Chapter 1233: Yao Sheng

"Yao Sheng, it's you!"Everyone was stunned. The Sixth Immortal was someone they all knew had died long ago, and everyone had heard of this person's name: Yao Sheng, the master of "Words Become Law."

"Who is Yao Sheng?" The Central Heavenly Emperor frowned; he hadn't heard the name.Lu Yang glanced at the Central Heavenly Emperor beside him, thinking, *How can you not recognize anyone?* But since the Dao Seeking Sect had a tradition of treating captives well, he kindly introduced, "He's the ancient cultivator who mastered 'Words Become Law.'"

"So it was him?"The Central Heavenly Emperor suddenly understood. He only knew that in ancient times, there was a prodigy who had mastered the nearly lost ability of "Words Become Law," was invincible among peers, and had never been defeated in his life. However, he had fallen not long after being promoted to the Tribulation Transcending stage, causing the divine ability of "Words Become Law" to be lost ever since. The Central Heavenly Emperor had repeatedly searched for clues about "Words Become Law" but found nothing.

In the ancient era, where countless prodigies and tribulation-transcending demi-immortals were commonplace, Yao Sheng was not particularly conspicuous; his name wasn't even widely preserved. The reason was that he had fallen too early. Before the Tribulation Transcending stage, he was indeed unparalleled, with legends about him circulating throughout an entire galaxy. However, which ancient prodigy didn't have similar legends? Which one didn't defeat countless other prodigies, hailed as invincible among their peers, stepping over them to claim the top spot in a particular galaxy? The true measure of their strength was determined at the Tribulation Transcending stage.

Unfortunately, Yao Sheng fell too early, dying at the hands of Immortal Immortal before he had a chance to duel other prodigies, leaving him with no notable achievements. Even figures like Ying Tianxian had only heard of Yao Sheng's name and never fought him; they hadn't realized Yao Sheng was such a formidable opponent. Lu Yang remembered Immortal Immortal's account: she had injured Yao Sheng, and because Yao Sheng had protected himself too well and never endured much pain, he simply cried out, "It hurts so much, I'm dying!" and then died. His death was somewhat abrupt, almost a suicide, by that account.

"In ancient times, you broke through my absolute defense; now you've pierced my black mist. Immortal, you truly are a difficult opponent," Yao Sheng said, his tone laden with resentment. It was as if fate itself conspired against him, with similar events constantly repeating. As a practitioner of "Words Become Law," countless people had tried to ambush him throughout his life. It was only natural for him to use "Words Become Law" to enhance his defenses. However, he had never expected Immortal Immortal to be so powerful, breaking through the absolute defense he had created with his ability.

To prepare for a fight with the as-yet-unascended Immortal of Ages, his absolute defense could even block temporal attacks, in addition to resisting spatial curses and all other types of assaults. Yet, despite his thorough preparations, Immortal Immortal had pierced through it with pure force. It was simply incredible. Were prodigies from other galaxies truly this powerful? Long ago, he had used "Words Become Law" to create a life-saving escape mechanism, allowing him to feign death and escape, precisely to prevent such situations. Through this encounter, he realized there were always stronger individuals and higher realms, so he had feigned death and endured, as if he didn't exist.

"Immortal, you ambushed me when I was unprepared; that's not a fair fight. How dare you question why I want to kill you?""You were the one who wiped out an innocent small tribe first!" Immortal Immortal retorted angrily. At that time, Yao Sheng intended to destroy a small tribe, and the situation was urgent, so she had to intervene. Moreover, she could only resort to a sneak attack because both she and Yao Sheng were at the Tribulation Transcending stage; if they engaged in open combat, the small tribe would surely be affected. Her own tribe had disappeared because two powerful cultivators fought, leaving only her alive, and that battle had been an unintentional collateral event. She most wished to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"Mortals who don't recognize the might of heaven and offend me — why shouldn't they be killed?" Yao Sheng said coldly. He was born superior. Mortals were merely toys to amuse him, and even cultivators were just slightly larger toys in his eyes. If these "toys" didn't obey him, what did it matter if he killed them?

"How did Yao Sheng secretly ascend to immortality? Did he use 'Words Become Law' to block my detection?" Ying Tianxian muttered to himself, still puzzled. His Tribulation Response Dao Fruit controlled heavenly tribulations, and it was impossible for an immortal ascension tribulation to escape his Dao Fruit's notice. This would imply that Yao Sheng had ascended before him. Still, that didn't quite fit. "Words Become Law" was a divine ability, not a nascent Dao Fruit; a divine ability couldn't deceive his nascent Tribulation Response Dao Fruit. Unless—Ying Tianxian instantly realized, "His Dao Fruit *is* 'Words Become Law'!"

Only by elevating "Words Become Law" into a "Words Become Law" Dao Fruit could it deceive his nascent Tribulation Response Dao Fruit and allow him to secretly ascend! The "Words Become Law" Dao Fruit—this was a Dao Fruit unfamiliar to anyone, and no one knew its full capabilities!

"Quite lively here, isn't it?" A rather familiar voice suddenly rang out beside Lu Yang. Lu Yang turned his head and saw Jiang Ping'an, dressed like an old farmer and quite unassuming. He quickly bowed in greeting, "Senior Jiang Ping'an, why are you here?"

Jiang Ping'an quietly gazed at Lu Yang. "Nonsense," he thought. "With such a huge commotion on my territory, practically tearing the world apart, how could I *not* come? Do you really think that just because Daoist Yun Zhi and Daoist Immortal are protecting you, the entire world belongs to you? Besides, without my permission, how could Yun Zhi freely use the power of national destiny? Do you really think anyone can borrow my power of national destiny?" To prevent Yao Sheng's escape, Jiang Ping'an had Yun Zhi mobilize the entire national destiny of Great Xia.

Lu Yang pondered, seemingly realizing he had never seen Jiang Ping'an fight. "Since you're already here, Senior, why don't you show off a bit?"Jiang Ping'an gave Lu Yang an irritated glare. *This kid never means well,* he thought. He had arrived when Immortal Immortal and Yao Sheng were fighting, and that kind of battle was beyond his involvement.

"Oh, no, please. These old bones can't handle such exertion, and my Dao Fruit isn't suited for combat," Jiang Ping'an replied. "Daoist Yun Zhi called me here to help you keep an eye on the Central Heavenly Emperor, lest he cause any trouble." Yun Zhi knew it would be difficult for Lu Yang to guard the Central Heavenly Emperor alone, so she had called for assistance.

Jiang Ping'an smiled amiably at the Central Heavenly Emperor. "But he seems quite well-behaved," he said. "Daoist Mo Qingshui established the Great Qian Dynasty upon ruins; your name is well-known. You should have heard of me too. By my count, this is our first meeting."

"Scram!"The Central Heavenly Emperor rudely cursed him. In truth, there was no substantial animosity between them. However, both being founding emperors, with one now a captive and the other standing superior, this stark contrast made Jiang Ping'an seem detestable to him.

Jiang Ping'an was not petty. Even after being insulted, he politely continued, "Daoist Mo, why are you so impatient? I heard you've been searching for the Four Ancient Immortals, and you said if they didn't cooperate, you would eliminate them and replace them with your four Divine Sovereigns. As it happens, three of the Four Ancient Immortals are gathered here today. Would you like to meet them, or should I call them down?"

The Central Heavenly Emperor paused in silence, then clasped his hands and greeted, "Daoist Jiang Ping'an, you swept across the land to establish Great Xia and achieved unparalleled feats. Your name is well-known."