The consequences of slaying the Scarlet Flame Palace Master’s avatar were not lost on Dongbo Xueying, though he paid them little mind. His focus remained fixed on the ‘Ancient God Temple.’
Within the hall.
Patriarch Chong dismissed his attendants and sat opposite Dongbo Xueying, personally pouring him a cup of fruit wine. “Guest Elder Feixue, there is an ancient legend concerning the Ancient God Temple—one known to very few. I only learned of it by chance.”
“An ancient legend?” Dongbo Xueying regarded him intently, waiting for him to continue.
“Worlds too have cycles of birth and destruction. One such cycle is called an epoch,” Patriarch Chong explained. “Legend has it that in the earliest epoch of this world, long before any life existed here, a group of humans suddenly descended upon it. Alongside them appeared an ancient temple.”
Dongbo Xueying was taken aback. “You mean the first humans in this world didn’t originate here but arrived from elsewhere?”
“As I said, it’s merely a legend,” Patriarch Chong clarified. “According to the tale, when these humans descended, the ancient temple that appeared with them contained countless cultivation techniques and supreme arts. It is said that nearly all the supreme arts in our world trace their origins to that temple.”
“Interesting.” Dongbo Xueying’s mind raced with possibilities.
He had always found it puzzling.
This world paled in comparison to the Divine Realm and the Abyss in terms of power. The number of Sovereigns born here was limited, and creating a supreme art was an immensely difficult feat for any Sovereign. Even if this world had existed since the dawn of the universe, sharing the same eighth epoch as the Divine Realm and the Abyss, the handful of Sovereigns born here would have been fortunate to produce two or three supreme arts at most.
How, then, could there be so many? This legend seemed highly plausible—the cultivation techniques and supreme arts must have been left behind by powerful predecessors, possibly even the Demon Ancestor himself.
“But why would the Demon Ancestor leave behind so many supreme arts here, when he left so few in the Divine Realm and the Abyss?” Dongbo Xueying pondered, still harboring doubts.
“Those supreme arts were all taken from the Ancient God Temple long ago, so the temple itself is now empty of them,” Patriarch Chong added. “For this reason, we have our reservations about the legend.”
“Beyond that…”
“There is another legend about the Ancient God Temple—that whoever masters it will become the most powerful being in this world, ruling over it entirely.” Patriarch Chong sighed. “Because of this, Sovereign Xuhuang of the Xuhuang Kingdom built his nation around the temple, claiming it for himself.”
“Of course, at our request, Sovereign Xuhuang permits us to enter. But the temple is indeed mysterious and terrifying. The moment I stepped past its threshold, an invisible force pressed me to my knees, rendering me unable to rise. I could only crawl back out.” Patriarch Chong shook his head at the memory. “It’s said that even Sovereign Xuhuang and his peers cannot venture deep into the temple.”
“Truly?” Dongbo Xueying narrowed his eyes.
Patriarch Chong was no weakling, having cultivated supreme arts himself. Yet he had been forced to his knees the moment he entered. The Ancient God Temple was indeed enigmatic.
“Master the temple, rule the world?” Dongbo Xueying mused silently. “Regardless, the origins of the many supreme arts I’ve questioned seem to lie within it. Figures like the Scarlet Flame Palace Master, who have never witnessed a Four Heavens Realm God opening their own path, immediately assumed my strength was tied to the temple when they saw me.”
“This Ancient God Temple… is extraordinary. It may well be the final destination the Demon Ancestor’s star map led me to.” Dongbo Xueying’s thoughts deepened.
He had lain low in this world for over a millennium.
In all that time, the Ancient God Temple had stood out as the most likely target.
“Hmm?”
Dongbo Xueying frowned slightly. “Patriarch, I’ll take a walk outside.”
Patriarch Chong was taken aback. Why leave so abruptly mid-conversation? But he dared not object. “Of course, I won’t disturb you, Guest Elder Feixue. Should you need anything, simply command it.”
“Mm.” Dongbo Xueying strode out.
…
Night had fallen, draping the world in darkness.
Dongbo Xueying wandered the vast estate of the Chong Clan until he reached a lakeside, where a figure cloaked entirely in black stood waiting. Only a pair of violet-glowing eyes were visible beneath the hood.
“If I’m not mistaken, you must be the Shadow Demon Palace Master,” Dongbo Xueying said.
“Indeed. Guest Elder Feixue is as remarkable as they say. I slipped in unnoticed, yet the moment I sensed you, you detected me,” the Shadow Demon Palace Master replied.
Dongbo Xueying sighed. “Your stealth is equally impressive. Had you not reached out to me, I might never have known you were here.”
Among this world’s five Sovereigns, intelligence suggested that Sovereign Xuhuang and the Golden Flame Palace Master were the strongest, likely possessing top-tier Sovereign combat power. The other three were a step below. Among them, the Shadow Demon Palace Master was unique—elusive, untraceable, and the only being in this world capable of teleportation.
From this, Dongbo Xueying deduced that the Palace Master must have opened his own world, akin to the Void World or Shadow World.
Moreover, having just slain the Scarlet Flame Palace Master, he knew that conventional travel from the Shadow Demon Palace would take years. Yet the Palace Master had arrived the very night of the slaying—a feat only possible through teleportation.
“Let’s dispense with the flattery,” the Shadow Demon Palace Master chuckled. “I came to invite you to join my Shadow Demon Palace. We would rule as equals, sharing all its treasures. As for supreme arts, my palace has amassed eight in total.”
Dongbo Xueying marveled inwardly. In the Divine Realm or the Abyss, a Sovereign would count themselves lucky to possess even one supreme art original. Here, one had gathered eight.
“What say you, Guest Elder Feixue?” the Palace Master pressed. “Your combat prowess is unmatched, while I move unseen in the shadows. Together, even the Heavenly Flame Palace and Xuhuang Kingdom would be nothing before us.”
“I’ll need time to consider,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a smile.
Despite repeated persuasion, he neither accepted nor outright refused, keeping the Palace Master on the hook.
With no other choice, the Shadow Demon Palace Master departed. “Should you decide, you may contact me through karma at any time.”
“Understood.” Dongbo Xueying nodded.
…
Yet merely three days later, Dongbo Xueying vanished from the Chong Clan without a trace. Utilizing the Void World, he teleported continuously, reaching the distant Xuhuang Kingdom in just half an hour. In this world, only he and the Shadow Demon Palace Master could traverse such distances so swiftly.
“The Ancient God Temple?”
Dongbo Xueying hovered mid-air, gazing at the structure in the distance.
A seemingly ordinary temple stood there, constructed from common stone, its walls weathered with age. Yet this unassuming edifice radiated an overwhelming pressure, stretching for thousands of miles around it, intensifying the closer one approached.
“An average Paragon would likely be crushed before even entering,” Dongbo Xueying mused silently.
The oppressive aura surrounding the temple ensured no life dwelled nearby—not even Sovereign Xuhuang, for who would willingly endure such constant suppression?
*Whoosh.*
With a thought, he teleported via the Void World, arriving at the temple’s entrance. Though the pressure was immense, to Dongbo Xueying, who had mastered the initial volume of the Ten Thousand Demons True Body, it was but a gentle breeze.
“Truly mysterious.” Dongbo Xueying frowned as he studied the temple. His Void World teleportation had brought him only this far—the temple’s interior was suffused with an intangible ripple that permeated not just the normal world but all dimensions, including the Void World. He would have to enter on foot.
“It can suppress the Void World?” Dongbo Xueying was stunned. Even his master, Bloodblade God Emperor, couldn’t achieve such a feat through mere formations!
“The creator of this temple must have surpassed the level of a Ruler.” With that realization, Dongbo Xueying stepped forward, crossing the threshold. The pressure surged as he did, but he pressed on undeterred.
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