Exploring the Ancestral Grounds

To rescue their ancestor, the Blood Devil Race gathered a host of the Devil Race's finest experts and launched a fierce assault on the Righteous Qi Sect. Faced with the tidal surge of the Devil Race army, the Righteous Qi Sect fought with all its might, but the disparity in strength was too great. Its defensive array was breached, and the entire sect retreated to the forbidden grounds behind the mountain, relying on the arrays there for a final stand.

With the Righteous Qi Sect on the verge of utter destruction, its first sect master made a difficult decision. Only by sealing every Devil Race expert within the great array could he avert the sect's annihilation and preserve the legacy of its founders.

He used his divine sense to notify the sect's elders and elite disciples, instructing the elders to let the Devil Race enter when he opened the forbidden grounds' array. They were only to protect the sect's disciples as they fought their way out, preserving what strength they could.

Then he abruptly opened the great array, luring the Devil Race experts inside. Seeing the array breached, they surged in all at once. Ouyang Zhenhua watched as most of the sect's disciples escaped under the protection of several elders, while nearly all the Devil Race's strongest fighters entered the array.

With a thunderous boom, heaven and earth changed color. Righteous qi and demonic qi intertwined, colliding like two towering waves as the great array suddenly surged to life. The body of Ouyang Zhenhua, the Righteous Qi Sect's first sect master, radiated boundless light before transforming into an immense torrent of spiritual power that merged with the array, sealing the Devil Race experts inside one by one.

Outside the array, the surviving sect members watched, both shaken and deeply moved. They understood that their sect master had turned his own body into the array, sealing nearly all the Devil Race's strongest fighters and securing victory for the Righteous Qi Sect.

The disciples who witnessed it were overwhelmed by grief and fury. The flames of hatred unleashed tremendous fighting strength, and they began hunting down the remaining Devil Race forces. They did not stop until they had slaughtered every one who failed to escape.

As the dust of the battle gradually settled, peace returned to the Cultivation World. Yet the Righteous Qi Sect had lost its sect master, and nearly ninety percent of its elders and elite disciples had died in battle. Only a handful of elders and a few hundred elite disciples remained, while casualties among the ordinary disciples were beyond counting. A sect that had once numbered over ten thousand no longer had enough survivors to meet even the standards of a third-rate sect.

From then on, the Righteous Qi Sect called the forbidden grounds behind the mountain the Ancestral Grounds. Many members of the Devil Race were sealed there, and the sect master and numerous predecessors of the sect were buried there as well.

Ding-dong. Would you like to check in at the sect's Ancestral Grounds?

Just as he was lost in thoughts of that great sect battle, a system notification sounded in his mind.

"Check in."

Li Dalong came back to his senses and answered out of habit.

Ding-dong. Check-in successful. Reward: Spirit-Gathering Array.

"Spirit-Gathering Array?"

Looking at the jade slip that appeared in his hand, Li Dalong thought, I just made a breakthrough in arrays, and the system rewarded me with a Spirit-Gathering Array. Judging by the name, it should gather spiritual qi to aid cultivation.

"System, please explain what the Spirit-Gathering Array does," Li Dalong said.

The Spirit-Gathering Array is an array long lost to the Cultivation World, a wondrous formation used by the major powers of ancient times to aid cultivation. Once successfully set up, it can draw in the surrounding spiritual qi of heaven and earth or absorb the spirit stones placed by the person who set it up. It accelerates a cultivator's refinement and absorption of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, increasing cultivation speed.

"So it's an array that speeds up cultivation. A pillow just when I'm getting sleepy! Now I can cultivate faster."

For now, I should explore the Ancestral Grounds first. I can study it once I'm out.

Li Dalong stood at the entrance to the Ancestral Grounds, his heart filled with awe and curiosity. No one had set foot in this old sect site for tens of thousands of years. Many members of the Devil Race were sealed here, and the sect master and numerous predecessors were buried here as well. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Li Dalong began exploring the Ancestral Grounds, carefully weaving between the ruined buildings and occasionally finding treasures and magical implements left behind. But just as he prepared to take them, these seemingly intact implements and treasures crumbled to ash at his touch. Even the mightiest magical treasures could not withstand the ravages of time.

Sighing with emotion, he continued searching to see whether any magical treasures had survived. As for spiritual pills and medicinal herbs, the Devil Race members sealed within had probably consumed them all long ago.

The many Devil Race members had been sealed within the array back then and died when their lifespans ran out, rather than all being slain.

Just as disappointment began to set in, a mostly destroyed rockery suddenly caught his eye. He approached and found carvings on its stone face that appeared to be runes or cultivation teachings.

After examining them carefully, he discovered that the runes and teachings were merely cultivation methods of the Blood Devil Race. Though exceptionally precious to them, they were useless to him, so he destroyed them with a casual sweep of his hand.

After observing the area for a moment, he continued exploring the Ancestral Grounds.

Suddenly, an enormous palace caught his eye. Though badly ruined, it still radiated an air of solemn grandeur. This had probably been where the first sect master, Ouyang Zhenhua, cultivated. Li Dalong approached and discovered ancient runes carved into its doors.

He focused his gaze and discovered that the runes formed an ancient array. It could connect to the power of heaven and earth and was probably also the core of the restrictive array governing the Ancestral Grounds.

An idea stirred in Li Dalong's mind. He decided to enter the palace and see whether anything useful remained inside.

He pushed open the palace doors and stepped inside. The interior was in ruins, with collapsed walls and broken furniture everywhere. The pills and treasures displayed in the rooms on either side had all turned to ash.

He continued searching along the palace's ruined walls, occasionally discovering treasures and magical implements left behind. Almost all had been eroded by time and were no longer usable.

After searching for a while, he discovered a cave entrance in an intact rockery behind the main hall. The entrance stood wide open, and the restrictions once placed there had long since ceased to function. A thought struck Li Dalong: this was probably where the Blood Devil Race's Blood Slaughter Ancestor had been imprisoned.

As he approached the entrance, a cold, sinister aura rushed into his face. With a thought, he covered his body in spiritual power to resist it. This was probably the Blood Slaughter Ancestor's demonic qi from back then. Even after tens of thousands of years, its power lingered-a testament to how formidable the Blood Slaughter Ancestor had once been.

Without hesitation, Li Dalong stepped into the dimly lit cave and carefully explored his way forward. After rounding a bend, he saw a large skeleton slumped against the cave wall ahead. Beside it lay a ring and a blood-red blade radiating a powerful aura. This was probably the Blood Demon Blade, the Blood Devil Race's supreme treasure that their grand elder had been so intent on recovering.

Truly worthy of being the Blood Devil Race's supreme treasure. Tens of thousands of years have passed, yet it remains completely undamaged, and its aura is still so powerful.

Li Dalong raised his hand and beckoned, drawing the Blood Demon Blade into his grasp. The ring, however, shattered the moment his spiritual power touched it. Too much time had passed, and the years had evidently eaten it away.