"Ghost Elder, let's set off."
Outside Spirit City, the two circulated their Soul Power and headed toward Heaven Dou City.
"Xiao Ling."
Atop the city wall, Hu Liena stared fixedly at one of the departing boys. Even after he disappeared from sight, she did not leave.
"Little sister, so this is where you were."
Suddenly, Xie Yue's voice came from behind her. He then came to her side and looked toward Heaven Dou City as well, sighing with feeling. "Xiao Ling has already caught up to us. Who could have imagined an eight-year-old Soul Ancestor?"
"Yes."
Hu Liena nodded, then fell silent again.
"Come on, let's go back and cultivate. We need to break through to Soul Ancestor as soon as possible. We can't fall too far behind."
With that, Xie Yue forcibly pulled Hu Liena away from Spirit City's wall.
Two years had passed since they went to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain their second Soul Rings. Over those two years, Yu Tianling had successfully broken through to Level 40. Once he obtained his Soul Ring, he would become the youngest Soul Ancestor. Even Qian Renxue had only broken through to Level 40 at the age of ten.
This time, Yu Tianling had left intending to first explore the ruins his parents had mentioned, then obtain his fourth Soul Ring in Sunset Forest along the way.
Speaking of the ruins, he should have gone there when he became a three-ring Soul Elder. But Qian Daoliu, who had emerged from seclusion at the time, suddenly devised a Holy Son trial, declaring that Yu Tianling could not be Spirit Hall's Holy Son unless he passed. For the sake of his master Bibi Dong's dignity, he put everything into his preparations. In the end, he earned the unanimous approval of the Elder Hall, firmly securing his position as Holy Son.
By then, Yu Tianling had reached Level 37, so he decided to wait until Level 40 before setting out.
And so, the moment he broke through last night, Yu Tianling hurried to ask Bibi Dong to let Ghost Douluo accompany him. Early this morning, he had eagerly set off.
Since the ruins were in Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City and the situation inside was unknown, only Yu Tianling and Ghost Douluo went. They did not bring Hu Liena and the other two along.
Ten days later.
Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City.
"Phew, we finally made it to Heaven Dou City."
Yu Tianling looked at the bustling streets and let out a long breath.
Over those ten days, Yu Tianling had flown using Martial Soul Possession, resting whenever his Soul Power was nearly exhausted. The cycle repeated endlessly, dull and tedious.
"Let's go. It's getting late. We'll rest here tonight and set off for Sunset Forest tomorrow."
With that, Gui Mei headed toward a nearby hotel.
"Well, would you look at that. Another Forest Hotel!"
Yu Tianling looked at the hotel's sign in surprise. To think it was actually a hotel chain!
With that thought, Yu Tianling hurried after Gui Mei.
After a night of rest at the hotel, the two resumed their journey early the next morning, heading for Sunset Forest.
Sunset Forest, one of the three great Soul Beast forests on the Douluo Continent, lay near Heaven Dou City and possessed abundant mineral and medicinal herb resources. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring, one of Tang San's major cheats, was located within it. This place could be called a paradise for blacksmiths and apothecaries.
But danger accompanied it as well. High-level Soul Beasts appeared one after another, and poisonous miasma was also present. Those without sufficient strength did not dare come here lightly to gather medicinal herbs.
According to the letter Yu Xuanyu had left behind, the ruins were inside a cave in the eastern part of the forest.
Following those directions, Yu Tianling and Ghost Douluo made straight for the entrance without stopping once they arrived.
"Let's go, Ghost Elder."
The two exchanged a glance, then stepped inside, one after the other.
The cave seemed very long. Yu Tianling walked for a long time without reaching its end.
"Ghost Elder, have you noticed anything unusual?"
Without turning his head, Yu Tianling questioned Gui Mei, who was following beside him. But no answer came for a long while. His heart gave a jolt, and he whipped around.
"Just as I thought."
Ghost Douluo, who had been following behind Yu Tianling all along, had disappeared at some unknown point. Clearly, something was definitely wrong here.
"Something that can make a Level 95 Titled Douluo disappear without a trace... There really might be something left behind by a god here, just as Father said."
With that thought, Yu Tianling grew increasingly curious about what lay at the end of the cave. Could there really be a Godhood Inheritance?
If that were truly the case, it would be wonderful. Without reaching god level, he would have no way to intervene in the war that would take place in the future.
After pressing on for another two hours, Yu Tianling finally reached the end.
A bronze door stood there, firmly shut. Everything indicated that secrets lay hidden behind it.
Yu Tianling circulated his Soul Power, but even with all his strength, he still could not push the door open.
"Could there be a mechanism to open it?"
With that thought, Yu Tianling began searching the surroundings. Suddenly, while examining the far left side of the bronze door, he discovered a recess.
"Hmm? Why does this pattern look so much like my storage ring?"
The more he looked, the more alike they seemed. Yu Tianling immediately took the storage ring off his hand and placed it in the recess.
"Rumble! Crack!"
The instant he put it in, the bronze door suddenly moved, producing a tremendous noise as dust flew into the air.
Little by little, a gap appeared in the bronze door. As time passed, it grew wider and wider.
Yu Tianling waited patiently. Once the opening was wide enough for one person to pass through, he darted through it.
"Boom!"
"Clink..."
Unexpectedly, as Yu Tianling entered, the bronze door slammed shut. Then the storage ring was ejected from the inner side of the door with a crisp sound.
But Yu Tianling paid it no attention. At that moment, the sight before him had utterly stunned him.
This place was actually just like a small world. There was a sun here, along with mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts. Everything existed in peaceful harmony, like a secluded paradise beyond the mortal world.
What surprised Yu Tianling even more was the stairway to heaven that suddenly appeared before him. Its end was nowhere in sight, as though it led straight above the sun.
"Could this really be a place of divine inheritance? My parents must have come in here back then, so why didn't either of them undergo the godhood trials?"
Yu Tianling looked at the stairway and sank into thought.
If someone said his mother's talent was ordinary and she was not qualified to inherit godhood, Yu Tianling would have no argument. But his father, Yu Xuanyu, had absolutely counted among the continent's greatest geniuses back then. How could he have been unqualified to inherit it?
"Forget it. I'll go up and see what's there first!"
After pondering for a long time without finding an answer, Yu Tianling decisively stopped thinking about it and chose to take a look himself first.
After putting his ring back on, Yu Tianling circulated his Soul Power and charged up the steps.
"Hmm? This is very similar to that trial on Sea God Island."
"Interesting."
The moment he stepped onto the stairs, Yu Tianling distinctly felt pressure bearing down on him. It instantly reminded him of Sea God Island. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he continued charging upward.
One hundred steps.
Two hundred steps.
Eight hundred steps.
Just like that, he passed the first eight hundred steps before Yu Tianling began to feel the pressure. With no other choice, he used Martial Soul Possession, then flapped his wings and sped up once more, running upward.