Chapter 520 - 452: [Heaven and Earth Net to Slay Primordial]

Shanhai Pass.

Behind the Ten Celestial Gates of Chaos Abyss.

The Mountain and Sea Main City.

Within the All Heavens Elder Council.

The nine Grand Elders each had their own exclusive training grounds.

BZZZT—

At a certain moment.

Deep within an Elder Council training ground.

A figure shrouded in Chaos Qi opened its eyes. It seemed to have received some information, for it replied with a hint of surprise, "Is that so?"

"Reporting to the Primordial Ancestor, it is absolutely true!"

The mysterious existence on the other end replied respectfully, addressing him as Primordial Ancestor—the title of reverence used by the Mountain and Sea Wilderness Gods for beings of the Primordial Chaos realm!

The Hongyuan Core Elder Council.

A Mountain and Sea Primordial Ancestor was actually lurking within!

If this were to be exposed, the entire Hongyuan Great World would erupt in a cataclysmic uproar!

"Interesting."

After the Chaotic Human Shadow received a definite answer, it felt the time to strike and capture its prey had arrived.

That was right.

The intelligence reported by the contact was precisely about the Primordial Heavenly King taking up a post in the Three Lives Battlefield at the Seven Days Pass.

Normally, such a matter wouldn’t be worthy of attention.

But the nine Grand Elders were the core of the Hongyuan Military Alliance’s power, with their reach extending throughout the military headquarters of the All Heavens Pass. They would be the first to know of any disturbance, no matter how small, within the army.

To say nothing of the fact that they were paying special attention to Wu Dao’s situation.

The Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty had used its authority to forcibly reassign the Primordial Heavenly King—who was originally slated for another Garrison City—to serve under the Three Lives Army Master!

The Three Lives Army Master, Long Chen!

It was suspected that he held a grudge against the Primordial Heavenly King!

The Primordial Heavenly King had been assigned to an Abyss Pass City and was next scheduled to carry out an Abyss Task!

For a being holding a seat on the Elder Council, uncovering such intelligence—unknown to the common person—was no difficult feat, provided they were determined to investigate.

"I happen to need a scapegoat. Heh."

The Chaotic Human Shadow’s expression was indifferent as it replied, "Well done. Keep a close eye on Long Chen. If he makes a move, you know what to do."

"Understood!"

The mysterious person on the other end immediately responded with a cold, firm reply.

"The Primordial Heavenly King..."

The Chaotic Human Shadow thought of all the illogical aspects surrounding Wu Dao and felt that the plan was still not foolproof. Its consciousness immediately left Shanhai Pass.

It manifested in a mysterious corner of Hongyuan and contacted the upper echelons of the Mountain and Sea.

It was preparing to lay a Heaven and Earth Net, an inescapable death trap, for the Primordial Heavenly King!

Oh, that’s not right.

It was a hunt.

The Primordial Heavenly King’s Physique was heaven-defying.

Although the Snow Candle Dragon that had escaped from the Dragon-slaying Battlefield last time had failed, it had brought back a great deal of useful intelligence.

Many Primordial Ancestors had asserted that if they could obtain Wu Dao’s Physique and bloodline, the high-level Desolate God Races of the Mountain and Sea would have a high probability of breaking the curse of their scarce offspring!

The temptation was simply boundless.

This was also why the Mountain and Sea had ordered the Chaotic Human Shadow to capture Wu Dao at all costs, with the sole exception being that its own identity could not be exposed.

"A pity he’s not at the Eight Celestial Passes."

After the meeting ended, the Chaotic Human Shadow felt a twinge of regret.

Although the Mountain and Sea occupied thirty percent of the territory at the Seven Days Pass, it was far from enough to completely eliminate the suppressive effects of the Hongyuan Primordial Path.

The upper limit was still the Great Emperor Realm.

It was the same even if they paid a price to forcefully send someone over.

If this were the Eight Celestial Passes, an Ancestral King at the All Heavens Great Emperor Level could have acted.

Even if that Primordial Heavenly King had heaven-defying skills, he wouldn’t have been able to escape their grasp.

However, the Seven Days Pass would be enough.

In the last battle, the Primordial Heavenly King was merely a Great Venerable.

A few months had passed. Even if he had hidden his cultivation, a wildly high estimate would only place him at the Quasi-Emperor Realm!

"An Abyss Task, heh. Then I’ll let you see what a true Abyss looks like!"

The Chaotic Human Shadow let out a cold laugh.

It then left the Elder Council and headed for the Chaos Abyss battlefield. An act had to be thorough, without a single abnormality. Over the years, it had killed no small number of its own kin.

...

Long Chen’s cautious and steady nature somewhat exceeded Wu Dao’s expectations.

After taking up his post in Barrier Abyss City, he had accepted many tasks to hunt for Dao Source, including two Abyss Tasks.

One was to assassinate a general of the Feiyi Emperor Clan.

The other was to eradicate a fortress of the Ghost Howl Emperor Clan.

For both tasks, he went in fully armed and thoroughly prepared, maintaining his utmost vigilance against a sneak attack from Long Chen.

During the Ghost Howl Emperor Clan mission, he had almost crossed the border.

But he still hadn’t managed to bait Long Chen out.

As for Long Chen, after assigning him to Barrier Abyss City, he seemed to have forgotten all about him. For a month, he simply took on his own missions and developed his power, showing no intention of targeting Wu Dao at all.

It was worth mentioning that Long Chen’s reputation for being unrivaled in his realm seemed to have some substance; it wasn’t just empty hype. All the missions he’d taken in the past month were Abyss Tasks!

He had slain numerous Mountain and Sea Celestial Prides of the same realm!

Even those from the Di Race were no match for him!

His growth rate was also somewhat heaven-defying. It seemed as if the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty was pouring the majority of its resources into him, and he had an inexhaustible supply of Hongyun Dao Source.

In just one short month.

That guy had advanced another layer from the Quasi-Emperor Fifth Layer.

His ranking on the Emperor’s List surged by a large margin.

If not for the fact that Wu Dao had enough Incarnations continuously taking on Abyss Tasks, his cultivation speed might not have been able to keep up with Long Chen’s.

Of course, their paths were not of the same system.

To Wu Dao, as long as there wasn’t a qualitative difference, cultivation realms didn’t mean much.

’Is he probing for my trump cards?’

After completing another Abyss Task, Wu Dao understood what Long Chen was trying to do. The Abyss Tasks issued by the Dao Celestial Stele would gradually increase in difficulty based on the success rate.

Long Chen’s refusal to act was clearly because he wanted to see where Wu Dao’s limit lay. This line of thinking was similar to Wu Dao’s own: never fight a battle you aren’t sure you can win!

Unfortunately for him, Long Chen could calculate a thousand times over, but he would never have guessed that the one operating outside was merely one of Wu Dao’s Incarnations!

His Main Body.

A month ago.

A month ago, his Main Body had already sunk into the depths of the Miasma Abyss, a place stacked with countless Great Thousand Worlds. Not even a Quasi-Emperor could penetrate the miasma to find him!

VMMMM—

The Miasma Abyss was endless, deep, and vast.

In a certain region.

The pressure was immense and unending, and the miasma itself was like the arms of a Giant Spirit God, tearing at every microscopic Primordial Magnetism Particle structure, constantly destroying and reshaping them into something stronger.

Even further below.

...was a dreamlike Star Sea, the Star Mother.

It spun at high speed without pause, pouring power into Wu Dao and elevating his cultivation.

After a month in Miasma Abyss City.

Wu Dao opened his attribute panel once again—

[Physique: Primordial Magnetism Path]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring: All Things, Initial Tribulation (180,000/259,200)+]

[Transverse Cultivation: Infinite Primordial Scripture - Holy Body Perfection Second Step+]

[Divine Cultivation: Juntian Creation Scripture·Great Venerable Second Realm+]

[Soul Cultivation: All Phenomena Divine Luo Scripture·Great Venerable Second Realm+]

[Divine Origin: Lower-Rank Great Venerable]

[Celestial Treasure: Bitter Dust Robe (Emperor’s Artifact 100%)

...]

[Teleportation Points: ...]

In just one month, his One-Tribulation Dao Veins had increased by more than fifty thousand.

His Great Venerable Essence had been elevated to the Second Layer.

His combat power stats had reached the level of a Quasi-Emperor of Two Heavens.

Wu Dao estimated that once all his Dao Veins were created, he should be able to reach the Quasi-Emperor Fifth Heaven.

Upon cultivating to perfection, he would reach Quasi-Emperor Limit Perfection.

The moment he initiated the Second Tribulation would be the moment his essence stepped into the Quasi-Emperor Realm, and his combat power would truly achieve boundless might, rivaling that of a Great Emperor.

"The Second Layer isn’t enough."

Putting away the attribute panel, Wu Dao thought of Long Chen’s growth rate. He would only have absolute certainty upon entering the Third Layer; the Second Layer was cutting it too close.

The gap between each layer in the Quasi-Emperor Realm was even greater.

The Proto-Cosmos within them underwent qualitative changes and multiplied with each advancement.

One could only imagine what a terrifyingly large number would be needed to bridge that gap in quality with sheer quantity.

Not to mention.

The most troublesome things were Long Chen’s background and his trump cards. Every time that guy fought, the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty would lock down all intelligence.

Of all the trump cards he possessed, Wu Dao only knew about the Three-Life Dantian.

Within Shanhai Pass, a mere Celestial King like him couldn’t probe a Military Lord’s trump cards, so he could only make his best possible estimates.

Another half a month passed.

Wu Dao’s progress in creating One-Tribulation Dao Veins reached two hundred thousand, and his base combat power stats rose to the Quasi-Emperor Third Layer.

As for Long Chen, while not as heaven-defying as Wu Dao, he had also reached the Peak of Quasi-Emperor Sixth Realm.

"You want to know my limit? Very well, I’ll satisfy you!"

After stepping into the Quasi-Emperor Third Heaven, Wu Dao gave a cold laugh and decided to put on a show. It just so happened that he had received a decapitation-style Abyss Task targeting the Mountain and Sea’s Ancient Demon Race.

As expected, after Wu Dao set out on the mission, the few Celestial King Great Venerables assigned to cooperate with him acted as double agents the entire time, relaying real-time battle reports to Long Chen in Sansheng City.

However.

This time, Wu Dao seemed to have gone on a killing spree.

After killing the mission’s target.

He then charged into the Ancient Demon Race’s territory beyond the border. Furthermore, he even deployed the Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate and numerous Quasi-Emperor Weapons to target a Quasi-Emperor of the Ancient Demon Race!

The final result was astonishing!

With his Great Venerable Perfection Cultivation, combined with the Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate and numerous top-tier Quasi-Emperor Weapons, Wu Dao decisively slayed that First Heaven Quasi-Ancestor King of the Ancient Demon Race!

Killing a Quasi-Emperor as a Great Venerable!

Regardless of whether he relied on external artifacts.

This achievement alone was heaven-defying enough!

However.

Any discerning eye could see...

...that Wu Dao had used every trick up his sleeve. Combined with the element of surprise, he had barely managed to overwhelm and kill that Quasi-Ancestral King with a sheer number of Quasi-Emperor Weapons!

Afterward, he was even heavily wounded and had fled in a sorry state.

He had narrowly escaped being trapped at the border by a Third Heaven Quasi-Emperor from the Ancient Demon Race who had come as reinforcements!

"A Great Venerable killing a Quasi-Emperor, and a Third Heaven couldn’t keep him..."

In the Three Lives Main City.

Long Chen received the battle report immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly as he made an assessment of Wu Dao’s limit—

The Quasi-Emperor Fourth Layer Heaven!

Without factoring in external artifacts, and considering the Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate, one would also need an Emperor’s Weapon to eliminate Wu Dao!

"The higher the success rate of Abyss Tasks, the harder the subsequent missions. For the next task, he will have to cross the border."

His fingertips tapped on the armrest.

Long Chen’s expression was cold, and a deep killing intent filled his eyes. He wasn’t worried that Wu Dao was hiding his true strength, because every time Wu Dao completed a mission, he would immediately exchange his contributions for merit points.

Once the merit points were exchanged, the Dao Celestial Stele would reveal the exchanger’s cultivation realm.

In the past month and a half, Wu Dao had consistently shown a Great Venerable Perfection Cultivation. His risky venture to slay a Quasi-Emperor was likely not to become a Sealing Army Master, but to break through the Great Venerable Realm and enter the ranks of Quasi-Emperors!

Based on the combat power he had displayed, as long as he completed one more Abyss Task, the Hongyun Dao Source would definitely allow him to shatter the shackles of the Great Venerable realm and enter the Quasi-Emperor Realm.

At that time... he would be much harder to kill.

After all, Wu Dao possessed numerous top-tier Quasi-Emperor Weapons and the Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate. Once he became a Quasi-Emperor, he could perfectly awaken their Mighty Power.

When that happened, even if Long Chen had a superior realm and used an Emperor’s Weapon, he wouldn’t be able to crack that turtle shell and kill Wu Dao in a short time.

Therefore, the next Abyss Task... was the best opportunity to strike!

With this in mind, Long Chen contacted the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty and had them dispatch a rare Puppet Incarnation, a Supreme Treasure for concealing information, and various other Big Killing Artifacts.

He would not make such a low-level mistake.

Killing a fellow Celestial King from his own faction within Shanhai Pass—if the Commander’s Law Enforcement Team found out, not even the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty could protect him!

’Chen’er, do it cleanly. There’s no need to worry about the consequences.’

Before ending the communication, the current Emperor of the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty had earnestly advised him. Long Chen was not only his proudest son but also a vessel of the Celestial Mandate, carrying the future of the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty.

If an accident were to befall him, with the Great Tribulation imminent, it would be difficult for the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty to cultivate a second Long Chen. They would be unable to compete for the future Celestial Destiny Dao Fruit, destined to become mere side characters in this tribulation.

’This child understands.’

Long Chen naturally understood his father’s meaning.

Telling him not to worry about the consequences meant that even if he failed, the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty would spare no expense to protect him!

He did not arrogantly refuse.

His years of tempering in Shanhai Pass had long since taught him that the means didn’t matter, only the result. The victor is king.

To be honest, if not for the restrictions of Shanhai Pass, if they were back in Hongyuan proper, to be on the safe side... he absolutely would have brought a Primordial Chaos expert to hold the line!