Bizarre Inheritance, Devouring? Consuming?

Chapter 94 Bizarre Inheritance, Devouring? Consuming?

In that instant, an ancient rune suddenly appeared on the key. As soon as the rune took shape, it transformed into a stream of light and flew straight toward the bronze door.

boom!

The runes on the gate suddenly lit up, merging with the stream of light. With a muffled roar, the bronze gate, sealed for countless years, slowly opened, and a jet-black light surged out from the crack, instantly enveloping Lan He.

Lan He felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and his body was pulled by an irresistible force, flying towards the door.

Behind him, the door slammed shut, and all was silent once more.

The moment he entered the bronze gate, a dazzling light suddenly filled Lanhe's vision.

The light was so intense that it stung his eyes, causing him to instinctively close them.

The light lasted for a moment, and as it slowly dissipated, plunging the surroundings into darkness, Lan He was surprised to find that all his senses had been sealed within his body. The powerful spiritual energy that had been surging around him had also been forcibly compressed back into his body.

-

The sudden lockdown startled Lan He slightly, but he didn't panic too much. After a moment's thought, he gradually relaxed.

A moment later, a faint light shone through from ahead.

Lan He squinted, adjusting to the gradually brightening light, and slowly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is a magnificent yet dark hall.

The main hall was extremely spacious, with a soaring dome and ancient runes engraved on the surrounding stone walls. In the very center of the hall, a colossal, suffocating statue of a ferocious beast stood majestically, occupying almost half of the space.

The statue, hundreds of feet tall, was carved entirely from an unknown, jet-black stone. It lay prostrate on the ground, roaring towards the sky. Its enormous mouth was wide open, revealing sharp teeth, as if it wanted to devour the heavens and earth. Its hollow eye sockets were sunken, yet they seemed to be watching every living being that stepped into this place, sending chills down one's spine.

Taotie.

The leader of the four ancient ferocious beasts, a terrifying being that is said to devour everything.

Beside the statue stands a huge stone tablet with several powerful and ancient characters engraved on it.

The leader of the four major demonic sects, the Taotie Sect.

"The lineage of the Gluttonous Sect?"

Lan He murmured to himself, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings. He quickly noticed that within the gaping maw of the Taotie statue, a deep, winding passage could be vaguely seen, leading downwards as if to some unknown depth.

The entrance is there.

Just as he was about to take a step, a deep, aged voice suddenly echoed throughout the hall: "Who goes there?"

Lan He paused, looking in the direction of the sound. He saw that two cold, eerie lights were shining in the eyes of the Taotie statue, which was looking down at him with scrutiny and a hint of barely perceptible greed.

"I am the guardian spirit of the Taotie Sect's heritage."

The voice rang out again, authoritative and cold, "To obtain my sect's inheritance, you must first offer the essence blood of disciples from the four great Xuan Sects. Do you have it?"

Lan He frowned slightly and answered truthfully, "No."

The voice paused for a moment, then let out a sneer: "Trash! You can't even get the essence blood of the four great sects, yet you dare to come here?"

A strange light flashed in Lan He's eyes.

The Four Great Mysterious Sects? Essence Blood?

He quickly calculated in his mind. As far as he knew, in the original world, the eldest son of the Song family of the Heavenly Demon Dynasty had obtained the Taotie inheritance. At that time, he hadn't obtained the essence blood of the Four Great Mystic Sects. Even if he obtained an incomplete inheritance, it was still a genuine inheritance.

Seeing that he remained silent, the voice softened its tone, carrying a hint of seduction: "Since you lack the essence blood of someone who has inherited the Xuanzong lineage, offer up your own essence blood, and I may reluctantly allow you to enter—"

Upon hearing this, Lan He frowned even more deeply. He carefully examined the Taotie statue in front of him, his gaze lingering on its cold eyes for a moment, when suddenly a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Not right.

From the moment he entered, his senses had been completely suppressed. But if this truly was a guardian spirit of the inheritance, why the need for such secrecy?

With a thought, Lan He's ancient and obscure black rune in his Niwan Palace suddenly began to operate!

Devour the Ancestral Symbol!

A terrifying suction force erupted from him, tearing everything around it. The entire hall trembled violently, and the runes on the stone walls flickered and groaned under the strain.

Click—

A crisp cracking sound rang out, and the array that had been suppressing his senses shattered in response!

Lan He's spiritual power surged forth like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire hall. A moment later, his gaze sharpened, landing on the chest cavity of the Taotie statue.

"You charlatan, I'll see who you really are!"

Lan He snorted coldly, his figure moved, and he rushed directly towards the statue. He stretched out his right hand, his five fingers forming a claw, and grabbed straight at the location where the mysterious entity was hidden!

boom!

The statue's chest cavity exploded, and a silver-white, illusory figure fled in a sorry state from the crack!

It was the phantom of a giant, silver-white wolf, enormous in size, with a crescent moon mark on its forehead, and it was looking at Lan He with a look of fear on its face.

"You—you actually broke the formation?"

Lan He stood in mid-air, coldly looking at it: "A Nirvana Realm demon spirit? It dares to impersonate the guardian spirit of the Taotie Sect?"

The demon's expression changed drastically; it knew it had been exposed and could no longer pretend. A ruthless glint flashed in its eyes, and it suddenly opened its massive maw, unleashing a beam of silver light that shot towards Blue River!

"Die!"

Lan He dodged the attack with a swift movement. He raised his hand and unleashed the power of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, a terrifying suction force locking onto the demonic spirit!

The demon was horrified to discover that its energy was being frantically drained from its body, and no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free. It roared and attacked wildly, but every attack that landed on Lan He was neutralized by that strange devouring power.

"What...what kind of power is this?"

A moment later, it was extremely weak, and its illusory form became somewhat transparent. Lan He took a step forward, extended his right hand, and with his five fingers forming a claw, directly grabbed its throat, lifting it into the air.

The demon struggled a few times, but finding it impossible to break free, it finally gave up resisting, hanging its head dejectedly as it looked at Lan He, its eyes full of grievance: "I was wrong, I was wrong, okay? --- I just wanted to trick some essence blood to replenish myself --- I haven't eaten anything for so many years ---"

Upon hearing this, Lan He frowned, looking at the pitiful appearance of the demon spirit, but he did not feel any pity.

"You just asked me to offer my essence blood, and then asked if I had the essence blood of someone who inherited the Xuanzong lineage. These two things are probably not as simple as just deceiving Bubu, are they?"

The demon's eyes flickered, and it stammered, "It's just...it's just to replenish my energy..."

Lan He stopped wasting words and with a thought, the power of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol surged once more, causing the demon spirit to scream in agony, and its phantom image faded slightly.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

It immediately begged for mercy, no longer daring to conceal the truth, "I am indeed the guardian spirit of the Taotie Sect, but because too much time has passed and I haven't been able to leave, my cultivation has been constantly depleting. I need the essence of living people to recover, but I can't obtain the true inheritance with just that—"

"So what exactly was the essence blood of those four great sects used for?"

The demon spirit stammered, "The true Taotie Relics—indeed require the essence blood of disciples from the four great Xuanzong sects to open. I am from the ancient Moon-Devouring Wolf clan, and the Taotie inheritance resonates with me; I also desire it. However, I am merely a guardian spirit, possessing only a superficial understanding of the Taotie sect. The true core inheritance requires the essence blood of a Xuanzong sect member to break the seal."

"

A glint of light flashed in Lan He's eyes: "Where is the true inheritance?"

The demon gestured with its lip towards the area below the statue: "Right down here."

Lan He released his grip, tossing the demon spirit aside. He walked to the statue, channeled his energy, and slammed his palm onto the base of the statue.

Rumble!

The statue slowly moved aside, revealing a deep cave entrance. At the entrance, a pale golden light curtain appeared and disappeared, covered with dense ancient runes, exuding an aura of indestructibility.

seal.

Lanhe turned to look at the demon spirit.

The demon chuckled sheepishly: "I told you, it requires the essence blood of the Xuanzong Sect—"

Lan He glanced at it and said indifferently, "Hand over the Taotie Sect's inheritance that you know."

The demon spirit was taken aback, then said with a bitter face, "That's my most treasured possession—"

Lan He didn't speak, but the aura of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol within his body surged slightly once more.

The demon spirit trembled and hurriedly said, "Give it to me! I'll give it to you right away!"

It opened its mouth and spat out a beam of silver light, which entered Lan He's brow. A moment later, Lan He opened his eyes, but his brows were slightly furrowed.

Superior spiritual martial arts, the art of devouring.

This technique is indeed related to the Taotie, but it only contains the power of "devouring," which involves consuming food, refining its essence, and using it to strengthen oneself.

That's it.

This is not true devouring power.

Lan He shook his head. Possessing the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, he naturally understood what the true Dao of Devouring meant. It meant devouring everything; all things could be transformed into one's own power, blood, spirit, and even the attacks of opponents could be devoured.

This so-called technique of swallowing food is nothing more than being able to eat more and digest faster. Although there is only a one-word difference between the two, they are worlds apart.

"Is this the Taotie inheritance you mentioned?" Lan He looked at the demon spirit.

The demon spirit retorted, "I'm just a guardian spirit; it's already quite good that I've learned these basics. The true core inheritance lies behind that seal—"

Lan He glanced at the seal thoughtfully.

It seems that what Song Zhen obtained back then was just a superficial understanding. If he could obtain the true Taotie inheritance, it would probably be no weaker than the Azure Dragon Transformation Technique, which is at the Heavenly Martial Arts level.

After all, in ancient times, the Taotie was a terrifying being that could rival the Azure Dragon. One was known for devouring all things, and the other was the master of scales and armor. If the two were to clash head-on, the outcome would be uncertain.

Lan He withdrew his gaze and then looked at the pale golden seal. Regardless, he had finally arrived; he had to give it a try, he couldn't have come all this way for nothing.

With a thought, the ancient and obscure black rune in his Niwan Palace suddenly began to operate.

Devour the Ancestral Symbol!

A terrifying devouring force erupted, slamming violently into the seal. The seal trembled violently, its ancient runes flashing wildly, as if making a final struggle. But before the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, this seal, which had endured countless years, was ultimately no match for it.

Click—

A crack appeared on the seal, and then more and more cracks appeared before it finally shattered with a crash!

After the seal was placed, there was a deep passage, at the end of which a more magnificent palace could be vaguely seen.

Lan He didn't rush inside. He turned to look at the demon spirit, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The demon spirit trembled and instinctively took a few steps back: "You—what do you want to do?"

Lan He reached out and grabbed it, saying, "Let's go in and scout ahead."

"No!"

The demon screamed as Lan He threw it into the passage. A moment later, a curse echoed from the depths of the passage, but nothing seemed amiss.

Lan He then stepped into the passage.

At the end of the passage was an even more magnificent hall. In the center of the hall stood a stone tablet ten zhang tall, its body entirely black, carved with lifelike Taotie patterns, its huge mouth wide open as if about to devour the heavens and the earth.

Lan He approached the stone tablet, his gaze falling on the ancient characters on its surface.

The inscription clearly records the rules of inheritance of the Taotie Sect. This is the test of this hall and the only way to obtain the true inheritance.

The test was not complicated, but it was extremely cruel.

By infusing Yuan Power into the stone tablet, the inheritance can be activated. Once activated, the entire hall will continuously devour the inheritor's Yuan Power. The inheritor needs to comprehend the Heavenly Martial Arts that appear on the stone tablet within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to completely deplete their Yuan Power.

If you don't understand within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—

One's own essence, blood, vital energy, and even spiritual power will be completely devoured, turning into a skeleton.

After reading it, Lan He's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile.

Devour his vital energy? Devour his life force?

He wanted to see if this grand hall could withstand the Devouring Ancestral Symbol in his hand.

Seeing his expression, the demon spirit behind him panicked and shouted, "Boy, don't be impulsive! Comprehending a celestial martial art in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is practically suicide! Countless geniuses have died this way since they came here. Be careful!"

Lan He didn't turn his head, but simply said, "Is that so?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pressed it on the stone tablet, and his Yuan energy surged into it!

boom!

The entire hall suddenly lit up, and a terrifying devouring force surged from all directions, frantically tearing at the Yuan Power and Qi in his body!

The demon screamed in despair, clutching its head and crouching in a corner: "It's over, it's over, another one's gone mad—"

"Don't take me with you if you're going to your death!"

Lanhe ignored its wails and simply gazed silently at the stone tablet before him. Suddenly, the stone tablet shone brightly, and countless ancient runes began to flow, eventually condensing on the surface into a complete cultivation technique—the true core inheritance of the Taotie Sect.

He began to ponder.

Time ticked by. The devouring power of the main hall grew increasingly violent, frantically tearing apart every strand of his vital energy and every drop of his blood.

However----

A moment passed, and Lan He remained motionless.

Ten breaths passed, and it remained motionless.

Half an incense stick later, his aura remained as steady as ever, as if the terrifying devouring power had no effect on him.

The demon spirit, who had been huddled in a corner waiting to die, stared wide-eyed at the scene before it in disbelief.

"This—how is this possible?"

It suddenly stood up, staring intently at Lanhe, and then, as if remembering something, its expression changed drastically.

"The Devouring Ancestral Symbol—you possess the Devouring Ancestral Symbol?!"

It finally understood why this person was fearless in the face of this devouring inheritance, and why the rune array, which was powerful enough to drain the life essence of any Nirvana Realm expert or even the Life Profound Realm expert, had no effect on him.

In this world, there are only a handful of beings capable of contending with the devouring power of the Taotie. And the only one capable of completely ignoring this devouring power is one of the Eight Great Ancestral Symbols—the Devouring Ancestral Symbol!

The demon knelt down with a thud, its voice trembling: "My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! I was blind and ignorant, I have offended you greatly, please forgive me!"

Lanhe ignored it, his eyes slightly closed, his mind completely absorbed in the legacy of the stone tablet.

The spirit's voice gradually weakened, and its form grew fainter and fainter. Finally, in its desperate pleas, it turned into specks of light and vanished completely.

Inside the main hall, only Lan He remained, quietly comprehending the supreme inheritance originating from ancient times.