“In the depths of the Xia Clan’s world, ten thousand miles beneath the earth, lies the Red Stone Mountain!”
“It is very special.”
Black Wind Ancestor frowned, his eyes filled with reminiscence. “It seems as though all natural laws of the heavens and earth become ineffective before it. It transcends both time and space! It appears as an infinitesimally small point, tinier than a grain of sand. Yet the closer one approaches, the larger it becomes—growing endlessly, as vast as the boundless void. You cannot describe its size by any conventional spatial understanding.”
“In terms of time, it is even more unfathomable. Only those who have truly entered can grasp its terrifying nature! And only then can one understand how a single catastrophe from it might easily destroy our entire Xia Clan world!”
Dongbo Xueying listened, puzzled and perplexed.
Transcending time and space?
Unable to describe its size accurately? What kind of thing was this?
“Foolish Palace Master of Xinhuo Palace! He simply doesn’t comprehend the threat our Xia Clan faces. I requested to bring a divine artifact into Red Stone Mountain once more, but he refused!” Black Wind Ancestor raged. “With a divine artifact, my power would surge greatly. Within Red Stone Mountain, I would gain more! Perhaps even ascend to godhood. And all the treasures I obtained would still be left behind for the Xia Clan!”
“I even offered him my Five Shadows in exchange for a divine artifact, yet he still refused! The Five Shadows are five divine war-treasures from the Divine Realm, with the two strongest among them rivaling the divine war-treasures passed down by our Xia Clan ancestors!”
“Damn it!”
“Foolish!”
“Short-sighted!” Black Wind Ancestor’s eyes burned with fury and bloodlust. “Later, I conducted experiments within a large supernatural world, using substances extracted from unknown corpses to cultivate a special form of life. As this lifeform matured, its power surged rapidly! Though I was reluctant to destroy it, I eventually acted. Yet this lifeform had concealed its strength all along! When I attacked, it actually suppressed me? I fled to Black Wind Divine Palace, and it pursued me relentlessly. Only with the aid of the palace did I manage to slay it! I was already nearing the end of my lifespan, and this battle has left me with little time left.”
“But this proves one thing: even lifeforms cultivated from the remains I obtained are this terrifying! They could bring great calamity upon our Xia Clan! The threat from Red Stone Mountain must be immense!”
“If Xinhuo Palace is so short-sighted, then I won’t leave them a single treasure!”
“You managed to pass the trials, and your strength likely rivals mine. With these seven divine war-treasures aiding you, you’d have a better chance within Red Stone Mountain!” Black Wind Ancestor said coldly. “As for me, I have no hope left. I hope future generations of our Xia Clan will continue to explore. We cannot always rely on Red Stone Mountain not causing any major troubles—we must take initiative, actively gain more power!”
“Pity…”
“Pity I couldn’t open the Divine Sea and ascend as a god.” A trace of bitterness flickered in Black Wind Ancestor’s eyes. “I entrust all my treasures to you. Remember, handle the remains of those creatures with utmost caution. Do not act recklessly, lest another catastrophe arises.”
Buzz—
After speaking, Black Wind Ancestor’s form completely dissipated.
The crystal orb’s glow also fully receded.
Dongbo Xueying gazed at the scene before him.
So that’s how it was…
The reason for the rift and conflict between Black Wind Ancestor and the Xinhuo Palace Master of that generation was over divine artifacts?
Truthfully, Dongbo Xueying actually leaned more toward the Palace Master’s side.
Because divine artifacts were indeed rare. Each one was painstakingly passed down by the Xia Clan’s ancestors. And Red Stone Mountain was simply too perilous. Haven’t we seen how forces from the Divine Realm and Abyss sent numerous top-tier half-gods, only to have them perish in droves? Rarely did one survive among ten? And most of those half-gods were on par with Black Wind Ancestor, some even stronger!
Clearly, Red Stone Mountain was far too dangerous!
If one entered with a divine artifact and perished, the artifact would be lost forever within Red Stone Mountain.
“Actually, Black Wind Ancestor’s claim that it might destroy our Xia Clan world is mere exaggeration,” Dongbo Xueying mused inwardly. “After all, the Divine Realm and Abyss have sent countless top-tier half-gods inside, yet none have truly subdued this Red Stone Mountain. Do you really think resolving this threat is that easy? Despite all his talk, Black Wind Ancestor’s real intention was still to bring divine artifacts inside to seek the chance of ascending to godhood.”
The Xinhuo Palace was clearly acting entirely in the Xia Clan’s best interest.
If one divine artifact was lost, then another, and another… continuing like this would only weaken the Xia Clan’s power.
…
Dongbo Xueying stored the crystal orb away, then reached into the sack and took out another item—the ‘dark golden bracelet.’ Upon contact, he easily refined it.
“Wow, what a massive space!” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes lit up. “This must be the largest storage treasure I’ve ever obtained.”
The dark golden bracelet contained an internal storage space of astonishing size—five hundred meters in length, width, and height!
Inside lay a massive pile of unremarkable gray stones—the Source Stones.
“1.6 million jin of Source Stones?” Dongbo Xueying quickly confirmed, his joy evident. “It seems Black Wind Ancestor once plundered the Source Stones from that large supernatural world. And since he had already reached the peak of cultivation, he probably didn’t consume much of the Source Stones, leaving me such a huge amount. Combined with the 1.8 million jin I previously obtained, that totals 3.4 million jin!”
Heavenly!
This was an astonishing number. Even the Xia Clan’s half-gods, despite their immense contribution points, could only exchange for one million jin at Xinhuo Palace. They wouldn’t give more. If one wanted more, one had to trade with other half-gods or mine it oneself in large worlds.
Possessing over three million jin of Source Stones… considering how much the Xia Clan had mined in total, most of which had already been consumed by supernaturals, Dongbo Xueying suspected he might now be the supernatural with the largest stockpile of Source Stones!
“Black Wind Ancestor’s treasure truly lives up to its reputation.” Dongbo Xueying noticed some other scattered treasures, though they held little value.
“Talismans!”
There was also a pile of talismans, among which the most prominent were seven Divine Realm war-treasure talismans, each clearly made of different materials. The rest were alchemical creature talismans. There were still many alchemical creatures within Black Wind Divine Palace. Dongbo Xueying now guessed that the vast supernatural materials used by ‘Black Dragon’ probably originated from Red Stone Mountain as well.
“These three creature corpses?” Dongbo Xueying stared in astonishment, his heart tightening.
Within the storage space floated three peculiar corpses. The largest was a four-legged beast, a hundred meters long, covered entirely in long, flowing fur that obscured its head. The smallest was merely three meters tall, humanoid in form, naturally armored with scales, its head crowned with hair and twelve curved horns. The third corpse stood six meters tall, also humanoid, with backward-jointed legs and six curved horns atop its head.
Their aura was terrifying!
Even through the storage space, Dongbo Xueying felt his heart constrict and his legs weaken involuntarily. Considering his current strength, even facing a god wouldn’t normally provoke such a reaction.
“Could it be that in life, they were even more powerful than gods?” Dongbo Xueying recalled how Black Wind Ancestor had nearly caused a catastrophe merely by experimenting with substances extracted from a corpse. “Until I attain absolute power, until I’m certain of my strength, I won’t give these three corpses to anyone. I’ll keep them for now, to prevent supernatural sorcerers from recklessly experimenting again!”
Supernatural sorcerers were notorious for their obsessive experiments on bloodlines and souls. With such terrifying corpses in their hands, how many could resist the temptation?
…
After inspecting the treasures left by Black Wind Ancestor, Dongbo Xueying immediately began refining the talismans. As for the so-called ‘Red Stone Mountain’?
He had absolutely no interest!
Even someone of Black Wind Ancestor’s caliber, or even stronger ones, entered in droves, with barely one surviving out of ten. Would he really go in just to shorten his lifespan? Perhaps only when he neared the end of his days might he consider taking such a risk. Until then, Dongbo Xueying had no such intention. Black Wind Ancestor must have acted so recklessly precisely because he was nearing the end of his life. If Black Wind Ancestor had only lived two or three hundred years, he probably wouldn’t have taken such a risk either.
“Boom~~~” The previously sealed door of the chamber automatically swung open.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…”
Figures flashed in rapid succession.
They were: a black rat half a person’s height, a golden humanoid exuding mighty aura, a calm and indifferent child, a seductively beautiful woman, a red-haired handsome youth, a gray-robed man, and a misty, ever-shifting ape formed of white vapor.
The seven divine war-treasures from the Divine Realm bowed respectfully, yet excitedly, “Greetings, Master!”
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