Chapter 518 - 311: Legend of the Ancient God, Immortal Evil Thought, Medieval Battlefield

After a brief inquiry, Lu Mingyuan gazed out at the dark, murky sea. He finally had an idea of where he was.

The sea of death before him was indeed called the Returning Ruins Silent Sea.

According to the Beastman leader, this sea of death was a cage used by the Divine Beings to imprison them. Without a command from the Divine Beings, they were forbidden from taking even a single step off the continent.

And they were Imperial Guards under the Mongolian Dynasty.

Originally, they were supposed to be guarding the Emperor in the Imperial City, but a recent, large-scale invasion by Outer Celestial Demons had forced them to flee.

Not only that, even their Beastman Emperor had been killed by the Outer Celestial Demons, and the Mongol Na Imperial City was now in total chaos.

These warriors had escaped.

From their words, Lu Mingyuan understood that they seemed to have no idea Dragon Peak Mountain was about to transform from a Grotto Heaven into a Blessed Land.

In terms of age and history, this Grotto Heaven really did seem to date back to the Mythical Era.

He didn’t know if the so-called "Outer Celestial Demons" referred to the Cultivators from the various Dynasties or the Throne Great Demons of the Desolate Demons.

In the eyes of these natives, the Outer Celestial Demons were the culprits who had destroyed their lives.

Along the way, Lu Mingyuan listened as the Beastman recounted many legends about the Ancient Gods.

The division of power within this Grotto Heaven seemed quite simple: there were only the Beastmen and the Human Race.

They called themselves the Ruins Demon race, descendants of the Ten Thousand Ruins Demon God.

In Lu Mingyuan’s view, these so-called Ruins Demons were most likely descendants of both the Human and Demon Races. Their appearances were simply too similar to humans.

’As for this Ten Thousand Ruins Demon God,’ he guessed, ’it must have been a supreme Divine Being from the Mythical Era.’

However, he had never heard of such a figure.

’If Qi Muxue were here, I could ask her about any records in the ancient texts.’

They were at the edge of the Mongolian Dynasty’s territory, a domain of the Ruins Demon race. Like the Human Race, the Ruins Demons were also divided into various dynasties and frequently warred with humans over resources.

’Since Divine Beings exist here, the history of this Grotto Heaven must truly stretch back a very, very long time.’

’Maybe the old senior, the Chess Saint, was right. It might actually be possible to find the Ascension Platform here.’

The territory of the Human Race was too far away, on the other side of the continent.

"Lead the way. Head toward the Royal Capital."

Lu Mingyuan commanded coldly.

’My immediate priorities are to regroup with the other Great Yan Soldiers, find the whereabouts of the old senior, the Chess Saint, and then pinpoint the location of the Ascension Platform.’

’Heading to the Royal Capital, the Imperial City, is the best option.’

’As the center of the dynasty, the Imperial City is bound to be a hub of information. I might be able to learn something about the other Outer Celestial Demons there.’

Lu Mingyuan leaped onto the White-Eyebrowed Ape’s back, using it as a mount, and shot forward.

The White-Eyebrowed Ape’s body gradually expanded until it transformed into a colossal beast several dozen zhang tall. It radiated a white brilliance, resembling a primeval monster that could leap over mountains and rivers with ease.

The difference between the Ruins Demon race and the Desolate Demons lay in the degree of their transformation; it was more detailed and more human-like than that of the Desolate Demons.

Their facial features were already human in appearance. Only by their physical characteristics could one discern their race.

’This can only mean one thing,’ Lu Mingyuan mused. ’The Ruins Demon race is definitely a vassal race descended from a specific Divine Being.’

Sui Yuqing, Yun Qinghe, Yang Zhaoyuan, and the others each mounted a Beastman and followed closely behind.

The ape told them not to fly recklessly near the Silent Sea, as they would likely encounter danger.

Lu Mingyuan asked what kind of danger.

The other party only gave a vague explanation, saying they would suffer Divine Punishment.

Lu Mingyuan’s group galloped along the main inland road. Before long, an ancient city appeared in their path. It was magnificent and grand, with towering walls that radiated a glorious aura, like a stone behemoth crouching between two mountain ranges.

Due to the large-scale entry of Outer Celestial Demons into the Pocket World and the massacres they had caused, all the surrounding native Beastmen had flooded into the city for refuge, causing the ancient city’s population to swell to over a million.

By the time Lu Mingyuan arrived, the city had already been breached.

The ground was littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed through the streets. The battlefield was a tragic sight. Many ordinary Beastman civilians who did not practice Cultivation, as well as tattered refugees, had also been slaughtered.

The vast majority of the dead were natives of this world.

It was clear that the slaughter before him was the work of beings from the outside world. He just didn’t know if it was done by the Human Race or the Demon Race.

Lu Mingyuan also discovered that the Mongol Empire, despite calling itself a dynasty, was not very large. A single one of its states was only about the size of a county in Great Yan, with a population of just over one hundred thousand.

In the Central Plains World, it would only be considered a small kingdom.

However, the average strength of these natives was higher than those outside. They all believed in their own Divine Beings to gain power, which sounded very similar to the Holy Netherworld.

"I hope a scene like this is never staged in Great Yan."

Lu Mingyuan leaped off the White Ape’s back. Feeling the turbulent Yin Qi and resentment in the air, he sighed softly.

Yang Zhaoyuan, having come from the Border Region, seemed all too familiar with such scenes. He said flatly, "Your Majesty is wise and divinely martial. With our flourishing Martial Dao, both the Wilderness and the Holy Netherworld will fall before the iron cavalry of our Great Yan."

Sui Yuqing walked over to the corpse of a little girl with goat horns. Gazing at the bloody, small body, she closed her eyes and began to chant scriptures to guide the soul.

Besides being a Taoist Sect Cultivator, she was also quite accomplished in Buddhist Techniques.

In contrast, Yun Qinghe’s reaction was far more indifferent. Not a trace of emotion could be seen on her face.

"This is the law of survival under the Celestial Dao. In the future, if the Central Plains World loses the Ascension Platform and is invaded by the Wilderness World and the Holy Netherworld, we too will be slaughtered. No one will come to pity us."

"Junior Sister, when did you become so cold?" Sui Yuqing slowly opened her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.

Yun Qinghe glanced at Lu Mingyuan before turning her head toward the smoke-filled city. "Soon, a great battle for the Ascension Platform will erupt in the Dragon Peak Cave Heaven. The Human and Demon Races will go to war, and the entire Grotto Heaven may be destroyed. Many will die for it. For these people, death might be a true release. Don’t let unnecessary sympathy cloud your mind."

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan fell into thought.

Ever since Yun Qinghe completed her nine-life reincarnation Cultivation within the Grand Thousand Canglan Map, her Daoxin had become unprecedentedly firm.

At the same time, her personality had grown much colder.

Aside from Lu Mingyuan, basically no one was worthy of her notice.

To a certain extent, she wasn’t wrong. Her words were only applicable from the standpoint of Great Yan.

A clay Bodhisattva crossing a river cannot even save itself.

Right now, they couldn’t afford too much sympathy or concern for the lives of these natives.

Because Great Yan had its own people to protect.

The ancient city had just been breached, and fighting still raged within. Screams, wails, and cries for help mingled together.

Assuming the posture of an elder, Sui Yuqing couldn’t help but lecture, "All living beings suffer. It is not for us to judge who is worthy of life based on our own interests."

She was at least half a Buddhist Cultivator, so her reasoning was bound to contain a sliver of a Bodhisattva’s compassion.

Lu Mingyuan remained on the White Ape’s back, ignoring their debate. Instead, he was gazing at the ink-black soul mass hovering above the ancient city.

It was a cloud of extremely dense Yin Qi.

"What is that?"

Lu Mingyuan asked directly.

Seeing the cloud, the White-Eyebrowed Ape below cried out in alarm, "It’s the Divine Punishment! Why is it here? Wasn’t it in the Returning Ruins Silent Sea? How did it float over from the sea?!"

"My lords! We must run!"

"This is the Divine Punishment you mentioned earlier?"

Lu Mingyuan frowned at the ape’s panicked state.

It had been mentioned before that recklessly crossing the sea would bring misfortune and the punishment of a Divine Punishment.

’Could these black clouds be the so-called Divine Punishment?’

Sui Yuqing’s gaze grew heavy. She swept her Divine Sense across that corner of the sky to probe the cloud layer and said in a low voice, "This is no Divine Punishment. It’s a massive aggregation of Divine Souls and wills."

"Furthermore, these Divine Souls and wills are so sinister and evil. It seems they have been completely corrupted."

In the ancient city, the streets, castles, and pavilions were arranged in an orderly fashion. One could imagine how glorious and luxurious this place once was.

At that moment, patches of black Divine Mist descended from the sky, letting out bloodcurdling shrieks as they surged through the streets. Anyone enveloped by it was stripped of their consciousness, becoming a Puppet of the Divine Mist.

Flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed everywhere.

The historic city was quickly reduced to a sea of fire and ruins.

"During the Middle Ages, this place was a battlefield. These remnant souls of ancient Immortals have, over the long years, completely transformed into evil thoughts."

Lu Mingyuan frowned at the tragedy before him. "Fairy, do you mean to say that these Immortal Evil Thoughts have shrouded this Grotto Heaven for over ten thousand years, forming the so-called Divine Punishment? And that they’ve been rooted in this continent all this time, preventing the people here from escaping to the outside world?"

"That’s likely the case. The original ancestor who created this place was probably trying to hide something," Sui Yuqing replied.

"And that something has now become blatantly obvious," Yun Qinghe said calmly.

"The Ascension Platform!"

Lu Mingyuan and Yun Qinghe said in unison.

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