Xialing’s worried expression doesn’t change as the human weapon destroys one of the blood ancestor Chimei’s clones.

There are still six clones left, all in peak condition, while only five of the seven summoned defenders remain.

But the moment of hesitation from the blood ancestor’s clones gives them an opening.

The Thunderwater Master summons three water beasts—massive sharks of condensed water—and they dive into the lake, vanishing beneath the surface.

Her uncle calls forth two more treemen, golden in colour and armed with twisting vines.

Another Yao master summons their partner, a Brute Mole, who emerges from beneath the snow and transforms fully into human form, joining Shoan.

The human race’s Spiritual Master brings forth a summoned creature resembling the treemen, with bark skin and glowing eyes.

They join the remaining defenders, once again halting the blood ancestor’s advancing clones.

This time, the clones show no hesitation—they attack without fear, knowing their lives are expendable and their only purpose is to damage the formation.

Their reckless assault is brutal, destroying another water spirit, a treeman, and the summoned guardian of the human spiritual master.

But even as their frenzy leaves scars across the battlefield, they fail to damage the formation.

The silver balista roars again, and another clone is obliterated.

Moments later, it fires once more, striking down a second clone and reducing their number to four.

Watching the balista, Xialing feels her fear deepen.

Now it seems likely the humans and spirit races have allied.

Yet she still does not know her own race’s true goal—do they seek only to kill the blood ancestor, or are all seven beast ancestors marked for death?

After killing them, the real problem would begin—who will refine the seven ancestral crystals to become the new ancestors?

Because of that, fights may break out, and the only advantage their race holds over humans is the number of higher-realm cultivators, which could be negated by weapons such as that balista.

It is slow, and if the battle is not active, it may not be able to kill any more clones after the first one falls to surprise.

In such a situation, they have only one.

If they had seven and fired simultaneously, the battle might’ve ended in that instant.

So, their race must either find a way to defend themselves from such human weapons or forge war weapons of their own.

Xialing is able to analyse all of this because she senses that the blood ancestor will not be able to escape the formation anymore.

She murmurs, “Today, I will witness history. The second time in our world, an ancestor will be killed.”

But at that very moment, the blood-filled sky and snow clouds shatter as a thunder flash crashes down on the formation and breaks it in one strike.

She turns her head to the sky, sensing two overwhelming presences—like thunder and wind taking form.

And she is right—there in the air stand the Wind Ancestor, Fengyi, and the Thunder Ancestor, Leihan.

The Wind Ancestor is a woman, said to be the most beautiful in the world, a title she has held unchallenged for ten thousand years.

Seeing her face, Xialing understands why no one has ever taken that title from her—and why no one ever will.

Floating in the air like a fairy, Fengyi’s long, light blue hair hangs freely to her waist, her deep blue robe fluttering around her.

With a calm expression and a faint smile, she gazes toward the centre of the lake, now hidden in thick mist left behind by Leihan’s thunderous attack.

Xialing follows her gaze.

From the swirling mist, the first figure to emerge is the Blood Ancestor, rising into the air and stopping on the far side of the lake.

He stares at the two new arrivals—not with joy or relief, but with vigilance and tension.

Xialing frowns.

Weren’t the Wind and Thunder Ancestors supposed to be his allies?

Then why does he look at them like enemies?

She sees the fog disappear and finds her father and uncle the first moment.

She sighs in relief and sees that all the others are unharmed, except for the water spirits, who vanished, thunder being their nemesis.

But the next moment, her worry returns as she looks again at the Thunder, Wind, and Blood Ancestors.

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Her father and the others had struggled to deal with just the Blood Ancestor, and now two more Ancestors have appeared.

She hears the melodic voice of the Wind Ancestor, Fengyi, “Leihan, you destroyed all the Soul Lotus.”

The Thunder Ancestor’s next words make Xialing’s blood run cold: “Now that we have the array drawing, we can make as many Soul Lotus as we want.”

Fengyi smiles and praises him, “See? Didn’t I say keeping the Spiritual Masters alive would benefit us?”

From the other side of the lake, Chimei snorts as if he has just heard a joke.

The others on the lake don’t react to their conversation, but quickly circulate their techniques to recover natural energy, as the next fight will decide not only life and death, but the future of the world.

Fengyi looks at Chimei and says, “Leihan, why does Chimei look unhappy with us?”

She glances at the Thunder Ancestor. “Didn’t you save him?”

Leihan scoffs, “He’s an ungrateful bastard—he wanted to devour everything for himself.”

Chimei touches his chest and feels his condition—his body can hold on for only a few more decades, and the Soul Lotus are all destroyed.

His eyes darken as they fall upon the humans, Yao beasts, dryads, and sea people.

Because of them, his situation has worsened beyond repair.

He can no longer recover his lifespan from them.

Devouring their souls would extend his life, but he cannot allow them to live.

If he does, they’ll try again to kill him—and their defiance may encourage others.

Yet he has so little time left.

Fighting them might cost him everything.

Chimei looks at Fengyi and Leihan and says coldly, “They must die.”

Fengyi and Leihan don’t like Chimei’s greed—he wanted to devour everything alone, and they had to save him.

But they agree with him on one thing: those who dared to try and kill Chimei must die, and even their descendants must be wiped out.

Only then will the world understand that no one can challenge the Ancestors.

They did nothing when Fukuhara, the creator of the spiritual path, died along with the previous Dark Ancestor—and that silence made the mortals believe they could slay even the Ancestors.

For ten thousand years, no one had dared raise a hand against them.

But after the death of the last Dark Ancestor, the line was crossed.

Now, mortals defy them openly.

And for the first time, Fengyi and Leihan feel something they’ve never truly known—fear.

Because next time, it could be them in Chimei’s place.

Had they not arrived, Chimei would have perished.

That thought lingers.

So, all those who tried to kill one of them must die.

All those who supported them must die.

And all those related to them must vanish from the world.

Without another word, Fengyi opens her palm, her calm expression vanishing into something colder.

From her fingertips, countless wind arrows form—sharp, silver-tipped, and gleaming like polished blades under sunlight.

They shimmer as they rise into the air, then rain down like a silver storm upon the challengers of the ten-thousand-year world order.

Sensing her attack, Leihan raises his arm and the sky above churns into a sea of thunder.

Lightning boils in layers, rippling with fury, as he prepares his strike.

Chimei sighs in relief as he sees their attacks align with his own.

He lifts his hand and conjures hundreds of blood-fire orbs, each flickering with corrosive heat.

Then, with one motion, he sends them all streaking toward the challengers—three Ancestors striking as one.

All the attacks are blocked by the energy shield conjured by the Illusion Master.

The Ancestral Realm is said to be the next realm beyond the Dharma Realm.

Yet Fengyi, Chimei, and Leihan are still technically in the Dharma Realm, just like their enemies.

However, because they refined an ancestral crystal, they now possess boundless energy and can mobilise the rules of the world tied to that crystal.

So, when they do not use ancestral power directly, their attacks can still be defended against by powerful Dharma Realm cultivators.

This is why the challengers remain confident—they have also discovered the curse placed upon the six beast ancestors.

Fengyi, Leihan, and Chimei’s expressions darken when they see the Illusion Master alone deflect their combined assault.

Killing intent surges in their hearts as they realise that if the complete rule of illusion had existed in the world, the Illusion Master might have become an Ancestor just like them.

They resent this fact, unable to accept that someone they had looked down on might rise to their level.

Because by sheer luck, the Illusion Master discovered an ancestral crystal tied to a complete world rule and mastered it.

Now, that rule is engraved into the world itself, through the crystal.

So, all who challenge them must die.

The sky above divides into three colours—storming wind, roaring thunder, and seething blood—as their next attacks gather.

Wind becomes countless arrow-shaped blades.

Thunder condenses into crackling spears.

And blood hardens into crystal weapons forged to kill.

But just before they can release their devastation, a flurry of wooden swords flies in from the south, targeting Fengyi and Leihan.

At the same time, a pressurised jet of water slams toward Chimei from behind.

Forced to defend, the three Ancestors redirect their attacks to intercept the new threats.

Xialing’s fearful expression shifts to relief—she was terrified for her father when the three Ancestors prepared to strike with full strength.

But now someone has attacked *them*.

She turns her gaze toward the two new presences—one in the south, one in the east.

Two women appear, and the figure in the south feels strangely familiar, as if this isn’t their first meeting.

Fengyi’s face tightens as she looks toward the east and south.

“Lianmu and Senya… how are you able to come here?”

The Ancestors have long envied Lianmu and Senya for their immortal life, but none of them would wish to be born like them, bound eternally to the places of their origin.

Since birth, Lianmu and Senya have never left those places—and until now, they’ve never revealed their human forms.

Fengyi recognises them not by appearance, but by the unique fluctuations of the rules they embody.

Xialing’s eyes widen in shock upon hearing the Wind Ancestor’s name, Senya.

*When did her Ancestor learn to take human form?*

Leihan narrows his eyes and says, “They’re not in their main bodies… these are spiritual clones.”

Fengyi frowns. “Then how are they able to practice the Spiritual Way when we cannot?”

Lianmu scoffs.

“All of you have polluted souls. How can you even dream of treading the Spiritual Path?”

Chimei’s heart boils with rage—he doesn’t care for their words.

All he wants is to kill those who dared challenge him, return home, and devour his grandson’s soul.

But with Senya and Lianmu now joining the fight against him, his situation worsens, and the thought alone makes his body tremble with fury.

The pollution within Chimei’s soul pushes him further into madness.

He lets out a guttural roar and launches himself at those who tried to kill him.

Abandoning his human form, he transforms into his true body—an eight-headed serpent—and charges across the lake with terrifying speed.

The Wood and Water Ancestors don’t move to help the defenders.

Instead, they strike at the Wind and Thunder Ancestors, launching attacks meant to hold them in place.

They know their people don’t need to kill the Blood Ancestor directly.

They only need to force him into a drawn-out battle because, under the weight of the curse, continued fighting will eventually bring his end.

Merin, with confusion in his eyes, looks northeast toward the Lotus Lake, uncertain of what exactly is unfolding there.

From the wild fluctuations of energy, he senses a clash between many powerful beings—each one radiating strength even greater than his true body.

Driven by urgency and curiosity, Merin rushes toward the source of the chaos to witness the battle himself.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep