Talisman Emperor

As they conversed, their group had arrived before an Ancestral Root.

It was a caved-in gorge, and the center of the gorge was covered in rocks and desolation. On the other hand, the emerald green beam of light had surged out from amidst the rocks.

Divine radiance surged while it emanated strands of ancestral qi.

The ancestral qi had a color that was translucent like glass, and they were filled with extraordinary divinity. Even though they were merely in strands and extremely faint, all the cultivators here were clearly aware that while they seemed to be inconspicuous, a mere strand of ancestral qi was capable of destroying a myriad of mountains!

The Ancestral Root was where the ancestral qi was produced, and Ancestral Dao Roots were born within it.

Bang!

Suddenly, an expanse of ruins in the gorge shook and exploded apart, and then a completely pitch black, three-legged horned ferocious beast that was large like an elephant charged out from within.

Roar!

The ferocious beast's entire body was suffused by violent divinity, and its aura was monstrous. A single roar from it shredded the wind and clouds in the surroundings, and it caused even the heavens and the earth to dim down.

"Haha. Our luck isn't bad. It's only a Three-legged Crow that's guarding this sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root." Le Wuhen wasn't shocking but delighted instead.

As he spoke, the Three-legged Crow had already roared and crushed through space as it charged towards them. Moreover, a circle of divinity suddenly arose on its horn, and it was jet black and terrifying.

"Animal! Just give up!" Le Wuhen roared with laughter.

Clang!

He stretched out his hand and grabbed, and a bronze short speak on his back entered into his palm before he swung it lightly.

Rumble!

The short spear surged with powerful Divine Energy, and it even crushed space into a torrent of chaotic energy.

Bang!

This attack was extremely domineering. It didn't just crush the jet black ring of light, this strike had even forcefully crushed the Three-legged Crow's body into pieces, causing blood and flesh to spray into the air while it didn't even have the chance to let out a shrill cry.

Clang!

Le Wuhen put the short spear away, and then he patted his hands together and said casually, "Who needs a sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root? Go get it yourself."

From the beginning until the end, he seemed as if he'd done an extremely ordinary thing, and he seemed to be extremely carefree.

This fellow's combat strength is pretty extraordinary, and it isn't just a little bit stronger than Yuqiu Jing. Chen Xi seemed to be lost in thought.

As far as he was concerned, amongst the members of his group, Le Wuhen and Shentu Yanran possessed roughly equivalent strengths, Yuqiu Jing was slightly inferior to them, and the person that was most difficult to see through was Zhuanyu Shui. Zhuanyu Shui kept an extremely low profile and was an expert in the School of Fiendgod Body Refinement, so his combat strength could absolutely not be underestimated.

The cultivators in the group hesitated because this was merely a sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root. It wasn't that they looked down upon it, and it was instead because they held hoped in their hearts and felt that they might be able to find even better Ancestral Dao Roots later. Thus, they hesitated slightly.

According to the agreed upon method of distribution, once one obtained an Ancestral Dao Root, it would be the next person's turn according to order. Unless everyone had already obtained an Ancestral Dao Root, then perhaps one would have the chance to obtain a second opportunity. However, the chances of that was extremely slim.

Moreover, they probably wouldn't have enough time to accomplish that.

Actually, such thoughts weren't difficult to understand. If there was only this single Ancestral Dao Root within the Ancestral Root Grounds, then they would probably not hesitate to fight for it.

Yet now, they had too many choices, and it caused various other thoughts to arise in their hearts instead. They kept thinking that the next Ancestral Dao Root they encountered would possess a higher quality, but no one dared to confirm the actual final outcome.

So, this was the reason why they hesitated and acted so cautiously.

In the end, someone stood out and said, "Thank you for your help, Young Master Wuhen. I'll take this sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root."

This person wore black colored clothes, had an upright appearance, and a steady and experienced bearing. He was called Wei Zifu.

"Zifu, there's no need for that. We're all part of the same group. Quickly go on and get it." Le Wuhen smiled lightheartedly, and he really admired Wei Zifu's choice.

Even though they'd found an Ancestral Root with extreme ease, but as more and more cultivators entered into the Ancestral Root Grounds, it wouldn't be so easy to seize another Ancestral Dao Root of the same quality.

Even though the decision Wei Zifu made at this moment seemed extremely safe, it was undoubtedly very wise as well.

Swoosh!

In the next instant, Wei Zifu had flashed into the gorge and arrived before the area covered in rocks that was suffused with ancestral qi and emanated divine radiance.

He took a deep breath and carefully bent down before he crushed the pile of rocks there, causing an extremely dazzling and resplendent ball of emerald green light that was like a little emerald green sun to be instantly exposed.

At this instant, even Chen Xi couldn't help but look over carefully because it was the first time that he'd seen an Ancestral Dao Root, so he was naturally extremely curious.

The emerald green ball of light was around the size of a fist and extremely dazzling. Moreover, it was enveloped in dense and pure ancestral qi, causing it to be divine and extraordinary.

With Chen Xi's current ability of discernment, he'd practically instantly noticed that even though it was said to be a Dao Root, it could be said to be a force that contained powerful ancestral qi. Moreover, it faintly seemed to contain boundless vitality. So, it seemed like a seed that would instantly root itself to the ground and grow into a towering tree.

On the other hand, the 'ground' mentioned here was naturally the Foundation in the Divine Dao possessed by cultivators.

Om!

Wei Zifu suddenly flicked his sleeve, causing a torrent of crimson red divine light to surge out before sweeping the emerald green ball of light away and into a jade box that he'd prepared a long time ago.

After that, Wei Zifu utilized a divine restriction to seal the jade box before he heaved a sigh of relief, and then a wisp of a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

With this Ancestral Divine Root, he wouldn't be a floating piece of duckweed any longer when he charged into the Universe Enlightened Ancestral God Realm, and he would possess the most basic requirement to advance into the Universe Enlightened Ancestral God Realm.

"Alright, let's set out. The competition we face will be even greater as time passes." Le Wuhen immediately instructed before he led the group away.

"Fellow Daoist Wuhen, how do we determine the quality of the Ancestral Dao Roots?" Chen Xi couldn't help but ask this question on the way.

Le Wuhen said with a smile, "It's very simple. Dao Roots of different quality emanate different colors. They're roughly divided into black, white, crimson, orange, yellow, green, azure, blue, and violet, and they respectively correspond to the nine grades of Ancestral Dao Roots.

"Black is the most inferior, and it's extremely muddy. Violet is the strongest, and it carries an imperial aura.

"Actually, Ancestral Dao Roots of the same grade have a difference in quality, and they are roughly divided into ordinary, superb, and top levels. For example, this sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root was emerald green in color, pure, and translucent. Moreover, the ancestral qi within the glow it emanated was thick. So, it can already be considered to be a top level sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root."

After Chen Xi heard all of this, he came to an understanding. He finally understood that the ninth-grade Emperor Rank Ancestral Dao Root would definitely emanate violet divine radiance.

……

With Wei Zifu as an example, the hearts of the other cultivators burned with extreme desire as well, and they rubbed their palms and were filled with anticipation towards their search after this.

However, to their disappointment, their group had actually not found a single Ancestral Root after an entire day. This outcome caused many people to arouse a trace of regret, and they started to feel slight envy towards Wei Zifu's choice from that day.

Fortunately, the time they had was still sufficient, so they didn't feel anxious.

Le Wuhen knew that this would happen, yet he didn't say anything. Because he was clearly aware that as they got closer and closer to the core area of the Ancestral Root Grounds, the amount of areas they could find Ancestral Dao Roots in would increase more and more.

The only troublesome thing was that the number of cultivators there at that time would definitely be numerous, and they wouldn't be able to avoid conflict and friction with other groups.

On the other hand, Chen Xi had been constantly thinking about a single thing throughout this process, and it was the temple guardian's attitude towards him.

Why did he exempt us from the test and allow our entire group to enter safely into the Ancestral Root Grounds?

Could it be because he noticed something from me?

Chen Xi practically instinctively related all of this to the River Diagram fragments, the diagram of the bloodied damaged sword, and the inheritance from the owner of the iron sword.

The ancient characters '荒' and '墟' that represented the words desolate and ruin had appeared on the River Diagram fragments, and the clues faintly led to the Desolate Manku Ruins.

After he entered the Desolate Manku Ruins, the diagram of the bloodied damaged sword had awakened unexpectedly, and it allowed him to coincidentally obtain the inheritance of the iron sword's owner. Moreover, he'd comprehended the True Heart Sutra and Mysterious Sword of the Heart techniques from within it, allowing him combat strength to advance by leaps and bounds now.

Moreover, a trace of a feeling had floated up into appearance within his heart before he'd even arrived at the Ancestral Root Grounds, and he'd sensed that there was a faint summon calling out to him from the north.

The Ancestral Root Grounds were precisely at the north that he'd determined that day.

So, when the temple guardian suddenly exempted them from the test because of him, Chen Xi instantly felt that the change in the temple guardian's attitude was probably related to all of this.

However, Chen Xi was unable to determine if it was because of the River Diagram fragments or the inheritance from the iron sword!

All along the way, he'd been constantly pondering about this, yet he was unable to obtain a certain answer until now.

"That's… a seventh-grade Monarch Rank Ancestral Dao Root!" Suddenly, an exclaim of surprise resounded, and it jolted Chen Xi awake from his deep thoughts.

Chen Xi raised his eyes to look over, and he noticed a vast and brilliant azure beam of light towering into the sky in the distance.

"A Monarch Rank Ancestral Dao Root!" The breathing of all the cultivators in the group became heavy while their eyes brightened, and they didn't conceal their burning desire to take possession of it at all.

This was a precious treasure that could only be chanced upon by luck. Even though it was only a grade higher than a sixth-grade Ancestral Dao Root, the difference in the benefits they provided was like the difference between the heavens and the earth!

Even Le Wuhen, Shentu Yanran, and the others were stunned and slightly surprised. Isn't our group's luck a bit too good?

Even they were extremely tempted by an Ancestral Dao Root of such quality.

Their group didn't hesitate at all, and they whistled through the air as they swarmed over towards that beam of azure light.

It was a mountainous area, and the azure beam of light had surged out from here.

However, when Chen Xi's group arrived here and saw the scene there clearly, they instantly felt as if they'd been doused with a pail of cold water, and the hopes and excitement in their hearts vanished without a trace.

An enormous ferocious beast that was completely covered in blood laid there. Obviously, it had just perished not too long ago, and the scars of battle covered an area of 500km in the surroundings.

So, how could Chen Xi's group not understand that someone had arrived here before the?

One of the cultivators refused to give up, and he charged over to the azure beam of light and searched carefully. However, he returned in vain in the end, and his expression had instantly turned gloomy.

"Dammit! We were a step too late. That was a Monarch Rank Ancestral Dao Root we missed!" Someone sighed with indignation and was extremely disgruntled.

The other cultivators were extremely disappointed as well, and they felt dejected.

"Looks like we have to change our strategy." Le Wuhen spoke abruptly after pondering deeply for a moment.