Echoing Across the Distance

After another three days of travel, the demonic aura in the sky had finally thinned somewhat.

It no longer blotted out the sky and sun, and a few rays of sunlight finally shone through. Yet it was still incomparably dim. The surroundings were bleak and sinister; towering ancient trees and perilous mountains loomed like monsters in the darkness, pressing upon their nerves.

Beneath the dim sunlight, deep within the boundless mountains.

Xu Yan and Qin Nishang trudged onward in exhaustion. Their nerves had been taut for days, and they were like startled rabbits—at the slightest rustle of wind or grass, they would immediately turn to look.

This was a barren land, and the towering ancient trees had become increasingly sparse.

Gusts of cold wind swept through the mountains, stirring wave after wave of yellow dust.

At some point, many huge paper offerings shaped like copper coins had appeared on the ground, swept into the sky by the cold wind. Could it be that these demons also burned paper offerings to worship their ancestors?

Xu Yan looked out over the area, filled with doubt.

Qin Nishang braced her spear against the ground and panted softly.

After they walked a little farther, Xu Yan gradually spotted many shattered bricks and tiles scattered across the ground, as well as enormous coffin-like objects. Yin energy hung thick in the air, while a dense aura of death drifted overhead.

"What kind of place is this..." Xu Yan stared wide-eyed.

An aura of demon energy like fireflies drifted through the air.

It was not so much terrifying as it was imbued with a rather sacred presence, which left Xu Yan even more astonished.

As they walked, the earth beneath their feet suddenly began to tremble faintly.

Xu Yan and Qin Nishang's expressions instantly tightened as they sharply turned to look behind them.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

In the distance behind them, the ground was torn apart, sending countless clouds of dust and shattered stones flying.

Amid the swirling dust, an enormous centipede soared through the air. Its body shone in nine colors and carried a bewitching aura. With a sweep of its demonic tail, countless boulders blocking its path were smashed to powder.

Without a word, Xu Yan scanned the area, grabbed Qin Nishang, and immediately hid far behind a small hill.

The Nine-Colored Sky Centipede was enormous, at least five zhang long. Its countless tiny legs writhed and swayed, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Even more terrifying, the centipede had a human face—that of a handsome young man.

"What kind of monster has a human face?!" Qin Nishang felt a chill run from the top of her head to the soles of her feet as she exclaimed in shock.

"Judging from its demonic form, it should be a Nine-Colored Sky Centipede. As for that human face, perhaps its transformation was incomplete?" Xu Yan guessed casually.

The two hid behind a massive boulder without making a sound.

The Nine-Colored Sky Centipede was incredibly fast. It kicked up a cloud of dust and rushed into the mountains, vanishing from sight in no time.

The sky gradually darkened. Though the demonic aura in the heavens had thinned considerably, night was approaching.

Through the thick layers of clouds, Xu Yan could vaguely make out specks of starlight and moonlight.

The two continued onward cautiously.

Now that the Li Ancient Secret Repository had emerged in the northeast, the Emperor Bell had sounded, and quite a few Grandmasters and human cultivators were gathered there.

As long as they crossed the southeastern part of Mang Mountain, they would have left the territory occupied by the Demon Race, and they would be safe.

They could only take this route. If they went west, not only would the journey stretch tens of thousands of li, but they would also encounter countless vast Demon Race contingents along the way, just as they had in the past few days.

Starlight and moonlight filtered down through gaps in the clouds.

The surroundings were thick with yin energy. The two continued walking without stopping for even a moment.

Specks of ghostly light like fireflies floated in the air, while enormous copper-coin paper offerings occasionally fluttered past.

It feels like we've entered some kind of place of worship.

Xu Yan thought to himself.

Though the surroundings were terrifying and gloomy, both of them could not help noticing that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had grown rich, even more vast than that within the cave dwellings and refined residences outside.

The demonic aura even contained vigorous life force and a sacred presence.

The dark mountain range stood close at hand.

Xu Yan estimated that they had traveled three or four thousand li and were nearly out of the deep southeastern region. Once they reached the border, they might encounter some human cultivators.

Climbing a desolate, dilapidated mountain, the two used the moonlight to look into the distance.

In an instant, their pupils constricted as they stared blankly ahead.

"Is that a Primordial Relic Site?" Qin Nishang blinked her beautiful eyes and looked on in amazement.

Within the mountain range stood countless broken walls and ruined structures. Ancient palace halls lay in vast clusters across the earth veins, all built in the style of the primordial era and steeped in an ancient aura.

These clusters of ancient buildings looked as though they had only recently emerged from the earth. Moist underground spirit soil still covered the remnants of their roofs and eaves.

Like spring bamboo shoots suddenly breaking through the soil after the vernal equinox.

The vast spiritual energy of heaven and earth had nearly converged into a raging torrent, reverberating throughout the endless ancient complex.

"My heavens... Such a boundless relic site—what kind of peerless powerhouses and flourishing clans must have lived here in the primordial era?" Qin Nishang said, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly.

Looking into the distance, this ancient land covered no less than a thousand li.

It was already far larger than Dragon City of Great Yin. Moreover, judging by the relic site, this was merely one corner of what had been revealed from the primordial era.

Heaven knew just how powerful this clan had been in that turbulent age.

"They're all Demon Race script. This was the territory of the primordial Demon Race," Xu Yan said solemnly.

Those ancient building clusters were clearly different from human architecture. Their ruined walls were far larger, and Xu Yan could vaguely make out quite a few Demon Race characters.

Roar—

At that moment, a muffled groan and howl suddenly rose from underground.

The sound was like an ancient great demon snoring. Though it was not particularly loud, it felt incomparably oppressive, as if something had struck directly against his heart. Xu Yan's heart shuddered violently.

Within the time it took to burn half an incense stick, the ancient complex seemed to have risen several more zhang from the ground.

But that was not all. From the distant northeast, where the Li Ancient Secret Repository was located, another tremendous bell toll rang out immediately afterward!

Buzzz—

It reverberated throughout the Ten-Thousand Mang Mountains.

The two sounds seemed to echo one another, crossing the boundless mountain ranges as they secretly contested and confronted each other.

"The Emperor Bell rings, and the great demon roars..."

Xu Yan furrowed his brow, steadying his thoughts as he recalled the records concerning Li Clan Crossing that he had read in the Ancient Solar Record.

In the primordial era, in order to survive and leave the mountains, the Li Clan had forged a Taihao Emperor Bell to intimidate the myriad demons of Mang Mountain.

Back then, the most powerful Demon Race in the primordial Mang Mountains had been the great demon Horned Dragon.

Whenever the Taihao Emperor Bell rang, the Horned Dragon would refuse to be outdone, roaring with demonic winds in confrontation from tens of thousands of li away.

"The Li Ancient Secret Repository and the Horned Dragon Demon Tomb—could it be that both repositories are about to emerge at once?!"

Xu Yan stared wide-eyed, thinking in shock.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became of this guess.

One by one, human Grandmasters had come to the northeast of Mang Mountain, while great demons that had lain dormant for many years had arrived in the southeast. Other than these two ancient secret repositories, what else could draw so many peerless powerhouses?