The four Minor Ancestor Planets were firmly resting on this branch, and from what they could see, this branch was a gigantic landmass. Its horizontal surface area was at least larger than the combined surface area of the four Minor Ancestor Planets, and they estimated that it was even larger than Zenyu Star.
The moment they left the minor progenitor planet, Lu Yin looked at the other three minor progenitor planets and sensed people rushing out as well. However, the branches had split apart, so the people on the other three planets might not be heading in the same direction as them.
Lu Yin landed on the ground and stepped on the branch of the Mother Tree's canopy. He exerted some strength, but he couldn't damage it at all.
"This is the Sovereign Realm's Withering Glory Domain, and our destination is the Withering Glory Domain. This domain has never been explored in detail, and only Progenitors have roughly sensed it. There are dangers beyond the Emissary Realm in this domain. Everyone, be careful, and don't drag everyone down," Long Tian said as he glanced at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin took out his ring, which was equivalent to telling Longtian that he didn't need his protection.
Longtian only glanced at him and then continued towards the Sovereign Realm.
"This place hasn't been explored?
Isn't there supposed to be a Progenitor's inheritance here?
Haven't the Four Libras searched for it? "Lu Yin whispered to Longxi.
Longxi replied indifferently, "It's precisely because there are Progenitor's inheritances that we can't casually explore. Only Progenitors and above can enter the Sovereign Realm."
"Why didn't they explore the inheritances?" Lu Yin felt strange.
Longxi frowned. "There have been rules since ancient times, and no one can break them. Just take care of yourself and don't worry about anything else."
An hour later, their surroundings had greatly changed. Lu Yin looked back and saw that the starry sky was blocked by the Mother Tree's branches. They had truly entered the Mother Tree's canopy, which was the Sovereign Realm.
Several branches appeared in front of them, and Longtian lifted the Cloudconnect Stone to reveal something that looked like a map. He looked at it for a moment before continuing forward.
Lu Yin was surprised that there was a map, but it made sense. The Four Libras wouldn't be so obedient as to not explore anything. They must have done so in the past and created a map for their descendants. The White Dragon Clan had a map, and the other three powers definitely had one as well. Lu Yin didn't know what the map was pointing to, but it should be an item of origin.
There was a crunch as the group seemed to step on something. Normally, no one would have cared about this sound, but everyone stopped in their tracks.
This was the World of Sovereigns, and the branches were incredibly tough. It wouldn't be easy to destroy them, let alone crush them.
The cracking noises were getting louder and louder. In front of them, the surface of the branches was completely cracked. Suddenly, a cold wind swept by. The silver-white light approached Long Tian at an extremely fast speed. Long Tian's body slightly moved aside. The silver-white light brushed past his shoulder and stopped in the air, exposing itself to the others.
It was a creature that looked like a praying mantis. It was the size of a palm, and the color of its body was exactly the same as the color of the branches. It seemed to be withered, and it was waving a silver-white blade that was even larger than its body as it stared at Long Tian.
Long Tian dodged the attack, and the creature changed directions in midair, waving its blade and slashing towards Wen First Rank, who was the closest to it.
Wen Yiyi raised his hand and strange symbols appeared on his fingertips. He pointed at the mantis creature and sent it flying.
This creature's strength was only comparable to a Cruiser's, and Wen Shizi's strength was enough to crush it. However, not only was the creature not crushed, but it even seemed to have been reborn as its body swelled and grew larger.
Everyone was astonished, as this scene was quite strange.
The mantis creature's withered body quickly recovered, and its body grew larger and larger until it was as long as a human arm. It was four or five times larger than before, and its blade was nearly a meter long. It slashed towards Wen First Rank again at an even faster speed.
"Don't kill it!" Long Tian barked.
Wen First Rank opened his palm. "Literary Prison."
As soon as he spoke, the mantis creature was bound by chains formed from words, and it could not move.
Behind them, Lu Yin was stunned. Literary Prison?
There was a Literary Prison here as well?
And from the looks of it, it was the same as the Wen family's. What was going on?
He suddenly thought of the Zijin family's phoenix, which was similar to the Phoenix family's, but it was definitely more powerful. It seemed that many of the Fifth Mainland's cultivation systems originated from this region of space.
Then, did that mean that Wen First Rank's Yi Xian Academy had more ancient characters than the Wen family?
The mantis creature was bound by the Literary Prison and could not move. Only its eyes moved, and they were filled with ferocity and cruelty.
Long Tian raised a hand, and star energy from his fingertips slammed into the mantis' body, causing it to grow even larger.
Everyone became even more curious.
"It can absorb star energy?" Long Xi guessed.
Long Tian's eyes flashed, and he waved his hand. Pure energy stirred the void and smashed into the mantis' body, causing it to grow even larger and more ferocious.
"It's not just star energy. It seems like it can absorb any energy to strengthen itself!" Long Xi was shocked.
Long Tian retracted his gaze and frowned. "Only the Frigid Immortal Sect might know about the Withered Glory Realm."
Wen First Rank waved his fan and said, "I once heard from my elders that the ancient Ancestor Ku possessed the secret of eternal life. This is the Withered Glory Realm, and it's where the Ancestor Ku resides. These creatures might possess his mysterious power."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed; the Ancestor Ku, the Ku family, and the Ku Secret Word were all connected again. He suddenly turned to look into the distance. "Something's coming."
Long Tian glanced at Liu Tianmu. "It's done."
Liu Tianmu's sword flashed, and the mantis' head fell to the ground.
Even if these creatures could absorb energy, there was a limit to how much energy they could withstand.
Wen First Rank and Long Xi's eyes lit up when Liu Tianmu killed the mantis. What a beautiful attack!
In the distance, a large group of mantises charged over. They were only the size of a palm, and all of them were withered. They attacked the group at an extremely fast speed.
Liu Tianmu stepped forward and slashed out with his sword, using the Tenth Sword of the Thirteen Swords — Star Slasher.
All of the mantises were sliced apart in one strike; Star Slasher's attack had exceeded their limits.
Wen First Rank praised, "Good. Not many in the same generation can fight against such a sword technique."
Long Tian was satisfied. "As expected of someone from the Liu family."
Liu Tianmu remained calm.
Long Xi glanced at Liu Tianmu cautiously and whispered to Lu Yin, "Stay away from her."
Lu Yin pursed his lips; had Star Slasher really surprised them?
That was impossible. Wu Taibai and Wang Yi had been able to withstand the Thirteenth Sword, so Long Xi and Wen First Rank definitely had the strength to do so as well.
There was more than one type of creature in the Withered Glory Domain, and as the group ventured deeper, they encountered more and more strange creatures. Most of them were as strong as the mantis, and Liu Tianmu could easily deal with them. There were also creatures that could withstand Star Slasher, but they still couldn't escape their fate of being destroyed.
This continued until the group encountered a group of withered creatures that looked like bats. These creatures had two heads and a second head at the end of their tails. They were abnormally sinister and terrifying, and just looking at them would cause one's heart to tremble.
"Let's go!" Long Tian barked.
In the distance, a group of withered bats flew over. There was an endless number of them, and each one was as strong as a mantis. The sheer number of bats made one's scalp go numb, and even Long Tian didn't want to fight them head-on.
As they ventured deeper into the Sovereign Realm, more and more piles of debris appeared on the branches. These piles were probably the dead bark of the mother branches that had accumulated over countless years. Because they were in the crown of the tree, there was no wind or rain, and they had gradually accumulated to form the surface of the ground. They weren't as hard as the branches.
Some had even piled up into small mountains.
In order to avoid the group of bats, Lu Yin's group charged into the ground where the piles of debris were, and they ran into a giant vertical eye.
Everyone was stunned, and the vertical eye shrank as a terrifying aura was released. Everyone's hair stood on end, as they hadn't even noticed such a terrifying creature underground. It was a withered python, and its aura definitely surpassed that of an Enlighter. It was an Envoy-level creature.
At that moment, Long Tian's expression changed, and he hurriedly tried to retreat while taking out a power vessel.
Strangely, the withered python retreated even faster. Long Tian and the others were frightened by it, but it was also frightened by Long Tian and the others. It quickly fled and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Everyone was stunned.
"It should be the Ancestral Mang's aura. Princess Long Xi must have paid her respects to the Ancestral Mang recently," Wen Shizi said.
Only then did everyone remember that Long Xi and Lu Yin had paid their respects to the Ancestral Mang recently, and their bodies carried the Ancestral Mang's aura. How could that withered python dare to approach the Ancestral Mang's aura? It was no wonder that it had fled in fear.
Lu Yin silently put away the circle and calmly looked outside.
The group of bats was still circling outside and hadn't ventured in.
Long Tian said, "The bats are afraid of the python and don't dare to enter. The python also fled because of the Ancestral Mang's aura. This place is enough for us to rest."
Everyone relaxed, as the Ruler's Realm was very dangerous. They had encountered an Envoy-level python as soon as they had arrived, and if they hadn't been lucky, they might not have been able to escape unscathed.
For two days, the bats outside didn't leave and continued circling.
Lu Yin guessed, "Could this be their nest? They've been moving around this area all year round and haven't left."
"Don't jinx it!" Long Xi barked.
Wen Shengyi was helpless. "Brother Long Qi is right. It seems like we'll have to defeat these bats if we want to leave."
Long Tian suddenly said, "Long Qi, use your domain to explore the underground."
Wen Shengyi's eyes lit up. "That's right. That python didn't dare to linger after sensing the Ancestral Mang's aura, so it disappeared a long time ago. If it can travel underground, then so can we. As long as we don't encounter any powerful creatures, we'll be fine."
Long Xi looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded. "Alright." He then released his domain and spread it out in layers.
Under Guo Shan's guidance, Lu Yin had become much more proficient in using his domain, and it spread out into the distance like mercury flowing through the ground.
When he sensed Lu Yin's domain, Wen Shengyi sighed in admiration. "Brother Long Qi really has hidden his abilities well. Your use of your domain has almost reached the Spiritual Transformation Realm. Once you reach the Void God Realm, your name will spread throughout the Astral Tree Realm."
Lu Yin looked at Wen Shengyi strangely, as this guy praised everyone. "Not at all. I'm still far from the Spiritual Transformation Realm. I don't dare to think about the Void God Realm."
Wen Shengyi smiled. "My Yi Xian Academy has a senior who has cultivated his domain to the Void God Realm. If Brother Long Qi is willing, you can come to my academy to learn."
Long Tian and Long Xi looked at Wen Shengyi in surprise, as they hadn't expected him to take the initiative to invite Lu Yin.