The Overbearing Devouring Ancestral Symbol

"Ninety-nine times. You really went all out, kid. Aren't you afraid of damaging the source of your divine soul?"

By the time Little Marten finished counting, he was somewhat numb. Watching Mu Chen get crushed to pieces over and over, that kind of pain could drive anyone mad. Mu Chen had endured it so many times—could he possibly have some masochistic habit?

After trying it more than twenty times, Little Marten had needed several days of rest before recovering. The pain of the divine soul and the pain of the flesh were entirely different things; they were worlds apart in intensity.

"Ah, since I'm training anyway, and it hurts like hell regardless, I'd feel like I was losing out if I didn't reach the Void Realm." Mu Chen rubbed his brow. Fatigue and pain still lingered in his divine soul. He needed to rest for a while before he could continue cultivating with the Spirit Grinding Mill.

"You're just greedy." Little Marten rolled his eyes.

"Marten Lord has seen plenty of ruthless people, but there really aren't many like you—someone so ruthless even toward himself."

"At least wait until Marten Lord's body has recovered before you go courting death again. If you die now, Marten Lord will be finished too."

Little Marten could more or less trust Mu Chen. If he got himself killed and someone else picked up the Ancestral Stone later, Little Marten's own life might not be safe either.

"Don't worry. Even if I die, I'll take you with me. We're good brothers—we'll walk the road together." Mu Chen smiled.

"Pah! Marten Lord hasn't lived long enough yet!" Little Marten rolled his eyes and vanished before Mu Chen.

"Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

Su Youwei asked anxiously. Mu Chen's face was full of exhaustion. It was the first time she had seen him like this, as though his body had been completely drained.

"It's nothing. I got a little tired while training my divine soul." Mu Chen waved a hand. The gentle glow emitted by the Ancestral Stone gradually dispelled the exhaustion in his divine soul.

Only then did Su Youwei nod, though could cultivating one's divine soul really leave someone like this?

Outside Great Zhou City lay the Black Forest Mountain Range, a towering mountain range near Great Zhou City that was rarely visited by people. Few dared enter it, for it contained countless Source Beasts and was extremely dangerous.

For Mu Chen, this was the perfect place. He would not be disturbed or watched by outsiders.

He told Su Youwei in advance that he would be leaving for a while and that she need not worry, or else she would become anxious.

"Devouring Ancestral Symbol, appear!"

Mu Chen gave a low shout, and an ancient rune resembling a black hole appeared before him—the most mysterious of the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols, the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.

The rune was the size of a human head and had no fixed form. It seemed alive, constantly writhing and changing, like a slowly rotating black hole. It emitted incomparably overbearing Devouring Power, as though it could swallow heaven and earth. The sheer force of that Devouring Power caused space itself to ripple.

This was the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, a heaven-and-earth rune condensed from Devouring Power.

Mu Chen's expression turned solemn. Merely staring at it made him feel as though his divine soul would be swallowed by that tyrannical Devouring Power. He was even wondering whether it was a little too early to refine it, whether he should have waited until all Eight Meridians were open.

Although it had come with him to the Heaven Origin World and settled within his Soul Space, Mu Chen could still sense danger from it. It was not something that could be refined casually.

But if he wanted to truly wield the power of an Ancestral Symbol, he had to pass its trial and refine it, gaining control over it. Otherwise, he could only use it in the most superficial way.

"As expected of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol. Kid, have you thought this through? This isn't like the Spirit Grinding Mill. People really can die here." Little Marten spoke from within the Ancestral Stone. He did not dare come out; if he were enveloped by the Devouring Power, he would be directly refined by the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.

"I once saw an extremely powerful expert attempt to refine the Flame Ancestral Symbol, only to be burned into nothingness by the Heavenly Flames it drew forth. The Devouring Ancestral Symbol won't be any easier to refine than the Flame Ancestral Symbol."

That expert had been no weaker than Little Marten at his peak.

"I'll have to refine it sooner or later. Besides, when refining an Ancestral Symbol, even profound cultivation does not guarantee success. Since they have stayed in my Soul Space for several years, that means I am the master they have been waiting for. Who else but me could refine and control the Ancestral Symbols?" Mu Chen smiled.

Divine objects like Ancestral Symbols surely possessed spirits and chose their own masters.

Little Marten was speechless. He really knew how to show off, though it was not entirely without reason.

"I'm going in. Remember to watch over my body. Don't let it get eaten by a Source Beast." Mu Chen's Void Realm divine soul was swallowed by the black hole.

With the Devouring Ancestral Symbol's deterrence, ordinary Source Beasts would not dare approach, but it was still best to be cautious.

Little Marten stared at the black hole overhead, deep apprehension flashing through his small eyes. It seemed capable of devouring everything—even light could be swallowed by it. What an overbearing power.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kid, seeing as you've treated Marten Lord fairly well, if you die, Marten Lord will dig a hole and bury you."

Little Marten watched Mu Chen's statue-like body while standing guard nearby. He could still barely deal with a First-grade Source Beast.

If Mu Chen succeeded, it would prove that Little Marten had not misjudged him, and that the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols had not chosen the wrong person either.

Now all he could do was wait. There was nothing he could help with during this process. If he got too close and his demon spirit was swallowed by the black hole, that would be no fun at all.

At this moment, Little Marten thought of his clansmen. They had been out of contact for so long. Perhaps his clansmen, as well as his father and the others, all believed he had fallen.

He wondered whether he would ever have the chance to return to the Heaven Xuan Continent.

Originally, he had planned to wait for a fated person who picked up the Ancestral Stone to help restore his body. Instead, he had ended up in another world, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

After learning it from Mu Chen, it had taken him a long time to process it.

The only somewhat comforting thing was that Mu Chen's luck was excellent. Not only did he possess the Stone Talisman, but also the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols. Perhaps in this world, Mu Chen could help him restore his body as well.

After his divine soul was swallowed by the black hole, all Mu Chen saw was boundless darkness, utterly pure. It cut off his sight, and even his sense of touch ceased to function. Mu Chen could not see the slightest glimmer of light.

This Darkness Realm was like a world before chaos had been split open. Simply existing within it was torture, and even Mu Chen panicked for a while.

"This is probably going to get very boring." Mu Chen muttered to himself.

This was the Devouring Ancestral Symbol's trial. It should mainly test the divine soul and will, unlike the Flame and Lightning Ancestral Symbols, which also tested the physical body. This was one reason Mu Chen had chosen the Devouring Ancestral Symbol first. His current physical condition could not yet withstand the trials of those Ancestral Symbols.

In absolute darkness, there was no difference between closing his eyes and opening them. This was a test of one's state of mind. If he sank into the darkness, he would be unable to pass the Devouring Ancestral Symbol's trial.

Mu Chen casually chose a direction and began this long, lonely trial. He was definitely going to obtain the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.