Martial Universe (Wu Dong Qian Kun)
chapter-278

Lin Dong’s figure swiftly descended within the dark Symbol Puppet lair. Wind whistled past his ears, while the surrounding caves also flitted past at an astonishing speed.

As his figure descended, Lin Dong finally completely understood how terrifyingly huge this Symbol Puppet lair was. Everything they had previously seen above was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Moreover, the deeper down they went, the stronger the Symbol Puppets stored in this kind of Symbol Puppet lair were. According to Little Marten, low, middle and high class Symbol Puppets were merely the first section of stages to classify Symbol Puppets. Above the high class Symbol Puppets, there was the so-called soul level Symbol Puppet, and above the soul level, there was the even higher level Heavenly Puppet, and beyond that, the legendary Immortal Puppet…

Of course, for Lin Dong, the legendary Soul Symbol Puppet, Heavenly Puppet etc. were too distant and unrealistic. Currently, just obtaining a high class Symbol Puppet already started to give him a headache on how to feed this bottomless hole. Thus, even if he was really given a Soul Puppet, he would likely only be able to blankly stare at it. To move that level of Symbol Puppet, even if you spent all the Pure Yuan pills he had, it would probably only allow the Symbol Puppet to twitch its finger.

As he gazed at the surrounding caves which were much bigger than before, Lin Dong knew that perhaps very long ago, those extremely formidable Symbol Puppets were stored in these caves. Yet, the Symbol Puppets of that level seemed to be completely destroyed, not even leaving behind the slightest trace. This caused a Lin Dong who wanted to observe these legendary Symbol Puppets for a while to feel a little regretful.

“Oh?”

As his body swiftly descended, Lin Dong’s expression suddenly changed slightly. He had discovered that there seemed to be an extremely chilling cold flow slowly gushing out from below, condensing into sheets of cold flow cloud layers, which floated within the Symbol Puppet lair.

“Such a chilling cold Qi!”

Lin Dong’s Mental Energy only slightly made contact with the strange cold Qi, causing his whole body to shiver, such that even his Niwan Palace began to tremble for a moment. Immediately, a serious expression surfaced on his face.

“Be careful. This is the Nine Underworld Cold Qi, and this place should be connected to the underground. If this kind of cold Qi enters the body, even Mental Energy would be frozen.” Little Marten warned him from behind.

“Then how do we go down?” Lin Dong furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the cold flow cloud layer below. This cold flow completely blocked the pathway downwards, and if he forcibly tried to charge through, Lin Dong was very doubtful of being able to withstand the frightening Nine Underworld Cold Qi with his current strength.

“Lin Dong, don’t waste your energy thinking. One will at least need the Manifestation stage strength to pass through this Nine Underworld Cold Qi. If you want to die, don’t drag this elder with you!” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder hastily shouted while staring at the cold flow cloud layer in extreme fear.

“How do you know that only a Manifestation stage practitioner can pass through?” Lin Dong’s gaze flashed as he suddenly inquired.

“Eh…” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder stammered, but quickly snorted and did not answer.

“Don’t bother with him. I can deal with the cold Qi here.” Little Marten’s claw waved, as a purplish black light burst out, completely wrapping around then before directly charging into the cold flow below.

“Creak creak!”

As they charged into the Nine Underworld Cold Qi, Lin Dong clearly saw a layer of frost swiftly spread out on the purplish black light screen surround them. It was hard to imagine exactly how terrifying the cold Qi here was.

Fortunately, although the cold Qi here was terrifying, with Little Marten’s special energy, they safely passed through after several minutes of shaking. As they smoothly passed through the terrifying cold flow, in a nearby place downwards, an incomparably huge black altar slowly appeared in Lin Dong’s sight.

As he stared at the structure that had finally appeared, Lin Dong was delighted. However, he did not let relax his guard. The Yuan Power within his body gushed about as he slowly landed on the altar while grabbing the Ghastly Puppet Cult elder.

After landing on the altar, Lin Dong gazed at the deathly still surroundings before secretly sighing in relief, as his eyes started to scan the area.

This altar was ice-cold black, as if it was cast from black metal. Atop the altar were many stone pillars which looked rather strange.

Lin Dong’s eyes only swept about for a moment before concentrating on the center of the altar. There, he once again sensed an extremely tiny undulation.

“Devouring Ancestral Symbol!”

Joy flashed across Lin Dong’s heart. Soon after, his body dashed forward, and in a few leaps, he appeared at the center of the altar. At this place, an exceptionally huge black pillar stood. At the top of the pillar was an ancient symbol array. The symbol array spread outwards, practically connecting every stone pillar in the altar, while solemnly taking the center position.

Lin Dong’s eyes swiftly turned towards the huge black pillar in the center, but the middle of the symbol array was empty. There was nothing here, let alone the Devouring Ancestral Symbol he had expected…

Lin Dong blankly stared at the empty symbol array, as his expression constantly fluctuated. Moments later, his figure leapt up and appeared at the center of the symbol array, before crouching down to touch the symbol array. When he made contact, the Destiny Soul Symbols in his Niwan Palace once again faintly trembled. Here, there seemed to be the remnant aura of something that caused them to feel extreme reverence…

“The Devouring Ancestral Symbol has been taken.” Lin Dong’s fist slowly clenched. He did not expect that he would actually make a wasted trip!

Little Marten also tightly furrowed its eyebrows as it continued to size up the huge black altar.

“Humph. This Great Wastelands Ancient Tablet has already opened an unknown amount of times. If there was any important treasure, how could you possibly have a chance to take it. The object here has already been personally taken away by my Ghastly Puppet Cult leader three years ago.” To one side, the Ghastly Puppet Cult elder chose this moment to sneer and say.

“What?”

Lin Dong turned around in a flash of understanding as he coldly stared at the Ghastly Puppet Cult elder and asked in a low voice: “Are you saying that the Ghastly Puppet Cult has taken away the object here?”

“If you help me calm down my chaotic Mental Energy, I will tell you.” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder let out a weird laughter as he replied.

“Little Marten, throw him into the Nine Underworld Cold Qi.” Lin Dong’s eyes slightly narrowed as he spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Heh heh, sounds good.” Upon hearing this, Little Marten also let out a weird laughter, as it maliciously stared at the now ashen faced Ghastly Puppet Cult elder. Till now, this old guy still harboured plans of escaping.

“I will tell you what you want to know, but you must swear that you will not kill me!” As he saw Little Marten floated over, the Ghastly Puppet Cult elder could only unwillingly grit his teeth and say.

“Speak!” Lin Dong’s eyes were cold as he spoke.

“Three years ago, our Ghastly Puppet Cult leader personally undertook this task, bringing many troops here. I do not know exactly what cult leader took away here, but ever since he obtained that item, cult leader has secluded himself in the headquarters. He seems to be planning on refining this mysterious object…” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder hesitated for a moment before he slowly explained.

Lin Dong’s fist instantly clenched tight. The item the Ghastly Puppet Cult leader took from this place was definitely the ‘Devouring Ancestral Symbol’. He never expected that someone else would obtain it before him. If that guy was truly allowed to successfully refine the ‘Devouring Ancestral Symbol’, let alone this Great Desolate Province, even in the entire Great Yan Empire, it would be difficult for there to be someone to contend against him.

“Heh, how can it be so easy for him to refine that object. Their cult leader is merely wasting his effort, or else, how could there not be news after a whole three years.” To one side, Little Marten chuckled and said.

“Cult leader is indeed unable to refine that object, however, it is said that the object is extremely beneficial towards Mental Energy. In those three years, cult leader has guarded it while cultivating, and his strength has improved rather substantially.” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder seemed to have become much more honest as he added.

Upon hearing that the ‘Devouring Ancestral Symbol’ had yet to be refined by the Ghastly Puppet Cult leader, Lin Dong secretly sighed in relief. As long as it was not refined, he would still have a chance.

“I have told you everything I know, Lin Dong, you must keep your promise!” The Ghastly Puppet Cult elder shouted, as if he was afraid that Lin Dong would back out on the promise and dispose of him.

“Thump!”

As his words fell, Little Marten flew to his side, directly slapping him unconscious with a single strike of its claw.

“What do we do now?” Lin Dong sat down on the steps of the altar as he somewhat helplessly asked. He did not expect that he would return empty handed after racking his brains just to come here.

“It’s okay. The Devouring Ancestral Symbol cannot possible be refined so easily, the Ghastly Puppet Cult leader does not have that kind of ability. Of course, even you will find it very difficult to refine the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, after all, every person who managed to become the master of an Ancestral Symbol were brilliant and well known existences. How can ordinary people have any chance.” Little Marten waved its claws and said.

Lin Dong bitterly laughed as he shook his head. His fingers massaged his forehead, and suddenly, his fingers froze because he had discovered to his astonishment that the Destiny Soul Symbols inside his Niwan Palace still seemed to be trembling.

“What is going on? The Devouring Ancestral Symbol has already been taken, why are the Destiny Soul Symbols still acting so strangely?” Lin Dong’s eyes were full of astonishment. Soon after, his gaze flashed as he carefully searched for the source of the Destiny Soul Symbols strange actions.

Upon seeing Lin Dong’s expression, Little Marten also seemed to understand that he had discovered something, and immediately turned silent.

The black altar was deathly still, as Lin Dong quietly searched for the source. After a long time, he abruptly stood up and turned around, staring at the center of the symbol array, the empty huge black pillar!

The unique undulations seemed to originate from within the pillar!