Chapter 346: Chapter 342: Eternal Stele
This black stone stele was over thirty feet long. Carved upon it were patterns depicting numerous magnificent palaces, seemingly pointing the way to a certain location.
This was the object Ning Jiang had obtained from the bottom of the Qingjiang River back then.
At the bottom of the Qingjiang, he had learned that he had once been sealed by a Life Source Stone for a hundred years, and that his name was Meng Daoyi.
At that time, he had obtained two items. The first was a Jade Token bearing the name "Meng Daoyi," and the second was this very black stone stele.
The stele was extraordinary. He had no idea what material it was made from; even with all of Ning Jiang’s vast knowledge, he could not identify it.
In the past, he had tried to destroy it, but even when using his full strength, he couldn’t leave so much as a white scratch on it.
"It seems you recognize this item."
Hearing the terror in the eyeball’s voice, Ning Jiang knew this object must have an incredible origin.
He had taken the stele out at this moment because he had discovered that the black longsword impaling the eyeball seemed to be made of the same material.
’The sword and the stele were probably made by the same person.’
"Ah!"
Suddenly, the eyeball let out a pained shriek. The moment the Eternal Stele appeared, the sword impaling it seemed to sense its presence and began to vibrate violently.
The blood-red runes wrapped tightly around the sword’s blade swiftly snapped apart.
RUMBLE!
An incomparably sharp aura burst forth from the sword as if it were gradually awakening.
"Kill."
The eyeball let out a heaven-shaking roar and used its own power to violently struggle against the black sword.
But it was clearly no match. The black sword released an increasingly powerful aura, inflicting immense damage and causing the eyeball to shriek continuously as blood poured from the wound.
Fine cracks even began to appear on its surface; it was on the verge of shattering.
"Damn it."
It made a swift decision and immediately suppressed its power. If it continued to resist, it would surely be the first to be obliterated.
As it suppressed its power, the black sword also quieted down.
"Tell me the origin of this object," Ning Jiang said, coldly watching the scene unfold.
"And if I don’t?" the eyeball’s voice was icy.
"Then I’d like to see if you can survive an attack from the Thunder Spirit War General."
Before, the Thunder Spirit War General might not have been able to do anything to the eyeball. But now, it was being counterbalanced; the moment it used its power, the sword would awaken and harm it.
RUMBLE...
The Thunder Spirit War General gripped the Celestial Thunder Banner, which began to gather power. Flashes of brilliant lightning flickered across it, preparing to unleash its strongest attack.
Just as the Thunder Power grew stronger and was about to erupt, the eyeball finally gave in and spoke.
"The Eternal Stele... an object of ill omen!"
It revealed the black stone stele’s name.
"’Eternal’?"
Ning Jiang’s eyes narrowed. The word "eternal" was astonishingly bold.
"I need more information," Ning Jiang pressed.
"Telling you its name is my bottom line. If you keep pushing me, I don’t mind taking you down with me."
The eyeball’s voice was icy. Light flickered across its surface as its power began to revive.
Without a doubt, it wasn’t bluffing. It really dared to go through with it.
Ning Jiang’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t that he was afraid of mutual destruction with the eyeball. With his methods as a Venerable, he had plenty of ways to survive.
It was just that if the eyeball died, he would be unable to get any more information.
Besides, this was only an eyeball, not the main body. It contained just a portion of the main body’s will. Killing it simply wasn’t worth the cost.
"So be it."
After weighing the pros and cons, Ning Jiang made his decision.
He had always been a decisive person. Plus, he realized that with his current strength, he was still not powerful enough to seek out the truth of his own past.
His past and this Eternal Stele were surely tied to some massive secrets, and uncovering those secrets would require sufficient strength.
’My current strength is still too weak. I can’t even deal with this eyeball.’
’This place is actually a treasure trove.’
Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Ning Jiang ignored the eyeball and scanned his surroundings.
All around were skeletal remains and broken weapons.
But in his eyes, there were many things here that could be used.
For example, the bones of Heaven-Reaching Realm experts could be used to refine Magical Treasures.
His previous Ice Soul Sword, for instance, had been refined from the spine of an Ice Python.
Now that the Ice Soul Sword was destroyed, he was in urgent need of a second one.
’It’s a pity. The power within most of these bones has been severely depleted.’
As he walked, Ning Jiang examined over a hundred skeletons, some of which had belonged to Heaven-Reaching Realm experts, but none of them satisfied him.
The skeletal remains of those Heaven-Reaching Realm experts were still exceptionally hard, but due to the long passage of time, they would break after only a few uses.
"Hm?"
Half an hour later, Ning Jiang pulled a sword from the ground.
The sword radiated an astonishingly cold qi, and its sharp aura made his skin feel as if it were being cut by knives.
But a moment later, Ning Jiang sighed and put the sword down.
The sword looked relatively intact on the outside, but its interior had already decayed. It was all for show.
"The Evil Qi here is too dense. It has corroded everything."
Ning Jiang murmured to himself. It wasn’t just the long passage of time; the bigger issue was the Evil Qi. In such an environment, anything would be corroded and eventually destroyed.
What he was looking for was a material that even the Evil Qi could not corrode. That would be the most suitable material for forging a sword.
An hour later, Ning Jiang stopped in his tracks.
Before him lay a massive, mountain-like skeleton. It resembled a giant python and stretched for thousands of feet, a truly spectacular sight.
"This is..."
A look of profound surprise appeared in Ning Jiang’s eyes. From this skeleton, he could faintly sense a trace of draconic might!
’Draconic might... that’s something only the Dragon Race possesses.’
’But this skeleton couldn’t belong to a true member of the Dragon Race.’
A hundred thousand years ago, Ning Jiang had seen a true Dragon Bone. Its aura was far nobler than this; the difference was like that between a firefly and the bright moon.
"Interesting. This must have been a Demon Beast that was evolving into a Flood Dragon."
Ning Jiang made his judgment.
If these were the bones of a Flood Dragon, they would have a very strong draconic might.
But this faint, barely-there draconic might could only mean one thing: the Demon Beast had been in the process of transforming into a Flood Dragon.
Unfortunately, it had died here before it could succeed.
"This is the one."
After a moment, Ning Jiang broke off a rib. Though only a single rib bone, it was still enormous, measuring several dozen feet in length.
Of the entire massive skeleton, only this small section of rib bone possessed that faint draconic might. The other bones were no different from those of an ordinary python.
Next, Ning Jiang searched a few other places but found nothing else of value.
"Time to go."
He was about to leave when he suddenly detected a faint, hidden aura.