The three words of Devil Spirit Mountain smashed into Long Chen’s heart like hammers.

Although the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring was also considered one of the seven danger zones, its danger was actually the lowest amongst the seven.

That was because it was too huge, and the main danger stemmed from the sea demons. The sea demon race’s experts would rarely attack human cultivators unless the latter caused trouble for them first.

But other than the Martial Heaven Sea-Ring, the other danger zones were true lands of death. Humans were forbidden from entering.

Zheng Wenlong had once mentioned Devil Spirit Mountain to Long Chen. At that time, it had become enshrouded in mist, making it impossible to gather the Spirit Gathering Grass that grew around it. That grass was the main ingredient of the Forging Heart Spirit Connecting Pill.

When Long Chen had asked Zheng Wenlong about Devil Spirit Mountain, Zheng Wenlong had told him despite its name and fame as one of the seven danger zones, there had never actually been any devils to come out of it.

Instead, rather than devils, what people occasionally saw were scenes of an immortal wonderland. Many heard the sound of immortal music that allowed their cultivation bases to progress. Some would even suddenly break through their bottlenecks. It was extremely strange.

There were many legends regarding Devil Spirit Mountain. Some of those legends were beautiful, and some of them were evil, making it impossible for people to tell exactly what it was. But Zheng Wenlong had warned Long Chen that he absolutely couldn’t enter it.

With Zheng Wenlong’s status, for him to say such a thing meant that he knew some secrets regarding it that he couldn’t disclose to Long Chen. All he could do was warn him.

Now that he heard the Devil Spirit Mountain be mentioned by the old man, Long Chen’s heart pounded. He had never imagined that the other half of the Heaven Splitting Divine Tablet had been lost in Devil Spirit Mountain.

“Old man, are you sure about that location?” asked Long Chen.

“All I can say is that the other half of the Heaven Splitting Divine Tablet is definitely in Devil Spirit Mountain. Let me tell you a bit about the Devil Spirit Mountain, information which pertains even to the whole continent’s secrets.”

Long Chen, Bao Buping, and Chang Hao also hastily sat properly in anticipation. Even the bosses were solemnly sitting, wanting to hear.

The old man sank into thought for a moment, most likely organizing his thoughts. He then began to tell them a story that was known only to a few people.

Over a hundred thousand years ago, the Martial Heaven Continent had gone through a tribulation that had changed it forever.

That time was called the dark era. That was a time where the entire Martial Heaven Continent had nearly been wiped out. This dark era has lasted for over ten thousand years.

As for the cause of the dark era, no one could say any longer. But its conclusion had been passed down through the ages.

The dark era ended with a huge calamity. Its darkness had caused the entire continent to be gravely injured.

Countless foreign experts had invaded the Martial Heaven Continent, attempting to slaughter all life. Faced with their death, the Martial Heaven Continent’s experts fought back. Rivers of blood flowed through the continent, and mountains of corpses piled up.

Almost all the top experts of the various large sects were lost. But in the end, under the guidance of a Sovereign, they managed to beat back the invaders to their own worlds, saving the Martial Heaven Continent.

“A Sovereign? What kind of existence is that?” asked Bao Buping. He had never heard of such a thing.

“Shut your mouth. Don’t interrupt the old man.” Boss Bao slapped Bao Buping on the back of his head.

The old man ignored the disturbance, continuing with his story. That had been a true apocalyptic battle. If they had lost, all this world’s lifeforms would have been slaughtered.

At that time, every sect had fought with their lives on the line. Only a few supreme sects were able to survive. But even they took heavy losses. Their sect’s treasures ended up crippled, severing their inheritance.

With the full attack of all the sects, the invaders also lost countless experts. In the end, once they were forced back to their worlds, their entrance to this world was sealed, restoring the Martial Heaven Continent’s peace.

But even though peace came back to the continent, it had been gravely wounded. After a period of resting, dissenting factions appeared like the ancient races, and it was at this time that the Corrupt path suddenly showed up with great power. 

Another chaotic period of fighting occurred as all the large powers fought over resources, devouring other powers, trying to stabilize their foundations.

A few neutral powers also appeared. Mysterious existences sprang up like spring bamboo.

Although the Martial Heaven Continent eventually recovered, after that dark era, the world had changed. Another Sovereign never appeared.

As for Devil Spirit Mountain, it was one of the entrances that the invaders had gone through back during the dark era. At that time, the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect, Xuantian Dao Sect, and other sects all paid a bloody price.

The Heaven Splitting Divine Tablet had been broken at that time, with a portion of it lost within.

Devil Spirit Mountain now had a Sovereign seal on it, but due to the encroaching of time, it had started to weaken in the past thirty thousand years.

It was now possible for the Martial Heaven Continent’s people to enter Devil Spirit Mountain. But the seal refused to allow people above the Jade Core realm to enter.

Once the Sovereign seal had weakened, countless brave experts had attempted to charge into Devil Spirit Mountain. Of course, this had included the elites of the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect.

But the experts who charged into Devil Spirit Mountain all died without exception at that time. As a result, most experts no longer dared to enter. However, there was an exception to that. Other experts braved the danger in search of treasures, but the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect was trying to regain its inheritance.

In the past thirty thousand years, it was unknown how many generations of their top geniuses had attempted to find their lost inheritance. Regaining it was each of these disciples’ sacred duty. Even though they had all died, not one of them had batted an eye.

But as more time passed, the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect’s heart had grown cold. In all these years, only two of their disciples had ever managed to return from Devil Spirit Mountain.

The first disciple died as soon as he got out without saying a word.

The second disciple also didn’t manage to say anything before dying right after getting out. But he had been tightly clutching a tile in his hand that had one word hastily written on it: hoax.

Clearly this disciple had only barely managed to scrawl this down before dying. He had used his powerful willpower to charge out and bring this information.

It was unknown what that disciple’s true intent was behind what he had written, but it was clear that there was a huge conspiracy hidden within.

That was why in the past eight thousand years, the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect hadn’t sent a single one of their disciples in. Furthermore, during this time, another few things occurred which further corroborated that disciple’s final word.

Just three thousand years ago, strange sights had started appearing in the entrance of Devil Spirit Mountain. Sometimes flying immortals would appear, sometimes immortal music would ring out. Projections would also show up in the air.

Amongst those projections was the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect’s priceless treasure, the Heaven Splitting Divine Tablet. After seeing these projections, countless experts had once more charged in.

Although they had known it was dangerous, they were unable to resist the temptation of so many treasures. Furthermore, they wanted to know the secrets of Devil Spirit Mountain. Experts had flocked over like a mob.

It was said that at that time, at least hundreds of thousands of experts had charged in, but only a few managed to live to tell the tale.

According to their stories, there were countless treasures inside, but there were also terrifying lifeforms guarding them.

Those lifeforms were incredibly powerful, and humans were slaughtered by them. Although those lifeforms’ cultivation bases had been at the King realm, the human race’s experts had been too weak to receive even a single blow from them.

In the next few years, most experts no longer dared to think about invading Devil Spirit Mountain. But the greed and curiosity of humans were limitless.

Although Devil Spirit Mountain hid countless dangers, there were still a few people who had heaven-defying luck that managed to escape with treasures.

Some people obtained an Eternal Life Fruit that allowed a cultivator whose lifespan was about to run out to live another thousand years.

Some people obtained remnants of ancient canons that allowed their cultivation bases to advance and shake the world, making them legendary existences.

Some people also managed to obtain the ancestral items of their sects, restoring their declined sects.

Some people also heard the pointers of powerful experts which allowed their cultivation bases to rapidly progress.

To sum up, there were countless legends about Devil Spirit Mountain. Everyone knew the danger within. If you entered, your chances of leaving alive were very, very low.

According to the experience of those who returned, the lifeforms within had extremely sharp senses to those at the King realm. On the other hand, Foundation Forging experts had a certain chance of dodging their senses.

“Our Heaven Splitting Battle Sect’s disciples have more than enough bravery, but they’re lacking in their heads. But Long Chen, you possess both factors, so…” The old man sighed.

The old man had once told Long Chen that he had to trust his power instead of relying on intelligence. But now that he said this, he felt like he was contradicting himself.

But the reality was just like that. When they just relied on power to try to solve things, they ended up losing the lives of countless disciples.

On the other hand, it was those free cultivators who relied on their wits and luck who had a low chance of obtaining some treasures and leaving alive. So he had no choice but to admit that intelligence was also important. It just felt contradictory.

“I understand. When I handle things in the future, I’ll rely on my power instead of intelligence. Power will be my number one choice. But when I run into an enemy with absolute power over me, I won’t just foolishly send myself to death. Having a few schemes and thoughts is also necessary. It’s up to my own control, and I won’t let it rattle my Dao-heart again,” said Long Chen.

“Good, that’s good. But Devil Spirit Mountain is filled with danger, so you have to think it over carefully,” said the old man.

“Old man, I am also a member of the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect. This is my duty. And I also want to experience just how terrifying this Devil Spirit Mountain is.” Long Chen smiled slightly, because high risk signified high reward.