Of the one hundred years spoken of by Venerable Elder Baimei, only two now remained.
As the day drew ever closer, the atmosphere throughout all of Eternal Sun Prefecture grew strange and heavy.
Indeed, even from within the Azure Dynasty, pair after pair of eyes were fixed upon the Eternal Sun Prefecture.
It was as if they all already knew that after two more years, the time would come for the final, decisive battle between the "monstrous talent" of Eternal Sun Prefecture, who had appeared within these last ten thousand years, and the Li Clan.
The strange thing, however, was this: of the Li family, aside from Li Yaotie at the Heavenly Light Sect and Bai Rourou on Azure Mist Mountain, there had been no news of any of the others. And even those two, aside from immersing themselves in their cultivation, made no other moves.
The geniuses who had been rescued from the Lin family on Qilin Mountain had likewise vanished without a trace.
"Two years remain," Venerable Elder Baimei stated. "When the time comes, no matter the circumstances, I will force open Tian Xing's Cave Abode."
On Azure Mist Mountain, a series of complex array diagrams materialized in the sky above Venerable Baimei, stacking one upon the other before merging into the cloud layer.
This was surely a heaven-reaching technique, the kind only a great power of the Void Refining realm could command, and it caused the winds and clouds to surge violently.
These array diagrams entered the vast expanse of the sky, then vanished from sight.
Seated to the side before Venerable Baimei were Bai Rourou and Ah Xiu.
Venerable Baimei addressed Bai Rourou directly.
"I can sense it," he said, his voice grave. "Tian Xing's avatars are currently converging on Eternal Sun Prefecture. The hundred-year mark is nearly upon us. Is your Li family prepared?"
He knew with certainty that even though Bai Rourou was here on Azure Mist Mountain, she undoubtedly possessed some mysterious method of communicating with the rest of the Li family.
Bai Rourou gave a slight nod, then closed her eyes and said no more, causing Venerable Baimei's brow to lock in a deep frown.
"I do not know what your Li family has been doing all these years," he said, his voice laced with impatience, "nor do I know if you will truly be able to assist me. But what I must tell you is this: we only have this one chance. I will force open Tian Xing's Cave Abode. If Tian Xing succeeds in his breakthrough to the Void Refining realm, then neither I nor the Li family will be able to stop him."
Bai Rourou still just nodded silently, saying nothing, which only caused Venerable Baimei to grow more agitated.
On the ancient battlefield within the Endless Forest, a pair of eyes, so pitch-black they seemed capable of devouring a person's very soul, snapped open.
With these eyes as the epicenter, the deathly Qi blanketing the black earth of the ancient battlefield surged outwards in all directions, and a terrifying aura erupted!
As if sensing this aura, the Wu Clan cultivators training in the vicinity of the ancient battlefield all experienced a drastic change in their expressions.
One after another, they ended their cultivation sessions, rose into the air, and fled from the center of this terrifying presence.
"Such dense deathly Qi!"
"This is not the aura of our Wu Clan; it is the spiritual power of the Human Race! Scoundrel! Who is it that is borrowing our Wu Clan's sacred ancient battlefield?"
"Quickly, go back and report to the Lord Apostle and the Elders!"
As the members of the Wu Clan fled one by one, in the central region of the ancient battlefield, the dark aura that had condensed in the sky formed a range of unbroken, dark clouds.
The very clouds in the sky then formed a pair of gigantic eyes, and the focal point of these eyes was the man sitting cross-legged at the very center.
At this moment, after having sat in meditation for many years, Li Dalong's clothes were already tattered and torn, so frayed it seemed a single gust of wind could scatter them like flying ash.
He, who had once been known in Azure Cloud as the "Rock Patriarch," was now even more composed and calm than ever before.
His completely black eyes slowly returned to their normal appearance.
He said in a low voice, "Old Ancestor, this child is ready. It is time for the Heaven-Piercing Coffin to return."
As his words faded, the Ancestor's spirit tablet in his robes slowly floated into the air before him, and the character for "Good" materialized in the air!
"Yes, Old Ancestor. This child will go now and retrieve the Heaven-Piercing Coffin."
Li Dalong reached out and took the spirit tablet back into his robes.
He rose to his feet, turned, and began to walk in a single direction.
It was towards the place where the two Wu Clan elders were undertaking their cultivation!
As he made his move, the entire ancient battlefield actually began to tremble.
Stream after stream of black Qi emerged; they were... the remnant souls of all who had died on this ancient battlefield!
These remnant souls, one by one, fell in line behind Li Dalong, forming an army so vast one could not see its end.
The dark clouds in the sky also began to gather in time with his movements.
The sound of thunder rang out!