Sea of Eternal Dark Bones, at the center of the Northern Divine Region, in the deepest part of the Yama Realm.
Ren Zu appeared silently, allowing his body to sink gently as he floated downward. The wind imbued with yin energy roared in his ears. The deeper he fell, the more violent that energy became. Resentment, hatred, death, killing intent… all kinds of negative emotions surged toward him, carried by a repulsive stench that seemed to corrode the very air itself.
Anyone in his situation would believe they were plunging toward a mythological purgatory.
But to him, it felt… like home.
In his [Demon God] form, this was the most suitable environment for his growth. Even so, his plans went far beyond simply entering isolation to cultivate. He intended to devour the entire Sea of Eternal Dark Bones; in doing so, he would drastically advance his profound strength, and in the future, he could subjugate the Yama Realm itself, reducing it to his slaves. While consuming this place, he also planned to hunt down and kill the Yama Ancestors hiding here like rats.
According to what he remembered from the original story, countless devil gods fell every year during the long war between the divine and demon races. The high-ranking devils had tombs erected in their honor… although those tombs had long since been plundered. The same had occurred with the gods. Most of the divine legacies obtained by the Divine Regions, along with a few remaining spiritual remnants, had been "unearthed" by the star realms. In fact, there were still countless people rummaging through the God Realm, searching for any "opportunity" that might still remain hidden to this day.
However, the lower-ranked devils, the greatest victims of that war, had their corpses simply piled up in a single place. As the conflict between gods and devils intensified, it became more terrifying than anyone could have imagined. More and more devils died, until in the end, that burial ground turned into a vast sea of corpses. Over the years, those bodies were reduced to countless devil bones.
And this was the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones where he currently stood. This was also why the place was saturated with an extremely dense yin energy, as well as death and resentment energy. The dark energy here was far more intense than anywhere else in the Northern Divine Region.
He simply allowed himself to fall freely through the air for a full forty-five minutes before his feet gradually struck the bottom of the abyss.
The particular area he had landed in was not completely shrouded in darkness. Countless devil bones glowed with phosphorescence. But instead of dispelling fear, the faint light only made the dark world even more terrifying and oppressive than before.
The devil bones came in all shapes and sizes. Some of them were several thousand meters long. Some were relatively intact. Many more had been reduced to shattered fragments of darkness.
The dense dark energy here was so thick it was practically solid. He almost felt as though he were floating in a flowing body of water. Profound dark energy roared through every corner of his body like miniature storms beyond his control.
"Heh… hehe… hehehehe…"
Suddenly, the sound of bones falling and a distorted laugh came from somewhere in the darkness. It made the black cemetery even more terrifying than before.
Ren Zu slowly turned toward the direction where the sinister laughter had come from. However, the expression on his face was not one of fear, but of pure, cruel mockery. It seemed he would not need to desperately search for the rats hiding in this place—they had come to him on their own.
Unaware of the mockery on his face, the voice continued…
"Heehee… Heeheeheehee… fresh meat has finally been delivered to our doorstep."
That was, technically, a human voice, but no one would believe it had been spoken by a human.
The voice was so hoarse it sounded like metal being dragged against metal. Dark and sinister, it resembled the low, unsettling groan of evil spirits.
"I can't sense this brat's profound strength… how strange…"
This time, another voice echoed. Yet it was just as rough and incomprehensible as the first, scraping against Ren Zu's soul like a blunt blade.
"Hehhehheh… seems you're right. In any case, he doesn't look very strong… But his pretty face is irritating this old ghost. I want to slowly cut it apart before killing him…"
A third voice rang out, sounding like teeth grinding together violently. The sound was so harsh and unpleasant that Ren Zu's stomach twisted in disgust the moment those words reached his ears.
However, although their voices were terrifying and repulsive, their auras were even more dreadful. Vast and seemingly boundless like the ocean, they radiated an oppressive power, black and dense, as heavy as ten thousand mountains. And yet, they had not even fully released these auras; this was merely the spiritual pressure naturally leaking from their bodies.
In the end, they were still old monsters who had inherited the blood of the original True Devils and bathed in this ancient black yin energy for nearly a million years. They had not disappointed him at all!
Rather than "not disappointing," it would be better to call this a pleasant surprise!
Crack, crack, crack!
The sound of devil bones being stepped on slowly approached. Ren Zu's blood-red eyes pierced through the darkness, and he gradually discerned three figures that resembled evil spirits within that gloom.
That's right, evil spirits!
These three black figures were equally hunched and withered. Their exposed skin was pale like a corpse, tightly wrapped around their atrophied bones. Their four limbs were even thinner and more withered than truly dead branches… They barely retained any features of a living human being.
In fact, if they lay still on the ground, anyone would believe they were three dried corpses.
However, the movement of their withered limbs and the infernal light flickering in their eyes showed that they were still alive! Yes, they resembled three "ghosts" that were still truly alive!
"Yan Wanchi, Yan Wanhun, Yan Wangui…"
Ren Zu's lips curved into a faint arc as he murmured, in a low voice, the names of the Three Yama Ancestors.
In the earliest era of the Northern Divine Region's history, these three founded the Yama Realm, meaning they had already been alive for at least eight hundred thousand years… in fact, it was even possible they had surpassed the one-million-year mark. From what he remembered of the original story, the three had obtained the devil blood and techniques left behind by the primordial Yama Devils. From this, they conquered the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones and established the Yama Realm.
Later, after elevating the Yama Devil Art to its peak, they discovered they could bind their life force to the dark energy of the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones through that very art. From then on… as long as the Sea of Eternal Dark Bones continued to exist, so would they.
In practice, this meant that no matter how severe their injuries were—even if their bodies were completely destroyed—they could rapidly regenerate as long as they were within this sea of bones. They were not merely immortal… they could be considered practically indestructible.
They were devils who had survived for nearly a million years… and, moreover, possessed this false eternity.
But in Ren Zu's eyes, that immortality was deeply flawed, something bordering on contemptible for one who sought true eternity. They had survived to this day, yes… but at the cost of becoming miserable, inhuman creatures.
It was, at once, pitiful… and ridiculous.
Well, they could serve as nourishment for his ascension…
The three "bodies" stopped. The gaze in their eyes shifted, and that truly terrifying oppressive power they emitted began to tremble slightly.
It had been a long time since they had heard their own names.
Ren Zu slowly raised a hand, his palm pointing toward the three Yama Ancestors. A mass of black light gently flickered in his hand as he said: "...I have come to kill you. What are your final words?"
When he spoke these words in a deep voice, they sounded no different from the judgment of the heavenly law itself!
When the three Yama Ancestors heard this, they felt as though someone had injected life and vitality into their souls, souls that had withered in this endless darkness. It was simply because they found the young man's words in front of them far too amusing. It was a joke that made them burst into laughter.
"Heh heh… hahahaha…. Heeehahahahahaha…"
Three grotesque laughs echoed through the air, overlapping one another. They sounded so rough and grating that Ren Zu felt as though thousands of sharp blades were being driven into his eardrums. They laughed wildly and unrestrainedly. The joke they had just heard was practically heavenly nectar, making their withered skin glow with vitality.
"Heehahahaha… There are already three crazy old ghosts trapped in this place, but we never expected an even crazier little ghost to appear… Heeehahahaha!"
"What does this little boy think he is? Heeheeheehee… in the end, he's just another idiot who came to challenge us… So, to whom will this little lunatic's life energy belong?"
"But…"
The Yama Ancestor whose aura was the strongest extended his hand. As he flexed his withered fingers, black energy instantly began to swirl in the air. He stared at Ren Zu, those deeply creased eyes resembling pools of dark dye narrowing into terrifying slits: "This little ghost can actually stand before us three old ghosts. Not bad…"
"Heehehheh, since when does a crazy little ghost know the meaning of the word 'fear'?"
The corpse-like figure in the middle slowly stepped forward. Each step he took was accompanied by dark energy rippling through the air like violent waves: "Little ghost, we three old ghosts have lived for eight hundred and ninety thousand years, and never has anyone dared to say something so ridiculous and absurd to us… Heeheehee, in fact, it makes me somewhat reluctant to kill you immediately."
The words "ugly" and "repulsive" could not even begin to describe his sinister smile. Just a glimpse of it would haunt one's dreams for years.
This speaking evil spirit was the leader of the Three Yama Ancestors—Yan Wanchi, the strongest among them.
"Well then, are those your final words? Bragging that you've lived eight hundred and ninety thousand years?" Ren Zu also began to laugh. Compared to Yan Wanchi's sinister smile, his own was filled with deep mockery and pity: "Are you really proud of living in a place like this for over eight hundred thousand years? Hahahaha…"
He let out a low laugh while slowly shaking his head. The pity evident in the curve of his lips stabbed into the eyes of the Three Yama Ancestors like a poisoned blade.
"You are the three greatest and most pathetic jokes in the history of the Northern Divine Region… No, no, I meant the entire God Realm. Three old rats buried in this unbearably vile place. So where exactly did you get the shamelessness to laugh wildly in my face, hmm?"
The Three Yama Ancestors had lived for an extremely long time, but their existence had long since become painful for them. In truth, it had become quite lamentable. However, as the founding ancestors of the Yama Realm—Divine Masters of the tenth level who had reached the pinnacle of profound dark energy—who would dare insult them even if they truly could be compared to rats? Who would dare insult them like that!?
As the founding ancestors of the Yama Realm, all Yama Emperors, past and present, had to treat them with utmost dignity and respect. They did not even dare to do anything that might imply disrespect.
As practitioners of profound negative energy, they would normally not be enraged by a few words.
Unfortunately, even the strongest spirit would become distorted after being confined in this place for hundreds of thousands of years.
The souls of the Three Yama Ancestors had long since become heavily twisted and violent. Moreover, Ren Zu's insult was the most humiliating thing they had heard in years and struck directly at their weakest points. There was no doubt it had stirred the distorted minds of the Three Yama Ancestors, pushing them into frenzy.
Ssssss… Uwaaaaaaah!
The Three Yama Ancestors trembled as a terrifying black light emanated from their eyes. Cries that no longer sounded human were torn from their throats.
They were going to kill that brat!
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