Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 45

Volume 7 Chapter 45: The Guess After a Mistake (Part 1)

Ten thousand years ago, Black Emperor Cliff was known as the highest and most dangerous peak in the Shenzhou Continent. Birds felt sad when they saw it, and monkeys were afraid. Rising thousands of meters, standing at the foot of the peak, one could look up and not see the sky.

However, in that war ten thousand years ago, the Demon Ancestor and countless righteous cultivators fought here. During the battle, Black Emperor Cliff was destroyed by many powerful spells, and more than half of it was lost. From then on, it became a very ordinary small mountain peak.

Whether it was reincarnation or destiny, forty years ago, another battle took place here. Countless experts from the Righteous Alliance teamed up with Zhang Xusheng to first break the "Ming" organization, which secretly controlled the cultivation world for thousands of years, and then fought against the revived Shura Clan. In this battle, Black Emperor Cliff was completely destroyed. The place where Black Emperor Cliff once stood has now turned into a vast basin.

Inside the basin, there is a gray barrier, and within the barrier lies the "Spirit Eater," which is known as a world-ending demon!

For forty years, humans and the Shura Clan have fought countless battles, spreading war across the Shenzhou Continent, but in the area around the sealed "Spirit Eater," spanning thousands of miles, there has never been a battle. Even under strict orders from both sides, not a single Shura Clan member or human cultivator would pass through. Whenever both sides approached to fight, they would carefully hold back, as if afraid of disturbing the "Spirit Eater."

Over time, the area within three thousand miles of Black Emperor Cliff became a forbidden zone. Not only was fighting prohibited here, but living beings were also banned from entering. If such a situation occurred, regardless of whether they were human cultivators or Shura Clan members, they would be mercilessly killed.

Once upon a time, there was a human cultivator who, while on a mission, was hunted by the Shura Clan. In order to escape with his life, he sought refuge near where the "Spirit Eater" was sealed. The Shura Clan warriors who chased him waited outside for two months before finally leaving, allowing the human cultivator to survive.

However, when this human cultivator returned to the Human Alliance, although he found valuable information during his mission and was greatly valued by the Human Alliance, he was met with gloomy and angry faces from Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, and Zhang Xusheng.

In the end, this once-promising cultivator was stripped of his powers in front of everyone by the three Grandmasters, as a warning to all human cultivators that they must never enter this forbidden area.

The Shura Clan adhered to this warning even more strictly; the terror of the "Spirit Eater" was deeply etched into their souls.

This time, Xu Qingfan came here, having passed through numerous detections and defenses. Those who formed the defenses included both Shura Clan members and human cultivators, but they coexisted peacefully, unlike in other places where life and death were at stake.

Perhaps this forbidden area was the only understanding between the Shura Clan and the Human Alliance, making it the only place on the Shenzhou Continent without conflict.

It is said that one Shura Clan member was even stronger than Xu Qingfan, only slightly less powerful than Zhang Xusheng. If it weren’t for the balancing of righteous and demonic energies within Xu Qingfan, which kept his aura restrained, he truly would not have been able to enter.

…

At this moment, Xu Qingfan floated with his hands clasped behind him in front of the sealed "Spirit Eater," eyes closed, quietly sensing the subtle aura that seeped out from the large gray barrier before him.

Gradually, a hint of surprise appeared on Xu Qingfan’s calm face, like a quiet well.

As time passed, this surprise grew stronger, and in the end, it turned into a touch of fear.

"What a scary monster, what powerful tricks."

Xu Qingfan suddenly opened his eyes wide and muttered.

On Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, Little Black showed a rare sense of restlessness.

Previously, the aura of Chou that Xu Qingfan sensed was enough to surprise him, but he didn’t expect that Chou was entirely on a different level compared to this monster.

Chou and the "Spirit Eater," although both can endlessly absorb the energy of other beings to evolve, are not comparable at all. If Chou’s aura felt to Xu Qingfan like a raging river, then the "Spirit Eater" felt to Xu Qingfan like a violent ocean, infinite and boundless.

This was under the condition that the "Spirit Eater" was sealed; otherwise, its aura would be even more astonishing.

Xu Qingfan dared to create Chou because, after years of experiments, he discovered that Chou’s evolution has its limits. So, even though Xu Qingfan was wary of Chou, he still dared to let Chou act freely to expand his own power. Chou’s evolution was like a heavy object hanging on a thin thread; one day, Chou would collapse in its evolution. In contrast, the "Spirit Eater" was like a vast land that could withstand any weight without harm.

Moreover, when Chou devours other beings, he can only use about forty to fifty percent of the energy; most of the energy is wasted by Chou. In contrast, the "Spirit Eater" not only has a stronger ability to devour but can also utilize one hundred percent of the energy. This shows that Xu Qingfan’s chances of success in having Chou confront the "Spirit Eater" are quite low.

However, while the "Spirit Eater" is indeed terrifying, Xu Qingfan is even more surprised that Zhang Xusheng dared to allow the "Spirit Eater" to return to the world.

Over the years, Xu Qingfan carefully studied every move Zhang Xusheng made and found that although Zhang Xusheng’s actions seemed risky, they were actually very safe. It can even be said that he never acted unless he was sure.

There is no perfect plan in the world, and Zhang Xusheng is no different. He simply minimized the flaws in his plans to the extreme, leaving only one flaw each time; however, this flaw goes straight to the heart, making it hard for people to ignore it.

If releasing the "Spirit Eater" is also part of his plan, then the flaw in this plan is that Immortal Zizhen and others would not agree to Zhang Xusheng releasing the "Spirit Eater" because they fear its danger. Unfortunately, as usual, this flaw was overlooked by Immortal Zizhen and others, and they soon regretted it.

Zhang Xusheng does not engage in pointless efforts and never makes unnecessary moves. Xu Qingfan does not believe that at that time, besides the "Spirit Eater," Zhang Xusheng had no other means to force the Shura Clan to appear; yet he allowed the "Spirit Eater" to be sealed here after releasing it. Could it be solely because he wanted to break free from Mr. Liu’s control? He must have had more methods, and he should understand the terror of the "Spirit Eater" better than anyone.

Unless…

Zhang Xusheng has other goals. And the "Spirit Eater," currently sealed, may be one of his hidden strategies.

However, the "Spirit Eater" is not a being that can be controlled by anyone in this world. With its power and destructive capability, it is more harmful than beneficial to Zhang Xusheng. Why did Zhang Xusheng release it back then?

Although Xu Qingfan had long known about the terror of the "Spirit Eater," it was only in this moment that he felt a hint of its horror and understood just how frightening it truly was.

Sensing the power of the Spirit Eater, Xu Qingfan’s heart shook far more than his calm appearance showed.

He suddenly realized that he had thought he understood the "Spirit Eater" very well through the Divine Plate of Inheritance and various materials, but at this moment, he found that the materials were just materials, and the images on the Divine Plate were merely images. It was only by being here that he realized how much he had underestimated the terror of the "Spirit Eater," and this underestimation messed up his plans for the game.

"It seems that I need to change my future plans regarding Chou and the ‘Spirit Eater.’ I used to think that although the ‘Spirit Eater’ had a stronger devouring ability, if Chou’s strength far surpassed it, there would still be a chance for both sides to perish together. But I never expected the ‘Spirit Eater’ to be this powerful. If I hadn’t been curious and come to investigate for myself, sending Chou to deal with the ‘Spirit Eater’ in the future would have just meant sending him to his death."

However, instead of thinking about how to deal with the "Spirit Eater" threat in the future, Xu Qingfan found himself pondering many questions he had not considered before.

Zhang Xusheng, why did he release the "Spirit Eater" back then? If it was just to force the Shura Clan to appear and break free from Mr. Liu’s control, that seems too extreme.

"If Liu Ziqing is right and Zhang Xusheng’s next goal is to become a god, then is the purpose of the ‘Spirit Eater’ to… destroy the world?"

Xu Qingfan murmured to himself.

Lost in thought, Xu Qingfan fell into a trance, his eyes turning dark and his face covered in dark patterns.

"In other words, Zhang Xusheng plans to unleash ‘Spirit Eater’ at the right time to destroy all living things in the world, and then rule the world with the loyal creatures he has created. So, if this is the case, does Zhang Xusheng have a way to defeat ‘Spirit Eater’ in the future?"

With a sigh, Xu Qingfan turned and looked toward the direction of the Human Alliance.

There, perhaps Zhang Xusheng was, just like Xu Qingfan at this moment, thinking about something with a flickering gaze.

As Xu Qingfan thought and thought, he suddenly laughed heartily, but his eyes were dark, lacking any joy.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan thought that if Zhang Xusheng really had a way to defeat ‘Spirit Eater’, then no matter what clever plans he came up with, Zhang Xusheng would be in a very strong position, because all he had to do was unleash Spirit Eater at the key moment and then step in to clean up the mess at the end.

Even if some forces managed to defeat Zhang Xusheng, as long as he had a way to defeat ‘Spirit Eater’, everyone would depend on him and not dare to harm him.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but feel a heavy sense of defeat in his heart. Were all his hard-planned strategies over the years completely useless?

However, Xu Qingfan was puzzled; with the existence of Spirit Eater, the plan to destroy the world could be launched at any time. Why had Zhang Xusheng only been hiding in the Human Alliance all these years?

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan’s body shook, as if he thought of something.