Everlasting Immortal Firmament

“Aotian?” Long Shenying’s eyes lit up with delight.

However, Long Aotian’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked coldly at Gu Hai in the distance. “Imperial Father, don’t you want to kill Gu Hai and avenge Eminent Grandfather?”

“Aotian, things are not as you believe. I’m glad you’ve returned. Father was wondering how to find you. Since you’re back, come home with me,” Long Shenying said with a smile.

“Home? Humph! Imperial Father, we no longer have a home. The moment Gu Hai killed Eminent Grandfather, our home ceased to exist. If you won’t avenge him, then I will. Also, I’ve spoken with the veritable lord. As long as you’re willing to join Deity Seizing Hall, he promises to give you a position in his court,” Long Aotian countered.

Long Shenying narrowed his eyes. “Aotian, what nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean we have no home? I’m telling you, it’s not as you think. There are hidden circumstances surrounding your eminent grandfather’s death. Why don’t you believe me? Also, that Jiangchen has no good intentions. Serving under him would be like bargaining with a tiger for its skin.”

“Imperial Father, I think you’re confused. The veritable lord gave me strength; he gave you strength too. Yet you dare to say he has bad intentions? Humph! Either way, I don’t trust this Gu Hai,” Long Aotian retorted angrily.

“Insolence!” Long Shenying barked in anger.

However, Long Aotian suddenly looked at Houqing not far away, his eyes lighting up.

“Houqing? He’s Houqing?” Long Aotian asked in surprise.

“Indeed,” Long Shenying confirmed with a frown.

“Is that a zombie ancestor seed in the middle of his forehead?” Long Aotian’s eyes turned red.

“What? You know of it?” Long Shenying asked in a low voice.

“Of course, I know. The zombies are basically a crippled lineage, incapable of attaining the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. However, the zombie ancestor seed is different. As long as a zombie can refine a zombie ancestor seed, that zombie can quickly reach the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. Ba and Houqing did that. This is one of the three most precious treasures of the shaman race!” Long Aotian explained excitedly.

“Oh? Where did you hear this from?” Long Shenying asked, intrigued.

“The veritable lord would not tell me, but I learned it from his subordinates and the prisoners he captured. Jiangchen provided advice during the early development of the shaman race. The shaman race had many geniuses who established numerous cultivation methods and lineages. One of them took a very bold approach. They saw the veritable lord’s strength and wanted to use him as a blueprint to create similarly strong beings,” Long Aotian recalled.

“Oh? I heard Jiangchen hoped for more experts to be nurtured?” Long Shenying questioned, puzzled.

“Yes, the veritable lord was more than happy to see more experts. He even gave the shamans a small cup of his essence blood to study. He didn’t hold much hope, but those brilliant minds actually figured out the secrets of the veritable lord’s body and made four zombie ancestor seeds. When they appeared, the world itself seemed to change. I heard that many Great Dao even trembled. They integrated one seed into a powerful shaman, creating the earth-attributed zombie ancestor. That zombie ancestor quickly grew in strength, almost rivaling the veritable lord himself. The veritable lord was pleased until the zombie ancestor got too ambitious and tried to take his position. Then the veritable lord had to put in some effort to destroy him and the zombie ancestor seed, so only three seeds remained. Later on, a traitor took the remaining zombie ancestor seeds away and disappeared without a trace. It turns out they ended up with Jiang Lianshan,” Long Aotian recalled.

Lifespan Dongfang, who was not far away, shifted uneasily. Could it be the shaman race’s first elder who was recruited by Jiang Lianshan?

“The veritable lord doesn’t mind people becoming stronger,” Long Aotian continued, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “but he despises defiance from the shamans. As long as I don’t betray the veritable lord, I can break through to the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm by getting this zombie ancestor seed!”

Excited, Long Aotian strode forward.

Above the Yellow Springs Sea, those who had not reached the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm could not fly. However, Long Aotian could run exceptionally fast, almost sprinting atop the sea itself. He looked like he would arrive in an instant.

“Unfilial son, what are you trying to do?” Long Shenying called out, eyes wide with surprise. He immediately moved to block his son’s path.

“Imperial Father, if you don’t want the zombie ancestor seed, then don’t stop me. I heard them say that the ritual array prevents them from making a move. They can’t even think of fighting, so I’ll take the zombie ancestor seed,” Long Aotian said coldly.

“How dare you?!” Long Shenying’s eyes widened in shock.

“Humph!” Long Aotian merely snorted coldly and paid no heed to Long Shenying.

Long Aotian reached his father in the blink of an eye, and the two exchanged blows.

Boom!

The force of their clash sent both retreating a step back.

“Unfilial child, how dare you?!” Long Shenying shouted angrily.

“Imperial Father, you received the veritable lord’s essence blood and reached the ninth layer of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. I, too, received a drop of the veritable lord’s essence blood. Moreover, my drop was larger than yours. You just shared a drop with Third Royal Uncle. I’m not weaker than you. If you still consider me your son, don’t stand in my way!” Long Aotian said, his voice heavy.

Long Shenying replied coldly, “Unfilial child, it seems I really spoiled you too much in the past. You dare to attack me?”

“Humph! I acknowledge only the veritable lord now!” Long Aotian retorted coldly.

Whoosh!

The two once again charged at each other.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The father-son duo began to fight fiercely.

Long Aotian dashed on the Yellow Springs Sea as if over flat ground.

Seeing the two, the Mosquito Daoist exclaimed, “What’s with this Yellow Springs Sea? Why is the fight not causing any waves?”

“Also, even though they’re both at the ninth layer of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, their fight isn’t producing spatial fluctuations.”

“It should be because of the ritual array. To think this Long Aotian won’t even acknowledge his family!” Long Wanqing’s face sank; she wanted to intervene.

However, Gu Hai gently pulled her back and shook his head. “This is a matter between father and son. Don’t interfere.”

“But…,” Long Wanqing said, worry clear in her voice.

“Let the father teach his own son; why should outsiders interfere? Long Aotian has always been stubborn. Now that he has gained some strength, he even looks down on his father. This is a matter for Long Shenying to handle,” Gu Hai advised.

“All right.” Long Wanqing nodded.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, more and more blood mist emerged from Houqing. The mist entered the Yellow Springs Sea, and the zombie ancestor seed in his forehead protruded further.

“Elder Sister, help me stop the zombie ancestor seed; it feels like it wants to fly away!” Houqing said weakly.

Lady Houtu immediately pressed down on the zombie ancestor seed, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked towards the Yellow Springs Sea.

Far away, the battle continued.

Boom!

Long Aotian suffered a hard punch and flew back, crashing into a mountain, which crumbled. Despite his best efforts, he was ultimately no match for his father.

“Unfilial child, have you still not come to your senses?” Long Shenying shouted angrily.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Long Aotian looked enraged and resentful. “You call yourself my father? You know how important this zombie ancestor seed is to us. Even if you don’t want to use it, why stop me from taking it? Is it because of Gu Hai? He killed Eminent Grandfather, and you, you are willing to serve him? He killed your father, yet you’re fine with being his lapdog!”

“What did you say? You unfilial child!” Long Shenying shouted angrily.

“Fine, fine, fine! I can’t beat you. Humph! One day, the veritable lord will help me get revenge. Goodbye!” Long Aotian grumbled, then turned around and left.

“Halt!” Long Shenying shouted.

“I refuse to acknowledge a father who sides with the enemy!” Long Aotian yelled back defiantly. He shot off into the distance and soon disappeared over the horizon.

Frustration and helplessness filled Long Shenying as he watched his son leave. He turned to Gu Hai, a bitter smile on his face. “Your Reverence, please forgive my son’s foolishness.”

“It is a father’s responsibility to educate his son! It’s not entirely his fault!” Gu Hai said with a smile.

Long Shenying replied, “Indeed, I didn’t do a good enough job raising him. He’s become so pompous and yet so unclear about the situation, always thinking about relying on the strong. Asking Jiangchen for help? Haha! Little does he know, even the greatest mountain can fall. The most important thing is to become strong oneself.”

“Let it be for now. As long as he is unharmed, you can take your time educating him,” Gu Hai responded.

Long Shenying nodded in agreement, preparing to lead Gu Hai and the others away from the Yellow Springs Sea’s ritual array.

Suddenly, the Mosquito Daoist’s expression changed. “Something’s not right with this Yellow Springs Sea. How come…?”

Everyone turned to look and saw that the Yellow Springs Sea’s color seemed to be fading. Its roiling yellow waters were slowly becoming translucent.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

Bubbles rose from the seabed as if the sea was boiling.

Whoosh!

All the Yellow Springs clones suddenly crumbled and disappeared.

A look of joy spread across Lifespan Chunshen’s face. “The Yellow Springs clones are gone? We can leave now. Hurry! The laws are chaotic above the Yellow Springs Sea, so it’s impossible to open the passageway between the land of the living and the nether realm. Once we reach the shore, we’ll be safe!”

Lifespan Chunshen was preparing to flee with the group of evil spirits.

However, Lifespan Dongfang’s face filled with horror. “I was wrong, completely wrong!”

“What’s completely wrong?” Lifespan Chunshen asked, puzzled.

“Jiang Lianshan, that big deceiver. He tricked me into believing this was just a ritual array to deal with the Six Paths Immortal. No, it’s not a ritual array; it’s a seal! I didn’t trigger a ritual array just now; I opened a seal. Is there a monster underneath the Yellow Springs Sea? A monster that Jiang Lianshan has hidden? Did he and the shaman race elder work together to deceive me?” Lifespan Dongfang’s expression changed dramatically.

He immediately turned around with Lifespan Chunshen and fled towards the shore.

As the Yellow Springs Sea seethed, the water thinned. A force seemed to suck the countless struggling evil spirits in the sea and on the seabed into the depths of the Yellow Springs Sea, as if a monster was lurking somewhere beneath, opening its enormous mouth to devour the evil spirits.

“Roar!” A deafening roar came from the depths of the sea.

Lifespan Dongfang and Lifespan Chunshen fled even faster.

“Do you think you can escape? Isn’t it too late?” Kong Xuan sneered, stepping forward to chase them.

The Unborn Man also followed, pursuing the two lifespan cultivators.

Gu Hai and the others watched the changes in the Yellow Springs Sea with a sense of awe and confusion. Then they turned to Long Wanyu.

“I...I don’t know, either!” Long Wanyu’s face was a picture of bewilderment.

“Let’s head to the shore first!” Gu Hai commanded, his voice heavy.

“Yes!”

Everyone followed Gu Hai.

By the time Gu Hai and his party reached the shore, Kong Xuan had already caught Lifespan Chunshen and Lifespan Dongfang, one in each hand. Then he opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath.

Whoosh!

Kong Xuan swallowed all the evil spirits following Lifespan Chunshen.