"Come with me and leave the Ancient Treasure Civilization." Ji Ziyi did not offer much explanation; a ball of divine light as deep as the night appeared in her hand, attempting to shatter the chains on Qingyi's body.
However, she had underestimated the material of these chains. With her strength alone, it was very difficult to destroy them.
"Third Sister, don't worry about me. A great change has occurred in the Ji Chan Clan. If you don't leave now, you will soon be implicated."
Qingyi came to her senses, shook her head, and did not try to break free. This was a restriction personally refined by the Grand Priest; even an Ancestral Dao Realm existence would find it hard to destroy and escape.
"Where do you think you're going?"
At that moment, a grand, cold voice resounded across this Reincarnation Sea. The Grand Priest's expression was icy cold, carrying a power that could freeze ten thousand ages and trillions of spacetimes.
"Grand Priest?" Ji Ziyi's expression changed, wanting to make a move, but the spacetime around her suddenly twisted. The will of the entire universe seemed to press down, all the starry skies trembling, and even the Reincarnation Sea fell deathly silent.
Under the pressure of this will, all her cultivation aura was suppressed to the point of immobility; no matter what methods, she could not use them.
This was the absolute suppression of the End of the Path realm over Dao Realms existences. Even cultivators who had passed through nine Heavenly Decline Tribulations were as weak as toddlers just learning to walk before the End of the Path realm, and could be extinguished with a snap of the fingers.
At this moment, countless cultivators and living beings of the Ancient Treasure Civilization knelt and prostrated, full of piety and reverence. This was the Grand Priest, of supreme and exalted status, whose face one could rarely have the chance to see in a thousand epochs.
Around them, ancient stars rotated, countless beyond number. Each ancient star far surpassed the Great Thousand Worlds, containing boundless surging energy, and nurturing trillions of living beings within.
How vast exactly was the Ancient Treasure Civilization? From this, one could finally glimpse a fraction.
"Third Sister, don't worry about me…"
"I cannot leave the Reincarnation Sea. Once I am far away, the Grand Priest's methods will be triggered."
The Reincarnation Sea was deathly silent. The restriction left on Qingyi's body was triggered, as if turning into flickering runes, surfacing from beneath her skin like blood-seals, flashing in the deepest parts of her bones. Blood seeped out, staining her green robes a mix of green and red. It hurt so much that her delicate, gentle brows furrowed, but she still did not let out the slightest groan.
"Master…" Xiao Wangyue beside her was so anxious that tears were about to fall.
"Trust me." Ji Ziyi also bore bloodstains, her body seeming about to shatter like porcelain. At this moment, a colossal Ji Chan phantom appeared behind her, as if representing the fortune of heaven and earth and the succession of epochs, drawing upon a certain great trend from the unseen to resist.
"The Ji Chan Clan has defied the Heavenly Will. Today, I will break your wings and make you and your sisters slaves in the Reincarnation Sea for generations…"
"I can do nothing about the Epoch Mother Tree, but dealing with you is naturally as easy as lifting a hand."
The Grand Priest's gaze remained icy cold, her will like a blade, millions of zhang long, like a resplendent river of stars and cosmos, condensing there, about to truly slash down.
However, in the next moment, a supreme aura, boundless and all-encompassing, as if governing all spacetime and futures of heaven and earth, emerged.
A series of incredulous and terrified expressions appeared on her face, as if she became unable to believe it and frightened.
"How is this possible?" She was extremely horrified, and without any hesitation, instinctively wanted to move her true body away from here.
Endless spacetime tore open. The universes around the Reincarnation Sea, like a dam made of piled sand, easily collapsed and shattered.
A large, fair, slender, jade-like hand reached over, obscuring the eternal, ancient, present, and future ages. With a light reach, the entire Vast Expanse shook violently, countless stars trembled and exploded, as if sinking heaven and earth. All spacetime and universes, in that instant, were like waste paper.
The vast, boundless Ancient Treasure Civilization, whose borders could not be seen, at this moment, regardless of level or type of being, was horrified and trembling to the extreme. They witnessed with their own eyes a great hand reach out from endless spacetime, blotting out the sky and sun, stretching across, slowly reaching in from the deepest part above everyone's heads. Heaven and earth immediately fell into absolute darkness.
No matter what restrictions, what methods, what artifacts, they all seemed to suffer the most terrifying blow and destruction, instantly turning to dust. Trillions of layers of void and planes became withered leaves trembling in a hurricane, shattered merely by the aura swept along by this great hand.
Whether Dao Realms existences or End of the Path figures, all felt a sense of palpitation and trembling, their entire bodies icy cold, not daring to move at all.
Pfff…
Above the Reincarnation Sea, the Grand Priest, whose countenance merged with heaven and earth, gushed blood wildly, her face terrified and pale to the extreme. Her true body flickered billions of times in an instant, trying to escape into the depths of endless spacetime.
But that great hand merely reached out lightly, and she instantly returned to her original spot, as if confined to a single point. No matter which spacetime she fled to, she would be brought back.
At this moment, no matter her supreme status and identity, no matter her unimaginable methods and lifespan, all were useless. She seemed like an ant clutched in the palm of a great hand.
"How is this possible?" The Grand Priest found it hard to believe, her expression frightened and pale. She brought out all her methods, one after another phantom of civilizations, evolving behind her like tombs, from virtual to real. Those were civilizations that had been buried in the various worlds, each once flourishing to the extreme, giving birth to many unimaginable figures, but ultimately all had perished.
She was a witness and personal experiencer of all this. Now, those civilization phantoms were all manifested by her, as if resurrected from the ages that had been cut off.
In each civilization, as they solidified, manifesting from endless planes, trillions of beings chanted, bestowing upon her a certain mighty force. Such a method was far too unimaginable.
But now, it was utterly useless. She witnessed with her own eyes those civilizations burst apart one after another, just as they had perished in the past. Not only that, it was even more direct and clean; that great hand crushed them all as casually as crushing a bubble.
The Grand Priest was about to despair. Her figure was burning, a fire of nothingness appearing, intending to offer herself as a sacrifice to the other side, trying to attract the attention of the Land of Truth and crusade against such a rebel.
Such an existence should not have appeared in the current Vast Expanse.
This scene, though described at length, was actually but a breath and a blink of an eye.
The Grand Priest could not even speak before being clutched by that great hand, emitting the sounds of bursting and twisting. At this realm, there was no real flesh and blood; the body was composed of various energies and substances.
"The Grand Priest must not come to harm. The Epochal Reckoning is about to arrive. If the Grand Priest falls, the wrath from the Land of Truth is not something we can bear."
"We cannot let anything happen to the Grand Priest…"
The Ancient Treasure Civilization, trembling in terror, finally had many powerful existences react. With drastic changes in expression, they gritted their teeth and charged over. Whether it was like ants trying to shake a tree or not knowing the difference between life and death, they could not allow themselves to see the Grand Priest perish here.
But obviously, even End of the Path existences were far from a match for that great hand; easily clutched and held, ready to be crushed to death at any moment. Before they could even get close, they exploded, like moths flying into a flame, utterly useless.
Rumble!!!
Suddenly, heaven and earth shook violently again, spacetime was torn apart, as if a world-shaking aura was reviving, about to shake the cosmos and overawe the universe.
The depths of the five great royal clans—Calamity, Karma, Longevity, Extinction, and Emptiness—were swept by a hurricane. Five colossal, boundless figures manifested, appearing at the four poles of heaven and earth and the eight extremities of the universe.
They were boundless in height, boundless in size, shrouded in boundless light, their bodies surging with a supreme aura like the endless heavens, as if representing some supreme rule. At this moment, as the five figures appeared together, they faintly exuded an aura that transcended the End of the Path.
"The Sovereigns of the Five Great Royal Clans have appeared…"
"From ancient times to the present, no existence has ever been able to act wantonly in the Ancient Treasure Civilization. Even the supreme figures who once created many eras, when they came to the Ancient Treasure Civilization, did so with the attitude of a visitor, not daring to cause trouble."
Many ancient existences within the Ancient Treasure Civilization, their expressions wiping away the terror, could not help but be roused.
The Ancient Treasure Civilization had five great royal clans, each clan's existence spanning an unimaginably long time, truly never-falling clans, always having End of the Path existences in charge, unaffected by Epoch Cataclysms.
On the vast Epoch Mother Tree that was trembling and rising, all the Ji Chan Clan members were also terrified and trembling because of this scene. They could not stop the Epoch Mother Tree from being taken away; even the many powerful clan elders could only watch helplessly as this happened.
And now, with the appearance of the Sovereigns of the Five Great Royal Clans, the many clan elders' faces showed anger and grief, shouting furiously, "Ji Xiangmiao, you are the sinner of our clan."
Ji Xiangmiao frowned, seeming somewhat uneasy as well. Any one of the Five Great Royal Clans possessed the power to easily sweep through many Supreme True Worlds. Now that all five great royal clans had appeared together, it was indeed a situation unseen in ancient or modern times.
"Fellow Daoist, you have gone too far…"
"The Grand Priest has a special identity and cannot be allowed to be killed by you."
On the other side of these five colossal figures, another figure now appeared. He didn't seem very tall, actually looking like a youth, but his eyes revealed a profound wisdom and vicissitude. Other than that, if thrown into a crowd, he would attract no attention at all, appearing very ordinary.
And as he appeared, behind him, one powerful figure after another emerged, each bearing the aura of the Ancestral Dao Realm. Counting carefully, there were actually several dozen people, among whom there were even some with End of the Path auras hidden. But no matter who, all were very respectful toward him.
He seemed like the Protagonist of Heaven and Earth of all ages, countless eras, and universes, truly existing as one who carried out the will of heaven and earth.
"The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler has also appeared? This is a mysterious fellow who would not show his face for thousands of epochs, extremely powerful and unimaginable."
Progenitor Xu, in the distance, squinted his eyes as he observed this scene, with various shrewd glints flickering in his eyes, as if calculating something.
The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler was not an existence who held Authority, but among the secrets he had obtained, some truths were faintly revealed: this person, with great perseverance, had shattered his own past and future, and even finally crushed his current Dao Fruit.
This was a Supreme Shattering existence, whose strength was in no way inferior to True Path existences who held Dominion.
Above the Reincarnation Sea, it was all silent and still.
Ji Ziyi's pressure eased, and she finally felt relieved, showing a smile and saying quietly, "Wonderful, we are finally saved."
"Third Sister, what does this mean?" Qingyi, bloodstained, gently supported her, still somewhat puzzled, not understanding the causes, course, and ins and outs of all this.
The scene just now had deeply shaken her and also felt incredible.
Looking at her somewhat dazed appearance, Ji Ziyi, not knowing what came to mind, felt a bit envious, and explained in a low voice, "You'll soon know. It seems I bet correctly. Now no one can stop our Ji Chan Clan's migration."
"Second Sister's side should also have no problems now."
Having said that, she looked up at the endless high sky, as if able to see that passage tearing open and expanding, then spreading to the entire heavens. The Epoch Mother Tree was about to vanish into it.
"Hmm?" Qingyi was still puzzled.
"Save me…" The Grand Priest was clutched in that great hand, unable to move, her whole body shattered, but she still hadn't died. Seeing the Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler appear, she seemed to have grasped at a life-saving straw.
"Throughout all ages, the greatest calamity between heaven and earth will descend; it will not be a simple Epochal Reckoning. Fellow Daoist, why waste your strength on this beforehand?"
"The Epoch Mother Tree may be taken by you as you wish, but the Grand Priest has a special identity, a transcendent status, and must not be lost. If you wish to shelter the Ji Chan Clan, then take them with you; we will not pursue the matter, as long as you let the Grand Priest go."
"We can also pretend not to have seen the matter of you disturbing our Ancient Treasure Civilization."
The Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler spoke. Though he had the appearance of a youth, he was very transcendent, his words calm and carrying an unquestionable meaning. Beside him, the Sovereigns of the five great royal clans—Calamity, Karma, Longevity, Extinction, and Emptiness—appeared, each at the End of the Path realm, standing beside him as if taking him as their leader, without any thought of resistance.
At this moment, not only in the Ancient Treasure Civilization, but throughout the Vast Expanse, in countless spacetime planes, those existences whose profound strength was unfathomable and who had the ability to peek at this scene all turned their gazes over, shocked and terrified to the extreme.
In the spacetime of the Land of the Nine Heavens, many powerful figures also sat quietly in their halls, watching all this with solemn expressions.
From ancient times to the present, the Ancient Treasure Civilization was a region that even the word "taboo" could not sufficiently describe. Even existences who had once reached the peak of heaven and earth and achieved the End of the Path, when they came here, dared not act wantonly. One could imagine how mysterious and transcendent it was.
When the Cataclysmic Tribulation and Reckoning came, the Ancient Treasure Civilization could remain undisturbed, transcendent and beyond the mundane, existing forever. In the understanding of many, the Ancient Treasure Civilization was the outpost of the Land of Truth, representing the Land of Truth.
Here there was the path to Transcendence, and the passage to the Other Shore.
Yet today, the Ancient Treasure Civilization had been breached. Even the divine object representing it, the Epoch Mother Tree, was being taken away by boundless majestic power. All of this was too shocking and unimaginable.
Not only that, but the Ancient Treasure Imperial Ruler, who represented the supreme authority of the Ancient Treasure Civilization, personally appeared and spoke, displaying an attitude of concession.
This truly made many ultimate old antiques tremble in shock and feel it was far too excessive.
"Five Great Royal Clans, Ancient Treasure Imperial Family…"
Qingyi's delicate hands clenched tightly, feeling an enormous oppression, powerlessness, and despair.
As a being who had lived for generations in the Ancient Treasure Civilization, she knew full well how terrifying and unimaginable these existences were. Even her former grandmother, the most powerful empress of the Ji Chan Clan, had spoken of them with reverence.
But now, these existences had all appeared before her together.
She lifted her head to look at that boundless great hand still stretching across heaven and earth. For some reason, she suddenly sensed a familiar and reassuring aura.
"Heh, so what if you have seen?"
In the next instant, above the Reincarnation Sea, endless spacetime tore open. A supreme aura of creation and destruction, boundless and all-encompassing, as if governing all Authorities of all worlds and distorting the Heavenly Dao, pervaded the air.
A man in white clothes appeared there. He seemed to have heard some kind of joke, letting out an indifferent laugh.
Just by standing there, he seemed to make the ten thousand Daos of ancient and modern tremble, the universe and cosmos wail, and time and space collapse.
Countless universes and planes seemed to freeze. All living beings and matter halted. Time stopped at that moment, no longer flowing forward.
The present, past, and future all seemed to condense into a tiny node in this instant.
The entire Ancient Treasure Civilization seemed unable to bear his aura!
The moment she saw this man in white, Qingyi froze. First, she was incredulous, then her eyes slowly widened, as if trying to determine whether what she saw was truth or illusion.
Then, she lifted her head, and tears silently streamed from her eyes, as if murmuring, "Is it you?"
Xiao Wangyue beside her was not as calm. The moment she saw that white-clothed figure, she seemed ready to jump up, and then she wailed loudly, crying out, "Master, you've finally come…"
Large teardrops slid down her cheeks, and no matter how she wiped them with her sleeves, they were hard to wipe clean.
"The Grand Priest bullied Sister Qingyi, planting a restriction inside her body. Whenever she moves, it feels like ten thousand ants gnawing at her heart meridian…"
"But if Sister Qingyi stops, the chains on her feet become scorching hot, burning her flesh and blood…"
She wept, like a child tattling, her eye sockets red, tears streaming uncontrollably.