There was nothing before his eyes except for the collapsed altar. Even though Ashina Bagushidu had been outside the formation, its breaking and the projection of light had allowed Ashina Bagushidu to see that young figure.
It had to be said that the final result had even left a supreme King of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate like him flabbergasted in disbelief.
“The Origin Immortal Lord would never leave behind something without reason. The real key to opening the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury might be in that kid’s hands!”
As Ashina Bagushidu pondered, he suddenly smiled and took his leave.
Taptap!
As Ashina Bagushidu disappeared, two more people landed on the top platform of the golden sphere, both of them radiating storms of energy.
“We came too late! They’ve all gone!”
“The last one seemed to be Eastern Turkic King Ashina Bagushidu? He must have an ulterior motive in appearing here at a time like this.”
“This matter has nothing to do with us. Our first priority is to find the Demonic Emperor and his disciple. They can’t have gone far!”
Song Yuanyi and Xie Guangting, the Lord and Vice Lord of the Righteous Alliance, stood side by side on the platform, their expressions cold and aloof.
Chapter 1415 - The Mysterious Stele!
Chapter 1415: The Mysterious Stele!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Xie Guangting had arrived last, rushing over as soon as the formation was broken in the hopes of joining together with Song Yuanyi to deal with Demonic Emperor Zhang Wenfu. But the Demonic Emperor had reacted much more quickly than these two. By the time Xie Guangting had arrived, he had already left with the Formation Elder.
“The items in the formation have already been taken by that kid. Although he successfully escaped, neither he nor his master could have gotten very far!” Xie Guangting coldly said.
The entire northwest was only so large. It wouldn’t take long before they were found, and one also had to consider that they had the Formation Elder with them, whose martial arts level was not very high.
“This matter might not be that simple. Let’s wait and see first,” Song Yuanyi lightly said.
After searching the area, the pair took their leave.
One person after another made their way through the pacified formation gates to the golden sphere at the core of the Origin Immortal Formation. These martial artists searched the core from top to bottom, inside and outside. After finding nothing at all, they reluctantly took their leave.
After a long while, once group after group had finally begun to retreat in disappointment from the golden sphere, another pair walked over, one in front and one behind.
“I didn’t think that this was how the world’s number one formation would be broken!”
Behind Young Master Qingyang, the guard wearing a white martial uniform and a sword on his back raised his head and sighed.
“Heh, if it’s a formation, it can be broken. Not even the Origin Immortal Formation is an exception!”
Young Master Qingyang placed his hands behind his back and smiled.
“Young Master is right! Your subordinate was foolish!”
The guard hurriedly lowered his head and bowed, an expression of utmost respect on his face.
Young Master Qingyang merely smiled and stepped into the insides of the ruined golden sphere.
The golden sphere’s insides were completely empty. Young Master Qingyang did not obtain anything more than any of the others.
“Young Master, there’s nothing here. I really didn’t expect that it would be that person who managed to destroy this place,” the white-garbed guard said.
Young Master Qingyang’s expression slightly froze at these words, a light flashing in his eyes. Although the guard had not specified exactly who he was speaking of, both of them understood who he was talking about.
Neither Young Master Qingyang nor his guard had entered the formation. It was precisely because they had remained outside that they sensed just how dangerous this formation had been. The screams that continued to rise and fall from it made even them shiver in fear, and they had even been able to smell the pungent scent of blood wafting out of the formation.
“I underestimated the people of the secular world this time. The martial arts world interacts with the court and officialdom far too infrequently, and it has little respect for the warriors of the court. But who could have imagined that the Great Tang’s Imperial Court would be home to such a formidable figure?”
Young Master Qingyang sighed.
Not long ago, he had lost in a battle of wits to the Young Marquis of the Great Tang before a vast crowd of martial artists. And in breaking the formation, the Black Yin Ancestor and Song Yuanyi, titans of the martial arts world, had also unquestionably lost to the Young Marquis.
This forced Young Master Qingyang to look upon the people of the Imperial Court with completely different eyes.
“Li Zhen, not long ago, a martial artist called Freeman Wujin was recruiting experts for the Imperial Court. Do you still remember the name of the noble he served?” Young Master Qingyang suddenly asked, turning his head.
“This…”
A pensive look appeared in the guard’s eyes.
“Your subordinate remembers this, and he tried to recruit us as well, but your subordinate refused. The person he served was apparently called the King… right, the King of Foreign Lands!”
The guard spoke with a firm expression, but then it slowly started to turn strange.
The people of the martial arts world were proud souls unwilling to accept the authority of the court, so even though that Freeman Wujin had posted his notices throughout the martial arts world, very few accepted his invitation.
Those that did were mostly not very strong and were loners. Almost no one from the sects accepted the offer.
Li Zhen had never imagined that the King of Foreign Lands Freeman Wujin had spoken of would appear in the northwest, and that he would be so young.
This time, the Origin Immortal Formation had entrapped so many people, and no one was able to get out, not even Song Yuanyi and the other martial arts titans. But in the end, it was this King of the Imperial Court who had broken the formation, saving everyone. This was a firm and vicious slap against the faces of the people of the martial arts world who had always arrogantly looked down on the Imperial Court.
“It really is him!”
Young Master Qingyang nodded and began to mutter to himself.
“But, given his status, why did he have to pretend to be me?”
Young Master Qingyang deeply furrowed his brow as if engrossed in some incomprehensible riddle. Behind him, his powerful guard also frowned.
For a moment, master and servant were befuddled by this simple question.
Creee!
A piercing whistle suddenly resounded in their ears.
The two of them came to their senses and looked up to see a signal arrow flying through the sky, exploding in the air to create the symbol of a bloody axe.
At the same time, a clamor came from nearby.
“Let’s go! The ancestor has ordered us to focus on finding the Demonic Emperor’s disciple so that we can seize what he obtained from the core!”
With these words, several Five Ancestor Alliance disciples shot off into the distance.
Young Master Qingyang and his guard glanced at each other, grimaced, and quickly made their way out of the golden sphere.
One group after another came and went.
Gradually, the number of people dwindled away. By nighttime, only a scant number of people were left in the Origin Immortal Formation.
Several thousand martial artists had participated in this treasure hunt, and countless had been killed or injured. But in the end, none of them had obtained the Origin Immortal Art.
Once the bustle had passed, the ruins of the Origin Immortal Formation were left in peace. However, no one co
uld have imagined that ten-some figures were standing on a nearby mountaintop, silently watching everything.
The gusting wind caused their clothes to flap, but the ten-some people remained silent.
If one looked carefully, one would realize that each of these people had a cold and aloof expression, and as they stared at the ruins of the formation, hate seethed in their eyes.
After a long while, a voice brimming with hate shattered the silence. “Damn thing—if not for the Immortal Lord’s will, we would have rushed up there and torn him to pieces!”
“Can we find out where he was teleported to?” another one of them asked.
“No! That formation was left by the Immortal Lord, and only we, the descendants of the Immortal Lord, should be capable of using it. But this kid was not of our tribe, yet he still activated the formation… Frankly speaking, not even I understand what is going on.
“He activated the formation in a way completely different from us, so we can’t track down where he went. Perhaps this is all part of the Immortal Lord’s plan.”
The words of this third speaker caused everyone else to deeply frown.
“Don’t go spouting off random theories!” a dignified voice intoned. The leader, standing at the very front, had finally spoken.
“Do you think the person the Immortal Lord spoke of in his will could so easily appear? The Origin Immortal Art has been hidden for several hundred years. Has this destined person ever appeared?
“I’m more inclined to believe that he was sent by those people, and that he might be related to our battle with them. That youth might have been specially trained by them to deal with us. No matter what, we have to find him! He can’t be allowed to live!” the leader sternly said.
The words of the leader immediately allowed the subordinates to connect the dots, and their eyes turned cold.
In a gust of wind, the group vanished from the mountain like ghosts.
……
Darkness, pitch-black darkness!
After some time, with a soft grunt, Wang Chong finally awakened.
Even though his eyes were not open, a weak light was already seeping in through his eyelids.
“Where is this?”
Wang Chong slightly shifted, upon which he felt aches along his entire body.
Wang Chong opened his eyes a crack, and what he saw was a ground covered in shards, all of them reflecting a weak light.
Wang Chong followed the direction of this light to its source. Floating in the air was a blood-red pearl the size of a thumb, exuding a gentle light.
“It’s that pearl!”
Wang Chong’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He immediately recognized this pearl.
This pearl had originally been placed between the horns of that black beast statue, but it had somehow broken free and was now floating in the air.
Unlike before, Wang Chong could sense that this pearl was pulsing with extremely strong energy waves.
“What is going on here?”
Wang Chong began to move his body, his hand stroking his head as he tried to remember what had happened.
He vaguely recalled that he had stepped onto something at the top of the golden sphere, and then the world had begun to turn around him.
He hadn’t expected to appear here.
Wang Chong’s eyes looked past the pearl and spotted something surprising nearby.
This was a stone stele about three feet tall that radiated an orange-gold light.
“What is this?”
Wang Chong creased his brow. Sitting up, he began to gather the Stellar Energy in his body.
After recovering some of his Stellar Energy, Wang Chong unsteadily stood up, snatched the floating pearl, and walked over to the stele.
Wang Chong stopped in front of this three-foot-tall stele.
This stone stele was extremely old, and much of the mysterious golden filigree had been covered in a layer of green moss.
Chapter 1416 - The Immortal Lord’s Prophecy!
Chapter 1416: The Immortal Lord’s Prophecy!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong also saw a human skeleton collapsed in front of the stele, one hand still gripping the stele as if its owner had still hoped to get something before its death.
The skeleton and base of the stele were both covered in cobwebs. It was apparent that both the skeleton and the stele had been there for many years.
Wang Chong shook his head, getting more and more confused.
Everything that he saw was brimming with an indescribable sense of mystery. Most importantly, Wang Chong had no idea how he had appeared here.
A moment later, he turned his attention to the stele.
The lines of dense text on the stele immediately grabbed his attention.
The words were extremely complex and not at all like the words used in the current era. It was more similar to the Bird Seal Script used on the stone pillars of the Origin Immortal Formation.
“It’s something left behind by the Origin Immortal Lord!”
Wang Chong suddenly realized what was going on.
As these characters shared the same origin as the characters in the Origin Immortal Formation, it was clear that they had both been prepared by the Origin Immortal Lord.
But Wang Chong was somewhat confused as to why he had been teleported to this place from that platform. In addition, he did not recognize any of the words on the stele.
Without any understanding of the words, just looking at them was pointless.
But a moment later, Wang Chong seemed to think of something and smiled.
“Although I don’t recognize the words, that doesn’t mean I can’t find out their meaning.”
Tap! Wang Chong walked over, squatted down, and pressed a hand against the stele, softly stroking the words. A familiar voice soon rang out in his mind.
“Notice! User has discovered words of the ancient era. Does user wish for these words to be translated? Warning: translation of the words of the ancient era will cost 100 points of Destiny Energy.”
Hearing the Stone of Destiny’s words, Wang Chong closed his eyes and replied without hesitation, “Translate!”
A dim glow exuded from Wang Chong’s palm and shrouded the stele. At the same time, lines of translated information began to appear in Wang Chong’s mind.
‘After the Spring and Autumn, one thousand years will pass. Only five will be able to see the words on this stele. After five, this stele will be destroyed!’
The first line the Stone of Destiny translated greatly alarmed Wang Chong.
“Spring and Autumn… one thousand years… To think this stele would be so old! And only five people can see it… What does that mean? Could it be that when the Origin Immortal Lord was making this stele, he had already predicted that only five people would be able to see it? But what’s the purpose of this stele?”
Wang Chong’s brows tightly furrowed. This was completely different from what he had expected.
But before he had time to think, more translated words flowed into his mind.
‘One hundred years after I erect this stele, the Spring and Autumn will pass and the Warring States will cease to exist. The first to come here will obtain my ‘Scroll of Wisdom’. He will use it to sweep away the Six States, assist a wise sovereign in uniting the realm and establishing the Great Qin, and obtain the rank of Prime Minister!’
Wang Chong’s eyes widened upon reading these words.
Great Qin? Prime Minister?
The only Prime Minister that Wang Chong knew from the Great Qin Empire of one thousand years ago that fit this description was ‘Li Si’. This man assisted that sovereign of the ages, the First Qin Emperor, in uniting the realm and standardizing the writing system, weights, and measurements. This was the first time the Central Plains was rendered into a true empire.
Even now, the system of commanderies and counties he had established was still in use.
Was this saying
that he was the first one to have come to this place, and he had even taken the ‘Scroll of Wisdom’ the Origin Immortal Lord had left here?
‘The second person will conquer the northern desert and suppress the Hu, becoming the King of Great Generals. By this time, the Han will have supplanted the Qin!’
Wang Chong’s eyes widened once more in shock. The Origin Immortal Lord had even predicted what the dynasties would be. But the Han Dynasty had two Kings of Great Generals, and Wang Chong didn’t know which one he was referring to.
‘The third person is a peasant of the countryside. While grazing his horses, he will wander into this place. In its mercy, heaven will spare his life, but his avarice remains unsatisfied. He will lead the Hu here and end up buried here forever. But the punishment fits the crime. He brings this upon himself!
‘The fourth will be a youth…’
The Stone of Destiny suddenly stopped translating at the fourth line. Wang Chong creased his brow in surprise. Opening his eyes, Wang Chong suddenly realized that when it came to the fourth person, the stele had been damaged. And now that he looked again, he saw that one of the skeleton’s hands had scratched away at the stele, digging out some of the words of the fourth and fifth line.
“How could it be like this?”
Wang Chong was truly caught off guard. No matter how formidable the Stone of Destiny was, how great the abilities of the Riddle of Destiny, it needed the complete text for translation. With this damaged text, it was impossible to recover all of the information.
The remainder of the last portion read: ‘The fifth person… the heavens and earth to dust… no freedom… the stele will be destroyed, completely wiped away!’
At least three people have already come to this place. The bones on the ground should belong to that peasant the Origin Immortal Lord mentioned in his prophecy. I just don’t know if I’m the fourth person or the fifth person, Wang Chong quietly said to himself, a hundred questions on his mind.
Judging by the words on the stele, the Origin Immortal Lord from one thousand years ago had possessed some sort of divination ability that allowed him to predict what would happen after his death. With each line, he would be able to predict the fate of the person he referred to. Alas, the owner of the skeleton had scratched off the last lines, robbing Wang Chong of the chance to see what came after.
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