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Translator: Zenas
Proofreader: Silavin
“The successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being has appeared.” An old woman with snake-like eyes spoke. Her voice was so eerie that it would make others’ scalp tingle upon hearing it. The rune on her hand was flickering and shining at the moment.
“It’s precisely because of this that I called you all here to talk about this matter.” An old man with tall and large stature then spoke. He had horns like a mountain goat and had a strong presence like a celestial being. But when he spoke just now, there was coldness in his voice.
Other old people also nodded their heads one after another with a cold look in their eyes.
“Looks like what we were foretold was true. He has come here to take away the remains of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being. We truly did not expect for this to happen after such a long time. We believed that the Slave Mark was just an ancient rumour since no one could prove whether it was true or false. Who would have thought that it would actually manifest now of all times? It’s truly so unbelievable.” An old man with a hawk beak said with an extremely dark look as he felt the absolute suppression from the depths of his soul. The rune on his hand was burning hot as if it was going to be branded there permanently.
The rune had not manifested for so many years that they even felt that the existence of the Slave Mark was just a rumour that was unbelievable. All of them thought so originally, until today… when they were extremely shocked to feel the existence of the rune for the first time. The absolute suppression power it had could easily put them to death. It was the Slave Mark that could suppress them all with an order.
This Slave Mark had been planted in the depths of their bloodline, and it had been passed down since the time of their ancestors. Now that they had come to know of its authenticity, they were shocked, enraged, and in disbelief! The only thing they wanted to do now, was to kill the successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being!
The ancestors of their respective races were all powerful individuals. Even the clan that had the True Dragon bloodline, ruling the whole Celestial Ancient Continent at present, would be very polite to their ancestors and would not dare to belittle them. Unfortunately, their ancestors were suppressed by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being and the Slave Mark was planted in their bloodline and soul. They were forced to guard the thing the Supreme Being had left for his successor.
With the successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being appearing and was close by, it made them immediately raise their guard. After all, no one was willing to suddenly serve a stranger they had never seen before, or to worship him as their master and be devoted to him. No one would agree to do such a thing, unless there was something wrong with them. Therefore, they had quickly gathered to discuss and decide how they were going to deal with it. No matter what they had to do, they wanted to make sure that the successor of Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being dies in the end.
“The Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s Stage of Enlightenment has been controlled by our major families for a long, long time. There’s no way we will just let anyone take it away. They also say that there’s a cave dwelling of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being hidden in the vicinity, where he has stored a lot of precious techniques and resources…”
“Perhaps, that successor has the key to this cave dwelling?”
The few old people showed lively looks on their faces as they discussed how to get access to the cave dwelling. They believed that the thing left by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being should be given to them. How could they let some so-called successor covet the treasure that belonged to them?
“The successor of Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being should be from the outside world and he should not be too old. According to the arrangement made in the ancient times, the strength of a person from the young generation should be no higher than the Partial-Enlightened Realm.”
“In other words, the strength of this successor of Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being shouldn’t be higher than that as well. It’s impossible for it to have increased too much after coming here. So long as they dare to come here, they’ll die here, forever unable to return.”
A grim smile appeared on their faces. They had already decided how they were going to deal with their current situation. It might be difficult for them to attack the successor themselves because of the Slave Mark, but it was not like they could not dispatch others to do the job for them. They would set an inescapable net and wait for the so-called successor to fall into their trap. After all, there were numerous subordinate races. After such a long period of time, there were many at the Enlightened Noble Realm, Enlightened King Realm, and higher. Gathering such pawns to move was quite easy for them to do.
“Keep an eye on those with unfamiliar faces, especially the ones from the outside world. It’d be better to mistakenly kill someone than to let the successor escape from our grasp.”
The old people immediately began to issue orders and the whole ruins was in a state of alert. Only when they killed the successor of Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being would they have the opportunity to be free.
*BOOM!* Very soon, divine lights soared to the sky. Terrifying auras surged as the ones entrusted with the search task headed towards their destination. Many astonishing and powerful auras appeared high above in the sky. They began to look around for every suspicious person in all directions. At this moment, a large number of natives had assembled in the vicinity of the ruins after receiving the instruction from their Elders to set an inescapable net to catch a certain person.
……
[Just what exactly is going on? Could they have discovered us?] Ye Ling was quietly sneaking into the vicinity of the ruins along with Chi Ling and Yin Mei when his expression greatly changed all of a sudden. He sensed multiple powerful auras quickly passing by them from above. Their powerful divine sense was scanning the whole area with such force, as if it could crush everything in its way. It frightened him. If not for the fact that he was quite bold, and had experienced many kinds of situations, he might have thought of withdrawing from this place.
“Why did so many experts suddenly appear? Are they looking for something?” Chi Ling asked with a frown. The experts that had passed by them just now were at least at the Enlightened Noble Realm. Unless they used some special means, their group would die a tragic death if they got found out by those kinds of experts.
“No idea. Could it be because of me? Did they discover us? But we have kept ourselves hidden so well. It should be impossible for that to be the case. Is it just a coincidence for them to appear like this…?” Ye Ling said with a doubtful look. He did not notice that it could have something to with his identity. At this time, the spirit turtle inside his pendant had a pondering and cold look. The spirit turtle obviously thought of the reason.
“It seems like they want to catch someone…” Suddenly, a hint of worry appeared on Yin Mei’s face. Seeing her expression, Ye Ling thought that she was worried for him and could not help but say with a smile, “Yin Mei, I might be overthinking about it. It’s nothing more than a coincidence. It has got nothing to do with me.”
Yin Mei shook her head in response. She did not say anything but she still looked as worried as before. She was, naturally, not worried about Ye Ling and she did not even pay any attention to what he was saying. She had unconsciously thought of Gu Changge when she saw that so many experts, including the ones at the Enlightened Noble Realm, were alarmed all of a sudden and seemed to be searching for someone near the ruins. After all, she knew that Gu Changge had quite likely already sneaked into the depths of the ruins before them. [Could they have discovered Gu Changge’s objective? Is it why the natives are looking for him? Did they get shocked and enraged by his actions?]
Yin Mei could not help but worry about it. If Gu Changge died here, the restriction placed on her might get undone and so, it should be a matter of joy to her. Even so, she could not help but worry for him. Furthermore, Gu Changge had instructed her to secretly create a rift in the relationship between Ye Ling and Chi Ling. Furthermore, the moment Ye Ling sneaked inside the place, she was supposed to ‘carelessly’ attract the attention of other experts.
Giving her such an instruction was no different from toying with her life and a single moment of carelessness could result in her dying. After all, drawing the attention of experts and revealing their presence would make her fall into a precarious situation as well. But since Gu Changge had instructed her to do so, she did not have a choice. [Why am I worrying for such an indifferent and heartless person?]
“Ye Boy, listen to me. These guys are definitely looking for you…” At this time, the voice of the spirit turtle suddenly resounded inside Ye Ling’s pendant.
Ye Ling immediately had a stiff expression when he heard it.
[They are looking for me? Why?] Ye Ling’s mind was a mess at this moment.
“The Supreme Being has left plenty of treasures for you, but it also is a test. There are people from the lineage of the guardians keeping a watch over the remains of the Supreme Being. If you don’t pass the test, not only you won’t be able to obtain those things, you might also lose your life here.” The spirit turtle explained.
Ye Ling felt a headache when he heard the explanation and he could not help but curse the old turtle, “Why did you not tell me about it earlier? Are you trying to kill me by only mentioning it now? And what is up with this Supreme Being? He could have simply left the fortuitous opportunity for his successor instead of making me go through this damned test.”
Even if Ye Ling was grumbling about it, he was still not a shameless person. He had obtained the inheritance of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being and a lot of other fortuitous opportunities after all. Now that he did not have any other choice, he could only steel himself and do what needed to be done.
Yin Mei had noticed the change in Ye Ling’s expression and could not help but sigh in relief. [It seems that these people are here for him…]
Soon after, the three once again headed to their destination. They were being more careful and secretive this time as they continuously prevented themselves from being detected by those high up in the sky. Ye Ling knew that the Stage of Enlightenment Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being had left for him was made of reincarnation stone, which was extremely mystical. The reincarnation stone contained the laws of time and reincarnation, and the Power of Time was one of the two supreme attributes along with Power of Space. Ye Ling was naturally quite excited to get his hands on it.
“Right now, the only way out is to rely on the inheritance of the Supreme Being. In other words, you need to find the cave dwelling he has left for you. You’ll find the method to subdue the Stage of Enlightenment in there…” The spirit turtle told Ye Ling to help him get out of his situation. It was absolutely impossible for him to be able to fight against those from the guardian bloodline with his current strength. Therefore, Ye Ling had to think of a way to obtain recognition from the guardians. Obtaining that method was the only thing that would grant Ye Ling their recognition. However, rven the spirit turtle did not know that the so-called guardians were actually subdued by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being with Slave Marks and they were not willing to serve Ye Ling.
Ye Ling gnashed his teeth when he heard the words of the spirit turtle. At this moment, a strong resolve was surging in his heart.
[I must obtain them! Otherwise, how else will I be able to take my revenge against Gu Changge?! He is the true Successor of Demonic Arts!] As he thought about his great enemy Gu Changge, endless power and confidence surged in his heart.
……
After leaving the tomb, Gu Changge’s remained hidden in the void and he had not shown himself before others. Thanks to the corpses of the ancient prodigies, his cultivation had progressed greatly. He had also obtained many rare sources from them. He was now at the Enlightened King Realm!
Gu Changge felt that he would even be able to put up a fight against someone at the Sacred Realm at his current cultivation level. If he had the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, it was also not difficult to kill a cultivator at the Sacred Realm. This was still just his conservative estimation though.
A Sacred Realm expert was said to be so inconceivably powerful that they had the power to destroy the stars with ease. This was because of their control over the power of rules that could absolutely suppress all cultivators below the Sacred Realm, making it extremely difficult to put up a fight against them. Even young prodigies with astonishing talent would find it very difficult to fight against a Quasi-Sacred Realm being even when they were already at the Enlightened King Realm.
All existences who could kill a Sacred Realm expert without reaching the same realm were the ones who could already control some power of rules, which allowed them to transcend the limits of their realm. His superficial cultivation, which he left at the Early Partial-Enlightened Realm, was already difficult for a young prodigy to reach. As such, Gu Changge was not planning to continue breaking through to the next realm. It was always better to do things in moderation after all. If he showed a cultivation level that was too absurd for him to have, it would likely catch the attention of the old monsters. They had lived for so long that they had seen all kinds of monstrous geniuses. With their experience, they would notice that there was something odd with his cultivation speed.
Given Gu Changge’s talent, it was fine for him to have reached the Partial-Enlightened Realm at his age. He did not want to draw unnecessary attention and lay up trouble for himself, as he was completely different from others. On the surface, he cultivates with Skyward Ascension to fool others, This was to ensure that no one would find anything unusual even if they investigated whether he was practising Demonic Arts. Meanwhile, he was cultivating with Nommening secretly, which was the basis of his real cultivation. Consequently, no one else outside of him knew about his true strength. All his enemies that had seen his true strength were already dead.
[If I follow the route created by Yin Mei, I won’t face any problems finding Ye Ling. It’s just that the whole ruins is in a state of alert. Did they discover Ye Ling’s presence?] Gu Changge frowned as he walked through the void. He felt that he might have overestimated Ye Ling’s capabilities. [How could he let himself be discovered so quickly? If he died here, how would he continue to play his role as my scapegoat?]
[No, the natives have been blindly looking for him. They don’t even know who exactly they are supposed to find.] Very soon, Gu Changge sensed the unusuality and narrowed his eyes. There should not be anyone who knew about the fact that Ye Ling was the Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, except for him and Yue Mingkong. Even if Ye Ling was foolish, he would still know that he could not expose such matters to others.
[The ruins here hide the things that the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being has left for Ye Ling. But considering the standard pattern of such situations, he would normally have a test for Ye Ling. Is this current situation a test for Ye Ling?] Gu Changge immediately thought about a crucial point, though he also did not know whether his guess was right since he had no real proof.
*Buzz!* The void shook and ripples dispersed. An Enlightened Noble Realm native that Gu Changge was on the lookout for was searching for the outsiders nearby. Gu Changge immediately stepped inside the void and quickly made his way to its location. At this time, even a Sacred Realm expert would find it really hard to sense the fluctuations caused by him. Gu Changge could also not help but let out a sound in appreciation. [The Void Talent is really powerful. It is no wonder during the ancient era, an assassin emperor with Void Talent had managed to almost assassinate a true immortal. Since he could travel through the void, it would be as though he had become a part of it, like a fish in water or a bird in a forest. Though, this is still just the lowest-level application of the Power of Space.]
“Who is it…?” Suddenly, a tall and big creature who was conducting its search in every mountain and mountain forests with carved stones felt a chill run down its spine, as if he was being stared by some terrifying existence. Even his soul was going to be frozen. When he turned around while feeling scared out of his wits, he discovered that ripples spread in the void. There, a man in white suddenly walked out with a calm and relaxed expression.
“Shhh, don’t make any sound. Otherwise, you’ll die.” Gu Changge spoke with a casual smile. Next moment, a crack suddenly opened in the space before the creature’s eyes and continued to grow wider and wider.
“You…” The tall and big creature was dumbfounded at once. Terrifying runes appeared in his eyes. But right after, something extremely shocking and terrifying occurred. It got devoured into the wide crack. It happened so fast that he could not even do anything to escape.
Gu Changge turned around and disappeared from the place. He had hidden himself inside the void once again. Everything that happened just now seemed like an illusion as no one sensed that an Enlightened Noble Realm being had suddenly disappeared without a trace. The impact of its disappearance on the surroundings was as little as throwing a stone into a deep ocean.
“Where is this!? Who are you!?”
*Buzz!*
The large creature had been thrown on the ground on the top of a mountain peak inside Gu Changge’s Inner World. It looked at Gu Changge with extreme fear and screamed continuously, as if he had met the most terrifying existence.
It was in the Enlightened Noble Realm. It was a being that could look down on a cultivator at the True Enlightened Realm and had the power to annihilate a city with no effort. Yet, it had still not recovered from shock. Its whole body had disappeared in an instant and when it reappeared, it was inside a different space. This experience frightened and greatly shocked it. [What kind of terrifying method is this? Even a Sacred Realm expert can’t do such a thing! It’s impossible to do so even with the mighty force of heaven and earth! Could this be? A spatial domain!?] Its whole body trembled. The young man in front of him, who was obviously from the outside world, was simply too fearsome!
Gu Changge was worried that making any loud sound would attract the attention of the other natives, so he had brought it to his Inner World. As the capacity of the world was continuously increasing along with the increase in his strength, it was not a problem to contain an existence at the Enlightened Noble Realm.
“I want to know a few things.” Gu Changge spoke in a casual tone.
“What is it? I’ll definitely tell you everything I know.” The huge creature promptly said in extreme fear. It could not sense any other aura in this place. He felt like an insignificant bug, as if heaven itself was looking down at an ant.
“No need for that. I’m used to finding things out on my own.” Gu Changge said as he immediately decided to use Soul Search. Black light that seemed to be made of countless black threads appeared from his palm and he placed it on the forehead of the creature.
“I see, it’s an order from the Elders. I didn’t expect them to still be hiding such an interesting matter. Slave Mark, Cave Dwelling of the Supreme Being… That treasure-hunting rat truly has never disappointed me.” After a moment, Gu Changge put an end to its suffering. He had an unreadable look on his face right now.
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