MTLNOVEL CHAPTER 192
A lingering question hung in the air: How many clans existed within the vast expanse of the Black Mist Zone?
The answer was simple: countless.
Then, the next question: Could anyone possibly remember the unique characteristics of every single clan?
The answer was equally obvious: no.
The history of the Black Mist Zone stretched back eons, and over countless years, numerous tribes had been chosen to undergo tribulation, countless races assimilated into its folds.
Some races possessed distinct forms that prevented interbreeding, but most didn't. This resulted in a population where mixed-blood individuals far outnumbered those of pure blood.
The diversity of intelligent species within the Black Mist Zone was so vast that even scholars dedicated to its study couldn't fully comprehend it in a lifetime.
In Archean City, however, matters of race and lineage were inconsequential.
No one cared about the specifics of another's heritage.
Naturally, no one had bothered to investigate the origins of the Heaven Saber Gang or the Jing family. Even if they had, the answer would likely have remained elusive.
But now, as the faint flame-shaped pattern manifested on Jing Yi's forehead, everything fell into place.
He was a descendant of the Flame Clan!
The Flame Clan, a name lost to the annals of time.
Though he was a mixed-blood descendant, countless generations removed from the pure Flame Clan bloodline, it was undeniable that their legacy flowed through his veins.
As the palace in the void settled before Jing Yi, tears welled up in his eyes.
His lips moved silently, as if he had suddenly grasped the mission embedded within his bloodline, the burden and sacrifices his ancestors had endured over millennia.
He thought of the legends passed down through countless generations, tales of the Jing God and the Flame Clan's glory.
Taking a deep breath, Jing Yi knelt before the palace and bowed deeply.
"Jing Yi pays respects to the Jing God and to the Ancestors!"
As expected, there was no response from within the palace.
The Jing God, one of the seven deities of the Flame Clan, had been renowned for his resilience and tenacity.
But even the Jing God couldn't withstand the ravages of time, let alone the cataclysm that had befallen his clan.
Rising to his feet, Jing Yi approached the palace entrance.
As he drew near, a faint energy fluctuation emanated from within, enveloping him.
A flash of light, and the palace, seemingly recognizing Jing Yi's lineage, slowly opened its doors.
Jing Yi stepped inside.
He traversed dilapidated gardens and crumbling corridors, finally reaching the palace's innermost chamber.
There, at the heart of the palace, he encountered his ancestor.
The Jing God!
But not a living, breathing deity... but rather the Jing God encased in a crystal coffin, eternally slumbering.
Jing Yi gazed upon his ancestor, unable to discern the Jing God's true appearance. The gulf between the Physique Realm and the Divine Spirit Realm was too vast. Even with their shared bloodline, their essence of life was fundamentally different.
There was a saying in the Black Mist Zone that mortals could not behold the true form of gods.
It wasn't a matter of divine status.
It was a consequence of the gods' overwhelming power, which cloaked them in an impenetrable aura of mystery. Mortals simply couldn't pierce this veil and perceive their true form.
Even in slumber, the Jing God's divine essence remained unchanged.
Looking at the hazy humanoid figure within the coffin, Jing Yi sighed deeply.
As an orphaned descendant of the Flame Clan, Jing Yi's knowledge of his ancestors far surpassed that of the outside world.
During the great calamity, it was said that the seven gods of the Flame Clan had been wiped out in battle.
But not all of them had perished on the battlefield.
The Jing God, possessing the strongest vitality and life-preserving abilities, had managed to return to the Flame Clan's gathering place, though gravely wounded.
It was under his command that the Flame Clan had sought refuge in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
At that time, the Jing God's injuries were severe, and his condition worsened with each passing day.
However, as a deity, he understood that without divine protection, a clan as powerful as the Flame Clan would inevitably attract the covetous gaze of the entire Black Mist Zone. Their extinction was only a matter of time.
Thus, the Jing God made a decision.
He created the Flame Clan ruins, providing a sanctuary for his people.
But the significance of the ruins went beyond mere shelter.
Their primary function was to offer a safe and hidden haven for the Jing God to heal his wounds, so that one day, he could lead the Flame Clan back to its former glory.
"But it has been too long... Ancestor, it's been far too long..."
"No one could have foreseen that your slumber would last tens of thousands of years."
But even the longest wait must eventually end.
Jing Yi's gaze hardened as he looked upon the Jing God within the eternal ice coffin.
"The time for your awakening is near."
The eternal ice coffin, crafted from the Eternal Clan's treasure, the Stone of Eternity, held the key to the Jing God's revival.
The eternal ice coffin was infused with an unparalleled temporal force, capable of freezing the Jing God's body and preventing his injuries from worsening.
However, the true catalyst for his healing was the entire Flame Clan ruin itself.
When the Jing God created this ruin, he used his mobile palace as its core. Through his unique abilities, whenever an intelligent being died within the ruin, both their physical body and spiritual essence would become nourishment and energy for the Jing God's recovery.
As long as the Flame Clan within the ruins continued to multiply and experience the cycle of life and death, the Jing God's revival was inevitable.
Originally, according to his calculations, this process shouldn't have taken so long.
However, thousands of years after the Jing God fell into slumber, internal strife erupted within the Flame Clan, leading to their complete disappearance.
The past was a painful reminder.
Without the offerings and the life-death cycle of the Flame Clan, the Jing God's revival had stalled.
Fortunately, during that conflict, the Jing family managed to escape to the outside world, carrying their ancestral teachings with them.
Time fast-forwarded to the present.
According to the Jing family's ancestral teachings, the Flame Clan ruins would reappear in the Black Mist Zone during Jing Yi's generation.
And the opportunity to awaken the Jing God had arrived.
Jing Yi knew that the massive Flame Clan ruins would attract countless individuals.
The countless treasures within would inevitably lead to disputes and deaths, providing the Jing God with ample healing energy.
"Wait. Now, you and I just need to wait," Jing Yi murmured, gently caressing the crystal coffin.
Meanwhile...
At the moment, Jing Yi summoned Jing God's Palace from the void, and Lu Ming diligently practiced the Body Forging Technique.
After completing a cycle, he wiped the sweat from his brow and opened his attribute panel.
The words —Void Domain (Entry) (Advancing...) pulsed with an ethereal glow. Lu Ming didn't know when the advancement would be complete, but he wasn't in a hurry.
Life was good. Apart from the distant sounds of fighting and bloodshed in Flame City, everything was peaceful and quiet.
Just as he was about to resume his cultivation, Lu Ming frowned.
The words —Void Domain (Entry) (Advancing...) were flashing faster...
And not only that, the entire attribute panel began to emit a soft light.
This strange phenomenon puzzled Lu Ming.
"What's going on?"
He couldn't make sense of it.
However, he had a hunch that it wasn't a bad thing.
Since further contemplation yielded no answers, Lu Ming decided to focus on his training.
End of Chapter 192