Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Venerable, Battered by the Times, Is Calling for Help...

The Celestial Spirit Venerable let out a mournful, whale-like cry, then sank powerlessly toward the seabed.

This was the second time this human had come for its core; the man was clearly treating it as an inexhaustible supply.

Having its core violently ripped out for a second time left it even more grievously wounded than before.

It sank to the bottom of the sea, where it could only lie quietly and recuperate.

’The age of humans... this era... it’s terrifying.’ Sorrow welled up in the Celestial Spirit Venerable’s heart.

First, the Ancestral Court was occupied, and then its own core was ripped out—twice!

It had woken up to a world turned completely upside down.

Before this, it had never realized that the frail human race could wield such immense power through their weapons.

This was something it was completely incapable of resisting.

’I must awaken the remaining Venerables, or the Cold Beasts will become a thing of the past.’

In the past, they were the ones high and mighty, accepting offerings from humans. People had to make their offerings even if it meant selling their own sons and daughters.

Now, the tables had turned. The Cold Beasts had become livestock for humans to slaughter at will. How could the Celestial Spirit Venerable accept such a drastic fall from grace?

It had to act now, while the humans had only just occupied the Ancestral Court, and drive them out as soon as possible.

If they were allowed to truly put down roots in the Ancestral Court, the Cold Beasts would never have a chance to make a comeback.

Even though it was a Venerable—and the one with the toughest hide of them all—it wouldn’t dare to face a direct barrage from those things called missiles.

And humans possessed these things in seemingly countless numbers; they were no longer the impoverished race of the past.

The reason the Celestial Spirit Venerable was in the Ancestral Court was that at the end of every era, a Venerable would be assigned to guard it.

Since it was in the Ancestral Court, it was naturally its turn to be the guardian.

In reality, before this, the Twelve Venerables had always seen this duty as a purely symbolic matter.

Who could possibly threaten the Cold Beast Ancestral Court? It was merely a matter of pride.

But the outcome was a harsh slap in the face to all the Venerables. The humans were no longer just a threat—they had taken over completely. Even it, a once-lofty Venerable, had been beaten to the point where it could only struggle to survive.

As for how to awaken the others, it was actually quite simple. The Venerables shared a faint connection with one another.

It only needed to use this connection to send a message to the other Venerables in their slumber.

’Wait, why is one of the connections missing???’

As the Celestial Spirit Venerable was activating the link, it abruptly discovered a problem: it could only contact ten other Venerables.

Normally, besides itself, there should have been eleven connections, representing the other eleven Venerables.

But now, there were only ten. This meant something had happened to one of them.

’It’s Tian Xing... How is Tian Xing gone?’ Disbelief laced the Celestial Spirit Venerable’s thoughts.

Other than the Venerable on duty, who always slumbered in a fixed location within the Ancestral Court, the other eleven Venerables never knew each other’s resting places.

So, the Celestial Spirit Venerable didn’t know if the Celestial Traveler Venerable was dead or if something else had happened.

But it was certain of one thing: the Celestial Traveler Venerable would never have severed the connection voluntarily.

’Could it have died at the hands of that Iron Armor Man?’ A chill ran through the Celestial Spirit Venerable.

The man’s objective was clearly itself, and his actions were incredibly decisive.

If the Celestial Traveler Venerable had been captured alive first and then revealed its location, that would explain everything.

After all, only the other eleven Venerables knew about the guard rotation.

Other than the now-unreachable Celestial Traveler Venerable, it couldn’t think of any other beast that would betray it.

If that was the case, it meant the Celestial Traveler Venerable’s chances of survival were slim to none.

’I can only contact the other Venerables first and tell them what happened.’

At this point, its only choice was to have all the Venerables end their hibernation early. Only by commanding all the Cold Beasts with the might of the Venerables did they stand a chance of winning.

Using the faint connection, the Celestial Spirit Venerable sent out the information.

It even repeated the message several dozen times.

It wasn’t that it insisted on doing so, but the connection was so faint that it couldn’t be sure the entire message would get through.

It also had no idea where the other Venerables were.

Furthermore, the Venerables were in hibernation and would need a strong enough stimulus to awaken.

What if it sent the message only once, and even if it was received completely, they didn’t wake up?

Sending it a few more times wasn’t a big deal; for the Venerable, this was hardly a difficult task.

’Now, all I can do is wait.’ After finishing, the Celestial Spirit Venerable’s wounds had already healed over, but it would need at least half a month to fully recover.

It chose to lie low and recuperate during this half-month.

It would take about the same amount of time for the other Venerables to receive its message, awaken, and acclimate.

Only when everyone was ready could they act together.

With that, it closed its eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Sleep was an excellent way to recover, as was eating. However, its injuries were too severe, and it currently lacked the strength to hunt.

It could only focus on recovering first and eat later.

In any case, the nutrient reserves in its body were sufficient.

***

"So this is basically a biological telephone," Qi Suian quipped.

The Tai Sui God’s full-spectrum signal processor and the Galaxy Network Communication Hub had intercepted a signal, which was then translated by the omni-domain dynamic analysis core and the adaptive civilization universal interpretation core.

It was the distress signal the Celestial Spirit Venerable had sent to the other Venerables, announcing that their home had been robbed.

"And it was sent dozens of times. What a waste of bandwidth."

"AI, have you located the recipients?" Qi Suian asked.

Since the signal had been intercepted and decrypted, Qi Suian’s plan was simple. He was going to show them the meaning of "divide and conquer."

[Analysis failed. Signal frequency exhibits dual Spirit and biological fluctuations and possesses a unique structural encryption method.]

[Location tracking failed.]

"It’s that advanced?" Qi Suian didn’t understand the specifics, but he was thoroughly impressed.

After all, if neither the Tai Sui God nor the AI could analyze it, then to Qi Suian, it was definitely some high-level stuff.

[With the assistance of corresponding tracking, locating, biological, and Spirit modules, a search could be conducted.]

[Current modules do not provide effective support.]

The gist was that the technology they were using was a blind spot in the Tai Sui God’s knowledge base. The fact that it could be detected at all was already impressive.

Although combining various modules could achieve a tracking and locating effect, this was ultimately just a derivative function, not a complete capability.

Therefore, the results would inevitably be lacking.

"What a shame," Qi Suian sighed.

If he could track them, the remaining ten Venerable-class Cold Energy Monsters would be his for the taking.

After slaughtering them all, the Tai Sui God could evolve at least two more times.

"But what’s your take on the Cold Energy Monsters’ plan?" Qi Suian asked.

[We can reap the rewards as the third party in a conflict.]

A war between the survivors and the Cold Energy Monsters was inevitable; the only question was when it would start.

The most straightforward point was that the Cold Energy Monsters had set their rendezvous for half a month from now.

But they still needed to rally and control the Beast King-class and ordinary Cold Energy Monsters, which was no small feat.

The new generation of Beast King-class Cold Energy Monsters, in particular, would pay no heed to these old fossils. So, before they could make a move, there was bound to be internal bloody conflict.

Otherwise, no Beast King-class Cold Energy Monster would willingly submit.

At this stage, the Cold Energy Monsters were already weaker than the human survivors. If they also suffered from internal strife, all their efforts would just be wasted.

"That’s not a bad idea, but I’d rather have the Cold Energy Monsters weaken the survivors."

"No matter how powerful the Cold Energy Monsters become, they can’t leave the Cold Winter World. But if the nations really do manage to swallow the Cold Energy Monsters whole, the survivors’ power will definitely swell."

"I’ll be the one losing out then."

"The best outcome is mutual destruction."

"So, do you have any good ideas?" Qi Suian asked.

[No, but you can always opt for the ’Protagonist’s Halo.’ I am not omnipotent, but that comes close.]

The AI offered the simplest, most brutish solution: when in doubt, rely on the protagonist’s halo.

"Alright then. Protagonist’s Halo, I’m leaving it to you. Find a way to make the Cold Energy Monsters and the survivors destroy each other!" Qi Suian declared.

"And then, in half a month, we’ll go harvest the Celestial Spirit Venerable."

Qi Suian’s train of thought jumped, and the words just tumbled out.

[Of course. After all, its value is about to be completely squeezed dry.]

***

"Migrating to the Ice Continent? What in the world are the nations up to?" Tang Qing didn’t recall anything like this happening in his past life; he hadn’t heard even a whisper about it.

But he quickly pushed the thought aside. In his past life, he was already dead by this point, so it didn’t really matter.

Maybe it had been supposed to happen, and he just never knew.

"This isn’t good. Without the Iron Lady Prime Minister to keep them in check, the common survivors are just... sigh." Tang Qing sighed.

He wanted to change the nations’ reckless behavior, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Xiaotang, come out for a moment. Dragon’s Roar is here." The Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s voice called out.

Tang Qing’s expression brightened. He immediately suppressed his previous emotions and went out at once.

He then saw a tall, thin, middle-aged man standing beside the Taiyin Celestial Monarch. The man smiled at him.

"My apprentice, Tang Qing. Tiger Roar Daoist brought him to me."

"He’s hit a bottleneck with the *Taiyin Refining Technique* and I was thinking he should go out and get some experience. Keep an eye on him for a while. Once he breaks through to the fifth level, have him come back."

"This is about my legacy, you know."

The Taiyin Celestial Monarch gave a brief summary.

The Dragon’s Roar Daoist, however, heard the subtext. He understood this meant: *This is the fated one Tiger Roar Daoist brought me. The moment he breaks through, bring him back immediately.*

*And this concerns our very survival, so you must be careful.*

"Taiyin, you always come to me for things like this. You’re so lazy, even though he’s your own apprentice," the Dragon’s Roar Daoist said with a wry smile. In reality, he was conveying: *This isn’t the first time I’ve done this job. Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll bring him back in one piece.*

Tang Qing, however, didn’t pick up on any of the subtext, nor did he sense anything amiss.

He only felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was finally leaving this place.