Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 234: Encountering a Nascent Soul Old Monster

The stone door slowly opened, revealing an unfathomable darkness behind it. The ancient Aura that rushed towards him felt like the dust of eons, carrying the ruggedness of the wilderness and the vastness of the stars. It also bore an indescribable, mountain-like pressure that caused Fang Hao’s breath to hitch and his heart to pound uncontrollably.

The golden light (emanating from the fading runes on the stone door) and the starlight (from the "star evolution plate") intertwined, illuminating a short distance behind the door. It was a wide, downward-sloping staircase. Both the stairs and the walls on either side were built from massive, rough-surfaced black stones, carved with the same ancient patterns as the "battle heaven axe" fragments, only much grander and more complete. The air was filled with a faint scent, like a mixture of metal and dust.

"Is this... the true interior of the ’War Heaven Clan’ ruins?" Fang Hao’s palms were sweaty with excitement. He did not rush in immediately, instead suppressing his urge, activating his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to their full extent, and gazing into the darkness behind the door. Both his vision and Divine Sense were blocked and distorted by a strange force; he could only see the stairs extending downward for a dozen steps, and beyond that lay a deep darkness that seemed to devour all light.

There was definitely danger, but the opportunity was absolutely inside as well.

He looked back at Sun Tianqi, who was still unconscious and breathing weakly. This brat posed no immediate threat, but leaving him at the entrance was a hidden danger. If he woke up, or if others from the Sun Family came looking...

After a moment of thought, Fang Hao walked over to Sun Tianqi. He rummaged through his storage ring and pulled out several "Spirit-Binding Ropes," crafted from special beast tendons and Restrictions specifically for tying up Golden Core Cultivators. In a flash, he tied Sun Tianqi up tightly and stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth to prevent him from making noise. Then, he dragged him into a shadowed corner beside the stone door and used the empty clarity mirror to slightly distort the light and Aura in that area, creating a simple concealment effect. As long as no one searched carefully, he shouldn’t be discovered.

After finishing this, he checked the "star evolution plate" again. After opening the stone door, the compass’s light had dimmed, but it still maintained a faint connection with the stone door, and the needle no longer spun wildly. He tried removing the compass from the door; the stone door did not close immediately, but the golden light on the door dimmed significantly, suggesting that the "star evolution plate" was the "key" to keeping the portal open.

"It seems I have to take it with me." Fang Hao gripped the "star evolution plate" tightly in his hand. This thing wasn’t just a compass; it now appeared to be an important pass.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Hao adjusted his state to the best possible condition. Although his black tortoise spirit shield was ruined, he held the empty clarity mirror in his left hand and the yitian sword in his right. Quietly activating his Shadowless Evasion Technique, he stepped into the stone door.

His feet landed on cold, hard stone steps. The temperature inside and outside the door felt like two different worlds; it was much colder inside, and that heavy pressure became clearer, as if some prehistoric beast were slumbering, its mere leaking Aura enough to make one’s heart palpitate.

He walked along the stairs, step by step, cautiously heading deeper. The staircase was long, spiraling downwards, seemingly without end. The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the sounds of his own footsteps and heartbeat echoing in the empty staircase, appearing exceptionally clear and... chilling.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick and descending at least several hundred steps, a faint light source finally appeared ahead. It was not golden light, nor was it starlight, but a ghostly blue, cold light that flickered like will-o’-the-wisps.

Fang Hao quickened his pace, descended a few dozen more steps, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

At the end of the stairs, it connected to a circular hall so huge it was beyond imagination! The hall was so high that its ceiling seemed invisible, hidden in the deep darkness. The surrounding walls were no longer rough black stone, but a dark golden material that looked like cast metal, covered with massive, clear reliefs! The content of the reliefs was exactly the scenes he had seen in the image-recording bead—giants with tall, muscular builds, wearing simple armor, holding giant axes or stone hammers, fighting, sacrificing, hunting, and living with various hideous and terrifying Demon Beasts or enemies shrouded in black mist! The images were vivid, full of primitive power and majestic Battle Intent.

The floor of the entire hall was paved with countless huge, mirror-smooth black stone slabs, fitted tightly together. Those ghostly blue cold lights came from fist-sized, strange crystals embedded in specific locations on the walls and floor, emitting a soft blue light that illuminated the entire empty hall in a ghostly blue, adding to its mystery and eeriness.

What was most eye-catching was the very center of the hall.

There stood a giant statue ten zhang tall, cast entirely from dark golden metal! The statue depicted a War Heaven Clan warrior. He held his head high toward the sky in a roar, his right hand raised above his head in a motion of swinging an axe downward, but his hand was empty, holding no weapon. The statue was carved extremely vividly; every muscle seemed to contain explosive power, with a rugged face and disdainful eyes. Even as a statue, it exuded a suffocating, supreme majesty and a tragic Aura of fighting against heaven and earth! It seemed to be questioning the heavens, roaring defiantly at fate!

And at the feet of the giant statue was a circular platform. On the platform, three things were placed.

On the left was an open stone box, empty inside, with only a clear, giant-axe-shaped indentation imprinted on the bottom.

In the middle was a small, ancient bronze incense burner. There was no ash inside, but a stick of dark red incense, burned down to a small stub and made of an unrecognizable material, was inserted. The tip of the incense had a tiny, extremely faint spark, as if it could go out at any moment, yet it burned tenaciously, emitting a strange, almost imperceptible faint fragrance.

On the right was an ancient scroll, unrolled halfway, made of a material that was neither skin nor silk, and colored a dark yellow. The unrolled part of the scroll was written in a dark red pigment, like dried blood, with twisted ancient characters that Fang Hao could not understand at all.

Fang Hao’s gaze was first drawn to that empty stone box. Looking at the shape and size of the indentation... Could it be that the complete "battle heaven axe" was originally supposed to be placed here? Or perhaps, the core part of the "battle heaven axe"? Was that stone box the pedestal for worshipping the battle axe?

His gaze then fell upon the ancient scroll. Could this be the Legacy Cultivation Technique of the "War Heaven Clan," or records about their history?

Finally, he looked at the stub of incense. An incense burner, residual incense... This seemed to be the remnants of some sacrifice or ritual? Had this incense been burning for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, and yet it hadn’t extinguished?

He did not rashly approach the platform. In such a mysterious and dangerous ancient ruin, any rash action could lead to disaster. He swept his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes carefully over every inch of the platform and the giant statue, while the empty clarity mirror secretly scanned the space around the platform.

Sure enough, he saw the trick to it.

With the platform as the center, within a circular area with a radius of ten zhang, the textures of those smooth black stone slabs on the ground formed an extremely complex and obscure Formation pattern! This Formation was closely related to the entire hall, and perhaps even to the stone door outside and the fragments. And the eyes of the giant statue seemed to have a faint light flowing, as if "watching" the platform area.

"There is a Restriction, and it’s very strong." Fang Hao judged in his heart. He tried taking a Low-Grade Spirit Stone from his storage ring and flicked it with a clever force towards the platform.

Just as the Spirit Stone flew into the ten-zhang range of the platform, a sudden change occurred!

The Formation patterns on the ground suddenly flared! An invisible, solid-like dark golden force field erupted instantly. The Low-Grade Spirit Stone didn’t even make a sound before it was crushed into the finest powder in mid-air, falling with a rustle! At the same time, the eyes of the giant statue seemed to light up, and an even heavier pressure swept across that area.

Fang Hao gasped. The power of this Restriction could definitely easily crush a Golden Core Cultivator to death! If a Nascent Soul Old Monster came, they would probably have to weigh the risks!

It seemed that wanting to get the things on the platform wasn’t as simple as just walking over. It had to be broken, or passed through some kind of "test"?

His gaze fell back onto the "star evolution plate" in his hand, and he looked again at the three slightly warm "battle heaven axe" fragments in his bosom.

That’s it, the fragments are the keys, and the "star evolution plate" is the medium for guiding the way and maintaining the portal. So, to obtain the Legacy or treasures here, perhaps... they are also needed? Or even, perhaps he needed to collect more fragments?

He tried walking forward a few steps and stopped outside the range of the Restriction. He took out the three fragments from his bosom. As soon as the fragments appeared, they immediately emitted a stronger hum and light than before, and the attraction between them increased greatly, even showing faint signs of wanting to fly on their own toward the empty stone box on the platform! And the "star evolution plate" in his hand had its needle turn again, pointing at the stub of incense on the platform.

"The fragments point to the stone box, the compass points to the incense..." Fang Hao was lost in thought. Could it be that he needed to put the fragments into the stone box? But the fragments were clearly incomplete; what could putting them in trigger? Could it be a trap?

As for that stub of incense... Why would the "star evolution plate" point to it? This incense seemed to be the key to maintaining some kind of balance here, or opening the next step?

He stared at that faint spark of incense, which seemed as if it could be extinguished at any moment, and then looked at the compass in his hand, a bold idea suddenly popping into his mind.

Could this residual incense be a sign of "timing" or a "test"? If the incense went out, perhaps the Restriction would close completely, or the ruins would self-destruct? And could the starlight power of the "star evolution plate" perhaps... "renew the incense"? Or resonate with it to reveal the next step?

He hesitated. Should he risk trying to use the fragments and the compass to break the Restriction, or should he retreat first and come back after finding more fragments or improving his strength?

Just as he was in a dilemma, another sudden change occurred!

This time, it did not come from inside the ruins, but... from above the stairs behind him, from the stone door that had already been opened!

A hoarse voice, slightly surprised and carrying a touch of playfulness and greed, suddenly rang out in the deathly silent hall:

"Tsk tsk, I didn’t expect that, besides that trash from the Sun Family, someone else could make it here. Kid, the fragments and that compass in your hands look pretty good. Hand them over obediently, and this lord might... leave you with an intact corpse."

Fang Hao’s hair stood on end. He spun around abruptly, holding the yitian sword horizontally in front of his chest, instantly raising his spiritual power to its Peak, and stared fixedly at the direction from which the voice came.

He saw that at the entrance of the stone door, he didn’t know when, but another person had appeared.

It was a Cultivator wearing tattered grey robes, with a tall and thin build, his face hidden in the shadow of a hood, revealing only a pair of eyes flickering with a sickly green, will-o’-the-wisp-like light. He stood there like a ghost that had crawled out of a grave, his whole body exuding a cold, decaying, yet incomparably powerful and sinister Aura!

This Aura... Fang Hao was very familiar with it! It was exactly the kind of cold, erosive energy that had injured Sun Tianqi and remained on his wounds! And it was more than ten times purer and more tyrannical than what was on Sun Tianqi’s wounds!

Nascent Soul Stage! And absolutely not an ordinary Early Nascent Soul Stage! It was very likely Middle Nascent Soul Stage, or even Late Stage!

A Nascent Soul Old Monster from the Netherworld Sect?! How could he be here?! Was he following Sun Tianqi, or... had he been here all along?

Fang Hao’s heart sank to the bottom in an instant. With a terrifying Restriction in front and a Nascent Soul Old Monster behind, he was truly blocked in a dead end!