Chapter 891: Central Plains Ancestral Temple

Chapter 893: The Ancestral Temple of Central State

"A five-colored altar?" Everyone present was startled, turning to look at Ji Ziyue.

"It should be in Central State."

Ji Ziyue consulted numerous ancient texts and found some clues. The scene from her dream closely resembled a certain place in Central State, and the more she investigated, the more alarmed she became.

In Central State, there once existed a divine dynasty called "Yuhua," or "Feathered." If it still existed, it might be the foremost dynasty in the world. It was once incredibly prosperous; at that time, the other four great divine dynasties had not yet emerged, and half of Central State's territory was under its rule. Its commands were absolute, and no one dared to disobey. From the name "Yuhua" (Feathered/Ascension), one could infer that this prosperous dynasty was mostly focused on the true meaning of longevity, with everything aimed at achieving immortality.

However, it crumbled overnight, vanishing from this world as if it had never existed. Even ancient records contain only vague details. Ji Ziyue searched through the Ji family's scripture repository, comparing various ancient maps with contemporary river maps, and discovered that the five-colored altar from her dream was located beside the Ancestral Temple of the Feathered God Dynasty.

"The Feathered God Dynasty was so powerful, and they possessed a five-colored altar?" Pang Bo was astonished. All altars in the current era were mere ruins, and no one could master them.

"I've also heard of it," said the Black Emperor. "It was an extremely powerful divine dynasty, once the greatest in Central State. It truly 'feathered' in the end, but instead of ascending as immortals, they turned to dust."

"If you truly wish to leave, you can go and explore the Feathered ruins. Perhaps you'll discover something; that place is very mysterious," Ji Ziyue said softly. She didn't want him to go far, but still told him, a hint of sadness in her beautiful eyes.

Ye Fan didn't know what to say. Looking at her beautiful eyes, he wanted to comfort her. Perhaps it was a quiet wound. He wanted to take her with him to the other side of the starry sky, but just like him, she couldn't bear to leave her parents. Ji Ziyue forced a smile, saying she would look up at the starry sky every night to pray for him, and when all karma was resolved, she would follow his footsteps to see the other side of the stars.

*Zheng zheng...*

The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Cover emitted mournful wails, floating above Ji Ziyue's palm. Streaks of immortal radiance descended, resonating with the bronze ring. Threads of light connected the two, linking them together. This strange sight startled everyone. It was indeed the relics of the Ruthless Emperor, as they were in affinity and could intertwine.

"Do you remember what the little girl in your dream looked like?" Ye Fan asked.

Ji Ziyue shook her head. The scenes were too blurry, especially the little girl's face, which was even dimmer. She only remembered a pair of bright, tearful eyes, pigtails, and that the girl was only three or four years old, wearing worn-out clothes and tattered small shoes.

*Om!*

The void trembled, and a blurry scene unfolded before their eyes: the five-colored altar appeared! A little girl, having lost her shoes, ran forward, crying loudly, just to glimpse the skeletal remains.

*Bang!*

The image shattered, and then everything plunged into darkness. A voice seemed to echo, saying, "Not to become an immortal, but only to wait for your return in this mortal world."

Everyone was shaken and stunned! Was it the Ruthless Emperor? She firmly believed the young man would reappear. This was her obsession, her most precious hope, living against the heavens for several lifetimes, just to wait for that young man's return? Though there were no brilliant divine halos, only a dimness, one could imagine her sweeping across the eight desolate lands, standing majestically above the nine heavens. Clearly at the peak of human power, looking down upon the cycles of eternity, yet this grand glory held no place in her memory. For her, the so-called glory of a Great Emperor was far less significant than the bittersweet moments of her childhood. Even being invincible under heaven could not bring back everything from those past years.

Finally, everything dissipated, leaving only a ghostly face with tear stains, neither crying nor smiling, as the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Cover floated.

*Ding!*

The bronze ring in Ji Ziyue's hand lost its luster and sank into her body. The Ruthless Emperor's two relics separated on their own, each settling into stillness. The memory fragments of such a revered Great Emperor, the Ruthless Emperor, were complex and obscure, stirring up an indescribable emotional turmoil within them.

"Why do I feel like I have a great karmic connection with the Ruthless Emperor?" Ye Fan muttered to himself. He touched item after item on his person, all of which were related to the Ruthless Emperor. First was the Mother Qi Cauldron of All Things, obtained from the Bronze Immortal Palace—an invaluable sacred item for enlightenment. Next was the True Dragon Undying Medicine, which belonged to the Ruthless Emperor over two hundred thousand years ago. He had acquired the True Dragon divine liquid twice, and still had some left, not yet used up. Additionally, there was the Immortal Treasure Map, obtained from the Chaos Dragon Nest. Even the Battle Saint Emperor once possessed it, and over two hundred thousand years ago, it fell into the Ruthless Emperor's hands. When Ye Fan acquired this map, the Ruthless Emperor's coffin had already sunk into the chaos.

"What's wrong with me?" The more Ye Fan thought about it, the more his heart pounded with trepidation. At the same time, he thought of people he knew: Duan De had obtained the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Cover, Ji Ziyue possessed the Ruthless Emperor's most cherished ring, Tu Fei's grandfather had the Heaven-Devouring Jar, and Li Xiaoman had received the Ruthless Emperor's inheritance. It was as if a net had formed, intertwining and surrounding him. His connection with the Ruthless Emperor was unbreakable, filling him with unease.

Two days later, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Ji Ziyue, the Black Emperor, and others traversed the void to Central State.

The Feathered ruins were quite vast; strictly speaking, half of Central State was once part of their territory. At that time, great dynasties like Daxia and Jiuli did not yet exist, and their dominion was boundless. The mysterious Ancestral Temple was located at the heart of the central dragon vein, having absorbed all the blessings of heaven and earth and captured all profound mysteries. It was originally a heaven-defying secret land. However, twenty millennia ago, this most ancient dragon vein of Central State was forcibly severed, its dragon qi dispersed, and it reformed into several ancestral dragons in other regions. From then on, this severed dragon vein, once a supreme pure land, immediately transformed into a dead zone, becoming the most inauspicious area, almost entirely devoid of life.

The heart of Central State now lay barren, shrouded in perpetual gloom, with swirling bands of black mist, never knowing light. Ahead, broken mountains could be seen, formed by the impact of residual forces. One could only imagine the immense battle that had taken place there.

"Look, how magnificent that ancient vein is! It was once the longest ancestral vein in Central State, longer and thicker than thousands of mountain ranges combined!" said Duan De, for whom mastering the geography of various regions was essential. Everyone felt their scalps tingle. Was this still a mountain range? It was too vast, like an entire plateau. When they flew into the boundless sky and looked down, they realized it truly was a dragon vein.

"An ancient saint once flew above this ancient star and looked down," said the Black Emperor. "The collapse of Central State's primary dragon vein was due to a single palm strike. Someone, from countless miles away, pressed down, leaving five finger marks that severed the ancestral dragon vein into several segments. All other peaks crumbled, and an area of a million li sank."

"No way! A single strike caused a million li to sink, and five finger marks destroyed the most ancient dragon vein in Central State. That's simply defying the heavens!" Pang Bo exclaimed in shock.

Half a day later, they ventured deep into the heart of Central State, arriving at a barren land, still shrouded in gloom and swirling black mist, like the underworld.

"There are ancient structures ahead!"

Right ahead, there was a complex of ancient temples, bearing the weight of ages, having existed for untold tens of thousands of years without decaying.

"No way! Did I, Daoist Priest, miss out on a great opportunity? The Ancestral Temple of the Feathered God Dynasty wasn't destroyed? I've never come here for archaeology before," Duan De muttered to himself, clenching his fists. Behind the Ancestral Temple was a patch of hazy gray mist, shrouding all scenery, making nothing visible. According to Ji Ziyue's dream, a five-colored altar should be deep within that area. Now, the heavenly secrets there were obscured, and the area was bizarre, trapped by various illusion formations, making it impossible to see anything.

"Who goes there?" A sharp shout came from in front of the ancient temple. A line of armored soldiers, clad in black iron, appeared, each holding an iron spear, looking extremely stern. Soon, a dense multitude of figures emerged from the broken mountains around the ancient temple. All were masters. Additionally, various formation patterns were activated, covering the area.

"Who are these people? Have they occupied this place?" Li Tian asked in surprise.

"This place was only recently excavated. It's a ruined minor world that they've been clearing out for not long. At the very least, no one has entered the Ancestral Temple; it's still sealed," Duan De said in a professional tone.

"This is bad. We can't afford to provoke them. These are people from the Four Great Divine Dynasties. They got here first," said Li Heishui. Ahead was an allied army, bearing the flags of the Four Great Divine Dynasties. They were jointly excavating the Ancestral Temple of Central State, which dated back over two hundred thousand years, seeking to uncover something.

"There's also the flag of Yaoguang," Ji Ziyue said, instantly recognizing the Yaoguang Sacred Banner. Five major powers had joined forces in the excavation, aiming to clear out the ruins of the Feathered God Dynasty and connect this minor world. Who would dare contend with them?

In its prime, the Feathered God Dynasty was the foremost power in Central State, its commands absolute, possessing unparalleled might. Yet, it turned to ash overnight. It was said that even their Emperor Weapon shattered. Furthermore, this was the only known supreme Emperor Weapon with evidence of being shattered, breaking the myth that ultimate imperial artifacts were indestructible! Their destruction was so swift that various rare treasures and artifacts were never seen again; they were sealed away, supposedly by a powerful force.

"See? This ruined minor world was sealed, but someone used an Ultimate Emperor Weapon to tear open a corner, bringing it back into the world. Otherwise, even if we found this place, we probably wouldn't have discovered it," Duan De said.

"The Yaoguang Holy Land is involved..." Ye Fan muttered to himself, then articulated his earlier conjecture: the Yaoguang Holy Son might have obtained the Ruthless Emperor's inheritance, the Immortal Heaven Art. Since Ji Ziyue and Duan De saw some things in their dreams, perhaps the Yaoguang Holy Son did too, leading him to discover the ancient temple in Central State. There might be extremely important divine treasures within the temple.

"That's right. Many sacred artifacts of the Feathered God Dynasty were enshrined in this Ancestral Temple. This place is practically a grand tomb of a divine dynasty!" Duan De stated professionally.

Pang Bo stepped forward to negotiate. Simultaneously, several individuals approached from the other side, all high-ranking and influential figures, imperial ancestors from the Four Great Divine Dynasties. They responded in a deep voice that they had begun excavating this place half a year ago and were only now seeing results, thus no outsiders were permitted to trespass.

Ye Fan and his companions retreated. While they might be able to force their way in, the ancient temple was too mysterious. The Four Great Divine Dynasties and Yaoguang had not dared to make any rash moves to enter. If they were to barge in, there might be great misfortune.

"What should we do? The Yaoguang Holy Son got here first, and this place is very troublesome," Pang Bo frowned, exchanging glances with Ye Fan. Everyone else also felt a headache coming on. This place was clearly extraordinary, but provoking the Four Great Divine Dynasties and the Yaoguang Holy Land could potentially draw out several Ultimate Emperor Weapons.

Ye Fan said, "First, we should reunite the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Jar. I believe it's needed here, as it has a significant connection to this place. Then, perhaps we should use the power of the people across the land to make this secret public, allowing masters from all walks of life to enter."

After leaving the area, they discussed it seriously.

Only Ji Ziyue sighed softly, gazing at the mist behind the ancient temple, muttering to herself, "Back then, that little girl cried out, losing her tattered shoes as she sent that young man away, only to eventually see his corpse return..."

"That wasn't her end; she ultimately became a Great Emperor," the Monkey walked over.

"Indeed, invincible under heaven, one of the most mysterious and powerful Great Emperors of all time, almost unparalleled," the Black Emperor interjected.

"But she wasn't happy," Ji Ziyue shook her head.

"But hope still remained in her heart, a firm belief that she could reunite with that young man," Ye Fan said. Then, from that little girl, he couldn't help but think of Little Nannan, who was just as pitiful. Where was she now?