Chapter 263: Heading to the Monster Region
On a dark, reddish-brown land, occasional mountain peaks stood, sparse trees appeared here and there, and distant beast roars echoed from time to time, giving this land a primitive and wild feel. This was the Monster Region of the Tianxuan Continent.
This vast region was roughly divided into four areas: east, west, south, and north. Besides these, there were scattered areas between the four regions known as lawless zones where no one had control.
The Monster Region was home to four dominant clans, the most powerful races in the monster beast world: the Dragon Clan, the Nine Phoenix Clan, the Kunpeng Clan, and the Sky Demon Mink Clan.
With a sweep of his soul power, Xiao Tian learned from the memories of the surrounding monsters that he was in the Beast Battle Region, a famous chaotic area.
"I remember that the Xuan Tian Hall, a divine artifact refined by the Rune Ancestor, is here!"
Xiao Tian recalled his deepest memories, then obtained a map and headed straight for the Divine Artifact Mountain Range.
Xuan Tian Hall was known as an ancient divine artifact treasury. Divine artifacts were synonymous with great power. Even the most ordinary divine artifact was comparable to a heaven-tier spiritual treasure. The divine artifacts on the ancient list could inflict significant damage on reincarnation stage experts. They were all used to kill or seal demon kings in ancient times.
The Divine Artifact Mountain Range was located in the middle of the Beast Battle Region. It was the only place not occupied by any force. It wasn't that no one wanted to take it over, but the allure of Xuan Tian Hall was too great, so no force dared to monopolize it.
As the tenth-ranked item on the ancient divine artifact list, Xuan Tian Hall not only possessed immense power but also had the ability to autonomously refine divine artifacts. Owning Xuan Tian Hall was akin to having a continuous supply of divine artifacts. Although most of these artifacts weren't very powerful, some listed divine artifacts were stored within Xuan Tian Hall. This was because Xuan Tian Hall could protect and refine divine artifacts, making it the final home for all divine artifacts.
When Xiao Tian arrived at the Divine Artifact Mountain Range, it was already crowded with people.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a golden light shot into the sky. Two distant mountain peaks moved apart, revealing an ancient, indescribable prehistoric hall, slowly tearing the ground and appearing between heaven and earth. Enveloped in golden light, this prehistoric hall emitted an ancient aura similar to that of the Ancestral Stone and the Great Desolate Monument.
"Swish!"
As soon as Xuan Tian Hall appeared, Xiao Tian transformed into a stream of light, rushing toward it. Everyone else watched coldly, some even sneering. It was known that Xuan Tian Hall couldn't be entered; one could only wait for the divine artifacts to emerge. Many had tried to force their way in but were repelled by a powerful force, resulting in heavy casualties.
However, the next moment, everyone was stunned. Xiao Tian was not repelled but entered the hall.
"What's going on?"
"Can Xuan Tian Hall be entered now?"
Amid the discussions, a Reincarnation Stage monster beast rushed forward.
"Bang!"
As soon as he touched the light, he was violently repelled, spitting blood and flying back. Everyone wondered how Xiao Tian managed to get in.
Xiao Tian had used the Ancestral Stone to enter. He felt he could have forced his way in using his own power, but that would have been too draining and might have drawn the attention of the Demon Prison.
Inside the golden light, Xiao Tian saw a grand, radiant hall filled with countless flying treasures, each uniquely shaped.
"Buzz, buzz!"
Suddenly, the divine artifacts emitted a buzzing sound and launched an overwhelming attack on Xiao Tian.
"Humph!"
Xiao Tian snorted, releasing his soul power, making it difficult for the divine artifacts to move.
"Swish!"
A white light appeared, transforming into Yan's figure.
"Let's go in!"
Yan said, leading the way into Xuan Tian Hall.
Inside, Xiao Tian saw a black light containing a very ancient giant hammer, emitting a terrifying aura even more formidable than the Heaven Burning Cauldron.
"This is the Nine Cauldrons Divine Hammer, ranked twenty-third on the ancient divine artifact list,"
Yan explained. "In ancient times, it was the weapon of a Reincarnation Stage expert known as the Cauldron Emperor, who was eventually surrounded and killed by three demon kings."
They continued deeper into the hall, arriving at an ancient stone door covered with light patterns and faint black lines, which Xiao Tian recognized as demon energy.
"Buzz!"
Yan waved his hand, emitting a gentle white light that purified the demon energy on the stone door.
"Creak~"
With the disappearance of the demon energy, the long-sealed door opened, revealing a pitch-black world beyond, its depth evoking a sense of unease.
"It seems our old friend hasn't had it easy,"
Yan said, shaking his head and leading the way inside, followed closely by Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian summoned the three Ancestral Symbols and the Great Desolate Monument, their divine light dispelling the surrounding darkness. Below, they saw a viscous black ocean filled with an astonishingly evil aura. On the black sea were giant stone pillars, each topped with a unique divine artifact. However, these artifacts were now pitch-black, dripping with thick black liquid into the black sea.
In the center, black chains extended from the pillars, binding a glowing figure and continuously emitting black energy in an attempt to corrupt it.
"This is the Ten Thousand Demons Erosion Array!"
Yan said, "An array formed by the energy of ten thousand demons, extremely troublesome!"
He looked at the surrounding divine artifacts and said, "The old fellow must have tried to purify the other divine artifacts, but since he had killed demon kings, their lingering consciousness used the corrupted divine artifacts to form this array."
(End of the chapter)