Chapter 2014: Four Pipes

"Be careful of memory?"

Inside the world of the Life Pattern, Shennong Baicao's first reaction to the Demon Ancestor's warning was not vigilance, but rather a sigh of relief.

The path of memory should belong to Dao Qiongcang. This person is not like the Eight, the Divine, or Cao. Even if he has reached the Ancestral God level, his understanding of the Great Dao might be at the 'Zeroing' level, but his combat power is still somewhat lacking.

At most, he could reach seven-tenths of Hua Changdeng's power, which would be impressive. But in reality, has he truly reached the Ancestral God level? Not necessarily!

After all, he had only sensed the appearance of an Ancestral God's aura and traces of the Great Dao long river, but so far, no one had summoned the Ancestral God's Annihilation Tribulation. Under the watchful eyes of a Zeroing Ancestral God, it's impossible for Chongyin to open up his own realm or for the Saint Ancestor to hide in Four Tombs Mountain and secretly achieve Ancestral God status. Everything would be exposed!

So, the Medicine Ancestor thought that compared to the other Ten Thrones, Dao Qiongcang was clearly inferior. Either he was afraid, or he was plotting something. Either way, it showed that he was all bark and no bite.

Furthermore, as long as he hasn't passed the great tribulation, even if he has accumulated enough understanding, his realm would still be stuck below the Ancestral God level, and his strength would naturally be greatly reduced. Calculated conservatively, his direct combat power might be half of Hua Changdeng's, assuming Dao Qiongcang's Path of Memory performed exceptionally well! This was the first point.

Secondly, through the Demon Ancestor's reminder, the Medicine Ancestor could also see that this "Zeroing Ancestral God" had no connection with the Demon Ancestor. This made him feel even more at ease. If Dao Qiongcang had colluded with the Demon Ancestor, he would still need to be cautious. But if Dao Qiongcang was alone, he was essentially no different from a stray dog. One kick would be enough to kill him.

"Memory..." But at this moment, the Medicine Ancestor, who had completely subdued Beihuai and thus retracted the energy used for spatial exile, intending to fully focus on dealing with Chongyin, suddenly felt something was amiss. It seemed there shouldn't be just two points; there was a third. What could it be?

After a brief thought, while fighting against Chongyin's possession power, the Medicine Ancestor soon chuckled, coming to an absurd conjecture: "Surely the Demon Ancestor's voice wasn't still warning me that my memories were altered by Him... oh, by him, when Dao Qiongcang 'achieved Ancestral God status' just now?"

However, since he was a "strong expert" who had condensed the River of Memory, and had the potential to become a "Zeroing Ancestral God," even though he had briefly revealed his aura to intimidate others before hiding again, it didn't stop the suspicious Medicine Ancestor from being extra cautious and checking his own memories for any anomalies. Better safe than sorry!

This deeply ingrained principle had, from ancient times to the present, averted countless crises for the Medicine Ancestor.

"Whoosh..." The River of Life surged with the sound of flowing water. All the scenes he had seen, thought, and experienced since Chongyin's attempted possession appeared on its surface. With himself as the core, and under the blessing of the Twin Rivers of the Great Dao, these things naturally could not be wrong.

A quick scan showed no abnormalities. He merely found that Beihuai had secretly hidden within Chongyin's consciousness, entering his Life Pattern world along with the possession force, but had remained concealed without appearing. However, this still didn't escape his discernment; with a slight exertion of power, he had subdued him. The Medicine Ancestor then withdrew his gaze, gathered all his focus, and continued to block Chongyin's attempt at possession.

"Wait!" But at this moment, a powerful premonition from the Zeroing Ancestral God made the Medicine Ancestor suddenly realize something. Soon, a critical question surfaced in his mind: "How did Beihuai, who entered my Life Pattern world with the possession force, manage to hide and not be detected by me immediately?"

Beihuai had grown up right under his nose. After the Huai Heart was planted, he knew every detail of Beihuai's later life. The only period he hadn't paid attention to Beihuai was during his own 'Zeroing' weakened state in the Mourning Emperor Realm. But in such a short time, Beihuai had neither comprehended the Rivers of Life and Reincarnation nor reached the extreme of the Path of Concealment. How could he have avoided his sight for so long in the early stages, even secretly altering Chongyin's possession attempt?

"My memory was truly tampered with!" With the thought that it wasn't Beihuai who had entered his Life Pattern world, but rather Dao Qiongcang, he looked at the River of Life again. The Medicine Ancestor immediately saw that the scenes, as perceived by his subjective consciousness, were clearly veiled by a subtle, almost imperceptible force of misinformation. There was an aura of memory... but most of it was also the power of the Path of Life...

Given the cognitive inertia that a Zeroing Ancestral God would never have his memories tampered with by such a despicable schemer, how had he completely overlooked this detail with just one glance?

"Impossible, impossible..." The Medicine Ancestor's mind reeled in shock, and in disbelief, he erased the "alteration" that had veiled his subjective consciousness. On the River of Life, the memory force dissipated like smoke. The unveiled scenes, pieced together, clearly showed the truth: Dao Qiongcang had entered with Chongyin, but was discovered by him. When he tried to escape, half of his consciousness body had already been intercepted.

In the end, just as the "Zeroing Ancestral God" was born outside, he diverted a portion of his attention, using this opportunity to appear to do one thing while secretly doing another. He altered his own memory of "Dao Qiongcang's invasion" into "Beihuai's invasion." A mere alteration at the memory level wouldn't normally change facts. Dao Qiongcang's half-consciousness body was clearly still exiled within his Life Pattern space, but because he thought it was Beihuai invading and was confident, he had proactively lifted the exile force not long ago, allowing Dao Qiongcang to quietly escape!

"Damn it!" At this instant, the Medicine Ancestor, seeing the full truth, felt his eyes about to burst from anger. Because of his carelessness, he had let Dao Qiongcang escape? He had fallen directly for a simple feint, spitting out the Zeroing-level Path of Memory that had been delivered right to his doorstep?

"Argh!" The Medicine Ancestor roared internally, filled with regret. This was a Zeroing-level Path of Memory; how could one not be reluctant to lose it? Compared to the immaturity of the Path of Thought, it had reached absolute perfection. Hadn't the River of Memory already condensed outside?

Although it was a Path of Comprehension, not a Path of Combat, and didn't match his expectations, this was meat delivered right to his mouth. All he needed to do was "swallow" it. He had even intended to absorb it earlier, but at the crucial moment, that scoundrel had escaped by severing his memories?

"Dao! Qiong! Cang!" What humiliation? How absurd? This whole episode was pure mockery, making him feel like a clown. The Zeroing Ancestral God's dignity had been utterly trashed; if this got out, he would surely become a laughingstock.

At this moment, the Medicine Ancestor wished he could seize that actor who dared to stick his head into the tiger's mouth and then calmly withdraw, and crush him, otherwise, the shame in his heart would be unbearable. But... the dragon had returned to the sea, now free. Within himself, Chongyin still needed to be blocked; how could he free up time to find Dao Qiongcang? Could it be that Dao Qiongcang would dare to stick his head into his mouth again for a second round of teasing?

"That brat humiliated me to such an extent; he deserves a thousand cuts!" "No, no... calm down, calm down... at this time, it's even more important not to let anger cloud my judgment and throw myself into disarray." "Chongyin's possession attempt is formidable and still not to be underestimated. Even though Dao Qiongcang, the leader of this group, has escaped, I can still proceed methodically and capture Chongyin using the old methods." "As long as I swallow the Path of Techniques, and then use Chongyin's techniques to complete a temporal reversal, I can still influence the future from the past. Dao Qiongcang won't escape; the Path of Techniques and the Path of Memory will both be mine!"

The Medicine Ancestor was, after all, the Medicine Ancestor. He quickly calmed down, a complete set of mature plans forming in his mind. However, it was unclear whether it was the power of the Blood World Pearl entering his body along with the possession force, or Chongyin's obstinacy dissolving into his self affecting his will, or perhaps the humiliation and unwillingness from Dao Qiongcang's playful intrusion and calm withdrawal that fueled his emotions—or even a combination of all three. The Medicine Ancestor had mature plans, but he no longer wished to proceed so steadily.

Before Zeroing, he had proceeded cautiously, fearing variables and daring not to rush. After Zeroing, he should have been able to act without restraint. Why, in the end, did he still need to be so cautious? Wouldn't that be equivalent to not having Zeroed at all?

"Dao Qiongcang, you can't escape!" In an instant, a second plan emerged in the Medicine Ancestor's mind. Slightly aggressive, with some risk, but similarly, the returns would be higher—a high-risk, high-reward approach: "While blocking Chongyin's possession attempt, digest the power of the Life Medicine Pool swallowed by Beihuai."

"In this way, first, Chongyin's forces, being leaderless, won't be able to resist me. Second, on the timeline, I can simultaneously unify my powers." "Third, after seizing the Path of Techniques, I can then use the power of the Life Medicine Pool to cultivate a New Heavenly Realm without further delay. Fourth, once the New Heavenly Realm emerges, my actions will be unrestricted, and Dao Qiongcang will have no time or space to hide or conceal himself."

These four advantages corresponded to only one disadvantage: he would need to slightly divert some energy to control and digest the vast power of the Life Medicine Pool, preventing it from being used by Chongyin's possession force. That was it! Could he take this risk?

If Chongyin's possession attempt had a structured plan, the Medicine Ancestor would absolutely not dare to take this risk. But the truth was, Chongyin was obsessive, and Dao Qiongcang, the leader, had also fled. Therefore, this risk was not just one he *could* take, but one he *definitely* could take!

A success probability of nearly seventy percent... Reaching this conclusion, the Medicine Ancestor no longer hesitated. He immediately split a portion of his mind and unleashed the power of life. Above the Great Desert of the Western Regions, the Medicine Ancestor's true body suddenly opened its eyes, which glowed crimson, and he commanded with a decree: "Huai Heart Life Guiding, return!"

At the crossroads.

Xu Xiaoshou had just finished seeing Nuo, just collected his mind from the power of the River of Intent, and opened his eyes.

"Being watched, Passive Points, 1."

Across from him, Dao Qiongcang was also staring at him with open eyes.

His mind, however, seemed to have been elsewhere just a moment ago, somewhat vacant. But upon sensing Xu Xiaoshou's gaze, his eyes sharpened again, focusing intently, and a faint smile spread across his lips. "This guy..." Xu Xiaoshou had seen this many times, but he still couldn't stomach this fellow's fake smile.

The power of Boundless Silence was still being infused. Seeing that smile, Xu Xiaoshou understood and asked: "Did it succeed?"

"Indeed." Dao Qiongcang nodded slightly, his tone subtly nuanced: "Everything unfolded just as I predicted."

"Didn't my Boundless Silence energy do most of the work?" Xu Xiaoshou sneered repeatedly, unable to stand the flamboyant old Daoist's smugness, and spoke again: "Now that the Great Severing Art has succeeded, Shennong's memory has been altered, and your consciousness body has fully returned, what do you plan to do next?" Chongyin attacking internally, and the Thought Ancestor attacking externally? Xu Xiaoshou hadn't forgotten that Dao Qiongcang's ultimate goal was to completely suppress the Medicine Ancestor, but Shennong Baicao would surely be prepared for the Thought Ancestor.

How would he pull off another surprise move?

"My Path of Memory was only on par with the Medicine Ancestor's Twin Rivers of the Great Dao just now; it won't fool him for too long. Let's wait for him to make his move."

"Just now?" Xu Xiaoshou detected a slight anomaly. Before he could ask, Dao Qiongcang displayed a wait-and-see expression and raised a finger: "Three..." "Two..." "One."

As soon as the countdown finished, there really was an anomaly. In the deep pit, Beihuai's body suddenly shook. Dense life force and Chongyin's purple aura erupted from his body in an even split.

"Om!" The Huai Heart appeared. Beihuai's entire being floated in mid-air.

"The Medicine Ancestor is about to use the power of the Life Medicine Pool?" Xu Xiaoshou understood as soon as he saw the Huai Heart's abnormality, turning to look at Dao Qiongcang. Dao Qiongcang also looked back at him, treating the situation with twelve times the vigilance compared to the Medicine Ancestor's consistent underestimation. He confirmed repeatedly: "Are you sure you've swallowed all the power of the Life Medicine Pool, right?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded: "Everything Beihuai knew, I have completely swallowed, not a single drop remains."

This point didn't need to be concealed. He who takes from another is at a disadvantage. The River of Intent condensing during battle was fundamentally different from condensing before battle. While his own exceptional talent accounted for ninety-nine hundredths of the credit, Dao Qiongcang had also contributed his modest efforts. Xu Xiaoshou acknowledged this debt. Therefore, at this moment, the bond between Xu and Dao was as strong as gold. Even if it eventually collapsed and disintegrated, it would only be after both the Demon and Medicine Ancestors had been thoroughly defeated.

Dao Qiongcang seemed to understand this as well. Without further pleasantries with Xu, he gritted his white teeth almost to breaking point, his face extremely grim: "In ten breaths, activate Kui Leihan and directly attack Shennong's main body in the Western Regions. Just attack; there's no need to worry about the Demon Ancestor intervening. He'll be happy to watch from the sidelines." "Four prongs of attack! He dared to sever my consciousness body; I will make him exhaust himself and bury his path today!"

Four prongs? Wouldn't that be a bit too much? Xu Xiaoshou was slightly stunned. Intelligent as he was, he could only discern two prongs of attack for now. Presumably, Chongyin's internal possession and Cao Yihan's fierce external assault. Where were the remaining two prongs?

Just as the Huai Heart streaked through the air, dragging Beihuai as a stream of light towards the west, Dao Qiongcang swiftly made his move, summoning the River of Memory beneath his feet. Without even bothering to conceal it, he struck Beihuai's remnant body and the Huai Heart directly with a hand seal: "Grand Complexity of Consciousness Art!"

The River of Memory trembled, stirring up surging waves. Boundless power, transforming into the mundane illusions that everyone had once received, was forcibly injected into Beihuai and the Huai Heart. "This..." Xu Xiaoshou's heart trembled, but he could see that the memory scenes Beihuai and the Huai Heart were now subjected to were far more chaotic, disorderly, and frantic than what ordinary people had previously received.

Massive memory fragments were injected into the human vessel. If the Medicine Ancestor were to open and read them while in his full state of power, he could, with a little effort, sort them out, extract the essence, and discard the dross. It might even stabilize his Dao Heart further and lead to progress.

But don't forget, the Medicine Ancestor was currently dealing with Chongyin's possession attempt, and would soon have to contend with Cao Yihan. Under such internal and external attacks, already exhausted, how could he find the time to process these complex and jumbled memory fragments? Perhaps, a subtle move could quietly hit him, causing his thoughts to waver during battle, directly creating an opportunity for the Thought Ancestor to strike a fatal blow!

"What a sinister and poisonous scheme!" The Grand Complexity of Consciousness Art wasn't inherently powerful. Even Xu Xiaoshou could see that it was just a chaotic "massive memory infusion." But just like any of the Thirty-six Heavenly Secrets Arts Dao Qiongcang had used before, he could package each art exceptionally well and skillfully apply it at the opportune moment where it would be most effective. This allowed a Heavenly Secrets Art, originally with only ten parts of power, to unleash a hundred and twenty thousand parts of might. This counted as one prong.

What about the last prong, the fourth one? Before Xu Xiaoshou could ask further, Dao Qiongcang, having finished influencing Beihuai and the Huai Heart, repeatedly curled his fingers and tapped various acupoints on his own body, like an ancient martial artist opening up meridians.

"Om!" The first layer of power surged forth. Above Dao Qiongcang's Qi Sea, a surging Ancestral Origin power suddenly burst forth. Compared to the familiar aura of the Ten Ancestors, this was a completely different Dao rhythm, leaning more towards the Path of Memory, yet not purely so.

"Om!" The second layer of power surged forth. Dao Qiongcang's Dao chains appeared around him, then suddenly collapsed. Surging waves of energy spread outwards as his aura rapidly ascended layer by layer. If compared to the Spirit Refinement Realm, it was equivalent to a sudden breakthrough at the Half-Saint level. Half-Saint, Saint Emperor... Then rapidly breaking through from the first, second, and third realms to the fifth and sixth, swiftly reaching the ninth and tenth realm Saint Emperor. It was somewhat like the Hidden Sword Art. And somewhat like Ai Cangsheng's technique seed, Imprisonment · Multi-Stage Unsealing. Finally, resonating with the power of the Qi Sea within him, his momentum pierced straight through the sky, actually pushing him to the Ancestral God level.

"Om!" The third layer of power surged forth. It was clearly visible that Dao Qiongcang was a newly promoted Ancestral God, yet he seemed to have entered this realm long ago. It was also clear that the path Dao Qiongcang walked was never innovative; it was the Saint Ancestor's systematic path of Zeroing. However, he directly skipped the cumbersome steps of becoming a newly promoted Ancestral God, severing into two incarnations, and the two returning to one. Even the "Distinguishing Myself" step was replaced by the Path of "Proving Myself Through Him." In an instant, Dao Qiongcang took the final step: Zeroing!

"Zeroing?" Xu Xiaoshou could no longer remain calm, his heart filled with dread. He had long sensed that Dao Qiongcang was hiding very deeply, and beneath the exposed corner of his power was a massive iceberg that no one else could perceive. But... How had he Zeroed?

It looked as if Dao Qiongcang already had a well-nurtured, two-in-one Ancestral God within him. Like the Demon created by the Saint's severance, the Ghost by the Medicine's severance, or the Chongyin born from techniques. The difference was that the Demon, Ghost, and Chongyin Ancestors all possessed self-awareness, whereas the one within Dao Qiongcang seemed incredibly obedient. At this moment, he could easily bring it out, merge it into one, and by simply digesting it, enter the "Zeroing" realm?

"Dao defying the heavens..." Xu Xiaoshou suddenly recalled the information Li Muzi had previously transmitted: it seemed that the memories of the Five Domains had long been distorted, and a newly promoted Ancestral God had appeared. As if sensing something, he extended his perception beyond the crossroads, towards the Five Domains, and witnessed an incredibly terrifying scene.

On the Saint God Continent, approximately half of the Spirit Refiners were now kneeling, hands raised high, fervently shouting: "Controlling the Heavenly Secrets, assimilating myriad laws." "Absolving sins and altering destiny, the Dao Ancestor descends!" Layers of sound waves, like ripples spreading across a mirror-like lake, then transforming into roaring ocean tides, directly assaulted the heart. The fervent voices sounded indistinguishable from those of brainwashed cult followers. The only fundamental difference was that the object of their faith seemed to be truly materializing?

"Dao Qiongcang, are you truly defying the heavens..." Xu Xiaoshou murmured in shock, even he found it hard to believe. However, the combination of the phenomena inside and outside the crossroads, along with various realities, conveyed but one message: Dao Qiongcang was about to overturn the table!

When it was time to play the cards he had been hoarding for so long, he didn't leisurely deal them out like an ordinary person, giving others a chance to counter. Instead, he threw them all out at once! And conveniently, his hand was full of bombs!

"Xu Xiaoshou, I'm entering the game." "From this moment on, perhaps you can call me..." Even his voice became ethereal and illusory. Dao Qiongcang, gradually rising in the dazzling Dao light at the crossroads, had cold lips and an unchanging expression.

And at this point, even as he exerted his full power, there was still one very perplexing aspect: Where was the Ancestral God Annihilation Tribulation? Why was it not coming? With such a display of power, and such phenomena, there should at least be roaring thunder, or at the very least, black clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it above the crossroads, right?

But... None! It was as if Dao Qiongcang's desire to become an Ancestral God, to achieve Zeroing, was so formidable that even the Ancestral God Annihilation Tribulation had to steer clear? Unbelievable! This was impossible! Even the Eight Revered Ones had to undergo tribulations! They had only changed the way of undergoing tribulation, first cultivating with the Hidden Sword Art within the Indestructible Sword Body. After nurturing new creation, with a breath from the chest, the sword would rise and achieve Zeroing! Was Dao Qiongcang stronger than the Eight Revered Ones? Did he not need the Ancestral God Annihilation Tribulation? Or perhaps, his tribulation had already passed long ago, unknown to the world?

"Boom!" Divine light shot into the sky, evidently breaking through the great array at the crossroads. When the Huai Heart emerged and Beihuai departed, this great array had essentially completed its mission, and Xu Xiaoshou did not stop it. He stared intently at Dao Qiongcang. Dao Qiongcang rose, bathed in divine light, with radiant multicolored light behind him, just like the flamboyant Saint Ancestor he had feigned to be in the Divine Ruins. However, what was false then was true now!

The brilliant multicolored light spread, transcending the City of Floating Death. Dao rhythm surged, covering the Five Domains of the Saint God Continent. The world looked up in astonishment, witnessing the birth of an Ancestral God's Dharma Idol in the Central Domain, ten thousand feet tall, reaching into the clouds. Immortal cranes came to pay homage, and phoenixes danced together. When its eyes closed, the Dao's radiant light transformed into sweet dew, nourishing all laws; when its eyes opened, three thousand stars shone, with the sun and moon embedded as pupils.

The Ancestral God's Dharma Idol, adorned in golden threads and jade robes, held the Star-Net Compass in one hand and manipulated the myriad Dao of the starry sky with the other. As it moved, layers of Great Dao diagrams unfolded beneath its feet. There were elemental profound diagrams of Spirit Refinement, Heavenly Secret Arrays fundamentally different yet governing life and reincarnation, the River of Memory, astral techniques... Everything except the Swordless. All that should exist, nothing was lacking!

At this moment, everyone in the Five Domains who witnessed this scene saw the unconcealed arrogance and ambition in the Ancestral God's Dharma Idol, and understood the true thoughts within this being's heart: "Dao Ancestor!" "Ancestor of Myriad Paths!"