After watching the last group of examinees rush into the Grey Mist Forest, the elder of the Heavenly Demon sect nodded in satisfaction as he sat crossed leg in front of the forest.
However, before that, his gaze fell upon the last two people that rushed into the Grey Mist Forest with a demonic smile on his face without them noticing.
"Silver Fang, do you think that elder from the Heavenly demon sect has seen through our disguise?" Asked one of the last two people that rushed into the forest.
As soon as they entered the grey mist forest, they found many footprints left behind by the others. The footprints were disordered but they're all pointed in one direction which was the outskirts of the forest. Most of the low-level demon beasts were located on the outskirts of the forest which made it the least dangerous place of the exam site.
However, unlike their predecessors, these two people were rushing deep within the forest which was considered the most dangerous place within the forest.
" Are you doubting the power of the One Hundred-Faces Mask?. Even though they are only the replicas of the real one, one has to be at least a Martial Sovereign to see through them, and that elder was clearly an initial Martial King realm powerhouse. So it's impossible for him to see through our disguise." Answered the other with a look of contempt on his face.
He was a powerhouse of the late Martial Emperor realm and the initial Martial King realm elder was no different from an ant to his eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that he was in the site of the Heavenly demon sect, he would have killed that elder with a single slap.
" But I felt as though he was paying close attention to us. Especially when he mentioned the black mountain, he had a look of pity in his eyes as he was looking at the two of us." Said the other with a disapproving look as well as a puzzled expression on his face.
He had always relied on his intuition and his gut feeling to avoid many sticky situations, and right now, his intuition was telling him that he was rushing into a trap. He had that feeling from the moment he stepped foot into that damn forest. Furthermore, the closer he got to the location of the target, the more uneasy he felt. He was as though he had stepped foot into the gate of hell.
" What's up with you? Are you that afraid?" We are both at the late stage of the Martial Emperor realm and have many life-saving treasures. Even if we were to encounter a Martial Sovereign realm, we would still be able to run away unscathed, yet you are afraid of a ten years old boy who hasn't even stop wetting his bed."
" Moreover, according to the information we got from the intelligence agency of our Bloodbath assassination guild, that little bastard has been staying on top of that mountain for the past three years with no Dao protector, it's our best chance to get him. If we let him returned into the Heavenly demon palace, it would be impossible to complete the mission. Not even our guild master Bloodbath Venerable dared to fight the Heavenly Demon Venerable head-on, let alone us."
"Also, don't you want the Soul Crystal Essence. Without it, it's impossible for us to open our Upper Dantian and break through the Martial Sovereign Realm."
While mentioning the Soul Crystal Essence, he couldn't help but take another glance at his companion with a cunning smile on his face.
As expected, as soon as he mentioned the Soul Crystal Essence, the look on his companion's face completely changed. All his suspicions disappeared like smoke as he was engulfed with greed. It was like a fish that has been hooked.
After convincing his companion, with a resolute look on their faces, they both quicken their steps as they rushed deeper into the forest. Even though the Grey Mist Forest was filled with many demon beasts, it was nothing to them.
They were both old monsters and top-class assassins that have already made a name for themselves throughout the Heaven Desolate Region through slaughters and bloodbaths. They were not some nameless characters and were a genuine powerhouse of the Martial Emperor Rank, as such, the Grey Mist Forest was like a walk in the park to them. They didn't even need to fight. They just need to release a little bit of their aura and the surrounding demon beasts would run away from them with their tails between their legs.
After rushing for more than an hour into the deepest part of the Grey Mist Forest, they were finally able to see the black mountain ahead of them which was situated at the center of the forest. The Black mountain was the highest mountain throughout the whole forest.
According to their info, this mountain used to be a green mountain filled with grasses and trees. Yet, for some unknown reason, it was devoid of any life as though it has been corroded by deathly energy.
As they got closer to the foot of the mountain, the surroundings immediately darkened as though they were entering a new world, a demonic world.
Furthermore, as soon as they stepped foot into the black mountain, they could feel an incomparable evil and deathly energy that filled the air, countless skeletons and animal bones could be seen on the ground.
The two of them inhaled and calmed themselves. At the same same time, they channeled their energy to strengthen themselves and steeled their willpower before continuing ahead.
Even though their target was a ten-year-old child, but he wasn't just a simple child but a little devil incarnate. They have long investigated and heard about his deeds.
He was labeled as a little devil not only because he was a ruthless monster just like his father, but also because he was born with an open lower-dantian filled with True-Qi Essence.
....
It was a well-known fact that everyone in the world of Great Luo was born with their meridians and dantians closed. Through training and hard work, one would be able to open up their meridians and embark on the path of warriors.
The human body was composed of twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians. Only by opening one of the twelve standard meridians one would be considered as a warrior and stepped foot into the Martial Warrior realm. Furthermore, by opening one of the twelve standard meridians, the lower-dantian would automatically break open as well which would become the container for the true-Qi energy. Opening one of the eight extraordinary meridians would allow one to step foot into the Martial Master realm. As for the Martial Grandmaster realm, one has to open up one of their 360 acupoints to link up the twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians.
With one of their 360 acupoints opened, one would feel closer to Heaven and Earth and the speed of the absorption of true Qi will increase two folds. The more acupoints that were opened, the closer one would feel to Heaven and Earth and the more true Qi one would be able to absorb.
After all of the 360 acupoints were opened and the lower-Dantian was filled with true Qi which was in the form of smoke or cloud, the next step was to convert this formless or visible mass of true Qi into Essence which was in the form of liquid. Converting one true Qi into essence was a huge milestone for a Warrior as it was considered as stepping into the true Warrior Rank. Most people spent their lifetime into the Grandmaster rank unable to move further and convert their true Qi into essence.
By converting one's True Qi into True Qi essence, one would officially step into the rank of Martial Ancestor realm which was considered as a second-rate warrior or master into the world of Great Luo. So one could imagine the huge stir that little devil has caused when they found out that he was born with an open lower-meridian filled with true Qi essence which was considered as a peak Martial Lord. There were many Martial Lord powerhouses within the Great Luo world, but a small baby, not even a month old born with the strength of a peak Martial Lord was a first in the entire world.
Even though his father had tried so hard to keep it a secret, news of that little devil still got out. The whole Heaven desolate region shook when they heard about a baby that was born with the strength of a peak Martial Lord.
After the news got out, that little devil became the target of the assassination of all the influences who didn't want to Heavenly Demon Sect to rise or get stronger. However, that little devil spent all his time in the Heaven demon palace next to his father which made it almost impossible to assassinate him. Three years ago, some of the other sects high level found out that the little devil had left the Heavenly Demon palace and was staying on top of the mountain at the Exam site of the Heavenly Demon palace and quickly sprung into action. As such, every year, many assassins disguised as examinees flood into the Heavenly Demon sect to take part in the sect's recruitment of disciples to get close to that little devil so they can assassinate him.
So far none of them have succeeded. However, that didn't stop them from trying as the reward was too good to pass on. Especially those Warriors that have been stuck at the peak of the Martial Emperor realm, unable to open their upper-dantian to break through the realm of Martial Sovereign and become Top Class warrior or master.
.....
As they got closer to the top of the mountain, the surrounding area became a desolate land that consisted of scorched earth. The ground was littered with an unbelievable amount of cracks as if this land had been burned by the strongest flame in this world.
This huge mountain that used to be filled with many tall trees that pierced through the sky, grasses that were as tall as one waist, and also the house of many 4th rank demon beasts has turned into nothing but a barren desolate land devoid of any life.
Closing the distance to the top of the mountain, the two assassins only saw death: dried trees and withered forest, bare mountains devoid of birds and beasts; a land of stillness.
At this point, the two of them couldn't help but feel a cold chill behind their back as they got closer. They could feel evil energy coming from the top of the mountain as though there was an ominous beast at the top.
Not only that, but they also felt as though they were being watched by an ominous thing. This feeling gave them sudden goosebumps. If it wasn't the fact that they really needed that Soul Essence Crystal, they would've never gone to this evil place and would've turned back and aborted that damn mission long ago.
The further up they went up, the worse that ominous energy became. The deeper they went, the fewer corpses they saw. Nonetheless, they refused to give up as they climbed up bravely.
Soon, after a good half an hour of struggling with their inner fear and uneasiness, they finally made it to the top of the mountain. And the first thing they saw was a youth sitting crossed leg underneath a huge dead tree.
The child was around the age of ten or eleven. He was a little boy with a lean figure as well as an incomparably handsome face. His skin was white as jade and his face was so pretty that it did not seem real. The boy would naturally be a lady killer with his look when he grows up.
His long dark hair flowed down his back like black ink without being tied up in any way, allowing it to move like prairie grass in the wind.
He was wearing a long white robe which contrasted the surrounding environment. His eyes were tightly closed, and his long eyelash fluttering in the wind. His expression was calm and gentle as if he was sweetly asleep instead of meditating.
His countenance was so peaceful, it as if he was a scholarly noble young master that fell asleep under the tree.
But without knowing why, the moment they saw that child, they suddenly had a feeling that was like the fear and trepidation one felt before a disaster. They didn't even dare to move as they stood there frozen looking at the child.
In the silence, there was strangeness contained within.
As if time had stopped at this moment.
After a long time.
A sense of dread and misfortune could not help but be born into their hearts as they were looking at the youth.
The youth that was sitting down and meditating slowly opened his eyes and look in the two peoples' direction. Afterward, he gently closed his eyes again and reached a state of zen once more without caring whether these two people were friends or foes.
However, this single glance was enough to shake every one of them to their core as they took several steps backward.
The youth's eyes were like a bottomless pool of darkness. It was like looking inside the depth of an ever-ending void. Not only that, but It was also as if his eyes matched the way he felt towards the world: cold, dark, and indifferent. He only gave them a single glance as though they were nothing but bugs in his eyes.
His right pupil and iris were covered with some sort of intricate red magic rune or circle which shone brightly while his left pupil and iris were also covered with the same thing, but the color was blue and the design was also different. It was their first time seeing such a magic rune. In fact, there was nothing human about his eyes.
Their hearts were fiercely shaken just by the single glance from the youth.
Just what kind of gaze was this!
Forget about the assassination. At this moment, they only had one thought.
Run!!!!!
Run as far away from this youth. They didn't care about the soul Essence Crystal anymore as they had lost their will to fight. Aside from his scary and non-human eyes, they found out something even more shocking about that ten years old child. That earth-shaking news was enough to make to seven righteous sects, the four evil sects as well as the three Great Empires to form an alliance and eradicate the Heavenly demon sect if it were to be known. They didn't know how or when but they found that the little devil had already broken through the Martial Sovereign Realm due to the spiritual pressure that he didn't even bother to hide. A Martial Sovereign was already a top-class warrior but a ten years old martial sovereign, they didn't even dare to imagine the ruckus it would cause.