Chapter 152: The Decision of the Thunder Ancient Country

Within the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, there is an ancient tree, nurtured by heaven and earth, called the Frost Fruit Tree. It bears fruit once every 196 epochs, and the Frost Fruits it produces are an auxiliary resource for cultivating Primeval Bloodlines.

"The Frost Fruit Tree is about to mature, and cultivators from the Chaos Realm of the Blazefeng Ancient Kingdom might come to seize it at any moment." The guardian of the Frost Fruit Tree was also a peak-level expert in the Chaos Realm. For days, he had ceased his cultivation, fully dedicating himself to controlling the formation and remaining constantly vigilant against intruders.

Every 196 epochs, powerful cultivators would guard the tree during the period when the fruits matured.

"With my strength, combined with the formation set up by a God-King, even if a Transcendent from the Chaos Realm were to act, I could hold them off for a certain period. Besides, Transcendent Chaos Realm cultivators wouldn't even covet these few fruits," the grey-robed elder mused.

Each harvest yielded only eight fruits, valued at a mere eight thousand contribution points. Generally, Transcendent Chaos Realm cultivators couldn't break through the formation quickly, and the Thunder Ancient Kingdom would dispatch reinforcements.

"It's almost time."

"The Frost Fruit Tree should mature tonight." The grey-robed elder watched intently as time slowly passed. Suddenly,

The ancient tree, sculpted as if from ice, suddenly emitted a dazzling, cold white light. This frigid light then fully converged into the eight fruits.

Just then,

The Black River World descended, completely sealing off the area around the Frost Fruit Tree.

"This is bad!" The grey-robed elder was alarmed, instantly plucking the freshly matured fruits.

However, the vast, surging black river water had already swept over. The formation set up by the God-King was directly infiltrated and breached by this terrifying power, utterly incapable of stemming the river's invasion.

The grey-robed elder looked in all directions; grey mist attempted to escape but could not penetrate the Black River World.

"A World Seal, the Black River Domain… is it Grand Saint Luo He?" The grey-robed elder's heart trembled.

The black river water reached the grey-robed elder, coalescing into a figure that was precisely Luo Feng.

"Grand Saint Luo He," the grey-robed elder immediately bowed respectfully, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

"Give me the fruits," Luo Feng said, looking at him.

"Yes."

The grey-robed elder was very compliant, handing over all eight fruits to Luo Feng without any resistance. He worried that if he resisted, Luo Feng might crush him to death! In that case, the secret treasures and weapons he carried would be plundered, which were far more valuable than the eight fruits.

Whoosh.

After taking the eight fruits, the black river water and the vast Black River World vanished instantly without a trace.

The grey-robed elder finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Grand Saint Luo He was merciful enough not to harm me."

Since Luo Feng had decided to harvest natural treasures on a large scale, he never intended to slaughter the guardians en masse! Firstly, with his current strength, he was considered an extremely powerful existence even among God-Kings at the first tier. Killing those who were too weak would be akin to bullying the small. Secondly, killing too many guardians would incur too much karma. These Chaos Realm cultivators responsible for guarding had backgrounds and factions within the Thunder Ancient Kingdom. Accumulating too many enmities and killing too many lesser figures might provoke some of the older, more powerful ones.

Most importantly, Luo Feng inherently disliked those who killed indiscriminately.

His main purpose for this large-scale harvest of natural treasures was to force the Thunder Ancient Kingdom to negotiate and secure an opportunity to enter a treasured land.

He had no other choice; he wasn't from the royal families of the two ancient kingdoms, nor did he want to cooperate with foreign races, so this was his only option.

Thunder Ancient Kingdom, Sacred Land 'Thunder Mountain'.

A God-King in deep purple robes sat, handling a multitude of trivial matters, as vast amounts of information from the colossal ancient kingdom flowed in.

"Oh? Luo He, the top Transcendent in the Chaos Realm, took eight Frost Fruits? Is this his first time contending for natural treasures at the border?" The God-King smiled, his aura calm. "Perhaps these Frost Fruits are of some use to him."

He wasn't bothered in the slightest.

Border disputes among Chaos Realm cultivators were already common, and this was Luo Feng's first such intervention.

Although the border between the two ancient kingdoms was extensive, with many places nurturing natural treasures, there were only about a hundred opportunities to act per epoch.

After acting once, Luo Feng would have to wait patiently for the next opportunity. However, on his way to contend for natural treasures for the third time, Luo Feng received a piece of news.

"Marquis Liuyin is dead?" Luo Feng paused in mid-air, surprised by the news.

"The core members of Marquis Liuyin's family have vanished. According to intelligence from the Blazefeng Guild, they've likely split into numerous branches and gone into hiding. As for Marquis Liuyin himself... his karma has completely disappeared. He must have chosen to reincarnate."

Such actions—arranging his family's affairs beforehand, settling everything, and then dying—almost certainly indicated a deliberate reincarnation.

"Why did he reincarnate? I had planned to seek him out after my spiritual will reached the ultimate God-King realm," Luo Feng thought.

His killing intent towards Marquis Liuyin was multifaceted: first, the death of his friend Shang Tianyan; second, Marquis Liuyin's inherent penchant for stirring up disasters and his enjoyment of massacres, a trait also shared by his children.

Luo Feng hadn't acted until now because he wasn't confident he could kill the opponent completely.

Who would have thought the opponent would reincarnate first?

Luo Feng stopped dwelling on it and continued on his way to contend for natural treasures for the third time.

Thunder Mountain. The God-King in deep purple robes now wore a solemn expression.

When Luo He first contended for the Thunder Ancient Kingdom's natural treasures, he merely smiled.

The second and third times, he was somewhat surprised.

By the seventh and eighth times, he had a bad feeling.

"Fifteen times now! Every natural treasure that has recently appeared at the border has been seized by Luo He; he hasn't missed a single one." The God-King's expression was grave. Accumulating fifteen such instances amounted to roughly a hundred thousand contribution points.

The Thunder Ancient Kingdom didn't care about this minor value.

However, Luo He's actions had made him vigilant.

"I must report this to the Monarch." The God-King immediately rose and personally went to inform the Monarch.

Moments later.

Within a majestic and vast hall, a figure bathed in lightning sat high upon a throne. "Monarch."

All nine God-Kings bowed respectfully.

"Be seated." The lightning-clad figure's golden eyes emanated a terrifying pressure as he looked down. He was the current reigning monarch of the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, Monarch Leixiao. The nine monarchs of the Thunder Ancient Kingdom were primarily divided into two major factions.

The first faction cultivated the Primeval Bloodline of the Thunder lineage, which was also the path of the Thunder Progenitor. This path was the most mature, but not every descendant was proficient in the Thunder lineage. After all, within the supreme rules of the Origin Continent, there was no Thunder Origin Grand Dao. Therefore, this path was very mature but also very difficult.

Even within the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, there were only three monarchs who cultivated the Thunder Primeval Bloodline. Their various secret arts were more refined, they possessed more suitable secret treasures, and they were even more clear-headed.

The other six monarchs cultivated different Primeval Bloodlines, forming another faction.

If one were to count strictly, there were also three 'semi-uncontrolled' monarch-level experts who could be considered a faction. After all, when they were lucid, they represented true monarch-level power.

"You should all be aware of the situation," Monarch Leixiao said, looking at his subordinates. "Tell me, how should we resolve this?"

"The border between our two ancient kingdoms is so long, yet for fifteen consecutive times, as soon as a natural treasure matured, Luo He snatched it," a burly figure among his subordinates said, his blood-red eyes cold.

"Five or six times could barely be considered a coincidence, but fifteen consecutive times is absolutely not. He is doing this on purpose. If we let him continue, in a hundred or a thousand epochs, will all our natural treasures go to him? In my opinion, we should directly destroy all his avatars, giving him no time to reincarnate."

"Only then can we deter all sides and let the Blazefeng Ancient Kingdom know that border disputes are meant to be fair competition. We, the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, will not tolerate such wanton plundering," the burly figure stated coldly.

"Yes, kill him before he can reincarnate!" another furry God-King roared. Monarch Leixiao looked down.

Because too many of the God-Kings in the Thunder Ancient Kingdom cultivated Primeval Bloodlines, most of them were somewhat erratic and even mad. Why did their Thunder lineage hold a higher status?

Strength was one aspect, but another was their ability to remain more clear-headed.

"I'd like to ask how you propose to completely kill him?" a woman in elegant robes calmly inquired. "This Luo He cultivates the three origin grand daos of Life, Destruction, and Matter, possesses countless avatars, and some of those avatars reside in Chudu. Please tell me... how do you intend to go to Chudu and kill an entity that is considered an extremely powerful force even among God-Kings at the first tier, who also has countless avatars?"

"That is Chudu. Chudu was personally refined by the Blazefeng Progenitor, and Emperor Chu resides there. Due to karmic penetration, any power would be greatly diminished. How would you kill him?" The woman in elegant robes looked at the other God-Kings.

The other God-Kings fell silent.

"Of course, we cannot do it, but the Monarchs can," the burly figure finally said. "You mean, ask a Monarch to intervene? For this matter, you want a Monarch to go to Chudu in the Blazefeng Ancient Kingdom to kill someone?" The woman in elegant robes shook her head. "Firstly, if a Monarch acts, it would be an act of bullying the small, which would make the entire Origin Continent ridicule us."

"Secondly, in a place like Chudu, with Luo He's avatars, countless life-saving abilities, and Emperor Chu's protection, even if a Monarch could kill him, Luo He would only need a short time to reincarnate. After reincarnation, Luo He would surely hide until he becomes a God-King, at which point his strength would be far greater than it is now; he would be no less formidable than I am," the woman in elegant robes stated.

"Thirdly, don't forget Emperor Chu's temperament. If our Monarch truly were to bully the small and kill his disciple in Chudu, what would Emperor Chu do?" The woman in elegant robes swept her gaze across those present, and the God-Kings fell silent.

Indeed, if the Thunder Ancient Kingdom were to act tyrannically by bullying the small first, Emperor Chu would absolutely not tolerate it.

Once Emperor Chu made a move, even though the other Emperors behind him might quarrel internally, they would definitely unite against an external threat.

"Most importantly, the border between the two ancient kingdoms allows Chaos Realm cultivators to contend. This was established by the two Progenitors," the woman in elegant robes said. "This is also meant to temper the Chaos Realm cultivators of both nations, allowing them to battle and for the strong to acquire resources. Luo He is also a Chaos Realm cultivator; his contention for natural treasures perfectly adheres to the rules. Now, just because he is strong, you want to act? Doesn't this make our Thunder Ancient Kingdom appear petty?"

"What kind of behavior is this, to break the rules set by the Progenitors over such a trivial matter?" The woman in elegant robes swept her gaze over her companions.

"What do you propose we do? He's constantly seizing natural treasures," the burly God-King retorted, his blood-red eyes fixed on her.

"Just talk to Luo He. It's a small matter that can be resolved through negotiation," the elegant woman said, smiling as she swept her gaze across the group of God-Kings.

A bunch of fools.

She truly looked down on these companions. Without even cultivating a Primeval Bloodline, she was already at the invincible level of a first-tier God-King, a hegemon on the Origin Continent. She was ambitious, believing that the further she advanced without external aid, the stronger she would become when she eventually used a Primeval Bloodline. She even had hopes of becoming a new Monarch.

"I support God-King Jiayin."

"Exactly, we shouldn't break the Progenitor's rules." Three God-Kings spoke up in quick succession, and Monarch Leixiao nodded in satisfaction.

God-King Jiayin, one of his subordinates, was his most valued. She had become an invincible first-tier God-King without relying on external forces. In the Thunder Ancient Kingdom, status was earned through strength, and God-King Jiayin was both powerful and clear-headed, making her highly competent in handling affairs.

Most of the other hegemon-level entities were often too erratic and unrestrained.

"Jiayin, I'll entrust this matter to you."

Monarch Leixiao said. "Yes, Monarch," the elegant woman replied.

Monarch Leixiao then rose and vanished. The elegant woman also disappeared into thin air.

"Hmph," the burly God-King, his bloodshot eyes filled with anger, glanced at the spot where the elegant woman had vanished. "Cultivating the Immeasurable Origin Grand Dao, all she knows is how to evade."