Chapter 11620 — The Elder's Words Made Perfect Sense; Their Sole Variable Was Wei Zhao.

He had tried many times. The Han Princely House fell without exception every time; only when Wei Zhao became entangled in the matter did anything begin to shift.

And where there was change, there was hope of a turning point.

For the Han Princely House, this was already treating the dead horse as though it might yet live.

And so it was that the scene before them had come to pass.

Truth be told, even Han Niansan did not know how far Wei Zhao could actually take things—but so long as Wei Zhao was willing to agree to be this Han Prince, even if only as a caretaker, that alone was a rare and precious lifeline.

Once the danger had passed, it would be no difficult task to devise some means of restoring his own descendants to the seat.

Han Niansan gave a chuckle. "There's no need for all this suspicion. This is no bad thing for you to begin with. Even if your influence is considerable now, adding the strength of my Han Princely House would be like giving a tiger wings—so what is there to hesitate over?"

"The Elder's words make perfect sense."

That one sentence brought a look of delight to the other man's face, but Wei Zhao immediately pivoted: "However, I'm not interested."

The whole assembly traded glances.

Today truly had been an eye-opener.

The seat of the Han Prince—one man desperate to stuff it into another's hands, the other refusing outright and shoving it back—what on earth had become of the world?

Han Jiechen, by contrast, had gone as pale as death.

He was the Han Prince of the present generation, yet in this matter he had not the slightest say.

When it came down to it, he had not won this title of Han Prince through his own ability; it was purely alms handed to him by Wei Zhao and the others. Ordinarily he might look aloof and exalted, but when a moment of real consequence arrived, he was nothing but a decoration.

The two sides went back and forth for quite some time.

In the end, Han Niansan flew into a rage: "I'll say this much here and now—if you do not agree today, don't imagine you'll take a single step out of this ancestral shrine!"

With that, he suddenly slammed both palms together in a seal.

From every direction, the spirit tablets of the Han Princely House rose into the air in unison; several hundred strands of ancient aura linked together, forming a formless grand formation that cut them off from the world.

Wei Baizhan and the others felt their eyelids twitch and immediately tried to charge out.

Yet for all their formidable strength, they were hard-pressed, stopped by an invisible wall of qi; no matter what means they employed, they could not shake it by a hair.

Seeing this, Han Changshi cried out in astonishment: "The Ancestral Rites Formation?"

Han Niansan said smugly, "Just so—the Ancestral Rites Formation. This is the convergence of the auras of every generation of ancestors of my Han Princely House, its strength verging on that of a Quasi-Divine. If you want to walk out of here, you'll have to perform the ancestral rites!"

In other words, no ancestral rites, no way out.

Wei Zhao, however, said with considerable interest, "So by that logic, if one were a Quasi-Divine expert, one could walk out of here?"

Han Niansan said, "If you were a quasi-god expert, the ancestral sacrifice grand formation truly could not hold you. But clearly, you cannot be a quasi-god expert."

The so-called quasi-god is the existence closest to god-level.

In terms of power classification, both quasi-gods and demigods approach god-level, but the former stands above the latter.

After all, taken literally, a demigod possesses only fifty percent of a god-level expert's power, whereas a quasi-god expert already has eighty or ninety percent.

Wei Zhao nodded honestly. "I am indeed not one."

"Nonsense, of course you are not. So if you refuse to agree, you will simply have to stay here obediently."

Han Niansan rolled his eyes. If Wei Zhao truly were a quasi-god expert, he would not have dared entertain such a thought at all; right now he would absolutely be playing dead better than anyone.

Thereupon, he resumed his patient coaxing.

"Young man, think it over carefully. All you are being asked to do is acknowledge an ancestor. It is a matter with no downside, so why be so squeamish about it?"

"With this one bow of your head, you become the new Han King."

"Moreover, you will gain a whole pack of old codgers like us as your backing, and this old man can further pave the way for you with a peerless stroke of fortune, helping you break through the great limit between man and god!"

Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. "What great limit between man and god?"

Han Niansan was also startled for a moment. "At your level, you actually do not know of the great limit between man and god?"

He had not exchanged blows with Wei Zhao, but the intensity of aura Wei Zhao faintly exuded was at the very least that of a Heaven-Tier Venerable. And yet he did not even know of the great limit between man and god?

What he did not know was that Wei Zhao's true current realm had not even touched the latter half of Earth-Tier Venerable, let alone Heaven-Tier Venerable.

Ten thousand years had indeed allowed the new world to evolve considerably, but in essence it was all internal consolidation and sorting, not yet enough to produce a substantive breakthrough.

Wei Zhao's nominal realm today, though it had indeed broken through somewhat compared to before, had only reached the mid-stage of Earth-Tier Venerable.

In truth, he was not even remotely a match for sinners like Wei Baizhan.

Of course, nominal realm is nominal realm. Once real blows are exchanged, true combat power is another matter entirely.

The strength of an ancient-god cultivator simply cannot be measured by common standards, and Wei Zhao especially so.

Wei Zhao's interest was piqued. "Why not tell me about it, Senior? I would like to learn."

Han Niansan was somewhat taken aback, but since he was dead set on subjugating Wei Zhao, he was naturally not about to begrudge such an easy favor.

"Between every major realm there stands a great barrier, and between the Venerable realm and the god realm there exists an insurmountable barrier besides."

"Normally speaking, the Venerable realm is already the end of the road for cultivators like us."

"Because the heavenly dao naturally rejects the existence of god-level experts."

"And that is precisely why there exists the great divide between man and god."

"From the Venerable Realm to the Divine Realm—that is not merely an elevation in power and cultivation, but a fundamental transformation of the very self, an ultimate evolution at the level of life itself!"

Wei Zhao listened with rising interest. "What exactly does an evolution at the level of life entail? Senior, do not hesitate to elaborate."

Even Jiang Xiaoshang did not know the things this man was speaking of.

These matters concerned god-tier powers and touched upon the very foundations of the Divine Realm's system of power; information of this kind had plainly been subjected to a strict blockade.

Even if his original self was the second-in-command of the Divine Realm, Jiang Xiaoshang, as a mere replica, being restricted in this area was only to be expected.

Han Niansan curled the corner of his mouth. "Want to hear it? Simple. Perform the ancestral rite now, and this old man will not only lay it all out for you in perfect clarity, but will also bestow upon you the only copy in all of my Han Princely House—the road to godhood—for your reference. How about that?"

Afraid Wei Zhao might not understand, he even explained with great consideration, "There is no fixed, uniform method for breaking through the great divide between man and god. Everyone is different; each person must carve out a road to godhood of their own."

"However, though the road to godhood cannot be copied outright, it can be used for reference."

"One god-tier power corresponds to one road to godhood."