Chapter 2366 The Return to the Hidden
The news of the battle against the Yanluo Clan’s home planet quickly spread throughout the Celestial-Hunting battlefield and shocked all the forces.
Yanluo Clan, known as the supreme clan, had an absolute advantage every time they fought in the Celestial-Hunting battle. They had won first place among the ten clans. They had never suffered such a defeat.
Almost half of their clansmen had been killed, and countless Supreme Saint elites had been killed or injured.
What was even more humiliating was that the first place had been taken away by Immortal Vampires.
“Zhang Ruochen led a group of Immortal Vampires and ambushed Yanluo Clan’s home planet. He severely injured Yanluo Clan at the cost of zero casualties. He is not somebody that we can underestimate.”
“First, he exterminated Ghost Clan. Then he targetted Yanluo Clan. He can stir up endless storms alone.”
“As far as I know, Zhang Ruochen and Immortal Vampires were able to succeed because Que and Lan Ying were also on Yanluo Clan’s home planet.”
“Anyway, this time, Yanluo Clan has lost their faces!”
After hearing the news, all the cultivators who participated in the Celestial-Hunting battle sighed with awe.
In the past Celestial-Hunting battles, although there had been competition and friction between the ten clans, such an intense battle was very rare. In less than half of the 100 days, two home planets had already suffered severe casualties. There was even a clan’s most powerful elite who died. Many Hundred-Shackle Realm Supreme Saints, who had attained the Great Perfection stage, had died tragically or left the battlefield.
No one knew where the war would take place next time?
On the Rakshasan home planet
Devala was the head of the seven great Rakshasan Divine Kingdoms. It was known as “the Nation among Nations” of ten thousand countries and “the Rakshasan Stronghold.” Its forces far surpassed the other six divine kingdoms, so it had to shoulder greater responsibilities.
On the home planet, nearly 100 million Rakshasas were under Devala’s protection.
The Devalan prince, Luo Shengtian, was a handsome, well-built hunk. Among Rakshasan males, he was considered a Prince Charming.
Standing by a green lake with a royal bearing, he sighed with some regret. “If I had known that Yanluo Clan’s home planet was so lively, I would have visited the place.”
The lake bank was lined with snow-white willow trees whose long, hanging branches were gracefully drooping down, wafting to and fro in the breeze.
Luo Sha stood below the willow branches. The beauty in cyan robe, who gave off a noble demeanor, curled her lips into a graceful smile. “My dear brother, you just want to join the fight, right?”
Luo Shengtian nodded. “For cultivators like me, it’s hard to improve further except for breaking through to the Thousand-Koan Realm. Only by fighting with a superior of the same level can we find our shortcomings and improve further.”
“Que, Lan Ying, Yan Huangtu, Wu Jiang, and the rising stars — Yan Wushen and Zhang Ruochen — are all worthy opponents to meet once in the bluemoon.”
Luo Sha smiled faintly. “In your eyes, I’m not considered a rising star?”
Luo Shengtian said with a serious face, “You, Pan Ruo, Xuemo, and Lord Jadebone are still a step behind. You will only know who will stand out when you reach the Great Perfection Stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm.”
Luo Sha put away her smile and said with a deep look in her eyes, “Zhang Ruochen has initiated a war against Yanluo Clan. He probably has some big plans.” Luo Shengtian snorted. “If he wants to lead the Immortal Vampires to aim for the first place among the ten clans, he is seeking his own destruction.”. Yanluo Clan would not let this go. The other eight clans would never allow the Immortal Vampires to become the first among the ten clans. Zhang Ruochen is still too young. Flaunting his brilliance in every aspect will definitely get himself into trouble.”
Luo Sha raised her pretty face and looked at the clear blue sky. “Zhang Ruochen killed Supreme Saint Manjian. It’s enough to show how determined he is. Anyone who wants to stop him will have to pay a heavy price.”
Luo Shengtian looked surprised. “Are you thinking that he has a chance?”
“I have no idea.”
Luo Sha shook her head lightly. “But he isn’t an ordinary person. He can always create miracles. Brother, you didn’t expect him to defeat Wu Jiang in such a short time, right?”
Luo Shengtian asked, “You think so highly of him?”
“I didn’t feel so. I’m just thinking that if he succeeds, it will be also a good thing for the Rakshasas,” said Luo Sha.
Luo Shengtian asked, “What benefits will we
get?”
“Immortal Vampires do not only represent the three lower clans. They are also living beings. If they can push Yanluo Clan out of the top place, the three lower clans and the living beings will have a much higher status in the Infernal Court,” Luo Sha said.
Luo Shengtian thought for a while and said, “Are you saying that we shouldn’t attack Immortal Vampires, but we should help them at the right time instead?”
Luo Sha shook her head and spoke like a wise lady, “No. We shouldn’t help them. Immortal Vampires are attracting attention. They are the subject of public criticism. If we help them, we will become the subject of controversy too.”
Luo Shengtian could not understand what his little sister was thinking. “Then what are you trying to say?”
“Instead of harming or helping them, we should do nothing.”
Luo Sha smiled and said, “However, there’s a long feud between Warlord Mara and Zhang Ruochen. We must warn Warlord Mara not to get manipulated and invade Immortal Vampires’ home planet.”
“Don’t worry. I will handle this matter. He won’t dare to disobey me even if he has ten balls.” Luo Sheng Tian clenched his right fist and released bolts of lightning.
Luo Sha continued, “There will definitely be a battle between Yanluo Clan and the Immortal Vampires. Even the upper three clans and the middle three clans might join it. They can’t wait to destroy the Immortal Vampires. This is an opportunity for us.” “What opportunity?” Luo Shengtian still didn’t understand.
Luo Sha continued, “When all elites of each clan go to the Immortal Vampires’ home planet, what will happen to the defense of their own home planet?”
Luo Shengtian suddenly came to a realization. “If we destroy their home planet, even if we can’t get the first place, we’ll be in the top three.”
“It depends on how many elites Zhang Ruochen and the Immortal Vampires will attract. Also, it depends on when Yanluo Clan attacks Immortal Vampires.”
Luo Sha suddenly thought of something and asked, “Brother, are you confident in cultivating a Grade Two Saintwill?”
Luo Shengtian shook his head with a smile. “It’s not easy to do so. In a Yuanhui period, only a few can succeed.”
Even though he had a Quasi-Emperor Grade Saintwill Pill, he didn’t dare to take it because he wasn’t confident.
There was only one Quasi-Emperor Grade Saintwill Pill. If he failed, he wouldn’t have another chance.
Luo Sha said, “Brother, tell me the truth. What are your chances?”
“If I didn’t have the Quasi-Emperor GradeSaintwill Pill, I wouldn’t have any chances. With the Quasi-Emperor GradeSaintwill Pill, I have a twenty to thirty-30 percent confidence level,” said Luo Shengtian said.
Luo Sha’s eyes brightened up. “There’s extraordinary fortuitous encounter hidden inside every home planet. Now is your time to visit the underground of this planet.”
Luo Shengtian said, “I have been there, but unfortunately, I found nothing. The Rakshasan home planet is completely different from Ghost Clan’s home planet. There are no secret realms or treasure lands. Perhaps there is no fortuitous encounter inside the Rakshasan home planet at all.”
“I did find something though,” Luo Sha said.
Luo Shengtian couldn’t control his emotions. He said in surprise and anticipation, “You found a fortuitous encounter?”
“Maybe!”
Luo Sha opened her snow-white palm right palm, and a ball of light appeared on it.
With a wave of her hand, the ball of light flew out and landed on the ground, turning into a translucent skeleton.
The skeleton sat cross-legged. It was a Supreme Saint’s remains, and each of its bones was at Neverwilt state.
Although there were tiny dots and lines carved all over the skeleton, one could not identify the patterns of these carvings.
“It’s just a Neverwilt Realm Supreme Saint skeleton.”
Luo Shengtian looked disappointed.
Luo Sha said, “Don’t you think it’s abnormal to have a Supreme Saint skeleton on a planet that doesn’t even have a Demi-Saint?”
“It is indeed abnormal.”
Luo Shengtian carefully observed the Supreme Saint skeleton again and finally noticed the small dots and lines on the bones. He exclaimed, “Who on earth carved so many holes and lines on these bones? That person must’ve been bored out of his mind.”
“It’s a type of word character,” said Luo Sha.
Luo Shengtian was surprised. “How is that possible? I’ve read many books, but I’ve never seen this type of character.”
Luo Sha said, “This type of word character has bever been recorded before. However, I once saw 57 ancient symbols on a stone tablet in the imperial ancestral land.”
“At that time, when I asked daddy about them, he shook his head and said he didn’t know the meaning of these symbols either.”
Luo Shengtian said, “Father has already lived for hundreds of thousands of years. For someone as experienced and knowledgeable as him, how could there be anything that he was clueless about?”
Luo Sha continued without answering his question, “So, I asked mom. She said 57 symbols on the stone tablet were the oldest 57 characters of the Rakshasas. They formed the foundation of the complete writing system of the Rakshasan civilization.”
Luo Shengtian pointed at the skeleton on the ground and said, “So, the symbols on its body are the ones you saw on the stone tablet?”
Luo Sha shook her head again. “No, they are even older than the symbols I saw on the stone tablet. However, there is a subtle connection between the two that can be deciphered.”
“Have you deciphered them?”
Luo Shengtian knew that his little sister was much smarter than him.
Moreover, Luo Sha had obtained a Divinity Source and part of a Stellar Soul of God when she was in Kunlun. Now, her spiritual power was stronger than his, and her understanding of the word characters had become better than before.
Therefore, he had great expectations in his heart.
Luo Sha took out a scroll of beast skin and handed it to Luo Shengtian. “The time is too short. I only managed to decipher the ancient language carved on the head. Take it and have a look. You might comprehend something helpful to form a second-grade Saintwill.”
Luo Shengtian unscroll the beast skin to take a look. He blurted out, “The Return to the Hidden.[1]”
“That’s right. It’s The Return to the Hidden.”
Luo Sha blinked her eyes and inadvertently looked at the sky above her.
The Rakshasan deities in the Fane of Destiny exclaimed in shock when they heard these four words.
“It’s The Return to the Hidden! The Return to the Hidden! The text on the skeleton is actually The Return to the Hidden!”
“It must be the complete version. And should be the earliest script.”
“The portion of The Return to the Hidden in the Rakshasas’ possession is less than one-tenth of the earliest script. And most of it was just a few words of enlightenment shared by the deities of later generations.”
“The advent of The Return to the Hidden will open up a new path of the Rakshasan cultivation system.”
The divine spirits flew in the direction of the Rakshasan home planet one after another.
Rumble–
Luo Yan sat in his Divine Plane and spat out a mouthful of murderous Qi. It turned into a thunderstorm and dispersed all the divine spirits.
Immediately after, he snarled, “What are you all trying to do? The Return to the Hidden was deciphered by my daughter. Are you trying to steal it?
“Back then, there were plenty of you who had personally studied the skeleton. Unfortunately, you were lacking in knowledge that you failed to identify it. That was why we buried the skeleton on our home planet and waited for the right owner.”
“Obviously, my daughter was the one The Return to the Hidden had been waiting for. This was fated long ago.”
At this moment, Luo Yan was in an extremely good mood. When he spoke, there was a hint of pride and schadenfreude.
In fact, after that skeleton was discovered in an ancient land of the Fane of Rakshasa, he had studied it himself. But to no avail, he found nothing. He had not expected those holes and lines on the skeleton to be word characters.
There was indeed a stone tablet with 57 symbols engraved on it in the imperial ancestral land.
But this stone tablet on the ground was not eye-catching at all, so Luo Yan had not deliberately studied it.
Moreover, the words on the skeleton were completely different from the 57 symbols. At least, he could not see any connection. Who knew that his daughter was so smart that she could link the two together and even decipher them?
Many Rakshasan deities had studied that skeleton.
The Rakshasan deities immediately tried to recall the holes and lines on the skeleton. However, to their surprise, they failed to recall any despite their photographic memory.
The images in their minds were very blurry.
It was as if an invisible force had erased part of their memories.
“The ancestor who carved the characters on the skeleton must be an extraordinary person. After countless years, the divine spell effect he cast on the skeleton is still not completely worn out,” a Rakshasan deity sighed.
Luo Yan beamed with delight. He turned to Amane and whispered, “Are the words on the skeleton really related to the 57 symbols on our ancestral land’s stone tablet?”
Amane understood her daughter too well. She shook her head lightly, “You actually believed it?! Sha’er knows the importance of The Return to the Hidden. And she knows the deities are paying attention to the Celestial-Hunting battlefield. Do you think she would tell the truth?”
Luo Yan was slightly stunned, but he immediately revealed an awkward expression.
Amane continued, “Among the deities which have seen the skeleton, some of them with strong spiritual power can remember the words on the skeleton. If they were to decipher it according to the 57 ancient symbols, they would not find anything.”
Luo Yan said, “So, what is recorded on the skeleton is not The Return to the Hidden?”
“Not necessarily.”
Amane shook her head gently. “Maybe yes. Maybe No. Only Sha’er knows the answer. And whether the secret of the skeleton is related to the holes and patterns on its surface remains a question.
“But one thing for sure is… She must have discovered the secret of the skeleton. After all, fusing Saintwills to form a new one is not a trivial matter. There is no way she will harm her brother and lead him to the wrong path.”
[1] 归藏 Guicang
An ancient divination text related to the Yijing ** (The Book of Changes).
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature /Daoists/guicang.html
