I Contracted All Ancient Divine Artifacts

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Heaven-Sealing Five Locks, The Five Major Corporations

The special tool that trapped Li Shutong is called the [Heaven-Sealing Five Locks].

Just from the name, one can tell it’s powerful enough.

A tool capable of sealing a Tier Nine Ultimate Powerhouse, how could it be weak?

Named Heaven-Sealing, it means that once all five locks are activated, even the sky could be sealed.

Currently, on Li Shutong’s body, the first lock has already appeared, leaving four remaining.

”The Heaven-Sealing Five Locks require emotional provocation, which should have been the easiest task for me, a Tier Nine Insect Emperor adept in illusion skills. Unexpectedly, it took an hour to activate the first lock.”

Across from him, Nightmare stopped smiling, reining in his expression as he looked back at the opposite side.

Li Shutong’s emotions were stirred only once, then after that singular moment, they completely died down, returning to tranquility.

Though the Heaven-Sealing Five Locks are indeed powerful, they come with extremely harsh conditions.

To activate this tool, and simultaneously seal the opponent, it requires a sacrifice of another person who must be at the same realm as the one being sealed.

The two people simultaneously sealed into the [Heaven-Sealing Five Locks] enter an ”amber state,” unable to attack each other, unable to move, until the sealing is complete.

Li Shutong is Tier Nine, to seal him, it must be another Tier Nine.

This is why the Tier Nine Insect Emperor Nightmare appears here.

Li Shutong no longer paid attention to Nightmare’s attempts to disrupt his mind, but after calming down, he began pondering a most crucial question.

Who wants to kill him?

The one conspiring with Nightmare against him is Li Fengchun, a direct descendant of the Li Family, and the offspring of his elder brother Li Guangming.

That’s the apparent surface of things, but it can’t prove it’s the truth; the Five Great Companies have been doing things overtly or covertly for years, and Li Shutong was well aware of this.

The Five Great Companies are today’s Five Great Forces, consisting of Great Xia, Can Shang Technology, Changsheng Pharmaceutical, the Imperial, and the Old Covenant.

Among them, the Great Xia and the Imperial hold onto the only two remaining human territories on Blue Star, existing uniquely in the form of countries.

Can Shang Technology and Changsheng Pharmaceutical exist as companies.

The Old Covenant is a low-profile organization, rarely revealed to the public. The last time it appeared on Blue Star was twelve years ago during a catastrophic insect disaster, where two of the Twelve Apostles were sent to prevent the calamity.

”The Five Great Companies have stood united against the Insect Race for over a millennium, always in peaceful coexistence.”

”Since the discovery of the Ancient Ruins, the mystery of the Insect Race’s origin remains unsolved. More and more discoveries have only deepened the irreconcilable rifts between the companies.”

”Who is eyeing the life of this old man?”

Li Shutong couldn’t make sense of it, deciding to shift his focus.

He suddenly raised his head, looking at Nightmare as he asked, ”Your two tools, they were obtained from the Ancient Ruins, right? What connection do the Ancient Ruins have with your Insect Race?”

Hearing Li Shutong’s question, Nightmare was first taken aback, then chuckled and snorted.

”What makes you think I would answer that question?”

”It’s fine if you don’t answer because your answer, in itself, is already an answer.”

Seeing Li Shutong say this, Nightmare’s expression turned more somber.

The Insect Race is absolutely connected to the Ancient Ruins. They can use the tools from the Ancient Ruins and occupy far larger territories, discovering ruins at a scale dozens of times that of all Blue Star people combined. As Li Shutong firmed his belief, he sighed again.

Another question swirled in his mind: why can’t humans do it?

Indeed, as humans, they are unable to use these tools.

Like [Heaven-Sealing Five Locks], like [Brahma World], these powerful tools are all controlled and used by the Insect Race, inflicting great harm on humans.

Why can’t humans do it?!

As this thought crossed his mind, ripples began to gently form again on the lake surface where Li Shutong sat. From the deep, dark lakebed, a second invisible transparent chain surfaced.

Seeing this chain, Nightmare’s eyes lit up.

”Li Shutong, who would have thought that you, the Great Xia War God, would still have such an obsession.”

Nightmare mused for a moment, deciding to strike while the iron was hot.

”Indeed, the Ancient Ruins and the appearance of the Insect Race are indeed connected. Tools found in the Ancient Ruins can be used by the Insect Race, but today’s humans cannot.”

”And this also confirms that the Insect Race is the ruler of this world, and no matter how humans struggle, they will eventually head towards extinction.”

”Do you want to know why? No, I won’t tell you. Hahaha!”

Nightmare let out a few malicious laughs, stopping his words, falling silent.

The rift among the Five Great Companies also stems from this.

The Ancient Ruins were discovered decades ago. At that time, humans also gained many tools, but they couldn’t be used, only regarded as old relics and antiques.

Upon witnessing the Insect Race using the same tools with ease, humans began to waver.

It was from that time, only Great Xia continued persisting, embarking on the so-called Spirit Contract Master awakening and Contracted Spirit awakening.

The other four companies had already forged entirely different paths from centuries of accumulated wealth.

Can Shang Technology embarked on a super-tech route, researching science, spiritual power, everything, using knowledge as a means to create powerful killing machines, terrifying firepower, energies of great destruction.

Changsheng Pharmaceutical took the mutant route, killing different Insect Races, extracting their DNA fragments, recombining and rearranging them, absorbing parts representing evolution and special abilities, blending them with various materials to forge Mutant Potions, injecting them to become Biochemical Warriors.

The Imperial and the Old Covenant, Li Shutong had less contact with them, but it can be certain they too abandoned the path of Spirit Contract Masters and Contracted Spirits.

But no matter which path they took, humans still couldn’t use these tools discovered from the ruins.

Li Shutong frowned deeper and deeper.

The third invisible transparent chain climbed onto his body.

He stopped thinking, completely quieted his mind, let himself return to silence.

Seeing this, Nightmare couldn’t help but continue with his taunts: ”Li Shutong, why are you still struggling? Do you really think that a few Tier Four ants could escape from Brahma World?”

”Just let me seal you completely, that way you’ll endure less pain.”

”There are only so many Tier Nine Powerhouses in total, how many could come to save you?”

Nightmare continued with a relentless stream of words, trying to birth the remaining two chains, forming the Heaven-Sealing Five Locks, completely sealing Li Shutong.

But no matter what he said, Li Shutong shut his eyes, like a stone, neither listens nor speaks, a monk in meditation.

Half an hour later, Nightmare, seeing no results, finally shut his mouth.

Counting the time, the Black Fog of the Red Moon should have finished absorbing, and begun to erupt, the illusionary transformation of Brahma World should have started too.

Just half an hour more, and once Brahma World completes its devouring swap, the entire Deep Blue City will vanish completely from the Great Xia map!

Nightmare thought to himself.

Half an hour passed, with no movement. Nightmare remained confidently calm, as steady as an old dog.

Another half hour, silent and still. Nightmare suddenly felt a bit of panic within.

At this moment, the entire Heaven-Sealing Five Locks barrier suddenly began to shake violently, mountains collapse and the ground caved, as if being breached from outside.

What is happening, what is going on?!

Nightmare was thoroughly unsettled.