Honghuang: The Golden Crow Emperor, starts by robbing the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 974 Great Changes in the World
"One should repay kindness received... but I don't know how much it will cost to repay this kindness."

Yan Li stared in the direction where Ling Xiao had disappeared, remaining silent for a long time. He had already learned from his subordinate True Monarchs that this inheritance not only contained methods to mend one's foundation, but also complete methods to break through to the Dao Monarch and Emperor levels—this was exactly what he had been dreaming of.

"As long as my lifespan is no longer limited, I can immediately repair my foundation and break through to the Dao Lord realm!"

Yan Li took a deep breath, and without further hesitation, tossed the pill into his mouth. The pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth, transforming into endless innate spiritual energy, which washed over his entire body like a surging river. The quality of this spiritual energy far exceeded his expectations—even when he accidentally entered the grotto-heaven left behind at the beginning of time, he had only obtained one or two wisps of similar spiritual energy, but none were as vast and pure as this.

Yan Li immediately sat down cross-legged and focused all his energy on guiding spiritual energy to repair his damaged foundation. This cultivation lasted for several years.

Meanwhile, the chaos in the human realm continued for several years. Countless powerful individuals frantically searched for resources, excavating and developing ancient ruins and hidden grottoes one by one. Some even went so far as to wage wars of annihilation over a single spiritual herb or a piece of ore. The resources of the entire human realm were being depleted at an alarming rate.

Until this day, an aura far exceeding anything seen before suddenly erupted in the sky above the Great Yan Dynasty, vast and ancient, sweeping across the heavens and earth—that was the unrestrained aura of a peak emperor after his foundation was completely restored!

The news quickly spread throughout the human realm, shaking the hearts of countless powerful individuals: another top-tier expert had emerged in this world!
"Now, I have finally restored my complete foundation!"

Yan Li walked out of the forbidden area of ​​the palace step by step, his figure upright, his appearance restored to that of a middle-aged man, his aura restrained yet containing a hidden sharpness. Under the influence of the interaction between heaven and earth, he clearly sensed several ancient and vicissitudes emerging from various parts of the mortal realm—some of which reminded him of his old friends who had cultivated together with him back then.

"They also successfully broke through?"

Yan Li suddenly realized something, and immediately got up, deciding to personally travel throughout the human world to find out the truth.

However, what he saw and heard during this trip astonished him—in just a few years of seclusion, the entire human realm had become teeming with experts: the number of Emperors had increased by dozens, and even three new Dao Lords had been born! If we don't count the god-level powerhouses, this lineup could rival any Heavenly Realm or Demon Abyss, and in the Primordial World, it would be comparable to dozens of Quasi-Saints and three Saints!

What alarmed him even more was that the auras of several of the Dao Lords were so ancient that they seemed to have existed since the primordial era.

"Could these be old monsters who survived several world-ending attacks by gods and demons?"

Yan Li sighed inwardly, only then realizing that the human realm's foundation was far deeper than he had imagined—it was just that under the suppression of gods and demons, these powerful beings could only choose to seal themselves away and slumber, barely surviving, until this inheritance appeared, finally giving them a chance to see the light of day again.

As time went by, many newly powerful cultivators began exchanging cultivation insights and discussing how to cope with the impending cataclysmic destruction by gods and demons. However, during these discussions, they discovered something even more bizarre:
"Have you noticed that resources in the human realm seem to be growing endlessly? Even spiritual roots, which are rarely seen in normal times, are sprouting up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!"

"More than that! My disciples' breakthrough speed has increased several times faster, as if they are blessed by luck!"

These words shocked even powerful figures at the level of Emperors and Dao Lords—this was an unprecedented phenomenon since the beginning of time!

Soon, someone made a bold conjecture. At a gathering of top experts, a veteran Dao Lord familiar with Yan Li said in a deep voice, "Perhaps something big is about to happen. This is the vague will of Heaven in the mortal realm, helping us to improve our cultivation as quickly as possible to prepare for the crisis!"

In peaceful times, this would be an incredibly good thing. But now, the human realm has been sealed off by a great formation by gods and demons, and the crisis of world destruction is imminent—the sudden intervention of Heaven has only intensified the unease in everyone's hearts.

While the powerful figures in the mortal realm were frantically striving to improve their cultivation and racking their brains to deal with the crisis, several figures had already quietly arrived in the deepest void of the mortal realm. Ling Xiao, along with Yang Mei Ancestor, Taiqing, Luo Hou, the God of Life and Death, and other powerful figures, strolled through this void.

"Ling Xiao, are you sure this is the place?" Luo Hou curled his lip, his gaze sweeping over the empty void around him, his tone tinged with doubt.

“Yes, this is the place.” Ling Xiao nodded, raised his hand and grabbed, a hazy current of energy appeared in his palm—it was the fortune of the mortal realm.

Seeing the gathering of fortune, Ancestor Yangmei stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Not bad, all these hundreds of years of effort have finally paid off."

"Indeed." The God of Life and Death nodded, his tone tinged with emotion.

Previously, due to the alteration of cultivation methods by gods and demons, countless powerful individuals in the mortal realm were bound by lifespan limitations. The God of Life and Death and Taiqing joined forces, expending enormous energy to refine a large number of pills to replenish their foundations and extend their lifespans. Although this placed a heavy burden on those who had not yet fully recovered, the effects far exceeded expectations—from the lowest-level cultivators to the top-level emperors, everyone's "shackles" were severed, and they truly gained the freedom to cultivate.

The transformation of these beings unexpectedly awakened the vague divine will of the human realm, giving it a sliver of intelligence. Now, the divine will is spontaneously stimulating the essence of heaven and earth, generating resources and accelerating the breakthroughs of living beings; essentially, this world is saving itself!

The group walked in the void for an unknown amount of time when suddenly countless dazzling lights burst forth in front of them, like stars converging.

"arrive."

Ling Xiao stopped walking, and the people around him also stopped.

In the distance, a ball of light, dazzling to the extreme, floated, magnificent and grand like a sun that never sets, yet it did not emit any heat. It contained an immense will—the vague will of Heaven in the human world!
"This thing is equivalent to the Heavenly Dao of the primordial world." Ancestor Yangmei looked at the ball of light with great interest and joked, "Are any of you interested in merging with the Dao? Perhaps you can directly control this world."

"Heh, I have no interest in being confined to one side like this." The God of Life and Death sneered, his tone disdainful. "Besides, this hazy will of heaven is intact. Although its will is chaotic, it is a true realm of Dao integration. With our current cultivation, there is absolutely no possibility of us fusing with it."

“That’s true.” Ling Xiao chuckled, then changed the subject, “However, that doesn’t stop us from doing something shady.”

Everyone knew that their highest cultivation level was only at the True Monarch realm (equivalent to the Great Luo Golden Immortal), and it was undoubtedly a pipe dream to try to fight against the will of Heaven at the Dao Integration realm—moreover, they were all just avatars who had descended, not their original bodies.

But Ling Xiao's goal was never to destroy the will of Heaven.

“We can’t do anything to real gods and demons, but this hazy will of heaven is chaotic, like a brainless Dao-merging expert, which makes it convenient for us to manipulate things.”

Ling Xiao and the others exchanged glances, their faces revealing knowing smiles. A scheme against the will of Heaven was about to unfold.

(End of this chapter)