Chapter 491: Ancient Warrior

Wumanyue's face lit up with joy. There truly was a hidden space from ancient times here.

That ancient war. All races had used every single resource for the war. Would the war supplies left behind, if brought into the present world, be treasures capable of destroying heaven and earth?

Jiang Fan stared at the pitch-black entrance, muttering as if to himself, "Could there be astonishing treasures inside? How could war supplies capable of annihilating ancient giants be weak in power?"

Wumanyue, who had been full of anticipation, was instantly doused with cold water and calmed down. If someone else said this, it would be fine. But for Jiang Fan to mutter it to her like that, it was a trap, a deadly pit!

She gnashed her silver teeth and said, "Bastard! You want to trick me into scouting again! Dream on!"

With a whoosh, she retreated a considerable distance. If Jiang Fan didn't go in, she would absolutely not venture further.

"Is it really that bad?" Jiang Fan was speechless.

Wumanyue stood far away and snorted, "Once bitten by a snake, one fears a coiled rope for ten years! You've bitten me twice already!" Thinking of the lost jade figurines, her heart bled again. She wished she could slap herself. To be tricked twice by the same person was truly a great humiliation for Wumanyue.

Jiang Fan said, "Alright, then wait outside."

He directly jumped into the dark, lightless spatial opening. He had no fear of traps. Because if the Sages wanted to prevent outsiders from entering, with their divine and profound arts, outsiders wouldn't even dream of finding the entrance. Why would they bother setting up traps to harm people? Sages wouldn't lose face like that.

As expected, Jiang Fan jumped in, and there was no danger whatsoever. It wasn't pitch black before his eyes either. On the contrary, the space contained a world of its own.

Candles on the stone walls quietly illuminated the seemingly endless space. All sorts of bizarre war weapons came into view. There were enormous, ten-zhang-long long-range crossbows, huge iron balls covered in human-height spikes, and bronze war chariots bristling with blades. They were quietly arrayed, as if silently recounting the ancient war that had lasted a full sixty years.

"Those candle flames..." Jiang Fan immediately noticed something was amiss. The candle flames around the space were completely still, without the slightest flicker or movement. They looked as if they were painted on. Even the dust in the air was frozen in the light, as if embedded within it.

The Evil Spirit extended its divine sense and exclaimed in admiration, "Truly a masterpiece of the Sages. To be able to freeze time in a space for so long. It's hard to imagine how powerful the ancient giants truly were, for these Sages to take a full sixty years to defeat them, and it was such a Pyrrhic victory."

Jiang Fan suddenly understood. So this place was frozen in time. What profound power must a Sage possess to be able to wield such a method?

Looking at the war weapons everywhere, he had a strange look in his eyes: "If I brought all these war weapons back, wouldn't it be easy to annihilate the corpse army? And even sweep through the demon race with ease?"

Even through the time freeze, he could feel the world-destroying power emanating from these war weapons. The power released by any single one of them would probably be no less than that of a Nascent Soul level. After all, these were used against ancient giants. The might of the ancient giants could be glimpsed from a single statement: Nascent Soul cultivators were merely their food! To deal with such beings, attacks of at least Nascent Soul level or higher were required to cause damage.

"If only it were that easy," the Evil Spirit sighed with complexity. "These war weapons were forged by the top blacksmiths of all races, using the finest materials. Each one is a spirit artifact or higher. If they could be used, why would I have lost my life for a low-grade spirit artifact back then?"

Seeing Jiang Fan lost in thought, the Evil Spirit sighed softly. A black mist surged from the black mirror, weaving into a chain that extended forward. The space about three zhang (approximately ten meters) away rippled. It seemed as if the chain touched some invisible barrier, but it didn't prevent the chain from going deeper.

Soon, the chain wrapped around an incredibly tall bronze war chariot. Jiang Fan's breathing quickened. A spirit artifact level war weapon, obtained so easily?

However, just as the bronze war chariot passed through the invisible barrier, the part that crossed over strangely turned into verdigris. The part on the other side of the barrier remained as good as new. As the chain continuously pulled it out, an ancient bronze war chariot, under Jiang Fan's gaze, slowly but surely turned into a pile of verdigris on the ground.

"Do you understand now?" the Evil Spirit let out a long sigh.

Jiang Fan was stunned for a moment, then said, "Is it because of... time?"

The Evil Spirit nodded. The chain dissolved into mist and flowed back into the black mirror.

"Time is the enemy of all," it said. "No one can escape it, and nothing can escape it. These ancient war weapons, though perfectly preserved under the time freeze, are only so within the region where time is frozen. When they appear in the present world, the missing thousand years will instantly descend upon them."

Jiang Fan felt both shock and a sense of reasonable understanding. If freezing time granted eternal life, then how could those Sages have fallen in the long river of history? Even mighty cultivators with divine abilities cannot escape time. How then could mere war weapons be exempt from the erosion of years?

However, Jiang Fan suddenly realized something. He looked suspicious: "Have you been here before?" From the Evil Spirit's demeanor, it was clearly not unfamiliar with the current scene.

"Haha!" The Evil Spirit chuckled, "No. I've just been to other similar places."

Jiang Fan was surprised: "Are you saying there are other spaces storing war weapons?" The Evil Spirit said meaningfully, "Boy, do you think this section of the Great Wall was the main battlefield between all races and the ancient giants back then? Back then, this was merely an inconspicuous small corner in the vast war. Judging by the Great Wall's intactness, it seems not even a proper major battle took here."

"What?" The Great Wall, stretching for ten thousand miles, a colossal structure spanning between the lands of the Nine Sects and the demon race—it wasn't even considered a main battlefield?

The Evil Spirit earnestly said, "Boy, hurry up and cultivate. The world is vaster than you imagine, and the heavens and earth are more distant than you know or have seen. With your talent, you shouldn't be trapped here."

Jiang Fan took a deep breath. These few words stirred waves in his heart. He nodded, "Thank you for the guidance, senior."

This was the first time Jiang Fan regarded him as a senior. Before, he had only seen him as the Evil Spirit.

The Evil Spirit was slightly surprised: "You recovered your composure so quickly? Good temperament."

His temperament was one thing, but more importantly, having been threatened by the Ancient Void Race, he already knew how vast the world was.

Jiang Fan looked at the cave, frozen like a painting before him, and found himself in a difficult spot. "So, if there were even wood inside, would it rot into powder under the erosion of time once taken out?" He was somewhat puzzled. Why had the Evil Spirit so confidently claimed there would be war supplies here?

"Are you certain that a thousand-year-old piece of wood would turn into powder?" the Evil Spirit said with a half-smile.