CHAPTER 562: Walking On Thin Ice

They found themselves in a valley meant for giants, obscured by a thick blanket of mist. Han Shuo had no idea why such a valley would exist within the Void. But from the expressions on Manticole and Leviathan's faces, it seemed that they had become very excited upon arriving at this place.

Han Shuo unfolded his consciousness and very easily discovered the locations of the other two Demon Kings. It seemed that even though their opponents had arrived before them, they weren't too far ahead.

As Han Shuo silently observed the surroundings with his consciousness, he suddenly spotted an aura of destruction rising from the darkness above him. However, the aura disappeared as soon as Han Shuo's consciousness caught wind of it.

"Bechymos has descended," Han Shuo confirmed in a deep voice.

Leviathan and Manticole suddenly exchanged glances and nodded silently, indicating that they understood Han Shuo's words. Han Shuo looked at them with a puzzled expression as he saw the two demon kings pondering with furrowed brows. He couldn't help but ask, "So, where shall we go now?"

Their eyes converged on Han Shuo's face at the same time. Leviathan thought for a moment before forcing a smile and explaining, "This place we are in is technically within the Void. However, if we want to discover more of the Void's secrets, we must explore it ourselves. The centre of this great valley contains too many dangers and secrets. On our two previous expeditions, we only skirted the edge. My magical ring was also discovered here."

Han Shuo took a deep breath. He discovered that there was an abundance of all kinds of elements in this valley. The thick, hazy mist covered the valley like a layer of cloud. Although it wasn't completely dark like the dark tunnel they had come from, the view was still greatly affected. For some reason, the range of Han Shuo's consciousness was severely limited in this place. The dense fog that lingered in the valley seemed to have some bizarre resistance properties that prevented Han Shuo's consciousness from being used to its fullest.

This was the reason why Han Shuo's consciousness had only sensed Bechymos for a moment after he had entered the Void, before losing track of him. Furthermore, Bechymos flew at great speed and flew to another place in an instant.

"Based on my many years of experience, I believe that this place was once a battlefield between gods. Based on what I observed on the two occasions I came here, I discovered that this place covered an area so vast that it was beyond my imagination. The great battle that must have taken place between powerful gods had left too many boundaries and dangers. We must be cautious and prudent. If we rush recklessly into some chaotic boundaries, we could all perish," Manticole said with a furrowed brow.

""Erm, you mentioned earlier that the interplanar transportation matrix was in the Void. Could it be here as well?" Han Shuo asked Manticole as he used his consciousness to feel the changes in his surroundings as best he could.

"The interplanar portal is indeed here. However, I have no idea of its exact location. I only heard about it from Bechymos. He said he had seen the interplanar transportation array before, but since he didn't have the planar coordinates and didn't know how to operate it, he dared not touch it," Manticole explained.

At these words, Han Shuo silently cursed him in his heart, thinking, "If you had told me the truth about Bechymos knowing the location of the matrix earlier, I would have been able to find Bechymos and communicate with him. Now that he's out of my reach, it will be very difficult to find him again.

Han Shuo knew in his heart that even though Manticole and Leviathan seemed to think highly of him, they really didn't give a damn about the fact that he needed an interplanetary transportation matrix to leave this world. The duo probably regarded Han Shuo as one of their own demons, someone they could use. Perhaps the only thing that set him apart from their demons was that this target of exploitation could cause trouble for the other two Demon Kings. At critical moments, the three of them joining forces would give them the upper hand.

Ever since he had received the information about the Interplanar Transportation Matrix from the Skeleton Staff, Han Shuo knew that to operate one of these Matrix, one not only had to know how to activate the machine, but also needed the correct set of coordinates for the destination. If the procedure wasn't done correctly, they could be teleported to any empty space in the vast and boundless universe and be trapped there for the rest of their lives, condemned to a lonely death.

Han Shuo swallowed his sorrow. He said nothing, but continued to look at Manticole and Leviathan with a smile on his face, waiting for the two of them to come up with a plan.

"We have to explore around us. Not only do we need to be constantly on the lookout for any danger that might come our way, but we also need to pay special attention to our surroundings. I can't say for sure, but there might be a divine weapon or a divine soul left behind by some of the gods that have died. So pay attention," Leviathan said, obviously very excited. Then, pointing to the dark tunnel they had all come through, he continued, "Remember, always pay attention to the tunnel we came from. When it starts to glow, it means the stardust stream is coming back. At that time, we must immediately drop whatever we are doing and leave this place as soon as possible."

Before entering, Han Shuo had learned from Bord and Zinia that this Void was not only difficult to enter, but no less challenging to exit. After the stardust stream began to flow from the entrance, it would follow a specific trajectory that would encircle the entire void. As the tunnel began to glitter, the stardust stream would begin to fill from below. It would rinse the valley once, then travel up the path they had come from, and finally return to the entrance, blocking the Void once more.

The stardust Current could cover a vast area of the Void, spreading at a speed far beyond any of them. If they didn't leave as soon as the Stardust Stream began to sweep across the Void, it would not be long before they would be buried by the Stardust Current, their consciousness obliterated. They would join the mighty gods who had somehow found their way there, perhaps transforming into divine souls without any consciousness.

Manticole and Leviathan reiterated the dangers and precautions of the Void. Then they led the group of demon guards and cautiously made their way to an area shrouded in thick mist.

Han Shuo expanded his consciousness. He could sense some terribly messy and extremely frightening boundaries and scattered magical matrices all around him. They contained twelve basic energies as well as some lesser known ones. Together they formed a vast system, no less complex than a vast spider's web. Danger lurked around every corner. No one knew the full extent of the destructive power contained within. It was no wonder that Manticole and Leviathan were apprehensive, not daring to proceed without careful consideration.

"I have walked this path twice with Manticole. We defused some of the dangers along the way. This is where Manticole's magical ring was taken from," Leviathan pointed to a strange protruding rock and explained as they walked.

From the two of them, Han Shuo understood that the whole exploration process would be extremely challenging due to the dangers everywhere. Manticole and Leviathan had visited twice, but still had not managed to explore the entire valley. They even encountered the other two Demon Kings in the area and fought over a divine weapon. In the end, all four of them lost many of their subordinates when a seal near them suddenly shattered, leaving them no choice but to end the battle.

All five Demon Kings of the Abyss Realm gathered in this region. They divided into three factions and explored the valley on their own. Since it wasn't the first time they had entered the valley, they had naturally used up a great deal of strength and life before finding their own way into the valley. To follow the path made by Manticole and Leviathan, Han Shuo could be seen as riding on their coattails.

The group walked instead of boldly zooming through the air. After walking for a while, Manticole and Leviathan stopped abruptly. They had surveyed their surroundings when Leviathan said in a low voice, "We made it this far last time. We still had one boundary to undo before we saw the tunnel glowing and had no choice but to retreat immediately".

"Our journey on this path has been smooth so far, as we have cleared away all sorts of obstacles at great cost. From this point on, however, we will face the true terror of this place. You could all die here.

Even the three of us could die. So we must be very, very careful," Manticole added.

Speechless silence followed. Everyone seemed to have a huge boulder pressing down on their hearts. Even Han Shuo was very cautious. Han Shuo could sense all sorts of unknown boundaries around him, but he had no idea how dangerous they were.

Lub Dub... Lub Dub... Han Shuo's ears were sharp. Suddenly, he heard a strange sound coming from a seal not far from him.

He was confused.

He did not understand why the seal was suddenly making a faint 'Lub-Dub' sound. As Han Shuo puzzled over it, a Thunderguard, who was there for the first time, suddenly covered his chest with his hand and screamed madly and pathetically with a terrified face.

All eyes immediately focused on this thunderguard.

When Han Shuo looked closely at the Thunderguard, he discovered that his heart was beating at the same frequency as the sound coming from the seal!

When Han Shuo discovered this anomaly, he was shocked and said hastily, "This Thunderguard's accelerated heartbeat out of nervousness seems to have triggered the seal. Calm him immediately."

"Damn it, Bohr, calm the hell down," Leviathan said hastily.

He was both angry and frightened.

Bang! The Thunderguard's body exploded. His flesh and broken bones splattered all around him.

The powerful explosion caused the few immediate injuries.

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