When Alm, Bruno, and Liumi entered the rift, they felt their bodies squeeze as the space around them distorted vaguely. Catching sight of the scene, they released a cold breath of air.
They were in an area roughly a kilometer wide where they could clearly feel the Devil God’s gaze upon them; it was a relatively safe zone. Ahead, they spotted an infinite horizon, but everything seemed distorted and undefined, incapable of being perceived or sensed. No curious glance, not even the immortal will of that being, could spy beyond.
Simultaneously, their QIs and cultivations were quickly dispersed. They had returned to their mortal condition, somewhat akin to the secret continent, but it posed no serious issue. Alm and Bruno relied on Fides and Vorion, while Liumi trusted her own true body for combat.
"Master, which direction should we follow?" asked Liumi, unable to discern anything ahead, completely blind.
"Most people would opt to follow the edges here. So, let’s head straight for the center. It might reduce the danger slightly," Bruno suggested, though he knew the chances of that were minimal. It was prudent to simply take the less traveled path.
They advanced cautiously, suppressing their heartbeats, breathing, and even the opening of their pores to the maximum, not allowing themselves any lapses. Liumi gripped her spear firmly, not out of nervousness but determination.
The distortion could block vision and even the power of divine soul, but it couldn’t deter Alm and Bruno’s danger instinct, which they used to advance with keen senses.
Even with their keen sense of danger, Alm and Bruno left nothing to chance as they moved slowly. It took them four hours to reach a point where the distortion began to lessen, and their vision was restored.
Bruno led the way, while Alm focused on carefully perceiving everything around them. When Bruno waved his hand, Liumi immediately stopped. The two hid behind a dark stone, peering through a crack to observe what lay outside.
Now inside the Devil’s Mountain, although they could use their divine souls, they opted not to risk it; they would use only their eyes for safer exploration.
They beheld an endless chain of barren mountains, whose peaks and valleys revealed nothing hidden within their ravines.
Liumi couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised. It didn’t seem as daunting as the land of death she had imagined. They didn’t spot any powerful life forms. Alm also detected no imminent danger.
Among all the items prepared by the heroine’s companions, there were thousands of pills that Alm and Bruno had kept in their inventory; they knew the effects of some of them and used the time they had in that place to understand what each one did. Curiously, Bruno turned to the distortion behind them and crushed a pill.
The pill turned to powder, then floated slowly toward the distortion. When it touched the air, it was blocked by an invisible energy.
"An interesting trap," Bruno remarked calmly, surprising Liumi. "This place was created so that whoever enters never leaves. Any attempt by something living to return will be detected, and enemies will likely come."
"But... what about the heroes and their companions who managed to return?" Liumi asked.
"It was probably a one-off thing, allowed so that other heroes and outsiders would believe in the possibility of return. It’s an effective trap to lure more people. The strange thing is that the queen allowed this with her own heroes. Anyway, let’s find out the reason," Bruno concluded, immediately seeing the succubus’s eyes gleam like stars. If they had no concerns at all, Liumi trusted that everything was within the plans; now she would enjoy the adventure.
"Don’t get too excited. This is probably going to be much harder than I thought. To keep ourselves safe, we should take a concealment pill and apply medicinal powders to hide our presence. Let’s also change clothes to blend in with the terrain color here."
Liumi nodded, and after these preparations, they proceeded stealthily.
The mountain range was completely deserted. They didn’t spot a single soul. However, occasionally, they came across bloodstains that had almost lost all color over time. Sometimes, they could still feel the lingering aura of the deceased cultivators.
These stains indicated they could be easily located if not careful, so they didn’t hurry their pace. Even after more than four hours, they had only crossed a dozen mountains.
Along the way, they spotted several rotting corpses and broken weapons. Bruno even recognized the remains of an immortal item. Upon touching one, he still felt its strong presence. By its shape, it seemed to be a fragment of a set of armor.
Suddenly, Alm sensed something. "Quick, hide!" he whispered, pulling Liumi into a crevice among the rocks. She clung to them, burying her head in his chest. They had barely hidden when a terrifying pressure manifested.
Alm and Bruno peered through a crack between the rocks. They saw a flying beast scanning the surroundings. But quickly, it flew towards the entrance from where they had come.
"Someone probably exposed themselves," Bruno murmured to Liumi, who looked up at him, closer than she should have been.
Stealthily, they crawled to a slightly higher mountain. They quickly heard shouts and the sound of clashing metal coming from the entrance. Though they had entered some time ago, they hadn’t progressed far. From here, they could still see the distortion. In front of it, a man wielded a halberd and fought fiercely against the beast.
He had done what many cultivators do upon entering the Devil’s Mountain: test the way back, triggering the formation and drawing the enemy.
"No!"
Suddenly, a miserable cry echoed. They saw a spray of blood mist as the cultivator was torn apart by the beast. After killing him, the creature looked coldly around. Carrying the adventurer’s weapon, it flew away in the same direction it had come from.
As it returned after a few seconds, it suddenly encountered a demonic succubus blocking its path. She held a massive spear and wore a yellow dress that covered much of her skin, something strange and senseless for her race.
Liumi stood in its way, observing the beast coldly. Then the creature’s eyes gleamed with fierce light. It opened its mouth, revealing a set of sharp teeth. It was a winged creature, part alligator... or something similarly strange and alien.
"Kiekiekie..." The creature chuckled sinisterly, a laugh that would chill anyone’s blood. Its sharp teeth glistened. It didn’t take long for it to lunge forward and attack.
"Disgusting," Liumi scoffed, striking with her long spear.
Bang!
Its sharp teeth were shattered by the attack. That spear was terrifyingly sturdy and resilient, even if she couldn’t use its full power, the beast was no match.
The beast let out a miserable cry and turned to flee, but a black saber descended, landing on its back and making blood gush. Sensing imminent danger, the beast quickly folded its wings, blocking the sudden attack.
But its wings were shattered by Alm’s strike. At the same time, it let out a howl and started to run, but without its wings, its speed decreased drastically.
Shoosh! BANG!
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A long spear cut through the winds, striking the beast relentlessly and causing its lifeless body to fall. Liumi ran and grabbed the spear; she couldn’t stray too far from her true body in this hostile environment.
"Great job," said Alm, and Liumi smiled brightly.
Next, he held the dead beast and pressed a finger against its head. His divine soul invaded the creature’s mind, searching for its memories.
However, suddenly, they felt something hidden manifest itself. The soul and head exploded automatically, as if they had touched a highly restrictive level; they could hardly understand what happened. Something was controlling this beast.
Alm and Bruno snorted, still managing to retrieve some memory fragments. But in the next moment, the sense of danger enveloped them.
"Damn, we were discovered so quickly," Bruno cursed, grabbing the headless corpse and throwing it far away. Then, he grabbed the succubus’s hand, and they both fled in the opposite direction.
They had barely disappeared when more than ten beasts and three demons ran towards the corpse. Their cold eyes overflowed with murderous intent upon seeing the decapitated body.
One of them waved his hand, and they all dispersed, searching for the killer.
The pair was tightly embraced and hidden beneath a rock. Bruno had dug a small hole for them to hide in. He had used medicinal powders to cover their auras and erase any traces. The high-level pills were incredibly useful; lying in the hole, neither dared to move.
They spent three whole days there. Liumi and they passed the time mentally discussing random things while feeling the environment around them. Killing that beast had caused a great disturbance.
After three days of searching, things finally calmed down. However, Alm and Bruno knew that many other cultivators had entered Devil’s Mountain during that time.
Perhaps the creatures thought the killer was one of the adventurers and had already taken care of him.
Although the beast’s soul had completely exploded in the end, Alm and Bruno had managed to gather some useful information. This risk was definitely worth it. So, they stealthily emerged from the hole and continued to advance.
According to the creature’s memories, this place had over ten hidden sentinels tasked with its defense. If someone touched the formation, one of them would kill him. They didn’t possess all the complete memories and didn’t know the exact location of these hidden sentinels, but they could rely on their instinct of danger to avoid them.
It wasn’t just the distortion at the entrance that had an alert formation. Every slightly deeper ground, and countless other places had a network of security and location. Every inch was dangerous to approach carelessly, and now they had gained enough knowledge to avoid it.
As they advanced, they encountered more and more battle marks, as well as broken weapon fragments. They even saw some shattered skeletons.
These skeletons were harder than any metal they had encountered. There were bloodstains on the ground that still possessed chilling auras, despite the time that had passed. Liumi smiled happily as she experienced and saw all this, but she always kept close to them without taking a step away.
The aura emanating from the ground made them sigh. There were definitely countless dead cultivators buried there, honored warriors fallen in battle... which Alm and Bruno definitely didn’t care about. His bones would be very useful, but now Alm and Bruno didn’t dare to touch those bones; they needed to better understand the formation and what was happening in that place.
Suddenly, "Watch out!" Alm pulled the succubus to the ground. A flash of light appeared above them.
It was an immense beam of light that cut through the air and passed by them. Interestingly, this beam of light didn’t convey any sense of danger. That’s what made them not notice it initially and startle.
"Wow, that’s amazing," Liumi said, looking intently at the distant beam of light.
Inside that beam of light was the image of a gigantic sword, so sharp it seemed capable of slicing through the heavens. It was definitely a weapon of the highest level.
Alm and Bruno watched the projection of the sword and realized it was precisely aimed in the direction they had come from.
"As expected, this is projecting the aura of powerful items towards the entrance. We rushed in quickly and didn’t notice this, but those outside must be gathering the courage to enter, they must be aware. This will reflect back to the outside world and attract more people," Bruno said softly.
Liumi nodded, and Bruno continued, "And about that beast we killed; it seemed to be controlled by something hidden inside it, which caused its explosion. Probably some kind of slave seal. These creatures are being forced to follow plans against their will."
"But what’s the purpose of attracting more people?" Liumi asked.
"The answer to that question isn’t something we can rush. The projection must be hiding a true treasure behind it. So... hehe, you understand," Bruno said, letting his excitement slip. Found good loot to plunder, plus a chance to mess with the heroes and the queen; couldn’t be better.