Immortals and Demons Forever

Chapter 8: The Mysterious Bone

Su Mu felt himself falling endlessly, the bottom of the ravine drawing ever closer. Crouching low, he lunged sharply to one side just seconds before the demon beast’s corpse was about to hit the ground, rolling on the ground to absorb the impact. Su Mu hurriedly got to his feet and looked up—the black mist was now less than five meters above his head, descending faster and faster. Panicked and desperate, he sprinted forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a large slope not far to the side and, without a moment’s hesitation, dashed toward it. Su Mu was running too fast and was overcome with fear; suddenly, his feet slipped, and he tumbled to the ground. Daring not to pause for even a moment, he used the momentum to roll down the grassy slope, tumbling all the way down. Unexpectedly, it was a large, deep pit overgrown with thick shrubs, many of which were thorny. He couldn’t afford to worry about any of that now; he even forgot the pain of being pricked by the thorns as he plowed through layer after layer of underbrush. He dared not let himself stop—the black mist was right behind him. Finally reaching the bottom, Su Mu felt something hard strike his lower back, and the pain made him gasp sharply. He lay on his back on the ground as the black mist gathered from all directions, converging from the west. It seemed as though some terrifying demon lurked within this black mist; once dragged inside, there would be no escape from death. He instinctively sat up, groped around frantically, and suddenly found a hard object, which he began to swing wildly. “Don’t come any closer! Don’t come any closer… Get away! Get away now!” Su Mu screamed hysterically, “Stop this! I can’t die here yet—I still have so many things I want to do!” Strange as it may seem, whether it was his pleas or his prayers, the black mist from all directions mysteriously halted the moment it came within three meters of him, as if blocked by an invisible wall. The mist began to churn up and down, but did not advance a single millimeter. Su Mu was both surprised and delighted. Before he had time to think further, he felt the object he was waving move—no, it was violently shaking! He hurriedly stopped waving it and looked closely—only to be startled by what he saw! What he was clutching tightly in his hand was actually a shattered skull—definitely not human, but possibly belonging to some kind of demon beast or alien race. It had a single eye socket from which an eerie red glow was emanating. Su Mu could clearly sense that this eye was staring right at him! “Ah!” Terrified, he flung the shattered skull to the ground. The moment it hit, the black mist opposite him immediately receded, as if filled with fear. “Did this skull just save my life?” Su Mu realized this immediately. He scrambled forward a couple of steps and grabbed the skull again. Far from being afraid of it, he was now filled with gratitude. There was a buzzing sound. A red glow suddenly shot out from the eye sockets of the shattered skull, piercing straight into Su Mu’s eyes in an instant. Boom! He instantly felt excruciating pain in his head, which then exploded with a thunderous roar. When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned by the scene before him. Countless humans were locked in battle with spirit beasts, ancient demons, and giants—powerful creatures of extraordinary stature that he had only ever read about in ancient texts, beings long since extinct in the real world. The sky was bathed in blood-red light, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring. A colossal troll god stood in the air, facing a human man whose entire body shimmered with golden light; these two must be the leaders of their respective sides. As they clashed, crimson and gold collided and intertwined, forming a massive, radiant Sun above the heads of the crowd. The Sun exploded, bringing about the destruction of heaven and earth! Every living thing on the ground and in the sky was reduced to ashes. Su Mu stood on the battlefield as the explosion and the terrifying energy shockwave surged directly through his body. He looked up to see the Giant Demon God covered in blood, his body riddled with countless wounds, while the man shimmering with golden light had been reduced to ashes. “You ant, why are you here?” The Giant Demon God suddenly looked down at the ground. Su Mu couldn’t help but fall to his knees; the immense aura of authority made it impossible for him to stand before the god. “Why do you bow to me?” Su Mu was speechless; he couldn’t tell whether this was a dream or reality, nor did he know where he was. “Humans regard me as their natural enemy; never before has a single one bowed their head in submission. Very good, very good. Do you have any unfulfilled wishes?” At the mention of unfulfilled wishes, Su Mu couldn’t help but think of the night two years ago when he was separated from his father; his fists clenched tightly. He looked up and shouted with all his might, “My mother was murdered by the Empress of the Jade Pool; my father’s fate remains unknown; I am afflicted with an incurable toxin and have only one year left to live. I have a blood feud that must be avenged—I swear I will not be human until this vengeance is fulfilled!” “In that case, you insignificant ant, I’ll grant you a favor. My days are numbered, so I shall bestow upon you a single drop of the Giant God’s essence blood from my heart!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Giant Demon God’s massive body began to crumble, eventually leaving nothing but a skull, which drifted down and landed of its own accord in Su Mu’s hand. He recognized it at a glance—wasn’t this the shattered skull he had accidentally discovered at the bottom of the deep pit? In reality, Su Mu was kneeling on the ground, reverently cradling the skull in both hands. With a soft plop. A drop of blood spurted from the eye sockets, striking Su Mu’s brow and instantly seeping into his body. He felt as if his entire body were on fire, as though the bones inside him were about to melt. With a cry of pain, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot. As the Giant God’s essence blood seeped into Su Mu’s body, the surrounding black mist immediately receded like a retreating tide, and within less than half a minute, it had completely vanished from the massive pit. His body was undergoing constant changes. With a “pfft,” he spat out a large mouthful of black blood! As soon as the black blood hit the ground, it instantly congealed into a crust. The faint cluster of black energy that had lingered between his eyebrows vanished completely. The stagnant poison that had tormented him for over a decade—planted deep within his body—was instantly forced out the moment it came into contact with the Giant God’s essence blood. At that moment, Lingxiao Sect, situated midway up the mountainside, was already enveloped by a massive light barrier, while the black mist had spread to the foothills of every peak. It was the “Drinking Demon Barrier”—an event that occurred only once every fifty years. The disciples from all the peaks were eagerly taking shelter within the sect’s protective array to watch the spectacle. The sky had grown completely dark, and even with their masters’ reassurances, the Source Beasts were all trembling with fear. The Demon-Swallowing Barrier would last for several days; everyone was just there for the novelty and the spectacle, and none of them took it too seriously. Just before the protective array was activated, Cheng Yao finally returned. That evening, as the leaders of each peak began taking roll call, she suddenly heard the news: Su Mu, an Outer Sect disciple, had still not returned! Upon hearing this, she felt as if she’d been plunged into an ice cellar. She set out immediately to search for him, questioning the leaders of every peak. The news was confirmed: Su Mu had left that very morning. So where was he now…? Wasn’t he as good as dead?!