Chapter 216 - 213: Demon Cave, Demon Race

JINGLE JINGLE...

A melodious bell sound drifted over—crisp, mellow, rich, and deep.

Ahead lay a massive hole in the ground. It was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen within, but the sound of bells echoed unceasingly from its depths.

The brother-sister pair exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other’s eyes.

"Senior Brother, should we go down?" the young woman asked hesitantly. The unknown is often terrifying, and who knew what might lie at the bottom of this pit.

This was the Death Mountain Range, after all, where danger lurked everywhere.

Hesitation flickered in the young man’s eyes, but after a brief internal struggle, he made his decision. "Junior Sister, stay up here and wait for me. I’m going down to take a look."

"Senior Brother, don’t take such a risk."

"I know, but there might be a great opportunity down there. I refuse to live a mediocre life. What’s the harm in taking a gamble?"

With that, the young man leaped down into the pit.

The young woman couldn’t stop him and could only wait at the side.

Half an hour, then a full hour...

Just as she was growing increasingly anxious...

"AHHH!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed up from below.

"Senior Brother."

The young woman’s face went white. No matter how she called out, no other sound came from below.

"Come in. Come in, quickly."

Just then, an enchanting voice whispered in her ear. Her eyes instantly glazed over, her consciousness fading.

’This is bad!’

At the critical moment, she bit the tip of her tongue, using the sharp pain to jolt herself awake.

WHOOSH.

She retreated rapidly, her face a mask of terror.

This pit was far too strange. A great terror resided within.

JINGLE. JINGLE.

The sound of the bells rang out again, drifting over ethereally, sounding so peaceful and serene.

But in that moment, the young woman felt nothing but a chill run down her spine.

This pit concealed a deadly intent!

BOOM!

Suddenly, a massive pillar of red light erupted from the pit, soaring toward the heavens. It was immense and pulsed with terrifying Energy.

’Could it be... this pit is trying to lure people here?’

The thought popped into the young woman’s head, and she was startled by her own horrifying idea.

...

"Huh? Could a peerless Treasure be emerging? Let’s hurry over!"

Almost everyone who had entered the Death Mountain Range saw the sky-piercing pillar of red light. They pushed their speed to the absolute limit and rushed toward it.

"Faster, faster! If we’re too slow, we won’t even catch a glimpse of the Treasure!"

Countless people rushed over desperately. When it came to unearthed Treasures, it was first come, first served. Otherwise, someone else would snatch it away.

"It’s a bit far."

The great young titans also made their move.

About fifteen minutes later, a group of people approached the pillar of red light.

"Don’t go, it’s dangerous there."

The young woman was still standing guard nearby and hurriedly warned the arriving Martial Artists.

"Dangerous? Don’t mind her, let’s go down."

After a moment’s thought, the few Martial Artists leaped down.

There might be a peerless Treasure at the bottom of the pit. Under the circumstances, why would they trust a complete stranger?

Which Martial Artist who dared to enter the Death Mountain Range lacked courage?

Fortune favors the bold.

"This is bad."

A helpless expression crossed the young woman’s face as she watched them descend.

"AHHH!"

Soon after, just as before, a blood-curdling scream rang out from below.

After that, more and more people arrived. Faced with the lure of the Treasure, almost no one could resist the greed in their hearts. Ignoring the young woman’s warnings, they scrambled to be the first to enter.

Without exception, they all let out a blood-curdling scream before falling silent forever.

However, there were also some rational and cautious individuals who chose to watch from the sidelines. After personally witnessing several people enter and then hearing their screams, they were finally convinced that the young woman was telling the truth.

There was indeed something strange at the bottom of this pit.

"Damn it! I thought arriving early meant we could grab the Treasure. But now, no one dares go down. By the time all the masters get here, we won’t even get the scraps!"

"Heh, it might not be a bad thing. It’s so eerie down there. Who knows if it’s really a Treasure or just some great danger."

The surrounding Martial Artists murmured among themselves. As the crowd grew, it wasn’t long before the first of the young titans arrived.

"Hm? What are you all doing just standing here? Why hasn’t anyone gone down?" The newcomer was none other than Yuwen Chi of the Fire Cloud Sect.

"Senior Brother Yuwen, this is what happened..."

A disciple from the Fire Cloud Sect who had arrived earlier hurried forward to explain.

"I see."

Yuwen Chi faced the pit, tempted to brave its depths. After careful consideration, however, he decided against it.

The Death Mountain Range was incredibly dangerous. In the past, even experts at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm had perished here. Although he was a young titan, the gap between him and that level of power was immense.

For the moment, he stood aside and waited for the others to arrive.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...

Not long after, the young titans arrived one by one.

The Twin Sword Sons, Li Kuangba, and Liu Bingxue arrived one after another.

"Everyone’s here. Let’s go down and investigate together."

The Twin Sword Sons proposed. They had no intention of waiting for Ning Jiang. Although Ning Jiang had shown the strength of a young titan, they weren’t familiar with him after all.

"Agreed."

The young titans from the Major Sects nodded. Then, they joined forces, leading their groups down into the pit.

"Senior Brother Tang Lin, what should we do?"

Zi Yunfei, Xiang Yinghao, and Tang Lin had arrived as well, but they were waiting for Ning Jiang. He was their leader, after all.

"Let’s go down first," Tang Lin said after a moment of thought. "Ninth Elder must have been held up by something."

So many masters have already gone down. If there’s truly some great opportunity, we won’t get a damn thing if we’re late.

"Alright. Besides, we’ve mastered the Three Talents Golden Lock Formation. With this Array, we can even hold our own against a young titan for a time."

Having made their decision, the three of them jumped down together.

...

’Oh no, how did that place open up?’

In the valley, the White Ape stared at the pillar of red light hundreds of miles away, its eyes filled with terror.

"We’re doomed, we’re doomed."

The Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion’s face was also etched with fear and dread.

"Hm? What’s happened?"

Ning Jiang was taken aback. ’For two Demon Beasts to be this terrified,’ he thought, ’there must be something deeply wrong.’

"That... that... that is the Demon Cave!"

The White Ape’s voice trembled uncontrollably, its fur standing on end.

"Demon Cave?" Ning Jiang’s eyes snapped open. "Why is it called the Demon Cave? Could it be..."

"The Demon Race is there!"

As the White Ape spoke, Ning Jiang’s expression grew grim. "I knew it."

When he heard the name Demon Cave, he had a bad feeling. Now it seemed his premonition was correct.

The Demon Race. They are not creatures of the Great Thousand Realms, but a race from an Otherworld.

Besides the Great Thousand Realms, there are other worlds outside, and the Demon Race is from one of them.

For a long time, the Demon Race has wanted to invade the Great Thousand Realms, fight for its resources, and enslave the Human Race.

One hundred thousand years ago, the experts of the Demon Race once set foot in the Great Thousand Realms, stirring up a storm of blood and gore and carrying out a terrifying slaughter.

In that era, Ning Jiang had also fought the Demon Race and experienced their methods. Someone as powerful as him had been injured back then, which showed just how formidable the Demon Race was.

The war between the two worlds was so long its origins were hard to trace.

Speaking of which, even Ning Jiang’s fall was somewhat related to the Demon Race.

At that time, he was investigating a piece of lost history: the blank ten thousand years.

What were the blank ten thousand years?

It means everything from that ten-thousand-year period was erased, with no information left behind. What exactly happened during those ten thousand years?

He suspected that those ten thousand years might involve a heaven-shattering secret.

Therefore, he began an investigation, using every means at his disposal to find the truth of that blank period in history.

Unfortunately, just as Ning Jiang was getting closer to the truth, a single step away, he unexpectedly fell.

’A hundred thousand years ago, I was just a single step from the truth. I can’t accept it... Still, it wasn’t a total loss. I learned some things, at least,’ Ning Jiang murmured.

Although he did not touch upon the complete truth, he still uncovered some astonishing facts.

For example... the origin of the Demon Race!

For example... the severed Celestial Road!

Behind it all, an invisible hand was pulling the strings.

It was a pity he fell one step short. Otherwise, he could have seen through the mist and found the entire truth.

’If I had broken through to the Emperor Realm before seeking the truth back then, perhaps I wouldn’t have fallen...’

Ning Jiang sighed softly. Fortunately, he wasn’t a sentimental person and quickly adjusted his mentality.

"In that Demon Cave, could there still be members of the Demon Race? Tell me everything you know about the Demon Cave," Ning Jiang said.

The Demon Race was the enemy of the entire world. The Beast Race and Human Race alike were targets for enslavement and slaughter by the demons.

"We don’t know much about the Demon Cave. The specifics were told to us by that old Taoist."

The White Ape knew the situation was urgent and quickly said, "The old Taoist told us that this Death Mountain Range was formed in Ancient Times when a Celestial Martial Realm King and a Demon Race King perished together."

"But the Demon Race has many methods and many strange Secret Techniques. Who knows if he was truly destroyed in body and soul, or if he left something behind?"

"A few years ago, the old Taoist discovered that Demon Cave and sensed something was wrong. At the time, the old Taoist personally descended into the Demon Cave and even stayed in the Death Mountain Range for several months investigating, but in the end, he didn’t find anything, so he sealed the place and left."

"Actually, the grudge between me and this Cyan Fur fellow was also born from the Demon Cave."

"Oh? How so?"

"There were three of us brothers, and we all received guidance from the old Taoist..."

The White Ape recounted the past with a sorrowful expression, his face full of grief.

A year ago, he noticed some movement from the direction of the Demon Cave. The sound of bells suddenly came from below.

At that time, the three brothers went to investigate. As a result, an enchanting voice came from within the Demon Cave. Among the three brothers, only he could not resist. His mind was controlled, and he jumped into the Demon Cave.

At the critical moment, his brother saved him and pulled him up, but died inside the Demon Cave as a result.

Because of this incident, the Cyan-Haired One-Horned Lion had always blamed him and broke off relations with him.