Chapter 618

One year of time, passing in a flash!

For cultivators, one year is just a blink of an eye during cultivation, especially for the experts of the major factions gathered outside the secret realm, who sat in their camps, waiting for their own people to return while sitting and waiting for Xu Que to walk right into their trap!

This process was just a blink of an eye, and a year had passed!

However, for the experts who were not cultivating, quite a few things had happened throughout this year.

Especially in the last few days, many people had received shocking news and were discussing it heatedly.

"It is said that the ancestor of the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan has awakened and is on his way to the secret realm!"

"No way, is it necessary to alarm those ancestors just to catch a Xu Que?"

"Not necessarily. It is said that the world is about to change, and many sleeping ancestors have awakened for no reason. It is said that the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan has four generations of ancestors in total, and the one who has awakened now is the youngest one!"

"What? The world is about to change? Could it be that a disaster is coming?"

"It's hard to say. Ultimately, it depends on whether those ancestors are willing to reveal some truth or clues."

"However, the ancestor of the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan is the first to awaken. He is rushing to this place now, and it is said that he wants to personally suppress and kill Xu Que, and he won't give Duan Jiude any face!"

"Damn, that ruthless?"

"Nonsense, I heard that Niu Batian, whom Xu Que suppressed and killed on the Reverse Current Sea, was the only direct descendant of that ancestor. Xu Que killed Niu Batian; what's the difference between that and cutting off that ancestor's lineage?"

"Then there's going to be a good show to watch. That ancestor must have at least the cultivation of the fifth layer of the Body Integration Stage. Having slept for hundreds of years, he might already be at the sixth layer of the Body Integration Stage. With Duan Jiude's style, he shouldn't fight the entire Heavenly Horned Ox Clan for the sake of a Xu Que!"

Many people discussed, some gloating, some shaking their heads indifferently, and some feeling sympathy for Xu Que.

And the people from the Heavenly Fragrance Valley also stayed behind, intending to see what Xu Que's final fate would be. Hearing that the ancestor of the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan was about to arrive, the people from the Heavenly Fragrance Valley sighed one after another, secretly thinking that Xu Que had played too big this time and would likely face the fate of playing with fire and getting burned.

However, the next day, there were more exclamations outside the secret realm.

"Haha, shocking news! Just transmitted from the north of the Southern Continent, an ancestor of the Shengfeng Pavilion has also awakened and is also preparing to rush to the secret realm to suppress and kill Xu Que!"

"News has also come from the Eastern Wasteland. The Jiang Family, the Gong Family, the Bai Family, and many ancestors of sects are all awakening. It is said that their major clans and sects have all been ruthlessly scammed by Xu Que, and now several ancestors are discussing joining forces to come and settle the score with Xu Que!"

"My God! The high monk who has been chanting scriptures for nearly a thousand years on the Sutra Tower of the Fulong Temple in the Western Desert suddenly stopped chanting today and walked down the tower, saying he wants to come here to take Xu Que away."

"The ancestor of the Zhu Family in the Northern Sea has also awakened and is rushing here to avenge their Zhu family."

"It is said that the Zhu Family also invited experts from the Kunpeng Clan to take action. Maybe a Kunpeng Clan member will really come."

"Damn, no way?"

"This is very wrong! For the sake of a Xu Que, is it necessary to alarm so many ancestors?"

"Nonsense, in fact, everyone knows in their hearts that so many ancestors are taking action personally, isn't it for that Spirit Tree in Xu Que's hands?"

"Damn, is the rumor true? That guy really dug up the Spirit Tree on the first island?"

"It's nine out of ten true. After all, it's a Spirit Tree. No wonder so many ancestors are tempted!"

"It seems that Duan Jiude probably can't protect that kid this time!"

……

Finally, a few days later, amidst the increasingly heated discussions of the crowd, the ancestor of the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan arrived!

He had a head of silvery-white hair, and although his face looked old, there wasn't a single wrinkle to be seen. Two horns on the top of his head were sharp and exposed, revealing a cold aura.

Some cultivators with weaker realms lowered their heads immediately, not daring to look directly at the horns, otherwise their eyeballs would likely be pierced by the sharpness on the horns!

After that ancestor arrived, he didn't enter the secret realm but sat cross-legged on a mountain peak in the distance, closing his eyes to rest, not saying a word from beginning to end!

The next day, the ancestor of the Shengfeng Pavilion also arrived.

Like the ancestor of the Heavenly Horned Ox Clan, he didn't say a single word, and there was no communication between the two ancestors. Each occupied a mountain, and there was no further action, clearly intending to guard here until the secret realm closed to suppress and kill Xu Que!

And in the following days, the ancestors of other major factions arrived one after another, and the scene became increasingly terrifying.

Many small factions were forced to retreat to several hundred miles away from the entrance of the secret realm.

No one forced them to do so; it was simply because their strength was too weak. Near so many ancestors, they couldn't withstand the invisible pressure at all, feeling that if they stayed any longer, they might suffer internal injuries from the pressure that made it hard to breathe!

And in these few days, more and more people were attracted to come!

Some came to watch the excitement, and some came to admire these legendary ancestors, this batch of the most powerful people in the Four Great Continents!

"This is the Body Integration Stage! Truly powerful!"

"They are just sitting there, without using any techniques or pressure, yet we can't get close at all!"

"This is the power of Dao Rhyme. Once they reach that realm, Dao Rhyme has already formed. It's too terrifying!"

"As the saying goes, those with different Daos cannot conspire. If our Dao is different from theirs, getting close might cause our Great Dao to be severed by their Dao Rhyme, and we would become cripples for life!"

Many people sighed in amazement, and countless Void Refinement Stage experts were full of anticipation.

Because they were the people closest to that realm, and they might also take this step in the future, allowing their own Dao Rhyme to take shape and become one of the Dao Lords of this world!

"With Body Integration Stage ancestors taking action, no matter how powerful Xu Que's guardian's techniques are, it will be useless in the end!"

"He himself has already become a cripple, and those guardians are the same as him—their techniques are powerful, but they have no Dao Rhyme on them. Perhaps everyone in the Exploding Heaven Gang is like this, almost belonging to the category of semi-cripples!"

"Yeah! After all, Dao Rhyme is the key to reaching the end. We cultivate for longevity, which is actually cultivating our own Dao!"

"This is the same as the Buddhist saying: the flesh is the boat, and Dao Rhyme is the sail, so one can cross the bitter sea and reach the other shore!"

The crowd discussed the Great Dao, and at the same time, they felt that Xu Que was doomed and had no possibility of a comeback.

……

At the same time, in the third layer of the secret realm!

In the underground palace, two figures sat cross-legged!

In this underground palace full of abundant spiritual energy, Liu Jingning had cultivated for a year, and her strength had progressed rapidly. Her realm at the ninth layer of the Void Refinement Stage had loosened, and she was only one step away from the perfection of the tenth layer!

This was the greatest gain she had had in such a long time!

But the biggest winner was Xu Que, who was sitting beside her!

After a year, Xu Que had been immersed in the state of cultivation and hadn't woken up once.

His black hair had grown to the ground, full of luster, and his facial features had subtly changed, gradually resembling his past life, but his skin was fair and smooth enough to make countless women jealous, white with a hint of red, very handsome!

Liu Jingning opened her beautiful eyes and subconsciously looked at Xu Que for the first time, her heart filled with shock.

In just one year, Xu Que had re-cultivated to the peak of the Infant Transformation Stage, the same as before he crippled his cultivation!

This was something she found hard to believe, but the facts were right before her eyes, and she couldn't help but believe it.

More importantly, she could clearly feel that Xu Que's current strength was several times more powerful than before, and his foundation was very consolidated and solid.

Especially the majestic Dao Rhyme surging from Xu Que was powerful and gentle. When Liu Jingning sat beside him, she actually felt very comfortable. It was an illusion of facing the sea that takes in all rivers, and when she cultivated, she actually achieved twice the result with half the effort!

Undoubtedly, she believed that Xu Que was the most powerful Infant Transformation Stage prodigy she had ever seen in her life, and the current Xu Que really possessed the strength to fight her!

Peak Infant Transformation Stage fighting Peak Void Refinement Stage—this would have been a joke before, but now, Xu Que could really do it!

"One year of time, and you've cultivated to this realm. Are you planning to spend the next year preparing to break through to the Void Refinement Stage?" Liu Jingning gazed at Xu Que, whispering softly.

However, she didn't know that at this moment, Xu Que had already fallen into a blurry, blank world!