AGM 269 - Unworthy Successor
Those behind him all frowned when they noticed Qin Wentian had halted.
A baleful aura emanated forth from the middle of Zhu Sha’s brows as he icily questioned, “What are you doing?”
“The difficulty of this formation is exceedingly high, I naturally would need a period of time to study it. If you don’t feel comfortable waiting, why don’t you do it yourself?” Qin Wentian shot back, his reply causing Zhu Sha to snort, a glint of coldness flickering in his eyes when he looked at Qin Wentian.
After this matter was concluded, he would definitely deal with Qin Wentian.
A mere Divine Inscriptionist dared to be so arrogant in front of him? Insufferable idiot, Qin Wentian didn’t know the meaning of death.Of course, Qin Wentian was aware that Zhu Sha held killing intent in his heart. He acted ignorant, closing his eyes and then spent half a day in contemplation. Those behind him could only wait quietly for him.
Finally, Qin Wentian opened his eyes as he spoke to Bailu Jing and Bailu Yi, “Brother Jing, both of you try placing your palms on those two positions over there.”
After speaking, a beam of Astral Light shot out as Qin Wentian waved his hands, causing two positions on the rampart to light up.
“Right.” Bailu Jing and Bailu Yi nodded as they walked forward.
“Wait a minute,” Zhu Sha called out, a look of sharpness could be seen on his face as he interjected, “Why the two of them?”
“This is merely a probe and there might be danger. Of course, if Senior is willing to do so, I’m more than happy to let you be the guinea pig.” Qin Wentian laughed, his reply causing Zhu Sha’s countenance to sink. This brat was too scheming, previously they had all fallen for his trick. He intentionally sought them out for help first, and when they rejected his request, he immediately followed their ‘suggestions’ and directly exited the first formation with those from the White Deer Institute.
This time around, maybe he was trying reverse psychology? Asking Bailu Jing and Bailu Yi for help first to lure Zhu Sha and the rest into making a move.
“Let them go first, Zhu Sha and one other stand behind them,” Yang Fan commanded. Glancing at Qin Wentian, he really wanted to see what tricks Qin Wentian had up his sleeves. If the Bailu siblings were successful in escaping this formation, Zhu Sha wouldn’t be left behind.
Zhu Sha and another expert from the Star-Seizing Manor nodded their heads, as they followed closely behind Bailu Jing and Bailu Yi.
The Bailu siblings naturally trusted Qin Wentian, and placed their palms in the position indicated by Qin Wentian. An instant later, that intangible rampart shimmered and ‘solidified’. Abruptly, two doors appeared on the rampart and the Bailu siblings vanished from sight.
“Huh?” Zhu Sha and the other expert froze. They instantly dashed forwards and placed their palms in the same position as the Bailu siblings did, but this time around, a fearsome ominous aura exploded forth instead.
“Be careful.” Qin Wentian leisurely walked forward, however his warning was too late. Zhu Sha and the other expert hastily pulled back as they felt the ominous aura gushing towards them.
“BREAK!” Zhu Sha howled in rage, blasting forth with both his palms, causing two gigantic palm imprints to appear, both circulating with an overwhelming energy. BOOM! Although the ominous aura dissipated upon impact, Zhu Sha was left with a pair of badly mangled hands.
“Senior’s movements were too fast, I couldn’t warn you in time.” Qin Wentian smiled as he walked over with Old First.
Zhu Sha’s palms were trembling, his eyes dripped with venom.
He couldn’t warn them in time? How could he believe such bullshit?Zhu Sha’s comrade had even worse injuries compared to him - both of his arms had been mutilated.Yang Fan’s countenance sank, he knew Qin Wentian had done this intentionally.
In spite of this, he couldn’t do anything to Qin Wentian. The seeds of worry couldn’t help but blossom in his heart, and he knew that there must certainly be a way to exit this formation. The Bailu siblings had already totally vanished.“
This formation is ever-changing, the second resonance needs to occur from another position.” Qin Wentian’s steps stopped in front of the rampart. He locked eyes with Old First and in an instant, both of them blasted out with their palms, imprinting it in a particular position on the intangible rampart.
“STOP THEM!”The countenance of Yang Fan and the rest drastically changed, all of them were still stunned from the counter-attack of the rampart to Zhu Sha and his comrade. No one expected Qin Wentian would suddenly make a move, catching all of them unawares.
But it was already too late. The rampart shimmered into existence as Qin Wentian and Old First vanished together. This occurrence caused the remaining cultivators to turn ashen with dismay.
Qin Wentian and Old First had already arrived at the other side of the rampart, and joined up with the Bailu siblings.
“Little Brother Qin, my youngest brother…?” Old First turned his gaze onto Qin Wentian, with worry apparent in his voice.
“I and Bailu Yi managed to hear the conversation between Zhan Chen and his companion. Old Third was forced by them to neutralise that formation and eventually died trying. Not only that, in order to probe the formation, Zhan Chen fed a pill to his companion and sent her within. In the end, she died there too.”
Qin Wentian explained, his words causing a sharp glint of light to glow in Bailu Jing’s eyes. “So that’s the reason why he tried to kill you and Little Yi?”“Yeah, I could only pretend that nothing happened. Luckily for us, Zhao Lie’s arrival prevented Zhan Chen from making a move,” Qin Wentian continued. After which, he turned his gaze onto the evergreen pine trees and ancient mountains, as well as the great hall situated in the centre, the sculpture of the Ascendant within.
They had finally arrived!
“With their strength, they will eventually break through the rampart,” Old First spoke, he knew that if those from the transcendent powers combined their powers, they would definitely be able to take down the rampart, albeit with some sacrifices.
“Mhm, let us enter the great hall first to take a look,” Qin Wentian agreed.
After which, the four of them proceeded onwards, it seemed that there were no longer other traps here. At the entrance of the great hall, all of them were taken aback by the vastness of the great hall, as well as the exquisiteness of the sculpture ahead of them. The sculpture had two ancient scrolls in his hands, and the resemblance could be said to be almost totally akin to a human.
Not only that, on the ground’s surface were many runic outlines of Divine Inscriptions revolving of their own accord, illuminating the great hall.
“Hmm, these don’t seem like traps?” Old First asked Qin Wentian.
“Yeah, I think so. These are like outlets of power that required humans to kick start them. Not only are they not traps, they can be controlled by one who has a high enough attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions.” Qin Wentian nodded, he shared the same sentiments as Old First.
“We will know for sure if we enter.” Bailu Jing laughed. He boldly took a step forwards and all of a sudden, the runic outlines glimmered. A flood of golden light inundated the area as several silhouettes appeared all at once.
There were a total of nine figures, whose bodies glowed with a golden hue. The sharp glints in their eyes were as terrifying as swords, as they stared at Qin Wentian and the rest.
“Four of you arrived at here at the same moment, which of you is the Inscriptionist?” One of the golden guardians spoke, his tone incisive.
Qin Wentian gazed back at the golden guardian as he replied, “I am.”
“And me, as well,” Old First spoke, narrowing his eyes. These nine golden guardians resembled Puppets, but somehow they weren’t true Puppets. Their eyes glimmered with human-like intelligence.
The golden guardian who spoke swept his gaze over to Qin Wentian and Old First, as he stated, “The nine of us are the ‘Golden Armored Puppets’ created by Master. Our individual strengths are fixed at the peak-level of Yuanfu and our mission is to guard Master’s inheritance. Master’s successor has to be both proficient in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions as well as having monstrous talent in cultivation.”
Qin Wentian’s eyes flickered, they had encountered many tests on their way here. His earlier conjecture was right, this entire trial was a test set by that Ascendant in order to choose his successor. Indeed, the traps in this realm could only be broken either via force by someone at the peak-level of Yuanfu, or a Divine Inscriptionist Grandmaster with an exceedingly high attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions.
“Little Yi, stand behind me.” Bailu Jing pulled his sister behind him. The aura these nine golden guardians were emanating felt exceptionally dangerous, four of the nine golden guardians had already stepped out, with a golden long spear equipped in their hands.
They, were the final test.
Bailu Jing had already released his Astral Souls, as a terrifying aura erupted forth from his body. This was the pressure generated by the Killing Path of his Seven Slaughters Astral Soul.
“You’re… not bad, but not good enough.” One of the golden guardians stared at Bailu Jing, after which, he disappeared from sight as his spear penetrated through space, like a streak of golden lightning.
Bailu Jing stepped forward, unleashing the Great Sun Nine Beheading Technique as the will of his Mandate gushed out. Momentarily, an abundance of golden threads appeared in the air, their glow so blinding they resembled a miniature sun, blazing with killing intent.
“BREAK!” The golden guardian coldly shouted. A beam of light shot out from the tip of his spear, smashing against the miniature sun, destroying it.
Bailu Jing’s expression froze upon witnessing this golden guardian’s fearsome combat prowess.
He unleashed the Great Sun Nine Beheading Technique again, the power of the sunlight channeling down through the golden threads. The terrifying sun flames blazed with a fearsome screech, as the threads cleaved down one by one with an imposing strength; even a peak-level Yuanfu cultivator would be hard pressed to defend against that attack.
Yet the strength of his opponent exceeded even his expectations, Bailu Jing could do nothing to injure him.
Qin Wentian and Old First were also attacked by the golden guardians, with Qin Wentian stomping the ground as a fearsome sword-type Inscription exploded forwards. There were many complicated-looking runic outlines on the ground, he could harness their power to aid him if his comprehension were high enough.
A typhoon gusted as a storm of swords flew towards his opponent. However, the golden guardian was too powerful, easily destroying the manifestations of whatever Inscriptions Qin Wentian sent at him. He stepped towards Qin Wentian as he icily commented, “You are too weak, you are unworthy to become the successor. You don’t even have the qualifications to fight over the inheritance. YOU MUST DIE!”
After speaking, the killing intent that gushed forth from the golden guardian grew increasingly stronger as he continued walking towards Qin Wentian.
A terrifying light flashed in Qin Wentian’s eyes.
How could Qin Wentian not be angered? With a single sentence, the golden guardian had condemned him, telling him that he didn’t even have the qualifications to fight with others over the inheritance.
“Ever since these trial grounds were created, only those with true ability have been able to reach this point. It wasn’t by virtue of luck that all four of us gained entry into this place. So why then, am I unworthy to receive the inheritance?”
“The successor must not only have a high attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions, he must also be exceedingly powerful in terms of his cultivation and combat prowess. I have no idea how the four of you arrived here, but with your cultivation base merely at the third-level of Yuanfu, how can you be qualified? This inheritance was left behind by Master for a talented son of heaven, only those with outstanding talent can compete for it.” The killing intent of the golden guardian didn’t diminish, as he slowly stepped nearer. “The inheritance is not for the likes of you. DIE!”
As his voice faded away, the golden spear dazzled with a golden radiance as it pierced towards Qin Wentian once again.
This golden guardian was serious. He wanted to kill Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian’s heart turned cold, a bone-chilling aura pouring out from him in waves. What an eloquent way of saying, “The inheritance is too good for the likes of you”!