Beyond the bronze doors lay a quiet, simple stone hall.
The hall had few luxurious or ornate furnishings. Instead, everything was plain and simple. It looked less like a grand hall and more like a quiet chamber for secluded cultivation.
The vast stone hall was completely empty, save for a stone coffin in the middle. Above it hovered a green orb radiating vigorous vitality.
Within the green orb was a heart that seemed to have been condensed from immense, pure energy.
With every beat of the heart, the Primal Energy in the entire hall trembled.
"Is this the Nirvana Heart?"
Cang Wu gazed at the green heart in curiosity and exclaimed in surprise.
Though he had lived for a very long time, this was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.
Ling Qingzhu wore the same curious expression. She had never seen a Nirvana Heart either. More accurately, hardly anyone in the world had.
The conditions required for a Nirvana Heart to take shape were far too exacting. It was even rarer than the fabled Spirit Seal.
First of all, a Nirvana Heart could only possibly form when a Nirvana Realm expert died.
There were not many Nirvana Realm experts to begin with. Moreover, every time one of them advanced in strength, they had to undergo a Nirvana Tribulation. Those tribulations alone were enough to claim the lives of many Nirvana Realm experts.
Of those who remained, quite a few were killed in battle or died from injuries too severe to treat.
Furthermore, Nirvana Realm experts whose strength was too low—for instance, those below the Six Yuan Nirvana Realm—could hardly ever form one.
That was because one of the conditions for a Nirvana Heart to form was the presence of divine spirit energy, which only experts at the Seven Yuan Nirvana Realm and above could produce.
The denser the divine spirit energy, the greater the chance of forming a Nirvana Heart. Generally speaking, those most likely to form one were experts at the Nine Yuan Nirvana Realm.
But once divine spirit energy reached a certain threshold, it would condense into a divine spirit. Most experts at the Nine Yuan Nirvana Realm who died naturally had cultivated for many years and had long since condensed one within their bodies.
Taking all of this into account, a Nirvana Heart usually formed only when an expert at the Nine Yuan Nirvana Realm died unexpectedly, before reaching the limit of their natural lifespan.
The owner of the Nirvana Heart before them had used dual cultivation of yin and yang to break through to the Nine Yuan Nirvana Realm quickly. But because the breakthrough had come too fast, their origin had been depleted, and they had been forced to die.
"Your Highness, from here on, we'll each have to rely on our own abilities, won't we?"
Ling Qingzhu came back to herself and spoke softly to Cang Wu.
At her words, Cang Wu chuckled but said nothing.
He raised a hand and beckoned. In an instant, countless strange, pitch-black tendrils emerged from the surrounding air and coiled around Ling Qingzhu's limbs and body.
In the blink of an eye, Ling Qingzhu found herself trapped and bound.
Once she realized what had happened, her brows knitted together. She sensed faint currents of Devouring Power slowly consuming the Primal Energy within her.
"This is... Devouring Power!"
Ling Qingzhu was startled. She looked up at Cang Wu in astonishment.
Cang Wu merely smiled and nodded. Ling Qingzhu took a deep breath and said gravely,
"No wonder. So you're the one who controls the Devouring Ancestral Talisman. I was wondering what that strange power was that passed through the barrier earlier. It seems, Your Highness, that you've attained an extremely high level of mastery over Devouring Power."
The Devouring Power coiled around her was faint, but Ling Qingzhu was no fool. It was obvious that Cang Wu hadn't truly activated it—he was only using it to restrain her.
Clearly, Ling Qingzhu had mistaken Cang Wu's Devouring Power for the Devouring Power of the Devouring Ancestral Talisman.
That was only natural. No one would have imagined that Lord of Devourment, one of the Eight Ancient Lords, was still alive.
And Ling Qingzhu could never have guessed that the famous Lord of Devourment, one of the Eight Ancient Lords from the ancient past, would be such an unrestrained person.
Cang Wu neither admitted nor denied it. He simply smiled and turned to look at the stone coffin not far away.
"If you don't come out, don't blame me for breaking open your coffin and destroying your bones."
Ling Qingzhu couldn't help but freeze. A moment later, a refined, easygoing chuckle came from inside the coffin.
"Heh. What an ill-mannered junior, breaking into my home and threatening to destroy my bones. But since you have some connection with my Ancestor Master, I'll let it go."
"You're not dead?"
Hearing the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master's voice, Ling Qingzhu's eyes narrowed. She hadn't expected him to be not entirely dead.
The next moment, a faint, illusory figure slowly drifted out of the coffin.
The figure didn't look old. He didn't resemble an elderly man who had died after reaching the end of his natural lifespan. Instead, he appeared to be around thirty, with handsome, carefree features and a gentle, refined air.
When the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master saw Cang Wu and Ling Qingzhu, a teasing smile flickered across his face.
The two were still riding together on the same lotus. The man was handsome and dashing, while the woman was breathtakingly beautiful. They looked like a perfect pair.
After giving Ling Qingzhu a kindly, benevolent smile, the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master chuckled and said,
"Don't be so nervous. I died countless years ago. All that remains is a nascent spirit that never fully took shape."
Ling Qingzhu finally relaxed a little. But then she remembered what the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master had said earlier and couldn't help asking in surprise,
"You said he has some connection with your Ancestor Master? Who is your Ancestor Master?"
"Young lady, you're truly ignorant. You don't even know my Ancestor Master's illustrious name?"
The Ancient Tomb Mansion Master's brows furrowed slightly, and he scoffed.
But Cang Wu, standing beside Ling Qingzhu, had a strange look in his eyes. If he wasn't mistaken, he was the Ancestor Master this young man was talking about.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master declared proudly,
"My Ancestor Master is the renowned Lord of Devourment! Even among the Eight Ancient Lords, he was one of the very strongest. In the ancient past, he was one of the greatest experts under heaven!"
As he spoke, the Ancient Tomb Mansion Master looked upon his Ancestor Master with reverence, making Cang Wu feel increasingly awkward.
Ling Qingzhu, however, was surprised to hear that this man was a descendant of Lord of Devourment, one of the Eight Ancient Lords. She hurriedly asked,
"Could it be that you're also a former master of one of the Devouring Ancestral Talismans?"
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