Chapter 192 – Unexpected
He glanced at Wang Lin, then floated into the gap. Wang Lin remained silent and entered the gap as well.
Behind them, all the demon cultivators followed.
However, just as they were about to enter the crack, it began to close. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace. Besides Wang Lin and Dou Mu, no one else entered.
As the crack folded, what appeared before Wang Lin was not the Blood Sea he expected, but rather a space illuminated by dark purple light.
The room wasn’t large, only about a hundred feet in each direction. In each corner floated several oddly shaped instruments. Waves of soft light radiated from them.
Beside each instrument sat a cultivator, each cultivating beside the instrument. Their figures resembled Dou Mu. They maintained their human form and did not transform into demons. Wang Lin scanned the area and counted a total of nine people, all cultivating in the room.
As the two entered, all the cultivators opened their eyes. One by one, they activated various techniques on their respective instruments, causing purple light to shine from them.
Dou Mu turned around. His unblinking eyes stared intently at Wang Lin.
Wang Lin took a few steps back. His pupils suddenly constricted. He placed his right hand on his bag and stared at the person in front of him. This was completely different from what he had expected.
One of the nine cultivators said, “Dou Mu, we can’t last long, three hours at most. Quick, explain everything.”
Golden light shot out of Dou Mu’s eyes as he stared at Wag Lin. He said, “Little one, you managed to disappear. Why did you appear again?”
Wang Lin frowned. He looked at Dou Mu. Just as he was about to speak, his left hand formed a seal. His left hand swept behind him using the Heaven Technique, which he learned from the Ancient God Tactics. This technique allowed him to travel anywhere within the Ancient God’s body.
As cracks appeared before Wang Lin, purple light shot out from one of the instruments and destroyed it.
Dou Mu’s expression was calm. There was no sign of emotion.
Wang Lin’s heart sank. He looked at Dou Mu and said slowly, “Leaving the Land of the Ancient Gods.”
A tall, red-faced cultivator said with a frown, “Dou Mu, you always speak too slowly. Little brat, let me tell you; once the seal on Ta Sen is removed, everyone here will die. He’ll be the only one who will leave.”
“Back then, eleven of us arrived on this wild planet. We originally planned to establish a residence here. However, we didn’t expect this place to contain the spiritual energy of an Ancient God. After investigating a bit, I encountered a cultivator named Ta Sen outside the Ancient God’s body. This person’s cultivation is extremely powerful. Even with all of us working together, we are no match for him.” The red-haired old man’s voice grew louder. He spoke very quickly. As soon as he finished speaking, another cultivator raised his head and said grimly,
“This Ta Sen didn’t kill us, but invited us to enter this Land of the Ancient Gods. This person understands the Land of the Ancient Gods very well. He has a perfect understanding of the three realms. According to him, he has been in the Land of the Ancient Gods for a long time, but unfortunately, he was blocked by the door of the final level.”
“He invited us to help him break through the final level. Although the chances of obtaining the inheritance are low, the temptation is too great. Although we can’t defeat him, we know of a formation that, once activated, can defeat him. However, using this formation will result in a significant loss of our cultivation.”
“That person’s plan to enter the Ancient God’s body was profound, but we weren’t easy to mess with. We were prepared for it. In the end, we managed to pass the final level, but everything seemed too strange. That final level was clearly a seal, and its power was extraordinary. It took us a very long time to pass through. It seemed the Ancient God was using it to seal something. If it weren’t for that person’s deep understanding of the seal, even if we were given the method to unseal it, we wouldn’t have been able to break it. After the seal was unsealed, we could tell that the person named Ta Sen had changed, but we couldn’t tell what had changed about him.”
“We successfully entered the body of the Ancient God. Ancient God Tu Si was truly a genius. He truly left behind a legacy. In the Sea of Qi, we saw the legacy of power, but before we could fight for it, it disappeared before our eyes. It was taken by Ta Sen.”
“After that person obtained the inheritance of the Ancient God’s power, he suddenly began laughing hysterically. However, at the same time, within the Sea of Qi, a giant appeared and engaged in a great battle with him. Then, an even stranger thing happened: that person learned all of the giant’s techniques. In the end, the giant was defeated and split into two. One part formed the Sea of Dead Souls, and the other part initiated an extremely powerful divine technique.”
“That person clearly doesn’t know that technique. I remember him saying, ‘There’s nothing you know that I don’t know.’ However, he clearly didn’t know this divine technique. The Ancient God’s soul split into thousands of pieces and entered the man’s body, forming thousands of seals on him, before imprisoning him in the Blood Sea.
“We thought it was all over and didn’t dare stay any longer, so we all left immediately. However, the nightmare had only just begun. Only one of the eleven people managed to leave this place. The rest were seized by demonic hands that reached out from the cracks that appeared in the Blood Sea.
“Ta Sen is too terrifying. He immediately thought of a way to break the thousands of seals on his body. Each seal is essentially a fragment of Ancient God Tu Si’s soul. He forcibly took some of the fragments and inserted them into our bodies.”
“Over the years, every few thousand years, several cultivators would arrive here. They were all captured by him, and a portion of his seal would be imprinted on their bodies. Even though many people gathered, he would always allow one lucky person to leave. This was so that more people would come in the future.”
“As the number of cultivators increased, the seal on Ta Sen gradually weakened. Fortunately, the cultivators who followed were different from us. Their cultivation bases were low, so they couldn’t fuse with the Ancient God’s soul fragments. Many cultivators could only handle one seal on their bodies, so the process of unsealing Ta Sen became increasingly slow.”
“But he really is a genius. After seeing that his method was slowing down, he came up with another idea: the soul eater!”
“Before this, we didn’t even know what kind of creature the soul devourer was, but Ta Sen seemed to know. He sent us demonic cultivators to capture the soul devourer and devour the soul fragments within its body.”
“This method is very effective, but after devouring a certain number of souls, it must go into a state of slumber. This method didn’t achieve the results Ta Sen desired, so he came up with the idea of raising his own soul devourer. So he helped Lord Shi Zhe, who was a wandering soul, grow into a soul devourer.”
“Originally, it took a very long time for Lord Shi Zhe to become a soul eater. However, now that you’ve appeared, everything has changed.”
The ten people, except for a wrinkled-faced old man who looked like he had just climbed out of a grave, each told part of the story. This shocked Wang Lin greatly, but he didn’t believe it all.
“There’s still one important thing we’re still wondering about; that’s Ta Sen’s identity. Why is he so familiar with the Ancient God’s body? After observing him for so many years, we suspect that Ta Sen isn’t a human like us, but rather a demon born from a grudge against the Ancient God’s dying body.” Those last words were spoken by Dou Mu. His expression was calm.
If Wang Lin had obtained the complete inheritance of knowledge, he would know whether all of this was true or false, but now, after hearing such a terrifying idea, he couldn’t help but change his expression.
“Only this can explain why when he invited us to enter the body of the Ancient God all those years ago, he was so familiar with the place and why we felt that he had changed after we broke the seal. That seal is clearly the one we cultivators use to seal demons when they enter our bodies. This would also explain why all the techniques used by that giant are known to Ta Sen. After all, simply obtaining the inheritance of power is useless. Only after obtaining both inheritances will one possess the power of the Ancient God. All these speculations point to only one thing: that person is either Ancient God Tu Si or Demon God Tu Si!”
As Dou Mu’s words sank in, Wang Lin took a deep breath. A thought flashed through his mind, but he remained silent.
“I really don’t need to deceive you. If you charge into the Blood Sea, you will become a tool like the soul devourer in the third realm, and once the seal is broken, you will die.”
Wang Lin pondered silently for a moment, then sneered, “Death? I think by death you mean when my soul dissipates. If the stories you tell are true, when that person is free, won’t he retrieve his soul fragments?”
Dou Mu’s group remained silent.
Among the ten people, the old man who had not spoken a word coughed softly. He said in a gentle tone, “Fellow cultivator is indeed clever. Once Ta Sen obtains the inherited knowledge, he will take the soul fragments in our bodies to restore his soul. Over the years, the soul fragments have fused with our souls. Taking them back is the same as devouring our souls. Friend, helping us is helping yourself, but I will not ask for your help for nothing. If you agree, I will give you a reward.”
Wang Lin did not accept it. He secretly considered how credible what these people said was.
Dou Mu stared at Wang Lin coldly and said, “Junior, don’t think we have to rely on you. We can always kill you to avoid future trouble.”
A dark-faced cultivator sneered, “Time is running out, and what needs to be said has already been said. Since this kid continues to be stubborn, I’d better set some boundaries. Although it might cause some discomfort, it will make him easier to control.”
After Wang Lin heard this, he thought of a sarcastic remark. If such a restriction could really work, these old fellows wouldn’t have spent so much time talking to him. The moment he appeared, they would have used the restriction to control him.
Wang Lin pondered it for a moment and guessed why they hadn’t used the restriction. It seemed like there wasn’t a restriction that the red-haired man wouldn’t notice.
These people’s goals couldn’t be that simple. Like the Sky Demon Witch, they must have a hidden agenda.
Wang Lin said calmly, “What do you want me to do?”
The wrinkled old man heard Wang Lin’s words, and his heart skipped a beat. This person didn’t ask what the reward was, but rather what the task was. He seemed very calm and unmoved.
The old man said slowly, “Enter the Blood Sea. Once Ta Sen releases the seal, he will immediately enter the Dead Souls Sea. Once he opens the Dead Souls Sea, you must enter the Dead Souls Sea and use a technique. It’s that simple. As for what technique, it’s a sealing technique used by a giant formed from the soul of an Ancient God. I’ve studied that technique for countless years, and it has a 30% success rate. If you use it, you have a 70% chance of success because you are a soul devourer. All the soul fragments you absorb will listen to you.”
Wang Lin sneered. He said gloomily, “With my Core Formation cultivation, sealing Ta Sen is just a dream.”
The old man laughed and said, “Of course, we won’t let you carry out the sealing, but we will let you control the soul fragments that will trigger the Dead Souls Sea again. Based on my predictions, the Dead Souls Sea will close again and seal Ta Sen completely within it.
“If you agree, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, I will give you a reward. I obtained this item after much difficulty. After searching through many ancient texts, I finally discovered its name; it is the Huan Yuan Beast Trap. All beasts in the world can be controlled by it for a short period of time, but its origin is unknown. Theoretically, if you have enough spiritual energy, even immortal beasts, if trapped by the circle, can be used by you. But when using this circle, the stronger the beast trapped inside, the more spiritual energy it requires, and if you want to trap an immortal beast, then the amount of spiritual energy it requires is unimaginable. When I received it many years ago, I tried it once but failed. However, before I could try a second time, I was trapped here.