Chapter 353: Chapter 260: The Revival of the Earth Spirit Stele! Fu Ming

The aura emanating from the silver bead was extremely familiar to Yang An.

He had entered the Earth Spirit Stele more than once with Life Crane’s permission. He had also frequently sensed its aura after obtaining the sealed remnant.

The once-incomplete aura had now been fully restored to Perfection, growing thick and viscous.

Yang An gripped the silver bead tightly. He could distinctly feel the object in his palm throbbing like a Heart.

The aura radiated uncontrollably, a sure sign that the Earth Spirit Stele was about to activate.

There were no living creatures in this nameless town; even the Demon Fiends had been devoured by Yang An. But that didn’t mean it was safe. Other Demon Fiends could arrive at any moment.

He had to find a safe place.

Forty li north of town, there was a small valley. Within the valley lay a cave formed by a rockslide, and for dozens of li around, there was no sign of life.

It had once been a den for wild beasts, but now it stood empty, devoid of any life. There was, however, a fair amount of fur and droppings in the corners.

Yang An didn’t mind. ’Who knows how much farther I’d have to go to find another temporary haven? This place is good enough.’

He pushed a large boulder to block the cave entrance. Then, in a cleaner spot, Yang An took the silver bead out of the Meat Burial Talisman.

The bead, originally the size of a thumb, had already writhed and squirmed its way to the size of a fist, and it was still growing.

Meanwhile, Yang An kept his eyes fixed on the information box that had appeared before him.

As the sealed remnant of the Earth Spirit Stele, it could never be completely sealed. This was because the Earth Spirit Stele itself still existed, rendering even the Unidentified Arrow—an item connected to a Forbidden Artifact of the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect—incapable of fully containing it.

This thing had to be fused with his own flesh and blood before it could be used. But first, he needed to use Purification to completely erase its price.

Erasing its price required two steps.

First, he had to devour enough flesh and blood, a condition Yang An had already met.

Second, he needed to consume any single Forbidden Artifact Fragment.

Yang An had two Forbidden Artifact Fragments in his possession. The first was the Activated Forbidden Artifact Fragment he had obtained upon arriving in the Outer Continent.

It was this very item that had allowed him to turn the tables and kill Elder Life Crane.

This particular Forbidden Artifact Fragment gave him a major boost to his combat power.

The second was the Six Golden Secret Seals he had obtained from the Jueyun Sect. Hidden within its Secret Seal Space was another Forbidden Artifact Fragment.

By mastering the Six Golden Secret Seals, he had gained the ability to enter the Secret Seal Space at will. However, he had yet to find the Forbidden Artifact Fragment hidden within, and after a while, he had stopped actively looking for it.

If forced to choose one to sacrifice to erase the price of using the Earth Spirit Stele, Yang An would choose the latter without hesitation. It wasn’t particularly important to him.

’The only question is, can I just use the Six Golden Secret Seals as the sacrifice directly?’

’The Forbidden Artifact Fragment isn’t being consumed by the Earth Spirit Stele, but by my Purification Ability. I might as well try it,’ Yang An thought. ’It would save me the trouble of entering the Secret Seal Space to find the fragment.’

While Yang An was lost in thought, the sealed remnant, already the size of a fist, grew even larger.

It looked like a mass of innumerable pieces of flesh, growing rapidly.

The silvery, flesh-like substance was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

As if layers of fleshy tumors were being meticulously peeled back, something was about to break free from within.

It had to be the Earth Spirit Stele.

The wait was agonizing. A full two hours passed before the Earth Spirit Stele’s aura reached its peak.

The dark cave filled with a thick fog that seemed to displace all the air, creating a suffocating vacuum.

Yang An, naturally, was unaffected. His eyes were glued to the sealed remnant, which had grown to the size of a basin and now resembled a blooming flower of flesh.

The "petals" stretched open completely, revealing the mysterious core within.

A mass of blood-red, translucent material formed layer after layer of barriers.

The innumerable barriers were layered one inside another like nesting dolls, their core invisible. The object simply floated there in silence.

These transparent barriers were the Earth Spirit Stele; Yang An had entered it several times and knew it well.

The moment had finally arrived. Yang An eagerly reached out and touched the barrier. An information box popped up, identical to the one for the sealed remnant except for a few new lines of information.

「[Earth Spirit Stele]: From the Earth Immortal Dao Sect, leader of the Five Great Celestial Sects. It records infinite Miaofa and nurtures the Xian Origin Land within. Use of this item requires it to be hosted within one’s own flesh and blood; fusion will inevitably create a Fused Will.

Price of Use: The Fused Will is influenced by the host’s will and the will of the Xian Origin. If the host’s will cannot suppress it, they will suffer a backlash from the Fused Will and their mind will be permanently lost in the Xian Origin. If the host’s will can contend with it, the two wills will reach a balance, and the host’s will will be influenced by the Xian Origin. If the host’s will can completely suppress it, they will gain control over the Xian Origin while their will is still influenced by it.

Status: Currently un-purifiable. Requires the consumption of one Forbidden Artifact Fragment of any kind!」

His Identification Ability confirmed that this was, without a doubt, the real Earth Spirit Stele.

But when Yang An read the information, he couldn’t help but freeze.

’Leader of the Five Great Celestial Sects? The Earth Immortal Dao Sect?’

He had never heard of any "Five Great Celestial Sects" since coming to this world.