Ten Thousand Demon Cavern

Ten Thousand Demon Cavern

"The Blood Nightmare Technique is the introductory cultivation method of our Ten Thousand Demon Cavern. It cultivates quickly, but it consumes one's blood essence and lifespan!"

"Today, I will teach you some cultivation tricks, lest you be drained into dried corpses before even entering the path!"

Inside a mysterious grand hall steeped in a dark and eerie atmosphere.

A rather tall young woman, dressed in the black robes of an outer sect disciple, sat upright atop a high platform, her features obscured.

Only her indifferent voice, cold as a frigid spring, echoed through the vast hall.

Then, she began the lesson held once every seven days.

Her tone showed no fluctuations, and her transitions were stiff, as though she did not care whether anyone was listening.

Yet beneath the platform, nearly a hundred gray-robed youths listened with complete focus, not daring to miss a single word!

Some of the duller ones failed to grasp the crucial points and sweated anxiously, yet did not dare ask questions.

Based on past experience, interrupting a lesson never ended well.

They were this year's newly arrived probationary disciples of the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern.

They had just been gathered from mortal kingdoms after being found to possess Spirit Roots.

And among this group of young men and women, in an inconspicuous spot toward the back.

A handsome, heroic-looking youth sat cross-legged quietly on the stone floor, listening intently to every word spoken by the woman teaching atop the platform.

Deep in his eyes was a complex, burning emotion that others could scarcely comprehend!

His name was Xiao Liang. He had originally been from Blue Star, but after dying young, he had been reincarnated into this vast world.

In this life, he had been born into a martial arts family in a mortal kingdom. He had once thought he would need to train diligently and embark upon the path of a chivalrous hero, clad in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, settling grudges with carefree abandon.

Yet the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern's Ascension Assembly had shattered all of that.

Only then did Xiao Liang learn that behind the seemingly feudal mortal kingdoms lay immense sect forces.

This was a world of immortal cultivation, where the strong could overturn mountains and seas, and great cultivators could pluck stars and seize the moon!!!

This world was called the Sky Mist Continent. Its expanse stretched for countless billions of miles; even saying that the heavens rose ninety thousand layers high and the earth plunged billions of zhang deep could not describe it.

The world was filled with dense spiritual energy. Heavenly treasures appeared amid great rivers and marshes, while blessed lands and hidden realms were born in places of mystical creation.

It was clear that the Sky Mist Continent was presently in a flourishing age of cultivation!

Legend had it that even great cultivators of the Nascent Soul Stage could exhaust their lifespans and opportunities without exploring even one ten-thousandth of this vast world!

The Ten Thousand Demon Cavern was a demonic sect, located roughly in the southwest of the Sky Mist Continent. It spanned the three mortal kingdoms of Liang, Yan, and Qi, encompassing billions of living beings.

Xiao Liang himself came from the Liang Kingdom.

His parents in this life belonged to a martial arts family in the Liang Kingdom. They had more than a dozen children, and Xiao Liang was merely one of them.

Furthermore, the talent for martial arts he had displayed as a child had been utterly ordinary, so he had never stood out.

But when Xiao Liang was tested and found to possess the qualification for immortal cultivation—a Spirit Root—his fate underwent a heaven-shaking transformation.

The Ten Thousand Demon Cavern took Xiao Liang away, leaving his parents with a bottle of spiritual pills.

On one level, this was a reward. On another, it signified the severing of mortal family ties.

Between mortals and cultivators, setting aside strength, the immense difference in lifespan alone was enough to create an insurmountable barrier!

However, Xiao Liang's spirits quickly sank after being taken away by the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern.

Because he had been told that although he possessed the one-in-ten-thousand Spirit Root, his aptitude was ordinary. He had only a Four-Spirit Root.

It was merely a step better than the Five-Spirit Root, which was considered a useless Spirit Root.

And the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern was a demonic sect, not a university campus on Blue Star from his previous life.

Here, there was only one rule: the strong preyed upon the weak. It was the law of the jungle!

That rule had existed from the moment this group of probationary disciples stepped onto the territory of the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern.

The sinister and eerie hall before them was called the Little Ghost Hall. Though it was not an important place.

It was still grand and imposing. Every brick and tile seemed to flow with a peculiar resonance—hard, cold, and heavy.

But this place was also the crossroads of every Ten Thousand Demon Cavern disciple's path of cultivation.

Every class of probationary disciples had a three-year period of study.

During those three years, the sect would not assign them any other tasks.

Instead, it would provide introductory cultivation methods, basic offensive spells, and some scattered spirit stones for cultivation.

But once the three-year period ended, a brutal selection would begin.

The victors would formally become outer sect disciples, while the defeated would be reduced to mine slaves forever.

I have lived two lives. To be reincarnated into this vast world is such an incredible stroke of fortune. I do not know what treatment mine slaves receive, but I will never become one!

In Xiao Liang's mind flashed the mocking yet pitying expression worn by a Ten Thousand Demon Cavern cultivator when he had once casually mentioned mine slaves. Xiao Liang's heart trembled.

An hour later, the bell outside the hall rang, regardless of whether the lesson had finished or whether anyone had understood it.

The black-robed woman on the platform stopped speaking precisely on time, ignoring the eager gazes of many who wished she would say a few more words.

"That will be all for today's lesson. I hope you cultivate diligently!"

She lightly tapped the ground with her feet and stepped down from the platform. No exquisite movement could be seen, yet every step carried her several zhang away, far surpassing any qinggong master Xiao Liang had ever seen.

When she reached the entrance of the hall, she drew a small flying sword, entirely emerald green, from her storage pouch. It hummed and trembled.

The small flying sword had initially been only an inch long, but in an instant it grew in the wind, transforming into a great sword that flew beneath the woman's feet on its own.

Xiao Liang's heart burned as he watched. During his days in the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern, he had learned some basic knowledge about cultivation.

That was a magical artifact, a true immortal treasure. Not only could it be used to fly at low altitudes on a sword, its offensive power was even more formidable.

Even the fiercest armored army of a mortal kingdom would likely be slaughtered clean by this outer sect senior sister alone, with a single sword.

Many of the probationary disciples might have been young marquises, young masters, or even princesses of minor kingdoms in the mortal world.

Though their once-noble statuses were now useless, their greater experience compared to their peers allowed them to adapt more quickly to the rules of the cultivation world.

They seemed more mature and understood a little of worldly dealings. They did not wish to let any possible opportunity to build connections slip away.

Seeing that the lesson had ended, they all gathered at the entrance of the hall and respectfully bowed to the outer sect senior sister.

"Farewell, Senior Sister!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for imparting the method!"

"..."

Generally speaking, such behavior received no response. The outer sect disciples who came to teach would simply leave, treating them as though they did not exist.

But this time, the outer sect senior sister gave a soft sigh. Looking at these immature probationary disciples, she seemed to recall something.

Her crimson lips parted slightly, and she offered a cold reminder:

"Our demonic sects believe in seizing heavenly opportunity for cultivation. You have been taught the Blood Nightmare Technique for half a month now. Most of you fear the loss of lifespan and blood essence, believing its side effects too severe, and do not dare cultivate with all your strength."

At those words, quite a few faces turned awkward.

The outer sect senior sister ignored them and merely sneered. "Things like lifespan and blood essence—if they can be burned in exchange for power, that is your good fortune. It is far better than preserving them only to waste them later in sunless mine pits!"

Many outwardly agreed again and again, but inwardly dismissed her words.

In their minds, cultivation sought immortality. How could they put the cart before the horse and waste their precious lifespan and blood essence for nothing?

These youths who had been tested and found to possess Spirit Roots had yet to awaken from the illusion of being one in ten thousand.

They all believed the Blood Nightmare Technique was merely a transition. No one thought they would spend their entire lives cultivating such a lowly demonic art.

Only when Xiao Liang heard those words did his entire body shudder. His gaze briefly met that of the outer sect senior sister.

Spiritual light flashed in her eyes, dazzling like tangible rays. In an instant, Xiao Liang was forced to retreat, no longer daring to meet her gaze.

The outer sect senior sister's eyes swept over Xiao Liang's rather upright figure. A hint of surprise flashed through her eyes, as though she had sensed the faint traces of spiritual power emanating from him.

At last, she gazed with interest at the lock of gray-white hair on his forehead and said softly:

"You are already close to entering the path? Your aptitude is average, but you are not foolish!"