Li Yan nodded. He could understand the meaning behind the Great Elder's words.
For a race like the Tianli Clan, which fought against the Wind Beasts almost daily, generation after generation, there were bound to be countless heroic figures.
But what they needed more were spiritual pillars to constantly inspire future generations, not to let them only see the tragic side of their ancestors.
The two walked at a pace that seemed slow yet was fast. Soon, a wide plaza appeared before them.
Along the way, Li Yan had roughly estimated that there were over ten thousand statues, a number so large it was chilling.
Gazing to either side, they were densely packed like neat rows of tombstones, standing erect through the endless years.
The plaza could accommodate tens of thousands of people. It was surrounded by enormous stone pillars, each so thick that three or four strong men couldn't encircle them with their arms. Each pillar was over thirty zhang tall, and their tops seemed to be pressing down on a circular disc.
On the other side of the plaza, opposite the stone path Li Yan and the Great Elder were on, crouched a behemoth—a statue as massive as a mountain. Its sheer size exuded a sense of pressure that even Li Yan felt.
It was a creature that resembled a ferocious tiger with the body of a fighting bull, its fur like sharp bristles. A pair of vicious wings sprouted from its back, and its huge mouth was filled with fangs. It was none other than Qiongqi, one of the four great ferocious beasts.
"This is the outer area of the ancestral land. It is only opened when a major event occurs in the clan, like the Heavenly Sacrifice we held for the Second Elder. However, those clansmen can only reach this point."
Li Yan also understood the Great Elder's meaning. A group like this must have cohesion, and also a kind of faith. Therefore, no matter how sacred the ancestral land was, it needed to be felt by the clansmen.
The tens of thousands of statues here were to let the clansmen who could enter the ancestral land feel the spirit of their ancestors, giving them a stronger sense of identity and cohesion.
But the ancestral land was not a place one could enter casually; that would strip it of its mystique and reverence.
This was especially true for someone like Gong Chenying, who had left the clan at a young age and had only entered once during the last Heavenly Sacrifice.
Clansmen who could enter here would take great pride in it, and it would even be a source of pride and honor for their entire lineage.
The Great Elder was just giving a casual introduction, as it was unlikely Li Yan would come here again in the future. It was just for his general knowledge.
As he spoke, he did not stop, walking directly towards the colossal Qiongqi statue on the opposite side.
"This statue of the sacred beast was carved by the first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest. By then, the second-generation Great Sacrificial Priest had already appeared in the clan. The first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest went into seclusion for sixteen hundred years and suddenly had an epiphany one day. She carved this statue of the sacred beast and then ascended."
"Oh? What realm had her cultivation reached at that time?"
Li Yan had heard some news about the first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest, such as her monumental feat of migrating the clan to this land, but he didn't know much more. He asked out of curiosity.
"It's unclear. The first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest had already reached the Spirit Transformation realm by then, but she desperately suppressed her realm because she was the first generation. Her responsibility was greater, heavier. Thus, she waited for the second generation to appear. And when the second generation did appear, she did not choose to ascend immediately. Instead, she entered this ancestral land that she herself had created. It was only after her achievements reached the level of Great Fortune that she carved this statue of the sacred beast, left a jade slip for the second-generation Great Sacrificial Priest, and departed gracefully without even meeting anyone."
The Great Elder shook his head.
Every generation of Great Sacrificial Priests and elders in the Tianli Clan lived very hard lives. They all had to wait for a strong successor to appear before they could ascend with peace of mind.
Otherwise, they would rather suppress their cultivation and sever their own path to eternal life to remain in the lower realm. This was a difference between a clan and a sect.
In a clan, there were often more people willing to sacrifice themselves, because the same blood flowed in their veins. From a young age, they took pride in the entire clan and honored it as such.
As the two drew closer, Li Yan's gaze remained fixed ahead, on the enormous sacred beast statue.
At some point, Li Yan didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the sacred beast statue in front of him had entered a thick fog.
He was clearly approaching it, yet he felt a sense of it being both near and far, its position impossible to pinpoint.
The Great Elder, meanwhile, had been observing Li Yan's reaction. He hadn't told Li Yan that the Tianli clansmen who entered the ancestral land were not allowed to look directly at the sacred beast statue.
They would maintain a piously bowed posture from beginning to end, only praying silently in their hearts, never daring to raise their heads. Likewise, those people were not allowed to cross the halfway point of this plaza.
Because if anyone were to steal a glance at the statue there, not even the Great Elder could save them. Their minds would be lost in an instant.
It was as if their souls were sucked away by the sacred beast, leaving them foolish and dazed, or even causing them to die on the spot.
Only when they had cultivated the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" to the sixth layer, or had reached the Mid-stage Nascent Soul through other cultivation methods, could they gaze upon this sacred beast statue.
Normally, Tianli clansmen would only cross the halfway point of the plaza when it was time to inherit the seventh layer of the cultivation method. At this moment, Li Yan and the Great Elder had already passed the halfway mark.
Gradually, the statue in Li Yan's eyes seemed to come to life. Originally in a half-crouching, half-sitting posture, it suddenly stood up, and an ancient, savage aura abruptly shot up into the sky.
Its red fur burned like a blazing fire, and a single glance from its fierce eyes seemed to send a heaven-toppling pressure crashing down on Li Yan.
Li Yan couldn't help but pause in his steps. At this moment, within his dark pupils, the reflection of a giant beast, its paw covering the sky, appeared...
Li Yan felt his body instantly become completely immobile. His eyes were filled with nothing but that one giant paw that could blot out the sun and sky, slamming down fiercely towards his head...
An boundless sense of life-and-death crisis instantly rose in Li Yan's heart. The surrounding scenery of the plaza had completely vanished, and even the Great Elder was gone.
Between heaven and earth, there was only the might of that one paw. The dusky yellow world here was instantly torn apart by massive cracks, and Li Yan felt that he was smaller and more insignificant than an ant.
Yet, no matter how he tried to circulate his magical power, his body was completely unable to move.
'I am already a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. I feel that even against a Spirit Transformation cultivator, I should have the power to escape. But why is it that now, I don't even have a shred of strength to resist...'
Li Yan's heart was frantic, but before he could finish his thought, the paw, with the might of heaven and earth, came crashing down on his head with a deafening roar.
An unbearable, excruciating pain shot through Li Yan's mind. He desperately wanted to roar out.
A vast expanse of crimson filled his vision, obscuring his sight. An indescribable, boundless pain permeated his Divine Soul, his flesh, and even the seams of his bones.
'Something's not right!'
The instant this heart-wrenching pain spread throughout his entire Sea of Consciousness, the golden Nascent Soul miniature inside Li Yan's body suddenly stood up.
From its four limbs and both eyes, a five-colored light instantly erupted. Li Yan's mind immediately regained a sliver of clarity. At the same time, the five-colored light flowed through his limbs and bones, and waves of cool, refreshing sensation instantly filled his body.
Everything before his eyes vanished. The soul-piercing, excruciating pain also strangely disappeared along with it.
And in front of him, it was still the same enormous sacred beast statue, still in its original half-crouching posture, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.
'A might so oppressive it created illusions!'
A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes. When high-level cultivators demonstrated their might to low-level cultivators, or even killed them, they might not even need to make a move. A single glance, a single breath of aura, could be enough to make them faint or die. This was might.
Li Yan, of course, could also wield it, and when he was weaker, he had felt the pressure of those stronger than him time and again. But it had only ever made him feel fear, or caused his Qi and blood to roil.
But the might from this sacred beast statue had actually caused him to have hallucinations. This was an absolute suppression in terms of strength. Even though Li Yan had already reached the Late-stage Nascent Soul, there was still a huge gap between them.
'What realm did the first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest reach when she carved this statue? To have left behind some rules of power that exceed the Nascent Soul realm within it.'
This time, Li Yan was truly shocked. He had thought that after reaching the Late-stage Nascent Soul, there wouldn't be much in this realm to worry about, but he had unexpectedly encountered such a situation so soon.
However, Li Yan could also guess that this sacred beast statue couldn't actually get up and attack people. It was just that the realm of the person who carved it was too high, endowing the statue with some power of rules.
This should be a power of rules that only belonged to Qiongqi, one of the four great ferocious beasts.
From the Great Elder's perspective, everything Li Yan had just experienced was merely his footsteps gradually slowing down, followed by a pause. He stood there on the spot, his eyes still fixed ahead.
He stood there for ten full breaths before his body swayed slightly. The Great Elder watched this scene, a look of gratification appearing on his face.
"Alright, that's enough!"
With the Great Elder's words, Li Yan finally came back to his senses. His expression quickly returned to normal.
"This is the might of a Saint. The first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest must have already reached that realm when she carved this statue. When an ordinary person's gaze falls upon it, they will be affected by the laws here. If they lack willpower, they will be trapped in the illusion for the rest of their lives. That you could awaken on your own in just ten breaths is truly extraordinary."
The Great Elder's eyes showed a hint of praise.
But Li Yan frowned slightly.
"Then why didn't you remind me just now?"
"Hehe, some things, if spoken aloud, lose their effect. That's why your 'Qiongqi Purgatory Art' is only at the sixth layer. If it weren't for your Divine Soul being far stronger than your peers, you might have been trapped in that illusionary realm for a long, long time."
The Great Elder chuckled and then his expression turned serious.
"This is a test from the sacred beast, and a test from the first-generation Great Sacrificial Priest. Those with weak willpower or those who are not fated are not qualified to cultivate the subsequent layers. And you have passed. You are qualified."
The Great Elder said, then took the lead and continued walking forward.
Li Yan immediately understood that the Great Elder had brought him here, and this plaza was the true first test.
His subsequent explanation was just to see how strong Li Yan's willpower was. After that, he said those words, which was also a way of telling him that he had been recognized.
With this thought, Li Yan felt a sudden lightness, and the pressure on his Divine Soul from before disappeared without a trace.
This time, when he looked at the Qiongqi statue again, he no longer felt that oppressive might.
'Could it be that my mental state has also reached a certain level?'
Li Yan pondered as he followed the Great Elder.
This time, as they approached the statue, there were no more strange occurrences. The two of them soon arrived at the foot of the Qiongqi statue.
The Great Elder came to a stop, then pointed to a spot at the center of the statue's chest.
"Let's go!"
As he spoke, he was the first to fly up. Li Yan looked up and saw that the Great Elder was flying towards the chest of the sacred beast statue.
However, just as the Great Elder's body was about to touch the statue's chest, his figure flickered and then disappeared without a trace.
Li Yan's pupils contracted slightly. There was no fluctuation of a formation there, yet the Great Elder had just vanished.
"I see, a single glance from a Saint can span a thousand years. A single thought can create a world. The path he created to enter the true ancestral land was intentionally placed here, and he made me walk all the way here..."
As the thought arose, Li Yan immediately followed, flying in. The moment he stepped in, the red door vanished along with him.