Time slipped away, and more Heavenly Rankers arrived, including those who did not make an appearance during the previous opening of the Middle Land Immortal Hall. Among them was Wan Xing. Contrary to Wu Yuan’s expectations, Wan Xing appeared before him as a brooding figure draped in black robes. It was unclear whether his current appearance was his true appearance.
“Senior Wan Liu,” Liu Junxing promptly ushered Wan Xing towards Wu Yuan upon his arrival.
Wu Yuan extended his greetings, “Daoist Wan Xing, there’s no need to be so formal. You and I have the same surname after all. In a way, we’re family.”
“Junior dares not,” replied Wan Xing with extreme respect.
Aside from Wan Xing, numerous other Heavenly Rankers also approached Wu Yuan one by one as they arrived and paid their respects. As the sole suspected Golden Core Superior in all of the Middle Land, Wan Liu was treated with utmost courtesy by the Heavenly Rankers.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the Conference Hall was filled with over 60 Heavenly Rankers. In the front row, more than ten late-stage Qi Sea cultivators had gathered. The second row consisted of around 30 mid-stage Qi Sea cultivators, while dozens of early-stage Qi Sea cultivators filled the third row, many of whom were in the midst of cultivating in seclusion or roaming the world.
The individuals present at this assembly represented the apex forces of the Middle Land – the true rulers who decided the fate of the world.
Soon, a hush fell upon the Conference Hall as the attendees settled down.
Emperor Dong Pan, taking on his role as the host, stood at the center of the hall and addressed the assembly with solemnity. “Fellow Daoists, the Middle Land Conference is convened today in response to a grave disaster that has emerged from the Huang Continent. If we fail to unite and contain its spread, it threatens to engulf the entirety of the Middle Land. That is the urgency of our gathering.”
The expressions of the Heavenly Rankers in attendance underwent an abrupt change. Engulf the entire Middle Land? While they had received news of the severe damage dealt to the Huang Temple, most were unaware of the full extent of the situation.
“Now, Daoist Sang Gu shall explain the specifics,” Emperor Dong Pan’s voice rumbled. “As this incident unfolded in the Huang Continent, he is the person most familiar with its origins and repercussions.”
With that, he stepped down, and a purple-robed figure took his place. It was none other than Sang Gu, a sixth-stage Qi Sea cultivator hailing from the Huang Temple.
“Fellow Daoists, to fully explain this matter, I must begin from the Huang Continent’s immortal relic,” Sang Gu’s voice was low and somber. “The Huang Relic is the largest immortal relic in the Middle Land. I believe many daoists here have explored it.”
All the Heavenly Rankers present nodded involuntarily. Indeed, the largest immortal relic in the world was the one in the Xin Continent. The next largest immortal relic was the one in the Huang Ruins. Of course, the Fourth Eldritch Realm was massive, but it was internally managed by the realm master. With him as the guardian, Heavenly Rankers simply couldn’t enter. Plus, it only opened once every hundred years, so the Heavenly Rankers didn’t place much importance on it.
“In actuality, the Huang Relic consists of two sections. What lies on the surface is just one section,” Daoist Sang Gu solemnly stated. “The other section, deeply buried underground, has always been exclusively occupied by our Huang Temple.”
“What?”
“Two sections?”
“Exclusively occupied by the Huang Temple?” These revelations struck the Heavenly Rankers like bolts of lightning.
Though it raised many questions, it also answered a perplexing question that had lingered in the minds of many for a long time: how could the Huang Temple, with its sparse population and inhospitable environment, consistently produce an abundance of Heavenly Rankers with each passing generation?
“Just as you may suspect, the Huang Temple owes its success to the relic. It formed the bedrock of our temple, enabling us to flourish and expand. For hundreds of years, this secret has never been leaked to outsiders.” Sang Gu confirmed their speculations.
Everyone listened attentively.
“But,” Sang Gu paused, his voice heavy with gravity. “Deep within this relic, amidst its treasure troves and a vast etherstone deposit, lies a huge threat. Our temple’s cultivators have named it the Devil’s Lair.”
Sang Gu pointed at the empty air. In the next moment, a myriad of light specks converged to form a light screen. Displayed on this projection was a sprawling, ominous abyss, with an otherworldly crimson hue emanating from its depths. This underground labyrinth contained numerous smaller caverns of unimaginable depth, leading into the unknown.
“For countless generations, the creatures of the Devil’s Lair have been relentlessly fighting their way through the relic, trying to reach the surface,” Sang Gu continued solemnly. The projection shifted, revealing a horde of fearsome creatures with black scales and four hooves surging out of the cave, their haunting roars and crimson eyes sending a shiver down the spines of the onlookers.
“What manner of beasts are these?”
“Could they be devilish beasts?”
“I’ve never seen them before.”
“From their physical appearance, they don’t seem that strong.” Having seen a number of creatures with similar physiques, the Heavenly Rankers began discussing the strength and identity of these creatures.
On the contrary, Wu Yuan’s gaze was locked onto the colossal creature encased in obsidian scales, a chill passing through his heart. It was indeed a devil!
“All this time, we, the cultivators of the temple, have vanquished any escaping devilish beast, while meticulously laying out arrays around the entire relic,” Sang Gu muttered. “Initially, these devilish beasts were feeble, but as time passed, they grew increasingly powerful.”
“Devilish beasts are insatiable in their bloodlust. Mad and irrational, they show no mercy, ravaging all forms of life. They assail and devour with unrestrained frenzy once they cross paths with any living being, be it ordinary creatures or martial artists.”
“Two centuries ago, a devilish beast with the strength of a Heavenly Ranker emerged from the devil’s lair for the first time. It possessed incredible vitality,” Sang Gu stated.
On the light screen, a massive creature adorned in ebony scales materialized. Unfurling its wings, it engaged in a fierce clash with a young man in purple armor within the underground cavern.
“It’s Deity Huang!”
“Deity Huang in his youth,” numerous Heavenly Rankers recognized the young man.
On the light screen, the youth in purple armor moved with elegant grace, ultimately manipulating dozens of throwing knife artifacts to slay the black-scaled creature.
“This marked the beginning of our nightmare. Henceforth, every few years, devilish beasts with the strength of Heavenly Rankers would lead a swarm of ordinary devilish beasts, attempting to break out into the surface. We resisted them time and time again, each encounter exacting a higher toll than the last,” Sang Gu shook his head.
“The worst occasion was the Huang Continent Bloodbath 92 years ago. A Heavenly Ranking devilish beast, accompanied by hundreds of ordinary devilish beasts, swarmed out from the relic, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties. We paid a heavy price to eradicate all the escapees,” Sang Gu sighed.
“The Huang Continent Bloodbath?”
“So, it was started by these devilish beasts?” Realization dawned on the Heavenly Rankers.
That was a truly infamous catastrophe, but in the end, the news was covered up by Huang Temple. The Heavenly Rankers of various factions believed that it was simply an Archdemon wreaking havoc and were not overly concerned about the event.
“We’ve endeavored to infiltrate deep into the devil’s lair, in an attempt to uncover its origins,” Sang Gu shook his head. “Yet, every attempt was met with failure!”
“Throughout the history of the temple, only two Heavenly Rankers have ever ventured into the devil’s lair. However, both never returned,” Sang Gu recounted, the flicker of apprehension evident in his eyes.
“Six years ago, the devil’s lair stirred once more. This time, a horde of over ten Heavenly Ranking devilish beasts emerged, their combat power rivaling that of Communion cultivators. Ultimately, to end the crisis, Deity Huang sacrificed his life!” Sang Gu shook his head in a solemn gesture.
Silence enveloped the room. Deity Huang was really dead? Even Wan Xing, the Arctic King, and the other ninth-stage Qi Sea cultivators, wore grave expressions. The demise of Huang Deity was more than a loss. It served as a stark reminder that they, too, could face a similar fate in the face of such a disaster.
“However, by leveraging the trove of treasures unearthed from the relic to fortify our arrays, we managed to repel that tide,” Sang Gu’s head shook once again. “We dared not divulge the news of Deity Huang’s passing. However, it also inspired us to rally the world in a unified assault on the devil’s lair.”
“Unfortunately, before we could solidify our resolve, the devil’s lair cleared a passage from the depths of the relic to the surface. This took place just a day ago,” Sang Gu said bitterly. “Despite the temple’s best efforts, we were unable to stop them. Even our strongest defense array was no longer effective.”
The scene on the light screen shifted once more, revealing a gaping mammoth cavern in the midst of the rugged mountain range. Strange black-scaled beasts emerged from the cavern.
What unfolded next left the entire assembly thunderstruck. A rumbling onslaught of lightning, capable of obliterating even ninth-stage Qi Sea cultivators, mercilessly descended on the creatures.
At that moment, a colossal creature burst forth from the depths of the cave. Its four wings unfurled, blotting out the sky above. It successfully obstructed the lightning bolts, resulting in minimal casualties among the ordinary black-scaled creatures.
“What sort of creature is that?”
“It’s far too strong!”
“Ninth-stage Communion phase?”
“The other Heavenly Ranking devilish beasts only have one pair of wings, but this one has two pairs. It is also much larger. They are clearly not the same!” The Heavenly Rankers engaged in another round of fervent debates.
Fang Xia, Wan Xing, the Arctic King, and Zhao Xing’s expressions turned grave as they witnessed the power of the array. However, their astonishment grew when they realized that the four-winged black-scaled creature was only momentarily wounded, and quickly recovered.
The rest of the projection was straightforward – the Huang Temple’s array was destroyed, with the four-winged creature leading the charge. The final explosion before Han Cheng’s demise failed to halt the creatures, though it did manage to inflict further injury on the four-winged black-scaled beast.
“The creatures of the devil’s lair have emerged! Numerous Heavenly Ranking devilish beasts and ordinary devilish beasts have begun a frenzied massacre outside the devil’s lair.” Sang Gu stated, his face filled with pain, “The mere surfacing of the devil’s lair has already transformed the area in 100-li into a lifeless hell. All plants within this area have withered, as if this zone is forbidden to the living.”
Silence enveloped the room, as the Heavenly Rankers comprehended the gravity of the situation.
“This will undoubtedly be a catastrophe for the Middle Land,” Sang Gu uttered solemnly.
At that moment, many eyes turned to Qiong Sea King. He was the only ninth-stage Communion cultivator in the world.
“Its body has gained spirituality! This is the hallmark of the Spiritual Body phase.” proclaimed Qiong Sea King with an undertone of trepidation.
“That is not a Spiritual Body cultivator!” A frigid voice swiftly rebutted.