Chapter 2025: Ancient Saint?
"I have a faint feeling that everyone has been wrong," Langxie murmured at this moment, causing Lin Feng and the others to turn their gazes toward him.
"What do you mean?"
"I once heard my clan's elders mention that saints are solitary. Once they reach the realm of an Ancient Saint, they are practically immortal and indestructible. At the Venerable Martial Realm, one can use bloodline power to regenerate severed limbs. For an Ancient Saint, even if only a single drop of blood or a wisp of soul remains, there is a possibility of survival. Only if they are blasted into oblivion by some supreme existence would they truly die. In the past, although the Battle of the Saints took place at Qi Tian Holy Capital, it would have been utterly impossible for all the Ancient Saints to be completely destroyed and killed. Therefore, when the saints sealed off a world, they were not seeking death; there may be other hidden secrets."
Langxie spoke slowly, causing Lin Feng and the others to ponder.
Lin Feng had personally witnessed the Battle of the Saints in the Holy Spirit Dynasty. However, although all the saints were injured after that battle, it was a conflict without a conclusion. Did they really fall afterward? The ancestral saint of the Holy Spirit Dynasty, after leaving that broken image for his descendants, sealed himself away with the other saints, allowing later generations to enter only once every hundred years. After sealing themselves, did they all commit suicide? That was utterly impossible.
Who was the figure bound by chains in the void? Who was the supreme, terrifying demon lord in the dark abyss?
"That saint's skull contains the Kasyapa Sword Intent. It is very likely the skull of Saint Kasyapa. If I am not mistaken, after the saints repented, did they unleash a devastating battle within this sealed world? If it wasn't a battle among the saints, who killed Ancient Saint Kasyapa?" Lin Feng spoke slowly, glancing at Langxie. "Langxie, if you had summoned the Realm King Coffin earlier, this saint's skull could have been preserved."
"I've been thinking about your question too. If that really is the skull of Ancient Saint Kasyapa, who could have blasted him down to just a skull? As for that sacred bone, after I obtained it and examined it, I felt it wasn't of much use to me. I have the Realm King Coffin, and some other top-tier individuals also possess extremely powerful treasures. I don't want to go that far; the loss would outweigh the gain. Right now, I just want to see what secrets this ruin holds."
"Perhaps the place we've entered can't even be called a true ruin. That abyss cave, this endless void, or perhaps other places—those might be the true ruins of the saints."
At that moment, Snowflake Princess slowly walked over. Lin Feng looked at her and said, "Princess Snowflake, it's best if you don't get too close to me for now."
"They wouldn't be so crazy as to casually take their anger out on a princess of my dynasty," Snowflake Princess replied with an indifferent smile. Lin Feng nodded slightly and asked, "Princess, in the Tianci Dynasty, have you ever heard of the encounters of those predecessors who entered this place? Did they ever encounter such situations?"
Snowflake Princess paused for a moment, as if thinking, then nodded slightly and spoke: "I have heard of it. Generation after generation of people have entered this ruin and indeed encountered many different scenarios. Moreover, some of the strange events encountered during each entry are recorded in the dynasty's archives for the dynasty to analyze the conditions within this ruin."
"Have you read these archives, Princess?" Lin Feng asked.
"Yes," Snowflake Princess nodded. "This is originally a secret of our various dynasties and is not to be disclosed. In my dynasty's archives, there are records from our predecessors that can be summarized in a few phrases: the dark abyss, the singing valley, the lush forest, the golden mountain range—these are all places of death. The bound beings are the messengers of hell. And here, is this truly the place I wish to set foot in?"
Snowflake's words caused Lin Feng's expression to stiffen slightly. If that was the case, then the predecessors had already discovered the demon king chained in the abyss. Not just the abyss, but also the singing valley, the lush forest, and the golden mountain range—these places might all harbor such immensely powerful beings. However, there was no mention of the powerful figure on the celestial canopy. If Wang Jian hadn't used the Soldier King's Spear to combine the power of the Imperial Weapon, this canopy wouldn't have shattered.
"Places of death. If that's the case, then these places of death are more likely to bear the footprints of saints. Just like the cave that coexists with the abyss, which contained a saint's skull."
"That could be said," Snowflake Princess nodded slightly. At this moment, Lin Feng looked up. On the canopy in the void, the massive figure bound by chains suddenly opened its eyes. In that instant, everyone clearly felt a pair of golden eyes lock onto them, causing their hearts to tremble slightly.
If this figure was as powerful as the demon lord in the abyss, a single breath could kill all these so-called geniuses.
"Boom!" The void trembled slightly, as if about to tear apart. A cracking sound seemed to come from the chains, and then a storm of void energy began to whip up.
"Not good. Let's go." Lin Feng's expression changed slightly, and then the group dove downward, fleeing into the distance.
Others also seemed to sense something was wrong. If the being bound by the chains let out a roar, it would be a disaster.
A destructive storm raged through the space, growing stronger and stronger. The storm pressed down from above, tearing everything apart. A terrifying rumbling sound echoed, and the world began to shake.
Lin Feng looked back. The storm seemed about to engulf the entire sky, as if no one could escape.
"Enter the Realm King Coffin." Langxie summoned the Realm King Coffin, and the group rushed inside. The coffin lid closed, and it traversed the void, disappearing from the spot in an instant. The other powerful figures also summoned their Imperial Weapons and frantically began their escape.
"Roar..." A furious roar seemed to come from ancient times. The heavens shook, and the setting sun hanging on the canopy shattered and exploded. Everything in the world seemed to be destroyed. The furious roar was filled with unwillingness. The clattering sound rolled on—the shaking of chains.
From the abyss cave, another furious roar suddenly erupted, as if merging with the first sound. The clattering of chains trembled. The crowd looked up at the sky. In that moment, it seemed as if an eternal chain stretched across the entire world, piercing through space and time, locking those immensely powerful beings here.
When Lin Feng and the others reappeared, they were in another world. This sealed world seemed to have been partitioned. The canopy was not even the same. This was simply a chaotic and disordered world.
"Princess, generation after generation of geniuses have entered this place. Apart from those true places of death, I'm afraid there are no real ancient ruins anywhere else," Lin Feng said to Snowflake Princess, causing her to pause for a moment. She had also thought of this. Over countless years, even if traces of saints remained in ordinary places, they would have been plundered long ago, unless they were in remote and inaccessible places of death.
"Relying on our strength to obtain any ruin's legacy from here is too difficult," Snowflake Princess said with a bitter smile.
"However, when the Ancient Saints sealed this world, they might have had some concerns. I have a faint feeling that it is likely related to those figures bound by the heavenly chains. If these people were to break free from their chains and walk out, they would all be behemoth-like, terrifying existences. I have a premonition that they are not Ancient Saints. An Ancient Saint would not chain themselves up."
Lin Feng spoke slowly. The ancestral saint of the Holy Spirit Dynasty had mentioned a special existence in his memories, 'It.' What was 'It'? Was 'It' related to these chained beings?
A gust of wind passed by. Lin Feng's gaze suddenly turned, and he saw a figure appear before them. It was an old man. Lin Feng had seen him before, in the cave ruin—the silent old man. He had appeared again.
"Do you want to know the truth?" The old man finally spoke, causing Lin Feng to pause. He nodded and said, "Senior, are you willing to tell us?"
"Follow me, and you will understand." The old man stepped in a certain direction, speaking slowly: "How could the ancient saints fall so easily."
Lin Feng's expression trembled slightly. They exchanged glances and then nodded in unison, following the old man's footsteps.
This mysterious old man led Lin Feng to an altar. On the left and right were rows of sacrificial pillars, while ahead lay a series of steps. In front of them, Lin Feng saw a mysterious figure sitting cross-legged on an altar. There was no life aura, not even a sense of its existence.
Lin Feng stared at the mysterious figure, a look of caution in his eyes. Everything here was strange.
At that moment, the figure, which had no aura, opened its eyes, looked at Lin Feng and the others, and said, "Is it another hundred years already?"
"Senior, who are you?" Lin Feng asked with a hint of doubt.
"Heavenly Soul Saint. Have you heard of me?" The old man said indifferently. Snowflake Princess's pupils suddenly contracted. The figure claiming to be Heavenly Soul Saint looked at Snowflake Princess and smiled, "You've heard of me?"
"The ancestral saint of the Heavenly Soul Dynasty. Are you really Heavenly Soul Saint?"
"Heavenly Soul Dynasty?" The old man murmured, then asked, "This Heavenly Soul Dynasty must be my descendants. Are they still around?"
"They have already been destroyed in history," Snowflake Princess replied.
"Alas..." The old man sighed, filled with loneliness and sorrow, evoking a faint sense of desolation.
"Senior, what exactly are those powerful beings bound by chains? What was the final outcome of the ancient Battle of the Saints?" Snowflake Princess asked. The Heavenly Soul Saint smiled and said, "Child, those beings bound by chains are ancient evil spirits. It was because of them that the saints sealed themselves in this world. They paid a heavy price to bind them, nearly all of them falling. As for me, because I cultivated a special power, I managed to preserve a wisp of life force."
Upon hearing the Heavenly Soul Saint's words, Lin Feng's heart stirred. He was somewhat suspicious of the truth of the other's words. Evil spirits? He had heard from the ancestral saint of the Holy Spirit Dynasty that it was because of 'It.' Moreover, the ancestral saint of the Holy Spirit Dynasty had been quite agitated. The Heavenly Soul Saint had not mentioned 'It' at all but instead spoke of evil spirits!