"Lord Ancestral God, this way please."
Luo Feng bowed slightly and made a "please" gesture, leading Han Li to the back of the broken statue. When the surrounding clansmen saw this, they all bowed and opened up a path.
The two of them hadn't gone far when the other clansmen on the plaza shouted in unison.
"Farewell, Lord Ancestral God!"
Their voices were abnormally loud and uniform. They repeated this several times until Han Li and Luo Feng's figures gradually disappeared into the forest behind them.
During this entire process, Han Li didn't look back, nor did he slow down his footsteps.
Following a winding path paved with stone slabs in the forest, the two of them arrived in front of a simple and unadorned hall that was suspended on top of a mountain.
This hall was no more than thirty meters tall. Compared to ordinary palaces, it wasn't very tall. The walls were pitch-black and seemed to have been built using materials from the island's reefs. It was covered in mottled traces left behind by the corrosion of time. However, the paint on the doors, windows, and pillars were still very bright. It was obvious that they were regularly cleaned and repainted.
The small square in front of the hall and the stone steps under the corridor had been swept clean. Not even a few fallen leaves had fallen.
Han Li raised his head and looked at the top of the hall door. He saw a black horizontal board hanging there with three ancient words written in gold paint: "Ancestral God Pavilion".
Luo Feng quickly walked forward and bowed respectfully. Then, he pushed open the door with a creak and invited Han Li into the pavilion.
After entering the hall, Han Li saw a black stone statue that was as tall as a real person. Just by looking at its expression, it did look somewhat similar to him.
"Since there's only the two of us here, I'll be straightforward.
I'm not the Ancestral God that you speak of. My appearance here today is just an accident. "
Han Li looked at it for a moment before withdrawing his gaze. He turned to look at the scholarly man behind him and went straight to the point.
When Luo Feng heard this, a trace of fear flashed across his face. He hurriedly bowed to the ground and said:
"Lord Ancestral God, if it weren't for your true body descending today, our Wu Meng Island wouldn't have been able to escape the fate of extermination. You must not abandon us!
Our entire clan has been devoutly worshipping you for the past ten thousand years. We hope that you will continue to protect us! "
"If those people hadn't bumped into me today, I wouldn't have made a move. You don't have to be grateful.
As the Patriarch, you know very well whether or not I am your Ancestor God. Don't think that I will help you block this disaster. "Han Li said coldly.
Luo Feng's body trembled. At first, he revealed a look of fear. Then, he helplessly smiled bitterly.
"Senior, it doesn't really matter who you are. As long as you agree to stay behind as an Ancestor God and help us overcome this crisis, we'll do everything in our power to provide you with all the cultivation resources you require."
"Tell me first. Who exactly is that Universe Enlightened Ancestral God you speak of?"
There was a slight change in Han Li's expression. He did not reply immediately. Instead, he suddenly asked about the Ancestor God.
Luo Feng was slightly startled when he heard this, but he still carefully explained, "The Ancestor God we worship is an ancestor of our clan who became an Immortal hundreds of thousands of years ago. He has been protecting our clan for generations. He is the foundation of our clan's foothold in this place."
"In other words, the foreign races that invaded you today also worship an Ancestor God?
Could it be that the layer of white light enshrouding their bodies has something to do with the protection provided by their ancestral gods? "Han Li asked after a brief moment of contemplation.
"That's right. However, their Icy Crystal Race's Ancestor Han Qiu was only an Earth Immortal who had just cultivated to the Great Dao over a hundred thousand years ago. His strength is at the bottom of the Ancestor Gods I know. He was even defeated by our Ancestor God," Luo Feng said hatefully.
"What's an Earth Immortal?" Han Li raised his eyebrows.
"You don't know about Earth Immortals … Could it be that you just ascended from a lower realm?" This time, it was Luo Feng's turn to be surprised.
Han Li didn't answer. He just looked at Luo Feng calmly.
Luo Feng tactfully didn't say anything more. Instead, he explained, "The so-called Earth Immortals are Immortals who cultivate by absorbing the power of faith from the believers under their protection. Generally speaking, the larger the protected area, the more believers there will be, and the faster their cultivation speed will be, and the stronger their abilities will be."
"Tell me about the Icy Crystal Race." Han Li nodded thoughtfully and changed the topic.
Although he was quite interested in the Ancestor Gods and Earth Immortals, he didn't plan to get to the bottom of it.
"Senior, the Icy Crystal Race is a small race at the edge of the Black Wind Sea, just like our race. The island they reside on is relatively close to our Black Meng Island, and they've always had many conflicts with our race over resources and many other issues.
When our clan was at its peak, they naturally didn't dare to act rashly. Now that they see our Ancestor God in a deep sleep, they covet it, "Luo Feng replied respectfully.
After hearing this, Han Li didn't rush to speak again. Instead, he fell into deep thought.
Luo Feng naturally didn't dare to say anything more. He just stood at the side with his head lowered.
"What's the distance between the Black Wind Sea and the Northern Frost Celestial Realm?" Han Li asked after a while.
"This … as far as I know, the Black Wind Sea is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frost Celestial Realm, but it's just a remote place.
Oh right, this is a partial map of the Black Wind Sea for your reference. "
After a slight hesitation, Luo Feng took out a walnut-sized white bead and handed it to Han Li.
Han Li took the bead and closed his eyes. He sent his spirit sense into the bead.
A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes. A complicated look flashed across his eyes. After pondering for a long time, he opened his mouth and said,
After a while, he said, "I can protect your Black Meng Island, but I have to say something first."
"Senior, please say it." Luo Feng was overjoyed and said hurriedly.
"You're right. I just arrived in the Celestial Realm today, and I didn't go through the Immortal Platform.
If you have any misgivings about this, I won't hold it against you. Just treat it as if nothing happened. "Han Li didn't hide anything and said frankly.
"Of course not!
I'm already very grateful that Senior can tell me the truth. "Luo Feng waved his hand and said.
"Since that's the case, you can call me Ancestor God in front of people in the future to calm them down.
But in private, you can call me Senior Liu.
If the Cold Crystal Race dares to invade again, I'll take action. Don't forget what you promised, "Han Li said indifferently.
Luo Feng was overjoyed and said, "Of course, of course …"
"Alright, arrange a quiet place for me to stay. I need to rest," Han Li nodded and said.
"Senior Liu, please come with me."
Luo Feng immediately led Han Li through the inner hall of the Ancestor God Pavilion and toward the backyard.
After leaving the backyard, the two passed through a bamboo forest shrouded in purple mist and arrived in front of a small courtyard with white walls and black tiles.
"This courtyard is where I went into seclusion when I reached a bottleneck in my cultivation.
No one will come to disturb you, so you can stay here without worry, Senior, "Luo Feng said.
Han Li looked at the courtyard in front of him and nodded. He walked into the courtyard first.
… …
About half a day later.
In a deep blue sea tens of thousands of miles away from Black Meng Island, there was a white island that was hundreds of meters tall.
Its area was about the same as Black Meng Island, but the island was very long and narrow. It looked like a slender willow leaf. The island's vegetation was sparse, and there were exposed greyish-white rocks everywhere on the island, reflecting the sunlight.
On the island, white domed buildings were densely distributed according to the terrain of the island. The higher one went up the mountain, the fewer buildings there were, and the more sparsely they were distributed.
When they reached the highest point of the island, there were almost no buildings. There was only a shuttle-shaped plaza that was hundreds of meters long built along the ridge of the mountain.
The ground of the plaza was engraved with arc-shaped or ring-shaped veined patterns. They were connected to each other, forming an extremely exquisite and complicated pattern formation.
At the center of the formation stood a greyish-white statue that was more than 100 meters tall. It was burly and wore armor that was carved with exquisite patterns. Its face was also covered by a hollowed-out mask. Two curved fangs extended from the sides of the mask, and its slightly curled long hair draped over its back. It looked exceptionally handsome.
At this moment, there was a circle of Blue Crystal people kneeling on the ground around the statue. All of them had their heads lowered and their arms crossed. They were silently chanting, carrying out some kind of ritual.
After a while, two balls of blue light suddenly shone under the mask of the greyish-white statue. Immediately after, a buzzing voice came from it.
"How did it go … Eh? Why don't I see Tuha?"
A somewhat bloated Blue Crystal elder stepped forward with a sorrowful expression. He cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Lord Ancestral God, previously …"
After a while, he lifted his sleeve to wipe the sweat on his forehead and said, "That's roughly what happened. Patriarch Tuha and a few elders have already died in battle.
Lord Ancestral God, you must seek justice for us. "
After a moment of silence, buzzing voices came from the greyish-white statue again.
"You said that Roman's true body has descended … That's absolutely impossible!
If he had really recovered from his serious injuries 10,000 years ago, given his temperament, he definitely wouldn't have let you guys escape and come back.
Moreover, according to your description, that person didn't even release his protective power. "
The Blue Crystal elder asked carefully, "Lord Ancestral God, since that's the case, do you need us to regroup our forces and attack Wu Meng Island again?"
"There's no need. Although that person isn't Roman, he can easily kill Tuha and the others. Naturally, he's not someone to be trifled with. If you guys attack again, won't you be courting death?
Withdraw first. I have my own arrangements for the rest. "The blue light on the statue flickered, and the buzzing voices came again.
"Understood." The bloated Blue Crystal elder immediately bowed respectfully and retreated with his clansmen.
After he left, a voice suddenly came from the statue. It seemed to be muttering to itself.
"Hehe … Hulu, Hu Tu, Lu Kun, since you guys also have your eyes on the fat piece of meat that is Wu Meng Island and want a piece of it, you naturally have to put in some effort as well.
However, that thing can only belong to me alone. After all, whether or not my next advancement will be successful is completely dependent on that thing …. "