# 1478
Chapter 1479: Dark Ancestor Stone Formation
At the end of time and space, the Ancestral God Temple.
The star coins spun rapidly in their slots, and countless massive stones beneath the platform suddenly began to move, as if some kind of switch had been pressed, producing low, rumbling sounds!
As the stone formations shifted, they divided into twelve intricate stone arrays according to the positions of the twelve Ancestral God statues at the platform's edge. These arrays were arranged in rings below the group, resembling the Eight Trigrams pattern of Great Xia's Taoism, yet distinctly different—chaotic yet hinting at profound mysteries.
"What is this? A maze?" Nezha asked, puzzled.
Lingbao Tianzun stood at the center of the platform, gazing down at the boundless twelve stone arrays below. His brow furrowed slightly, as if contemplating something.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke:
"If this humble Daoist is not mistaken, this should be the ritual of the Ancestral God Temple absorbing faith."
"Ritual? Does absorbing faith require a ritual?"
"They are different from us. In the primitive era of Ancestral God mythology, there was no such thing as the Divine Kingdom's origin.
They gathered the formless faith power to the central platform, transforming it into divine power that could be absorbed through some mysterious method, then dispersed it through these stone arrays to each Ancestral God."
Lingbao Tianzun pointed to the twelve statues around them, then to the twelve stone arrays below. "The end of each stone array leads to an Ancestral God."
"A mysterious method of transforming faith into power?" Yuding Zhenren pondered as he spoke, "How did they accomplish this?"
"This humble Daoist is also unclear. This may be the greatest secret of the Ancestral God mythology... even relating to the very existence of the gods themselves."
Hearing Lingbao Tianzun say this, everyone simultaneously gazed at the empty altar, as if imagining what had originally been placed upon it...
"Lord Heavenly Venerable, what should we do next?"
Guan Zhong pointed to the twelve stone arrays below. "Should we go down and take a look?"
"After all, this is the divine kingdom of the ancient era's Ancestral Gods. Wouldn't it be too reckless to just go down and explore like this?" a Great Xia god said.
"Not necessarily. The era of the Ancestral Gods has passed for too long. Even the Ancestral Gods themselves have vanished. There shouldn't be much danger here."
"If this Ancestral God Temple held hostility toward us, it would have reacted long ago."
"..."
While everyone discussed, Lingbao Tianzun沉思片刻，掐指算了算，开口道：
"This place should be safe... Since we are trapped within the wall of time and space, rather than sitting and waiting, we might as well search separately. Perhaps we can find something left behind from the Ancestral God era."
With the Heavenly Venerable speaking, everyone immediately raised no objections and agreed.
"Taiyi, take Sikong Xingjun, Shangsheng Xingjun, Taibai Xingjun, and this young friend Lu Wuwei to the Water Ancestor Stone Formation. Yuding, you take Mengzhang Shenjun..." Lingbao Tianzun divided everyone into groups, ensuring each group had a Chief God-level combatant leading.
"...Zhou Ping, would you trouble yourself to lead them to the Thunder Ancestor Stone Formation. Finally..."
Lingbao Tianzun's gaze fell on Lin Qiye, pausing briefly before saying, "Lin Qiye, you will go with this humble Daoist to the Dark Ancestor Stone Formation."
Lin Qiye was stunned, then immediately nodded. "Yes."
After dividing the groups, Lingbao Tianzun took out the Mother-Child Dragon Flags, distributing the child flags to different groups while keeping the mother flag himself, making it convenient to sense the positions of all child flags.
Having done this, everyone descended from the platform, each stepping into their corresponding stone formation.
Lin Qiye closely followed behind Lingbao Tianzun, passing through a towering boulder the size of a mountain, entering the maze-like interior of the formation.
The massive stones composing the stone formation each stood hundreds of meters tall, with not a single trace of splicing or polishing, as if this stone had always been this massive, formed naturally—though their sizes and contours differed, interlacing like a forest of boulders.
The moment Lin Qiye stepped into the formation, the light above faded rapidly, a pitch-black dome covering the stone formation. Within the formation, one couldn't see their own hand before their face.
"How did it suddenly become dark?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled.
"It didn't suddenly become dark. Within this stone formation, it has always been dark." Lingbao Tianzun walked ahead, saying calmly, "Viewed from above, these formations are merely some elaborately arranged stones, but the mysteries within are far more than that.
Each of these stone formations is a self-contained space. Since we are walking through the Dark Ancestor Stone Formation, the arrangement of these stones corresponds to the power of the Dark Ancestor."
"Just some scattered stones can have such an effect?" Lin Qiye ran his hand across the surface of a boulder beside him. It felt cold and rough, no different from ordinary stones outside.
"Do not underestimate the Ancestral God mythology. Though their existence may appear primitive and crude, they possess power beyond our imagination."
Lin Qiye nodded. Here, he couldn't use spiritual perception, having to rely on faint dark vision to barely keep up behind Lingbao Tianzun...
Whoosh—!
Flames bloomed from the nothingness around Lingbao Tianzun, dispelling the surrounding darkness, illuminating the stone formation clearly around the two of them.
That familiar face turned back to look at Lin Qiye in the firelight, saying softly:
"Now, can you see clearly?"
"...Yes."
Looking at the Daoist's face, Lin Qiye's heart stirred slightly. In that dazed moment, he seemed to see the shadow of Baili Pangpang...
"The terrain here is complex, and there may still be remnants of mechanisms. Stay close to this humble Daoist... However, no need for excessive worry. Even if you get lost, this humble Daoist can find you immediately." Lingbao Tianzun said calmly.
These words gave Lin Qiye an inexplicable sense of security. He followed closely behind Lingbao Tianzun, hesitating for a long while before finally speaking:
"Lord Heavenly Venerable..."
"What is it?"
"...Fatty?" Lin Qiye carefully ventured.
Upon hearing these two words, Lingbao Tianzun's steps faltered. His figure came to a stop.
He let out a long sigh. Surrounded by the burning flames, he slowly turned around, his expression toward Lin Qiye complex.
"Lin Qiye, this humble Daoist... no, I know what you're thinking." Lingbao Tianzun paused. "Baili Pangpang was the final incarnation of my reincarnation cycle. Though he wasn't the most tortuous among my countless cycles, he was the most memorable to me.
You, Qingyu, Jiang Er, Cao Yuan, Jialan, Zhuai-ge... Baili Pangpang was the bond of 【Nightfall】, and so were you. No one understands this better than me." Lingbao Tianzun pointed to his own heart.
"I'm very sorry. My return took your Baili Pangpang away, but we had no choice. This is also what he wanted.
The current situation of Great Xia, you've seen it yourself. Now, I must be Lingbao, not Baili Pangpang... Can you understand?"