Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 226: Inheritance

Fang Hao ran for over ten miles in one breath, and only after feeling that the bastard Zhao Wuji couldn’t catch up for the time being did he stop in a hidden, vine-covered grotto to catch his breath.

He pushed his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and Divine Sense to the limit, carefully scanning the surroundings several times, and only after confirming there was no danger and no one following him did he relax slightly.

"Damn it, is this Zhao Wuji a piece of dog-skin plaster? I just snatched a few fruits from you, is it really necessary to scream about killing and fighting, and never stop until one of us is dead?"

Fang Hao muttered to himself, but he knew exactly what was going on in his heart.

In the cultivation world, stealing someone’s Opportunity is equivalent to cutting off their path to the Dao, especially for a proud and arrogant disciple of a great Family like Zhao Wuji; it would be strange if he let him go after losing so much face.

However, he did not regret it; on the path of cultivation, one must fight when it is necessary, for being soft-hearted leads to a quick death.

He took out the three "crimson essence fruit," bright red and pleasing to the eye.

These things were not of much use to him, but they could be traded for quite a few Spirit Stones, or exchanged for resources he needed with Cultivators who practiced fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques.

He carefully put them away and checked the black fragment he had snatched earlier.

The fragment remained ice-cold, and the ancient runes on it seemed to shimmer with an extremely faint, ghostly light in the dim surroundings, making that aura of the savage wilderness even more pronounced.

He still couldn’t understand it, so he could only put it away for now.

"This Secret Realm is indeed full of treasures, but it is also filled with danger at every turn."

Fang Hao summarized his experiences since entering.

It had only just begun, and he had already encountered a second-tier Demon Beast, stumbled upon murder for treasure, and formed a deadly feud with the Zhao Family.

He didn’t know how many dangers were waiting ahead.

He adjusted his breathing for a moment to recover the Spiritual Qi consumed while running.

Then he took out the "star evolution plate" to confirm his direction again.

The compass needle trembled, pointing toward a direction deep in the Secret Realm where the Spiritual Qi was denser, while the light point representing the exit was in another extremely distant direction.

"Let’s explore deeper first. The good things on the periphery have probably been swept up by those who entered earlier; the real Opportunity must be in the depths."

Fang Hao made up his mind.

He needed treasures that could quickly increase his cultivation or solve the subsequent cultivation difficulties of his Seven Spiritual Roots; staying on the periphery picking up scraps was of little significance.

He once again used the Shadowless Evasion Technique, like a ghost moving through the forest, and crept toward the depths of the Secret Realm.

This time he was even more careful, his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes constantly observing, not letting go of any trace of abnormal energy fluctuations or suspicious signs.

After walking for about half an hour, a rapid river with an eerie dark red color appeared in front of him.

The river water emitted a faint, fishy, sweet smell, and there was not a blade of grass growing by the riverbank, only some strange-looking black stones.

On the other side of the river, the fog was even thicker, and one could vaguely see the outlines of some buildings, looking like collapsed palaces or temples.

"This river... is strange."

Fang Hao stopped at the bank, not daring to rush across.

He picked up a stone and threw it into the river.

Sss—! As soon as the stone touched the dark red river water, a plume of white smoke immediately rose, and it was corroded and dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye, disappearing without a trace within a few breaths!

"Holy crap! It’s Bone-Melting Water!"

Fang Hao gasped.

This river water was too corrosive! Even a Golden Core Cultivator wouldn’t last long if they fell in.

It seemed he couldn’t cross the river directly.

He walked along the riverbank for a distance, wanting to see if there was a bridge or a shallow ford.

Not long after walking, he saw a relatively narrow place on the riverbank ahead, where several thick, half-rotted black logs lay across, looking like a bridge someone had built in the past, but now only a few remains were left, crookedly spanning the river, looking dangerous.

"Can these broken logs hold a person?"

Fang Hao frowned.

He scanned with his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and discovered that the material of these black logs seemed unusual; under the erosion of such highly corrosive river water, only the surface had rotted, while the inside still maintained a certain structure.

"Let’s give it a try."

Being highly skilled and bold, he gathered his Qi to lighten his body, pushed his Divine Spirit Steps to the limit, tapped his toe on the nearest black log, and his figure darted out like a flying swallow!

Just as his toe left the log, that seemingly sturdy black log suddenly snapped in the middle with a "crack"!

At the same time, the originally calm dark red river surface suddenly exploded!

A strange fish with a crimson body, covered in hideous bone spurs and sporting a blood-thirsty maw, shot out of the water like lightning, its huge mouth opening to reveal dense, file-like sharp teeth as it bit toward Fang Hao in mid-air!

The aura of this strange fish was ferocious; it was clearly a third-tier Low Grade Demon Beast!

"Damn it! It’s an ambush!"

Fang Hao cursed internally; this damn place was truly full of traps everywhere!

He was in mid-air with nowhere to leverage force, and it looked like he was about to fall into the monster fish’s mouth!

At the critical moment, he remained calm, instantly activating the black tortoise spirit shield he had been holding in his left hand to block beneath him!

At the same time, he drew the yitian sword with his right hand, the starlight on the blade surging, and unleashed the Starfall Sword Art—Meteor Strike!

Man and sword became one; he no longer dodged but instead actively thrust toward the monster fish’s open maw!

He would rather take a hit head-on than fail to severely injure this beast!

Clang!!! Pfft!

The monster fish’s huge mouth bit fiercely onto the tortoise shield’s projection, emitting a loud sound like metal clashing, causing the shield’s projection to shake violently and its light to dim, while Fang Hao was shaken so hard his blood surged.

But his sword also, in that instant, carrying an unstoppable Sword Intent, pierced fiercely into the monster fish’s upper jaw, sinking in up to the hilt!

Sharp Sword Qi erupted inside the monster fish’s skull!

"Roar—!"

The monster fish let out a scream of extreme pain, twisting frantically, spraying foul-smelling blood all over Fang Hao.

It wanted to shake Fang Hao off, but Fang Hao clutched the sword hilt tightly, his Spiritual Qi surging wildly, and the Sword Qi stirred frantically inside its body!

Boom!

The monster fish’s massive body slammed heavily back into the river, splashing blood-red water everywhere.

Fang Hao was also dragged into the river, but he had been prepared; the moment he hit the water, he protected his whole body with Spiritual Qi, and at the same time, he kicked hard off the monster fish’s corpse, using the force to leap upward!

Sss sss sss—!

The dark red river water frantically corroded his protective spiritual light, making a teeth-grinding sound.

Fang Hao felt his Spiritual Qi consuming rapidly!

He didn’t dare to delay, spotted another slightly sturdier black log, tapped it again, and his figure finally crossed the river, rolling awkwardly onto the gravel bank on the other side.

Once ashore, he immediately jumped up and checked himself.

His protective spiritual light was so thin it was almost transparent, his clothes were corroded with many holes, and his skin felt waves of burning pain, but fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

He hurriedly swallowed a few detoxification and healing Medicinal Pills, and used the Cleansing Art to deal with the river water staining his body.

"Damn, I almost capsized in the gutter."

Fang Hao felt a lingering fear.

The Demon Beasts in this Secret Realm were not only strong, but they also knew how to ambush people!

He looked at the river surface; the monster fish’s corpse had already sunk, leaving only a spreading pool of blood.

He did not dare to stay on the bank for long, quickly left, and dived into the even denser gray fog on the other side.

The fog was very thick, visibility was only a dozen zhang, and his Divine Sense was also greatly suppressed.

The air was filled with a damp, rotten scent, mixed with a faint aura of pressure.

Not long after walking, in the fog ahead, the outlines of a large collapsed building vaguely appeared.

Walking closer to look, it seemed to be an abandoned palace, with most of it buried under soil and vines, revealing only some broken stone pillars and ruined walls.

On the walls, one could faintly see some blurry murals, depicting some ancient ancestors who were tall, hideous, and seemingly sacrificing or fighting.

"This... seems to be a ruin?"

Fang Hao felt a joy in his heart.

Ruins often meant there might be a Legacy or ancient treasures left behind!

He immediately observed his surroundings vigilantly, confirmed there was no breath of living things, and then carefully approached.

The palace entrance had long since collapsed, so he could only crawl in through a crack in a wall.

Inside it was even more dilapidated, with rubble and thick dust everywhere.

He scanned with his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes, and suddenly, under a pile of rubble in the corner, he saw a faint glimmer of spiritual light.

He walked over and pushed aside the rubble.

Underneath, half a broken stone tablet was buried; the material of the tablet was neither gold nor stone, it felt warm and smooth to the touch, and it was carved with some ancient characters that were crooked like crawling worms, which he could not understand at all.

And that spiritual light was emitted from a gray-white bead, the size of a pigeon egg, which had lost its luster and was full of cracks, embedded in the broken part of the stone tablet.

"A projection bead? Or a Legacy bead?"

Fang Hao picked up the bead, which felt ice-cold to the touch.

He carefully probed it with his Divine Sense.

The bead vibrated slightly, and an extremely weak, intermittent stream of images and information was forcibly flooded into his mind!

In the image, there was a savage and grand battlefield!

Countless giants with tall bodies, wearing simple leather armor, holding stone axes and bone spears, were fighting with some terrifying existences shrouded in black fog whose faces could not be seen!

Heaven and earth cracked, the sun and moon lost their light!

An exceptionally tall giant leader roared to the sky, swinging the battle axe in his hand, as if he could split heaven and earth!

But the next moment, a black light flashed, the giant leader’s body exploded, and the battle axe in his hand shattered into countless pieces; one small fragment cut through the sky and flew off to who knows where...

The image came to an abrupt end.

Immediately following, there was a fragmented, ancient thought full of sorrow and Battle Intent:

"...Our clan... War Heaven... defeated... Legacy... broken... axe shattered... nine pieces... collect all... can obtain... our clan’s... Inheritance of Strength..."

The information ended completely here.

Fang Hao stood there holding the cracked bead, his heart stirred with turbulent waves!

Inheritance of Strength? Giant battle axe fragments? Nine pieces?

He suddenly remembered the black fragment he had obtained!

That savage aura was so similar to the feeling when the giant’s battle axe shattered in the image just now!

Could it be... that the black fragment was one of the pieces of this so-called "battle heaven axe"?

Also, this Secret Realm... could it have once been the home or battlefield of an ancient giant race?

Was this so-called Savage Secret Realm actually just the ruins of a lost ancient race?

This discovery made Fang Hao’s heart beat faster.

If this was true, then the value of this Secret Realm far exceeded that of an ordinary ancient Cultivator’s Immortal Cave!

The Legacy and treasures of an ancient race... even if it was just a fragment, it was absolutely earth-shattering!

He carefully put away the bead that had completely lost its spirituality and turned into an ordinary stone, and carefully checked the half-stone tablet, but unfortunately, there were no more clues.

It seemed the key was still in those nine battle axe fragments.

"Must find more fragments! And information about this ancient giant race, the ’War Heaven Clan’!"

Fang Hao’s eyes became incomparably eager.

This might be the great Opportunity for him to solve the Seven Spiritual Roots problem and even soar to the sky!

He did not stay any longer, left the ruins, and continued to explore deep into the fog.

This time, his goal was more specific—to find the battle axe fragments and clues about the "War Heaven Clan"!

And shortly after he left, outside the ruins, the fog churned, and several figures appeared quietly.

The leader, with a sinister face, was none other than Zhao Wuji.

He looked in the direction where Fang Hao had disappeared, then looked at the traces on the ground, cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Fang Hao... you can’t run. This Secret Realm will be your burial ground!"