Level 45.
The terrain here is completely different from the previous checkpoints. The sky is a color between bluish-white and grayish-gold, like an ancient painting faded by time.
An ancient and ethereal aura of law permeated the air!
It was as if the entire space was immersed in some ancient realm.
An ancient altar stands in the center of the mountain range, built of gray-white rock. The surface of the altar is covered with dense ancient runes, with faint dark golden patterns flowing slowly, like sleeping dragon veins.
Four figures stood silently around the altar.
The four individuals were of different shapes and sizes, their auras deep and restrained, like four ancient swords sheathed in their sheaths.
The person at the very front, with black hair and a black robe, had a cold and stern face. He stood there quietly, his gaze fixed on the altar, as if waiting for something.
They are the Five-Crown King.
Beside him stood three equally extraordinary figures, all peerless young prodigies of their generation!
A figure dressed in a blue robe, with a form as slender as bamboo, exuded a vibrant aura of Law of Life, as if emerging from an ancient tree.
I heard this person comes from Life Forbidden Zone!
A figure shrouded in a dark red cloak, his face obscured as if veiled by a layer of mist, surrounded by a faint moonlight, with only two strands of silver hair escaping from his hood.
On the right side of the altar, a figure shrouded in dense Dark Matter stood, with pitch-black mist swirling around him, even staining the gray-gold sky with a dark purple tinge.
That dark aura...
Unlike any other force in the Three Thousand Provinces, it was more like something seeping from the Gate of Darkness that Lin Fan shattered in the Demon God Secret Realm.
The Five-Crown King sensed something and slowly turned his head. His gaze fell on the approaching golden streak in the distance, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth. "They're here faster than I expected."
Lin Fan leaped down from the carriage and landed on a gray-white mountain ridge.
His gaze swept over the Five-Crown King, then landed on the three figures around the altar, finally settling on the figure shrouded in Dark Matter. He recognized that aura.
"People of the Dark Clan?"
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. " Five-Crown King, you've got a pretty eclectic selection of partners."
The Five-Crown King didn't respond, only saying calmly, "He's not from the Dark Clan; he's a descendant of the Immortal Ancient Remnant People, but close enough. This ancient path requires a different physique to open, and he's a member of the Darkness Imperial Clan, so he's indispensable."
Lin Fan did not ask any further questions.
But his gaze lingered on the dark figure for a couple more moments.
The dark figure was also looking at him. Although the face was obscured by the dense Dark Matter, Lin Fan could sense that the gaze carried an extremely subtle hostility and scrutiny.
Everyone's here.
The Five-Crown King spoke up, "Then let's begin."
He walked to the center of the altar, raised his right hand, and slowly pressed it onto the ancient rune at the very center of the altar's surface.
Buzz!
An ancient and distant voice came from the depths of the altar, like a colossal beast that had been sleeping for millennia slowly turning over in the depths.
The runes on the altar surface began to light up one by one, spreading outwards from the center, like an ancient star map being ignited.
The Five-Crown King said, "Opening the Legendary Ancient Road requires the joint sacrifice of cultivators with five different bloodlines: my Sword Physique, your Chaos Gods and Devils Body, the Void Physique of the Forbidden Lord of the Deadlands, the Dark Emperor Physique of the Darkness Imperial Clan, and the Longevity Physique..."
He glanced at the gray-robed man. "Lord of the Forbidden City, you go first."
The gray-robed man didn't say much. He simply walked to the other side of the altar, slashed his arm, blood splattering everywhere, and then placed his hand on the runes.
Buzz!
His aura began to resonate with the altar, causing the Law of Void to surge and a distorted spatial vortex to appear above the altar.
The Five-Crown King looked at the dark figure again. " Dark Emperor Physique, it's your turn."
The dark figure remained silent for a moment, then slowly walked to the third triangle of the altar and placed its hand on the rune.
Dark Matter surged from his body like a great black river, flowing into the depths of the altar.
The altar began to tremble, and the ancient runes emitted a deep, resonant sound.
Then it was Lin Fan's turn. He walked to the third spot on the altar, raised his hand and pressed it onto the rune, and Chaos Qi surged from his palm. Buzz!
Four distinct laws surged into the altar at the same moment!
The entire altar was trembling violently, and the ancient runes engraved on it seemed to be ignited.
Burning simultaneously from the four corners towards the center, a golden pillar of light began to condense at the center of the altar, piercing through the sky.
" The Legendary Ancient Road... is about to open."
The Five-Crown King's lips twitched slightly. "All that's missing is the Longevity Physique!"
However, just as the golden pillar of light was about to fully solidify...
Buzz!
A wave of law, more violent and darker than any of the previous auras, suddenly exploded from the dark figure.
He suddenly withdrew his hand from the rune.
Dark Matter surged wildly throughout his body, condensing into a hundred-foot-tall black claw, imbued with the Law of Destruction, and slammed down fiercely towards Lin Fan's head!