The new foothold lay behind a massive Beast Bone Mountain. The concentration of baleful energy seemed slightly weaker than in the previous Corpse Mountain Blood Sea, yet the place remained barren and deathly still.
The ground was hard, dark-red earth, scattered with smaller bones and weathered rocks.
Li Su drove his main roots deep into the ground, drawing upon the sparse energy below. At the same time, he circulated his cultivation method at full force, repairing the minor damage left from his battle with the strange plant and consolidating his mid-stage Earth Immortal cultivation.
His Mo Xing Bamboo Body swayed slightly, its black halo flickering with starlike specks as it filtered the baleful energy permeating the surroundings
and absorbed and transformed it into pure energy to nourish itself.
The strength of a High-Grade Postnatal Spiritual Root was beginning to show. Even in such a harsh environment, his recovery speed was quite remarkable.
His divine sense spread cautiously in all directions like spilled mercury, probing this new region stretching nearly a thousand miles around him.
This place seemed to have once been an even more ancient battlefield.
Deep underground lay more enormous, incomplete skeletons. Some of the bones even gleamed with the luster of metal or jade, still containing faint energy fluctuations that made one's heart tremble despite the passage of endless ages.
Besides the familiar ferocious baleful aura, the air was also filled with residual thoughts that were older, more desolate, and sorrowful, yet no less imposing.
His divine sense swept past a massive fractured finger bone when a chaotic and vast fragment of thought crashed into him like a burst dam!
It was not an attack, but an incomplete memory imprint!
"...Huangtian... Houtu... protect our people..." "...Kill! For Father God..." "...Hate! Hate! Hate! You demon brats..." "...Buzhou... falls..." "...Celestial Venerable... save..."
Countless fragmented cries, tragic roars, desperate shrieks, and a heavy sigh that seemed to echo from before eternity intertwined and surged madly into Li Su's consciousness!
The quality and intensity of these residual thoughts far surpassed the remnant souls of the Fierce Beasts he had encountered before!
They were far older, containing an indescribable will and conviction, even carrying traces of vague laws!
Li Su groaned. Light flashed chaotically across his Mo Xing Bamboo Body, and the sudden torrent of information nearly shattered his spiritual platform!
He hurriedly steadied his mind and circulated the Soul Devouring Origin with all his strength, struggling to digest and filter these chaotic ancient residual thoughts.
It was painful, but there were gains as well.
Though fragmented, these residual thoughts allowed him to glimpse scenes from the distant past:
Giants who held up the heavens, savage and terrifying demonic shadows, a shattered sky, an overturned earth, and figures in archaic garb wielding immense power...
Was that... the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation? Or the remnants of an even earlier war between gods and demons?
The will contained within these residual thoughts was astonishingly strong. They were far harder to digest than Fierce Beast remnant souls, but every trace he absorbed brought even greater benefits.
Tempered beneath this pressure, his divine sense became more condensed and resilient. He even gained a vague understanding of the mysterious concepts of "will" and "conviction."
[Absorbed Ancient War Soul Remnants. Divine sense strength increased. Evolution Points +0.1... +0.2...] [Analyzed residual thought fragments. Obtained partial ancient knowledge. Comprehension slightly increased.]
The growth in Evolution Points was instead rather small, but the improvements to his divine sense and comprehension were undeniable.
More importantly, this ancient knowledge greatly broadened his horizons, ensuring that his understanding of the Primordial World was no longer limited to the brutal slaughter of Fierce Beasts before his eyes.
He carefully absorbed the residual thoughts of this ancient battlefield, as though savoring a mellow yet potent cup of old wine. He did not dare go too fast, afraid of becoming drunk to death within them.
Several days later, after initially adapting to the environment of this region and fully recovering from his injuries, he made a decision—he could not simply hide and cultivate forever.
He had to learn about this world more actively and seek opportunities, especially... cultivation methods!
Without a systematic cultivation method, relying solely on instinctive devouring and system enhancements would ultimately be a wild path, limiting his future achievements.
The thought of taking Yuanshi Tianzun as his master surfaced in his mind once more. Though it remained distant and unlikely, it was no longer a complete fantasy.
But how was he supposed to search? The Primordial World was endless, and where exactly was Kunlun Mountain?
He recalled that the ancient residual thoughts occasionally mentioned terms such as "heavenly secrets," "deduction," and "perception."
Perhaps high-level cultivators had methods to sense fortune and deduce heavenly secrets?
Though he could not do so himself, perhaps he could borrow external help? For instance... the Bedrock Rune fragment he had obtained from the giant beast's skull? This object contained a trace of the Great Dao; perhaps it possessed some mystical quality?
With that thought, Li Su sent his divine sense deep into his primordial spirit and carefully examined the dim yet resilient phantom of the Bedrock Rune.
He attempted to slowly pour a thread of divine sense into the phantom, mixed with his intense desire to seek the Dao and take a master.
At first, there was no response. But when he continued feeding it divine sense and was nearly exhausted, the Bedrock Rune phantom suddenly flickered with extreme faintness!
Immediately afterward, a strange scene flashed before his "eyes":
Within a stretch of chaotic emptiness, a vague yet incomparably lofty figure sat in the void, radiating a vast Dao aura that expounded all things and enlightened all creation.
Before that figure, the phantom of an ancient bronze mirror seemed to flash past. Its mirror light rippled faintly, as if reflecting the myriad heavens and worlds, the past and the future.
The scene vanished in an instant, as though it had never appeared.
Yet Li Su's heart shook violently!
That figure... that bronze mirror... Yuanshi Tianzun?!
The Kunlun Mirror?!
Though it had only been a fleeting, indistinct glimpse, that unique Dao aura vaguely matched his understanding of Yuanshi Tianzun!
And that bronze mirror—could it have been the legendary innate supreme treasure, the Kunlun Mirror? It was said to perceive heavenly secrets and reflect all worlds.
Had this Bedrock Rune fragment sensed his intense thoughts and, through that trace of the Great Dao, formed an exceedingly faint connection with that supreme existence?
Or had the Kunlun Mirror reflected this place of its own accord, coincidentally intersecting with this single thought of his?
Li Su did not know.
But this was undoubtedly an incredibly powerful sign! A guide!
He forcefully suppressed his excitement and carefully relived the instant when the mirror light had flashed, trying to grasp the directional information contained within it.
It was vague, merely an intangible feeling pointing toward a place unimaginably far to the northwest, where something seemed to be drawing him in and calling to him.
Was that... the direction of Kunlun Mountain?
The flame of hope had never burned as fiercely as it did at this moment.
With a direction, he had a goal.
Li Su looked toward the northwest, his gaze seeming to pierce through endless barriers of space.
Kunlun Mountain, Yuanshi Tianzun... he had to go!
But before that, he needed to become stronger, strong enough at least to cross the endless lands of the Primordial World.
Mid-stage Earth Immortal was still far from enough.
He settled his mind once more. While continuing to absorb the ancient battlefield's residual thoughts and baleful energy to cultivate, he also began systematically using his newly acquired strength and divine abilities to hunt Fierce Beasts of comparable power nearby, accumulating Evolution Points and honing his combat skills in preparation for the long and dangerous journey west.
His Mo Xing Bamboo Body stood at the edge of the ancient battlefield, gazing toward the northwest as it waited for the wind to rise.
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