Jiang Li had once stood upon distant stars, gazing down to behold the entire continent—only then did he finally grasp its true form. The whole land was a celestial corpse. To be more precise, it was the corpse of the Dao Ancestor himself.
The Dao Ancestor’s immortal body was so vast that it stretched across the breadth of two provinces, its size comparable to dozens of planets. The sun, moon, and countless stars revolved around his body—these formed the universe as the humans of this world perceived it.
Spirit beasts roamed between the Dao Ancestor’s thighs and head, while humanity lived upon his calves and feet. Jiang Li had never encountered such a sight before, so he invited Immortal Elder Changcun to examine it. Upon seeing it, Immortal Elder Changcun broke into bitter tears, his heart filled with grief.
He kowtowed nine times toward the Dao Ancestor’s corpse and lamented, saying that someone had refined the Dao Ancestor’s body into such a tremendous form. He could not fathom why anyone would do such a thing. Jiang Li also suspected that this was the work of the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons.
Yet, even he could not understand the purpose behind it. If they possessed the ability and strength to refine the Dao Ancestor’s corpse into a continent, why go to such lengths instead of simply slaughtering all living beings here? Why bother spreading corruption among the spirit beasts to have them kill the humans?
Considering that the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal’s mind was not yet fully developed and might not bear the truth, Jiang Li intended to send it back to the Nine Provinces. He planned to wait until it matured before revealing what had happened. But who could have guessed—that little brat actually revived the entire continent!
“No! Impossible!”
The Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal trembled in disbelief. It knew it could only bestow animation upon dead things, yet how could its Master possibly be dead? He was the one who had proclaimed himself the Dao Ancestor!
His destiny bore that title! Perhaps he was even an incarnation of the Dao Ancestor of the Immortal Realm himself! How could such an existence die?
Whether the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal believed it or not, the Dao Ancestor’s corpse lay before their very eyes—and it had now been awakened with spiritual awareness.
“Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal, you damn fool! Erase the consciousness of the Dao Ancestor’s corpse right now!”
“I—I can’t control him anymore!”
If it were merely an ordinary continent, the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal could freely instill and erase awareness at will. But this was the body of the Dao Ancestor—an immortal corpse far beyond any ordinary immortal. Once spiritual awareness was birthed within it, instinctive self-protection immediately arose, severing the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal’s influence.
“You should’ve just stayed in the Dao Sect and tempered yourself for a few more cycles!”
Jiang Li cursed furiously.
“You tiny creature—your troublemaking skill is greater than anyone’s!”
Fortunately, the awakened mind within the Dao Ancestor’s corpse was still faint and could not control such a massive body. For now, only the head could move, while the arms remained stiff and unmoving.
The effect on humanity was minor—for if the day ever came when his whole body stirred, once those limbs stretched out, not a single person living upon his calves would survive!
“So what if he’s big? I can grow tall too!”
Jiang Li roared. His aura exploded, and he unleashed the Manifestation of Heaven and Earth technique, enlarging himself to an unimaginable scale. He pressed down upon the Dao Ancestor’s hands, restraining the head with his own strength, then let his Yang Spirit emerge from his body, plunging into the Dao Ancestor’s brow.
Within the Dao Ancestor’s Spiritual Platform lay a desolate and decayed landscape. Amid the ruin stood a single white-robed shadow, frowning slightly, unable to grasp what had transpired. Agitation consumed him—a deep restlessness that urged him to destroy.
Somewhere within, he knew he possessed such power, yet he lacked control over it. He yearned to regain command of his body. Instinct whispered that once he did, he could act as he pleased, unrestrained.
This was the newly born consciousness of the Dao Ancestor. The apparition’s form was gradually becoming solid.
“Perhaps you do not yet understand, but you should never have emerged,” Jiang Li said as his blazing Yang Spirit radiated pure suppression toward the shadow—an existence not even worthy of being called a soul.
In life, the Dao Ancestor’s mastery of Dao Arts was unmatched. Yet now, this shadow was like Fairy Red Dust—ignorant of his past, devoid of knowledge of any Dao Arts, striking only by instinct. But such clumsy attacks could never overcome Jiang Li.
Before long, he had utterly erased the phantom. His Yang Spirit returned to his body. Jiang Li once again forced down the Dao Ancestor’s raised head, pressing it back into stillness.
It could not even be called a battle—merely Jiang Li cleaning up yet another mess caused by the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal. Furious, he seized the seal in hand and slapped it hard until cracks spread across its body. This time, however, the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal did not cry.
It only endured the pain in silence, knowing all too well the gravity of its mistake. Though matters had been resolved, many mysteries remained, leaving Jiang Li deep in thought. Suddenly, he recalled how, when he had first arrived, he had asked the System Store whether it sold nuclear bombs.
The System had replied: “Please proceed to another world first.” He reopened the shop interface and indeed found that the contents had updated. There were now items of this world—things like light brains, artificial sun warheads, and more.
They weren’t even that costly. Such modern items were not what he needed. His attention was drawn to something else.
Amidst rows of high‑tech instruments, there lay one peculiar antique—an ancient stone stele, utterly out of place. Its cost was hundreds of thousands of Source Points. The shop’s description read: “A message left behind by the Dao Ancestor in his final moments.”
Jiang Li’s heart stirred. His guess had been right. An existence such as the Dao Ancestor could not possibly have departed without leaving something behind.
To find traces of the Dao Ancestor’s legacy on this continent could take years of searching by Divine Sense—an unbearable waste of time. Jiang Li chose to simply purchase it. It was no more expensive than a few dozen Union‑Stage cultivation manuals.
The inscription upon the stele read: “To the survivors of the Immortal Realm: If you are reading this stele, it means you have already vanquished A Qing—my mount… A great upheaval broke out within the Immortal Realm… Helpless, I fled to this world with your ancestors…
Our enemies pursued relentlessly… A great battle followed… They were too powerful…
I was defeated… I refined myself into this continent… to give you shelter… That way, they would not dare…
But they defiled my A Qing… I can no longer stop them… I am sorry…”
The stele was badly damaged; who knew where the original had been placed. Much of its surface had decayed—only fragments of text remained legible. The language of the inscription was the same as that of the Nine Provinces.
At first Jiang Li thought it had been written for humans of the Nine Provinces, but after reading it, he realized it was meant for the immortals’ descendants here in Ming Zhong’s world. After arriving in this realm, Jiang Li had learned its language. It now seemed that Ming Zhong’s people had long forgotten their old tongue across countless generations.
Jiang Li knew that in the Immortal Realm, not everyone was a true immortal. Immortals too had descendants, and servants labored beneath them. Thus, there existed many cultivators who had yet to ascend.
The “immortal realm survivors” the Dao Ancestor brought to this world must have been those very people. But after the Dao Ancestor’s death, something must have gone terribly wrong. Ming Zhong’s people lost all memory of their origins, choosing instead to walk the path of technology.
“Can I use Source Points to restore the damaged parts of the stele?”
Jiang Li asked.
[This item does not support Source Point restoration.]
For once, Jiang Li didn’t curse the System for its uselessness—at least the stele had proven valuable this time. Though the stele explained some mysteries, it did not solve the greatest question: why had the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons failed to slaughter Ming Zhong’s people? According to the Dao Ancestor’s message, they “did not dare.”
Jiang Li brought the stele before the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal and Ming Zhong, telling them he had found it within the Dao Ancestor’s brow.
“So we came from the Immortal Realm,” Ming Zhong murmured after a long silence.
He quickly accepted this truth of their origin. Knowing now that Ming Zhong’s people were those whom the Dao Ancestor had sought to protect, the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal—though sorrowful—felt a newfound affection for this world.
“Since this stele was left behind for your kind by the Dao Ancestor, it rightfully belongs to you.”
Jiang Li handed the stele to Ming Zhong and prepared to depart.
“Will we ever meet again?”
Ming Zhong asked. Jiang Li smiled faintly.
“That depends on whether we can find the sentient Brahma Tower.”
With the Brahma Tower’s power, forging a passage between the Nine Provinces and Ming Zhong’s world shouldn’t be difficult. Ming Zhong did not understand his meaning, but the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal spoke firmly, “We will find it!” … After Jiang Li and the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal had departed, Ming Zhong took out a small button‑like device.
A light brain projection emerged and spoke in a toneless voice, “President No.506, the Era of Accumulation has not yet reached its peak. Do you wish to prematurely activate the Era of Eruption?” The question repeated three times.
Ming Zhong confirmed thrice as well, each time without hesitation. Finally, he pressed the button. Now that Jiang Li had exterminated nearly all high‑level spirit beasts on the continent, leaving only Nascent Soul stage ones, humanity—with its science and technology—could easily confront them and reclaim their lost lands.
It was time for humanity to regain their emotions.
(End of Chapter)