Chapter Seventy-One: Inheriting the Legacy

The Colorful Rooster glanced at the disappointed expressions of the crowd, secretly sneering to itself: “The inheritance of the Supreme Ziyang is not so easily obtained. Otherwise, in these five thousand years, why has no one ever managed to communicate with the artifact spirit?”

The Black Ox, Black Dog, and White Sheep were also exchanging thoughts telepathically. “Old Ox, do you think anyone will obtain the inheritance this time?”

“The chances are extremely slim. After all, the Yin-Yang Divine Transformation Fruit ripens once every twenty years and has matured more than two hundred times already. Thousands have entered the Ziyang Space, yet not a single one has communicated with the artifact spirit, let alone gained its approval.”

“I fear the day of our freedom is still a distant dream.”

“There’s nothing we can do. Unless the Ziyang Mirror’s artifact spirit acknowledges a new master, the restraints placed on us cannot be broken. We cannot leave the Ziyang Space; if we did, we wouldn’t survive long outside.”

The great beasts conversed among themselves. Although they had all lived for thousands of years, they could only survive within the Ziyang Mirror’s space. It had been over five millennia since they had tasted the splendors of the mortal world.

Liu Feng watched as one cultivator after another was eliminated, their faces filled with disappointment, anger, even hysteria. He could only shake his head helplessly. Warriors seeking greater power was only natural, but if their resolve could be shaken by some hardships and setbacks, their achievements would never amount to much.

At this moment, Zeng Lu, Zhao Yang, Zhao Guang and the others were also eliminated one after another, their expressions tinged with disappointment.

In the end, only Liu Feng and Zhang Luoxue remained, yet to attempt communicating with the artifact spirit.

Liu Feng stepped forward, sat cross-legged, and unleashed his spiritual sense, carefully sensing the fluctuations in the space. He could only feel that the spiritual energy here was far denser than outside; otherwise, nothing seemed different.

Time passed silently. An hour slipped by, yet Liu Feng still felt no trace of anything special in the space. He began to grow anxious.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him—he thought of the mysterious beast hide. Ever since it had absorbed the purple bead, subtle changes had occurred; perhaps it could help him reach the artifact spirit. With this in mind, he channeled his spiritual power into the beast hide’s space.

Through the unique power of the beast hide, Liu Feng’s spiritual strength instantly multiplied several times. He could distinctly sense a peculiar wave of energy emanating from the rift in the sky.

Liu Feng tried to touch and communicate with this special energy fluctuation using his spiritual sense. At first, nothing happened, but as time passed, he felt a unique mental resonance begin to respond to his own spirit.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind: “To have inherited the legacy of Supreme Panling—your fortune runs deep. But in this case, you are not fated for the inheritance of Supreme Ziyang.”

Startled, Liu Feng asked, “Senior, you must be the artifact spirit of the Ziyang Mirror. And who, may I ask, is Supreme Panling?”

The voice, ancient and heavy, replied, “That’s right. I am the artifact spirit of the Ziyang Mirror. It has been thousands of years since I have communicated with anyone.

“As for Supreme Panling, he was an unrivaled figure a hundred thousand years ago. I only saw his successor during my adventures with my master, which is how I recognized the power of that inheritance.”

The voice paused, then continued, “Though you cannot obtain the inheritance of Supreme Ziyang, awakening me is a fate of its own. I shall bestow upon you a gift of fortune.”

As the words faded, Liu Feng suddenly felt the space around him sealed by a mysterious force. A stream of purple liquid appeared out of nowhere and flowed onto the beast hide.

He quickly opened the beast hide’s inner space, and the purple liquid streamed within, vanishing moments later.

Liu Feng saw that inside the beast hide’s space, over a hundred pounds of the purple liquid had collected in a pit in the corner, emanating a tremendous, boundless spiritual power—the very same mysterious elixir he’d discovered in the small valley.

The voice spoke again, “There, I have bestowed some good fortune upon you. You may leave now.”

“In that case, I shall take my leave and not disturb you further, Senior,” Liu Feng replied, rising to his feet.

He strode over to join Zeng Lu and the others, his face showing none of the disappointment of failure.

Meanwhile, Zhang Luoxue approached, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and a graceful, ethereal aura radiated from her, as if she was using a special method to communicate with the Ziyang Mirror’s artifact spirit.

Moments later, a burst of purple light flared. A dazzling beam of radiance surged from the rift in the space, engulfing Zhang Luoxue entirely.

“What? She actually received the inheritance of Supreme Ziyang?”

“Why wasn’t it me?”

The crowd watched, first in shock, then in fury, their faces also contorted with jealousy as Zhang Luoxue was enveloped by the purple radiance.

Liu Feng, seeing Zhang Luoxue recognized by the artifact spirit, was amazed as well. Yet he was even happier for her than he would have been for himself, though he couldn’t quite understand why.

“Wonderful! The artifact spirit of the Ziyang Mirror has recognized this young woman.”

“That means the restraints on us can finally be lifted.”

“In other words, we can leave the Ziyang Space and explore the world beyond.”

“I have waited so long for this day!”

The four great beasts were all ecstatic, their voices ringing out in excitement.

Zhang Luoxue sat serenely amid the fading purple light, her presence becoming ever more ethereal, like a celestial maiden descended from the heavens.

Suddenly, with a thunderous sound, the purple light vanished. Zhang Luoxue stood, and a powerful aura burst forth, shaking the surrounding space with a deep rumble.

Moments later, she opened her eyes—a flash of purple gleamed in her pupils, then disappeared. Her formidable aura dissipated, returning to that light and ethereal state.

“Honored seniors, I have gained the artifact spirit’s recognition. Allow me to remove your restraints now,” Zhang Luoxue’s clear, melodious voice rang out.

Through the inheritance, she now understood that each of the beasts bore a binding that kept them from leaving the Ziyang Mirror’s space.

Hearing her words, the beasts were so overjoyed they could scarcely contain themselves.

“Haha, marvelous!”

“At last, we can be free again!”

Zhang Luoxue looked at their joyful faces, a smile appearing on her own as she softly asked, “Which of you would like to go first?”

The beasts exchanged glances, then the Colorful Rooster stepped forward. “I’ll go first,” it announced. As it spoke, a purple glow enveloped it, and it shrank down to the size of an ordinary mountain fowl.

Zhang Luoxue moved in front of it, placed her palm gently on its side, and a brilliant purple light radiated from her hand, enveloping the Colorful Rooster.

Moments later, Liu Feng watched as a wisp of black energy drifted out of the Rooster’s body. It shuddered, as if casting off a heavy shackle, and instantly appeared lighter and more at ease.

At that moment, Zhang Luoxue also withdrew her hand.