Chapter 1740: Condensing the Infant, Gifting Fruit to the Ancestral Tree Dynasty; Three Paths Unite to Seal Taixu

Is this really the Dean of Dao?

Without the subsequent provocative remarks, observers from the Five Domains would have genuinely questioned if Aunt Xiang had really tampered with the sound-recording pearl. After all, anyone could easily imitate a voice, and with no visuals, the cost of deception would be minimal.

However, upon recalling that Aunt Xiang had virtually no autonomy after being controlled by the Dean of Dao, it became clear that the sound-recording pearl wouldn't have appeared in the Dead Sea unless the Dean of Dao had intentionally allowed her to record her voice. Consequently, everything that happened must have been real.

This implied that while the Dean of Dao's previous actions against Aunt Xiang were a pretense, his actions targeting Lord Shou were absolutely genuine!

"Look, Lord Shou's face is a bit green; it's the first time I've seen him make that expression, haha!"

"Feng Zhongzui, you truly have some guts to dare film Lord Shou at a time like this. I'm afraid you'll be crushed to death in the Dead Sea!"

"Green-faced Shou, how adorable..."

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't truly angry. The battle on Qingyuan Mountain had been a contest of wills, with everyone pursuing their own paths, and he had given his absolute best. Now, it was as if all past difficulties had been overcome.

He glared at Feng Zhongzui, who surprisingly dared to stand his ground, steadfastly refusing to retreat with the teaching mirror and not even shifting the camera by an inch.

Xu Xiaoshou wryly smiled, rubbing his forehead: "That Dao Qiongcang... seriously..."

Feng Zhongzui froze, his toes curling slightly. This reaction didn't quite align with his expectations, did it? Lord Shou still hadn't finished!

He paused, staring at the teaching mirror, and blinked: "Naughty."

Aunt Xiang froze, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. Where had this irritating Xu Xiaoshou learned such a habit? Was he simply born this way? She desperately wanted to give him a good punch!

Just as Xu Xiaoshou had wanted to use her to provoke Ai Cangsen, Aunt Xiang also couldn't tolerate Dao Qiongcang's past actions—an impact that a mere sound-recording pearl couldn't erase. However, there were now truly few left in the Five Domains who could confront Dao Qiongcang.

Aunt Xiang genuinely wanted to sow discord between Xu Xiaoshou and Dao Qiongcang—not necessarily to make them true adversaries, but simply for Xu Xiaoshou to give Dao Qiongcang a thorough beating, which would bring a sense of satisfaction to everyone. She also found it somewhat unacceptable that after she entered the Dead Sea, Xu and Dao had actually allied. If those two teamed up, dealing with anyone in the world would be far too simple; they could even sell off the gods and help count the money. Naturally, separating them would be for the best.

And since the projection pearl was useless, Aunt Xiang naturally understood the situation. Xu Xiaoshou had his own plans, and she didn't dare interfere too much with the larger scheme of things, so she immediately chose to protect herself, saying: "Xu Xiaoshou, I'm leaving the rest to you. Auntie is going now."

She took Beibei by the hand, disregarding Beibei's opinion, and after uttering her final words, the two figures, one tall and one small, departed with great elegance and freedom.

"They're just leaving..." Feng Zhongzui whispered, filled with intense envy. To be able to withdraw from the intensifying whirlpool of power with such ease—who wouldn't covet that? If he could be reincarnated and choose his gender, Feng Zhongzui would also want to experience Aunt Xiang's life; he imagined it would be a uniquely enjoyable one!

"If only I had a deity..."

The Holy Mountain refugee group quickly ceased their fantasies. They didn't have a deity as a backer; instead, they faced the capricious and formidable enemy, Xu Xiaoshou. They were kept nearby purely due to their semi-saint status, or perhaps to serve as shields against Ai Cangsen's potentially incoming arrows.

The Dead Sea fell silent. Lord Shou, too, was silent. Without a sound, the teaching mirror no longer filmed Lord Shou. The camera had shifted at some point; half the view captured the graceful figure disappearing with a small trailing tail, while the other half showed the Holy Mountain saints' envious and bittersweet gazes as they watched Aunt Xiang depart.

The Dead Sea remained silent. The Five Domains, too, gradually quieted. Some silently opened their mouths, their scalps tingling slightly. The world was like a giant teaching mirror: half freedom, half cage.

"Not much time left."

Returning from the Southern Nether, he stood with an air of detachment, atop the ruins of Guizhe Holy Mountain, a former sacred site in the Central Domain. Jin Ren spread his arms, as if lying in cotton, reposing in the soft void. He seemed to have achieved enlightenment. Beneath him, a Spatial Dao Disk slowly spun out. Specks of brilliant light seeped into the Grand Dao of rules, and the landscapes of the Five Domains instantly entered his perception.

The scope of perception was, in fact, limited. The range of influence of the Super Dao-Transforming Will Dao Disk was also restricted. However, if this were built upon the extreme compression of the world by the spatial profound meaning of 'Shrinking the Ground into Inches,' while it might take a bit more time and effort, the range of both could be infinitely extended!

In the heat of a direct confrontation, this technique might not be usable. However, if one were to preside over the Sacred Realm or operate from behind the scenes, much like Jin Ren was doing, they could almost see 'everything' unfolding across the Five Domains.

The minor reclusive hides in the wilderness. He saw Dao Qiongcang of the Southern Nether, after a moment of hesitation, quickly withdrawing his Heavenly Mystery Veil and finding another hiding place upon realizing he was being watched. The great reclusive hides in the city. He saw Eight Venerables walking through the Central Domain, supported by the Storyteller, leaving a sword imprint with every step. Wherever they passed, Dao Laws yielded, and all knelt in submission.

To the east, in the mist-shrouded Sword Burial Mound, the majestic East Mountain soared into the clouds, and at its peak, sword-leaf agave stood unchanging for ten thousand years. Within the mound, the Sword Saint Wen, with high-flung water sleeves, danced upon the Sword Washing Pool, his operatic voice clear and resonating, piercing the clouds.

To the west, within the boundless desert, specks of green dotted the landscape. Behind an ancient temple in the deep mountains and old forests, a Bodhi tree had lost its roots. At a crossroads, where laws strictly rejected saintly power, spatial profound meaning subtly entered, and an underground suspended pagoda hung like an inverted Buddha.

To the south, crowds were chaotic and perpetually disorderly. To the north, fissures spread, with barren mountains and treacherous waters.

Everything, if he desired to perceive it, could be brought into view—some aspects fully seen, others partially obscured, leaving room for a bit of speculation.

Only upon this Heavenly Ladder... Jin Ren lay supine in the void, his head tilted back, viewing the inverted world from an inverted perspective. Only the Heavenly Ladder remained, unmoved by the mundane. Yet he knew that beneath the calm surface of the Five Domains, the Heavenly Ladder would surely give rise to immense turmoil.

"Not much time left..." This lament was not merely Jin Ren's reflection on his dwindling life, but also his apprehension about the impending 'Night Hour'. If Elder Yu's ascension to Saint Emperor was blocked, and once the chaotic war among the Five Great Saint Emperor Families concluded and their attention returned to the Saint God Continent, Dao Qiongcang would have sacrificed a Saint Emperor position in vain.

And when chaos would begin, and when it would end, now all rested on one person. In this grand chess game of the world, regardless of whether the players were Ai Cangsen, Dao Qiongcang, Eight Venerables, or the visible and invisible Bei Huai and Kong Yuhen... the final move, the ultimate step, had all fallen upon that single remaining choice.

Jin Ren closed his eyes, casting himself into eternal slumber: "Xu Xiaoshou, are you ready?"

The Dead Sea. Xu Xiaoshou suddenly opened his eyes. Heaven and earth, time and space, past and future, the myriad laws of the Grand Dao, karma, life and death—everything converged within his being, illuminating his true heart!

He opened his eyes... Xu Xiaoshou, in deep seclusion at Tiansang Spirit Palace, opened his eyes; Eight Venerables, face obscured by Goose Lake, opened his eyes; Ai Cangsen, who unleashed the Sacred Realm arrow from the Eight Palaces, opened his eyes; Dao Qiongcang, who spared his child on Yunlun Mountain, opened his eyes; the Four Divine Pillars Saint Emperors of Void Island opened their eyes; the Blood World Pearl's initial blood calamity quietly opened its eyes; the Heavenly Ancestor in the Divine Court opened his eyes; Bei Huai Qilin in the Four Symbols Secret Realm opened his eyes; Lei Hanche, the formidable figure of Qingyuan Mountain, opened his divine sense; Chong Yin in the Divine Ruins opened his eyes; the ancestral trees of Guizhe Holy Mountain both opened their eyes; everyone across the Five Domains collectively opened their eyes; and Kong Yuhen in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower opened his window and his eyes...

The space-time vortex on the wood carving was not the Yellow Springs; it was the endless, ceaseless reincarnation of himself. A single thought, eternal. A single thought, fleeting. In the Dead Sea, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly opened his eyes!

With this gaze, a wave of spiritual power swept forth, startling the Dead Sea's clear waters, which should have been stagnant, into continuous ripples!

"Om..." The hum of a sword emanated from a rootless, converging place. In this forbidden Dead Sea realm, where ancient sword arts were prohibited by the Saint Emperor's Golden Edict, the sword moved.

"Lord Shou, then our next step..." Feng Zhongzui had just moved the teaching mirror back, satisfied with his previous empty shot, which he considered the pinnacle of his broadcasting career. He was about to ask if, now that Aunt Xiang had been rescued and would take care of rescuing the other individuals with Beibei Sword Immortal, their group should proceed directly to the Dead Sea's second layer to rescue Lord Shou's master, Saint Slave Wuxiu, and Sang Qiye.

As his gaze turned back... as the teaching mirror barely shifted... the moment it met that gaze, Feng Zhongzui's chest felt a heavy hammer blow, his mind exploded like thunder, and he was sent flying, spitting blood.

"What?! What is this?!" In a daze, Feng Zhongzui felt as if he had experienced two cycles of reincarnation, living a hundred different lives, seemingly on the verge of discerning his unique Grand Dao from the mortal realm. He even saw, amidst the dazzling stars, the mysterious gate shrouded in divine light, once half-open to Elder Gu, now fully opening for him.

"Pfft!" Feng Zhongzui spat out another mouthful of blood, returning to his senses, his face a mix of horror and wild joy. He cried out: "I've achieved enlightenment!" "Lord Shou, he's achieved enlightenment!"

Unlike before, atop Jade Capital City, where Lord Shou closed his eyes and sat cross-legged with layers of profound meaning emerging, that was 'stillness'! It looked a bit too contrived. That breakthrough was so fast that people thought Lord Shou only needed to press a switch for his realm to ascend automatically. But now, it was too 'dynamic'!

This was the normal manifestation of a spiritual refiner achieving enlightenment. What was abnormal, however, was that Lord Shou's enlightenment this time seemed excessive; he surpassed the average level of spiritual refiner enlightenment in the entire world. He was like an ultimate giant descending from the sky, taking heavy steps from the boundless void, building from a high vantage point. Enlightenment with open eyes! His momentum was so grand it shattered the cosmos!

The entire sixth layer of the Dead Sea, after this 'famous' eye opened, was like a cauldron boiled by heaven and earth: first rippling, then bubbling, finally surging and boiling.

"Dao!" The people of the Five Domains watched in horror as Lord Shou merely raised his right hand and clenched his palm. Dao thunder exploded in the Sea of Death; he didn't seem to be grasping nothingness, but rather something tangible, held firmly!

"Look quickly! This is... a sword, a sword image?" "No, not just that, there are many, he has many!"

Behind Lord Shou, sword intentions transformed, manifesting into the divine Buddhas of ancient sword cultivators' Heart Sword Arts, and the sword images of Mr. Siren's nine great sword arts advancing side-by-side. They also manifested into the lonely tower shadow of the Sword God's imagery, and the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword Art imagery blessed by the power of the Four Divine Pillars...

"And there's more! Not just ancient sword arts, his Dao also has..."

"A giant, is that a giant? Is this his ancient martial art refined after mastering the Void Clan's techniques...?"

With the magnificent imagery of Heart Sword Art as the main focus, to its right, an ultimate giant, heavy-stepping and obscuring the sky, approached from a nameless place. Each step of the giant carried immense power, crushing hearts and spirits. When it stood still behind Lord Shou, it bent at the waist. That face! That originally chaotic and unreadable face! What was now revealed was clearly Lord Shou's features—it was himself!

"Ancient Sword Dao, Ancient Martial Giant Transformation..." The Five Domains mumbled in awe, each realizing something profound. "There must be more! There must be Lord Shou's various spiritual refining methods and profound meanings!"

No sooner had the words fallen than, to the left of Xu Xiaoshou's Heart Sword Art imagery, divine, dazzling lights rose, as if birthed by a Sacred Ancestor, surrounding this imagery. Body Dao Disk, Will Dao Disk, Spirit Dao Disk, Sword Dao Disk, Spatial Dao Disk, Life Dao Disk... a full dozen or so profound meaning array diagrams, varying in size and luminosity, rose successively. If one looked closely, they could also discern other faint, fragmented paths suppressed beneath all this brilliance: Light, Water, Gold, Technique, Molecular, Time...

"What happened?" "What exactly did he achieve enlightenment in?"

In the Dead Sea, the Holy Mountain refugee group huddled together, retreating in horror, not daring to approach even a fraction. In the Five Domains, the crowd was even more dumbfounded, their bodies and spirits completely stunned.

"Lord Shou's enlightenment... is he about to become an Ancestor God? How can the phenomenon be so terrifying?" "Ancestor God? That's incorrect, isn't it? If we follow the usual progression, he should now be undergoing the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation to become a Grand Void Spiritual Refiner..." "Ah? You call this the Grand Void?"

At the Guizhe Holy Mountain ruins, the sound of lightning tribulation exploded. Feng Xiaoshuang shivered, hoisted the teaching mirror, and looked up, her pupils suddenly widening. After Zhu Yike's Saint Tribulation was interrupted, the sky, which should have been clear and sunny, had become overcast with dark clouds at some unknown point. Within, tribulation lightning rolled. Visually, the lightning seemed to have only the intensity of a Dao-Slaying Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation... but its momentum!

"What kind of lightning is this?" "Guizhe Holy Mountain, is someone about to become a Saint Emperor?"

Feng Xiaoshuang filmed while rapidly retreating, flustered and chaotic. Her mission was over, and she hadn't even looked at the Dead Sea footage yet, having just started a short break. Seeing this, she quickly contacted Feng Zhongzui. But before she could utter a single word, the teaching mirror in her hand vibrated, indicating that the connection was established. The scene she was broadcasting at this moment, as known by the Five Domains, was a major event that overshadowed Feng Zhongzui and Lord Shou!

"Hello everyone, I am Feng Xiaoshuang," she announced. "Perhaps you don't know, and are still watching the Dead Sea, but in my opinion, what's happening here right now is more important! Guizhe Holy Mountain has hidden a great talent, and he is about to become a Saint Emperor! Yes, you heard that right, a Saint Emperor!" Feng Xiaoshuang was extremely excited, her face flushed. "I've seen Saint Tribulations, and none have this intensity. This is absolutely the aura of an Ancestral Origin Emperor Tribulation!"

A startling clap of thunder exploded. Feng Xiaoshuang was so frightened she nearly dropped the teaching mirror, which could potentially attract lightning. After forcefully halting her movements, her voice abruptly cut off: "No, wait."

After that 'Ancestral Origin Emperor Tribulation,' the sky cracked, yet no fragmented time-space currents were seen; instead, the starry sky was faintly visible! In the starry sky, the Divine Worshipping Willow lowered its branches, bowing from afar. That guiding light connected this world to another realm, bringing laws from an unknown place. Such immense power, when manifested on the Saint God Continent, transformed into the tribulation clouds above Guizhe Holy Mountain... or rather, above the Dead Sea!

The voice of the old family head, Feng Tingchen, echoed in her ears. Feng Xiaoshuang's beautiful eyes widened, her delicate body trembled violently, and she let out an incredulous cry: "What?! This is Lord Shou drawing upon the Grand Dao rules of the Divine Ruins, intending to undergo the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation in the Dead Sea to become a Grand Void?"

Feng Xiaoshuang's single statement caused an eruption of emotion among spiritual refiners across the Five Domains. The sheer amount of information was not just vast, but utterly insane!

"The Dead Sea can undergo tribulation?" "The tribulation Lord Shou is facing is being drawn from the Divine Ruins?" "A tribulation with such immense momentum is merely the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation, only to become a Grand Void?"

The momentum of this tribulation never came from nothing. Before long, as the lightning tribulation evolved, the people of the Five Domains distinctly saw that in the starry sky after the tribulation, besides the Divine Worshipping Willow, the shadow of an ancestral tree vaguely emerged.

"Dragon Apricot?" "That's the Dragon Apricot, right!"

A golden dragon coiled upon the apricot tree, sending blessings from afar.

"Nine-Sacrifice Osmanthus!" "My heavens, the Nine-Sacrifice Divine Envoy has also defected!"

A beautiful woman in palace attire stood gracefully upon the osmanthus tree, her sleeve swaying as she sent forth the auspicious scent of osmanthus.

"What's that?" "There's a fourth ancestral tree?"

Unexpectedly, beside these three great ancestral trees, there was also a Dark Tree standing side-by-side with them. The tree appeared spiritless, yet was spirit essence itself. She was enchantingly graceful, slender and captivating, like a fallen Tree Mother. Her crown-like tendrils hung down, like a skirt or hands, their tips forming various human-faced infant Dao fruits, emitting an alluring fragrance that compelled one to rush and consume them.

Even the spirit of the Dragon Apricot couldn't help but glance sideways, its eyes filled with wonder.

The Divine Worshipping Willow's branch swept down. Lord Shou, while in the Dead Sea, his power reached the Divine Ruins, and after being absorbed, transformed, and released by the Dark Tree Mother, three perfect Dao fruits were formed.

"Progenitor Infant Holy Plant!" Only then did everyone suddenly realize that the ancestral tree in the Divine Ruins' Dark Forest, which had later been deduced to be the Progenitor Infant Holy Plant... had also been obtained by Lord Shou!

"What kind of luck is this?" "What kind of power is this?" "Just undergoing a Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation, and the Four Great Ancestral Trees pay homage, with the Progenitor Infant even gifting Dao fruits?"

Three Dao fruits. Three infant Xu Xiaoshous. They fell from the branches of the Progenitor Infant Holy Plant with a cry. The scene shifted, and they were already in Lord Shou's mouth in the Dead Sea. With a gulp, his spiritual energy flowed into his Qi Sea.

"Boom!" The Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation fully formed. The first bolt of lightning struck down, plunging into the Dead Sea. Upon reaching the first layer, it astonishingly bypassed the forbidden formation barrier and ignored the power of the Saint Emperor's Golden Edict. Under the combined shielding of the Four Great Ancestral Trees, this lightning had bypassed all defenses, crossed six layers of the Dead Sea, and landed upon Lord Shou's precious body.

Like a spring breeze, like the first snow of winter. Such a startling bolt of lightning, landing on the Saint God Continent, on the sixth layer of the Dead Sea, merely ruffled Lord Shou's black robes before being perfectly assimilated.

Seeing this, the Five Domains were all utterly astonished. "How incredibly stable must his Dao foundation be!" "This is too abnormal; he's not even human! No wonder he could, in his Dao-slaying state, resist semi-saints, contend with Saint Emperors, and even fight against Chong Yin..." "In my opinion, if Lord Shou becomes a Grand Void, he will be the strongest Grand Void of this era." "Uh, listening to your words is like listening to words..."

The masses in the Five Domains were agitated; some offered interpretations, some gave evaluations, some were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, and there were also those who earnestly sought to interpret this tribulation: "The Grand Void is already the pinnacle of spiritual refining." "Beyond that, the Saint Realm is truly transcendent."

"This old man remembers that after the Eighth Sword Immortal's defeat back then, he once made a remark affirming the height of the spiritual refining path in the current era..."

This saying was probably not widely known in the other four domains. However, originating in the Eastern Domain and related to the Eighth Sword Immortal, some people, after pondering, recalled something: "Grand Void, Grand Void..." "The Supreme One states unity, all things return to void. Renown shatters the ancient, present spirits are not easily changed."

"I remember, the Eighth Sword Immortal regretted not walking the Grand Void path, and even more so resented not being born with a Saint Body. He could only achieve fame through his sword, but later, it seems he cultivated an acquired Saint Body?"

"Lord Shou is different! The path Lord Shou takes combines three Daos. He can be said to have compensated for the Eighth Sword Immortal's greatest regret back then!" "Indeed, the path of ancient sword cultivation has long been over-trodden." "But if ancient sword cultivation aligns with the path of spiritual refining, and then adds ancient martial arts... I can no longer imagine what heights Lord Shou will reach after becoming a Grand Void!"

To the south of the Central Domain, Eight Venerables, the Eighth Sword Immortal whom people were comparing, also paused at this moment. The Storyteller was far away in the sky; he could see everything, and he was responsible for the commentary.

"Brother..." He hadn't even spoken yet. Eight Venerables, who could see nothing, listened to the wind, the thunder, and the hum of the sword in the Dead Sea. His mind still echoed with the solemn advice he had given Xu Xiaoshou in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Worry Tower when Xu Xiaoshou first ascended to the King's Throne Dao Realm: cultivating all three Daos simultaneously was the best path, but also the most difficult!

A smile appeared on his lips, and he softly murmured aloud: "The Supreme One states unity, all things return to void. Renown shatters the ancient, three Daos aligned. Xu Xiaoshou, you've done it..."