Chapter Sixty-Three: The Ancestral Stone of Golden Sun

At that moment, the remaining eight all revealed expressions of shock, and Xiao Fan could not help but ask again, “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

“Absolutely certain,” the man in black replied solemnly.

The group exchanged glances, suspicion and uncertainty flickering in their hearts.

If the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone had appeared once more, they would not have been so surprised; after all, they had pursued this spiritual stone for many days and knew well its extraordinary nature—it was almost worthy of being described as capable of flight and burrowing through the earth.

What truly unsettled them was that the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone, having fallen into Chu Feng’s hands, likely meant it had chosen him; otherwise, he would never have been able to lay a finger on it.

Yet how could it be that now, the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone would send Chu Feng and Xiao Yue into this place of ultimate doom, a land of no return? The matter was truly unfathomable.

“Perhaps we are overcomplicating things. The Golden Sun Ancestral Stone might indeed have intended to save them, but it could not have known what a perilous place Black Moon Valley truly is,” Xiao Fan sneered coldly. “No matter how spiritual it is, it is still but a stone. Its attempt to save them is truly their undoing. Their fates are sealed.”

At this moment, Xiao Fan felt an unusual sense of satisfaction. With Xiao Yue’s death, he would henceforth have no more threats, and the position of clan leader was destined to be his sooner or later.

“What of the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone?” he asked.

“It too entered Black Moon Valley,” replied the man in black.

“It courts its own destruction. A pity though, our clan’s Domain-Suppressing Sword now lies buried at the bottom of the valley,” Xiao Fan snorted, then cast a final glance toward the cliff’s edge before turning away. “Let’s go. It’s time we left Golden Sun Mountain.”

Back when that spiritual stone had been sighted on Golden Sun Mountain, Xiao Fan had only come to seek it out in his leisure, for the ellipsoid stone was of the same texture as the Golden Sun Stones, hence its name, the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone.

Now, it was clear that the stone was beyond their grasp. Though he was quite curious, it was not essential; once he became clan leader, he would lack for nothing.

So, failing to obtain the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone did not disappoint him much; on the contrary, having eliminated a great threat brought him considerable peace of mind.

“Farewell, Second Brother,” Xiao Fan murmured, casting one last look back at the cliff’s edge before leading the eight others away.

The nine departed. At the cliff’s edge, all was silent. The night wind swept through, yet could not dispel the sense of murderous foreboding lingering in the air.

Dawn broke. Sunlight bathed the land, and a gentle breeze blew. At the foot of the cliff, a majestic scene unfolded.

A vast canyon was filled with a surging sea of clouds, set aglow by golden sunlight in a spectacular display of color.

Amongst the sea of clouds, steep peaks jutted upwards like pillars supporting the heavens, exuding an aura of immense grandeur.

Such scenery was rare indeed in this world, breathtakingly beautiful. If not for the overwhelming aura of deadly peril, who would believe this was the legendary Black Moon Valley that struck fear into the hearts of all cultivators?

In truth, Black Moon Valley was like this throughout the year—clouds ever swirling, never dispersing. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the valley knew that its mists were no ordinary fog, but suffused with murderous energy. Within, visibility was low, and spiritual senses were rendered useless; even the mighty could easily lose their way.

Now, somewhere at the bottom of the valley, Chu Feng and Xiao Yue lay sprawled upon a patch of grass. The ground beneath each of them was deeply indented, proof of the force with which they had fallen.

The valley floor was more than three hundred yards below the cliff. Had ordinary people fallen from such a height, their bones would have shattered and their organs been crushed.

Even with their formidable bodies, the tremendous impact left them unconscious all night. Not until now did they begin to stir.

A yard to Chu Feng’s left, beside a blue stone, a golden rock glittered in the light. Had Chu Feng seen it, he would have been astonished, for this was the very ellipsoid Golden Sun Stone he had dug up—the so-called Golden Sun Ancestral Stone Xiao Fan had mentioned.

Gradually, Chu Feng opened his eyes. He felt as though his whole body had been battered to pieces, every part aching intensely.

Struggling for a while, he managed to sit up, immediately noticing Xiao Yue lying to his right.

Perhaps due to his injuries, Xiao Yue had not yet awakened. Chu Feng reached out to check his breath; finding him still alive, he breathed a silent sigh of relief and shook him gently, calling, “Instructor, Instructor…”

Roused by Chu Feng’s voice, Xiao Yue soon opened his eyes.

“Are you alright?” Chu Feng asked, helping him to sit up.

“It was a hard fall, but I’m not really hurt,” Xiao Yue replied.

He glanced around. Thick mists engulfed the valley floor, making it impossible to see more than two yards ahead; beyond that, all was lost in the fog. Here at the bottom, the terrifying murderous aura was even more pronounced.

“Whether we’re injured or not makes little difference, trapped as we are in Black Moon Valley,” Xiao Yue sighed.

“At least we’re not dead—yet,” Chu Feng remarked.

“That’s true. It’s better than I expected,” Xiao Yue managed a faint smile, then asked, “By the way, what happened last night? Why did we suddenly fall?”

Chu Feng recalled the events of the previous night, rubbing his abdomen, which still ached faintly. After a pause, he said, “It felt like something struck us down.”

“Yes, I think I saw a flash of gold last night—could it have been that thing?” Xiao Yue ventured.

Chu Feng stroked his chin in thought. “It probably was. It seemed to burst out of the ground at incredible speed—I didn’t even see it clearly before it hit us. Strange… What could it have been?”

As Chu Feng puzzled over this, a flash of golden light caught his eye. When he looked closely, he was utterly astonished, almost doubting his senses.

Floating two feet before him was a massive ellipsoid Golden Sun Stone, swaying back and forth as if to announce, “I’m the one who hit you.”

“It was this thing!” Chu Feng cried out in fright. The stone’s bizarre nature was far beyond anything he had imagined.

He recognized it at once as the very Golden Sun Stone he had dug up. He remembered handing it to Xu Yan to be stored away, yet here it was, as if it truly had the power to fly and burrow.

Xiao Yue, too, was struck dumb, staring at the stone for some time before saying, “Could this be the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone Xiao Fan spoke of?”

Chu Feng nodded. “It must be. This stone is extraordinary, indeed.”

He gazed at the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone, filled with doubt. If it was so remarkable, and even a group of ninth-rank Earth Spirit warriors had failed to find it after so long, why had it let him unearth it so easily?

“It did it on purpose, definitely on purpose,” Chu Feng muttered.

No sooner had he spoken than the hovering Golden Sun Ancestral Stone bobbed up and down, as if responding to him.

Chu Feng and Xiao Yue exchanged looks—the stone’s spiritual awareness was more than unusual; it was almost as if it possessed true intelligence.

Intrigued, Xiao Yue asked Chu Feng to recount how he had dug up the stone. The more he heard, the more baffled he became. Finally, he nodded, “This thing is indeed sentient—it must have chosen you, which is why you were able to obtain it so easily.”

“Could it be that, sensing our peril, it struck us down here to save us?” Chu Feng wondered aloud. The Golden Sun Ancestral Stone bounced up and down again.

“How extraordinary—it can actually understand human speech!” Xiao Yue exclaimed, his amazement at the stone nearly making him forget the dangers of Black Moon Valley.

Chu Feng was equally astonished. Realizing the stone could comprehend them, he asked, “Was it to save us?”

Sure enough, the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone bounced several more times, as if nodding.

A mixture of shock and delight filled Chu Feng—he had never imagined he would encounter such a mysterious treasure. He turned to Xiao Yue, asking, “Golden Sun Ancestral Stone… Could it be that a Golden Sun Stone has gained sentience?”

“I’ve never heard of a Golden Sun Stone becoming sentient—there’s no record of it. Golden Sun Stones exist only in Golden Sun Ridge; perhaps there is a connection. In any case, for it to understand human speech and display such intelligence is beyond anything Xiao Fan could have imagined. Even if we told others, they might not believe it,” Xiao Yue said.

Hailing from the Xiao clan, Xiao Yue’s experience was considerable. He scrutinized the floating Golden Sun Stone, frowning slightly, and continued, “If we speak of spiritual awareness, I believe only one item among the human race can compare to this.”

Chu Feng was startled by his words, curiosity rising—he had not expected Xiao Yue to rate this stone so highly.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Our clan’s sacred artifact—the Dragonflame Sword,” Xiao Yue replied gravely.

Chu Feng understood at once; Xu Lan had once said the Dragonflame Sword rivaled the weapons of the gods in spiritual power, and only those it recognized could become its master.

“You don’t mean this stone can rival the Dragonflame Sword?” Chu Feng said in shock.

Xiao Yue shook his head. “To be honest, apart from the demon clan’s sacred artifact, the Universe Cauldron, I can’t believe anything else could rival the Dragonflame Sword.”

Chu Feng nodded slightly. The Dragonflame Sword was on par with the weapons of the gods—a force of unimaginable power. Clearly, while the Golden Sun Stone was remarkable, it did not possess such earth-shattering might.

“But how do we explain this stone’s spiritual awareness? By rights, how could a stone possess such intelligence?” Chu Feng wondered.

Xiao Yue stared at the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone in silence for a while, then finally spoke: “Don’t you think it’s a bit different from other Golden Sun Stones?”

Chu Feng looked closely as well and nodded. “It is quite different—not only is it extraordinarily large, its surface is smooth and without edges, and it’s shaped like an ellipsoid—almost like an egg.”

“Perhaps it is an egg,” Xiao Yue said.

“An egg this big?” Chu Feng was taken aback; he had meant it as a metaphor, but Xiao Yue seemed to take it literally.

Xiao Yue smiled, glanced at the Golden Sun Ancestral Stone, and then at Chu Feng. “Think about it—if this is not some spiritual treasure, but a living thing, then its extraordinary intelligence would make perfect sense.”

Chu Feng considered this—if it truly was a living thing, such intelligence would not be unusual. Still, he was troubled by another question: “But if it’s only an egg, how could it fly and burrow? Could such a creature exist in this world?”

Having never ventured far into the world, Chu Feng’s knowledge was limited; he could not imagine what kind of being could be so extraordinary.

“There are such beings,” Xiao Yue affirmed, then looked at Chu Feng and uttered a single word: “Demon.”