452: Chapter 452 Ancient Inheritance

The Dragon's intent transmitted into Chu Lan's Sea of Consciousness: "A gift for you, thank you for sparing my life."

Chu Lan held the Dragon Pearl out in front of Gao Feng.

Gao Feng took the Dragon Pearl, and it felt warm to the touch.

The Dragon Pearl was the condensation of the Dragon's lifelong essence, which could be used to strengthen the Physical Body.

Gao Feng sat cross-legged, held the Dragon Pearl in his palm, and injected spiritual power into it.

The Dragon Pearl turned into a streak of green light and vanished into his Dantian.

That power flowed through his Meridians, fused with the starlight of his Star Battle Body, and reinforced his bones, muscles, and fascia entirely.

Faint green patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, then faded beneath it a moment later.

He opened his eyes, clenched his fist, and could feel the immense power contained within his Physical Body.

He was confident he could withstand a full-force strike from a Golden Core seventh-layer Cultivator.

The Dragon stood up from the seabed, nodded at the group, turned, and swam toward the deep sea, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

It could finally leave this ruin that had been submerged for who knows how many years and go search for its kin.

It might find them, or it might not, but it was free.

Su Ning withdrew the Spatial Barrier, and the seawater rushed in, submerging the ruins once again.

Chu Lan searched the main hall and found several scrolls of ancient Cultivation Technique Incomplete Manuals sealed with Jade Slips and animal skins.

Some recorded Body Refining techniques, others recorded the Dao of Formation, and some were long-lost Spells.

Each scroll was incomplete, but they could fill the gaps in the Sect's Scripture Pavilion.

"Bring these back to the Scripture Pavilion Elder and let him study them slowly." Chu Lan put the Incomplete Manuals into her Storage Pouch.

The Wood Spirit sat on her shoulder, holding an Incomplete Manual larger than itself, wobbling as it flew.

Lin Yue checked the residual aura of the Dragon Pearl to confirm there were no hidden dangers.

Luo Li held the heavenly sound zither in her arms; the zither spirit was sleeping soundly within the instrument, seemingly unaware of the battle.

Silver Shadow manifested from Gao Feng's wrist, swam a circle in the seawater, and only returned after finding no other threats.

The setting sun sank into the sea, and Su Ning opened a return passage on the beach of the uninhabited island.

The nine of them stepped into the light gate in the twilight, and the lights of the Spirit Plant Garden lit up ahead.

When Chu Lan handed the ancient Cultivation Technique Incomplete Manuals to the Scripture Pavilion Elder, the old man was so excited he nearly fell off his chair.

He flipped through a few pages with trembling hands, repeatedly saying that these were long-lost treasures.

Luo Li sat on the edge of the cliff, holding the heavenly sound zither, tuning its strings.

Silver Shadow lay at her feet, its ears twitching gently with the music.

Moonlight spilled into the Spirit Plant Garden, and the leaves of the fruit vines rustled in the evening breeze.

The Wood Spirit sat on the highest branch of the fruit vine, its leafy wings shimmering with a faint silver light in the moonlight.

It gazed into the distance, not knowing what it was looking at.

The Spirit Fox poked its head out from Tianxin's shadow, let out a cry, and then shrank back.

Chu Lan crouched in the Spirit Plant Garden, watering the fruit vines.

The Wood Spirit floated down from the branch, landed on the handle of the watering can, and helped Chu Lan steady the direction.

Chu Lan was tired, so she sat on the grass and looked at the sky.

It had been a long time since she had been this peaceful.

She hoped time would slow down, just a little, so that every day could be like today: the Wood Spirit napping on her shoulder, the fruit vines bearing new fruit in the moonlight, and her teammates doing their own things in their respective places.

Silver Shadow ran back from the edge of the cliff, holding a fallen leaf in its mouth, placed it at Chu Lan's feet, and wagged its tail, waiting for her to pet its head.

Chu Lan smiled and stroked its head, and Silver Shadow ran back to Gao Feng, satisfied.

Moonlight, like water, spilled over the valley.

The harvest from the East Sea ruins had not yet warmed up before Master Xuanyang's urgent message arrived.

The communication Talisman exploded in Gao Feng's palm.

There were only a few words in the Talisman, but each word felt like a branding iron pressed onto his heart: "Unknown Void Realm fluctuations have appeared in the south, the scale far exceeding the eastern rift. Return immediately."

Gao Feng put the communication Talisman away and walked out of the Cultivation room to gather everyone.

In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the group gathered in the Immortal Cave hall, and even Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan rushed back from the sword practice field.

"Something has happened in the south." Gao Feng repeated Master Xuanyang's words, "It's much larger than the eastern rift. The Sect Master wants us to go over immediately."

Su Ning unfolded the map of the southern territory.

The map marked a continuous mountain range where there had originally been a Void Realm Seal left over from ancient times, which had been stable for thousands of years.

But just last night, the Seal suddenly fluctuated violently, and a large number of shadows poured out from the rift, causing disaster for several nearby villages.

Master Xuanyang had already sent nearby Cultivators to provide support, but it was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water.

"How could the Seal suddenly loosen?" Tianxin frowned, "The ancient Seal has been stable for thousands of years; it's impossible for it to have problems for no reason."

"We'll talk when we get there." Gao Feng stood up.

Su Ning recalibrated the teleportation coordinates, and a silver-white light gate lit up outside the Immortal Cave.

The nine of them filed in.

Southern mountain range.

The teleportation landing point was set on a ridge.

Before they could even stand steady, the Void Sensing Grass in Chu Lan's arms curled up violently; its leaves rolled into tubes, and its roots squirmed frantically in the jade box.

The Wood Spirit flew up from her shoulder, its leafy wings tightly closed, pointing its finger in the direction of the foot of the mountain, making urgent chirping sounds.

"The Wood Spirit says there is heavy resentment below, as if something has cracked open." Chu Lan's face turned pale.

Below the mountain was a valley.

There had originally been several villages in the valley, but they were now shrouded in shadows.

Gray-black mist churned above the villages, and faint cries for help and weeping could be heard.

Further away, a huge black rift lay across the end of the valley, about ten zhang long and three zhang wide.

Shadows constantly poured out from the rift, spreading in all directions like a tide.

Su Ning's spiritual sense swept across the entire area.

"The scale of the rift is more than ten times larger than the one in the east. The Seal was destroyed from the outside; it wasn't a natural loosening. An external force forcibly tore the Formation patterns. The destroyer's methods are very professional, and they have a deep understanding of the structure of ancient Seals."

Lin Yue's Rock Demon Phantom had already manifested behind him, his hands holding up an earthy-yellow light shield.

"Save the people first, investigate the cause later."

Gao Feng drew his sword.

"Luo Li, use the zither music to clear the path; Tianxin, use Talismans to clear the field; Chu Lan, use Spirit Plants to trap those shadows; Lin Yue, defend; Su Ning, locate; Yaoguang, heal; Jingyu, Situ Lan, follow me and charge in."

Nine figures charged down the ridge.

The situation in the valley was worse than expected.

The largest of the three villages had been completely submerged by shadows, and the other two were still resisting, but they wouldn't last long.

Dozens of low-level Cultivators were scattered throughout the villages, desperately using crude Spells to drive away the shadows.

They were Disciples from nearby Sects who had rushed over as soon as they received the call for help, but the highest cultivation level among them was only Foundation Establishment fifth layer.

Facing the endless stream of shadows, they were only buying time with their own lives.

Luo Li's heavenly sound zither rang out.

The melody of the "Star Battle Song" echoed in the valley; wherever the zither music passed, the shadows collapsed one after another.

The four effects of the heavenly sound—Soul Suppressing, Soul Soothing, Amplification, and Armor Breaking—acted simultaneously, suppressing the erosive power of the shadows to the minimum.

The low-level Cultivators who were struggling to hold on heard the zither music and felt their bodies filled with strength, their exhaustion swept away.

Tianxin's Light Talismans exploded among the shadows, and large patches of gray-black mist were burned away by the blue-white flames.

She threw out more than twenty, clearing a large open area of shadows above the village.

Chu Lan threw Iron Thorn seeds toward the outskirts of the village, and the vines grew wildly, weaving into a green barrier to keep the shadows out.

The Wood Spirit sat on her shoulder, its little hands stroking Chu Lan's hair, its leafy wings slightly spread.

The Shadow-Eating Vine poked out from her sleeve, pounced on the surging shadows, and its roots pierced into their bodies, devouring them frantically.

Lin Yue's defensive Formation protected the open space in the center of the village, and the low-level Cultivators retreated into the Formation, finally having a chance to catch their breath.

They collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, covered in wounds.

Yaoguang shuttled through the crowd, the green light of the Rejuvenation Technique rising and falling.

Gao Feng led Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan to charge toward the rift.

The shadows pouring out of the rift were much denser than those in the village, almost solidifying.

The golden sword light of the vajra sword swept across, slashing the surging shadows into fragments.

Lin Jingyu's flowing cloud sword was as fast as lightning, each strike accurately piercing the core of the shadows.

Situ Lan's Broken Cloud Sword was as steady as a mountain, and wherever the sword momentum passed, the shadows dissipated.

Su Ning's Space Cutting jammed the rift entrance, severing the channel of shadow power.

The shadows pouring out of the rift decreased significantly.

Tianxin flew to the edge of the rift and crouched down to inspect the Seal Formation patterns.

The Formation patterns had been destroyed from the outside; the cuts were neat, not due to natural weathering or shadow erosion, but because someone had used a specialized Formation-breaking technique to tear the patterns.

The destroyer's methods were very sophisticated, and they had a thorough understanding of the structure of ancient Seals.

"It is man-made sabotage." Tianxin's voice sank, "It's not Cang Song; he has already been stripped of his cultivation and imprisoned. But the destroyer's methods are identical to Cang Song's; it should be his accomplice. Cang Song might still have remnants in the Sect or hiding outside."

She took a tracking Talisman from her sleeve and stuck it on the Formation patterns at the edge of the rift.

The Talisman burned, and a wisp of green smoke drifted toward the north—that was the direction of the Wuxiang Sect.

Chu Lan ran over from the village entrance and planted the seeds of the sealing Spirit Plant at the edge of the rift.

The Wood Spirit floated down from her shoulder, sat beside the seeds, and gently stroked the soil with its little hands.

The seeds quickly took root and sprouted, and the vines wrapped around the rift entrance layer by layer.

The sealing Spirit Plant could absorb the escaping resentment and shadow power for a long time, preventing the rift from expanding again.

Su Ning's spiritual sense swept across dozens of miles, confirming there were no missed shadows, and only then did she withdraw her spatial perception.

Luo Li's zither music gradually faded, the last note echoing in the valley.

The low-level Cultivators walked out of the defensive Formation and bowed deeply to the nine of them; some were weeping uncontrollably.

Gao Feng sheathed his vajra sword and walked to Tianxin's side. "Can you track the destroyer?"

Tianxin nodded: "The tracking Talisman is following the residual aura, and the direction is north. But it's not enough with just me; I need Su Ning's spatial positioning to cooperate."

Su Ning took out a Spatial Crystal from her sleeve. "Give me three days, and I can deduce the destroyer's escape route."

Master Xuanyang's second communication Talisman flew over at this moment.

Gao Feng caught it, and the voice in the Talisman was more solemn than before: "I have ordered the entire Sect to be under martial law; all personnel entering and leaving must be registered. Gao Feng, I authorize you to investigate this matter with full authority. No matter who is involved, investigate it to the end."

Gao Feng put away the communication Talisman. "Return to the Sect."