Volume 1, Chapter 339 – Ancient Battlefield

The altar in the distance was incomparably vast. Aside from the ten heavenly pillars, a bronze dagger-axe also stood planted at its center, propping up heaven and earth. The dagger-axe was stained a vivid crimson, smeared with the blood of some unknown lifeform, and covered in cracks.

Even so, despite being riddled with cracks, the dagger-axe still radiated a terrifying divine aura, as though with a casual sweep it could rip through the endless ages of space and time.

Almost everyone who had entered this realm before Shi Lan had gathered here. Apart from those prodigies accompanied by guardians, people from the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect were here as well.

Of those who had been forced into this realm together with Shi Lan by that old Human Emperor, fewer than a hundred were present. As for the rest, their fates were most likely grim.

Among these people were some of broad learning. The moment they saw the two characters “Langya,” and searched their memories for a moment, their expressions all changed drastically with shock.

The Langya Grotto-Heaven had been a colossal behemoth of the ancient era. At the height of its power, it had possessed more than one Emperor, a martial super-sect capable of waging campaigns across the starry river.

In truth, there had been many who became Emperors in the ancient era, and there was no shortage of powers like the Langya Grotto-Heaven. Many of their names had long since been worn away by the river of history, buried in the age when yao and devils ran rampant. Only a few sparse lines about them remained in the historical records of the human race.

The only reason the name of the Langya Grotto-Heaven was still known today was because of the existence of Great Emperor Linglong.

Great Emperor Linglong was a figure of ancient legend. As the last Great Emperor from the ancient era down to the present, she was an unquestionable giant, and she too had left behind a richly written myth in the annals of the human race.

After the shock passed, the expressions on the faces of the people around the altar all turned feverish. A training ground left behind by an ancient titan, what astonishing cultivation resources might it contain? It was almost impossible to imagine.

That terrifying bronze dagger-axe at the center of the altar might well be the Sovereign Weapon Great Emperor Linglong had once wielded!

Even those proud heavenly prodigies and monstrous geniuses had burning light flickering in their eyes. With such a great opportunity right before them, no one could stay calm.

Shi Lan swept her gaze around and discovered that only one man wore a deeply furrowed brow and a solemn expression. It was the member of the Tianwu Imperial Clan who had entered this realm one step ahead of the others.

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Not much time had passed since entering this place, and Shi Lan still remembered that this man was named Tianwu Yangyu.

At this moment, there was a trace of desolation hidden in his gaze, along with faint struggle, as though he were wrestling with something in his mind.

Shi Lan shifted her eyes away and looked at the blue stone stele. A layer of ancient memory suddenly opened in her mind.

She had once read ancient histories of the Lingyang Realm and seen some records concerning Great Emperor Linglong in an old volume.

The Langya Grotto-Heaven had been a transcendent power of the ancient era.

Great Emperor Linglong had come from the Langya Grotto-Heaven.

In the ancient era, the human path flourished alone, and Emperor stars appeared one after another. Linglong rose in that age, and when she was born, heavenly phenomena descended. Ten stars aligned in a row, and the nine luminaries of the Emperor Star shone together. It was said that she was the reincarnation of a titan from the Primordial Age.

Her life had been brilliant and legendary to the utmost. She entered the martial path at the age of six, was empowered by the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and had all one hundred and eight life-and-death acupoints opened. The Langya Grotto-Heaven nurtured her with all its strength, and before reaching two hundred years of age, she stepped into the Human Emperor Realm.

After attaining the Dao, she slew a Demon Venerable and killed a Demon Emperor in the Boundless Sea, completely forcing the demon and devil races back into the Boundless Sea and suppressing an entire age.

Then came the blood calamity at the end of the ancient era…

“No… no, that’s not right…”

As the memory grew clearer, Shi Lan stared at the ancient altar in the distance. Her pupils contracted, and uncontrollable shock surfaced on her face.

That old volume from her memory recorded this: Great Emperor Linglong blood-sacrificed the Langya Grotto-Heaven and suppressed a god king in the Boundless World Sea, then fell into eternal slumber…

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She had not left behind any hidden treasury at all!

If this really was the Langya Grotto-Heaven, then this place was where Great Emperor Linglong had been buried, and this realm was very likely suppressing an Ancient God King that had survived from the Primordial Age!

At the thought, Shi Lan could not help drawing in a sharp breath. The Ancient Gods had been born from the nurturing of the heavenly dao laws of the Lingyang Realm. A pure-blood Ancient God possessed Heavenly Astral Realm strength the moment it was born. Even if it never stepped onto the path of cultivation, once it reached adulthood, its strength would naturally grow to the Nascent Soul Realm. With only a little effort, it could become a Heavenly God.

Once they stepped into the domain of God Emperors, conventional methods could no longer kill these Ancient Gods. There had once been a Sovereign who opened the gates of the underworld and buried a God Emperor directly at the edge of the Yellow Springs. Yet even the primal chaos between the yin and yang realms had failed to erase its life force.

And an Ancient God King was even stronger than a God Emperor!

Even though several million years had passed since the ancient era, Shi Lan did not dare say for certain whether that Ancient God King had already died of exhausted lifespan.

Boom!

At that moment, someone with outrageous courage had already brazenly made a move.

Shi Lan reined in her thoughts and did her utmost to steady her mind. Focusing her eyes, she saw an old man in his sixties holding a blood-colored banner.

Although this old man had made the first move, he also knew his own limits. He did not attempt to touch the bronze dagger-axe. With a sweep of his blood-colored banner, he blotted out the sky and rolled toward one of the heaven-reaching jade pillars.

This heavenly pillar was nearly a thousand zhang high, carved entirely from spiritual precious jade. It was a priceless treasure of immeasurable value, with endless uses.

A sharp hiss rang out across the wasteland from every direction. Countless powerful and terrifying yin spirits stirred violently, their auras flaring with naked menace, as though they were about to leave their territories and march out to attack.

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Shi Lan instinctively moved to stop the old man, but just as she took a single step, a thunderous roar suddenly exploded.

“Insolence!”

A splendid, dazzling blade light tore through the void and split down toward the old man’s head in an instant. Not far away, Tianwu Yangyu stood holding his saber, his surging blood and qi blazing like a scorching sun, brilliant and resplendent.

The old man withdrew the blood-colored banner and swept a startled glance around. Only after discovering that those powerful yin spirits had not emerged from their lairs did he finally let out a long breath.

“You little bastard, you’re courting death!”

Coming back to himself, he looked toward Tianwu Yangyu, his eyes overflowing with killing intent as he shouted angrily,

“Do you think this is still the outside world, where someone can protect you?!”

The blood-colored banner churned through the void, and a savage roar sharp enough to pierce metal and split stone echoed through the nine heavens.

“Whoever dishonors the Great Emperor shall have their clan annihilated, their race wiped out, and their descendants cut off!”

Tianwu Yangyu remained expressionless. Facing an old man at the great perfection of the Nascent Soul Realm, he showed not the slightest fear. Raising the long saber in his hand straight toward the heavens, he shouted sternly,

“Will you defy the decree passed down by word of mouth from the human race’s forebears?”

The old man’s heart trembled. He glanced around and saw the strange looks on many faces. At once, he flew into shock and fury.

“Boy, do not slander me! When did I ever dishonor the Great Emperor?!”

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“This young friend speaks too severely. This place must certainly be an opportunity Great Emperor Linglong left for us juniors. Since we have arrived here, the Great Emperor must have anticipated it long ago. It has nothing whatsoever to do with dishonor.”

A man in a scholar’s robe spoke up, his face full of a warm smile. He looked to be just over thirty, and righteous qi swirled around him, making others instinctively feel goodwill toward him.

“This place is the battlefield where Great Emperor Linglong suppressed a Primordial God King. There is no hidden treasury here at all. I urge you all to quickly find an exit and withdraw from this realm, or there is great danger that you will fall here!” Tianwu Yangyu swept his gaze around, his face growing colder and colder.

“Do you take us for fools?”

“How laughable.”

“Fall here? Because of you?”

As soon as those words were spoken, quite a few people burst out laughing on the spot. Such ancient secret legends had long become things ordinary people could no longer hear of. They only assumed Tianwu Yangyu was making excuses to drive them away so that he could monopolize the Great Emperor’s hidden treasury for himself.

“Why be so hostile? Yin spirits surround us on every side. We absolutely must not fall into internal strife. Joining forces is the proper path.”

“Quite right, quite right. As a member of an Imperial Clan, young friend, your mind should be a little broader.”

…

Shi Lan stepped forward and drew Golden Rainbow. Her gaze flashed like cold lightning as she looked around. Vast blood and qi surged up into the sky. She did not argue, and only spoke indifferently:

“This is the burial ground of Great Emperor Linglong. Whoever dares brandish weapons here and disturb the Great Emperor’s rest shall be killed without mercy!”