TL: Etude

The meeting at Blackwind Mountain concluded quickly. This time, Dao Ancestor Eternal Perpetuity and Dao Ancestor Divine Ruins decided to appoint Ye Tian as the leader to venture into the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm, with the goal of seizing control of it.

Under Ye Tian’s leadership were a staggering 100 Pinnacle Dao Ancestors. It was evident that Blackwind Mountain was determined to claim the Forbidden Void Realm.

Meanwhile, the forces of the three Ninth Heaven forces and the Heavenly Emperor Palace also dispatched numerous Pinnacle Dao Ancestors to the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm.

In terms of the number of Pinnacle Dao Ancestors, Blackwind Mountain far surpassed the Three Ninth Heaven forces. Furthermore, Blackwind Mountain’s Pinnacle Dao Ancestors were exceptionally powerful. Only a minority, who served under Invincible Dao Ancestors or Half-Step Domain Ancestors, were slightly weaker. The rest were all past “Ten Kings,” each possessing immense strength comparable to top-tier Pinnacle Dao Ancestors.

Ye Tian, however, understood clearly that other major forces likely had hidden Pinnacle Dao Ancestors who would also appear in this competition. For instance, while Blackwind Mountain mobilized over 100 Pinnacle Dao Ancestors, the Wind Mountain Base alone didn’t even house that many Pinnacle Dao Ancestors. Both the Heavenly Emperor Palace and Blackwind Mountain had the power to obliterate the Forbidden Insect Race but refrained from going all out. This was because the Forbidden Insect Race did not yet pose a significant threat, and these factions needed to leverage the Forbidden Insect Race to strengthen the Profound Void Archaic Realm.

It was akin to raising venomous creatures for a purpose. Thus, they opted for a prolonged battle with the Forbidden Insect Race while keeping their full strength concealed.

However, the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm was different. It was a monumental opportunity capable of propelling a faction to rapid growth. Naturally, they would exert their full effort to seize control of it.

This meant that bloodshed was inevitable, and alliances would temporarily crumble.

Nevertheless, the Half-Step Domain Ancestors were concerned that if Invincible Dao Ancestors participated, it might lead to excessive casualties among them, thereby affecting their ultimate plans. Hence, only Pinnacle Dao Ancestors were allowed to participate.

This was advantageous for Ye Tian. Very few people knew the extent of his strength. Others only knew he had stepped into the ranks of Pinnacle Dao Ancestors, but he had never revealed his Forbidden Dao Techniques, and he consistently kept his true capabilities hidden during battles.

This time, however, to compete for the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm, he would have to display his true power.

Before departing, Ye Tian contacted Ouyang Jiu’er to ask if she was interested in competing for the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm. However, Ouyang Jiu’er declined.

According to Ouyang Jiu’er, her identity was somewhat special, and there were some ancient Pinnacle Dao Ancestors who might recognize her. If a battle occurred, her identity could be inadvertently exposed.

After all, even though Ouyang Jiu’er’s path in this life differed from her previous one, there were still significant overlaps. Moreover, she possessed some unique Forbidden Dao Techniques that no one else could replicate. Since each person’s Forbidden Dao Techniques were self-realized, using them would make her identity easy to deduce.

Thus, Ouyang Jiu’er chose not to go.

However, she lent Ye Tian a treasure, the Realm-Suppressing Stele.

Back then, Ouyang Jiu’er had used the Realm-Suppressing Stele to refine a small Forbidden Void Realm, even managing to outwit Dao Ancestor Stone Eagle of the Heavenly Emperor Palace in the process.

The Realm-Suppressing Stele could also be used to refine a medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm. However, the rules governing a medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm were incomparably complete, making it extremely difficult to find any vulnerabilities. As such, silently and effortlessly refining a medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm was impossible.

If the Realm-Suppressing Stele were used to refine a medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm, the process would be many times faster, with a much higher success rate. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Without the Realm-Suppressing Stele, refining a medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm would be incredibly arduous. It would even require numerous Pinnacle Dao Ancestors to fend off other Pinnacle Dao Ancestors, sacrificing their lives to accumulate enough opportunity for the realm’s successful refinement.

…

Profound Void Archaic Realm.

The medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm gradually stabilized. One by one, Pinnacle Dao Ancestors arrived, causing a great deal of tension among the numerous Sixth Heaven Dao Ancestors and Seventh Heaven Dao Ancestors who had been observing the area. These observers, too, wished to enter the medium-sized Forbidden Void Realm to seek forbidden wondrous objects and forbidden supreme treasures.

Yet, seeing the current situation, with Pinnacle Dao Ancestors descending one after another, the ensuing slaughter would undoubtedly be brutal. Their likelihood of perishing was too great.

As a result, many weaker Dao Ancestors departed one by one, leaving only a few Seventh Heaven Dao Ancestors willing to take the risk. After all, if they achieved significant gains, they might be able to ascend into the ranks of Pinnacle Dao Ancestors.

A commotion arose as a group clad in black battle robes, donning masks, descended.

Everyone immediately recognized them—these were the Pinnacle Dao Ancestors of Blackwind Mountain, led by none other than one of Blackwind Mountain’s Ten Kings: the Dark King, Ye Tian.

Ye Tian’s gaze swept toward four directions—Heavenly Emperor Palace, Limitless Sky Sect, Heavenly Sea Sect, and Myriad Domains Divine Hall. He noticed numerous Pinnacle Dao Ancestors who had not appeared before.

Standing beside Ye Tian, the Fire King transmitted his voice: “Dark King, take note of a few Pinnacle Dao Ancestors. Over at Heavenly Emperor Palace, the Dao Ancestor with long red hair is known as Flame Ancestor. He is an unimaginably ancient Pinnacle Dao Ancestor. It’s rumored that the only reason he has not ascended to become an Invincible Dao Ancestor is not due to a lack of potential or strength, but because he suffered grievous injuries. This has made it exceedingly difficult for him to break through to the Invincible Dao Ancestor level. Even so, his power is formidable. He has created numerous Pinnacle Dao Techniques and has cultivated each of them to the limit realm. His physical strength, soul force, and dao force have also reached the pinnacle of Pinnacle Dao Ancestors!”

Ye Tian was slightly surprised. Creating multiple Pinnacle Dao Techniques and cultivating them to their limit realm was indeed terrifying.

Furthermore, using his replication talent, he could confirm that the Flame Ancestor possessed multiple Dao-level core talents, indicating that the latter had obtained many fortuitous encounters. This was how so many Dao-level core talents had been born within him.

Even the previous Wind King could not compare to this Flame Ancestor!

Continuing, the Fire King explained, “That robust youth radiating black light from Heavenly Emperor Palace is the Dao Ancestor Blackguard. It is said that he possesses Invincible-level defenses. Even some of the weaker Invincible Dao Ancestors have failed to break through his defenses. He has cultivated more than six defense-type Pinnacle Dao Techniques, all refined to the limit realm. The key point is that the six defensive Pinnacle Dao Techniques he created complement one another. They form a nearly seamless system of Pinnacle Dao Techniques, providing perfect amplification, which is what makes him so terrifying!”

After introducing the two Pinnacle Dao Ancestors of Heavenly Emperor Palace, the Fire King began detailing the Heavenly Sea Sect’s Heavenly Scales, the Limitless Sky Sect’s Dao Ancestor Devoid Sky, and the Myriad Domains Divine Hall’s Dao Ancestor Kunxing.

The strength of these three Dao Ancestors was second only to Dao Ancestor Blackguard and Flame Ancestor. Blackwind Mountain also had a comparable Dao Ancestor among the 100 or so gathered here. However, this individual remained very low-profile and obeyed the commands of the two Half-Step Domain Ancestors, with Ye Tian taking the lead.

This Dao Ancestor was none other than Blackwind Mountain’s fourth-generation Sky King—Dao Ancestor Nirvana Sky!

…

The Realm-Suppressing Stele was used in Chapter 1183.