Free Web NovelChapter 352: Ancient Ruins
After entering Feng City, Wang Yufan saw that it was indeed different from Bright Moon City; the entire city had a very unique style, and almost all the patterns used were phoenixes.
"It truly lives up to its name, Feng City," Wang Yufan marveled to himself.
Afterward, Wang Yufan inquired with passersby about the location of the Feng City administrator.
Upon arriving, Wang Yufan first needed to process his entry and exit permit.
What made Wang Yufan very happy was that the permit cost exactly ten Yuan Stones, and currently, Wang Yufan had nothing else on him.
Therefore, the second thing to do upon arriving in Feng City was to earn money.
According to Wang Yufan’s inquiries, he learned that there was an auction house in Feng City, and this Fengcheng Auction House became the first place Wang Yufan wanted to earn money.
However, the immediate problem for Wang Yufan was that he had nothing valuable enough to auction at the auction house, but he remembered the Nine Absolutes Tower, because there were quite a few good things in the Nine Absolutes Tower.
Although he had opened the first and second levels, Wang Yufan found a cultivation method suitable for his current realm there and then entered the Fengcheng Auction House.
Before entering the Fengcheng Auction House, he wrapped himself completely in a black robe and then applied some special formations to his robe so that others would not easily perceive his strength or appearance.
Upon entering the auction house, Wang Yufan was greeted by a plump middle-aged man who appeared very shrewd.
"Welcome, guest, to our Fengcheng Auction House.
What do you intend to auction?" the middle-aged man asked.
Wang Yufan did not speak; he touched his fingertips, and then three martial arts manuals appeared on the table.
"Four Directions Tian Yan Fist," "Flowing Water Sword Art," and "Dragon Slaying Art."
Seeing these three martial arts manuals, the middle-aged man’s eyes narrowed slightly, as he felt that these three martial arts manuals were extremely extraordinary, at least martial arts that could only be cultivated by someone in the Yuanji Realm.
And after Wang Yufan concealed his cultivation, the middle-aged man could not perceive it; he looked at Wang Yufan and always felt that this Black-robed man beside him was definitely a senior whose strength had reached the Yuandao Realm.
The middle-aged man tentatively asked, "May I ask, senior, are you sure you want to auction these three martial arts manuals?"
Hearing the middle-aged man’s voice, Wang Yufan spoke in a very low voice, "That’s right, these three.
How many Yuan Stones do you think these three are worth?"
Hearing Wang Yufan’s voice, the middle-aged man looked them over and finally estimated a price.
"For these three martial arts manuals, the first, Four Directions Tian Yan Fist, is worth three hundred Yuan Stones; the second, Flowing Water Sword Art, is also worth three hundred Yuan Stones; and the third, Dragon Slaying Art, can be sold for five hundred Yuan Stones."
Hearing the price the middle-aged man offered, Wang Yufan nodded with satisfaction.
The middle-aged man continued, "I have calculated these three martial arts manuals at the lowest possible price for you.
However, our auction house needs to charge a handling fee, taking a three percent cut.
Is that acceptable?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yufan nodded.
The middle-aged man took the three martial arts manuals directly.
Wang Yufan soon left the Fengcheng Auction House.
The next day, Wang Yufan returned and was surprised to find that the three martial arts manuals brought him fifteen hundred Spirit Stones.
Wang Yufan had spent the previous night in the Nine Absolutes Tower.
Looking at the Yuan Stones in his hand today, Wang Yufan was very happy.
Wang Yufan planned to have a big meal with these Yuan Stones.
Although his cultivation had long since allowed him to abstain from food, when he came to Feng City, he saw many things that greatly stimulated his appetite.
Doing whatever he thought of, Wang Yufan went directly to a rather good tavern and ordered several local specialty dishes.
Of course, Wang Yufan was primarily eating here to listen for specific news about Feng City.
After Wang Yufan sat down, he overheard a series of conversations from behind him.
"Have you all heard?
Feng City is holding an exploration conference tomorrow."
"Why haven’t I heard?
I came here specifically for this matter.
It is said that this time, the Fengcheng City Lord seems to have discovered a burial ground of Prime Ancestors, but it is heavily booby-trapped.
The Fengcheng City Lord’s strength has reached the fifth level of the Yuandao Realm.
If he can’t break through the formations, do you think we can enter?"
"Hahaha, you don’t know this, do you?
It is said that the Fengcheng City Lord has invited a formation master, Wan Wudao."
"You mean Wan Wudao?
He is the strongest formation master in the three empires!
For him to be invited by the Fengcheng City Lord, it must have cost a considerable price."
"That’s not something we need to worry about.
Anyway, the Fengcheng City Lord has already said that all cultivators who wish to enter can do so.
This Ancestral Ruins is not his personal property, but after entering, our Life and Death is our own responsibility."
"So that’s how it is!
However, this is the Ancestral Ruins.
If we venture in and take a chance, we might just obtain the treasures left behind by Prime Ancestors."
"You’re right, we should prepare well.
Tomorrow at noon, gather in front of the Fengcheng City Lord’s manor, and then the City Lord will lead us together towards the Ancestral Ruins."
Hearing this from not far away, Wang Yufan also murmured, "Ancestral Ruins, huh?
It seems I need to give it a try too."
The next day, Wang Yufan found out the location of the Fengcheng City Lord. By the time Wang Yufan arrived, many people had already gathered there.
Just then, an intermediary stepped forward and loudly declared, "Welcome, fellow Daoists, to my Feng City! Let us explore the Ancestral Ruins together."
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, the crowd below stirred.
"City Lord, when do we depart? I am already parched with anticipation!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, please calm down. I still need to wait for one more person, and then we will depart."
"May I ask, City Lord, are we waiting for Master Wan Wudao?" someone in the crowd asked.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man did not conceal anything and said with a smile, "That’s right. I presume everyone must have heard before coming here that Master Wan Wudao will be accompanying us on this journey. He is the strongest formation master in the three empires. With him, the dangers we face when entering the Ancestral Ruins will surely be greatly reduced."
"Yes, yes, I know Master Wan Wudao! His attainments in formations are very high, and his cultivation has also reached the fifth level of the Yuandao Realm. I never expected the City Lord to be able to invite such a prominent figure for us."
Hearing this person’s words, the Fengcheng City Lord smiled and did not say anything further, because only he knew how much he had spent to invite Wan Wudao. But it was all worth it, as long as he obtained what he desired from the Ancestral Ruins.
After waiting for about half an hour, an old man in a green robe descended from the sky. He was precisely the Master Wan everyone was talking about.
Wang Yufan, standing in the last row of the crowd, looked at this so-called Master Wan. He indeed had the demeanor of a formation master.
With the arrival of Wan Wudao, the crowd once again became lively.
"This is the legendary formation master Wan Wudao! Today, I finally see him in person."
Such voices rose and fell.
And when the Fengcheng City Lord saw Wan Wudao arrive, he quickly cupped his hands in greeting.
"Master Wan, you’ve finally arrived. When shall we depart?" the Fengcheng City Lord asked.
"Hahaha, you’ve waited long enough. Let’s depart now. According to my calculations, the Ancestral Ruins should be opening soon," Wan Wudao said.
Hearing this, the Fengcheng City Lord nodded and shouted loudly to the crowd, "We depart now! Is everyone ready?"
"Ready, City Lord! Please hurry!" someone in the crowd said.
Wang Yufan observed that there were quite a number of people heading to the Ancestral Ruins this time. There must have been several hundred people from Feng City alone, and among these hundreds, there were many experts. His own realm was only considered mid-tier, so it seemed he needed to plan carefully this time. After entering the Ancestral Ruins, he must find a way to avoid those powerful individuals.
As Wang Yufan thought this, he followed the crowd towards the direction of the so-called Ancestral Ruins.
It took the group about half a day of travel to arrive. It turned out that the Ancestral Ruins were a hundred thousand miles away from Feng City.
This was an extremely desolate place. When someone saw this scene, he said to the Fengcheng City Lord, who was leading the way, "City Lord, are you sure the Ancestral Ruins are here? Why do I feel like this doesn’t look like it? Who would build the Ancestral Ruins in such a godforsaken place?" Hearing this, the others also nodded in agreement.
However, the Fengcheng City Lord laughed heartily and said, "It seems this fellow Daoist doesn’t know the reason. Is there anyone who can enlighten him?"
Hearing the Fengcheng City Lord’s words, an older man in the crowd spoke up:
"Regarding this place, I’d like to ask the City Lord, is this Cangyu Gumo?"
"That’s right, this is Cangyu Gumo," the Fengcheng City Lord said.
And upon hearing this, the old man, who possessed a Yuanji Realm cultivation, said, "Then there’s no mistake. Since this is Cangyu Gumo, then these so-called Ancestral Ruins are the fallen grounds of Tianhuang Forefather. I presume many of you might not know about Tianhuang Forefather. He was a figure from tens of thousands of years ago, once dominating the Primordial Spirit Realm, known by everyone. It’s just that with the passage of time, many have forgotten the existence of such a great figure.
Of course, I, this old man, also read about it in an ancient book. This Tianhuang Forefather was once the strongest among several Great Prime Ancestors of his time, with cultivation almost reaching the Yuanshi Realm. But how could breaking through to the Yuanshi Realm be so easy? This Tianhuang Forefather fell when he failed to overcome the tribulation during his breakthrough. I never expected the Fengcheng City Lord to find him here."
After the old man finished speaking, someone in the crowd asked again, "Fellow Daoist, you’ve talked for a long time, only about how Tianhuang Forefather fell and that such a figure existed, but what’s the connection with this Cangyu Gumo?"
"Hahaha, isn’t it obvious? This Cangyu Gumo was the birthplace of Tianhuang Forefather. It is said that when Tianhuang Forefather was born, there was a great drought here for ten years. It wasn’t until Tianhuang Forefather left that sweet rain fell here," the old man said.
"Oh, so it seems this Tianhuang Forefather was a disaster? Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been a ten-year drought when he was born. Could it be a Heaven-Bestowed Divine Body?" someone asked.
"That’s right, this Tianhuang Forefather should be a Heaven-Bestowed Body, and his physique is the Desolate Body, ranked twenty-fifth on the Divine Body list. Such a physique, upon birth, will affect and change the surrounding environment. This is something he could not control, so at the age of ten, he was sent away by his parents. This Tianhuang Forefather suffered many hardships before cultivating to the Primordial Ancestor Realm.
And precisely because he was scorned, disliked, and hated by everyone, Tianhuang Forefather, after his cultivation reached great success, eradicated all the forces that had once looked down on him and bullied him. And the treasures of those forces all fell into Tianhuang Forefather’s hands."
When the old man finished this sentence, a large portion of the people present perked up their ears. Their biggest purpose in coming here was for the treasures and cultivation techniques within the Ancestral Ruins. If they could obtain a cultivation technique or martial skill that a Prime Ancestors once used, wouldn’t they be not far from soaring to success?
After everyone finished listening to the story of Tianhuang Forefather, the Fengcheng City Lord also smiled and said, "This fellow Daoist is right. And my encounter with these Ancestral Ruins was also a coincidence. I tried to use my strength to break through the restrictions of these ruins at the time, but alas, the restrictions of the Ancestral Ruins were too powerful. I didn’t know what it was at the time, so after I went back, I consulted some ancient texts and only then did I know that this place was very likely the relic of Tianhuang Forefather. This fellow Daoist was able to directly determine that this was the relic of Tianhuang Forefather just by seeing this Cangyu Gumo. That is truly impressive." The Fengcheng City Lord praised the old man.
And the old man also smiled slightly.
All of this was heard clearly by Wang Yufan, who stood in the Team. He never thought that these Ancestral Ruins were actually the Tianhuang of Cangyu Gumo, which had existed for tens of thousands of years.
Wang Yufan naturally didn’t know about all this, but he felt that one thing should know: the sword spirit of Feng Ling Sword. He was the personal sword of Ice Moon Yuanzu of Ice Moon Sect from tens of thousands of years ago. Perhaps he knew some things about Tianhuang Forefather.
Sure enough, just as Wang Yufan transmitted a message to the sword spirit, the sword spirit also responded to Wang Yufan.
"I know about this Tianhuang Forefather. It’s just that he was earlier than my master, Ice Moon Yuanzu. My master also learned about this person back then, so I also generally know some fragmented things. What do you want to know?"
Hearing the sword spirit’s question, Wang Yufan continued to transmit, "Just tell me about Tianhuang Forefather’s temperament, the cultivation techniques and martial skills he practiced, etc. Just tell me everything you know."
Hearing Wang Yufan’s words, the sword spirit also transmitted everything it knew to Wang Yufan.
"As far as I know, this Tianhuang Forefather mastered a very powerful martial skill called Eight Desolations Imprisoning Heaven Hand. When this palm strike is unleashed, it can devour all life force within ten thousand miles, and then it explodes with his palm. It is precisely because he possessed such power that he was considered the strongest Prime Ancestors of his era by the people of that time. It’s just a pity that this Tianhuang Forefather fell when he attempted to break through to the legendary Yuanshi Realm.
As for his temperament, I presume you heard what that old man just said. This person was scorned and disliked from a young age, which caused his heart to be extremely closed off. He never trusted anyone. He remained alone until his demise. So, these so-called Tianhuang Yuanzu Relics carry great risks. You must be extremely careful after entering."
After hearing the transmission from the Feng Ling Sword’s sword spirit, Wang Yufan felt much more at ease; at least he had a general idea.
He had already decided that after entering, the first thing he would do was to figure out how to get his hands on the Eight Desolations Imprisoning Heaven Hand martial skill. Such a cultivation technique was truly very appealing to him. Even though he had the Nine Absolutes Tower, his Taiqing Demon-Slaying Sword Canon had only barely completed its basic section. If he had the Eight Desolations Imprisoning Heaven Hand, it would be even better. He also didn’t know if this cultivation technique was suitable for him; if not, he would store it in the Nine Absolutes Tower. That place contained the old man Baishan’s many years of collection, and selling three of them felt a bit wasteful.
Wang Yufan decided that he would never touch the secret manuals inside again, unless it was absolutely necessary. Wang Yufan secretly made this decision.
