chsdbacks Chapter 330 God Burial Valley!
Chapter 330 God Burial Valley!
The two walked for three days and three nights.
Su Fan didn't know where Guixu was, but he knew the direction—east. Hunyuan pointed to the eastern sky, so they headed east.
On the first day, they walked across the plains of Dongsheng Shenzhou.
There was no one on the plains, the villages were empty, the cities were empty, and even the birds and beasts had disappeared.
The ground was covered with dried blood, and in some places, traces of battle remained. Half of the city wall of a small town had been smashed, with broken stones scattered all over the ground. The plaque at the city gate was broken in two, and the words on it were no longer legible.
Su Fan stepped over the gravel, the stones crunching under his feet. Sun Wukong walked beside him, his golden cudgel slung over his shoulder, his eyes darting around.
The next day, they reached the edge of the Eastern Continent. The earth fractured here, splitting open a canyon with no end in sight.
The canyon was bottomless, and gray mist surged up from the bottom like boiling water. Su Fan stood at the edge of the canyon and looked down, but he could see nothing but mist.
"Jump?" Sun Wukong asked.
Su Fan nodded and jumped down.
The two flew through the fog for a day and a night. The fog was so thick that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. Su Fan could only rely on his senses to fly downwards, with Sun Wukong following behind him, the golden light on his golden cudgel splitting a crack in the fog.
When Su Fan reached the bottom of the valley, his feet landed on a hard, unyielding surface. The ground was black, as if it had been burned, and it was so hard it hurt his feet. There was nothing at the bottom of the valley except for a river.
The river water was black and still, like a black mirror. There were no ripples on the surface, no reflections, and nothing could be seen.
Su Fan squatted down and reached out to touch the river water. The moment his fingers touched the water, a chill crept in from his fingertips and climbed up his veins.
His fingers turned gray, like stone. He withdrew his hand, the gray faded, and his fingers returned to normal.
Sun Wukong squatted down beside the river, looking at it, and reached out to touch it. Su Fan grabbed his wrist.
"Don't touch it."
Sun Wukong withdrew his hand and stared at the black river.
The two walked along the riverbank. The riverbank was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk on at a time. To their left was black river water, and to their right was a black stone wall.
The stone wall was covered with patterns. Su Fan glanced at it and saw a person holding an axe and splitting open a huge corpse, another person sculpting a small figure out of clay, and yet another person patching up the sky with colorful stones.
After walking for about two hours, a bridge appeared on the river.
The bridge was made of stone, very narrow, just wide enough for one person to walk on. There were no railings, the surface was uneven and covered with black moss. The other end of the bridge disappeared into the gray mist, its end nowhere in sight.
Su Fan stepped onto the bridge, a dull thud echoing beneath his feet, like walking on hollow planks. He paused for a moment, then continued walking. After three steps, he heard Sun Wukong's footsteps behind him.
Su Fan turned around. Sun Wukong stood at the bridgehead, one foot on the bridge surface and the other on the bank. His face was pale, and the fur on his face stood on end.
"What's wrong?" Su Fan asked.
Sun Wukong gritted his teeth: "They won't let me, Old Sun, cross the bridge."
Su Fan looked down at the bridge. The stone Sun Wukong was standing on was glowing, a gray light that flickered like a heartbeat.
The light climbed up from the soles of Sun Wukong's feet, up his calves, knees, and thighs. Sun Wukong's body began to feel heavier; his knees bent slightly, but he held on.
"I, Old Sun, can hold on," Sun Wukong said, his voice trembling.
Su Fan looked into Sun Wukong's eyes, which were filled with resentment.
He remembered the words of the Bodhi Patriarch: once you arrive at Guixu, you cannot move, speak, or make a move.
The moment he moved or opened his mouth, he would truly die. They hadn't even reached the Ruins of Return yet; it was just a bridge, and Sun Wukong was already nearing his limit.
"Great Sage, wait for me here."
Sun Wukong grew anxious: "Kid, you're all alone..."
Su Fan interrupted him: "If you get on the bridge, it will collapse."
Sun Wukong looked down at the bridge beneath his feet, then glanced into Su Fan's eyes.
He pulled his foot back off the bridge and retreated to the shore. The gray light on the bridge went out, and Sun Wukong's complexion returned to normal.
"I, Old Sun, will wait for you. If you don't come back in three days, I, Old Sun, will come looking for you."
Su Fan nodded, turned around and continued walking.
The bridge was very long. Su Fan walked for a whole day, and the bridge surface under his feet became wider and wider, from one zhang wide to ten zhang wide, and from ten zhang wide to one hundred zhang wide.
The fog grew thicker and thicker, until it was pitch black. But the stone slabs underfoot became smoother and smoother, transforming from bumpy and uneven to mirror-like.
After walking for half a day, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.
The light was very weak, like a candle flickering in the wind.
Su Fan quickened his pace and walked towards the light. Cracks began to appear on the stone slabs under his feet, and the cracks became more and more numerous and dense, spreading out like a spider web.
With each step, the stone slab sank a little deeper, like stepping on mud.
The light grew brighter and brighter. Su Fan finally started running, and the stone slabs beneath his feet shattered one after another behind him, falling into the black river without even a splash.
He burst out of the fog and crashed onto a hard, solid ground.
What lies before us is not the Ruins of Guixu.
It is a valley.
The valley was vast, with towering stone walls on both sides, completely bare and devoid of anything.
At the bottom of the valley was a flat area, on which stood countless stone pillars. The pillars varied in height, some resembling needles and others towers, and each one was engraved with a name.
Su Fan stood up and walked to the nearest stone pillar. Two characters were engraved on the pillar—Xing Tian.
He reached out and touched it; the stone surface was cold, and the characters were deeply engraved, as if they had been carved with a fingernail.
The inscription on a nearby stone pillar reads: "Kuafu".
Next to him—Hou Yi.
Next to it—Gonggong.
One after another, densely packed, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Su Fan walked through the forest of stone pillars and continued forward. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the stone pillars suddenly disappeared. Ahead was an open space, in the center of which stood a stone table with something on it.
It is an axe.
The axe was small, about a foot long, and entirely gray, with a crack on the blade. Next to the axe was a piece of animal hide with the words "Pangu Axe" written on it.
Su Fan was stunned.
The Pangu Axe? Wasn't the Pangu Axe broken? He used the fragments to blow up the Grand Elder of the God Hunters, so how come there's still one here?
He reached for the axe.
The moment his fingers touched the axe handle, the entire valley trembled.
The tremor was strong, and Su Fan was jolted back two steps. He looked up and saw a crack appear in the sky above the valley. Gray light poured out of the crack, and as it fell to the ground, it transformed into two figures.
The man on the left was twelve feet tall, covered in gray scales, with two curved horns on his head, and carrying a machete. His eyes were vertical, with blood-red pupils and no whites.
The man on the right was a foot taller than the one on the left. He was covered in long black hair and had only one eye on his forehead. He had six fingers on each hand, each like an iron hook, with long, curved nails.
The two individuals exuded the aura of the third level of the Chaos Realm.
Su Fan clenched his fist. The third level of the Chaos Realm was equivalent to the third level of the Dao Realm in the Primordial World. He was currently at the second level of the Dao Realm, one realm below him. Moreover, there were two opponents.
The one on the left with the long horns looked down at Su Fan, a hint of disdain flashing in its vertical eyes.
"Second level of the Dao Realm? You dare to trespass into the Valley of Burial Gods?"
Su Fan didn't speak. He picked up the Pangu Axe from the stone table and held it in his hand.
The axe was incredibly heavy, ten times heavier than it looked. His wrist slumped downwards, and he almost lost his grip. The crack on the axe blade flashed with a grey light.
Longhorn's expression changed.
"lay down."
Su Fan raised the axe, aiming the blade at the horned head.
With a single step, the ground cracked open. His axe cleaved down, its shadow like a mountain, blotting out the sky.
If that axe blow had landed squarely, Su Fan wouldn't have been left with even ashes.
Su Fan neither dodged nor evaded, but raised the Pangu Axe to meet the attack.
The two axes collided.
boom--!!!
The deafening roar shook the entire valley. Cracks appeared in the stone walls on both sides, and rubble fell from above, crashing into the ground and creating large craters.
Su Fan was sent flying backward, crashing through two stone pillars before coming to a stop. His hand was split open, and blood dripped down the axe handle. The Pangu Axe was still in his hand, and the cracks on the blade gleamed once more.
The horned man stared at his machete. A new notch had appeared on the blade, and a gray light flickered at the edge of the notch. His expression changed.
"The Pangu Axe...it really is the Pangu Axe..."
Su Fan got up from the ground, his chest felt tight, and a metallic taste rose in his throat. He swallowed it and walked back, carrying the Pangu Axe.
The one-eyed one spoke, his voice like stone grinding stone: "He took the Pangu Axe, we can't let him leave."
The one with the long horns nodded. The two attacked simultaneously.
The horned axe cleaved towards Su Fan's head, while the one-eyed creature's six fingers clawed at Su Fan's chest. One above, one below; one to the left, one to the right, sealing off all of Su Fan's escape routes.
Su Fan did not back down.
He raised the Pangu Axe, and a gray light burst forth from the cracks in its blade. The light was not large, but it was very bright, so bright that the entire valley turned gray.
He swung the axe.
The axe didn't strike the horned axe, nor the one-eyed claw. It struck the ground.
The moment the axe blade struck the ground, the entire valley exploded. The ground was like a blanket that had been overturned, with rubble, soil, and stone pillars flying everywhere.
The horn and the one-eyed creature were thrown away by the blast wave and crashed into the stone walls on either side, creating two large craters in the shape of two human figures.
Su Fan was also thrown back by the shockwave. He somersaulted three times in the air, crashed to the ground, and slid more than ten feet away. The Pangu Axe flew out of his hand and stuck in the ground some distance away, the cracks on the axe blade fading considerably.
He got up from the ground, his whole body aching as if his bones had been broken. But he stood up.
Longhorn broke free from the rock wall, its scales shattered in several pieces, revealing gray flesh beneath. One-Eyed also crawled out of the rock wall, half of its facial fur singed, its single eye bloodshot and red like a lantern.
The two men looked at Su Fan, their expressions changing. No longer contempt, but murderous intent.
"A second-level Dao Realm cultivator has managed to fight this far, that's enough," Longhorn said. "But that's about it."
He and One-Eyed charged at the same time. This time, neither of them held back.
The long-horned axe unleashed three axe shadows, each three times stronger than the previous strike.
The one-eyed man's six fingers transformed into six knives, each wreathed in gray flames.
Su Fan no longer has the Pangu Axe.
He took out the Investiture of the Gods. The Investiture of the Gods unfolded, and three hundred and sixty-five golden rays shot out.
The golden light struck the axe shadow, shattering it. The golden light struck the ashes, extinguishing them. But the golden light also dissipated.
A large portion of the gold lettering on the Investiture of the Gods had darkened.
Su Fan put away the Investiture of the Gods and picked up the Pangu Axe from the ground. The axe felt heavier than before. The cracks on the blade were almost invisible, and the entire axe surface was dull and lifeless.
The long-horned and one-eyed creatures had already rushed towards him.
Su Fan raised the Pangu Axe and poured all the protective principles within his body into it.
The path of protection flowed into the axe, like water poured into a dried-up riverbed.
The cracks on the axe blade lit up again, and gray light surged from them, growing brighter and brighter.
He swung his axe.
He didn't strike anyone with that axe. He struck the air in front of him.
The moment the axe blade cleaved through the air, a gray light blade flew out from the axe blade.
The blade of light wasn't large, only about three feet long, but it moved so fast it was invisible. The blade sliced across the long-horned man's neck and pierced through the one-eyed man's chest.
The horn stopped. He looked down at his neck, where a thin red line ran.
The red line widened, and blood gushed from it. His head slid off his neck, fell to the ground, and rolled twice. His body stood for a moment before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
One-Eyed stopped too. He looked at the hole in his chest. It wasn't big, about the size of a fist, and the edges were as smooth as tofu that had been cut with a knife.
He reached out and touched the opening of the hole, his fingers slipping through to his back. His single eye was filled with disbelief, and then his body began to crumble from the opening, pieces falling away like a collapsing clay sculpture.
Both of them died.
Su Fan stood there, panting heavily. The Pangu Axe slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a dull thud. His legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground.
The protective energy within his body was almost exhausted, his divine power was completely depleted, and he couldn't squeeze out even a trace of strength. The wound on his hand was still bleeding, and the broken bones in his back started to hurt again.
But his eyes were bright because he felt a power surging into his body from within the Pangu Axe.
It wasn't something he actively absorbed; it was something that the Pangu Axe poured into him on its own.
That force was primal and violent, like a wild beast that had been imprisoned for countless years, finally finding an outlet.
It rushed into Su Fan's body, and Su Fan almost cried out in pain. He gritted his teeth and used the last bit of his protective power to guide that force.
The power spun within him, faster and faster, more and more violently.
His abdomen was bulging outwards, as if it were about to explode. Su Fan felt like his stomach was about to burst, but he dared not stop. If he stopped, the power would spiral out of control, and he would shatter into pieces like that stone pillar.
The spinning speed increased rapidly, stretching his abdomen to its limit. Just when Su Fan thought he was going to die, the spinning suddenly stopped.
The power has solidified.
It condensed into a gray ball of light, hovering in the center of his dantian. The ball of light wasn't large, about the size of a fist, but its density was terrifying. Su Fan felt as if a mountain was packed inside his dantian.
His aura began to rise.
Dao Realm Level 2, Mid-stage, Late-stage, Peak.
Then, it broke through.
The third level of Dao realm.
Su Fan knelt on the ground, panting heavily. The gray ball of light in his dantian slowly rotated, and with each rotation, a trace of power seeped out and flowed throughout his body. The broken bones were healing, the split tiger's mouth was healing, and the wound on his back was also healing.
He stood up and stretched his limbs. The power of the third level of the Dao Realm was at least five times stronger than that of the second level. The ball of light in his dantian was still there, like a perpetual motion machine, continuously providing power.
Su Fan looked down at the Pangu Axe on the ground. The axe had completely dimmed, the cracks on the blade had disappeared, and the entire axe had turned into a gray stone, no different from the stones on the roadside.
He bent down and picked up the axe. The axe felt as light as a feather in his hand. The power was gone; it had all flowed into his body.
Su Fan tucked the axe into his waistband and walked towards the depths of the valley.
Passing through the stone pillar forest, a gate appeared ahead. The gate was black, with two characters engraved on it—"Return to the Void."
Su Fan pushed open the door and went inside.