Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 1098 - 478: Lu Clan Secrets, Ancient Hypothesis (Part 2)
"Because we have more important matters."
The new members of the Lu Clan were increasingly confused, but the Lu Clan elder seemed unwilling to explain further, instead leading them onward.
They walked for several hours.
The stairs ahead seemed endless.
With their pace, "Lu Yan" calculated silently, they must have descended deep underground, quite deep.
Suddenly, from above, there was a bubbling sound, as if something was boiling.
Thick droplets dripped onto his ear, and as "Lu Yan" turned his head, he realized his shoulder was covered in red stains.
Startled, he looked up and finally saw the peak of Primordial Venerable Peak.
At the top stood a statue of a man with an unfamiliar face and a cold demeanor, the entire statue appearing to be cast from black stone.
Above the statue’s head was a swirling red cloud, like a cover over Primordial Venerable Peak.
"This is..."
His heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t dare to say more. It wasn’t just him; others also sensed something was wrong and held their breath.
A little closer, they could see the lower half of the statue, which stood on a white stone platform, densely inscribed with runes.
Around the stone platform was a field of whiteness—a sea of bones.
Round skulls, long leg bones, exposed rib cages, hollow eyes.
They were piled into ten or so small mounds, encircling the statue.
An altar!
He never imagined that the peak of Primordial Venerable Peak was actually a bizarre, eerie altar!
"This is our Saint Ancestor." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Doesn’t the Saint Ancestor have a portrait? This doesn’t look like him!"
"The Saint Ancestor has another identity, known as the Original."
The Original Demon Ancestor?
"Lu Yan" felt shocks in his heart, nearly unable to control his expression. When he looked back at the statue, he realized it was no statue, but a corpse.
The chest of the corpse gently rose and fell, seeming to breathe rhythmically.
Rhythm...
"Lu Yan" glanced at the sky, suddenly understanding that the swirling cloud’s rotation matched the rise and fall of the statue’s chest.
Could it be that this vortex was consuming these offerings to revive the Original Demon Ancestor?
"Lu Yan" felt a chill in his heart. He had always been somewhat curious about Haori Mountain—after all, it was the Great Immortal Sect of Xuanwei since ancient times.
But after witnessing this scene, he longed for Jiushan Realm.
Perhaps most cultivators at Haori Mountain didn’t know the truth about Haori Mountain, thinking they were part of the Immortal Sect, especially the Lu Clan people.
He looked at the new Lu Clan disciples beside him, seeing a faint rejection in their expressions, and he understood—regardless of their nature, most Lu Clan disciples still saw themselves as righteous people. But this scene shattered their illusion.
Just like moments ago, climbing the mountain only to realize they were sinking deeper, even into the abyss.
"Who are these people...?"
A disciple pointed to the bones on the ground, somewhat unwilling.
"The Gu God requires blood sacrifice; we offer the sacrifices in secret to both clans." But the Lu Clan elder’s answer extinguished any remaining hope.
So the Lu Clan’s fervor in feeding the Gu is actually a cover for kickbacks in the name of the Gu God?
If they couldn’t do it themselves, they’d capture people under the Gu God’s name?
"We are from the Great Immortal Sect, why..."
muttered a Lu Clan disciple.
The Lu Clan elder waved his sleeve, and the disciple flew up, landing at the altar’s base.
"Help..."
Before finishing a word, his face was covered with countless wrinkles, skin turning from red to gray. In an instant, he went from a youthful lad to an elderly man.
In just three breaths, everyone watched as he collapsed, flesh turning to ash, flying into the black cloud.
Another set of bones appeared beside the altar.
The Lu Clan elder, no longer kind, wore a sinister expression: "Remember, whether the Immortal Sect or Demon Sect, everything of our Lu Clan comes from the Saint Ancestor!"
"...Yes!"
Terrified, they were silent for a long time until the elder spoke again: "We brought you here for a ritual."
"Ritual? To awaken the Saint Ancestor?"
"No, this Saint Ancestor’s body is already dead."
"Lu Yan" looked at the statue—dead?
"Years ago, the rebel Tianhe severely wounded the Original Saint Ancestor, and thereafter the Saint Ancestor transformed this Dharma Body into a Magical Treasure and left it at Primordial Venerable Peak."
A Magical Treasure?
"The Original Saint Ancestor was a Golden Immortal and the mightiest at the time. This treasure’s power is unrivaled in today’s Xuanwei!"
"Lu Yan" brooded—no wonder the Lu Clan was so confident.
"Moreover, this Saint Ancestor’s remains are the key to opening and closing Nine Luminaries Heaven. Without this, no one may enter or leave."
No wonder they dared to negotiate with the Gu God.
"Then... why not use this corpse to destroy the two clans and capture Zheng Fa?"
"Using it isn’t that simple," the Lu Clan elder chuckled bitterly, "Back then, the Saint Ancestor seized the opportunity and obtained this altar, allowing us to barely manipulate the remains."
"Lu Yan" looked at the runestone-filled altar beneath the statue. Could this be a treasure as well?
"We’ve secretly captured many cultivators just to release the Gu God, but now..." The Lu Clan elder shook his head, "Now, entering Nine Luminaries Heaven drains even more, requiring both capturing cultivators and holding clan-wide rituals."
Lu Yan understood then—the Lu Clan didn’t refuse to retaliate against the Yunluo two clans, but were currently too stretched thin. The altar consumed most of their resources.
