Chapter 24 – A Living Abyss Demon?
Don’t even mention those mortals who were so excited to the point of craziness. Even the Transcendents themselves were so excited that they were shouting.
“Quick, quick, come. Come to the Hall of Life and Death.”
“The ninth match is going to start soon! There’s still half an hour left before it will begin! It’s actually a Dark Abyss Demon!”
“Only half an hour left.”
Even though more than half of the Transcendents were here, there were still many others out adventuring or in closed-door cultivation, or even those who withdrew to themselves as they were too lazy to come and watch the battles… Regardless, there were still many Transcendents who were not at the arena yet! As for those who were currently present, they were passing on the message because other than the highly ranked Demigods and several other existences, the majority of Transcendents had not even seen a demon before this event!
Many people had not even seen one throughout their entire life.
Amongst the biographies passed down, according to legends… they would all speak of the Abyss Demons!
But in reality, the demons actually originated from the ‘Dark Abyss’, and were a sort of Transcendent organism.
The Dark Abyss was faintly connected in many ways to the material world. Thus, occasional fluctuations in space would produce a channel in space that allow for large numbers of Abyss Demons to fight their way in! Since ancient times through to today… there would be Abyss Demons invading their way into the material world. But such happenings were irregular. Sometimes, there might be eight to ten invasions over ten thousand years. Other times, it could even be a single invasion in many tens of thousands of years!
A Transcendent lifespan was short – just 800 years. The longest lifespan was a Demigod with a mere 3000 years.
Hence, it was very natural for most Transcendents to not see a demon in their entire life.
……
“I’m really sorry that I won again.” The old cogey Chao Qing tilted his legs as he joyfully took a big bite out of a green apple.
“Hope your teeth break!” Old Granny Ye humphed.
“Ai, it’s actually another 5000 kilograms of Origin Stone. I’m feeling so happy right now.” Chao Qing bit on the apple as he looked below at the back of Xue Ying who walked barefoot to the side-door at the corner of the battlefield for a respite. His face, full of smiles, became even brighter, “This youngster from our Water Daoist Faction is quite formidable. He started fusing the Profound Mysteries of Water and Fire at such a young age, even to the extent of applying them on his spear techniques! The ‘True Meaning of Water and Fire’ is something I bet he’ll definitely be able to comprehend.”
“Look at how you’re so pleased.” Old Granny Ye curled her lips. She was relatively calm. After all, Origin Stones were less important to her since she was nearing the end of her life.
“For the sake of this brat Dong Bo Xue Ying, I suggest… holding a meeting amongst us Elders!” Chao Qing suddenly spoke.
“Holding an Elder’s meeting?” Old Granny Ye was startled as she looked towards him.
……
“Little brother Xue Ying, well done, beautifully executed, hua haha…” The Tranquil Sun Province’s group of Transcendents were all eating and drinking with excitement, especially so for Cheng Ling Shu.
Cheng Ling Shu’s name contained the character ‘Shu’ which represented being lady-like. However, her demeanour right now was entirely unlike that of a lady, and likewise not that of the disposition belonging to a female mage.
Instead, she was shouting out carelessly.
That was because she won her gamble! This time, she actually set down a wager for the Transcendent Battle Life and Death. Most of the payouts were quite low. Yet for the one she bet on, ‘At least seven matches’, the payout was quite huge! Those who set down the odds of payouts had gathered plenty of information from many intelligence networks. Even information on Xue Ying’s life since youth and evaluations by Demigods were all obtained clearly.
The bookmakers all agreed that Xue Ying’s primordial bloodline was too ordinary. Thus, the chances of winning six matches would be relatively low. Old Granny Ye had even wagered with Chao Qing that Xue Ying could not reach the sixth match.
As for winning at least seven matches? The chances were even lower!
“Sister Ling Shu should have bet quite heavily this time round, isn’t it? You should treat us to a good meal after this,” Peng Shan quipped.
“It’s merely just a few hundred kilograms of Origin Stones. Not much, not much.” Cheng Ling Shu was delighted, “How can that be considered much, I bet little brother Xue Ying will be winning even more! This Transcendent Battle of Life and Death will give contribution points on an exponential scale the more battles he win! Thus, if you want to go for the big kill, you should find little brother Xue Ying.”
“The ninth match is going to start soon.” Qiu Chi Bai laughed, “Forcing the Infernal Palace to bring out a living Abyss Demon… I bet those old folks of the Infernal Palace must be feeling heartbroken over this.”
“An Abyss Demon is something which we’ve never seen before.” Zi Che Gu Feng, Hai Ru Zhen and the rest were eagerly expecting the display. They were Transcendent mages, and thus, they were quite excited and interested in researching the ‘Abyss Demon’. It was such a pity that they did not have the qualifications when they were at the Sky realm to face one themselves.
……
Most of the Transcendents were discussing the demon that would be appearing soon. The majority of them were looking forward to seeing it.
“It’s actually a demon, which we could only find details of within books.”
“Our Xia Clan has not been invaded by demons for the past 8000 years or so, right? It’s such a surprise that the Infernal Palace is still willing to bring out a living emon for this battle.”
“Ze ze ze, this new Transcendent has killed his way to the ninth battle. Even if they are not willing, they will still have to bring it out!”
Everyone was looking forward to it…
Demons were Transcendent life forms belonging to the Dark Abyss. They were organisms more unique than the Primordial beings. At the same level of realm, these demons were actually even stronger than the Primordial beings!
The Dark Abyss was a place that could contest against the entire Deity World.
What the ‘Demonic Faction’ was devoted to is actually a demon god within the Dark Abyss! That powerful demon god understood that the majority of the people in the Xia Clan’s world believed in the Temple of the Earth God, yet it still continued on in snatching the souls and beliefs away. It could be clearly seen that the demon god did not have any regard for the huge power behind Temple of the Earth God! At the same time, the Demonic Faction even bestowed upon their followers Deity-Grade secret techniques and some techniques that would increase one’s combat power greatly. That was why so many Transcendents would seek refuge with this faction!
Being a different type of life form, their lifespan was quite different from the rest.
Some types of Transcendent beasts had an extremely long lifespan, and the demons were similar in this aspect.
Some of the weaker demons who invaded 8000 years ago were captured… and were kept in captivity. The Demigod mages would take this opportunity of studying such captured demons to aid in understanding them. Some of the older demons had died already! Others died due to investigations and tortures. But there were a few left surviving. These demons might even give birth to children who would become a Transcendent as they grew up!
Thus, the Infernal Palace had kept only a few Abyss Demons in captivity solely for the use of understanding them! Even still, the Transcendent mages would use them sparingly, with most Transcendents not having any chance of seeing them.
It was only during the ‘Transcendent Battle of Life and Death’ where these Abyss Demons would appear, according to the rules set many years ago on who the first twelve opponents would be.
And this became a tradition!
The further one went, the more precious the opponent the Infernal Palace would bring out.
******
Time passed slowly, to the extent that even Transcendents felt it difficult to sit still. During this half hour, many Transcendents came rushing into the viewing platform! Even some Demigods who had been sitting back at their nests sent out a Qi avatar over to view the match. To these Demigods… since the battle had proceeded to the ninth match, such a life and death battle would have a little meaning in it, and was worth the watch.
Demons were actually kept within the Infernal Palace. Thus, grabbing one and bringing it over did not take much time.
Thus, the decision of half an hour of break time made by the Infernal Palace was in reality, to let some of the Transcendents rush over. But in reality, those who were too far away had no chance of reaching the arena in time.
……
Hu. Xue Ying breathed out. When he was young, he had read of the stories passed down through the ages and dreamt frequently of himself going around killing these demons, and drinking with the Deities… who would have thought that twenty years down the road, he would be fighting with a real demon!
‘Demon, let me see what kind of formidability gave you so much fame and brought so much terror to humankind.’ Xue Ying walked out barefoot wearing a common, black shirt.
After entering the battleground…
The scenery within it was still as beautiful as ever. Within the circle of one-and-a-half to two kilometers in diameter, Xue Ying was all by himself. He was drowned in endless, deafening cheers from the mortals around him, with the cheers akin to a wave shocking the entire Hall of Life and Death! They were all cheering for Xue Ying! They were also excited to the limit since they would finally be seeing the rumoured demons passed down from the legends!
Dong. Following that, a drumbeat resounded.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the opponent of the ninth match. A demon originating from the Dark Abyss.” The voice of the emissary of Infernal Palace resounded throughout the hall.
After that, the whole hall quieted down.
Xue Ying was holding on to his spear, quietly watching. Even though he had various thoughts previously, the match was about to begin. Thus, he only had a single thing to do – kill the demon!
Hu!
Space fluctuated.
A figure descended. Right at this moment, all the mortals and Transcendents looked upon that figure. Xue Ying himself, too, raised his head as he stared at that figure slowly descending.