The Sacred Sacrifice and the Stone Turtle

Just as the old stone turtle had said, the seventh Heavenly Stele bore the ultimate mysteries. Only after earning the recognition of the first six steles and leaving behind Heavenly Marks could one glimpse the supreme truths recorded in its inscriptions.

In that moment, the abyss trembled. Light blazed so fiercely that darkness was driven away entirely. Below, a dazzling radiance filled the depths while cultivators on the surface stared in shock—though they could sense nothing except a terrifying fluctuation that made their souls tremble.

The chasm was too brilliant, the divine glow too intense. No one could peer into it. Finally, the radiance formed a massive barrier within the abyss, sealing off the region and blocking all spiritual perception.

From deep below, ancient sacrificial chants echoed through heaven and earth as if crossing the ages from a distant, forgotten era.

The sacred sacrifice continued. Xiao Chen's true body, now meditating in the void, grew brighter and brighter, like a leaping divine flame.

Meanwhile, the mighty Ancestral God flesh-shell slowly dimmed. Its skin lost its luster and began to wither as its potential essence rapidly drained away.

After the previous sacred sacrifice, Xiao Chen's flesh-shell had already neared the Ancestral God level. Now, he could draw even more divine essence from the black Ancestral God's remains.

Though still unable to step into the Ancestral God realm, he could forge his body to eternal indestructibility—perhaps even push it to the pinnacle of the Martial Ancestor's physique, a body that coexists with the world, eternal and imperishable, tough enough to trouble even Ancestral Gods.

A weak divine sense was Xiao Chen's critical flaw. This time, he resolved to forge a supreme divine body, one that could lock in his consciousness and defend against the spiritual attacks of Otherworld Ancestral Gods.

Throughout this process, two enormous Heavenly Steles vibrated continuously, their intricate patterns imprinting themselves into Xiao Chen's divine source.

Those dragon-like characters seemed alive, coalescing into supreme truths within his mind. Before, he had not understood their meaning, but now, through the Heavenly Marks, their significance became clear.

Even the old stone turtle, watching from the side, was moved. The sacred sacrifice was truly fearsome—capable of forging a terrifying divine body in such a short time.

Xiao Chen's own flesh-shell became nearly transparent, every inch of flesh and blood filled with divine radiance. Even the strongest divine weapons could not harm it.

Light danced, and the body shone like seven-colored琉璃, the most beautiful artwork in the world, without a single impurity.

Through endless refinement, Xiao Chen's flesh was sublimating, being remolded.

From within the black giant's flesh-shell, mysterious, ancient chanting emerged—the sacred sacrificial hymns of a bygone age, profound and unfathomable.

Their sound shook the past and stirred the future.

Finally, the black giant lost all luster. Eighty percent of the divine essence hidden within its flesh had been extracted.

Then, the sacrificial chants slowly faded.

"Boom!" A brilliant, blinding light burst from the black giant's skull—Xiao Chen's original life essence, carrying his divine sense, rushed out.

In an instant, it plunged back into his own flesh-shell. At that moment, Xiao Chen's body became like a sun, illuminating all directions. None could look directly at it.

His physical form had truly reached the Ancestral God level—the body of a War Ancestor. No longer merely close, he had shattered that barrier.

Power like an endless ocean surged through his flesh. With his bare hands, he could easily shatter worlds!

A War Ancestor possessed the most terrifying physique and Ancestral God-level divine sense. The only difference from a true Ancestral God was the lack of comprehension of cosmic origins and the divine laws of myriad worlds.

Xiao Chen's divine sense had reached the peak of the Seventh Heaven of Half-Ancestor, only three steps away from War Ancestor.

Those three steps might take ten years, a hundred, or ten thousand to cross. He had to find a way to remedy his weakness in the shortest time possible.

Before him lay Ancestral God flesh-shells, a vast treasure for making up his deficiencies.

His goal was clear: to forge his divine body to a terrifying state where it could forcibly seal in his consciousness, using his powerful flesh to protect his soul and deny Ancestral God-level experts any opening.

For now, his mighty flesh-shell would serve as his shield.

Throughout this process, the two Heavenly Steles continued to radiate light, their patterns engraving themselves into Xiao Chen's divine source.

Only after a long time did everything cease. The Heavenly Stele that once suppressed the Yellow River slowly faded and disappeared.

At that moment, the first Heavenly Mark in Xiao Chen's divine source became exceptionally clear—like a miniature Heavenly Stele. With a thought, the mark appeared in his palm, as if he held the very stele that had suppressed the Yellow River.

He suddenly understood many things, truths that had eluded him when practicing the Heavenly Stele Profound Art. Now they surfaced in his heart.

He stood silently for a long time before waking. He truly appreciated the value of the seventh Heavenly Stele. Setting aside the new truths etched on it, even its role in integrating everything was a vast treasure.

But he could not spend too long digesting it now. He needed to continue the sacred sacrifice and then use the second Heavenly Mark to connect the Dragon Island Stele with the seventh stele.

Just then, a sudden sensation of dread washed over Xiao Chen, as if immense danger were approaching.

The old stone turtle sensed it too. Without any loyalty, it no longer moved slowly—it flashed back to the base of the Heavenly Stele in an instant.

Xiao Chen retreated rapidly, guarding the transforming Keke beside him.

Without a sound, a black vortex enveloped the space he had just occupied. Space shrank to a point, collapsed into chaos, and vanished.

Xiao Chen's heart chilled. That hazy black vortex was terrifying—even an Ancestral God's body would be wounded if caught in it.

The Death Lake fell still again, as if nothing had happened. The surface was placid, not a single ripple, silent and deathly.

The towering Heavenly Stele stood before him, the black Death Lake blocking behind. An eerie atmosphere filled the air.

Xiao Chen lifted a gigantic boulder from the island and hurled it toward the black lake.

"Boom!" Black waves shot skyward like dozens of enormous waterfalls in reverse, an overwhelming surge. A deathly aura spread through the abyss, chilling the soul.

"Rumble…"

As if a colossal creature were churning beneath the water, Xiao Chen saw a massive black shadow racing toward the giant island, carving a channel fifty zhang wide in the lake. Black waves rolled back on both sides, rising a thousand zhang high!

Those waves on either side hung like enormous waterfalls upside down in the sky.

"That is…" Xiao Chen's eyes blazed with cold light. The Heavenly Stele appeared around him, and his Dark-Iron Ancestral God War Suit covered his sapphire-like precious body.

In the vast channel opened in the black Death Lake, that eerie black shadow charged forward, causing tremendous waves. It was impossible to see clearly—only a single huge black horn jutted above the surface, over ten zhang long, gleaming with a sinister light, making one deeply uncomfortable.

Dimly, a pair of cold eyes could be seen, each as large as a house, glaring at Xiao Chen with ferocity. That sharp horn burst forth with chaotic light, stabbing toward him.

"Boom!" The six condensed Heavenly Stele phantoms were all pierced through. The chaotic light was unstoppable. Xiao Chen's heart shook as he soared into the air to evade that terrifying strike.

It could actually fire chaotic divine power? What kind of monster was this?

The sharp horn erupted with inexhaustible chaotic force, all silently absorbed by the stone skull. The egg-sized skull was like a bottomless pit, devouring all power in the world.

The monster never fully emerged. This black lake seemed to possess an eerie magic—even at his current strength, Xiao Chen could not see clearly within.

"Chi!" The horn in the black lake suddenly swelled, stretching a thousand zhang long, and stabbed toward Xiao Chen again.

This time, Xiao Chen was fully prepared. He wanted to test the results of his sacred sacrifice.

Only one Heavenly Stele appeared—the one formed from the first Heavenly Mark. After communicating with the stele, it seemed to gain a soul.

It took shape in Xiao Chen's palm, no larger than a palm, but identical to the real stele. Xiao Chen felt as if this were a true Heavenly Stele, not merely light condensed.

That swollen Chaos Horn pierced through the void, a thousand zhang long, arriving in an instant before Xiao Chen.

"Boom!"

Using the stone skull to protect himself, Xiao Chen struck down with the palm-sized Heavenly Stele in his hand.

Though small, that tiny stele struck with earth-shaking force. Chaotic radiance burst in all directions, and the tip of the thousand-zhang Chaos Horn was smashed off.

A chilling, low roar came from the Death Lake. The water shuddered violently. The damaged horn healed instantly and withdrew back into the black water.

Xiao Chen's heart pounded. The Heavenly Mark had taken form, becoming a true Heavenly Stele. Though not huge, its power was terrifying—seemingly not inferior to the Divine Diagram!

And that only showed how powerful the unknown savage beast was. After all, the Divine Diagram could shatter Ancestral God bodies, yet the Heavenly Mark, comparable in power to the Formation Diagram, had only broken off the tip of its horn. That was truly fearsome.

"Good brick! Mighty!" The old stone turtle suddenly shouted in a raspy voice.

That comment instantly soured Xiao Chen's joy.

Brick?! That was an awful comparison.

"What savage beast is that?" Xiao Chen landed before the Heavenly Stele and asked in astonishment.

The Death Lake had returned to calm, as silent as cut black demon stone, without a single ripple or sound. Everything earlier seemed an illusion.

"A pet raised by a half-dead Stone Man. Don't mind it. It doesn't dare come near the Heavenly Stele," the old stone turtle answered slowly.

Stone Man?! Xiao Chen's heart tightened.

"No need to worry. So far, no one in the world has truly succeeded. That Stone Man is only a step away from death," the old stone turtle said nonchalantly.

Only then did Xiao Chen notice he had overlooked a fact—the old turtle itself seemed nearly petrified.

"You… you couldn't actually be a stone turtle?!" At that moment, Xiao Chen felt his tongue tie.

"You just noticed?" The old turtle seemed miffed at being overlooked.

Stunned! Xiao Chen was dumbfounded. Grandpa Wang really was a turtle that didn't show its true form. Though, to be fair, he had been too careless.

"Grandpa Wang, are you really a stone turtle?"

The old stone turtle glared like an impulsive young man. "Damn it, kid! Watch your language when you speak."

"…Really a stone turtle?" Xiao Chen found it hard to believe.

"Kid, are you done?" The old stone turtle felt a bit aggrieved.

"Unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable? Are you trying to annoy me?" The old stone turtle shot him a look. "Haven't you heard me say it? So far, no one in the world has truly succeeded."

"Then you…" Xiao Chen was puzzled.

"What you see is not necessarily real. I perished body and soul eons ago. What you see now is nothing but a fragment of my residual will, manifesting across time from endless ages past."

Xiao Chen was speechless, both disappointed and expectant.

"Kid, let me tell you a story. Maybe it will inspire you," the old turtle suddenly began in a leisurely tone.

Xiao Chen's mind stirred. "Very well, Senior, please speak."

"Once upon a time, there was a turtle. That turtle raised a human."

"Isn't that backward? Humans raise turtles, right?"

The old turtle gave him a meaningful look. "Young man, don't go doubting others so easily. Don't be so rigid in your thinking. Can't a turtle raise a human?"

"Fine, fine. Please continue. What happened next?"

"Later, that human died. The turtle also died. The end." The old turtle stopped there.

"That's it?!" Xiao Chen really wanted to punch him.

The old turtle squinted at him, looking utterly unfazed. Slowly, he began again, "The turtle may have been just an ordinary turtle, but the human was no ordinary human. Do you know where the Heavenly Steles came from?"

Hearing this, Xiao Chen was startled. The Heavenly Steles were far too mysterious. He truly wanted to know their origin. "How did they come to be?"

"Sigh…" The old turtle shook his head, sighing several times. Then, unhurriedly, he turned to look at the Death Lake. "This water sure is dark black."

Xiao Chen nearly vomited blood. He had been waiting earnestly for the answer, and this old turtle casually changed the subject to the lake water.

Truly infuriating, hateful, maddening!

"Kid, why are you staring like that? Why are you grabbing that toothpick? Want to chop me? Come on, come on, chop me!" The old stone turtle wobbled forward a couple of steps, looking utterly punchable.

Xiao Chen was utterly defeated. He gripped the Divine Halberd tightly, glaring at the old turtle.

"How exactly did the Heavenly Steles come to be?"

"Sigh." The old turtle sighed again, staggering a few steps toward the black Death Lake, staring off into space.

Just as Xiao Chen's head was full of black lines, expecting him to start discussing the lake again, the old stone turtle said dreamily, "They grew."

Xiao Chen was shocked. "You're saying the Heavenly Steles grew out of something? How?"