The old Giant Spirit examined the Yu Divine Stele in Xiang Beifei's hand. The runic patterns on the stele were identical to those carved on the black jade tree of Seeking Wood, only the sequence varied.
"These are divine inscriptions."
The old Giant Spirit pointed at the carvings on the Yu Divine Stele, and his cloudy gaze suddenly revealed a strange light, quite sentimental: "You can understand this as the script of the gods, different from any writing you know. It contains an ancient and powerful force, each divine inscription is unique and extraordinarily profound."
Xiang Beifei had no doubt about its power. How could the divine inscriptions that suppressed the Giant Spirit Race in the Bitter Sea be anything ordinary?
"What is its relation to Seeking Wood? Why are the divine inscriptions on the stele the same as those inscribed on the branches of Seeking Wood?" Xiang Beifei asked.
"Seeking Wood is our Giant Spirit Race's guardian tree, and the Yu Divine Stele was once buried beneath it, together recording the ancient divine path."
The old Giant Spirit reached out to touch those words, but hesitated halfway, retracting his hand with a somber expression.
"We can never return."
His voice sounded forlorn, almost as if he were muttering to himself.
Xiang Beifei did not interrupt, simply observing the old Giant Spirit quietly. He could sense the longing and helplessness hidden behind the old Giant Spirit's weathered face, a sorrow and regret born from the loss of homeland.
Like Daoist Qingyang, who once chose to stand alone to protect the Hanxia Human Race—their encounters seemed quite similar.
"Apologies, I lost myself for a moment."
The old Giant Spirit soon smiled again, a gentle smile, seemingly having come to terms with these matters and not dwelling in the past.
"Senior Giant Spirit, if you prefer not to discuss the Edge Corner Airspace, at least tell me, what kind of place is this Bone Mountain Desert Stone Cave?" Xiang Beifei inquired.
"You can understand it as a teleportation array leading to the Edge Corner Airspace. Under the protection of the teleportation array, one won't be killed by the aura of the Edge Corner Airspace—without sufficient strength, you cannot traverse the Edge Corner Airspace." The old Giant Spirit explained.
"From here, one can directly go to the Edge Corner Airspace?" Xiang Beifei was surprised.
"Once possible, but not anymore."
"Because I sealed it, using the Ruishui River of the Bitter Sea to close off the teleportation array," the old Giant Spirit said, viewing it lightly with a smile, "I don't want any more entanglements with that place; surviving is the best."
"Seems like we came for nothing," Xiang Beifei said helplessly.
The so-called divine inheritance was actually a form of Protective Talisman to enter the Edge Corner Airspace, but now it's impossible. All Yi Trib cultivators who come here generally return empty-handed.
"That's not necessarily the case."
"Those others came in vain, but you are the grandson of my old friend. Regardless, I must grant you a fortune; meeting is fate, lest your grandfather calls me stingy." The old Giant Spirit laughed.
Xiang Beifei's expression brightened.
Having such a grandfather is simply a blessing.
"No need. Don't resist, just comprehend."
The old Giant Spirit extended his aged finger, touching the center of Xiang Beifei's forehead. A peculiar aura flowed from the old Giant Spirit's finger into Xiang Beifei's mind, and Xiang Beifei felt as if many things were suddenly imbued within.
Each divine inscription transformed into streams of light, integrating into Xiang Beifei's forehead, interweaving swiftly in his mind.
Each divine inscription pattern was incredibly mysterious. Upon close examination, it seemed as if each pattern contained a vibrant world, with countless wondrous shadows flickering within those worlds.
But when Xiang Beifei tried to look closer, he found everything returned to calm, the divine inscription patterns remaining just as patterns, as if nothing had happened.
"You don't need to ponder for now. The script of heaven isn't something that is simply explained to you; it holds its own divine path within. A divine inscription viewed from different angles represents different meanings, and its power also varies."
The old Giant Spirit's voice echoed in Xiang Beifei's ears, resolving his confusion before continuing:
"I'll teach you how to recognize divine inscriptions. You possess a Taoist Body, so even with Heavenly Connection-level strength, you can comprehend them. Each divine inscription understood will grant you powerful strength, but how well you comprehend them depends on you."
These are not ordinary scripts; no wonder Xiang Beifei hadn't been able to learn them through learning by analogy.
Xiang Beifei calmed his mind and began to recognize each divine inscription as taught by the old Giant Spirit.
By the Blackwater River.
It's been four days since the Giant Spirit rushed to the riverbank to scoop water. In these four days, the Yi Tribe Taoist practitioners have gradually calmed down from their initial panic. They probably realized that the Giant Spirit's water-scooping event was a coincidence, not indicative of any major event.
Some Yi Tribe Taoist practitioners speculated that the Giant Spirit might have scooped water for cooking or perhaps for bathing. This made them increasingly fearful of the Giant Spirit's power, being able to disregard this deadly black water completely, treating it like simple drinking water, judging from the large ladle they used.
Keep in mind that if any of these Taoist practitioners were to directly touch the black water, they would die instantly without any chance for rescue. This was a lesson learned with the lives of countless Taoist practitioners recently.
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit's water-scooping incident didn't cause any casualties, allowing everyone to relax.
However, in the following few days, people quickly discovered something was amiss.
Xiang Beifei from Zha Jiang Stronghold was missing!
This is a bombshell news!
Be aware that Xiang Beifei is currently the hope of all Yi Tribe Taoist practitioners for obtaining the divine inheritance. They have been waiting for Xiang Beifei to decipher the pattern of day and night transitions, then lead everyone to find the divine inheritance and leave this place.
Yet Xiang Beifei suddenly disappeared!
According to a rumor from an unknown source, Xiang Beifei wasn't training in Zha Jiang Stronghold or Light Valley; he seemed to have gone to the Giant Spirit Village and never came back!
Moreover, Taoist practitioners saw Li Qianluo sneaking off to the Giant Spirit Village repeatedly in these days, apparently searching for Xiang Beifei, but returning empty-handed each time, looking quite distraught.
Everyone began to speculate about what might have happened to Xiang Beifei during those days. Some said he met misfortune at the Giant Spirit Village, while others suggested he was killed by the Giant Spirit. Coupled with the Giant Spirit's water-scooping incident from a few days ago, rumors began to swirl more vividly.
The three factions of Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage, Moon God Race, and Demon Race wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. They had already planned to team up against Zha Jiang Stronghold, and now began to stir the pot, spreading increasingly sinister rumors.
In the end, the story evolved into this: Xiang Beifei, arrogant as ever, went to the Giant Spirit Village to provoke them, angering the Giant Spirit who caught him, and deliberately scooped water from the Blackwater River to cook him as an act of vengeance.
The only fact that people are now certain of is that Xiang Beifei likely died at the hands of the Giant Spirit!
"What a pity! I joined Zha Jiang Stronghold back then hoping Xiang Beifei would lead us to find the divine inheritance. As it turns out, not only did we fail to find the inheritance, Xiang Beifei ended up finding his way to the netherworld."
"Who'd disagree? Although he is formidable, he overestimated himself, shouldn't have gone looking for trouble with the Giant Spirit!"
"But it's good that he's dead. Lord Chi once said that the divine inheritance would only be entrusted to a destined Taoist ally. Now that he's dead, we'll have one less competitor, perhaps the divine inheritance will favor us? Maybe I am the chosen one blessed with great fortune."
"Haha, I think the same. Yesterday, Lord Chi said that given the current situation, anyone among us Taoist practitioners has a chance at a great fortune, but Xiang Beifei isn't so lucky anymore."
Those holding these thoughts were mostly Taoist practitioners from Dawn Alliance and Light Valley. They were firm in their stance, devoutly following Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage or Meat-Winged Monster, and were very dismissive of Xiang Beifei.
Meanwhile, the three leaders of Demon Tentacle Race's High Priest Xuwang, Flaming Six Wings, and Night Demon gathered once more to discuss the current affairs. The unexpected disappearance of Xiang Beifei caught them off guard, causing their plans to be shelved.
They initially intended to find an excuse to jointly confront Xiang Beifei, pressuring him to reveal the whereabouts of the Human Race, thereafter taking what they needed: one taking the body, and another taking the Dao embryo. However, Xiang Beifei was unexpectedly missing.
"What do you think about Xiang Beifei?" the High Priest inquired.
"It has been confirmed, Xiang Beifei indeed met trouble in the Giant Spirit Village." Night Demon replied.
Flaming Six Wings' gaze turned icy cold: "He died just like that, he got off too easy!"
He hadn't yet avenged the seizure of Light Valley's territory, and now things went awry, making it impossible for him to swallow his anger.
The High Priest coughed violently twice, then spoke grimly: "I don't believe he's dead, maybe he just went into hiding or is investigating something."
"He's probably dead, considering Li Qianluo's actions these last few days, Xiang Beifei has definitely encountered trouble. The Giant Spirit's power isn't trivial; even if the three of us combined couldn't take down one Giant Spirit, how could he face a group of them?"
Flaming Six Wings had quite an apprehension towards the Giant Spirit.
"That's true, when the Giant Spirit came to scoop water, the terrifying screams from the village were truly horrifying. Perhaps they discovered Xiang Beifei had intruded, so they used the river water against him." the High Priest remarked.
"No matter what, with one less person, we have one less opponent. If we manage to find the divine inheritance jointly, we won't have to compete with him, this is indeed a good thing." Flaming Six Wings said.
"By the way, Zha Jiang Stronghold's still there, with quite a few Taoist practitioners following Li Qianluo. This is the best time to destroy Zha Jiang Stronghold!"
Night Demon showed little interest in Xiang Beifei, what he cared about were the five small Saint Stone fragments in Li Qianluo's possession!
"Alright, continue as planned!"
Flaming Six Wings now wanted to reclaim all that had been lost completely!