289: Chapter 289 Heavenly Demon Palace, Beyond Supernatural Powers?

Chu Sheng stepped into the Palace of Desire, originally expecting a fierce battle.

Illusions, Restrictions, guardians—he had prepared for them all.

But as he walked inside, nothing happened.

The palace was empty; there were no traps, no enemies, not even a trace of killing intent.

There was only a straight corridor leading into the depths.

The walls on both sides were carved with reliefs, depicting scenes he could not understand.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor conquering all directions, subjugating the hordes of devils, creating the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, and vanishing from between heaven and earth.

Chu Sheng walked very slowly, watching as he went.

Those reliefs were very rough, as if carved with claws, but every stroke sank three points into the stone, exuding a barbaric, unquestionable power.

He thought to himself: "The Heavenly Demon Ancestor must have been extremely arrogant during his lifetime."

At the end of the corridor was a door.

The door was not closed; it stood wide open, and behind it lay a void.

The scene before his eyes shifted instantly.

He stood upon a desolate plain.

It was not the small world from before, but a true, boundless wasteland.

Not a blade of grass grew on the ground; there were only black gravel and occasionally visible bones.

The air was filled with seven distinct types of Devilish Qi.

Arrogance's gold, Greed's dark gold, Gluttony's pitch black, Wrath's scarlet, Envy's emerald green, Lust's pinkish-purple, and Sloth's greyish-blue.

They intertwined, like seven great Dragons churning, biting, and devouring each other in the sky.

Chu Sheng's Heavenly Demon Body was vibrating; all seven types of Devilish Qi were resonating with him.

His Dao Palace was spinning madly, absorbing the dense Devilish Qi in the air.

His cultivation was growing; the Bottleneck of the Early Stage of Dao Completion was like a thin layer of ice, beginning to melt under the impact of the seven types of Devilish Qi.

Chu Sheng took a deep breath and exhaled that turbid Qi.

He did not rush to make a Breakthrough, but instead looked around, observing this desolate plain.

Statues were scattered across the wasteland, hundreds or thousands of them, standing densely on the ground.

Every statue had lingering Devilish Qi, featuring all seven colors, with varying strengths.

Chu Sheng walked to the nearest statue and looked at it carefully.

It was a humanoid statue with a blurred face, but a burly physique, holding a great sword with both hands in a slashing posture.

Lingering on the statue was golden Devilish Qi—Arrogance.

Chu Sheng reached out to touch it; the statue was ice-cold, like a piece of thousand-year cold iron.

His Divine Sense probed into the interior of the statue; there was nothing, only a void.

Who carved these statues? The Heavenly Demon Ancestor? Or those who came later?

The wasteland was vast, and there were many statues; Chu Sheng walked for a long time and saw countless of them.

Some statues were destroyed, shattered into stones scattered on the ground.

Some statues were inscribed with characters in an ancient script, so old that even he did not recognize them.

He bypassed a huge beast-shaped statue, and a high platform appeared ahead.

Standing on the high platform was a massive statue, taller, larger, and more majestic than all the other statues.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor.

Chu Sheng stopped and looked up at the statue.

The statue was hundreds of zhang tall, piercing straight into the clouds; the face was blurred, but the eyes had been deliberately carved with exceptional clarity.

Golden vertical pupils, like two burning flames, overlooked the entire wasteland.

He wore a suit of armor, held a long halberd, and was mounted on a three-headed giant Dragon; the Dragon heads were ferocious, with fangs exposed.

Chu Sheng stood at the foot of the statue, feeling like an ant.

He thought to himself: "Just how strong was the Heavenly Demon Ancestor?"

On the base of the statue, a line of small characters was inscribed.

The handwriting was very new, as if carved only recently, forming a sharp contrast with the antiquity of the statue.

"The Old Ancestor swept across the Five Regions and eyed the world like a tiger, yet he was nothing more than this. I look down upon the past and present, and one day I will surely surpass him. —Left by Arrogance."

But below, Chu Sheng noticed something with a familiar aura.

One of Arrogance's ears had been severed, lying not far from the statue.

Chu Sheng's mouth twitched.

He thought to himself: "This guy Arrogance, he sure acts tough."

Running to the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's statue to inscribe words, claiming he was even more impressive than the Old Ancestor.

And what was the result? He was purged by heaven and earth.

He shook his head and continued looking.

On the other side of the statue's base, there was another line of even smaller characters, seemingly carved later.

"I am not convinced. When I have devoured the others, I will surely return. —Again left by Arrogance."

Chu Sheng could not help but laugh.

He thought to himself: "This is no longer arrogance; this is conceit."

However, Arrogance did indeed have the capital to be conceited.

He had devoured Greed and Gluttony; holding three types of Devilish Qi in his hands, he already possessed the Divine Ability of the Profound Realm.

Given time, Mastery of Law would not be impossible.

But he forgot that the Heavenly Demon Ancestor was in the Unity Realm.

Profound, Mastery of Law, Unity—the gap between each Realm was as vast as heaven and earth.

He had devoured three types of Devilish Qi, but the other four were still outside.

Wrath was in the hands of Yu Rumeng, Sloth was at the Third Peak of Wendao Palace, Envy's whereabouts were unknown, and Lust was on his own person.

He was still far from the Unity Realm.

Chu Sheng withdrew his gaze, looked at the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's statue, and was silent for a long time.

He suddenly thought of a question.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor was so strong; why did he vanish?

Logically speaking, the Lifespan of the Divine Ability Realm was extremely long; with the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's cultivation, living for tens of thousands of years would not be a problem.

When he vanished, he was in his prime, and his Lifespan was far from ending.

Did he die? Or did he Ascend?

Ascension was the most popular theory, but Chu Sheng felt it was not that simple.

If he had Ascended, why leave behind seven Legacies? Why leave behind Tianmo Mountain? Why leave behind this Secret Realm?

A person about to Ascend should not have arranged their affairs so complexly.

Unless? He had not Ascended at all.

He had merely vanished, hiding somewhere, or perhaps plotting something.

There was another question that concerned Chu Sheng even more.

Did the Heavenly Demon Ancestor create the seven types of Devilish Qi, or did the convergence of the seven types of Devilish Qi create the Heavenly Demon Ancestor?

If it was the former, then the terrifying extent of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor would far exceed imagination.

Creating seven types of Devilish Qi meant he had mastered seven different Origins, each of which could achieve a Divine Ability Realm.

This was no longer something that could be done in the Unity Realm.

This was more like... a Creator.

Beyond the Divine Ability Realm, was there still a Realm?

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Chu Sheng's back.

He dared not think any further.

He took a deep breath, bypassed the statue, and continued walking forward.

At the end of the wasteland, there was a beam of light.

Chu Sheng quickened his pace and walked toward that light.

The light drew closer and closer, brighter and brighter.

His body was trembling, not because of fear, but because of excitement.

He had a premonition that the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's true Legacy was in that light.