Chapter Twenty-Six: Our Ancestors Were Once So Magnificent

These Xuanli stones were densely packed, as though they were free for the taking, scattered throughout the cave and illuminating the vast chamber so brightly that it seemed like midday.

And within the dazzling radiance suffusing the cavern, a series of enormous figures suddenly crashed into Chi’s field of vision.

The moment Chi beheld those immense forms, a coldness deeper than any he had ever known swept through his entire body.

They were terrifying beyond description, exuding a murderous aura like a raging tempest. Their appearances were strange and fearsome—covered all over in deep gray scales, their feet armed with claws as sharp as mountain peaks, glinting with a chilling light beneath the glow of the Xuanli stones.

The figures were so colossal that they resembled mountain ranges stretching across the wildest landscapes, utterly beyond anything Chi could have imagined.

Standing below them, he felt himself to be insignificant, utterly inconsequential.

Chi’s fur bristled all over, and an inexplicable breathlessness seized him.

He was faring better than the others; the kin who had fled with him had long since fainted from terror, while at least he could still hold on.

It took a long while for Chi to recover his composure.

But then, he discovered something even more dreadful.

These gigantic beings, as vast as rivers and mountains… were corpses, utterly lifeless.

More than that, it seemed their deaths had been anything but natural.

Wherever Chi looked, their bodies were riddled with wounds of all sizes, as if their flesh had suffered some unimaginable assault.

One in particular appeared to have been torn in half by some tremendous force—a sight too gruesome to bear.

“If these creatures were still alive, they could surely wipe out the entire Ancient Ape tribe in an instant.

Compared to them, we are utterly insignificant. And yet, such terrifying beings could not escape their fate—each died a brutal death, bereft of life, reduced to desiccated husks buried beneath this mountain cavern.

What on earth could have slain them…”

Chi swallowed hard, a nameless dread rising within him.

“According to legend, our ancestors did not originate on this continent but came from distant lands, journeying over countless generations before taking root here, thriving and multiplying until the civilization of the Ancient Apes flourished…”

Chi furrowed his brow, recalling the many ancient tales he had heard as a child.

But those stories were so ancient—at least tens of thousands of years had passed since their telling. By now, they were fragmented and unreliable; no matter how hard he tried to remember, only scattered and distorted fragments came to mind, their accuracy and truth lost to time.

“The Ancient Ape tribe was not the only intelligent life on the Black Earth continent. Before us, the land was ruled by these gigantic beasts—creatures as vast as mountain ranges, terrifying and mighty, who reigned over one era after another during the barren ages.”

“But why did they go extinct? And what was it that brought about their end…”

Chi’s thoughts were in turmoil, but he had not the slightest clue.

He had always prided himself as second only to the Sage of Sages in wisdom, yet at this moment, he found his mind entirely inadequate. Try as he might, he could not fathom an explanation.

“These beasts, as massive as mountains, possess such overwhelming pressure even in death that my heart quails, yet they too could not escape annihilation. What power could have wrought this destruction…”

Chi pressed his lips together, a glimmer of longing in his eyes.

He could not imagine how fierce and grand that ancient battle must have been, but he knew one thing: had the Ancient Ape tribe existed in that era, they would have been the first to be annihilated.

Such strength filled him with awe, with terror, and with yearning.

With that power, what would the combined might of the other tribes matter?

Excitement surged within him as he circled deeper around the corpses of the giant beasts, hoping to find further discoveries.

“What’s this…”

Before an unusually smooth stone wall, Chi suddenly spotted a series of strange murals.

There were five murals in all, carved deep into the rock by some enormous force—each as deep as a hand’s breadth—depicting these very beasts lying dead at his feet.

But in the murals, these colossi had not yet fallen.

They reared and rampaged, black-faced with fangs bared, their eyes crimson and fierce, contending with mountain ranges, toppling mighty peaks with ease, sundering rivers, and dominating the ages.

Though rendered in just a few strokes, Chi could still feel the overwhelming, chilling ferocity emanating from the images.

One could well imagine just how terrifying these beasts had been in life.

On the fourth mural, a tiny black dot appeared—almost imperceptible—standing with hands clasped behind its back, facing the beasts.

Chi was stunned, then looked to the final mural.

On the fifth mural, a colossal mushroom cloud soared into the sky, the giant beasts collapsed with a thunderous crash, their bodies torn apart, rivers of blood flowing, while in the distance, the little black figure drifted away through the air, departing at ease.

With that, the murals ended abruptly.

“This being that appeared out of nowhere… why does it look so much like our Ancient Ape tribe…”

Chi came to himself, eyes wide, staring unblinkingly at the mural.

On the mural, the little black figure’s posture and form were almost identical to those of the Ancient Ape tribe.

“Could these murals have been left by the ancestors of our Ancient Ape civilization? Is this shadow that slew the giant beasts actually one of our ancient forebears?

Did they carve their great deeds into the rock to tell future generations that, though the Ancient Apes were born weak, they too could one day vie with all the races, outshine the ages, and possess unimaginable strength?!”

Chi swallowed hard, and a thought struck him…

It must be.

It must be!

Otherwise, how could the little black figure on the mural so closely resemble their own form?

“So our ancestors were once so invincible, so brilliant and glorious, able even to slay such monstrous beasts…”

Chi pressed his lips together, his heart surging like a storm-tossed sea.

Before his eyes, it was as if an invisible door was slowly opening…

…

“That’s not the great achievement of your ancestors—it’s just some graffiti I left behind…”

Before the fish tank, Fang Zhuowei could not help but laugh.

As the Creator, he possessed the abilities of a divine spirit.

Simply put, he could create avatars.

Within the world he had fashioned, he could transform into any form at will—his own, an animal, a plant, even an inanimate object—whatever he could imagine, he could become.

And those murals were made by one of his avatars, shrunk countless times, who had used a hammer and chisel to carve them bit by bit.

His purpose was to plant the seed of transcendence within the Ancient Apes.

Looking back now, though the method had been rather obscure and difficult to interpret, at least the results were moving in the right direction.