荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

Wang Chong also saw a human skeleton collapsed in front of the stele, one hand still gripping the stele as if its owner had still hoped to get something before its death.

The skeleton and base of the stele were both covered in cobwebs. It was apparent that both the skeleton and the stele had been there for many years.

Wang Chong shook his head, getting more and more confused.

Everything that he saw was brimming with an indescribable sense of mystery. Most importantly, Wang Chong had no idea how he had appeared here.

A moment later, he turned his attention to the stele.

The lines of dense text on the stele immediately grabbed his attention.

The words were extremely complex and not at all like the words used in the current era. It was more similar to the Bird Seal Script used on the stone pillars of the Origin Immortal Formation.

“It’s something left behind by the Origin Immortal Lord!”

Wang Chong suddenly realized what was going on.

As these characters shared the same origin as the characters in the Origin Immortal Formation, it was clear that they had both been prepared by the Origin Immortal Lord.

But Wang Chong was somewhat confused as to why he had been teleported to this place from that platform. In addition, he did not recognize any of the words on the stele.

Without any understanding of the words, just looking at them was pointless.

But a moment later, Wang Chong seemed to think of something and smiled.

“Although I don’t recognize the words, that doesn’t mean I can’t find out their meaning.”

Tap!

Wang Chong walked over, squatted down, and pressed a hand against the stele, softly stroking the words. A familiar voice soon rang out in his mind.

“Notice! User has discovered words of the ancient era. Does user wish for these words to be translated? Warning: translation of the words of the ancient era will cost 100 points of Destiny Energy.”

Hearing the Stone of Destiny’s words, Wang Chong closed his eyes and replied without hesitation, “Translate!”

A dim glow exuded from Wang Chong’s palm and shrouded the stele. At the same time, lines of translated information began to appear in Wang Chong’s mind.

‘After the Spring and Autumn, one thousand years will pass. Only five will be able to see the words on this stele. After five, this stele will be destroyed!’

The first line the Stone of Destiny translated greatly alarmed Wang Chong.

“Spring and Autumn... one thousand years... To think this stele would be so old! And only five people can see it... What does that mean? Could it be that when the Origin Immortal Lord was making this stele, he had already predicted that only five people would be able to see it? But what’s the purpose of this stele?”

Wang Chong’s brows tightly furrowed. This was completely different from what he had expected.

But before he had time to think, more translated words flowed into his mind.

‘One hundred years after I erect this stele, the Spring and Autumn will pass and the Warring States will cease to exist. The first to come here will obtain my ‘Scroll of Wisdom’. He will use it to sweep away the Six States, assist a wise sovereign in uniting the realm and establishing the Great Qin, and obtain the rank of Prime Minister!’

Wang Chong’s eyes widened upon reading these words.

Great Qin? Prime Minister?

The only Prime Minister that Wang Chong knew from the Great Qin Empire of one thousand years ago that fit this description was ‘Li Si’. This man assisted that sovereign of the ages, the First Qin Emperor, in uniting the realm and standardizing the writing system, weights, and measurements. This was the first time the Central Plains was rendered into a true empire.

Even now, the system of commanderies and counties he had established was still in use.

Was this saying that he was the first one to have come to this place, and he had even taken the ‘Scroll of Wisdom’ the Origin Immortal Lord had left here?

‘The second person will conquer the northern desert and suppress the Hu, becoming the King of Great Generals. By this time, the Han will have supplanted the Qin!’

Wang Chong’s eyes widened once more in shock. The Origin Immortal Lord had even predicted what the dynasties would be. But the Han Dynasty had two Kings of Great Generals, and Wang Chong didn’t know which one he was referring to.

‘The third person is a peasant of the countryside. While grazing his horses, he will wander into this place. In its mercy, heaven will spare his life, but his avarice remains unsatisfied. He will lead the Hu here and end up buried here forever. But the punishment fits the crime. He brings this upon himself!

‘The fourth will be a youth...’

The Stone of Destiny suddenly stopped translating at the fourth line. Wang Chong creased his brow in surprise. Opening his eyes, Wang Chong suddenly realized that when it came to the fourth person, the stele had been damaged. And now that he looked again, he saw that one of the skeleton’s hands had scratched away at the stele, digging out some of the words of the fourth and fifth line.

“How could it be like this?”

Wang Chong was truly caught off guard. No matter how formidable the Stone of Destiny was, how great the abilities of the Riddle of Destiny, it needed the complete text for translation. With this damaged text, it was impossible to recover all of the information.

The remainder of the last portion read: ‘The fifth person... the heavens and earth to dust... no freedom... the stele will be destroyed, completely wiped away!’

At least three people have already come to this place. The bones on the ground should belong to that peasant the Origin Immortal Lord mentioned in his prophecy. I just don’t know if I’m the fourth person or the fifth person, Wang Chong quietly said to himself, a hundred questions on his mind.

Judging by the words on the stele, the Origin Immortal Lord from one thousand years ago had possessed some sort of divination ability that allowed him to predict what would happen after his death. With each line, he would be able to predict the fate of the person he referred to. Alas, the owner of the skeleton had scratched off the last lines, robbing Wang Chong of the chance to see what came after.

To think that there was someone in this world who could predict what would happen after his death, far into the future, Wang Chong inwardly muttered to himself.

Wang Chong only knew what he knew because he had lived through the experience, but the Origin Immortal Lord was different. It seemed as if this legendary existence who had passed away long ago possessed many abilities that others were unaware of.

But the world is ever-changing. Even the Origin Immortal Lord probably had his shortcomings. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have the owner of this skeleton damaging the stele. It seems that even the Origin Immortal Lord can make a mistake. Though I’m here, nothing catches my eye except this stele.

Based on the stele’s text, the Origin Immortal Lord had made arrangements for each person. For example, Li Si had obtained the ‘Scroll of Wisdom’ that he could use to assist his sovereign.

But it seemed like he had left nothing for Wang Chong, whether he was the fourth or the fifth.

Buzz!

Wang Chong smiled as this thought occurred to him, but suddenly, a massive pull erupted from the stele, and before Wang Chong could react, his right hand was fixed to the stele’s surface.

One stream of Stellar Energy after another flowed through his palm and into the stele.

A moment later, beams of light shot out of the stele, each beam swirling with various characters.

At this point, the Stone of Destiny began to translate.

“Give up on the self to obtain the self. Give up on the true self to obtain the supreme origin.” Wang Chong muttered out the first two lines.

Before Wang Chong could react, the stele shifted once more. All the words vanished, leaving only a ball of murky Origin Energy.

The Origin Energy began to spiral like a vortex, soon manifesting into the images of the Yin and Yang.

But a moment later, Yin and Yang shifted into four small beasts: a vermillion bird, a black tortoise, an azure dragon, and a white tiger.

These four beasts were extremely lifelike. Calling and roaring, they turned into an eight-sided formation.

“It’s the Origin Immortal Formation!”

In shock, Wang Chong recognized this formation.

This diagram was none other than a miniature Origin Immortal Formation.

As Wang Chong stood there in a daze, his Stellar Energy began to rumble and surge.

And while Wang Chong had already stopped using his Psychic Energy, it seemed to be stimulated at this time and erupted forward like bamboo after a rain.

He already possessed immense reserves of Psychic Energy, and now, these reserves were rapidly expanding, and his Psychic Energy even seemed on the verge of turning tangible.

If the deceased Masil had seen this sight, he would have undoubtedly been flabbergasted.

Moreover, the chaotic state of Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy suddenly began to calm down, and he could clearly sense a pure energy flowing into his pores and circulating through his body.

Unlike other energies, this energy did not conflict with the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. On the contrary, it nurtured Wang Chong’s flesh and meridians, even assisting Wang Chong in solidifying his cultivation and pushing him ever closer to the Subtle realm.

But Wang Chong’s attention was focused elsewhere by this time.

As he gazed at the constantly shifting images and words in the sky, he seemed to understand something.

“The origin, the origin...” Wang Chong muttered.

For one moment, he seemed to understand, but a moment later, he felt like he understood nothing at all. Immersed in thought, he became motionless.

After a long, long while, Wang Chong finally roused himself from his meditation.

“I’m still missing something.”

Wang Chong sighed as he opened his eyes.

Destiny was not something that one could force. The words on the stele had been left by the Origin Immortal Lord, and as the creator of the Origin Immortal Art, he had undoubtedly reached an unfathomable level of cultivation. The word ‘Origin’ was undoubtedly a summation of all he had comprehended in his life of martial arts. Although he had reached a very high level of cultivation himself, he was still lacking compared to the Origin Immortal Lord.

I can’t force it. Let’s meet up with Master first, Wang Chong said to himself. He took one last glance at the stele but noticed nothing new.

Wang Chong began to inspect his surroundings, at which point he realized that he was in a cave. This cave had a diameter of ten-some meters, and his surroundings were pitch-black, making it impossible for him to know where he was.

“And how do I get out of here? If the Origin Immortal Lord can see the future, what sort of arrangements did he make?” Wang Chong muttered to himself.