“Watch for ambushes,” Luo Shengyi said concisely.
Although this situation made him somewhat vigilant and concerned, they had no choice but to continue the pursuit. Without the “Star-Plucking Hand,” it would be impossible to seal the Devil’s Grave, leading to failure of the main quest. Even if they considered gaining merits by defeating enemy Reverters, they still needed to catch up with Gu Xiaosang first.
His warning was a reasonable concern, and Meng Qi, who lacked experience in the martial arts world, could also think of it. His exposed skin shimmered with a dark golden hue, resembling a bronze statue, as he walked firmly and rigidly at the front. Qi Zhengyan had red mist swirling around him and closely followed Meng Qi, fully alert for any enemy threats.
The two elders from the Star-Plucking Pavilion walked on either side, searching for places near the trail suitable for ambushes. Jiang Zhiwei and Luo Shengyi spread out a bit wider to cover a broader area, as this ruin was extremely vast, and the enemy might be hiding in distant buildings.
As a result, the group’s speed began to slow down, but there was no alternative. Rushing forward recklessly might lead them straight into a trap set by the devil sect.
By the time they reached this ruin, the traces left by Gu Xiaosang and Di Zun had become very scarce. If not for the two elders from the Star-Plucking Pavilion who were intimately familiar with the desert events and had rich martial arts experience, Meng Qi might have already lost the trail. Now, the group barely managed to keep following, moving forward with frequent stops, until they arrived in front of a dilapidated temple towering at the center.
“This must be the temple of the Devil Lord,” Meng Qi noticed that this temple was very similar to the ruined one they had taken shelter in earlier from the sandstorm. In fact, one could say that in terms of design and characteristics, they were exactly the same, except that this temple was much larger—capable of holding five such ruined temples.
Chen, the elder from the Star-Plucking Pavilion, carefully examined it and nodded slightly. “Indeed, this is a temple dedicated to the Devil Lord. Judging from its size and the scale of this ruin, it might have been one of the main temples in ancient times. However, after the Immortal bestowed divine weapons and sealed the Devil’s Grave, the power of the Devil Sect waned, and now only one temple remains at the peak of the Sacred Volcano.”
“Could they draw upon the power of the Devil’s Grave within this temple?” Although Meng Qi had limited experience in the martial arts world, he had broad knowledge. He had to be wary of such a possibility.
Elder Chen thought for a moment and cautiously replied, “Perhaps. In any case, we must remain extremely vigilant.”
After another routine search, Meng Qi assumed a fighting stance, his body resembling a bronze Arhat statue, gripping his dark red demon-subduing saber as he stepped into the temple first. This time, Jiang Zhiwei, sword in hand, guarded his side.
For some inexplicable reason, the interior of the temple was unusually clean, without a speck of sand, forming a stark contrast with the sand-covered ruins outside, which was quite mysterious.
At the front of the temple stood a statue, different from the one in the ruined temple. This statue was well-preserved, allowing Meng Qi to witness the “majesty” of the Devil Lord.
It was primarily dark black in color, with three heads and six arms. The faces were either fierce, hateful, or indifferent. The only common feature was a pitch-black devil mark on each forehead, exuding evil and filth. In its arms, some held swords, some gripped knives, some carried seals, some raised bottles, and some held wheels.
The most conspicuous hand was the one stretched forward. Its palm was nearly twice the size of the others, with fingernails resembling swords that jutted out three inches. The back of the hand was densely covered in intricate, pitch-black patterns, evoking a dizzying sense of eerie malevolence, corruption, and bloodshed. It also radiated an unimaginable hatred—hatred for the heavens’ impartiality, hatred for the earth that nurtured all things, hatred for people’s happiness, hatred for possessions not one’s own, hatred for the entanglements of karma, hatred for the cruelty of fate, and hatred for one’s own inadequacy in slaughter.
A seemingly ordinary statue gave such an intense impression, as if it could not have been carved by an ordinary person!
“I’ve heard that the founding master of the Devil Sect was a master sculptor. Seeing this today, it’s truly well-deserved,” Elder Chen remarked with admiration.
Suddenly, Luo Shengyi took a step back, shaking his head slightly, which startled Meng Qi into raising his saber, thinking that an enemy was attacking.
“No,” Luo Shengyi quickly clarified, rubbing his temples. “I was just too focused on the patterns on that hand, trying to discern them. It consumed a lot of my mental energy, making me dizzy.”
You’re probably trying to memorize those extraordinary patterns… Meng Qi muttered to himself. Even though this was merely a human sculpture of the Devil Sect’s master and only captured a fraction of the true essence of a demonic claw, it still contained some supernatural qualities.
As he recalled, he realized he couldn’t remember the patterns at all. Even trying to look at them closely caused emotional fluctuations—feelings of murderous hatred surfaced, nearly making him lose control of himself.
“Don’t linger. We can find something to make rubbings later when we return,” Jiang Zhiwei reminded them.
Snapped out of their fascination with the Devil Lord statue, the group dispersed to search the hall for traces of Gu Xiaosang and Di Zun.
Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei remained in the center, ready to assist others if attacked.
“Just now, when I heard the legend of the Devil Lord, I felt it was somewhat familiar. Now that I’ve seen this devil statue, I finally remember why it sounded familiar,” Jiang Zhiwei’s melodious voice suddenly echoed directly into Meng Qi’s ear.
She was using the secret technique of transmitting voice into his ear.
Meng Qi had already learned this technique from her and imitated it, replying, “Why is that?”
Jiang Zhiwei spoke rather quickly. “Because our world also has legends of the Devil Lord, one of the most powerful beings of the Mythological Era.”
“Are the legends the same?” Meng Qi was taken aback.
Jiang Zhiwei gave a brief explanation, “Similar but not identical. According to the legend here, the Devil Lord stormed the Nine Heavens and was slain by an immortal, with his remains falling to the earth. In the mythology of our world, the Devil Lord led the demons of the Nine Netherworlds and creatures from the Devil Realm to assault the Heavenly Court, triggering a catastrophic demonic disaster. Ultimately, he was vanquished by the Heavenly Emperor using the Seal of Heaven and Earth, and the Devil Realm was obliterated in that battle, with the Nine Netherworlds vanishing from existence thereafter.”
“Hearing both, it does sound pretty similar…” Meng Qi felt a chill upon hearing both accounts simultaneously. They were too alike—Nine Heavens, immortals, Heavenly Court, Heavenly Emperor, seemingly no different. “In our world’s mythology, what happened to the Devil Lord’s remains?”
“I don’t know. Since the Heavenly Court fell later, the records are unclear. Perhaps the Xuantian Sect might know something,” Jiang Zhiwei said thoughtfully.
The Xuantian Sect claimed to be the heir of the Heavenly Emperor, as tens of thousands of years ago, its founding patriarch discovered the ruins of the Heavenly Court beneath Yuhuang Mountain, obtaining the Time Blade and fragments of the Jade Records of the Heavenly Emperor.
Meng Qi wondered if this Devil Lord might be the same as that one, but the power level in this world seemed far inferior.
“To be able to attack the Heavenly Court, the Devil Lord’s power must be terrifying. Do you know what level he reached?” Meng Qi asked curiously.
Jiang Zhiwei hesitated for a moment before replying, “It’s said that the Devil Lord created the Devil Realm in the void himself, so his realm and power can be imagined. Later, the disappearance of the Nine Heavens, the fall of the Heavenly Court, and the demise of the Heavenly Emperor were said to have hidden dangers from a battle with the Devil Lord.”
She didn’t know how many levels there were to the Dharmakaya or whether there were higher realms beyond, so she could only describe based on the legends.
“If the Heavenly Emperor perished and the Heavenly Court fell, who was responsible?” Meng Qi couldn’t help but ask after hearing Jiang Zhiwei mention this for the second time. This was definitely not something an ordinary powerful being could accomplish.
Jiang Zhiwei shook her head. “This is an ancient secret. There are records stating that one day, the ladder to Heaven suddenly broke, and the Heavenly Court fell from the sky, covering the earth in dust for nine full days. Since then, the Nine Heavens, known to ordinary people as the Immortal Realm, have completely disappeared.”
Meng Qi took a deep breath, suppressing his doubts, and redirected his attention back to the Devil Lord. “Zhiwei, why did you immediately think of the myths from our world the moment you saw this Devil Lord statue?”
Was there something distinctive about it?
“Because of it,” Jiang Zhiwei pointed at the most conspicuous demonic hand on the Devil Lord statue. “In our world’s mythology, the Devil Lord was originally just an ordinary member of the邪魔 from the Nine幽. Later, by a twist of fate, he obtained the ‘Devil Emperor Claw,’ which propelled him to great heights, transforming him into a world-destroying devil. And this hand bears a striking resemblance to the Devil Emperor Claw.”
Meng Qi had seen the Devil Emperor Claw listed among the rewards from the Master of the Six Dao Reversion. It ranked among the top ten peerless divine weapons, valued at hundreds of thousands of merits. This artifact was a relic left behind by the emperor of the Nine Nether Demons.
According to the account by the Master of the Six Dao Reversion, during the ancient primordial era, the Demon Emperor was grievously wounded by a Dao Venerable, fled back to the Nine Netherworld, and before his demise, cast seven great demonic curses upon all existence. Subsequently, his body vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a single claw. Whoever obtained this claw would be possessed by the Demon Emperor, attaining supreme divine powers.
However, the owner of the Devil Emperor Claw would be influenced by the seven devil curses, gradually transforming their personality and making them see destruction of all things as their mission. Therefore, the Devil Emperor Claw, as the most corrupt of the top ten peerless divine weapons, was the cheapest among them.
Meng Qi gazed once more at that eerie and sinister hand, overwhelmed by an intense loathing and an irresistible urge to annihilate.
This time, he stared more intently and soon felt a sharp pain in his forehead, his spirit became weary, and his mind began to spin, forcing him to forcibly avert his gaze.
“What happened to the Devil Emperor Claw afterward?” Meng Qi steadied himself and asked.
Jiang Zhiwei thought for a moment and replied, “The Devil Lord was killed by the Heavenly Emperor, and the Devil Emperor Claw was lost. Later, someone found it and became a legendary Devil Monarch. However, at the end of the Mythological Era, it was said that the Devil Monarch also exhausted his lifespan and passed away. In the middle ancient ages afterward, the Devil Emperor Claw appeared several times, each time bringing a catastrophic demonic calamity, resulting in the deaths of countless beings. Until twenty thousand years ago, its last owner perished together with a certain great being, and the Devil Emperor Claw has since vanished without a trace.”
“Could it have been acquired later by the ‘Master of the Six Dao Reversion’?” Meng Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead, recalling that the Devil Emperor Claw listed among the Master of the Six Dao Reversion’s rewards did not bear the character “缺” (missing) beside it.
Jiang Zhiwei replied earnestly, “It’s possible.”
Before Meng Qi could ask for more details, Elder Chen suddenly called out loudly, “I’ve discovered a secret passage! They left through here!”
The two collected their thoughts and went behind the Devil Lord statue, where they found a carved stone slab pushed aside, revealing a deep and hidden passage.
To pursue or not to pursue?
Encountering a secret passage, Meng Qi and the others naturally considered the possibility of an ambush inside. However, for various reasons, they still decided to press forward with the pursuit. Nevertheless, they left Elder Li from the Star-Plucking Pavilion behind to guard the entrance. Should any situation arise, he would immediately use his **You Tong** ability to notify Elder Chen inside, ensuring their retreat path wouldn’t be severed.
The steps led downward into a dark and deep passage. Meng Qi and the others held fire starters in one hand and gripped their weapons tightly in the other. Luo Shengyi and Elder Chen followed closely, carefully inspecting both sides of the corridor for any traps or hidden mechanisms.
The path was quiet, with nothing but stone slabs depicting the divine might of the Devil Lord, not even a speck of dust.
After walking for a while, the passage suddenly opened into a vast underground hall.
Facing Meng Qi and the others at the far end of the hall was a peculiar stone door. It was covered with strange, colorful patterns, dazzling yet eerie.
In front of the stone door, a pile of large rocks blocked its entrance.
Before the rocks sat a man with a bear-like skeleton, cross-legged, his expression serene and joyful, his body emaciated and devoid of flesh.
“Di Zun…” Elder Chen’s voice trembled.
“The Lifeless Finger…” Meng Qi and the others exclaimed in unison.
Gu Xiaosang had actually killed Di Zun!
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