Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 852: Chapter 850: Ignition (24) Chapter 852: Chapter 850: Ignition (24) “`

It really was a lake.

Under Akasha’s prompting, Fu Qian surveyed the destination before his eyes.

There wasn’t a ripple to be seen, and he couldn’t make out anything below, but there was no doubt it was water.

Before coming here, he had been a little worried that this thing might be some kind of exterior latrine pit covered in light; it turned out that there was no strange odor—in fact, it felt inexplicably refreshing.

At this moment within the perfect circle, no sign of any creatures could be seen.

“Stop dawdling.”

The urging voice came quickly.

Of course, it wasn’t Akasha, who was clearly still immersed in memories of past failures.

However, seeing the two people finally reaching their destination after a dallying journey, the Crystal, who had been following al…

Before coming here, he had been a little worried that this thing might be a dung pit covered in light or something of the sort, but the reality proved that there was no strange odor, and it even felt inexplicably refreshing.

And at this time within this perfect circular area, no existence of life was to be seen.

“Don’t dilly-dally.”

The urging voice came swiftly.

Certainly, it wasn’t Akasha; she was clearly still lost in memories of past failures.

But Crystal, who had been dawdling along the way, couldn’t hold back any longer upon seeing the two finally reach their destination, virtually leaping forward in a few bounds to arrive at the lake’s edge.

“Every moment of delay increases the risk for Ballard and the others by that much more.”

The rationale was sound, but after all was a Demigod—aren’t you a bit too impatient?

Fu Qian thought to himself as he observed the Ice Wolf’s “serious” expression.

Back in the bar, this individual, though scornful of “fire,” had acted decidedly out of the ordinary, almost unquestionably demanding Ballard take her to seek the Prophet.

At the time, it felt odd, and he thought that, like many others, she had a longing for freedom on the surface, indifferent to fire, wanting instead to gauge the Prophet’s attitude.

However, the content of her recent exchange with Akasha suggested that her interest in flames might be on behalf of her dear female friend.

Akasha had been brief in her account, but one could readily imagine her rebirth process as almost akin to using Crystal, her dear friend, as a vessel, directly taking over.

Who even owned the appearance before him was hard to say.

Her unusual interest in flames—was it possible she wished to see if the fire of a Demigod’s downfall could bring her friend back?

“Alright.”

Fu Qian hadn’t planned on lingering either, and with that, he stepped forward onto the water’s surface.

As he moved, an array of Mirror Armor gathered beneath his feet, piecing together into a long, gleaming black board to prevent him from sinking.

Yuan Fang’s advice to him had been to just head toward the center of the lake; the method didn’t matter, theoretically swimming would be fine.

But as a newly minted Demigod, Fu Qian believed such a pose carried more weight.

“Are you coming too?”

The next moment, the movement behind him made him turn his head to look back, spotting Crystal and Akasha following close behind.

Beneath the former was a clearly solidified layer of ice, allowing her to walk effortlessly over the surface, while Akasha simply extended her bone claws behind her with fine adhesive hairs sprouting from the tips, standing there like a water strider.

“Didn’t Yuan Fang tell you that you wouldn’t be of any help and that it was better to just pick off stragglers from the perimeter?”

Having observed them so far, it was clear that Yuan Fang was capable not only of monitoring through the Demigods but also of conveying messages to them at any time and place; these two were surely aware of this.

“I need to make sure you don’t run off halfway.”

Crystal explained calmly, with resolute posture.

“And we can’t know unless we try.”

“I’m not that dedicated; it’s simply personal satisfaction.”

Akasha responded with an alluring smile on the side.

“I’m quite curious about this state of being unable to intersect.”

Curious? It must feel familiar, right?

Fu Qian shook his head internally.

The description of being unable to intersect clearly resembled Akasha’s own experiences trying to escape, so it wasn’t strange that she felt an itch.

Freedom is a great temptation for a prisoner.

“Do as you wish.”

Without paying any further attention to the two, Fu Qian strode over the waves.

The lake wasn’t vast, and it didn’t take long before he had reached its center.

“`

Akasha and her companion closely followed, unwilling to lag behind even a step.

And it was at this moment that Fu Qian realized something had changed underfoot.

The mirror-like water surface had silently become solid, to the extent that his footboard seemed to slide on the sleek hard stone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse and confirmed that Akasha and her companion showed no anomalies, still assuming their previous posture.

So was this the inability to make contact with the trajectory of fate?

Lost in thought, Fu Qian retracted his footboard without any hesitation, stepping forward.

That very instant, even the face of the Crystal Demigod revealed recognizable astonishment, and Akasha, with an even more exaggerated motion than a warm embrace, reached out as a first response.

Regrettably, even so, her bone claws and long hair grasped at nothing.

Fu Qian watched as they passed through his “body,” as if through another dimension.

…

In less than a second, both Demigods had completely disappeared from sight.

And Fu Qian shifted his gaze, observing this existence that only outsiders could touch.

No longer was it the tranquil lake surface; at this very moment, he found himself within a grand, towering circular hall, with a floor as if carved from a single piece of crystal.

And in the center of the hall, an enormous stone sarcophagus had been opened, dark mists cascading down like a waterfall.

All of it possessed an ineffable stillness, compelling one to halt their movements and immerse their spirit entirely.

Fu Qian indeed halted his movements.

He eyed the sarcophagus, making no move to approach.

Without doubt, there was something there, consistent with Yuan Fang’s description.

But at the same time, Fu Qian could sense an anomaly.

That thing seemed not nearly as tranquil as Yuan Fang had described.

…

Fu Qian’s intuition proved correct.

Barely a few seconds had passed when the mists billowing from the sarcophagus suddenly surged, nearly solidifying, streaming all the way to the gleaming floor.

This process continued for more than ten seconds before finally slowing down; by then, outside the sarcophagus, a large, mud-like substance had accumulated, even gradually contracting and wriggling.

Yet its tail was still connected to the interior of the sarcophagus, creating the appearance of a black tongue protruding from a gaping maw.

In fact, they were indeed one and the same.

Fu Qian was very certain that the Saint Yuan Fang spoke of was not something inside the sarcophagus, but the sarcophagus itself.

The ranking akin to that of Divine Beings stemmed from it.

At the same time, what was surprising was the anomaly at the “root of the tongue.”

As the tongue moved, it became apparent that the area was not a murky silt, but rather a strikingly bright yellow.

At a glance, it resembled flowing lava.

Even where the two colors met, black and yellow mingled to form a curious pattern.

Tongue·golden gradient coating?

Fu Qian, a vigilant observer throughout, now expressed his sincere amazement.

Without doubt, the bright spot at the root of the tongue bore a striking resemblance to the talismans in Xiumeng’s hand.

Was it as Yuan Fang said, that the Saint constantly underwent Annihilation, thus generating flames?

But the question was, he hadn’t even begun to awaken it in the manner Yuan Fang had instructed.

This “Saint” was clearly more active than Yuan Fang’s description had suggested.

No, it was far too active.

The next moment, Fu Qian watched, wide-eyed, as blisters rose on the giant tongue like sores.

And figures as dark as the night climbed out one after another, slowly drifting towards him.