<strong>Chapter 945: Meng Hao’s Tears</strong>
When the Elders in the temple who tended to support Fang Wei’s bloodline heard Meng Hao’s words, they looked over at him expressionlessly. As for the direct bloodline, anxious expressions could be seen on their faces. However, since this was Meng Hao’s decision, they did nothing to persuade him to change his mind.
After all, the Grand Elder had clearly exined that there would be great danger in the ancestralnd. Considering that Meng Hao had chosen to enter even under such circumstances caused 19th Uncle and the direct bloodline Elders to be able to sense his level of determination.
All they could do was sigh inwardly.
The Grand Elder looked deeply at Meng Hao for a moment, his expression revealing nothing about what he was thinking. However, the way he was looking at Meng Hao did seem... somewhat strange.
Most excited of all was Fang Xiushan. He took a deep breath and stared at Meng Hao without revealing any of the boiling killing intent in his heart. Fang Wei’s grandfather frowned thoughtfully at the way the Grand Elder was looking at Meng Hao. For some reason, he had a very uneasy feeling inside.
The Grand Elder was silent for a moment, then coolly said, “Since that is your decision, then go now.”
He waved his hand, and a gentle breeze rose up, wrapped around Meng Hao, and sent him toward the vortex.
“In two months, the ancestralnd will automatically open again, and you maye out. During those two months... please take care of yourself.” Even as the words rang out, Meng Hao flew through the air in the wind. In the blink of an eye, he was right outside of the vortex. When he looked inside, his heart pounded madly, and a feeling of reminiscence floated in his heart.
RUMBLE!
Upon contact, he sank into the vortex as if it were water. Then he vanished. The vortex stopped moving, and then faded away from the temple hall.
In that same moment, there were nine areas in different parts of East Victory which suddenly shone with mysterious ck light. That light was cast up by teleportation portals, within which sat nine cold and expressionless cultivators wearing ck robes.
These nine cultivators seethed with murderous auras, as if innumerable foes had been in by their hands.
If Meng Hao were able to see any of them, he would recognize them immediately. The ck robes worn by these nine men seemed to be exactly the same as the ones worn by the people who had ambushed him and 19th Uncle en route to East Victory!
As they sat there cross-legged in the teleportation portals, light suddenly rose up around them, and they vanished. This was in the exact moment in which Meng Hao vanished into the ancestralnd.
Another thing happened at exactly the same time. Deep underground beneath the Fang n ancestral mansion, seven withered figures sat cross-legged in meditation. One of them was the crimson-robed old man who had opened his eyes during the rising of the East Ascension Sun, aroused by Meng Hao’s Essence of Divine me. At this moment, his eyes opened, and they shone with boundless ancientness.
“This kid’s bloodline is strong.... He’s a descendant of Eldest Brother. He must be THE Chosen of this generation of the n.” The old man’s eyes flickered as he sensed the ck-robed men vanishing, and then a cold light gleamed therein.
“Interesting. Someone actually dares to vite n rules and fight inside the n.... Not only that, but they chose to fight within the ancestralnd!” The coldness in his eyes grew more intense.
“Is it Sixth Brother’s bloodline....?” The old man’s brow furrowed in thought for a while. He turned his head to look at the sixth figure sitting there meditating in the inky ckness of the stony cavern.
There were a total of seven people inside this undergroundir. Originally, the old man in the crimson robe should have been asleep, and should not have awakened in this age. ording to the n rules, it was the Sixth Patriarch who was supposed to regain consciousness in this millennium.
However, Meng Hao’s Essence of Divine me had stimted his aura during the rise of the Eastern Ascension Sun, reviving him. Afterward, he had nned to return to meditation, but had then changed his mind.
“Sixth Brother is in an astral projection. His soul is no longer in his body.” He thought for another moment.
“Sixth Brother has already cultivated the Reincarnation Incantation Daoist magic to the pinnacle. But... was it worth it?” The old man closed his eyes. This closing of the eyes was not a return to a state of inactivity. Instead, he quietly sent out some divine sense, which transformed into a stream of divine will that made its way through the earth... toward the ancestralnd!
**
Heaven and Earth trembled as lightning and thunder danced about in the clouds, as if seeking a way tosh the earth. The ground itself was a brownish color that made it look like it was soaked with blood, and stretched out as far as the eye could see.
What parts of thend were not covered with deep cracks were choked with weeds.
A seemingly eternal air of destion and bleakness spread out in all directions. Off in the distance, ruins could be seen, and even further off, a volcano which belched thick ck smoke.
asionally, frightening roars could be heard echoing about, which raged across thends like storm winds, causing everything to shake.
The mystery of this ce came from the fact that it used to be part of the Ruins of Immortality. Its solemn dignity came because it was now an ancestralnd of the Fang n.
The first generation Patriarch was buried here. Other Dao Realm Patriarchs of the n, his descendants, were alsoid to rest here after passing away in meditation.
The entire ancestralnd wasid out in the shape of a straight line. The further one went in, the more danger there was. As for the brown-earthed region near the entrance, two chains of mountains were visible.
These two mountain ranges were like two stone dragons, lofty, imposing, and jagged.
Between the two mountain chains was a path, so far down from the peaks of the mountains that the sky was almost like a sliver up above. It was like a great door leading into the ancestralnd, although there was no actual door present, only... an enormous statuerger than the mountains themselves!
This statue looked as if it were inseparably connected to the mountains. It was pitch ck, and wore a heavy suit of armor. Its two hands rested on the pommel of a greatsword, and the statue itself seemed iparably ancient.
The sword was dozens of meters wide, and was thrust down into the earth. Ancient magical symbols were engraved onto its surface, which seemed simple and almost crude, and yet contained profound meaning that was impossible to decipher.
The statue’s eyescked any expression whatsoever, making the statue itself seempletely lifeless. It almost seemed to be a mere decoration standing guard over the ancestralnd.
However, from a distance, it was possible to see that the statue was looking up into the sky, staring off into the distance as if... it was waiting for something.
Any Fang n member who had been to the ancestralnd knew about this statue. ording to the legends, the origins of the statue were aplete mystery. Supposedly, it had flown here from somewhere out in the starry sky, the same year that the Ji n changed the Heavens and took over the Ninth Mountain and Sea.
From then on, the statue had remained in this spot, apparently guarding the ancestralnd.
Over the years, rumors began to spread that the statue was not just there to guard the ancestralnd, but actually, all of the Fang n’s bloodlines.
Years and years passed, and eventually, the rumors and stories died out. In every generation of the Fang n, there would be many people who came andid eyes on the statue. However, they never called to mind the absurd stories of the past. After all... they were simply legends.
As for the reason why the statue held its head up as if it were waiting for something, people had long since stopped wondering about it.
No one had any idea why this statue hade here to the Fang n on its own... nor what it was waiting for.
It emanated the aura of a powerful expert, an intense aura that was strong enough to shake Heaven and Earth. When Meng Hao looked at it, the feeling he got was so intense that not even the Grand Elder couldpare.
This statue was so strong... that in the past, Meng Hao wouldn’t have been able to even identify how powerful it was. Now, though, when he looked at the statue, he understood.... This statue’s aura was almost like that of a Paragon!
Meng Hao stood in the vastnd between the two mountain chains. This was the location that he had appeared in upon entering the ancestralnd. Currently, he was standing there stock-still, looking thoughtfully at the statue.
He was well aware that this trip to the ancestralnd was an ambush. He also knew that the best choice had been to note here, but instead take advantage of the opportunity given him by the Grand Elder.
In fact, originally he had no ns whatsoever to enter this ce. However, after looking into the vortex and seeing this enormous statue, his heart had filled with roaring.
The roaring had soon inundated himpletely, tugging at him, pulling him into distant memories.
He trembled, and his eyes shed with reminiscence. He couldn’t even control himself as he walked forward to stand in front of the statue. He came to a stop in front of its foot, after which he reached his hand out and patted it gently.
His hand shook, and after it touched the statue, his whole body started trembling. He slowly looked up at the enormously tall statue, and then started to float up into the air.
He moved slowly, as if he wanted to take a clear look at the entire statue. Eventually, he reached its head, and looked into its eyes. It was at this point... that tears appeared in his own eyes.
“Terracotta soldier....” he murmured softly. Finally, the tears began to roll down his cheeks and fall to the ground. He remembered this terracotta soldier being about three meters tall. Even though it was now much bigger than before, he would never forget this terracotta soldier with whom he had such a connection.
The only reason he had chosen to enter this ancestralnd despite all the danger... was because of this statue.
Back in the temple, when he had looked into the vortex and seen the statue, he almost couldn’t believe it.
How could he have forgotten about this statue...? How was it even possible??
This was... one of the two terracotta soldiers that had been created for him in illusory world of the Second ne of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, by his foster father Ke Yunhai!
He would never, ever be able to forget the life he had lived as Ke Jiusi back in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.
“Father....” said Meng Hao, tears streaming down his face. His entire body shook, and as he looked at the statue, he wept. All of the memories of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect flooded into his mind. All of a sudden, Ke Yunhai’s stern and yet loving face appeared in his mind.
The ny-nine bell tolls from that year seemed to echo in his ears once again. [1. Ke Yunhai died on the ny-ninth bell toll in chapter 597]
He had long since assumed that he would never see the two terracotta soldiers again. He had searched for them in the Third ne of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, in the real world, but hadn’t found them.
There was no possible way that Meng Hao would ever have thought that he might see one of the statues here... in the Fang n’s ancestralnd.
Ke Yunhai, knowing that his longevity was reaching its end, had created this terracotta soldier to protect Meng Hao. It was only because of it that Meng Hao had unhesitatingly entered the ancestralnd, despite knowing of the dangers.
It wouldn’t have mattered if the danger had been was exponentially greater than it was, Meng Hao would never have hesitated toe here.
And the entire reason... was because of Ke Yunhai!
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<strong>Note from Deathde: </strong>I originally tranted the statue as stone soldier, and even called it a wooden soldier, once. I’m officially changing it to "terracotta soldier," and have already gone back to change previous references.