Piercing the Nether

Late at night, Su Ming lay in his own hut, staring into the pitch-black surroundings, unable to sleep for a long time.

Grandpa's words still echoed in his ears, and scenes from nine years ago kept surfacing in his mind.

With a long sigh, Su Ming sat up and silently pushed open the wooden door of his hut. A cool breeze lifted his disheveled hair. The wind was cold, as though it had come with the moonlight and spilled across the earth.

The surroundings were quiet. Only one or two faint cries occasionally drifted down from Wu Mountain in the distance. Most of the tribe lay in darkness; only the bonfire at its center, a few scattered flames, and several torches atop the massive wooden walls remained lit. In the deep night, the faint crackling of burning could be heard.

Su Ming raised his head to look at the sky. The moon shone bright and the stars were sparse, glittering brilliantly. The river of stars seemed eternal, and confusion slowly appeared in Su Ming's eyes.

"Everyone in the tribe treats me well... but I obviously look different from them... perhaps it has something to do with my failure to worship the Barbarian Statue...

Without a Barbarian Body, I cannot practice Barbarian Cultivation. I can only remain here for the rest of my life, unable to leave, unable to see the world described in the Beast Skin Book..." Su Ming silently sat down, leaning against the hut as he watched the sky, the confusion in his eyes growing thicker.

"The Barbarian Tribe has an ancestor, who split open heaven and created mankind, leaving a legacy that has endured through countless generations... Those who possess barbarian power can fly through the heavens, burrow into the earth, move mountains, and overturn seas... Those with Barbarian Marks that reach the sky can pluck the sun, moon, and stars..." In the depths of the night, a youth in the Wu Mountain Tribe gazed at the sky and muttered...

At that moment, he did not notice the black fragment hanging around his neck flash once more with a faint gleam...

Time flashed by, and soon the third day arrived.

As the day of Barbarian Awakening for this generation of Lasus in the Wu Mountain Tribe, the entire tribe had been bustling since dawn. Nearly every tribesman had come out, bringing their own Lasus to gather in the square at the center of the tribe.

The ritual of Barbarian Awakening usually took an entire day, especially the awakening held when a Lasu turned sixteen. It was like a coming-of-age ceremony; at this time today, Lasus who completed their awakening could even choose their partners.

Drumbeats carrying a strange rhythm echoed through the tribe. As the drums sounded, Lasus stepped out from the crowd one after another and stood in the very center.

There were more than thirty Lasus undergoing Barbarian Awakening this time. Most were boys. Though they were not very old, every one of them had an extremely burly body, radiating a fierce and valiant air.

Even the girls were the same. As a result, Su Ming, standing among the crowd, appeared especially conspicuous. His refined features made him utterly out of place among the others.

Even so, the people here had long accepted Su Ming's existence. Though he looked somewhat different to them, they did not reject him. Instead, they had taken him in and made him a member of the tribe.

After surrounding the Lasus preparing for Barbarian Awakening, all the Wu Mountain Tribe members began to dance an ancient, primitive dance. They worshipped heaven with their dancing, expressing their reverence and sacrifice to heaven and earth through their bodies.

"Su Ming, I heard from the tribe that you also went to Wulong Mountain a few days ago and brought back some Black Dragon Saliva." Amid the joyous songs and dancing of the tribespeople around them, a simple, honest voice sounded beside Su Ming.

It belonged to a boy about the same age as him. His skin was rough, and his body was quite sturdy, nearly a full size larger than Su Ming's. His eyes were bright, and he was looking at Su Ming with a foolish grin.

A smile appeared on Su Ming's face as he looked at the boy speaking. This boy was Lei Chen, one of his few close friends in the tribe.

"I brought some back. I went looking for you yesterday, but your father said you had gone up the mountain with the hunting party. Once the Barbarian Awakening ends later, come to my place and take some."

Lei Chen's eyes immediately lit up. He hurried a few steps forward and grinned foolishly.

"I could have returned earlier. But I ran into a Sable Deer on the way. You said before that you needed Sable Deer blood for medicine, so I followed it. I only came back last night."

Su Ming knew that Lei Chen made it sound light, but Sable Deer were extremely difficult to kill and quite dangerous. Warmth rose in his heart.

As the two spoke, the sounds of singing around them gradually fell silent. The crowd parted, and Grandpa of the Wu Mountain Tribe walked over, clad in coarse hemp clothing and holding a pitch-black bone staff. Surrounded by several tribesmen, he came to stand before the youths.

His arrival instantly plunged the surroundings into complete silence. The youths' eyes showed reverence, and it was clear that they feared Grandpa deeply.

"Sacrifice to the Barbarian Ancestor!" Grandpa's eyes shone as he swept his gaze across the crowd, lingering briefly on Su Ming. As he spoke, he raised his right hand and waved the black bone staff. At once, dozens of burly men hurried over from the nearby crowd, each carrying a bound wild beast on his shoulders.

Those beasts were all still alive. They let out mournful howls and struggled desperately, but it was all in vain.

A total of forty-nine wild beasts of different kinds were soon carried over and arranged around the youths. Their cries echoed and gathered together, faintly carrying a piercing force that struck directly at the soul. Yet Wu Mountain Tribe members stood beside each beast, pinning them down firmly and preventing them from breaking free.

The burly tribesmen standing beside the beasts did not hesitate in the slightest. They all lowered their heads at once, sharp stone blades appearing in their left hands as they drove them directly into the beasts' necks and forcibly severed their heads.

In that instant, the howls reached their peak as the heads were cut off, as though they could shake heaven and earth. Several among the more than thirty Lasus preparing for Barbarian Awakening revealed frightened expressions.

Su Ming's face turned pale, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Lei Chen beside him, only to see a savage gleam in the other boy's eyes. He gave off a bloodthirsty feeling, as though he had long grown accustomed to this and even vaguely enjoyed it. He was completely different from the simple, honest boy he had been before.

Even more blood suddenly burst forth like fountains of blood, carrying a foul, fishy stench as it showered down upon the more than thirty Lasus, staining their hair, bodies, and the earth beneath their feet.

"You are fortunate, because there are no wars between tribes now. But likewise, you are unfortunate..." Grandpa looked at the youths before him and spoke softly.

"When I was young, the Barbarian Awakening ceremony at sixteen required one to cut off the head of someone from an enemy tribe and drink their blood to complete the awakening.

Compared to then, you are fortunate... but unfortunate as well, because you have only seen beast blood and have not touched an enemy's head..." Grandpa murmured. He looked deeply at the Lasus before him, then raised the bone staff in his right hand and pointed ahead.

At the same time, he raised his left hand, clenched his five fingers into a fist, then suddenly opened them. A powerful aura instantly spread from his body. It swept through the surroundings, forming a howling gale that filled the entire Wu Mountain Tribe.

Lines of markings appeared on Grandpa's face, intertwining to form a totem resembling a python's head.

That python head was lifelike, as though it truly existed. It manifested across Grandpa's face, seeming to raise its head toward the sky and roar in a soundless hiss. Though nothing could be heard, every member of the Wu Mountain Tribe present, including the powerful Chief, could not help trembling and retreating several steps.

"The Black Python Mark... this is Grandpa's Barbarian Mark..." Su Ming stared blankly at Grandpa and the markings on his face. The shock in his heart overwhelmed everything else. The last time he had seen this sight was nine years ago, but seeing it again now stirred feelings several times stronger than before.

"Grandpa alone could slaughter the entire tribe. Yet someone so powerful is merely at the ninth level of the Blood Condensation Realm... just how powerful must someone in the Dust Opening Realm be...

Not to mention the Bone Sacrificing Realm after Dust Opening... The beast skin scroll said that experts of the Bone Sacrificing Realm were exceedingly rare even in medium-sized tribes. Only those unimaginable large tribes possessed a few Bone Sacrificing Barbarians." Su Ming's heart shook, and his desire to become a Barbarian Warrior grew even stronger.

"With the blood and beast carcasses here, summon the Wu Mountain Barbarian Statue!" Grandpa's voice boomed like thunder, interrupting Su Ming's thoughts. As his words rang out, the surrounding beast corpses all exploded. Their flesh and blood, along with the blood on the ground and the blood staining the youths' bodies, were drawn by an invisible force and gathered in midair, forming an enormous mass of flesh and blood.

"Barbarian Awakening!" the burly man beside Grandpa—the Chief of the Wu Mountain Tribe—shouted loudly.

All the Lasus, including Su Ming, bit their tongues without hesitation and sprayed out mouthfuls of blood. Their blood shot rapidly into the air and was absorbed by the mass of flesh and blood. Amid a heaven-shaking boom, the mass transformed into a black statue.

It was a savage statue, half human and half beast, filled with a primitive, barbaric aura. One hand gripped a long dragon, while the other held an enormous spear. Its eyes shone with madness and bloodlust.

With its appearance, even the sky suddenly dimmed, as though its majesty had forcibly pressed it down.

"The Wu Mountain Barbarian Statue..." Su Ming's heart pounded wildly, as though it might burst apart. Yet at that moment, the fragment on his neck faintly released a warm current that flowed into his body, making the painful sensation vanish like smoke.

The feeling startled Su Ming. He subconsciously lowered his head, about to look at it, when Grandpa's voice echoed out.

"Step forward one by one. Enter the Barbarian Statue and worship!"

As soon as the words fell, a youth immediately hurried forward. The moment he stepped beneath the Barbarian Statue, his entire body vanished. Before long, he reappeared where he had disappeared, his face dark and dejected. He retreated to one side without saying a word.

"Next!" The speaker was the Chief of the Wu Mountain Tribe. The burly man's expression was solemn as his gaze swept over the Lasus.

The Lasus undergoing Barbarian Awakening stepped forward one after another. Not long after vanishing, they would reappear. This continued until a girl entered the Barbarian Statue, and the statue flashed with crimson light.

The entire tribe immediately perked up. Even Grandpa focused his gaze upon her. The crimson light flashed nine times in succession before the girl's figure reappeared.

"She possesses a Barbarian Body!!"

"Nine flashes from the Barbarian Statue—this means she possesses a Barbarian Body!"

When the girl appeared, her face was filled with delight.

"Your name is Wula, right? Very good. Come stand by my side." Grandpa smiled as he looked at the girl and nodded.

Watching the girl walk toward Grandpa, Su Ming remained silent. Then, gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and walked toward the Barbarian Statue. The instant he moved, he drew the attention of the surrounding tribespeople.

Toward this youth who was so visibly different from them, most members of the Wu Mountain Tribe felt a kindly pity. Their gazes gathered upon Su Ming until he stood beneath the Barbarian Statue.

Su Ming took a deep breath and glanced at Grandpa, who was watching him from nearby. He closed his eyes. The moment his eyes shut, he felt an indescribable power envelop his entire body, as though he had sunk into mud. When he opened his eyes again, everything around him had completely changed.

This was not the Wu Mountain Tribe, but a small space shrouded in darkness. Only a black statue floated directly ahead, radiating crimson light.

The statue looked exactly like the Barbarian Statue he had seen outside, emitting a primitive and barbaric aura.

Su Ming looked at the Barbarian Statue in silence for a moment, then bowed deeply toward it.

He remained bowed for a long time. Bitterness appeared on Su Ming's face. He knew that if he possessed a Barbarian Body, a single bow would make the Barbarian Statue emit crimson light. But everything before him was exactly the same as it had been nine years ago, without the slightest difference.

"I cannot become a Barbarian Warrior in this life..." Su Ming bit his lip and let out a long sigh, turning to leave.

But at the instant he turned around, his entire body shook. He suddenly spun back to stare at the Barbarian Statue, dumbstruck!

At the same time, he saw the fragment on his chest—the one he had ignored—release a dazzling, ghostly glow...

Once again, I ask for recommendation votes. Please lend Er Gen a hand.

Let Seeking Demon create brilliance.

Let it charge into the top three of the recommendation rankings!!!

For three years, Renegade Immortal only spent several weeks in the top three of the recommendation rankings.

It was only number one for a few days.

Now that Seeking Demon has entered the world, can everyone fulfill one of Er Gen's regrets and help Seeking Demon charge upward!!!

I seek demons!!! What about you!!!

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