Did that mean almost all the stone steles on the periphery of the Stele Forest were imbued with only ordinary grand dao powers?

Lin Xun stood still with a strange look on his face.

All cultivators were racing into the depths of the Stele Forest, and people like Ji Xingyao and Yu Lingkong had already had their eyes on a certain stone stele.

Only a few wandered around the outer area like Lin Xun.

This was also understanding. Even if there were thousands of steles standing in the ancient forest, not everyone could derive and comprehend the grand dao power within every stone stele.

Generally, the higher the grade of grand dao power, the more difficult it would be to derive and grasp it. Without superb comprehension ability and talent, it would be impossible to comprehend and control such divine powers.

The experts present were all top figures so they all had a clear understanding of themselves and knew that the most important thing they had to do in the Stele Forest was to choose a stone stele that suited them the best.

If they aimed too high, they could be eliminated!

However, the cultivators investigating the outer area were surprised to see that Lin Xun was still standing in the peripheral area and made no further movement.

They subconsciously believed that a peerless genius like Lin Xun should rush into the depths of the Stele Forest and compete with Ji Xingyao, Yu Lingkong and the others.

However, he seemed to have no intention of doing that, but strangely wanted to search for a stele on the periphery of the Stele Forest.

“Could it be that Demon God Lin knows that his comprehension isn’t good enough?” someone suspected.

Someone quickly retorted, “Shut up, did you think his comprehension is not good enough? Don’t joke around. Comprehension is related to one’s spirit, and Demon God Lin was able to light up six Spirit Lanterns to the level of the Midday Sun with his spirit power. How dare you say that his comprehension isn’t good enough! Are you stupid?!”

Someone gave a reminder, “Everyone, watch what you say. I have a feeling that Demon God Lin is going to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger again. He wants to dig a pit for people to fall into again!”

Immediately, many experts’ expressions twisted strangely, realizing that Demon God Lin should be called a god at digging pits instead…

The expert who suspected that Lin Xun’s comprehension was not good enough broke out in cold sweat, and his heart pounded. He almost walked into the pit by himself!

Demon God Lin is so cunning. At this time, he isn’t fighting for his dao blessings, but he plans to dig pits to trap people. It’s so hard to guard against him!

It was understandable that they had such thoughts. During the Spirit Lantern Illumination Test, they were under the impression that Lin Xun had deliberately pretended to be weak to trick the five experts from the Blue Luan Clan and the Zhongli Clan which caused them to be eliminated.

After that, he pretended that he couldn’t light any Spirit Lantern in the thousand-foot-high void and drew ridicule from Sha Liuchan and the others.

But in the end, he erupted with mighty power and lit up six Spirit Lanterns in one go, which was a direct slap in the face of Sha Liuchan and the others. They were so embarrassed that they almost coughed up blood and buried their heads.

Now, the powerful Demon God Lin was wandering the periphery of the Stele Forest. This scene inevitably caused many thoughts to run through their minds.

“Hmph!”

“Do you want to trick people again? Think again!”

“Do you think that we’re idiots and will fall for your tricks over and over again?”

“You are considered a peerless figure, but you are so sinister and cunning, and you have no integrity, don’t you feel ashamed?”

In the distance, Sha Liuchan and the others burst into anger, believing that Lin Xun did that to target them again!

Demon God Lin is addicted to tricking people. He has already tricked us into a pit and now he wants to use the same trick again. This is getting old now!

We won’t fall for it again!

They had been traumatized and became very sensitive. Every little unusual movement from Lin Xun made them subconsciously think that he was planning to trick them again.

What else could Lin Xun do? He was innocent, but he didn’t bother to explain to them because it was pretty amusing to see Sha Liuchan and the others exasperated.

“A bunch of idiots.”

“Xing Zhenzi, the successor from the Hidden Holy Land’s Great Zen Temple in the North Dipper World, is right. When the real Genius Gold Rankings appear, the so-called-geniuses in this world will be swept away and have their title of genius removed!”

In Lin Xun’s view, Sha Liuchan was an insult to the title genius!

……

Ignoring the strange gazes cast at him, Lin Xun made his way to a certain stone stele at the periphery of the Stele Forest.

The stone stele was covered with dust and tilted at an angle, looking old and timeworn. But upon a closer look, carvings lay beneath the thick layer of dust. The markings were so obscure that it was difficult to make sense of them.

Compared with other stone steles that were emitting waves of cryptic energy and projecting mysterious visions, the stone stele seemed too ordinary, just like a piece of junk.

In the peripheral area of the Stele Forest, many stone steles were ancient, mottled and ordinary.

But Lin Xun could feel his Origin Aeth Artery about to combust in his four heart acupuncture points, erupting with bright and sacred white lights and bringing burning and piercing pain to his chest.

“This is it!” Lin Xun took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and studied the mottled and ordinary-looking stone stele.

Huh?

Many experts were perplexed by Lin Xun’s movements. Is Demon God Lin planning to practice dao in front of that ordinary stele?

Could he be digging a pit for other people to fall into again?

“That guy always does unexpected things and tackles things in unconventional ways. He just likes to be different from other people. He is going to dig a hole for himself again just as he did at the Spirit Lantern Illumination Test!”

Sha Liuchan and the others smiled coldly.

Everyone’s expressions became complicated. Indeed, during the Spirit Lantern Illumination Test, Lin Xun managed to light six Spirit Lanterns, but he refused to settle with any one of those and continued to search for a higher-grade Spirit Lantern.

In the end, he achieved nothing.

Many people felt pity for him.

What about this time? Would Demon God Lin repeat the same mistake?

It quickly became quiet, and a solemn atmosphere permeated the Stele Forest.

The test had already begun. They had made it this far after passing several obstacles, so they wouldn’t want to be eliminated at the last hurdle.

With intent and concentrated expressions, they focused all their attention on deriving the mystery within their chosen stone stele.

“This stele is impossible to decipher!”

“Argh, this stele is so ordinary, but I can’t derive its secret. Could it be that my comprehension is too poor?”

“I advise everyone to not choose this stele or you will regret it!”

Just as Lin Xun was preparing to act, several lines of writing on the ground in front of the stone stele caught his attention.

They were all in different handwriting and were obviously written by different people, but they were all oozing with negative emotions of bitterness, despair, anger, and confusion.

It seems like geniuses in the past have attempted to decipher the mystery of this stele in previous Dao Lantern Festivals, but they all failed in the end.

And failure represented elimination!

“There’s a great secret here, but it’s a pity that I can’t see it. My comprehension is superior to that of my peers. Who would have thought that I would also stop before this stele? —The god of destiny really—likes to make fools of people!”

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes at those words. This must be a peerless person and also, they realized the extraordinariness of this stone stele, but they still failed in the end!

Lin Xun wavered in front of the stele for a while.

This was the fifth and final test. If he encountered an obstacle and became eliminated, he wouldn’t be able to reach the Ancient Dao Lantern Tree.

Should I choose this stone stele?

He hesitated.

He grunted in pain and clutched at his chest. His chest was getting hotter and hotter like it was tearing apart while the Origin Aeth Artery was growing brighter and brighter like it was about to burst out of his chest.

“The experts in the past failed to decipher the great power in this stele. Perhaps it has nothing to do with their level of comprehension, but...because they lacked a kind of luck!”

A thought struck Lin Xun. The stele might be specially reserved for people who possessed the talent of Grand Abyss Heaven Devourer.

Otherwise, why would his Origin Aeth Artery react so strongly and abnormally in front of the stele?

“Fine, no matter what, I should give it a try! I’m lucky if I succeed, and if I don’t, it is fate!” Drawing a deep breath, he cast away all the distracting thoughts in his mind, maintaining a calm and empty state of mind. Then, he enveloped the stone stele with his spirit power.

The stele was marked with scribbles that resembled the graffiti of a three-year-old child.

But the contact between his spirit and the inscription seemed to set off an explosion in his mind and brought multiple scenes flashing across his mind one after another.

In a vast world, an old man with disheveled hair, a haggard face, and a thin figure was running wildly across the mountains and valleys.

He hobbled and stumbled as he ran, but his every step sent a shudder through the mountains and caused everyone to tremble!

Time flew, and the world swiftly changed. Tens of thousands of years seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye, but the old man was still running wildly. He never stopped once in the mountains and valleys.

Later, he stepped into the sky, ascended the clouds, soared beyond the void of emptiness and ran wildly across the vast starry sky. With a single step, he sped past thousands of starry rivers. Even the stars changing in position were not as spectacular as his running!

Who is he?

What is he doing?

Lin Xun wondered.

It was terrifying that someone could achieve that. The old man had to be a Saint with supernatural powers. He might even be stronger than a Saint. The river of stars acted as his path, and his every step was akin to teleportation!

In the process, time flew by, everything changed, the sun rose and the moon set. It was unknown how long passed. All the scenes became hazy and indistinct.

But the figure of the old man hadn’t been erased, resisting the erosion of time and the obstruction of space. He was still running wildly in the vast world!

He seemed to be searching for something, and he seemed to be fighting intensely!

Yes, it was like a battle! Every moment felt as intense as if he was facing a formidable enemy.

Lin Xun’s heart pounded from the indescribable tension and pressure.

Boom!

Suddenly, the old man abruptly halted, and in front of him was a vast expanse of nothingness. It was boundless and empty.

Suddenly, a beam of terrifying light erupted from his body like he was burning. The starry sky quaked behind him.

From afar, he resembled a grand abyss about to engulf everything with his boundless power.

That…

Lin Xun trembled all over. That’s the aura of the Grand Abyss Heaven Devourer. The old man possesses the power of the Origin Aeth Artery just like me!