Little Marten: This Mouse Was About to Die
"Ancestral Stone!"
Ying Huanhuan exclaimed in surprise, staring intently at the stone in Xiao Ming's hand. She could vaguely see some obscure patterns, and magical runes covered every part of the stone. It was a mysterious Stone Talisman.
Is this the Ancestral Stone? But why would such Heaven and Earth Divine Object and Ancestral Stone appear in such a remote and hidden place?
As for why, Xiao Ming actually had some guesses.
In Ancient Times, two people had already set their sights on the Plane Embryo of this plane.
One is the Other Devil Emperor, and the other is the Symbol Ancestor.
Back then, the Other Devil Emperor from the Outer Domain and the Symbol Ancestor from the Great Thousand World discovered the existence of Plane Embryo on the Tian Xuan Continent. They then descended to this plane, and due to their different stances, they chose different methods.
The methods of the Symbol Ancestor were more gentle, while those of the Other Devil Emperor were more drastic, aiming to corrupt this plane.
In order to resist the invasion of the Demonic Race, the Plane Spirit of the Tian Yuan Continent gathered the divine power of heaven and earth to condense the Eight Great Ancestral Talismans Ancestral Symbols, which have a powerful restraining ability against the Otherworldly Demons.
At this time, the Symbol Ancestor from the Great Thousand World chose to "follow the will of Heaven" and help the Tian Xuan Continent resist the invasion of the Otherworldly Demons.
The Ancestral Stone, crafted by the Symbol Ancestor Master himself under these circumstances, is ranked second among the Ancient Divine Object Ranking and possesses extremely strong purifying power against Otherworldly Demons.
At the same time, the reason why the Symbol Ancestor created the Ancestral Stone was to balance the power of the Eight Great Ancestral Talismans in order to fight against the Other Devil Emperor. At the end of the Heaven and Earth War, the Symbol Ancestor sealed the Other Devil Emperor at the cost of his own life. The Ancient Times war was a Pyrrhic victory for both sides, with the Tian Xuan Continent winning a pyrrhic victory, but it could not completely eliminate the Demonic Race, which led to the subsequent Second Demonic Tribulation War.
After the great battle, the Artifact Spirit of the Ancestral Stone fell into a coma due to severe injuries, and the whereabouts of the Ancestral Stone became uncertain thereafter.
The last recipient was the young Clan Leader of the Heavenly Demon Mink. Unfortunately, he was later hunted down by the Otherworldly Demons because he possessed the Ancestral Stone. In the end, only a trace of his Demonic Spirit remained in the Stone Talisman. After that, the Ancestral Stone somehow ended up here.
Xiao Ming speculated that the appearance of the Ancestral Stone in such a remote corner was likely the work of the Plane Spirit, intended to nurture Lin Dong, the Son of the Plane.
Lin Dong broke through from the mere Body Refinement Realm to the Ancestor Realm in just ten short years!
This breakthrough speed is astounding; it can't be explained by mere talent. Xiao Ming doesn't believe the Plane Spirit didn't use some tricks.
Lin Dong simply left this Ancestral Stone here, and by soaking in its Ancestral Stone Spirit Liquid every day, his potential had increased immeasurably.
Of course, it's normal for the Plane Spirit to resort to tricks; if it doesn't cultivate a powerful being, it will be hard to escape its fate.
In Xiao Ming, although this Plane Spirit may seem to lack independent consciousness, it is actually the most cunning.
Back then, in order to achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation realm, the Symbol Ancestor traveled thousands of miles to the Tian Xuan Continent seeking a breakthrough, only to be tricked into going to fight the Other Devil Emperor. In the end, he gained nothing and even lost himself.
Later, during the Second Heaven and Earth War, although she nurtured Lin Dong, she only married Lin Dong when they were about to lose and their lives were hanging by a thread.
This shows that the Plane Embryo are extremely resistant to being refined. If this is the case for Son of the Plane like Lin Dong, then the resistance to outsiders must be several levels higher. The Symbol Ancestor of Symbols is a prime example.
The strength of the Symbol Ancestor back then was no weaker than that of Lin Dong, who had entered the Ancestor Realm. If he had the Plane Embryo, the Other Devil Emperor would have been killed long ago, and there wouldn't have been so many problems.
Furthermore, Xiao Ming doesn't believe that the Plane Spirit wouldn't sense his entry into the Tian Xuan Continent.
If the Plane Spirit were to hand over the Plane Embryo now, he could immediately go and destroy the Other Devil Emperor, and the crisis on the Tian Xuan Continent would end. However, he felt no connection whatsoever with the Plane Spirit communicating with him.
"Don't blame me for using some underhanded tactics if you're wary of me; I'm determined to Plane Embryo."
Xiao Ming's fingers caressed the small stone, he muttered to himself, and then spoke.
"Desolate, aren't you going to come out and see your old friends?"
As the words fell, a point of yellow light condensed and gradually expanded, and the Monument Spirit of the Great Desolate Monument slowly emerged.
"Alas, its injuries are too severe; the Artifact Spirit has not yet awakened." The Great Desolate Monument stared at the thumb-sized stone in Xiao Ming's hand and sighed.
Suddenly, the Great Desolate Monument seemed to have discovered something.
"Master, there seems to be a mouse inside this Ancestral Stone!"
"Yes, there is."
Inside the Ancestral Stone held by Xiao Ming, a black rat, about the size of a palm and as black as ink, trembled violently, screaming wildly in its heart.
"My God, why would such a big shot appear in this remote corner? Even an Aura of that Artifact Spirit's aura is suffocating me. Just how powerful is he? Wait, they're talking about rats... damn it, it sounds like they're talking about me! I'm clearly the Heavenly Demon Mink! They're definitely doing this on purpose."
Waaaaah, I'm going to die, I'm going to die! No! I haven't gotten my revenge yet! Is it too late for me to go out and grovel? Will they even let me go...?
The little guy was talking wildly to himself inside the Stone Talisman, trying his best to conceal his Aura and avoid attracting attention. Little did he know that it was precisely because of his chaotic mental fluctuations that Xiao Ming and the other person noticed him.
"So it's the Demonic Spirit of the Heavenly Demon Mink. Devouring Demonic Spirit is beneficial to humans, right? Why don't we let Ying Huanhuan try it? The Heavenly Demon Mink's Demonic Spirit is quite weak, so she should be able to handle it," the Great Desolate Monument laughed.
"The Heavenly Demon Mink?" Ying Huanhuan's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. The Heavenly Demon Mink was one of the Ancient Times overlord races, and if she could devour it, it would be of great benefit to her.
"How could this Artifact Spirit be so heartless! We're doomed!" Inside the Ancestral Stone, Little Marten felt dizzy and weak-kneed when he heard the Great Desolate Monument's suggestion.
"Forget it, what's the point of swallowing this Demonic Spirit?"
Xiao Ming shook his head. Although most demonic beasts had no human rights in his presence, he and Zi Yan had robbed many Magical Beast back in the Dou Qi Continent, but Xiao Ming still chose to let go of creatures like Little Marten.
"All right."
Ying Huanhuan wasn't disappointed. She knew Xiao Ming was quite powerful, and if he really wanted to find the Demonic Spirit, it would be an extremely simple matter.
"Ying Huanhuan has reached the Body Tempering Ninth Layer, right? Desolate will protect her so she can break through to the Earth Yuan Realm. I'll study the structure of the Ancestral Stone first."
The First Rank of Body Tempering Ninth Layer is extremely arduous, because only by constantly pushing the limits of the physical body can one gradually become stronger.
However, pushing one's limits is also a way of squeezing out one's potential. If this squeezing out is not replenished afterward, the body will suffer damage due to overexertion. In that case, it will not only affect one's cultivation, but also leave one covered in injuries, which is not worth the loss.
Therefore, during the body tempering process, various nourishing and moisturizing elixirs are needed to continue cultivation. In other words, the Body Tempering Realm is a realm that consumes resources, and Xiao Ming has plenty of such things.
Under Xiao Ming's tutelage, Ying Huanhuan's progress has been remarkably rapid, and she is now poised for a breakthrough.
Neither of them had any objections to Xiao Ming's request.
Seeing that Ying Huanhuan had begun her breakthrough, Xiao Ming withdrew his gaze. Then, he used his Spiritual Power to invade the Ancestral Stone, and its structure was revealed. Thousands of profound knowledge echoed in his mind, and Xiao Ming's understanding of the profession of Symbol Master was also improving at a speed that was difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.