From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 568 The Protoss? Or the Stars?
The Great Xuan Empire possesses a vast territory, far exceeding that of the Great Li Empire. Beyond its borders lies not only barren deserts and Gobi, but also vast, unexplored ancient regions and wild forests.

Here, ancient trees reach for the sky, vines grow like dragons, and miasma permeates the air. Countless powerful monsters and poisonous insects live here. Deeper still, the ruins of a long-lost ancient civilization are buried. This ancient civilization built many temples, which are scattered throughout the wild forest, hence the name Wilderness Temples.

Li Chengqian and Fang Qingxue rode their escape light to the edge of the wild forest. As far as the eye could see, an endless green sea of ​​trees stretched to the horizon, from which faint, chilling roars of beasts and demonic energy emanated. The air was thick with a primal, savage, and subtly decaying aura.

"According to the map provided by Hua Tiandu, the entrance to the Five Elements Land is located in the temple ruins deep within this wild forest." Li Chengqian unfolded the ancient animal hide map and pointed to a blurry mark.

Fang Qingxue nodded slightly, her cool eyes sweeping over the vast forest below: "The energy here is mixed, and many powerful beings are hidden here. We need to be careful."

The two activated their escape techniques, concealing their presence, and slipped into the dense forest like two ghosts. With their Celestial Realm cultivation, ordinary demonic beasts couldn't detect their tracks at all. The deeper they went, the darker the forest became, with massive tree canopies blocking out the sun, and thick layers of humus piled up on the ground, exuding an ancient aura.

Along the way, they saw many ruined stone building foundations and toppled giant stone pillars, carved with strange patterns that had long since faded, seemingly telling the story of the glory and tragedy of a lost civilization. These were the outer ruins of the barbaric temple.

Just as the two were approaching the core area following the map, a sharp and incomparable sword intent, seemingly capable of piercing the sky, suddenly emanated from the depths of the dense forest ahead!
The sword intent was extremely pure, carrying an aloofness and indifference that cut through everything and was the only one who mattered. Although its aura was still immature, its high essence made Li Chengqian and Fang Qingxue turn their heads slightly.

The next moment, a white figure shot out from the forest like lightning and landed on a huge broken wall in front of him.

He was a boy who looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, with a face as exquisite as jade, but his eyes were as cold as ice, devoid of any childlike innocence, only an arrogance and indifference that looked down upon all living beings. He was dressed in white, as pure as snow, without a speck of dust, and carried an ancient, sheathed longsword on his back. The sword energy around him flowed naturally, silently cutting through the dust, fallen leaves, and even light that approached.

His cultivation level had actually reached the fifth level of the Divine Power Realm!

“Meng Shaobai.” A knowing glint flashed in Li Chengqian’s eyes. This disciple of the Feathered Immortal Sect, who was known as a minor immortal, had actually come here. Judging from his cultivation level, he was also at the Celestial Realm. He must have come here to search for the Five Elements Spiritual Roots.

Meng Shaobai glanced coldly at Li Chengqian and Fang Qingxue, his gaze as if looking at two stones, devoid of any desire to communicate, or even a trace of curiosity. It was as if, in his eyes, everything except the Way of the Sword and himself was mere dust.

With a swift movement, he transformed into a thin yet incredibly sharp sword light, diving like a fish into the depths of the denser, dilapidated temple complex ahead, disappearing instantly. Clearly, he was extremely familiar with the paths here.

“He carries the aura of the Feathered Ascension Sect’s divine powers.” Fang Qingxue frowned slightly.

"This is Meng Shaobai. He has only recently joined the sect and is known as a little immortal. Seeing him today, I can confirm that he lives up to his reputation!" Li Chengqian smiled. "However, judging from his sword intent, it seems to have some of the shadow of the ancient Wusheng Sword Sect. It seems that he is also a person with extraordinary luck, who has inherited everything from the ancient Wusheng Sword Sect. However, we don't need to worry about him. He is not our enemy."

He didn't care about Meng Shaobai, this little immortal, because the two of them not only had no conflict of interest, but also had no interaction whatsoever except for their status as true disciples of the Feathered Immortal Sect.

The two continued deeper into the area. The further they went into the core, the more magnificent the remaining buildings became. Although most of them had collapsed, the huge stones and grand layout still gave a glimpse into the former glory of this temple complex.

"Hiss, have I gone mad?" As they went deeper into the discussion, Li Chengqian's expression became strange.

At first, he didn't notice anything, but as time went on, his Taiyin Refining Form Technique began to show unusual activity. It wasn't operating on its own, but rather it was showing a kind of aversion and rejection to the surrounding aura. Only then did he realize that there was an extremely subtle and strange aura permeating this ruin, which was completely incompatible with the immortal rules of the entire Xuanhuang Great World. This aura was also keenly detected by the Taiyin Refining Form Technique.

This aura was ancient, chaotic, and carried an indescribable sense of distortion and blasphemy. It was not simply demonic energy, monster energy, or death energy, but a remnant of a higher level, seemingly originating from beyond the world, above the rules... Li Chengqian stopped, his gaze sweeping over the mottled stone walls and distorted shadows around him.

"Cousin, what's wrong?!" Fang Qingxue asked when she saw Li Chengqian suddenly stop.

“Some things are uncertain!” Li Chengqian shook his head. Fang Qingxue was a native of this world and did not understand the stars. With a thought, the illusory image of the Azure Mirror appeared between his brows, and an invisible and intangible radiance spread out like ripples, carefully scanning the surrounding environment.

Under the illumination of the mirror light, those traces that were difficult to detect with the naked eye and ordinary divine sense began to appear clearly.

Deep within the stone walls, etched not by carving, but by natural erosion, are twisted patterns that writhe like living tentacles, emitting a mind-altering whisper; in the shadows of the ground, a viscous, cold darkness, seemingly possessing its own will, refuses all probing of light and order; in the air, subtle, mental noises, like the friction of countless tiny scales, permeate the air…

This breath...

The aura of stars!
Li Chengqian came to a conclusion that made him feel slightly uneasy.

Li Chengqian didn't say much. With a wave of his hand, he overturned a temple not far away, revealing the broken statues inside. Then, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The statue's skin seemed to have grown bone-like armor, resembling a demon, yet it possessed no demonic aura whatsoever. Instead, it subtly exuded a sacred aura...

"The gods?!" he murmured involuntarily.

"The gods?!" Fang Qingxue frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

"The God Race is..." In the Xuanhuang Great World, the God Race had been nominally wiped out ten thousand years ago, and everything about them had become a taboo. Therefore, Fang Qingxue had never heard of them. Li Chengqian explained the existence of the God Race to her in detail. He heard that these creatures were born with supernatural powers and had endless lifespans. Even with Fang Qingxue's cold personality, she couldn't help but be moved.

"You mean, these temples are all dedicated to gods!"

“If it’s just the gods, that would be wonderful!” Li Chengqian sighed softly, then looked up and said, “Let’s see. I need to confirm a few things.”

He originally planned to directly search for the entrance to the Five Elements Land, but now he discovered that a civilization that once worshipped the gods was faintly imbued with the aura of stars, which made him extremely cautious.

“We shouldn’t rush into the Five Elements Land,” Li Chengqian decided. “The remaining divine aura here points to a source, which may hold some secret. The Azure Mirror can capture that core fluctuation, so let’s go and take a look.”

Fang Qingxue had complete faith in Li Chengqian's judgment and immediately nodded, "Okay."

(End of this chapter)