Chapter 1644

When that familiar, aged figure appeared clearly before his eyes once more, Li Luo's eye sockets couldn't help but blur a little; although many words lingered on his lips, the surging emotions in his heart prevented him from uttering a single sentence.

The old man seemed to understand his emotions as well, a faint smile appearing on his stern face as he stepped back two paces, raised his hand, and lightly patted Luo's shoulder, saying with some emotion: "It's been years since we last met; that little rascal from back then has now become a peerless marquis—such an achievement even surpasses your father's."

"And Qinge, you two lovebirds are practically making the Li Tianwang lineage's heavenly pride feel ashamed."

Luo rubbed his eyes hard, gazing at the familiar, kind face before him, and said: "Grandfather, now that you've entered the Tianwang realm, why not change into a more youthful and vigorous appearance?"

Li Jingzhe, however, replied indifferently: "An old man like me—what's there to change about my appearance? I'm not like Old Ancestor Li Jun with that temperament."

Luo chuckled at the words; Li Jun, the Old Ancestor, had lived over a thousand years yet still looked like a handsome youth—truly somewhat flamboyant—but after Jingzhe entered the Tianwang realm, his temperament had subtly changed, to the point that he now dared to tease Li Jun, the Old Ancestor.

"Alright, let's first deal with the matters here," Jingzhe said.

"Troubling Grandfather again," Luo said, scratching his head sheepishly, as if every time Jingzhe appeared, it was to clean up his mess.

"What trouble is there among family? If it weren't for you two, relying on this old bone of mine, my potential would have been exhausted long ago, and I probably couldn't have reached the Tianwang realm at all," Jingzhe said with a faint smile.

Given his latent potential, without a tremendous stroke of fortune, reaching the Tianwang realm would have been impossible—but in the Realm River Treasure Land, to save these juniors, he selflessly ignited his own essence, originally thinking it a dead end, yet Luo, aided by the wondrous power of the Myriad Phenomena Wheel and his own innate affinity with the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, found a sliver of life within that dead end.

More importantly, the rebirth process of this Heavenly Thunder Bamboo was nurtured jointly by the Myriad Phenomena Seed and the Primordial Seed—such stringent conditions, throughout ancient and modern times, likely have no second example.

It was in this life-or-death peril that he could reforge his foundation and, taking advantage of the opportunity, ascend even higher, reaching a realm he once dared not imagine.

Judging by the outcome, this sacrifice and risk were entirely worthwhile.

But when he originally ignited his essence, Jingzhe obviously could not have foreseen that this seemingly doomed situation would instead become his great fortune.

"Congratulations, Jingzhe lineage chief, on entering the Tianwang realm—from now on, among our Ten Great Shenzhou, there is one more guardian deity," Jiang Tianwang said at this moment, offering his congratulations; this development was undoubtedly a good thing for them, after all, Tianwang is the supreme power in the world, and one more Tianwang means the Ten Great Shenzhou grow stronger by that much.

As for Jingzhe, this sudden upstart who ascended to the Tianwang realm, Jiang Tianwang was actually quite surprised; originally, in his calculations, among the Ten Great Shenzhou, the one most likely to become a new Tianwang within a hundred years should have been the Radiant King Qi Huang or Wang Xuanjin from the Academy Alliance, or those veteran Triple Crown Kings from the Wang Hou battlefield who had fought for years with glorious achievements—but who would have thought it would be Jingzhe who leapt ahead?

Regarding this, Jiang Tianwang could only sigh: this Longya lineage chief truly possesses deep blessings.

"I also congratulate Jingzhe lineage chief on behalf of Golden Dragon Mountain; I imagine if Li Jun Tianwang knew of this, he would surely be overjoyed," Zhang Tianwang also said, letting out a clear, bright laugh.

"Thank you, two Tianwang, for protecting these juniors of my family," Jingzhe said, bowing slightly to Jiang Tianwang and Zhang Tianwang; at this moment, he also couldn't help but feel moved—though he had heard of these two Tianwang before, he had rarely seen them, and he never imagined that upon meeting today, they would actually exist on the same level as him.

Jiang Tianwang and Zhang Tianwang both returned the salute with smiles.

As Jingzhe entered the Tianwang realm, the situation here began to reverse—the Asura Arm Great Demon King could no longer rely on Tianwang power to act against the Pill Saint and Luo, Jiang Qinge, and others.

Moreover, as time passed, the power of the two Great Demon Kings began to wane, because this world of the Ten Great Shenzhou was trying to squeeze them out.

"Yin Tianwang, it seems today you won't succeed," Jiang Tianwang said, his gaze turning toward the bronze mask that Yin Tianwang had transformed into, speaking calmly.

The forces of both sides were once again in balance, and as time passed, our side was gaining the upper hand.

In Yin Tianwang's eye sockets, white-flame fires flickered; he ignored Jiang Tianwang, instead turning his distant gaze toward the Pill Saint, and said indifferently: "Cai Die, you truly refuse to hand over the 'Wind-Fire Mutual' to me?"

The Pill Saint's eyes were icy cold: "Colluding with alien beings—just this alone is enough to nail you to the pillar of shame in the Wuxiang Holy Sect."

"You should be grateful that I no longer possess peak power; otherwise, I would certainly cleanse the sect's doors for the sect!"

"Cleanse the doors?" Yin Tianwang seemed to emit a mocking laugh, and then, behind the bronze mask, the void suddenly ruptured, and boundless black qi slowly seeped out from within.

As the black qi surged forth, there also came a mysterious pressure that made even Jiang Tianwang's expression suddenly turn solemn.

Immediately afterward, they saw the black qi carrying a mysterious black coffin, appearing within their field of vision.

That black coffin exuded an air of deathly stillness, yet when it appeared, even the Tianwang present felt that the authority they controlled seemed to have grown heavier.

This shocked them all—what is this object, capable of affecting their authority?

"It's the black coffin that Xu Tianwang once took out from the Heavenly Mirror Tower!" Luo's expression also changed, for he had seen Xu Tianwang take out this very object in the Heavenly Mirror Tower.

This is clearly the greatest secret of Guiyi, possessing inconceivable power.

But just then, Luo saw the Pill Saint's body violently trembling at this moment; her eyes lost focus as she stared at that black coffin, a faint tremor in her voice as it slowly emerged from her lips.

"This is..."

"The Patriarch's Funeral Coffin?!"

As this sound rang out, heaven and earth seemed to tremble violently; everyone felt their vision blur, as if a vast, ancient river to the utmost extreme flowed before their eyes—a river of time burying countless ancient secrets.

And everyone else turned pale.

Whether it was Luo, Jiang Qinge, Jiang Tianwang, or Zhang Tianwang.

All were unable to remain composed.

For they all knew that the "Patriarch's Funeral Coffin" mentioned by the Pill Saint must refer to the last legendary patriarch of the Wuxiang Holy Sect.

That figure who once led the Wuxiang Holy Sect into the Dark World, nearly ending this countless-years-long chaos—the supreme powerhouse!

Luo's scalp tingled; he stared in horror at the black coffin—if this is that patriarch's coffin, then... what lies inside it now, could it be the patriarch's remains?!

Or perhaps...

That patriarch never fell at all?!

But instead survived in some special way within this coffin?!

"Cai Die, the Patriarch's Funeral Coffin is here—do you still intend to defy? Everything I have done is merely obeying the patriarch's divine edict, handing over the Wind-Fire Mutual!" Yin Tianwang's voice echoed in the silence, slowly resounding.

The Pill Saint stared dead-eyed at the black coffin, her teeth even biting her red lips until they bled, and then her hoarse voice rang out.

"Is the patriarch really inside? Yin Qingkun, do you really think I don't know anything?"

White-flame fires burned fiercely in Yin Tianwang's eye sockets: "Oh?"

The Pill Saint clenched her palms tightly, her body trembling slightly, her voice desolate.

"Yin Qingkun, no matter what is inside, it absolutely will not be the patriarch!"