Chapter 3296: The Rivers And Mountains Painting

The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor were both hovering outside the Immemorial Citadel, and they shot forward at the same time. One of them moved to perch on the Origin Progenitor’s shoulder, and the other coiled around his waist. The man stretched out his free hand, and the sword that had been left in the Heavens Sect flew into his grasp. He pointed the sword at the stars. “The Immortal realm... Since they are restricted, we have nothing to fear. In the worst case scenario, we’ll compensate for the difference with our lives. Musclehead is already dead, but the rest of us are still alive. Tell me, disciples, are you afraid?”

Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, and Garan Zhiluo all felt invigorated. "We're not afraid!"

The Origin Progenitor then looked at Lu Yin. “Pillar, are you afraid?”

Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he managed to reply, “Yes.”

“Hahaha, it’s only right to be afraid! Who doesn’t fear death? Pillar, at least you’re honest. Hahaha!” The Origin Progenitor laughed heartily.

Garan Zhiluo gritted her teeth. "Master, we were just agreeing with you."

The Origin Progenitor glared at her. “Nonsense! Of course I’m scared, but sometimes, you just have to charge forward anyways. However, there’s a big problem right now.”

He glanced at the countless sequence strings he held in his hand. “Who can help me hold these?”

Glances were exchanged, but everyone remained silent.

Only Dukkhans could hope to suppress so many sequence strings, which meant that, aside from the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu was the only one capable of performing this task. There was no one else. Despite being an Ortuser, not even Lu Yuan could do it.

The Origin Progenitor sighed in resignation and sat down, cross-legged. “I guess it’s still up to me then.”

Lu Yin shook his head. More and more sequence strings were continuing to appear. During the ancient Heavens Sect, there had been no need for the Origin Progenitor to suppress the sequence strings. Whenever too many parallel universes appeared, they would simply destroy the ones without any sapient life. However, after Aeternus rose to prominence and the Heavens Sect fell, the number of sequence strings had multiplied until there were enough to threaten to destroy the entire megaverse. That was when the Aeternals had started destroying the sequence strings.

Someone needed to continue guarding the sequence strings, or else all of the sacrifices that they had made over the countless years of war would be wasted.

“Should I give it a try?” the ancestor of the super giants asked.

Mister Mu, hands clasped behind his back and replied, “Only Tai Chu and I can handle this.”

“Old Mu, can’t you just take over for me? It’s been so many years. Show some pity,” the Origin Progenitor whined as he looked at Mister Mu.

The man simply turned around and walked away.

The Origin Progenitor sighed heavily. “All of you are so useless. It’d be great if one of you could take my place.”

Chu Yi could no longer keep his mouth shut. “Master, weren’t you the one who told us not to try to enter the Origin realm? If not for that, all of us would have become Dukkhans long ago.”

The Origin Progenitor opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say.

He had indeed warned the Three Realms and Six Daos not to become Ortusers, due to his fear of his disciples being targeted by the Fated One. For countless years, the Fated One had hung over their heads like a blade that could fall at any moment. If that happened, there would have been no room for regret.

However, the Origin Progenitor had since learned that the Fated One was restricted. Even if that blade fell down to cut them down, the Fated One would harm themselves in the process. Thus, the Origin Progenitor no longer worried about the Immortal. As he had already said, if necessary, they would compensate for the difference in strength with their lives. They would fight until the restrictions bound the Fated One so tightly that they were defeated.

While the Origin Progenitor did not reveal anything to the others, Lu Yin could sense the man was grieving over Ancient God’s death.

Ancestor Lu Yuan remained on guard at the stone gate. This was in part to ease his own grief, but also a hope to be the first to find Master Qing Cao.

Despite the endless years in which Lu Yuan had fought against Ancient God, the man had never understood the truth about Ancient God. This failure was a personal blow to Ancestor Lu Yuan.

Living had become more painful than dying.

The Origin Progenitor had regained his hands, as well as his sword and Primaldust. And yet, it felt as though nothing had changed. After all, the man was still saddled with the burden of suppressing the sequence strings.

The only way the man could be freed of his task was for the number of parallel universes in the megaverse to be reduced to the point where they no longer threatened to destroy the megaverse. However, that was a truly monumental task.

“Senior, why do both Burial Garden and the Wang family’s continent still exist?” Lu Yin asked.

The Origin Progenitor explained, “I only took what I needed—my hands. The shells can stay where they are. Someone will eventually need to live in those places.”

“And the Yellow Springs?”

“That was my Verdant Eternity. The Fated One helped those four idiots seal that technique, so there’s nothing that I can do about it. Verdant Eternity is gone now. I can’t use that ability anymore, but that doesn’t matter. Haven’t you learned it?

“Alright, head on back. Find Yong Heng as soon as you can. Tai Hong’s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm won’t last for much longer. Even if you can’t find Yong Heng, you have to at least deal with that old monster, Yuan Qi. If we fully unite all of humanity’s strength, we should be able to take down Yong Heng.”

Yong Heng, huh?

Lu Yin thought of Blackless God. He would soon receive that gift.

...

A landmass drifted through outer space In a parallel universe. On the continent stood Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu.

“Your man is really persistent. He’s still chasing us.” Forgotten Ruins God gave a small smile as she glanced over at Wang Xiaoyu.

Wang Xiaoyu remained calm. “I thought that he would have understood by now.”

“Hmph. What difference does it make if he understands or not? People like him need clear answers, and they refuse to believe what they see with their own eyes,” Forgotten Ruins God replied.

Her expression then grew cold as she looked behind. “Lu Yin is much more straightforward. He fights when there’s a confrontation, but he ignores things when there isn’t. On the other hand, your man is so annoying!”

Wang Xiaoyu did not respond.

“You won’t mind if I kill him, right?” Forgotten Ruins God suddenly asked, smiling brightly as she looked back at Wang Xiaoyu.

The woman still remained silent.

Forgotten Ruins God went over to Wang Xiaoyu and reached out with a pale finger, lifting Wang Xiaoyu's chin.

The woman looked at Forgotten Ruins God. "Whether he dies or lives has nothing to do with me."

Forgotten Ruins God giggled. “You really are my most adorable descendant! Fine, we’ll just kill him then.”

With that, the land shifted and started moving in another direction.

Far behind them, Progenitor Chen appeared, moving with Inverse Step. He relentlessly continued to pursue the two women. He refused to give up on Wang Xiaoyu, and he was also determined to deal with Forgotten Ruins God. If not for that woman, Wang Xiaoyu would not have ended up in such a situation.

Progenitor Chen did not know exactly what had happened in the past, but he also did not feel like he needed to know.

All he knew was that Xiaoyu was not a traitor. She was too kind. She was someone who did not believe that anyone should die. How could such a person be a traitor?

It had to have been because of Wang Miaomiao.

Progenitor Chen’s expression remained heavy. If possible, he would have killed Wang Miaomiao long ago, but he had not been able to. Wang Miaomiao was not nearly as simple as she appeared. The woman kept much hidden.

Humanity had clearly won the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, but Xiaoyu still had not returned. What more remained hidden?

That thought pressed Progenitor Chen to pick up his pace and continue chasing after the two women.

The landmass traveled across multiple parallel universes, but it was impossible to break away from Progenitor Chen. Unlike Lu Yin, the man could not traverse the River of Aeons to lock onto Forgotten Ruins God’s location. However, Progenitor Chen had his Linked Palm, which allowed him to borrow any nearby power. As long as Forgotten Ruins God tore through the void, Progenitor Chen could borrow her power and follow after her. It was impossible to escape from the man.

Progenitor Chen had no need to cultivate multiple different powers like Lu Yin. Even with a more limited repertoire, Progenitor Chen could unleash infinite potential.

True God had an incredibly high opinion of the Progenitor, viewing him as exceptional across the ages.

As time passed, Progenitor Chen continued to draw closer and closer to Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu. In contrast, the landmass gradually slowed down.

Forgotten Ruins God looked out into the distance from where she stood on the landmass. “It should be around here...”

Wang Xiaoyu looked over at the other woman. “What are you looking for?”

Forgotten Ruins God smiled. “The place where Xia Shang will be trapped and killed.”

Soon, her eyes lit up. “Found it. Let’s go.”

Wang Xiaoyu looked ahead and saw something flat stretch out across space, far, far in the distance. It looked like... a painting?

The landmass rushed towards the plane, not slowing down at all. The closer it was, the clearer things became. It really was a painting. To be exact, it was a landscape painting floating in the middle of outer space. How could there be a painting in the starry sky, let alone one massive enough to hold an entire Scourge?

Each Scourge was vast and encompassed an enormous region.

The landmass entered the painting, creating ripples that spread through the void. It was as if curtains had been drawn back. At that moment, the two women were no longer in outer space, but rather traveling through a world filled with mountains and rivers. The scenery was breathtaking. Waterfalls cascaded downwards, and an ethereal mist swirled about as colorful creatures flew through the sky. There was a faint song in the background, and a sacred aura permeated the entire place.

Wang Xiaoyu had never seen such a place before.

A bell tolled, and her breath hiccuped.

Forgotten Ruins God’s expression grew serious as she looked forward. In front of them stood an old man. He was none other than Yuan Qi, the ancient monster who had fought against Mister Mu at the Immemorial Citadel.

"This junior is Wang Miaomiao, and I am accompanied by my descendant, Wang Xiaoyu. Greetings, Senior Yuan Qi." Forgotten Ruins God bowed respectfully.

Wang Xiaoyu rose to her feet beside Wang Miaomiao and also bowed low.

Yuan Qi studied the two women. "How did you find this place?"

"Lord Yong Heng told us where to find you," Wang Miaomiao replied.

Yuan Qi nodded, and then he glanced up at the sky. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Not bad, you’ve even brought a little one along with you."

Ripples suddenly filled the sky as Progenitor Chen entered the painting. His expression tightened the moment he saw Yuan Qi. The Progenitor recognized the man as the one who had fought against Mister Mu above the Immemorial Citadel. This old man was one of Aeternus’s most powerful experts, and he had been the top powerhouse that had come out of the Ossis Ark. Progenitor Chen had not expected Forgotten Ruins God to lead him to this person.

"Little one, I remember you. Your strength is quite impressive. I, Yuan Qi, am willing to take you in as my disciple," Yuan Qi stated as he looked at Progenitor Chen with open admiration.

Progenitor Chen’s eyes swept past Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu before he focused on Yuan Qi. "A surviving Aeternal."

Yuan Qi frowned. "I merely cooperated a bit with Yong Heng. I am from the Spirit Nidus. If you agree to become my disciple, then you can follow me into the megaverse, after it is reset. Refuse, and the only fate that awaits you is to die here."

"Let’s see who dies first." Progenitor Chen’s eyes flared as he stepped forward. The void around him shattered as stars spun. While the man’s clones had perished, he remained capable of using abilities like the Cosmic Art. It was only his clones’ innate gifts that he could no longer use.

Stars spun out and filled the sky.

However, a moment later, they vanished.

Progenitor Chen stopped and looked around. What was this sensation?

"This place is one of the Spirit Nidus’s sequence bases: the Rivers and Mountains Painting. It is ranked seventh, and was formed from the combined strength of seventy-seven sequence powerhouses from the Spirit Nidus that was collected over the ages. You are not simply fighting me, but also seventy-seven sequence powerhouses from my megaverse. This does not merely demonstrate the difference between you and me, but rather the difference between your Tianyuan Megaverse and my Spirit Nidus." Yuan Qi then turned and left, taking Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu with him.

The old man was fully confident that Progenitor Chen would not be able to escape from the Rivers and Mountains Painting. The man was destined to die here.

Progenitor Chen tried to move forward with Inverse Step, moving parallel to time, but he found that it was impossible to move. He had clearly taken a step, but he had gained no distance whatsoever. It was as though he was stuck between being close and being distant. This was the power of the sequence base formed from the sequence particles of multiple experts. The entire Rivers and Mountains Painting was filled with sequence particles from seventy-seven of the Spirit Nidus’s powerhouses.

How many sequence powerhouses had fought in the battle at the Immemorial Citadel?

It was as if Progenitor Chen had been submerged in an ocean of sequence particles, all of which were the exact same kind.

He had never encountered anything like this before.

How could so many people have cultivated the same law of the universe? Even if that were possible, how could there be seventy-seven of them? This defied all that Progenitor Chen understood regarding cultivation.