357: Holy land!

“Besides the guards, I wonder if these exclusive items can also be used for sacrifice?”

Xiao Shi’s heart stirred.

He felt that he could continue to try sacrificing with exclusive items.

Although he still didn’t know the specific function of these black beads, he could sense that these black beads would be incredibly important in the upcoming Holy Land.

Relatively speaking, the function of exclusive items was more reflected in the checkpoints.

After entering the Holy Land, these exclusive items might not have such a great effect anymore.

Thinking of this, Xiao Shi decisively took out an exclusive item and threw it into the cyan pool water.

Anyway, he had many exclusive items on hand at the moment.

Even if he guessed wrong and lost one exclusive item, it wouldn't be a big problem.

Whoosh!

When this exclusive item merged into the cyan pool water, the same situation as when sacrificing guards immediately appeared.

Wafts of black smoke emanated from the Demonic Body Clone’s neck.

However, because there was too little black smoke, it was not enough to condense into a complete black bead. Clearly, more exclusive items were needed.

This made everyone who witnessed this realize that exclusive items could also be used for sacrifice.

But for others, they were unwilling to use exclusive items for sacrifice.

After all, no one knew the specific function of these black beads yet.

If the function of these black beads was not as good as that of exclusive items, then sacrificing them would be a huge loss.

There was an element of gambling in this.

However, Xiao Shi firmly chose to sacrifice exclusive items to condense more black beads.

He sacrificed most of the exclusive items on his person, keeping only a few.

This also increased the number of black beads on his neck from six to nine.

Besides Xiao Shi, everyone else also successively formed black beads on the Demonic Body Clone’s neck by sacrificing guards.

It could be said that almost everyone who had formed black beads would participate in the upcoming Holy Land competition.

However, most people had already given up on the idea of competing for the Holy Land.

As a result, only a few people were preparing to compete for the Holy Land.

For those who gave up, after experiencing the difficulty of the previous checkpoints, they already knew that this special area far exceeded their capabilities.

In this situation, they naturally chose to retreat when faced with difficulties.

They would not engage in such a meaningless competition.

From the Great Wu Dynasty, besides Xiao Shi, only two people would participate in the final Holy Land competition.

Besides the white-haired girl who was Chu Tong’s successor, a Martial Demon Realm with a long, thin face and a relatively short stature was also preparing to participate.

The reason this person participated was out of necessity.

Now, as the white-haired girl’s successor, if the white-haired girl died, he would succeed her as the core candidate for the Great Wu Dynasty to refine this special area.

If he retreated and the final refinement failed, even if he survived and returned, the Great Wu Crown Prince would certainly investigate.

He and the white-haired girl thought the same, both intending to go in and merely put on a show.

The only one from the Great Wu Dynasty who truly had the ability to compete for the Holy Land was Xiao Shi.

Although they didn't know where the Great Wu Crown Prince had ranked Xiao Shi, they knew that judging by Xiao Shi's current displayed abilities, even if there were taboos left by the Great Wu Crown Prince on him, they believed it would not hinder his competition for the Holy Land.

Compared to the Great Wu Dynasty, the Three Great Domains had no intention of slacking off or putting on a show.

Instead, they would compete with all their might.

However, the number of people among them preparing to compete for the Holy Land was also not many, totaling only four.

At the same time, the black beads they formed through sacrifice were not as numerous as Xiao Shi’s.

After all, these Three Great Domains belonged to three different forces. Even if other Martial Demon Realm from the Three Great Domains who chose to give up still had extra guards, they would transfer their guards to the Martial Demon Realm of their own force, not concentrate them on one person.

At the same time, these four Martial Demon Realm from the Three Great Domains were unwilling to use exclusive items for sacrifice.

This meant that they had only formed a maximum of two black beads.

Just like that, as everyone unsealed the Demonic Body Clone and sacrificed all the guards, these Demonic Body Clones also opened their eyes and awoke from their slumber.

Since these people had all fallen from the second stage of the Martial Demon Realm back to the first stage, they were able to control their Demonic Body Clones, preventing them from going out of control.

When all of them, accompanied by their respective Demonic Body Clones, descended the altar steps, two branching paths suddenly appeared before them.

One path led to the Holy Land, while the other led out of this special area.

Regarding this, those Martial Demon Realm from the Three Great Domains who had chosen to give up all walked towards the path leading out of this special area.

As they stepped onto this path, the Demonic Body Clones beside them automatically merged with their main bodies.

The two became one again, causing them to return to the second stage of the Martial Demon Realm.

And at the very first moment of merging, their figures vanished from the place, leaving this special area.

Compared to these Martial Demon Realm from the Three Great Domains, the people from the Great Wu Dynasty, although they had already given up, did not choose to leave.

They all clearly understood that if they left this special area and returned to the Great Wu Dynasty at this time, they would inevitably face punishment.

After all, their duty was to fully assist.

But now they were not participating in the final Holy Land competition.

This would inevitably lead to questioning from the Great Wu Crown Prince.

Therefore, they planned to wait until the final results were known before leaving this place.

The rest of the people, who were preparing to compete for the Holy Land, focused their gaze on the path leading to the Holy Land.

This path was filled with numerous black demonic energies, preventing them from seeing the situation within the Holy Land through these black demonic energies.

At the same time, this place was as Xiao Shi had previously guessed.

When someone among them tried to enter the Holy Land, they were immediately blocked by these dense demonic energies, unable to enter.

If they were to force their way in, their entire body would be corroded by these demonic energies, and these demonic energies might even endanger their lives.

This made everyone realize that only Demonic Body Clones could enter the Holy Land from now on.

Many people frowned at this.

Their Demonic Body Clones were far inferior to themselves in terms of strength.

At the same time, most of the treasures on their bodies were not suitable for Demonic Body Clones, as their main bodies and Demonic Body Clones were entirely different systems.

Treasures usable by the main body might not necessarily be usable by the Demonic Body Clone.

Furthermore, once the Demonic Body Clone encountered an unmanageable situation in the Holy Land, they would be unable to provide support.

If the Demonic Body Clone died inside, they would completely become the weakest type of Martial Demon Realm.

At the same time, the treasures given to the Demonic Body Clone would also be lost.

What worried them most was that the Demonic Body Clone’s methods and style were completely different from their main bodies.

After all, most of their Demonic Body Clones were embodiments of negative emotions.

Their methods were somewhat extreme and they might not be able to remain as calm as their main bodies.

At this, one of the four Martial Demon Realm from the Three Great Domains immediately shook his head after careful consideration and chose to withdraw.

The risk of entering the Holy Land was simply too great.

If he failed, the consequences would be severe, exceeding his tolerance.

Originally, he thought everyone would enter the Holy Land with their Demonic Body Clones to compete.

And he himself possessed powerful life-saving means, so even if he encountered a crisis in the Holy Land, he was confident he could escape with his Demonic Body Clone.

But now only the Demonic Body Clone could enter... his escape methods could not be used.

After thinking it over, he decisively chose to give up.

At the same time, the long-faced, short-statured Martial Demon Realm from the Great Wu Dynasty also chose to give up.

Compared to being punished by the Great Wu Crown Prince, he felt that ensuring the safety of his Demonic Body Clone was more important.

If the Demonic Body Clone died inside, let alone a Saint, even the most ordinary first-stage Martial Demon Realm could easily overpower him.

The white-haired girl next to him was also incredibly conflicted.

She also wanted to give up... but now that Chu Tong was dead, as the first successor, if she evaded, regardless of the final outcome, the Great Wu Crown Prince would certainly punish her severely.

She had no choice but to repeatedly instruct her Demonic Body Clone not to act rashly after entering, and to prioritize self-preservation.

Immediately, besides the two who withdrew, everyone else quickly gave instructions to their Demonic Body Clones and handed some powerful treasures to them.

Only Xiao Shi did not communicate with his Demonic Body Clone or give it any treasures.

Upon arriving here, Xiao Shi’s Demonic Body Clone moved and directly entered the Holy Land shrouded in demonic energy ahead.

Its figure instantly vanished from everyone’s sight.

With Xiao Shi’s control over the Demonic Body Clone, though they couldn't achieve telepathy, their items could be exchanged through the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree.

At the same time, Xiao Shi could also share the Demonic Body Clone’s vision.

He could see everything the Demonic Body Clone saw.

Therefore, even if only the Demonic Body Clone could enter the Holy Land, he could still remotely control it.

At this moment, Xiao Shi, using the Demonic Body Clone’s vision, saw that the moment it stepped into the Holy Land, it was teleported to an ancient and expansive clearing.

This clearing was empty, its floor paved with ancient bricks, exuding a sense of ancientness.

And upon entering this Holy Land, the Demonic Body Clone immediately maintained a high state of alert, not daring to relax or be careless in the slightest.

However, it never detected any danger, nor did any abnormal situation occur here.

It waited like this for more than ten minutes, still calm as usual.

“Could it be that something will only happen when all Demonic Body Clones have entered the Holy Land?”

Xiao Shi pondered this thoughtfully.

Just then, boom!

A black lightning bolt suddenly flashed across the sky of the Holy Land, creating a terrifying sonic boom.

Its speed was so fast that neither Xiao Shi nor the Demonic Body Clone had time to react before the Demonic Body Clone was directly struck by the black lightning bolt.

The Demonic Body Clone’s body trembled, and black electric arcs surged freely throughout its body, continuously drilling into its interior.

This sudden situation made Xiao Shi frown.

He could clearly sense the Demonic Body Clone’s condition and found that the black lightning bolt that struck it did not cause any damage to the Demonic Body Clone.

“To be precise…”

“This black lightning bolt does not possess destructive power…”

Xiao Shi carefully sensed the Demonic Body Clone’s condition.

Gradually, he noticed something was wrong.

When numerous black electric arcs drilled into the Demonic Body Clone’s body, a series of thumping sounds emanated from within the Demonic Body Clone.

The entire internal structure of its body seemed to be suffering damage.

“No…”

“This is not pure destruction, but rather a collapse occurring within the Demonic Body Clone’s body because it cannot withstand the force.”

Xiao Shi pondered this thoughtfully.

He could clearly sense that at this moment, not only were many of the Demonic Body Clone’s internal organs shattered, but more importantly, the Demonic Body Clone’s body structure had suffered significant damage.

Normally, for a Martial Demon Realm, even if internal organs were shattered, it would not be fatal.

But once the body structure was damaged, even with the powerful vitality of a Martial Demon Realm, it would directly face death.

After all, damage to the body structure not only involved the physical body but also caused the soul to collapse.

The souls of Martial Demon Realm cultivators had already merged with their physical bodies, so damage to the body structure would naturally directly affect the soul.

In other words, if it were any other Martial Demon Realm, with such damage to their body structure, it would undoubtedly be a dead end.

But the Demonic Body Clone’s body was, after all, an Evil Energy User, and ranked third on the Ten Evils Ranking.

Even with damage to its body structure, it did not immediately die but began to recover rapidly.

After sensing that the Demonic Body Clone was unharmed, Xiao Shi began to ponder this black lightning bolt.

Clearly, this black lightning bolt did not possess any lethality; it had no power at all.

Even if it struck a mortal, the mortal's body would not suffer any damage from it.

It could be said that the power of this black lightning bolt was inferior even to the most ordinary and common lightning.

Yet, after striking the Demonic Body Clone, it directly destroyed the Demonic Body Clone's internal body structure.

Just as Xiao Shi felt puzzled, he suddenly saw that when all the black electric arcs had drilled into the Demonic Body Clone’s body, the Demonic Body Clone’s entire body began to undergo some changes.

Its body actually emitted an aura unique to this special area.

Furthermore, a powerful and earth-shattering aura surged from the Demonic Body Clone.

Xiao Shi was very familiar with this aura.

He had felt it when Xiang Zizhen was promoted to Saint.

“Could it be…”

Xiao Shi’s pupils constricted violently, and he thought of a possibility!