Chapter 917 – The Dao Ancestors Are All Gone

On the observation platform, someone let out a soft breath first, and then low exclamations of amazement and unrestrained cheers intertwined together.

Vasida was the first to recover from the shock. She clenched her fists with excitement: “It worked! It really worked!”

“That fireworks show was quite spectacular!” Anita remarked with deep satisfaction. Beside her, a high-definition camera flickered with a faint glow, having captured the entire magnificent scene of the ascension channels collapsing simultaneously.

Lilith gazed at the expanse of void that had suddenly become much “cleaner,” a look of relief appearing on her face: “Now the Immortal Realm has no way to quickly send reinforcements down through the ascension channels!”

“Look — the Immortal Realm’s boundary membrane!” Cecilia noticed that the Immortal Realm’s boundary membrane was currently undulating violently, like a water surface swept by a hurricane. Countless fine cracks were faintly emerging across its surface.

“The boundary membrane has always been closely connected to a world’s source,” Traci analyzed. “Those ascension channels were essentially extensions of the Immortal Realm’s boundary membrane. Having such a vast area of membrane violently shattered — the losses must be considerable… Judging from the membrane’s current state, its world rank is probably going to drop very soon!”

“Ha! Serves it right! That’s what it gets for plundering so many worlds!” Anita stood with her hands on her hips, making no effort to hide her satisfaction.

“The Immortal Realm can barely take care of itself now — it definitely can’t spare resources to manage the Spirit Realm!” Carmela picked up the thread. “Now is the perfect time for us to make our move on the Spirit Realm!”

Mo Lan nodded. “Exactly. Let’s start with the Mystic Spirit Realm — it’s the farthest from the Immortal Realm, likely has the lowest degree of consciousness assimilation, and has relatively weaker defenses.”

“Let’s go!” Anita’s fighting spirit blazed high, her eyes glinting with eagerness for battle. “Let’s show it what we’re made of!”

Buoyed by the tremendous success of the synchronized detonation of the ascension channels, everyone’s morale was at an unprecedented high.

However, just as they were about to turn back into the mirror space to await their departure for the Mystic Spirit Realm —

“Wait! Everyone, look!” Pushila suddenly cried out in shock, pointing toward the Immortal Realm, her face filled with disbelief.

Everyone froze mid-step, their gazes snapping back toward the Immortal Realm in unison.

The Immortal Realm’s boundary membrane — which had been flickering uncertainly, riddled with visible cracks, on the verge of dropping in rank at any moment — was stabilizing at a speed that defied all reason. Not only had the turbulence subsided, but those fine cracks were rapidly sealing and disappearing.

Even more alarming, the radiance emanating from the membrane had not continued to dim. Instead, it was visibly intensifying — appearing even more solid and dense than before the channels had been destroyed.

“What… what’s happening?!”

“How can it possibly recover this fast?!”

“No — this isn’t just recovery. It’s getting stronger!”

Shock and bewilderment spread across the platform.

This was completely beyond their expectations and understanding. How could a boundary membrane that had just suffered devastating damage stabilize in the blink of an eye — and even improve?

Traci stared at the Immortal Realm’s boundary membrane, now restored to its former state and then some. A flash of horror and sudden comprehension crossed her eyes. She spoke slowly, her voice tinged with dryness: “The remaining Dao Ancestors of the Immortal Realm… are probably all gone.”

“What?!”

“You mean…” Carmela’s reaction was instantaneous, enormous shock surfacing on her face. “The Immortal Realm’s world consciousness extracted the source power from every Dao Ancestor realm cultivator? To compensate for its own losses — and even… strengthen itself?”

Mo Lan also grasped the key point in an instant, her tone heavy as she confirmed: “That must be it… The Dao Ancestor realm cultivators of the Immortal Realm were never ordinary Ninth Rank spellcasters to begin with. All the power they wielded had been pre-branded by the Immortal Realm — they were more like vessels in which the world consciousness stored its source power.

Now that the Immortal Realm’s source has suffered massive losses from the complete severance of all ascension channels, in order to avoid dropping in rank — or perhaps to counter the threat we pose — it didn’t hesitate to… reclaim the source power stored within its Dao Ancestor realm cultivators!”

She couldn’t think of a single other explanation for how a world that had just suffered devastating damage could stabilize and strengthen itself so rapidly.

Cecilia’s eyes widened with sudden understanding, a trace of lingering fear in her voice: “No wonder… no wonder from the moment we started severing the ascension channels of the lower cultivation worlds all the way until just now, the Immortal Realm never sent a single Dao Ancestor realm cultivator to stop us.

Most likely, after Moira killed three Dao Ancestors in one fell swoop, the Immortal Realm was already in tremendous pain and began treating its remaining Dao Ancestors as emergency energy reserves — too precious to risk sending out again!”

This deduction plunged the entire observation platform into silence.

They had originally believed they were severing the Immortal Realm’s greedy tentacles — the ones it used to plunder the source of its subordinate worlds — thereby weakening its power.

They never imagined that their actions would force the Immortal Realm’s world consciousness to resort to such brutal measures — directly “cutting off its own arm,” proactively extracting the source power from every last Dao Ancestor realm cultivator under its command, converting them into fuel to repair its losses and even fortify its boundary membrane.

“The Immortal Realm’s world consciousness is exactly like those Immortal Realm cultivators who treat the lower worlds as worthless weeds — cold and cruel to the absolute extreme!” Pushila’s voice carried a complex mix of emotions, both anger and a chill at the evil faction’s world: “To maintain its own rank, it didn’t hesitate for a second to sacrifice the most powerful spellcasters among its native intelligent beings!”

“But ultimately, this is nothing more than drinking poison to quench its thirst!” Traci said. “This might preserve it at the Fourteenth Rank for now. But the number and caliber of spellcasters are also critical pillars supporting a world’s rank.

Without new Ninth Rank spellcasters to sustain it over time, the Immortal Realm’s world rank will inevitably slide downward, and the source power it can no longer contain will dissipate into the void.”

Mo Lan sighed. “If there were no external threats, it might have been able to cling to survival — slowly attempting to cultivate new Dao Ancestors, rebuild ascension channels, and continue its cycle of plunder. But now, knowing full well that we’re right outside its door watching like tigers, it chose to sever its own limbs. This will only accelerate its demise!”

Everyone on the platform nodded in agreement.

The Immortal Realm’s action appeared to have rapidly stabilized the situation, with its boundary membrane even showing signs of strengthening. But in truth, it had sown far deeper hidden dangers.

No matter how vast the energy contained within the Immortal Realm’s world consciousness, it ultimately could not extend beyond its own boundary membrane to directly influence the vast void outside. Without powerful spellcasters to serve as its hands and blades, the Immortal Realm had completely lost the ability to take the initiative, to strike outward and intervene in external affairs.

Even if it could eventually cultivate new Ninth Rank spellcasters, that would take time. And those newly cultivated Ninth Rank practitioners — in combat experience, mastery of power, and accumulated depth — could never hope to compare with the veteran Dao Ancestors who had survived for untold tens of thousands of years.