Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 89 The Calamity of the Heavenly Ranks

Following their instructions, the three elders, along with the dozen or so excited young men of the Situ family, slowly left the bottom of the pool.

The bottom of the pool returned to silence. The faint light pierced through the hundred-foot-deep water, casting shimmering spots of light on everyone and making their faces appear somewhat blurry.

Inside the water-repelling enclosure, only Zhou Li, Yang Yang, the head of the Situ family, and Situ Qian remained.

Situ Qian had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He felt that the patriarch's current arrangements and silence were unsettling.

"Young friend Zhou," Situ Wentian suddenly spoke, "you have rendered an unparalleled service to my Situ clan, and this old man... has no way to repay you."

Yangyang was still smiling and about to say something when Situ Qian suddenly reached out and gently pressed his daughter's shoulder.

The Golden Core cultivator's face had darkened at some point, and he stared at the patriarch before him, a hint of unease flashing in his eyes.

Zhou Li cupped his hands and said humbly, "Master, you flatter me. The Situ family has treated me with such courtesy, and I will do my best to accommodate you."

But the old man's next words were chillingly deadly:

"Therefore, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to preserve this method is for you to rest here in peace, so that it may remain in the netherworld alongside this Yin-Yang Scroll, and never be leaked."

These words struck them like a thunderbolt.

Yangyang stared blankly at the head of the family, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. This was the pillar of the Situ family, her grandfather whom she respected all her life. Why would he say such immoral things?

"Patriarch!" Situ Qian stepped forward abruptly, blocking Zhou Li's path. "Absolutely not! Young friend Zhou has given our clan a second life. Our Situ family has stood for millennia; how can we commit such an ungrateful act!"

"A favor that saved my life?" Situ Wentian sneered. "You think this is a blessing? This is a death warrant, a calamity that could bring my Situ family to eternal damnation!"

He suddenly stood up, and the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator made his Golden Core stage son gasp for breath.

"Heavenly-rank divine abilities... Do you know how many Heavenly-rank cultivation techniques are openly circulating in the entire Eastern Empire? The Imperial Treasury and the Seven Lineages' collections, even combined, number no more than ten. Each of these divine abilities is enough to support a lineage that will last for ten thousand years. What is the current state of the Situ family? After our ancestor passed away, only I, a Nascent Soul cultivator, remain, and in this crippled state..."

Situ Wentian's withered fingers slowly tightened: "If this news gets out, guess what will happen? We won't be able to get past the Changtian Sect. Those powerful clans won't allow the Situ family to become too powerful, and the commoner families are even less willing to see the rise of aristocratic families, not to mention those old monsters hiding in the shadows..."

Situ Qian was still unwilling to give up: "But these are all just your deductions. If we really reach the point of no return, we can simply hand over this supernatural power and we can at least preserve our foundation."

"Qian'er," Situ Wentian interrupted him, "how could we allow you to be so dignified? The 'Midnight and Noon Two Qi Hand Seals' are based on Xuan Yin Qi. Is there a better training ground than Youming Pass? At that time, countless eyes will be fixed on Youming Pass, and countless hands will reach out to the Situ family. They will seize the opportunity when it is right. With the current strength of the Situ family, not only will they not be able to rise up, but they will also become the target of everyone's hatred, bringing... the disaster of extermination of the clan."

The calamity of annihilation.

These four words made Situ Qian open his mouth, but ultimately he didn't utter a sound.

Zhou Li listened silently, but his heart sank to the bottom.

He underestimated the treacherous nature of the cultivation world. In the blink of an eye, that kind old man turned into someone who wanted to take his life, without even Fang Cun Qian giving him a warning.

Exhausted of his spiritual energy and trapped in a desperate situation, he had no chance to resist a Nascent Soul level monster who could suddenly unleash his power at any moment.

Situ Wentian's tone returned to calm: "I am the head of the Situ family, and I cannot allow the family to suffer any mishap. Young friend Zhou, I believe you have no ill intentions at this moment, but people's hearts are fickle. The Situ family's ten-thousand-year foundation cannot be gambled on the character of an outsider, let alone the fact that the cultivation world has the art of soul searching and consciousness detection."

The last trace of warmth in his voice vanished, replaced by an undeniable resolve:

Only the dead can keep a secret.

Zhou Li remained expressionless, but in his mind he was rapidly calculating a way to break the deadlock.

He may not be able to keep his human form today, but his true form is that of an ant. As long as his ant form remains, he is not truly dead.

The ant's body is currently hidden inside the human body. We must find a way to let the ant escape before they make a move... But how can we do that?

"grandfather!"

A mournful cry, tinged with sobs, broke the deathly silence at the bottom of the pool.

Yangyang trembled all over, and two lines of tears streamed down her delicate face.

She rushed to Situ Wentian, grabbing his sleeve and sobbing uncontrollably, "We can't do this! Senior Brother Zhou isn't that kind of person! If he wanted to keep the cultivation technique for himself, why would he have passed on its complete essence to us? What you're doing is repaying kindness with enmity! Father, please persuade Grandpa!"

Situ Qian looked at the expressionless patriarch, then at Yangyang who was weeping, and finally, slowly closed his eyes and chose to remain silent.

Situ Wentian gently brushed her aside, and a soft yet irresistible force pushed her away: "Yangyang, you are still too young and do not understand the weight of family responsibilities. For the continuation of the Situ family, what harm is there in bearing some infamy alone?"

As Yangyang watched this scene, the last glimmer of hope in her eyes was completely extinguished, and endless sorrow and despair welled up in her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She stopped crying, staring blankly at Zhou Li, and suddenly revealed a poignant smile.

"Senior Brother Zhou..." she murmured softly, turned around, and slowly walked towards Zhou Li step by step.

Seeing that her expression was unusual, Situ Wentian and Situ Qian did not speak up to stop her for the time being.

As Zhou Li watched the girl approaching him, a thought struck him: perhaps this was the key to life.

He was trying to figure out how to ask her to protect the spirit pet after his death, so that his ant body would have a chance to survive.

Before he could speak, Yangyang had already walked up to him, her pretty face still wet with tears and filled with deep apology: "I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Before she finished speaking, she opened her arms and gently embraced Zhou Li.

The girl's body trembled slightly, her skin against Zhou Li's was icy cold, and tinged with the bitterness of tears.

The moment the two touched, a faint telepathic message entered Zhou Li's ears:

"Do you still remember the Yin-Yang Bell...?"

Yin-Yang Bell? What does that mean?

Zhou Li certainly remembered that when they were in the small realm, Yang Yang gave him a small bell to transmit his voice. He always wore it on his waist but never paid any attention to it.

Before he could figure it out, Yangyang suddenly pushed Zhou Li away and softly placed her hand on his chest and abdomen.

The force of this palm strike wasn't particularly fierce, but it came too suddenly. Zhou Li was already exhausted, and the sudden force pushed him backward, sending him flying against his will.

The direction he flew backwards was precisely the deep, unfathomable crevice behind the stone tablet.

"Stop him!" Although Situ Wentian was blind, he could still sense that Zhou Li was flying towards that unknown void.

Yangyang suddenly turned around, and a hairpin appeared in her hand. The end of the hairpin was now pressed against her throat, and a resolute look flashed in her eyes!

The meaning couldn't be clearer: whoever dared to make a move would die in front of her.

Situ Qian's steps suddenly stopped, and in that one moment of hesitation, Zhou Li's body was sucked straight into the crevice like a falling leaf.

Then, as if all her strength and energy had been drained, the hairpin slipped from her fingers, and she collapsed to the ground.

An elder appeared beside Situ Wentian in a flash, and asked in a deep voice, "Patriarch, that Void Rift is unpredictable. Should we still pursue it?"

Situ Wentian remained silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh, a sigh that contained too many emotions, a kind of indescribable melancholy.

"No need." He slowly turned around, his voice regaining its majesty. "That void rift is extremely dangerous. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would face a near-certain death if caught in it. He can't possibly come back."

The old man paused, his gaze sweeping over Situ Qian and the three elders present.

"Young friend Zhou has made meritorious contributions to the comprehension of the law, but he has triggered a restriction and inadvertently been drawn into the rift. Today's matter ends here. No one is allowed to divulge even a single word of it. Anyone who violates this rule will be punished according to clan regulations!"

The men bowed and replied, "As you command, Master."