Chapter 46: The Ancestral Tomb
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The Tomb of the Goddess Aoba!
As the bronze door beneath the statue of Goddess Aoba slowly opened, an ancient and somber aura filled the air, evoking a deep sense of sorrow.
Li Xuan and the two others, heavy-hearted, stepped into the tomb of Goddess Aoba.
The tomb resembled an underground palace, bridging heaven and earth, connecting with the ley lines below. Its structure embraced a grand posture, with clear distinctions of sun and moon, and a sky filled with countless stars.
The tomb comprised nine levels, narrowing gradually upward, much like a pyramid.
Yet, the items displayed inside were scarce, giving it a stark austerity that commanded solemn respect.
The tomb was permeated with the atmosphere of the mythic age and the endless strife that had once raged.
One could imagine the savage invasion by alien tribes in those ancient mythic times, the merciless slaughter of countless sentient beings from myriad races.
The helplessness and solitude of Goddess Aoba as she valiantly turned the tide, exhausting her very essence to open an escape route for all living beings—it must have been an agonizing ordeal.
Li Xuan’s gaze fell upon an ancient silver-gray battle armor, covered with cracks and damage, a thunderlight spear still shimmering with golden lightning, and a faded pale-yellow portrait—beyond these, there was nothing more.
Li Xuan bowed deeply at ninety degrees, showing profound respect for the selfless sacrifice of Goddess Aoba.
Old Hei and Yue Zhi wept copiously and kowtowed three times before the armor and thunderlight spear.
“The dead are gone, but the living can still strive! Wallowing in grief is useless; we must strengthen ourselves to live up to the Goddess!” Li Xuan’s voice was thick with sorrow, almost choked, as he comforted the two.
Old Hei wiped away tears, forcing a faint smile. “Brother Li Xuan, your perception of source patterns is keen. Can you sense the scenes of the Goddess’s blood-soaked battles against the alien tribes back then?”
Yue Zhi’s starry eyes shimmered with tears, looking at Li Xuan devoutly.
Li Xuan shook his head. “Perhaps that tragic history from the mythic era was too devastating. Maybe the Goddess erased that memory to protect you.”
He speculated that only by doing so could the history of that era be wiped clean, likely because Goddess Aoba foresaw the alien tribes’ formidable abilities and arranged matters thus.
Yet, what baffled Li Xuan was why most descendants of the Aoba tribe, originating from that mythic era, could not cultivate and were subject to some innate restriction.
It simply made no sense!
After deep thought, Li Xuan asked, “Old Hei, what is the average lifespan of the Aoba tribe members?”
Old Hei replied directly, “About sixty years on average. Those with higher cultivation might live seventy years. But the highest cultivation ever achieved was only early Profound Realm; beyond that, they cannot advance and simply await death.”
Li Xuan clicked his lips. “How could this be? Normally, reaching early Profound Realm should grant a lifespan of around two hundred years before bloodline exhaustion. How could Goddess Aoba neglect to leave behind a method to extend their lives?”
Old Hei and Yue Zhi exchanged a sharp glance, as if realizing something, and said in unison, “The Obsidian Thunder Source Mine!”
Li Xuan crossed his arms and nodded. “Exactly. The reason lies there. The massive radiation from the Obsidian Thunder Source Mine alters the bloodlines of the Aoba tribe, gradually diluting the golden thunderbody bloodline.”
He fell into thought again. After a long pause, he said, “According to the clan chief, the Goddess herself possessed the golden thunderbody bloodline and wouldn’t suppress her own tribe.”
Old Hei and Yue Zhi shared a look. “That’s because of your presence, young master!”
Li Xuan was stunned and asked in confusion, “What does that have to do with me?”
His pupils contracted as realization dawned. “The Obsidian Thunder Source Mine was constantly altering the Aoba tribe’s bloodline because it needed to absorb the same bloodline spirit root to condense and mature. Once the time was ripe, external forces would activate the bloodline’s power, reigniting the golden thunderbody bloodline.”
Excitement surged within him as he continued, “In the mythic era, Goddess Aoba must have endured unimaginable oppression, hiding the golden thunderbody bloodline within the Obsidian Thunder Source Mine as a gift to future generations.”
It was precisely because of Li Xuan’s arrival, his creation of the chained Zhuge crossbow, that the tribe began mining the Obsidian Thunder Source Mine. By chance, Li Xuan also possessed the ability to survey mountains and locate dragon veins.
To solve the radiation problem, Li Xuan had risked everything using the Sacred Emperor Blue Lotus Canon technique to forcibly activate the golden thunderbody bloodline, producing two individuals with that bloodline.
Suddenly enlightened, Li Xuan finally understood the Goddess’s painstaking intentions.
“Old Hei, Yue Zhi, if you can activate the golden thunderbody bloodline, there must be the Goddess’s peerless technique hidden in this tomb!”
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Li Xuan reasoned that since the tomb contained nothing beyond the cracked silver armor and thunderlight spear, there must be a mystery.
Old Hei and Yue Zhi sat cross-legged, palms facing each other. Golden light burst forth along with rolling thunder, stirring violent ripples.
The steel-and-copper tomb shook mightily, bronze radiance dazzling like the sun’s golden light.
However, an hour passed, and the legendary technique did not manifest as expected.
Old Hei and Yue Zhi shook their heads. “Brother Li Xuan, there is no technique in the tomb—not even any trace of the shattered laws from the mythic era.”
Old Hei was frustrated and deeply disappointed.
Li Xuan bit his nails and paced, muttering, “This can’t be! Am I mistaken?”
Old Hei and Yue Zhi felt grateful yet tried to console him. “Brother Li Xuan, don’t tire yourself out. Perhaps the opportunity hasn’t come yet…”
Li Xuan fell into deep thought, his gaze suddenly lifting to the dome above, whispering, “Heaven and earth aligned—what is heaven, what is earth? Naturally, heaven is clear and earth turbid, sun and moon distinct, yin and yang intertwined…”
Suddenly, Li Xuan performed the Wind Riding Technique, swiftly ascending to the dome. He unleashed the Sacred Will Azure Wave Sword Technique—a horizontal slash that roared through the sky, the majestic sword qi striking down.
Clang!
Then came a deafening sound reversing heaven and earth, inverting yin and yang. The stars hanging in midair surged towards the sun and moon above the dome.
Pop!
A wave of cosmic force burst forth, knocking Li Xuan backward.
Old Hei leapt into the air and caught him, shouting, “Brother Li Xuan!”
A graceful smile curled at Li Xuan’s lips. “Activate the golden thunderbody bloodline!”
Old Hei and Yue Zhi again channeled bloodline power. The stars flooded towards the sun and moon, thunder rolling and surging thousands of miles, the roaring thunder deafening.
Half an hour passed before the phenomenon abruptly ceased. The legendary technique was not as simple as ripening fruit suddenly falling from the sky.
Li Xuan tried every method he could think of, yet to no avail. The three began to lose heart.
Naturally, Li Xuan had sustained some injuries, and Old Hei and Yue Zhi were utterly exhausted.
The three lay on their backs in the tomb. Li Xuan, however, spoke with persistent determination, “It should be like this! No, it must be like this!”
Old Hei patted Li Xuan’s shoulder. “Brother, don’t wear yourself out over this.”
Li Xuan was anxious, torn between helping the Aoba tribe cultivate and aiding himself.
Previously, Li Xuan had passed down cultivation techniques to the tribe, but their bloodlines were too diluted to cultivate.
Now, there was a turning point. Since the bloodline survived from the mythic age, it must require a unique technique.
Only by cultivating it could they resist the Obsidian Thunder Source Mine’s radiation and achieve his first crucial goal.
He could not give up. Entering the tomb of Goddess Aoba was a tremendous opportunity; such chances must not be missed.
“Old Hei, fortune favors the diligent. With the Goddess’s wisdom, she must have left a contingency. If it were easy to find, you would have already been wiped out by the alien tribes.”
As he comforted Old Hei, Li Xuan kept encouraging himself to think of a solution quickly.
At this moment, the time given by Clan Chief Yue Wu was running out. They would have to exit soon.
“Sigh, time is short. We have to leave!” Li Xuan was deeply disappointed—the once-in-a-millennium opportunity slipping away.
Li Xuan stretched just as he was about to rise when Yue Zhi suddenly exclaimed, “Huh! What is that?”
Yue Zhi’s starry eyes flickered between the dome and the silver armor. She noticed a change in the sun and moon above—the golden light dimmed, but a hair-thin line descended.
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The line connected directly to the silver-gray armor, then wound around the thunderlight spear, finally entering the faded portrait.
The line writhed like a tadpole swimming. Though faint, mysterious characters were visible.
Li Xuan leapt up in excitement. “It’s a source pattern formation!”
He immediately fell into deep thought. Source pattern formations carried great taboos—would using it again cause strange phenomena?
“Brother Li Xuan, forget it! Let’s withdraw!” Old Hei was disheartened but didn’t want Li Xuan to suffer misfortune.
Yue Zhi also comforted him, “Yes, Lord Li! I will find a way to awaken the golden thunderbody bloodline in our people and strengthen the Li family!”
Li Xuan muttered, “I can’t just leave. The legendary technique is right before us!”
At that moment, the bronze door began to creak and grind.
In just a quarter of an hour, the tomb of Goddess Aoba would close.
Li Xuan had no time to hesitate. He shouted fiercely, riding the wind, plunging directly into the beam of light.
“Hah!”
A surge of source power erupted from within Li Xuan. His palms formed seals; source patterns blazed into the void. Suddenly, the source patterns ignited, each source light flickering like countless crimson stars.
“Quick! Activate the bloodline power!”
Li Xuan shouted. Time was truly running out.
Old Hei and Yue Zhi’s hearts were a tangle of emotions. They immediately activated their bloodline power. Thunder roared across the heavens; twin bolts of lightning shot straight to the dome.
Li Xuan’s figure flickered in the void, shifting into golden thunderlight, striking the sun and moon above the dome.
Boom!
Thunder roared mightily; lightning blazed intensely, illuminating the silver-gray armor and thunderlight spear.
Ancient runes of thunderlight descended from the dome, weaving over Old Hei and Yue Zhi’s bodies, instantly covering them with golden thunder patterns.
At that moment, the silver-gray armor and thunderlight spear hummed and began to move, finally merging with Old Hei and Yue Zhi.
Li Xuan shouted again, “Look at that portrait!”
Suddenly, a brilliant golden light shone on Old Hei and Yue Zhi. After they absorbed the golden thunderlight completely, the figure of a woman appeared.
The woman smiled softly, her graceful form turning as she began to practice.
Old Hei and Yue Zhi watched her intently, golden thunderlight runes reflecting in their eyes.
Boom!
A tremendous roar echoed as golden thunderlight surged through heaven and earth like a tidal wave, breaking through eternity. The ancient and solemn aura was overwhelming.
“This is the peerless technique of my golden thunderbody clan—the Golden Devouring Thunder Flame Art!”
A howl rang out as the woman howled toward the heavens. Thunderfire engulfed the surroundings, turning the land into ruins in an instant.