Less than six months remained until the grand ceremony for entry into the Realm of Ashes. At this moment, all six clans residing in the twelfth and thirteenth layers of the abyss were silent, with their gates closed. All their demons were in seclusion, meticulously preparing for that moment. Every possible resource of each clan was being utilized, and everyone was focused on honing their skills to the maximum.
In the twelfth layer, within gigantic and sumptuous black walls, was the fourth-largest clan in the abyss, the Nether Hound Clan. This was a unique place within the abyss; the entire clan was shrouded in a dense demonic aura, but amidst the disturbing power, there was a frenzied bestial aura of equal intensity.
On that day, within that clan, the skies were black, and lightning struck the earth—or, to be more precise, the cultivators; all half-human, half-beast. They were precisely evil cultivators, originating from the Bloodthirsty Light Sect, undergoing tribulations and crossing into the Heaven Stage Realm.
In a distant location underground in the clan, a red figure felt the surface’s changes and sighed; it was the patriarch of the Bloodthirsty Light Sect. "To think that almost none of them will survive the Realm of Ashes is a heavy loss for the sect every time we enter the abyss."
Almost all the high elders of his sect had reached that realm that only the patriarch had possessed before, all thanks to the help of this demonic clan. The patriarch himself had reached this realm in the past in this way, and currently, he had reached the third level of the Heaven Stage Realm. Without a strong demonic bloodline, it was almost impossible to go further because they wouldn’t have the help of the demonic diagram; he had come so far due to a thin, nearly extinct demonic lineage in his veins.
There was no excitement among any high elders, only tension. They were all experiencing the abyss for real for the first time. Despite their advanced ages, they, like almost all evil cultivators, had only explored the first two levels of the abyss.
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They, like most elders, maintained a slight connection to the demons. But they knew very little or almost nothing about the abyss. All of this changed when they were appointed as high elders exactly ten years ago.
In every abyss opening, rarely did an elder return alive, and new ones were always appointed. Now these high elders knew the truth. With the resources of this clan, it was simple to reach that realm, but the cost... almost all would have to give their lives working within the Realm of Ashes. And with luck, one of them might survive.
"Our glorious sect always sacrifices a lot. But this time, everything will change," an emotionless voice sounded from the darkness near the patriarch. "The preparations are ready, and the bloody rune is already mature. Soon, the Realm of Seas will be opened, and you must easily refine the demons. By the way, any news of him?"
The patriarch shook his head. "No top 20 clan recruited him. Before, he made contact with low-level abyss clans within the prison. He must have joined one of them and is cultivating silently."
"I have already sealed the contract of that bastard elf with my lineage; that solved that abnormal problem within you. No demonic clan will miss the opportunity to try to enter the Realm of Ashes; at that moment, we will catch him. If he is cowardly enough not to appear, just seal all the abyss exits. He won’t be able to get out, or he will die buried in the abyss," the voice spoke dryly.
"Indeed. But I feel like that won’t be necessary," the patriarch said lightly. "He has always seemed interested in meeting the founder... as if he knew something... he has many secrets, and he is unpredictable."
"Someone coming from the divine realm is no small matter; I have to assume that body at all costs. I have already negotiated with the clan leader; he will provide his advisors to avoid mistakes within the realm, and then in the capture. Regardless of his intentions, with the power of our race, he will be enough."
"YES!"
The patriarch responded joyfully. This was what he wanted, and now nothing could go wrong. The entire Nether Hound clan was composed of the most abnormal and invincible bloodline possible in their hearts.
Most didn’t know, but they weren’t demons, but something close to a demonic beast and, at the same time, not belonging to either of those two. Still, they could live within the abyss as if they were demons and cultivate as such. They were a unique bloodline, not belonging to this world; all of them were the guardians of the underworld, the Cerberus.
In the midst of that stupor, the patriarch felt his communication crystal vibrate. He took the crystal, ready to destroy it, but stopped when he realized it was the crystal used among the evil patriarchs. Soon, a mental message flowed to him. Suddenly, all that excitement faded, and his brows furrowed coldly.
***
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion, followed by an avalanche of death Yin, rose to the skies. Everything happened within walls carved with wind runes; there was where a ninth-level abyss demonic clan lived, but everything turned into ruins in a matter of seconds.
In the skies, a black wyvern figure spoke imposingly. "Flee or die! I won’t give you another chance."
One month remained until the realm of mists would open. During this time, all eighth and ninth-level clans were terrorized by two invincible armies that brought down all demonic clans overnight. This was the last of them, and despite the one-sided massacre, they couldn’t refuse the battle.
The invaders were following the demons’ rules, and the clan needed to uphold the honor of their bloodline, so the leader and advisors were forced to fight. It was a battle of leaders and advisors, all with the same cultivation, but... it all lasted a single move, and the young leader of that clan didn’t need to move a muscle.
All the demons in that clan just trembled in fear and ran with all their might away; only their demonic diagram and technique were taken. The half-wyverns landed on the ground calmly and quickly ransacked all the buildings in the clan without worrying about the destruction. They grabbed all the treasures and anything valuable inside that clan and flew away.
In a distant place, within the walls of another ninth-level clan. In the central building, Almin, Langrum, and Loeus were in a closed room. And inside that room, a Qi so dense that it could be comparable to some places in the divine realm permeated everything.
All the treasures and resources that the eighth-level clans possessed were used to cultivate with the help of Yin and Yang tattoos. Everyone focused on their cultivations, and Loeus was the first to breakthrough continuously. Then, something that would shock to death any cultivator on this planet occurred. Loeus, at just 16 years old, managed to form a core and reach the Core Formation Realm.
Langrum matched Almin, and both advanced to the seventh level of the Core Formation Realm. Then, everything was consumed, and Goku ordered them to isolate themselves to enhance other aspects.
There was no longer the possibility for half-demons or half-wyverns to rise, so everything was being used by them. But the main limitation was their understanding of their realm. If they were too fast, it would destroy the possibility of reaching higher realms in the future.
A few hours later, Calirer and Runula arrived at the clan at the same time, and together, they went to where the whale was. They came to bring all the resources from the two ninth-level clans, by his order; no resource could be wasted, and they looted everything.
In the rules among the demons, there were some loopholes: if the clan that won the duel did not take the leader’s emblem, technically, they did not assume that position and could challenge others as if they were of a lower level. Thus, with only two clans, all the clans from both levels were defeated.
The two moved to the entrance of the underground, and just approaching it, they felt the furious energy coming from the electrical laws. Both activated their cultivations to resist, but that lightning was not just power, and a bitter feeling lingered in them. As they entered the room, only the smell of dense blood and lightning covered their visions.
Alm and Bruno sensed their approach and gathered all the power coming from that rune, sealing it again with a snort. All electrical laws went out, and they landed on the ground with their bodies completely destroyed and red, as if they had been trampled by a giant beast. Bruno just activated the power of faith, and they began to regenerate rapidly.
’No way, the Qi isn’t working, and just the electrical laws aren’t helping advance in physical cultivation... we lost almost half the power of faith without gaining anything.’ Bruno commented, lamenting.
’The Meridian Training is an extreme threshold in this cultivation. After completing it, our body will have undergone complete and extreme refinement. But if nothing works, there’s only one solution,’ Alm analyzed coldly. ’It must be completed using celestial power, only a tribulation can complete it.’
’Only in the Heaven Stage Realm will we face the first tribulation. But we can’t use it to refine the body, or our spiritual root will be damaged.’ Bruno responded thoughtfully.
Alm spoke seriously, ’We’ve already challenged the heavens enough using that amulet; our tribulation will be something high-level and extremely dangerous. We have to find a method, or...’
’Don’t think about it; if the tribulation turns into a celestial punishment, it will be impossible to resist. Our bodies will be destroyed, and our already wounded souls will be annihilated,’ Bruno quickly cut off. ’Maybe we’ll have to wait until the second tribulation in the other realm to advance.’
At that moment, they realized they had been talking for a few minutes and looked ahead at the entrance. They saw the two standing there silently, with strange looks.
"Why are you standing at the door? Come on, I need to start soon," Alm said dryly.
"Sir... I..." Runula murmured, and Calirer silenced her as if expecting this, then spoke lightly.
"He is still a cultivator of that sect; I will go, don’t worry." A faint smile of excitement appeared on her face with those words.
The door opened quickly, and a girl entered running. "Master!" it was Ruri who ran in, roaring furiously, taking off new clothes and covering them quickly.
"Again this, have more self-respect!" Ruri dressed them quickly, emanating extreme anger.
"Hm? There’s no reason to get angry about it; no one cares or would like to see that." the whale spoke without caring.
"They care!" Ruri quickly spoke and turned to the two standing in front, and a bloodthirsty look fell upon Calirer. "You! I heard before; don’t think nonsense on your own!"
’How much nonsense, she didn’t care about it before.’ Alm commented mentally, and the whale snorted without understanding this situation well.
’Maybe the thousands of years alone in empty space have destroyed our common sense. We have to rethink some things.’ Bruno commented lightly.
Calirer and Runula quickly approached under Ruri’s penetrating gaze and handed over all the spatial rings before quickly fleeing. But a subtle disappointment was evident in Calirer. When they left, Ruri’s bloodthirsty expression did not diminish. Then, they had to promise to be careful with that from now on. Or try...
***
The day of the Realm of Mist opening arrived. And Alm and Bruno left the clan with light steps and a bit satisfied. After using all the resources of the three clans from the ninth level of the abyss, their cultivations reached the third level of the Core Formation.
It was extremely slow, and due to their effort, Almin benefited and reached the eighth level of the same realm effortlessly. Ruri now seemed to be at the maximum limit of her realm, ready to break through at any moment.
This time, the whole group moved on its own; there shouldn’t be any competition in this realm after they expelled everyone, so they would enter alone. Calirer and Runula went to see the whale off, and they looked worried.
"I’ll spend at most a month inside. For you now, the realms pose no danger, so it’s useless to follow me," the whale said dryly to the two. "If you want to be useful, during this time, invade the higher levels and defeat all the clans up to the eleventh level, where the next realm is. That will save me time."
Both waved and bowed. The tenth-level clans shouldn’t pose much of a challenge. But the eleventh-level ones should all have cultivators at the highest possible cultivation. Adding that to their refined techniques, the two clans won’t have any advantage, and it will be a true battle.
Thus, the group moved on and reached the gigantic dome emanating furious wind laws. Unsurprisingly, there were no high-level demon clans, and that whole place would now be their private training ground, so they entered.
***
Far away, in the last layer of the abyss, inside the monumental black castle, the demon emperor was secluded in a forced meditation. The demonic energy around him seemed to distort space itself, forming shadows that danced in harmony with his uncontrolled Qi. A contorted expression of pain and hatred marked his face as if being consumed by dark forces.
In a moment of sudden transition, he opened his trembling eyes, and a sinister smile drew on his lips. A heavy aura filled the air, and he murmured with a voice infused with reverence and power:
"Ancestor! I thank you for answering my request for help." He roared, turning and kneeling with all respect in a mysterious direction.