Two years later
Lie Shen Star Domain
Ever since news spread from Qing Yun Star that the Wu Family had produced an ancient physique—rumored to be the Heavenly Phoenix Physique—it was said that once this physique reached the Spirit God realm, its possessor would be nigh impossible to kill. It inherited the innate divine ability of Nirvana Rebirth; with every death and rebirth, they would grow even stronger than before. As long as the divine soul remained intact, even the complete destruction of the physical body would not prevent them from regenerating. Furthermore, upon breaking through to the Spirit God realm, the primordial soul would be born, rendering the divine soul virtually indestructible. For many years, the various powers within the Lie Shen Star Domain had maintained a delicate balance, dominated by the Eight Great Families: Chen, Wu, Qin, Li, Lu, Yuan, Duan, and Feng. These families partitioned the Lie Shen Star Domain into eight territories, each ruling their respective domains. The Eight Great Families were further aligned into three major factions: the Chen, Yuan, and Duan families formed one coalition; the Li, Lu, and Feng families formed another; while the Wu and Qin families made up the third. Within each faction, the families were bound by countless ties, including generations of intermarriage, effectively uniting them as one. The emergence of an ancient physique threatened to shatter this equilibrium—especially one as formidable as the Heavenly Phoenix Physique. Once fully matured, its wielder would become an invincible existence, allowing the Wu Family to reign supreme over the entire star domain.
Although the Wu and Qin families comprised only two of the great families, they operated with low profiles, never suppressing rogue cultivators or smaller sects, thereby maintaining amicable relations with many other factions. To outsiders, the Wu Family always appeared humble and unassuming, leading many to believe they lacked the strength of the other great families. In reality, the Wu Family had only been established for nearly five thousand years, and their heritage could not compare to those clans that had endured for nearly a hundred thousand years or more. Take the Chen Family, for example; they had existed for nearly three hundred thousand years, possessing a terrifyingly profound foundation. After all, cultivators of the Spirit God realm possessed lifespans exceeding ten thousand years, while God-tier experts could live for over a hundred thousand years. Rumor had it that the Chen Family possessed no fewer than ten God-tier powerhouses, though most were only in the early stages. Even so, this was a formidable force capable of easily obliterating a powerful planet. Furthermore, the Chen Family was rumored to harbor an ancestor who had reached the Seventh-tier God-level, also known as a God Lord—a boundary typically achieved only by late-stage God-tier cultivators who ruled over entire star domains.
At this moment, undercurrents surged continuously throughout the Lie Shen Star Domain. It was clear to everyone that the six great families and the super sects would never allow the Wu Family's ancient physique to reach maturity. The Qin Family's intentions, however, remained shrouded in mystery. What puzzled onlookers was why war had not yet erupted. Given the Wu Family's foundation, they surely could not withstand a single blow from a united coalition. After all, did the Wu Family not possess only three God-tier powerhouses? The prevailing theory was that the various magnates wished to minimize their losses, and were therefore preparing a single, decisive strike to annihilate the Wu Family in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, many eyes were also fixed on the movements of the Qin Family, knowing that they were another super-magnate whose heritage was no less profound than that of the Chen Family.
Over the past two years, the fifth generation of the Wu Family welcomed three new members: Wu Tianyang, Wu Tianmei, and Wu Tianyu—one boy and two girls. Among them, Wu Tianyang was born with the Heavenly Sun Demonic Physique. His unique phenomenon manifested as a pitch-black sun, radiating an incredibly scorching heat, within which a terrifying creature eerily seemed to be gestating. Wu Tianmei, on the other hand, possessed innate enchanting bones; her future cultivation of charm techniques would undoubtedly allow her to soar to the heavens, achieving great things with effortless ease. Although Wu Tianyu did not possess a unique physique, her foundation was exceptionally robust, ensuring she would grow into a rare genius. During these same two years, the other members of the Wu Family's fifth generation—namely Wu Tianyuan, Wu Tianri, Wu Tianfeng, and Wu Tianjun—had also made astonishing progress. The eldest, nine-year-old Wu Tianyuan, whose Five Elements Sacred Physique had awakened, incredibly bypassed both the Meridian Opening and Origin Gathering realms to step directly into the Human Core Realm. Not only that, he formed five golden cores corresponding to the five elements, directly absorbing five Heavenly Core Realm demon beast inner cores. This terrifying foundation, inherited from his third uncle Wu Shishen, even triggered a heavenly tribulation, sending the entire Wu Family into fits of hearty laughter. Eight-year-old Wu Tianri, despite lacking an ancient physique, possessed a terrifying talent for soul cultivation; though his cultivation was only at the early Origin Gathering stage, his divine soul had already reached the Human Core Realm. Five-year-old Wu Tianfeng, though her Heavenly Phoenix Physique had yet to awaken, was already at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm and on the verge of a breakthrough. As for two-year-old Wu Tianjun, his physique was completely indiscernible, and his cultivation realm was equally unreadable. However, everyone knew his divine soul was incredibly powerful, and his talent for treasure-hunting was downright terrifying; he had unearthed almost every treasure on Demon God Mountain, turning the place utterly upside down. These four mischievous little geniuses brought both exasperation and endless doting to the entire Wu Family.
To the Wu family's delight, breakthroughs were constant during these two years, with their overall strength increasing significantly. Most notably, six months ago, Wu Shishen broke through to the second layer of the Divine Realm, which astonishingly brought down a heavenly tribulation, causing the entire Wu family to cheer! One must know that his tribulation produced Lightning Tribulation Fluid! Poor him, though! This lightning tribulation was terrifying; even with his formidable combat power, he was beaten to within an inch of his life. One should know he had single-handedly fought and killed a fifth-layer Divine Realm demonic beast! This time, he actually harvested over thirty thousand units of Lightning Tribulation Fluid. With this fluid, the Wu family's strength is sure to increase by another large margin.
At this moment, in the Wu family ancestral hall, over twenty people were seated, engaged in a discussion. Their auras were formidable; astonishingly, all of them were Divine Realm cultivators!
"It seems the outside world is no longer peaceful," the Wu family's Old Ancestor said.
"They're certainly eyeing our Wu family! Hmph, as for the Chen family's Old Ancestor, I hope he has already broken through to the Divine Lord realm; otherwise, we'll give his Chen family a 'surprise'." A second-generation Wu family member spoke. This was the fourth sibling, Wu Shenpo, the most hot-headed of the four.
"If not for the star domains colliding and leading to their merger, we wouldn't need to keep to ourselves like this. Perhaps the grand era is fast approaching," said Wu Shenkong, the eldest of the second generation.
"Hmph, our Wu family, born with various powerful physiques in response to the grand era, will sooner or later carve out our own dominion in this starfield," Wu Shenyi chimed in. He was the third sibling of the second generation.
"There's no need to be overly pessimistic. Heaven never blocks all paths, and moreover, we cultivators walk against the heavens; life and death are always by our side," the Wu family's Old Ancestor said.
"Grandfather, when do you think the star domains will merge?" Wu Zhuyun asked.
"Perhaps it's not far off. It seems a great power has acted. I fear that when the star domains merge, a Divine Venerable expert will target our Wu family. Sigh..." The Wu family's Old Ancestor sighed.
"How can this be?" Wu Zhuyun was startled and terrified. A Divine Venerable—that was an existence at the eighth rank of the Divine Realm! At the Divine Realm, cultivators could already traverse the starry sky, moving between star realms. At the Divine Lord realm, one could rule a small star domain. But a Divine Venerable was the master of a great star domain, formed by merging several star domains. Typically, a Divine Venerable could instantly kill a Divine Lord expert. At the Divine Lord realm, one could create a nascent small world, but these small worlds were very weak, so no Divine Lord would be foolish enough to use world power and destroy their own small world. Only a Venerable could use world power to fight opponents. That was absolute, crushing power!
"It's not impossible. The Heavenly Phoenix Physique can transfer a portion of its power to the first one to possess it. I fear many old immortals whose lifespans are nearing their end will be tempted. By now, I fear quite a few have learned of Feng'er's existence. If we're lucky, a powerful expert from the Phoenix Clan might intervene to save her... Sigh." He also knew it would be very difficult. "Alright! We'll do our best! Shichen, bring out the Lightning Tribulation Fluid. It's time for little Jun to use it." He turned to Wu Shichen and said, "Where is little Jun? Bring him here."
"Understood!" Wu Shichen replied, and his figure vanished. It turned out that for the past two years, they had continuously used the Lightning Tribulation Fluid on Wu Tianyuan, Tianri, and Tianfeng, causing their divine souls to grow very rapidly and steadily. Of course, it was diluted with many other medicinal ingredients; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to withstand the immense energy within the Lightning Tribulation Fluid.
Not long after, Wu Shichen returned, carrying a child who was constantly struggling and complaining: "Father! You can't be so unreasonable! I was just about to catch the Heavenly Carp, its meat is so delicious!" As he spoke, he imagined it and started to drool. Suddenly, he realized something was amiss. "Oh, Old Ancestor, Second Ancestor, Grandpas, Grandmas... hey, hey, Father, why did you bring me to the ancestral hall? I haven't even had time to change my clothes yet!" The child, acting like a little adult, turned to question Wu Shichen.
"Haha, little rascal, where have you been causing trouble now...?" Wu Chenpo laughed loudly as he asked. This kid really suited his temperament.
"Uh, Fourth Great-Grandpa, I was just catching Heavenly Carp at Moon-Gazing Lake. How could I be causing trouble? I'm so adorable, you know." Saying this, he smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head.
"You're quite well-behaved, aren't you... haha."
"If this little rascal and those other guys were well-behaved, we wouldn't have any fun..." Everyone chimed in.
"Haha, alright! Let's get to business first. Little Jun, let your father give you the Lightning Tribulation Fluid. How much you can benefit from it depends on your fortune," the Wu family's Old Ancestor said.
"Oh, good stuff! Give me ten thousand portions! If it's not enough, I'll come back for more." The kid immediately made an exorbitant demand.
"Haha, your father will give it to you, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it." Wu Shichen laughed loudly. He had originally intended to give his son everything.
"Heh heh, I must enter secluded cultivation. I need to cultivate," he said, mimicking an adult with his hands clasped behind his back, sending everyone into fits of laughter. In truth, he harbored a secret he shared with no one: his primordial soul had already formed. Consequently, his thoughts were far more advanced than those of an ordinary three-year-old, though perhaps not much beyond a ten-year-old's. Earlier, seeing his older brothers and sisters consume the Tribulation Lightning Fluid had deeply stirred him. Yet, he understood that his father had forbidden him from doing so because his divine soul was still too weak; consuming it now would only bring harm rather than benefit. Of course, his father was unaware that he actually possessed a primordial soul, which was merely dormant. With an abundance of soul-nourishing treasures and ten thousand drops of Tribulation Lightning Fluid, he was confident his primordial soul would fully awaken. In other words, he already had one foot in the Divine Comprehension Realm. Once his soul awakened, he would only need primordial energy or treasures containing divine power to rapidly break through. Given the Yu family's current resources, it probably wouldn't even take three years. By then, he would only be five years old... Heh heh, the Divine Comprehension Realm at five years old... Such were his childish yet ambitious thoughts.
After Yu Tianjun was escorted out of the ancestral hall, a woman entered. This was Yu Zhuyun's first wife, Qin Mingyue. She was a direct descendant of the Qin family, her cultivation had also reached the Divine Comprehension Realm, and she was also Yu Shishen's mother. "Greetings, Grandfather, Father, Uncles," she said, first paying her respects to the Yu family's Old Ancestor and the second generation.
"Does the Qin family have some intention? *Sigh*... I truly do not wish to drag your Qin family into this muddy water," the Yu family's Old Ancestor sighed.
"To answer Grandfather, the Qin family patriarch wishes to form a marriage alliance with our Yu family," Qin Mingyue replied.
"A marriage alliance?" the Yu family's Old Ancestor asked, puzzled.
"Yes. He wishes to betroth his granddaughter, Qin Qingqing, to Little Jun. I hear she is not even two years old yet. If we agree, the engagement can be finalized immediately," Qin Mingyue said.
"Ah... Why must he go to such lengths?" the Yu family's Old Ancestor sighed.