Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 165

Volume 6 Chapter 165: Jiazi Cave, Divine Plate of Inheritance (Part 2)

The disk, covered with thousands of Mythical Beasts, didn’t seem special to Dongfang Qingling, Wang Zegang, Bai Qingfu, Zhang Ningmei, and the Tian brothers; they thought it was just a decorative stone plate. They felt it was strange to see such a stone plate in the empty cave, but Xu Qingfan noticed the phoenix pattern carved on it and felt a faint stir in his heart, unable to help wanting to step closer to examine it, while others still felt nothing special.

The strongest reactions undoubtedly came from Bai Yu and the ancient demon beasts that Xu Qingfan had given to the disciples.

Bai Yu stared blankly at a spot on the stone slab, then seemed to lose himself. His eyes became empty as he walked toward the formation plate, and the spirit pets cheered, rushing toward it. Meanwhile, Little Black and other demon beasts looked at the formation plate with a mix of envy and respect.

Although Xu Qingfan didn’t understand why Bai Yu and the spirit pets acted this way, he felt he should not let them get close to the formation plate.

"Bai Yu, don’t act rashly!"

Xu Qingfan said to stop him.

"Little Yellow, Little White, Little Green, Little Gray! Come back!"

Bai Yu was lost, Ting’er was confused, and Zhang Ningmei tried to stop the four spirit pets by herself.

However, no matter how much Xu Qingfan and Zhang Ningmei tried to stop him, Bai Yu continued to walk straight toward the stone slab, and the four spirit pets had already leaped to the edge of the slab.

"Ding…"

Just as the four spirit pets were about to stand on the formation plate, a melodious ancient bell sound suddenly echoed in the cave. At that critical moment, Xu Qingfan took out the "Five Spirit Bell" and struck it repeatedly.

The "Five Spirit Bell" has a power that deeply shakes the heart. Under the sound of the "Five Spirit Bell," both Bai Yu and the four spirit pets trembled, their confused expressions returning to clarity.

Xu Qingfan thought it was something mysterious about the stone disc that attracted Bai Yu and the four spirit pets. He rang the "Five Spirit Bell" to momentarily block them and planned to stop them during this time. However, after their minds cleared, Bai Yu looked around with a confused gaze, as if he didn’t know what he had just done. Meanwhile, the four spirit pets hurriedly moved away from the stone disc, as if they feared coming into contact with it. Despite this, their eyes were still filled with eagerness as they looked at the stone disc.

Seeing Bai Yu and the four spirit pets act this way, Xu Qingfan was stunned. What secrets does this stone disc hide? Why did Bai Yu and the four spirit pets approach it uncontrollably upon first seeing it, but then hurriedly avoid it once their minds cleared?

Xu Qingfan frowned and thought for a moment. When he saw Bai Yu looking at the stone disc again, his gaze gradually became confused once more. With a furrowed brow, Xu Qingfan tapped Bai Yu on the back, and "Flourish Qi" circulated within Bai Yu, bringing his mind back from confusion.

"Do not look at this stone disc any longer. It has the power to control your thoughts. Do not act recklessly until I have checked it thoroughly."

Carrying his doubts about the stone disc, Xu Qingfan slowly walked towards it while Bai Yu anxiously responded.

As Xu Qingfan approached the stone disc, Little Gray, Little Yellow, Little White, and Little Green all called out several times, seemingly trying to stop Xu Qingfan from getting any closer. However, due to Xu Qingfan’s strong relationship with their owner and his overwhelming strength, they roared in protest but did not take any action.

When he was about ten feet away from the stone disc, it showed no energy fluctuations. Yet, Xu Qingfan felt an unsettling sensation. He unconsciously circulated Spirit Qi throughout his body, remaining on guard as his vast consciousness reached out to investigate the stone disc.

However, while Xu Qingfan’s consciousness was observing the stone disc, an unexpected event occurred.

In Xu Qingfan’s eyes, among the many carved Mythical Beasts on the stone plate, the phoenix carving in the right corner suddenly grew larger. As the phoenix grew bigger in Xu Qingfan’s sight, it blocked his view, and he could not help but lose sight of his surroundings. It was as if the stone plate had endured countless years of storms and changes, and under its influence, time seemed to become a blurred shadow, flowing quickly around Xu Qingfan, making him feel as though he had entered another time and space.

After a while, Xu Qingfan felt clarity return as the phoenix’s illusion faded away. He could finally see, but the scene before him had suddenly changed. Xu Qingfan found himself in a strange world, where the land was barren, the sky was dark, and great bolts of lightning fell from somewhere in the sky, reducing mountains to ashes.

In this world, there were no familiar animals, nor any signs of humans. Occasionally, powerful Mythical Beasts would rush by. These Mythical Beasts included the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the Kylin, and many others that Xu Qingfan had never seen before. These unfamiliar Mythical Beasts seemed to be faintly visible on the stone plate.

Besides the occasional sighting of Mythical Beasts, there were also many humanoid races. Some of these races were familiar to Xu Qingfan from ancient texts; they were members of the Shura Clan. The others he had never seen before must have been extinct Shura tribes.

Where Xu Qingfan stood, in the barren world, was surprisingly lively. A large number of Mythical Beasts flew in and lay on the ground, as if they were attending an unprecedented gathering. Among them, there was an air of nervousness.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qingfan suddenly understood that, under the stone plate’s influence, his mind had entered its memories.

Realizing this, Xu Qingfan felt a jolt of fear, furrowing his brow. First, the scene he saw was from ancient times. The mysterious stone plate must have drawn him here for a reason, and he feared that a great ancient secret would soon unfold before him. Second, he did not expect that, as a master of the Astral Projection Stage, his mind could be so easily pulled in without his awareness, clearly indicating the power of the stone plate far exceeded human imagination. Third, he wondered how long his mind would be trapped in this memory. If this secret took millions of years to reveal, would he have to stay here for that long? Though a million years might just feel like a moment in reality, constantly watching these rare Mythical Beasts could become tiresome.

Xu Qingfan tried to move his body but found he could not move at all. After many failed attempts, he decided to stop trying and instead focus on watching the unfolding scene. Since his body could not move, the secret must be happening right there.

Just then, a powerful earthquake shook everything. The sky trembled as fierce winds blew, clouds gathered and dispersed, the ground cracked, and mountains collapsed. For a moment, it felt like the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing, even the mighty Mythical Beasts were struggling to stand firm.

What Xu Qingfan saw was just a memory, so there were no bumps in the scene, but witnessing this made him terrified. How could such a powerful earthquake happen? In comparison, the earthquakes of Xu Qingfan’s time were almost non-existent.

However, the Mythical Beasts seemed to be used to it. After waiting for a long time, when the earthquake stopped, they crawled back to the ground. Yet, their expressions showed even more tension.

Just like that, it was unclear how much time had passed, but more and more Mythical Beasts joined in. In the end, tens of thousands of powerful kylins gathered here. But as more and more Mythical Beasts joined, Xu Qingfan became numb to the shocking scene.

During this time, there were probably over ten terrifying earthquakes, each one stronger than the last. Eventually, it felt as if it was no longer just an earthquake, but the whole world was shaking.

Xu Qingfan doubted that under such strong and frequent earthquakes, it wouldn’t be long before the entire Shenzhou Continent would be torn apart.

At the same time, there were two things that made Xu Qingfan extremely puzzled. Although more and more demon beasts joined, they did not gather in a circle. Instead, they all faced south, and those arriving also landed from the north, as if something frightening was in the south.

In the south, there was a magnificent highland. Even with the strong earthquakes happening constantly, this highland not only did not collapse but seemed to grow larger in Xu Qingfan’s eyes. He had a gut feeling that this highland might pose a problem, but at that moment, he was lost in a memory and could not use the "Sky Eye Skill" or send out his consciousness to investigate the highland. He could only watch as it grew larger before him, connecting the ends of the earth.

The way those Mythical Beasts looked toward the south made Xu Qingfan feel that the source of their fear and unease was this ever-growing highland!

After some more time, the highland not only connected the earth from north to south, but it also covered the sky, as if the entire southern world of Shenzhou Continent was beneath this highland.

During this time, the Mythical Beasts had gathered, and the Shura clans joined them in large numbers. At that moment, there were tens of thousands of Mythical Beasts and millions of Shura Clan members where Xu Qingfan was. Such an incredibly powerful force had come together like never before in history, but whether it was the Shura Clan or the Mythical Beasts, the unease on their faces became even more apparent.

Once again, the ground shook and the sky seemed to fall, revealing something that filled Xu Qingfan with dread.