Ancestral Land

The scene before him wasn't nearly as vast as Xu Lanqing had imagined Mingde Hall would be. At least, when he looked around, he could vaguely make out the far end. Judging by its size, it covered at least ten thousand square meters.

All six walls were made of silvery-white metal and stood about twenty meters high. Experimental tables and what looked like discarded Soul Tools were scattered across the floor.

Unlike Mingde Hall, which mainly manufactured Soul Tools, this place seemed more like a research institute.

The most eye-catching thing was the enormous object in the middle of the base. Xu Lanqing's gaze was drawn to it as soon as he looked over.

It had a humanoid shape and was made of some unknown silvery-white metal. It stood fifteen meters tall; any taller and it would have reached the ceiling.

It had no face, and its appearance was rather crude, like a human-shaped mannequin enlarged countless times.

Xu Lanqing's pupils widened. This was... a Humanoid Soul Guidance Device?

It was probably an early prototype. If only they could make it into a Mecha like a Gundam. What man didn't dream of piloting a Mecha?

The vast underground base was nearly deserted. Only a dozen or so people stood beneath the Humanoid Soul Guidance Device, discussing something heatedly. Kong Deming was among them.

Xu Lanqing followed the guards closer. Only then did he see that they were all elderly men. The youngest-looking among them seemed to be in their fifties or sixties, and their actual ages were certainly much greater.

The heated discussion didn't stop when Xu Lanqing and the guards appeared. It was as if no one had noticed them; if anything, the debate only grew more intense.

Kong Deming excused himself and came over to Xu Lanqing.

"Lan Qing, you're back?"

He looked Xu Lanqing over, his eyes full of confusion.

"You didn't obtain a Soul Ring? And your Martial Soul...?"

Xu Lanqing had no choice but to explain everything again. Once the guard beside him had completed his task, he turned and left.

"There really are things like that?"

Kong Deming clicked his tongue in wonder. He placed a hand on Xu Lanqing's wrist and probed him with his Soul Power, but, just like Jing Hongchen, he found nothing wrong.

"Are you sure you've made up your mind? I'm not even certain the Ancestral Land can help you. We know far too little about Martial Souls. Without experiments, everything is just speculation, and things might even get worse."

Kong Deming gazed at Xu Lanqing, his voice heavy.

Xu Lanqing answered just as earnestly, "I've made up my mind. Better to take a chance than sit around and wait."

"If that's the case, I won't say any more. Come with me."

"Yes."

Kong Deming headed toward the far end of the base. When he reached the wall, he worked a control panel, and a passage slowly opened as the wall slid apart.

The strange thing was that the passage was black—not the kind of black that came from an absence of light, but a still, black surface like a mirror of water.

"This is one of the royal family's Ancestral Lands. Unlike the others, it's actually a separate pocket dimension. You can enter it as long as you pass through this mirror-like surface," Kong Deming explained.

A separate dimension?

Xu Lanqing was surprised, then quickly calmed down. The world was vast, and there were bound to be things he couldn't imagine. He had an Undead Plane of his own, after all, even if he couldn't do anything with it yet.

Still, seeing Kong Deming standing calmly beside him with no intention of entering made Xu Lanqing feel uneasy.

"Teacher, aren't you coming in with me?"

Kong Deming shook his head and continued explaining. "Only people whose Martial Soul Awakening gave them the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon can enter this space. No one else can get in. The royal family discovered it more than ten thousand years ago, and after trying countless methods, this was the only conclusion they reached.

"Although your Martial Soul was devoured and mutated into the Golden Dragon, it still retains some of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon's Destruction power. You should still be able to enter."

Xu Lanqing's expression darkened. Things weren't going well right from the start.

He had thought that at least some expert would be there to watch over him, but now he was going in all alone.

He stared at the black mirror, then suddenly thought of something and asked,

"Third Brother's Martial Soul is also the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, right? Has he been inside?"

"That's exactly what I was about to tell you. The Third Highness did go in. Before entering, he had to have his leg amputated because of an accident. His strength had fallen sharply, and his body was extremely weak.

"But after he came out of the Ancestral Land, not only did his cultivation stop declining, it increased substantially. And it wasn't just him—some others who entered throughout history had similar experiences. That's why I said it might be able to help you.

"Of course, there have also been plenty of failures. I don't think I need to explain what happened to them."

Well, at least that was good news, Xu Lanqing reassured himself.

Even Xu Tianran, half-crippled as he was, had succeeded. There was no reason he couldn't do the same. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable surge of confidence.

"According to the records, the space inside isn't large, but it's always shrouded in purple mist. The mist contains the Destruction power of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon. The closer you get to the center, the denser the mist becomes and the stronger its Destruction power, increasing the pressure on anyone inside. No one has ever managed to approach the center, and no one knows what's there.

"What you need to do is meditate and absorb the Destruction power in the purple mist.

"Your strength is still too low, so I suggest you try it only at the outermost edge. Don't push yourself. Your life comes first, understand?"

Kong Deming warned him repeatedly. Children could easily get carried away, and he didn't want Xu Lanqing to enter and never come back out.

"I understand, Teacher. Don't worry. I'll know my limits."

Xu Lanqing nodded solemnly. He wasn't ready to die yet. He had finally become a prince, and he still hadn't saved all those girls suffering hardship. How could he die so easily?

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped inside.

The familiar sensation of space tearing washed over him, though it was far weaker than the sensation of being transported from the Far North. After all, this was only one wall away.

Xu Lanqing shook his head and waited a while before recovering from the dizziness.

He looked around. Just as Kong Deming had said, the area not far in front of him was shrouded in purple mist, and he couldn't see through it at all.

He was now in one of the few outer regions. Looking back, he saw only the edge of the empty darkness, with a black mirror standing abruptly behind him.

After he entered, the Golden Dragon King Martial Soul stirred faintly.

He tried walking forward. Before he even reached the purple mist, he already felt immense pressure pressing in from all directions as a violent Destruction power battered his body.

To be safe, he'd better try meditating here first.

He sat cross-legged and circulated his Soul Power along his body's meridians according to his meditation method.

Gradually, wisps of pale purple drifted over from not far away and entered his body, transforming into pure Soul Power. This Soul Power was pale purple as well. After circulating through one full cycle, it entered his dantian.

Inside his dantian, the pale purple Soul Power and golden Soul Power remained separate. Destruction power and Ruin power mingled unevenly, and the Destruction power, which had originally been at a disadvantage, gradually grew stronger. It could now slowly hold its own against the Ruin power.

It worked!

Xu Lanqing was delighted. Without hesitation, he focused his mind and meditated in silence.

As time passed,

the two forces gradually reached a delicate balance.