Before the fissure, Xu Yan knitted his brows. The bones piled like a small mountain in the plaza made for a chilling sight.
What startled him most were the cultivators' remains, for they all shared one feature.
Three strange markings, one long and two short, were etched onto every cultivator's skull.
The three markings were crooked and uneven, like a child's careless scribbles, yet closer scrutiny revealed something unusual about them.
All three gave off a faint dark glow, writhing slightly on the cultivators' skulls as though alive. Even from this distance, they gave Xu Yan an intensely evil feeling.
"There must be at least a thousand cultivators' skeletons here. Most of those who entered the Ancient Demon Abyss seeking opportunities probably ended up here."
Xu Yan looked away from Bone Mountain and murmured to himself.
However, this also confirmed his suspicions. The Demon Ape was indeed hiding some secret.
Four enormous blood-colored stone pillars lay collapsed around the plaza. All manner of strange, twisted markings were carved upon them, many blurred beyond recognition, seemingly by the passage of countless years.
At the very center of the plaza stood an enormous statue. Its features resembled those of a middle-aged male cultivator, imposing in bearing and stern of face.
The same three strange markings adorned the middle-aged cultivator's brow. His left hand held a stone sphere, while his right raised a massive axe overhead. His legs were slightly bent, poised as though to stride into the heavens.
The statue was so vividly rendered that one felt transported into the scene, able to faintly sense the middle-aged cultivator's overwhelming might.
Below the waist, however, the enormous statue was badly damaged, diminishing that impression considerably.
Xu Yan looked past the enormous statue and continued peering deeper inside, toward the place where the Demon