Full level of enlightenment: I achieved Daozu by ascending to the lower realm

Chapter 436 The remains of the sacred mountain
The Mountain Ancestor's two bodies merged into one, but did not become a single person. Instead, it transformed into a two-faced, four-armed, four-legged phantom that resembled two people standing back to back and was half-fused together.

A strange light shone around the mountain ancestor.

It was blood red with a hint of gray, like a statue of a god of death.

The Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor, watching the Mountain Ancestor's transformation from the space below, felt a chill run down their spines.

"Be careful, his power seems to have changed."

The Holy Ancestor frowned.

Hai Zu's icy eyes trembled, almost unable to equate the Mountain Ancestor before her with the Mountain Ancestor she knew back then.

At the summit, the current Mountain Ancestor lowered his four eyes, reflecting the expressions of the three people below.

His four eyes gleamed slightly, as if he were enjoying the shocked expression on the face of the Holy Ancestor Haizu.

Suddenly, the Mountain Ancestor put his four hands together, forming a double "mountain" seal.

"You three have finally all gathered together. Now, I'm going to let you die in there!"

As he finished speaking, the entire illusory image of Mount Buzhou expanded once again.

This expansion occurs simultaneously from both inside and outside.

It expanded outwards even further, displacing the energy of the boundary sea and causing a large amount of gray fog to churn, seemingly touching the black water area within the boundary sea at one point.

Rumble!
It contracted further inward. Previously, the radius of the passport supported by the divine light of the Mountain Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor was ten zhang, but now, it was instantly squeezed and shrank rapidly by two zhang, leaving only eight zhang.

This was after Ning Qi's energy was integrated into their light wheels; otherwise, if it were the protective shields of the two Saint Ancestor and Sea Ancestor, they would probably have been compressed by half!
But this was just the beginning. As the Mountain Ancestor formed a hand seal, two mountain shadows condensed inside Mount Buzhou, overlapping and enveloping the three people inside.

In an instant, the suppressive force they were subjected to increased several times over.

The three figures couldn't help but feel a heavy weight on their bodies.

Their protective shield sank another ten feet, leaving only seven feet, and it was still compressing.

Ning Qi gave a soft shout and exhaled sharply.

"Open up, Heaven-Supporting Pillar!"

Instantly, a terrifying force was projected from within the True Martial Realm toward his location.

The moment that power entered this place, it was like several seeds that instantly took root and sprouted in their area, instantly absorbing the power within Mount Buzhou.

Whoosh whoosh!
The seeds grew at an alarming rate, sprouting branches and growing into several bare tree trunks in the blink of an eye, growing horizontally and vertically.

From a distance, it looks as if the shadows of these trees have automatically formed a giant roof beam.

Instantly, the tree trunks creaked and popped due to the pressure from inside Buzhou Mountain.

However, they still held on, displaying remarkable flexibility and sturdiness, managing to push the compressed space back to eight zhang (approximately 33 meters) and resist the terrifying compressive force.

The Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor instantly felt the pressure ease.

Hai Zu stared at the tree trunks that had grown out of the surrounding space and said, "Is this the power of that tree from the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

She had come into contact with the seedling of the Jianmu tree before, so she sensed a similar aura from the trunk, but also felt that it was somewhat different.

"Yes, that's it."

The one who responded to Hai Zu was actually Sheng Zu. His avatar was in the True Martial Spirit Realm and had also seen Ning Qi summon him.

Of course, the Enlightenment Tree appeared on its own twice before, not by Ning Qi's own initiative, but the Holy Ancestor took it as Ning Qi's own initiative.

Ning Qi looked up at the sky.

The four eyes of the Mountain Ancestor looked down at the shadows of the trees below, but seemed not to show any surprise.

He said, "I guessed you would use the power of the Jianmu seedling. I have obtained the inheritance of Buzhou Mountain. Haven't you wondered why I would use this supernatural power?"

Instantly, one of the two mountain seals he formed in his hand changed.

"The Art of Tracing One's Roots!"

Inside the illusory image of Buzhou Mountain, countless dark roots once again emerged from the space, subtly echoing the tree shadows summoned by Ning Qi in some strange way.

All the roots swayed, and surprisingly, they all pointed in one direction.

In the distant Boundary Sea, within the illusory image of Buzhou Mountain, gray mist churned, gradually revealing a huge sphere.

But strangely, the sphere resembled a huge hollow, with nothing inside.

The Mountain Ancestor said, "I have finally found the world where you are hiding!"

The Mountain Ancestor's original plan was to devour and sacrifice both realms, which would require the use of the Jianmu seedling.

However, it was later taken away by Ning Qi, who then secretly merged the two realms into the True Martial Spirit Realm.

The Mountain Ancestor was not truly disheartened by the disruption of his plans, because he still had hidden means to recover everything.

However, the key to everything lies with Ning Qi.

As long as he can capture Ning Qi, nothing will change.

He didn't know where Ning Qi had taken the two realms that should have belonged to him, and he searched the void using all the secret techniques he had mastered, but to no avail.

However, now, in order to rescue the Holy Ancestor Haizu, Ning Qi appeared inside Buzhou Mountain and used the power of the Jianmu seedling. This allowed the Mountain Ancestor to use the Jianmu roots that had remained in the Buzhou Mountain phantom to track down the world where Ning Qi was.

Gazing at the enormous void within the distant Boundary Sea, a ferocious smile appeared on the Mountain Ancestor's two faces.

"I must say, you have concealed yourself perfectly. Such a vast world, yet I was completely unaware of its existence."

His eyes were also somewhat shocked, because neither the Mountain and Sea Realm nor the Vast Realm was as large as the current void, not even if the two were combined.

Even the now-expanded phantom of Mount Buzhou appears somewhat smaller in comparison.

Ning Qi and the Holy Ancestor Hai Zu naturally also noticed the void in the distant Boundary Sea.

Ning Qi frowned slightly. He had underestimated the Mountain Ancestor's abilities. He hadn't expected that the other party could still track down his True Martial Spirit Realm!
"Ning Qi, Ning Qi, I still have to thank you. Everything you did before was to fulfill my wishes. Now I will completely devour that world and take the final step!"

The Mountain Ancestor laughed wildly.

He was confident that if he could swallow the world in that void, his achievement would far exceed his previous goals.

The Mountain Ancestor's hand seals changed again, and the entire illusory image of Mount Buzhou resembled a giant ship floating in the Boundary Sea, rushing towards the True Martial Spirit Realm that appeared in the distance.

"Kid, stop him!"

Neither the Holy Ancestor nor the Sea Ancestor expected that the Mountain Ancestor had such a trick up his sleeve.

They had previously been relieved of their worries because Ning Qi had saved both realms, but now a great deal of anxiety was rising in their hearts.

Ning Qi, however, did not show any concern like the two ancestors.

He asked, "Have you tried attacking his location?"

The Holy Ancestor Haizu nodded.

“We’ve tried, but there seems to be a special barrier inside this illusory world of Buzhou Mountain, which is even harder to break than the world barrier.”

"Furthermore, as it shrinks, its barrier becomes thicker and thicker, and with the various forces within it, it becomes almost impossible for our attacks to get close to it."

Ning Qi said, "Nothing is impossible. Come with me."

After Ning Qi finished speaking, a tree root emerged from his palm.

He and the Holy Ancestor Haizu flew into the sky, the tree roots in their hands plunging into the illusory image of Mount Buzhou.

Upon seeing Ning Qi's movements, the Mountain Ancestor sneered:
"It's no use. Buzhou Mountain and Jianmu once coexisted, but Jianmu was ultimately a tree planted by Buzhou Mountain. How could it not have a way to suppress its ability to travel?" After the Mountain Ancestor finished speaking, the entire illusory image of Buzhou Mountain began to shrink in a strange way.

Rumble!
A terrifying roar also echoed from within the Boundary Sea.

The entire illusory image of Buzhou Mountain stopped expanding outwards and began to compress violently inwards.

Because of this shrinkage, the various suppressive forces within its interior space surged once again.

However, the tree trunks around Ning Qi and the other two still creaked and groaned, showing no signs of breaking.

The Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor were even more worried.

Ning Qi, however, remained calm.

He seemed to disregard everything, and the roots that sprouted from his hand continued to reach into the space inside Buzhou Mountain.

The tree roots touched the internal space and, under the watchful eyes of the group, drilled out a hole in the roots.

The root continued to wriggle and grow, gradually expanding, and together with the space supported by the tree trunk that Ning Qi and the other two had created, it rose upwards.

The Twin-Faced Mountain Ancestor's pupils contracted slightly as he watched this scene.

As the phantom of Buzhou Mountain rapidly shrank, the speed at which the tree roots drilled through the hole also seemed to slow down.

The expressions on Shan Zu's two faces softened.

After an unknown amount of time, the phantom of Mount Buzhou shrank from a phantom larger than the Spirit Realm to the size of a small hill.

It is not far from the location of the True Martial Spirit Realm.

The root in Ning Qi's hand also seemed to have become weak and powerless, unable to go any further.

He and the Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor were still thirty feet away from the Mountain Ancestor!

"Haha, as expected, the inheritance didn't lie to me. Even if you completely master the Jianmu seedling, you still can't fight against me!"

The Mountain Ancestor had never actually seen the full power of the Jianmu seedling, nor had he ever truly controlled the Jianmu. However, based on the inheritance he had received, he knew there was a way to suppress the Jianmu.

However, the next second, Ning Qi chuckled and said, "Is that so?"

In his hand, the roots of the Enlightenment Tree suddenly struggled, and the roots, which had just seemed to be weak, burst forth with unprecedented power as if they had taken a powerful tonic.

Ning Qi and his two companions instantly moved closer to the Mountain Ancestor at the mountain peak.

"Impossible! How could this be? The inheritance I received couldn't be wrong!"

The Two-Faced Mountain Ancestor wore an incredulous expression; he simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.

But the changes in everything Ning Qi was controlling had not yet stopped.

Inside Buzhou Mountain, countless roots that the Mountain Ancestor had summoned earlier automatically emerged.

Now, they seem like squads of soldiers, awakened by some command.

Whether it's the phantom of Mount Buzhou summoned by the Mountain Ancestor using a secret method, or these black roots inside.

In fact, they are all projections of reality; they do not truly not exist.

They are the true projections of Buzhou Mountain's power, projected into this boundary sea.

At this moment, all those seemingly illusory roots flew towards Ning Qi's hand and the nearby tree roots and trunks, flowing into the sea like rivers flowing into the ocean.

The entire illusory image of Buzhou Mountain seemed to have lost a portion of its power in an instant, which Ning Qi absorbed into his own possession.

The Mountain Ancestor's eyes widened in horror. He never expected that Ning Qi, once inside the illusory image of Buzhou Mountain, would be able to resist his existence.

Even the Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor couldn't do it, but Ning Qi could. The Mountain Ancestor really didn't understand why this was the case.

What worries him more now is not the lost roots, but Ning Qi and the Holy Ancestor Hai Zu, who are constantly getting closer to him.

The eyes of the two-faced mountain god seemed to turn blood red in an instant.

"I had no choice, you all forced me to this!"

He, with two bodies and two faces, actually broke away from the summit of Buzhou Mountain and stepped into the Boundary Sea.

He actually stepped out of the Boundary Sea for the first time.

Within the boundary sea, black water and gray mist surged together, creating a small ripple like waves on water.

The Mountain Ancestor appeared in the Boundary Sea and also on the outer wall of the illusory image of Mount Buzhou.

His four eyes looked strangely in all directions of the Boundary Sea, not focusing on Ning Qi.

His figure paused noticeably, but he quickly adjusted.

Suddenly, the dual-faced Dharma form expanded within the Boundary Sea, becoming the same size as the illusory Mount Buzhou, which was originally a small mountain.

"Collect it from me!"

With a fierce shout, the Mountain Ancestor suddenly grabbed the phantom of Mount Buzhou with four giant hands.

In an instant, the entire illusory image of Mount Buzhou shrank rapidly again, continuously compressing.

Ning Qi paused, his hand holding the root. He had intended to lead the two ancestors to attack the mountain ancestor at the top, but unexpectedly the mountain ancestor had escaped from the phantom of Buzhou Mountain.

Now, only the three of them remain within the illusory image of Mount Buzhou.

At this moment, the Mountain Ancestor was like a giant, compressing the entire illusory image of Buzhou Mountain into a cone-shaped small mountain model, which fell into his hands.

"Summon the real into the virtual!"

The two-faced form of the Mountain Ancestor holds up the illusory image of Mount Buzhou within the Boundary Sea.

In his palm, the phantom of Mount Buzhou erupted with a ripple-like wave, as if summoning something within the Boundary Sea.

In the darkness, from a certain direction in the Boundary Sea, a response seemed to come from this place, emitting a faint hum.

Wow!
At this moment, the entire sea seemed to be stirred up, as if some giant creature in the sea was turning over and gathering towards this place at an extremely fast speed.

Seeing this, Ning Qi seemed to have thought of something.

In the blink of an eye, a broken mountain range flew toward them from afar.

It was like the phantom of Mount Buzhou in the hands of the Mountain Ancestor. Originally, it was extremely large, comparable to the Spirit Realm, but as it crossed the Boundary Sea, it shrank continuously until it was the same size as the small phantom model in his hand.

Whoosh!
The broken mountain was about to fly into the palm of the Mountain Ancestor and merge with the illusory image of Mount Buzhou.

Ning Qi sensed a terrifying crisis, and the root in his hand also unleashed its full power, quickly breaking through the blockade and various suppressive forces.

Finally, before the incomplete real mountain body of Buzhou Mountain merged with the illusory image, Ning Qi and the Holy Ancestor Hai Zu broke through the wall inside the illusory image of Buzhou Mountain.

The three of them also appeared in the Boundary Sea.

The Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor were immediately attacked by the power of the Boundary Sea, and their bodies became unstable.

The Sea Ancestor adapted quickly, while the Holy Ancestor took a while longer to truly master the balance.

They all looked at Ning Qi with some surprise, because Ning Qi was completely unaffected.

At that very moment, the remnant of Mount Buzhou merged with the phantom in the Mountain Ancestor's hand.

Suddenly, a storm-like energy surge appeared inside the Boundary Sea.

As the three flew out, the Mountain Ancestor's other three hands immediately pressed down on them.

(End of this chapter)