The outer sea beyond the known world was an absolutely mysterious and forbidding region, a place of legend and whispered warnings.
Back when Su Min had just entered the Golden Core stage, she had already known of its existence but had wisely dared not approach it, sensing the profound danger that lurked within its depths.
Now, however, the environment here had grown even worse, more volatile and thick with a palpable sense of corruption.
Splat!
Facing the oncoming horde of demonic beasts, Su Min casually swatted one into a bloody mist, its form dissolving into nothing more than a crimson stain in the air. Tian Hao was doing much the same, his movements efficient and brutal. He was a dedicated body cultivator, while Su Min's cultivation was more eclectic, drawing from multiple disciplines. But both of them possessed exceptional, honed physiques that made them walking weapons.
Back during their famous battle on the Golden Core Avenue, Su Min had taken powerful pills to fight him. Though she had relied on those external aids, it was still considered her own strength; ordinary cultivators wouldn't stand a chance even if they swallowed the exact same pills, their bodies and spirits unable to handle the raw power.
Thus, the two of them were now effortlessly slaughtering the swarming demonic beasts, reducing them to pulp with single, precise strikes. In the blink of an eye, the ocean waters before them had turned a deep, unsettling crimson.
At this level, these demonic beasts no longer cared whether they were in the sea or the sky. They charged mindlessly at the two intruders, throwing their lives away without a hint of hesitation or self-preservation.
"What the hell are these things?" Tian Hao exclaimed, his voice a mix of disgust and disbelief. "A horde of Nascent Soul-stage beasts charging at us like this, as if their lives mean nothing?"
After casually obliterating an early-stage Nascent Soul beast with a fist that shattered the air, Tian Hao wiped a cold sweat from his brow and looked over at Su Min for an explanation.
He was genuinely unsettled. In the current era, Nascent Soul cultivators weren't exactly rare, but they were far from being as common as cabbages in a market. Even in Su Min's own prosperous immortal sect, which had access to vast quantities of pills and a complete, optimized cultivation environment, there were only a few dozen Nascent Soul cultivators at most.
Under normal circumstances, no sane Nascent Soul being would ever launch a suicidal charge against two half-step Dao Comprehension experts who were just passing by. Yet these demonic beasts were doing exactly that, and their numbers seemed endless, a relentless tide of madness.
The sheer quantity was staggering. Tian Hao had already crushed seventy or eighty of them into paste, and Su Min had killed just as many without breaking a sweat. Fortunately, both were accomplished body cultivators, so slaughtering these weaker creatures consumed very little of their precious spiritual energy.
"This is just the beginning, the outer fringe," Su Min stated calmly, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Further in, we'll inevitably run into Divine Transformation-stage beasts. The ancient battlefield isn't a place you can just waltz into. Many Unity and even Mahayana experts died there in the great war. That's precisely why the White Tiger left its inheritance there, to help suppress the lingering evil."
Su Min was fully aware of the dangers that lay ahead. If not for the fact that the spatial passage could only accommodate beings at or below the Divine Transformation level, she would have delayed this trip for decades until she safely reached the Dao Comprehension stage herself.
As for these demonic beasts, they were all insane, literally. There was no reasoning with them, no intimidating them. The reason was simple and horrifying: Their power came from being tainted by the corrupted blood seeping from the ancient battlefield. That blood had been flowing for who knew how many eons, and every drop carried a potent madness and an instinct for slaughter. They hungered to devour everything around them, to spread the corruption.
Even a lowly insect that took a single bite of the tainted flesh would instantly reach the Body Refining stage. A few more bites, and it would jump straight to the Qi Refining stage. These creatures were the vile products of endless slaughter, and now they had completely lost their sanity, becoming nothing more than vessels of rage.
Or perhaps they still had some shred of consciousness, but the moment they sensed fresh, untainted flesh and blood, they would charge like frenzied zombies, overcome by an irresistible urge.
This situation gave even Su Min a slight headache. Based on the information from her past life's "game," further in, there would be swarms of Divine Transformation-stage beasts. One or two wouldn't be a problem, but if they came in large numbers, things would get genuinely dangerous.
No matter how strong the two of them were, fighting multiple Divine Transformation-stage beasts would still consume significant spiritual energy. If too many came at once, they would be overwhelmed and die. And the ancient battlefield itself was even worse; there were even mutated Dao Comprehension-stage beasts inside. Those things would fight to the death the moment they spotted prey, with no room for negotiation or escape.
An ordinary Divine Transformation cultivator coming here would simply be delivering themselves to their doom. Only freaks like Su Min and Tian Hao, who far surpassed their nominal cultivation level in actual combat power, could hope to survive. That was exactly why Su Min had been willing to pay such a high price to keep Tian Hao with her, even ignoring the direct threats from certain powerful sects.
"This… is worse than I imagined,"
Hearing Su Min's grim words, Tian Hao felt his scalp tingle with apprehension. He glanced down at the dark red, churning seawater below and realized this wouldn't be anything like an easy journey. The reward was a seventh-grade high-tier pill, with Su Min providing all the materials and personally refining it for him. No matter how many batches were ruined in the process, she would keep supplying them until she achieved success. The cost of her help was this perilous task.
Just then, a deep, guttural roar shattered the air.
ROAR!!!
A massive fish monster, over three hundred meters long, erupted from the sea in a explosion of foul water. Its grotesque body, covered in weeping sores and reeking of decay, lunged at the two, its maw gaping wide enough to swallow a small mountain whole.
"What the, is that necessary?!"
Even though Su Min had been mentally prepared, she couldn't help but curse at the sheer absurdity of the thing. She raised her hand, spiritual energy coalescing around it, and slammed it down with immense, crushing force.
BOOM!!!
A deafening impact echoed across the water as the beast was sent flying backwards, heavily wounded but not yet dead. With a mindless shriek, it immediately charged again, its broken body trailing dark blood.
"Five Elements Slash!"
Su Min drew her weapon in a fluid motion and cleaved downward. A brilliant, multi-hued sword beam engulfed the monster, slicing not only the beast in two but also parting the seawater beneath it in a deep trench before the water quickly closed again with a thunderous crash.
After finishing it off, Su Min took out her small, unassuming gourd and activated it. The beast's twisted corpse was absorbed into its void. The flesh of these corrupted beasts had no medicinal value whatsoever; it could only serve as raw nourishment for the gourd itself. Even a Divine Transformation-stage beast like this one provided less pure essence than a normal, untainted Nascent Soul beast.
"We're already facing Divine Transformation-stage beasts out here?"
Tian Hao's expression darkened considerably. The situation was deteriorating faster than he had expected. They hadn't even reached the core area yet, and the threats were escalating.
"A single early-stage Divine Transformation beast isn't a big deal on its own, but it forced me to use a significant amount of spiritual energy for that technique. The road ahead will be much harder. And worse than the beasts are the people, our potential competitors for the inheritance."
"There are others coming here? At the Divine Transformation stage? Other than freaks like us, who else would even dare?"
Tian Hao was genuinely stunned by the idea.
"Who told you there's only one world in this vast universe?" Su Min replied, her expression turning grim. "If the Heavenly Dao ever lifted its restrictions, you'd realize the truth if you just flew high enough, beyond the sky itself."
In the game of her past life, this had been a solo dungeon, a simple matter of fighting your way through to the White Tiger's inheritance. But reality was starkly different. The endless hordes of beasts were one thing, but the ancient battlefield was also a unstable spatial node, a wound in the world.
There was no telling what other horrors lurked inside, nor what existed in the distant worlds beyond this one. The term 'myriad realms' often just referred to different planets within the same cosmic system. Ancient records spoke of countless Great Emperors, yet only a handful of their legacies remained in this world. Some sects had been destroyed in wars, but most had simply… vanished without a trace. Where they went was a profound mystery. In the game, it had been simplified for balance. But this was reality, and there was no such thing as fairness here.
"Hiss, that is… a sobering thought."
Tian Hao took a sharp breath, the implications settling heavily on him. As a casual cultivator without a major sect's library, his knowledge of the wider cosmos was inherently limited. Su Min, however, knew because of her past-life memories, especially the hidden dangers buried in fragmented lore and off-hand developer comments.
"Stop gasping. More are coming, two, no, I sense three Divine Transformation-stage beasts approaching from the depths. You handle this wave. Your energy consumption is lower in prolonged physical fights."
Su Min suddenly warned, her perception far surpassing Tian Hao's and allowing her to sense the powerful disturbances gathering beneath the waves.
"Got it."
Though not an alchemist with her level of spiritual sensitivity, Tian Hao's senses were still incredibly sharp for a warrior. At this level of cultivation, one had to excel in all aspects to survive. Within seconds, he too detected the approaching threats, his battle-honed instincts kicking in. His soul force, while inferior to Su Min's seventh-grade alchemist level, was around a respectable mid-to-high sixth-grade. Unfortunately, his specific elemental affinities prevented him from ever pursuing the art of alchemy himself.
A moment later, the sea erupted.
CRASH!!!
A colossal crab with a shell like pitted iron, a monstrous lobster with claws that could snip a ship in half, and a giant turtle covered in jagged, stone-like growths burst from the depths. All seafood, but Su Min had absolutely no appetite for them. These things were utterly tainted by the corrupted blood. Only her innate spirit treasure, the gourd, could safely refine their chaotic energy, and even then, much of their essence was wasted as dross.
"Hah! Great Desolate Heaven-Destroying Fist!!!"
Tian Hao's arm blurred as a massive, ancient phantom appeared behind him, mirroring his movement. With a single, world-shaking punch, the phantom's power slammed into the three beasts, sending them all flying backwards through the air.
But they were utterly undeterred by the blow, righting themselves in mid-air and charging back with renewed mindless fury.
Tian Hao frowned. These creatures had absurdly tough exoskeletons and seemingly limitless stamina. Even he, with his immense physical power, couldn't kill them effortlessly without resorting to more costly techniques.
So…
"Here are three seventh-grade Spirit Recovery Pills and a dozen sixth-grade ones. Use them sparingly, we have a long way to go."
Seeing Tian Hao panting slightly after finally tearing the three beasts apart with a series of brutal, close-range attacks, Su Min tossed him several jade bottles without a second thought. She had prepared extensively for this very ordeal, her spatial ring stocked like a mobile apothecary.
"Let's move. No stopping. At our level, going months without rest isn't an issue, but staying in one place here is a death sentence."
With that, she turned into a streak of light and shot forward, skimming over the bloody waves. Tian Hao followed closely behind, his own aura flaring. Along the way, more Divine Transformation-stage beasts sensed them and attacked from the depths, but the two evaded them with sheer, blinding speed. Yet the beasts pursued relentlessly, like malignant parasites clinging to the scent of their prey.
Three hours later, the two of them halted simultaneously, their flight stalling as they took in the sight before them.
Before them, everything had changed. The world itself seemed to end.
A massive spatial rift loomed in the air, a jagged tear in reality itself. Its dark maw exuded an aura of ancient malice that made even two late-stage Divine Transformation experts shudder instinctively. It was a primal fear, a biological instinct screaming that everything beyond that point was pure danger.
Below the rift, a slow, constant ooze of thick, black blood dripped into the sea. And beneath that foul waterfall,
The ocean was a writhing, churning mass of monstrous bodies. Countless enormous figures tangled together in a grotesque orgy of consumption, some lapping at the black blood, others actively devouring each other in a frenzy.
"You see? Those things can't even be called living beings anymore. They're just… manifestations of hunger."
The chaotic, horrifying scene reminded Su Min of a B-movie from her past life, Anaconda. One installment had featured a swarming ball of giant snakes entwined in a mating ritual. This was that, but a thousand times larger, louder, and more vile.
"All Divine Transformation-stage. I count dozens of late-stage ones among them. But they're only using brute strength, no application of laws. I wonder if any have actually comprehended laws yet."
Tian Hao's face was grave, his usual composure strained. If things were this bad just outside the entrance, then Su Min's earlier warnings were terrifyingly true. Inside, there would indeed be Dao Comprehension-stage beasts.
Given the intensely corrupting environment, it was practically inevitable.
But none were here right now at the entrance. Nor were they rampaging elsewhere in the outer sea. That meant only one thing, they had already entered the rift. Not as native Dao Comprehension beings, but as creatures that had consumed enough black blood to instinctively crawl inside and then break through after entering. Of course, this was just speculation. Normally, nothing above the Dao Comprehension level could enter, as the rift's inherent stability would block them. But for these reality-defying abominations, the normal rules might not apply.
"Let's go in. And be careful, more than you ever have been before."
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Su Min plunged into the dark maw of the rift. She hadn't consumed the black blood, so its corrupting influence couldn't touch her pure spirit. Tian Hao followed a heartbeat later, his expression set in grim determination.
But the moment they crossed the threshold, everything changed. The world shifted.
Before, no matter how chaotic and bloody the sea had been, the sky above had remained relatively normal, even beautiful in a stark, oceanic way.
Now, the entire sky was a bloody, oppressive black, streaked with veins of deep red. The earth under their feet was a cracked and blighted plain littered with countless corpses, both human and demonic, each one towering thousands of meters tall. Some were so vast they were like fallen pillars that had once held up the heavens themselves.
"Are these… the bodies of Unity-stage experts?"
Though he had expected to see death here, Tian Hao was still utterly stunned by the scale. Those mountain-sized corpses were undoubtedly human in shape. Upon reaching the Unity stage, cultivators forged their mighty Dharma Bodies, transforming their physiques into something truly transcendent and colossal.
If they died while still in their Dharma Body form, their corpses would remain gigantic, monuments to their former power.
These were all Unity-stage powerhouses. And those even more titanic remains stretching far into the hazy, blood-stained horizon? Those were possibly, probably, the corpses of Mahayana experts.
All of them were dead. All had fallen here, in this cursed place.
ROOOOAR!!!
Suddenly, the earth beneath them trembled violently. A monstrous presence, far greater than any they had felt before, erupted from a fissure in the ground below, shattering the rock and soil around it.
A Dao Comprehension-stage demonic beast had appeared, its aura locking onto them with murderous intent.
"Shit!"
Both Su Min and Tian Hao paled, their blood running cold.
Their worst fear had been realized immediately upon entering.
A genuine Dao Comprehension-stage beast, and it was right at the entrance, blocking their path.