novelraw Chapter 260 : Why Does This Sound Increasingly Familiar
Chapter 260 : Why Does This Sound Increasingly Familiar
Yan Wangxing clicked his tongue in annoyance, "What's the meaning of these three doors? Could it be another trap? Should we go in or not?"
"There's no other exit here," Mo Baizhou lowered his gaze, calmly saying,
"In a dead end, there must be a way out."
Chu Sang put her hands together in a gun shape under her chin, thinking for a moment before saying, "I also agree with Fourth Senior Brother's words."
She had just quickly searched the area with her divine sense. There were many demon beast auras nearby, with strengths ranging from Divine Transformation to Unity stage, and in great numbers. At least with the three of them... with her strength alone, it would be difficult to kill all the demon beasts here. Staying here would only lead to being surrounded by more and more demon beasts. Since they would die either way, they might as well go in and try their luck.
If the Divine Decree really wanted to kill them, it had had plenty of opportunities. Chu Sang believed that earlier at the altar, the Divine Decree's power could have killed her a hundred times over, but she hadn't died. Instead, she was pulled into this place. If the world inside the doors was certain death, there was no need for so many twists and turns. It wouldn't be worth the effort.
"I'll go through the middle door," she said, stepping forward to enter.
Seeing her about to split up, Yan Wangxing immediately objected, "Split up? No way, you're not allowed to leave me. I'm going with you."
"Your clingy behavior really makes me want to slash you with my sword... I advise you not to have any other thoughts about Little Junior Sister, otherwise I can deal with you right now."
Yan Wangxing looked at the serious-faced Mo Baizhou with utter exasperation, his killing intent undisguised. He leaned back slightly, inwardly cursing that this person's mind had been corrupted by staying too long in the cultivation world.
He would have to be suicidal to have any thoughts about this woman.
"Please, can't you understand the situation? I can't use any of my demonic energy right now. Any Divine Transformation stage demon cultivator could kill me. If we split up and something happens, I don't trust that I can survive... Tch, don't look at me with that strange expression. It's not just me, you're the same."
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Wangxing saw that Chu Sang had already entered. He immediately stopped talking and followed. Mo Baizhou couldn't stop him. Remembering how despicable and shameless these demon race people could be, and that they might very likely betray them halfway, he decided to follow, not wanting to leave them unsupervised.
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The city wasn't particularly bustling, with few passersby, making the streets seem excessively cold and empty.
Looking at the attire of the passersby, Chu Sang knew they were still in the demon realm. She turned back to see that the three doors had completely vanished without a trace.
Almost the instant her feet touched the ground, Mo Baizhou and Yan Wangxing followed.
The two men looked at the scene before them in confusion, their minds slowly processing for several seconds—They had come out from inside the scroll? Back to the demon realm?
So that door wasn't the dead end they had imagined, but... an exit?
Was the Divine Decree really so kind?
Had they misjudged with small-minded thinking, or were they just lucky?
The scene before them was indeed the demon realm, but the three felt strange. Things couldn't be this simple. Could it be that the Divine Decree had specially set up an illusion waiting for them?
Based on Chu Sang's years of experience, it wasn't impossible.
Her hand fell on her storage ring, opening its restrictions. She casually took out an Illusion-Breaking Mirror, randomly shining it on a nearby passerby. The mirror's surface showed no abnormalities.
In this situation, either they were in a real world, or the realm and methods of whoever set up the illusion were too high, beyond the mirror's level.
This Illusion-Breaking Mirror was one she had dug out of Yan Wangxing's treasure vault in his demon palace years ago, a genuine ancient divine demon artifact. Power beyond this mirror's level could only come from the upper realm...
Chu Sang lowered her eyes and put the mirror away. Yan Wangxing randomly selected a lucky passerby and grabbed them.
Whether it was real or fake, they could find out by asking this passerby a few questions.
If this place was really an illusion, it would be impossible for every background NPC in the illusion to be arranged perfectly. Asking a few questions would easily reveal flaws.
Before they could ask, a commotion arose from the street not far away.
A grand procession of demon soldiers and generals came marching through.
Along the way, low-level demon cultivators parted like the Red Sea to both sides. Mo Baizhou frowned slightly, quickly pulling Chu Sang back to avoid the wind. Yan Wangxing dragged the anxious demon cultivator to a corner like catching a chicken, coldly interrogating, "What's going on? I advise you to explain clearly and quickly, don't try to hide anything, otherwise..."
Though he couldn't use demonic energy, his arrogant and domineering aura was still very intimidating to demon cultivators. The demon cultivator subconsciously thought Yan Wangxing was a powerful expert hiding his cultivation and hurriedly shook his head, "I- I don't know what the great ones want to ask, but this lowly one will certainly tell everything I know!"
From the moment he set foot in this place, Yan Wangxing had sensed that the city's atmosphere was very wrong. Chu Sang and Mo Baizhou, not having grown up in the demon realm, didn't have much deep feeling about it, simply thinking the demon realm city was quite cold and desolate, far less prosperous and lively than the cultivation world.
The demon cultivator population was indeed smaller than human cultivators, with most demon cultivators focusing more on martial prowess. City development was also not as prosperous and lively as the cultivation world. But no matter how desolate it usually was, it would never be as desolate as today—The demon cultivators coming and going all wore unnatural expressions on their faces, as if they had encountered something they desperately wanted to avoid, wishing they could immediately leave the city and go home to hide.
Hadn't those demon lords all died? Could it be that in the few days he was gone, a new powerful Heavenly Demon had appeared in the demon realm?
"Why are those people hurrying about trying to hide, and what were those demon soldiers and generals looking for just now?"
Chu Sang also listened attentively.
The demon cultivator was stunned for a moment, "You don't know about the recent events?"
Seeing their confused expressions, they really did look like outsiders. Under Yan Wangxing's intimidating gaze, the demon cultivator didn't dare to be negligent. He swallowed and said, "A few days ago, a very powerful new Heavenly Demon appeared from the demon race's netherworld. He came to various major cities, issuing challenges and opening arenas. Any demon cultivator in the demon realm with some strength had to accept his challenge."
"That Heavenly Demon's attacks were extremely ruthless, and quite a few powerful demon cultivators died under his blade. His arrogant and overbearing behavior has disturbed the peace of nearby cities, making life unbearable!"
"Any demon cultivator with a bit of reputation is now hiding behind closed doors. Ordinary people are also afraid of being caught in the crossfire, so there are hardly any people daring to show their faces on the streets..."
"That Heavenly Demon has fought all the noteworthy demon cultivators in the city. He first declared he would challenge the demon lords, so there are now large numbers of demon soldiers and generals searching the city. They were ordered by the demon lords to eliminate that young Heavenly Demon..."
Yan Wangxing wasn't surprised. He leaned against the wall, still having the leisure to mock, "Every few years, there's always some fearless young upstart who doesn't know his own limits, rushing to challenge powerful demon cultivators before figuring out his own strength... This kind of person, those who have died at my hands, if not ten, at least eight."
The demon race's customs had always been inferior to the cultivation world's respect for teachers and emphasis on morality. Demon cultivators with their innately belligerent and murderous nature would want to challenge those above them as soon as they had some strength. So on the demon side, positions like demon lord or Demon Sovereign changed hands quite quickly. Those who could hold these positions steady for a hundred years were all unrivaled experts in their own right, impossible to be easily shaken by some greenhorn upstart.
However, the demon cultivator shook his head, "There have been many who challenged demon lords in past years, but this time is different. That Heavenly Demon is quite powerful. It's said that he's not very old, but his strength has broken through to Divine Transformation stage. He has already successfully challenged two demon lords... Many famous great demons are no match for him. He even arrogantly declared he would challenge the Demon Sovereign!"
He had seen fearless people before, but this was the first time seeing someone so unafraid of death.
Yan Wangxing was amused. He had thought it would be a dull, unoriginal matter, but now his interest was piqued. He casually asked, "Did he succeed in his challenge?"
Not very clear about the current changes in the demon realm, but in such a short time, news of the turmoil at the demon palace probably hadn't spread to the border cities yet. In the eyes of most demon cultivators, the Demon Sovereign should still be him.
Quite a few demon cultivators were dissatisfied with his rule and wanted to replace him, those demon lords being prime examples. However, in Yan Wangxing's impression, there hadn't appeared any new Heavenly Demons with sufficiently outstanding strength.
But hearing that this Heavenly Demon came from the netherworld, he felt some more approval in his heart. After all, he was also a Heavenly Demon who came from the netherworld. Perhaps it was the mutual appreciation between strong individuals that made him can't help but mention it again.
"Of course not!" The demon cultivator was quite proud, his voice becoming more excited, "The Demon Sovereign is a dignified Great Perfection stage expert, only one step away from the Tribulation Transcendence stage. How could he be successfully challenged by a mere little Heavenly Demon? Moreover, even if he wanted to challenge His Majesty the Demon Sovereign, he wouldn't have the chance. Half a month ago, the Demon Sovereign seemed to have important matters and went into seclusion, not yet emerging. Even if he went to the demon palace, he probably wouldn't even see His Majesty the Demon Sovereign's face before being driven out!"
Hearing the demon cultivator's proud tone at first, Yan Wangxing was quite surprised that he was so beloved by demon cultivators? His hand loosened, but then, as he listened more, things seemed increasingly off.
...A Great Perfection stage Demon Sovereign?
When did he cultivate to Great Perfection stage?
As far as he knew, in the past ten thousand years, there were only a few Demon Sovereigns who had reached Great Perfection stage.
The strongest was undoubtedly the previous old Demon Sovereign, who was at late Great Perfection stage, only one step away from Tribulation Transcendence stage... Yan Wangxing's expression suddenly became strange. He hadn't paid much attention earlier, but why did this story sound increasingly familiar?
How was it so highly consistent with his experiences from his youth?
Seeing Yan Wangxing stunned as if in a daze, not responding even when Chu Sang waved her hand in front of his face, she said, "What's wrong? Did you discover something amiss? Should we grab him back to ask more questions?"
Yan Wangxing hurriedly came to his senses and stopped her movement. For a moment, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Ahem, no need to ask more. I think I know who it is."
Seeing the two of them look at him together, Yan Wangxing licked his dry lips, paused for a moment, then said unnaturally, "That new Heavenly Demon from the netherworld he mentioned... is me."
"I was wondering why it sounded more and more familiar. It wasn't until he mentioned the Great Perfection stage Demon Sovereign that I realized the Demon Sovereign he was talking about wasn't me, but the previous old Demon Sovereign, which is your father." Yan Wangxing looked at Mo Baizhou.
Mo Baizhou's hands tightened slightly, "It's him?"
"Are you sure it's Fourth Senior Brother's adoptive father? But hasn't he long since passed away..." Chu Sang also realized, "You mean to say that the flow of time in this demon realm isn't reality, but the past."
"It seems so for now. Although I can't be completely certain that the Demon Sovereign mentioned by that demon cultivator is the previous old Demon Sovereign, it's about ninety percent likely. The land under our feet is indeed the demon realm, but not the current demon realm. It's a scene of time reversal."
They had said earlier that the Divine Decree couldn't possibly be so kind as to let them out. So it turned out that it had thrown them into another chaotic time period, or perhaps into a fabricated illusion of the demon realm. They couldn't be certain exactly what it was, but at least they could be sure that they didn't belong here and had to leave.
"I remember when I first came out of the netherworld in my youth, fearless like a newborn calf not afraid of tigers, I challenged all the demon lords of that time one by one. Later, hearing that the strongest in the demon race was the Demon Sovereign, I went to challenge the Demon Sovereign."
Yan Wangxing recalled, "But when I confidently fought my way to the demon palace, I was told that the Demon Sovereign was in seclusion and was turned away at the door."
"Later, when the Demon Sovereign came out of seclusion and I went to challenge him again, I was knocked down with one move by the old Demon Sovereign. From then on, I stayed by his side as a disciple. After a few years, I defeated the strongest demon lord at that time..."
Even if someone's experiences were similar, it couldn't possibly be such a coincidence, exactly the same.
"Looking at it this way, the three doors were one for each person, and the middle door was specially constructed based on your experiences." Chu Sang looked at Yan Wangxing, whose face had darkened slightly. She rubbed her chin, clicking her tongue playfully, "But why did the Divine Decree bring us to this place? What, to let two outsiders observe your youthful glory and demeanor?"
"......"
Yan Wangxing was so angry he gritted his teeth. Damn it, could she not mock him at a time like this?
Any mentally mature adult who cared about face wouldn't want others to know about the stupid things they did in their reckless youth, preferring to keep them buried in their stomachs, best if they completely disappeared.
If that Divine Decree wanted him dead, it should just say so.
"There's nothing worth seeing. Let's quickly find the other doors and leave this damned place."
"Easier said than done. How easy would it be to find the other two doors?" Since they had come to this place, the three doors had disappeared. Clearly, the Divine Decree didn't want them to find the remaining two doors.
Seeing Mo Baizhou and Yan Wangxing's spirits slightly dampened, Chu Sang clapped her hands, cheering them on, "Hey hey hey, cheer up and smile! Since it didn't kill us immediately, it means there's still a chance. Rather than looking dejected and boosting others' morale while dampening our own, we might as well think about what to do next. There's nothing impossible in this world, there's always a way."
"Oh, then you tell us, what should we do?" Yan Wangxing's expression warmed.
"The one who ties the bell must untie it. Since this door's world is yours, naturally we must find you." Chu Sang looked at him and said, "More accurately, we need to find you from this time period. I guess you should be in the demon palace. Let's go directly to the demon palace now."