This time, Zhou Qiong flew for an entire day without seeing anyone else who had entered the secret realm, nor did he find any Immortal Stones. The secret realm was truly frighteningly vast. Even after a day of flying, he was still nowhere near seeing its end.
Zhou Qiong kept flying west, because he felt as though something there was drawing him in, guiding him toward that place.
At that moment, five hundred kilometers ahead of Zhou Qiong, underground, Zhao Li was exploring a cave with a pale face.
"Elder Fu, are you sure there's a powerful righteous-path inheritance in here? Why does it get more sinister and bloody the farther I go, as though there's some peerless fiend inside?"
"My soul body has suffered far too much damage, and my memories are very hazy, but I do have some memory of this place. There is definitely a righteous-path inheritance inside."
Zhao Li said nothing and continued deeper into the cave. On the other side of the cave, Liansheng, dressed entirely in red, was also exploring. He had fallen into this cavern by accident and had originally wanted to leave immediately, but his intuition told him that a fortuitous opportunity awaited him here.
By now, Zhao Li had entered a secret chamber, with a bronze statue in its center.
"Elder Fu, what do you make of this chamber?"
"This should be a teleportation chamber. Try turning the left hand of the bronze statue on the right."
After hearing this, Zhao Li moved the bronze statue's right hand. Instantly, the entire chamber came alive. Densely packed, complex formations appeared across the floor, and a beam of light suddenly shot from the bronze statue's eyes, enveloping Zhao Li. Before he could react, he vanished from the chamber.
Above the cave, a black figure appeared on the ground in an instant. It was Zhou Qiong. He frowned deeply as he looked down. His intuition told him that something below was calling to him. Without hesitation, Zhou Qiong struck directly at the ground. An unfathomably deep crater instantly appeared, and he leaped down into it.
One hundred thousand meters beneath the cave, Zhao Li stared blankly at the sight before him. He was inside a cave abode. At its upper end, a figure sat cross-legged on a stone chair. He had a square face with resolute features and wore a suit of armor. He opened his eyes and looked at Zhao Li.
The figure said evenly, "You actually have the Sword God's presence on you. What is he to you?"
Zhao Li bowed respectfully. "Senior, I am the Sword God's successor from a later generation. In his mausoleum, I passed his trials and became his final disciple."
"Ha ha ha!" The man seated above seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. "The Sword God's mausoleum? His final disciple? Even he probably doesn't know how many final disciples like you he has. Besides, he isn't dead. Where would a mausoleum come from?"
Zhao Li looked at the armored man before him in confusion and asked urgently, "You know my master? He isn't dead?"
The armored man shifted his body as though he had not moved in a very long time and said in a low voice, "I wouldn't dare say much about that venerable elder's affairs. You'll understand in the future."
Before Zhao Li could react, the man continued, "I originally intended to find a successor, but I didn't expect someone to have reserved you in advance. Boy, listen carefully. This clone of mine was ordered to suppress an evil demon here for two thousand years. Now that the time has come, it should dissipate. Since you're here, I'll pass on one move to you. How much you learn will depend on your ability."
With that, the armored man rose to his feet, conjured a long spear in his hand, and shouted, "Spear Shakes the World!" The spear quivered rapidly. Though there were clearly no fluctuations of Spiritual Qi, Zhao Li seemed to see a general suppressing countless evil demons before his eyes. For a time, his entire mind was drawn into it.
Watching Zhao Li, who seemed to have entered sudden enlightenment, the armored man smiled and nodded. Then he sighed, and his figure slowly faded away. Just before he vanished completely, his gaze suddenly turned west, a trace of puzzlement flashing through his eyes.
The west was precisely where the evil demon was being suppressed. At that moment, inside a vast cavern to the west, a blood-red monster, emaciated and roughly a hundred zhang tall, was roaring incessantly. Countless iron chains bound him, each bearing a talisman. Whenever the monster tried to break free, the talismans shone, suppressing him once again.
The monster suddenly stopped struggling. A man wearing a demonic dragon battle robe now stood a hundred zhang before him.
"At last~ someone~ has come. I~ am, roar, Asura~ Xueqi. I've waited~ so long for you." The monster calling himself an Asura seemed accustomed to roaring, as though he had not spoken in a very long time.
The man before him was none other than Zhou Qiong. After repeatedly attacking the ground, he had fallen into this cavern. Looking at the monster before him who claimed to belong to the Asura Clan, Zhou Qiong could feel that the inexplicable pull was coming from him.
"Human, whatever you want, roar, I can give it to you. All you have to do is help me with one thing. How about it?" The monster stared at Zhou Qiong with blood-red eyes. Wisps of Sha Qi invisible to the naked eye kept seeping into his body from the ground.
Looking at the Sha Qi, Zhou Qiong immediately understood. The beasts on the surface had lost their reason and knew only to attack their enemies because of this monster's influence. After they died, their Sha Qi would enter the monster's body. Judging by his appearance, there was no telling how long he had been suppressed. He had probably survived this long by absorbing Sha Qi.
Zhou Qiong looked at the monster and said calmly, "What benefits can you give me?"
The monster pondered for a moment. "I can help you raise your cultivation. I see you're only at the first level of the True Martial Realm. As long as you help me with something, I'll teach you my Asura Clan's supreme secret art. It can let you enter the Great Luo Realm within a hundred years."
System, if he tries to possess me, will he succeed?
No. Regardless of who they are or what their cultivation is, no one can possess the host. Please rest assured!
Hearing the system's affirmative reply, Zhou Qiong looked at the monster. "What do you need this seat to do for you?"
The monster said softly, "You only need to tear off the talisman on the third iron chain from the left. With your True Martial Realm cultivation, it certainly won't be a problem."
"This seat needs some benefits first. You'll have to produce something that tempts this seat. Trying to snare a white wolf with empty hands isn't a good habit."
"You!" The Asura monster glared at Zhou Qiong furiously. Reluctantly, he spat a blood-red pearl from his mouth and sent it toward Zhou Qiong with a pained expression. "This is a treasure of my Asura Clan, the Asura Pearl. Using it can increase your cultivation speed fivefold!"
Zhou Qiong picked up the pearl. It contained boundless Sha Qi, along with countless wronged souls that roared incessantly within. Clearly, it had been refined by slaughtering countless races. Someone with weak mental fortitude would suffer Qi deviation merely from looking at the pearl and have their mind controlled by it.
He raised his head to look at the monster. "You're plotting against this seat."