Full-Level Fierce Person
Chapter 487 - 278 Stele

Chapter 487: 278 Stele

Before long, the village chief came out of his house with a man and a dog, carrying an oil lamp, and walked toward the back of the village.

When they passed an old willow tree, the village chief stopped and whispered, "Stay close to me, circle the tree three times."

Having said that, he began to walk around the old willow tree.

Fang Zhixing and Xigou followed suit.

After circling three times, the village chief then continued on.

Fang Zhixing took a few more glances at the old willow tree and inquired, "Does this tree have its own rules too?"

"Rules are everywhere."

The village chief, with his hands clasped behind his back, sighed, "Every flower and every blade of grass has life, everything here has its own rules."

Fang Zhixing fell silent for a moment then asked, "What if I burn this old willow tree with fire? What would happen?"

The village chief’s expression became stern as he solemnly said, "The old willow tree would be burnt to death, but following that, new rules would emerge—unknown rules, frightening rules."

He mentioned, "Over a decade ago, a naughty child in our village set fire to his home. Afterward, they built a new house, but the entire family died the night they moved in."

He discovered afterward, "The new house had its rules too; those living in it must never take off their shoes."

Fang Zhixing was at a loss for words, murmuring softly in disbelief, "So many rules, no wonder the Four Major Families abandoned this place."

The village chief laughed heartily, "The point isn’t about how many rules there are, but that everyone here must abide by these rules."

He walked on, hands still clasped behind him, and reflected, "Elders often say, those powerful ones from the Four Major Families are used to having their way; they do not like to follow rules."

Fang Zhixing nodded in agreement, chuckling, "Rules can both constrain the weak and protect them."

"Yet the powerful prefer to break rules, to be unbound and transcend everything."

Meanwhile, a flight of steps appeared ahead.

The village chief turned around, seriously saying, "These steps can only be ascended backward."

He walked backward, step by step, climbing the stairs.

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing and Xigou imitated him.

The man and the dog reached the top, where the village chief lifted the oil lamp, lighting the path ahead.

It revealed a green bamboo grove with a winding path that snaked mysteriously through it.

The village chief then said, "While walking this path, you must close one eye and only keep one eye open."

He raised his hand to cover his left eye, "Covering an eye is safest."

Fang Zhixing understood and looked down at Xigou.

Indeed, Xigou, who couldn’t cover his eyes, was squinting and making faces.

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing helped him cover his left eye.

They walked deeper into the bamboo grove, twisting and turning.

Sometime later, they arrived at a thicket-covered high ground.

The village chief set down the oil lamp and parted some wormwood with his hands.

Soon, a stele, tilted and embedded in the mud, was revealed.

Fang Zhixing studied the stele intently. It was rectangular, marred and overgrown with moss, and its edges were chipped.

No matter how one looked at it, the stele was incredibly crude, without any hint of divinity.

The village chief explained, "Our ancestors once mentioned that the Luo Family sent slaves here, among their objectives being to find this stele and mark its location."

Fang Zhixing asked, "Have you tried dropping blood on the stele?"

The village chief nodded, "Of course, but it was of no use."

Fang Zhixing frowned, "Could it be that the wrong one was found?"

The village chief spread his hands, "I can’t be sure of that, but this is indeed the only stele near the village."

Fang Zhixing paused briefly before stepping forward, his hand sweeping through the air.

A slight force brushed over the surface of the stele, shaking off the moss and dirt.

Revealed were rugged, coiled textures, dark in color.

Without any hesitation, Fang Zhixing pressed his palm against the Myriad People Blade and drew a line, causing blood to gush forth immediately.

The blood, plentiful, splattered down loudly onto the surface of the stele, spreading and flowing across it.

"Huh, why isn’t there a reaction?"

Xigou, tilting his head, squatted in front of the stele, seeing nothing.

Fang Zhixing’s brows knotted in disappointment, "Perhaps we found the wrong thing; it’s not this stele."

No sooner had he spoken than the blood on the stele suddenly diminished as if it had permeated inside.

Xigou, startled, scurried back hastily.

Fang Zhixing instinctively positioned the Myriad People Blade in front of him.

The village chief craned his neck to look, puzzled.

Hum~

Suddenly, the stele trembled, followed by a burst of ring-shaped air waves.

The village chief was blown away, landing in the weeds, unconscious.

Fang Zhixing and Xigou, however, were unharmed.

The force of the air wave was considerable but roughly equivalent to a blow from the early stage of the Nine Ox Realm.

Subsequently, all the blood was absorbed by the stele, which slowly began to glow as bright as a light bulb.

The entire stele transformed into a glowing panel.

Lines of blood-colored text appeared.

"Design evolution, control evolution!"

"Test Subject: Hybrid Flesh"

"Talent: Below Average"

"Martial Arts Marks: Heavenly Net Blood Transformation Skill, Blood-Drinking Demon Sword, Hundred Poison Divine Skill, Six Void Mysterious Skill, Jade Qilin Break."

"Beginning design of Cultivation Technique..."

"Please select: 1, Human Race Series; 2, Transformation Series."

In this scene...

Xigou was shocked beyond belief, blurting out, "Damn, this thing is like black technology!"

Fang Zhixing deeply agreed, pondering, "The stele seems like a data bank, or perhaps a remote receiving device, highly sophisticated."

His brows now relaxed, his spirits lifted, as he stared at the two options.

Xigou inquired, "Is there a catch to these two options?"

Fang Zhixing analyzed, "Human Race Series, as the name implies, remains in a human form, while the Transformation Series, presumably implies giving up being human, allowing evolution in any direction."

Xigou came to a realization, responding, "Indeed, after your Demon Transformation, those ten blood-colored tentacles really went beyond the boundaries of the human race."