Chapter 218: The Green Sovereign Divine Vine from the Heavens

Ancestor Suitian fixed his gaze on the clouds, preparing to make his move.

Suddenly, at the very center of the Jianghai Region, a deafening explosion shattered the air. Dozens of massive vines shot straight upward, piercing through the heart of the cloud layer.

As the thick vines tore through the sky, spirit qi surged from every corner of the region. Within each area, all manner of vines, spirit plants, and herbs were drawn upward by the pull of the colossal vines, ascending into the black clouds above. They began frantically absorbing and purifying the corpse qi saturating the heavens.

Daoist Tian Ji watched quietly, murmuring, "The Azure Mountain Manor has taken action. Only true Heaven Core Realm cultivators could release that towering surge of power. They are said to be saints among cultivators, the closest to the pinnacle."

Daoist Du's eyes gleamed as he observed the spiraling vines ascending into the sky. "The Azure Mountain Manor rules the Jianghai Region. They possess the legacy left by the Green Emperor. They'll handle this far more easily than we could. We probably won't need to intervene. For now, we should focus on exploring what lies beneath the cli—"

Before he could finish, Ancestor Suitian interrupted firmly. "No. The Azure Mountain Manor cannot handle this crisis, at least not in the short term."

"The influence of the corpse qi is immense, capable of stirring negative emotions in cultivators. Even if they dispatch Heaven Core Realm cultivators, their lineage isn't suited for large-scale combat. They cannot cleanse the corpse qi fast enough."

As he spoke, a massive plume of corpse qi erupted again from beneath the cliff, plunging the Jianghai Region into pitch-black night. Hundreds more new vines shot up from the ground, but they were only half as strong as the first wave.

"The vines alone won't be enough. If the corpse qi isn't eliminated immediately, the region will be engulfed in a bloodbath. At the critical moment of spirit qi resurgence, that cannot happen."

Ancestor Suitian glanced at the three gaps in the sky, knowing that the people from the Outside that Jun Wudi had mentioned occupied those spaces, and that only they could effortlessly redirect the corpse qi.

"Now... all we can do is hope that person acts."

He looked to Lu Chen, silently conveying his plea for help.

This time, he felt a response. Activating his Divine Eye toward the central gap, he saw a massive vine, concealed by spells, descending swiftly from the heavens.

As it neared the clouds, the vine multiplied from one to a hundred, then a thousand, and finally ten thousand. The dense, black vines blanketed the dark clouds, thickening them by an entire layer while simultaneously weakening the corpse qi above.

Under the purifying power of the vines, the clouds gradually thinned, allowing gentle light to filter through and illuminate the Jianghai Region once more.

Ancestor Suitian felt the corpse qi rapidly diminish. His brow relaxed, and he immediately informed the nearby venerables. With the crisis apparently resolved, he began summoning cultivators to gather around him.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen felt a surge in his blood. The Eye of the Ancestral Dragon and his Divine Eye activated simultaneously, drawing his gaze to the sky.

At first, astonished delight filled him as he watched the vines emerging from the center of the Jianghai Region. For the first time, he saw someone besides himself manifest vines strikingly similar to his Green Sovereign's Divine Tree divine ability.

But as he took in the sheer scale and density of the interwoven vines above, his delight gave way to awe. The sight was more magnificent and powerful than he could have imagined. Noticing the strange looks from those around him, he lowered his voice urgently, "Wind Dragon, look! Someone is summoning the Green Sovereign Divine Vines above the clouds!"

"The Green Sovereign Divine Vines? Little Lu, you must be joking. That ability can only be awakened by someone with pure Green Sovereign blood," Wind Dragon said, scoffing. "In over three hundred thousand years, besides the Green Emperor, you're the only one I've seen with it. And even that is due to your shared origin, which creates a deep bloodline connection."

Wind Dragon shook his head. "It's already almost miraculous for two cultivators with pure Green Sovereign blood to appear across three hundred thousand years. And now you claim there are two in a single era? That's the Green Sovereign bloodline at the world-creation level, not something anyone can stumble upon. Are you joking, or is heaven mocking me?"

"Wind Dragon! I'm serious!" Lu Chen's gaze remained locked on the sky. "Those in the black clouds... They really are the Green Sovereign Divine Vines. They're thousands, even tens of thousands of times stronger than the vines rising from the ground."

"Do you think the Green Sovereign bloodline is some petty bird's bloodline that anyone can exploit for power?" Wind Dragon laughed scornfully, activating his Divine Eye. "The Green Emperor has left the continent. No one else—"

He faltered as he saw the dense vines devouring the corpse qi. "Those... those really are the Green Sovereign Divine Vines."

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Some vines even reached the Nantian Region, absorbing the spreading corpse qi.

Wind Dragon rubbed his eyes with his claws. "Red Fox... am I seeing things? It's the Green Sovereign Divine Vines."

Red Fox's Divine Eye glimmered as she studied the vines. "Correct. Those are indeed the Green Sovereign Divine Vines, and the highest tier at that."

Her gaze swept through the interwoven mass above, searching for the cultivator responsible. "Anyone capable of instantly releasing this level of Divine Vines must be at least the pinnacle of the Heaven Core Realm, perhaps even beyond."

"At least the pinnacle?" Wind Dragon's excitement surged. Pointing skyward, he said, "This is the eastern Jianghai Region, closest to Lord Second's cultivation arena. Only he could unleash such a powerful technique so swiftly."

"Yes, it must be Lord Second suppressing the corpse qi from above."

Wind Dragon hurriedly sent a voice transmission upward, hoping for a glimpse of the person above. Little did he know, it was actually Blindman Lu, controlling everything with the Green Sovereign Divine Vine he had recovered at an unknown point in time.

"

Oh!

" Red Fox responded with a simple exclamation and then ignored Wind Dragon. Her Divine Eye scanned frantically through the clouds, quickly realizing that the figure above was not the Second Ancestral Avatar.

Compared to Wind Dragon's momentary panic, Red Fox remained composed. She focused on gathering information to confirm her suspicions.

The moment she spotted the Green Sovereign Divine Vine, her mind immediately recalled Flame Demon's warning and the all-too-familiar killing intent. But it vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her unable to confirm whether the person above was truly the Lord of Rituals.

Red Fox studied the vine blanketing the sky. After searching thoroughly and finding no anomalies, she let out a thoughtful hum. "Lord of Rituals, why are you still unwilling to come down?

She slowly lowered her head, closing her eyes and falling into a deep meditation.

Seeing that Red Fox did not seem concerned about the situation above, Wind Dragon quickly asked, "Red Fox, don't you want to see Lord Second? Perhaps he knows where the Beast King has gone."

Red Fox opened her eyes calmly. "It's useless. The vine in the sky has already dissipated. If he truly wanted to meet us, he would have already come down. He must be passing through on some matter."

Shortly after, the vines in the sky completely vanished. Beams of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the Jianghai Region and lifting the oppressive weight of negative emotions from everyone below.

***

High above, Little Pup asked, "My lord, the corpse qi is so ancient. Why not absorb it all? Perhaps you could advance further along the Dao of Reincarnation."

Blindman Lu placed a mass of pure black qi into a jade bottle. "This is enough for me. I'll leave the rest for Little Lu. He has nearly gathered the Primordial Five Elements, and this coming period is when he will need corpse qi the most."

"Since you have made your mind, I will follow your orders," Little Pup said, nodding thoughtfully toward Lu Chen. "But my lord, the giant below has awakened. What should we do now?"

"Keep an eye on these cultivators. Within ten days, don't let them discover the giant's heart. I'll go find the Second Ancestral Avatar. There's a matter that requires his intervention."

Blindman Lu left the ice dragon with Little Pup, casually opening a void passage and stepping through. "If anyone dares to endanger Little Lu, kill them immediately."

Little Pup bowed. "Yes, my lord. You can rest assured; I'll handle it."

After Blindman Lu disappeared into the void passage, he turned his attention back to the backyard of the Scripture Hall.

All the cultivators had already gathered there. One by one, they channeled spirit qi, lined up, and leapt off the cliff to search the pile of corpses below for hidden treasures.

***

Ten minutes later, except for a few venerables and their loyal disciples who remained standing, all other cultivators had descended to scour the lower cliff layers.

Lu Chen and the others stood at the edge, envious. "Ancestor, shall we go down and see if there's anything valuable?"

Lu Chen was about to leap when Ancestor Suitian pulled him back. "Wait. This layer has been scavenged for nearly ten thousand years. What remains here is trivial. Our real objective lies in the lower layers."

"The lower layers?" Lu Chen turned to Ancestor Suitian. "Ancestor, does this secret realm have more than the layer we see?"

"Yes. A giant is buried here, and I suppose you already know as much," Ancestor Suitian said, watching the cultivators advance. "According to ancient practices, such a tomb must have seven layers. From three comes all creation, and at seven, change is born. Our true objective lies in the third and seventh layers."[1]

1. The phrase "From three comes all creation, and at seven, change is born" embodies a deep philosophical view of existence and transformation. The first part,

"From three comes all creation,"

originates from the Daoist concept in the

Dao De Jing

: "Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things." It reflects the idea that the world arises from the balance between opposites—yin and yang—and the harmony that unites them. Once this balance, symbolized by "three," is achieved, all life and phenomena naturally emerge from it. The second part,

"At seven, change is born,"

signifies the principle of cyclical transformation. In both natural and spiritual terms, the number seven represents a point of renewal or evolution. It is the stage where something that has fully matured begins to transform into a new state. Whether it is the renewal of nature, the evolution of the body, or a cultivator reaching a breakthrough, the seventh stage marks a turning point where stagnation turns into growth and decline becomes rebirth. Together, the phrase describes the rhythm of existence: creation arises from harmony, and transformation begins when the cycle reaches its peak. In a cultivation sense, it reflects the natural law that governs life, power, and the heavens—balance brings creation, and when the time ripens, change is inevitable. ☜