Chapter 893: Central Province Ancestral Temple
“What… a Five-Colored Altar!?” Everyone present was startled, all eyes turning to Ji Ziyue.
“It should be in the Central Province.”
Ji Ziyue had searched through ancient texts and discovered some clues. The scene from her dream closely resembled a place in the Central Province, and the more she investigated, the more shocked she became.
In the Central Province, there once existed a divine dynasty named “Feather Transformation.” Had it still existed, it might have been the number one dynasty under heaven. It had once reached an extreme peak of prosperity. At that time, the other four great dynasties had not yet appeared, and more than half of the Central Province’s territory was under its rule. Wherever its orders went, none dared to disobey.
From the name “Feather Transformation” alone, one could infer that this dynasty was mostly focused on prosperity and flourishing. What they pursued was the true meaning of longevity, and everything was done for the sake of becoming an immortal.
Yet, overnight, it collapsed and disintegrated, erased from this world as if it had never existed. Even ancient texts recorded very little about it.
Ji Ziyue had searched through all the texts in the Ji Family’s Scripture Pavilion, cross-referencing various ancient maps with the current landscape. She discovered that the Five-Colored Altar from her dream was located beside the Ancestral Temple of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty.
“The Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty was that powerful? They possessed a Five-Colored Altar?” Pang Bo was astonished. All the altars of the present age had become ruins, with no one able to control them.
“I’ve heard of it too. It was an extremely powerful divine dynasty, once the number one in the Central Province. In the end, they truly did ‘transform and ascend,’ but it wasn’t to immortality—they turned to ashes,” said Black Emperor.
“If you truly wish to leave, you could go take a look at the Feather Transformation ruins. Perhaps you might find something. That place is very mysterious,” Ji Ziyue said softly. She didn’t want him to travel far, but she still told him, a hint of dimness in her beautiful eyes.
Ye Fan didn’t know what to say. Looking into her beautiful eyes, he wanted to comfort her, but that might be a kind of hurt. He wanted to take her with him to the other side of the starry sky, but just like him, she couldn’t bear to leave her parents behind.
Ji Ziyue forced a smile, saying that every night she would look up at the starry sky and pray for him. When all karma was settled, she would follow his footsteps to the other side of the starry sky to take a look.
“Zheng zheng…”
The Devouring Demon Jar let out mournful cries, floating above the palm of Ji Ziyue’s hand, cascading strands of immortal radiance that resonated with that bronze ring.
Between these two objects, wisps of light connected them together. This strange scene shocked everyone. They were undoubtedly relics of the Ruthless Person, intimately connected and able to merge.
“Do you still remember the appearance of the little girl in the dream?” Ye Fan asked.
Ji Ziyue shook her head. Those scenes were too blurry, especially the little girl’s face, which was even more indistinct. She only remembered that she had a pair of bright, large eyes, tears hanging from them, and her hair tied in two small horns. She was only three or four years old, wearing very worn-out little clothes and stepping in tattered little shoes.
“Weng”
The void trembled, and a blurry scene flowed before their eyes. That Five-Colored Altar actually appeared! A little girl had run off her shoes, crying loudly as she rushed forward, just to take a look at that corpse.
“Peng”
The image shattered, and then everything fell into darkness, as if a voice was echoing, saying: “Not to become an immortal, but to wait for your return in this mortal world.”
Everyone was shaken, all stunned! Was it the Ruthless Great Emperor? She firmly believed that the youth could still appear. This was her obsession, also the most precious hope in her heart. She defied heaven and lived for several lifetimes, just to wait for that youth to return?
There was no dazzling divine halo, only dimness. One could imagine her sweeping across the eight desolates and six directions, standing alone above the nine heavens in glory. Clearly standing at the pinnacle of the human path, overlooking the reincarnation of ten thousand ages, yet she was not included in memories.
What is called the glory of a Great Emperor, to her, was far less valuable than a childhood moment blending joy and bitterness. Even if she was invincible under heaven, she could not reclaim everything from the past.
In the end, everything dissipated, leaving only a ghost face, bearing tear stains, seemingly crying yet not crying, seemingly smiling yet not smiling. That was the Devouring Demon Jar floating and sinking.
“Ding”
The luster of the bronze ring in Ji Ziyue’s hand faded, merging into her body. The two relics of the Ruthless Person separated on their own, each calming down.
A Great Emperor who inspired awe. The fragmented memories of the Ruthless Person left people feeling complex and unclear, their hearts fluctuating, unable to articulate what kind of feeling that was.
“I feel like I have a great karmic connection with the Ruthless Great Emperor,” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
He touched one item after another on his body, all related to the Ruthless Person. First was the Primordial Qi Cauldron, obtained from the Bronze Immortal Hall, a priceless sacred object for attaining the Dao.
Second was the True Dragon Immortality Pill, which had belonged to the Ruthless Person over two hundred thousand years ago. He had obtained the True Dragon Divine Liquid twice, and still had some left unused.
Additionally, there was that Immortal Treasure Diagram, obtained from the Chaos Dragon Nest. Even the Battle Saint Emperor had once possessed it, and over two hundred thousand years ago, it fell into the hands of the Ruthless Person. When Ye Fan obtained this diagram, the Ruthless Person’s coffin had sunk into chaos.
“What is happening to me?” The more Ye Fan thought, the more his heart pounded with fear.
At the same time, he thought of the people he knew. Duan De had obtained the Devouring Demon Jar, Ji Ziyue had the ring most cherished by the Ruthless Person in her life, Tu Fei’s grandfather had the Devouring Jar, and Li Xiaoman had inherited the Ruthless Person’s legacy.
It was like forming a net, interweaving together, surrounding him in the middle. The connection with the Ruthless Great Emperor was unbreakable, making him feel uneasy.
Two days later, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, Black Emperor, and others crossed the void and arrived at the Central Province.
The Feather Transformation ruins covered a vast area. Strictly speaking, half of the Central Province had once been incorporated into their territory. At that time, dynasties like Great Xia and Jiuli had not yet appeared, and their borders were boundless.
The mysterious Ancestral Temple was located at the heart of the central axis dragon vein, occupying all the blessings of heaven and earth, seizing all the mysteries. It was originally a heaven-defying secret land. However, two hundred thousand years ago, the oldest dragon vein of the Central Province was forcibly shattered by someone. The dragon qi dissipated, and in other places, it reincarnated into several ancestral dragons.
From then on, this broken dragon transformed from a supreme pure land into a dead zone, becoming a region of extreme ill omen, almost completely devoid of life.
At the heart of the Central Province, nothing grows now. It is dark and gloomy all year round, perpetually shrouded in band-like black mist, knowing nothing of light.
Ahead, broken mountains could be seen, formed by the impact of residual forces from great power. It was unknown what kind of great battle had occurred back then.
“Look, how massive that ancient vein is! It was once the longest ancestral vein of the Central Province, thicker than thousands of mountain ranges combined!” said Duan De. For him, the geography of mountains and rivers everywhere had to be thoroughly familiar.
Everyone’s scalp tingled. Was this still a mountain range? It was too thick and massive. It looked like a plateau. When they flew up to an endless height and looked down, they saw it was truly a dragon vein.
“An ancient sage flew above this ancient star and looked down. The first dragon vein of the Central Province was severed by a single palm strike. Someone, from who knows how many tens of thousands of miles away, pressed down with a single hand, leaving five fingerprints. They cut the ancestral dragon vein into several segments, shattered all other peaks, and caused a million li to sink,” said Black Emperor.
“No way? One strike caused a million li to sink, and five fingerprints severed the Central Province’s oldest dragon vein? That’s too heaven-defying,” Pang Bo exclaimed in shock.
Half a day later, they ventured deep into the heart of the Central Province, arriving at a barren land. It was still dark and gloomy, shrouded in band-like black mist, like the underworld.
“There are ancient buildings ahead!”
Ahead, there was a cluster of temples, bearing the sedimentation of time. They had existed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, yet they had not decayed.
“No way? Did Daoist Duan miss a great opportunity? The Ancestral Temple of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty wasn’t destroyed, and I never came here to do archaeology before,” Duan De muttered to himself, clenching his fists.
Behind the Ancestral Temple, there was a grayish mist that shrouded all scenery, making nothing visible. According to the scene in Ji Ziyue’s dream, deep within that area, there should be a Five-Colored Altar.
Now, the heavenly secrets there were not revealed, everything was eerie, trapped by various maze formations, and nothing could be seen.
“Who goes there?” A shout came from in front of the ancient temple. A row of armored soldiers in black iron armor appeared, each holding an iron halberd, extremely solemn.
Soon, densely packed figures emerged from the broken mountains around the ancient temple, all of them experts. Additionally, various array patterns were activated, covering the area.
“Who are these people? They’ve occupied this place?” Li Tian exclaimed in surprise.
“This place was recently excavated. It’s a broken small world. They cleared it out not long ago. At the very least, the Ancestral Temple hasn’t been entered yet; it’s still sealed,” Duan De said in a professional tone.
“Bad news, we can’t afford to provoke them. These are people from the four great dynasties. They’ve beaten us to it,” said Li Heishui.
Ahead, there was a coalition force, bearing the banners of the four great dynasties. They were here together, excavating the Central Province Ancestral Temple from over two hundred thousand years ago, trying to find something.
“There’s also the banner of Yaoguang,” said Ji Ziyue, recognizing the Yaoguang Holy Banner at a glance.
Five major forces had joined hands, excavating together, trying to clear out the ruins of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty and connect this small world. Who would dare to contend with them?
Back then, the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty was the number one in the Central Province. Wherever its orders went, none dared to disobey. It possessed supreme authority, but it turned to ashes overnight. It was said that even their Imperial Weapon was shattered.
Moreover, this was the only known piece of evidence of a shattered supreme Imperial Weapon, breaking the myth that Extreme Dao weapons were indestructible!
Back then, they were destroyed too quickly. Various rare treasures and jewels never reappeared, all sealed away. It was said that someone used great power to seal them.
“See? This broken small world was sealed, but someone used an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon to break open a corner, allowing it to reappear in the world. Otherwise, even if we searched here, we probably wouldn’t have found it,” said Duan De.
“Yaoguang Holy Land is involved…” Ye Fan murmured to himself, then voiced his earlier speculation. The Holy Son Yao Guang might have obtained the Ruthless Person’s legacy—the Indestructible Heavenly Art.
Since Ji Ziyue and Duan De had seen some things in their dreams, perhaps the Holy Son Yao Guang had as well. That was why he had come to the Central Province’s ancient temple. There might be extremely important divine treasures inside the temple.
“Exactly! Many of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty’s sacred objects were enshrined in this Ancestral Temple. This place is practically a great tomb of a divine dynasty!” Duan De said very professionally.
Pang Bo stepped forward to negotiate. Immediately, several people walked over from the other side, all of them holding high positions, being figures of the imperial ancestor level from the four great dynasties. They responded in a deep voice, saying that they had been excavating this place for half a year and had only just gotten results. Outsiders were not allowed to intrude.
Ye Fan and the others retreated. If they attacked forcefully, they might be able to break in, but this ancient temple was too mysterious. The four great dynasties and Yaoguang had not dared to act rashly and enter. If they barged in recklessly, they might bring great disaster.
“What do we do? The Holy Son Yao Guang has beaten us to it. This place is very troublesome,” Pang Bo frowned, exchanging glances with Ye Fan.
The others also found it somewhat headache-inducing. This place was clearly extraordinary, but angering the four great dynasties and Yaoguang Holy Land might provoke several Extreme Dao Imperial Weapons.
Ye Fan said: “First, we should let the Devouring Demon Jar merge. I feel that this place requires its use, as it has some great connection with it. Then, perhaps we should borrow the power of the people of the world, make the secrets of this place public, and allow experts from all sides to enter.”
After leaving this place, they discussed it seriously.
Only Ji Ziyue sighed softly, looking at the mist behind the ancient temple, murmuring to herself: “Back then, that little girl cried out, running off her tattered little shoes, sending that youth far away, but in the end, she only saw his corpse return…”
“This is not her ending. She eventually became a Great Emperor,” the Monkey walked over.
“Yes, invincible under heaven, one of the most mysterious and powerful Great Emperors in history, ancient and modern, almost unparalleled,” Black Emperor interjected.
“But she was not happy,” Ji Ziyue shook her head.
“But there is still hope in her heart, firmly believing that she can meet that youth again,” Ye Fan spoke. Then, from that little girl, he involuntarily thought of Little Nannan, equally pitiful. Where was she now?