285: Chapter 285 Linglong Passes Eight of the Nine Trials, Taihu Makes a Pilgrimage

The crystal wall returned to its original smoothness, reflecting only Xu Ruyu and that small, floating dark-gold tripod.

The entire Taihu Divine Temple fell into an eternal silence.

Only that small tripod remained, quietly emitting a soft yet majestic radiance.

Xu Ruyu stood in place, silent for a long time.

The final words of the ancestors mark, the heavy trust, the decisiveness of the choice, and that hint of relief before it dissipated deeply moved him.

He reached out his hand, slowly and solemnly, and grasped the dark-gold taihu tripod.

The moment his fingertips touched the body of the tripod—

“Boom!”

It wasn't a physical sound, but a resonance and shock on the Soul level!

Upon the tripod's body, all the engraved starry sky patterns and ancient runes instantly burst forth with brilliant light!

Seven-colored radiance shot into the sky, penetrating the temple's light-screen dome, as if establishing a mysterious connection with the actual starry sky outside!

A vast, ancient, majestic, and divine aura flooded into Xu Ruyu's body like a tide, washing through his Meridians, Dantian, and Sea of Consciousness!

Simultaneously, countless complex streams of information poured into his mind along with this aura—not specific Cultivation Techniques, but basic control methods for the taihu tripod, ways to identify the clan's fortune, taboos and techniques for communicating with ancestral spirits, and a superficial understanding of the ancient starry sky knowledge engraved on the tripod...

Xu Ruyu felt as if he were holding a piece of the starry sky, holding the history of a clan's rise and fall and its future expectations.

The light from the tripod gradually withdrew, eventually returning to a normal size and lying quietly in his palm, warm and heavy.

A feeling of blood connection and effortless control arose spontaneously.

With a slight thought, the small tripod turned into a streak of light and entered his Dantian Qi Sea, floating there quietly, slowly merging with and complementing his Void Source Energy Origin.

At the same moment the taihu tripod recognized its master and entered Xu Ruyu's Dantian—

Outside, in the entire Tianyin Mountains, an unprecedented celestial phenomenon occurred!

The originally clear sky was suddenly shrouded by endless phantoms of stars!

Stars appeared in broad daylight, and the Milky Way hung upside down!

Countless beams of soft moonlight and starlight, as if summoned, fell from the Nine Heavens and converged toward Qingtian Peak!

Meanwhile, every member of the Taihu Clan, regardless of location or cultivation level, felt it at the same instant!

They felt a strange throb and warmth from deep within their Bloodline, as if something long dormant had been awakened!

A vast, divine, and familiar pressure spread from the summit of Qingtian Peak, enveloping the surrounding lands!

This pressure was not oppressive, but carried a sense of proclamation, recognition, and... belonging!

“This... this is... the aura of the Ancestor?!”

“And... the taihu tripod! The true taihu tripod has been revived?!”

“Who is it? Who is at the peak?!”

“It's the Holy Master! It must be Holy Master Xu who reached the top! He triggered the ancestors mark and gained the recognition of the true taihu tripod!!”

The Clan Chief, Supreme Mage, and Grand Elder were the first to react. Sensing the resonance from their Bloodline and Legacy, they trembled with excitement, their eyes filling with tears!

The true taihu tripod had been silent for countless millennia! Even they only knew of its existence and symbolic significance from deep within ancient texts and Bloodline memories!

Now, it had actually reappeared in the world and recognized a master!

The one it recognized was none other than the one who had created miracles time and again, the pure-hearted Holy Master Xu, Xu Ruyu, who was recognized by the ancestors mark!

“Heaven blesses my clan! Heaven blesses my clan!” the Grand Elder cried out to the heavens, tears streaming down his face.

The Clan Chief bowed deeply toward Qingtian Peak, the moonlight around him fluctuating violently: “Congratulations to the Holy Master for gaining the tripod's recognition! All of the Taihu Clan shall follow the tripod's decree!”

The phantom of the Supreme Mage also bowed solemnly, his ethereal voice spreading everywhere: “The Tripod Bearer has appeared, and the clan's fortune gathers!”

“All members of my Taihu Clan, seeing the tripod is like seeing the Ancestor!”

“Seeing the Tripod Bearer is like seeing me in person!”

After a brief moment of shock and confusion, all the Taihu Clan members followed the clear guidance and resonance in their Bloodline. Facing Qingtian Peak, where the starlight and moonlight converged, they knelt in unison with heartfelt submission!

“We pay our respects to the Tripod-Bearing Holy Master!”

The sound rose like a tide, echoing in every corner of the Tianyin Mountains.

From this moment on, Xu Ruyu's status within the Taihu Clan underwent a fundamental and unshakable transformation.

He was not just a Holy Master or a brother.

He was the Tripod Bearer.

The one designated by the Taihu Clan Ancestor, favored by the clan's fortune, the leader possessing supreme authority and responsibility!

At the summit of Qingtian Peak, inside the Taihu Divine Temple.

Xu Ruyu felt the quiet yet vast tripod in his Dantian, and he felt the vast starlight, moonlight, and the waves of thoughts like the pilgrimage of ten thousand people coming from outside; his heart surged with emotions.

The Trial of Opportunity?

This Opportunity was perhaps too great and too heavy.

But he felt no fear.

Since he had chosen this path, since he had accepted the Taihu Clan's kindness, and since he had gained the recognition of this tripod.

Then, he would take on the future storms and responsibilities together!

He bowed deeply once more toward the crystal wall where the ancestors mark had dissipated.

Then, he turned and walked out of the Taihu Divine Temple with steady steps.

His figure, bathed in the falling starlight and moonlight, was as if draped in a divine radiant robe as he walked down Qingtian Peak step by step.

Ahead were the expectations and submission of the entire Taihu Clan.

And in his hands, he already held the power and responsibility to change destiny.

The eighth trial of the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Array, the Trial of Opportunity, concluded in a manner far beyond anyone's imagination.