Lin Xun quickly digested the information and cupped his hands together. "Many thanks.”

With that, he stepped aside. Wen Tianqi's body relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Only now was he certain that the other party was really just asking a few questions, and not finding an excuse to stop them.

"Farewell."

He hurried off with his group.

It wasn't until they could no longer see Lin Xun and his group, that one of the Emperor experts curiously asked, "Supreme Elder, who was that earlier for you to have acted so politely?"

Wen Tianqi’s eyes flickered as he answered, "An extremely terrifying existence. He deliberately leaked a hint of his aura to let me know, otherwise, I wouldn't have realized how high his cultivation was. However, it's certain that as long as he wishes, he could effortlessly kill someone like me."

The crowd around him gasped, deeply horrified by the revelation.

"Let’s hurry up and leave." Not daring to linger a second longer, Wen Tianqi led the group on their way.

"The Return Dominion’s source power was depleted as early as the beginning of the primeval era. How can a change occur now? And the appearance of a dao sword imprinted with an aura of eternity as well? This is far too strange."

Xuan Jiuyin was filled with suspicions.

"Whatever changes that happened are not my concern. I'm only worried that my friends and family might get caught in the crossfires since so many experts have been drawn there." Lin Xun frowned.

"First the Return Dominion, then to the Xuan Clan." Xuan Jiuyin made his decision.

Lin Xun nodded. Next, they rushed with all their might, encountering more and more figures along the way. It felt like a giant cluster of meteors were shooting across space, creating a rather spectacular scene.

Only, all of them were soon overtaken by the small boat. Before any of them could get a clear look, the boat swiftly vanished into the stars.

......

"We’re here.”

The original three day journey was cut short to a single day. At the sight of the familiar Ancient Nebula Road, Lin Xun's heart couldn’t help but stir slightly. It had been more than a hundred years since he left...

"Brother Lin, have you noticed? The principles of heaven and earth seem to have changed." [1]

Xuan Jiuyin couldn't help but remark as his gaze scanned the surroundings.

"True, it's not the same as it used to be." Lin Xun nodded in agreement.

There were nine Great Star Fields in the Ancient Nebula Road. Each of them housed numerous worlds, and the Central Star Field, where the Great Primordial Chaos World was located, was the core of the entire domain.

Although they had only arrived at the outer area, they could already sense that the heavenly principles covering the Ancient Nebula Road had changed.

In the past, the heavenly principles had been shattered and broken, which led to cultivators calling the heavenly dao flawed. As a result, for countless years, whether a cultivator could attain the supreme path had mainly depended on luck, and the most powerful experts in the entire Ancient Nebula Road were limited to the Emperor Ancestor Stage.

Moreover, it wasn’t the Supreme Emperor Ancestor Stage, but the Ninth Realm Ancestor Stage. These cultivators naturally wished to progress along their path, but they couldn’t due to the broken heavenly dao.

Similarly, it was also because of the broken heavenly principles that the Ancient Nebula Road could at most endure the power of the Ninth Realm Ancestor Stage. Once a cultivator beyond this realm appeared, drastic changes would follow.

However, Lin Xun now sensed that the heavenly principles had long become complete and solid. Moreover, it even surged with primal and ancient life energy!

"The present Ancient Nebula Road is now capable of bearing the Immortal-level power..." Lin Xun focused his senses and arrived at this conclusion. Little by little, he released his power until it reached the perfect Heavenly Longevity Stage, which also happened to be the maximum limit of the surrounding heavenly principles.

This was only the outer edges of the Ancient Nebula Road. He sensed that the deeper they ventured, the denser that primal life force permeating the heavenly principles would become!

"Brother Lin, this change is simply astonishing. If Ninth Realm Ancestors stood at the peak in the past, then now...even Immortal-level experts can be born here!" Xuan Jiuyin couldn't remain calm.

The fact that the Ancient Nebula Road had transformed so unbelievably in such a short span of time was completely beyond their expectation.

Extremely far away, a group of figures appeared and one of them sighed deeply. "More than a decade ago, the Ancient Nebula Road was a declining domain which couldn’t even touch the top hundred of the Great Thousand Worlds. However, at the rate it is changing, it’ll probably be able to match the top three in the future."

Someone humbly asked, "Why is that, Old Ancestor?"

"Have any of you noticed that surge of life force in the heavenly principles? It is rumored that this stream of life force was born in one of the Four Great Dao Dominions, the Return Dominion. The Return Dominion is the place where all daos originated, and if traced back to the beginning, even the Eternal True Realm's source power has some connection with the Return Dominion."

"The Return Dominion! Does that mean all of this is related to the shocking change that occurred in the Return Dominion?"

"That’s right. Ten years ago, an unpredictable and shocking change arose in the Return Dominion. Since then, a primordial and ancient life force has surged forth and spread to the Ancient Nebula Road, causing its broken heavenly principles to transform. A short ten years later, the Ancient Nebula Road has become a completely different place."

"Isn’t the Return Dominion way too magical? Wasn't it said that its source power dried up a long time ago?"

"Even a withered tree can recover when spring arrives. Moreover, don’t forget that the Return Dominion is one of the Four Great Dao Dominions, so it isn’t that surprising for such a change to occur. Looking at the Ancient Nebula Road instead, it seems that their luck has finally changed, and they now monopolize the fortune of the heavens. If my guess is correct, their ranking among the Great Thousand Worlds is destined to climb in the future!"

While conversing, the group swiftly passed by and disappeared from sight.

"So, all of these changes have something to do with the Return Dominion." Xuan Jiuyin couldn't help but feel amazed.

"It's hard to tell if it's a blessing or a curse." Lin Xun frowned slightly. "As we’ve seen so far, many experts from other powerhouse worlds of the Great Thousand Worlds are swarming in like schools of sharks that have smelled blood. Such people can be capable of anything in the competition for opportunities.

"This is a great calamity for those living in the Ancient Nebula Road. If the local factions fail to resist the invaders, this world will eventually fall under the control of outsiders, like magpies stealing another bird’s nest.

"Of course, the rise of the Ancient Nebula Road is unstoppable in the long run, which is a blessing for every cultivator living there."

After listening, Xuan Jiunyin also couldn’t help but furrow his brows. "The Ancient Nebula Road has been in decline for far too long. In the past, their strongest cultivators were at most at the Ninth Realm Ancestor Stage. Given that everything only started ten years ago, I doubt that many more formidable experts have managed to emerge. Under these circumstances, how could they possibly stop the invasion?"

"Those that monopolize heaven's fortune and enjoy great blessings naturally have to bear its weight. That is reality." Lin Xun shook his head and decided not to think further about the topic as they continued on their way.

Along the way, Xuan Jiuyin couldn't help but ask, "Brother Lin, are you just going to stand by and watch the Ancient Nebula Road be invaded by those outsiders?"

He offhandedly replied, "We've only just returned, and all of our analyses are mere speculations. Since we don't know the current situation, what we should do now is to first find out as much as we can."

He didn’t really feel any sense of belonging to the Ancient Nebula Road. After all, he had been oppressed plenty by many factions from the Ancient Wasteland Domain, and even the Great Primordial Chaos World during his rise to power. The only place he truly felt a sense of belonging to was the Ziyao Empire in the lower plane!

Several hours later, the outline of the Great Primordial Chaos World gradually appeared in Lin Xun’s field of vision.

This was the number one world of the Ancient Nebula Road, a place that carried many of his past memories.

However, Lin Xun was concerned about the safety of his friends and family, and thus didn’t plan to make a stop here. Of note, just as he was about to continue moving on to the Return Dominion, the sounds of battle suddenly spread from far away.

"Chase! We mustn't let that old thing escape!"

"Quick!"

A thunderous bellow echoed across the empty expanse of space. A lone figure escaped while a group of figures pursued. Lin Xun didn’t find this strange as he had witnessed many similar scenes on the way here.

He originally planned to ignore it, but soon stopped in his tracks when he saw the figure who was being chased.

With a body stained with blood, and pale, gaunt cheeks, the figure was clearly gravely injured and in a very wretched state. In fact, even the sword in his hand was badly damaged.

"Emperor Ancestor Qingye?"

Lin Xun was taken aback. Memories of participating in the Dao Debate Assembly at the Mythical Huang Dao Court surfaced in his mind.

Back then, the Great Six Courts held Dao Debate Contests in order to select a group of young experts to head for the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone in search of opportunities.

That was also where Lin Xun met Emperor Ancestor Qingye, who was an old acquaintance of Ruo Su, and the Martial Uncle of the leader of the Mythical Huang Dao Court, Taishu Hong.

Lin Xun had nearly forgotten these old memories. However, he never imagined he would see the other party again under such circumstances.

"Attack!”

While he was lost in his memories, the enemies had already caught up to and surrounded Emperor Ancestor Qingye.

"Qingye, hand over the Mythical Huang Heaven Suppressing Token and this honored one may grant you a painless death!"

The leader was a gray-robed man who ruthlessly a bronze halberd as he spoke. The power he emanated had clearly reached the supreme Emperor Ancestor level.

The group of experts accompanying him were either supreme Great Emperors, or Ninth Realm Ancestors. In the Ancient Nebula Road, such an astonishing force could easily make a claim for the strongest.

"It’s over..." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Emperor Ancestor Qingye’s heart overflowed with bitterness, but his expression remained resolute as he hissed back, "I’d rather destroy the Mythical Huang Heaven Suppressing Token than let you people get your hands on it!"

With these words, he retrieved a golden token from his sleeve as if preparing to destroy it.

"You dare?!”

The gray-robed man was furious. With a loud rumble, unparalleled dao light surged from the halberd in his hand and swiftly subdued and suppressed Emperor Ancestor Qingye.

"Hand it over!"

The gray-robed man reached out to grab the golden token. In that moment, despair filled the eyes of Emperor Ancestor Qingye.

At that very moment, however, an imposing figure appeared in front of Emperor Ancestor Qingye and softly said, "Elder Qingye, long time no see."

1. principles of heaven and earth also translated as heavenly principles ☜