Chapter 87: Earth Immortal

"Ancestral God, this way, please."

Luo Feng slightly bowed, making a "please" gesture, leading Han Li toward the rear of the damaged statue. The surrounding tribesmen, seeing this, bowed in unison and cleared a path.

No sooner had the two walked a short distance than the other tribesmen on the square shouted in unison:

"Farewell, Ancestral God!"

The voices were exceptionally loud and perfectly synchronized, repeated several times until Han Li and his companion gradually disappeared into the forest behind, only then ceasing.

Throughout the entire process, Han Li did not look back, nor did his footsteps falter in the slightest.

Along a winding path paved with stone slabs through the forest, the two arrived before a grand hall with a traditional overhanging gable roof.

The hall was no more than ten zhang high, not particularly imposing compared to ordinary palaces. Its walls were pitch black, seemingly built from local reef stones, covered with mottled traces of age. Yet the paint on its doors, windows, and corridor pillars was still very bright, clearly regularly cleaned and repainted.

The small square before the hall and the stone steps under the eaves were swept spotlessly clean, with hardly a fallen leaf in sight.

Han Li looked up at the top of the hall's door, where a black horizontal plaque hung, inscribed with three archaic characters in gold paint: "Ancestral God Pavilion."

Luo Feng quickly stepped forward, first making a respectful bow, then pushing open the pavilion door with a creak, stepping aside to invite Han Li inside.

Entering the hall, Han Li was immediately confronted by a black stone statue as tall as a real person. In terms of facial expression alone, it did bear a three-tenths resemblance to himself.

"Since it's just the two of us here, I'll be straightforward. I am not the Ancestral God you speak of. My appearance here today is merely an accident." Han Li glanced briefly, then withdrew his gaze, turned to look at the refined man behind him, and said bluntly.

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng's face flashed with panic, and he immediately prostrated himself again, saying:

"Ancestral God, if you had not descended in person today, our Wumeng Island would surely have faced annihilation. You must not abandon us! Our entire clan has devoutly worshipped you for ten thousand years; we beg you to continue protecting us!"

"If those people hadn't collided with me today, I wouldn't have acted. You don't need to be grateful for that. As the clan leader, you know full well whether I am your Ancestral God. Don't delude yourself into thinking I will shield you from the disaster before you." Han Li's voice turned cold.

Luo Feng's body trembled, first showing fear, then smiling bitterly with helplessness:

"Senior, in truth, it doesn't matter who you are. As long as you agree to stay as the Ancestral God and help us through this crisis, our entire clan will devote all its strength to provide you with whatever cultivation resources you need."

"First, tell me, who exactly is this Ancestral God you speak of?" Han Li's expression shifted slightly. Instead of immediately responding, he suddenly asked about the Ancestral God.

"The Ancestral God we worship is actually an ancestor of our clan who cultivated to immortality hundreds of thousands of years ago. He has protected our clan for generations and is the foundation of our clan's survival here." Luo Feng was momentarily startled but still carefully explained.

"So, do those alien races who attacked you today also have their own Ancestral Gods? Is the white light covering their bodies related to the protection provided by their Ancestral God?" Han Li thought for a moment after hearing this, then asked.

"Yes, but their Hanjing clan's Ancestor Hanqiu is merely an Earth Immortal who achieved the Great Way over a hundred thousand years ago. Among the many Ancestral Gods I know, his strength is only mediocre. He even once lost to our Wumeng Island's Ancestral God." Luo Feng said bitterly.

"What is an Earth Immortal?" Han Li raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know about Earth Immortals... Could it be that you have just ascended from the lower realm?" This time, it was Luo Feng's turn to be surprised.

Han Li did not answer, merely looking at the other calmly.

Luo Feng tactfully refrained from pressing further and instead explained: "An Earth Immortal is an immortal who cultivates by protecting a region and absorbing the power of faith from protected believers. Generally speaking, the larger the protected area and the more believers, the faster the cultivation speed and the stronger the divine powers."

"Tell me about the Hanjing clan." Han Li nodded thoughtfully, then changed the subject.

Although he had developed considerable interest in the matter of Ancestral Gods and Earth Immortals, he did not intend to delve into it immediately.

"Reporting to Senior, the Hanjing clan, like our clan, is a small tribe on the edge of the Black Wind Sea. Their island is close to our Wumeng Island, and due to resource and other issues, they have always had many conflicts with us. In our clan's heyday, they naturally dared not act recklessly, but now that our Ancestral God is in a deep sleep, they have grown covetous." Luo Feng replied respectfully.

Han Li did not speak again immediately after hearing this, but fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Luo Feng naturally dared not say anything more, merely standing by with his head bowed.

"How far is the Black Wind Sea you speak of from the Northern Cold Immortal Domain?" After a long while, Han Li finally asked.

"This... As far as I know, the Black Wind Sea is within the jurisdiction of the Northern Cold Immortal Domain, but it is merely a tiny speck in a remote area. By the way, this is a partial map of the Black Wind Sea region for your reference, Senior." Luo Feng hesitated slightly, then took out a white orb the size of a walnut and handed it to Han Li.

Han Li took the orb, closed his eyes slightly, and with a thought, his divine sense entered the orb.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, a complex look flashing in them. After pondering for a long time, he spoke:

"It is not impossible for me to protect your Wumeng Island, but there are some things I must say upfront."

"Senior, please speak freely." Luo Feng's heart rejoiced at this, and he quickly said.

"As you said earlier, I have indeed only arrived in the Immortal Realm today, and I was not guided by the Immortal Ascension Platform. If you have any concerns about this, I will not hold it against you. Just pretend none of this happened." Han Li confessed without concealment.

"How dare I! Senior's honesty fills me with gratitude." Luo Feng waved his hands repeatedly.

"In that case, to stabilize the clan's morale, you may address me as Ancestral God in public from now on. But in private, you may call me Senior Liu. If the Hanjing clan dares to attack again, I will naturally act. Just don't forget the offerings you promised." Han Li said calmly.

Luo Feng was overjoyed and said repeatedly, "Of course, of course..."

"Alright, arrange a quiet residence for me. I need to rest and recuperate." Han Li nodded.

"Senior Liu, please follow me."

With that, Luo Feng led Han Li through the inner hall of the Ancestral God Pavilion toward the rear courtyard.

Exiting the rear courtyard, the two passed through a bamboo grove shrouded in purple mist and arrived before a small courtyard house with white walls and black tiles.

"This courtyard was my secluded cultivation retreat during a bottleneck period. No one else will disturb you here. Senior may rest assured." Luo Feng said.

Han Li surveyed the courtyard, nodded, and walked in first.

...

About half a day later.

In a deep blue sea area tens of thousands of miles from Wumeng Island, on a white island several hundred zhang high.

Its area was comparable to Wumeng Island, but the island itself was very narrow and long, resembling a slender willow leaf. Vegetation was sparse, and gray-white rocks were exposed everywhere on the surface, reflecting sunlight.

On the island, white dome-shaped buildings were distributed sparsely but orderly along the island's terrain. The higher up the mountain, the fewer buildings and the sparser the distribution.

At the highest point of the island, there were almost no buildings, only a spindle-shaped square several hundred zhang long built along the ridge.

The ground of the square was covered with carved arc or ring patterns, interconnected to form a very exquisite and dense pattern formation.

At the center of the formation stood a gray-white statue over ten zhang tall, with a robust build, wearing armor carved with exquisite patterns, a hollow face mask covering its face, two curved fangs extending from the sides of the mask, and a head of slightly curly long hair flowing behind, looking exceptionally majestic.

At this moment, a circle of blue crystal clan members were kneeling around the statue, all with heads lowered, arms crossed over their shoulders, silently chanting, performing some kind of ritual.

After a moment, two blue lights suddenly lit up beneath the face mask of the gray-white statue, followed by a buzzing voice:

"How did things go... Eh, why is Tuha not here?"

A somewhat portly elder of the blue crystal clan stepped forward with a pained expression, cupped his hands, and said: "Reporting to Ancestral God, earlier..."

After a while, he wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and said: "That's roughly what happened. Patriarch Tuha and several elders have fallen in battle. Ancestral God, you must seek justice for us."

After a moment of silence, the buzzing voice came again from the gray-white statue:

"You say Luomon descended in person... That's absolutely impossible! If he had truly recovered from his severe injury ten thousand years ago, given his temperament, he would never have let you escape. Besides, according to your description, that person didn't even release any protective power."

"Ancestral God, in that case, should we reorganize our forces and attack Wumeng Island again?" the blue crystal clan elder asked cautiously.

"No need. Although that person is not Luomon, being able to easily kill Tuha and the others means he is no ordinary being. If you attack again, you would be walking to your deaths. Withdraw for now. I will make arrangements for what comes next." The statue's blue light flickered, and the buzzing voice came again.

"As you command." The portly blue crystal clan elder immediately bowed respectfully and led the clan members away.

After they had gone far, a voice suddenly sounded from the statue, as if muttering to itself:

"Heh... Huge, Hutuo, Lukun, since you've also set your sights on the fat piece of meat that is Wumeng Island and want a share, then naturally you must contribute some effort. But that thing can only belong to me alone. After all, whether my next step of advancement succeeds depends entirely on this item..."

As the voice gradually faded into the air, the two blue light clusters on the statue also slowly disappeared.