Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 931 - 398: Buzhou Mountain Legacy_2

The Saint Ancestor fell silent, no longer addressing the Sea Ancestor at this juncture. A profound solemnity settled upon his features as he perceived the Immortal Dao aura emanating from the Divine Mountain Illusion. This sensation was intensely disquieting.

His senses revealed two distinct origins for this potent Immortal Dao aura. The first emanated from the Divine Mountain Illusion itself. Should this indeed be the fabled Buzhou Mountain, its possession of Immortal Dao aura would hardly be cause for astonishment. The second source, however, originated from within the Mountain Ancestor himself, a revelation that truly startled the Saint Ancestor!

He found himself utterly unable to ascertain the true nature of the situation. Had the Mountain Ancestor personally cultivated this Immortal Dao aura? Had he somehow borrowed it from the Buzhou Mountain illusion? Or had the illusion itself, through some unfathomable process, nurtured the Immortal Dao aura within the Mountain Ancestor? Regardless of the answer, one fact remained undeniably clear.

The Mountain Ancestor's cultivation had surpassed both his own and the Sea Ancestor's, indicating he was significantly closer to the very threshold of achieving immortality itself!

Behind the Saint Ancestor, the Sea Ancestor hovered, her normally icy eyes betraying a slight tremor. Initially, her gaze flickered ceaselessly between the Saint Ancestor and the Mountain Ancestor, but now, her attention was wholly captivated by the latter. Many years had elapsed since her last confrontation with the Mountain Ancestor, and she had been profoundly uncertain of his progress during that time.

But in this moment, she understood with startling clarity: the Mountain Ancestor had ascended to an astonishing new realm! Could the inheritance he received in ages past truly have been so profoundly remarkable?

Whoosh!

Abruptly, the Mountain Ancestor, who had been passively residing within the Divine Mountain Illusion, surged outwards with fierce intent, breaching the illusion's boundaries. Enveloped in a blazing, radiant flame, he streaked towards the Saint Ancestor's position like a celestial comet.

At this precise moment, his aura was dramatically altered from its previous state. Where once it was stable and immovable as a mighty mountain, it now possessed a sharpness and prominence reminiscent of the very pinnacle of the Buzhou Mountain looming behind him!

"What, have you become petrified? Where did all that earlier bravado vanish to?"

He bellowed his challenge as he propelled himself forward. The Saint Ancestor, in turn, advanced to meet him without hesitation.

"Time flows ceaselessly, neither day nor night remaining still!"

He uttered this phrase with lightning speed, not as a direct retort, but seemingly as an incantation. This was a potent spell he had deciphered from the "Analects," a technique attributed to an Ancient Saint whose aura bore a striking resemblance to his own, as depicted on the Ancient Road Sacred Map.

Following the pronouncement of this phrase, a shimmering distortion materialized beneath the Saint Ancestor's advancing form. The distortion rippled through space with an ethereal, almost unreal quality, causing the immediate surroundings to blur and warp at an alarming rate.

Compared to the previously employed "He Who Seeks the Evening's Death," the sheer power unleashed by this new spell was demonstrably on a higher echelon, once again invoking the profound Power of the Time Rule.

Even Ning Qi, let alone any other mere cultivators present, found it nigh impossible to discern the Saint Ancestor's form at this critical juncture. The Saint Ancestor appeared to have plunged into the very river of time, becoming utterly immersed within its flow, transcending the distinction between day and night, rendering his movements untraceable.

Upon witnessing this display, the Mountain Ancestor, who was hurtling forward like a meteor, experienced a fleeting, almost imperceptible flicker of excitement in his eyes. He offered no pause to his relentless charge in the face of the Saint Ancestor's Time Rule manipulation; instead, he accelerated his pace.

Remarkably, this time, the Saint Ancestor's Time Rule held absolutely no sway over him. In a breathtaking instant, a streak of light flashed across the void, and they exchanged positions as they passed each other!

Ning Qi observed the aftermath: as they zipped past one another, it was as if they had etched a celestial hook in the air. They floated apart in opposing directions, their spatial positions completely reversed.

The Saint Ancestor now stood before the immense, towering illusion of the Divine Mountain. Conversely, the Mountain Ancestor occupied the space directly between the Saint Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor.

Only after they had both halted their movements did the space they had traversed begin to react, lagging behind their abrupt shift.

Bang!

An anomalous, resounding sound echoed, carrying to the ears of everyone present. As their gazes snapped towards the affected region of space, they were met with a truly terrifying spectacle. The very fabric of space seemed to vibrate incessantly, as if struck with the force of a colossal gong. It resembled the surface of disturbed water, erupting with visible ripples!

Following these unsettling ripples, the space appeared to either violently contract or explosively expand, ultimately vanishing altogether. It left behind not even a trace, but an absolute, empty void.

Unlike the localized spatial collapses that had occurred during their previous clashes, this time, that segment of space was utterly obliterated. Nothing remained: no Spiritual Qi, no governing rules, no ethereal energy, not even the concept of space itself – it had all been reduced to pure void.

The primal forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm Wills, two distinct spiritual realm wills, positioned themselves on opposing sides, desperately channeling their intrinsic realm power in an attempt to mend the ravaged space once more. However, their efforts proved futile this time around!

The space seemed to have been irretrievably erased, forming a bizarre, unalterable, and irreparable region! As their realm power touched this void, it felt as though it could find no purchase, no anchor, rendering any attempt at repair impossible.

Witnessing this calamitous outcome, both of the realm wills could only emit a collective sigh of exhaustion, wiping imaginary sweat from their brows.

As the spiritual realm's will, they ought to have been the supreme rulers of both realms.

Nevertheless, the devastation wrought by the conflict between the two ancestors demonstrably surpassed their inherent capabilities.

Yet, they also grasped the underlying reasons for this extraordinary circumstance.

Although acting as the spiritual realm's will, the ancestral powers inherited by both the Mountain Ancestor and the Saint Ancestor clearly exceeded the spiritual realm's limits, thus precipitating such an outcome.

These profound inheritances were precisely what propelled the two ancestors to their current formidable positions.

Furthermore, because of these very inheritances, they were presented with the opportunity for even greater ascendance.

Otherwise, if they were perpetually bound by the spiritual realm's will, how could they possibly transcend and evolve beyond its confines?

The Mountain Ancestor and the Saint Ancestor faced each other, locked in a standoff.

The Saint Ancestor's gaze pierced the void, his brow furrowed in deepening contemplation!

Previously, his technique "He Who Seeks the Evening’s Death" possessed the ability to manipulate the Mountain Ancestor's temporal flow, but his most potent strike, "Time Passes Like This," had failed to alter the Mountain Ancestor's perception of time.

He pondered the reason behind this anomaly.

His Spiritual Sense probed the Mountain Ancestor and the resplendent Divine Mountain Illusion manifesting behind him, and the answer became apparent.

Could it be the very presence of Buzhou Mountain's Illusion, possessing the power to even suppress the fundamental Laws of Time?

The Mountain Ancestor let out a soft chuckle, asking, "So, you've finally realized? Do you truly believe I conjured this Divine Mountain Illusion without purpose?"

Having spoken, he once again launched himself from the void, streaking directly towards the Saint Ancestor.

To the astonishment of all present, the Mountain Ancestor did not shy away from the unstable void that had formed between the two combatants—a void that even the realm wills were incapable of repairing—but charged directly through it!

As he drew near, a radiant beam of light erupted from the Divine Mountain Illusion positioned behind him, immediately capturing everyone's attention.

This light swept out, instantaneously mending the fractured void and restoring it to its original, solid state.

This remarkable display left everyone in silent awe.

Observing the Divine Mountain Illusion, Ning Qi found himself involuntarily elevating his estimation of its power!

Curiously, even after the Mountain Ancestor had summoned the Divine Mountain Illusion and actively departed from it, the illusion itself did not disperse.

It remained resolutely in place. Although its rate of expansion had notably decelerated compared to when the Mountain Ancestor was within its influence, it continued to grow steadily.

As Ning Qi meticulously connected the Divine Mountain Illusion with the Mountain Ancestor through his Golden Pupil of Illusion-breaking, he discerned a subtle, intrinsic link between the two entities.

Yet, paradoxically, no discernible flow of Qi emanated from the Mountain Ancestor towards the Divine Mountain Illusion!

This implied that, despite being summoned by him, the illusion's continued existence did not depend on drawing cultivation energy directly from the Mountain Ancestor himself.

Abruptly, Ning Qi's attention shifted towards the wills of the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Vast Realm.

The illusory forms representing these two realm wills stood passively on either flank.

Since the advent of the Divine Mountain Illusion, they had remained inert, appearing as though rooted in the void.

These wills, inherently formless and without shape, manifested within the war realm merely as avatars summoned by the overarching spiritual realm will.

However, at this critical juncture, both were demonstrably immobilized, rendered naught more than instruments for the repair of the ravaged war realm.

What astonished Ning Qi even more profoundly was his perception of their diminishing power!

More accurately, it appeared the Divine Mountain Illusion was actively siphoning their vital energies for its own sustenance and use.

This startling revelation instantly instilled a sense of burgeoning danger within Ning Qi; this Divine Mountain Illusion was likely far more potent than he had initially surmised, potentially harboring numerous abilities yet unknown to him.

Ning Qi meticulously surveyed the entirety of the war realm, his thoughts turning inward.

Fortunately, the intricate array patterns he had secretly embedded earlier remained intact and functional.

However, he harbored a growing concern that if the Divine Mountain Illusion persisted in its appropriation of the realms' energies, his meticulously placed array patterns would likely dwindle in effectiveness, becoming progressively more useless!

Boom!

A deafening explosion within the void abruptly snapped Ning Qi's consciousness back to the immediate reality of the battle.

Ning Qi's gaze swiftly ascended, and he witnessed the Mountain Ancestor and the Saint Ancestor re-engaging in their fierce combat.

This time, in stark contrast to their previous exchanges, the Saint Ancestor appeared to be on the defensive, clearly suppressed by the Mountain Ancestor's onslaught.

Both combatants exuded an equal aura of majesty, their physical forms matched in imposing stature, the primary divergence lying solely in their respective powers.

The Saint Ancestor continued to wield the formidable techniques inherited from the Ancient Saints, interwoven with a discernible thread of the Power of Time Rule.

Despite this, the Mountain Ancestor was still managing to overpower him!

Fists, feet, elbows, and knees—the brutal exchange between them bore no resemblance to the calculated movements of seasoned warriors in a primeval arena, but rather a raw, elemental clash.

"Ultimate Burst Kill!"

The Mountain Ancestor bellowed with ferocious intensity.

His offensive maneuvers became extraordinarily sharp and piercing; each strike appeared to coalesce the world's most potent, unadulterated yang force, exhibiting an unparalleled sharpness!