Lord of Devourment

"Kid, come with me first. The Stone Talisman Space is incredibly complex, and most of its contents are sealed away. Don't go wandering off."

Little Marten spoke softly as he led the way. Lin Dong followed behind him, weaving through the dark space. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, "The place where the Ancient Soul sleeps—isn't it sealed?"

"If it were sealed, why the hell would I bring you here?"

Little Marten rolled his eyes at the question. But after he finished speaking, he suddenly fell silent. Lin Dong looked at him curiously. Little Marten hesitated for a moment, then spoke up.

"I don't think this mysterious Stone Talisman doesn't want to seal it. It seems more like it can't seal that Ancient Soul. Come to think of it, I was able to escape as a demonic spirit back then because a wisp of that Ancient Soul's aura bought me a moment."

"Hiss!"

Lin Dong sucked in a sharp breath. Just a wisp of its aura had been enough to hold off the powerhouse pursuing Little Marten. The strength that Ancient Soul had possessed in life must have been even more terrifying, right?

At the very least, it had to be stronger than Little Marten. Wouldn't that make it a Nirvana Realm powerhouse?

But then Lin Dong couldn't help worrying. Could he really awaken an ancient powerhouse like that?

"But can I really awaken it?"

"Let's try first. That ancient powerhouse is definitely far stronger than me. Even without any strength left, he'll surely have a way to help you deal with that mere Lesser Perfection of the Yuan Dan Realm."

Little Marten waved a paw as he spoke. After walking for quite some time, he finally stopped.

Lin Dong curiously studied the dimly lit place before him, but saw nothing at all. Instead, the Ancient Vortex Talisman Seal in his Numinous Palace began trembling faintly.

After steadying himself, Lin Dong curiously asked Little Marten, "Little Marten, where is it? Why can't I see anything?"

"Look carefully, kid. That dark vortex in front of you is where the ancient powerhouse's soul sleeps. If his aura hadn't saved Lord Marten back then, I wouldn't even have found it."

Little Marten spoke softly. Lin Dong followed his gaze into the darkness, but still saw nothing.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Dong felt the unusual fluctuations coming from the Ancient Vortex Talisman Seal, gritted his teeth, and summoned it directly.

Little Marten saw Lin Dong summon his Life Spirit Talisman and froze for a moment. Then he couldn't help mocking him.

"Kid, don't tell me you're planning to use your Life Spirit Talisman to awaken that ancient powerhouse?"

But Little Marten had barely finished laughing when his expression went blank. The Ancient Vortex Talisman Seal in Lin Dong's hand had suddenly changed.

The moment the Ancient Vortex Talisman Seal appeared, Lin Dong was shocked to find that he had lost control of his Life Spirit Talisman.

The next instant, however, the runes on the Ancient Vortex Talisman Seal began to twist. Before Lin Dong and Little Marten's astonished eyes, they transformed into a tiny vortex.

"This..."

Lin Dong froze. He had seen this vortex once before, when he fought Gu Ying. It was this very vortex that had devoured Gu Ying's Spiritual Power, allowing Lin Dong to win by sheer luck and kill him.

After appearing, the vortex slowly drifted in front of the enormous black vortex. Then Lin Dong felt an astonishing suction force coming from the black vortex before him.

At that moment, outside, at the Lin Family Manor, everyone in the Lin Family was alarmed.

An enormous amount of energy from heaven and earth had formed a massive tornado in the sky. At its base was Lin Dong's room.

"Father, that's Dong'er's room. What should we do?"

Lin Xiao spoke in a low voice, his eyes filled with surprise. The energy fluctuations were even more terrifying than when Lin Zhentian had broken through to the Lesser Yuan Dan Realm.

Lin Zhentian's expression was just as strange. Given Lin Dong's strength, there was no way he should be causing such massive fluctuations in the energy of heaven and earth. This commotion seemed even more terrifying than breaking through to the Primal Core Realm Great Perfection.

"Have people stand guard and keep this quiet. And don't disturb Dong'er. Understood?"

"Yes, Father. I'll see to it right away."

Lin Xiao answered and went personally to make the arrangements.

Meanwhile, inside the Stone Talisman Space, Lin Dong and Little Marten stared in astonishment at the space as it gradually lit up. A gigantic black vortex was spinning rapidly, and vast amounts of energy were pouring into it from the outside world.

The vortex was like an insatiable giant beast. Even as that terrifying energy from heaven and earth surged into it like a tide, it showed no sign of slowing down.

"Hiss! Could this thing be the Devouring Ancestral Talisman?"

Little Marten studied the enormous black vortex, sensing the terrifying Devouring Power pouring from it, and asked curiously.

Lin Dong stared blankly again, displaying his country-bumpkin ignorance to the fullest.

"Little Marten, what's the Devouring Ancestral Talisman? From the name, it sounds like a kind of Life Spirit Talisman cultivated by talisman masters?"

"What do you mean, 'what is it'? Watch your mouth, kid. It's one of the Eight Great Ancestral Talismans, renowned throughout heaven and earth. Every Ancestral Talisman wielder is an extraordinary powerhouse who can shake the world."

A look of longing appeared in Little Marten's eyes. Who in this world didn't wish to obtain an Ancestral Talisman?

"Ancestral Talismans? They're that powerful?"

Lin Dong was shocked. There were only eight Ancestral Talismans in all of heaven and earth, so they must be incredibly powerful. Then his gaze fell on the black vortex, and he asked curiously, "So the ancient powerhouse before us must be the wielder of the Devouring Ancestral Talisman?"

"Probably. And you're pretty lucky, kid. Your Life Spirit Talisman must be a talisman copied from the Devouring Ancestral Talisman, which is why you were able to activate the Devouring—"

Little Marten suddenly stopped midsentence. Lin Dong looked at him curiously. Little Marten, who was usually so proud and self-important, was now staring wide-eyed at the black vortex, his mouth hanging open.

Lin Dong moved closer and asked softly, "Little Marten, what's wrong?"

"No way. Could it be that Lord?"

Little Marten didn't answer Lin Dong. He merely muttered under his breath, his eyes filled with reverence.

His words only stirred up Lin Dong's curiosity even more. He poked Little Marten and asked again, "Little Marten, who could it be?"

Little Marten swallowed hard. Deep shock still lingered in his eyes, and he seemed unable to recover from it. He spoke as if to himself.

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the one of the Eight Ancient Lords renowned throughout the ages, the very first wielder of the Devouring Ancestral Talisman—the Lord of Devourment!"