Here stand numerous mountains, all hollow like volcanoes, filled with chaotic energy, presenting a breathtaking sight.
It resembles the lair of some colossal beast, the mountains hollowed out with numerous exits connecting to the outside world.
Yet, this is not the strangest nor the most astonishing sight. What truly shocks the senses is the sky above—shrouded in swirling chaos, occasionally parting to reveal an unimaginable spectacle.
Ten crimson suns hang in the sky, thirty-three blood moons loom, and three thousand stars revolve, all mere hundreds of feet above the mountains, exerting immense pressure.
“Celestial bodies dyed in immortal blood!” Lan Yichen sighed.
Clearly, these celestial bodies have been refined—otherwise, even one would be enough to collapse the void and engulf this place. Yet now, they spin above like massive millstones.
“Whoosh!”
At this moment, Shi Hao and Shi Yi acted simultaneously, offering a fist-sized drop of blood and sprinkling it ahead.
Only sacred blood, bloodlines of awe-inspiring grandeur, could trigger a transformation in this place, unveiling a hidden path—one that would be relatively safer.
Otherwise, recklessly charging into those volcanic passageways could easily lead to disaster.
It must be said that the Six Crown King was extraordinary, his blood unique. Born with dragon patterns on his forehead and celestial diagrams on his back, his blood carried divine blessings and mysterious energy.
**Boom!**
The fist-sized drop of blood essence emitted an eerie glow, transforming into crimson symbols upon the ground, causing one of the thirty-three blood moons above to tremble violently.
“Whoosh!”
A beam of light descended, opening a path.
Between the stone mountains, an ancient road inexplicably appeared, stretching forth beneath the feet of Shi Hao, Shi Yi, and Qin Hao.
“Let’s go!” Shi Yi stepped forward, leading the way.
Shi Hao frowned but ultimately followed. Luo Dao, Lan Yichen, and the others naturally hesitated not, eager to explore.
As for Qin Hao, being of the Shi Clan, he naturally followed as well.
“Take us with you!”
“We swear to follow, obeying your commands!”
From behind, many creatures called out, among them the elites of powerful clans, willing to pledge allegiance.
Having witnessed the Shi Clan brothers slay Ning Chuan, they recognized their terrifying strength—likely the mightiest force within this savage nest. Following them might grant them a share of fortune.
Shi Yi and Shi Hao remained silent, ignoring them.
“Let’s risk it and follow!” Some among the crowd, quick-witted, reasoned that even if the Shi Clan brothers ignored them, they likely wouldn’t harm them.
After all, the three feared nothing and wouldn’t see them as competition.
The ancient path glowed, carrying Shi Hao and the others into a mountain’s hollow, descending underground without them needing to take a single step.
**Swish!**
Simultaneously, a crowd followed, transported into the subterranean lair.
From then on, the outside world could no longer observe through the immortal petals—the savage nest’s interior was impenetrable, blocking all scrutiny.
The underground lair was veiled in mist, threads of chaos intertwining with dark crimson stone walls, ancient and mysterious—a silent, forgotten land.
The cavern was vast and deep, the path carrying them straight to a stone wall, seemingly a dead end.
Yet upon closer inspection, three dark red stone doors were embedded in the wall, as if stained and dried with blood.
“The Dao begets One, One begets Three, Three begets all things. Do these three doors signify this?” Qin Hao murmured.
“Let us part ways here. I choose this path,” Shi Yi said calmly, nodding to Shi Hao and Qin Hao before forcefully pushing open a door and stepping inside.
A radiant mist surged from the doorway.
“Brother, I’ll take the second path,” Qin Hao declared, determined to go alone.
Shi Hao shook his head. “Stay with me. This underground is strange—it’s dangerous alone.”
He retrieved a stone carving depicting certain paths.
“No need. If trouble arises, I have a way out. Besides, I obtained a carving outside too,” Qin Hao said, showing it to Shi Hao for comparison.
Equally ancient and weathered, the carving contained a different hidden path.
“It seems each carving leads to a different place, offering different fortunes. Brother, let’s part ways,” Qin Hao insisted stubbornly.
Shi Hao relented, imprinting a mark on him. “Be careful.”
Then, he, Luo Dao, Lan Yichen, and Louis entered the third door.
Behind them, the crowd surged forward, splitting into the three doorways.
Meanwhile, many other cultivators entered through different volcanic passages, not following Shi Hao’s group.
In truth, over these past days, countless cultivators had arrived daily, entering the lair—most perishing, with only a handful emerging with fortunes.
Like moths to a flame, they sought fortune and opportunity.
The moment Shi Hao’s group stepped inside, they were met with dense spiritual energy, swirling with five-colored radiance, as if standing in a sacred paradise.
Yet, the moment they relaxed, a ribbon of light drifted silently through the air, sending chills down Shi Hao’s spine. He swiftly pulled the others aside.
“Ah—!”
Behind them, dozens who had followed were sliced in half by the ribbon, blood spraying in a gruesome spectacle.
“Heavens, what was that?” Louis paled, staring at the once-peaceful scene now turned bloody.
“A chain of divine rules, drifting with the wind,” Shi Hao sighed.
This place was too eerie—bloodshed had begun the moment they entered.
Proceeding cautiously, they traversed the misty zone, only to encounter scorching black flames ahead.
“A black lotus blooms within the fire!” Luo Dao exclaimed.
Yet the black flames were terrifyingly intense, unbearable even for deities.
“Divine herbs—fragrant!” Those behind them rushed forward, eyes gleaming with greed.
“Illusions, not divine herbs. Be careful,” Shi Hao warned.
With a wave of his hand, the black flames roared, suffocating even those at the Divine Flame Realm, their bodies on the verge of collapse.
Only the elite of a province could cross such flames.
Shi Hao strode forward, forging a path through the inferno.
Luo Dao and Lan Yichen followed, enduring the pain.
Only Louis screamed, nearly perishing before Shi Hao shielded him with divine light.
The black flames barred most, allowing only the strongest to pass.
Some behind them lamented, realizing they couldn’t even scavenge behind a powerhouse.
A few turned back, declaring, “This isn’t a place for us.”
Yet when they turned, the path behind had vanished, replaced by dark red stone walls.
Frowning, Shi Hao pressed on, leading the group through the flames into a woodland—bizarrely existing underground.
“Roar!”
Several striped ancient beasts, unrecognizable, lunged from the trees.
“True deities?!” Louis shuddered.
This was only the beginning—true deities had already appeared.
**Boom!**
Shi Hao struck, his runes erupting, shattering the beasts.
“These weren’t real—they were etched onto that boulder!” Luo Dao gasped.
A massive stone in the forest bore crude carvings of beasts, which had somehow manifested as true deities.
The group shuddered at the sheer power behind such a feat—casual etchings brought to life.
The forest fell silent, devoid of further threats.
Exiting the woods, they faced a sea of boiling crimson magma.
“A fruity scent!”
“Another illusion?” Louis scoffed.
“No, this is real,” Luo Dao said, staring ahead.
Within the magma grew silver-white thorny plants, some bearing fruit.
“Saint fruits!”
These were saint-grade herbs, brimming with spiritual energy.
“The Immortal Ancient truly is abundant—dozens of saint herbs at once!” Shi Hao marveled, contrasting it with the scarcity of his homeland.
Yet harvesting them proved perilous. The magma seethed, unleashing dense runes to suppress them.
They managed to pluck six or seven fruits.
A skeletal flood dragon emerged from the magma, demanding the fruits.
“Strange—it has no consciousness, only instinct?” Shi Hao observed.
Flickers of light in its skull hinted at lingering will, not a true soul.
Tossing it a fruit, the bone flood dragon allowed them to ride it, its skeletal runes blazing as it carried them across the magma sea.
“This flood dragon was at least a Heavenly Deity in life—reduced to a ferry!” they gasped.
Its lingering will had been manipulated into this form.
The magma’s heat could melt deities! Louis tested it, nearly losing an arm.
The bone flood dragon sped them to the opposite shore, where a field of jagged stones awaited.
“Is this a trial? One danger after another?” Luo Dao tensed, spotting sword marks exuding killing intent.
Indeed, they were stalled again, forced to decipher the challenge.
Thus, they encountered dozens of bizarre obstacles, each capable of thwarting a prodigy.
After fifty trials, Shi Hao’s stone carving lit up, aligning with the ancient path.
“Huh? No more dangers?”
Following the path, they advanced unhindered, nearing the end.
“The finish line!”
Ahead, a meditation mat blocked the way, exuding chaos.
Beside it lay several corpses, their bones gleaming unnaturally.
“These are past elites who reached here—no ordinary figures,” Shi Hao mused, recalling the fifty deadly trials.
“Look—carvings on the ground.”
One corpse had left hasty words:
“Divine Wing Clan—Peng Tianyi.”
Six characters, written weakly, clearly a dying message.
“What?!” Luo Dao and Lan Yichen shuddered in shock.
“Was he famous?” Shi Hao asked.
“An ancient freak—once unrivaled in his era! He vanished during his second entry into Immortal Ancient!” Luo Dao said gravely.
A mighty ancient freak had perished here, ages ago.
Shi Hao grew solemn, examining the other corpses—each radiating transcendent power.
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