Chapter 884 - End
Shi Hao had never felt so frightened since the day he left the village. The scenes he saw here were too frightening, exceeding his imagination.
That long table disappeared. He suspected that it might be because they were too extraordinary, and that was why they could appear through the seal of the stone cauldron. Could it be that there was an entire cauldron full of heads?
This was too shocking!
Those names, the memorial tablets, the heads sticky with sparkling blood, if news of this got out, it would definitely shock the world.
Yu Yu Lord, Great Scarlet Sky Lord… who would believe that their heads were all inside of a cauldron? It was too shocking, shaking both past and present!
These mountains and rivers were dusky. Shi Hao walked forward step by step, closing in on those enormous broken mountains. He wanted to see the stone cauldron at the foot of the mountain from a bit closer.
There were too many skeletal remains along the way, all of them carrying the aura of passed time. They covered the ground.
There were some corpses that hadn't been damaged after all this time, currently releasing sinister fluctuations. Shi Hao tried to touch them, but those remains immediately released terrifying symbols and bone texts.
One could imagine how powerful these individuals were when they were alive. They were definitely unmatched experts.
This ancient ground was extremely massive. However, calling it a battlefield wasn’t quite right. There were ancient corpses all over the ground, some carrying chaotic energy, some releasing mysterious symbols.
There were some that had clearly decayed as well. When he accidentally stepped on some of them, the flesh rotted, some directly turning into dust.
Qiang!
Shi Hao tried to pick up a few weapons, but he discovered that not a single one was intact. If they weren’t broken, then they had long been destroyed by the endless passage of time.
What he obtained were all broken spears and tattered pieces of armor, to the extent where they lost all divinity and completely decayed, already couldn’t be considered as any divine materials.
An endless amount of time had passed after all. Unless they were unmatched supreme treasures, since they were broken to begin with, there was naturally no way for them to remain forever.
“What kind of creature is this?” He saw a mountainous freak that looked like a hedgehog. However, its neck was extremely long, and its head was even more like that of a True Dragon. In addition, there was a pair of golden divine wings that hadn't rotten even now.
This thing was incredibly formidable. Shi Hao felt as if his skin was in sharp pain from even far away. The golden divine thorns seemed like they could shatter the void.
Immortal Ancient’s creatures were quite different from those of the current world. Shi Hao walked quite far, the ancient creatures he saw all having their own unique characteristics.
Silent and without any news, the eyes of an ancient corpse behind him shone with green light. Its body carried gray mists, and like a civet, it quietly pounced over.
Chi!
Shi Hao was quite vigilant. With the Void Halberd in hand, he fiercely twisted his waist, his right hand brandishing the halberd backwards, the width of his swing great.
Pu!
A streak of black-colored blood splashed outwards. That creature’s head flew diagonally, and its entire corpse split apart, collapsing onto the ground into thick blood, rotting away.
Shi Hao knew that he had entered a dangerous place. The so-called ominous and inauspicious were likely not far. He arrived at a mysterious demonic earth.
Meanwhile, at this time, he wasn’t that far from the broken mountain, able to clearly see the enormous stone cauldron.
“It is actually… World Stone!”
Shi Hao was shocked. He saw the material this cauldron was made of, unexpectedly an unmatched legendary material, the rough material for natural supreme treasures. It was truly too shocking.
Just a small piece of this thing would make great sect masters fight to the death. However, there was such a large chunk here, forming a completely intact cauldron.
It was clear that there were no other materials mixed in.
It was precisely this sturdy precious material that was covered in cracks, as if it would break apart at any time. It was hard to imagine what kind of power led to this kind of damage.
The cauldron was extremely simple and unadorned, suffused with chaotic energy. Even though the top of the cauldron was sealed, there were strands of auspicious multicolored light seeping out, as well as gray and black fog pervading outwards.
Shi Hao released a sigh. The value of this cauldron was too great. Who would think that this cauldron that was releasing auspicious multicolored light might be full of heads?
How was it created back then? Who was the one that acted so extravagantly?
Aside from this, he was also a bit horrified to find that there were strands of gray mists and black energy inside the auspicious multicolored light, seeping out from the seal. It made one shiver inwardly from dread.
It was because he sensed a familiar aura, the same as the ominous and inauspicious that had appeared. They were definitely from the same source.
“Don’t tell me that the origin of the strangeness is this cauldron…” Shi Hao said quietly, his expression grave. He carefully walked around this cauldron.
The most worrying thing was that the cracks covering this cauldron were also releasing wisps of gray fog. It truly was about to break apart.
A great ancient cauldron made out of World Stone, this was definitely a supreme treasure. Were these cracks caused by external attacks or because the things sealed inside were too powerful?
Once it broke, what kind of terrifying result would there be exactly? Shi Hao’s expression became grave. He stood in front of the cauldron, thinking silently to himself.
“Bestow upon you undecaying, uncover the seal…”
Suddenly an indistinct and weak fluctuation transmitted outwards. That was the sound of a divine will. It was unexpectedly hard to differentiate, strange and horrifying.
Shi Hao broke out into a cold shiver. In this place of death, there was actually this type of calling. It made one shiver inwardly.
The gray mist and black energy seeping out from the stone cauldron were floating about, looking extremely sinister. There was a type of demonic power proliferating, making one feel ill at ease.
“En!”
Shi Hao hurriedly took a few steps back. His primordial spirit was unstable, as if it was going to leave his body. His mind was trembling, receiving quite a powerful disturbance.
It was as if a wave of power was restricting him, but also as if it was tempting him, making him walk forward.
“Undying, long life, coexisting with the world…”
The fleeting voice carried cold intent, impossible to go against. It was directly used on one’s willpower, saying that it was going to grant benefits, ordering him to walk forward.
“Get lost!”
Shi Hao shouted, staggering backwards. He forcefully bit his lips, almost causing blood to spill out.
He was a bit scared. What was going on? It was clearly a fluctuation that couldn’t be any weaker, yet it affected his mind so greatly.
Weng!
The stone cauldron covered in cracks swayed, releasing divine light. The gray mist and black energy intertwined, becoming much darker. Then, the voice disappeared along with it.
It was extremely haunting!
Shi Hao backed up, his expression extremely grave. It had already been how many tens of thousands of years, perhaps an eternity past, yet there were still wills inside this cauldron. It left him terrified.
Was this cauldron filled with heads, or other things?
Suddenly, Shi Hao felt a wave of warmth, his surroundings becoming peaceful. The murkiness scattered, and an expanse of light appeared, rushing forward.
It was like a ripple, and also like stellar light. Even though it wasn’t all that grand and resplendent when compared to this entire ancient land, it was still enough to illuminate the surroundings, eliminating some of the darkness.
Shi Hao’s mind trembled. Everything was created by the light within his body. It already flew out, turning into an ancient mirror, reflecting all things here.
It reflected all of the scenery and combat traces of this place with its mirror surface, and then it even wound about that stone cauldron, truly displaying everything.
Dong!
A heavy muffled sound rang through the air. This entire region began to shake, the black ancient boat itself swaying.
Even that sphere of light was shaking. It spun around this place, and then returned to Shi Hao’s body.
Wuwu...
Suddenly, an indistinct roar sounded from behind the broken mountains, making one’s scalp turn numb and their bodies shiver with coldness. If was as if a malicious spirit was blowing cold air on the back of his neck.
“What kind of thing is there in the very depths of this place?”
Shi Hao stopped here for a while, and then he walked forward. EIther way, he couldn’t leave, possibly dying here, so he might as well just continue exploring.
The broken mountains were massive. He made his way around it, heading forward. The chaotic energy in front of him was misty and indistinct.
This was an even more vast ancient land, with more corpses, broken weapons, and shattered bone artifacts.
This was still the hold of the ship, but it didn’t seem like one at all, instead like a boundless world.
After who knew how much time had passed, Shi Hao felt as if he arrived at the edge of this world. Up ahead, the road ended, with no place further to walk to. He had reached its end.
“What… is over there?”
Shi Hao looked forward, his heart shaking.
There was a boundless abyss stretched before him, chaotic mists curling about above, and pitch-black like ink below, the bottom impossible to see. There was the most terrifying type of energy swirling about.
The roar he heard before seemed to have originated precisely from this abyss, the final destination of this ship.
He had a feeling that all of the strangeness and the ominous events originated from this place, from the abyss below. It seemed to be able to devour everything!
After just giving it a look, Shi Hao immediately felt a chill run from his head to toe, his fine hairs all standing on end. He couldn’t help but shiver.
Then, he was shocked, great emotions rising and falling within him.
It was because when he opened his Heavenly Eye, he saw a person sitting at the entrance of this abyss, as if his body was sealed here.
This figure was enormous, his black-colored hair sticky with blood, scattering down to his waist. He sat there without moving.
“It’s… him!”
Shi Hao’s voice was trembling. He had seen this person not too long ago in the scene that had appeared on the altar, one of the seven great kings who were protecting the desolate border!
He was unexpectedly here! It was extremely shocking.
It was as if he was petrified, without the slightest bit of vitality, not moving at all. Above him was a layer of ancient patterns, sealing the entrance into this abyss.
Meanwhile, he sat above it, silently protecting this place.
Shi Hao’s eyes widened. He carefully observed this individual.
There were too many injuries on this king’s body, his clothes in tatters. His body was covered with terrifying wounds. A short spear was impaled in his chest, a black-colored feathered arrow inserted into his shoulder blade, and the leg of a divine cauldron was embedded in his ribs, the other end emerging from his back.
There were even more tattered pagoda fragments that pierced into his head. It was hard to imagine just what kind of miserable and terrifying great battles he had experienced!
He was riddled with wounds, blood dying his battle clothes. The bright red blood still hadn't dried up even now, but his body was already ice cold without any trace of life.
It was because his injuries were too severe. Those terrifying supreme precious artifacts, any one of them could pierce through the heavens. However, they were all broken now, inserted into his body. It was enough to erase all life force!
This was a seal that he placed before his death, sealing this place!
“I’ve returned… however, my strength has already been exhausted…”
A wave of emotion swept outwards. This was regret, left behind before his death.
“Broke through the desolate border… familiar homeland… overtook… sealed!”
The will that remained was intermittent. This was all that was still here.
Shi Hao felt a wave of sadness for this king. He defended the desolate border, not shrinking back this entire time, using his life and blood to fight back.
The reason why he broke through the desolate border and returned was to chase after something, and then seal it.
In the end, he actually died like this. It was a truly tragic scene, guarding this place even while at death’s door, sealing up this abyss.
It was clear that this king provided endless contributions, however, no one would know about everything he did.
Within this ice-cold, dark void, he died all alone. No one knew, no one to send him off. No one in the world knew that there was a person like this who offered his life to stop this darkness.
The things he did would shake up all three thousand provinces of the higher realms, yet his descendants were treated like descendents with sinner’s blood.
His corpse rested here, drifting along the void’s great crack along with this ancient boat, ice cold and bleak.