With Countless Qualities Bestowed Upon Me, I Shall Ultimately Become Immortal-Chapter 645 - 558: Shattered Dharma Realm, Incomparably Powerful Celestial Demon, and the Umbrella of the Void!
Meng Chuan shook his head, a hint of frustration passing between his brows, and he finally just sighed.
After today’s analysis, the strategy he initially set for finding the mural was likely wrong.
He fell into the trap of empiricism, ignoring the differences between Demon Nests and the distinct variations among demon species, treating them all the same.
Liao Hai noticed his silence, glanced at the mural, but didn’t pay it any heed, and followed Meng Chuan away.
Walking quickly behind him, Liao Hai shared his thoughts:
"So these murals aren’t completely useless; they can also prove that Chi Li’s theft of the Immortals and Buddhas’ power was very short.
It can be deduced that the chance of the Immortals and Buddhas being contaminated by demons is highly likely with the Eighteen Arhats.
Trying to locate the Divine Temple or such, with the intelligence these demons display, can’t achieve such things.
Their current level of cognition can only reach the level of ’distinguishing between you and me’.
"That’s right."
Meng Chuan nodded, expressing agreement.
He had some guesses, but they were merely conjectures and speaking them would not be useful.
It’s better to make the most of the time and find the Divine Temple first.
"Now that this clue has broken, we can only use a clumsy method."
"Then let’s do a thorough search. Master Shishu said Chi Li’s Demon Nest isn’t that large in area.
Make marks along the way, don’t go where we’ve been, we’ll surely find it."
Liao Yuan caught up, hearing this and immediately raised his hand:
"I’ll handle the marking. I’ll use the Secret Technique to perceive and lead everyone back on the quickest path, so there won’t be any issue with the retreat."
Liao Chen folded his arms and teased with a smile:
"Are you going to find a pillar and mark it with a splash of urine?"
"..."
Liao Yuan remained silent, merely drawing a bow and arrow, aiming at Liao Chen...
Everyone chuckled and joked for a while, then no longer tangled with the matter of the murals.
A few followed along and walked beside Meng Chuan, their emotions unfazed.
Finding the mural was originally a method of trial.
Exploring the Demon Nest is inherently full of unknowns, taking some detours is commonplace.
Moreover, along this journey, they’ve gained so much, extracting abundant resources from the Great Demon’s lair.
Even if the previous steps were misguided, there’s no complaint, and they’d even wish there were more of such detours...
Kicking the stones underfoot, Meng Chuan’s expression remained calm.
At this moment, he wasn’t upset about his earlier errors in judgment, instead pondering the next steps while walking:
"I once heard Divine Dragon Great Saint say that the location of a Divine Temple is typically placed near the Demon Nest node by concept-type Celestial Demons.
For them, this facilitates easier transport and submission of Immortals and Buddhas’ faith power later."
[Nodes] are passages connecting different Demon Nests, formed by resonating Demonic Qi.
Due to the dimensional barriers between different Demon Nests and the human world, only Demon Nests with the same dimensional distance can interlink.
But there are exceptions — I’ve heard of one of the three major scourges in Great Chu: [Outer Heaven].
This Demon Path organization holds "technical means" for node connections.
They can bypass certain levels of dimensional differences, linking Demon Nests of varying levels.
"Donor Meng, are you saying... our target now is to find the Demon Nest node?"
"The prerequisite for Demonic Qi forming resonance is massive gatherings, can Master Yuan locate it?"
"Let me think..."
Liao Yuan pondered for a while.
Tracking the origin of the Qi, with Demonic Qi as the anchor...
It seems possible.
"Let me try."
This time there’s no need to lie on the ground, Liao Yuan sniffed around the air, filled with omnipresent Demonic Qi.
Moments later, he stopped and turned to the group, saying:
"Let’s go west. I can only roughly judge the high and low concentration of Demonic Qi.
The northwest direction has a stronger concentration of Demonic Qi, but specific positioning might not be accurate."
Meng Chuan waved his hand:
"Having a direction is good enough. Let’s walk and see."
...
In the deep underground passage.
The damp and cold air carried heavy Demonic Qi, sticky upon everyone’s skin.
Liao Chen walked ahead, his armor radiating a breathing-like flickering golden light, his dragon eyes shining brightly in the dark.
Meng Chuan stood at the tail of the team, guarding the rear, [Ferocious] draped on him, the lava-like patterns reflecting a dark red light.
He suddenly stopped, paused for a few moments, and then briskly followed.
His palm brushed along the slippery rock wall, [Earth Vein Rock Sense] penetrating the layers of rock, returning a tremor that made him squint...
He sensed something breathing.
At the same time, Liao Yuan, protected in the middle of the group, kept twitching his nose.
With the Secret Technique operating at full power, the flow trajectory of Demonic Qi became increasingly clear to him.
Upon entering the cave, the Demonic Qi was so thick it was nearly viscous.
It seemed something deep within was continuously inhaling and exhaling this foul power.
Using his tracking Secret Technique, he kept sniffing.
"Hunter, is this what you mentioned outside earlier, there’s a big guy in the cave?"
Liao Chen led the way, picking up a peculiar lizard with a fiery-tipped tail from the jagged rock crevice inside the cave.
The lizard, dangling upside down from its tail in his hand, turned its head to spit fire at him.
Liao Chen’s face darkened, dragon claws tightening, instantly refining it...
The end of the path was visible at a glance, with rock walls on both sides.
"This shouldn’t be, why is the concentration of Demonic Qi so deep here?
Even if the node isn’t nearby, there should be a Great Demon present..."
Next to him, Liao Yuan was somewhat unwilling, muttering to himself.
Ignoring Liao Chen, he directly bypassed him, leading the team from the front.
The group continued exploring, reaching the end without a path.
Retracing back, they turned over the cave five or six times, yet found nothing.
"This Secret Technique shouldn’t be wrong..."
Liao Yuan’s expression showed some despondency, no longer probing, seated on the side, engulfed in deep self-doubt.
