Chapter 179: The Dao Spirit Approaches
Outside the Primordial Sacred Land.
Staring at the gates of the Primordial Sacred Land, Feng Qingyu's heart was a tangled mess. But for the sake of her own future, she steeled herself and walked forward without hesitation.
Before she could so much as set foot within its borders, two Primordial Sacred Land disciples barred her way.
"Halt. This is the Primordial Sacred Land. Non-members are forbidden from entering."
Both disciples were at the King Realm.
On any other day, Feng Qingyu wouldn't have spared them a second thought, but with circumstances pressing in on her, she could only clasp her fists and speak.
"Sirs, I am the mother of your Primordial Sacred Land's Holy Son. My name is Feng Qingyu. I humbly ask that you go inside and announce my arrival."
The two disciples exchanged a look. One of them let out a cold laugh.
"What nonsense are you spouting? His Highness the Holy Son has never once mentioned having a mother. Where do you get off claiming to be his mother? Get lost."
"Exactly. If you were really His Highness the Holy Son's mother, would you even need to ask us for permission? You'd just walk right in."
Feng Qingyu's expression darkened.
If the gentle approach wasn't going to work, she would have to resort to force.
Her mind made up, Feng Qingyu was about to act when a figure appeared before the two disciples.
"What's going on here?"
The newcomer was Wu Nian, the Sixth Elder of the Primordial Sacred Land, a cultivator at the Peak of the Saint Monarch Realm.
Wu Nian furrowed his brow and asked.
"Sixth Elder, perfect timing! This woman is falsely claiming to be His Highness the Holy Son's mother. We were just about to throw her out."
After the two disciples hastily reported, Wu Nian turned his gaze to Feng Qingyu, his brow creasing.
"Leave now, and I'll overlook the offense of impersonating the Holy Son's mother. But if you persist in this delusion, don't blame me for what follows."
"But I truly am—"
Before Feng Qingyu could finish, Wu Nian snorted coldly and sent her flying with a casual wave of his hand.
To his credit, he was being merciful. He didn't kill her — merely left her with minor injuries.
"If anyone else comes by claiming to be His Highness the Holy Son's mother, throw them out on sight."
Wu Nian fixed the two disciples with a stern look as he gave the order.
"Yes, Sixth Elder."
Elsewhere, Feng Qingyu picked herself up, her face a mask of disbelief. She never imagined he would actually dare raise a hand against her.
"Damn you... Once I've reunited with Xiaoyao and the others, I'll make sure they kill you for this!"
Feng Qingyu seethed inwardly.
She prepared to storm back and demand an explanation, but the moment she stood, the searing pain coursing through her body forced her to abandon the idea.
"Forget it. I'll try the Ancient Wood Sacred Land instead. Qingyun is my daughter — as a fellow woman, she'll surely understand and forgive me."
Feng Qingyu turned her gaze toward the Ancient Wood Sacred Land and set off.
Unsurprisingly, the reception awaiting her there would be no different.
Inside Chengtian Mountain.
Everything that had befallen Feng Qingyu was, of course, witnessed by Lu Xunxian.
But he felt nothing. He withdrew his attention and turned it toward the final match unfolding within the Small World.
Luo Qianxue versus Lu Qingyun.
"Sister Qianxue, I won't be holding back, so you might as well surrender now."
Lu Qingyun's expression was grave. If it weren't absolutely necessary, she would have preferred not to fight Luo Qianxue at all.
But Luo Qianxue shook her head, her gaze resolute.
"Qingyun, you've never fought with everything you have, have you? Well then — let's battle!"
With that, Luo Qianxue struck first, and the two clashed.
The instant they engaged, a terrifying wave of energy erupted outward. The Heavenly Dao of the Small World intervened to stabilize it, barely preventing the Small World from collapsing.
Neither of them possessed the kind of strength ordinary Peak Saint Emperors could hope to match. Having both refined an Immortal King Inheritance, they were evenly matched, and it was clear that no winner would emerge anytime soon.
Lu Xunxian, however, had already peered into the future. The final result would be Luo Qianxue defeating Lu Qingyun.
That was only natural. Luo Qianxue had nearly three hundred years more combat experience than his daughter — a slight edge was to be expected.
So Lu Xunxian turned his attention elsewhere.
But if Lu Xunxian wasn't watching, plenty of others were.
Inside the Stellar Realm, countless powerhouses stared in shock. They never imagined these two could possess strength of this magnitude.
The Holy Lords of the Thunder Sacred Land and the Heavenly Light Sacred Land were especially stunned.
"Luo Qianxue and Lu Qingyun are probably stronger than me. I need to find an opportunity to build a relationship with them."
Cao Tianyin, the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Light Sacred Land, thought gravely to himself.
Though he too stood at the Peak of the Saint Emperor Realm, he could clearly sense that if he faced either one of them, the odds would be six to four against him.
Him at four. Them at six.
Nearby, Lei Fengyu, the Holy Lord of the Thunder Sacred Land, was thinking the very same thing.
"Father, who do you think will win?"
Lu Xiaoyao turned to Lu Xunxian, curiosity in his eyes.
And upon learning that Luo Qianxue would be the ultimate victor, Lu Xiaoyao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Give him a break — his sister had beaten him by cheating. If she then went on to claim the champion's title, he'd never live it down.
Noticing his father's gaze drifting toward Chengtian Mountain, Lu Xiaoyao grew curious himself.
He closed his eyes and extended his Divine Sense toward the mountain.
Before long, it reached the Body-Melding Immortal Cave.
"Is that... the Body-Melding Immortal Cave? It seems like the Immortal Source Power inside has grown even more violent."
Opening his eyes, Lu Xiaoyao spoke up with interest.
He hadn't forgotten about the Body-Melding Immortal Cave — after all, he had once been inside it.
Lu Xunxian nodded.
"That thing is about to emerge."
"That thing?"
Lu Xiaoyao blinked, but it took only a moment for realization to strike. His breathing quickened.
He remembered his father once mentioning that something else lay deep within the Body-Melding Immortal Cave.
He hadn't paid much attention at the time, but now that his father was bringing it up, whatever it was couldn't possibly be simple.
At that very moment, a brilliant golden radiance erupted from the Body-Melding Immortal Cave atop Chengtian Mountain, illuminating the entire Tiansheng Continent.
The golden light was so overwhelming that not even the Tiansheng Continent could contain it. It spread outward, reaching every last one of the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Immortal Realm.
In an instant, countless powerhouses snapped their eyes open and turned as one toward the source of the light.
"That disturbance — a Dao Spirit is about to emerge!"
"Move! Quickly! If we seize the Dao Spirit, our faction will have a Peak Immortal Emperor guarding it for a hundred million years!"
"Whoever obtains the Dao Spirit obtains the world!"
Countless powerhouses surged toward the First Heaven, all vying to seize the Dao Spirit.
Seeing this, Lu Xunxian's brow furrowed. There was no concealing this now. He would have to employ some physical persuasion to drive them off.
The Dao Spirit still needed another day to fully emerge. In the meantime, the Dao Light it radiated was impossible for even him to completely suppress.
Rather than deal with future headaches, it was better to resolve them all now.
With that thought, Lu Xunxian took a single step — and appeared atop the First Heaven, ready to face whatever the Immortal Realm sent his way.