In the air.
Hearing Heng General's voice, Shen Shihuang asked, "You mean you sensed a place?"
Heng General: "Hmph!"
"Hmph, hmph!"
Shen Shihuang: "A place suited to my cultivation?"
Confusion appeared in Zi Yan's eyes. "I've been roaming around Jia Nan Academy for so long, and the only place I know of is Thunder Mist Ravine. Could there really be another treasure trove?"
Shen Shihuang smiled helplessly.
"It might not be a treasure trove!"
After Heng General had flown for half a day,
the scenery before them grew increasingly desolate. There were plenty of desolate places in the Black-Corner Region.
"So many bones."
Zi Yan looked down. On the barren mountains and across the ground, countless white bones lay scattered.
Every so often, a few demonic beast Black Crows perched on the bones.
The sight was extremely eerie.
"Hmph, hmph!"
At that moment, Heng General had stopped, signaling for Shen Shihuang to look in a certain direction.
"What is this place?"
Shen Shihuang saw a barren mountain, much like the others they had passed. It was almost entirely covered in bones. What shocked him was that he could sense the presence of two Dou Zong experts here.
"Hmph, hmph!!"
As if knowing what Shen Shihuang was thinking, Heng General turned and made a sound toward one direction.
"No."
Shen Shihuang had been born with powerful soul force. Though he had never systematically cultivated it, he could roughly gauge its strength by comparing it to that of other Dou Zong experts.
At the very least,
none of the Dou Zong experts he had encountered had soul force stronger than his.
"There are also two Dou Zong experts here?"
"What are they doing here?"
Heng General was incredibly fast. The lightning flashing around him naturally drew the attention of those here.
"What kind of demonic beast is that?"
One of the elders was a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, an undeniably powerful figure in the Black-Corner Region.
"Never seen it before."
The other elder looked remarkably like him, and his aura was also that of a Nine-Star Dou Emperor. The only difference between them was their clothing: one was dressed entirely in black, the other entirely in white.
"A Dou Zong expert!"
When they sensed Shen Shihuang's aura, their expressions changed slightly.
"One Dou Zong expert and one Dou Wang."
Just then,
another voice rang out. "That demonic beast should be at the seventh tier."
"A demonic beast this powerful is already comparable to a Dou Zong expert. It seems our visitor means trouble!" The speaker was an old woman wearing a vivid red robe. The wrinkles on her face made her expression impossible to read.
Only her eyes stood out. Though somewhat cloudy, the power within them made others afraid to meet her gaze.
"Boy, now that you're here, there's no need to hide."
This old woman had once been known by a title in the Black-Corner Region.
Heaven Eye Pupil Elder.
But later, she had gradually gone into seclusion. Few had heard that title in recent years.
Seeing this, Shen Shihuang patted Heng General.
Heng General carried Shen Shihuang down, landing not far from them.
"Greetings, seniors!"
Shen Shihuang dismounted and cupped his hands.
When Heaven Eye Pupil Elder saw Shen Shihuang, the cloudy look in her eyes instantly cleared, shining like the eyes of a newborn baby.
They gleamed brightly.
"So young."
"Boy, you must have excellent talent. I've never seen a Dou Zong expert as young as you before," Heaven Eye Pupil Elder said, clearly impressed.
"It's you, boy!"
Suddenly,
a voice rang out, and an elder swiftly swept over. When Shen Shihuang saw who it was, a smile appeared on his face. "Senior Earth Demon is here, too!"
The elder was none other than
Earth Demon Old Ghost.
Earth Demon Old Ghost had no grudge against Shen Shihuang. In fact, he still owed him a favor.
Back in the Time Realm,
Shen Shihuang had only robbed Mo Tianxing of the Black Emperor Sect.
He had originally wanted to rob Earth Demon Old Ghost, too, but the old fellow had run off too quickly. By the time Shen Shihuang reacted, Earth Demon Old Ghost was long gone.
What a pity.
"Why have you come here, boy?" Earth Demon Old Ghost fixed his gaze on Shen Shihuang, his hoarse voice ringing out.
Shen Shihuang smiled brightly.
"With all you seniors gathered here, I got curious. I happened to be passing by, so I came to take a look."
Earth Demon Old Ghost was about to speak again.
But Heaven Eye Pupil Elder spoke first. "Since you're here, just watch. With another Dou Zong expert, our chances are better."
Earth Demon Old Ghost still seemed about to say something.
He glanced at Heaven Eye Pupil Elder, but in the end, said nothing.
"Hmph!"
In the Time Realm, he hadn't suffered as badly as Mo Tianxing, but he'd still paid a steep price and had nearly died in there. That fellow was clearly connected to Shen Shihuang. In the end, it had all been because of Shen Shihuang.
"You two don't need to hide, either."
"Now that you're here, with five Dou Zong experts, we should be able to open it."
Leaning on her cane, Heaven Eye Pupil Elder spoke calmly.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!!
Two figures arrived before them, carrying terrifying auras.
"After we parted ways back then, I never expected to see you again fifty years later."
"Heaven Eye Pupil Elder, not only are you still alive, your strength has advanced yet another step!"
The two were both Dou Zong experts.
Their faces were unfamiliar.
Clearly, neither was among the publicly known Dou Zong experts of the Black-Corner Region.
"Since we've all come here, it means none of us is confident of breaking through to Dou Zun," Heaven Eye Pupil Elder said with easy calm. "We're all here for that one step. It would be best if no one caused trouble. Otherwise, don't blame this old woman for turning on you."
The two newcomers nodded. "Of course."
At last,
Heaven Eye Pupil Elder and the two Dou Zong experts turned to Earth Demon Old Ghost.
Earth Demon Old Ghost nodded. "Don't worry. As long as no one else gets any ideas, I definitely won't be the first to act!"
"Hmph!"
"Earth Demon Old Ghost, this sect has no interest in your Seven-Star Dou Zong strength. If we didn't need the power of Dou Zong experts, you wouldn't even qualify!"
Clearly,
these two Dou Zong experts
looked down on Earth Demon Old Ghost to some extent.
"And there's a little Four-Star Dou Zong here?"
"So young?"
"Interesting."
The Dou Huang experts behind them, even those who were Nine-Star Dou Emperors, could only remain silent. These two Dou Zong experts had roamed the Black-Corner Region a century ago and had been virtually invincible.
Now that they had appeared again, their strength was even more terrifying.
They were only one step away from becoming Dou Zun experts.
As Shen Shihuang wondered what could have drawn these Peak Nine-Star Dou Zun experts here,
the system's voice rang out in his mind.
"Check-in locations have been refreshed."
"Host, please check in at the Ancient Venerable Abyss."
Hearing the system's voice, Shen Shihuang looked again at the mountain of bones before him.
"Ancient Venerable Abyss?"
"Could this be it?"
Ancient Venerable Abyss.
Shen Shihuang had never heard of this place. The only thing he knew was that what stood before him had to be the Ancient Venerable Abyss.
At that moment,
Heaven Eye Pupil Elder spoke again.
"The Ancient Venerable Abyss opens once every hundred years. What opportunities lie within will depend on each person's ability. Before it opens, anyone who dares to interfere..."
Another Dou Zong expert spoke, his voice thick with killing intent.
"We kill them all!!"
"Anyone who dares block this sect's path to Dou Zun will die a miserable death!!"