Everlasting Immortal Firmament

Gu Hai’s foot pressed down on Houqing’s chest, his saber pointed at Houqing’s throat, his stiff fingers like a blade aimed at Houqing’s forehead. He had counted to “two,” and on the next count, his fingers would pierce Houqing’s forehead.

Houqing was grievously injured, unable to fight back. His current strength could not match even a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator’s. Blood covered his entire body, and his internal organs were practically mush. Houqing did not have Gu Hai’s Mending Heaven Energy to heal himself.

Despair set in.

Do I have to give away the zombie ancestor seed?

If his fingers stab into my forehead, it will truly be over. Am I going to die?

Gu Hai did not give Houqing any more time to think. “Three!” Gu Hai declared with a ferocious look.

Cold energy erupted from his hand, surging towards Houqing’s forehead.

“Don’t, don’t! I’ll give it!” Houqing cried out in terror, his last words before yielding.

Bang!

Gu Hai’s knife hand stopped right before Houqing’s forehead.

Houqing glared at Gu Hai, knowing he could not resist. With great reluctance, he slowly forced the zombie ancestor seed from his body.

Blargh!

Houqing spewed a mouthful of blood, and his face paled, his body collapsing. As he forced out the zombie ancestor seed, it pulled along his very essence.

A small whirlwind formed on Houqing’s forehead, glowing with a lush-green light. A soul-shaking aura came from his forehead.

Gu Hai understood that this was the zombie ancestor seed.

A small crack appeared on Houqing’s forehead, and a lush-green seed surfaced.

As the zombie ancestor seed slowly came out, Houqing felt his strength draining rapidly.

Houqing closed his eyes in pain. The seed was more than his cultivation; it was his last hope.

The zombie ancestor seed emerged little by little. Soon, it was halfway out.

Without needing to look closely, Gu Hai knew this was the zombie ancestor seed, a powerful treasure that could elevate one to the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm.

Gu Hai reached out to pluck the half-emerged zombie ancestor seed.

“Your Reverence, be careful!” A sudden voice came from behind.

It was Long Shenying’s voice. He had come in and seen everything inside, including Dijiang throwing a palm strike at Gu Hai’s back.

At Long Shenying’s warning, Gu Hai’s expression instantly changed. Without time to counter, he leaped away with a powerful stomp, defending his body with the Life Executioner Saber.

That leap sent Houqing flying into the distance, and the Life Executioner Saber collided with a golden palm.

Boom!

Gu Hai went flying over six hundred meters and finally stopped only after crashing into a small mountain.

“Cough! Cough!” After coming to a halt, Gu Hai coughed twice.

“After fighting Houqing to a standstill, you can still block a strike from Dijiang?” Long Aotian exclaimed in surprise.

Gu Hai finally saw the whole situation.

Not far away, Dijiang’s shattered body stood poised to face a formidable foe. The strike from moments ago had made everyone aware of its immense strength, surpassing even Houqing’s by a significant margin.

What sort of monster has appeared?

Gu Hai stood in the west, facing Dijiang in the east. To the south lay Houqing, whom Gu Hai had kicked towards the black-fog-covered valley entrance. In the north stood Long Shenying and his son, Long Aotian, separated by some distance.

Gu Hai was on guard against Dijiang, and the feeling was mutual.

“Long Aotian? What is this thing?” Gu Hai asked with an unsightly expression as he looked at Dijiang.

“Rebellious child, when will you stop causing trouble?” Long Shenying snapped while glaring.

Long Aotian smirked coldly. “Rebellious? Long Shenying, what kind of father are you? The zombie ancestor seed is right there, but you won’t take it. Look at Gu Hai; he was already doing so. On the other hand, you refuse to let me have it even when you don’t want it for yourself? My Dijiang was about to get it earlier. It’s all your fault!”

“Rebellious son, have you no regard for your father anymore?” Long Shenying demanded icily.

“Father? Hahaha! Father? Is my father someone who would serve his father’s murderer? Gu Hai killed Eminent Grandfather, yet you’ve become Gu Hai’s lapdog!” Long Aotian spat.

“You unfilial son!” Long Shenying glared, appearing ready to attack.

Meanwhile, Gu Hai turned to Dijiang, his expression darkening. “Dijiang, you say? The earth-attributed zombie ancestor, Dijiang?”

Gu Hai had heard Long Wanyu mention this name.

It was the name of a shaman race expert whom Jiangchen had destroyed long ago.

“That’s right, that Dijiang! Dijiang is my previous life. Although Veritable Lord shattered the body of my previous life, he merged his shattered souls and the shattered earth-attributed zombie ancestor seed into the shattered body, bringing it back. I reached the peak using a zombie ancestor seed in my previous life, and I can do so again in this life. Gu Hai, you can’t stop me!” Long Aotian sneered.

“Long Shenying!” Gu Hai said, his eyes narrowing.

“This official is present!” Long Shenying said with a frown.

Clearly, he felt shocked and puzzled over his son’s declaration of being Dijiang’s reincarnation.

“You heard Long Aotian’s words, didn’t you?” Gu Hai asked in a grave tone.

“Yes! A disobedient son is a father’s responsibility. Your Reverence, please issue your punishment!” Long Shenying answered bitterly.

“There is no need for punishment. You did nothing wrong, and you even saved us from a heavy blow. But now, we have an order for you,” Gu Hai stated gravely.

“Please command me, Your Reverence!” Long Shenying replied respectfully.

“We will delay Dijiang. You immediately retrieve the zombie ancestor seed and refine it for your own use!” Gu Hai said.

“What?” Long Aotian’s face changed, and Long Shenying’s eyes widened.

“We do not know how formidable Dijiang was in the past, but at the very least, your son is a disloyal and unfilial person. If he gets the zombie ancestor seed, he will be hostile to our Han Nation. Although he might not accomplish much, we do not want any more trouble; get the zombie ancestor seed before him and fuse it with yourself!” Gu Hai ordered.

“Yes!” Long Shenying agreed.

“You bastard! That zombie ancestor seed is mine!” Long Aotian shouted.

With a thought, he commanded Dijiang to charge towards Houqing.

“Ninth Cycle!” Gu Hai yelled, slashing at Dijiang.

Dijiang was forced to turn and defend itself.

Boom!

A massive report erupted as the blade met Dijiang’s flesh, sending sparks flying. Dijiang, however, remained unharmed, only retreating slightly.

“Ah! Your physical body is so much stronger than Houqing’s?” Gu Hai muttered, wide-eyed.

Eyes of Life and Death! Open!

When Gu Hai next looked at Dijiang’s body, it was formed of countless black and white lines.

“There are no weaknesses?” Gu Hai said in shock.

Dijiang’s body contained black lines, but they were wrapped in white lines, indicating all its weak points were protected.

With such a body and defense, Dijiang seemed invulnerable.

“Hah!” Dijiang roared and charged Gu Hai.

With no weaknesses to exploit, Gu Hai had no choice but to clash head-on. His face sank.

“Ninth Cycle!”

Boom!

In the intense collision, Gu Hai found himself at a disadvantage, even getting pushed back by Dijiang.

“So much more formidable than Houqing?” Gu Hai’s face fell.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gu Hai and Dijiang clashed again and again.

Meanwhile, Long Shenying and Long Aotian raced towards Houqing’s location.

Houqing, seriously wounded and drained from forcing out the zombie ancestor seed, was too weak to resist the two and looked utterly desperate.

In midair, Long Aotian threw a palm strike at Long Shenying. However, Long Shenying, a seasoned warrior, had once defeated Long Aotian in the Yellow Springs Sea, so he naturally could do it again.

Boom!

“This is mine! Royal Father, do you truly want to fight me over this? The zombie ancestor seed belongs to me!” Long Aotian raged.

“Unfilial child, you’re still not stopping?!” Long Shenying snapped, unleashing a palm strike.

Long Shenying was neither jealous of his son nor eager to take his son’s possessions. He was not in pursuit of his father’s murderer, either.

Before the Han Nation and the Huang Nation fought, Gu Hai had brought him to meet Long Zhanguo once.

Although Long Zhanguo had not said anything specific, Long Shenying had guessed that his father and Gu Hai were planning something.

Eminent Father assigned me to assist Gu Hai by his side. Gu Hai’s orders are Eminent Father’s orders.

It is Eminent Father who wants me to get the zombie ancestor seed. How can I abandon my eminent father’s command for this rebellious child?

Boom!

Long Shenying repelled Long Aotian, showing no mercy.

Gu Hai vs. Dijiang!

Long Shenying vs. Long Aotian!

The chaos of battle erupted once more.

The weakened Houqing found an opportunity to retreat, disappearing step by step into the valley and the dense black fog.

After the four of them had contended for a while, Gu Hai’s eyes widened. “Long Shenying, don’t let Houqing escape and benefit while you and your son are fighting!”

“What?” The expressions of Long Shenying and Long Aotian changed, and they halted instantly.

Whoosh!

Just as the two were about to rush into the dark fog, a tremendous force within the valley seemed to draw all the black energy to a platform in its depths.

A bronze coffin lay on that platform, containing a quarter of Chiyou’s corpse.

This corpse completely absorbed the black fog in the valley.

At that moment, the extremely weak Houqing was leaning against the coffin’s edge.

Once he had taken the initiative to expel the zombie ancestor seed, the process was difficult to stop. He had to force it out completely, then reabsorb it. Hence, Houqing grew weaker and more frustrated.

Besides the coffin, there was a strange ritual array in the valley. The eight trigrams were carved around it, with Chiyou’s coffin platform at the center. Eighty-one giants stood around this platform.

These were Chiyou’s eighty-one brothers. They seemed like puppets, not moving at all.

“Mister Cangjie, save me, save me! Cough! Cough! Cough!” Houqing coughed up blood.

“Wind Zombie Duke, you’ve worked hard. Rest for now!” The eighty-one giants spoke in unison with Cangjie’s voice.

Buzz!

The giants’ eyes shone with golden light, guarding Houqing.

“Chiyou’s eighty-one brothers were made into puppets? Ji Dihong, what a ruthless tactic! Long Shenying, you must act quickly. There’s clearly another ritual array inside. Snatch the zombie ancestor seed before the ritual array is activated!” Gu Hai commanded.

Long Shenying and Long Aotian nearly simultaneously abandoned their fight, rushing towards Houqing.

“Hah!”

The eighty-one giants roared and charged the father and son!