The Ancient Prince Who Doubts Life

The moment he stepped into the secret realm, the sight before him left even Xuanyangzi, who had already prepared himself mentally, shaken to the core. For an instant, he stood there in a daze.

The Cangyun Secret Realm, which had once stretched across millions of li, was long gone.

What lay before him was a truly boundless and magnificent world!

The sky was lofty and the earth vast, extending for who knew how many billions upon billions of li.

There was neither sun nor moon above the firmament. Instead, a vast star map formed from countless brilliant chains of law intertwined overhead, flickering with light as strands of the Great Dao’s patterns descended, clear enough to see with the naked eye.

The spiritual energy was so dense that it had transformed into tangible astral winds. They roared across the land, yet carried with them the Dao’s charm—a force that nourished all things and awakened wisdom.

With every breath, one’s cultivation would steadily and spontaneously increase.

“This… this is no longer a secret realm. It is clearly a nascent innate minor world!”

Xuanyangzi took a deep breath of the spirit mist, rich with the aura of the Dao Laws, and suppressed the shock in his heart.

Could this be Changge’s doing? This is a little too grand!

His divine sense spread out like a tide, instantly covering a vast region of this newborn world. Before long, it locked onto several familiar auras.

At the center of a vast spirit pool formed from converging spiritual liquid, several enormous crystals of Dao Laws floated above the water.

Li Xuanfeng, Shi Jingxian, Mu Chenyu, and several of the sect’s most outstanding disciples of the current generation were sitting cross-legged upon them.

However, contrary to the scene Xuanyangzi had expected—one of surging auras and repeated breakthroughs—the Dao aura surrounding these disciples, though vast and turbulent like a volcano on the verge of eruption, was being forcibly suppressed and restrained within their bodies by their powerful wills.

Sweat even glistened faintly on their foreheads, while their bodies trembled slightly. Clearly, they were struggling against the boundless spiritual power that had surged wildly within them due to the drastic change in their surroundings, power that was nearly bursting from their bodies.

They were not cultivating.

They were desperately suppressing their cultivation and tempering the power that had risen explosively within them!

Xuanyangzi’s eyes flashed as he swept his gaze over them, instantly understanding the situation.

The environment of this secret realm was simply too heaven-defying. The spiritual energy and Dao Laws were actively flooding their bodies, causing their cultivation to rise far too quickly.

These young fellows had decent mental fortitude. They knew where to draw the line.

“Mm. Suppressing your cultivation, solidifying your foundations—good work.”

Xuanyangzi nodded approvingly but said no more. He had already made up his mind.

It seemed that these little fellows, who were on the verge of being overwhelmed, needed a target against which they could release and temper their power.

“Mm. The four of you, then.”

Xuanyangzi’s divine sense swept over the four Ancient Imperial Princes within his spatial treasure, and he muttered to himself.

With that, his figure blurred, and he shot toward the deepest part of the secret realm, in the direction of the Dao Enlightenment Platform.

Before he even drew close, he could faintly hear repeated booms coming from within the tower, mixed with familiar roars and groans of pain.

When Xuanyangzi’s figure appeared near the Tower of Heavenly Geniuses, he happened to see the tower gates flash with light. Several rather battered figures were sent out.

They were none other than the First Ancestor, the Third Patriarch, and the others.

The few old ancestors, normally dignified and immortal in bearing, with the respect of countless people, were now covered in bruises. Their Daoist robes were torn, and their hairpins and topknots had come loose.

The First Ancestor clutched his lower back. The Third Patriarch rubbed his face. The Fourth Patriarch bared his teeth as he flexed his wrist, while the Fifth Patriarch sported two dark rings around his eyes…

They had completely lost their dignity. Where was the bearing of peerless experts they usually possessed?

Xuanyangzi stared blankly and subconsciously halted.

The old ancestors also spotted Xuanyangzi, and their aged faces immediately flushed red. The First Ancestor, in particular, instinctively tried to straighten his back and maintain his dignity, only to let out an “ow!” and clutch his lower back again.

The scene became extremely awkward.

Xuanyangzi was an exceptionally perceptive man. With one glance at the battered appearances of the several old ancestors, followed by a look at the towering Tower of Heavenly Geniuses, which radiated an ancient battle intent powerful enough to make even him uneasy, he instantly understood what had happened.

The corner of Xuanyangzi’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He forcibly suppressed the strange urge to laugh and restored his expression to its usual calm.

He cupped his hands toward the old ancestors and said with an utterly serious expression, “You have all worked hard, Ancestors. This disciple will not disturb you as you continue your cultivation.”

With that, Xuanyangzi decisively turned around. His figure transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the distance.

He was afraid that if he stayed even a moment longer, he would not be able to stop himself from laughing aloud.

Watching Xuanyangzi’s almost fleeing back and sensing their own miserable appearances, the old ancestors exchanged glances. Their aged faces flushed even more deeply.

The First Ancestor coughed twice, attempting to salvage some of his dignity.

“Ahem. That boy Xuanyang is quite perceptive. He knows not to disturb us while we cultivate.”

The Third Patriarch rubbed his still-aching cheek, his voice carrying a hint of vexation.

“That phantom of the Great Emperor used techniques that were far too fierce. It targeted every weakness this old man had. It will probably take several days before this face returns to normal.”

The Fourth Patriarch rolled his wrist, but an excited and unyielding light flashed in his eyes.

“Still, it was indeed effective! That battle just now gave me another measure of insight into the Emperor’s Dao. A single day of tempering oneself this way is worth a hundred years of bitter cultivation! Again!”

The Fifth Patriarch, still sporting his dark circles, spoke in a muffled voice.

“A Great Emperor of the same realm truly lives up to his reputation. But the more formidable he is, the more determined we must be to defeat him and unravel the workings of Emperor-level Dao Laws! Come, back inside! This time, we will surely even the score!”

“That’s right! Back inside!”

“This old man has lived for countless ages. How could I possibly be stumped by a mere phantom?”

The old ancestors encouraged one another, their eyes once again blazing with fighting spirit. They drew deep breaths of the secret realm’s rich, almost tangible spiritual energy.

The purple bruises and swelling on their bodies faded at a visible rate, and their auras grew increasingly refined.

Then, gritting their teeth, they turned around once more and resolutely transformed into several streaks of light, charging through the open gates of the Tower of Heavenly Geniuses.

The tower gates slammed shut with a boom. Faintly, even more intense sounds of collisions and shouts could be heard coming from within…

Seven days later.

In the sealed space behind the mountain, an even deeper, nearly solid despair permeated the air, accompanied by a trace of bewilderment that seemed to question the very meaning of life.

The four Ancient Imperial Princes, once born of noble bloodlines and possessed of towering arrogance, were now sprawled on the ground without the slightest trace of dignity.

Their postures varied, but without exception, their clothes were torn, their hair disheveled, and their faces and bodies bore varying degrees of bruises and wounds.

They had barely enough strength left to raise a hand. All they could do was lie limply on the ground, their chests heaving violently. Their eyes were hollow and almost numb.

They had been beaten senseless.

Their minds were filled with nothing but a dazed bewilderment that made them question their entire existence.

Chi Huang was sprawled out like a character for “great,” his chest rising and falling heavily. The arrogance and rage that had once filled his eyes had vanished, leaving only emptiness and dull blankness.

He stared blankly at the gray sky, as though pondering an ancient philosophical question that had remained unsolved since time immemorial.

Seven days earlier, when Xuanyangzi had brought those young men and women into this sealed space and lifted the suppression on their cultivation, the four Ancient Imperial Princes had even felt a trace of cruel excitement.

Battle Asura, Sword in White, Cyan Rakshasa, Wang Zhan, and those other monsters were one thing.

Although being crushed by them had been humiliating, deep down, they could still find a sliver of comfort.

After all, the appearance of a few such freakish geniuses in this world, while absurd, was not entirely impossible to accept.

But these people before them?

They were merely true disciples from the various peaks of the Azure Profound Sect! Juniors whose names they had never even heard of!

Ants!

How dare they use them as whetstones?

They would ruthlessly humiliate these cultivators who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, defeating them in the most fierce and humiliating manner possible!

Perhaps this could serve as a bargaining chip, giving me a chance to negotiate better treatment—or even escape.