The Prodigies War

"Is it here..."

Li Xuanwei raised his head and looked at the sky.

Rumble!

The empty world he was in shattered like glass, allowing him to see an obscure power converging deep in the cosmos.

"Junior Brother Li, it's time to go."

Ruo Su's gentle voice echoed in Li Xuanwei's heart.

He nodded and suddenly disappeared.

……

The atmosphere at Mount Cloud was extremely stifling.

On the other side, the crowd of Emperors wore grave expressions, not daring to make any careless movements.

Hidden in the dark, countless ancients didn't move either, seemingly silently waiting for something.

When Li Xuanwei appeared, the opposing forces held their breaths.

Another one!?

They couldn't help but inwardly tremble.

Jun Huan muttered, "Senior Brother Li, your combat prowess is much stronger than Senior Brother Pu Zhen's, why are you so late?"

Li Xuanwei answered with a bitter smile, "I thought I only needed to deal with two old bones from the Ancient Nebula Underworld, but it turned out that they had some helpers. In the end, I only managed to kill three of them while the remaining two escaped."

Although he downplayed it, the implication of his words made everyone's scalps tingle.

"That's no longer important. We're going to have to face a tough battle soon..."

A solemn look emerged from Ruo Su's brows.

Her gaze was fixed on the depths of the cosmos as if trying to figure out something.

Pu Zhen slowly said, "Don't worry, Senior Sister. I'm ready to risk everything to secure an opportunity for our youngest junior brother."

Xue Ya chuckled. "We've waited a hundred thousand years for this very moment. If we can contribute in any way to Fangchun Mountain's revival, we will have no regrets even if we die nine times over."

"Pui! We waited a hundred thousand years for this opportunity, how can you guys raise such death flags?"

Jun Huan glared at Pu Zhen and Xue Ya. "I only have one thing to say: we live or die together."

Her words were sweet, concise, and resolved.

"Exactly, we live or die together."

Li Xuanwei's eyes were filled with sadness. "I still feel guilty about the deaths of Senior Brother Ge Yupu and the others all those years ago. This time, I won't let the same thing happen again..."

The mention of Ge Yupu and others also made Ruo Su, Jun Huan, and others feel a wave of sadness.

It was a pain that could never be erased!

Startled, Lin Xun couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brothers and Sisters, what are you guys talking about?"

Ruo Su and the others were acting as if they were about to march to their deaths, which made him feel an inexplicable sadness.

"Junior Brother, you'll find out later."

Ruo Su patted Lin Xun's shoulder and softly said, "Just watch for now."

Lin Xun grunted in acknowledgement. He had faint inkling that it might be related to the taboo order power...

Jun Huan asked, "Senior Sister, can we take action now?"

Ruo Su pondered and said, "Wait a little longer."

An eerie silence spread as if a strange stillness had fallen upon everyone.

The enemy was silent and seemed to be waiting for something.

Ruo Su and the others also seemed to be waiting for something before they left.

……

On a certain barren star field in the Ancient Nebula Road.

An ice snow divine tree was suspended in the void. Its roots and branches reached into the depths of the cosmos as giant stars revolved between its leaves.

A golden cicada was lying on one of its icy leaves.

"Of the fifty grand daos, only forty-nine are derived from the heavens while one escaped. A'Bai, do you still remember that young friend Lin Xun?"

An annoyed voice answered, "Why are you bringing up that brat again?"

It originated from a young girl in white seated in the void some distance from the tree.

Her skin was smooth and radiant like the finest white jade and her long black hair was tied behind her head, revealing a pretty face. Her eyebrows resembled crescent moons and her dark eyes were filled with vitality.

Even her voice was pleasant to the ear like wind chimes tinkling in the wind.

The golden cicada said, "In Mulberry Woodland, I once said that he's from Fangchun Mountain and greatly resembles a certain someone."

The girl in white frowned and thought for a while, before she shook her head and said, "It's been too long. I've forgotten."

The golden cicada said, "You know, but you are always reluctant to mention him."

"Why are you bringing up that fighting fanatic bastard again?"

Hostility flashed in the eyes of the girl in white. "If he hadn't been so stubborn back then, would you and I have needed to wait in Mulberry Woodland like idiots?"

"That's different."

The golden cicada sighed softly. "Regardless, ever since the path to the other side of the Ancient Nebula Road was blocked, he, the first disciple of Fangchun Mountain, has been the only one to almost succeed."

The girl in white said with a noticeable pause between each word, "Whether it was to prove his strength or to break the chains that shackle the Ancient Nebula Road, he ultimately failed!"

"No, he didn't fail."

As golden cicada spoke, he suddenly transformed into a youth with a gentle expression. He wore hemp clothes, was barefooted, had a wooden hairpin in his hair, and was entirely spotless from head to toe.

"The Ancient Wasteland Alliance was established to break the three great taboos covering the Ancient Wasteland Domain. Yet, you, me, and the others from the Ancient Wasteland Alliance can only continue to wait on this 'abandoned land.' Do you know why?"

The golden cicada youth slowly said, "It's because the cage has not only cut off the hopes of the Ancient Wasteland Domain, but also the path to the other side of the Ancient Nebula Road. In this many layered cage, anyone from the Ancient Wasteland Domain will be regarded as a heretic."

Confused, the girl in white asked, "Golden cicada, what exactly do you want?"

The golden cicada youth raised his head and peered into the distance as gaze seemed to penetrate the endless starry sky.

"To find the one that escaped."

As he spoke, he took a step forward and vanished.

The girl in white tried to follow but there was already no trace of the golden cicada youth in the vast starry sky.

Her expression flickered indeterminately. After a while, she angrily said, "Golden cicada oh golden cicada, how many secrets are you hiding from me?"

"Oh?"

Suddenly, the girl in white noticed a figure emerge from the depths of the chaotic and desolate star field.

"Hey, where are you going?"

The figure was extremely tall and majestic like a lone mountain that reached toward the heavens with light drizzling around it.

He was clearly someone with a remarkable appearance.

Upon hearing her call out to him, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the girl in white.

It felt as if billions of stars were vanishing with every blink of his eyes as scenes of the universe restarting and countless living beings being born and dying were reflected within them!

A mere glance from him made the girl's hairs stand on end as her soul involuntarily shivered.

However, when she tried to look again, there was nothing in the man's eyes but extreme tranquility and calm.

"I'm also looking for someone."

The man heartily chuckled and turned to leave.

"This Chen guy has always been a recluse who never cares about worldly affairs and has almost no presence. However, it appears...that I've been deceived by him..."

The girl in white couldn't help but feel a little sullen when she recalled the brief moment his gaze had first landed on her.

It made her realize that the Ancient Wasteland Alliance, which had been secluded away on the 'abandoned land,' was far more complex than she had initially believed!

……

Ancient Wasteland Domain, the lower world.

On the Ziyao Empire's stargazing platform, the old seer stood with his hands behind his back as he leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance.

The clear sky was no different from any other night. What was reflected in his eyes, however, were numerous horrifying scenes that no one could see.

The old seer murmured, "The day has finally come."

A hint of satisfaction was reflected in his clear, baby-like eyes.

Under the stargazing platform, a spindly old man with unkempt hair and beard raised his neck and shouted, "Undying old man, have you seen enough?"

Although the streets were crowded with people, no one seemed to notice the existence of this spindly old man nor hear his voice.

The old seer asked, "You've abandoned the dao and have been hiding here for countless years. Have you...finally decided to take that step?"

The spindly old man cursed, "I finally caught a glimmer of hope. Why would I stay in this godforsaken place?"

The spindly old man was naturally Lone Man of Rotating Stars Hibernating Moon House.

The old seer murmured, "Godforsaken...this place is the origin of the Ancient Nebula Road's dao..."

He gazed across the vast lands of the Ziyao Empire as he was able to see Spirit Burial Sea and even Return Dominion.

Lone Man impatiently asked, "I'm asking you, are you leaving?"

"Is it possible for me not to leave?"

The old seer smiled bitterly and shook his head.

On that day, the old seer and Lone Man disappeared without anyone noticing.

In the eyes of ordinary people, they were far too old — so old that no one cared to ask about them.

Perhaps, this was what one would call to be so secluded from the world that one became nameless.

……

The Return Dominion was known as one of the four great dao dominions in the ancient era.

It was rumored that every river, even the silver river of the cosmos, ultimately converged in the mysterious Return Dominion.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

In the ancient era, the Return Dominion was surrounded by the five sacred mountains, Yingzhou, Penglai, Fanghu, Daiyu, and Yuanjiao.

Each sacred mountain was thirty thousand miles in circumference and they were each separated by a distance of seven hundred thousand feet. Their peaks were connected to the skies and their bottoms touched the deepest underground.

However, these five sacred mountains disappeared after the Dao War of Emperors and the Return Dominion underwent an astonishing transformation.

Many years ago, Lin Xun entered the Deva Secret Domain in the Return Dominion and obtained a dao verse related to the Dao Endless Pagoda.

It was also there that he received the Sacred Combat Art inheritance.

Long long ago, when the Ancient Nebula Road had yet to be blocked, the master of the Omega Secret-Realm, Luo Tongtian, had once appeared in the Return Dominion...

There were also rumors that the entrance to Fangchun Mountain was located in the Return Dominion.

In short, there were many mysterious legends which involved the Return Dominion.

At present, in the depths of the Return Dominion, a figure gradually awoke after countless years of slumbering and opened his eyes.

"It's finally come..."

In an instant, a boundless, terrifying fighting spirit surged.