Chapter 2036: 念苏

“Saint Xin, give me back my father’s life!”

The emergence of the Berserk Giant captured the attention of most people in the Five Domains, but Cao Er-zhu’s resolve remained unshaken.

A challenge!A fight to the death!At all costs!

He had already been on the verge of making a move when Elder Mei and Elder You were almost killed. Of course, he had questioned himself: what right did he have? But for many questions, Cao Er-zhu had no answer. He only knew he could no longer stay on the sidelines.

If he couldn’t charge forward now, if he lost that courage, he knew he would live the rest of his life regretting today’s cowardice. Perhaps the words his father once told him in the blacksmith’s shop were meant for this very moment.“Argh!”

Saint Xin, startled, averted his gaze from where the Berserk Giant had vanished and looked at the tall young man before him. He was roaring, as if boundless potential could be unleashed from within him. Purple lightning erupted around him; it was the power of Divine Retribution, the ultimate application of the "Thorough Divine Thought" technique. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that this young man’s spirit cultivation barely reached the Void Realm. Among the cultivators of the Thought Path in the Five Domains, who could rival Kuilei Han? Even the Ancestor of Thought had fallen. What was the point of this person charging forward?

“Who are you?”“My father is Cao Yi-han, and I am Cao Er-zhu!”Cao Er-zhu’s eyes were bloodshot, and purple lightning surged, making him look like a thunder god incarnate. “Saint Xin, today is your doomsday!”Saint Xin: “…”

Where did this ant come from? He saw at a glance that the young man had the courage to confront him, not because he was recklessly brave, but because he was guided. In the Five Domains, currently, only the Dao Ancestor and the Medicine Ancestor were capable of guiding others while remaining hidden. It was most likely the latter. Any reckoning with the Medicine Ancestor could be dealt with later. But to rely on this fellow to injure him and force him to assist the Medicine Ancestor against the Dao Ancestor was simply too naive. With the Ancestor of Thought still fallen, what miraculous effect could this second generation of the Cao clan possibly achieve?“Father and son reunited? As you wish!”

Saint Xin casually pointed a finger. The Golden Profound Finger reappeared, transforming into a golden rainbow that directly pierced through Cao Er-zhu’s body. But though the body shattered, no blood splattered; it was merely an afterimage. Cao Er-zhu’s speed was surprisingly not slow. He had evaded the attack in advance and flashed back into the sky.

“Argh!”He continued to roar, but instead of rushing to attack, he skillfully pulled out a crystal gem the size of a human head and gripped it tightly with both hands.Boom!Thunder roared from the Nine Heavens, ushering in the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation.

“An Ancestral God Fate?”This was truly unexpected. It wasn’t surprising that Cao Er-zhu, being in the Void Realm and not having undergone the Saint Tribulation or Ancestral Source Emperor Tribulation, could still induce the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation. Given his achievements in the Thought Path, he could perfectly well become an Ancestor through it, just like ancient sword cultivators opened their gates to become Ancestors in the three realms, albeit with some difficulty. What was surprising was that all Ancestral God Fates in the Five Domains were essentially acquired by Saint Xin from the Heavenly Realm and bore his imprint, serving as a fallback. But the one in Cao Er-zhu’s hand had its imprint completely erased.

“Who interfered?”A sweep of his divine thought showed that Zero on the Sea of Memories was completely unconcerned with the battlefield. While Saint Xin’s initial suspicion was the Medicine Ancestor, he now had reason to suspect the Dao Ancestor. Shennong Baicao, even if cornered, wouldn’t choose to break ties with him. But if the Dao Ancestor had secretly intervened, then Cao Er-zhu might not simply represent himself, as he was clearly unqualified. So, was it the Ancestor of Thought? Had the Ancestor of Thought returned in memory form? Had the Ancestor of Thought revived from the Ancestral Thought Godnet? Saint Xin couldn’t find an answer, but it didn’t stop him from making a decision: this “Ancestor” Cao Er-zhu must not be allowed to ascend!“You won’t even pass a single bolt of lightning!”

As the tribulation clouds barely gathered, Saint Xin’s clone held the Heaven-Earth Sealing technique in check, while his true body surged directly upwards. The Hunluo Cloud Silk appeared behind him. Saint Xin beckoned it forward, then flicked it out, and the cloud silk coiled like a spiritual snake, binding towards Cao Er-zhu.

“Kings and nobles, are they born superior?!”Er-zhu let out a long roar, purple lightning swirling in his eyes. At this moment, his mind was exceptionally clear, and even his combat awareness seemed to have elevated significantly. He could clearly foresee that once Saint Xin’s Hunluo Cloud Silk bound him, he would be completely helpless, bound until death. Furthermore, without having yet sealed the Ancestral God Realm, he couldn’t directly withstand the Hunluo Cloud Silk. The only way to save himself…“Sky-Shattering Hammer!”

With a grab of his right hand, the silver-white Sky-Shattering Hammer appeared.“Divine Firmament Sovereign!”His knees sank, his eyes nearly splitting, and the power of Divine Retribution surged throughout his body, condensing into a majestic thunder god statue behind him.

Unlike Kuilei Han’s Divine Firmament Sovereign, Cao Er-zhu’s Divine Firmament Sovereign had always simulated the strongest form of his father in his mind. While their power disparity was immense and they couldn’t be compared, an unexpected event occurred the moment Cao Er-zhu’s Divine Firmament Sovereign appeared. The Ancestral Thought Godnet, which covered the Five Domains of the Holy God Continent and had previously been concealed, now lit up with purple patterns, as if a certain will had awakened.

“Indeed!”Saint Xin’s heart tightened. If Kuilei Han were to revive, he could only fight and wouldn't be able to maintain the Heaven-Earth Sealing. The Hunluo Cloud Silk was in front, and the Dao-Extinguishing Profound Ruler was behind. The latter aimed directly at the Nine Heavens Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation, intending to shatter the tribulation simultaneously as Cao Er-zhu awakened his father’s will. In this way, even if Kuilei Han unexpectedly revived, how much power could Cao Er-zhu, with his mere Void Realm body, possibly withstand?

But just as the Dao-Extinguishing Profound Ruler flew out, Cao Er-zhu, with the Divine Firmament Sovereign behind him and the Sky-Shattering Hammer in hand, somehow borrowed courage from an unknown source. He actually kicked through the void, ignoring the Hunluo Cloud Silk as if it were nothing, and charged directly towards the Devil Ancestor’s true body.“Saint Xin!!!”

The heart-wrenching roar caused eardrums to vibrate, almost tearing. Saint Xin, however, smiled. Everything ended here. Cao Er-zhu had made the gravest mistake. Not only would he be bound by the Hunluo Cloud Silk, but the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation would also be shattered by the Dao-Extinguishing Profound Ruler. Like a fleeting epiphyte, once it appeared, even its lingering fragrance would vanish with the wind.

“Zzzzt—”The North Sea ripples paused, as if coated in a layer of purple electrical film. That tingling sensation, in an instant, spread throughout the Five Domains, stirring up waves in the hearts of all cultivators observing the battle. With a rumble, accompanied by a thunderous explosion, Cao Er-zhu’s speed unexpectedly accelerated once more, directly shattering the binding force of the Hunluo Cloud Silk, and the Sky-Shattering Hammer was brought directly before Saint Xin’s head.

Behind him, the Divine Firmament Sovereign’s eyelids suddenly trembled, its previously dull gaze seemingly imbued with a soul, as a surge of wild and domineering intent erupted.“Break!”A low voice echoed. The Sky-Shattering Hammer struck the hastily summoned Primordial Mother Coffin, directly knocking Saint Xin’s true body away. The Divine Firmament Sovereign also waved its massive hand, sending the colossal Dao-Extinguishing Profound Ruler flying as well.

“This…”The Five Domains were aghast. The power Cao Er-zhu unleashed at that instant clearly surpassed not only the Void Realm but also that of an ordinary Ancestral God!“How is this possible?”Saint Xin was sent reeling by the collision with the Primordial Mother Coffin, smashing through spatial and temporal currents from high above the North Sea, and reappearing above the Northern Domain’s God of War Heaven. Looking closely, that was no longer Cao Er-zhu!

He held the silver Sky-Shattering Hammer aloft, absorbing the surging power of the Ancestral Thought Godnet, and a grey mask coalesced before his face. Behind him, the Divine Firmament Sovereign, like a colossal thunder god statue, had its features fully solidified, transforming into a face identical to Kuilei Han’s. Not only was its expression vivid, but the Divine Firmament Sovereign could even speak, its voice like thunder, unmistakably Kuilei Han’s:“Who dares to harm my son?!”“Grand, Grand Summoning Art?!”

The entire world suddenly fell silent. The cultivators of the Five Domains instantly understood what spell this was. Wasn’t this Aunt Xiang’s legendary spiritual technique? When did Cao Er-zhu master it? Moreover, Aunt Xiang could at most summon the Three Realm Deities, but Cao Er-zhu had directly summoned the Ancestor of Thought in his strongest form—the Masked Ancestor of Thought? Even Saint Xin’s heart sank to rock bottom. The situation seemed to be escalating in the worst possible, uncontrollable direction.

However, fortune and misfortune often intertwine, and in an instant, Saint Xin spotted an opportunity. After all, Kuilei Han had been integrated into the Ancestral Thought Godnet for a long time; he should be unaware of subsequent events, nor that the Temporal Pathway was the key at this moment. This meant his goal was merely to protect his son. As long as there were no unexpected events, he wouldn’t engage the clone of Saint Xin guarding the Temporal Pathway.“What a formidable Ancestor of Thought! To return from death in the form of an unwavering will!”Saint Xin rose and directly confronted him, his battle intent soaring. “But how long can you maintain this form?”Once the fight began, Kuilei Han wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the Temporal Pathway! While someone like the Medicine Ancestor might fear a direct confrontation, Saint Xin, currently at zero, had nothing to fear. Even if the Eight Sovereigns arrived, he would dare to fight them for three hundred rounds! Just as well, the Dao cultivation level ascended by the Tree of Memories had now completely surpassed the height of the Ancient War God Platform, enough to accommodate several attacks from a zeroed Ancestral God.

“Sea of Demonic Desire!”Facing the Masked Ancestor of Thought, Saint Xin dared not be careless. This fellow was definitively battle-oriented; his previous transformation into the Ancestral Thought Godnet was purely due to being controlled from the very beginning of his cultivation until his death. Now, resurrected from death, ninety percent of the previous schemes had been reset. In other words, Kuilei Han was liberated. With a palm strike, Saint Xin unleashed nearly ninety percent of the power of the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea, reversing divine power into demonic power, enhancing his Inner Demon Path in a way that unified yin and yang.

This palm strike directly slammed into the Sky-Shattering Hammer that Masked Cao Er-zhu wielded down. A thunderous explosion resounded again; space and Dao techniques were shattered by the massive hammer. Even Saint Xin grunted, unable to withstand it head-on, and was sent flying sideways by the impact, though he managed to stabilize himself. But the Sea of Demonic Desire had succeeded! The terrifying demonic power carried by that palm transformed into a black flowing liquid, crawling up Masked Cao Er-zhu’s body along the Sky-Shattering Hammer. Not only was the hammer blackened and its spirituality greatly diminished, but Masked Cao Er-zhu himself was directly thrown into a state of qi deviation, completely out of control and staggering, his power chaotic and berserk, looking as if he was about to explode but couldn’t.

The power of the Sea of Demonic Desire, further aided by the Ancestral Thought Godnet’s enhancement of Cao Er-zhu, permeated the Dao techniques of the Five Domains, and in an instant, affected everyone on the Holy God Continent. Saint Xin, of course, still remembered what he truly needed to protect: the Temporal Pathway. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, once everyone in the Five Domains entered a state of qi deviation and was under his control, variables? There would be no variables at all!

“Useless.”Yet, a variable still appeared. The Divine Firmament Sovereign, draped in scales and a great cloak, was only half-infested by the demonic power, blackened from its legs up to its torso. Suddenly, a shout, and the power of the Sea of Demonic Desire halted. The Divine Firmament Sovereign, its upper body still crackling with purple lightning, gazed down at its son in qi deviation and shook its head helplessly.

However, if it was the son who had qi deviation, what concern was it of the father? The Divine Firmament Sovereign waved its hand and directly snatched the Sky-Shattering Hammer from Masked Cao Er-zhu, completely abandoning the idea of helping its son control its power. My power, I control! With a grip on the hammer handle and a flex of its muscular arm, electrical arcs exploded in the void, and the demonic power of the Sea of Demonic Desire covering the Sky-Shattering Hammer was directly shattered.

Divine Firmament Sovereign Cao Yi-han, holding the massive Sky-Shattering Hammer, led with it…“Rumble!”Tribulation clouds gathered above various locations in the Five Domains. Scarlet-Rule Divine Thunder, Orange-Heaven Divine Thunder, Golden-Screech Divine Thunder… Various thunders from the Nine Deaths Lightning Tribulation were drawn in, and the tribulation lightning from the Saint Tribulation and Ancestral Source Emperor Tribulation were also summoned. Even the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation above Masked Cao Er-zhu’s head no longer struck Cao Er-zhu.

Thousands of bolts of lightning from the Five Domains all came under the control of the Ancestor of Thought, drawn and converged above the head of the Sky-Shattering Hammer, as if constructing another grand net of tribulation lightning.“Divine Punishment Purifies Evil!”The Divine Firmament Sovereign swung a single arm, violently smashing the Sky-Shattering Hammer into the North Sea. Amidst the roar, the North Sea surged with ten thousand-foot waves, and the tribulation lightning drawn from the Dao techniques of the Five Domains instantly exploded brilliantly, sweeping through every corner of the Holy God Continent.

“Zzzzt…”A tingling sensation swept through the minds of every muddled cultivator, completely awakening them from their inner demon state. Kuilei Han didn’t know what trick Saint Xin was playing. While striking at his masked son, he was also trying to put everyone in the Five Domains into a state of qi deviation. But he had fought the Eight Sovereigns before. Though it was only a small test, he understood the mutual accomplishment of sword and name. What if Saint Xin could borrow power from all the cultivators in the Five Domains who were in qi deviation? What the enemy feared, he might not know. What the enemy did, he would completely destroy. With one force breaking all techniques, naturally, no mysterious calculations would have any effect in a direct confrontation.

“Saint Xin, show me everything you’ve got.”“Otherwise, in the next move, you’ll be reincarnated.”The Divine Firmament Sovereign sneered, and as his great cloak fluttered, Divine Retribution, in a manipulative manner, transformed into thousands of threads that pierced into the tribulation clouds of Cao Er-zhu’s Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation.

With a rumble, the tribulation clouds trembled and no longer unleashed lightning. Instead, they seemed to transform into Kuilei Han’s energy reservoir, beginning to serve him and providing the vast energy needed for battle after losing his Ancestral God body. The Dao techniques of the Five Domains had ascended to a height beyond what the Ancestral Thought Godnet alone could achieve. Kuilei Han naturally noticed this, realizing that the battle situation had drastically changed since he transformed into the Ancestral Thought Godnet. That strange tree… And that monstrous Heavenly Mechanism Puppet, clearly concocted by Dao Qiongcang… Kuilei Han dismissed all these thoughts. To have such a battlefield, to unleash his full combat power and fight to his heart’s content, and with other Ancestral Gods either not showing up or temporarily showing no malice, there was no need for further consideration. First, defeat Saint Xin; the rest could be left to Xu Xiaoshou.

“Tribulation, come!”The Divine Firmament Sovereign held the hammer with his right arm, suspended motionlessly, then raised his left arm and made a grabbing motion in the air. The Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation was directly and unceremoniously drawn in by the manipulative Divine Retribution, absorbed into his body. At this moment, the Divine Firmament Sovereign cast a disdainful glance. Overwhelming pressure descended from the sky, forcing the lunging Saint Xin back into the North Sea once more, pushing him down onto the Northern Domain’s land with sheer aura alone.

“Hiss!”The onlookers in the Five Domains gasped. That was a Zeroed Ancestral God, a suppressive "Thorough Divine Thought"! With such overwhelming pressure, who was truly Zeroed here?“No, no…”Saint Xin, who had been planning to make a few moves to deplete Kuilei Han’s power, force him back into the Ancestral Thought Godnet state, and deal with him later, finally realized something was amiss. This was a battle maniac! If he used the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation as a power source, the consequences were unknown for now, but the Ancestor of Thought at this moment wasn’t just about a few attacks. He even had the ability, in a momentary burst, to reach the combat power of the Eight Sovereigns’ one-step Zero, thereby threatening his own life. This was no game! He had to get serious!

“Desolate Domain!”Without hesitation, Saint Xin’s divine-demonic eyes flared. The Divine-Demonic Dao Sea beneath him completely transformed into sacred light. He stepped onto the Northern Domain’s God of War Heaven, rooting himself in the earth, and power surged downwards. In an instant, the Northern Domain’s land underwent a qualitative change; millions of mountains were like famous swords unsealed from dust, emanating an ancient, desolate aura of power. Saint Xin placed a palm on the ground, fingers curled, and chanted:“Mountains have spirits, all techniques gathered.”“A corner of the Great Desolation, named Buzhou.”“Falling Law Mountain, condense!”

When his right palm swept upwards, it was as if some primeval power had been drawn from this Desolate Domain, condensing into a four-sided mountain seal that crushed Dao techniques. Upon its appearance, the entire Northern Domain seemed to be drained of its power; the earth became barren and cracked, capable of turning to dust upon touch. However, the Falling Law Mountain Seal in Saint Xin’s hand grew more vivid with time, finally transforming from earthy yellow to crimson, so red it seemed to drip blood. From divine nature to demonic nature, in the blink of an eye! The Divine-Demonic Dao Sea also shifted in an instant, transforming from sacred light into overwhelming demonic energy, aiding the seal’s demonic transformation. Then, Saint Xin raised his hand and pointed remotely at the Divine Firmament Sovereign above the North Sea. The mountain seal shattered into light particles and vanished.“Falling Law Mountain, suppress!”

With a command, above the Divine Firmament Sovereign, one hundred thousand blood-red mountains coalesced out of thin air, crushing Dao techniques and momentarily preventing the power of the Ancestral Thought Godnet and the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation from being drawn out. They then fell straight downwards, seemingly intending to crush the Divine Firmament Sovereign while simultaneously filling the vast, boundless North Sea.Boom, boom, boom…The cultivators of the Five Domains looked up, their knees instantly shattered by the terrifying suppressive force from a distance, leaving them powerless and prostrate on the ground. But Kuilei Han, directly beneath the blood-red Falling Law Mountains, didn’t even raise his head. With battle intent surging in his eyes, he brought the Sky-Shattering Hammer to his waist and simultaneously reached out to grab his son.

“Time for a nap!”He stripped away the mask with one hand and kicked his son away with a foot.“Divine Tribulation Mask, shatter!”The fallback he had previously discarded was now reclaimed. At this moment, Kuilei Han, who was originally unable to re-activate the Divine Tribulation Mask, used the Ancestral God Extinction Tribulation as his foundation, the Sky-Shattering Hammer as his guide, and his son’s mask as his tool. He kicked through the void, soaring upwards to meet the blood-red Falling Law Mountains. The instant the Sky-Shattering Hammer struck the Falling Law Mountains, his grey mask visibly solidified on his face, then spread from his neck to his chest, to his limbs, finally enveloping his entire body, fully arming him!

“Divine Firmament Sovereign: Divine Tribulation Armor!”“Saint Xin, your doomsday has arrived!”