CHAPTER 561: Strengthening

"Mister Han Shuo is truly a terrifying character!" Bord remarked to Zinia beside him as he stared at Han Shuo.

"Lord Leviathan, didn't you say that these energies would corrode the soul? Why is it that Mister Han Shuo seems to be doing so well and even seems to be enjoying it?" Zinia also looked up and down at Han Shuo in amazement, not understanding how he could do that.

Leviathan and Manticole turned to look at each other, their eyes flickering with wonder. After a long time, Leviathan finally forced a smile and said to Manticole, "It seems he is invulnerable to this soul-corroding energy.

Manticole nodded and replied, "Yes. Let's wait here for a while."

The demonic infant was at full strength. The large amount of negative energy around him was drawn to Han Shuo and entered his body. It was then converted by the demonic infant into demonic yuan, which then flowed like tiny streams into every part of Han Shuo's body.

At this point, Han Shuo's realm state was tending towards stability, and he was on the verge of making a breakthrough in his cultivation of the demonic arts. For days, he had been worrying about the problem of not having enough Demonic Yuan. Who would have thought that before entering the Void, before even seeing the mysterious Void with his own eyes, he would be so fortunate as to acquire a considerable amount of energy.

Strands and strands of Demonic Yuan flowed into his cells and bones, strengthening Han Shuo's body bit by bit through some kind of bizarre method. Every time Han Shuo made a breakthrough, his physical body was the first to be transformed and strengthened. This time was no exception. As this demonic yuan circulated, Han Shuo could clearly feel his body becoming even more powerful and robust.

There seemed to be no concept of time within the Void. After an indeterminate amount of time had passed, Han Shuo discovered that not a single bit of energy around him was converging towards his body.

Although there were a few hundred clusters of this negative energy around the Void, they weren't that powerful individually. After the demon infant removed the dross from the energy, only ten percent of it was actually transformed into Demonic Yuan and absorbed by him. Moreover, reaching the Nine Changes Realm seemed to require an extraordinary amount of energy. Han Shuo felt that there wasn't enough energy around him when the forging of his physical body was only half done. Therefore, he had no choice but to stop.

Han Shuo reluctantly stopped and thought to himself, it seemed that even though there were a few hundred clusters of this energy, it wasn't enough to support the metamorphosis of the physical body.

Han Shuo took a deep breath and looked at Manticole, Leviathan was very surprised. He looked deeply into Han Shuo's eyes. No one knew what was in his mind.

Looking around, Han Shuo noticed that the streaks of flashing light rays had suddenly diminished. He knew it had something to do with the energy he was absorbing. This absorption of energy was very useful in furthering his achievements in the demonic arts. Han Shuo had become somewhat impatient with what was waiting in the depths of the Void, so he said smilingly, "Guys, can we move on now?"

"Of course. Let's go," Manticole replied hastily. He looked ahead and continued, "Let's hurry. We've been standing here far too long."

With Leviathan and Manticole leading the way, and Han Shuo and a few dozen demons between them, the group continued their journey. Brilliant beams would fly past from all around them. The meteorite-like rocks swayed in the hurricane winds.

As the two Demon Kings defended themselves against the energy around them, they manoeuvred very carefully to avoid the giant rocks around them. Everything went smoothly in their gradual flight towards the Void.

Suddenly, a zone of boundless darkness appeared before them. At first glance, the area looked like a bottomless pit of darkness.

Round and round came the faintly discernible blood-curdling shriek from that zone of boundless darkness at a great distance. Manticole explained with a grim expression on his face, "Those wretched screams coming from the Zone of Boundless Darkness must be the subordinates of the other two Demon Kings. To enter the Void, we must pass this hurdle. During the dive, our sight will be greatly affected and none of you will be able to see your surroundings. Everyone will be affected without exception. As you dive, you will find violent air currents with terrifying force. These air currents may even contain some rocks, or perhaps weapons left behind by those who perished in it before. Be extremely cautious.

In reality, these demons would be extremely cautious even without Manticole's wordy warning. All those with the ability to become demons weren't of low intelligence. Before the two Demon Kings began their expedition, they must have explained the dangers to these demons. They knew that not all of them would be able to survive the danger ahead.

In other words, some of them would die in the process of landing in the Void. Though Leviathan and Manticole did not say so explicitly, everyone there knew what was going on.

"Let's move." When Manticole saw the grim expressions on everyone's faces, he was sure that all these demons were aware of the fact. Without further explanation, Manticole and Leviathan nodded to each other and took the lead to jump in.

Bord, Zinia, let's go in together so that we can look after each other," Han Shuo said smilingly to Bord and Zinia, instead of rushing in.

"Thank you Mister Han Shuo," Bord and Zinia were pleasantly surprised and did the courtesy of bowing to Han Shuo.

Taking care of each other? With their tiny bit of power, what could they do for Han Shuo? Of course, the couple understood that 'look after each other' actually meant that Han Shuo would guard them. The couple realised how lucky they were from the admiring glances of some of the demons beside them. Their eager and attentive service to Han Shuo and his people had certainly earned them well.

Han Shuo smiled and said nothing. He knew that as long as the two of them lived, they would still hold a high place in Black Jade City, and therefore still be of some value to him.

One by one, the demons followed Leviathan and Manticole down into the Zone of Boundless Darkness. Bord and Zinia only jumped after receiving Han Shuo's signal. Immediately, Han Shuo's figure turned into a shadow and followed behind Bord and Zinia, who were holding each other's hands.

Upon entering, Han Shuo discovered that this zone of absolute darkness did not contain a single photon. Even his remarkable eyesight couldn't give him a good view of his surroundings. In this place where light could not spread, lighting a torch would do nothing.

But for Han Shuo, his consciousness was far more useful than his eyes. As soon as he unfolded his consciousness, every single movement within its range was registered in his mind. After Han Shuo had detected the presence of Bord and Zinia, there was absolutely no way that they could escape Han Shuo's scrutiny. Even Leviathan and Manticole, who were further ahead, were under the surveillance of Han Shuo's Consciousness.

Just as Manticole had said, this place was pitch dark and hid terrible dangers. Gusts of air blew with no fixed direction. Driven by some unknown energy, they silently fluttered about, wreaking havoc under the cover of absolute darkness. These air currents were filled with sharp objects. Even though the body of a demon-grade expert was formidable in its defensive power, it still wasn't strong enough to withstand the penetration of these sharp objects.

The Void was a strange place, and this area was particularly so. Han Shuo could hear loud screams echoing beside him. But when he expanded his consciousness, he discovered that the sound was actually coming from a region far below. On the contrary, the loud howls of pain close to him sounded as small as a mosquito.

In this place, it seemed that the further away the sound came from, the clearer it became. The closer you got to the source, the softer it became. This would be very deadly to an expert as they would have no way of detecting the air currents that were so dangerously close to them.

More and more screams sounded loud and clear around Han Shuo. He knew that some of the demons that had entered together had perished. Suddenly, he saw a rapidly swirling airstream silently shoot towards Bord and Zinia. There was a sharp conical object in that air currents. If it made contact with Bord and Zinia, Han Shuo was certain that neither of them would make it out alive.

Han Shuo, who had been following Bord and Zinia closely, suddenly reached out with his hand, grabbed Zinia's lithe shoulder and pulled her backwards. The pair's downward trajectory suddenly changed, and they easily avoided a collision path with that airstream.

Han Shuo's consciousness covered a huge area. The couple managed to avoid one danger after another, being pushed and pulled like toys by Han Shuo. Eventually, the group landed and arrived in a huge valley with mist in the air. Bord and Zinia, their heads spinning, looked around and suddenly discovered that of the thirty or so demons that had come down, a third had died. Those that remained were battered and exhausted. Even Manticole and Leviathan weren't at their best.

"Thank you Mister Han Shuo," the couple suddenly realised how lucky they were and expressed their gratitude to Han Shuo in the most respectful way.

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