Chapter 2887: The Cave of Obsession |
“Wait, Fellow Daoist Su.” When he saw that Su Yi was about to pass through the portal floating in the void, River Ancestor Shen Xiao suddenly called out to him.
“What is it?”
“There’s no predicting what dangers lie in wait in the Cave of Obsession. If you go first and something happens to you, we won’t be able to save you in time,” River Ancestor Shen Xiao said warmly. “Seems to me that we’d best enter together. That way, no matter what we encounter, all of us can face it together!”
River Emperor Hong Ye said with complete agreement, “Exactly!”
Lu Shi nodded. “That would be best.”
Wang Zhiwu laughed coldly. What nonsense. You’re just worried that if Su Yi goes first, he’ll close the door behind him.
Su Yi pondered briefly, then nodded. “You’ve thought this over carefully. In that case, let’s go together.”
The group then entered the portal side by side. Light flashed, and the portal split and dissipated behind them.
When they regained their field of vision, they were unwittingly stunned.
They now found themselves in a primeval landscape straight out of the Primordial Era, a place shrouded in chaos power. It was hard to even imagine that this was actually a cave deep in the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Domain.
“A River Ancestor’s heart is the foundation of his life force and his Grand Dao. It contains the Grand Dao, and it’s like a boundless world in its own right,” said River Ancestor Shen Xiao. He looked around, then said, “This is indeed a hidden realm within River Ancestor Lu Shu’s heart.”
He was a River Ancestor, too. He naturally could tell that this really was River Ancestor Lu Shu’s heart.
River Emperor Hong Ye said, “Does that mean that the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Domain lies outside this hidden realm?”
Everyone’s eyelids twitched. The Silent Annihilation Forbidden Domain was far too terrifying, and it lay deep in the River of Destiny. It was anathema to all living beings.
“That’s most likely the case.” River Ancestor Shen Xiao put his hands behind his back and said gravely, “But that’s not the strange part. What confuses me is that this world’s power hasn’t yet dissipated.”
“Is that so strange?” said Wang Zhiwu. “You’re saying that since River Ancestor Lu Shu died during the Primordial Era, this world manifested from his heart shouldn’t still exist?”
River Ancestor Shen Xiao nodded. “Hidden realms manifested of the heart are manifestations of a River Ancestor’s cultivation base and powers of the Grand Dao. When River Ancestor Lu Shu died, his life force should have dried up. Even if his powers of the Grand Dao remain, they should be severely weakened.
“But this place… is completely intact! It’s as if River Ancestor Lu Shu’s cultivation base hasn’t dissipated in the slightest.”
Everyone was bewildered and uncertain. When he put it that way, it really did seem out of the ordinary.
Su Yi said nothing, but he noticed that River Empress Peacock had been acting strangely from the moment they arrived. She looked dazed, and she was staring into space, a bewildered look on her brow as if she were pondering something. Or perhaps, trying to remember something.
When he considered her understanding of the Cave of Obsession, he got the sense that she was hiding something.
Suddenly, Wei E said in a quavering voice, “This place is far too terrifying!”
His face was flushed red, and he quivered from head to toe. It seemed he was completely freaked out.
This instantly drew the others’ attention.
Su Yi, however, barely reacted. He just placed a hand on Wei E’s shoulder. “Did you sense something?”
Wei E’s face was deathly pale. Even his lips quivered. “I… I feel thoroughly uncomfortable, as if countless devils or ghosts are staring at me. They… They want nothing more than to rip me to shreds and eat me!”
The others exchanged glances. Has he been possessed? Has something gone wrong with his heart?
Su Yi silently released power through his fingertips. It flowed in through Wei E’s shoulder, then coursed through his entire body.
Wei E gasped like a man saved from the brink of drowning and collapsed as all of the strength fled his body.
“You’re too jumpy; you’re scaring yourself,” Su Yi explained casually.
The others understood. All of them sneered. This Wei E is far too wimpy.
Suddenly, River Ancestor Shen Xiao called out, “Be careful! Something’s happening!”
Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, a shocking transformation occurred in the distance. Dazzling Dao Light rained from the dome of heaven, forming a lotus platform of the Grand Dao.
Light and shadow revolved on its surface, condensing into a human figure.
Everyone looked over in surprise. Their eyes stung as they sensed a terrifying aura bearing down on them.
That figure standing proudly on a lotus platform was like a sovereign. They couldn’t look directly at him!
His figure was far too dazzling, bathed in endless light of the Grand Dao. No one could see what he really looked like.
Even just standing there, it was as if he were looking down upon all of creation!
“That… that isn’t River Ancestor Lu Shu, is it?” exclaimed River Emperor Winged Dragon.
Everyone exchanged glances. Most of them instinctively looked at River Ancestor Shen Xiao.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao furrowed his brow and whispered, “Just judging by his aura, there’s no doubt that that’s a River Ancestor, but I can’t say for sure whether or not it’s River Ancestor Lu Shu specifically.”
He’d only just said this when the lotus platform shifted, carrying that figure swathed in endless firelight toward them.
Everyone looked stricken.
As the figure drew near, his terrifying aura descended upon them like a tidal wave or avalanche.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao snorted coldly, then took a step forward.
Boom!
A streak of glittering silver starlight shot forth. Countless stars flickered, their radiance enveloping heaven and earth. It forcefully blocked the lotus platform’s advance.
The lotus platform stopped, and the figure standing atop it spoke. “Who are you? How dare you invade the secret world of my heart?”
Every word went off like a thunderclap.
The River Emperors stiffened, and all of them saw stars. Their expressions shifted as their hearts suffered a terrifying impact.
Wang Zhiwu and the others looked stunned, too. Don’t tell me that guy is really River Ancestor Lu Shu?!
River Ancestor Shen Xiao was stunned. He had already realized that this hidden realm was too intact, suggesting that River Ancestor Lu Shu’s cultivation base had yet to dissipate.
That was fundamentally quite strange. Now, someone they suspected to be River Ancestor Lu Shu himself was here. How could River Ancestor Shen Xiao possibly remain calm?
He furrowed his brow. Don’t tell me River Ancestor Lu Shu isn’t fully dead?
Suddenly, Innocence spoke up. “Master, that guy is putting on airs. How about I go take care of him?”
She looked up at him eagerly, practically jumping up and down with anticipation.
Su Yi blinked. “Is that a heart devil?”
Innocence nodded repeatedly.
“Can you handle him?” asked Su Yi.
Innocence rubbed her nose and said with pride, “Just watch, Master.”
Su Yi inclined his head. “Very well.”
Everyone heard every word of their conversation, and all of them were flabbergasted. How could a figure so terrifying be a heart devil?
Kcch!
Innocence was already attacking. She shot forth like an arrow, instantly vanishing.
A moment later, she reached the lotus platform and looked up at the figure swathed in endless firelight. She couldn’t help but gulp. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll eat you up in one big bite. It won’t hurt a bit!”
“Impudent!” The figure on the platform said with imposing majesty, “Do you plan to seek out your own demise, you wicked creature?”
Boom!
Innocence suddenly advanced.
Countless streaks of blood-red sin power shot into the firmament, while countless black flowers surged around her, enveloping the lotus platform and the man atop it completely.
Then, the crowd watched in astonishment as she opened her mouth wide and inhaled.
The figure on the platform shattered, offering no more resistance than paper window paneling, then blurred into a beam of black light and vanished into the little girl’s mouth.
She didn’t leave a single drop behind.
The blood-red light and black flowers vanished. Only the little girl remained, rubbing her stomach and smiling. “What a lovely flavor! Heart devils from the Primordial Era sure taste different.”
No one knew how to interpret that.
When Innocence returned, she regained her typical pitiful, meek demeanor.
However, the way the others looked at her was completely different. They gazed at her with disbelief, astonishment, and confusion.
Wang Zhiwu, in particular, stared in wide-eyed shock. Earlier, he’d felt terrible for the bony little girl in shabby robes. She looked so pitiful, even more pathetic than a stray dog on the side of the road.
Now, Wang Zhiwu suddenly realized that he’d been blind this entire time.
That “pitiful little girl” had just devoured a terrifying heart devil in a single bite!
“I would never have guessed that I’d let a mere heart devil deceive me. I’m inferior to even your young servant, Fellow Daoist.” River Ancestor Shen Xiao let out a self-deprecating laugh. When he looked at Innocence now, his eyes shone with inquisitive light.
Innocence lowered her head and averted her gaze. She frowned. That geezer’s gaze is disgusting!
“Forgive my boldness, but is that little girl a heart devil too, Fellow Daoist?” River Ancestor Shen Xiao asked suddenly.
Su Yi nodded subtly; there was no need to hide it. “You could call her that, yes.”
Inwardly, he was quite stunned. He really is a being comparable to a Heavenly Sovereign. He actually saw through Innocence at a glance!
“It seems you came prepared, Fellow Daoist.” River Ancestor Shen Xiao let out a hearty laugh. “Excellent. With that girl in our party, no matter what kind of heart devil or sin power we encounter on the road ahead, we’ll have nothing to worry about!”
Everyone’s expression shifted.
The heart devil they’d encountered earlier was obviously utterly strange and terrifying. It manifested River Ancestor Lu Shu’s visage, and its powerful aura deceived them all, even River Ancestor Shen Xiao. Yet as powerful as the heart devil was, that little girl had devoured it in a single bite!
Who could possibly have failed to realize how useful Innocence would be here? After all, this was the Cave of Obsession. The greatest dangers of this place were the Tribulation Spirits and the heart devils’ sin power.
And the little girl was a perfect counter to heart devils!
It was for this reason that, just like River Ancestor Shen Xiao, everyone subconsciously assumed that Su Yi had brought Innocence here for this purpose!
Su Yi didn’t explain anything. Innocence’s abilities would have come to light sooner or later, and revealing her would only make River Ancestor Shen Xiao more hesitant to oppose him!
“Daoist Brother, where should we go next?” asked River Emperor Hong Ye.
River Ancestor Shen Xiao pondered briefly. “Let’s ask Fellow Daoist Su for his opinion first.”
The crowd’s gazes shifted. It was immediately obvious to them that River Ancestor Shen Xiao’s attitude toward Su Yi had changed, becoming more respectful.
The respect of a River Ancestor was an absolute honor to any denizen of the River of Destiny.