feigned death state, to various locations across the five domains. This way, once he had visited a place, with spatial profundity as his foundation, Xu Xiaoshou could freely travel between the Holy Mountain and various locations in the five domains, truly appearing and disappearing without a trace, perhaps even evading Ai Cangsheng's arrows? Regardless, when he first proposed this idea, Elder Sang and Water Ghost both thought it was excellent. But looking at it now... Because of the God-Worshipping Willow, his "transit station" had been exposed, allowing Ai Cangsheng to potentially raid the Saint Servant's hideout?

"Run!" The Saint Servants were very adept at this strategy. Qin Burning was even more so. But where could they run? The God's Relics were rapidly collapsing. The sky of the first layer of heaven quickly disintegrated into a terrifying black hole. Entering now wouldn't lead to the eighteenth layer of heaven, but into fractured time-space, leading to active self-loss.

At this critical moment, a tall figure descended like a divine soldier, making everyone present's eyes light up.

"Brother Xiaoshou!" Cao Erzhu ran over excitedly, somewhat surprised. The few times Brother Xiaoshou had come here before, he had been cultivating. This was the first time he had seen Brother Xiaoshou in person since the battle with Gui Yin. It felt like an age since they last met, their friendship having deepened over what felt like years.

"Brother Xiaoshou, it's the end of the world." Cao Erzhu hastily pointed at the sky, as if Brother Xiaoshou were blind and couldn't see anything.

Jin Ren didn't even lift his head, waving his hand nonchalantly: "Don't panic, it's not a big deal."

Elder Sang's mouth twitched. Why did that sound familiar? He said exasperatedly, "What exactly are you doing?!" His tone was one of scolding, but Elder Sang's heart relaxed. Because it was clear, judging by the tone, that the collapse of the God's Relics was Xu Xiaoshou's scheme and not beyond his expectations. Since that was the case, even if the God-Worshipping Willow had found this place, he surely had a backup plan to resolve the situation.

"It's a long story. If I tell it short, it's better not to say it at all, so I'll just not say it..."

"Are you going to tell us or not?!" Elder Sang didn't want to be a pathetic spiritual herb trapped in a pill cauldron with no way out before it exploded. Having schemed his whole life, it was in his nature; he could die, but he couldn't die without understanding why.

"This old man is so troublesome. Do I, your young master, really have to explain it to you? What's your status and what's mine? Oh, you're my master, never mind then..." Jin Ren frowned, meeting several confused gazes, and could only reluctantly say: "Simply put, I started a war with 'Love Dog' on the Holy Mountain."

"I smashed the Holy Mountain with one shield. 'Love Dog,' left with no choice, fled south in disarray. I, being merciful and considerate, took the Nine Sacrificial Osmanthus and the God-Worshipping Willow into the Apricot Realm to raise them at their plea."

What?! Water Ghost was shocked. Feng Yujin was appalled. Elder Sang nearly ground his back molars to dust, trying to discard Xu Xiaoshou's exaggerated rhetoric and discern the truth. The Holy Mountain was shattered... Ai Cangsheng retreated to advance, trying to use a ploy? Xu Xiaoshou turned the tables, seized the opportunity, and took the Nine Sacrificial Osmanthus and the God-Worshipping Willow? This is ridiculous, okay?! Even without the embellishments, the facts themselves are too astonishing!

"Then what's this all about?" Elder Sang pointed at the broken sky. The earthquake was still ongoing, and their bodies were shaking violently.

"Oh, this." Jin Ren shrugged, with an expression that said, "You guys are impossible": "The God-Worshipping Willow, seeing the richness of my Apricot Realm and being impressed by my divine aura, voluntarily surrendered after entering the realm."

"I didn't agree, but it forcibly became the World Tree when I wasn't looking, making a done deal out of it. What could I do? I could only accept it with tears."

"Seeing this, the God-Worshipping Willow couldn't bear it and offered me a plan: 'I have a method that can make the Apricot Realm ascend directly to the heavens.'"

"It suggested connecting the Apricot Realm and the God's Relics, using the Fetal Sage Plant as a link, to integrate the Relics' high-level rules into the Apricot Realm, allowing everyone to cultivate to the Transcendence level within the Apricot Realm."

"This is a good thing, but it's nonsense—because the God-Worshipping Willow had just been revived by my slight intervention, its abilities are limited. How could it possibly connect the Apricot Realm and the God's Relics?"

"I didn't believe it, so I refused."

"It wouldn't give up and insisted on trying."

"How could I not see its ulterior motives? It simply wanted to make achievements, gain a quicker foothold in the Apricot Realm, and show loyalty to scheme for more, so I refused it again."

"Then it again and again..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Elder Sang couldn't bear it anymore. If he couldn't beat Xu Xiaoshou right now, he would have slapped him.

"Old fella..."What? You called me an old fella? Elder Sang's eyes widened, his lips trembling with anger, nearly having a stroke.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant..." Jin Ren stared at Elder Sang, up and down, confused: "Didn't I refine a good physical body for you? Why have you gotten old again? Not used to it?"

"Don't interrupt!" Elder Sang was on the verge of collapse.

"Oh." Jin Ren nodded. "But it's not an interruption; the story's finished. That's it. As for the rest..." He pointed to the void. At the edge of the void, within the black hole, countless willow branches could already be seen climbing, taking root throughout the first layer of heaven. In places unseen by others, it had also connected with the Fetal Sage Plant, which was still reconstructing its spiritual body, communicating something.

"I couldn't refuse it, so I let it try."

"After all, if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. If the World Tree wants to build, let it build. Who told it to seek refuge with me? Who told me to be so magnanimous?"

Mag-magnanimous... Elder Sang's vision went black. He took deep breaths, constantly reminding himself that tolerance was a virtue, magnanimity was self-cultivation, and he absolutely couldn't let this kid anger him again. He did it on purpose. He just wanted to show off in front of him. And if possible, given the chance, he might even say: "Want to learn? Call me Master, and I might teach you."

"Impressive." Elder Sang used praise as a defensive tactic, complimenting Xu Xiaoshou with an expression of admiration, deciding to pre-emptively cut off Xu Xiaoshou's path.

"Oh? So Saint Servant Sleeveless and Boss Qin Burning also think I'm impressive? Want to learn? I can teach you, as long as you call me..." He couldn't cut off his path at all!

"Shut up!"

"Shut up? You're telling me to shut up again? Just now I said it's better not to say if it's a long story, then you told me to say it, and now that I've said it, you're telling me to shut up again. You... tsk, you're interesting, aren't you?"

Sarcastic. Tense. Cao Erzhu watched Uncle Sang, whose fists were clenched and lips trembling with anger, silently retreating next to Water Ghost and asking in a low voice: "Uncle Water Ghost, are they always like this, master and disciple?" Water Ghost thought, "How would I know? They're not my master and disciple." But seeing Elder Sang so exasperated was truly rare; even Bazun'an might not be able to talk him down. He looked at Xu Xiaoshou, then glanced at Cao Erzhu out of the corner of his eye, comparing the two, and sighed inwardly again: Indeed, both methods of cultivation had problems, and big ones at that. From this perspective, his own method of cultivation was flawless: Locking his son in a sunless basement while he himself impersonated his son to infiltrate the Holy Divine Palace—this was a perfectly seamless plan that no one could possibly foresee.

"Am I thinking too much for him?" Looking at the irritating Xu Xiaoshou, Elder Sang couldn't help but lament again that distance truly makes the heart grow fonder. Whenever he was alone, thinking of his beloved disciple, his memories were always so beautiful. The few times they had met across the world's poles in the Grand Void World, his emotions, due to their complexity, became sentimental, even melancholic. But upon actually meeting... He really couldn't feel sad! He just felt the urge to hurt him, but couldn't!

Just like now, Elder Sang already regretted giving away the Elephant Dragon in advance for Xu Xiaoshou and Zang Ku. If he had known such things would happen upon this kid's return, the Elephant Dragon could have been broken, shattered, swallowed, but it would never have been used to gain Cao Erzhu's favor.

"The God-Worshipping Willow is connecting two realms. Don't you need to do something?" Elder Sang gnashed his teeth, now only wanting to make him leave. However, the guy in front of him had turned into a stubborn sticky plaster. Hearing this, he simply sat down, impossible to drive away, and said nonchalantly: "No need. He does his thing, I'll rest. I'm not the World Tree. Just supporting him spiritually is enough. I can't really help... 'The Lord of the Apricot Realm must never bother himself with everything, lest his noble body suffer,' that's what the God-Worshipping Willow said."

Despite saying this, Jin Ren pulled out the Core of the Heavenly Domain, closely monitoring the Fetal Sage Plant's condition. He was a little afraid that the God-Worshipping Willow would cause trouble. For example, taking advantage of the Fetal Sage Plant's weakness to seize its body or power, thereby affecting the God's Relics and so on. But it was obvious that the God-Worshipping Willow, now the World Tree of the Apricot Realm, wasn't so shortsighted, nor would it dare to cause trouble so boldly right under the World Lord's nose. It merely communicated with the Fetal Sage Plant. The Fetal Sage Plant's newly reconstructed spiritual body was very weak, and vastly different from its previous arrogant personality. After seeing the God-Worshipping Willow, the head of the Ancestral Trees, she didn't even think of resisting and agreed.

"Can such a thing fail?" Water Ghost asked curiously, listening to Jin Ren's interpretation of what was happening with the two Ancestral Trees on the Core of the Heavenly Domain. With his vast knowledge, he had never seen worlds merge, let alone smaller ones. The main point was that the Apricot Realm and the God's Relics were both very large in scale. It was hard to imagine what kind of qualitative change their merger would bring. Of course, opportunity came with risk, and if it failed...

"They won't all explode, will they?" Elder Sang murmured, also a little concerned.

"Jinx!" Jin Ren turned his head and said, "It won't explode. The God-Worshipping Willow didn't have full confidence in a complete fusion, so I later improved its plan."

Silence. Elder Sang, Water Ghost, and even Feng Yujin, who had walked over holding Mo Mo, wisely refrained from responding.

"What plan?" No one spoke, so only Cao Erzhu could ask. As soon as he asked, he felt three pairs of eyes glaring at him.

Jin Ren patted his behind and excitedly stood up, seeming more interested in contributing to the Apricot Realm's development than in the fighting outside: "This is what I'm thinking. The God-Worshipping Willow hasn't been alive for long, its power is limited, and the God's Relics' rule level is too high. Forcibly merging them indeed carries the risk of an unpleasant outcome."

"Not sweet?" As soon as Cao Erzhu spoke, he was glared at again. He shrank his head and didn't dare to speak.

"A forced melon isn't sweet, and it might indeed explode!"

"So, I plan to 'guide' the God's Relics, starting with the first layer of heaven, to test the waters and see if a passage can be connected to the Apricot Realm."

"You know the Heavenly Profound Gate, right?" Jin Ren looked at Elder Sang.

Elder Sang was silent. (You pilfered half of its eight great world- trấn treasures. Whose spiritual palace do you think this is? Of course, this old man knows!)

"Exactly, the Heavenly Profound Gate!" Elder Sang didn't say a word, but Jin Ren seemed to have heard something. He gestured with his hands, chuckling as he outlined his plan: "I plan to first turn the first layer of heaven of the God's Relics into the Heavenly Profound Gate of the Apricot Realm."

"'Guiding' is difficult for us, but for the God-Worshipping Willow—its branches can extend throughout myriad realms; it has this ability, it just needs time to recover its power."

"Once it recovers somewhat, breaks through the guiding principles of the God's Relics, and completes the step of guiding its principles into the Apricot Realm, the 'gate' will be complete."

"Next, the 'natives' of the Apricot Realm can contribute to the Apricot Realm, earn contribution points, and then exchange those points for the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Profound Gate—which means entering the first layer of heaven of the God's Relics for cultivation."

"Transcendence—it's rare to come by on the Holy Divine Continent. But by entering the Apricot Realm, one gets the chance to achieve such fortune through effort. Who wouldn't be tempted?"

"Then, I'll have Lord Li... Lord Li spread this rumor. I don't know how many people will be desperate to enter my Apricot Realm, but once they're in, hehe."

"In short, I think partial integration is better."

"This way, ordinary spirit refiners can enjoy the benefits of the Apricot Realm's high life spiritual energy and strong principle comprehension. Those with higher aspirations will have to work for me, desperately striving for the opportunity to achieve Transcendence."

"Even if they enter the first layer of heaven of the God's Relics, they can earn contribution points by developing it—it is indeed very dilapidated right now... By developing it, they can get the opportunity to 'work' in the eighteenth layer of heaven... ah, no, to cultivate there."

"Over time, the Apricot Realm will have more residents, its development will prosper, the level of its spirit refiners will increase, and the God's Relics will also improve... In due course, with the blessing of a full four Ancestral Trees, the Apricot Realm surpassing the Holy Divine Continent is just around the corner."

"Wow, how annoying!" Jin Ren said, slapping his thigh.

"What's annoying about it? Isn't this great?" Cao Erzhu mumbled, then remembered something and abruptly pulled in his neck. Sure enough, he was glared at again, nearly flayed alive by three gazes.

"Annoying? Why wouldn't it be annoying?" Jin Ren said, "A 'strategy' should inherently have both pros and cons, but I can't find a single flaw in mine. This makes me ponder... Am I, powerful as I am, still not thinking things through? It can't possibly be that I'm so amazing that I instantly came up with a perfect plan, can it?"

Cao Erzhu opened his mouth. He seemed to somewhat understand why the three senior uncles were glaring at him. He now felt an indescribable discomfort, when he should have been happy about Brother Xiaoshou's Apricot Realm improving.

Water Ghost felt a chill. From Xu Xiaoshou's plan, he saw the life of the Apricot Realm's leader to be even more luxurious than his own as the Night Cat Boss. This was literally the ultimate interpretation of a "hands-off manager." Even before entering the Apricot Realm, he was already worried about the future of its "natives"—nothing but work, and more work!

Wait! The Apricot Realm, where are its natives? Does this kid misunderstand the term "natives"? Aren't they all people abducted through "plunder" and "seduction"?

But... On second thought. The corresponding benefit was the chance to achieve Transcendence. Xu Xiaoshou was right. Who wouldn't pursue Transcendence? This was a path completely blocked by the five great Saint Emperor families on the Holy Divine Continent, yet Xu Xiaoshou was, in a seemingly absurd way, opening a breach in the cage for everyone ahead of time. Saint Servants... What the Saint Servants hadn't achieved in so many years, he, seemingly acting wildly, had already broken the shackles of the words "Saint Servant."

Elder Sang fell silent again. He thought even more deeply. If Xu Xiaoshou really pulled this off... it was over. No one would be able to restrain this kid now, not even himself! With four trees supporting him from below, even if his wings grew so strong they broke, he wouldn't fall to the ground. But still... For no reason, while feeling distressed, Elder Sang also felt a sense of relief and suddenly let out a knowing laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Jin Ren cast a wary look.

Elder Sang shook his head, saying nothing. Shortly before he decided to enter the game himself, this rebellious disciple could tear open a corner of the cage in this way, telling him that perhaps there was another possibility. Wasn't this a kind of love... Bah, bah, bah!

"Elder Sang.""Hmm?""The Dead Sea, do you really have to go there?"

Elder Sang looked down in surprise, gazing at the rebellious disciple who had sat back down on the large rock, his emotions seemingly having dropped back as well. He hunched his shoulders, his hands hanging, cradling the Core of the Heavenly Domain, lost in thought. Elder Sang narrowed his eyes, pulled down his straw hat, also lost in thought. After a long silence, he said: "A two-pronged approach."

Cao Erzhu scratched his head. The atmosphere was a bit strange. "Uncle Sang, you haven't told Brother Xiaoshou about that matter yet, or should I tell him?" Cao Erzhu made a motion to pull something out.

"What matter?" Jin Ren looked over.

Elder Sang subtly pressed down Cao Erzhu's hand, preventing the Elephant Dragon from potentially appearing before Xu Xiaoshou, and said calmly: "Xu Xiaoshou, this isn't your true body, is it?"

"That's right." Jin Ren nodded. "He's fighting 'Love Dog' outside and is about to enter the Dead Sea. I'm currently in charge of the Apricot Realm's internal affairs. Wait, let me give you some jade tokens first..." He took out the God's Relics jade tokens he had prepared in advance and handed them to Elder Sang, Water Ghost, Cao, Feng, and the others. Through these jade tokens, they could travel from the first layer of heaven to the eighteenth, and even to the thirty-third layer. Xu Xiaoshou was never ambiguous with his own people; they just needed to make contributions later and earn enough contribution points.

Elder Sang held the jade token, rubbing it for a long time, then laughed and shook his head: "Bring Zang Ku here. I have an idea."

Zang Ku? Jin Ren, sitting on the large rock, tilted his head to look at the standing Elder Sang. After thinking for a moment, his gaze shifted to Cao Erzhu, his right eyebrow raised high in an inquiring expression. Brother Xiaoshou is so smart! Brother Xiaoshou didn't even speak, but Cao Erzhu felt he had already heard so much. His fists clenched in excitement. But "Dad," the Elephant Dragon, "Uncle Bazun'an," "a match made in heaven," "the perfect plan"... and even the "sword, sword-wielder, and sword-smith becoming one"—all flashed through his mind. Cao Erzhu found he had a mouth, but couldn't speak. He held it in for a long time, then, meeting the confused gazes, finally blurted out a big one:

"Brother Xiaoshou, let's use Zang Ku and become one!"