Chapter 2671 - 2647: Ancestor Ao Qin

Chapter 2671: Chapter 2647: Ancestor Ao Qin

Chapter 2647: Ancestor Ao Qin

At the forefront of the stone chamber, there was a cave constructed from stones. The entrance of the cave was so immense that one could not see their hand in front of their face, and even the light reflecting off the ice surface above could not penetrate into the stone cave.

"Please wait a moment, I’ll go announce your arrival," Ao Lin said to Lin Feng before proceeding into the dark cave.

Lin Feng nodded, watching as Ao Lin approached and then disappeared into the darkness of the cave, leaving him alone to examine the stone chamber. Was it typical for the ancestors of the Demon Clan to seclude themselves in such places? Moreover, he found it peculiar that the temperature, which had been quite low earlier, suddenly changed. This Ao Xue Hiding Fox Clan was indeed extraordinary.

Not long after, Ao Lin emerged, saying, "Let’s go, the ancestor wishes to meet you."

Following that, Lin Feng followed Ao Lin into the dark cave. Upon entering, he realized that the cave was not as dark as it appeared from the outside. There was a faint light inside that brightened the farther they went, as if it connected to the outside world.

After walking for a while, they arrived at an enclosed stone cavern, dozens of feet in diameter. The faint light was actually the ice fire burning on the stone walls, illuminating the cavern brightly. In the center of the stone chamber stood a large square stone platform, several tens of feet above the ground, where an elderly man with gray hair sat meditating, his eyes tightly closed, eyebrows naturally drooping to his chest, his beard also graying, indicating great age.

"You may go up," Ao Lin said to Lin Feng before turning and walking out.

Lin Feng looked at the stone platform towering nearly ten feet high in front of him and then leaped into the air to land beside the elderly man. He carefully observed the elder, unsure of the exact age but evidently similar to the venerables of Shuangcheng Island, appearing to be nearing the end of his lifespan. However, this elder seemed slightly younger than the old man on Shuangcheng Island.

Just as Lin Feng was about to greet him, he saw the elder open his eyes, and his pupils were a distinct icy blue, shimmering with a faint chill...

"That old undead fellow is still alive!"

Ao Qin’s aged voice resonated, and Lin Feng was momentarily taken aback. He never expected the ancestor’s first words to inquire about the elder on Shuangcheng Island. Lin Feng respectfully replied, "Yes, I just came from Shuangcheng Island. He is still alive, but his lifespan is nearing its end."

"Alas!" Ao Qin sighed deeply and continued, "One by one, the old guys I knew are leaving..."

He shook his head with a wry smile. Over the years, his familiar old friends had successively reached the end of their lifespans. This made him lamentably realize that even cultivators face this inevitable fate in the end.

Seeing the elder’s demeanor, Lin Feng felt it inappropriate to say anything. He understood that the old "guys" Ao Qin referred to must be the island’s overseers, unable to ascend to the rank of Demon Emperor due to their age, resulting in their life force eventually depleting. Not knowing how to console the elder, he remained silent.

After a pause, Ao Qin shifted the topic by saying to Lin Feng, "Young man, thank you for bringing Xue’er back."

Ever since Lin Feng set foot on the island, he had been observing their every move through his Divine Sense, and he was fully aware of Xue’er’s entire situation. It truly was not an easy feat for this young man to bring Xue’er back from afar, and he should express his gratitude.

"You’re too kind, elder. I have something I wish to ask," Lin Feng addressed the elder, hoping to quickly learn the whereabouts of the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan Residences. Providing him with useful clues would be the best way to express gratitude. Lin Feng then directly asked, "I want to know where the Dragon Clan Residence and Phoenix Ancestral Grounds are located."

Ao Qin did not hesitate or appear surprised, immediately replying, "I truly do not know."

He understood that Lin Feng came to the island to seek this information. Ao Lin was asked previously, but indeed he did not know. Despite this, Ao Qin allowed Lin Feng to meet him, finding the young man quite different, curious why he insisted on going to those two places.

Hearing Ao Qin’s words left Lin Feng somewhat disappointed. He thought that Ao Qin would surely know, but then found it very strange. According to the map given by Song Cheng, this island was already at the outermost edges of the Southern Sea. Auntie Jin Jin had also affirmed that the Phoenix Clan’s ancestral grounds were above this Southern Sea. Lin Feng continued to ask, "As far as I know, these two Divine Beast races definitely reside in the Southern Sea. Why wouldn’t you know?"

"The Southern Sea is, in fact, extremely vast beyond your imagination. This place is just the beginning of the Southern Sea. In reality, the Southern Sea is far larger than the continent," Ao Qin said seriously to Lin Feng. Indeed, human maps were misleading; even he did not know how expansive the Southern Sea was. How could humans possibly venture there? They could only map out limited knowledge, and even if he wanted to reach the depths of the sea, many unknown dangers would await.

Lin Feng widened his eyes as he looked at Ao Qin. He truly did not expect this. According to the map, it was already on the fringes, proving that the maps provided by Song Cheng and the elder on Shuangcheng Island were limited. The true expanse of the Southern Sea was unknown to anyone, making it highly possible that the Phoenix Ancestral Grounds and Dragon Clan Residences lay deep within the Southern Sea.

It was only upon pondering this that he realized the true situation. However, now that he was here, he could not leave so easily. After all, meeting the ancestor of the Fox Clan was no simple task. He then asked, "Elder, is there anything peculiar on the Snow Peak Ice Field worth exploring?"

Ao Qin looked at Lin Feng and chuckled, "That’s a common problem among human cultivators."

They always ask what can be explored on the island. Humans love to explore the territory of Demon Beasts. It’s really strange—aren’t there enough places on the continent for them to explore?

"Human cultivators?" Lin Feng was puzzled upon hearing this. Could it be that someone else had asked the same question?

"Tens of thousands of years ago, someone came to the island. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the Divine Emperor you speak of," Ao Qin said.

"Divine Emperor?" Lin Feng was momentarily stunned by this, interrupting Ao Qin and then asked, "Did you fight him?"

He couldn’t believe that the Divine Emperor had been to the Southern Sea and even reached the Snow Peak Ice Field. This made him even more curious.

"Fight? Fight what! The pressure from that person made it impossible for me to even stand up." As Ao Qin recounted, he could still picture the scene in his mind. The overwhelming pressure from that person had him pinned to the ground, unable to move. The terrifying aura was suffocating.

"Ah?" Lin Feng was speechless upon hearing this.

"What’s so surprising about that? You haven’t seen it, so you can’t truly experience that kind of fear." As Ao Qin spoke, it seemed as if he could feel a chill in the air.

"What did the Divine Emperor look like?" Lin Feng couldn’t imagine what the legendary Divine Emperor looked like, although he had heard about it countless times, there was never a concrete concept, and no one ever said what the Divine Emperor looked like.

"An old man in white robes," Ao Qin said succinctly.

Lin Feng waited for Ao Qin to continue, but after waiting for a long time, there was nothing more. It was quite baffling, so he asked, "Just an old man in white robes? That’s it?"

Ao Qin nodded helplessly and then explained, "After the Divine Emperor left, he just forgot everything. I can only vaguely remember that an old man in white robes once visited."

It was obvious that the Divine Emperor had used some means to erase all the memories. Even though he was a Demon Venerable, the pressure emanating from the Divine Emperor instilled immense fear in him. In the Myriad Heavens Divine Realm, the Divine Emperor truly was a myth.

Afterward, Ao Qin returned to the original topic and introduced to Lin Feng, "There are three forbidden lands in the Snow Peak Ice Field: the Extreme Cold Ice Cave, the Myriad Ice Water Springs, and the Ice Flower Valley."

These three peculiar places have a special restriction. The Ao Xue Hiding Fox Clan couldn’t even get in at the edges and could only watch from the outside. He had previously thought about exploring them, but it was impossible to enter. No one knew how these places came to be, and no one knows how the restrictions appeared or how to break them.

Lin Feng nodded; he was very interested in such places and was determined to visit them. He then asked, "Do you know if there are any such places on other islands?"

He thought about exploring the nearby islands after leaving the Snow Peak Ice Field, thinking perhaps the elders of other islands might know the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan residences. Surrounding the Snow Peak Ice Field, there are another dozen large islands, but further in, they aren’t shown on the map.

"There are, but the old guys on this island aren’t easy to deal with. I reckon if you go, it’ll stir up a lot of trouble. I suggest you don’t go." Ao Qin sized up Lin Feng and said, "Although I can’t discern your strength, I can clearly tell you that you’re quite lucky to have encountered me and the old man of Shuangcheng Island. The controllers of other islands aren’t as easygoing as we are."

He especially emphasized the tone on the word "luck," trying to tell Lin Feng that the strength of those old guys is about the same as his and the old man of Shuangcheng Island, all of whom are stuck on the verge of advancing to the rank of Demon Emperor, considered to be Half-Step Demon Emperors.

After hearing this, Lin Feng decided in his heart to stop desiring to visit other islands. These Half-Step Demon Emperors already surpassed the levels of any Demon Beasts he had encountered, reaching the peak of Demon Venerable, a level he had never encountered before. But he was sure that with his current strength, there was absolutely no way to contend with them. As Ao Qin said, his presence here was purely because of his good fortune.

The elder of Shuangcheng Island bore no malice and didn’t employ any vicious means against them, and this elder of the Ao Xue Hiding Fox Clan was also very courteous, considering he saved Xue’er. If he had stepped on another island, who knows how he might have perished?

"Can you tell me what a Half-Step Demon Emperor is like?" Lin Feng tentatively asked. He really had no concrete concept of a Half-Step Demon Emperor but knew that with his current strength, there was no way he could match them. However, he still wanted to see for himself.