Chapter 184: Demonic Grounds
Translator: Lam Editor: Hitesh
After Jiuxiao Sect’s departure, Glory Sect returned to how it was.
As to obtaining the first place for the genius sparring, Lin Fan felt nothing at all. There was no special treatment nor celebrations or anything for him.
Things went on as usual.
This was some sort of a heartache for Lin Fan as well.
Based on all the novels that he had read, winners of tournaments and stuff would often obtain either high recognition from the sect or some precious rewards.
But for the genius sparring, he got jacksh*t in return.
Oh well, at least he got to know a generous Xinfeng.
A rare skill such as ‘Firmament Sword’ was handed out without an inch of hesitation. That was some seriously impressive generosity.
In the house…
Lin Fan intended to learn both skills himself before imparting them to his young disciple.
‘Ding…Congratulations on discovering Heaven Upper Grade ‘Firmament Sword’. Learn?’
‘Yes.’
‘Ding…Congratulations on learning ‘Firmament Sword.’ Level 1.’
The best thing about the system was that regardless of the difficulty level of skills, Lin Fan did not have to slowly ponder over it. He could learn it instantly just by touching it.
Focusing his eyes, the quiet surrounding around Lin Fan started vibrating like water ripples.
‘Sword Will…’
This was the sword will emitting from the ‘Firmament Sword’. Lin Fan could clearly feel the power within it. Lin Fan could feel himself being held somewhat repressed by the power of the Firmament Sword.
Even the ‘Will of the Sword’ that he had learned previously was experiencing some changes.
It was as though the ‘Will of the Sword’ was slowly being sucked in by the ‘Firmament Sword.’
Ving…Ving…!
Just then, a long sword materialized behind Lin Fan’s back.
Lin Fan leaped with joy. He could culminate the Sword Will together just right after learning it. Indeed, this was powerful!
To test it out, Lin Fan pointed his finger in a random direction. Indeed, the long sword which was materialized from his Sword Will burst towards the direction Lin Fan indicated.
But at that moment, Lin Fan retracted the sword. Holding it between his fingers, he felt something wrong.
Even though the long sword which was materialized was firm with a physical body, it barely floated within his fingers, without any weight. All he could feel was the pulsating Sword Will from within the sword.
At this point, Lin Fan had the thought to attempt fusion with it. But he knocked it off instantly. Before he was clear about anything, he shouldn’t risk it with such a skill.
As for the other skill, Lin Fan garnered that it shouldn’t be of much use to him.
It’s only purpose was to excite the bloodline of the beast. But as to how long it would take for the beast to grow and all, no one could be sure.
As Lin Fan exited his house and looked at the gray skies above, he had a thought. After all these time, it was time for him to head out once more. After all, the most important thing was for him to raise his own cultivation base.
A few days later…
In the skies thousands of miles away from Glory Sect…
A gigantic ark flew across the blue skies rapidly. A strong astral wind blew against it, but was kept outside the ark by a strong barrier of energy.
The Jiuxiao Sect disciples had already gone through half the journey. Just a few days more and they’d reach back to Jiuxiao Sect.
It was quite fortunate that they had not run into any troubles along the way.
"Dear Feng, you gave ‘Firmament Sword’ to that fella?" Liang Yichu looked at this own disciple, feeling a little uneasy in his heart. After all, this boy had been with him since he was a kid, but he had never once seen Xinfeng been so generous.
"Yes, Master. I hope you forgive me for handing over to him ‘Firmament Sword’ without first obtaining your approval." Xinfeng bowed his head.
"No problem, it’s just a skill." Liang Yichu waved his hands in nonchalance. But as he approached Jiuxiao Sect, he felt somewhat helpless as well.
How was he to explain this upon his return?
He had carried the hopes of the entire sect to obtain the first place in the genius sparring. But now, not only had they lost, they lost convincingly without any grudges. How should he explain this?
Just then, Liang Yichu’s expression changed as he waved his hand and commanded the ark to a halt.
"What’s wrong, Master?" Looking at Liang Yichu’s solemn expression, Xinfeng asked as well, puzzled.
"There’s something wrong over here." Liang Yichu headed up the bow of the ark and looked through the clouds down below.
Upon the halting of the ark, the Jiuxiao Sect disciples were curious as well, and following their elder, looked down at the clouds below as well.
"What a strong demonic aura." They had not noticed the aura while traversing the skies. Now that they had come to a stop, this aura rose from the grounds up, encompassing the entire sky.
"Weird. How did we not notice this when we passed by earlier?’ Liang Yichu questioned. ‘Wait for me here, I’ll check it out.’
Leaping out into the skies, Liang Yichu headed down.
The closer he was to the ground, the warier he was.
This demonic aura was way too intense. In fact, it was so concentrated it could almost be turned into liquid form.
‘This is a village.’
After Liang Yichu landed, he looked at the surroundings cautiously. There was an eerie silence as the houses seemed desolate without any signs of life. The earth which was supposed to be brown was now charred black, as though he had just entered hell.
Liang Yichu followed the trace of the aura. But when he reached its source, he was startled.
There was a pit, deep like an abyss without an end, appearing on the ground. And from the pit came black fumes, rising profusely.
Flicking his robes, Liang Yichu sent out an astral wind, diffusing the black fumes. But the moment it was gone, more of it erupted from within the pit, encompassing the village once more.
"Hmph! This, I’ve got to see it. Just what sort of being is here causing harm to countless of innocents." Liang Yichu snorted coldly as he jumped into the pit.
Liang Yichu’s cultivation base was greater celestial full cultivation. In the entire Dongling Continent, this was an unparalleled cultivation base with no one higher than this. Therefore, he wasn’t someone who would cower before danger.
Liang Yichu frowned the deeper he went down. Not only was the demonic aura thicker as he headed down, it even formed a resistance, hindering anyone from going down.
When Liang Yichu finally arrived at the bottom, he surveyed the surroundings. The bottom of this pit was like a dark, underground palace, eerie and creepy.
‘Just what is this place?’ Liang Yichu was puzzled.
Looking at the surroundings, there were just pitch-black walls. For someone like him, he had long known of all the dangerous and forbidden grounds of all of Dongling Continent. However, he had not known of the existence of such a place.
If such a strong demonic aura had not attracted the attention of other sects as well, then it must have appeared only recently.
Che…Che…!
Just then, a dark laugh came from all around the surroundings.
"Come out!" Liang Yichu snorted coldly. His entire body glowed golden, lighting up the entire underground place. Suddenly, everything seemed bright and clear.