There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 172 The Final Steps [First Update]

After Chen Qing left, the wind and snow gradually subsided.

The crowd stared in awe at the altered landscape before them.

A majestic, icy snow-capped mountain has replaced the original Rift Valley, its terrain rugged and precipitous.

At the foot of the mountain, an ice-blue lake is forming, with ice crystals colliding and making a crisp "ding-dong" sound. A wide glacier extends from the lake, winding its way to the distant snowfield. The river is filled with ice shards, and the surface is not yet completely frozen.

Further away, deep blue flowers spread along a canyon toward the sky, growing wildly, blooming in a fleeting moment of splendor, only to wither into ice crystal powder in an endless cycle, life and death.

Above the sky, the aurora borealis stretched like a curtain.

"A single strike can move mountains and fill seas, altering the earth's veins!"

Master Yun Shu's lips were slightly parted, his voice dry.

Master Yu Shu frowned, his eyes filled with bewilderment and horror: "He was strong before, but that was mainly because of his monstrous talent. How could he suddenly make such outrageous progress?"

"Don't mess with them! Absolutely don't mess with them!"

The Golden Core elder of the Extreme Yin Sect was deathly pale, his robes were soaked with cold sweat, and he was panting heavily, as if he had just struggled back from the brink of drowning.

"Yin Jiujiu! Yang Rui! You two scourges! Blind fools! You've brought such a terrible calamity upon the sect! Good riddance! Good riddance!"

He turned abruptly and shouted at his equally terrified disciples, "Return to the mountain immediately! No one is to utter the word 'revenge' again! Anyone who disobeys will be expelled from the sect and their soul lamp will be extinguished!"

Some people left in a hurry like them, but many others stayed, feeling that there was an opportunity to be found. So more and more eyes were turned to the few figures barely standing at the foot of the snow mountain.

The Ice Soul Girl's face was devoid of any cunning or composure; her glassy eyes were filled with confusion.

Cangbo, the envoy of Xuanshui Palace, stared in the direction Chen Qing had left, his usually indifferent face now showing a hint of confusion and seriousness.

In contrast, Lu Zhao and Ao Yu appeared to have complicated expressions.

Ao Yu shook his head violently, grabbed Lu Zhao's arm, his dragon eyes wide open, and said in a low voice, "Old Lu! Did you see that clearly? Just now... just now, didn't the Patriarch step out of the painting? And... just merged into Junior Brother Jiming's body?"

Lu Zhao's expression was more solemn than ever before. He grabbed Ao Yu's hand with his backhand, the force so strong that Ao Yu grimaced: "Shut up!"

He scanned the surroundings with his gaze and transmitted his thoughts telepathically: "This matter must never be revealed! What we have seen may not be the truth! Perhaps it was Master Jiming... Fellow Daoist Jiming comprehended some kind of supernatural power left behind by the Patriarch, which triggered the remaining Daoist energy in this place..."

He said it, but even he himself didn't quite believe it.

No matter how powerful one's supernatural abilities are, how could they be so powerful as to attract something akin to a divine manifestation?
How could a Golden Core cultivator possibly withstand that?
"What do we do now?" Ao Yu realized the seriousness of the situation and swallowed hard. "Junior Brother Jiming...where did he go? He's heading towards Yuehua Mansion...could he be going to..."

Yuehua Prefecture is located on the Yongye Mountains in the far north of Beihan Continent.

Its mountain gate is built on the basis of ten thousand years of black ice and the underground yin veins. The palaces and pavilions are all made of ice and jade. Under the eternal aurora and the reflection of wind, snow and moonlight, it emits clear and colorful radiance. The light and shadow intertwine to form the Taiyin Xuanqiong Grand Array that covers the entire mountain range!
This formation draws upon the celestial moonlight and the earth's chilling energy, its radiance flowing and unbreakable, forming the very foundation upon which the Moonflower Palace stands in the North.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the main hall of the mountain gate, the Hanpo Hall, was extremely solemn.

"Om..."

A guiding array in the center of the hall suddenly lit up, its light flickering rapidly and uncertainly. From within it came the desperate, lingering screams of the palace master, before it completely dimmed, leaving only a few wisps of green smoke that gradually dissipated.

"The Lord of the Manor?!"

"The Immortal Guiding Array has backfired?! Has something happened to the Palace Master?!"

"How is this possible! Fellow Daoists from the Lin and Liu families also went there this time! With several Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces, who in the North could put them in such a dangerous situation? Isn't Ji Ming just a new Golden Core cultivator?"

"Quickly, investigate the destiny talisman!"

The elders who remained in the hall changed their expressions drastically and stood up abruptly!

Almost simultaneously, from several long-closed caves in the back mountain, where the spiritual energy was most abundant, several powerful yet somewhat weak and angry wills came out one after another!

"Xin Ming's life force has dissipated!"

"Who dares to attack and kill my Lord of Yuehua Palace?!"

"When did such a figure emerge from the North? He could force the governor to use the Moonlight Transformation to escape for his life?!"

A few breaths later, three figures appeared silently in the Cold Soul Palace. They were all white-haired old men with profound auras. They were the only three remaining Nascent Soul ancestors of the Moonflower Palace - Mingheng, Zhengli, and Yuheng.

Their faces were grim, and their eyes revealed not only shock and anger, but also an undeniable weakness.

Under the Immortal Dynasty's policy of weakening spiritual energy, spiritual veins have been constricted, and spiritual energy is scarce in various places. Even those in the Nascent Soul stage feel the deficiency. They usually rely on slumber to reduce consumption, and their combat power is no longer at its peak. Now that they have been forcibly disturbed and awakened, their auras are somewhat unstable.

"Ancestor!" An elder rushed forward anxiously, saying, "The Lord of the Manor just sent back a distress message. It seems... it seems he has met with misfortune! His life force has completely dissipated!"

"Impossible!" Ancestor Zhengli shouted. "Xin Ming is a Fifth-Level Nascent Soul cultivator, possesses secret techniques to protect his life, the Moonlight Secret Technique, and even demonic arts! Even a Sixth-Level Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to capture him! Investigate! Find out the truth! Have those skilled in divination..."

The words have not yet fallen.

"puff!"

An elder beside the hall, skilled in divination, spat out a mouthful of black blood. The divination plate in his hand shattered with a "crack." He seemed to have been drained of his life force, aged and withered on the spot, and fell straight down. His face was filled with extreme fear, as if he had seen some incomprehensible and unbearable horror!
"A backlash from the heavenly secrets?!" Ancestor Mingheng's pupils shrank sharply. "Even divination of its origins can lead to such a calamity?!"

Panic gripped the entire Yuehua Prefecture, with various discussions and speculations arising and people filled with anxiety.

At this moment...

"Boom!"

An extremely muffled, loud noise came from outside the mountain gate formation!
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, as if someone had grabbed it!
The entire Eternal Night Mountain Range trembled violently!
The Taiyin Xuanqiong Grand Array flashed with light, and countless ice crystals fell down!
"Enemy attack!!" The alarm bells rang continuously!

The three Nascent Soul elders' expressions changed again, and they instantly teleported outside the mountain gate, hovering behind the light curtain of the great formation.

Outside the swirling snowstorm, a figure stepped through the air, blending seamlessly with the swirling snow, as if he were the center of the entire world.

Ancestor Mingheng felt uneasy, yet he still shouted, "Who are you! How dare you cause trouble at Yuehua Mansion?"

"Shouldn't you all know best who I am? Time and time again, you've been the ones setting the questions. Now it's my turn to set the questions. I wonder if any of you have the chance to solve them and survive!"

Chen Qing responded calmly, his divine sense already sweeping across the entire Yuehua Mansion mountain gate like mercury flowing across the ground. Under the blessing of the terrifying Emperor Dao aura, the inside and outside of this mountain, between reality and illusion, were all explored!

"Chen Guang, and that Dian Hengzi, are actually both in the sect?" He frowned slightly. "Back then in the Demon Cave, these two were the ones who summoned demons. After being captured, they were sent to Yujing, but instead of being punished, they were able to stay safely in their cave without any repercussions?"

"But Senior Brother Han Jing, who truly cared for the common people and went to Jade Capital to report the truth about the demonic calamity, along with several seniors and fellow cultivators, were detained and interrogated? Their whereabouts are now unknown!"

"Whom do these laws of the Celestial Dynasty truly protect? And what path do they truly follow?"

He felt disgusted and immediately aligned his mind with the heavens!

"Boom!"

The snowstorm within a radius of a thousand miles suddenly intensified tenfold!
The biting cold wind transformed into countless invisible ice blades, frantically slicing through the Taiyin Xuanqiong Grand Array!

The sky darkened completely, as if the end of the world had arrived!
"It's him! Jimingzi!" An elder who remained recognized Chen Qing and exclaimed in surprise, "Why is he here?!"

The three Nascent Soul elders were puzzled upon hearing this, but were immediately informed of the cause and effect.

"You brat! How dare you invade the gates of my Moonflower Manor!" The old ancestor Zhengli was both shocked and furious, and shouted sternly, "Where is the Manor Master?!"

Chen Qing didn't bother to answer.

With fingers joined like a sword, slash forward!
"laugh--"

A hazy gray sword aura burst forth from his fingertips. It was initially faint, but it grew longer with the wind, instantly transforming into a thousand feet in length. On it, yin and yang rotated, stars were born and died, and illusory images of mountains and seas rose and fell!
The sword energy was like a rainbow, stretching for thousands of miles, piercing through the eternal night mountain, and striking the violently flashing array light screen!

"Crack... Boom!!!"

The Taiyin Xuanqiong Grand Array, hailed as the foundation of Yuehua Mansion, shattered in a single encounter, like a fragile eggshell!

Countless array runes wailed and collapsed, turning into a rain of ice crystals!
The sword energy, still powerful, cleaved the majestic gate of Yuehua Mansion, along with more than a dozen palaces behind it, into dust!
"puff!"

Dozens of Yuehua Mansion disciples who were in charge of the formation all coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Those with weaker cultivation were instantly annihilated, body and soul!
"Form the formation! Quickly form the Frost Moon Immortal Slaying Formation!" Ancestor Mingheng roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
Ancestor Zhengli's eyes widened in shock: "Impossible! Even the full-force attack of True Monarch Faxiang back then failed to break this formation! This boy... didn't you say he was only at the initial stage of Golden Core formation?!"

"This is not the time to talk about this!" Yu Heng said sternly, "His presence here proves that Xin Ming is in grave danger! It also shows that this person is not just a newly formed Golden Core cultivator! He is probably of extraordinary origin! Quickly form an array to deal with him!"

The surviving disciples suppressed their fear and, led by their respective elders, hurriedly drew upon the cold energy of the earth's veins in an attempt to form a battle formation.

However, Chen Qing only took one step forward.

Boom!

The earth trembled, and starlight suddenly appeared!
"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Those disciples who were about to form a formation were pressed down as if by an invisible mountain, kneeling on the ground in large numbers, their bones cracking, unable to even lift their heads!

The formation that had just been formed collapsed in the blink of an eye!
“Below the Nascent Soul stage, all are but ants.” Ancestor Yuheng muttered to himself, his face pale. “But he… this is not the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator at all! This person is a formidable enemy! If we do not defeat him, the Moonflower Sect will be in grave danger!”

The three Nascent Soul elders exchanged glances, each seeing the horror and determination in the other's eyes.

"Send someone to take the sect's promising members away first! Don't let them risk their lives here!"

"Send a Golden Core cultivator to accompany and protect us. As for the others, those above the Golden Core level should stay behind to fight. If we don't stop this person, the Moonflower lineage has no future!"

"Activate the earth's veins! Summon the Demon Lord!"

Ancestor Mingheng gritted his teeth and roared, slamming his hands down on the ice peak beneath his feet!
"boom!"

The entire Eternal Night Mountain Range trembled violently, and the vast and boundless power of the extremely cold earth veins was forcibly extracted and surged wildly into the bodies of the three Nascent Soul Ancestors, instantly replenishing their depleted Nascent Souls and causing their auras to rise steadily, even surpassing their peak!
At the same time, strange, dark demonic patterns appeared in their eyes, and their bodies exuded a chaotic and evil aura!

Deep within the mountain gate, the faint, chilling roars of demons could be heard!

"As expected, you've allied yourself with the devil." Chen Qing wasn't surprised. "Does the Immortal Dynasty tolerate you because it thinks its base is too secure, allowing it to cause as much trouble as it wants?"

"Youngster! Don't push me too far! I'll show you the true strength of my Moonflower Mansion!" Ancestor Zhengli roared. The three of them connected their power with the earth's veins and the hidden demonic intent, merging into one and transforming into a huge demonic claw that was gray and black, cold and evil. It tore through the void and grabbed fiercely at Chen Qing!

Countless colorful lights flowed within it, interacting with the surrounding heaven and earth, leaving a lasting mark on the world. Its power was already close to that of the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage!

This attack, drawing upon the earth's veins, merging the magical power of three Nascent Soul cultivators, and further empowered by extraterrestrial demonic intent, was a desperate gamble!

Meanwhile, some elders are frantically trying to open a secret passage to escort the core disciples to safety.

Chen Qing felt the Emperor's Daoist essence rapidly draining from his body and no longer hesitated.

"Let this remaining verse be sent you on your way."

He raised his hands, and the Blood River Incarnation, the Tribulation Lightning Black Hairpin, and the Ninth-Rank Azure Lotus Platform all flew up at the same time!

The next moment, the vast, majestic, and supreme Emperor Dao aura split into three streams and flowed into the three of them respectively!
　I'll try to finish the second update around 11:30 PM...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)