Chapter 1753 The Ancient War Ten Thousand Years Ago
The most shocking thing was the corpses.
Tens of thousands of corpses were scattered in every corner of the battlefield.
Some of the corpses were thousands of feet tall, covered in golden scales, and even after millions of years of death, they still exuded a suffocating aura.
Some of the corpses remained in their fighting postures, their fighting spirit still burning.
Some corpses were reduced to bones, covered with dense Dao patterns, each containing the ultimate essence of the Great Dao.
"This is... that war from millions of years ago?" Zhang Xuan murmured to himself.
He walked slowly across the battlefield, each step cautious.
The laws of the Great Dao here are extremely chaotic, and the spatial structure is fragile. A slight mistake could trigger the remaining killing array or cause one to fall into a spacetime rift.
“True immortals fall like dogs…” Zhang Xuan finally understood the meaning of this sentence.
What terrifying beings were clashing at the heart of that war?
These corpses have existed for millions of years, and their power and Daoist essence have been reduced to less than one ten-thousandth. They are of little value to Zhang Xuan.
The immortal weapons and magical artifacts used by the corpses had long been looted.
He continued forward, and soon Zhang Xuan arrived at the center of the battlefield.
The scene here is even more tragic.
The earth's core veins were exposed, and countless broken immortal artifacts and divine weapons were scattered on the ground, most of which had lost all their spirituality and turned into ordinary iron.
The air was filled with an intense, primordial chaos, the lingering echoes of the clash of the laws of the Great Dao.
Zhang Xuan's gaze was drawn to a huge altar in the center.
The altar was cast entirely from an unknown dark gold metal, with each layer engraved with different demon god totems.
At the top of the altar is a pool.
The pool was not filled with water, but rather with a slowly rotating mass of air.
Around the altar, twelve corpses knelt in prayer.
These twelve corpses were completely different from the other corpses on the battlefield.
They remained intact, even their clothing was undamaged, but they were all kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed and their hands raised, as if offering a sacrifice to the altar.
The aura emanating from each corpse was suffocating for Zhang Xuan; they were definitely Golden Immortals!
"The Twelve Golden Immortals kneel and offer sacrifices..." Zhang Xuan gasped.
They offered countless immortals as sacrifices, and even the Twelve Golden Immortals as guides, to the pool at the top of the altar.
Zhang Xuanqiang suppressed his shock and cautiously approached the altar.
The closer you get, the stronger the chaotic aura becomes.
Zhang Xuan did not act rashly.
He first used the causal branch to explore the altar and confirmed that there was no hidden killing formation.
He then used the side branches of Nirvana to sense the kneeling corpses of the Golden Immortals, confirming that they were indeed lifeless.
Finally, he slowly ascended the altar.
The steps of the altar are inscribed with dense ancient demonic script.
Zhang Xuan could barely make out some of it:
"...When chaos was first created, demons descended upon the world...The thirty-six Great Taiyi Demon Gods made a pact...Using the Chaos Primordial Crystal as a catalyst, they opened the path to immortality..."
The fragmented text sketches out a long-forgotten piece of history.
Millions of years ago, the thirty-six Taiyi Demon Gods of the Primordial Demon Abyss attempted to open the Path to Immortality, a path leading to a higher realm.
But at a crucial moment, for some unknown reason, the sacrificial ceremony stopped, and a civil war broke out.
"Om-"
At that moment, the altar shook violently.
The twelve kneeling golden immortal corpses opened their eyes at the same time!
No, it wasn't that their eyes opened, but rather that a slit simultaneously appeared between their eyebrows, from which twelve hazy beams of light shot straight into the sky!
The beams of light intertwined in the air, transforming into a massive phantom.
It was an indescribable existence.
The phantom looked down at Zhang Xuan, and an ancient and majestic voice resounded directly in Zhang Xuan's soul:
"Latercomer... You are not a being from the Abyss of Demons... How dare you trespass into this place... Interesting."
Zhang Xuan's hair stood on end, and he retreated instantly.
The annihilation branch, the spatial branch, and the causal branch all operate to their maximum potential simultaneously, ready for a desperate fight.
But the phantom did not attack; it simply continued:
"No need to be nervous... I am a wisp of will left behind by the thirty-six Taiyi Demon Gods... guarding this altar..."
Zhang Xuan asked warily, "What do you mean, senior?"
The illusory figure slowly said, "In that great battle back then... the thirty-six demon gods almost perished together... the survivors set up this seal, waiting for someone among the successors who can inherit our will..."
"Last will?"
“Indeed,” the illusory voice carried a hint of vicissitude, “The path to immortality is now clear, but we have argued over whether to open it, and ultimately we have come to blows…”
It paused, then continued, "Latercomer, you cultivate the Great Dao Tree, possessing three main trunks and thirteen side branches, and nourishing the true spirits and myriad laws. Even in my Primordial Demon Abyss, you can be considered a peerless genius. I know why you have come. Since you have come here, it is fate. I can bestow upon you three pieces of Chaos Yuan Crystals... but you must swear a great oath to your inner demons and take care of the demon infant."
"Protecting the Demonic Infant? What is that thing?" Zhang Xuan's mind raced.
The infighting among the thirty-six demon gods was fierce, with the dead kneeling as sacrifices and the living setting up seals.
Is all of this really just to wait for a destined person to take care of some demonic infant?
There's definitely something wrong with this demonic infant.
He was no novice new to the world of cultivation, and he certainly didn't believe that such a good thing could happen in the Abyss of Beginning Demons.
“Senior,” Zhang Xuan probed, “what if I am unwilling to take the oath?”
The phantom remained silent for a moment, then its voice turned cold: "Then stay...to kneel here forever, alongside these twelve traitors..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the twelve Golden Immortal corpses moved simultaneously!
Although it was only a very slight tremor, the pressure it emitted made Zhang Xuan feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
He had no doubt that even if these twelve corpses were merely controlled by the remnants of their will, they would be enough to crush him into dust in an instant.
"This junior is willing to swear an oath!" Zhang Xuan decided immediately.
The situation is better than people.
If we stubbornly resist now, we will surely die.
It would be better to play along for now and get the Chaos Crystal first.
The illusory figure seemed satisfied: "Very good... Now, swear an oath with your Dao heart..."
Zhang Xuan made a great oath to his inner demons as instructed, the content of which was consistent with what the illusory figure had said.
The moment the vow was made, Zhang Xuan felt a mysterious constraint descend upon him, imprinting itself deep within his Dao heart.
This is the power of the Great Vow of the Inner Demon; once violated, the Dao Heart will collapse, and one will never be reborn.
“Good,” the phantom nodded. “Now, take what you deserve.”
The chaotic energy at the top of the altar automatically parted, and three chaotic elemental crystals slowly flew out and landed in front of Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan took the three Chaos Yuan Crystals into his hands. At the same time, a gray light shot out from the phantom and entered Zhang Xuan's brow.
Zhang Xuan was greatly surprised.
Within the gray light, the faint phantom of a demonic infant could be seen surging.
Before they could ask what the gray light was, the altar phantom had completely vanished.
The twelve golden immortal corpses closed the crack between their brows again and returned to their kneeling posture.
The altar returned to calm.
He dared not linger and quickly returned the way he came.
