Everyone looked over along Le Wuhen’s gaze, and then their spirits were refreshed while they become excited.

It wasn’t grey and hazy anymore outside the Soulsever Bottle Gourd. The Desolate Manku Qi that enveloped the bottle guard had gradually thinned, and their fields of vision had gradually become clearer.

It was even to the extent that they could see an extremely ancient temple standing towering in the distance!

Swoosh!

The Soulsever Bottle Gourd suddenly stopped moving.

“Fortunately, we aren’t late, and the door to the Ancestral Root Temple hasn’t been opened.” Le Wuhen smiled as he led all of them out of the Soulsever Bottle Gourd.

Meanwhile, everyone clearly noticed that it was an extremely desolate open field that surrounded them. The surroundings were filled with grey and hazy Desolate Manku Qi, and only a single temple stood towering at the center.

The temple was extremely ancient and covered in moss, and it was even to the extent of being in a sorry state. It had stood here for countless years, and it seemed to have experienced the passage of countless years.

“That’s the entrance to the Ancestral Root Temple, and it’s called the Ancestral Root Temple. According to rumor, it was born from within the Chaos of the Manku period, and its mysterious and unfathomable. Since the ancient times until now, it has drawn countless experts over.” Le Wuhen sighed casually with emotion, and then he led all of them forward. “Come, if I’m not wrong, then it won’t be long before the guardian of the temple will probably make an appearance....”

The guardian of the temple? Chen Xi’s slanted brows raised while he revealed a contemplative expression.

He’d heard that since the day that this Ancestral Root Temple existed here, there had always been a guardian that guarded the temple. No one knew the guardian’s origins, and in the same way, no one knew exactly how long the guardian had lived for. He seemed to be extremely mysterious.

If one wanted to enter the Ancestral Root Temple, then one had to pass the guardian’s test. Otherwise, even if one had arrived here, one would return empty handed.

The heavens and the earth were boundless, the open plain was deathly silent, and the surroundings were filled with grey and hazy Desolate Manku Qi. The atmosphere in the surroundings seemed extremely deathly silent and desolate.

Flying amidst this area was like returning to the absolute beginning of the Manku period, and it caused a wisp of respect to arise uncontrollably in the hearts of all.

In next to no time, everyone arrived before the Ancestral Root Temple.

When looked at from a short distance, the temple seemed to be even loftier and ancient. It was completely constructed from ordinary limestone, yet it emanated an ancient and heavy aura that caused one’s heart to palpitate.

There were two doors before the temple, and it was extremely conspicuous.

The door on the left had the character ‘生’ which meant life written on it. The character seemed as if it had been immersed in a pool of blood. It was scarlet red, unrestrained, and revealed a terrifying and ghastly aura.

The door on the right had the character ‘死’ which meant death written on it. Yet the character was written in a simple, powerful, and balanced manner instead, and it surged with an aura that calmed the heart.

One was life and the other was death. Two ancient characters were respectively branded on two different doors. Coupled with the ancient aura possessed by the temple, it emanated a form of indescribable impact to others.

It was like those two doors were doors that led to two different worlds, and eternal life or damnation would be decided with a single thought.

Something especially unique was that there was actually an ancient altar at the center of those two doors. Its surface was mottled, and it was suffused with the marks of time. Yet there wasn’t anything unusual about it.

However, when such an extremely ordinary altar appeared before the temple and stood between the doors of ‘life’ and ‘death’, it seemed to be extraordinarily unusual.

At this moment, numerous figures had already gathered before the Ancestral Root Temple. They were divided into various groups, and all of them stood at different positions. They didn’t disturb each other, yet they also stood in confrontation from afar. So, even though the atmosphere was calm, it imperceptibly revealed a confrontational aura.

When Chen Xi’s group arrived here under Le Wuhen’s lead, it instantly caused a wave of agitation.

“The Imperial Region’s Le Wuhen!”

“Look quickly, Shentu Yanran, Yuqiu Jing, and Zhuanyu Shui are there as well!”

“Looks like they’ve formed an alliance....”

“The competition is getting greater and greater. This group of theirs has converged the Spirit God Exalts at 11th, 13th, 15th, and 21st position on the Domain Enlightened Chart. Coupled with the assistance of those other cultivators, this force is sufficient to rival Luo Shaonong and Gongye Zhefu!”

“Everyone be careful. We must not offend Le Wuhen’s group. Their strength is too formidable, and they’re far from something that we can go against.”

The crowd discussed animatedly, and the gazes they shot at Chen Xi’s group mostly carried a wisp of fear and reverence.

Of course, their gazes mostly lingered on Le Wuhen, Shentu Yanran, Yuqiu Jing, and Zhuanyu Shui. As for Chen Xi, he didn’t even draw much attention.

It couldn’t be helped, he was an unfamiliar face, and he wasn’t a figure that was ranked on the Domain Enlightened Chart, so it was impossible for them to be aware of his identity.

When the other cultivators in Chen Xi’s group noticed this, all of them looked over in succession, and then they raised their chests and revealed a wisp of a prideful expression. They seemed to be extremely proud and conceited.

They did indeed have the grounds to be proud. Because amongst all the other groups in the surroundings, only a few of them could compare to the forces of their group.

Suddenly, the crowd automatically opened up a path for Chen Xi’s group. Le Wuhen seemed to be accustomed to this, and he directly led them past the ground and arrived right at the front.

This position was already the closest to the Ancestral Root Temple. At this moment, there were comparatively few cultivators standing here.

Obviously, it wasn’t just anyone who possessed the qualifications to occupy such a superb location.

Chen Xi stood within the crowd, and he sized up the situation in the surroundings without drawing attention to himself.

Compared to when they entered the God Burial Ocean, the number of cultivators capable of arriving here was obviously much lesser, and there were only a mere 300 plus people here.

Moreover, if Chen Xi wasn’t wrong, there was a few thousands of cultivators who’d set out from Phoenix Perch City.

This meant that after they entered the God Burial Ocean, there was definitely a portion of cultivators that weren’t able to arrive at the Desolate Manku Ruins.

Similarly, after they entered the Desolate Manku Ruins, a portion of the cultivators were bound to be unable to traverse the Chaos Beast Boundary, so they would naturally be unable to arrive at the area enveloped by Desolate Manku Qi and arrive here in the end.

Actually, it was very easy to understand. A large portion of the cultivators who’d entered the Desolate Manku Ruins this time were clearly aware that they were unable to fight the Sprit God Exalts for that ninth-grade Emperor Rank Ancestral Dao Root. Moreover, it was even to the extent that out of consideration for their own lives, they didn’t even intend to head to the Ancestral Root Grounds.

Because they knew their own limits. So, their objective was very simple, and it was to find some fortuitous encounters in the Desolate Manku Ruins that they could obtain.

For example, when Chen Xi had just arrived at the Desolate Manku Ruins, he’d obtain three extremely rare divine herbs from the cracks int eh rocks on a precipice.

This meant that merely the fortuitous encounters scattered around the Desolate Manku Ruins was sufficient to satisfy the needs of those cultivators.

Now, those that were able to arrive before the Ancestral Root Temple were definitely the top-rate existences in the Domain Enlightened Spirit God Realm, and there was no lack of Spirit God Exalts amongst them.

In other words, these 300 plus cultivators before his eyes were absolutely the best Domain Enlightened Spirit Gods in the various regions of the Ancient God Domain, and all of them were peerless geniuses.

Moreover, they weren’t acting by themselves, and they’d all formed alliances since a long time ago. So, once they everyone entered the Ancestral Root Grounds, all of these cultivators would definitely become their group’s most terrifying competition when fighting for the ninth-grade Emperor Rank Ancestral Dao Root.

At that time, it would absolutely impossible to prevent intense conflict from arising.

Of course, with the current height Chen Xi had attained, there weren’t many amongst the people in the surroundings who could make him take them seriously.

Hmm? Suddenly, Chen Xi’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly because he noticed a familiar beautiful figure standing at the left.

She wore a black dress, had a graceful and slender figure, and pretty and tranquil appearance, and her entire body was suffused with a beautiful aura. Shockingly, it was Zhen Liuqing.

Sure enough, it was naturally Gongye Zhefu who stood by her side. He had a tall figure, violet pupils, silver hair, skin that was fair like jade, and wore a black robe. As he stood there casually, he naturally emanated an extremely oppressive and sharp aura.

Both of them stood side by side while surrounded by a group of cultivators. They seemed like bright moons that were surrounded by a host of stars, and they seemed especially conspicuous.

Chen Xi sighed in his heart before he withdrew his gaze.

Since he’d met Zhen Liuqing by chance in Phoenix Perch City, his emotions had constantly been rather complicated. From the excitement and happiness he felt at the beginning to the rage and disappointment he felt later on, and then the dejection and calm he felt now. It was like experiencing a cycle of life, and it was a truly indescribable feeling.

Zhen Liuqing.... Her name sounds like she would retain her feelings, but she’s already heartless now.... Nevermind, if she has already decided to forget me, then she can do as she pleases. Chen Xi took a deep breath, and then he shook his head and discarded the distracting thoughts in his mind. [1]

He didn’t dare continue thinking about it because he was worried that he would be unable to control his emotions and charge over, and then question Zhen Liuqing once more about exactly why she was acting in this way.

Suddenly, a feminine and low voice that carried a lazy tone resounded in the surroundings. “Young Miss Yanran, I never expected that you’d really come here as well. It really is a slight pleasant surprise to me.”

The surroundings instantly became perfectly silent.

The gazes of everyone glanced over successively towards the person that stood right at the front. That person had a lazy bearing, dense long hair that hunt loosely on his shoulders, an extremely handsome appearance, and revealed a wisp of an evil yet charming aura.

Especially the spot on his shoulder, there was a flaming red divine beast, Vermillion Bird, standing there, and it was gorgeous, wild, and peerlessly arrogant.

This person was exactly Luo Shaonong that was ranked at the 3rd position on the Domain Enlightened Chart, a peerless figure of the younger generation that came form the ancient Luo Clan in the Imperial Region, and his reputation was renowned even throughout the entire Imperial Region.

Such an effect could only be accomplished when Luo Shaonong spoke, and it instantly drew the attention of everyone.

Especially when they noticed that Luo Shaonong was actually speaking to Shentu Yanran, it even caused many of them to be shocked.

Shentu Yanran was a peerless beauty in the entire Imperial Region, and countless cultivators had taken her to be the woman they admired.

“What ability do I have to actually make Brother Shaonong remember me like this. I’m slightly overwhelmed by this unexpected favor.” Shentu Yanran was obviously slightly surprised. She was stunned for a moment before she spoke in a clear and melodious voice that was moving, pleasant to the ear, and tinkled like a stream.

Coupled with her unsurpassed beauty, it caused the eyes of everyone to light up. Moreover, many cultivators even didn’t disguise a wisp of admiration in their eyes.

“Haha! Yanran, you know my character, so why be so courteous?” A wisp of a brilliant smile suffused Luo Shaonong’s handsome and charming face, and he stared at Shentu Yanran with a burning gaze and said, “Yanran, if you come over and work together with me, then I guarantee to bring you smoothly into the Genesis Ancestral Root. As for the Emperor Rank Ancestral Dao Root there, so long as you agree to be my Dao Companion, then I’ll definitely seize it for you!”

Everyone instantly exploded into an uproar. No one had expected that Luo Shaonong would actually make such an invitation to Shentu Yanran in public.

No, this wasn’t an invitation any longer because it was obviously no different from professing his love to her!

1. I tried to explain it in the sentence, but just for clarification, besides ‘showing mercy’ which I explained numerous chapters in the past, Liuqing can be transliterated in Chinese to ‘retain feelings’ as well.