Martial World

Chapter 1486 – Lin Ming’s Ambitions

…

…

…

“Gramps, you told us not to enter the God Beast Tomb. Will we not be able to return if we do?” Xiao Moxian asked as she recalled Empyrean Divine Mist’s first words.

Empyrean Divine Mist sighed and said, “For these last tens of millions of years, out of the innumerable individuals I have seen enter the God Beast Tomb, none of them have emerged alive. Only when the eruption of demonic power happens from deep within will their bones be blown out… in the past I also once attempted to venture deep into the God Beast Tomb and possibly find some method to leave the Valley of the Red Dragon, but after passing a hundred miles deep I felt the call of a formidable demonic power that nearly made me lose my sense of self. In the end, I failed…”

The call of a formidable demonic power? One that could even make an Empyrean lose their sense of self?

Lin Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He could confirm that Tragic Death Valley shouldn’t be a land of absolute death; there had to be a way to leave. The Asura Road Master wouldn’t create such a land to joke around with his incomparably weaker juniors.

If Tragic Death Valley did have an exit then it was highly likely that it was deep within the God Beast Tomb, because out of everyone that had ever entered, no one had emerged.

“Senior, you sound very weakened…”

Lin Ming pondered. From Empyrean Divine Mist’s sound transmission, he could feel that his soul aura was like a flickering candle in the wind. Empyrean Divine Mist was of the spiritas race, who took the soul as the source of their existence. Now that his soul aura appeared to be so weak, this proved that he likely couldn’t live for much longer.

Empyrean Divine Mist chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Well said. In these years I have experienced countless demonic tides. The origin energy in this cave is far too meager and the soul crystals and origin energy runes I brought here have long been used up. I can now only depend on absorbing the thin origin energy here to resist the corrosion of the demonic tides. At the same time, I must meditate to maintain my condition, sealing away my life activities in order to barely linger onwards…”

Empyrean Divine Mist’s words contained a depth of sadness to them. A proud son of heaven like himself had ended up in such a state, having to spend tens of millions of years silently suffering in the Valley of the Red Dragon. Such a fate truly moved the heart.

“Senior, junior has a question, I wonder if it is improper to ask or not.” Lin Ming asked after hesitating for a moment.

“You and I are nothing but people who will soon die. There is nothing that cannot be said.” Empyrean Divine Mist confidently responded.

“That is… I want to ask, why did Senior enter Tragic Death Valley in the past? That is, the Valley of the Red Dragon that Senior referred to. With Senior’s status and strength, you can already overawe the Asura Road. Why would you enter such a perilous land like Tragic Death Valley, where the chances of survival are so slim? Although other Empyreans have come here, they likely came at the moments before their death. If they had to choose between entering Tragic Death Valley or dying in repose outside, they chose to come here and attempt to peek at the secrets of the source of the Asura Road and also to find out how to walk down the path of True Divinity…”

Lin Ming had been wondering this the entire time. He could understand if Divine Lords and Holy Lords were accidently sucked into Tragic Death Valley, but it was impossible for an Empyrean to be accidently sucked in with their level of cultivation.

If they entered Tragic Death Valley, it was a completely voluntary action.

If an Empyrean were to enter Tragic Death Valley at the end of their life then that would be understandable, but Empyrean Divine Mist had clearly arrived here at the height of his power. Why would he take such a risk?

“Because of… enmity!”

Empyrean Divine Mist said these three words and then fell silent, clearly unwilling to say anything more. Lin Ming also tactfully didn’t ask further.

A single word of enmity. Perhaps Empyrean Divine Mist’s life hadn’t been as vivid and illustrious as others had imagined.

“Miss Ji, let us go back and see if we can find out what the situation at the entrance is like.” Lin Ming turned to ask Xiao Moxian.

Xiao Moxian threw back a smile in return, infinitely enchanting. “You’re quite a dullard, calling me Miss Ji. Stop being so polite about everything,  it's fine if you just call me Xian’er.”

“Mm… well, alright… then, let’s go back and take a look.”

Lin Ming was well aware that after entering Tragic Death Valley, there was no way to leave from the entrance. If there was, then all the previous people who had come here would have discovered that method. If there was a method then those people would never have waited until they died here. Even so, he wanted to return to investigate the situation and carefully examine the area so he could remember every nook and cranny of Tragic Death Valley. Then he could familiarize himself with the structures and profound principles that governed this land, and also prepare contingencies for any emergencies.

Xiao Moxian patted Lin Ming’s shoulder, casually saying, “I already handed over my life and all my property to you. I’m still young and don’t want to pass away here, so please lead the way.”

She was a naturally optimistic person. Even after entering such a danger zone she still didn’t go crazy with despair, even when she had no idea what Lin Ming was relying on.

As they walked towards the entrance, Lin Ming was able to confirm his suspicions. The entrance was blocked by a force field.

This was a terrifying force field, similar to the surface of a black hole. One could only enter, not leave.

Moreover, as long as one passed that force field then they would enter a completely different world from which even light couldn’t escape. This was a true separate world.

“If even Empyreans cannot break through that enchantment then there’s definitely nothing I can do.”

Lin Ming shook his head, no longer thinking of leaving from the entrance.

He retraced his steps and returned to the God Beast Tomb and then went from the God Beast Tomb back to the entrance, taking this path several dozens of times. Every time Lin Ming walked this distance he would spend two to four hours doing so. As he walked this route again and again, he remembered the positions of all the shattered bones, where the bones were crowded, sparse, where there were more bones of powerhouses, every detail that he could memorize, he did.

“What use is there in remembering all of this?” Xiao Moxian asked Lin Ming. They had already walked back and forth several dozen times, taking several days and nights to do so. She wasn’t bothered or impatient at all with this, but continued walking with Lin Ming and also remembering her surroundings. Although Xiao Moxian appeared unreliable most of the time, at needed moments she could shine with her own dependability and earnestness.

“It might be useful…”

Lin Ming had some faint speculations in his mind and wanted to confirm them one at a time.

On the fifth day, Lin Ming had fully remembered the complete details of the area outside of the God Beast Tomb. Then, he arrived at the cliff where the God Beast Tomb lay.

With a light jump, Lin Ming flew down to the depths of the God Beast Tomb.

His speed wasn’t fast. As he flew down, he felt the demonic power that Empyrean Divine Mist spoke of.

As he thought, the further he went, the more that demonic power would increase in strength, as if it were enticing his body and soul, trying to draw him closer.

Lin Ming’s mind chilled. He immediately stopped flying and returned using his old route.

For the next several days, Lin Ming continued to explore the edge of the God Beast Tomb. He went in and out but never went deeper than 10 miles.

As for Empyrean Divine Mist, he had no words to say about Lin Ming’s actions. He had already given sufficient warning. If Lin Ming and Xiao Moxian insisted on venturing into the God Beast Tomb to die then he wouldn’t stop them.

On the tenth day, Lin Ming returned to the edge of the tomb’s cliff and then meditated atop a raised rock.

Without any questions, Xiao Moxian accompanied Lin Ming to meditate atop that rock. Placed beside them was the nine sun jade base, slowly glowing with a gentle light.

Xiao Moxian was cultivating. As for Lin Ming, he was perceiving the dao patterns in the emperor jade, verifying everything he knew with the God Beast Tomb.

Lin Ming’s guess was that regardless of the Great Desolate God Trove or the exit of Tragic Death Valley, it was all located deep within the God Beast Tomb. If he wanted to obtain these things he would need to journey deep down into that graveyard!

And according to Empyrean Divine Mist, even an Empyrean would lose their mind upon entering the God Beast Tomb. If Lin Ming wanted to accomplish what they couldn’t then he would need to completely understand the profound and mysterious processes of the great array formation!

Time slowly passed. One month… two months… three months…

Lin Ming meditated like a stone statue. The dao patterns within the emperor jade were enigmatic and difficult to understand. Even when he was verifying them with what he gleaned from the God Beast Tomb, it was still arduous and straining.

In the fourth month, Lin Ming flew off from the rock and continued to investigate the God Beast Tomb. This time, Lin Ming extended his investigative range to 20 miles. Every time, Lin Ming would remember as many placements of God Beast bones as he could, as well as their auras and Law characteristics.

All of this information was completely taken in by Lin Ming, being analyzed and summarized by his extraordinary perception.

After two weeks of analyzing, Lin Ming returned to meditate on the rock once more.

In a flash, half a year had passed. During this half year, Empyrean Divine Mist had watched everything happening.

“You are quite persistent… with your age, perhaps having such achievements isn’t a coincidence at all… but what a pity, this is an array formation personally arranged by the Asura Road Master and it contains infinite mysteries. Let alone you, I once spent a full 10,000 years perceiving the God Beast Tomb but failed to find out anything in the end. And before and even after me, there were countless peerless geniuses who also tried to understand the God Beast Tomb, to seek flaws in the array formation, but in the end, all of them were defeated…”

Empyrean Divine Mist shook his head. He didn’t expect Lin Ming to have perceived anything at all in this last half year. In this case, Lin Ming was able to focus his mind and calmly meditate each day with no despair in his eyes and no feeling that he would give up soon. Disregarding whether or not all of this was meaningless, just his character and disposition to go through all this was admirable.

“Senior’s words are sensible, but if junior doesn’t try it once, how will I know that all my efforts will be in vain?”

Lin Ming spoke without opening his eyes, nor did he pause his meditation. He was grasping every minute and second to calmly and assiduously enlighten himself.

In perceiving the God Beast Tomb’s array formation, there was a great difference between how he did it and how those who came before had tried. Those ancient seniors all attempted to find a flaw in the God Beast Tomb’s great array so that they could use this flaw to enter deeper within.

But Lin Ming was different. He was studying the entire array formation because he wanted to grasp this array formation together with the inheritance within the emperor jade!

This seemed like a fantastical fairy tale, but with the ability to reference the emperor jade, Lin Ming’s own unusually high perception, his solid martial arts foundation, as well as the general outline of the Asura Sutra, this gave him a slim chance of accomplishing it!

Lin Ming discovered more and more of the mysteries within the emperor jade. The dao field and dao patterns inscribed within were the essence of the Asura Road Master’s inheritance.

It was just that without any notes and without any master to teach him, Lin Ming only had the God Beast Tomb to refer to, making it extremely difficult to understand the inheritance within the emperor jade.

But this process of enlightenment was actually a way of honing Lin Ming and allowing him to gain even deeper comprehensions. Only perceiving things on his own would be the most suitable process for him.

At this time, Empyrean Divine Mist said, “If you don’t try it once then you won’t know if your efforts will be in vain, and you aren’t willing to give up like that? That’s well said of you, but… after several more hours the tide of demonic power will erupt… can you survive that?”