Chapter 191: One Third

After jumping into the volcano, Leon found himself standing on a vast stone platform surrounded by blazing flames. The heat was so terrifying that the flesh on his body melted instantly, exposing his white bones.

But in the very next moment, his self-healing ability activated automatically. His flesh melted... But regenerated at the same time.

"This heat..." Leon muttered as he scanned his surroundings. "It’s truly ferocious. If it were anyone else, they would’ve died the instant they arrived."

The place felt like a lone platform floating in the middle of an endless sea of fire. No matter where he looked, all he could see were raging crimson flames stretching endlessly into the distance. This environment was perfect for absorbing fire and cultivating. But before doing that, he needed to find out whether the Blood Dantian Pill truly existed.

And if it did...

Where it was.

Leon began walking across the platform. A few moments later, he discovered a square-shaped opening in the ground. Stone stairs descended into the darkness through the entrance.

"I suppose I have to take these stairs." Leon narrowed his eyes. "Let’s see what’s hidden deep below."

He started descending cautiously, keeping his guard up against hidden traps or unexpected dangers. His Spirit Zone was also in action.

However, the moment he stepped onto the first stair...

An overwhelming pressure crashed down upon him. It was so terrifying that even the Gravity Chamber’s maximum gravity paled in comparison.

And that wasn’t all.

An invisible force seemed to be crushing his internal organs from every direction. Leon instinctively prepared to retreat.

But before he could...

A majestic voice echoed inside his mind.

"You have entered the Demon Monarch’s Purgatory. If you seek power, prove that you are worthy of it. If you fail or try to retreat... you shall die for trespassing upon the Demon Monarch’s Purgatory and defiling it with your pathetic existence."

The voice was ancient... Authoritative...

As though it demanded absolute obedience from every living being.

"Demon Monarch?" Leon frowned. "A demon? Like one of those creatures who tried to kill us inside the Delvan Tower?"

The voice gave no response.

Instead, several notifications appeared on the system panel before Leon.

[Demon Monarch was an ancient existence. He was a demon. More precisely, he was the eldest son of the Demon King, the supreme ruler of all demons. However, the Demon Monarch abandoned the path of the demons. He was an unpredictable existence who slaughtered humans, demons, monsters, elves, and countless other races alike. Anyone who stood in his way was destroyed. He was the very definition of true terror.]

Leon frowned even more. "So, in other words... he was an evil being. A monstrous existence even for demons. And now I’m supposed to undergo the trial of someone who is related to a being like that?"

[Negative, Host. The Demon Monarch destroyed anyone who stood in his path because he had fallen in love with a human woman. He was a destroyer. He was also a savior. Whether he was truly evil or truly righteous cannot be judged so simply. But one fact remains unquestionable.]

[He was the very definition of absolute strength.]

For some unknown reason, the system seemed to hold the Demon Monarch in great respect.

"Absolute strength, huh?" Leon smiled helplessly. "Fine. It’s not like the owner of this place is giving me any choice anyway. I have no choice but to move forward."

With those words, he took the second step.

The pressure instantly increased.

Strangely, despite being subjected to such overwhelming force, not a single system notification appeared. Notifications for any of his resistance increasing.

Leon continued descending one step at a time.

By the time he reached the eighth step, his body was already bent forward under the crushing pressure. His lungs desperately gasped for air, while sweat poured from his forehead like a fountain.

Gritting his teeth, Leon forced himself to take one more step.

The moment Leon stepped onto the ninth stair, his knees buckled beneath the overwhelming pressure.

Bang!

He crashed onto the stone platform.

Crack!

His knees sank into the solid stone as spiderweb-like cracks spread across its surface. Blood gushed from his mouth, staining the stairs crimson. His vision blurred, and his consciousness wavered as though he could collapse at any moment.

"Damn! This is really hard. Can I even survive the next step?" He wondered with a pale face. His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails pierced his palms, causing blood to drip onto the ground.

Slowly...

He raised his head. Then, with every ounce of strength left in his body, he forced himself back onto his feet. His legs trembled violently, threatening to give way at any moment, yet he remained standing. "But if I can truly obtain the Blood Dantian Pill... then so be it." Gritting his teeth, Leon took another step downward.

The instant his foot landed...

The crushing pressure disappeared without a trace. "Wait! What?"

He had reached a small landing between the flights of stairs. His self-healing ability was already repairing the damage throughout his body, but Leon still struggled to catch his breath.

Just then, the majestic voice echoed through the darkness once more.

"Good. At the very least, you possess the physical fortitude required to inherit the legacy.

However, that was merely one-third of the first trial... and the easiest part.

The next nine stairs shall test the strength of your mind.

You have ten seconds to begin your descent."

The voice faded into silence.

Leon slowly straightened his body. "Mental fortitude, huh?" he muttered. "Then no matter what happens... I’ll just have to endure it."

Ten seconds passed in the blink of an eye. Leon stepped onto the tenth stair.

Instantly, the world around him was swallowed by darkness.

Then, in the far distance...

A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened. Leon couldn’t tell what kind of creature they belonged to.

But one thing was certain. Whatever was staring back at him...

Was unimaginably powerful.