Chapter 1185: Entering the Gate
In the headquarters of the US Hunter Association, Mason’s secretary was arranging documents when she received a call from him.
The moment she picked up, Mason’s hurried voice entered her ear.
"Lisa, hurry, tell all the press that the Land of Blood gate will be cleared. Right now I’m near the Land of Blood gate with those otherworlders, and they intend to clear it."
His secretary widened her eyes in shock.
"Wait, Leader, how should I—"
"Just tell them. The point is exactly what I said, understand? I have to go now. I need to follow them, they’re about to enter the gate. Bye!"
Mason cut off the call, leaving his secretary stunned as she stared at her smart bracelet and blinked a few times.
"Shit!"
She quickly did what Mason had ordered, rushing out while contacting someone through her smart bracelet.
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Aldrian stepped inside the gate and felt a familiar sensation, similar to entering warp gates. As soon as his foot reached the other side, he was greeted by a completely different environment.
The stench of blood and thick, familiar devil energy washed over his body. The reddish atmosphere and sky, clear signs of the devils’ territory, came into view. He also saw several figures, frozen in shock at his sudden appearance from the gate.
"Alarm—" one of the men shouted to warn others of Aldrian’s arrival, but he suddenly dropped dead.
In fact, not only him, but everyone nearby also collapsed at the same time.
Aldrian killed them effortlessly with his new method of killing, one that was far more direct than using illusions and quite outrageous. Within his domain, he could release a fragment of his death energy or any energy, sending it straight into his targets’ souls or organs and destroying them instantly.
Now that he had reached the Immortal Realm, and even stepped into the Immortal Overlord stage, he could do things that were impossible when he was still in the mortal realm.
He could instantly use energy directly from his dantian without having to give any sign through his body to release it. In other words, he could use his energy straight from his dantian to kill without anyone detecting any reaction from his body.
For normal cultivators, they would usually show signs before unleashing their energy, whether through the flow of energy within their body or the aura they exuded. This would naturally alert others and make them aware that something was about to be released.
It could be a technique, or simply the display of their energy.
But Aldrian was different. He could directly use the energy from his dantian without letting it flow through his body at all, meaning he did not have to alert his target in any way.
He could, for example, take death energy from his dantian and teleport it straight into his target’s heart or soul, crushing them instantly.
This kind of thing was not possible when he was still in the mortal realm because his dantian had not yet undergone evolution. In the mortal realm, the dantian existed in a solid state, making it impossible to separate a portion of its energy and send it elsewhere.
The energy had to flow out from the dantian into the meridians before it could be used, which was the same as giving a clear sign through the body. This could be sensed by cultivators with sharp sense, and even more easily by those with rich experience.
In the immortal realm, however, the dantian’s became more fluid, like water. Aldrian could draw a portion of that energy and send it anywhere he wished.
Technically, anyone who comprehended the required laws and possessed the right technique, along with sufficient proficiency, could do the same with their own energy. They would only need to teleport their energy into their target, and that’s it.
But in reality, it was not that simple. The targets could still detect the sign of spatial disturbance before the energy fully teleported. That split-second signal was already enough for a cultivator to defend themselves against such a move.
Still, that was assuming they had the same level of proficiency as Aldrian in controlling their energy and technique, which in itself was extremely difficult. They would need to split their energy precisely and teleport it into a specific point, such as an internal organ, or even more difficult, the soul.
It did not even account for situations where the target was constantly moving or other factors that would further increase the difficulty of this killing method.
For Aldrian, however, things were much simpler because of his domain ability. Instant teleportation without any sign was something no one could detect.
Against strong opponents, it would create a moment of surprise that could threaten their lives.
Aldrian could still use this method even outside of his domain, but it would not carry the same level of surprise. The weakness of this method would apply to him when he was outside his domain.
But against opponents far weaker than him, they had no hope of surviving this method, whether he was inside his domain or not.
They could not detect any sign before death came, just like these devils guarding the gate. Their hearts were crushed by death energy.
Two seconds later, Sylphia and the others stepped out of the gate and raised their eyebrows when they saw several figures already lying dead not far ahead. Mason followed last, and he froze the moment he saw the bodies.
He had visited this place before, and he expected to see traces of resistance.
But what he saw now... these people were simply dead. No signs of a fight at all.
Aldrian and his wives ignored him as they observed their surroundings, which appeared to be some kind of camp.
’It looks like the people here had the same idea, building a fortress around the gate,’ Sylphia thought.
"An attack from the enemy! An attack from the enemy!" one of the devils shouted after spotting them from one of the camp.
His warning immediately caused a commotion in every direction, and all of the devils quickly moved as they already knew their roles.
The alarm bell rang soon after, and movements could instantly be sensed everywhere.
Aldrian and the others could feel activity across the entire camp, which spanned about a square kilometer. The auras varied, from disciple stage to the strongest at middle marquess stage.
They quickly rushed toward Aldrian’s group with weapons in hand, such as spears and swords. At the far back, archers had already taken their positions.
Mason, who already knew what would happen, prepared himself for battle and began circulating his energy in case he needed to assist. He knew this camp was only the beginning, and the real challenge would come after passing through it.
But then he saw Aldrian glance at his wives with a smile before speaking.
"So, who’s first?"
"Let me," Sylphia said without delay. Before anyone could respond, she flew into the sky.
The devils who saw her rise froze for a moment, immediately realizing that she had to be at a level only their commander could face.
Several of their commanders could also be seen flying into the air, confusion clear on their faces as they looked at Aldrian’s group. The moment they saw Mason, their expressions turned wary, recognizing him as one of the strongest hunters on Earth.
Their confusion only deepened when they could not sense the cultivation of the floating woman, nor that of Aldrian and the two other women beside him.
Although they were tempted by Sylphia and the others’ beauty, the fact that they could not detect their cultivation was already a red flag.
Normally, when faced with such beauties, they would not hesitate to target them, even if they were in the same realm. Moreover, Sylphia was an elf, and elves were sought after by many.
But not this time. They could not fathom the strength of the group aside from Mason!
One of the devils, whose aura had reached middle marquess stage, decided not to hesitate any longer.
"Range attack—"
Rumble!
Before he could finish his command, the ground trembled violently.
Rumble! Rumble!
Whoosh!
Giant roots burst from the ground beneath the devils’ formation. The roots took the shape of dragons, their long bodies covered in sharp spikes that could easily pierce even emperor stage cultivators. Their aura was terrifying, causing Mason’s eyes to widen in shock.
Their movements were incredibly agile and fast, each motion making the vast land tremble. They weaved between the surface and the underground, and when they burst upward with their mouths open, they swallowed many devils at once.
The thousands of devils who had already taken their positions fell into chaos as the ground collapsed beneath them and the root dragons rampaged through the camp. There were only five of them, yet that was enough to destroy everything.
"No!"
"Escape! Escape! Arghh!"
"Retreat to the second line—uogh!"
Many devils were crushed by the dragons moving at speeds they could not escape from. Even those who could fly were not safe, as the dragons easily caught them midair.
Blood splattered everywhere, and screams filled with horror echoed across the camp for less than ten seconds before everything fell silent, leaving only destruction behind.
Just like that, thousands of devils died in ten seconds.
Mason, who witnessed it all, felt his eyes tremble.
’What a terrifying power!’ he thought.
