However, from the pirates' location, the ruined palaces didn't bring much sense of beauty. Quite the contrary, they looked more evil and bizarre. They seemed to hide some terrible truth.
All the pirates were frightened as their sharp eyes stared at the wonder that had just emerged. They didn't know what to do except feel respect instinctively.
None of them dared to plunge down to check those tattered palaces, staying silent in awe. However, they still maintained a distance from those palaces. They were afraid that some unknown dangers would jump out from nowhere.
Feng Ke, Russell, Jie Nong, and Barrette also banned their subordinates from searching that area, just releasing the Soul Consciousness to check something.
Shi Yan frowned, sending beams of Soul Consciousness with space power to search for living beings and energy.
"Ah?"
He suddenly felt something. His eyes batted, and three star balls bloomed from his palms, plunging down to the palaces.
The three star balls transformed into three strange hands, rummaging through a crushed stone pile in a palace. After a while, they picked up three green stone tablets, which were carved with three words - King of Heaven Hall.
Three massive hundred meters wide stone tablets were pulled by three starlight hands, hovering in the air. The three big words on the tablets shimmered with a faint green light and a feeble aura. The three tablets connected in the void, forming up a whole intact block.
A green light glowed brightly.
A torrential energy burst out from the water vortex in the center of the palace. Amidst the popping sounds of bubbles, transparent skeletons emerged.
Two more stone tablets appeared with more words - Easygoing.
(Translator's note: 自在天王殿- Easygoing King of Heaven Hall. I can manage to translate this phrase into five words as the word count in Chinese, but when parts of it are mentioned above in this chapter, they go with three and two words separately. It doesn't go with the word count in Chinese and English, but I hope you understand, hehe.)
Shi Yan's thoughts flickered, and the two stone tablets flew up, joining with the others. Now the tablet read 'Easygoing King of Heaven Hall'.
When the five words finally combined, the ruined palaces exploded rumblingly. The chasms on the green ground seemed to be revived, as more Yin Qi gushed out, flooding the ruins.
The ruins of the palaces seemed to be fixed by an unknown power. It looked like countless ghost hands were renovating the tattered palace. The entire palace was being rebuilt at a speed naked eyes could observe.
In around two hours, the ruined palace was restored. The floating mountains halted, and a vigorous life energy arose from the range. The withered trees and foliage sprouted again, thriving luxuriantly.
Everybody gawked at the marvelous transformation down there. No one uttered a word, as if they were petrified.
The massive tablet with 'Easygoing King of Heaven Hall' carved on it had gotten rid of Shi Yan's energy restraint. Now, it was installed on the main hall grandly, giving people a soul capturing feeling.
Slosh Slosh Slosh!
The raging water vortex surged and the pure fragrant water splashed, flying up to the sky, which was against the natural order. It then poured into each floating mountain.
Vigorous vitality arose from those mountains, and the green jade palace restored shiningly. A green halo was moving about the palace like a fairyland.
"Easygoing King of Heaven Hall!"
Jester couldn't help but shout, looking absolutely terrified. He fumbled with an ancient book, trying to open it with his trembling fingers as if he wanted to confirm something.
Everybody was astonished. They couldn't help but look at him skeptically.
Shortly, Jester took a deep breath, his eyes filled with fear. He lowered his voice, shouting. "It's the Easygoing King of Heaven Hall!"
"Yeah?" Feng Ke frowned, but he didn't know of the situation. "What happened? Jester, you know this palace hall?"
"Have you ever heard about the God Clan?" Jester's hand, which was holding the ancient book, trembled, as his voice stuttered. "Ancient legends of the Raging Flame Star Area tell about a clan, the God Clan. Have you ever heard about it?"
Feng Ke shook his head.
Russell, Barrette, and Jie Nong were also dull, as they didn't know anything.
Although the experts of the Raging Flame Star Area knew nothing about this, Shi Yan was amazed. "Please elaborate!" he shouted.
"It's like this," Jester contemplated for a while before pulling himself together, "The martial inheritance in our Raging Flame Star Area comes from this clan. Before they came here, the Raging Flame Star Area was a barbarian area. We knew neither the martial power Upanishads, nor the cultivating methods. At that moment, our ancestors were still at the primitive tribal stage. They didn't know how to utilize natural powers. Our ancestors were so weak at that time!"
Everybody was shaken, looking at him and listening to him attentively.
"A clan of people calling themselves Gods arrived in the Raging Flame Star Area and spread the martial arts and power Upanishads. They taught our ancestors to use the powers of Nature. They helped us in getting out of the barbarian stage, finding more suitable cultivating methods. That clan had imparted the martial path on our ancestors in the Raging Flame Star Area. They brought prosperity to the Raging Flame Star Area, and laid down the cradle of warriors," Jester took a deep breath, explaining in a trembling voice.
"What happened to this clan later on?" This was the first time Feng Ke had ever heard about this. He was both scared and baffled.
"Disappeared…" Jester beamed a faint smile. "Disappeared inexplicably. There was no sign left. It seemed they had disappeared completely in one night. I like old books, so I got many mysterious books and scriptures recently from strange places. That's why I know where our ancestors had found the martial arts. Martial arts were created because of this clan, the clan that called themselves Gods."
"Why did they disappear all of a sudden?" Shi Yan contemplated.
Jester wore a miserable visage. "This is the mystery that none of the ancient books have recorded. Many people have tried to solve this mystery, but they have all failed. It's been so many years. They want to know the reasons. However, they seem to have disappeared into the river of history, leaving no vestige."
"What is the relation between that clan and this Easygoing King of Heaven Hall?" Shi Yan was shaken inwardly, asking gingerly.
"When that God Clan descended in the Raging Flame Star Area, they came with only one troop of not more than one hundred members. They had two leaders, namely Easygoing King of Heaven and Carefree King of Heaven. These two Great Kings were the ancestors of the warriors in the Raging Flame Star Area," Jester said with a respectful face. "The two Kings of Heaven of the God Clan had their own battleships. They were the massive moving palaces called Easygoing King of Heaven Hall and Carefree King of Heaven Hall. They were so tough, and way more dangerous than the top quality battleships of our Raging Flame Star Area."
Listening to him, everybody quieted down. Divine light sparkled in their eyes as they gazed at the palace, which had been restored to a new condition down there.
If this palace was the moving palace of the God Clan that year, according to Jester, how precious was this palace?
"So, is this Easygoing King of Heaven Hall the moving palace of the Easygoing King of Heaven?" Feng Ke was thrilled as he gazed at the palace without blinking even once.
"I don't know," Jester shook his head, giving a miserable smile. "I can only say that if this Easygoing King of Heaven Hall belonged to one of the Kings of Heaven of the God Clan that year, it would be absolutely precious!"
Shi Yan's brow twitched. He couldn't help but look at where the vortex had disappeared and the transparent skeletons here and there, asking. "Does one of those skeletons belong to the God Clan?"
"Impossible! Those are female skeletons. I'm an alchemist, so I can tell it easily," Jester opposed his idea. "From the information I got, Easygoing King of Heaven liked beautiful women. He kept some beautiful maids, but they weren't from the God Clan. When he arrived in the Raging Flame Star Area, he had already gotten beautiful maids in his palace. If this is his moving palace, those skeletons should belong to those maids..."
King of Heaven of the God Clan... Movable palaces... Ancestors of warriors... Jester's words frightened Shi Yan. He looked absent-minded.
The Grace Mainland also had the legends of the God Clan...
The God Clan was one of ten strong clans in the Antiquity, the strongest one. The other nine clans had joined hands to expel this clan. At the same time, the most powerful branch of the Demon Clan - the Immortal Demon - was terminated. The other clans suffered big losses from which they couldn't have recovered even after ten thousand years.
The God Clan was the so-called most perfect clan. Did they leave the Grace Mainland to move to the Raging Flame Star Area? Would the God Clan's missionary in the Raging Flame Star Area belong to the same branch who had left the Grace Mainland?
In the vast universe, a life star was just like a drop in an ocean. So, perhaps it was not just the Grace Mainland that had a God Clan.
It might be that this perfect clan had existed in some other continents. The God Clan, which used to exist in the Raging Flame Star Area, perhaps wasn't the same clan from the Grace Mainland. But, if they weren't from the same branch, why did they disappear into thin air in just one night?
A series of questions flashed in his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a clue. The more he thought, the more complicated it became.
"If the God Clan disappeared all of a sudden, why is the Easygoing King of Heaven Hall found deep in the forbidden land? Did they disappear into the center of the forbidden land?" Feng Ke was baffled for a while. He instinctively whispered, seeming to be scared.
He suddenly doubted whether this star map expedition was a wise decision.
The location marked on the star map required them to visit a place deep inside the forbidden land. That was why he was persistent on heading further.
However, even the moving palace of the Easygoing King of Heaven had sunk here, and this place wasn't even the deepest place of the forbidden land yet. It was still a far distance from their destination. How formidable would the dangers be in there?
Feng Ke became intensively restless.
"If some of you want to leave, you can return using our previous trace. I think... the dangers deep in the forbidden land will be more than a dozen times more hazardous. I'm not sure how many of us will survive, or if we can even find the place marked on the star map. Perhaps, leaving at this moment is a wise decision," Feng Ke suddenly said, his face solemn.
Everybody quieted down, contemplating his suggestion.
The situation of this area was exaggeratingly dangerous, and what Jester had told them was also earth-shaking. For the first time, they felt that the road ahead was far and misty.
"... If we return, we will encounter the three powerful forces. In that case, it's better to journey on to discover the secrets!" Barrette gritted his teeth.
Everybody was shaken, feeling a deep chill that even left them panting. At this moment, they were clear that they didn't have a way back.