"May His Majesty forgive me..."
Upon speaking, Xuan Chaoyan once again knelt and bowed, apologizing to Fang Yuan.
"It's alright..." Fang Yuan raised his hand to signal, "This is not your fault. You've done your best."
It seemed the situation was more complicated than he had initially thought. According to common knowledge, in any world where a martial artist reaches the Martial Saint realm, they should ascend to a higher world by breaking through the void.
In other words, once a martial artist reaches the Martial Saint level, they should be forced to ascend, unable to remain in the lower world.
But now, things didn't seem to be so simple.
Take that demonic horse, for example. Its combat power wasn't exactly on the level of a true Martial Saint, but it wasn't far off.
Moreover, judging from Xuan Tianhe's description, it seemed that the demonic horse was only lurking around the outskirts of the [Boundless Bone Sea].
So, what kind of terrifying existence must be at the core of this place...
Could it be that the heavenly rules, which force ascension once a person reaches Martial Saint, only apply to human cultivators, while demons are exempt from this rule?
Fang Yuan speculated but soon shook his head. Instead of guessing, it was better to go see it in person.
He immediately said, "There's no time to waste. Xuan Chaoyan, lead me to this Boundless Bone Sea and let's check it out."
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he lightly stretched his muscles as he casually said:
"Let me show you what speed really means at the Heaven Earth realm."
"Heaven Earth realm?" Everyone was shocked upon hearing this term.
"The Heaven Earth realm," Xuan Tianhe immediately explained, "is a level higher than the Martial Saint realm. His Majesty... has already reached the peak of the Heaven Earth realm..."
At this point, he couldn't help but sigh. His Majesty had been extremely generous, sharing the divine art that directly leads to the Heaven Earth realm, the "Great Void Hidden Sword Art," with him.
But unfortunately, his aptitude was lacking. He had only barely skimmed the surface of the "Great Sun Burning Moon Scripture" before and had no time to learn anything new...
Only then did Xuan Chaoyan and the others realize. The Heaven Earth realm was even higher than Martial Saint. This was new information for them. Although this realm was still beyond their reach, they never expected that His Majesty had already reached the pinnacle of this level... truly amazing!
---
After about half a stick of incense, Fang Yuan stood proudly, his hands behind his back, before an endless sea covered in dense mist.
The mist churned restlessly, rising to the sky and sinking to the ground, like an invisible wall blocking their sight. They could only vaguely make out the shapes of countless ghostly figures stirring within.
The cold, damp air immediately struck them with a decayed smell, making them feel uncomfortable.
Fang Yuan, ever decisive, had immediately set out to investigate the [Boundless Bone Sea] after Xuan Chaoyan's report.
Now that they had arrived, the scene before them confirmed that what Xuan Chaoyan said was true. Before Fang Yuan, there was only the endless mist. It was as though they had entered a world made of mist, heavy and mysterious, evoking a sense of caution.
"This should be the place you mentioned, right?" Fang Yuan asked.
Beside him, Xuan Chaoyan, pale and struggling to recover from dizziness, pressed his painful head, unable to distinguish the situation ahead. He could barely make out anything in his blurred vision.
Fang Yuan's speed at the Heaven Earth realm peak was certainly something he had fully experienced.
However, the feeling of being carried away so swiftly wasn't very comfortable. Honestly, he was feeling a little nauseous...
Even with a body as strong as a half-step Martial Saint's, his legs still felt weak, and his ears were ringing.
It was just an overwhelming sense of weightlessness...
"What did Your Majesty say? I didn't hear clearly..."
"I'm feeling a bit dizzy..."
But he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that they had already arrived in a mist-covered area.
"Right, this is it!" Xuan Chaoyan immediately regained his senses and quickly answered. He was also in awe of His Majesty's astonishing speed.
It had taken him seven or eight days to reach this place, yet His Majesty had arrived in an instant...
Suppressing his astonishment, Xuan Chaoyan continued, "When I first entered the mist, that demonic horse immediately locked onto me, and I had to retreat in a hurry. I didn't have time to explore carefully."
"Then, let's go in again and check it out. Stick close to me."
With that, Fang Yuan took the lead and stepped into the mist, with Xuan Chaoyan following closely behind.
As they traversed the mist, Fang Yuan immediately sensed something was off.
The mist not only hindered their vision but also severely restricted their divine sense. Even with his Heaven Earth realm peak cultivation, he couldn't escape the effect…
This didn't make sense. What kind of bizarre place had appeared here in the lower world...
"Release your half-step Martial Saint aura." At this moment, Fang Yuan noticed that Xuan Chaoyan was consciously suppressing his aura and immediately reminded him.
"Huh?" Xuan Chaoyan was stunned. "Your Majesty, I see you've been suppressing your aura too…"
Seeing Fang Yuan suppressing his aura, he instinctively followed suit. After all, this place was perilous, and it couldn't hurt to suppress their presence. He had learned the hard way last time.
Fang Yuan glanced at Xuan Chaoyan and said calmly, "If I don't suppress my aura, wouldn't the demons in the mist run away?"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Chaoyan immediately nodded. That made sense... Wait a minute. Does that mean...
So he wanted him to release his aura and serve as bait, to attract the demons in the mist?
Well, that seemed in line with His Majesty's usual style...
Xuan Chaoyan quickly realized what Fang Yuan intended and followed suit, releasing his aura fully—stronger than last time!
As his half-step Martial Saint aura surged like a tidal wave, the surrounding mist began to boil:
"Fresh blood, fresh human food!"
"It's been so long since I've smelled this scent... The scent of human blood is truly nostalgic!"
"..."
Various chaotic voices echoed through the mist, as the mist violently churned. Something was rapidly approaching them!
"Your Majesty, something's coming!" Xuan Chaoyan called out, barely able to see the mist churning, but the dense demonic aura could not be hidden!
Of course, Fang Yuan didn't need any reminder, as he could clearly see everything.
The names of three demon kings—[Blue Wing Demon King], [Blood Claw Demon King], and [Soul Devouring Demon King]—were particularly striking in the mist!
Three Demon Kings had arrived in an instant!!!
Fang Yuan flicked his wrist, and the Earth Sword suddenly appeared in his hand. Just as the three demons were about to pounce, he swiftly struck out three times, cleanly killing all of them!
[Slain Blue Wing Demon King, Good Deed Value +150,000]
[Slain Blood Claw Demon King, Good Deed Value +170,000]
[Slain Soul Devouring Demon King, Good Deed Value +140,000]
To avoid alerting the whole nest, Fang Yuan didn't use any divine abilities nor released any aura, relying purely on his physical strength to dispatch them all!
After all, with his Heaven Earth realm peak strength, killing demon kings was as easy as killing a chicken.
"This place really is a good spot..." Fang Yuan stood with his sword in hand, secretly marveling.
He never expected that the outer mist would be filled with demon kings at this level, each of them ravenously attacking anything they could find.
What exactly was going on here?
Just as Fang Yuan was pondering this, he suddenly felt the Earth Sword in his hand tremble... It was humming, continuously sending him a message:
Escape, quickly!