Chapter 1995: Double River

In the vast, boundless starry sky, the Mourning Emperor Realm had been continuously drifting, far from the main battlefield of the Holy God Continent.

Shortly after Divine Yi’s single strike sent Jianlou into the shattered space-time currents, pulling it away from the Holy God Continent, the Mourning Emperor Realm came to an abrupt halt.

It was an abrupt, sudden halt!

If one were to view this Holy Emperor Secret Realm from an external perspective, they would see an immense surge of the Dao of Life within this plane.

Under the surging power of the Dao, which could not be suppressed and consequently overflowed outwards, the overall level of the entire Holy Emperor Secret Realm rapidly ascended.

Just like the Divine Court ruins within the Seed World, before long, this plane was also refined into a completely new Divine Court, its Dao cultivation level initially rising to the Heavenly Realm tier.

Although it only partially achieved this level and couldn't be fully utilized as a new Heavenly Realm.

But this also signified that the Dao of Life within it had already approached completion.

But that wasn’t all!

After the life force completely overflowed, the Mourning Emperor Realm—now the Mourning Divine Court—seemed to have established an internal, self-sustaining cycle of reincarnation.

The overflowing power began to recede and was gathered.

Before long, the entire Mourning Divine Court collapsed towards the location of the Grand World Pagoda Tree, and the Grand World Pagoda Tree underwent a transcendent transformation in its level.

Subsequently, the Grand World Pagoda Tree also entered reincarnation, collapsing towards the White Sun, until finally, the entire Mourning Divine Court was completely absorbed into the White Sun.

A white sun hung in the vast starry sky.

In an instant, the white light completely retracted inwards, as if completing the structure of reincarnation, converging and finally gathering upon a hunched figure.

It was an old man wearing a simple undershirt, standing barefoot in the starry sky, looking utterly unassuming, with no trace of a cultivator’s aura around him, resembling nothing so much as a mere mortal.

Yet he remained completely unaffected by any external forces, as if his very existence was a transcendent plane, powerful and complete.

"All is ready, flawless and complete."

Medicine Ancestor Shennong Baicao opened his eyes, his Great Dao perfectly rounded and flawless. The power of life and reincarnation radiated outwards, then circled back to him, achieving perfect completion.

*Whoosh!*

A gentle gurgling of water sounded.

Beneath the Medicine Ancestor’s feet, a winding river flowed forth, originating from the unnamed and flowing towards the unknown.

Upon the river were all the life forms the Medicine Ancestor had witnessed and thoroughly researched from ancient times to the present, as well as non-living entities that, while lacking sentience, could be defined as the "reverse side of life."

This included all beings from the Spirit Refining Era of the Holy God Continent, including the Ten Revered Seats. However, only the figure of the Eight Revered Adepts was incredibly dim, indicating that, subjectively, the Medicine Ancestor himself believed he had not yet thoroughly researched them.

Everything else was completely recorded within the long river, as if the Dao patterns of life, along with the answers he had obtained, were in complete accord, signifying mastery and the ability to grant or take away at will.

"The River of Life."

The Medicine Ancestor nodded in satisfaction, but it didn't end there.

He then stepped aside, taking half a step, and another gentle gurgling of water sounded. In a cruciform intersection, another winding river flowed forth from an unknown source, heading towards the unknown.

Compared to the tangibility of the River of Life, the second river was incredibly ethereal. However, this merely represented the contrast between reality and illusion, mirroring the Yin and Yang of the Eight Revered Adepts' Dao, and did not signify that the second river was incomplete.

"The River of Reincarnation."

The Medicine Ancestor turned his head and gazed at the ethereal river.

The river manifested as the murky yellow waters of the Underworld Ancestor Wangchuan River, with skeletons floating within it, which were called "Spirits of Reincarnation."

Each "Ethereal Spirit of Reincarnation" in the River of Reincarnation corresponded to a "True Body of Life" on the River of Life, mirroring the past, present, and future of that life form.

This also drew upon the Eight Revered Adepts' concept of the "past, present, and future self," yet it also incorporated the Medicine Ancestor's own understanding, reflecting the "three selves" of others.

In this way, if one could not freely control a true body of life from the River of Life, then one could start from the River of Reincarnation, from the past or future of its corresponding Ethereal Spirit of Reincarnation, and resolve the issue either from its origin or from its unpredictable future.

"With Life and Reincarnation bestowed upon me, controlling the past and future, standing atop the twin rivers of the Great Dao, overseeing the evolution of three thousand planes, myriad mysteries, and the birth and death of all spirits—all depend on a single thought of this Ancestor..."

Shennong Baicao slowly raised his head, his eyes flashing with brilliant light. "I ask, throughout the Heavenly Realm and beyond, who can compare with me?"

As one of the Ancient Ancestor Gods, he knew of Nuo, Ming, and Shi. How could he not know that Nuo was the first to clearly discern the 'true self,' that Ming possessed the ability to be indestructible for ten thousand generations, and that Ancestor Shi had even comprehended and transcended space-time, aided by the River of Time?

A genius should possess the arrogance of a genius!

From beginning to end, the Medicine Ancestor never wished to be merely on par with these three, but rather to surpass them all when he reached his ultimate completion.

He intended to follow the Saint Ancestor's old path, the path of two-in-one and then one-to-zero, relying on the Underworld Ancestor he had split off to discern his true self.

He also sought to use the Dao of Life and Reincarnation to support himself, aspiring to achieve the indestructible power of Ancestor Ming for ten thousand generations.

He further intended to surpass Ancestor Shi by a great margin, given that Ancestor Shi could only manifest the River of Time, not the River of Space, by gaining the recognition of the Great Dao's twin rivers.

As a result, the Medicine Ancestor proceeded cautiously, step by step.

Relying on layouts spanning countless eons and his dormancy from the Divine Wars until now, he finally gained true insight during the Spirit Refining Era, perfectly accomplishing what he had envisioned.

"The only regrettable thing is that the power of the twin rivers, both stemming from the Dao of comprehension, would likely require my full effort to match the combat power of Nuo and Ba."

"If I could further acquire the Dao of 'Thought,' not only in terms of strategy and calculation, would I far surpass these two, but even in pure direct combat power, I could rival them."

"Thus, with 'Life' as my body, 'Reincarnation' as my spirit, and 'Thought' as my intent, combined with my 'True Self,' even the Eight Revered Adepts, with their extraordinary talent, would be inferior to me in every aspect."

The Medicine Ancestor sighed deeply, realizing this one minor flaw.

He clearly understood the Dao of the Eight Revered Adepts, holding some respect for it, but also containing an element of disdain.

After all, the Eight Ancestors had sought the Dao for too short a time; limited by their horizons, they could only achieve this much, while he could do better. This was not arrogance, but stemmed from a clear understanding of his own abilities.

However, after a brief sigh, the Medicine Ancestor quickly regained his composure.

After all, one shouldn't bite off more than they can chew. The Dao of Thought still existed, Kuileihan's divine transformation was in his hands, and he had not been stripped of his Dao by the Demonic Ancestor.

Given this, it proved he still had a chance to snatch this valuable prize from the Demonic Ancestor's grasp and later push it to its utmost limits, allowing the name of the Thought Ancestor to also be attributed to Shennong Baicao.

Only then would it be truly perfect.

Even after the new Heavenly Realm was opened, when confronting Ancestor Nuo, he could completely discard all calculations and possess the qualification to openly challenge him.

"It's time to reel in the net..."

His lips curled into a smile. The Medicine Ancestor turned his gaze back, glancing towards the location of the Holy God Continent plane, lightly lifted his five fingers, and murmured:

"Reincarnation Construction."

In an instant, the Mourning Divine Court within his body, through the method of reincarnation guidance, established a connection with the Holy God Continent, this lower-tier plane, accessible with a single thought.

Suiyin, your realization came too late. After all, you were still a step slower than this Ancestor.

Since that's the case, behave yourself and serve me!

On the Holy God Continent, spring flourished.

Taking the Central and Northern Regions as examples, although it was clearly deep winter, with wind and snow swirling.

Suddenly, just as when the Medicine Ancestor had appeared before, the desolation and ruin everywhere quickly repaired themselves, and even in places where life had ceased, new buds surprisingly sprouted.

This was most evident in the Northern Region!

Divine Yi the Hegemon's single strike had clearly sent Jianlou flying.

The lingering explosion ripples from the moment Jianlou was sent flying had shattered nearly half of the Northern Region.

Yet now, a powerful life force arrived from an unknown source, not only repairing mountains and rivers but also restoring flowers, plants, birds, and beasts.

Even the beings that had been annihilated in the previous great explosion, as long as a sliver of their residual consciousness or resentment remained and had not dispersed, their body, spirit, and will quickly healed.

Before long, under the nourishment of that immense life force, figures were reshaped one after another, each looking around with surprise and joy, observing their surroundings and themselves.

"We're... alive?"

Traditionally, when deities fought, mortals were the ones who suffered.

Never had they imagined such sudden grace from an Ancestor God, allowing their extinguished selves to escape their doomed fate from the shattered reincarnation order and live another life.

A power such as this was certainly not something hotheads or reckless individuals like the Eight Revered Adepts or Divine Yi could achieve; such beneficence must surely have been bestowed only by the greatly compassionate Medicine Ancestor Shennong Baicao.

Almost in an instant, the majority of people in the Northern Region changed their beliefs and allegiances, unwavering choosing the Medicine Ancestor from their previously wavering stance between the Saint Ancestor and the Saint Slaves.

"Only the Medicine Ancestor can bring new life!"

"Only the Medicine Ancestor can bring a new Heavenly Realm, offering a better future for us Spirit Refiners!"

Ice and snow melted, and a new wind swept across the Five Regions.

In just the blink of an eye, Spirit Refiners across the Holy God Continent all had an awakening.

This seemed to touch upon the interests of another Ancestor God; after all, this continent was still called "Holy God Continent," not "Medicine Ancestor Continent," nor "Medicine Realm."

"Hmph!"

Inside the Saint Palace, Zipet, perched on the dragon's head, let out a cold snort. The Dao Extinguishing Profound Ruler in her hand glowed faintly, and she struck it in mid-air.

With a soft whoosh, saintly power invisibly spread, utilizing the paths cultivated by the Spirit Refiners of the Five Regions, covering all directions.

In an instant, the new wind that had swept across the continent's Five Regions was forcefully suppressed and extinguished, and everyone awoke as if from a dream, returning from the Medicine Ancestor's guidance.

"Interesting."

The Medicine Ancestor's eyes lit up.

The contests between Ancient Ancestor Gods were more intangible than the direct sword and blade clashes of newly ascended Ancestor Gods.

And in just the first round, the Medicine Ancestor roughly deduced the Demonic Ancestor's current state.

Although the Demonic Ancestor's body, spirit, and will had been heavily injured by that reckless Divine Yi, she had awakened the will of the Saint Ancestor.

What was interesting was that the Saint Ancestor's past will had already been fully assimilated by the Demonic Ancestor, meaning that the Saint Ancestor's power was now completely under the Demonic Ancestor's control.

In other words, the Saint-Demon had already returned to zero.

However, this completion was not perfect.

Only when the Demonic Ancestor's body, spirit, and will within Jianlou were fully merged into one, and then integrated with the Saint Ancestor's body, spirit, and will in the Saint Palace, would it be the true "zero."

The Demonic path cultivates the mind.

The Saintly Dao, however, was a battle Dao, manifesting as myriad attributes of Spirit Refinement.

The Saintly Dao could also differentiate into myriad forms, and solely in terms of combat power, under the Demonic Ancestor's control, it was far superior to Life and Reincarnation.

Yet her "zero" was currently imperfect, and could even be said to be inferior to the Eight Revered Adepts; it was just that the Demonic Ancestor had too deep a foundation and too many contingencies on the Holy God Continent.

The Medicine Ancestor was skilled in stratagem, knowing that the Demonic Ancestor could not be underestimated.

Therefore, his first reaction was not to underestimate her, but to ponder whether the Demonic Ancestor still wanted more, which had led to her delay in achieving perfect completion.

But regardless, her completion was currently imperfect, only half a step towards true completion.

In such a state, how could she dare to provoke him?

"The Holy God Continent is your territory, but I have the twin rivers aiding me. Rein in your arrogance, and this cooperation can continue. If not..."

"Hmph!"

The old man took a step, and his true body actually appeared on Mount Siling.

He looked down from above, smiling faintly as he gazed at the little girl in purple on the dragon's head, and chuckled:

"Sheng Xin, oh Sheng Xin, we agreed on half and half. Why are you only willing to give me the Northern Region now?"

"If you act like this, this Ancestor will find it very difficult to cooperate with you."

As Shennong Baicao spoke, his gaze shifted downwards, falling upon the white dragon beneath Zipet, and his smile turned malicious.

The Holy Emperor White Dragon suddenly felt a chill down its spine, as if death was upon it.

Before it could make any move or resistance, sudden changes of life and death occurred within its body, as if from the Two Poles being pushed towards a single entity. Its dragon body spontaneously squeezed out its life potential, pushing itself to the extreme of one state, then abruptly plummeted from its peak into a trough.

In just an instant, the white dragon went from its prime to decline, visibly aging, and even emitting the decaying scent of withered branches and fallen leaves.

"You're asking for death!"

Zipet's eyes gleamed coldly.

To beat a dog, one must first look at its owner.

If she were to sit idly by and watch the white dragon be slain right before her eyes, wouldn't her newly conferred status as Saint Ancestor of the Divine Lineage be a mockery?

*Sizzle—*

Purple lightning swirled, and thunder boomed.

Zipet merely raised a small hand, and a layer of visible 'Thought' flowed over her body, pointing it from afar towards Medicine Ancestor Shennong Baicao.

*Whoosh!*

The purple lightning that shot forth arrived with lightning speed, too fast to cover one's ears.

Even though the Medicine Ancestor reacted swiftly, tilting his head to dodge, the purple lightning still tore off half of his ear.

This did not cause much harm to the Medicine Ancestor, whose Dao of Life was complete, and even the pain was negligible.

But this purple lightning...

The Medicine Ancestor's pupils trembled, and he exclaimed slightly in surprise: "Divine Punishment Tribulation?"

He had directly battled the Thought Ancestor before; how could he not know that this was the exact same ability as the Thought Ancestor's?

Thorough Divine Thought!

It wasn't second-generation Thorough Divine Thought, nor its derivative, but truly the first generation—the thunder-attributed Divine Punishment Tribulation!

"Are you very surprised?"

Zipet's lips curled into a smile.

Seeing that the white dragon's injuries had gone from bad to good and returned to their original state, she was happy to explain to the inexperienced Medicine Ancestor:

"Spirit Refining's thunder attribute is inherently one of the myriad attributes of the Saintly Dao."

"When Kuileihan converted to cultivating the Dao of Thought, it was before his consciousness awakened and before he used Thorough Divine Thought to block this Ancestor's influence. Everything was within this Ancestor's control, naturally, even his cultivation insights."

"And with the innate talent of Zipet from the Divine Lineage, entering the thunder attribute of Spirit Refining was as easy as turning over a hand. After gaining insights into Thorough Divine Thought, cultivating the Divine Punishment Tribulation was even simpler."

"Why the fuss?"

The small Zipet, on the large dragon's head, paced with her hands behind her back, her tone slightly smug, appearing rather haughty:

"You coveted the Thought Ancestor's divine transformation, and even wished to seize his original Dao, to control and utilize it."

"Little did you know, Kuileihan's desperate resistance actually saved your life. Otherwise, at this very moment, you wouldn't even have the right to speak with this Emperor."

"The moment you achieved completion... You! Shennong Baicao! You had already fallen into my trap!"

The Medicine Ancestor's eyes flickered, a look of lingering fear on his face, but he sneered inwardly.

"You merely gained some early insights into the Thought Ancestor's Thorough Divine Thought and have only initially cultivated the Dao of Thought, yet you're putting on quite a show."

"Leaving other matters aside, if you could put on that 'false mask,' then this new Heavenly Realm could truly be conceded to you without a fight. I would not take a single speck."

"Right now, you're merely puffing yourself up; it's nothing more than wanting to gain more leverage from the negotiation first."

The Medicine Ancestor pondered briefly, then laid his cards on the table: "The Northern Region, plus the Central Region. Two out of five. The larger share goes to you."

This was the proposed division of the territory for the new Heavenly Realm.

The Medicine Ancestor knew that the Demonic Ancestor dared to be so arrogant, and that the Dao of Thought was certainly not her most important trump card, but he was too lazy to test it.

This was also an old fox; both knew each other's depths.

If they truly fought it out, it would not end for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years.

The Medicine Ancestor intended to wait until he had seized and completed the Dao of Thought before challenging the Demonic Ancestor again. By then, his offense and defense would be complete, and the Demonic Ancestor, with only her single Saintly Dao Spirit Refining, would absolutely be no match for Shennong Baicao's "Power of Three Rivers."

"The Central Region, absolutely impossible."

Zipet sneered, shaking her head, looking at the old man as if laughing at a fool's dream: "The Northern Region and Western Region are yours; the other three regions and Four Seas are mine."

"Is Lord Sheng Xin joking with this old man?" The Medicine Ancestor was amused. "The Great Western Desert is barren of life; are you trying to fob off a beggar? I need fertile land to cultivate ancestral medicines, and haven't you coveted this Ancestor's medicines for years?"

"You are Medicine Ancestor Shennong Baicao. Don't you know why the Great Western Desert is barren of life?" Zipet widened her eyes, but only answered half the question.

The Medicine Ancestor fell silent, pondering for a moment, as if he had just conceived an extremely comprehensive plan, and waved his hand dismissively, stating with certainty:

"Enough talk."

"The Northern Region, plus the Southern Region."

"The Four Seas are yours, but the remnants of the Art Ancestor in the Southern Region are mine, the Dao of Art is mine, and Suiyin is mine."

Zipet's lips curled into a sneer, about to laugh.

The old man reached out a hand, signaling that adults were speaking and the little girl shouldn't interrupt: "Listen to me finish!"

"For the new Heavenly Realm, this Ancestor will exert all effort alone. You also don't need to deal with Suiyin's completion. You're content to remain holed up in this Saint Palace, so just continue to watch your good show." The Medicine Ancestor clearly knew Sheng Xin's intentions.

Zipet's eyebrows raised at this. She glanced far off in the direction of the Seed, and with an inscrutable expression, her lips curved into a smile:

"Excellent!"

After a pause, her eyes showed cunning, and with a fingertip against her red lips, she muttered:

"Let's be clear first: no matter what happens when you deal with Suiyin, you are not allowed to seek aid from this Emperor."

"This Emperor is merely an ordinary Saint Emperor."

The Medicine Ancestor saw her act, sneered and shook his head, then turned and walked away with a cold laugh.

Why would I need aid?

When this Ancestor reclaims the Northern Locust Tree and plants Suiyin, this world tree, atop your Saint Palace's Mount Siling, let's see what you'll have to say then!