Chapter 967: Demon Sea
"What's inside?" Lin Feng asked Qiongqi.
"I don't know. I didn't go in." Qiongqi shook his head.
"You're not afraid of death, are you?" Lin Feng looked at Qiongqi's flickering eyes and smiled. This guy had come all the way here but hadn't entered. A powerful Demon Sovereign carving the words "No Entry Unless Demon" on this stone wall was quite intimidating.
"Nonsense! You're insulting me, the Emperor. Would I care about some measly demon cave?" Qiongqi roared angrily, but inwardly cursed Lin Feng. This bastard was provoking him again. The one who set up this cave dwelling understood Sacred Mark power, so his strength was definitely not weak. Who knew what dangers lay inside? No matter how strong he had been in the past, he was now just an ordinary Heavenly Demon. Who knew what would happen if he went in?
"Then go in," Lin Feng said with a smile.
"Fine, I'll go in. Get out of my way." Qiongqi coldly glanced at Lin Feng. Even though he knew Lin Feng was provoking him, for the dignity of the Great Emperor, he had to show some backbone.
Lin Feng stepped aside, and Qiongqi approached the stone wall. The wall was covered with crisscrossing patterns—Sacred Mark power, no doubt. But such an entrance arranged with Sacred Mark power was no challenge for him.
His claws carved into the stone wall, and then he pressed them against it. Light flickered, and a rumbling sound echoed as the stone wall suddenly split open. Instantly, a thick, deathly aura rushed out, extremely dense.
Lin Feng stepped forward and peered inside. It was very spacious, but still pitch black and deep. On the ground lay numerous skeletons.
It seemed that over countless years, many people had come to this desolate island and discovered this place. They must have been very powerful, or else they wouldn't have been able to open the Sacred Mark on the stone wall.
But these people had died here, which made Lin Feng even more cautious. He exchanged a glance with Qiongqi.
"Going in or not?" Lin Feng asked Qiongqi. These human experts had entered and died. With him at the Second Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm and Qiongqi as a Heavenly Demon, going in would likely be very dangerous.
"Having come this far, can you bear to give up?" Qiongqi said. "Prepare to use your Void Art. I also have some means of self-preservation. If something's wrong, we retreat immediately."
"This bastard really is holding back." Lin Feng muttered to himself, his gaze making Qiongqi uncomfortable.
"I'm helping you. I wouldn't care about some mere Demon Sovereign," Qiongqi growled.
Lin Feng smiled and didn't reply. He mobilized his Linglong Saint Immortal Qi, ready to use the Void Demon Art at any moment.
"Let's go. In we go." Lin Feng said, then stepped forward. Strong curiosity drove him onward. Moreover, the more desolate and ancient such caves were, the more likely they held relics. There might be a fortuitous encounter. Giving up directly would leave Lin Feng unwilling.
"This one suffered from a terrible corrosive force," Qiongqi said, pointing at one skeleton. The bones had been completely corroded away, leaving only the hardest spinal column. It showed the terrifying corrosive power they had faced.
"And many have turned to ash and dust." Lin Feng looked at the black ashes on the ground. They might have been people once, but they had died here.
"Look over there." Qiongqi pointed at a corpse in the distance. It had preserved its flesh intact, but now it was withered like dry wood—died of old age, corroded by time.
"Primordial Time!" Lin Feng's expression tightened. He felt as if this had been caused by the Primordial Qi in the Wasteland Sea.
Moreover, as Lin Feng and the others moved forward, they found fewer and fewer skeletons, all turned to dust. Only near the entrance were there several skeletons.
"Look ahead." Qiongqi's voice turned serious. Lin Feng turned his gaze toward the dark area ahead. There, an enormous skeleton lay, its wings spread out like a house.
"What kind of demon beast is this?" Lin Feng stared at the massive skeleton. This demon beast was at the end of the cave, and its body still faintly exuded a fierce aura. Could the words outside have been carved by this beast? If so, why had it died here and turned into a skeleton?
"Jade Phosphorus Blood Python," Qiongqi uttered. Although this beast had wings, its massive skeleton was like a dragon's—very long and narrow. The bones even shimmered with a jade phosphorous light.
"Is this kind of demon beast powerful?" Lin Feng asked.
"Powerful. Looking at this skeleton, it was definitely a strong Demon Sovereign. Why did it die here?" Qiongqi was puzzled. The two continued forward. Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged in, and the entire space became even more deathly still.
"Primordial aura!" Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply. And it was an extremely terrifying Primordial aura.
"Void Demon Art!" He shouted, and a Void Snow Path appeared, enveloping both Lin Feng and Qiongqi. The terrible Primordial Qi swept past the edges of the path but didn't invade inside.
The Primordial aura instantly dissipated into nothingness, as if it had never appeared.
"This Primordial aura can sense our presence. Now that we're in the void, forming our own world, the aura vanished immediately." Qiongqi stared ahead. In the massive skeleton, there were several holes in the brow area, exuding a fierce aura. The Primordial aura came from within.
"Demon Sea!" Qiongqi's expression froze. What a madman. He seemed to understand why this powerful Demon Sovereign had died here.
"Demon Sea? What does that mean?" Lin Feng asked Qiongqi.
"When human experts reach the Heavenly Martial Realm, they can transform their consciousness into Divine Mind power, condensing it in the sea of consciousness, possessing various powerful divine abilities. Demons, on the other hand, can use their powerful strength to open a Demon Sea. This Demon Sea is the foundation of the demon, containing the most essential demonic power and can also hold vast, immense demonic energy. Truly terrifying demons—you may never have encountered them—they condense their Demon Sea to manifest terrible innate divine abilities. They are very strong. This Jade Phosphorus Blood Python actually used its Demon Sea to contain Primordial Qi. That's insane."
Qiongqi's voice carried shock. Demons and humans were different. Human Divine Mind power and true essence power were separate, while demons, upon reaching a certain realm, condensed a Demon Sea that held all the essence of their demonic power. This Jade Phosphorus Blood Python had used its Demon Sea to devour Primordial power. Primordial power was extremely strong and didn't belong to demonic power at all.
Lin Feng vaguely understood. The Jade Phosphorus Blood Python's skeleton had several holes, which made him ask, "Can demons have multiple Demon Seas?"
"Yes. As demons grow stronger, they can give birth to several Demon Seas. This Jade Phosphorus Blood Python used all its Demon Seas to contain Primordial power. It was a madman." Qiongqi nodded.
"Lin Feng, withdraw your Void Art. I'll release demonic aura and see if it still triggers the Primordial power," Qiongqi suddenly said to Lin Feng. Lin Feng hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He carefully withdrew the Void Demon Art, ready to release it again at any moment.
The demonic aura released by Qiongqi also enveloped Lin Feng's body. Sure enough, the Primordial aura vanished without a trace and didn't erupt again. It really only killed humans, not demons.
"It's a pity that the desolate islands in this Wasteland Sea are rarely visited even by demons, and no demon has discovered this cave," Lin Feng murmured. One man and one beast continued forward.
Standing before the Jade Phosphorus Blood Python, Lin Feng looked at this massive creature. What did this demon beast mean by setting up such a mechanism?
A faint trace of demonic power spread over the Jade Phosphorus Blood Python's skeleton. Suddenly, a buzzing sound rang out. A jade-colored light flashed, and the skeleton flickered with jade light continuously. Finally, a phantom image appeared there.
It was the figure of a person, but extremely eerie. There was even a blood-colored light at the brow, and its eyes were narrow but carried a strong sense of danger.
A demonic shadow. This should be a light image manifested by the Jade Phosphorus Blood Python with powerful force before its death.
Lin Feng had encountered a similar situation before in the forbidden cave of Purple Gold Mountain. Indeed, the methods of a Venerable were formidable. Even after death, this Demon Sovereign had left a final message.