Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: N/A
Chapter Title: The Ancestors Mobilize
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"Among the Thirteen Great Families, the Li Family isn't the strongest. But when they pioneered the New Continent of West Ox, they gave birth to two peerless powerhouses and came to possess two supreme treasures that compiled the world's Dao arts to perfection."
Outside West Capital, in front of a roadside tea stall, two white-haired elders sipped tea while playing chess.
Beside their chessboard sat a tea jar each.
Stalls like this one outside the city were mostly for sedan porters, woodcutters hauling firewood—folks doing hard labor. The tea was cheap, just a few coppers, and the leaves were nothing fancy: thick stems, broad leaves, mottled with bug bites.
The tea jars weren't exactly clean either, caked with thick tea stains and scratches from fingernails used to scrub them.
These two hoary elders were dressed meticulously, clearly from wealthy stock, yet here they sat drinking tea alongside the ragged laborers.
The tea in their jars lay perfectly still, like a mirror's surface. But it didn't reflect the sky—instead, it showed the scene from Wenchang Alley.
Behind them stood a host of Ma Family powerhouses, motionless, eyes downcast and minds inward-focused. Their overwhelming presence had cleared the tea stall of everyone else.
These two hoary elders were the Ma Family's two ancestors. They looked about the same age—both ancient—but in truth, they were grandfather and grandson.
The one on the left was Ma Jun, the Great-Grand Ancestor of the Ma Family. The one on the right was Ma Yu, the Family Ancestor.
Ma Jun placed his stone unhurriedly.
"The Li Family's Li Chunfang left behind the *Yian Tang Collection*, which records the Li Family's most supreme cultivation arts and immortal techniques—passed down through the imperial clan since ancient times. Li Zongyi left the *Nan Cheng Zong Yi Collection*, whose Dao arts fall only half a step short of the *Yian Tang Collection*—studied by outer family disciples. The Li Family's lineage has endured for thousands of years, passing the torch unbroken. These two Dao art treasures are achievements beyond measure. Who could have imagined that the Li Family's four ancestors, long in seclusion, would emerge this time in West Capital... only to lose two of their number."
Ma Yu hesitated to place his stone, his gaze fixed on the tea in the jar.
The tea mirrored Wenchang Alley like a pane of glass.
In Wenchang Alley, it looked like nothing more than an unremarkable brawl: a young man beating up some old folks.
But those two old men in the alley were hale and hearty despite their age, moving with uncanny agility—their footwork ghostly swift. They hardly seemed like elders at all.
Yet just as their heaven-spanning divine abilities and spells took effect, it was as if something devoured them whole. One could only faintly glimpse a flash of brilliant light before the outward manifestations of their divine powers or spells vanished entirely—leaving only the hidden forces within their flesh.
But the instant that power made contact with the young man, it sank away like a clay ox into the sea, traceless and gone.
To passersby through the alley, it was just an ordinary scrap—nothing to see here.
But to Great-Grand Ancestor Li Yiran and Ancestor Li Ganfeng, it was a fight to the death!
They were already covered in wounds, repeatedly smashed by Creation Little Five.
The successive deaths of Li Xishu and Li Kunyu had put the pair on edge. They fought desperately now.
Yet it was so frustrating.
The supreme Dao arts from the *Yian Tang Collection* seemed to abruptly shed all their splendor before Creation Little Five, stripped to their essence—simple moves only, a raw clash of life and death.
They fought like ordinary street-brawling old men, versed at best in some crude martial methods. Vulgar stuff. They traded blows with the equally crude Creation Little Five, who hammered them bloody with even cruder techniques.
"Creation Little Five is wielding a Ghost God Domain."
Ma Yu scrutinized the brawl in the tea jar, pondering aloud.
"This sort of Ghost God Domain works silently and subtly. It has three transformations in total. The Qiankun Transformation: heaven and earth inverted. The Yin-Yang Transformation: yin and yang reversed. The Zhou Tian Transformation: the celestial cycle misaligned."
Ma Jun didn't press him to play. He chuckled.
"Can you discern the origins of his three Ghost God Domains?"
Ma Yu had spotted two of them, but his upbringing was refined—he wouldn't show off. He shook his head.
"Your grandson doesn't know, Grandfather. Please enlighten me."
Ma Jun stroked his snow-white beard and smiled.
"The first, Qiankun Transformation, derives from the Supreme Eight Trigrams Bodyguard. This can manifest as a talisman, a cultivation art, a Dao field, or even a Ghost God Domain. Talisman arts and Dao arts have always been intertwined. Comprehending Dao arts, Dao fields, and Ghost God Domains from talismans is possible—it just demands heaven-defying talent."
Ma Yu said,
"Every talisman master can draw the Eight Trigrams Bodyguard Talisman, but how many can comprehend a peerless technique from it? And the second?"
Ma Jun said,
"The second, Yin-Yang Transformation, comes from the Yin-Yang Two Scenes Diagram. Another supreme technique derived from talismans—verging on immortal arts. Then there's the third, Zhou Tian Transformation, sourced from the Zhou Tian Great Rite. This Ghost God Domain divides into 365 degrees, blanketing West Capital and splitting it into 365 segments. As the degrees shift, so does the city's geography—palaces interpenetrate, streets crisscross, up becomes down, and direction loses all meaning. It's the most formidable of the three."
Ma Yu admired him sincerely.
"Grandfather knows so much."
Ma Jun stroked his beard with a laugh.
"You little schemer—you know it too. You're just not saying."
Ma Yu replied earnestly,
"Your grandson grasps the Yin-Yang and Qiankun Transformations, but the Zhou Tian eludes me. Without your guidance, I'd be blind to it. Even the Li Family's four ancestors couldn't see through it—proof that their insight falls short of yours."
Ma Jun shook his head.
"It's not that they didn't understand—they were trapped in it, helpless. In truth, all three transformations have traceable origins in Vice Minister Chen Yindu's talisman-zither arts. But he's advanced even further, piercing the profound principles of talismanic script."
He knew Chen Yindu well.
Back when Chen Yindu served as Vice Minister of Rites and compiled the *Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art*, disseminating it to all ambitious cultivators in the realm—causing the number of scholarly cultivators to surge dozens- or hundreds-fold—it shook the court and caught his attention too.
The imperial court erupted in outrage, claiming it let commoners master spells and cultivation, undermining the throne's foundations—they demanded it be banned. In the end, a compromise: Chen Yindu was forbidden from compiling the *Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art*'s follow-on stages for the Golden Core Realm, Nascent Soul Realm, and Spirit Transformation Realm. Only then did things settle.
Disheartened, Chen Yindu resigned his post and left West Capital to live as a recluse.
The second time he saw Chen Yindu was when Chen massacred West Capital.
That drew him out of seclusion as well. He came to West Capital and joined the Li Family's four ancestors in taking turns battling Chen Yindu, forcing him to halt the slaughter. After that, Chen Yindu vanished into hiding, devoting himself single-mindedly to finding a way to resurrect Chen Shi.
Ma Yu sought instruction.
"If I may ask, Grandfather—how does one break Creation Little Five's Ghost God Three Transformations?"
Ma Jun's eyes lit up. He laughed.
"Ghost God Three Transformations is a fine name, but Ghost God Three Shocking Transformations suits it better. Even ghosts and gods would be stunned by these changes."
He pondered briefly.
"Creation Little Five has made West Capital his Ghost God Domain, unleashing the three shocking transformations. To shatter it, one must suppress his Ghost God Domain outright. In my view, our cultivators' Void Great Realm is a Dao field that manifests heaven and earth—born from the same source as Ghost God Domains. Deploy a Void Great Realm to suppress his Ghost God Domain, and it grinds to a halt. Thus broken."
Ma Yu sighed in genuine admiration.
"Grandfather's eyes are golden—they pierce straight to the essence. Your grandson is in awe. Pity the Li Family's four ancestors couldn't see it, costing them two lives. The Li Family's vitality will suffer greatly for this."
Ma Jun laughed.
"The Li Family will take a hit to their vitality, true—but their ancestral spirits endure. It won't touch their roots, just bruise some sinew and bone."
He gazed into the tea-jar surface. The brawl-like scene from Wenchang Alley reflected there—the Li Family's two ancestors growing ever more gravely wounded, their lives hanging by a thread.
He rose to his feet with a smile.
"The Thirteen Great Families are branches of the same tree—we're happy enough to see the Li Family bloodied, but we can't let them fall. Back in the day, us old bones gathered in West Capital to face the West Capital Butcher. Today, we gather again in West Capital to face Creation Little Five—what a tale for the ages!"
Ma Yu casually paid with a silver note and laughed.
"Only now does your grandson truly grasp what it means to bear the Great Ming rivers and mountains on our shoulders. Though we've retired from the world, when the Great Ming empire shakes, we must still emerge bravely, confront the demonic upheavals, and extend the empire's lease on life!"
Ma Jun burst into laughter.
"The empire's rise and fall is every man's duty. And we? We're hardly mere men!"
Grandfather and grandson, both in their dotage, proceeded arm in arm to Wenchang Alley.
At that moment, three more elders approached from outside the alley—two men and a woman, all white-haired and exceedingly ancient. These were the Xia Family's three ancestors.
The group met and exchanged nods of acknowledgment—no small talk.
With the Li Family's two ancestors' lives on the line, there was no time for chit-chat.
They had timed their arrival precisely: to intervene after the Li duo had taken heavy wounds but before death claimed them. True aid in their hour of need.
"Kid, get lost!"
Ma Yu arrived on scene and shoved the umbrella-holding child aside. He ordered the arriving Ma Family experts,
"Seal off Wenchang Alley. No one gets in!"
At the same time, at the alley's other three entrances, ancestors from the Yan, Zhang, Gao, and Xu Families arrived one after another, instructing their kin to guard the mouths before entering Wenchang Alley themselves.
The Qingzhou Red Horse Bandits case had shaken the Thirteen Great Families to their core, compelling the various families' ancestors to emerge from seclusion and meddle in worldly affairs—to set things right amid the chaos.
The Li Family's four ancestors' decisive battle against Creation Little Five, the deaths of their two ancestors whose corpses now dangled in the sky as part of a corpse-cloud—none of it escaped their notice.
They could stand by and watch Li Xishu and Li Kunyu die.
But if all four ancestors fell? That didn't serve their interests.
The Thirteen Great Families rose and fell together. Some damage was fine—but not mutual destruction.
Now, with Li Ganfeng and Li Yiran in peril, they had to save them.
By now, the assembled ancestors had grasped Creation Little Five's methods. They stepped into Wenchang Alley with full confidence, each manifesting their Void Great Realm to shatter his Ghost God Three Shocking Transformations.
Ma Family ancestors Ma Jun and Ma Yu each summoned their Void Great Realms and brought them crashing down.
Yet once inside the alley, the Void Great Realms suppressed nothing at all. It wasn't the clean suppression they'd envisioned—no Ghost God Three Shocking Transformations crumbling on contact!
"A slight mishap."
Ma Jun's aged face flushed faintly.
Fortunately, the others flushed too—like a gang that had all drunk fake liquor. No one could call out another.
They unleashed divine abilities and spells against Creation Little Five. Just like with the Li duo, the outward displays vanished entirely—no earth-shaking clamor, no dazzling lights, no swirling hosts of flying swords, no quaking mountains or splitting earth.
Just dozens of old men and women stumbling forward in lopsided gaits, charging at Creation Little Five.
Their steps remained blisteringly swift, the might hidden in their flesh still world-shaking. But stripped of divine abilities' and spells' flashy exteriors, it all looked a touch ridiculous—slightly clumsy, even.
At the mouth of Wenchang Alley, the umbrella-holding kid still hadn't left. He craned his neck, peeking in.
"Kid, beat it!"
A Ma Family official's face darkened. He pointed at the umbrella kid.
The kid laughed.
"Dozens of old fogeys ganging up on one young guy—what kind of skill is that? Not even as fun to watch as my mom and dad scrapping. I'm not going. Gotta return this umbrella."
The crowd flushed crimson and turned back to the alley.
In the alley, dozens of old fogeys raced like the wind, fists and feet flying in a mob assault on one lone scholar.
Creation Little Five fought while retreating. Soon, under the onslaught, he was driven out of Wenchang Alley onto Chang'an Street.
Chang'an Street took its name from Chang'an of the Huaxia Divine Continent—a nod of commemoration. It was one of West Capital's busiest main thoroughfares. Even in a drizzle, it teemed with people and carriages.
Traffic ground to a halt on the street. Onlookers gaped in shock, staring at this rare sight: a brawl.
Dozens of old fogeys chased that scholar down, pelting him with punches and kicks in a frenzy.
The old folks struck without finesse. The scholar hit back viciously too—now and then, an old fogey spat blood and flew several zhang, while the scholar's robes grew ragged, his body riddled with over a dozen bleeding punctures. Sometimes an old lady would slam him to the ground or send him tumbling dozens of paces.
Two old men lay sprawled and failed to rise: the Li Family's two ancestors, Li Ganfeng and Li Yiran.
Many Li Family officials flushed beet-red. They rushed up with stretchers and hastily loaded the two ancestors aboard, carting them off in haste.
The two ancestors' wounds were the gravest. This fall, untreated? They might precede everyone to the Western Paradise.
But the Li clansmen watching the fight had expected an immortal showdown. Instead, it was barely better than a pair of village toughs with two or three years' boxing practice. Shame washed over them. They even nursed wild thoughts: *I could take that guy too.*
Of course—that was how it looked to outsiders.
But in the eyes of Ma Jun, Ma Yu, and the rest, this battle was a spectacle of splendor!
All West Capital lay divided into 365 districts. As Creation Little Five moved his feet, those districts overlapped, folded, interwove—people crossed paths with people, timespaces overlapped, yin and yang flipped, heaven and earth upended. It left them reeling.
They strained every effort to close in, but at most four or five could form an encirclement at a time—striking only from the front. They couldn't reach his back, couldn't fully surround.
A full surround, and they could slay him at leisure.
But without it, Creation Little Five danced through the Zhou Tian, borrowing its transformation to evade killing blows.
Soon, wounds began appearing on the various families' ancestors too—and multiplying. Creation Little Five bore even more injuries. Everyone felt the fight dragging on, unsustainable.
Creation Little Five retreated along Chang'an Street while battling, pursued by the horde of old fogeys. They fought from Chang'an Street to Nanjing Street, from Nanjing Street to Hangzhou Alley.
Now and then, an old fogey hit the dirt—only to clamber up again, caked in mud, and hurl themselves back into the fray.
Pedestrians and carriages passed right through them, all as normal—no anomalies.
"Stop fighting!"
A well-meaning passerby stepped up to restrain one doddering elder. His hand hadn't even touched the old man when suddenly the world spun—heaven and earth in chaos. West Capital seemed to disintegrate into countless shards: streets, walls, buildings, imperial city all flying apart and reassembling in madness.
Luckily—*boom!* The good samaritan burst apart in a cloud of blood mist.
"No more fighting!"
Suddenly, Creation Little Five bellowed. He vaulted skyward in a leap, vanishing from before the elders' eyes. His voice echoed from afar.
"I get why Dad pulled back! I can't beat you lot either—I'm done!"
The elders halted in their tracks, scanning about for any sign of him.
Ma Jun coughed repeatedly and raised a hand.
"Don't pursue. Let him slink off knowing he's outmatched."
The Thirteen Great Families' ancestors eyed one another—all bearing wounds. A chill gripped their hearts.
Back when they clashed with Chen Yindu, it had been a wheel battle—not a surround!
And now? This *was* a surround against Creation Little Five. Yet so many peerless experts hadn't pinned him down. Worse—they'd taken wounds themselves.
Creation Little Five was stronger than Chen Yindu had been back then!