Chapter 5678: Cultivation? Imprisoned?
Just then, Ling Yunhao, who was sitting beside Chu Feng, lightly kicked the latter and sent a voice transmission, saying, âBrother Chu Feng, you need to change the way you address our vice commander! She hates it when people younger than her address her as âMissâ. A junior from our Ling Clan once did so and nearly got beaten up to death.â
It was only then that Chu Feng realized that he had misspoken, but their terrified expressions reminded him of a sayingâserving a liege is like walking alongside a tiger.
There were underlying threats beneath the harmonious atmosphere, almost like they were treading on thin ice.
Ling Xinian stood up, circled around the dining table, and walked over to Chu Fengâs side.
âChu Feng, hurry up and apologize!â Ling Yunhao urged.
Just then, Ling Xinian leaned close to Chu Feng and beamed a brilliant smile at him, saying, âIâm older than you. Call me big sister Xinian instead.â
âBig sister Xinian,â Chu Feng said.
âHow obedient, little brother Chu Feng.â Ling Xinianâs smile brightened as she patted Chu Fengâs head.
The others on the dining table laughed along as they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
âLittle brother Chu Feng, have you noticed that weâre dressed differently from the others? Arenât you curious why is that so?â Ling Xinian returned to her seat and asked.
âI am curious about it,â Chu Feng replied.
âMost ancient remnants and immemorial remnants have restrictions allowing only juniors to enter their premises, but there is only so strong a junior can become. Many of these remnants have trials that are impossible for a junior to clear, which is why our Seven Realms Sacred Mansion established the Heaven Crushing Army to investigate a way to bypass the restriction.
âOnly those who are aged between 100 to 150 years old are able to take the test to join the Heaven Crushing Army. There is also an age cap to the Heaven Crushing Army; those who exceed 300 years old will be automatically expelled from its ranks,â Ling Xinian said.
âNo wonder your armor is a little unusual.â Chu Feng had noticed that their armor harnessed a special energy that came not from spirit power but a treasure.
âIt takes a great deal of resources to forge our armor. There are only a hundred of them in the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion,â Ling Xinian replied.
âDo you have to undergo special training too?â Chu Feng asked.
âThat goes without saying.â
âHow are the results?â
âOur Seven Realms Sacred Mansion has been researching methods to bypass the age restriction on remnants all along. The Heaven Crushing Army is a relatively new team, formed only thirty thousand years ago, but we have made huge progress thus far. Weâre already very close to success,â Ling Xinian said gleefully.
âIf thereâs a Ling Clan Heaven Crushing Army, does that mean to say that thereâs a Jie Clan Heaven Crushing Army too?â Chu Feng asked.
âSmart!â Ling Xinian replied with a nod. âIt just so happens weâll have an opportunity to enter the Sacred Mansion to cultivate later on. Weâll bring you along to expand your horizons.â
âCan I go too?â Chu Feng asked.
âOf course. Our Ling Clan Heaven Crushing Army has the privilege to bring our friends along with us,â Ling Xinian said.
âOnly our vice commander has that privilege,â Ling Yunhao added.
âBusybody.â Ling Xinian glared at Ling Yunhao.
âThanks, big sister Xinian,â Chu Feng replied.
He felt obliged to thank her even though he knew that Ling Xinian was doing him this favor to befriend him.
After they finished the meal, they made their way to the entrance of Ling Xinianâs residence, where a teleportation formation could be found. Almost all residences in the Upper Mansion had teleportation formations for fast travel.
Chu Feng and the others entered the teleportation formation.
Upon leaving the teleportation formation, Chu Feng was met with a towering wall that seemed to connect the earth to the sky. There was a humongous door in the middle, with two towers by its side. Powerful auras belonging to True Dragon World Spiritists could be felt from the towers, but there were many other powerful world spiritists too.
The plaque hanging above the humongous door was equally eye-catching tooâSacred Mansion!
Beyond this door was where the treasures of the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion were stored.
With a token in hand, Ling Xinian walked up to the entrance and bowed, saying, âI am Ling Xinian. Today, the Heaven Crushing Army will be cultivating at the Seven Realms Boulder. With my privilege as the Heaven Crushing Armyâs vice commander, I wish to bring a good friend in.â
There was no answer, but the Sacred Mansionâs gate slowly creaked open.
Chu Feng could vaguely hear noises reminiscent of thunderous rumbles or bestial roars deep within the Sacred Mansion. Even though these were only noises, he could sense exceptional power behind them.
The group entered the Sacred Mansion and ventured into its depths.
Finally, they arrived at a peculiar region where lightning bolts ceaselessly fell from the heavens to strike at a single spot. It was not the nine-colored lightning, but it was as terrifying as it.
Chu Feng wondered what could have drawn such terrifying lightning here.
âHow is it? Impressive? This is a lightning trial drawn using an immemorial treasure,â Ling Yunhao said.
âImmemorial treasure? What kind of immemorial treasure?â Chu Feng asked.
âWe donât know the details either. We only know that itâs buried deep within the ancestral forbidden land,â Ling Yunhao replied.
âAncestral forbidden land?â Chu Fengâs heart skipped a jolt.
Back when he was at the Divine Inheritance Ground, Jie Yu had told him that the ancestral forbidden land was a sacred place to the Seven Realms Sacred Mansion, so much so that even a prodigy of Ling Xiaoâs caliber wasnât qualified to enter its premises.
That was also where Jie Ranqing was rumored to be in closed-door cultivation.
Chu Feng harbored some doubts regarding Jie Yuâs words, as he knew that his mother was being imprisoned instead of being in closed-door cultivation, but it was possible that she was imprisoned in the ancestral forbidden land.
âCan we go there?â Chu Feng asked.
âDonât even think about it. The ancestral forbidden land is our Seven Realms Divine Mansionâs most sacred cultivation ground. Even we are forbidden from approaching it, let alone see whatâs going on within,â Ling Yunhao replied.
âHow do we gain the qualification to enter the ancestral forbidden land to cultivate?â Chu Feng probed further.
âItâs a secret, but the truth is it has been decades since the ancestral forbidden land has been opened to anyone. Lord Jie Ranqing has been cultivating there all this while,â Ling Yunhao said via voice transmission.
âLord Jie Ranqing? Can only one person cultivate in the ancestral forbidden land at one time?â Chu Feng asked.
âNot at all, but thereâs only so much energy that a cultivation ground could have, even if itâs our ancestral forbidden land. Itâd be more beneficial for an individual to monopolize it than to share it with others. Of course, only someone of Lord Jie Ranqingâs caliber would be qualified to receive such a benefit,â Ling Yunhao said.
âOf course.â Chu Feng nodded.
However, this further convinced him that his mother was imprisoned in the ancestral forbidden land, or else it wouldnât make sense for that place to remain closed for so long. That being said, his mother wasnât probably treated too poorly if she was imprisoned in such a place. Most likely, she was being forced to cultivate there.