Ancestral God Cult

The entire Wind Abyss Star—an ancient planet that had birthed countless Divining Wind Beasts and buried thirty-two God General Inheritance Temples—was actually just an accessory to some supreme treasure?

How terrifying, then, was the true form of that Illusory God Bell?

"You reached the 9,999th level but did not step onto the 10,000th. That means your ambitions do not end there."

The Wind Beast God's voice suddenly shifted from Uncle Qing's tone to something deeper.

"Kid, how far do you want to go?"

Fang Yan fell silent, inwardly grumbling.

Can I tell you I want to become a Hunyuan Lord? You make it sound like you can accomplish anything.

Seeing that Fang Yan did not answer, the Wind Beast God did not press the matter.

Then he raised his right claw and lightly sliced through the thickest tuft of azure fur on his chest.

A drop of blood was squeezed from his fingertip.

The Wind Beast God stared at that drop of blood, then raised both claws and made a pulling motion through the void.

The drop of blood began to divide: one became two, two became four, four became eight, until it finally turned into ten crystals the size of fingernails.

Each crystal was a perfect hexagonal prism, amber throughout. Within them, azure patterns of the Law of Wind intertwined with silver patterns of the Time Law, forming an incomparably mysterious balance.

"This is called a Xun Cosmic Crystal."

The Wind Beast God sent the ten crystals floating before Fang Yan with a gentle force.

Fang Yan extended his hand and carefully caught the ten Xun Cosmic Crystals.

Wasn't this basically Blood Luo Crystal's sister brand?

"This is the opportunity I am giving you."

The Wind Beast God's voice was calm, though it carried a trace of kindness.

"If you can fuse ten Xun Cosmic Crystals, I will accept you as my personal disciple."

Fang Yan abruptly raised his head. Wasn't this test far too simple?

The difficulty of fusing ten Xun Cosmic Crystals was probably only equivalent to that of the Black Warrior of later generations.

But the Wind Beast God had clearly already discovered his Spring Autumn Cicada Clone.

Just as with the Golden Horned Beast, the Spring Autumn Cicada would surely aid in absorbing Xun Cosmic Crystals.

Fang Yan remained suspicious of the Wind Beast God's overly brief test.

He thought of how, after the various races gradually gained more Universe Lords, they began hunting the Eight Beast Gods on a massive scale. The way Fang Yan looked at the Wind Beast God changed several times.

Could this old bastard be in a hurry to find someone to accompany him to the grave?

"Senior, the test of ten Xun Cosmic Crystals is not difficult for this junior. Is it not a little too... casual for you to use this as the condition for accepting a personal disciple?"

The Wind Beast God was silent for a moment.

He raised his right claw and lightly waved it through the void.

An image appeared in the starry sky.

It showed a snow-white feline creature. Though it had not the slightest resemblance to the Wind Beast God, its eyes were exactly the same—amber vertical pupils.

In the image, the white cat was crouched in the void, surrounded by Law of Wind fluctuations so dense they seemed impossible to disperse.

"This was the only disciple I ever accepted."

The Wind Beast God's voice deepened, and a trace of hoarseness surfaced beneath that Uncle Qing-like tone.

"His talent was outstanding, and I taught him everything I had."

The Wind Beast God's claws tightened slightly, and another image appeared in the void.

The white cat stood atop mountains of corpses and seas of blood, dense bloody aura permeating his body.

His eyes were no longer amber vertical pupils, but a chaotic crimson.

Beneath his feet lay the corpses of several thousand special lifeforms.

Fang Yan was slightly shocked. After all, unless special lifeforms were mortal enemies, they were generally rather amicable toward one another.

The Wind Beast God's voice was terrifyingly calm.

"He used what I taught him to slaughter more than three thousand special lifeforms, refining the essence of those beings in an attempt to forcibly break open his extraordinarily sturdy Origin Core."

Fang Yan's pupils contracted slightly as he recalled his own words.

"I am not of the demonic path, but the righteous path..."

This brother is one of my kind too, Fang Yan could not help thinking.

"Then I killed him with my own hands."

The Wind Beast God wiped away the image in the void with one claw, as though erasing a memory he did not wish to revisit.

"He could not break open his Origin Core, and his lifespan had reached its limit."

"In the end, he told me that he merely wanted to live."

The Wind Beast God turned his head, those amber vertical pupils staring directly at Fang Yan.

"Yes. He merely wanted to live. Since then, through endless ages, I have never accepted another disciple."

The Wind Beast God continued.

"Until today, when I heard those words from you."

The Wind Beast God raised a claw and pointed at Fang Yan's chest.

"You do not wish to look back, nor do you wish to judge your former self. How am I any different?"

A faint fluctuation appeared in the Wind Beast God's voice. A streak of light shot from his eyes.

The endless starry sky in the distance immediately collapsed, and countless spatial fragments burst forth in a raging torrent.

At this moment, the Wind Beast God had completely mastered an ultimate secret technique, advancing from then on into a Third-Order Universe Master!

(I am at the peak of the third transformation... ٩(๑^o^๑)۶)

The Wind Beast God extended a claw and grabbed through the void.

A token appeared out of thin air, hovering before Fang Yan.

The token was entirely azure and roughly palm-sized. Its front was engraved with the totem of a divine beast roaring toward the heavens. The lines of the totem were exceedingly simple, yet they captured the Wind Beast God's spirit with vivid precision.

On its back was a line of ancient divine script. Although Fang Yan did not recognize those words, the instant his gaze fell upon them, their meaning automatically surfaced in his mind.

"This is the Wind-Time Beast God Inheritance Token."

The Wind Beast God spoke calmly.

"With this token, you may receive the inheritance of the Wind-Time Fusion Law in the Ancestral God Cult. Once you have fused ten Xun Cosmic Crystals, bring this token to the Ancestral God Cult and find me. At that time, I will formally accept you as my personal disciple."

Fang Yan accepted the token, feeling the warmth against his palm.

The value of this token was equivalent to a supreme treasure.

"Thank you for your favor, Senior."

Fang Yan cupped his fists in salute, then changed the subject.

"However, this junior cannot go to the Ancestral God Cult for the time being."

"Oh?"

The Wind Beast God's ears twitched.

"Senior may not know this, but our Human Race is at a critical stage of its rise."

"The Insect Race, Demon Race, and Machine Race are all locked in chaotic warfare. Though this junior is no great figure, at a time when my race is in danger, I cannot simply pat my backside and head off to the Ancestral God Cult to cultivate."

The Wind Beast God stared at Fang Yan for a while, then suddenly laughed.

The smile on that great feline face was not fierce at all. Instead, it carried a measure of gratification.

"What a fine 'cannot simply pat my backside and leave.'"

Uncle Qing's voice echoed through the starry sky.

"Fine. Keep the token for now. Come to the Ancestral God Cult whenever the war is over."

Warmth filled Fang Yan's heart, and he cupped his fists again.

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior."

The Wind Beast God waved a claw and turned away.

"Go. I still need to take Wind Abyss Star away."

Fang Yan froze.

"Take it away?"

"I just said that Wind Abyss Star is the clapper of the Illusory God Bell."

The Wind Beast God said it as though it were only natural.

"This planet was originally a component of my supreme treasure. The purpose of my coming here was to retrieve it."

As he spoke, he raised his right claw, and the indigo Wind Abyss Star began to shrink.