Chapter 215: Ninth-Rank Ascension

"So, those symbols the Earth God and Hearth God used before were actually God Seals!"

"The Earth God and Hearth God had six-pointed golden God Seals before, which should be Sixth-Rank. Unfortunately, they've become First-Rank in my hands."

As Su Nan read through these revelations from the foresight, he recalled the scenes he had witnessed earlier and began to understand what was happening.

Clearly, these so-called God Seals could be used as a last resort, unleashing tremendous power.

"Can these three different God Seals merge? Does this mean that if I collect more God Seals, I can continuously raise the rank of this God Seal?"

Su Nan pondered for a moment and realized that the rank of these God Seals probably represented their status and strength within the "Heavenly Dynasty" world.

The higher the rank of the God Seal, the higher the status and strength associated with it.

The Earth God Seal, Hearth God Seal, and River Lord Seal he obtained were once very powerful, but now they had become the most ordinary. Perhaps this was due to the passage of time or the aftermath of the ancient battle.

"Regardless of the purpose of these God Seals, I should acquire them first."

After reading the foresight, Su Nan acted quickly.

A few minutes later, he and the Grand Princess successfully killed the sacrificial deity in the River Lord Temple, and Su Nan obtained the River Lord Seal.

After the memories of the River Lord flashed before his eyes, Su Nan looked deeper into the God Ruins.

Sure enough, a golden light soared into the sky.

"What is that?" The Grand Princess, seeing the golden light, looked concerned.

The golden light rose high into the sky, and this scene was observed by many monsters and players in the Red Mountain County.

Outside the God Ruins, the White Water Demon King looked at the golden light and couldn't help but wonder.

"Could this be related to those two outsiders?" He thought of Su Nan but quickly shook his head. "Although I don't know how those two outsiders managed to avoid those Soul-Eating Demons, with their strength, they couldn't have caused such a commotion."

Sensing the marks on Su Nan and his avatar, the White Water Demon King's indifference turned into astonishment.

Originally, he thought that Su Nan would be quickly killed by the Soul-Eating Demons upon entering the God Ruins. However, as time passed, Su Nan not only survived but also ventured deeper into the God Ruins.

At this moment, Su Nan's position was already beyond his perception, which was incredible.

He couldn't figure out how a youngster who had just broken through to the Profound Rank could achieve this.

"This is interesting! I really want to capture you now and study you thoroughly."

The White Water Demon King's interest was piqued. If it weren't for the mysterious events happening in the God Ruins right now, he would have already entered and captured Su Nan.

Just then, the White Water Demon King suddenly noticed something and looked to his left.

A streak of light shot across the sky at high speed.

In the next moment, a burly youth appeared not far from him.

"White Water Demon King? Why are you not staying at your White Water Lake? What brings you to my territory?"

This youth was not a human but a Demon King.

Clearly, he was drawn here by the strange events in the God Ruins.

"Thousand Eyes? Aren't you going to welcome me?" The White Water Demon King remained unfazed and calmly responded.

The Demon King called Thousand Eyes gazed at the golden light rising from the depths of the God Ruins and sneered, "You, White Water, are always seeking profits. It seems like you want to seize the treasures here."

White Water Demon King replied, "Treasures are held by the capable. Thousand Eyes, do you want to tell me that the treasures in your territory don't belong to you?"

Thousand Eyes furrowed his brows and was about to say something when two figures arrived at high speed.

Seeing the White Water Demon King, both of them were surprised but did not inquire why he was here.

They were only at the initial stage of the King Rank and did not have the qualifications to question the White Water Demon King.

The two of them looked at the burly youth and asked, "Lord Thousand Eyes, what's going on?"

Thousand Eyes stared at the golden light for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, someone has triggered something, causing an ancient treasure to appear."

"Ancient treasure?" The male and female Demon Kings' eyes lit up, and they asked, "Lord Thousand Eyes, should we go in and take a look?"

Thousand Eyes contemplated for a moment and then glanced at the White Water Demon King. "Not in a hurry. Let's observe first. The God Ruins are too mysterious. Last time, the Heavenly Wolf Tribe and the Star Sect entered to chase an ancient demon king's coffin, and half of them didn't come out. Even those experts who are proficient in using divine soul power suffered heavy losses. We're not quite at their level."

...

"A treasure! It must be a treasure!"

"It looks like the God Ruins! Could there be a treasure appearing in the God Ruins?"

"Quick, inform the guild leader..."

Without leaving Red Mountain County, players who were not far from the God Ruins saw the golden light and believed that the appearance of the golden light meant that a treasure had surfaced. They hurriedly rushed towards the God Ruins.

The golden light continued for a full one or two minutes before gradually fading away.

In Su Nan's soul, the three God Seals had disappeared, replaced by a Second-Rank God Seal with two golden points.

At the same time, a game prompt appeared on Lang Thirteen's interface:

"Congratulations, you have collected three First-Rank God Seals and condensed them into a Second-Rank God Seal, triggering a main quest. Please go to the quest panel for detailed information."

A main quest!

Su Nan was surprised; he didn't expect to trigger a main quest like this.

Without much thought, the quest panel appeared before his eyes. On Lang Thirteen's quest panel, in addition to the main quest "Wrath of the Demon Emperor," there was finally a second main quest.

Main Quest: "Ninth-Rank Ascension"

"Godhood is divided into nine ranks, and the Ninth Rank allows one to ascend to godhood. Countless ages ago, a divine dynasty established itself with the Way of Incense and Fire, becoming incredibly powerful and reigning supreme for generations."

"However, a cataclysmic battle eventually led to the downfall of the divine dynasty and the cessation of the Way of Incense and Fire. As someone who has condensed a Second-Rank God Seal, you have taken the first step toward ascending to godhood and have the qualifications to embark on the path of the Way of Incense and Fire."

"Quest Phase 1: Raise your God Seal to the Fourth Rank."

"Quest Difficulty: Four Stars"

"Quest Rewards: Profound-level Bloodline, Profound-level Demon Art, 60 Demon Power, Divine Dao Secret Technique."

"Note: The quest level will change with the player's cultivation level."

"Ninth-Rank Ascension? Is this forcing me to cultivate the Way of Incense and Fire?" Su Nan thought to himself.

As he

 looked at the quest, Su Nan felt a sense of trepidation. He didn't want to be like the martial practitioners of the past, whose efforts were in vain in the face of the Way of Incense and Fire.

He didn't know if this connection to the Way of Incense and Fire was due to the influence of the divine dynasty's aura, but he was certain that if he continued down this path, his connection to the Way of Incense and Fire would only grow deeper.

Su Nan's expression changed, and he felt a sense of dread for the Way of Incense and Fire. He didn't want his efforts to go to waste like those of the martial practitioners of the past.

But now, the appearance of the quest and the condensation of the God Seal made him hesitate again.

"No, based on the scenes of the Earth God and Hearth God before their deaths, those who once practiced the Way of Incense and Fire seemed to undergo strange changes before death, but they remained within a controllable range."

"They didn't lose their sanity; instead, their strength surged. Doesn't this indicate that the drawbacks of the Way of Incense and Fire were not as significant as imagined in countless ages past? It may have been controllable, or there might have been a solution."

Thinking about the scenes he had seen from the three God Seals, Su Nan's eyes brightened.

The fact that the Way of Incense and Fire could reach such heights in the past meant that it couldn't have had significant issues.

This suggests that perhaps some of the cultivation methods of the Way of Incense and Fire were lost since the downfall of the Divine Dynasty, leading to later problems. It was akin to the Bloodline Cultivation techniques becoming taboo after the collapse of the Great Xuan Dynasty, and no one dared to touch them.

Of course, other possibilities couldn't be ruled out.

Previously, it was mentioned in the foresight that this was a cursed path. Perhaps the transformation of those cultivators from the Great Xuan Dynasty had something to do with the curse.

"If this is true, it means that the Way of Incense and Fire was a viable path in the past. So, it's not impossible for me to tread this path now."

Su Nan's thoughts shifted.

As long as the Way of Incense and Fire itself wasn't fundamentally flawed, he might find a solution.

Others might not be able to achieve this, but with the assistance of the game panel, he had a chance.

"Moreover, the Bloodline path has its issues, and I'm getting closer to those issues. According to the County Governor of Tianyun County, once I reach the Profound Rank, the probability of losing control doubles with each additional Bloodline fusion."

"If the Bloodline path truly becomes a dead end because of this, then practicing the Way of Incense and Fire might not be a bad choice."

Su Nan's thoughts raced, and he quickly analyzed the pros and cons of practicing the Way of Incense and Fire in his mind.

The Way of Incense and Fire was undeniably powerful, and if he practiced it, it would undoubtedly lead to a significant improvement in his strength.

Thinking about this, Su Nan felt a flicker of interest.

Looking at the quest description again, he felt a stirring in his heart.

"The quest says I am the only one in this era who practices the Way of Incense and Fire. Could it be that the reason I'm entangled with these ancient temples is because of this? Am I the only one with the aura of the Way of Incense and Fire?"

Su Nan speculated based on the events he had experienced.

This possibility seemed highly likely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have discovered the problems as soon as he entered the God Ruins, while others who entered found nothing.

"The first phase is a four-star difficulty level. This quest's difficulty is quite high!"

"Moreover, the quest's difficulty level will change as my cultivation level improves. This is the first time I've seen such a quest!"

He had obtained three First-Rank God Seals and condensed them into a Second-Rank God Seal. Even if he wanted to condense three Second-Rank God Seals into one Third-Rank God Seal, he would need to obtain a total of nine First-Rank God Seals!

Nine First-Rank God Seals meant he had to slay nine King-level sacrificial demon deities!

Thinking about it, Su Nan's head began to ache.

Fortunately, this was an open-ended quest with no time limit.

So whether he could complete this quest and when he could complete it would depend on his luck.

"Let's go; there's nothing left here."

Su Nan and the Grand Princess left the ancient temple.

As he left the ancient temple, Lang Thirteen's completed quest notification popped up again:

"Congratulations, you have completed the daily quest 'Explore any two ancient temples,' and 45 Demon Power has been rewarded."

"Current available Demon Power: 221 points."

Su Nan had enough Demon Power to easily upgrade one Profound-level Bloodline to Grand Perfection. However, he didn't do so.

He had just upgraded two characters to the Profound Rank yesterday, and if he immediately raised their Bloodlines to Grand Perfection today, it would be suspicious. At the very least, he wanted to wait until he upgraded Wang Nan to the Profound Rank as well.

"Earth God, Hearth God, River Lord – these are all divine positions from folklore. It seems that the cultivation of the Way of Incense and Fire is closely related to these divine positions."

"If that's the case, in the previous death prediction, where I was wearing festive attire, could that temple I'll encounter next be related to a festive deity in charge of celebrations?"

After experiencing two ancient temples, Su Nan started to take the issue of the temple seriously.

His avatar continued to lead the way, and the foresight information kept flashing quickly.

While watching the foresight information, Su Nan also looked at the Grand Princess and asked, "Your Highness, after passing through this ancient temple, we will likely encounter a temple, very likely the same one that severely injured you last time. How much do you know about that temple?"

"A temple? How do you know that we will encounter a temple?" The Grand Princess scrutinized Su Nan, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Throughout their journey, she had long noticed Su Nan's unusual behavior.

Su Nan led her on a circuitous route, not always moving forward. However, despite this, they hadn't encountered any Soul-Eating Demons after the initial encounter. This was beyond belief.

If it happened once or twice, it could be attributed to luck, but now, she was certain that Su Nan must have some means of avoiding danger.

"Back then, the temple that severely injured me was very bizarre. If we really encounter that temple next, I advise you to find a way to avoid it. If you can't avoid it, we must immediately stop advancing."

Recalling the temple that had caused him severe injuries, the Grand Princess's expression became extremely solemn.

Seeing the Grand Princess like this, Su Nan also became serious. "What exactly is in that temple?"

The Grand Princess halted her steps and said in a deep voice, "Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets! There are a large number of Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets!"

"Corpse Puppets? What are those?" Su Nan was curious. While the presence of Soul-Eating Demons was normal, he had never heard of Corpse Puppets before. It reminded him of Paper Puppet Demons.

In the foresight, he had encountered Paper Puppet Demons, and now the Grand Princess was telling him about Corpse Puppets. The two seemed to be related.

The Grand Princess didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Do you know what happens to martial practitioners who have their souls devoured when they enter these ancient temple shrines?"

"What happens in the end?" Su Nan thought about the information from the foresight and instantly understood what the Grand Princess meant by Corpse Puppets.

"You mean those Corpse Puppets are the soul

less walking corpses?" 

"Yes!" The Grand Princess nodded.

"This God Ruins has existed for countless years, and countless humans and demons have entered it. Among them, there have been many powerful beings, including King-level and even Emperor-level existences."

"These are nothing special. In those temples, there is a mysterious power that seems to be a rule."

"A rule?" Su Nan was astonished.

Right at that moment, the information from the foresight on the panel indicated that his avatar had arrived at the temple.

(End of this chapter)