Return to the Demon Abyss

During the days of preparation at the Wendao Sword Sect, Xu Xian also took the time to leave the sect and head straight for the Demon Abyss.

Even though...

Ye Xianyu had repeatedly warned Xu Xian not to wander around for no reason, as the world was currently in turmoil.

After all...

With the Emperor's Tomb opening, the geniuses of every race would be traveling. This was also the perfect time to hunt down those gifted young monsters.

For instance, Xu Xian's fame had long preceded him. The Saints, Beast Gods, Demon Immortals, and Demon Gods of this world—save for those within the Wendao Sword Sect—likely all wanted him dead.

If he did not die, in a thousand years, the entire world would have to bow to him.

In the past.

As long as he stayed within the sect, even a Saint could not split open that sword formation.

Now that the Emperor's Tomb was opening, Xu Xian would inevitably go. It was hard to say that some people wouldn't secretly harbor ill intentions.

Xu Xian was strong, invincible below the eighth stage, but what about the ninth stage? What about the Saints? Such things were uncertain, so it was better to be cautious.

Similar events had happened before, and Xu Xian had even experienced them personally.

However, Xu Xian had to return to the Demon Abyss. In his plan, Bai Mang had to enter the Emperor's Tomb and act out a play with him.

Naturally, he had to plan ahead and settle everything that needed to be addressed.

He needed to speak with Chi Ji.

Furthermore, given the current situation in the Demon Abyss, those Demon Gods were surely waiting for him to show his face.

If he did not return, the High Priest might at best grow suspicious, leading to a falling out.

In a worse scenario, the fact that Chi Ji was impersonating him might be exposed.

That would be true trouble.

Fortunately, Xu Xian now possessed the Bixu Mirror. Even if there were potential risks, such as a Saint attacking him at any cost, escaping would be no trouble at all.

Still, he remained very cautious and didn't inform anyone. He slipped out secretly, hiding his tracks along the way.

After spending a few extra days, he left the Northern Borders and set foot in the Black Sand Desert.

After traveling for some distance, near the Blazing Fortress, Xu Xian saw the gate of the Emperor's Tomb standing on the Black Sand Sea as expected.

It was an ancient stone door.

It stood solitary in the Black Sand Desert, reaching up to the clouds so high that its top was invisible, and its width was a full ten zhang.

It was wide enough for dozens of horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side.

The stone door was profound and steeped in the marks of time, emitting an ancient aura.

The door was tightly shut, and it was impossible to tell which side was the front and which was the back.

To the naked eye, they looked exactly the same.

On the stone door.

There were stone patterns intersecting and blending with each other, but unlike the other stone doors Xu Xian had seen, there were no totems carved upon it.

It was just a simple, massive stone door. Aside from its size, it looked unremarkable.

It was a display of great skill requiring no embellishment, yet it did not lack dignity or dominance.

It seemed completely out of place with the surrounding environment.

Around the stone door.

Demon falcons could often be seen circling and patrolling. Within a ten-mile radius of the monument, Demon Guards were stationed in heavy numbers.

Outside the Blazing Fortress, in the area adjacent to the monument, there were camps stretching for a thousand miles. Tents had sprouted up like mushrooms out of nowhere.

They formed a continuous mass, exceptionally noisy.

Row upon row of young faces were filled with longing, their eyes shining with light.

They were anticipating and waiting for the opening of the Emperor's Tomb.

Heavenly demons, earthly demons, and ordinary mortal demons.

All of them were under a hundred years old. Their cultivation stages weren't high, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Aside from a small portion of the heavenly demon race who might not have come, it seemed the rest of the Demon Abyss was present.

Of course.

There were also some rogue cultivators from the Demon Abyss with low cultivation who didn't have demon beasts like the demon falcons. They were slow on their feet and still on their way.

In addition to the demon race, Xu Xian also saw some traces of humans.

Naturally, these were likely the descendants of the Twelve Immortal Demon Caves.

They were not welcome in the righteous path and were only on good terms with the demons. Entering through this gate was the most convenient and logical choice for them.

Xu Xian wasn't surprised by what he saw.

The world was too vast, and the number of living beings was immense.

The number of cultivators in the Demon Abyss under a hundred years old was an astronomical figure. One hundred thousand was nowhere near enough...

There were likely at least several hundred thousand.

Not to mention this gate, the other seven tomb gates were probably surrounded by similar scenes.

This was only the first month. By the third month, when the hundred-day deadline was approaching, the scene would likely be even more spectacular than it was now.

After all.

Even when the Wendao Sword Sect recruited disciples, it was a scene of hundreds of thousands, nearly a million people.

Fanzhou was very large.

Larger than Earth.

The living beings of Fanzhou were naturally more numerous than those on Earth.

They were counted in the hundreds of millions.

Whenever Xu Xian saw those demonic cultivators, he felt like killing them.

Why would you ignore the proper human cultivation methods to cultivate as a demon? Cultivating as a demon is one thing, but you also collude with foreign races to target the human race and the Wendao Sword Sect.

What kind of nonsense was this?

If not for the sake of the big picture, he would have definitely finished them off.

But he couldn't help but complain.

When the little book spirit heard its master's grumbling, it found it boring and teased Xu Xian, saying that he was a demonic cultivator himself.

And that he had integrated quite well with the Demon Abyss.

Wasn't he just cursing himself?

Xu Xian denied it, saying how could he possibly be the same as them?

The little book spirit asked what was different.

Xu Xian replied,

"Because I am powerful."

Right or wrong?

Only the powerful get to decide.

The little book spirit couldn't find a single word to refute him.

It was indeed that kind of logic.

There was nothing wrong with it...

Xu Xian also said, "It's good that they're all going in. When the time comes, I'll wipe them all out in one go, severing the inheritance of the Twelve Immortal Demon Caves for a hundred years."

"That's good, that's good." The little book spirit sounded slightly excited.

Approaching the tomb gate, Xu Xian examined it closely.

On the lintel of the tomb gate.

There was a single character written in an ancient script that originated from the Upper Realm. The beings of Fanzhou could not recognize it, but Xu Xian could.

It read: [Jing]

Xu Xian whispered to himself, "The Jing Gate?"

Some suspicions began to form in his heart.

If he remembered correctly, there were also eight gates in the Qimen Dunjia, and one of them was the Jing Gate.

He wondered if they matched up.

If that were truly the case,

Then he could be even more certain that the so-called Emperor's Tomb was not a tomb at all, but a massive formation.

To go to the trouble of setting up such a formation.

The intention was clear as day.

Of course.

This was limited to speculation. He planned to wait until the matters in the Demon Abyss were arranged to take the opportunity to check the other gates.

Then he would know the truth,

Whether it was a coincidence or the reality of the situation.

Xu Xian did not linger there. Instead, he took the Demon Guard command token issued by the High Priest and ignored the Demon Abyss formation as he passed the Blazing Fortress.

He headed straight north toward the Nether Capital, then leaped over the Nether Pool and returned to the Nether Hall.

That night.

Xu Xian's arrival disturbed the sleeping Golden Demon Dragon.

The dragon let out a low growl, and the High and Low Priests naturally noticed it immediately.

The Small Priest was fine, assuming it was just a Demon Guard arriving with intelligence or seeking an audience with the Demon Son.

Similar things had happened many times this month; even the Demon Gods had been coming and going.

The High Priest, however, was different. She knew it was Xu Xian. While she felt a sense of relief, she didn't forget to grumble internally.

"Hmph... so you finally remembered to come back!"

When Chi Ji and Huang Xiao first saw Xu Xian intrude, they were on guard, staring at the black-clad figure as if facing a great enemy.

They questioned in deep voices, "Who goes there?"

Xu Xian slowly took off his veiled hat, revealing his ten-colored hair. He curled the corners of his lips and said,

"It has been a while, you two!"