Martial World (Web Novel)

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“About these practice areas, I don’t have much knowledge because for the majority of them, I simply don’t have the right to enter.” Da Gu said, somewhat helplessly.

“Even you don’t have the authority to enter? Is your strength lacking? Do only the third floor’s first and second rankers have a chance of entering?” Lin Ming said, surprised.

“It’s not that…” Da Gu shook his head, “To enter these places, you need to fulfill specific requirements… you need to be one of the Heavenly Demon Seven Stars as well as pledging yourself to Skysplit Tower. Both of these are absolutes. I wasn’t willing to work for them, so I don’t have the qualifications to access these areas.

“Pledging myself to Skysplit Tower…” Lin Ming frowned. He already had a feeling that something like this was the case. On the second floor, Xing Tian and Xue Man seemed to be working for some high level figure in Skysplit Tower. Without any doubt, they were most likely the subordinates of some High Lord.

Otherwise, with Xing Tian’s trivial status as the king of the second floor, how would he have the ability to comprehend something as elusive as the Concept of Annihilation? And to also have a black glass bead that Kai Yang would be moved to action for.

If Lin Ming wasn’t wrong, then Xing Tian had been favored greatly by a High Lord, thus he had been granted this bead.

Da Gu continued, “Besides me and Xun Ji, all five other Heavenly Demon Stars have taken a soul oath to obey Skysplit Tower. This oath in fact only lasts 50 years. During these 50 years, they serve Skysplit Tower, but the reward for this is that they can use the resources of Skysplit Tower however they wish. They even gain the right to enter the Road of Emperor.”

“This temptation is simply too great. Even though proud and lofty geniuses are enticed to swear an oath of fealty. After all, it’s only 50 years, and moreover they don’t even need to complete the full 50. If a martial artist becomes a high level Demon King or reaches the second stage of Life Destruction, then they must leave the Blood Slaughter Steppes. Otherwise, it would be easy for them to be killed by the mystical curse.”

Lin Ming nodded. For these top talents, it wasn’t difficult to reach the second stage of Life Destruction by the time they were in their forties. If they entered Skysplit Tower in their twenties, then they would only need to serve for 20 some years.

Even so, it was impossible for Lin Ming to take a soul oath of obedience towards Skysplit Tower. He could not accept this, much less that he had already promised Mu Qianyu he would return within 10 years. No matter what, he desired to return to the South Horizon Region. The South Sea Demon Region was simply too powerful; he always worried in the back of his mind about whether or not Divine Phoenix Island would have some sort of accident.

Da Gu also said, “Yan Chi and Feng Shen already pledged their loyalty to Skysplit Tower a year ago. At that time, their strength wasn’t much better than mine, but after this year passed and they went into the Road of Emperor several times, that, combined with all of their experiences in other practice areas has now made their strength difficult to measure.”

“Xun Ji and I have no desire or intention of pledging ourselves to Skysplit Tower. Now, we’ve already used all the resources we can, and as for those we can’t, we’ll never be able to. Perhaps in another month or two, we will also leave. Skysplit Tower will not allow those that do not obey them to become ten-winged Heavenly demons. This is because after becoming a ten-winged Heavenly Demon, they would also become a High Lord, and thus they would also be able to divide the benefits that the High Lords receive. Not just that, but once one reaches 12 wings, not only could they receive the Heavenly Demon martial intent, but they will not be killed by the Blood Slaughter Steppes’ mystical curse.”

“The Blood Slaughter Steppes have existed for such a long time. Naturally, they’ve gained a great deal of interest due to all of the resources that exist here. The reason that this land can still exist through so many years without being encroached by countless superpowers is through the power of that strange curse that covers this land. Once an Emperor level powerhouse begins to emerge within the Blood Slaughter Steppes that is unaffected by this curse, the high level figures of Skysplit Tower will naturally not stand for it.”

After Da Gu spoke, Lin Ming’s eyebrows shot up. So that was why!

The Blood Slaughter Steppes was truly a piece of fat meat. The 12 Skysplit Towers involved a large amount of circulating Blood Demon Crystals. In addition to all of these practice resources that even include those for the Concepts of the five elements and the Road of Emperor, what sect wouldn’t be frothing over this?

Lin Ming said, “Thank you Brother Da Gu for the advice. I would also like to know, why is Brother Da Gu telling me these things?”

Da Gu faintly smiled. “I said, it’s just fate. I feel like Brother Lin is the same type of person as me.”

“Oh? How do you know?”

“Just my intuition. Also, I’ve been paying attention to you from the very start. I’ve investigated your experiences from the first floor to the third. I also know that when you were on the first floor, you saved a common Fey girl. I think that the reason you’re here is the same as me, purely for gaining experience.”

“Thank you Brother Da Gu. I also have something I would like to ask.” Lin Ming hesitated for a moment before he asked.

“No need to be strangers. Please speak.”

Lin Ming turned and lay down a small illusory magic array and a sound-insulating enchantment. Then, he took out the small black glass bead from his spatial ring. “Does Brother Da Gu recognize this object?”

Sometimes, through just a short conversion, one could gain a sense of trust towards others. Lin Ming’s visceral feeling was that everything Da Gu said should be 80 to 90% true. Not just that, but he seemed to be a very proud and aloof character. Such a person was much more trustworthy and reliable than others, not to mention that Lin Ming very much wanted to know just what this black glass bead was, so he could only ask Da Gu.

“This…” Da Gu was shocked. He looked at Lin Ming, a stunned expression on his face. “I didn’t expect you to have something like this. If I’m not wrong, this is a Demon God Bone that’s gathered from the Eternal Demon Abyss.”

“Eternal Demon Abyss, Demon God Bone…” Lin Ming mumbled as he paused in thought. He had also seen these two words in Xue Man’s jade slip. Xue Man held much fear and respect towards these two things. “This little bead is a Demon God Bone? What is that?”

As Da Gu spoke of the Eternal Demon Abyss, he spoke with emotion and fascination. “The Eternal Demon Abyss is, in fact, just underneath our feet. The 12 Skysplit Towers of the Blood Slaughter Steppes are called the source of all infernal energy. But, these 12 Skysplit Towers actually share the same single true source of infernal energy, and that place is called the Eternal Demon Abyss.”

Lin Ming was astonished at Da Gu’s words. The Eternal Demon Abyss was actually under their feet! And it was also the end source of infernal energy for all 12 Skysplit Towers?

“What sort of place is the Eternal Demon Abyss? Is the reason that the 12 Skysplit Towers release infernal energy because of the Eternal Demon Abyss underneath us?”

Da Gu nodded and said, “Most likely. The Eternal Demon Abyss is the burial place of all sorts of demonic and mystical spirits. Actually, no one knows just how long it has existed. There are simply too many legends concerning the Eternal Demon Abyss. This is the Holy Demon Continent’s true death trap.

“Within the Holy Demon Continent, there are many places known as death traps. But, the truth is that they are merely exaggerated rumors. As long as you are strong enough then you can enter these areas and have a high chance of returning alive. You can even obtain lucky chances during your exploration. But it is only the Eternal Demon Abyss and the Eternal Demon Abyss alone in which one will die after entering with no exceptions!”

Lin Ming’s eyelids jumped up. He looked at the Demon God Bone in his hand and asked, “If everyone who enters the Eternal Demon Abyss dies, then who found this?”

“That is only a very ordinary Demon God Bone picked up at the edges of the Eternal Demon Abyss. As for the true Eternal Demon Abyss, even if one approaches from a great distance, it is truly a zone that forbids all life.”

“For these past tens of thousands of years, there have been many peerless masters of their generation who have tried to approach or enter the Eternal Demon Abyss. However, not a single one of them returned alive. There was even a twelve-winged Heavenly Demon once who was titled the Six-fingered Sin Fey. This person became an Emperor level powerhouse and cultivated for thousands of years, wholeheartedly gaining achievements until his strength reached unfathomable levels. At that time, he could even be called the number one powerhouse of the entire Holy Demon Continent! But when he was 6000 years old, he experienced a brutal bottleneck in his cultivation. For a thousand years, he was unable to make a breakthrough, thus he entered the Eternal Demon Abyss to seek his own lucky chances. But even so, he still perished there!”

As Lin Ming heard this he sucked in a breath of cold air. Anyone who could enter the higher levels of Skysplit Tower and access the Eternal Demon Abyss were peerless figures of their generation. Of these, those that were twelve-winged Heavenly Demons were geniuses among geniuses!

This sort of proud and peerless master had also become an Emperor level powerhouse, their strength reaching the limit. Yet they still died in the Eternal Demon Abyss all the same!

Lin Ming calmed his mood and asked, “Just what is in the Eternal Demon Abyss?”

“I’m not too sure about the specifics. When these legends first began, the Blood Slaughter Steppes were only a place where infernal energy gushed out. The curse that killed Emperor level powerhouses hadn’t yet begun. Many demonic path martial artists came to this land to practice. Long ago, the Blood Slaughter Steppes were once known as the Holy Demon Continent’s cultivation Holy Land.

“But tens of thousands of years ago, there was a sixth-grade Holy Land that wished to conquer the entire Holy Demon Continent. At that time, this Holy Land’s Hallowed Lord wished to take the entire Blood Slaughter Steppes as his own. He assembled 12 Emperor level powerhouses in order to lay down a Heaven Locking Array and completely collect all of the 12 sources of infernal energy as his own, thus establishing a destiny for his Holy Land that would last 100,000 years! Finally, when this great array was halfway completed, it suddenly collapsed. From the Eternal Demon Abyss, a horrifying existence emerged. The 12 Emperor level powerhouses were instantly killed, including the Holy Land’s Hallowed Lord. There were no survivors!”

“What!?” Lin Ming was bewildered. This had already exceeded the limits of his understanding. A land like the Holy Demon Continent actually had an existence of this level? “What was this thing that instantly killed over a dozen Emperor level masters?”

Da Gu’s face was filled with reverence and awe as he sighed. He slowly said, “It was said that it was a massive claw that was covered in scales. It might have been the claw of a dragon, or perhaps the claw of some other ancient God Beast. In short, from that point on, the once almighty sixth-grade Holy Land disintegrated. There were many of their disciples that were cursed by that mystical strength, and died in various miserable ways. After that, the Blood Slaughter Steppes became a king restricted land. Only someone that has become a twelve-winged Heavenly Demon in Skysplit Tower can enter as an Emperor level powerhouse, otherwise nothing awaits them but absolute death!”

The claw of a God Beast? Lin Ming was silent. A God Beast was an incomparably rare existence even within the Realm of the Gods. Just what was in the Eternal Demon Abyss?

Lin Ming suppressed this question in his heart and asked, “Brother Da Gu, what is a Demon God Bone?”

“Demon God Bone… I have heard some specifics about this. The Eternal Demon Abyss is a burial land of demonic spirits. There are too many unknown existences that reside within. After a powerhouse dies, their energy stays behind, lingering on for tens of thousands of years. When this is combined with the infernal energy of the Eternal Demon Abyss that is thick to the degree of substantializing, after several tens of thousands of years pass, this energy crystallizes into various sorts of divine relics. These crystallized relics are collectively called Demon God Bones.”

“So that’s what it is!” Lin Ming knew that animals and plants from billions of years could be buried deep underground, and after a long, countless period of time, they would harden into some black substance. If one dug these out, these substances could be burned to warm up food and other things. Otherwise, if plants or animals were exposed in the wild, they would slowly decay over time before finally disappearing. The difference was, the energy of the latter would dissipate, but the energy of the former would be sealed deep in the earth along with its heaven and earth origin energy, thus forming these black minerals over time.

Similarly, these peerless powerhouses that died also had bodies that contained a massive amount of energy and worldly origin energy. Their energies were billions and trillions of times over that of plants and animals. After these martial artists died, these energies were locked within the Eternal Demon Abyss. In this sort of special environment, after 100,000 years passed, or even several 100,000 years passed, this energy would condense into extraordinary objects.

This black glass bead was one of these extraordinary objects.