Xavier and Clara's eyes popped and jaws dropped as they saw the scene right before their eyes.
It was a large desolate land right in front of them. The land was completely black as if it was soaked in the blackest of colours, even the light which fell on it from an unknown source inside the cavern was not reflected back.
When Xavier and Clara stepped in, it felt like they were walking in air with a great pitch black abyss below. Even though they knew they were in some ground, their eyes told then that they were not in any solid thing.
In front of them was a sea of bodies. These bodies had people of all ages. Old, young, babies, middle aged people and youths. These bodies were badly mutilated and were decaying but at the same time many bodies were not decaying at all.
They were looking like they were just sleeping there and if there wasn't such a area of death coming from these bodies, Xavier and Clara wouldn't have believed that they were dead at all.
Many bodies stuck out from the black ground and it looked like they were mutilated parts floating in the air as the parts which were buried in the ground looked like they were cut off from the space.
Clara had to hold back her urge to throw up seeing such a sight. The one thing which creeped out both Clara and Xavier was the expressions of despair the people had the moment before they died.
Xavier and Clara turned around and found out that the pathway they had come inside from had already to disappeared.
They looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
"It seems like we are really lost this time." said Clara.
"We'll just keep moving forward. I don't know what this page is but just standing here will not achive anything." said Xavier.
"But the problem is that we continue feel any qi or spiritual energy inside or body. It's like they have been stripped from us."
"Yes. Without any qi or spiritual energy, we can't do anything."
"We'll just have to walk like normal people do. This must be one of those places where we lost our qi and spirit energy. As long as we find out way out, we will be safe."
Xavier asked the system," System, what is happening to our qi and spiritual energy."
[Host, the system is just to supplement you. You need to experience things and figure it out by yourself. The system doesn't want you to form a dependence on the system. But once you level up the system, you'll have the right to ask system questions]
Xavier shook his head. He knew that the system would say this. It had already said the same when he asked where this place was.
Clara and Xavier at out immediately. They just keep on moving forward and after a long period of time, it was like they were again going around in circles but now they knew that the land was so vast and the scenery had no change that it seemed like they were just standing in the same spot all the time.
The only thing that have them any sign that they were moving was that they were seeing bodies of different people along the way.
They didn't know how much time has passed as the world didn't have any sunrise or sunset and even their omnibands stopped working.
"Something seemed strange with this place." said Clara.
"Yes I noticed. It's like were moving but at the same time we are in the same place."
"Hmm, I'm getting the same type of feeling."
"Clara, feel your pulse."
Clara was a little taken back. Why would Xavier say this so suddenly. So she did it and what happened next surprised her.
She felt no pulse. She then put her hand in her chest and tried to feel her heart beat. It was not there as well. It was like they were both frozen.
"You don't feel your pulse it your heart beat, just like your qi and spiritual energy right?"
"Yes."
"What do you think?"
"Are we dead?"
Clara was right in thinking this. After all, no pulse or heart beat and even no qi or spiritual energy, it was likely that they had died already.
"No, we are not dead. We are more like in s state of suspended animation."
"Means?"
"It's means it time has stopped. I mean, it has literally stopped."
Clara was stunned. "What do you mean time has stopped? How is that even possible?"
Just before Xavier could answer, the whole world rumbled and shook like it was about to break. The world seemed to crumble apart.
Both Xavier and Clara were about to despair when suddenly the ground in front of them split up and a huge structure came out from the crack.
It was a castle, a humongous castle at that. Xavier and Clara didn't know how far they were from this castle but they could understand that this castle alone was at least 10 times larger than South Star City itself.
The castle was so far away that they could not make it the finer details but the more they looked at the castle, the more they felt like they would be lost.
[WARNING
HOST SOUL COMPROMISED
ASKING PERMISSION TO DRIVE AWAY EXTERNAL INFLUENCE.]
Xavier jolted awake, his back dropping with cold sweat. While he had felt his mind hypnotised before, this was the first time he felt like his should was going to fly out of his body.
He turned to Clara and saw that she was standing there in a daze, her eyes were completely black. He hit her in the back of the head immediately and knocked her out. As soon as she lost consciousness, her eyes returned to normal and he fell unconscious.
Xavier then looked at the castle. He was feeling a strong urge to go towards the castle, like something was becoming him from within.
He was about to step towards the castle when his surroundings blurred and cleared again but this time he was in front of something. Something big.
It was the castle gate. A son as he arrived infront of the castle, he thought of a title in his head.
The Black Castle of Blood Uron
"Black Castle of Blood Iron!" Xavier exclaimed.
Such a domineering name. The whole castle, now looking at it closely, was pitch black just like the ground but it had beautiful blood-red patterns inscribed on them.
These patterns were glowing from time to time and they felt like they were pulsing along with a heartbeat just like in the body, where the blood vessels pulsate with each beat of the heart.
If one could look at this magnificent Castle, one would find out that the red energies were coursing around the castle just like Qi circulated in the meridians of the human body.
Xavier caused the unconscious Clara entered the castle gates. He immediately saw a large passageway that led to a room.
Xavier thought that inside such a huge Castle, there so at least be several rooms but there was only a single room at the end of the passage.
"Welcome those who want to take the trial for the inheritance! You have passed through the first test successfully and are now at the 2nd test. If you can pass this test as well, you will receive the inheritance." a voice boomed throughout the Hall.
Xavier was caught off guard and looked around. After searching fit a few minutes, he couldn't find anything.
"Who are you and where are you hiding?"
"Don't bother looking. I'm just an artifact spirit. I'm the castle itself so I'm not hiding anywhere, I'm everywhere around you as you are, right now, standing inside me."
Xavier looked surprised. "You're an artifact spirit? "
Xavier was shocked to hear about an artifact spirit here in this forest. He knew what artifact spirit was. When any object lives for many many years, for example millions of years, they would form artifact spirits.
While this could be done for basically anything, for example, a stone may form an artifact spirit and evolve into a sentient being.
And the difficulty of forming an artifact spirit becomes easier the higher the grade of an artifact it is but at the same time, the more complex the artifact is, the more difficult it is to form an artifact spirit as it needs a more intelligent spirit to control the artifact itself.
And seeing the size of this castle, the time required to form an artifact spirit of this magnitude will be at least millions of years or not more.
Seeing Xavier's shocked look , the spirit was also surprised. It asked," You know about artifact spirit?"
"Yes", Xavier nodded.
"Well it's surprising that somebody from this world knows about artifact spirits. After all, it impossible for this prison to have anything close to resembling an artifact spirit."
"Wait a minute. What do you mean by a prison?" Xavier interrupted the muttering of the artifact spirit.
"Ah, I let my tongue slip again. Brat, don't ask anymore questions. It's not good for you to know to much at such a trivial level of cultivation." the spirit continued taking," Now tell me but, do you and that little girl want to take the trial for the inheritance?"
When Xavier heard about the trial again, he was about to ask the system, when a notification came.
[MISSION : OBTAIN THE INHERITANCE
REWARD: OPTIMISING THE INHERITANCE
PUNISHMENT FOR FAILURE: WITHDRAWAL OF THE CHASSIS GRAND UNIFICATION ART.]
"System, what is the CHAOS GRAND UNIFICATION art?"
[It's the reward given by the system to the host for completing a hidden mission.]
"Then why didn't i know I had this reward?"
[It's a hidden mission host, so the rewards are hidden as well.] the system said in a matter of fact manner.
Xavier wanted to but his head on the wall. He didn't think that there would be hidden missions and reward where the both of them are really hidden.
"Where do I go to get the reward?"
[In the missions tab host.]
"Ok then.. I'll look at it afterwards. But why is the mission now the optimisation of the inheritance and why is the punishment withdrawal of the CHAOS GRAND UNIFICATION ART?"
[It's because the inheritance which will be received by you and the host's girlfriend, Clara is suitable for optimization by the system using the CHAOS GRAND UNIFICATION ART.]
Xavier nodded. He thought for a moment and asked," Can we go out if we can get the inheritance?"
"Yes you can." the artifact spirit replied.
"What if we fail?" asked Xavier.
"There is no failure. It's either you recieved the inheritance or you are done for." replied the artifact in a cold tone.
"Why is it like that? Aren't those who are able to pass the first test very good candidates for the inheritance, after all, it's very difficult in itself." said Xavier.
And what he said was true. The first test needed good observation power and good control over spirit energy. He had to split his spirit energy into a 1000 threads to crack the formation and enter this world. He guessed that there were not more than 10 people in the whole world who could do the same thing as him and there were none in the younger generation.
"Yes, those who passed those tests are good candidates but those who fall the 2bd trial are dead candidates. It was how the trials were set. One you enter the castle, you either get the inheritance or die. Our masters had a lot of enemies and even the slightest piece of the news of this place will bring about an unforeseen disaster."
Xavier understood the point of view of the artifact spirit. After all powerful people had powerful enemies and to protect their legacies from such enemies, those experts all had various ruthless tests to pass down their inheritance.
"I'll take the test. What about Clara?"
"The girl will also take the test. There are 2 inheritances here and one of them is for females while the other for males. If she can get the inheritance, she'll become one of the strongest experts in the world. If she can't, she will die here."
Xavier face cramped up when he heard that. He had guessed that this would happen. He had all the confidence that he could pass through the tests but when it came to Clara, he was not sure. After all she was a normal girl.
"System , can you do something to help Clara get the inheritance?"
[I can do it host but...]
"How many points?"
[1000 points host.]
"I don't have that many points."
[You can take a loan host and pass et it afterwards but there is a price for such a luxury host.]
"What is it?"
[Host must return 5 times the borrowed amount within 1 month and till then the points gained by the host will be used to pay off the debt.]
"Then I'll accept the loan. Make sure Clara gets the inheritance."
[LOAN APPLIED
POINTS SANCTIONED
POINTS UTILISED 1000
POINTS DEDUCTED 1000
MISSION IN PROGRESS]
Xavier nodded in satisfaction and looked towards the hall and said," I'll take the mission."
As soon as he said that, the entire castle rumbled and 2 beans of light feel on Clara and Xavier. They were separated and each carried into seperate places for their trials.