“Is that the Hall of the Guardian Beasts?” Luo Feng couldn’t help but ask.
“Guardian Beasts are those who have fully inherited the legacy of the Beast God and cultivated to the realm of Cosmic Sovereign. Some may not inherit the divine throne either because the current Beast God still lives, or because they themselves choose not to. After all, while inheriting the divine throne can significantly boost one’s power, it also means one can never advance any further,” said Venerable Feicang.
“Regardless of their location, Cosmic Sovereigns are among the most supreme beings in the universe. Even if they do not wish to inherit the sacred position, the Ancestral God Religion will respect their wishes and allow them to become ‘Guardian Beasts,'” Venerable Feicang continued.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan nodded.
They weren’t the least bit surprised. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. One-time generosity might be tolerable, but for the Ancestral God Religion to be magnanimous enough to bestow continuous blessings upon people? No one could possibly be that benevolent.
The Ancestral God Religion might possess vast resources and could afford to overlook collecting from those who received weaker inheritances. However, those who had attained a certain level of strength were undoubtedly expected to reciprocate with something in return.
“Don’t worry,” said Venerable Feicang with a smile. “The Ancestral God Sect is regarded as the most unrestrained faction, neither seeking to dominate the universe nor competing for territories. Their core domain is merely the Ancestral God Secret Realm, and the various perils within it are sufficient to deter other forces.”
“Even if you become an outer member of the Ancestral God Sect, you won’t feel restricted,” Venerable Feicang shook his head slightly. “Of course, you must first qualify to become an outer member. It’s extremely difficult! Whether you receive the complete Divine Envoy inheritance, the complete Divine General inheritance, or fully accept the fifth level of the Beast God inheritance, each is exceptionally challenging.”
Luo Feng nodded in understanding.
Merely observing the Divine General of the Demonic Sound inheritance site—where over 100,000 lives attempted but none could fully inherit it—one could grasp its immense difficulty. However, the Demonic Sound Divine General inheritance site permits 32 lives to receive the inheritance every 10,001 cycles. Thus, those 100,000 lives would require only about 50 million cycles to complete.
Compared to the long history of the universe, 50 million cycles are actually very brief.
“The Lord of the Purple Thorn Island is served by a Guardian Beast,” Venerable Feicang gazed ahead at the majestic palace.
“Guardian Beast?” Both Luo Feng and Zhenyan looked toward it.
There were many carvings on the palace, like giant one-horned lizards, roaring gorillas, and winged birds… Although there were tens of thousands of carvings, there were only eight types. Luo Feng now fully understood that these eight carvings were likely the images of the eight Beast Gods.
…
There was a vast platform square in front of the Lord’s palace, formed by cutting off the top of a mountain.
On the thickly and perfectly carved square were three fountains, from which water was born out of nowhere, continuously gushing forth, yet the ground of the square remained completely dry. The scene was indeed magnificent.
Venerable Feicang, Luo Feng, and Zhenyan arrived in front of the fountains, looking at the palace gate.
“Both of you, proceed inside. My duty here is complete,” said Venerable Feicang. “I hope the two of you can endure on Purple Thorn Island for some time. Do not recklessly throw your lives away—unless you obtain another inheritance token, you will not be able to return. I doubt any clan would grant you a second inheritance token.”
“Thank you, Venerable,” Luo Feng and Zhenyan both expressed their gratitude for Venerable Feicang’s guidance.
Venerable Feicang smiled slightly, then zipped into the sky, transforming into a streak of light that flew directly into the deep, colorful auroras above.
“Disciple, let’s go in,” Zhenyan smiled.
“Okay.”
Luo Feng and his teacher walked side by side to the palace gate and then stepped through. The palace was very vast; they walked for quite a while before exiting the main hall.
This was the front hall, and behind it was an open courtyard. Behind the courtyard was the grandest and most magnificent main hall.
“Two inheritors,” a man sitting cross-legged in the courtyard spoke.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan looked.
“A human?” Luo Feng was surprised. This human wore a simple black robe, had long blue hair, and had blue secret patterns on his face. His aura was faint but impressive enough to make Luo Feng secretly astonished. Judging solely from the strength of this aura, he was at least a Cosmic Sovereign.
“Could he be a Guardian Beast?” Luo Feng and Zhenyan exchanged glances.
The human in the black robe stood up and smiled at the two of them: “It’s rare to see other humans. I’m truly pleased. You don’t need to guess. I’m not a Guardian Beast. I’m merely a servant under the Lord, responsible for guarding the palace and delivering messages to the Lord.”
“A servant?” Luo Feng and Zhenyan were stunned.
A soul servant?
A Cosmic Sovereign-level soul servant? And he was human!
“Indeed, if I can subjugate other species as my servants, then those alien powerhouses naturally can also enslave humans. The Guardian Beasts are existences at the Cosmic Sovereign level—what’s unusual about them taking a human Cosmic Sovereign as their servant?” Though Luo Feng felt a surge of grief and indignation, he could only console himself in this manner.
Zhenyan looked at the man in the black robe and then bowed: “We are new inheritors, here to pay our respects to the Guardian Beast.”
“You wait here. I’ve already sent the message to the Guardian Beast. He is currently occupied, so you’ll have to wait for now,” the man in the black robe smiled.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan exchanged glances.
They would wait.
What status did the Guardian Beast have? If he made them wait, they had no choice but to wait.
…
After half a day of waiting, Luo Feng and Zhenyan were getting impatient. Luo Feng then asked, “Do you know when the Guardian Beast will arrive?”
“Not to worry,” the man in the black robe sitting cross-legged smiled. “The matters of the Guardian Beast are of utmost importance. Your matter isn’t urgent. According to the rules of the Ancestral God Sect, the Ancestral God will appear at the latest within ten years. If the Guardian Beast feels he can’t make it within that time, another Guardian Beast will take over.”
(Note: I’ve made the following adjustments for natural English flow:
1. “Ancestral God Sect” – a common translation for religious organizations.
2. “Ancestral God” as “Ancestral God” – maintaining the divine title capitalization
3. Adjusted “at the longest within ten years” to more natural English phrasing “at the latest within ten years”
4. Specified “that time” in the final clause for clearer reference to the ten-year period)
Luo Feng and Zhenyan exchanged glances.
Ten years?
“The shortest wait is immediate, the longest is ten years. At least the one with the worst luck I’ve hosted waited over nine years, only three days before the final deadline did the Guardian Beast appear,” the man in the black robe said. “You two should still sit down and calm yourselves.”
“Endure!”
Luo Feng and Zhenyan could only sit cross-legged and wait silently, not knowing when the Guardian Beast would finally arrive.
…
Twelve days later.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed in the courtyard of the palace, when suddenly an overwhelmingly domineering and heart-shaking aura instantly covered the entire palace.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan immediately opened their eyes.
“The Guardian Beast has arrived,” they both stood up immediately, while the human in the black robe had already entered the main hall.
“Come in,” a voice, slightly high-pitched yet directly penetrating the soul, came from the main hall.
Luo Feng and Zhenyan obediently entered the main hall.
As soon as they entered, both Luo Feng and Zhenyan saw a figure coiled on the high throne. It was a strange being similar to a dragon, but with wings. It raised its dragon head and looked down upon them. Its body was covered with a close-fitting, peculiar armor, on which were flames. As it coiled on the throne, Luo Feng and Zhenyan felt as though they had been plunged into an endless world of flames. The entire space-time around them was filled with fire, and this strange being was the controller of this realm. With just a single thought, it could easily cause their demise.
“The Guardian Beast,” Luo Feng thought to himself. “It should be a Beast God who has mastered ‘fire and space’ to perfection and become a Cosmic Sovereign.”
“From this moment onward, the two of you are inheritors of Purple Thorn Island,” the dragon’s head emitted a slightly sharp and high-pitched voice. “First, I grant you access to the ‘World of Glory.'” As soon as the words were spoken, two objects resembling data pads materialized out of thin air and flew straight toward Luo Feng and Zhenyan.
“These are the access devices for the virtual realm. The World of Glory… is the Ancestral God Cult’s most crucial virtual world. While similar to your human virtual universe, it operates on a much smaller scale. However, the World of Glory primarily serves one specific purpose for you—a purpose you’ll understand upon logging in.”
Luo Feng and Zhenyan both received the devices.
“I also grant you access to the ‘Inheritance Realm,’ ‘Treasure Realm,’ and ‘Secret Realm,'” the Guardian Beast said. “Have you seen the three water curtains outside the palace?”
Luo Feng and Zhenyan both nodded.
Water curtains? Weren’t those the fountains?
“They are teleportation channels, but of course, I must grant you permission, otherwise you would find it difficult to enter,” the Guardian Beast explained. “The left water curtain leads to the Inheritance Realm. The middle one leads to the Treasure Realm, and the right one leads to the Secret Realm.”
“The three water curtains lead to three locations.”
“The Inheritance Realm is where you will receive the Beast God’s inheritance and be tested on your comprehension of the laws.”
The Treasure Realm is where successive generations of Beast Gods, Guardian Beasts, and supreme powerhouses who trained under the Beast God have concealed their treasures. Countless treasures lie within. Many formidable figures have established various obstacles, restrictions, and prerequisites. Only by fulfilling the conditions set by the ancient masters can one claim the treasures. Not long ago, a young human from your race obtained a treasure in the Treasure Realm.
“The Secret Realm—if you wish to explore the Ancestral God Secret Realm, you can proceed along that passage into its depths. The Ancestral God Secret Realm is the most mysterious secret realm in the universe, home to the most unique life forms and countless enigmatic treasures. Whether they are naturally occurring materials or the rare and supreme treasures nurtured by the universe, all are concealed here. However—the Ancestral God Secret Realm is also the most perilous of secret realms. Although you will be transported directly to its inner depths, bypassing the dangers of the outer regions, the deeper you venture into the treasure zones, the greater the risks become. Even Cosmic Sovereigns may perish, and even Cosmic Sovereigns may become trapped. Therefore, if you choose to explore the Secret Realm… you must be prepared to face death.”
“The Inheritance Realm, the Treasure Realm, the Secret Realm, and the World of Glory… these are the four places you must become familiar with as inheritors on Purple Thorn Island.”
“You should first go and build a residence, then head to the Inheritance Realm.”
The Guardian Beast looked down from the throne.
“Yes, Lord.”
Luo Feng and Zhenyan respectfully bowed and then left.
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