Translator: Panda_Penn Editor: Chrissy
The evolution of the Bead of Life was not complex. It merely took Lu Li two days to shrink his Bead of Life from the size of a thumb to that of a soybean. The smaller the Bead of Life was, the more powerful it would be.
Any Noble Lord Realm warrior would triumph in this step, not to mention Lu Li. Now, he came to the last and most critical step.
Engraving Profound Meanings!
Till this point, Lu Li was still wrestling with himself. Should he go with the Mirror Image Profound Meaning or the line diagram?
The Mirror Image Profound Meaning was of the fifth rank, which was not low but not high, either. To engrave this Profound Meaning would not take much effort, but he was not sure if he could succeed. After all, he learned the Profound Meaning from the memory of a demon and the Profound Meaning was not strong enough.
On the other hand, could the line diagram qualify as a Profound Meaning?
He did not even have the knowledge of the application of the line diagram. It was derived from the Wind Profound Meaning but it seemed to have little to do with Profound Meanings. On a fluke that the engraving resulted in failure, then Lu Li’s attempt at the Human Sovereign Realm would come to nothing…
Lu Li took a pause. While resting, he kept thinking about the conundrum. It lasted for a time of three incense sticks to burn. Then, he opened his eyes and woke up Jiang Qiling.
“What is it? Lu Li, anything bothering you?”
She asked with concern, seeing how tightly his eyebrows were knitted together. Forcing a smile, Lu Li asked, “Qiling, say you have two roads in front of you. There is a chance that neither of them will lead you to your destination but one of them have a greater odds at succeeding and the other one was lesser. However, the second one may lead you to treasures. Which one do you choose?”
Jiang Qiling blinked. It did not take her long to answer, “Of course I will choose the one that may lead me to treasure. There is a chance of failure either way. I might just as well risk it. Wealth comes from danger!”
“Okay. I will take your advice!”
The forced smile on Lu Li’s face became brighter. He decided not to think too much and follow Jiang Qiling’s advice. Either way, he might fail. There was nothing to lose.
He closed his eyes again. He resorted to a special way to engrave the line diagram. He did not know the functions of the line diagram. That being said, since he had studied it well, it was not difficult for him to engrave it.
This time, Jiang Qiling did not cultivate. She could tell that he had come to the final step. She would rather wait for the final moment since it would not take long anyway.
“Squeak, squeak~”
In the corner, Little White was soundly asleep. It rolled over, made a little noise and fell to deep slumber once again.
…
While it had been quiet where Lu Li was, a mansion not far away was boiling with noises.
There was a huge castle. It was the Hall of Patriarchs of the Demon-slaying Hall. At the moment, all the patriarchs were gathered here. They were called over by Deputy Master to vote.
Deputy Master, who should be addressed as the Grand Master, was sitting on the throne in an imposing manner. His eyes were glaring, making the other’s flesh creep.
Seats were arranged at both sides of the throne in four rows on either side. All the seats were taken. Altogether, there were over a hundred people here and they were all at the Earth Immortal Realm.
Those were the mightiest force of the humankind. In the room seated more than half of all humanity’s powerful warriors. There was no doubt that the aura in this room was more formidable than any.
The only person in the hall that was not at the Earth Immortal Realm was a girl. She sat in the last row on the right. Nevertheless, she did get much attention.
Ji Mengtian, the newly appointed Master of Hall of Youth, a patriarch.
Jiang Qiling was actually one of the patriarchs a well. Xing Mu had appointed her a long time given that she was the future chosen warrior. But she never involved herself in the affairs of the Demon-slaying hall. It was not surprising that she would not come out from the Wicked Bead now.
Patriarch of Law Enforcement noticed the presence of Ji Mengtian and so did others. But none of them said anything and they all kept a straight face. Appointing patriarchs was the responsibility of Li Shang. His actions were all approved by Master Ji Zhantian. Nobody could say anything that would make a difference now.
Patriarch of Law Enforcement and Li Shang took the first seat on the left and right respectively. From the seating arrangement, it seemed that both enjoyed the equal status in the Demon-slaying Hall. When Xing Mu was still around, Patriarch of Law Enforcement was actually superior to Li Shang. Now that Ji Zhantian had taken power, Li Shang became the superior one.
“Alright!”
Everyone was here. Deputy Master Ji Zhantian said, “I have gathered all of you here today because we have to things to vote on. Patriarch Li, the floor is yours.”
Patriarch Li did not look like he was old. He seemed to be in his fifties or sixties although his real age must be more advanced. He was a man of a lean figure and a sparse goatee. He stood up, cupped his fists and said, “Activate the Inhibition Formation!”
A patriarch used Xuan Energy to do so. The Inhibition Formation in the hall was strong enough to insulate any snooper’s probing.
Patriarchs in the hall started to have discussions, wondering what it was that they were going to talk about today. How come it needed the Inhibition Formations activated? It was the Hall of Patriarchs. Who could have the courage to pry?
When the Inhibition Formations were ready, Patriarch Li continued in a serious tone, “First order of business. Given that the four alien races are bearing down on us, but we do not have an effective way to fight, it has been suggested by some patriarch that we use the Originator Artifact. We will let the Grand Master operate it himself so that we can defeat the enemies.”
“The Originator Artifact!”
The suggestion met with a huge chorus of reaction. All the patriarchs knew about the Originator Artifact. It was the most powerful artifact of the human kind, a legacy of Emperor of Heaven Reverse. It should never be used unless it had come to the survival or extinction of the humankind.
What was more, Emperor of Heaven Reverse had left behind clear instructions of using the Originator Artifact. It could only be used for three times. After that, the divine energy within would be depleted and the Originator Artifact would become a pile of useless iron.
Over the course of history, the Originator Artifact had been used on two occasions. If they were to use it this time, then the Originator Artifact would be ruined. Humankind would have one less artifact to protect them in the future.
But…
Could the situation be any worse? They had come to a point of survival or extinction, hadn’t they? Lu Li, who had all the hopes on him, was at his wit’s end. Leng Wuxin, who had been studying the Voodoo Poison for such a long time, had made no progress. Wouldn’t the human race face destruction when the Demon-slaying City fall?
The four alien races all had their own Originator Artifacts as well but that of the human race was the strongest of them all. The power of the human’s Originator Artifact was dozens of times stronger than a Quasi Relic. With the Originator Artifact in his hand, the Deputy Master could possibly kill the Asmodian Lord, which could save humans from the crisis.
Two parties were formed out of the heated debate. One side endorsed the idea of letting Ji Zhantian use the Originator Artifact. The other side argued that they should wait. The Demon-slaying City had one year and there might be some other ways.
“Let us vote!”
Ji Zhantian said with command after the debate went on for a while. He had called so many patriarchs over today just so he could organize the vote.
The voting result of the Hall of Patriarchs would be the final resolution. Majority ruled. Once the Hall of Patriarchs voted, nobody could change the result.
“I will begin!”
Patriarch of Law Enforcement, who had been quiet, said. He stood up, glancing through the crowd and said, “Personally, I think it is too early to use the Originator Artifact. Therefore… I object!”
“Um…”
Generally speaking, a person with a status like the Patriarch of Law Enforcement would vote last. But he had voted first and he had objected with such righteousness that he had practically shamed Ji Zhantian.
Patriarch of Law Enforcement was an influential man. Him voting first could affect many others’ decisions. Many people had wanted to vote yes, but now they were having second thoughts.
Deputy Master Ji Zhantian did not change his expressions, but the cold glare in his eyes showed that he was displeased. Patriarch of Law Enforcement pretended he did not see that. He had to because he was worried that when Ji Zhantian obtained the Originator Artifact, it might not be the Asmodian Lord that he would go after first, but… Lu Li!
