NABC 13. The Guardian
13. The Guardian
Without stopping, Ling Yongsheng carried the unconscious Ling Bingtian to the cave entrance and walked straight inside.
Upon first entering this cave, from the outside, it appears no different from any other mountain range in this snowy mountain range. Black rocks, mixed with ice crystals and white snowflakes blown in by the wind, create a unique natural charm.
If we had to point out what makes this cave different from other caves, it would be that there are no traces left by spirit beasts or ordinary animals here.
Ling Yongsheng frowned, realizing that he had been negligent. There should still be some traces of the soul beasts left at the entrance. The fact that he cleaned it up when he left last time may have had the opposite effect.
Although even if a Soul Master comes here, they usually won't explore the depths of the cave, I should still try to prevent it from happening, even if there's only the slightest possibility.
However, this is not the time to look for soul beast droppings or other things to disguise the cave; there are more important things to do now.
Ling Yongsheng continued forward and soon saw a series of seemingly natural, narrow, winding paths. These were all created by an ancestor who was an earth-attribute soul master and had once guarded this place. The purpose was to confuse soul masters who might come to the cave entrance and avoid unnecessary trouble.
Interspersed in the rock walls on both sides of each bend are large and small thorny ice rocks, emanating an aura that makes ice-attribute soul masters or soul beasts uncomfortable.
Even Ling Bingtian, who was brought in unconscious, couldn't help but frown; it was a natural reaction of his body.
Ling Yongsheng didn't feel anything was wrong; his years of cultivation and exposure had already reduced the effects of the Ice Spike on him.
Despite the slight discomfort, Ling Yongsheng was not misled by these twists and turns. He continued walking forward without stopping, clearly having memorized the path to the secret place perfectly.
The only thing that distracted him was Ling Bingtian behind him. Even though he was still protected by his own soul power, Ling Yongsheng didn't want Ling Bingtian to get hurt because of his mistake.
Soon, as Ling Yongsheng faced a bend in the road, a strong incandescent light could be seen from there.
Ling Yongsheng turned the corner expressionlessly, only to be greeted by a series of soul-guiding lamps shining with intense white light.
The soul-guiding lamps were connected to long, thin soul-guiding wires that stretched deeper into the cave. Beside these soul-guiding lamps were several clearly visible iron basins, now covered in dust.
At this moment, Ling Yongsheng, who had been expressionless, revealed a clear look of disgust in his eyes as he looked at the Soul Guiding Lamp.
This is also the ancestral precept passed down through generations of the Ling family. The Ling family rose to prominence after the great war that affected the entire continent, but the Ling family did not start learning how to make soul tools because of it. Instead, like most of the nobles of the Heavenly Soul Empire, they despised soul tools themselves, especially those used in war.
Storage soul tools and these glowing soul tools are already the limit that the older generation of the Ling family can tolerate. In the Ling family, if anyone is found to be using any soul tool other than these, they will be expelled from the clan and will never be able to return to the family tree again. For a scion of a traditional noble family, this is the cruelest punishment.
Even though Ling Yongsheng had experienced many hardships and seen much of the world, and had realized the importance of soul tools, he still couldn't shake off his inherent aversion to them. If it weren't for the fact that using torches in this small, almost enclosed space was too torturous, these soul lamps wouldn't have been allowed to be installed before the gods.
Suppressing his disgust, Ling Yongsheng continued forward, following the soul guides deeper into the cave. At the end of these soul guides lay his destination.
Not far along, Ling Yongsheng saw the end of these soul guides.
It was an upright soul tool, with all the soul wires connected to its base. At the very top of the soul tool was a crimson crystal ball, and on top of the crystal ball was a hand that looked extremely old.
"You've come." The indifferent words came from the owner of the hand. Strangely, the owner's entire body was shrouded in a thick darkness, with only the exposed hand visible.
"I'm here," Ling Yongsheng replied, slowly carrying Ling Bingtian forward from behind, his face filled with barely suppressed joy.
"You shouldn't have come." The owner of the hand responded to Ling Yongsheng in a detached tone. But this time, there was a hint of doubt in his words, as if he found Ling Yongsheng's appearance here at this time very strange.
"But I still came." This time, Ling Yongsheng could not suppress the joy in his heart. He turned his body to the side, revealing Ling Bingtian, who was being supported by soul power behind him.
Before the owner of the hand could react, Ling Yongsheng excitedly continued, "Brother, this is my grandson, your great-nephew. He has awakened a divine-level martial soul!"
Ling Yongsheng's words also revealed the identity of the owner of the hand: he was Ling Yongsheng's elder brother, Ling Yongming, who had been missing from the Ling family for over a hundred years.
"What?" As Ling Yongming spoke, the darkness surrounding him gradually dissipated, revealing his true appearance.
The old man's pale hair was neatly combed on his head, and wrinkles on his face were like ravines. His eyes were cloudy but held a hidden meaning. The old man was somewhat hunched over, and a look of doubt appeared on his face as he looked at Ling Yongsheng.
They know what top-tier and ultimate martial souls are, but what is this god-level martial soul?
Ling Yongsheng first floated Ling Bingtian to his side and gently placed him on the cave floor. Then, with a flick of his right hand, the ancient book recording the Angelic Martial Soul appeared in his hand.
Ling Yongsheng turned to the page in the ancient book that recorded the Angelic Martial Soul, and then handed it to Ling Yongming in front of him.
Ling Yongming frowned, looking at the contents of the ancient book with a puzzled expression. Soon, his body began to tremble, overwhelmed with excitement.
"Your grandson, has he really awakened the angelic martial spirit from this book?" Ling Yongming asked in a trembling voice, a startling light suddenly flashing in his cloudy eyes.
"No, the martial soul he awakened is the Ice Crystal Phoenix, the ultimate ice, and his innate soul power is as high as level fifteen." Ling Yongsheng's tone was full of pride. "What that ancestor with full innate soul power couldn't do back then, he might be able to do."
Under Ling Yongming's excited gaze, Ling Yongsheng uttered the second half of his sentence, "Becoming a god will also free you." When he said the second half, Ling Yongsheng's mood clearly became depressed.
Seeing Ling Yongsheng's appearance, Ling Yongming was also somewhat moved, and his excited emotions gradually calmed down. He stepped forward and gently patted his younger brother.
"Alright, who are you trying to fool with that dejected look? Your brother made that choice willingly back then, you didn't do anything wrong."
"But it should have been me, the one with slightly less talent, who came here." Ling Yongsheng looked at Ling Yongming, whose hair was now completely white. Even after so many years, he still couldn't forget that night.
His deceased father told him then that the original plan for him to go to the secret place to take charge had been changed. And the one who made the change was none other than his own elder brother standing before him.
He took his place, arriving at this secret place a hundred years ago as a level 76 Soul Saint, succeeding the previous guardian and beginning his long and monotonous life.
Back in the day, during the conversation between that ancestor and the Ice God, the Ice God set a rule for the Ling family. It was this rule that led Ling Yongming to leave the family and come to guard this secret place.