Chapter 119: The War Ancestor

Dongfang Kui’s spirit power wrapped around the long staff, continuously extending deeper into his mind.

Suddenly, his spiritual world went completely blank. Then, in the pale void, a furious giant ape slowly approached him.

With each heavy step, the giant ape trampled through Dongfang Kui’s spiritual realm.

Dongfang Kui stared intently at the approaching beast, his hands gripping tightly.

When the giant ape stopped right before him, its form gradually shrank until it was about the height of an ordinary man.

Dongfang Kui looked at the ape and asked, “Who might you be?”

At Dongfang Kui’s words, a flicker of confusion crossed the ape’s eyes. After a moment of contemplation, it replied, “I... I believe I am the guardian of the Kunlun Secret Realm.”

Dongfang Kui pressed further, “Are you the staff? Or the statue?”

The giant ape pondered deeply before finally saying, “I am neither the staff nor the statue. I am the guardian of the Kunlun Secret Realm.”

Dongfang Kui gave the ape a side glance—wasn’t that just repeating itself? The answer to this question was already given!

Turning over the thoughts in his mind, Dongfang Kui continued, “What exactly is the Kunlun Secret Realm?”

This time, the ape answered without hesitation, “A fragmented world.”

“A fragmented world?” Dongfang Kui echoed incredulously.

“Yes, a broken world, attached to the greater world, but damaged and incomplete,” the ape explained.

Dongfang Kui sighed in exasperation; there was no need to repeat the previous answer again!

Steeling himself, Dongfang Kui went on, “Did you open the Kunlun Secret Realm and allow our low-level cultivators to enter?”

The ape answered, “No, it wasn’t me who opened it. You opened it yourselves. The hall is a barrier, the statue a seal. When the statue shattered, the Kunlun Secret Realm appeared, and I was freed!”

Dongfang Kui nodded; it seemed this Kunlun Secret Realm was indeed created by Zhang Daoyi.

“What about this staff?” Dongfang Kui asked next.

The ape thought for a while before replying, “It is the weapon of the Ancestor of War, passed down since ancient times, bestowed upon the guardian of the Kunlun Secret Realm.”

“Do you wield it?” Dongfang Kui questioned.

“No,” the ape said. “The Ancestor of War’s weapon is sentient. It attaches to me, drawing my spirit power to unleash its might.”

Dongfang Kui nodded, signaling his understanding. Suddenly, he recalled when Zhang Daoyi had entered the mist and saw the second door, reading the words inscribed on the tablet:

“The strong retreat, the weak advance.
Calamity approaches, blessings for all beings.”

“What does the inscription on the Kunlun Secret Realm’s tablet mean?” Dongfang Kui asked.

The ape pondered for a long time before answering, “It means exactly what it says.”

Dongfang Kui almost spat blood in frustration.

“Literal meaning? I know what those words say. What I want to know is who wrote them, how they knew calamity was coming, how they foresaw the invasion of the Dark Realm!”

The ape looked at Dongfang Kui’s frustrated expression with something like a faint smile barely perceptible on its pointed, monkey-like face.

Then it began to explain, “The Kunlun Secret Realm and the tablet are legacies left by the Ancestor of War. He prophesied that in later generations, spirit energy would vanish and cultivation would cease. So he sealed the Kunlun Secret Realm to preserve the world’s spiritual essence, waiting for the time of great calamity to bless the heavens and earth.”

Hearing the name Ancestor of War repeatedly, Dongfang Kui asked, “Ancestor of War? Who is he? What is his cultivation level?”

The ape fell silent, as if recalling, pondering, even fearing.

After a long pause, it said, “The Ancestor of War is simply the Ancestor of War, the master who fights heaven and earth. Supreme transcendence.”

Dongfang Kui’s heart trembled.

Supreme transcendence.

Was that not the final tier of the Twelfth Grade realm?

The Twelfth Grade Transcendence.

In the world of Huaxia, there were four Eleventh Grade masters, and only twenty-three Eleventh Grade masters worldwide—most had nearly reached their limits.

Dark Realm cultivators were more numerous and had existed longer.

But Twelfth Grade Transcendence? Not even the Dark Realm had any record of such beings.

Dongfang Kui hurriedly asked, “Where is the Ancestor of War now?”

The ape looked up to the sky, its eyes sparkling as if piercing through the spiritual world to gaze upon the stars.

“When a great enemy invaded, after sealing Kunlun, the Ancestor of War ventured into the starry expanse to battle the foe. He has never returned since.”

Dongfang Kui’s heart pounded wildly.

Only a Twelfth Grade master could be the enemy of another Twelfth Grade master. To leave without return—was it defeat, or mutual destruction?

What kind of foe could cause a Twelfth Grade master to vanish without a trace?

...

Their dialogue continued uninterrupted.

Outside, Zhang Daoyi watched Dongfang Kui stand motionless, his gaze already vacant.

Alarm surged in Zhang Daoyi’s heart.

The fierce aura emanating from Dongfang Kui made approaching him impossible.

Just as Zhang Daoyi felt helpless, Dongfang Kui suddenly revived.

His eyes sharpened.

He looked up at the sky.

Then he turned to Zhang Daoyi behind him and said, “Guard this place well. Wait for those who enter to emerge.”

Without hesitation, Dongfang Kui released the staff, tore through the void, and vanished.

Zhang Daoyi and the staff were left staring at each other.

A wave of helplessness washed over Zhang Daoyi.

He had hoped that the arrival of an Eleventh Grade master would free him. Instead, he was still bound to this staff.

Just thinking of it made him uneasy.

...

Within the Kunlun Secret Realm—

Yang Fan was being carried westward by the Azure Hawk.

Along the way, Yang Fan barely maintained his defense with his Heaven-Defying power.

Yet he felt himself faltering.

The speed was too great, and the Azure Hawk showed no sign of protecting him.

Yang Fan’s physical body could not endure prolonged rapid flight.

He distinctly felt his body being torn apart by the wind.

His internal organs seemed on the verge of bursting from the pressure of the air.

Blood continuously dribbled from his mouth.

Despair flashed in his eyes.

He could not escape.

He was going to die at the hands of the Azure Hawk.

When Kun Lie and Kun Wu had died, Yang Fan thought he would soon follow.

When he found the dead Azure Hawk in the forest, he thought his time was near.

When the Tenth Grade Azure Hawk arrived, he felt doomed.

Yet, through all the ups and downs, he had survived.

But now, it seemed his luck had run out.

If this kept up, even without the Azure Hawk’s attack, the gale-force wind alone would finish him.

Yang Fan’s consciousness gradually faded.

His bodily functions steadily weakened.

The Azure Hawk seemed to sense the weakening spirit of the tiny human in its claws.

A flicker of thought crossed its sharp eyes.

Then, a blue protective shield enveloped Yang Fan.

Suddenly, Yang Fan felt as if in a greenhouse.

The raging wind vanished; the tearing pain disappeared.

He lost consciousness completely.

The Azure Hawk, feeling the human’s lost awareness, slowed its speed.

Gradually, it landed atop a mountain.

Yang Fan was casually thrown to the ground from its claws.

The Azure Hawk’s piercing gaze landed on the unconscious Yang Fan, irritation and impatience flashing fleetingly.

A thread of aura extended from the Azure Hawk toward Yang Fan.