Chapter 618 - 617: Serious

Chapter 618: Chapter 617: Serious

The Artifact Spirit’s cultivation was very high. At this level, the Celestial Rock Town Ancient Stele could kill enemies autonomously, without needing a master to control it. The thought alone was terrifying. This was beyond the scope of a mere weapon; it was practically a living person!

That was an exaggeration, of course. In reality, it couldn’t go that far. The original master of the Celestial Rock Town Ancient Stele had set up a grand array here that allowed the Artifact Spirit to temporarily fly out and attack, but it couldn’t wield the Divine Artifact on its own.

That would be too far-fetched. After all, without Spiritual Power to drive it, a Divine Artifact was no different from a piece of junk. Ultimately, if not for the grand array here constantly absorbing Spiritual Power to sustain it, the Artifact Spirit would have vanished long ago.

It would be no different from the Illusion Spirits outside. The biggest difference was that its power would reach an astonishing level during Human and Martial Unity. After all, since this Divine Artifact possessed a soul, it was significantly more powerful than ordinary Divine Artifacts.

Most of the Spiritual Power drawn from the ten mountain peaks was used to replenish the Artifact Spirit’s energy. Otherwise, it would have long been unable to maintain the suppression here.

"So, does that mean there really is a demon sealed inside? Or should I say, a powerful expert?" Yi Tianyun narrowed his eyes, studying the spirit. ’If I want to understand the situation, I’ll have to ask carefully.’

"Your strength is decent, and you can repair these Divine Runes. I suppose you can know the general situation." The Artifact Spirit’s smile faded. "You guessed correctly. What’s sealed inside is indeed a demon. More accurately, it’s a member of an Outer Heaven Race that slaughtered its way in from the outside. It went on a killing spree throughout the Mortal Realm before my master finally suppressed it, leaving me here to keep it contained for eternity."

"An Outer Heaven Race? From the Celestial Realm, or the Netherworld?" Yi Tianyun asked.

"No, neither. One day, it suddenly shattered the spatial barrier and invaded. No one knew what was going on. As soon as it arrived, this demon began to frantically devour life, and many people died. If my master hadn’t used all his strength to seal it, the Mortal Realm would have been destroyed!"

"And after the Mortal Realm was destroyed, the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld would have likely been next!"

At this, the Artifact Spirit’s expression grew solemn. It seemed that if things had been allowed to continue, all Three Realms would have been devoured.

"So it’s from an Outer Heaven Race... That’s astonishing. Your master must have been at the Divine King level, yet even he couldn’t kill it?" Yi Tianyun frowned. ’Looks like I was right. If I had opened this seal recklessly, I would’ve been the one to die.’

"Yes, my master is a Divine King, called the Creation Celestial Divine King!" the Artifact Spirit announced, its voice filled with pride. It continued, "My master was very powerful, but the invading demon was even stronger! However, its power was suppressed, so my master was able to subdue it. But it was incredibly difficult to kill. This demon’s Bloodline is too potent, and its self-healing abilities are astonishing. The only option was to suppress it, not kill it."

’This isn’t without precedent,’ Yi Tianyun thought. ’It’s just like the Evil Spirit Race in the Phoenix Nest. They were impossible to kill; even beheading them was useless. If it were that easy, why bother sealing them in the first place?’

’Clearly, this is a demon on the level of a Divine King. If it gets out, we’re all dead. It would be an absolute catastrophe.’

"Creation Celestial Divine King?" Yi Tianyun was startled, yet it was also what he expected. ’Divine Kings aren’t a dime a dozen; there aren’t just several of them lying around.’

"The Mortal Realm can accommodate such a powerful Cultivator?" Yi Tianyun found this very strange. He had heard that the Mortal Realm could only support Cultivators up to the peak of the Spirit King Stage. Anyone stronger would either have their power suppressed or be forced to ascend to the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld. And yet, later on, even Saint King Stage experts had started appearing.

’And now it seems even Divine King Stage experts could roam around here freely?’

"Actually, the Mortal Realm has always been able to accommodate experts of any level," the spirit explained. "It was only later that my master joined forces with other Divine Kings to establish a set of rules that would compel Cultivators with exceedingly high cultivation to ascend to the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld. Now, those rules have loosened a bit, raising the threshold."

"My master did this largely to make this place safer. The Mortal Realm is relatively fragile, and massive battles can easily weaken the fabric of space, creating openings for outsiders to invade. That’s why anyone stronger than a peak Spirit King Stage Cultivator was compelled to leave for one of the other realms."

"So that’s how it was?"

Yi Tianyun’s expression grew grim. ’I have to admit, the power of a Divine King is truly formidable—enough to establish the very rules of a realm. Doesn’t that make Divine King Stage experts equivalent to gods?’

"Yes. The outsider broke through space and invaded during a great battle. I don’t know what the situation is like out there." The Artifact Spirit’s knowledge was limited. It had been sealed here long ago and couldn’t accompany the Creation Celestial Divine King on his campaigns, so there was much it didn’t know.

"How many Divine Kings are there in the Three Realms?" Yi Tianyun seized on a key phrase. ’It said its master joined forces with *other* Divine Kings!’

"As far as I know, there are three Divine Kings. One is my master, one is in the Netherworld, and one is in the Celestial Realm. My master is the Divine King of the Mortal Realm," the Artifact Spirit explained.

"Three Divine Kings..." Yi Tianyun’s gaze sharpened. "Do you know where your master is now?"

’All three Divine Kings have vanished. At the very least, Creation Celestial Divine King is no longer in this world—he even established the Flying Heaven Empire in the Netherworld. So his true home was the Mortal Realm all along. I had assumed he was from the Netherworld.’

"I don’t know. I can no longer sense my master’s presence..." the Artifact Spirit’s expression grew dim. A situation like this meant one of two things: either his master was too far away to be sensed, or he was dead.

"It’s possible that all three Divine Kings are gone..." Yi Tianyun’s gaze hardened. ’The three of them established the rules of this place and then vanished without a trace. It’s highly probable that their disappearance has something to do with the Outer Heaven Race.’

"I don’t know about that," the Artifact Spirit said in a heavy tone. "But there is one crucial point: the demon I am suppressing is growing stronger, and I’m losing my ability to contain it. Even if you repair all the Divine Runes, it won’t be enough to keep this demon suppressed!"

"How much time is left?" Yi Tianyun did not panic; he just wanted to know how long he had.

"Since you’ve repaired a good number of the Divine Runes, if we assume you repair them all, I can hold out for at least another hundred years. If they are not fully repaired, I can currently last for about sixty more years." The Artifact Spirit thought for a moment before adding, "That time will only be shorter, not longer."

’One hundred years if they’re fully repaired...’

Yi Tianyun’s mind raced. He would be facing a threat on the level of a Divine King! He had two choices now. The first was to break through to the Divine King Stage himself, wait for the demon to emerge, and then slay it. The second was to unite the forces of the other two realms and confront this demon together.

The problem was, he knew nothing about the situation in the other two realms. If they were run by greedy factions, then nothing he said would matter. They might even try to break the seal themselves, and then it would be all over.

Sometimes, things were just that ugly. Greedy Cultivators would stop at nothing, focused only on getting their hands on the treasure first. By the time darkness fell, it would be too late, and the ones who suffered would be the countless innocents.

Yi Tianyun would not let something like that happen. At the very least, he had to protect the people he cared about!