The next morning, a soft knocking sound woke Li Ling. He opened the door and saw a Miao boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old standing there. The boy smiled at Li Ling and said, "Guest, the chieftain asked me to take you to Wushi Cave. When shall we set off?"
Li Ling asked in surprise, "Are you alone?"
Upon hearing this, the boy thought Li Ling didn't believe him, so he said, "Don't worry, guest. I go to Wushi Cave to worship my father and mother every year or two, so I won't get lost."
Li Ling nodded and said, "Alright, let me inform my companions, and then we'll set off."
Although the ancestral land of the Wu tribe was located deep in the mountains, it was actually not far from Qilidong. Li Ling flew directly on his sword, and with the young man pointing the way, it took some time to identify the destination, but they arrived at their destination in less than an hour.
Even after falling from the sky and standing on the ground again, the boy was still in a daze, his eyes fixed on Li Ling with admiration.
Li Ling didn't say much, but turned to examine the cave in front of him. What came into view was a towering cliff that seemed to reach into the clouds.
Standing where Li Ling stood, looking left and right, he could not see the edge of the cliff on either side. Moreover, the cliff was very smooth, with almost no protrusions, as if a giant blade had cleaved a mountain in two. Apart from some vines growing and hanging down from the cracks in the rocks, not a single tree had grown.
Wushi Cave, the ancestral home of the Wu tribe, appears from the entrance to be merely a cave only a little over one person high, nestled beneath this broken wall.
Li Ling walked over and examined it carefully. The stone wall at the cave entrance was integrated with the cliff, and traces of carving and chiseling could be faintly seen, which made Li Ling realize that this cave was actually carved out of the rocky mountain.
After a moment, the boy came to his senses and led the two into the cave. They encountered no obstacles along the way. Although this place was called the ancestral land of the witch clan, no miracles had been observed for many years, and it had long been abandoned.
The three of them walked to the deepest part and found a vast space. The ground was covered with blue stone slabs, which were engraved with pictures. Most of them depicted strange monsters, some people dressed as wizards, and some scenes of witches hunting.
The entire space was empty and vast, but you could see everything from the entrance. Apart from the stone carvings on the ground, there was nothing else, let alone anything related to the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation.
Li Ling would not give up so easily. He began to walk along the stone wall step by step, looking with his eyes and feeling with his heart, trying to find clues in these images. In this cave, the only thing that might hold a secret is these pictures.
After a long while, Xiaobai sighed and said, "I can't see anything unusual about it. Over the thousands of years, countless great witches of the Wu Clan have studied this place carefully. If there were really any secrets hidden here, they would have discovered them long ago. How could we have waited until now?"
Li Ling seemed not to hear Xiao Bai's words, staring intently at the stone slab in the very center of the space, a thoughtful expression on his face.
This stone slab is unlike any of the others; it is perfectly round, and instead of being carved with images, it is inscribed with mysterious symbols and characters.
He crouched down, his fingers tracing over a character, his brow furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "This is oracle bone script and runes!"
After pondering for a while, Li Ling suddenly took out several pieces of jade and placed them in the grooves of the stone slab, then infused them with spiritual energy.
The next moment, a sudden change occurred. Streaks of white light spread outwards like water, and in an instant, they covered the entire stone slab along the patterns and characters.
------------
Chapter 378: The Shrine Maiden 'Linglong'
Li Ling stepped directly onto the platform. To the astonishment of the Miao boy and Xiao Bai, Li Ling vanished in a flash, and the next moment, he found himself in a dark space.
In front of him was a thumb-sized blue orb of light emanating a faint sense of familiarity and warmth. Li Ling gazed at it quietly. This object was never mentioned in the original work, but it felt so familiar to him, as if it were his own.
After an unknown amount of time, the faint ball of light, as small as a candle flame, suddenly flickered, and characters floated out from it, instantly transforming into a scripture standing in the void.
Before Li Ling could see it clearly, the scripture vanished in a flash, and the light flickered and transformed into the shape of flames. Its color changed from cyan to almost transparent white, and a terrifyingly hot aura emanated from it.
Li Ling trembled, feeling as if his entire body was on fire, incredibly hot, his blood boiling, scalding like flowing magma, almost burning his flesh and blood, which immediately startled Li Ling.
How could someone with the bloodline of the fire god Zhurong still have such a feeling? What exactly is this light and flame?
Fortunately, at this moment, Li Ling's Zhu Rong bloodline seemed to have been provoked and was directly activated, completely suppressing the restlessness.
Just then, it seemed as if a pair of ferocious eyes were staring at him from within the flames.
Li Ling's heart stirred, and he looked over. In the blink of an eye, the first blood-red ferocious god pattern slowly appeared in the sky above the raging flames.
Its ferocious face and bizarre posture were exactly the same as the pattern I had seen in the Xuanhuo Altar of Fenxiang Valley, which was part of the Eight Fiends Xuanhuo Formation Diagram.
Li Ling stared at the images, one after another, lighting up in sequence. The blood-red light gradually merged around the flames, forming a ring that encircled the raging fire at the center.
As the final crimson light converged beneath the flames, the entire halo suddenly shone brightly, causing the void to tremble. A ferocious crimson flame beast was born from the crimson light, and even though it was just a phantom, it possessed an arrogant disdain for the world.
"Eight Desolate Fire Dragons!"
Li Ling gasped in shock. This power far surpassed that of the fire dragon he had released before. Just then, an idea struck Li Ling. He took out an object and held it in his palm. It was the Xuanhuo Mirror.
Under the illumination of the flames, a scorching aura slowly emanated from the Xuanhuo Mirror, carrying a touch of dreamy white smoke that condensed around it. Within the illusory white smoke, a beautiful female figure slowly materialized.
The woman first looked at the flames and the rotating image of the eight fierce beasts, then turned to look at Li Ling and exclaimed in surprise, "There are actually people who can come here and withstand the test! Hmm... your bloodline is quite special, and it even feels a little familiar!"
Li Ling remained silent. This woman was Linglong, the Holy Maiden of the Witch Clan from ten thousand years ago.
In terms of strength, he was no less than the unparalleled Qingye Ancestor of the Qingyun Sect, but he lived in seclusion in the wilderness, hence his lack of fame.
"Why did you come here?" the woman asked, looking at Li Ling.
"Naturally, it's for the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation," Li Ling said without any attempt to hide anything.
Upon hearing this, the woman sighed softly. She was now merely a remnant soul preserved within the Xuanhuo Mirror, existing only for her last obsession. She shouldn't have such sentimental feelings, but the flames seemed to have stirred up memories from a long time ago.
After an unknown amount of time, her soft voice suddenly echoed again in the silent space: "Did the Witch Clan invite you here?"
Li Ling said, "I came here of my own accord, but I promised the Miao chief shaman that after obtaining the array diagram and incantation, I would help them get rid of the beast demon."
Linglong did not turn around, but remained facing the flames. Her shadow could not be seen in the void, but Li Ling seemed to hear a deep sigh again.
Then she changed the subject and said, "This flame is the mark of the witchcraft of the witch priest lineage. It is the origin of witchcraft in the southern border. All the spells of the witch clan originate from it. But in fact, apart from the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation, it does not record any witchcraft. Everything else was discovered by the witch clan's ancestors on their own."
"This flame is very mysterious. Apart from the first generation of the Great Wizard of my Witch Clan, no one knows where it comes from."
"The deeper my cultivation became, the more I sensed its extraordinary nature. It must be hiding some unknown secret, so I studied it diligently, thinking it could unlock the mystery of immortality. But it turned out to be a huge mistake!"
Li Ling knew that Linglong's so-called grave mistake referred to the creation of the Beast God, an immortal monster that brought catastrophic disaster to the Southern Border Witch Clan.