Chapter Eighty-Six: The Cave of Destruction

The Desolation Caverns are a famed place of tempering in the Nameless Zone. Legend has it that, ten thousand years ago, a supreme being struck the earth once and blasted out a colossal underground chamber. After that chamber collapsed, the slow turn of time reshaped the underworld, and a great many caverns of varying sizes gradually took form.

Yet the masters of the Desolation Caverns were never human, but the original demonic beasts. They did not perish completely beneath that devastating blow; a few survivors remained, beasts with an extraordinary capacity to adapt. Through ten thousand years of breeding and multiplication, they gradually came to endure the caverns’ terrifying law of ruin.

These beasts could no longer be measured by ordinary standards. Having absorbed the power of destruction, they were far stronger than common demonic beasts, and could even gain the upper hand against humans of the same level.

Within those densely packed caverns lay precious ruin ores. Bathed in the breath of destruction, these ores, when refined into magical treasures, could greatly enhance their offensive power.

Thus the Desolation Caverns naturally became one of the Nameless Zone’s places of training. Every day cultivators came, and every day cultivators left; many also lost their lives within the caverns and became food for the beasts.

That day, four newcomers arrived at the edge of the Desolation Caverns: two women and two men, all at mid-Core Formation cultivation. They wore different garments, handsome and lovely, their bearing extraordinary at a glance, clearly disciples of major sects.

One man and one woman were a dao couple, though not of the same sect. The man was called Shangguan Liming, with fifth-layer Core Formation cultivation. He was a direct disciple of the Shangguan family, a great cultivation clan, and had come on this outing to accompany his dao companion, Yin Qimeng.

Yin Qimeng was a personal disciple of the major power Kun’gumen, with fourth-layer Core Formation cultivation. The other woman, Du Wanyue, was also a personal disciple of Kun’gumen, likewise at fourth-layer Core Formation. The two were intimate confidantes within Kun’gumen, so close they called each other sisters.

As for the other man, he was Shangguan Liming’s friend Jing Yuanxun, also at fourth-layer Core Formation. He came from the Extreme Yin Corpse Sect and could be counted as one of the sect’s outstanding disciples. He could not compare with the other three in status within their respective powers, but as a disciple of the Extreme Yin Corpse Sect he was still fit to stand on equal footing with them.

The four traveled together for two reasons: first, to temper themselves; second, to forge a formidable offensive treasure in preparation for the trials of the Great Hao Celestial Immortal Sect’s branch in the Left Hand Domain two years hence.

Yin Qimeng raised a fist before Shangguan Liming, her spirits high as she said, “Husband, this time we’ll definitely obtain a ruin ore of at least third grade. When the time comes, I’ll personally forge you a top-grade spirit sword!”

Du Wanyue teased, “Qimeng, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your sisters now that you have a man. I want one too!”

Shangguan Liming wrapped an arm around Yin Qimeng’s waist and said softly, “There’s no need to force it. Just do what you can. Coming out this time is only to broaden our horizons. If we can gain something, all the better. Your safety matters more than anything.”

Jing Yuanxun laughed with a sinister cackle. “Brother Shangguan, there’s a time and place for showing off your affection. There are still two singles here, you know. And we’ve already entered the beasts’ hunting grounds. Be careful a Nascent Soul great demon doesn’t come charging out and swallow you all in one bite!”

Shangguan Liming rolled his eyes. “Brother Jing, could you not laugh so wickedly? You may be my friend, but you’re a demonic cultivator. We have three righteous cultivators here at any rate. Be careful we join forces and wipe you out for the bounty.”

Jing Yuanxun snorted and cast a disdainful glance at him. “What do you know? This is what demonic cultivation is—bold and unrestrained. Though the sects are trying to whitewash themselves these days, their essence can never truly change. A demonic cultivator is a demonic cultivator. However they dress it up, can they really change their techniques and secret arts too?”

The four went deeper and deeper into the Desolation Caverns, traveling tens of thousands of miles before flying into a secluded cavern. With the four of them at Core Formation, most ruin beasts dared not approach.

As they ventured further in, the beasts grew stronger and the ruin aura on their bodies became ever more dense.

The four could not compare to the ruin beasts, which could absorb the power of destruction and feared no law of ruin; thus they had to spread a barrier to protect themselves from the outside influence.

After the four of them joined forces to deal with a mid-Core Formation ruin beast, each had suffered injuries of varying severity, and they began sorting through the spoils.

Jing Yuanxun skillfully processed the mid-Core Formation Thousand-Legged Armored Beast, took out its beast core, and collected all the parts useful for refinement, placing them into an empty storage pouch.

Yin Qimeng searched the surroundings for special ruin ore. After careful inspection, she found, beneath a huge rock in a cave opened by the Thousand-Legged Armored Beast, a smooth black stone that radiated both metal and destruction laws.

Du Wanyue, meanwhile, was helping Shangguan Liming recover from his wounds. She was a celestial physician, and Shangguan Liming, in the fierce battle just now, had not only expended much energy but had also been invaded by destructive power.

Within the Desolation Caverns, serious injury was extremely dangerous. The omnipresent power of destruction ceaselessly invaded the body; without sufficient defense, one could be reduced to a pile of white bones even without any ruin beast present, and perhaps not even bones would remain.

After putting away the spoils, Jing Yuanxun asked Shangguan Liming, “You all right?”

Shangguan Liming slowly exhaled, thanked Du Wanyue, and stood up. Somewhat awkwardly, he replied, “I was careless. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been injured. Still, it’s nothing serious. With Daoist Friend Du here as a celestial physician, I’ll recover quickly enough. Well? Any gains?”

Du Wanyue waved her hand and said a little shyly, “Brother Shangguan is too polite. I’m Qimeng’s sister, so just call me Wanyue.”

At that moment Yin Qimeng also came over to Shangguan Liming, holding up a black sphere as large as a water vat with one hand, and looped the other arm around his, asking worriedly, “You’re all right, aren’t you? Don’t be so rash next time!”

Shangguan Liming nodded and looked at the black sphere. “What is this? An ore? Why is it so smooth, and why is there slime on it?”

Yin Qimeng answered, “It should be a piece of dark-gold iron. It has absorbed the power of destruction and fused with the law of ruin, and after being constantly worked by this Thousand-Legged Armored Beast, it ended up like this.”

Then Jing Yuanxun could not resist interjecting at the wrong moment. “I don’t think it was worked so much as something else. When I was processing the corpse just now, I noticed this Thousand-Legged Armored Beast’s rear was also quite smooth.”

Shangguan Liming’s face darkened. “If you don’t speak, no one will take you for mute.”

Yin Qimeng also felt a chill run through her and hurriedly tossed the black sphere to Jing Yuanxun, who put it into a separate storage pouch.

Seeing many corpses on the ground that had not yet been erased by the law of destruction, Du Wanyue could not help asking, “Strange. So deep underground, why are there still corpses of Foundation Establishment cultivators?”

Looking at the broken remains scattered on the ground, Jing Yuanxun marveled, “These are all refined corpse puppets. There are even some at Core Formation. What a pity that in a place like this, without protection, they’ll be corroded away in no time.”

Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from another direction within the cavern. A pair of red eyes stood out sharply in the darkness, and a vast, dreadful aura pressed down upon them!

Shangguan Liming’s expression changed. He seized Yin Qimeng’s hand and turned to run in the opposite direction, shouting, “Bad news—a peak Core Formation Thousand-Legged Armored Beast!”

Without needing further explanation, Jing Yuanxun and Du Wanyue also turned and fled at once, their speed astonishing as they spared no hidden trump cards to accelerate.

If this were outside, four mid-Core Formation cultivators from major powers would not necessarily be unable to fight even a peak Core Formation beast.

But this was the Desolation Caverns. The ruin beasts were not ordinary beasts; their innate savagery was inherited in their bones. Not only were they fearless of death, their attacks were also unimaginably sharp. Otherwise, Shangguan Liming would not have been injured earlier while fighting a mid-Core Formation Thousand-Legged Armored Beast.

The peak Core Formation Thousand-Legged Armored Beast reached the spot the four had occupied moments before. Seeing the corpse of its mate, with the beast core already gouged out and even the body shattered and incomplete, then returning to the cave to find that black sphere also gone, it could only vent its uncontrollable fury in furious roars for the moment. Its thousand fleshy legs moved swiftly through the cavern as it pursued the four human cultivators who had not yet fled far.

The Thousand-Legged Armored Beast resembled a centipede, but it was not an arthropod. Its body was made entirely of flesh and blood, and beneath its skin it seemed as if layers of armor had been embedded within its flesh. Its body hair was also quite luxuriant, though its front two fleshy legs appeared to have grown only recently.

Its massive body, hundreds of meters long, showed no trace of clumsiness within the limestone caverns. On the contrary, it was nimble to an extreme. Though it could not fly, its thousand legs could cling to the rock walls, advancing in a spiraling pattern through the passageways, and its speed was actually even greater than Shangguan Liming’s.

The four looked grim. Who could have guessed that this Thousand-Legged Armored Beast was actually a mated pair, and that its cultivation had already reached the peak of Core Formation? Worse still, they had ventured too deeply, so the exit was still very far away.

Even more troublesome was the fact that the direction of the exit was not this way. When the male Thousand-Legged Armored Beast had originally appeared from a cavern diagonally above the exit, fleeing toward the exit was naturally not an option. If they wanted to escape, they would have to seek another path.

Shangguan Liming called out with composure, “Anyone with a hidden trump card, bring it out!”

As he spoke, he took a jade box from his storage ring, opened it, and revealed a small sword inside. The sword was oddly shaped, not a physical object, but a blade of fierce and murderous aura.

He pinched the little sword between two fingers, muttered an incantation, forced out a drop of vital blood, and then hurled it toward the Thousand-Legged Armored Beast closing in behind them.

The little sword transformed in the wind into a great sword three zhang long, bearing a strike comparable to a peak Core Formation attack as it flew backward and smashed head-on into the beast.

The Thousand-Legged Armored Beast was no ordinary creature either. Already prepared, it coiled its body up, leaving only its hard outer shell exposed, while at the same time spraying forth a gray mist filled with the power of destruction from its rear, forcibly blocking the great sword.

Though the Thousand-Legged Armored Beast suffered little from the blow, the distance between it and the four humans was briefly widened. With a roar, it gave chase once more.

Thus, as the four fled and the beast pursued, their position gradually drew closer to an exceedingly hidden place. There, a young daoist sat cross-legged in midair, absorbing the surrounding power of destruction and gathering it at his fingertips.

Within the young daoist’s dantian, a brilliantly multicolored golden core slowly revolved, filled with the laws of heaven and earth and the transformation of all things.

Within the young daoist’s sea of consciousness there was a lotus, and upon that lotus also sat a golden core. Its surface was covered in seals and restrictions, while an aura of supreme will coiled about it. One could see many tiny gray worms coming and going from that strange golden core, as though inside it lay an entire world.