Chapter 16 The Five-Colored Stone

The Three Realms, the Ancient Ruins. Void tides constantly crashed against the immeasurable space-time. This place was formed by the collision of the ancient Pangu Chaos World and the In-Between Chaos World. It was vast and boundless, its total area even greater than that of the current Three Realms combined.

However, these Ancient Ruins could no longer be considered a complete Chaos World. Instead, they were formed from the shattered remains of two great Chaos Worlds. They were incredibly dangerous, filled with spatial distortions and temporal chaos, making ordinary True Gods不敢 (daring not) venture too deep.

Now, the Ancient Ruins were actually divided among various Chaos alien races, forming many worlds. The closer one got to the core, the stronger they became. Here, even in a very ordinary world, there might exist True God-level aliens.

Precisely because of this, the Ancient Ruins had always been the most dangerous place for adventure in the Three Realms. Powerful figures from the Three Realms often ventured into them to improve their strength, which indirectly led to the continuous birth of great powers in the Three Realms.

And in the Silent Domain of the Ancient Ruins, there was a chaotic Great World. It was once called the Mending Heaven World. Legend had it that this was where two Ancestral Gods broke through during the ancient Chaos World era. Nüwa (Nüwa Niangniang) herself once used five-colored stones to mend the heavens here.

Later, there was Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong was only conceived from one of the five-colored stones. He was much loved by Nüwa Niangniang in ancient times, and she once guided him in his cultivation.

Before Nüwa Niangniang left the Three Realms, she also left a ruin for Sun Wukong in this Mending Heaven World. He had entered it when he was a Celestial God, but ultimately failed.

After that, Sun Wukong became a True God. As the long years passed, he had almost forgotten about it until Jiang Xuan appeared. Moreover, Jiang Xuan was his junior brother. Because of this, after Jiang Xuan transcended his tribulation to become a Celestial God, he invited Jiang Xuan to try it.

"Alas... I wonder how Junior Brother Taixuan is doing. He's been in the ruins for a decade or two now." In the Mending Heaven World, Sun Wukong was a little impatient. Although he also knew some of the trials within and knew that they would take a long time, this was, after all, related to his opportunity to become an Ancestral God, and it was indeed difficult to remain calm.

Time passed bit by bit, and it was unknown how long had passed when a five-colored halo finally appeared in the void. Jiang Xuan's figure slowly emerged from it.

"Junior Brother!" Sun Wukong immediately arrived in front of him, scratching his ears and cheeks, looking at Jiang Xuan eagerly, and asked, "Junior Brother, how was it?"

Jiang Xuan looked at Sun Wukong's anxious appearance and did not hide anything from him. He took out a foot-long immortal stone from his portable immortal mansion. This immortal stone was five-colored and contained the Dao rhythm of the Five Elements Heavenly Dao. In this Ancient Ruins where only the Chaos Heavenly Dao could exist, it was especially prominent.

"Hahaha!! There's hope of becoming an Ancestral God! I have hope of becoming an Ancestral God!"

Sun Wukong took the five-colored stone, his eyes full of joy. It was an aura of the same origin as him. Just holding it in his hand felt as if it was about to merge with him.

"Junior Brother, thank you! I, your old Sun, owe you a great favor!" Sun Wukong put away the five-colored stone, knowing that this was not a good place to cultivate.

"Senior Brother is too polite," Jiang Xuan said with a smile. Sun Wukong had also promised to gather the treasures needed for the *Eight-Nine Arcane Art* for him. Among all of Jiang Xuan's clones, only the main body that went to the Da Mo Domain and the other two clones had cultivated the arcane art to perfection. After all, they didn't lack resources.

And the one staying in the Three Realms temporarily lacked resources for cultivation. He could only wait for the clones to return.

Of course, going and returning were different. When he went, the main body was also very poor, and the teleportation array had to wait. But when he returned, he was not short of Chaos spiritual liquid and could completely activate the teleportation array separately. It was estimated that he could return to the Three Realms within a year or two.

"Hehe, Junior Brother, don't worry, I, your old Sun, will send you the resources for cultivating the arcane art in a while." Sun Wukong also knew that Jiang Xuan currently didn't have the resources to cultivate the arcane art. He was, after all, a Dao Ancestor infinitely close to the leader level. From ancient times to the present, he also had many treasures in his hands. A copy of the arcane art cultivation resources wouldn't be too difficult.

"Good." Jiang Xuan did not decline. This was originally what he deserved, but he didn't care too much about it now. When the clones returned, their strength would definitely increase greatly.

"Let's go, let's go, I'll take you back to Square Inch Mountain!" Sun Wukong protected Jiang Xuan as they broke through the void and left. Jiang Xuan's clone was only a Celestial God, although his strength was definitely the most monstrous among Celestial Gods, there were still many inconveniences in this Ancient Ruins.

...

"Chi!"

On Square Inch Mountain, in front of the Immortal Palace, a sword light directly pierced the puppet's chest. The puppet stopped, motionless, looked at Ji Ning, and said in a low voice, "You won."

"Shizu (revered teacher) is really powerful. He's only been on the mountain for a few years and can already defeat a sixth-order puppet."

"Yeah, this progress is really fast enough."

"The human race is indeed powerful. The previous Taixuan Shizu and the current Beiming Shizu are both progressing too fast."

"Well... but Taixuan Shizu is even more amazing. He's already a Celestial God. Beiming Shizu is still a little behind in cultivation."

"How can anyone compare to Taixuan Shizu?"

A group of Square Inch Mountain disciples were idle and chatting here. No wonder they were like this. Life on Square Inch Mountain was originally peaceful, without disputes, a true paradise. Their cultivation speed was also slow, so they were generally very interested in seeing someone challenge the puppets.

"Shidi (junior brother) can now go to the sixth floor of the Immortal Palace and choose any cultivation method." The Silver Moon Celestial God, who was guarding the Immortal Palace, walked over with a smile and waved his hand to put away the sixth-order puppet.

Ji Ning smiled. In the few years since he had come to the mountain, he had put aside many worries and focused on cultivation, so his progress had also been rapid. At first, he could only defeat a fourth-order puppet, but now he could easily defeat a sixth-order puppet.

However, there was still a high mountain in his heart, and that was Jiang Xuan, the senior brother who had entered the sect before him. According to the disciples of Square Inch Mountain, Jiang Xuan had defeated the ninth-order puppet on his first day on the mountain. Even though Jiang Xuan's strength was already very strong at that time, he had only cultivated for about twenty years more than him. His talent was really terrifying.

Of course, precisely because this high mountain was difficult to climb, Ji Ning felt even more determined. The path of cultivation was long, and he firmly believed that he could catch up step by step.

"Eh, is that Wukong Shidi and Taixuan Shidi? They're back?" Ji Ning was about to enter the Immortal Palace when he heard the Silver Moon Celestial God looking at the mountain road of Square Inch Mountain. Two figures were gradually approaching.

"Wukong Shizu, Taixuan Shizu!"

"Wukong Shizu, Taixuan Shizu!"

It was Jiang Xuan and Sun Wukong who had come. After leaving the Ancient Ruins, they immediately returned to Square Inch Mountain.

Now, the Three Realms were already in turmoil, and the No-Interference Sect also had the intention to start a war. It was estimated that a domain war would break out within the next few years, so they had to be careful. Returning to Square Inch Mountain for cultivation was the safest option for now.

"Taixuan Shixiong (senior brother), Wukong Shixiong."

Ji Ning also respectfully saluted Jiang Xuan and the others. A few years ago, he was personally brought to the mountain by Jiang Xuan. Later, he learned from chatting with the Silver Moon Celestial God and others that Jiang Xuan was the true successor of the Bodhi Dao Ancestor, and his position on Square Inch Mountain was also very special.

"Hehe, is this little Shidi? I, your old Sun, haven't been in the Three Realms for a while, and I've only heard Taixuan Shidi mention him. Today, I've finally met him." Sun Wukong said with a smile, while taking out a top-grade immortal sword of the immortal rank and giving it to Ji Ning.

"Come, come, come, this is my old Sun's first meeting gift to you. I'm not the Silver Moon Devil, and I'll never be stingy!" Sun Wukong didn't forget to mention the Silver Moon Celestial God while giving the gift, probably because he had been tortured miserably by the Silver Moon Celestial God in the past.

"Sixth Shidi, it's not good for you to slander me like this in front of me, is it?" The Silver Moon Celestial God smiled wryly. In the first few years when Sun Wukong came to the mountain, he had indeed tricked him and still owed him a debt, but he didn't expect Sun Wukong to hold a grudge until now.

"Shixiong, how can this be called slander? Isn't this the truth?!" Sun Wukong's eyes widened as he questioned the Silver Moon Celestial God.

"..." The Silver Moon Celestial God was stunned, then laughed a few times, "What, did you succeed this time?"

Sun Wukong naturally understood, nodded, and said, "I'll go to Shizun (revered master) in a moment. I might also go into seclusion next. The next time we meet, I might be at the leader level!"

Speaking of this, Sun Wukong was full of energy. Now, among the disciples of the Bodhi Dao Ancestor, only his eldest Shixiong was unfathomable to him, and he was very likely to be at the leader level. Thinking that he would be the second disciple under the Bodhi Dao Ancestor to become a leader level, he was excited.

Little did he know that a certain Celestial God standing next to him, his main body was already at the Ancestral God realm, and his strength was far greater than that of an Ancestral God.

Ji Ning was confused by what he heard, after all, he was just a small Yuanshen, and True Gods and leaders were still too far away from him.

After chatting for a while, Sun Wukong went directly to find the Bodhi Dao Ancestor. As for Jiang Xuan, he didn't stay much longer.

After the main body transcended the tribulation, he only cultivated the *Twelve Divine Demonic Transformations of the Heavens* in the Ancient Ruins, and then shared his strength, so the other clones had never appeared in the Three Realms.

Only the Chaos Heavenly Dao could be manifested in the Ancient Ruins, and all other Heavenly Daos were not manifested, so the No-Interference Sect's demon of the heart could not peek into it. His clones were hidden in it and would not be known to anyone.

However, the fact that he and Sun Wukong had returned could not be hidden. Once they entered the scope of the Three Realms, the Heavenly Dao could sense them, so he didn't intend to hide it, but instead prepared to go outside to attract attention.

Anyway, the No-Interference Sect and the Old Man of the River Source wouldn't dare to attack him in a short time. After all, his backers on the surface were very strong, and the ancient royal family of the human race was entrenched there. Even the No-Interference Sect would never dare to force the ancient royal family to enter the arena before the war even started.

As for the Old Man of the River Source, he wouldn't take the lead before the situation was clear. The current four ancestors of the River Source were still in a state of "wait and see."

Of course, even if they really dared to send someone to kill Jiang Xuan, as long as it wasn't a leader-level assassination, Jiang Xuan was confident that he could protect himself.

"After these few years, this Three Realms will no longer be a threat. As long as we solve the Old Man of the River Source, everything will return to peace." Jiang Xuan thought in his heart. The No-Interference Sect was not to be feared. They didn't want to start a war either. They just wanted a place to survive. When the clones brought back the Oath Stone, the war could stop at any time.

The only real trouble was the Old Man of the River Source.

Hu Die Lan