Chapter 2697 - 2698: Ancestor Spirit

According to He Nanqing’s arrangements, Feng Yuan waited in front of the tower-like stockade building at the center of Li Mountain Village, while Veronia looked at him curiously and asked,

"She didn’t say what it actually is?"

"No, but she said it’s a secret I’m allowed to know, though I still don’t know what it actually is."

Feng Yuan shook his head slightly, looking rather helpless as he spoke. He believed He Nanqing wasn’t just making things up. That secret might really not be some especially top-class hidden matter, but what Feng Yuan couldn’t quite figure out was why He Nanqing was so sure that secret could definitely represent that era?

After waiting for quite a while, Feng Yuan finally saw the person they were waiting for. It was a middle-aged man, with a Norick Brocade Cat at his side. Moving on all fours like a small tiger, the Norick Brocade Cat followed behind the Beastmaster at a pace that was both slow and swift, yet full of graceful steps.

Feng Yuan stared at that Norick Brocade Cat with some surprise. This Norick Brocade Cat had been raised extremely well. Feng Yuan hadn’t forgotten that Dou Yanlan’s Cotton also belonged to the Norick Brocade Cat line.

Once Cotton reached Legendary Level, it would naturally be able to take on this appearance as well. Of course, whether cat-type Spirit Beasts were being properly raised could basically be guessed just by looking at them, because their fur directly reflected the level of energy activity and other things within their bodies.

What surprised Feng Yuan was that this Norick Brocade Cat’s cultivation was simply too good—so good that it somewhat exceeded the normal level of its peers. It wasn’t that Feng Yuan looked down on the Beastmasters of Li Mountain Village, but this was an issue of talent.

Normally speaking, people with talent like Dou Yanlan and the others were already ranked at the forefront among their peers. It was precisely because of this that, as long as no accidents happened, their strength would also far surpass that of their contemporaries.

This meant they could obtain more resources, of course not including those with truly deep backgrounds.

However, whether it was the Beastmasters stationed in Cha Mu Town or the resources that Cha Mu Town could provide, none of it could really be called top-tier. Normally, Spirit Beasts raised as well as this Norick Brocade Cat in front of him would only appear with people like Dou Yanlan and the others; the Beastmasters of Li Mountain Village shouldn’t be like this.

Of course, if one really wanted to, it wasn’t impossible. As long as the resources for cultivating multiple Spirit Beasts were concentrated on a single Spirit Beast, it wasn’t impossible to let it grow to a level comparable to the Spirit Beasts of those leading their peers.

But the thing is, those people’s Spirit Beasts were basically all at that level. The consequence of concentrating resources like this was that only one could reach the top tier, while their other Spirit Beasts might even lag behind their peers.

After all, the resources they could obtain for Spirit Beast cultivation were limited; it was impossible to raise all of their Spirit Beasts extremely well.

Feng Yuan believed that the Beastmaster in front of him would definitely not do something so unworthy of the cost. In that case, what was going on with his Norick Brocade Cat? Could it be related to the secret?

The other party had no idea what Feng Yuan was thinking. After meeting and confirming Feng Yuan’s identity, he directly said,

"What you want to know, I can show you, but not here. Come with me."

As he spoke, he turned around and walked back the way he came. Feng Yuan looked at him with some confusion and hurried to catch up, asking as they walked,

"Can you at least tell me what it is? He Nanqing said that secret is closely tied to the Divine Chaos Period. So what exactly is this secret?"

The Beastmaster stopped in his tracks, turned, and stared at Feng Yuan for a while before saying with an inscrutable expression,

"Ancestor Spirit."

"Ancestor Spirit?"

Feng Yuan was stunned. He had seen this term in archival definitions of the era prior to the Divine Chaos Period in the Tea Wood Town Area, but at the time he thought it must be some strange rumor. Yet from the look of things now, it didn’t seem that simple?

"You seem to know?"

The man narrowed his eyes, suspicion arising. Ancestor Spirits counted as a sort of not-so-secret secret in the Tea Wood Town Area. Normally, outsiders couldn’t possibly know about them.

"I saw records of Ancestor Spirit sightings in the archives of the Wensi Era. This... shouldn’t be the same thing, right?"

Feng Yuan had no idea the other man was becoming suspicious, and replied quite casually. After all, in his view, it was highly unlikely the two could be linked.

After staring at Feng Yuan for a moment, the man fell silent for a bit before saying,

"You really do your homework. Indeed, the prototype of Ancestor Spirits was born in the Wensi Era and fully took shape during the Divine Chaos Period, which in turn caused a chaos of faith. Later, under the suppression of the Saintess Cen Yue, the chaotic beliefs born from Ancestor Spirits gradually began to end, and during the Chengqi Period this chaos was completely put to rest."

"The entire Divine Chaos Period changed drastically because of this so-called Ancestor Spirit? That can’t be right. If such a special Spiritual Body as an Ancestor Spirit really existed, Long Boduo shouldn’t be unaware of it."

Stunned for a moment, Feng Yuan truly hadn’t expected that Ancestor Spirits were not just rumors but actually existed, even to the point of influencing a period of cultural change in the Tea Wood Town Area.

"It’s not a Spiritual Body, but... a very special kind of Ultimate Move."

The Beastmaster hesitated for a moment before speaking. In fact, even now, Cha Mu Town still didn’t fully understand the root of Ancestor Spirits. They had no idea why something as special as an Ancestor Spirit would appear, but they already knew the mechanism of its formation and the method of producing it. At the very least, there was no need to reenact the chaos of the Divine Chaos Period.

"An Ultimate Move? There’s even something like that?"

Thinking back to his earlier speculations, Feng Yuan could still accept it. The powers of Spirit Beasts were bizarre to begin with; it was normal for some unexpected things to pop up sometimes. What he didn’t quite understand was why they named a Spirit Beast’s Ultimate Move ’Ancestor Spirit’?

"You’ll understand in a bit. This is also one of the reasons we’re stationed at Li Mountain Village."

The other man didn’t elaborate further, because he himself had no idea how to explain it. Anyway, he basically couldn’t understand the research reports on Ancestor Spirits from Cha Mu Town, let alone their principles.

Seeing that the other man was unwilling to talk more, Feng Yuan didn’t pry. As long as he knew what this thing was, that was enough; he didn’t think there was any need to dig down to the roots.

If it were some truly terrifying thing, there’s no way Cha Mu Town could have kept it secret for so many years. Don’t kid yourself—once it was used in combat outside, others would definitely learn of it.

What Feng Yuan didn’t know was how something that had influenced an entire era could remain hidden for so long without being discovered. Did that mean no one used it at all?

Following the Beastmaster forward, Feng Yuan arrived at the back mountain of Li Mountain Village, or rather, the entrance to Li Mountain itself. He hadn’t paid much attention to this place before, because it was the ancestral land of the Pinli Clan. Even if there were no guards at the entrance, Feng Yuan would never just barge in.

Not to mention the misunderstandings it might cause, this sort of place simply didn’t interest him.

"We’re going in there?"

Feng Yuan looked at the man suspiciously. If the other hadn’t bumped into multiple people along the way and greeted them so naturally, he would have suspected that this guy was an Imperial People plant who had infiltrated them.

Since Ancestor Spirits were said to be an Ultimate Move, there was no way they could be stored somewhere like an item. Feng Yuan also didn’t believe Ancestor Spirits could only be used inside the Pinli Ancestor Tomb. If that were really the case, this so-called secret would be completely meaningless.

Under normal circumstances, who the hell would go to a place like this to fight you?

"There’s a training ground inside. Don’t worry, this ancestral land isn’t that simple."

He glanced at Feng Yuan and immediately understood what he was thinking. Perhaps because of this attitude of Feng Yuan’s, he instead felt a slight goodwill toward him. Even if he didn’t care much about the Pinli Clan themselves, he really disliked the kind of people who ran wild in the place they were stationed.

"Training ground?"

Feng Yuan looked suspiciously at the stone door being pushed open. Just what was going on here? Why would there be a training ground inside the Pinli Ancestor Tomb? What exactly had the Tea Wood Town Area turned that place into?

Perhaps to avoid misunderstandings, the man explained while opening the passageway,

"This Ultimate Move, Ancestor Spirit, isn’t something you can learn just because you want to. Also, the Pinli Ancestor Tomb has undergone multiple expansions. The entire Li Mountain Village was even shifted outward because of it. The place we’re going to seems like it’s inside the ancestral mausoleum, but it’s actually the former sacrificial plaza."

Feng Yuan gave an awkward smile and said nothing. Previously, Li Mountain Village had given him an impression of being ancient and strict. Yet now, this Pinli Ancestor Tomb within Li Mountain gave him a rather subtle feeling.

There was nothing he could do about it; he simply couldn’t connect a fully outfitted Beast Tamer training facility inside Li Mountain with that solemn and dignified tomb. If not for the ancient structures and sacrificial platforms, this place would look more like some Beast Tamer battle arena hidden within the mountain.

Honestly, Feng Yuan didn’t really understand why the other man chose this place to tell him the secret of Ancestor Spirits. After all, there were perfectly obvious training grounds around Li Mountain Village itself.