Demon's graveyard

A silver light flashed in front of Liang Chen's eyes as he was pushed out of the white space and sent to a new location. When the light vanished, Liang Chen found himself standing at the top of a tall mountain, overlooking a vast area.

He could see forests, lakes, plains, several more mountains, even a volcano puffing out smoke in the distance. Liang Chen only gave his surroundings a quick glance, turning his gaze into his own body to check his state. After checking his body, he rubbed his chin slightly, muttering quietly.

"It was stored in there, huh? I wonder exactly what it is."

The black egg that was his reward for the third trial had appeared in his dantian, where his Ascended Tower had previously been. There was a thin line of blood connecting Liang Chen to the egg, constantly funneling some of his blood into the egg to nurture it, to bond the creature within it to him. Liang Chen swept the surroundings with his gaze, his body strangely light and comfortable.

"So, where exactly am I? And where are the others?"

He was unable to see any other people from his vantage point, but he did give his surroundings a closer look. Now that he was examining things more closely, he noticed a large number of Demonic beast corpses spread out in the area around him.

These corpses were different from the bones he had seen in the previous trial, these corpses were completely fresh. They looked so fresh that they seemed alive, but Liang Chen was able to tell that there was no life within their bodies. While Liang Chen was sweeping the area from his vantage point, a light flashed in the sky. A peach-colored human shape appeared in the air above the area, its voice reaching every corner of the land.

"You are probably all wondering exactly how you ended up here. Let me introduce myself, I am the Sealing God Empyrean and I am the one who set up this trial ground, this hidden realm. I have transported all of you who were inside the hidden realm into this, the lowest floor of my King Sealing Pagoda, the Demon's Graveyard, and all of you will receive the chance to become an honorary disciple of mine."

Liang Chen quietly listened to the voice, slowly making his way down the mountain. At the same time, he was rather curious why the Sealing God Empyrean was so eager to accept disciples and honorary disciples. Could it have something to do with that Genesis War that he heard about after he cleared the first trial?

The human shape waved its hand, causing five beams of light to shoot out from its fingers, forming five large images that floated in the air. One of the images was of Liang Chen, the second was of Qing Feng, the third was of Yan Ling, and the last two were of people who Liang Chen recognized from when they entered the first trial, but he didn't know their names.

"These five are the ones who are closest to becoming my honorary disciples, but these rankings can change at any moment. Show your strength, show your worth, prove that you deserve to become my honorary disciple. After three days, everyone who has shown enough strength will be allowed to move on to the next trial."

After the human shape finished speaking, the five images each sent out a thick beam of light that flashed through the land. Just looking at the light of beam filled Liang Chen with a foreboding feeling, one that was quickly proven correct when the beam of light landed on him, highlighting his position. Seeing this situation, Liang Chen could only put on a bitter smile.

"So Yan Ling is also here on this floor. Did Yan Ying receive the chance to become a main disciple, or is he also here? And it seems like this Sealing God Empyrean is really looking to push anyone who has a chance to become an honorary disciple to the very edge."

With their positions highlighted, anyone who was close to becoming an honorary disciple would immediately become the target of every other person in this place, forcing them to do their best to resist the onslaught of countless other people.

With his position highlighted like this, Liang Chen didn't see any point in hiding himself. He instead chose to head toward the pillar of light that was connected to Yan Ling's image, as it would be a little easier for them if they were to meet up. Yan Ling's pillar of light was also moving, heading in his direction, so it seemed like they both had the same idea.

There was quite some distance between him and Yan Ling, so even after two hours of walking, he was still quite far from her. But after two hours, his luck had run out, a loud shout sounding out from the forest to his left.

"One of them is over here!"

Liang Chen's vigilance instantly rose to the peak. He hadn't been able to sense any living beings in his surroundings, so he thought that no one was nearby. Could it be that he couldn't sense the electricity in living beings without his Ascended Tower, or was it because of the area they were in?

A group of seven people quickly dashed out of the forest, dashing directly towards Liang Chen with weapons drawn, their bodies radiating killing intent. The strongest in the group was someone at the late stage of the Heaven's Gate realm, so Liang Chen knew that he was not capable of beating them.

"Haha, seems like my situation is pretty bad."

In a situation like this, where he didn't even have any cultivation or Qi any more, what could he do but laugh? But he had no intention of just lying down and accepting death, so he quickly sprung into action. His Ascended Tower and Qi were gone, but he still had his Lightning Seed.

He tapped into it with his mind, drawing out some lightning from within. He didn't try to draw out any of the crimson lightning, as it would end up wounding him, he instead drew out a few strands of azure lightning. The lightning immediately listened to his orders, following the roots of the Lightning Seed and spreading through his body.

His speed instantly shot through the roof as he dashed away, far faster than he had ever moved when he used his Qi to control his lightning. As he used the lightning to increase his speed, he also noticed that the lightning seemed to be far more docile than it was when he used his Qi to command it, easily listening to his orders as it continued to move through his body. His brows couldn't help but furrow as he continued to dash, pondering about his situation.

"I can't use my poison, but my lightning seems to be even easier to control. Could it be because of the Lightning Seed?"

He knew that there was still poison in his body, hiding within his flesh and blood, but he couldn't feel it or control it, so he couldn't even use his Poison Soul technique. He couldn't help but wonder, if he had created a Poison Seed alongside his Lightning Seed, would he be able to control his poison now?

An arrow suddenly whizzed through the air, piercing into Liang Chen's right elbow and forcing him to abandon his train of thought. It was clear that more and more people were starting to approach his location. They could see him, but he couldn't sense them, so he even risked running into others as he fled. Liang Chen instantly abandoned all other thoughts, focusing fully on fleeing as more and more voices started to sound out around him.

"He's running this way, surround him!"

More and more attacks started to fly at him, coming for him from all angles. He furrowed his brows slightly, testing out an idea he had. Some more azure lightning seeped out off his Lightning Seed, pouring out from his skin and crackling around his body, forming a defensive shield. Whenever an attack got close to him, a small bolt of lightning would flash out and meet the attack, either blocking or weakening it.

The shield proved rather effective, far more effective than Liang Chen had first thought it would be, but it could not block every attack. Wounds both large and small started to spread on Liang Chen's body, his speed getting slower and slower because of blood loss. And in the end, one of the larger attacks hit him. A spear flashed through the air, passing through his waist and taking a large chunk of flesh with it as it continued to fly into the distance.

"I got him in the waist, he's slowed down!"

Liang Chen spat out a large mouthful of blood, but he continued to grit his teeth and run, drawing out more and more lightning from his Lightning Seed to keep himself going. But seeing his wounded state, the ferocity of the people chasing him simply continued to rise, each of them swallowing pills like they were candy to increase their chances of killing him.

But in the end, despite his wounds, Liang Chen managed to achieve his goal. Not far in front of him was a thick pillar of peach-colored light, the pillar rapidly approaching him as a voice that contained a mixture of happiness and worry reached his ears.

"Little Freak, there you are!"

Yan Ling came running through the forest, a large group of people chasing her and launching attacks. But stuck to Yan Ling's body were two paper talismans, one that sent out a stream of energy to block all incoming attacks, and one that sent a stream of energy into her body to increase her speed.

Yan Ling waved at Liang Chen, but her expression turned gloomy when she saw his state. His body was covered in wounds and blood, a large chunk of his waist torn out, blood pouring out. She quickly increased her speed even further, almost instantly arriving in front of Liang Chen. She grabbed onto him, and then threw him high into the air, jumping after him.

She hardened the air beneath her feet and lightened her own weight using wind, allowing her to fly after Liang Chen. Every time it looked like Liang Chen was about to drop slightly, she grabbed onto him and threw him higher into the air, further away from the groups chasing them. There were several in those groups who chased after them, copying Yan Ling's actions and simulating flight.

But thanks to the talisman that increased her speed, none of them were able to catch up with her. Once the two were high in the sky and far away from any attackers, Yan Ling let out a light giggle.

"Nihihi, doesn't this remind you of the first time we met?"

The first time the two had met, she had thrown him through the air so that he could dodge some attacks that were aimed at him. Liang Chen continued to let himself get thrown around, chuckling somewhat weakly as he spun around.

"Yeah, except back then, you threw me around more violently than this. Compared to that time, this is basically like flying on a cloud."

Back then, Yan Ling had just thrown him through the air as if he was a ragdoll, but now she was using a bit of wind to slow down the speed at which he spun around, making it quite a bit less discomforting. Yan Ling's lips curled into a slight smirk, her hands grabbing onto Liang Chen's shoulders to throw him once more.

"Is that an invitation to throw you around with more force?"

Liang Chen quickly shook his head, a wry smile appearing on his face. If she threw him even harder than this, wouldn't all his wounds just get worse?

"Please don't, my wounds really hurt."

Liang Chen couldn't use his Poison Soul technique, and even though he had a stalwart will, he still felt the pain of all his wounds. Yan Ling seemed to have been caught off guard by his words, as her eyes actually lit up with surprise, a surprised exclamation escaping her lips.

"What's this, so even you can feel pain?"

Now it was Liang Chen's time to be caught off guard. Why did it seem like Yan Ling was actually surprised at the fact that he could feel pain?

"What, did you think I couldn't?"

She couldn't have honestly have believed that, right? But contrary to what Liang Chen thought, Yan Ling ended up giving a light shrug of her shoulders after she once again threw him through the air.

"Well, you never really complained about it, taking it with a straight face. So I just kinda assumed you didn't really feel pain, or at least didn't care about it."

Liang Chen wanted to retort that she was wrong, but when he thought back to the time he spent with her, he had always used his Poison Soul technique to numb his sense of pain, so he had indeed always taken it with a straight and calm face. Since he couldn't retort like that, he could only let out a sigh.

"Come on, I'm still human, of course I feel pain."

Yan Ling grabbed onto his shoulders and tossed him through the air once more, letting out a light giggle.

"Nihihi, you learn something new every day."

She had seen Liang Chen use his lightning to increase his speed earlier, so she wanted to ask him how he could still use his lightning, but she also realized that this wasn't the right place to ask. It could wait until they left this place where they had enemies everywhere.

Yan Ling continued to throw Liang Chen through the air, as it was safer to travel around like this than it was to descend to the ground. Liang Chen ate a few pills to heal his wounds, but the largest wounds were too big to be healed by just these pills, so they still remained.

Thanks to the fact that they were traveling through the air, Liang Chen and Yan Ling were able to get a good look at the various Demonic beast corpses, as well as the general situation within this first floor of the pagoda. And what he saw caused Liang Chen to release a sigh.

"It's pretty bad here, isn't it?"

There were battles taking place everywhere, screams sounding out as people died. Of the original five that had been deemed close to becoming honorary disciples, everyone but Liang Chen and Yan Ling had already died and been replaced several times after only half a day. Yan Ling gave a slight nod of her head, her gaze sweeping the area below them.

"Yeah, people have gone completely insane, doing everything they can to become an honorary disciple. I can't even imagine how many people have already died."

Just how many people had there been in this hidden realm when the pagoda opened, and just how many of them had died by now? Liang Chen had also realized the same, letting out another sigh.

"Really, people can show such ugly faces at times."

He was actually rather angry, both at the people in this trial and at the Sealing God Empyrean. He was angry at the people in the trial because they were willing to kill everyone, innocent or not, just for the slight chance at becoming an honorary disciple to an unknown powerhouse. As for the Sealing God Empyrean, he said that he had brought everyone from the hidden realm into his pagoda, meaning that even the weak maids and butlers had been forced into this pagoda, serving as fodder for those who wanted to show their might.

The two continued to travel through the air, the energy within Yan Ling's talismans quickly draining after a little over a day had passed, resulting in their speed drastically dropping. The two talismans weren't quite empty, but they weren't as useful as they had been earlier. And because their speed dropped, people were now able to catch up with them again, a loud shout sounding out as a myriad of attacks approached them.

"Get down!"

Liang Chen and Yan Ling were forced down to the ground, landing at the side of a thin river that stretched far into the distance. More and more people appeared around them, eyeing them with eyes filled with bloodlust. Looking at the situation, a wry smile appeared on Liang Chen's face.

"Seems like they've prepared quite a bit, we're completely surrounded. Thing's aren't loo-!"

Before he got to finish his sentence, his legs gave out under him and he started to violently cough, spitting up several mouthfuls of blood. Yan Ling quickly supported him and helped him stand up, calling out with a worried voice.

"Little Freak?!"

Liang Chen finished coughing after a bit, wiping away the blood around his mouth with the sleeves of his robe. He glanced at some of the larger wounds that the pills hadn't been able to heal, a weak laughter escaping his lips.

"Hahaha, seems like the wounds are getting worse. Must have been some type of acid or another corrosive element mixed in among all the attacks that hit me."

Liang Chen guessed that it was because of the hole in his waist, as it seemed to have gotten a bit larger as time passed. Liang Chen glanced at the people surrounding them, his mind quickly moving as he whispered to Yan Ling.

"Did your father give you any other talismans?"

He had seen three of her talismans and heard about the fourth one while they were traveling. If she had more talismans like that, their odds of surviving would be far greater. But his hopes were quickly dashed when Yan Ling shook her head.

"Only one, but it's an escaping talisman. Once I use it, I will be teleported directly back to the clan."

Each of the talismans required not only a lot of resources but also someone with a strong cultivation to make them. Just the fact that she had four different talismans was already very surprising. Liang Chen was opened his mouth to talk, but Yan Ling hit him on the head before he even got to say anything.

"Don't even try, dumbass. I'm not just leaving you here alone. We'll find a way out of this, I'm sure of it."

Liang Chen's lips curled into a bitter smile. He had indeed planned on telling her to use the talisman to escape, but it seemed like she wasn't intending to leave. But he couldn't blame her, he would have done the same as her. The people that had surrounded them were starting to slowly move closer, wary of each other. Liang Chen and Yan Ling's thoughts continued to race as they tried to find a way out of this situation, and in the end, Liang Chen decided to risk it.

"... Do you remember that one corpse we passed by a little bit ago, that white spider?"

There was a myriad of corpses spread throughout this hidden realm, and many of them had stirred the appetite of Liang Chen's bestial instincts. Around one hour ago, the two of them had passed by the corpse of a large spider, at least 100 meters long, that had a pure white carapace. This spider had stirred Liang Chen's hunger to a degree it had never been stirred before, so he guessed that it contained both poison and lightning. Yan Ling quickly nodded her head, as the spider was rather memorable.

"I do, what about it?"

She remembered the spider, but she didn't understand why Liang Chen was bringing it up now. Could there be something about the spider that might save the two of them? Liang Chen spat out some more blood, glancing at the people around them with cold gazes.

"Can you get us there?"

All these people had come to kill the two of them, despite none of them having any grudge with each other. They wanted to kill them him and Yan Ling? Very well, then you can't blame me when I kill you! Yan Ling could see a strong determination in Liang Chen's eyes, a ferocious desire to live, so she quickly responded.

"I can."

If she completely drained the two talismans of energy, as well as pushed her body to the limit, she was confident that she would be able to get the two of them to the corpse within a short amount of time. It would be very painful and she would suffer a few wounds, but she could do it. Liang Chen's lips curled up slightly at her response, revealing a bloody smile.

"Then let's go."