Chapter 197: Goddess Unscathed, Heart of the Devout Immortal

Chapter 197: Goddess Unscathed, Heart of the Devout Immortal

Next, the myriad heavens entered a period of tranquility and peace.

Heng Ren and Shaohua walked side by side, often discussing the Dao as they traversed several bizarre outposts.

Their footprints were left along the Soul River, on the True Reincarnation Path of the Ancient Underworld, beside the Celestial Emperor's burial pit, and within the Four Poles Floating Earth.

They continuously refined their method of colliding their Dao Fruits, eventually deciding to take the risk.

Both knew that the time left for the myriad heavens was not much.

Although they had eliminated the ten Dao Ancestors of the Sinister Race who had arrived at the outposts and cleared all the Voidborn Entities, temporarily sealing the news, this was akin to quenching thirst with poison. It could only solve the immediate crisis.

Given that so many Dao Ancestor-level beings had been stationed at these outposts, there would inevitably be some connection with the Final Abyss Realm in the rear.

What was to come would come; it was only a matter of time.

The time perception of Dao Ancestor-level beings was vastly different from that of ordinary beings. Thousands of years were but a fleeting moment.

A brief period of seclusion or a nap could span tens of thousands of years, and crossing epochs was a common occurrence, not worth special mention.

Therefore, even if these outposts did not communicate with the Netherworld for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, it would not attract much attention.

The Plateau was too vast, with countless Sinister Races and numerous powerful beings. The death of a few Dao Ancestors would not even cause a frown among the Final Path Ascendants or the Ancestors at the end of the Netherworld.

However, the simultaneous demise of ten Dao Ancestors was a different matter entirely.

Nothing can be kept secret forever, and this was not exile. It was impossible to simply abandon these beings without any follow-up. A prolonged lack of communication would inevitably lead to an investigation.

Moreover, the Sinister Races held grand rituals regularly, and this particular myriad heavens, where the "Desolate" had once emerged, would certainly be one of the foremost offerings.

One day, the truth would come to light, and when it did, the myriad heavens would be in turmoil, and no one could remain uninvolved.

After tens of thousands of years, Heng Ren and Shaohua began their attempt.

They opened their hearts and minds, trusting each other completely, and collided their Dao Fruits, hoping to rapidly enhance their Dao.

It seemed simple but was extremely risky.

The Dao Fruit was the crystallization of a cultivator's lifetime of Dao cultivation and essence, intimately linked to their life. It was essentially their Vital Core. Any damage could have catastrophic consequences, leading to death and the annihilation of the Dao.

The so-called collision, more accurately, was a fusion and complementation, akin to mutual exchange, with the more direct manifestation being the perfection of one person first.

With a "bang", the ultimate ancient land trembled violently, the Boundary Sea shook with terrifying energy, causing the myriad beings to tremble with fear.

"What's happening?" Wu Shi and Ye Fan's faces changed.

"It's nothing, just a small disturbance from cultivation", another Shaohua said calmly.

"..."

Wu Shi and Ye Fan looked at each other, unsure if she was serious about calling it a small disturbance.

They decided to go and see for themselves, hoping to learn a thing or two.

Crossing the Boundary Sea, which had been reduced to a fraction of its former size, they saw two women whose bodies were merging and separating.

Shaohua chose to perfect Heng Ren first. As expected, Heng Ren underwent a transformation. Although still in the Dao Ancestor realm, her Dao cultivation increased significantly, and she felt she could now take on three or four Quasi-Immortal Emperors.

But Heng Ren would not easily accept Shaohua's gift. Seeing her close friend coughing up blood and seemingly on the verge of annihilation, she reversed the Dao Fruit, returning it to Shaohua.

Shaohua's body slowly solidified, and her Dao cultivation surged, approaching the Destined Land.

Then, she saw Heng Ren's pale face and quickly reversed the Dao Fruit again, allowing Heng Ren to recover.

What was supposed to be one person perfecting the other turned into a back-and-forth exchange, with neither willing to take the path of a Dao Ancestor alone, instead perfecting each other.

Shaohua and Heng Ren continued this process of reversing their Dao Fruits hundreds or thousands of times, spending over a hundred thousand years until their Dao Fruits became identical and could no longer collide or complement each other. They then stabilized their cultivation.

Wu Shi and Ye Fan were envious, exchanging glances and thinking they could also try to rapidly enhance their Dao. They considered it, but then... it exploded.

Clearly, the Dao Fruit collision method was not something just anyone could use. A slight misstep could lead to serious consequences, even death and the annihilation of the Dao.

Dao Fruit Clash, if you have the guts, come and try. One collision, and no one speaks!

"Big sister, I think we can try it?" Wu Shi, still hopeful, pulled Shaohua, trying to take a shortcut.

How long would it take to reach the threshold of an Immortal Emperor through hard cultivation? The Dao Fruit collision was much faster.

"Absolutely not!" Shaohua crossed her arms and politely declined.

Wu Shi nearly broke down in tears, feeling deeply hurt by his sister's rejection and needing a Dao Fruit collision to feel better.

What could Shaohua do? As his sister, she could only indulge him.

She had only been joking, saying no to stabilize her own cultivation.

At their current level, finding someone to joke with was a rare and precious fortune.

After much preparation, Shaohua and Wu Shi attempted the Dao Fruit collision, and it actually worked. Shaohua's Dao cultivation improved again, and Wu Shi grinned, laughing even as he coughed up blood.

Only Ye Fan was left out.

He had once possessed dual Dao Fruits, but to break through to the Quasi-Immortal Emperor realm, he had to merge them, forcefully ascending to that level.

"I understand now. The Dao Fruit collision aims for complementation, but it also requires a certain degree of similarity. Her Dao Fruit, refined from various systems and laws, can do this without issue", Heng Ren explained.

"Ah, I see!" Ye Fan understood.

He thought he could still catch the last train.

Another hundred thousand years passed, and after a long period of hard cultivation, Ye Fan replaced Wu Shi. Being the last, he reaped the most benefits.

Of course, the one who benefited the most was Shaohua. Three consecutive collisions were like three transformations, directly elevating her to the peak of the Dao Ancestor realm.

This Dao Fruit was extremely close to the Path's End transformation, catching up to her other body's Destined Land Art Dao Fruit. Both Dao Fruits had reached the pinnacle, and she was on the verge of completely exhausting her path, even capable of Forced Ascension to Emperor!

During these three to four hundred thousand years, Heng Ren, Wu Shi, Ye Fan, and Shaohua's current bodies focused on cultivating, striving to enhance their strength as much as possible.

As for Shaohua's other body, it seemed somewhat "idle", with the primary task being to recover and suppress the imperial weapon left behind by a Dao Ancestor of the Sinister Race.

Indeed, when she split herself in two, she left one half to cultivate in solitude, but unexpectedly, that half was always playing Dao Fruit Clash.

The other half, carrying the wounds from the battles with Immortal Ancient and the bizarre Dao Ancestor, went to the myriad worlds to recover.

"No wonder I could easily intercept them. This Fractured Imperial Armament must have been one of the trophies captured by the bizarre clan", Shaohua muttered to herself.

The creatures in the Wretched Land were too profound. Over the long ages, countless great worlds had been destroyed, and a grand sacrifice was held in each era.

Throughout history, the tragic "Imperial Fall" had occurred countless times, naturally yielding more than just one immortal emperor-level weapon, some intact and others damaged.

The imperial weapon she had suppressed was a Chaos stone bead. It appeared complete but was actually flawed, with a crack running through its center, almost splitting it in two.

If not for the boundless Darkness Primordial energy within, which held it together, it would have already fallen in rank.

Final Path Ascendants overlook all worlds, and even if an Immortal Emperor Armament is inferior, it can still view the worlds as a painting and other beings as mere pawns. Defying it is almost impossible.

But Shaohua managed to do just that.

Apart from her strength being extremely close to that of the Destined Land, the damaged Chaos stone bead was a significant factor. Despite the immense cost, she could still resist it to some extent.

After all, no matter how powerful a weapon is, it depends on who wields it.

A damaged imperial weapon tainted by darkness could never unleash the true might of an immortal emperor in the hands of a Dao Ancestor.

"Your imperial weapon is excellent, but now it’s mine!" Shaohua laughed, continuing to heal her wounds while trying to cleanse the dark matter.

However, it was a weapon personally refined by a bizarre immortal emperor, filled with boundless dark matter. Even with the Destined Land Art and the Infinite Radiant Deluge Purification, it was difficult to completely eradicate.

Thus, she drove all the dark matter to one side of the Chaos stone bead, causing the already fractured imperial weapon to split completely. She suppressed half and purified the other, and it worked.

"Almost forgot about you all. Stay in this world for now. I’ll rescue you once I reach the Path's End."

Shaohua created a vast world within the half of the Chaos stone bead and placed the young geniuses she had brought back from Immortal Ancient there to cultivate.

Thanks to the special properties of Lifesoil, she could smuggle people, but bringing the young geniuses back to the present world would be too costly, both for her and for the Immortal Ancient Exiles.

In the Three Realms, the Mortal World, and the Mountain of Immortality, Shaohua returned to her homeland to meditate, known to few.

But some still knew her secrets.

One day, a graceful and ethereal woman quietly arrived at the Mountain of Immortality, holding a token. Upon discovering she could enter the mountain, a radiant smile lit up her face.

She was Ye Qingxian, the descendant of Ye Fan whom he favored the most and who had the greatest potential, truly stunning.

"Hmm, a descendant of Ye Fan?"

Shaohua slowly opened her eyes and saw the token in Ye Qingxian's hand, bearing the mark of a tripod with a thread of All-Mother Essence flowing within.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"Senior, my name is Ye Qingxian. I have always admired you, so I asked my grandfather to grant me this token to come and pay my respects", Ye Qingxian said, looking at Shaohua with a mix of nervousness and respect as she bowed.

She wore a green robe, her skin as smooth as jade, her hair silky and lustrous, her eyes like black gems, radiating a divine aura. Her every movement was a display of unparalleled beauty.

But a closer look revealed a strong and confident nature, a kind of unspoken dominance that was etched into her being.

"Rise", Shaohua said, lifting Ye Qingxian with a wave of her hand.

"Hehe, I knew it. Thoughts of deceit, kneeling is futile; a heart of righteousness, no bow is necessary", Ye Qingxian said with a charming laugh, her voice melodious and enchanting.

Shaohua believed her. This child was indeed familiar with her, as evidenced by her quoting one of Shaohua’s own sayings.

The name Ye Qingxian also stirred distant memories.

This was a woman who was almost certain to become an immortal emperor but chose to abandon that path to return to the ancient era, building a special bridge of communication between the desolate and the Ye clan, bearing immense karma.

Even with the protection of two Celestial Emperors, she still faced countless trials, her cultivation repeatedly diminished by Sinister Ancestors, ultimately leading to the collapse of her foundation and her death.

Of course, this was the original trajectory. Now, with her presence, things would change. At the very least, a descendant wouldn't have to sacrifice themselves.

"Did you come here just to see me?" Shaohua asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she propped her chin with one hand. "Now that you’ve seen me, you can go back, can't you?"

Ye Qingxian: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

Shaohua said it casually, leaving Ye Qingxian speechless.

After all the effort to meet her idol, she was about to be sent away without even seeing her true face. Could there be anything more heartbreaking in the world?

Pain! Too much pain!

"Um, I think you might need someone to serve you, to bring you tea and water", Ye Qingxian said, not wanting to leave. She decided to volunteer herself to stay.

"But I already have one", Shaohua said, blinking and suppressing a laugh.

With a wave of her hand, the mist around her dissipated, revealing a slender figure standing behind her.

Ye Qingxian: !!!∑(Дノ)ノ

No, there was already someone here, which was a bit unfair!

Wait, it was that woman. No problem then.

Ye Qingxian immediately recognized who had taken her job, feeling a mix of helplessness.

She could compete with others, but not with this person.

"It’s you, Unscathed", she sighed.

"It’s me", Unscathed replied calmly, clearly familiar with her.

Unscathed was the daughter of Wuyou. Her mother had suffered a calamity while carrying her, leading to a Primordial Defect. Only Wu Shi’s personal intervention saved both mother and daughter, hence her name, Unscathed.

Goddess Unscathed, a marvel to the world.

She stood there, her white robe fluttering, free of any impurity, her divine aura transcendent, her eyes like the autumn waters of a divine pond, truly timeless and isolated.

Two incomparably beautiful women, one a descendant of Ye Fan and the other of Wu Shi, were hard not to recognize, especially given their stunning appearances and the constant comparisons they faced.

Notably, Ye Qingxian admired Shaohua and had a somewhat mischievous personality, while Unscathed was very aloof, more like Heng Ren.

In the end, Ye Qingxian managed to stay, though her eyes held a hint of resentment.

She hadn’t expected that the great figure would be so approachable, joking with her upon their first meeting. This was unexpected and not entirely pleasant.

But the Eastern Sovereign was truly beautiful, exactly as she had imagined, and was willing to take her as a disciple.

"Master, please accept your disciple’s bow!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end