Among these rogue cultivators, the yellow-toothed old man held considerable influence.
He was known as Ancestor Heaven-Gourd, famed for his skill with the Immortal Vine Gourd, a weapon both offensive and defensive, deadly in battle.
He had quite a reputation, so it was surprising that he couldn’t even take one hit now.
Everyone stared at the figure of the God Emperor with growing seriousness.
At this moment, Ancestor Heaven-Gourd also gave in decisively. As a rogue cultivator, reaching this level had not been easy.
His entire journey had been like walking on thin ice. He understood that as long as he was alive, anything was possible in the future.
Those who once humiliated him would eventually face his revenge.
So at this moment, he didn’t care at all about pride or dignity.
Xu Zimo turned and looked at the collapsed mountain in front of him.
What lay ahead was a pile of ruins, rocks scattered everywhere, broken trees lodged between the rubble.
From the looks of it, there had been an explosion halfway up the mountain.
Starting from the midsection, the peak had collapsed downward, while the mountain base had cracked apart.
The ruins buried the entire Grand Origin Sect. The whole area felt covered by a mysterious force.
It was clearly right in front of them, yet looked hazy and hard to make out.
Xu Zimo walked step by step toward the ruins. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he reached out and touched the air in front of him.
He found a barrier blocking the area, surrounding the entire ruin.
“Where are the people from Grand Origin Sect?” Xu Zimo asked Ancestor Heaven-Gourd.
“They’re all dead,” the old man replied.
“Who killed them?” Xu Zimo asked.
“No one did. A few days after leaving Grand Origin Sect, they all suddenly died,” the old man quickly replied.
“I investigated before. Their deaths were very strange. All their internal organs were crushed into powder, but their bodies were completely intact. I don’t know what kind of power caused it.”
Xu Zimo nodded slightly. Though the seal was supposed to open three days later on the full moon night,
he didn’t have time to wait.
He turned to the God Emperor and asked, “Can you break this barrier?”
The God Emperor sensed it for a moment and nodded. “Very strong, but still breakable.”
Then the God Emperor's aura surged. Behind him, endless worlds seemed to take shape and evolve.
The others around quickly backed away after sensing such power.
This world evolution could be called the God Dao.
It was the Dao that the God Emperor comprehended after entering the Grand Emperor realm.
His dao was the God Dao.
With both hands raised, the God Emperor unleashed a tremendous force. The power of the God Dao surrounded his strike as he slammed it down.
Space itself shattered, and infinite spiritforce surged.
With a loud boom, the shockwave spread across dozens of miles. People far away only heard a thunderous crash, their ears ringing.
Near Grand Origin Mountain, the impact was even more intense.
The ground trembled, the sky dimmed, dust flew everywhere, and stones rained down.
Everyone looked toward the explosion’s center. As the dust settled, they saw that the barrier had completely shattered.
Revealing the ruins hidden inside the mountain.
The mysterious force felt even stronger now.
Deep in the ruins, a door like an iron gate was half-buried beneath broken trees and rocks.
Seeing the barrier destroyed in one strike, everyone was shocked.
They had tried many times before to break it, but nothing worked.
Now that the gate was visible, none of the major forces dared to move first. All eyes were on the God Emperor.
Just then, a few more people arrived from the distance.
It seemed the earlier explosion had drawn their attention.
Xu Zimo glanced at them and saw the Sword Divine Lord and Saber Divine Lord among them, the same ones he had seen at the inn before.
“What’s everyone doing just standing around?” the Saber Divine Lord asked with a smile, looking at the gate ahead.
Since he hadn’t seen the earlier events, he was a bit confused. But out of caution, he didn’t go forward.
“Senior, are you going in?” an elder from the Vast Immortal Sacred Ground asked the God Emperor, testing the waters.
“You go ahead. Don’t worry about us,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand.
Hearing this, some restless rogue cultivators couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed in first.
The iron gate looked ancient and decayed, as if a breeze could knock it over.
Its edges were covered in black spiderwebs, hidden in the shadows.
When those cultivators pushed open the gate, the hidden webs suddenly came down like bone-eating traps.
Luckily, the cultivators were skilled enough to narrowly dodge them.
When the webs hit the ground, a black liquid oozed out.
Wherever the liquid touched, the ground corroded into large holes.
Everyone gasped. Behind the gate was a dark and silent corridor.
The lighting inside was dim, making it hard to see clearly, but the front part of the corridor was visible, with countless thick spiderwebs clinging to the walls.
It was a horrifying sight.
Although most people here were strong, experienced cultivators, they still had no idea how dangerous this spider venom was.
And the unknown is always the most terrifying.
Because the corridor had been sealed for so long, a terrible, almost rotten stench came out when the gate opened.
“If no one dares to go in, I’ll take the lead,” the Saber Divine Lord offered.
An elder from Heavenly Dao Academy turned to the young students behind him and said softly, “You all stay outside.
This trip was meant as a training exercise, but things have turned out more dangerous than expected.”
“Yes, Master,” the students quickly replied.
With the Sword-Saber Divine Lords stepping in first, the others hesitated only briefly before following.
“Master, aren’t we going in?” the God Emperor asked Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo shook his head slightly. “Let them test the waters first. There’s something strange about this ancient site.”
As Xu Zimo scouted around Grand Origin Mountain, five students from Heavenly Dao Academy curiously observed him.
After some quiet discussion, they approached him.
“I’m Mi Zichang from Heavenly Dao Academy. Greetings, sir,” the leading young man cupped his hands and greeted Xu Zimo.
The others also introduced themselves one by one.