CHAPTER 256: THE AWAKENING OF THE ANCESTORS OF THE TWO KINGDOMS

Origin Continent, the sacred land of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom—‘Thunder Mountain’.

Within Thunder Mountain lay many hidden worlds. In one of these vast worlds, a lone figure lay upon an endless grassland. The grass withered and flourished again and again, yet the figure lying atop it remained untouched by even a speck of dust.

No one knew how long had passed before this figure finally opened his eyes.

He was the Ancestor of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom.

"Personally dissecting the corpse of a High-Rank Primordial Lifeform… one could even obtain a few materials," the Thunder Ancestor felt rather elated. "This harvest was massive. It seems even the seniors like Yuan are truly desperate now, to the point of allowing us to purchase the corpse of a High-Rank Primordial Lifeform."

Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms—those, the Thunder Ancestor and the Flame Wind Ancestor had the qualification to hunt.

But High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms? That was a fundamental leap in power! One stomp could annihilate billions of Low-Rank Primordial Lifeforms. A single breath could reduce them to ash. Even cultivators who had not escaped the Caged World, even with the protection of a ‘Source World Avatar’, could still suffer complete soul contamination and die instantly.

"The seniors like Yuan even gave us the corpses of High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms. I'm afraid… the rumors are true."

"The Beigu World Cluster must have completely fallen."

"Our cultivator faction… has lost the war!"

The Beigu World Cluster was a region created at great cost by Yuan and other seniors to cultivate more practitioners.

Rumor had it that the faction of Innate Primordial Lifeforms had set their sights on the Beigu World Cluster. They delighted in devouring cultivators—no, more than that, they delighted in devouring worlds! They invaded in force, and Yuan and the others mobilized every power they could to stop them.

But in the end…

The cultivator faction still lost.

The Thunder Ancestor and the Flame Wind Ancestor had once held doubts about this rumor. But lately, the seniors like Yuan had been handing out more and more resources to aid God Emperors like them.

"Let’s just hope those Innate Primordial Lifeforms don’t come storming into the Origin Continent." The Thunder Ancestor was worried.

There was nothing else to do.

In the clash of the two factions, the Innate Primordial Lifeforms held the overwhelming advantage!

Their numbers were immense—even if many died, it meant nothing to them! But the cultivator faction had too few beings who had escaped the Caged World.

In a battle of attrition, the cultivator faction simply couldn’t endure.

The Thunder Ancestor exited the world where he had slumbered and appeared atop Thunder Mountain.

“Hmm?” The moment he emerged, the Thunder Ancestor instantly received reports from the monarchs.

“While I was in seclusion, a ‘Lord of the Milky Way’ emerged on the Origin Continent? He sparred with Emperor Qing and, relying on a nine-story tower treasure, actually gained the upper hand?” The Thunder Ancestor was somewhat surprised.

…

Thunder Mountain, within an ancient hall.

“Ancestor.”

Nine monarchs gathered, kneeling in utmost reverence.

Seated high upon his throne, the Thunder Ancestor overlooked the nine monarchs before him.

Generations apart, there was no true emotional connection between them. He and the Flame Wind Ancestor cultivated their bloodlines not out of affection, but to have their descendants seize more Treasure Lands and plunder more resources.

Providing just a small amount of the resources God Kings required, or a few early-stage God Emperor-level treasures, was enough to give their bloodline absolute dominance across the Origin Continent—and also to shackle them with immense debts, forcing them to gather more treasures.

“Ancestor, this Lord of the Milky Way is incredibly domineering. He dared kill even members of the royal clans of two nations burdened with great sin. Even Emperor Yuan died at his hands,” the monarchs all looked to the Thunder Ancestor, hoping for a reaction.

“He possesses power beyond the Divine King-level. On the Origin Continent, even if I can suppress him slightly, I still can’t do anything to him,” the Thunder Ancestor said while gazing down at them. “Power determines order. If you commit great sins and are killed by the Lord of the Milky Way, then there's nothing I can do. Be more cautious in the future.”

“Are we supposed to endure forever?” one figure in a golden robe asked anxiously.

The Thunder Ancestor looked at him.

The golden-robed figure's heart trembled. He knew he had spoken out of turn!

An order from the Ancestor was meant to be followed, not questioned.

He had grown anxious—after all, he had been long harvesting billions of lives through the help of the Ancestor Black Eagle.

“Ancestor, I, I…” The golden-robed figure was visibly uneasy.

The other eight monarchs dared not say a word.

“Fengxing, go to ‘Wind Valley’ of the Heavenly Pillar Realm. Either retrieve a treasure from within to redeem yourself… or die there,” the Thunder Ancestor ordered indifferently.

The golden-robed figure trembled. None of the eight others dared to plead on his behalf.

“Yes, Ancestor.” The golden-robed figure, ‘Monarch Fengxing’, could only accept the order.

To the lofty Thunder Ancestor, these monarchs were merely subordinates—tools.

With each new era, he would cultivate a new batch.

At the beginning of an era, he might value them slightly. But as the era drew to a close, their worth greatly diminished.

“As long as someone surpasses the Divine King-level on the Origin Continent, you must show them respect,” the Thunder Ancestor said, gazing down upon them. “Because on the Origin Continent, they are invincible.”

“But you need not worry,” the Thunder Ancestor continued. “Under the environment of the Origin Continent, Thunder Mountain is absolutely safe. No one can break in here.”

The eight monarchs understood.

The Ancestor’s meaning was clear.

He could do nothing against the Lord of the Milky Way—but likewise, the Lord of the Milky Way would never be able to act recklessly at Thunder Mountain.

“Did anything fruitful occur while I was in seclusion?” the Thunder Ancestor asked.

“Reporting to the Ancestor, we obtained a portion of ‘Mind Radiance’,” Monarch Lei Xiao replied respectfully, offering the treasure.

The Thunder Ancestor nodded slightly upon hearing this.

At the end of an era, it was becoming harder and harder to acquire treasures.

Looking at the box containing the liquid-like Mind Radiance, the Thunder Ancestor nodded in satisfaction and said, “You may all leave.” The monarchs respectfully withdrew at once.

“Flame Wind,” the Thunder Ancestor now sat quietly, mentally reaching out to his old friend, the Flame Wind Ancestor.

As he emerged from seclusion, so did the Flame Wind Ancestor.

“Flame Wind, you’ve heard of the Lord of the Milky Way, haven’t you? What do you plan to do?” the Thunder Ancestor asked.

“Outside the Source World, the Lord of the Milky Way may still be immature. But on the Origin Continent, neither of us can do anything to him,” the Flame Wind Ancestor laughed. “What can I do? I’ll just endure it.”

“How about we go meet this kid together, give him a little pressure?” the Thunder Ancestor suggested. “Eventually, he’ll have to leave the Source World. Eventually, he’ll need us.”

The two had cultivated for multiple eras and built vast networks of allies and resources.

The Thunder Ancestor had reached the Complete God Emperor Realm and was now pursuing the final step—‘Ultimate Bloodline Awakening’, to escape the Caged World.

The Flame Wind Ancestor was at the Late-Stage God Emperor Realm, but he was an Enlightened One! In terms of strength, he was on par with the Thunder Ancestor. Among the cultivators, Enlightened Ones were more highly respected.

“He’s from the same Source World as us—there’s no need to pressure him,” the Flame Wind Ancestor said. “Besides, if we push him too hard and he goes mad, the entire order of the Origin Continent would collapse.”

The Thunder Ancestor understood as well.

Under the constraints of the supreme laws of the Origin Continent, those above the Divine King-level feared nothing. Even the Two Kingdom Ancestors had to weigh their actions.

The Ancestor of the East Extremity Region was willing to yield to them, but the Lord of the Milky Way… might not be.

“Forget it. Let’s not meet him,” the Thunder Ancestor said. “He’s just a junior. Once he leaves the Source World, there’ll be no real connection between us.”

“Keeping our distance benefits both him and us,” the Flame Wind Ancestor also had no intention of meeting Luo Feng.

Distance creates clarity.

Everyone could remain calm and composed.

“How was the harvest from dissecting the High-Rank Primordial Lifeform?” the Thunder Ancestor asked. “Do you think you can reach Complete God Emperor?”

“It was tremendous,” the Flame Wind Ancestor, too, sounded excited. “High-Rank Primordial Lifeforms are far more complex than Low-Rank ones. I believe with careful study, I will be able to make another breakthrough.”

“You say that every time, but you’ve yet to reach Complete God Emperor,” the Thunder Ancestor remarked.

“It’s not easy forging a path in darkness—reaching Half-Primordial level is not simple,” the Flame Wind Ancestor chuckled. “One must have patience.”

The Half-Primordial level was Complete God Emperor.

Enlightened Ones who reached Complete God Emperor were exceedingly rare.

If they could advance from the Half-Primordial level to the Primordial level and comprehend the ‘Primordial-Level Dao’—that would be a monumental leap, becoming one of the strongest Primordial Lifeforms. Seniors like Yuan hoped for such companions to rise.

“I have patience. But I fear we may not have enough time. The Innate Primordial Lifeform faction is simply too powerful!” the Thunder Ancestor said worriedly. “One day, they might invade the Origin Continent. If that happens, it’s the end—for the continent and for us.”

“That would be fate,” the Flame Wind Ancestor said calmly. “Worrying solves nothing.”

…

On Thunder Mountain.

“The Ancestor clearly allowed the Lord of the Milky Way to act as he pleases.”

“He also said that no one can breach Thunder Mountain! If that’s the case, as long as we remain safe within Thunder Mountain, we can send our forces to capture lifeforms. The Origin Continent is nearing the end. Eventually, we’ll leave it to explore other lands—so we must capture more lifeforms to nourish our bloodlines.”

“You have an avatar. I don’t.”

“Can’t you just stay hidden in Thunder Mountain and send puppets to do the harvesting?”

Two monarchs whispered quietly among themselves.

They had endured for three hundred eras, originally hoping the Thunder Ancestor would take the lead.

But with his attitude made clear, only one path remained to them.

“Hiding our true bodies in Thunder Mountain, we’ll send subordinates—send puppets to capture lifeforms. Hmph. I’d like to see what that Lord of the Milky Way can do about it.” With their minds made up, the two monarchs began their secret operations.

Once more, they quietly started capturing a great number of lifeforms.

…

“Brother Milky Way, the ancestors of the two kingdoms have come out of seclusion. Be cautious in your actions for a while,” Emperor Qing warned Luo Feng. “The Flame Wind Ancestor is carefree, but the Thunder Ancestor, though unaffected by the Primordial Bloodline, is innately domineering.”

“I understand,” Luo Feng replied.

At this moment, Luo Feng’s true body was inside the Star Tower, carefully studying the secret patterns of the tower.

After founding the Milky Way Divine Kingdom, Luo Feng had spent three hundred eras continuously using the rare treasure known as the ‘Primordial Crystal’. His soul strength and mental will had reached a level comparable to an early-stage God Emperor—but his physical body lagged far behind.

Each era, Luo Feng could consume at most 33 Primordial Crystals. Any more, and the benefits became negligible. If he exceeded 40, the effects would rapidly diminish.

The 10,000 Primordial Crystals he had once exchanged for by selling three treasures to Emperor Yuan had long been depleted.

He had recently sold some ordinary Dream Domain treasures to the Two Ancient Kingdoms, in exchange for 2,000 more Primordial Crystals.

“Long-term consumption of Primordial Crystals really burns through your stash,” Luo Feng lamented. Even 33 per era pained him. As his strength increased, the consumption would only grow.

But the effectiveness of Primordial Crystals was undeniable!

In terms of cost-performance, they were the most optimal auxiliary treasure.