Chapter 82

At this moment, within the secluded retreat of the venerable ancestor, beside the stone stele that the ancestor had once wanted Meng Hao and others to move but was ultimately left by Chen Fan, all the cultivators from the Zhao Kingdom who had entered were excited, quickly imprinting the scriptures onto jade slips.

"This stele is actually the Great Spirit Scripture!"

"I never thought it would be so easy to obtain this scripture. Haha, with this scripture, even though I have already established my foundation, I can still use this scripture to open a second dan lake and re-cultivate the Qi Condensation Scroll. This will surely allow my foundation stage dantai to advance from the Broken Rock stage to the Flawed stage, and even becoming Flawless is not impossible!"

"That's not right, this scripture is only half of it..." As Tian Ji and others arrived, the respected old woman immediately saw the discrepancy.

Tian Ji's eyes flashed, and he quickly took a few steps forward, his eyes revealing a strange light.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the stele, it suddenly trembled, as if unable to bear too many gazes. Cracks appeared with a series of cracking sounds, shocking everyone around.

At the same time, the characters on the stele, which were about to shatter, quickly dimmed. In their place, another set of scriptures appeared. These characters were blurry, but the first few lines gradually became clear, revealing the second half of the Great Spirit Scripture's Qi Condensation Scroll.

However, before everyone could fully read them, a deafening boom suddenly echoed, and the stele shattered into eight pieces, scattering in all directions like eight rainbows.

The cultivators present were stunned and immediately scattered. Seven of the Core Formation elders, including Tian Ji, each transformed into a rainbow and rushed toward one of the pieces. The eighth piece was quickly rushed toward by over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, who fought over it with red eyes.

At the same time, within the secluded retreat of the venerable ancestor, more booms echoed, and low roars and howls reverberated. In this gray world, figures appeared in the thin mist, rushing toward the cultivators like madmen.

In an instant, the entire secluded retreat was in chaos. As the cultivators scattered, they discovered the magical treasures, spirit stones, and elixirs within the retreat, each of which could cause a stir. However, the restrictions made it impossible for them to break through in a short time, even if they tried to force their way in.

While the secluded retreat of the venerable ancestor was in chaos, Meng Hao held a blood crystal, cautiously moving along the edge. He had burned many blood crystals in the past, leaving only two, which he kept in his storage bag. After taking them out, the puppet bodies around him roared and moved away, not approaching him.

"I have led these people here; next, it's up to the venerable ancestor to deal with them." A cold light flashed in Meng Hao's eyes. He had no good feelings toward these people and hoped they would all die here. Watching them chase the shattered stele, a cold smile appeared on his lips.

The stele was fake, and he had known this from the beginning. He moved cautiously, avoiding the directions the cultivators had gone. Although he did not know the true location of the venerable ancestor's secluded retreat, he understood that he could not leave, as he still needed the venerable ancestor to remove the poison from his body.

He also remembered the reward the venerable ancestor had promised him in the past.

Not long after, a loud boom echoed, causing the area to tremble. Meng Hao immediately stopped and looked into the distance, faintly seeing the respected old woman with disheveled hair, waving her hand and causing booms in all directions. Beams of magical light continuously struck the light barrier in front of her.

Inside the light barrier, a piece of the stele floated.

The old woman, a Core Formation cultivator, caused the area to tremble with her attacks. The beams of light were like a galaxy, emitting bone-chilling cold, turning everything around her into ice.

With a wave of her sleeve, the shadows of mountains and rivers appeared, pressing down on the light barrier. The mountain, like a star, was black but had sparkling stars, while the river, like the Yellow Springs, was filled with countless fierce souls, making it turbid and seemingly from the netherworld. The mountain and river intertwined, creating a breathtaking scene.

Meng Hao drew a deep breath. The old woman's attacks were surrounded by hundreds of galaxies, each of which made Meng Hao feel capable of destroying the heavens and earth, and killing him like crushing an ant. Not to mention the Yellow Springs water and the star mountain.

"This is the power of a Core Formation cultivator..." Meng Hao stared at the scene, quickly retreating.

At this moment, the old woman let out a fierce roar, causing a shockwave that made Meng Hao, who was far away, tremble and spit out blood, retreating again. He vaguely saw a round pill fly out of her mouth, with three colors intertwined, like a multicolored pill. As soon as it appeared, Meng Hao felt a sense of the world collapsing, as if the multicolored pill had become the source and end of his world.

The pill's light shone, instantly rushing toward the light barrier, causing Meng Hao's face to turn pale as he continued to retreat.

"A Core Formation cultivator can destroy both my body and soul with a single glance!" Meng Hao's face was pale, and he thought of Wang Xifan, the guardian of the Wang family.

"Even though my cultivation has reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, and I once briefly reached the tenth layer... in the fluctuations of a Core Formation cultivator's battle, I am still fragile and easily destroyed!" Meng Hao stared at the distant magical light, retreating even faster.

"Moreover, they are all several hundred years old, cunning and experienced. I am not as good as them in terms of strategy... Fortunately, I used straightforward methods before, otherwise..." Meng Hao thought, feeling a chill.

"Beyond Core Formation is the Nascent Soul stage. I wonder how shocking Nascent Soul cultivators are..." Meng Hao thought, suddenly remembering the never-seen Song Laoguai.

"What is the venerable ancestor's cultivation? The sect leader once said that the venerable ancestor aims to sever the spirit... this is a realm beyond the Nascent Soul stage!" Meng Hao's breathing quickened, his eyes revealing intense envy, and a strong determination spreading in his heart. He yearned for power, for only with power could he avoid being a helpless ant, and only with power could he achieve his dreams.

Even more practically, only with power could he survive in this world of cultivation!

While Meng Hao was being stunned by the power of the Core Formation cultivators, loud booms echoed throughout the venerable ancestor's secluded retreat, not in one direction but in seven directions simultaneously, causing the earth to tremble and the restrictions to ripple.

It seemed as if the place was about to collapse, with the booms coming from the seven Core Formation elders.

"The venerable ancestor only said to bring the Zhao Kingdom's strong cultivators here, but didn't say what to do after that..." Meng Hao hesitated, thinking of leaving. At this moment, a deafening boom suddenly echoed throughout the cave, coming from a distance. A huge pillar of light shot up into the sky.

From a distance, the light pillar didn't seem thick, but Meng Hao could tell that if he were closer, it would be at least ten zhang wide, connecting to the sky above the cave, with a majestic aura.

A long laugh echoed from the light pillar, and Meng Hao immediately recognized it as Tian Ji, who had clearly broken through the light barrier and obtained a piece of the stele.

At the same time, another boom echoed, and a second light pillar shot up into the sky, coming from the direction of the old woman. She, with disheveled hair, stepped into the broken light barrier and quickly retrieved the stele fragment.

At this moment, within the cave, the venerable ancestor's eyes were bright, his breathing slightly rapid. He was emaciated, and his eyes were fixed on the seven oil lamps that had appeared in front of him, seemingly placed in a chaotic manner but containing some cosmic rule upon closer inspection.

Two of the lamps had already gone out, and the remaining five were flickering.

"This boy is a few months late, making the venerable ancestor nervous for a long time, but finally, he has brought the people here!" The venerable ancestor's eyes showed excitement as he looked at the oil lamps.

"Quickly go out, damn it! How weak are these people? It's been so long, and only two lamps have gone out. The venerable ancestor has already suppressed my cultivation to keep these lamps at the Core Formation stage for a short time.

"But they still haven't broken through, damn it! The cultivators of the Zhao Kingdom, without the venerable ancestor to train them, have become increasingly lazy. In the past, the venerable ancestor would beat them every few days when in a bad mood, and their cultivation improved much faster." The venerable ancestor thought of the past, feeling quite nostalgic, and his desire to break through the secluded retreat became even stronger.

"Absorbing their cultivation and reading their memories, I hope the venerable ancestor can successfully comprehend and sever the second cut, then implement the grand plan! Damn it, the three cuts to sever the spirit, each cut requires comprehension. If successful, one can sever, but after severing, one becomes extremely weak. Without good fortune to recover, it's easy to die and become part of the Dao." The venerable ancestor gritted his teeth, but thinking of his grand plan, his eyes immediately showed intense anticipation, as if he had been waiting for countless years.

At this moment, a faint boom echoed from outside, and one of the seven oil lamps in front of the venerable ancestor went out, making his anticipation even stronger.

At this moment, Meng Hao, in the venerable ancestor's secluded retreat, was trembling with fear. He did not wander around but cautiously hid in a corner, his expression alert.

He was waiting for the venerable ancestor to appear, to eliminate these people, and to help him remove the poison and give him the promised reward.

Not long after, another boom echoed. The involvement of Tian Ji and the old woman caused the light barriers to break one after another, the third, fourth, fifth... After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, booms continued, and seven light pillars shot up into the sky.

At this moment, the seven Core Formation cultivators, transformed into various forms, rushed toward the remaining light barrier that was still being attacked by the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

With the combined efforts of the seven, it took only a dozen breaths for a deafening boom to echo, and the eighth light pillar shot up into the sky, causing the cave to tremble as if it were about to collapse.

But at this moment, with the earth trembling, cracks suddenly appeared, tearing through the ground. The earth rolled, and cracks appeared as if the ground were about to collapse.

This scene appeared suddenly, causing the faces of the Zhao Kingdom cultivators to change. They all rose into the air and looked down. In just a few breaths, the entire ground had shattered, revealing a... huge face!

This face was that of the venerable ancestor!

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