Chapter 87: Earthly Immortal
"Please come with me, Esteemed Ancestral God."
Luo Feng hunched over slightly as he made an inviting hand gesture, leading Han Li toward the Ancestral God Pavilion. All of the surrounding humans immediately bowed as they spread out to open up a path for Han Li and Luo Feng.
Not long after the two of them left the plaza, all of the humans on the plaza yelled in unison, "Farewell, Esteemed Ancestral God!"
Their voices were loud and synchronized, and the phrase was repeated several times, only trailing off into silence after Han Li and Luo Feng had vanished into the forest outside of the plaza.
Throughout this entire process, Han Li didn't turn around even once, nor did he slow down in the slightest.
The two made their way along a winding stone path in the forest all the way to a large, antiquated hall.
The hall was only less than 200 feet tall, so it wasn't all that large compared with the average palace, and the walls were pitch-black, seemingly having been constructed from the common rocks on the island. The hall was also riddled with signs of age and wear, but the color of the pillars, doors, and windowframes were still quite vibrant, indicating that they were clearly periodically repainted.
The small plaza in front of the hall and the stone staircase leading up to it had all been swept very cleanly, with barely even a single fallen leaf to be seen.
Han Li looked up to find a black plaque hanging above the entrance of the hall, bearing the words "Ancestral God Pavilion" in large golden characters.
Luo Feng quickly made his way over to the hall, then extended a respectful bow before pushing the doors open and inviting Han Li into the hall.
Upon entering the hall, Han Li was greeted by the sight of a black stone statue that was a 1:1 replica of Dark Veil Island's Ancestral God, and looking at its features, the statue did indeed bear somewhat of a resemblance to him.
Han Li inspected his surroundings briefly before withdrawing his gaze and turning to Luo Feng, then said in a direct and straightforward manner, "Seeing as it's only you and me in here, let me make things clear to you. I'm not the Ancestral God that you speak of, and I only turned up here today purely by chance."
A horrified look immediately appeared on Luo Feng's face upon hearing this, and he hurriedly fell to his knees once again as he implored, "Esteemed Ancestral God, if you hadn't descended today, our Dark Veil Island would've been destroyed for sure! Please don't abandon us! Our entire tribe has been worshipping your reverently for tens of thousands of years, and we're counting on you for our continued protection!"
"If those people hadn't attacked me today, I wouldn't have done anything to them, so there's no need for you to feel any gratitude for what I've done. As the chief of this tribe, I'm sure you know full well whether I'm your Ancestral God or not. If you're hoping that you can swindle me into taking the place of your Ancestral God, then I'm telling you now that it's not going to work," Han Li said in a cold voice.
Luo Feng shuddered upon hearing this, and a fearful look surfaced in his eyes, following which a wry smile appeared on his face.
"To be honest, it doesn't matter to me who you are, Senior. As long as you can agree to stay on our island and pose as our Ancestral God to help us avert this crisis, our entire tribe will dedicate itself fully to serving you and providing you with any cultivation resources that you need."
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but instead of immediately offering a reply, he suddenly asked, "For a start, why don't you tell me about this Ancestral God that you speak of?"
Luo Feng faltered slightly upon hearing this, then carefully replied, "The Ancestral God that we worship is actually an ancestor of ours who attained immortality through cultivation hundreds of years ago. He has been protecting our tribe for generation after generation, and he is the reason why our tribe has been able to establish a foothold here."
Han Li was silent for a moment before asking, "So those foreign beings that invaded your island today also have an Ancestral God that they worship? Does that layer of white light over their bodies have something to do with the protection provided by that Ancestral God of theirs?"
"That's right. The Ancestral God of their tribe is someone by the name of Patriach Han Qiu, and he's just a mere Earthly Immortal who only attained immortality less than 200,000 years ago. According to my knowledge, his powers rank near the bottome among all of the Ancestral Gods, and he was even once defeated by the Ancestral God of our Dark Veil Island," Luo Feng replied in a resentful voice.
"What is an Earthly Immortal?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Luo Feng was quite taken aback by this question. "You don't know of Earthly Immortals? Could it be that you only just ascended from a lower realm?"
Han Li offered no response, merely looking at Luo Feng in silence.
Luo Feng knew that he had overstepped his boundaries, and he hurriedly explained, "An Earthly Immortal is an immortal who cultivates through harnessing the power of faith from worshippers in an area that they protect. Generally speaking, the larger the area under their protection, the more worshippers they'll have, and the faster they'll be able to progress in their cultivation."
Han Li nodded in response with a contemplative expression, then prompted, "Tell me about the Cold Crystal Race."
He was quite interested in the concepts of Ancestral Gods and Earthly Immortals, but he didn't want to ask any further questions on those subjects for now.
"Just like our tribe, that settlement of Cold Crystal beings is a small tribe situated on the edge of the Black Wind Sea. The island that they reside on is quite close to our Dark Veil Island, so we've always had frequent conflicts with them over things like resources.
“Back when our tribe was the height of its powers, they naturally didn't dare to step out of line, but seeing as our ancestral god has been in a state of slumber for an extended period of time, they've begun to become more and more aggressive," Luo Feng replied in a respectful manner.
Han Li fell into deep thought after hearing what Luo Feng had to say.
Luo Feng naturally didn't dare to interrupt Han Li, and he waited off to the side with his head lowered in reverence.
After a long silence, Han Li suddenly asked, "How far away is this Black Wind Sea from the Northern Glacial Immortal Region?"
"According to my knowledge, the Black Wind Sea is within the scope of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region's jurisdiction, but it's only an insignificant and secluded area. Here is a partial map of the Black Wind Sea," Luo Feng replied as he pulled out a walnut-sized white bead before offering it up to Han Li.
Han Li accepted the bead and closed his eyes as he injected his spiritual sense into it.
Moments later, he reopened his eyes, and a hint of mixed emotions appeared on his face. After another long silence, he said, "I can protect your Dark Veil Island, but there are some things that I must make clear first."
Luo Feng was ecstatic to hear this, and he hurriedly prompted, "Please go ahead, Senior."
"You are correct, I did indeed only arrive in the Immortal Realm today. On top of that, I wasn't received into the Immortal Realm by an Ascension Platform. If you view this to be a problem, then we can pretend as if nothing has happened here, and I can leave right away," Han Li revealed.
"Of course that's not a problem! I'm extremely grateful that you're willing to entrust me with this information, Senior!" Luo Feng hurriedly said.
"In that case, in order to put your people at ease, you can refer to me as your Ancestral God when we're in the presence of others. However, in private, you can refer to me simply as Senior Liu. If the Cold Crystal Race dares to attack again, I'll be sure to step in, but don't forget about your promise of securing the cultivation resources that I need," Han Li said in an indifferent voice.
Luo Feng was overjoyed to hear this, and he hurriedly replied, "Rest assured, Senior, we'll do everything in our power to satisfy your needs!"
"Alright, organize a peaceful place for me to stay. I need to rest and recuperate," Han Li said with a nod.
"Please come with me, Senior Liu."
Thus, Luo Feng led Han Li through the Ancestral God Pavilion and into the backyard.
After emerging from the backyard, the two of them passed through a bamboo forest that was filled with purple mist, then arrived at a small, traditional courtyard.
"This courtyard is where I go into seclusion when I'm trying to break through cultivation bottlenecks. No one will disturb you here, so you can rest assured," Luo Feng said.
Han Li briefly inspected the courtyard before giving a nod of approval and leading the way inside.
……
Close to half a day later.
In a dark blue region of the sea tens of thousands of kilometers away from Dark Veil Island was a white island that was sevearl thousand feet tall.
The area of the island was comparable with Dark Veil Island, but it was very long and thin in shape, resembling a willow leaf. Vegetation was quite sparse on the island, and the ground was riddled with gray rocks that reflected the light of the sun.
There were a series of white dome roof buildings that were constructed in accordance with the slope of the mountains on the island, and the closer one drew to the top of the mountain, the fewer and sparser the buildings became.
By the time one reached the highest point on the island, there were virtually no buildings around, only a spindle-shaped plaza that was several thousand feet in length constructed along the ridge of the mountain.
The plaza was riddled with curved or ring-shaped patterns that were connected with one another to form an extremely beautiful and intricate array.
At the center of the array stood a gray statue that was over 100 feet tall, depicting a burly and imposing man in a suit of armor with beautiful patterns engraved onto its surface. The man was also wearing a hollow helmet with a pair of curved tusks protruding out of his mouth and a head of slight curled long hair trailing down his back, giving him a dashing and gallant appearance.
At this moment, there was a circle of Cold Crystal beings kneeling around the statue with their heads lowered and their arms crossed over their chests while chanting something, seemingly performing some type of ritual.
Moments later, two balls of blue light suddenly appeared beneath the visor of the gray statue, and a rumbling voice rang out from within.
"How did it go? Hmm? Why don't I see Tuhar?"
A slightly portly elder of the Cold Crystal Race stepped forward with a grief-stricken expression, then cupped his fist in a respectful salute as he replied, "Esteemed Ancestral God, please allow me to explain..."
A short while later, the Cold Crystal being concluded his recount of events, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then continued, "That's roughly what happened. Chief Tuhar and several of our elders have already perished in battle. You have to stand up for us, Esteemed Ancestral God!"
After a brief silence, the same rumbling voice rang out from within the gray statue once again.
"There's no way that it was Luo Meng who descended onto Dark Veil Island. If he's actually recovered from those injuries that he suffered 10,000 years ago, there's no way that he would've allowed all of you to return alive, given his personality."
"In that case, should we raise another army and launch a second attack on Dark Veil Island?" the elder of the Cold Crystal Race asked in a careful voice.
"There's no need for that. That man may not be Luo Meng, but he's certainly no slouch, either, given that he was able to kill Tuhar and the others so easily. If you launch another attack, you'll only be sending more of our people to their deaths. You can go for now, I'll take care of the rest," the statue replied.
"Yes, Esteemed Ancestral God." The elder of the Cold Crystal Race immediately extended a respectful bow before departing with his brethren.
After everyone had departed, the voice from the statue murmured to itself, "Gu Gu, Hu Tu, and Lu Kun are also interested in conquering Dark Veil Island and splitting the spoils, so I'll naturally have to put them to work as well. However, there's one thing that I can't hand over to them. That thing is pivotal for my whether I'll be able to successfully advance in my cultivation..."
As the voice trailed off, the two spots of blue light on the statue also gradually vanished.
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