Everyone must pass a certain place if they wanted to take this route to Trinity!
At the end of the barren forest was a plain with two great mountains that towered all the way to the clouds. They lied parallel to block the path ahead. On top of one of them was an old daoist temple. It was built with red walls and green tiles and was full of lingering fog. Looking from afar, it was as if there was a Buddha living in seclusion here.
Between the two mountains was a large lake akin to an unpolished blue jade. And in the middle was a stone monument 33 meters tall, making it seem like a little island.
Snow continued to flutter. This entire location had turned into a world of white. However, the water in this lake didn’t freeze. Some boats made from spiritual wood were still anchored in the lake.
Just who were the masters of these extravagant boats?
“The Heaven’s Ascension Cemetery and an icy palace flying out of the ground, suspended in the sky for several months — these two things have caused a great change in the weather of Trinity. Snow keeps on falling.” A man’s voice came from one of the boats. Judging by the sound, he was around twenty years old.
This divine boat was 30 meters tall and 100 meters long. The hull was crafted from violet jade and three white sails were situated above. Even though it was anchored, it still gave off the sensation that it was wafting through the void.
“A heavenly treasure must be appearing at that cemetery. Alas, it has been barricaded by several great powers. Others have no chance of taking a single step inside unless they want to die.” A very beautiful voice commented as well. It was ethereal and mysterious like a nightingale.
“The Qin and Ji Clans are ancient powers that have dominated the Grand Southern Prefecture for more than one thousand years. I’m sure the two houses are also part of this containment. Brother Qin, Miss Ji, you two have a high status in your respective clans, so I’m sure no one will stop you if you two want to go to the cemetery.” Ning Fengdao raised his wine cup for a toast.
Qin Ming and Ji Yunyun smiled back and drank.
Even though Ning Fengdao was the son of the new marquis, Qin Ming’s and Ji Yunyun’s positions were not much lesser than his. One was the best young expert of the Qin Clan while the other was the jewel of the Ji Clan Master.
The three of them seemed to be discussing an important matter on the boat. There were three levels of sound barriers to avoid others from listening in on them.
Feng Feiyun’s group finally made it to the lake before nightfall.
“This is the great ancient lake you were talking about? Only the top characters in each generation would be able to engrave their name on that monolith?” Wang Meng looked at the lofty lake with sparkling waves and suddenly felt a heroic urge. He wanted to use his sky piercer to carve his name on that stone tablet.
Bi Ningshuai looked at the boats near the shore. He internally pondered while answering: “You can go if you feel like dying.”
“So be it!” Wang Meng took a deep breath and shook his body to blow all the snow away. He jumped and stepped on the lake with both hands while clutching his sky piercer like a pen in order to immortalize his name.
Feng Feiyun nodded approvingly. This Wang Meng fella indeed had great talents. He was infinitely close to grand achievement God Base. With his natural superhuman power on top of being a peak God base, very few people could be his match.
“Bang!” A ray shot out from the violet boat, stirring the waves on the lake. It directly struck Wang Meng’s chest and sent him flying to the snowy shore.
“Hmph, how impudent. Despite being completely unqualified, you still want to leave your name on the holy monument?!” Ning Fengdao scowled and felt a little bit amused by this ignorant fella.
If it was this easy to leave one’s name on the tablet, they wouldn’t have been sitting here waiting for three days.
“Motherfucker! Who are you calling unqualified? Come and fight me if you dare!” Wang Meng rubbed his buttocks and climbed out from under the snow.
“Since we are both disciples from the pagoda, I don’t want to humiliate you in front of outsiders or else they’ll laugh at you.” Ning Fengdao’s bright eyes were full of arrogance.
He had an exalted fame in the pagoda, so he naturally didn’t want to spoil his image. The outsiders he was referring to were not just Qi Ming and Ji Yunyun. Many prodigies and experts from the other great powers were gathered here as well. It was just that some chose to hide in the shadows.
Wang Meng had smoke coming out of his head from anger. Ning Fengdao’s words were too presumptuous, calling him insensible and shameful for the pagoda. No one would be able to stand this kind of criticism.
Moreover, Wang Meng was a disciple of a tower lord. Even if Ning Fengdao was strong, he wasn’t qualified to utter such words.
“You can’t beat him. Ning Fengdao has been at grand achievement God Base for many years now. He’s ranked 40th on the list and can probably easily beat ten other grand achievement God Base cultivators simultaneously.” Bi Ningshuai quickly stopped him: “There are a lot of people here today. If you actually fight him, he’ll kill you for sure in order to keep up his appearance.”
Wang Meng stopped. Even though Bi Ningshuai was direct, it was also the truth.
***
Night fell with a bright moon in the sky.
Today, the moon looked exceptionally big and round. The moonlight illuminated the tablet in the middle of the lake as it shined like a flawless white gem.
Ancient words emerged on the tablet, each of them dazzling.
The names represented the most excellent geniuses. Some legendary names were on there as well.
“Long Jiangling, isn’t that the only empress in the history of all the God Base Dynasties? Her cultivation was matchless and all the sects had to bow down before her. Of course her name would be on this holy tablet.
“Nalan Hongtao, a member of the four great clans and Nalan’s first clan master. This is one of the most ancient clans, even older than the current royal family. They almost became the rulers but ultimately, there was a minute difference and they lost to the Long Clan.
“The entire clan left and became dormant in the Heavenly Cloud Prefecture despite being its ruling authority. For a long time now, they haven’t participated in any power struggles. It must have been founded for at least ten thousand years and have monstrous reserves. Their history far exceeds the other three great clans. And this was when one person reigned above all, Nalan Hongtao.”
This name made many geniuses here think about the northern tyrants of the Jin Dynasty, the Nalan.
Even though they were not as rich as the Yin Gou Clan or as influential as the Beiming Clan, they still competed against the Long Clan for this kingdom several thousand years ago. Despite the eventual defeat, they still controlled an entire prefecture.
To be able to survive for several thousand years even under the might of the royal family, to a certain extent, showed the power of the Nalan Clan.
“Fo Canzi, a deified character from around thirty thousand years ago. He obtained the heavenly dao and then disappeared from the Jin Dynasty. Some say he is dead and has returned to the earth on a peak while others say that he is still traveling in this world, westbound, out of the Jin Dynasty for something broader.” [1. This is the title of a Buddhist Monk. Silkworm Egg Buddha would be the direct translation, but I think I prefer the pinyin here. Just know that he is a monk.]
All of these names have resounded both in the past and the present. They played a big part in the historical annals.
Outside of Long Jiangling, Nalan Hongtao, and Fo Canzi, there were other remarkable names. They were personally written in their youth, not after they became famous.
Because of this, the dao contained in these words weren’t exceptionally strong. Otherwise, at their apex, the names they leave behind could still kill Heaven’s Mandate cultivators even after the passage of a thousand years.
These people were too powerful; all were at the top of their own generation.
“Only during a full moon one hour till midnight of an eclipse as the world plunges into darkness would someone be able to write their name on the tablet. Everyone who could successfully do so meant that they would be blessed by the heavens to become the strongest in the contemporary.”
“Moreover, I heard the sages of past would also bless them by increasing their cultivation by a large margin.”
“An intermediate God Base actually became the highest stage of grand achievement God Base after writing their name down, or so I’ve heard.”
“That’s nothing. A peak God Base once did so and his cultivation reached first-level Heaven’s Mandate in just one night, gaining a lifespan of 500 years. How enviable, there was no need to go through the Earth Tribulation either.”
The sky had just turned dark so there was still a while till the lunar eclipse.
However, some people already couldn’t wait!
“I don’t believe we have to wait until the eclipse for one to carve their name on the holy monument.” A young cultivator in a golden robe with a golden aura and a shining golden spear rushed out of the clouds and pierced straight towards the tablet.
“Whoosh!” A bright barrier came out from one of the boats, aiming to stop him. However, this cultivator was exceedingly strong. Four beast souls appeared behind him and shattered this barrier.
His spear was in front of the tablet! He was about to carve his name!
The atmosphere became quite tense for both the people hiding in the dark as well as the prodigies on the boats. It was too late for them to stop him. Could this dark horse that came out of nowhere be able to leave his name on the holy monument?
Feng Feiyun stood by the shore and shook his head: “How suicidal.”
“Bang!” The shining spear was only three feet away from the monument. Suddenly, one of the engraved names shot out a powerful light. It transformed into the figure of an empress!
It was Long Jiangling’s name!
Even though it was written several thousand years ago, these three words still condensed into an imperial dao with a force comparable to how strong she was when she wrote them.