Chapter 574: Little Marten: Farewell, Cruel World!

"The Ancestral Stone!"

Ying Huanhuan exclaimed in shock; her eyes intently focused on the stone in Xiao Ming's hand. Faintly discernible intricate patterns and mysterious symbols covered every inch of the stone. It was indeed a mysterious stone talisman.

This was the Ancestral Stone? But why would such a divine item appear in such a remote and hidden place?

If one were to wonder why, Xiao Ming had his speculations.

In ancient times, two individuals had set their sights on the Dimension Fetus of this plane.

One was the Yimo Emperor, and the other was the Symbol Ancestor.

In the distant past, the Yimo Emperor from the Outer Realm and the Symbol Ancestor from the Great Thousand World both discovered the existence of a Dimension Fetus in the Tian Xuan Continent. Consequently, they each descended onto this plane but employed different methods due to their differing stances.

The Symbol Ancestor's approach was gentler, while the Yimo Emperor's was more aggressive, seeking to corrupt this plane.

To resist the invasion of the Yimo Clan, the Spirit of the Tian Xuan Continent gathered the origin power from heaven and earth to form the Eight Ancestral Symbols. These Ancestral Symbols possessed formidable restraining abilities against the Yimo.

During this time, the Symbol Ancestor from the Great Thousand World chose to 'follow the path of heaven' and aided the Tian Xuan Continent in resisting the Yimo invasion.

The Ancestral Stone, ranking second on the Ancient Divine Item List, was created by the Symbol Ancestor himself under these circumstances. It possessed powerful purifying capabilities against the Yimo.

Furthermore, the reason the Symbol Ancestor created the Ancestral Stone was to balance the power of the Eight Ancestral Symbols and use it to counter the Yimo Emperor.

At the end of the great world war, the Symbol Ancestor ignited his reincarnation to seal the Yimo Emperor away. This marked the conclusion of the ancient war, with both sides suffering heavy losses.

Although the Tian Xuan Continent emerged victorious, they were unable to completely eradicate the Yimo, resulting in the second great world war that followed.

After the war, the Ancestral Stone's spirit fell into a deep slumber due to severe injuries, and its whereabouts became uncertain.

The last known holder of the Ancestral Stone was the Young Master of the Heavenly Demonic Marten Tribe. Unfortunately, he was pursued by the Yimo due to possessing the Ancestral Stone, and in the end, only a wisp of his Demon Spirit remained within the stone talisman. Afterward, the Ancestral Stone somehow ended up here.

Xiao Ming suspected that the appearance of the Ancestral Stone in such a remote location was likely orchestrated by the Plane Spirit to cultivate Lin Dong, the child of this plane.

In the original story, Lin Dong advanced from the initial Tempered Body Stage to the Ancestor Stage in just a mere ten years!

This rate of breakthrough was bewildering to anyone who witnessed it. Such a feat couldn't merely be explained by talent alone. If someone were to tell Xiao Ming that the Plane Spirit did not intervene in any way, he would not believe it.

With the Ancestral Stone casually placed here, Lin Dong would soak in its Ling Liquid every few days. This undoubtedly increased his potential to an unimaginable extent without him even realizing it.

Of course, it was normal for the Plane Spirit to employ such tricks. If it failed to cultivate a strong expert, it would inevitably meet a terrible fate in the future.

In Xiao Ming's opinion, even though the Plane Spirit might appear to lack self-awareness, it was, in fact, quite cunning.

In the past, the Symbol Ancestor came to the Tian Xuan Continent seeking a breakthrough and was misled into confronting the Yimo Emperor in a bloody battle, ending up gaining nothing and losing his life in the process.

Later on, even during the second great world war, although the Plane Spirit cultivated Lin Dong, it wasn't until the very end, when they were about to lose, that the Plane Spirit merged with him.

From this, it could be seen that the Dimension Fetus was highly resistant to being refined. It was challenging even for someone like Lin Dong, the child of the plane, and it would be even more challenging for outsiders. The Symbol Ancestor's tragic fate was a prime example of this.

The Symbol Ancestor's strength at that time was no weaker than Lin Dong's final strength upon entering the Ancestor Stage. Had he possessed the Dimension Fetus, the Yimo Emperor would have been wiped out long ago, thus avoiding many of the subsequent complications.

Moreover, at present, Xiao Ming didn't believe that his arrival on the Tian Xuan Continent had gone unnoticed by the Plane Spirit.

If the Plane Spirit were to hand over the Dimension Fetus to him right now, he could immediately set out to obliterate the Yimo Emperor, thus ending the crisis plaguing the Tian Xuan Continent. However, he had not felt any form of communication or interaction from the Plane Spirit.

'If you're going to be wary of me, don't blame me for resorting to some means. I'm determined to obtain the Dimension Fetus.'

Xiao Ming's fingers gently caressed the small stone as he muttered to himself. Then, he called out.

"Desolation, don't you want to come out and greet an old friend?"

A speck of yellow light condensed and gradually expanded as soon as he finished speaking. The spirit of the Great Desolation Tablet slowly emerged.

"Alas, its injuries are too severe. Its spirit has not yet awakened," the tablet spirit observed the two-finger-sized stone in Xiao Ming's hand and sighed.

Suddenly, the tablet spirit seemed to have noticed something.

"Master, it seems there's a rat inside the Ancestral Stone!"

"Indeed there is."

Inside the Ancestral Stone that Xiao Ming was holding, a tiny, palm-sized weasel-like creature, snowy-white, was trembling at this moment. He was screaming frantically in his mind.

'Oh my, why would such a powerful figure come to such a remote place? Just a wisp of that spirit's aura is enough to suffocate me, let alone the master himself. Wait, they're talking about a rat... Damn it! They can't be talking about me, can they? I'm clearly a Heavenly Demonic Marten! They must be doing this on purpose!'

'Sob, sob, sob. Woe is me, I'm going to die! I haven't even had my revenge yet. Is there still time to go out and beg for mercy? Would they spare me...'

This little fellow was frantically muttering to himself within the stone talisman. In his mind, he was doing his best to conceal his presence to avoid drawing attention to himself. What he didn't realize, however, was that the erratic mental fluctuations caused by his wild thoughts were what attracted the attention of Xiao Ming and the tablet spirit.

"So, it's the Demon Spirit of a Heavenly Demonic Marten. Isn't it beneficial for humans to devour such spirits? Why not let the Huanhuan girl give it a try? Since the Demon Spirit of this Heavenly Demonic Marten is quite weak, she should be able to handle it," the Great Desolation Tablet chuckled.

"A Heavenly Demonic Marten?" Ying Huanhuan's eyes immediately lit up when she heard this. The Heavenly Demonic Marten was one of the overlord tribes. If she could devour this spirit, the benefits would not be small.

'Why is this spirit so heartless! I'm done for!' Inside the Ancestral Stone, the small marten heard the Great Desolation Tablet's suggestion and felt as if the world was spinning around him, causing his limbs to go weak.

"Let it be. There's no real gain in devouring this little Demon Spirit." Xiao Ming shook his head. Most demonic beasts had no rights in his eyes, he and Zi Yan had plundered plenty of magical beasts in the Dou Qi Continent. However, he still chose to spare this small marten.

"All right then..." Ying Huanhuan wasn't too disappointed. She knew that her Master was powerful. It would be easy for him to find a Demon Spirit if she needed one.

"Huanhuan, you've reached the Tempered Body 9th Layer, haven't you? Desolation will act as your protector while you break through to the Earthly Yuan Stage. I'll study the structure of the Ancestral Stone in the meantime."

The Tempered Body 9th Layer was an extremely exhausting stage because it required constantly pushing the limits of one's physical body to gradually strengthen it.

However, this process of pushing one's limits also squeezed out the potential within the body. If this potential was not replenished afterwards, the body might suffer from overexertion, resulting in injury. Not only would this be a hindrance to cultivation, but the body would also be in a state of constant injury, which would do more harm than good.

Therefore, during the Tempered Body Stage, it was essential to consume various nourishing elixirs to supplement the body. In other words, this stage relied heavily on resources, which Xiao Ming had an abundance of.

Under Xiao Ming's guidance, Ying Huanhuan's progress had been remarkably fast, and she was now ready for a breakthrough.

Neither of them had any objections to his arrangement.

Seeing that Ying Huanhuan was starting to break through, Xiao Ming turned his attention away from her and then used his spiritual strength to explore the structure of the Ancestral Stone.

A myriad of profound knowledge echoed in his mind as he comprehended its structure. His understanding of the Symbol Master profession was also growing rapidly, at a pace that would be difficult for ordinary people to fathom...