Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 666 - 645: Sacrificial Tower

The closer they got to the ancient altar, the more godly spirits appeared.

The aggression of the giant godly spirits gradually decreased, and all parties peacefully coexisted.

On the way, they even encountered a demigod spirit, causing everyone to stop in fear, hearts pounding wildly.

The spirit glanced at the group, pausing momentarily on Zhou Leng, then silently departed.

Since then, the group dared not hunt recklessly; if the spirits did not initiate an attack, they would not strike first.

After a long and arduous journey, they finally saw the ancient altar from afar.

The giants could not see it, but Zhou Leng could, and not far from the ancient altar, giant spirits occasionally wandered in the pale red mist.

Ahead, a large number of alien giants were already positioned in front of the ancient altar. One giant descended from the tall altar as another climbed up.

Everyone slowed their pace, and as they walked, Celestial River Mountain explained to Zhou Leng and the human Grandmasters.

"The ancient altar was established by alien giants, originally to honor the great Far-reaching Mountain and receive blessings from the divine spirit..."

"Initially, everything was normal, but as the divine spirits fell more and more, everything began to change gradually. Later, during a Ten Realms war, we Ten Realms Giants and Giant Dragons triggered a spatial disturbance connecting to the True King Land..."

"The distortion caused by the spatial disturbance was strong, allowing us to visit the Far-reaching Star only once every ten thousand years, but we could come once every thousand years..."

"Therefore, according to the rules, whenever we encounter alien giants, we Ten Realms Giants generally practice restraint, as the lineage of the great Far-reaching Mountain is closer to them..."

"But we all belong to the giant lineage, as descendants of the Starry Giants..."

"So we do not compete with them; we wait until they finish their ritual, then we proceed. If the giant ritual is completed and the altar cannot be activated, it indicates failure due to power or other reasons, and we have to wait until next time..."

"However, Zhou Leng, you have the experience of climbing Star Mountain and have met the ancestors of the Starry Giants on the Great Battlefield, theoretically granting you the same ritual qualifications as us giants."

"By the way, each time a ritual begins, it attracts numerous spirits, including demigod spirits. Theoretically, half of all demigod giant spirits in the True King Land have gathered nearby..."

"But do not be afraid; we are safest at this moment because the demigod spirits particularly hope we can initiate the ancient call; if they kill us, they will have no chance forever..."

"Every time the ancient call is initiated, giant spirits also benefit, and they hold reverence for those who start the ancient call, marking them and forbidding harm from their kin."

The group reached the vicinity of the altar.

Many alien giants looked at Zhou Leng and the others with peculiar expressions.

An alien giant they had encountered previously bowed in respect to Zhou Leng, while other alien giants had especially complex looks.

Both sides kept their distance.

Zhou Leng looked ahead; it was a mountain-like structure, weathered yet retaining its essential beauty from years ago.

A three-layer mound structure, each layer over fifty meters tall, totaling around one hundred fifty meters.

The central staircase led directly to the sanctuary at the top of the altar.

These alien giants lined up, each bringing their offerings, climbed to the top, and performed rituals using their respective tribal methods.

Some sang, some danced, some acted like madmen in spiritual frenzy, some bled, and others were more intense, even severing fingers and limbs.

After completing the rituals, the alien giants moved to the west side, loudly discussing, eating, and drinking.

"There is no fixed ritual process?" Zhou Leng asked.

"Reportedly, there was originally one, then it was lost, like with the giants. The two divine spirits have been dead for thousands of millennia, and the tribe has undergone great changes..."

"Giants and humans differ greatly, as most giants, including Ten Realms Giants, do not possess the same powerful logical processing capabilities as humans, and their inheritance methods are too simple..."

"Even for intelligent humans, over the long ages, many tribes have perished, along with a vast amount of written records and languages..."

Thinking about the changes over hundreds of thousands of years among humans, Zhou Leng nodded lightly. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Celestial River Mountain said, "Do you know why they respect the King of Armor so much?"

Zhou Leng shook his head.

"It was His Majesty the King of Armor who completed the ritual, revered by alien giants as the ’Far-reaching Armor,’ honored as the Giant King. Later, after His Majesty ascended to demigod, he was sculpted into a statue by Far-reaching Star Giants and enshrined in the Giant Temple, receiving eternal worship. The reason His Majesty maintained consciousness after so many years is related to their temple, as it was personally built by the divine spirit."

"I see, that temple must be a powerful Starry Sky Divine Artifact." Zhou Leng said.

Clang...

Li Shenkong’s sword rang out from behind him.

His face flashed a hint of embarrassed blue, helplessly looking ahead.

Zhou Leng glanced sideways.

Celestial River Mountain said, "However, even if the altar cannot be activated, it does not matter. Your current strength is enough to contend for the Giant True King."

"The dragons also hope I contend for the Dragon True King." Zhou Leng said.

"Impossible, the Gold King and Deep Dark Fury both want the Dragon True King. Besides, how can the Dragon True King compare to ours? Consider..." Celestial River Mountain was like a gossipy old lady, starting to ramble, disparaging the dragon, praising the giant.

The human Grandmasters initially did not understand but soon caught the reason.

A tribe can only have one True King.

Previously, both giants and dragons wanted one of their own to be crowned True King, seeking Zhou Leng’s assistance to initiate the ancient call and Dragon God’s gaze.

Now, Celestial River Mountain found Zhou Leng so formidable, immediately changed his mind, inviting Zhou Leng to be the Giant True King, then participate in the final True King battle.

The tribe winning the final True King would receive more divine blessings.

With good fortune, gain high-level divine visions.

Previously, the giants’ plan was to let Gold Liy win the Giant True King, but now with alien giants, Gold Liy might not succeed, better to choose Zhou Leng.

Several hundred alien giants conducted successive rituals, and soon a day and night had passed.

When the last alien giant descended, they found themselves in silence.

The old giant sighed repeatedly, and the young man’s face was gloomy.

Mountain River Celestial Peak stepped forward and engaged with the alien giants using the Giant Language.

Although the alien giants were reluctant to let outsiders worship their ancestors, in the end, out of the kinship of being part of the Starry Giant lineage, they begrudgingly agreed, as they had in the past.

"Golden Li, you go first. Zhou Leng, you hold the last position," said Mountain River Celestial Peak.

Zhou Leng understood that the other party had selfish intentions, hoping the giants would initiate an ancient summoning.

This was human nature. If this Divine Spirit were a Dragon Country spirit, and foreigners dared to worship first, he too would be displeased.

Zhou Leng nodded casually, not caring, and continued to wait.

At the same time, he kept pondering the various reasons for failure.

Since he had succeeded every time in the past, the current inability to succeed might mean that, besides a lack of power, there were other factors at play.

While the giants performed the ritual, he circled the altar several times on the ground.

There were some Divine Text patterns above, mostly with meanings of blessing, prayer, and praise, purely decorative Divine Texts.

Zhou Leng had also crafted many decorative Divine Texts and handed them to Xu Qingjin, allowing her to become a somewhat renowned Divine Text designer.

After recording the Divine Text patterns, he returned to his original spot.

The giants paid no mind, and Li Shenkong came over, asking in a low voice, "Any clues?"

Zhou Leng shook his head and replied, "No, the biggest discovery is the decorative Divine Texts."

"By the way, I wanted to ask you, how did you comprehend the mandate I bestowed?" Li Shenkong was humble, and being a direct descendant of the Li Clan and the Martial Saint’s grandson, he saw no issue in seeking advice from Zhou Leng.

Nearby human Grandmasters gathered around, even some giants listened closely.

"I really haven’t thought about that question before," Zhou Leng answered honestly.

"Then what do you think is the most important possible factor?"

"The most important... perhaps my extensive battle experience and the many demons I’ve slain?"

The Grandmasters almost lost their composure.

Everyone knew Zhou Leng was a madman at demon slaying. On the Great Battlefield alone, he had killed hundreds of thousands of Innate demons, with terrifying war merits.

In his first battle upon becoming a Grandmaster, he slew over a hundred Grandmasters in the Tree-man World.

The Grandmasters present had each killed no more than ten demon Grandmasters.

"Are there any other reasons?" Li Shenkong asked.

Zhou Leng thought for a moment and said, "It could also be my belief in the people, in the Dragon Country, in the heroes and sages of the past, and in humanity’s future."

Li Shenkong pondered this, and some Grandmasters looked on with complex expressions.

Even with their strength, status, and rich experiences, they no longer believed as much.

Not everyone’s experiences are true wisdom; many are mere contamination.

These Grandmasters were pure in Martial Arts, but not necessarily in life beliefs.

"Zhou Leng..."

The voice of Mountain River Celestial Peak came, and everyone looked up.

The last Ten Realms Giant was slowly descending, sighing.

All the giants had finished their attempts.

The alien giants gathered under the altar, each appearing lethargic, their vitality seemingly drained.

To them, feeling unworthy of their ancestors’ blessing was a deeply sorrowful matter.

The human Grandmasters looked toward Zhou Leng, including Li Shenkong, as none of them were eligible to perform the ritual.

Zhou Leng nodded slightly and stepped forward.

Many alien giants watched Zhou Leng.

Those who had previously witnessed Zhou Leng defeating a Far-reaching Giant had a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

The other alien giants only glanced at him, then went about their own business, ignoring him.

Zhou Leng walked to the base of each step over a meter high, leapt vigorously, and climbed upwards with large strides.

Soon, he reached the highest altar.

The altar was a circular platform about fifty meters in diameter, made of dark material with patterns of black and gold, exuding grandeur and elegance.

In the center of the altar stood a nine-tier sacrificial tower, crafted from white jade with black patterns, resembling a nine-layered cake arranged in reverse order from smallest to largest.

Zhou Leng did not immediately begin the ritual but instead walked slowly around the altar.

He first made a complete circle to get a general sense, then followed a clockwise direction along the edge of the altar, taking pictures of the text on the pillars as he went.

After recording the text, he stitched all the images together.

He read and translated as he went.

As a 41st-grade pupil in a Divine Text kindergarten, Zhou Leng’s proficiency in Divine Texts had greatly improved.

In no time, he completed the translation.

No wonder all those other guys failed. The sacrificial process was all written up there.

The previous rituals that were haphazardly deemed successful likely benefited from an abundance of altar power, which coincidentally released some energy, mistakenly deemed as successfully initiated.

In reality, the altar hadn’t been formally activated in countless millennia.