Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 2843: Chapter 137: Ancestor Shubu_2

It can be done like this?

Ancestor Shubu immediately wanted to pinch off the Cause and Effect Line, but as he lowered his head, he saw a small pale hand that, at some unknown point, had already reached in from the outside world.

This small pale hand was gripping the Cause and Effect Line tightly, and was steadily exerting force, crawling its way toward this end.

Ancestor Shubu’s soul of the dead jolted in terror; just as he wanted to do something, he realized it was already too late.

In just a moment, the Dreamland twisted, and a human figure crawled over from the other end of Cause and Effect.

It looked like a ”child,” skin like jade, lips red and teeth white, a faint golden glow on his forehead, his eyes bright and dazzling.

Ancestor Shubu instantly felt that something was wrong.

When things turn bizarre, there’s always some monster involved.

Anyone who can crawl along a Cause and Effect Line definitely isn’t some ordinary thing.

What’s more, this ”child” was simply too good‑looking, so beautiful it didn’t look human at all.

Ancestor Shubu’s eyes flashed; the white bone of his right hand swelled, transforming into a huge bone claw. He intended to strike first, to slap this ”child” to death.

But the huge bone claw, halfway down, was propped up by a single pinky finger...from that small pale hand.

A single pinky finger, like a Da Shan.

No matter how Ancestor Shubu drove his Divine Thought Power, he couldn’t press down another fraction of an inch.

And that handsome, eerie child merely flipped his hand, gave a light tug, and tore Ancestor Shubu’s entire arm off. With a gentle twist, the whole arm was crushed to powder.

The arm broke too fast; Ancestor Shubu didn’t even have time to react. He just stood there dumbly, as if he’d run into a ghost story; he even forgot the pain in his Divine Thought.

The child tore off his arm, put the bone into his mouth and bit it once, then spat it out with a ”ptoo,” seemingly finding it unpalatable.

Ancestor Shubu’s heart went cold. He turned his head, glanced at Iron Skill Bone who had committed suicide as sacrifice, and couldn’t help saying in his heart:

These descendants of mine really are a bunch of ”filial sons and virtuous grandsons,” willing to sacrifice their own lives just to send some terrifying ”monster” over here to harm their old ancestor.

Treating their old ancestor as some sucker to be messed with.

Ancestor Shubu cursed furiously in his heart.

Yet this strange and handsome child didn’t kill him, but circled around once, found a slightly higher spot, plopped down, turned back to glance at Ancestor Shubu, and said in a crisp voice:

”Shall we chat?”

Ancestor Shubu restrained the anger in his heart and put on a friendly smile. ”Alright, let’s chat, let’s chat...”

...

White Bone Hall.

Mo Hua, in Divine Thought form, sat cross‑legged on the memorial tablet of the Shugubu Tributor Immortal, utterly at ease, like the master of the place.

The ancestor of Shugu sat somewhat stiffly below, like a guest.

Mo Hua asked, ”You’re the ancestor of the Shugubu.”

Ancestor Shubu said, ”You could say that...”

Mo Hua looked him over; seeing that he was half white bone, half rotten flesh, a bit ugly, he found him distasteful in his heart, then asked:

”How old are you?”

Ancestor Shubu honestly said, ”This old one’s lifespan...eight hundred.”

”Only eight hundred years? And you’re an ancestor too?” Mo Hua said.

Ancestor Shubu said, ”This old one’s lifespan was eight hundred, but I died in ancient times. How many years have passed since then is no longer known.”

Mo Hua nodded.

Ancestor Shubu lifted his head, glanced at Mo Hua, and quietly said, ”May I ask...Taoist Friend, how many years have you cultivated?”

”I’m two...” Mo Hua paused, then said solemnly, ”I’m over two hundred years old.”

Over two hundred years...

Ancestor Shubu looked at Mo Hua’s Divine Thought body, his expression unable to hide his shock:

”In a mere two hundred‑odd years, to cultivate such an immaculate Golden Body, a Thought Body returned to its true nature? Taoist Friend, you truly are a peerless, world‑shaking genius...”

Mo Hua’s expression turned a bit subtle; he mumbled, ”Not bad, I guess...”

Ancestor Shubu carefully glanced at Mo Hua again and quietly asked, ”May I know how to address this Taoist Friend...?”

Mo Hua didn’t answer, only silently watched this Ancestor Shubu.

Ancestor Shubu suddenly felt a chill, as if struck dumb.

Mo Hua said, ”You can call me ’Mr. Witch’.”

Ancestor Shubu smiled gently. ”Yes...Mr. Witch.”

Mo Hua no longer allowed him the right to probe his information, and instead asked back, ”Your Realm is only Peak of Third Grade?”

The word ”only” made Ancestor Shubu feel a bit uncomfortable.

But he still said modestly, ”Yes, merely Peak of Third Grade.”

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then asked, ”These ancestors of your Shugubu, surely the highest isn’t just Third Grade, right?”

”That...” Ancestor Shubu hesitated for a bit, then slowly said, ”The Barbaric Wilderness is the ’Civilian District’ of the Great Wilderness. Though vast, with tribes clustered together, the upper limit of grades under the Heavenly Dao is relatively low.”

”The vast majority of Mountain Realms are Second or Third Grade. Third Grade is already the ceiling.”

”Fourth‑grade ones basically only exist in the Imperial Court, in the Royal Courts guarded by the various kings, including the capital lands around the Royal Court.”

”And only the ancient Ancestral Court of the Great Wilderness is a Fifth Grade Land.”

”Thus, so long as you cannot enter the Royal Court, at best you can only muddle your way up to Third Grade.”

Ancestor Shubu spoke slowly.

Mo Hua was a bit surprised.

These things he really hadn’t known before.

Looking at it this way, the upper limit of this Great Wilderness is truly far inferior to Qian State, let alone compared to Taoist State.

The Three Thousand Barbaric Wilderness is the Civilian District, with a ceiling of Third Grade at best.

Royal Court Fourth‑grade, Ancestral Court Fifth grade.

This was even lower than what he’d previously guessed.

He didn’t know whether it was that the Great Wilderness was poor in resources, Barbarian Cultivators generally not too high in Cultivation, so the upper limit was low.

Or because the Heavenly Dao Formation had only granted the Great Wilderness this upper limit, so for such a long time the Great Wilderness had stayed stuck at Third and Fourth-grade.

However...

Mo Hua looked at Ancestor Shubu. ”You still haven’t answered my question head‑on. Your Shugubu has ancestors above Fourth-grade Feather Transformation Realm, right?”

Ancestor Shubu only felt his skull go numb; seeing that he couldn’t muddle through, he could only sigh, ”There...are indeed...”

”Dead?”

”Dead.”

”Where are they buried?”

Ancestor Shubu hesitated, ”Some ancestors served the Royal Family and rendered merit. After death, they were buried in the lands of the Royal Court. And some were buried...”

Ancestor Shubu pointed downward. ”In this White Bone Tomb.”

Mo Hua said, ”So, this White Bone Tomb, though located in a Third Grade Mountain Realm, does in fact inter Shugubu cultivators of Fourth-grade Feather Transformation Realm.”

Ancestor Shubu nodded. ”Yes.”

Mo Hua’s gaze flickered. ”Then why...haven’t they woken up?”

These are...Divine Thought at the Feather Transformation Realm of Fourth-grade.

For some reason, Ancestor Shubu felt a chill in his heart, and could only smile bitterly:

”This is a Third Grade Mountain Realm. Once you reach Feather Transformation Realm, if you die and get buried, it’s hard to ’wake up’ again. Otherwise, with the slightest carelessness, you’d offend a taboo of the Heavenly Dao, and the entire White Bone Ancestral Tomb would be annihilated to dust.”

Mo Hua nodded to show he understood, then asked, ”So you’re the one who was chosen, who woke up to later curse me to death?”

Ancestor Shubu fell silent.

If not for his body already having rotted, he’d be breaking out in cold sweat by now.

Mo Hua asked him again, ”So right now, are you actually ’dead’ or ’alive’?”

Ancestor Shubu slowly said, ”You could say...half‑dead and half‑alive...”

Mo Hua’s tone cooled a bit. ”Give me a clear answer.”

Ancestor Shubu only felt immense pressure and had no choice but to say:

”It doesn’t count as ’living’. I only preserved a shred of Cause and Effect, kept a sliver of vitality, raised my Divine Thought here. Occasionally, I can be awakened through the blood covenant of descendants to get up and do something, but I cannot see the light of day.”

Mo Hua nodded, doing his best to suppress the ripples of emotion in his heart, and in as calm a tone as possible asked him:

”Then you...can you truly come back to life?”

Ancestor Shubu pondered for a while, then sighed, ”Far too difficult...besides, I’ve been buried too long. My body has decayed, lost all vitality. Once I leave this tomb, with nothing left to prolong my life and hold my existence, I’m still ultimately dead.”

”More frightening still is the Heavenly Dao...”

”All things under heaven have birth and death; only then is there Dao. Once the Heavenly Dao discovers that someone has played tricks to deceive it, and after their final destined limit, extended their own lifespan, the backlash of the Heavenly Dao is terrifying beyond measure.”

Ancestor Shubu’s tone grew heavy.

Mo Hua was silent. After a moment, he looked at Ancestor Shubu and slowly said:

”Suppose...I’m only saying suppose...”

”A person, though dead, has his Cause and Effect locked, his vitality no longer ebbing away, his body still intact. If I think of some way to deceive the Heavenly Dao, does that mean...”

Mo Hua did his best to control his emotions. ”...he can still come back to life?”

Ancestor Shubu was stunned. He turned to glance at Mo Hua, a terrifying guess surfacing in his heart; his face changed dramatically, his eyes filling with horror.