Chapter 142 : You… Have No Right.

It had been storming for several days in a row.

Even when the rain stopped, the sky remained overcast.

Dark clouds lingered overhead, with faint flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder rolling across the distant land.

It seemed the rainy season had arrived.

That day, Ethan also brought Gellenson back to the Priscian family’s territory.

“Lord Ethan?”

“And… Mr. Gellenson?”

The gatekeeper recognized them both and spoke respectfully.

But when his gaze fell on Ethan, his heart trembled again.

He could see that Ethan’s expression at that moment was even more gloomy than the stormy sky above.

“Tell the patriarch I’m back.”

Ethan spoke.

“I want to see him. Now. Immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

The gatekeeper replied at once and quickly ushered them into the estate.

Before long—

“Father.”

Ethan addressed the elderly man seated on the high seat.

He was her father, the patriarch of the Priscian family.

Gellenson followed with a greeting, but his demeanor and posture were far more subdued than Ethan’s.

The old man spoke:

“Ethan, my daughter, you’ve returned.”

“Since you suddenly left without a word last time, your mother and I have been very worried about you.”

“Solaris has fallen. That is an immensely painful thing for us, and for the entire Priscian family.”

“But no matter what, I hope you can look forward…”

This was the truth.

Ethan had been a standout among the younger generation in the family back then.

If it hadn’t been for the problems that arose when she cultivated the God-blood secret art, which caused some mental instability, she could have gone much further.

Later, the Priscian family and the Liat family formed a marriage alliance.

Ethan then married Gellenson.

The old man glanced at Gellenson.

Feeling the gaze on him, Gellenson immediately lowered his head further.

Gellenson’s talent was not lacking either.

But his personality was quite terrible.

Cowardice and incompetence were ingrained in his very bones.

Even now, as the head of the Liat family, his deep-seated character had not changed much.

The old man looked down on Gellenson.

But he cherished his granddaughter, Solaris.

Solaris seemed to have inherited the strengths of both families in terms of talent.

From a young age, she had awakened the power of God-blood.

At the awakening ceremony, she had overpowered her peers and displayed immense sacred power, being designated as a Sequence Hero early on.

With such talent, as long as she didn’t fall, she would surely achieve great things in the future.

It wasn’t impossible for her to even enter the ranks of humanity’s strongest.

The old man had raised Solaris as the future pillar of the family.

Cultivation resources, God-blood secret arts, and even opportunities to enter the family’s secret realm were all given to Solaris.

But unfortunately—

In the end, Solaris still fell.

The old man was deeply grieved.

And on the day Ethan learned the news, she went mad and left the family.

For a long time, the old man couldn’t get in touch with her.

Thankfully, Ethan had returned now, and she didn’t seem as frantic as before.

Yet from her expression, she still hadn’t emerged from the shadow of Solaris’s death.

“Ethan, this time you’ve come back, do you want to…”

“Father.”

Ethan interrupted the old man, lifting her head and speaking:

“I came back this time to enter the family’s forbidden ground and use the clan artifact once.”

“The clan artifact?”

The old man was taken aback.

“Yes. There are some things I need to clarify.”

“This matter may also be related to Solaris’s death.”

Ethan continued.

The old man looked at her, unable to tell whether she was still rational or had completely lost her mind in her quest to find the cause of Solaris’s death.

“The family has rules. Under normal circumstances, the clan artifact can only be used once every ten years.”

“And it requires the approval of at least half of the family’s high-ranking members before it can be activated.”

“Moreover, using the clan artifact comes at a cost.”

The old man said.

“Ethan, you should know that only seven years have passed since the last time the clan artifact was used.”

“And if you want to ask it a specific question, you are destined to receive no answer.”

“The answers it gives are also limited.”

“Your request is rather…”

Before he could finish, Ethan suddenly dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground.

She kowtowed several times before lifting her head again.

Blood trickled down her forehead.

“I know this request may be excessive.”

“But I beg you… Father, please grant it!”

She looked at him, her gaze unwavering.

In her eyes were persistence, anger, madness, and the faint glimmer of last hope.

Ethan and the old man stared at each other for a long time.

Finally, a sigh came from the high seat.

The old man averted his gaze and said:

“I understand.”

“I will do my best to handle this matter.”

“But in the days to come, whether you fail to gain the approval of half the members or fail to get the answer you seek…”

“I hope you won’t regret it.”

“Yes!”

The matter concerned his daughter and granddaughter, so the old man naturally did not slack off.

Over the next few days, he convinced half of the family’s high-ranking members and passed the motion to open the forbidden ground’s gate early.

A week later.

At the entrance to the family’s forbidden ground.

Ethan stood before the layers of barriers, with Gellenson close behind.

Even standing outside the barriers, Gellenson could sense the ancient divine power flowing within.

Indeed, as a bloodline of God-descendants.

Whether in historical heritage or the level of secret realms and ruins they controlled, the Liat family was still slightly inferior.

Many high-ranking family members were present.

The old man stood at the forefront, presiding over the ceremony.

When the time came, he spoke:

“Open it.”

The next moment, ripples spread across the layers of barriers.

The ripples formed a passage at the center of the barriers.

Ethan and Gellenson then saw what lay at the end of the barriers.

It was an ancient stone door.

As the barriers were briefly opened, a vast divine power surged outward.

At that moment, both of them felt as if…

their very fates were being pulled and tugged by that divine power!

“Go in.”

The old man urged.

“You may stay before the clan artifact for fifteen minutes.”

“After fifteen minutes, no matter what happens, you must come out.”

Ethan nodded in acknowledgment.

Quickly steadying her mind, she walked step by step toward the stone door.

After a brief hesitation, Gellenson followed.

“Is this barrier… a divine ruin?”

Gellenson muttered.

As they approached the stone door, he felt his own cultivation level dissolving continuously under the pressure of the divine power.

By the time he stood before the stone door, he had become like an ordinary person, unable to display even a shred of power.

Even though he possessed the power of Celestial Guard.

The two stepped through the stone door.

The space inside was an ancient hall.

Much of the hall had collapsed—great pillars toppled, walls shattered, and the divine inscriptions upon them long worn away.

Only three ancient divine statues remained intact.

They all bowed their heads, their gazes converging at the center of the hall.

Judging by appearance alone, these three figures should be the lowest rank of gods.

But even the lowest god was beyond human judgment.

Under the pressure of this divine power, Ethan could not even lift her head to look at the three figures.

It seemed that meeting a god’s gaze was an act of extreme presumption.

For a mortal to look a god in the eye was desecration.

Ethan, enduring the pressure, walked step by step to the center of the hall, to the point where the three statues’ gazes intersected.

Then she slowly took out a blood-red crystal from her spatial ring.

Inside it was the divine blood extracted from the clan’s lineage.

She crushed the crystal and activated the God-blood secret art.

In that instant, the divine blood within the crystal ignited.

Divine ripples spread out, intertwining with the divine power permeating the hall!

“Crack—”

The three statues simultaneously emitted a sound.

Their tightly shut eyes all opened at once!

They stared at the blazing divine blood fire.

It seemed that some ancient God-blood art had been activated.

Divine blood was the fuel.

And the divine blood fire expanded and transformed.

Finally…

it took the form of a mirror!

An ancient, fate-like aura spread out.

That mirror now seemed able to reflect a person’s destiny.

A glimpse of the past, present, and even the future.

“Is this… the fully awakened clan artifact?”

Ethan murmured.

Just as she was dazed, the divine blood fire visibly shrank a little.

“Hurry!”

Realizing something, Ethan immediately turned back to look at Gellenson.

Gellenson understood and stepped forward, handing her another item sealed in his spatial ring.

Ethan broke the seal.

Inside was a broken sword.

This was a weapon previously used by Lu Mo, and after returning to the Holy Sanctuary, she had handed it over for disposal.

Gellenson used some methods to retrieve it from the Sanctuary.

The divine blood fire could reflect part of a person’s fate trajectory.

But it required a medium to activate this ability.

Solaris had died at the Demon King’s Seat, leaving nothing behind, so Ethan couldn’t ask the divine blood fire about Solaris.

However, the broken sword still retained traces of Lu Mo’s lingering aura.

Though very faint, it was enough for the moment.

Ethan gripped the sword and, without hesitation, thrust it into the divine blood fire.

Soon, the divine blood fire flickered a few times.

Was it reacting?

Ethan wondered.

But for some reason, she felt this reaction was different from what she had seen before.

She quickly put the thought aside.

Time was of the essence; she had to find the answer she sought as soon as possible.

“This junior, Ethan Prestian, speaks with the blood of a God-descendant, beseeching the great god to grant an oracle—”

“Please show this person’s fate trajectory within the divine fire!”

Ethan spoke with utmost sincerity.

Soon, the mirror within the divine fire began to change rapidly.

One second.

Three seconds.

Ten seconds.

Tens of seconds passed, yet the mirror still displayed only chaotic images.

It showed no part of Lu Mo’s fate trajectory at all.

“What’s going on?”

Ethan was confused.

She had accompanied her elders into the forbidden ground before and seen them request oracles from the clan artifact.

The divine fire had quickly given hints.

But now, the mirror’s changes seemed to be taking far too long.

The divine blood fire had already burned away most of its volume.

Finally, the mirror stopped changing.

But it showed nothing at all.

It merely reverted to its original form, reflecting Ethan and Gellenson’s stunned faces.

“…”

Another fragment peeled off from the divine statue.

At that moment, the statue emitted a sound.

Ancient syllables came from the statue’s mouth.

“You… have no authority…”

Ethan and Gellenson’s expressions changed abruptly.

It was the first time Ethan had heard a divine statue make a sound.

Even more unbelievable was the ancient syllable it spoke.

No authority?

She… had no authority to see Lu Mo’s fate trajectory?

Why?

Could it be that Lu Mo also possessed God-blood, and one of a higher rank than the Priscian family’s?

How was that possible!

She certainly didn’t believe that guess.

Of course, there were many other possibilities.

Perhaps she had asked too much, and the divine blood offered wasn’t enough, so the statue refused to answer.

Or maybe her question was too vague for the statue to respond accurately.

At the moment, the divine blood fire was burning rapidly, with less than half of it remaining.

Ethan naturally didn’t want to give up this chance.

It was almost her only opportunity.

She wouldn’t let it go.

“There’s still a chance, still a chance…”

She muttered, quickly changing her approach to ask the statue.

“This junior was presumptuous. Please forgive me, great god.”

“This junior wishes to see clearly what lies behind this person. Please, great god… grant a response—”

She no longer tried to view Lu Mo’s fate trajectory.

She only wanted to see what was behind Lu Mo.

The source of that terrifying chill… what exactly was it!

At that moment, the divine blood fire, now only half its original volume, blazed up violently.

The mirror within the fire gradually began to change.

The images it showed were still chaotic and blurred, but at least something began to appear.

The divine statue would answer the questioner with symbolic or suggestive images.

The image slowly took shape.

And then, in that blurry picture, Ethan saw…

a sun.

But it was a sun that…

was black.

Endless darkness was spreading outward from that black sun in all directions!

The entire mirror seemed about to turn black!

Even through the mirror and the fire, Ethan could sense that chill!

“What is that?”

Ethan’s eyes flew wide open.

Like a void in the world…

A black sun!

Gellenson also saw the blurry image, his pupils contracting sharply.

At that moment, the image looked exactly like the Demon Emperor’s Eye!

“Could this be…”

Before he could finish,

the entire mirror seemed unable to bear the black sun any longer.

In the next second, it violently shattered!

Flames scattered, divine blood dripped.

The divine statue also trembled violently.

The ritual… was forcibly terminated at that moment!

The divine statue closed its eyes again.

The ruined hall fell once more into silence.

A deathly… stillness.

Only Ethan and Gellenson remained, staring blankly at the place where the fire had died out.

Long without words.

A black sun.

What did that represent?

A sign of corruption?

Or did it mean the girl had gained demonic power?

And what level of demonic power?

Grand Duke?

Even—the Demon King?