Qi Yuan looked toward the source of the voice, sensing only a sharp, cutting edge.
Looking closer, however, he saw an amiable old man.
Yet the old man gave Qi Yuan a very bizarre impression.
It was as if... he were not a living person.
Suddenly, a flicker of vigilance crossed his eyes. Qi Yuan pulled Xiao Jia behind him, leveled his longsword, and pointed it at the old man.
He demanded, "You're a demonic monstrosity!"
Qi Yuan could see that the interior of the old man's body was completely hollow; the entire person was nothing more than a human skin.
Seeing this, the old man maintained his kindly smile. "This old man could be considered a demonic monstrosity, yet I am not."
Qi Yuan scrutinized the elder once more.
He sensed a dense, rich aura of the metal element permeating the old man.
A guess formed in his mind.
The old man said, "This old man forgot his name from life long ago.
"After extraterrestrial demons devoured my flesh and blood, I was already dead, leaving only a human skin behind in this world.
"Upon entering the Five Elements Forbidden Ground, I gained a slim thread of life.
"Now, I am called Ancestor Jin. I am human, yet not human; if you ask whether I am alive or dead, I am dead."
Qi Yuan looked at Ancestor Jin, understanding dawning within him.
The current Ancestor Jin was merely a vessel carrying a fragment of the metal element's rules.
He did not even possess a soul.
He was nothing more than an obsessive strand of will.
In that sense, he was truly no different from being dead.
"What were you waiting for me for?" Qi Yuan asked, his wariness not lessening in the slightest.
"Lord Tong of the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground likely invited the Master of the Robe Division to take part in the Demon Slaying Assembly three hundred years from now.
"Since we are all living beings of the Wangyue Continent, we ought to share a common hatred for our enemy and eradicate the extraterrestrial demons. Otherwise, I fear others will end up like my former self—dead, their Dao erased, leaving behind only a human skin," Ancestor Jin sighed.
Qi Yuan looked at Ancestor Jin. Though he was merely a human skin, he did not find him creepy at all. In fact, he felt far more comfortable around him than around those elders and disciples of the Black Mountain Sect.
"The extraterrestrial demons—I will certainly slay them!" Qi Yuan declared firmly.
A grand boss simply had to be farmed.
His Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment hinged on that big boss.
Hearing this, the warmth in Ancestor Jin's eyes grew even deeper. "Now that the Master of the Robe Division has arrived at the Five Elements Forbidden Ground, we are willing to open the Five Elements Trial Ground for you.
"Within the Five Elements Trial Ground resides the qi of the five elements. Harvesting it can strengthen one's body and advance one's cultivation.
"Many young geniuses of our Five Elements Forbidden Ground cultivate inside.
"There are powerhouses who have broken through to the Heavenly Domain over the past ten thousand years, and even... the Divine Domain.
"Three hundred years still remain before the Demon Slaying Assembly.
"The Master of the Robe Division may enter the Five Elements Trial Ground to train for a century; perhaps your cultivation will make significant progress."
"Are there monsters inside?" Qi Yuan asked.
Ancestor Jin paused in momentary surprise, but replied nonetheless, "There are."
"No problem then." As long as there were monsters, he could grind levels.
A smile remained plastered across Ancestor Jin's face. "Master of the Robe Division, please come with this old man."
Qi Yuan did not budge, however, but looked at Ancestor Jin. "I have another purpose for coming to the Five Elements Forbidden Ground."
The Five Elements Forbidden Ground differed from the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground and the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground.
In other forbidden grounds, one could take control simply by grinding monsters.
Of course, the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground had been somewhat of an exception, requiring him to marry Xiao Jia.
The Five Elements Forbidden Ground seemed to house quite a few dormant powerhouses who were not monsters like the robe monsters. He could hardly slaughter them all, and killing them probably would not yield any experience points anyway.
How was he supposed to take control of it?
"Please, speak your mind, Master of the Robe Division," Ancestor Jin said amiably.
"I want to completely take control of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground. Is there a way?" Qi Yuan asked, staring at Ancestor Jin.
Hearing this, Ancestor Jin was somewhat taken aback.
Evidently, such a goal had caught him completely off guard.
Before he could answer, an indignant voice sounded from behind.
It was a woman clad in green. She looked naive and petite, like one of those short girls who looked harmless but proved terrifyingly ferocious when cramming for graduate school exams.
Right now, her face was flushed with anger. "Well, aren't you something! A mere Master of the Robe Division, daring to set your sights on our Five Elements Forbidden Ground!
"Wanting to control the Five Elements Forbidden Ground—you're daydreaming!
"Do you even realize what that implies?
"I bet you're a spy sent by the extraterrestrial demons! Otherwise, why would you pop up out of nowhere?!"
If Ancestor Jin had not been present, the green-clad woman looked ready to jump up and smack Qi Yuan upside the head.
Ancestor Jin looked at the girl with a doting smile. "Xiao Lü, do not offend our guest."
He then turned back to Qi Yuan. "For the Master of the Robe Division to take control of the Five Elements Forbidden Ground would indeed be quite difficult.
"It depends entirely on your innate talent.
"If the Master of the Robe Division can display... peerless talent within the Five Elements Trial Ground, what harm is there in letting you control the Five Elements Forbidden Ground?"
Qi Yuan glanced past Ancestor Jin, his gaze seemingly piercing through the Five Elements Forbidden Ground. He saw numerous coffins, along with countless dormant auras.
Every single one was above level ninety.
Among them, several even surpassed the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign, likely standing above level ninety-five.
"It seems you are not the strongest in the Five Elements Forbidden Ground. Do you really have the authority to hand it over to me?"
"This old man naturally has the authority!" Ancestor Jin said with supreme confidence.
"Good. It's a deal," Qi Yuan agreed. "Looks like it won't be long before I clear the Five Elements Forbidden Ground."
The green-clad woman glared at Qi Yuan, full of displeasure. She turned to Ancestor Jin and transmitted her voice, "Grandpa Jin, how could you make such an agreement with him!"
Ancestor Jin chuckled, offering no reply.
Led by Ancestor Jin, the group walked into the depths of the forbidden ground.
Along the way, Qi Yuan kept examining his surroundings.
There were indeed no other monsters in the Five Elements Forbidden Ground, but natural disasters and earthly hazards were abundant, making it exceedingly perilous.
Creatures around level fifty or sixty would almost certainly perish if they entered rashly.
After roughly fifteen minutes, Ancestor Jin stopped the group in a valley.
Inside the valley lay over seventy coffins in total.
Qi Yuan knew that inside these coffins lay many powerful beings in deep slumber.
Ancestor Jin explained, "At present, nearly all the powerhouses of the Wangyue Continent have gathered within the Five Elements Forbidden Ground and the Yin-Yang Forbidden Ground.
"Lying in coffins allows them to hide away, and also to cultivate.
"Once the Demon Slaying Assembly begins, they will burst forth from their coffins.
"When that time comes, the Master of the Robe Division will march alongside them to crush the extraterrestrial demons together."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan said nothing.
Three hundred years was something he could not afford to wait for.
How old was he right now?
In three hundred years, an entire dynasty could rise and fall.
Ancestor Jin continued talking to himself as he walked over to a coffin and lightly tapped on it.
There was no response from the coffin.
Seeing this, he knocked on it firmly several more times.
Still, the coffin remained completely still.
A look of bewilderment crept onto Ancestor Jin's face. "Huh?"
Just then, the lid of the adjacent coffin suddenly flipped open. A rough-looking, wild, and unrestrained man sat straight up. "Ancestor Jin, did your memory rot away along with your former body?! You knocked on the wrong damn coffin!"
Seeing the rugged man, Ancestor Jin's face showed a flicker of embarrassment. "Ahem... an accident."
The rugged man then shifted his gaze to Qi Yuan, his eyes seemingly appraising him. "Not bad. Even though you had the help of the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess, you're a fine seed.
"It won't be in vain for me to expend my origin to open the Five Elements Trial Ground for you.
"I hope that three hundred years from now, you can become a titan of your own!"
Chapter 55