Chapter — The Death Cave
The chapter begins on the Blue Star, where Die Yuan was currently wandering through the vast forest.
In the previous chapter, we saw Die Yuan searching for a suitable place where he could rest. However, despite searching for a long time, he still couldn't find anywhere suitable.
Die Yuan sighed in frustration.
"Seriously? I've been searching for an entire hour, but I still can't find a decent place to rest. What am I supposed to do?"
He continued moving forward, carefully observing his surroundings.
After walking for a while, Die Yuan suddenly stopped.
Why am I wasting so much time walking around?
He looked toward the ground beneath him.
"Wait... why don't I search below instead?"
With that thought, Die Yuan changed his direction and descended toward the lower part of the forest.
He continued walking for some time, searching for a quiet and suitable place.
Then suddenly—
Die Yuan stopped.
His eyes narrowed as he noticed something strange in the distance.
A cave.
However, this was no ordinary cave.
A strange white mist surrounded its entrance, while an extremely terrifying aura continuously leaked from within.
Die Yuan carefully observed the area.
Something felt completely wrong.
The entire forest was filled with powerful beasts, yet there wasn't a single beast anywhere near this cave.
That alone was enough to make Die Yuan cautious.
There must be a reason why even the power beasts avoid this place.
He slowly approached the cave and examined it more carefully.
Thick tree roots had grown across the entrance, completely sealing it.
Yet even through those roots, white and blue-colored energy continued to leak from inside the cave.
Die Yuan's expression became serious.
What exactly is inside this place?
After thinking for a moment, he decided to enter.
He walked toward the entrance and grabbed one of the massive roots with his hand.
"Let me see if I can move this."
Die Yuan pulled with force.
But the moment he touched the root—
Buzz!
A strange force instantly began draining his energy.
Die Yuan's expression changed.
"What the...?"
He immediately pulled his hand back.
He stared at the root in disbelief.
"This thing is absorbing my energy?"
Die Yuan carefully examined it.
"It seems like ordinary spiritual energy is being devoured by this root. If I attack it using spiritual energy, there's a possibility that even the energy from my attack will be absorbed."
His eyes narrowed.
"Then I need to figure out a way to counter it."
Suddenly, an idea came to him.
"Wait... why don't I use my demonic energy?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"This thing seems to absorb spiritual energy, but I'm not sure whether it can absorb Death Energy as well."
Without wasting any more time, Die Yuan activated the energy within his body.
Fwoosh!
Black smoke suddenly began pouring out from his body.
The atmosphere around him instantly became heavy.
Die Yuan raised his hand.
"Dark Slash."
A black blade of energy shot toward the enormous roots.
However—
BOOM!
The attack struck the roots.
Nothing happened.
Die Yuan stared at them.
"What?"
He had only used around ten percent of his power, but he had expected that to be enough.
"I thought ten percent would be sufficient."
He frowned.
"Looks like I'll have to increase the power."
Die Yuan raised his hand again.
This time, an even stronger wave of dark energy gathered around him.
"Dark Slash!"
BOOM!
The attack struck the roots once again.
A small cut finally appeared.
Die Yuan looked at the wound.
"Hmm... so that's all the effect it has?"
His expression became serious.
"But this time, I'll cut through it."
His eyes suddenly turned crimson.
A thin red line appeared in front of him.
SHING!
The red energy flashed across the roots.
BOOM!
A massive cut appeared, finally breaking through the roots that had sealed the cave.
Die Yuan stepped forward and entered.
The moment he entered the cave, his expression changed slightly.
The entire cave was filled with swirling white and blue mist.
The strange energy illuminated the surroundings, creating an almost otherworldly scene.
"Wow..."
Die Yuan looked around.
"This place is beautiful."
But his expression soon became serious again.
"However... I can feel it."
He closed his eyes for a moment and sensed the surrounding energy.
"This energy is constantly consuming my spiritual energy."
His expression became solemn.
"If I didn't possess Death Energy, I probably would have already died."
He looked deeper into the cave.
"Even a Martial Saint might die after entering this place."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So that's why no one has been able to enter this place until now."
---
Outside the Cave
Meanwhile, outside the cave, several Demonic Cultivators and Righteous Cultivators were engaged in a fierce battle.
Suddenly, one of them noticed the cave.
His expression immediately changed.
"Wait..."
Everyone stopped and looked toward the same direction.
The strange cave was something they already knew about.
It was commonly known as the Demonic Mouth.
For years, countless cultivators had tried to approach it, but no one had successfully entered.
The tree roots surrounding the entrance were terrifyingly powerful, and the energy surrounding them was even more dangerous.
No cultivator could approach within one hundred meters of the entrance.
If someone entered that area, their spiritual energy would be completely devoured within seconds.
Yet now—
Someone had entered the cave.
And, more importantly—
That person had entered without experiencing any obvious difficulty.
The cultivators stared at the cave in shock.
"Who is that person?"
"How did he get inside?"
"He actually broke through the roots?"
"Impossible!"
Both the Demonic Cultivators and the Righteous Cultivators immediately stopped fighting.
They understood that this matter was far more important than their current battle.
Without wasting another second, they hurried back toward their respective sects to report what had happened.
---
Inside the Death Cave
Deep inside the cave, Die Yuan continued moving forward.
He followed the strange aura that was coming from deeper within.
As he walked, he carefully observed everything around him.
"Hmm..."
Die Yuan rubbed his chin.
"This place doesn't look naturally formed."
He looked toward the walls.
"It seems like some extremely powerful cultivator constructed this cave for a specific purpose."
He continued walking.
"Could this be that cultivator's tomb?"
He paused.
"Or perhaps something else?"
His eyes narrowed.
"There's only one way to find out."
Die Yuan continued deeper into the cave.
"I'll have to keep moving forward and see what's waiting for me."
---
Demonic Sect
At the same time, several disciples rushed into the main hall of the Demonic Sect.
Their expressions were filled with panic.
"Leader! This is an emergency!"
The elders immediately looked at them.
"What happened?"
One of the disciples quickly explained,
"Elders, something happened in the Land of Death Forest!"
The sect leader frowned.
"What happened?"
"The cave... the one everyone calls the Demonic Mouth."
The disciples took a deep breath.
"Someone has entered it."
The entire hall became silent.
The leader stared at them.
"What did you just say?"
"One of the cultivators entered the Demonic Mouth."
The leader's expression became extremely serious.
"Are you aware that no one has ever successfully entered that place?"
"Yes, Leader."
"And you're telling me that someone entered without facing any problems?"
"Yes!"
The disciple quickly replied.
"We saw it with our own eyes!"
Another disciple added,
"Even some disciples from the Purple Veil Sect witnessed it."
The leader fell silent for a moment.
"This is a major matter."
He stood up.
"We cannot wait for those people to reach us."
"We must go there and investigate before they arrive."
---
Purple Veil Sect
Meanwhile, the same news reached the Purple Veil Sect.
Several disciples rushed into the sect's main hall and reported everything they had witnessed.
The sect leader, a woman named Ning Ning, listened carefully.
After hearing the entire report, her expression became solemn.
"So you're telling me that an unknown cultivator appeared at the Demonic Mouth, broke through the cave's defenses, and entered?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Ning Ning frowned.
"That person..."
She thought for a moment.
"I don't think we should underestimate him."
"We don't know where he came from."
"We don't know whether he is righteous or evil."
She looked toward the elders.
"Until we know more about him, everyone should stay away from that person."
Then she gave another order.
"Immediately recall all the disciples who went toward the Demonic Mouth."
One of the elders hesitated.
"But Sect Leader, if that person is an evil cultivator, shouldn't we investigate the situation ourselves?"
Ning Ning's expression became cold.
"You still don't understand."
"The four Great Emperors once joined forces to attack that cave."
The elders became silent.
"And even they couldn't destroy it."
Ning Ning continued,
"Now think carefully."
"If someone can simply break through the cave's defenses and enter without suffering any serious consequences..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"How powerful do you think that person is?"
The hall became completely silent.
Ning Ning continued,
"That person might possess enough strength to destroy our entire sect by himself."
"So we will not take that risk."
She immediately issued another command.
"Activate the sect's defensive barrier."
"From this moment onward, no one is to leave the sect without permission."
"We will take absolutely no unnecessary risks."
The elders looked at one another.
Although they still had doubts, none of them dared to disobey.
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
Ning Ning looked toward the entrance of the hall.
Who exactly are you...?
And what are you looking for inside that cave?
---
Somewhere Far Away...
Far away from the Land of Death Forest, a mysterious figure appeared.
No one knew who he was.
No one knew where he had come from.
But the moment he appeared—
The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became strangely silent.
The mysterious man slowly raised his head.
His eyes looked toward the distant horizon.
And then...
The next chapter began.