Chapter 1851: Divine Valley

"You're letting him go?"

In the Gujin Wangyou Lou, seeing Xu Xiaoshou sitting on the ground, cross-legged, comprehending Dao, Kong Yuhen showed emotion for the first time, appearing slightly irritated.

He walked from the wooden ladder to the tea table, staring intently at Ba Zun'an, who was leaning against the wooden door, and said without reservation:

"Walking through the River of Time is inherently risky, let alone it's his first time, and he has to go to that special point in time?"

"The War Ancestor has fallen; I'm sending him to seek the past, there's a certain guarantee, at worst, I can bring him back."

"What about you?"

He looked at Mei Siren on the tea table, "Even the Old Master said 'self-imposed confinement,' what if he gets too involved in the River of Time and loses himself, becoming like me..."

"What about me, what about you?" Mei Siren put down his teacup, slightly curious, "What are you two talking about?"

Isn't Xu Xiaoshou here?

He's meditating just fine; why is he going here and there? Where else have you taken him? Take me there too!

Kong Yuhen froze, opened his mouth, and was speechless.

In ancient sword arts, both Illusory Sword Art and Nine Sword Art involve the Dao of Time. Mei Siren might have some knowledge, but it's not deep.

His main cultivation is Heart Sword Art.

Unlike Ba Zun'an, who is proficient in everything and can meet him and Xu Xiaoshou in the River of Time.

By the wooden door, Ba Zun'an was thoughtful: "It seems you're more concerned about his safety than I am?"

"That's not because..." Kong Yuhen blurted out instinctively.

At this point, he frowned, a bewildered look flashed in his eyes, and he muttered, "Yes, what am I nervous about?"

He was very familiar with this state.

It didn't matter if he didn't remember; it must be that other Kong Yuhen remembered and cared about Xu Xiaoshou.

He looked back at Ba Zun'an: "In any case, absolutely not. I don't want him to end up like me; my state is very... peculiar."

"You are you, he is he," Ba Zun'an shook his head.

"You have so much confidence in him?"

"Mhm."

A single "Mhm" ended the argument decisively.

Kong Yuhen felt like he had punched cotton.

He couldn't fathom Ba Zun'an's intentions anymore and even doubted whether this guy was truly on Xu Xiaoshou's side.

Could he be trying to harm him?

"Something's going to happen..."

"If a youth isn't reckless, doesn't act impulsively, and doesn't get into trouble, what's the point of youth?" Ba Zun'an chuckled.

Kong Yuhen could only remain silent.

After a long time, he sat back at the tea table, looked at Mei Siren, and gestured with his eyes for him to persuade.

"Is it a big deal?" Mei Siren spun the teacup in his hand.

"Ancestor God node!" Kong Yuhen said anxiously, "Xu Xiaoshou is going to the Ancestor God node in the River of Time; he'll face a living Ancestor God directly!"

"Who?"

"...Demon Ancestor!" Kong Yuhen hesitated for a moment, then replied directly.

Mei Siren's eyelids twitched; he raised his gaze slightly and looked towards the wooden doorway. The old man kept his composure, "This is a big deal, sounds very impressive?"

Ba Zun'an was still leaning against the wooden doorway, arms crossed, his posture unchanged, as if he hadn't heard the words "Demon Ancestor" from beginning to end:

"I said, the choice is returned to them; now we just wait for the first one to stick its head out."

He paused, then continued:

"No matter who it is."

The moment his fingertips touched the Cangqiong Zhi Shu, the surrounding scene of Jinzhao Yuhai tore apart, and the landscape shifted.

The feeling was like driving a time machine, traversing through a spacetime tunnel.

A thousand years?

An instant?

He didn't know how long it had been, but the feeling of weightlessness disappeared, and Xu Xiaoshou arrived in an unfamiliar environment.

All he saw was gray, ancient gray!

This should be a magnificent stone hall hidden deep underground. On the stone pillars, thick enough for three people to embrace, many giants clad in tattered armor were carved.

They looked somewhat like Void Servants?

On both sides of the main hall were murals, also emanating an ancient aura, extremely eye-catching, two on the left, two on the right:

There was a primeval battlefield, with scattered dragon scales, dragon horns, and enormous spear marks everywhere;

Under a silver moon split in two, beside dilapidated buildings were broken, blunted swords, with twelve sword hilts when counted carefully;

On an ancient arena, a colossal ancient god with three heads and six arms, towering to the heavens, had numerous holes torn in its body, its eyes empty and lifeless;

There was a mirror island floating in the chaotic currents of time and space, with a giant eyeball above the mirror, as if pierced by a sharp object, also having holes, and below the mirror was a broken shield, radiating deep death energy.

"Dragon, Sword, Battle, Heaven..."

Xu Xiaoshou was no longer the Xu Xiaoshou of the past; he recognized at a glance that these four murals represented the fates of the Four Ancestors.

So, this was the truth of the final reincarnation of the Four Ancestors—who killed them all?

The other three Ancestors, Xu Xiaoshou didn't know much about.

But when he went to Void Island, he learned about the "Demon God" legend of Void Island, which said that the Heavenly Ancestor and the Demon Ancestor fought a great battle, eventually ending with both sides exhausted.

However, in Void General Hong's world, the Demon God was terrifying, almost completely wiping out Void Island, leaving no one alive.

The Heavenly Ancestor seemed to have fallen at the hands of the Demon Ancestor.

But the whereabouts of the Demon Ancestor were unknown—it was impossible for him to have fallen, as only the Four Ancestors reincarnated, not including the Demon.

Where he went was unknown.

No, perhaps it could be known.

"The Daofo Ta has traces of the Demon Ancestor..."

"But You Yuan is certainly strong, it's impossible that it suppressed the Demon Ancestor in his prime; there's still a gap between a Saint Emperor and an Ancestor God."

This point could be seen from how he repeatedly defeated Cui Yin, yet Cui Yin repeatedly escaped, and finally, that guy even prospered.

Even a newly revived Cui Yin was like this.

Certainly, he had completed the step from two to one.

It's likely that You Yuan suppressed a Demon Ancestor in a state comparable to a newly revived Cui Yin, which would be possible.

"Is this time node for meeting the Demon Ancestor?"

All conclusions pointed towards the Demon Ancestor, and Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but become cautious.

Although Ba Zun'an was his backup, this Ancestor God was alive and mysterious. Better safe than sorry.

He withdrew his gaze from the pillars and murals and then looked at the center of this giant stone hall.

There, stood a tall black statue, also clad in black armor, holding a black spear that almost pierced the dome of the hall.

"This spear..."

This spear looked somewhat familiar; Xu Xiaoshou looked back at the murals.

On the four murals, there were traces left by a large spear. The fall of each Ancestor also seemed to have been pierced by this spear.

However, the sense of familiarity seemed to extend beyond that.

Xu Xiaoshou vaguely felt that he had seen the real version of this black stone spear somewhere...

"Received guidance, passive value, 1."

"Received oblivion, passive value, 1."

It began!

In the past, he would have likely fallen for it.

Now, with just a search in his memory, the Chao Daohua Yi Dao Pan resisted the guidance and oblivion, allowing Xu Xiaoshou to recall something, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

On Void Island, when fighting Jiang Buyi, he had seen this spear.

After all, Xiao Kongdong was surrounded by stone giants and, together with Ye Xiaotian, wielded this Demon God's Great Spear, making a grand entrance.

"Xiao Dazui?"

Where did Xiao Kongdong get the Demon God's Spear?

Is he crazy? Is this something that can be taken so casually?

Hua Weiyang merely took the Daluo Jiutian Shengxuan Sword, and the moment he was canonized as an Ancestor, he was restricted by the Medicine Ancestor, forced to willingly undergo Daoization to escape the confinement.

Xiao Dazui...

Upon entering the stone hall, he had already gained some insight.

Xu Xiaoshou already wanted to turn back and return to Fusang City to find Xiao Kongdong and make him hand over the Demon God's Spear immediately.

Keeping that thing on him for an extra moment was a disrespect to life; it might be contaminated at any time.

After all, the Demon Ancestor was still alive!

But soon, Xu Xiaoshou calmed down.

Even if this was a Demon Ancestor's contingency, Xiao Kongdong probably wasn't high on the list of the Demon Ancestor's contingencies—he was still too far from being canonized as an Ancestor, not yet able to enter the direct sight of an Ancestor God.

"Stay calm. I'll go back and find him later; just don't forget."

"The most urgent task is to figure out the origin of this stone hall and its relationship with the Cangqiong Zhi Shu..."

After calming down, Xu Xiaoshou put this matter aside.

No!

This time, the information panel didn't pop up, and Xu Xiaoshou keenly realized that the matter couldn't be dismissed so easily.

"Void Island, why would there still be traces of the Demon Ancestor's contingency?"

"Ba Zun'an is watching the inner island, and I've almost walked all over the outer island. Apart from that one time with Xiao Dazui and Ah Hong's memory, I've never seen any traces left by the Demon Ancestor..."

Yet the Demon Ancestor's influence was clearly so profound!

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened, and he pondered deeply, analyzing every place he had walked on Void Island.

Void Island's outer island, the Nine Great Desperate Lands.

Miracle Forest, Underworld Ghost Capital, Absolute Scorch Fire Domain, Sin One Hall, Saint Execution Ground, Slumbering Valley, Fallen Abyss, Green Swamp, Blood Realm.

He had almost walked through them all!

"No, why would I think that..."

"I've only walked through most of them; some I haven't even set foot in..."

"That's right, there's another place, which I only glimpsed briefly during the war, plus my memory misled me, making it feel like I'd been there..."

At that time, Xiao Kongdong brought the Demon God's Spear and stone giants from Slumbering Valley, and with the heightened perception during the Four Divine Pillars era, he swept over that broken place a few times.

In his general understanding, Xu Xiaoshou only remembered that Slumbering Valley had many mountains and many stones, as if he had been there.

Beyond that, there were no other special anomalies.

But if there was nothing strange, how could Slumbering Valley become one of the Nine Great Desperate Lands?

"Slumbering Valley..."

He whispered to himself, Xu Xiaoshou looked back at the information panel.

After the first guidance and oblivion failed, the information panel stopped updating, as if he was no longer being watched by the Demon Ancestor, who also couldn't be bothered to guide him.

Circuitous guidance!

But Xu Xiaoshou knew there was also this kind of Dao Qiongcang-style annoyance.

By enhancing the captivating nature of the stone hall, one's attention could unknowingly shift.

He deliberately didn't look at the stone hall.

He just recalled Slumbering Valley.

And surprisingly, his stubborn mule temperament sometimes did have its advantages. Under the struggle of the Chao Daohua Yi Dao Pan, Xu Xiaoshou recalled something else about "Slumbering Valley."

"Yue Gongli also went to Slumbering Valley..."

At that time, in the Divine Ruins, when he was trapped in the embryonic form of the Dingying Shengzhu Divine Court, Yue Gongli threw out three corpses from the Yin Lingjiu, named:

Six Marrow Corpse King, Void Giant Lord, Cui Yin Evil God.

The most noteworthy among them, of course, was the first appearance of the arrogant title "Cui Yin Evil God," with not a single word changed.

It was directly linked to Cui Yin.

The Six Marrow Corpse King was directly linked to the Saint Ancestor and divine power.

What Xu Xiaoshou recalled now was surprisingly the "Void Giant Lord" who seemed unremarkable at the time and whose physical body was completely devoured by Dingying upon its appearance!

Void Giant Lord, Heavenly Ancestor's divine蜕.

According to Yue Gongli, he refined it from a Heavenly Ancestor's index finger. So, where did he get this finger?

"Slumbering Valley!"

In that situation, there was no possibility of Yue Gongli lying.

He had also clearly stated that in his youth, he had already gone to Void Island as a special envoy to assist in suppressing the inner island's unrest.

But the suppression was done by the higher-ups; he just wandered around, eventually going to Slumbering Valley, where he obtained the Heavenly Ancestor's divine蛻—an index finger—and later, like Xiao Dazui, was chased by stone giants across half of Void Island.

"Slumbering Valley, successively yielded the Heavenly Ancestor's divine蜕, which is the Heavenly Ancestor's physical body, and the Demon God's Spear, which was the Demon Ancestor's weapon for slaying gods and annihilating ancestors at that time..."

"Such an important place, I've been all over Void Island for so long, and I've gained all the opportunities I should, yet if I don't deliberately think about it, I have almost no impression?"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

This kind of delayed realization, the feeling of brushing past death... oh no, the Demon Ancestor, was the true horror.

He made up his mind that not only would he have to find Xiao Kongdong later, but he would also have to visit Slumbering Valley on Void Island.

Even if the current Slumbering Valley was no longer mysterious, he still had to touch the Slumbering Valley in the River of Time.

"I seem to have forgotten something important..."

"Right, I also need to bring Ba Zun'an!"

At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou already felt quite terrified.

If it weren't for Old Ba saying he had his back and would act at any time, he wouldn't be willing to face these Ancestor God secrets alone.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the stone hall. Xu Xiaoshou felt like he had been caught red-handed sneaking around, his heart skipping a beat.

When he looked back, he realized that Slumbering Valley and such were not the key to this trip at all.

This was just an add-on.

He was here to explore the secrets of the Cangqiong Zhi Shu.

A man slowly walked in through the stone hall entrance, richly dressed, tall and straight, with a very striking appearance and a pair of captivating fox eyes.

At first glance, one might think Yue Gongli had arrived.

"No."

Yue Gongli wasn't this mature.

This man also had a beard, not as feminine as Yue Gongli, adding a touch of masculinity, and his aura also felt familiar.

Without much thought, Xu Xiaoshou recognized the newcomer.

"Han Gong Saint Emperor, Yue Gongqi!"

Logically speaking, even Gou Wuyue, Ba Zun'an, and others could detect being spied upon in the River of Time.

This could certainly be attributed to their respective achievements in the Dao of Time, but at the level of a Han Gong Saint Emperor, even if he didn't cultivate the Dao of Time, he should be sensitive.

If Xu Xiaoshou looked at him, he should glare back.

"Nothing?"

"Is he pretending, or does he really not see me?"

Xu Xiaoshou thought about lowering his head and not looking directly but realized it wasn't necessary.

Yue Gongqi genuinely seemed unaware of his presence.

Since he was either deliberately unaware or truly oblivious, Xu Xiaoshou could only choose to respect that, and he very directly began to openly spy.

"Saint Ancestor above!"

Yue Gongqi came before the dark Demon God statue, sat cross-legged on a futon, and his first words were astonishing.

Saint Ancestor?

Yue Gongqi, are you blind?

This is full of demonic energy; it's clearly not the Saint Ancestor, okay? Never mind not seeing me, can't you even distinguish between Saint and Demon?

Unlike Cui Yin, Saint Ancestor and Demon Ancestor are two independent entities.

Among the Ten Ancestors, they each possess the Ancestor God's destiny, and can be considered two individuals with distinct personalities and diametrically opposed powers.

Yue Gongqi, with his beautiful fox eyes, seemed truly blind. After sitting down, he closed his eyes and began to murmur:

"Saint Ancestor above, protect my Han Gong's eternal prosperity. May I ask why you have summoned me?"

Was Yue Gongqi summoned by the Demon Ancestor's will?

But in his perception, what he saw was actually the Saint Ancestor?

The Demon Ancestor statue remained still and lifeless. After a long while, a deep voice emanated from it:

"This summons is for two matters."

"First, in the Saint God Continent, Jinzhao Yuhai, plant this seed to aid in achieving Dao."

With a pause, a ball of light flew out from within the Demon Ancestor statue.

Yue Gongqi didn't ask why, simply nodded in affirmation, cupped his hands to receive it, and focused his gaze. Xu Xiaoshou also looked and saw it was a tree seed.

His heart jolted. Cangqiong Zhi Shu?

The Ancestral Tree Cangqiong Zhi Shu was born in Jinzhao Yuhai, created by the Demon Ancestor using Han Gong Saint Emperor Yue Gongqi as a proxy?

What about Jinzhao Laozu?

This Ghost Beast Saint Emperor, one of Ba Zun'an's White Lineage Three Ancestors, known as the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ancestors, is now within the Ghost Buddha's body, along with Demon Emperor Heilong and other Saint Emperors, blocking the Heavenly Ladder.

Is he acting?

Is he not one of them?

Xu Xiaoshou's face turned green; this was a bit terrifying. He then thought of how he had also taken Jinzhao Laozu's contingency, Yanmang, which had been set up for a hundred years...

"Ba Zun'an?"

He called out in his heart. Xu Xiaoshou wanted to retreat a bit; Kong Yuhen truly didn't deceive him. This place is a bit much for me, Xu Baobao, to handle.

"I am here."

A voice responded in his heart. Xu Xiaoshou calmed down and continued to watch calmly, wanting to see what kind of conversation the Demon Ancestor and the Han Gong Saint Emperor would have.

The stone hall was empty.

Yue Gongqi received the tree seed and continued to wait, sitting on the futon.

Not long after, a voice, not only deep but also sounding somewhat weak this time, came from within the Demon God statue:

"Second, I may enter reincarnation. Henceforth, I will no longer respond to matters."

"Once this is done, choose an auspicious day to be canonized as an Ancestor. Your opportunity has arrived."

With that, the statue emitted light again, revealing an Ancestor God's destiny.