'That's why the previous spirit ascension failed. This also means that the possibility of the spirit ascension failing is incredibly high. Once it fails, it will turn into the red figures that have no consciousness!' As Su Ming's heart trembled, he remembered the red figures murmuring after they appeared.
"Born in the world, but born in the world, animals …
"That is why the world can last for so long because it does not give birth to itself. That is why it can live. If I want to live, I can only seize life …
"Ancestral Spirits come before Ancestral Spirits, and they are before the disaster of the universe. That is why those who obtain life must destroy life …
"That must be it!" A powerful light shone in Su Ming's eyes. His breathing quickened. When he lifted his head, he stared at the sky, which had already turned white. He stared at the spot where the hall had appeared, and a determined look of desire appeared in his eyes.
'Offerings, offerings … The Heavenly Incense Rune should also be an item from the second era, which is why the soul of the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole naturally possesses a certain characteristic. It can be turned into an offering, and with it, I can activate the All Spirits Hall in exchange for a chance to have my spirit ascend!
'This … This is …' Su Ming forced down the desire in his heart. He suddenly remembered the Old Man Extermination. In the past, the Old Man Extermination had recited the ballad so that all lives could send him offerings …
'By the looks of it, the Old Man Extermination is imitating the All Spirits Hall from the second era, or rather, he's trying to mislead us. There's also another possibility … that he knows the secret of the All Spirits Hall and wants to become an Antecedental Spirit, but he lacks offerings, which is why he used the ballad as bait to gather the power of the entire Expanse Cosmos to search for offerings for him!
'This plan can make him destroy the third era, and it can also give him the right to step into the All Spirits Hall …' In silence, Su Ming did not know whether his guess about the Old Man Extermination was correct, but regardless of whether it was correct or not, it was not the main point. The main point was that Su Ming would absolutely not give up on this chance.
Su Ming stared at the sky and mumbled after a long while.
"Then … what about the first era? Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos' oldest first era … Just how strong were the people at that time?
'If my guess is correct, the Predecessor of Dao Ocean is just an Antecedental Spirit. He worshiped the first era's Ancestral Spirit and obtained great power from it. Then … just how strong were the Ancestral Spirits who had the universe at their beck and call during the first era of Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos?
"Where did they come from? Why did they disappear? Do they … still exist …"
Su Ming narrowed his eyes. If all these guesses could be verified, then an even more unbelievable thought would appear in his head. He suddenly had a feeling that perhaps … some of the things he knew were wrong …
For example, regardless of whether it was him, the black-robed old man who Possessed him, or all the things he had experienced in his life, all pointed in the same direction. Dark Dawn and Saint Defier each had 180 Expanse Cosmoses. They were ancient and eternal existences, and Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos was like a newly born universe before them. It might seem weak, but in truth, if it had enough time, it could grow into an ancient Expanse Cosmos like Dark Dawn and Saint Defier.
If this statement was wrong …
What if Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos was not new compared to Dark Dawn and Saint Defier … but its existence had surpassed them?
Su Ming did not continue thinking about it. He put an end to his guess. There was no basis for it. It was just a thought that even Su Ming found slightly absurd.
He ended all his thoughts, but all these speculations were buried deep in his heart. He quietly turned his head around and looked at the white mountain where he was. He looked at the black cave behind him, and a glint appeared in his eyes, but he did not immediately step in. Instead, he slowly sat down cross-legged and did not move a single inch outside the cave.
Time passed, and Su Ming sat there for half a month. When the color of the fog changed continuously and turned purple, Su Ming stood up and left the mountain to rush into the purple fog.
Three days later, when Su Ming charged out of the purple fog, he returned to the cave in the mountain. This time, he no longer hesitated. With a single move, he charged towards the entrance of the cave.
He wanted to go to Heavenly Spirit Tribe and see whether his guesses regarding the four eras and spirit ascension were correct. He had not immediately stepped into the cave half a month ago because at that time, when the ripples from the ring had erupted twice, he had already used up nearly eight-tenths of his cultivation base. He did not know whether there were any dangers in Heavenly Spirit Tribe. Su Ming's cautious nature prevented him from acting recklessly. At that moment, he had already hunted a large number of ferocious beasts in the purple fog. Once he devoured their blood, his cultivation base recovered to around eight-tenths of his original level of cultivation. Only then did he return.
The cave entrance was long and thin, and it extended downwards. Su Ming did not move quickly in the cave. He spread his divine sense outwards and charged downwards through the cave entrance.
Time trickled by. Su Ming continued moving forward in the cave, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finally appeared in a huge cave abode. At the instant he walked out of the tunnel and saw the interior of the cave abode clearly, a shudder ran through his body, and he sucked in a deep breath.
It was a huge cave abode. A small part of it was inside the mountain, and most of it was on the ground under the mountain. A gigantic pit had been dug out.
And what was there … were skeletons that had been dead for an unknown number of years. This was no Heavenly Spirit Tribe, it was clearly a pit of corpses!
There were quite a number of children who had yet to reach adulthood among the skeletons. Perhaps they had been part of a tribe known as Heavenly Spirit Tribe when they were alive, but now, they were all dead and had been pushed into the pit. They were pushed up high into the air, and their bones were all black. It was a terrifying sight to behold, and at the same time, a ghastly presence surrounded the area.
Su Ming was silent, but he had clearly heard the old voice coming from this place half a month ago. He had clearly seen the red figures who had failed the spirit ascension show fear on their apathetic faces as they swiftly retreated, as if they were incredibly terrified of that voice.
Su Ming looked around quietly. It was dead silent, and not a single sound could be heard. When his gaze landed on the stone walls of the cave abode around him, his pupils shrank. He saw some carvings on the walls.
These were carvings that were habitually used by the people in the tribe to record some pictures. Su Ming knew this. At that moment, he moved closer to the carvings and looked at them carefully.
The first carving depicted a beautiful and gigantic tribe. It was filled with peace and harmony, and there was a sun and moon in the sky …
In the second carving, Su Ming could see the people in the tribe worshiping a statue. That statue was of a man with long hair. It was clear that this statue had been worshiped by the tribe for an unknown number of years. They were kneeling before the statue with devout expressions on their faces.
The third carving was of a teenager in the tribe. He was sent to the statue, and once he knelt down, he looked as if he had obtained some sort of legacy …
When Su Ming saw this, his heart suddenly trembled. He was incredibly familiar with this scene. It was clearly the Berserkers' Awakening when he was in the land of Berserkers!
His body flickered as he moved to another wall to continue his examination. He saw that in the fourth carving, there was a huge stone platform, on which an old man was kneeling. The old man's hands were raised in the air as if he were calling out to the Heavens.
There was a gigantic face in the sky, and that face belonged to the statue of the man Su Ming had seen previously. That man was looking at the land and the people on the ground with a gentle gaze. There was a smile on his face, and he seemed to have bestowed some sort of power to the old man. A halo of light spread out from the old man's entire body.
In the fifth carving, Su Ming saw that the man's face in the sky was no longer smiling. Instead, there was some sort of grief on his face. The people in the tribe on the ground were all kneeling on the ground, and there was also grief on their faces.
The man's face was no longer there in the sixth carving. The sun and moon in the sky had shattered, but Su Ming could see that there were countless figures within the sun and moon that had aged. It was as if they were disappearing, and as they did so, they were also looking at the land. There was a reluctance to part, sadness, and a thick aura of death in their eyes.
It was as if they were about to die, but before they died, as if they were worried about the lives on the ground, they joined forces and lifted their hands to push towards the air. A towering hall appeared there!
However, there was a bolt of lightning striking down from the sky above the palace hall ….
When Su Ming saw this, his heart trembled. He could understand the meaning contained in the picture. There was a high possibility that those figures were the Ancestral Spirits of the first era. Due to a destruction that had descended for some unknown reason, they left the place and walked towards death, but before they died, they gathered all their power together and created a hall.
However, when the hall was created, a bolt of lightning descended, causing some deviation to appear in the hall. This was the meaning that the carvings were trying to convey.
Su Ming fell silent and continued looking at the last two carvings. There was a palace in the sky, and there were many people worshiping it on the platforms that had once been on the ground, but their expressions were ferocious and crazed. There was an indistinct figure carved above them, and that figure exuded the will of death. It was dressed in a long robe, and Su Ming could tell with just one glance that it was the red figure he had seen.
When he saw this, Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. The carvings verified some of his guesses. The red figures who had failed in the ascension of their spirits … were once members of the tribes on the ground.
In silence, Su Ming turned his head around and looked at the last picture, but when he did so, he did not notice that a figure had appeared behind him at some unknown point of time.
It was an old man covered in dirt. His gaze was fixed on Su Ming, and there was an unfocused look in his eyes. He stood behind Su Ming.
Second chapter, please get monthly votes!
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