The Sacred Ruins

Chapter 342: Glory and Terror

Translator: Alsey Editor: Chrissy

The old Taoist paused momentarily but then uttered an astonishing rank, "11th."

He fell silent after saying this and was lost in thought. His expression was incomparably serious.

This kind of ranking was absolutely glorious and incomparably astonishing. This shocked everyone.

Even Chu Feng, who had already heard about earth’s history from Yellow Ox and knew that it was ranked within the top 100, felt momentarily surprised.

In truth, Yellow Ox didn’t know the actual rank either. He guessed it was within the top few dozens judging from the clues left behind in the notes of certain predecessors.

The old Taoist was also the same. He knew that earth was ranked quite high but didn’t know that it was at this level. This had far surpassed his expectations.

How brilliant was the 11th strongest star in the cosmos?!

Doubtlessly, there were sages and extreme champions here countless years ago. They were able to illuminate the heavens, look down on the vast starry ocean, and intimidate myriad worlds.

However, everything disappeared like smoke in the end. This place was no longer as powerful and was in complete decline.

Even though it was just a token of their past glory, all the kings present were full with joy and excitement. Some among them cheered and laughed loudly.

Earth used to be so strong. There was an expert who could illuminate the heavens and require every world to offer sacrifices to him. How terrifying and brilliant was that?

Although earth had declined and become an abandoned place, there were certain to be many extraordinary things left behind. At the thought of this, many people became wild with excitement.

Not to mention the famed mountains, great rivers, and the recovering old trees, even those underground cave residences would be enough to make people go mad once they appear.

Then they began to think about how astonishing the orthodoxy and teachings left behind by this heaven illuminating expert.

His path to evolution and his inheritances might appear on earth!

All of them felt their blood boiling as they anticipated this possibility. They were on the verge of facing the sky and letting out a howl. Their hearts were throbbing from the expectations.

Just now, they were badly set aback and dispirited after hearing the old Taoist’s words. They thought that it would be difficult to contend with the divine sons and saintesses of the outer realm.

As for climbing to the apex and standing shoulder to shoulder with those 100 strongest figures, there was no need to speak of such nonsensical dreams.

But now they felt an inexplicable confidence because their star was once ranked 11 in the cosmos. It was extraordinary!

They could be considered the descendants of a powerful star!

Obviously, their respective seniors were once extremely brilliant and could look down on myriad realms. They could beat down countless stars until the races there couldn’t raise their heads.

This land was once worshipped by the creatures of under all the heavens and the countless races on myriad stars. It was splendor at its finest!

At the same time, they also realized that the beings from the outer realm were finding ways to descend. The divine sons and saintesses from various realms were about to cross over.

That was because there were simply too many extraordinary things here that were worth contending for. Rank 11 was higher than countless worlds!

Many people were excited. They felt that a certain kind of faith that their own accomplishments might also reach a terrifying level as the world slowly recovered. No one could tell just what kind of fortunes might appear.

Astonishing ancient trees might appear in groves or ancient cave residences that had been hidden underground for many years might come into being. If the peerless orthodoxy appeared, it would be truly unimaginable!

However, there were some people pondering with solemnity while others were cheering in excitement and delight.

That was because their thoughts were from a different viewpoint.

For instance, the old Taoist appeared extremely solemn. He was completely silent and no longer spoke a single word after explaining earth’s rank.

Lin Naoi was quite sharp and immediately formed a connection between certain things. She realized many things she didn’t before.

"No wonder." The problem lady was also in the same state. She seemed as if she had suddenly realized something.

The old woman’s half burnt eyes were also shining brightly as she nodded to herself in secret.

As for Chu Feng, he felt the extreme glory of the earth and understood everyone’s delight. He was also sighing lightly. That was because, as an extraordinary person, he had also understood some things.

Rank 11!

This rank was shocking. It far surpassed Yellow Ox’s estimation.

Yellow Ox had once said that the strongest 10 stars in the cosmos were perpetual and had never changed before.

This implied too many things.

It wasn’t too difficult to see that they were too unfathomably powerful. They had far surpassed the understanding of the races in the starry skies.

Additionally, were there no experts among the stars who could challenge their position even after so many years? This wasn’t possible!

However, it was the truth that the first ten ranks had never changed before!

It was likely that bloody events and scenes were hidden behind their glory and brilliance! There might also be tragic stories of weeping ancient stars.

Earth used to be ranked 11th—just how dazzling was this? They were revered by myriad worlds back then. In the end, they suddenly declined and finally became an abandoned land.

This was truly terrifying.

There was no shortage of sharp people here. Some people became silent and their expressions became serious. They were no longer over excited as they sensed a certain cold intent.

They could deduce many things from just a single rank.

It could be said that the world was incomparably glorious but had experienced many terrifying incidences.

Many people frowned and became completely quiet. They asked the old Taoist about earth’s later rank, hoping to understand more about the situation afterwards.

"After a brilliant period at rank 11, earth fell to rank 97,452!" the old Taoist said with a deep voice.

All mouths fell open and with stunned expressions. The earth was as bright as the midday sun, but it actually fell to over 90,000 in rank. This was too terrifying.

"What happened later on?" someone asked softly.

"Later? There’s no later!" the old Taoist told everyone that this record only held up to 100,000 in ranking. There are no records for those exceeding this number.

This also meant that earth declined once again after falling to over 90,000 in rank. They had long since lost the right to participate in the rankings. Today, there was no telling just how far they had fallen!

At this time many people became silent. There were too many things to think about.

From incomparable glory to a wasteland, this was a sharp fall and not a gradual decline. What did this imply?

This made many people rather apprehensive. They began to tremble in trepidation.

This period must’ve been accompanied by terror, darkness, and bloody events.

The evolved civilization should’ve developed rapidly on the past earth but became a wasteland within a short period. Just how terrifying was this?

To those powerful worlds with dense energy levels, earth had long since become a barren and desolate land. The races had degenerated and everything was covered in dust.

An absolute calamity!

These words appeared in everyone’s hearts. This mother star had encountered an extremely terrifying calamity which caused every race to degenerate.

After thinking deeper, some beast kings and bird kings were grinding their teeth. The bits and pieces of knowledge they knew were truly laughable.

The deeper reason was related to the whole mother star!

The degeneration of their progenitors might have something to do with the cruel methods used during that battle. Their bloodlines had been suppressed. This made them tremble yet again out of fear.

Chu Feng pondered. He also thought about many things. Even if the earth had become a wasteland, it had retained numerous divine trees. It seemed things weren’t that simple.

Back then, not only were these fortunes actually left behind after the battle, but they were even preserved until now. Now that they were all recovering, it attracted those from the outer realm to descend. This was enough to explain the situation.

"It seems rank 11 isn’t that simple. Although they met a miserable fate, they were able to use some methods of self-preservation."

The mother star wasn’t completely eradicated back then but left behind certain inheritances and bloodline descendants. This ignited a great many notions after careful thought.

"I can’t hold back anymore. I want to wander about the cosmos and experience the methods of those divine sons and saintesses. I want to wage war on those stars one by one and eventually confront those ten mysterious ancient stars."

Chu Feng muttered to himself. His blood was boiling because he truly wanted to walk out of this world. This was especially true when he guessed the things that had happened here. His emotions were surging.

Chu Feng raised his head and discovered that the ten most powerful stars were different from the rest. There were no silhouettes of experts within them and were enshrouded in a chaotic mist. Everything was hazy!

"Does this signify transcendence? Ha!" Chu Feng focused his gaze.

"Ah, there’s a final message. Do you all want to hear it?" the old Taoist told everyone that there was a passage on the stone tablet.

Everyone wanted to listen. They nodded and asked him to tell them.

"After they experienced a decline in the ancient era and earth’s ranking fell to over 90,000, the forebears of the era offered grand sacrifices to the heavens here. However, they received no response from the heavens. Earth was denied and abandoned."

The ancient letters on the stone tablet were abstruse and difficult to understand. The old Taoist used the most direct words to explain it to everyone. Everyone became silent after hearing of this.

Those experts illuminating the heavens ignored this place. This was truly astonishing. This place was completely abandoned!

"Dammit, then why do their descendants want to come over and snatch the benefits after seeing earth recover?!"

"The terrifying experts back then may have been pressured."

People began to debate with some resentment.

The old Taoist and the problem-lady felt somewhat awkward. They felt somewhat wrongly accused. In comparison, the old lady without half a body was quite calm. Her expression didn’t change at all.

"The past is past!" Finally, the old Taoist sighed. He pulled everyone back to the present.

The matters of old had passed. What was the use of wallowing in resentment?

Now that they had stepped on the path to evolution, they had to try their best to rise up. This was the true foundation!

"No need to think too much. We’ll try our best to capture those saintesses and divine sons when they arrive from the outer realm. The saintesses can be our mistresses while those divine sons can be our servants."

Chu Feng’s words dumbfounded everyone. They glanced at each other and the whole place became silent.

No one replied. They glanced at the old Taoist and the old woman, feeling rather uneasy because those two were likely from the outer realm.

The rebellious lady rolled her large eyes and glared at Chu Feng for a moment but swiftly restored her usual allure. Her tender little face was full of charm as she said, "Handsome Big Bro Chu, come and catch me. I won’t escape."

These words caused the old Taoist’s face to turn black. He walked over, not to beat up his granddaughter, but instead to deal with Chu Feng.

"Halt, this place is filled with domains. If I become excited, I might accidentally cause this place to recover and form a destructive domain. Don’t regret at that time."

The old Taoist’s face turned even darker after hearing this.

The others hurriedly moved to persuade.

The rebellious girl held onto the old man’s sleeves and threatened to break off relations with him if he made a move against Master Chu Feng without considering her feelings.

"You little evildoer!" The old Taoist was greatly angered.

Everyone wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

Very soon, everyone’s thoughts were once again pulled back to the offerings on the table. Everyone felt flames burning their heart. They wanted nothing more than to rush up and rob it clean.

They already understood that these offerings belonged to the era where earth was over 90,000 in rank. The forebears delivered premium offerings but were rejected by those entities who could illuminate the heavens.

Some beast kings began to scratch their ears and cheeks. They wanted nothing more than to charge up there.

Those things were simply too alluring. God knows what kind of things they would be able to accomplish once they obtained those things.

At this time, many people kept looking from afar. They were finally able to see some items that were on the jade table and almost began to drool.

There were golden seals with dense runes upon them. It didn’t take a lot of thinking to know that it was an extraordinary item.

There were also nine bronze cauldrons arranged in a row.

People drew in a breath of cold air. Could these cauldrons be the legendary Nine Cauldrons? Those treasures represented the rivers and states. They signified a unified nation under the heavens.

Very soon, people began to see some of the items within the containers. There were several large peaches in a jade plate. They were unspoiled and still just as red, enshrouded in a hazy radiance.

How many years had passed? They were still so fresh!

Even the old Taoist was moved and said, "Could it be the peaches from Mount Kunlun? It’s quite extraordinary that they could still produce a number of them after earth’s decline. These things are priceless treasures for evolved beings!"

Later on, people saw another item. It looked like a collection of life-like porcelain dolls.

"Damn, don’t tell me those are ginseng fruits!" a great demon cried out oddly.

These offerings were too extraordinary. They were all glowing with such dazzling light that it was almost painful to behold. There were even more concealed items that couldn’t be seen.

What a dazzling lineup! What an abundance of offerings!

Even with these things, the sacrificial offering back then was rejected. From then on, this mother star was abandoned!

Everyone was thinking about how to climb onto the mountain-sized altar and snatch away these offerings. Any one of them was a great fortune.

If one could go up and obtain a fruit, he would be able to evolve rapidly!

To everyone, this sacrificial altar was a peerless treasure. It was simply too alluring and caused their blood to boil!

The black and white grinding stone in his body began to vibrate as if it was yearning for something. It seemed to be resonating with something.

"I might be able to obtain it!" Chu Feng had a strong premonition.