AGM 373 - Too Weak.
Irreversible!
Qin Wentian’s heart shuddered violently as he lost himself in contemplation of what he’d just seen.
So there was another more terrifying Demonic Divinity Sacrificial Transformation Art that would only appear after one had mastered the third level of the Fiend Transformation Art. The Azure Emperor must have missed out on this all those years ago. Maybe after obtaining the Fiend Transformation Art, he’d taken it out from this place before he started cultivating it. By the time he reached the third level, he had already lost his opportunity, ultimately missing out on the Demonic Divinity Sacrificial Transformation Art.
This transformation art was too tyrannical in nature. With the chant of demonic divinities, the ancient will stretches across the skies, forming a connection with the divinities from the eight directions, and transforming a human into a demon. Not a mere demonic beast, but rather the true soul of a demonic divinity that may even evolve into the actual divinity itself in the future.
This divine beast, Vermilion Bird, was a demonic divinity from one of the eight directions, becoming the totem of Grand Xia.
Qin Wentian didn’t know what to feel in his heart. He gently stroked the wings of the Purgatory Vermilion Bird as he said quietly, “This art is too heaven-defying, allowing humanity to transform completely into a demon. By cultivating a true divinity soul, it allows the user to possess unquestionable might after the transformation. But wanting me to transform into a demon, can I really still proceed with this?”
Thinking of this, Qin Wentian shook his head as he gazed at the Purgatory Vermilion Bird. “Don’t tell me you wish for me to transform into a demon so we can soar through the skies and travel the world together, hm?”
An expression of being wronged appeared on the countenance of the Vermilion Bird, it continued gently rubbing against Qin Wentian’s chest with its head.
It was as though Qin Wentian could understand the thoughts of the Purgatory Vermilion Bird as he calmly stated, “I don’t blame you, this Demonic Divinity Sacrificial Transformation Art is truly an exceedingly terrifying demonic art. If there was someone really willing to cultivate it, their power would reach such overwhelming heights, he’d be feared by all those underneath the Heavens. But sadly, I’m unwilling to do so. I feel it would be wasted on me. Maybe we should have gone to some other location to hunt for the other legacies.”
The Purgatory Vermilion Bird let out a low cry, while Qin Wentian continued, “Well, I might be unwilling to discard my humanity, but since my destiny is connected to this art, I’ll still learn it all the same. One day, if I should meet a fated successor in the future, I’ll pass it on to them.”
After which, Qin Wentian sat down cross-legged as he studied the demonic divinity chant.
Immersed in his cultivation, he soon forgot the flow of time. And after a long period of contemplation, a low mysterious sound issued out of Qin Wentian’s throat. The sound was low, but thick and powerful, as though it hailed from the primordial era. It wasn’t the sound of a human, yet there was a penetrative quality to it that could connect the Heavens and Earth, even causing the entire hidden palace to shake violently. Boundless amounts of demonic qi was concentrated here, with Qin Wentian at the core of it.
In Qin Wentian’s body, the entirety of his blood was surging with an ever-increasing might. His sleeping bloodline even showed signs of being awakened.
Rumbling sounds echoed as Qin Wentian’s blood circulated frenziedly, unleashing a terrifying sound. The reverberations echoed throughout the palace, as the Purgatory Vermilion Bird sat up and issued a long screech. Its eyes were shining with a bright light, filled with an expression of something akin to shock and fear while it stared at Qin Wentian.
The surging of his blood continued as it began to flow in a terrifying spiral, madly revolving through his body. Abruptly, the terrifying bloodline within his body manifested the silhouette of a gigantic, ancient primordial demonic beast within. The demonic beast opened its eyes, and a dreadfulness beyond reason could be seen lurking within its depths.
Who had used the demonic divinity chant to awaken the soul of the ancient primordial bloodline?
An unmatched overwhelming pressure blasted out, the Purgatory Vermilion Bird was forced to the ground, struggling to keep its head up. In its eyes, there was something more than shock. It was awe.
That suppression pressure was too terrifying.
“Too weak!”
A low, droning voice echoed in Qin Wentian’s heart as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. The surging blood in his body returned to its former calm as though nothing had happened.
Suddenly, Qin Wentian opened his eyes as a terrifying demonic light gleamed within. A sheen of perspiration could clearly be seen on his forehead.
“That feeling disappeared…”
Qin Wentian murmured to himself, he had clearly heard a voice resounding from his inner heart—too weak…Afterwards, the ancient primordial demonic beast returned to its slumber once more, as though Qin Wentian’s strength didn’t have the qualifications to control it. He was simply too weak.
“To think that this Demonic Divinity Sacrificial Transformation Art could stir up the power of my bloodline. It seems that my suspicions were correct, one of my bloodlines is that of an ancient primordial beast. Not only that, it must have been of a supreme grade, if not it wouldn't have been awakened by the demonic divinity chant. At the very least, my bloodline should certainly be at the level of a demonic divinity or even higher.” Qin Wentian mused, as he found himself growing increasingly curious about his background. Back then in the secret realm of Divine Inscriptions, when he was at the boundary of life and death, he had activated his bloodline once, yet even after such a long time, he could still only control a wisp of its true strength.
Embedded in his dual bloodlines, there was unlimited potential that was only waiting for him to excavate it. Regretfully, he was still too weak.
Even combat prowess at the pinnacle of Yuanfu was too weak?
Then what cultivation realm could attain the lowest qualifications necessary to unlock it?
Heavenly Dipper? Or the fabled Celestial Phenomenon Realm?
Qin Wentian was absorbed in his contemplation, when booming sounds thundered and the entire hidden palace began to sink into the ground.
Qin Wentian’s eyes flashed as he stared up at the sky. A beautiful, yet terrifying light cascaded downwards, its beautiful rays landing on the palace. Qin Wentian studied the immense Vermilion Bird hovering in the air, the soul of an ancient divinity controlling the Vermilion Bird Formation. It was as though that was the true soul of the Vermilion Bird.
Ten millions filaments of light shot out, the entire palace transformed into a flash of golden light, before turning into dust scattered to the wind. Qin Wentian continued standing there, it seemed as though the Vermilion Bird Formation was undergoing another change.
“If your destiny is to become that of a demon, you can then control the true soul of the Vermilion Bird Divinity, and everything in Grand Xia shall be under your control.
A voice of temptation sounded out in his mind, causing Qin Wentian’s heart to thump in amazement. His gaze turned sharp as he stared at the immense Vermilion Bird hovering in the air.
The Demonic Divinity Sacrificial Transformation Art uses the demonic divinity chant to gather the demonic qi from the other demonic divinities situated in the eight directions. But in the Vermilion Bird Formation, the only divinity here was the Vermilion Bird. If he was willing to forsake humanity and accept the transformation, his will could stretch across the Heavens and borrow its power.
Qin Wentian then glanced at the Purgatory Vermilion Bird near him. His gaze turned gentle as he rubbed its head, lightly whispering, “So it turns out that the ancient luck you bestowed on me was this heaven-defying. Sadly, I’m unwilling to become a demon.”
The Purgatory Vermilion Bird held warmth in its eyes as it gently shook its head, indicating that it didn’t mind his choice. If Qin Wentian was unwilling to become a demon, it wouldn’t force him.
The outside spectators felt shock growing in their hearts. They saw that the ten contenders had already re-emerged and the place where they found their legacies had already been totally destroyed. In fact, the Vermilion Bird Formation changed yet again—there were now only a total of thirty-six remaining.
These thirty-six contenders were obviously many times stronger compared to when they first entered. Especially for the ten contenders that found a legacy—even the demeanor and aura they exuded had greatly changed.
“For the next three years, there will only be thirty-six positions on the Heavenly Fate Rankings.”
At this moment, Old Man Tianji spoke. Everything was as he had earlier prophesied—the destiny of Grand Xia was changing.
This indicated that the thirty-six contenders in front of them would be the rankers on the upcoming Heavenly Fate Ranking—the top thirty-six Yuanfu Realm cultivators in the entire Grand Xia.
If someone else wanted to enter the rankings, they would have to defeat one of them to take their place.
“After Chen Wang obtained his legacy, his aura has grown even more terrifying.”
The gazes of the crowd shifted over to Chen Wang, only to see him sitting in a cross-legged posture. The Great Solar Energy was visibly circulating as arcs of energy around his entire body. The solar energy from the sun cascaded downwards, manifesting as the solar star on his back.
“Chen Wang was already so powerful before this. Who could even be his match now?”
The crowd murmured in their hearts, in the ranking battle this time around, Chen Wang should have the highest probability to be ranked first. There shouldn’t be anyone able to contend against him.
Other than Chen Wang, others such as Shi Potian, Zhan Chen and the rest all had a ridiculous amount of luck concentrated on them.
This ranking battle was extraordinary, and unprecedented. All ten of them gained a concentration of immense amounts of ancient luck.
“Look at Qin Wentian, the demonic qi exuding from him isn’t as much as before, but why do I feel fear even when spectating from outside? But regardless, Chen Wang is still stronger, and he won’t spare him.” The eyes of the crowd also momentarily drifted to the Purgatory Vermilion Bird hovering behind Qin Wentian’s back, taken aback by its majesty.
Qin Wentian had safely exited the cave dwelling he was in earlier. Not only that, his aura perceptibly strengthened, his Purgatory Vermilion Bird also incarnated into a true body and he was one of the ten contenders that found a legacy.
Now that there were only thirty-six contenders left, the next test would be direct combat. Qin Wentian would undoubtedly die.
The formation world changed yet again, condensing upon itself and becoming smaller in scale as it underwent a total transformation. In the centre of the world, a platform rose up in the air, shining with resplendent Astral Light . It was in the shape of a Vermilion Bird—the formation world was no more.
This was the Vermilion Bird Arena platform, to decide the rankings of the remaining contenders.
Passion heated the spectators’ hearts. They knew they would be witnessing a ranking battle that was unprecedented in the history of Grand Xia.
For thousands of years, things had remained unchanged. Maybe what Old Man Tianji had said was true—the destiny of Grand Xia was currently changing.
Old Man Tianji inclined his head as he looked at the hovering Vermilion Bird Arena platform in the air. His eyes widened in shock, with a strange glow flashing in them.
For so many years, the Vermilion Bird Formation was a place where the transcendent powers had no way to break it. And today, there was actually a variation in the laws of the formation. As to what would happen in the near future, even Old Man Tianji had no way of discerning it.
“The thirty-six contenders have finally been revealed. However, everyone should take a break first before continuing.” At this moment, a voice echoed out, causing the gazes of everyone to turn in its direction. Over in that area, a middle-aged man floated in the air, and behind him was a group of young men, all exuding an extraordinary demeanor.
“Since all of you have stepped into the Ancient Kingdom, we consider you all as our guests. Naturally, we must receive our guests properly by allowing the contenders to take a break before they continue with the ranking battle,” the middle-aged man slowly spoke, his words causing dumbfounded expressions to appear on the faces of the spectators.
“Guests?”
Since they were the guests, didn’t it mean that this group of people were the hosts?
People who were survivors from the ancient dynasty of Grand Xia?!
Qin Wentian’s gaze shifted over, Ouyang Kuangsheng had told him once before that the Nine Grand Clans of ancient Grand Xia would never have allowed any survivors after their rebellion. The identity of these people might not be as they claimed.
Or maybe the upper echelons from the major transcendent powers knew of some information relating to their origins.
Yet, they were extremely close-lipped regarding this matter, strongly preferring it to remain forever hidden in cloaked obscurity!