Devour

Cheng Bai urged the Smoker to descend. The top of the mountain was flat, with a magnificent ancient building standing on it. It was neatly shaped like a disk and covered a wide area. Its weathered appearance was solemn yet ferocious and majestic.

"This is the temple of the Faceless Man. Judging from the specifications, it is top-notch." Li Tong, who jumped out of the treasure bag, identified it at a glance.

Compared to the dilapidated Howling Ruins in the Northern Continent, this temple is much better preserved, and one can even see traces of human activity.

Cheng Bai looked at the faceless building complex where the Hunter Gun King was located, thousands of miles away in the northwest. What was the connection between it and the bone tomb and the temple?

"Let's go in and take a look. Maybe there are treasures hidden there."

Cheng Bai made plans. He asked the smoker to keep watch outside while he sneaked in quietly with Li Tong.

The temple is surrounded by firelight as lights and huge rocks as walls. It is quiet and profound, full of solemnity and mystery, and the huge space is silent.

There are tall upright granite pillars everywhere, and ancient sculptures of various shapes and lifelike on both sides. However, they are not faceless stone statues, but images of another strange race, with human bodies, animal heads, and bat wings. Most of them are covered with cracks, and some are missing hands and feet.

Cheng Bai is now very powerful and no longer invisible. He and Li Tong watch and comment along the way.

Li Tong was knowledgeable and could tell the types apart. He said, "Those are just gargoyles. They have been silent for who knows how many years and have lost their original vitality. The force that guarded this place at the time should not be underestimated."

"With so many of them, this temple is very important to the Faceless Man." Cheng Bai counted and found that there were tens of thousands of incomplete gargoyles. If they were still alive, they would be much more powerful than the corpse army led by the Lord of the White Jade Banner.

Li Tong asked in confusion, "This is the highest temple for worshipping the Faceless Lord. The Faceless Clan possessed extraordinary wisdom and was once a powerful force in the Shuidong Star Region, dominating the area? They built such a high-level temple in the Qiongqi Continent. Could it be that they have some ulterior motive?"

Cheng Bai asked curiously, "What are you planning? Are there any good things in Qiongqi Continent?"

Li Tong suggested: "If there is one, it is on the altar in the center of the temple."

Inside the spacious hall, there were thousands of thick chains connecting a huge square altar of a strange shape, suspending it over a bottomless abyss. There was only one bridge in one direction leading to the outside.

Cheng Bai walked across the bridge. The altar seemed to sway slowly with the light footsteps. In the darkness of the abyss under his feet, a ghost-like light flickered faintly, which was daunting.

The altar is square outside and round inside, with the ground covered with engraved runes. In the center stands a circular altar with eight steps for going up and down. Except for the direction leading to the outside, there is a dark and heavy stone door on the other three sides.

These gates are rectangular in shape, but they are not complete. Instead, they are separated by inverted trapezoidal spaces, with a neatly arranged large circular hole in the center. From the front, the shape of the stone gate is like a narrow pencil tip inserted into a ball, and the pencil tip and the ball are taken away after the stone gate is built. The shape is precise and regular, which is amazing.

Li Tong said, "Do you see those doors? The ancient passage with obvious doors on three sides is the entrance to the Netherworld, also known as the Gate of Choice. As expected, it has lost its function."

Cheng Bai asked suspiciously, "It lost its function? How did that Nether Bone Dragon get here?"

Li Tong thought for a moment and said, "Those Gates of Decision are man-made Netherworld Paths abandoned by the Pangu Clan. Unless they still have power to operate, they are useless. The Netherworld Bone Dragons may have come from other Netherworld Paths."

Cheng Bai was suspicious and asked curiously, "Why is there a Pangu clan portal in the Faceless Man's Temple?"

Li Tong speculated: "The Pangu ruins are much older. The Faceless Tribe occupied the ruins and built a temple on this basis. The altar once enshrined the source of divine fire. The Faceless Tribe obtained a power close to eternity from this."

Cheng Bai agreed with this statement: "The secret to opening the portal must be on the altar, but unfortunately the source of the divine fire is gone, leaving only empty ruins."

The central altar surface is concave into a regular arc, imprinted with a strange red spiral pattern, which is dynamic and vivid and timeless. At first glance, it seems to be still rotating, containing a wonderful Taoist charm, like an eternally rotating sun.

Li Tong saw that the pattern was definitely not engraved, and identified the details and said: "It is the fire of truth, with noble character and extraordinary holiness. It burned here many years ago and left a special mark. The Faceless Man is now in decline, which is related to the loss of this source of divine fire."

Cheng Bai asked in confusion: "The Fire of Truth is the most precious of all spiritual objects in the Qiongqi Continent. It is so rare, who got it?"

Li Tong said truthfully: "It was taken away by the Emperor Yunmen many years ago. This matter is kept secret. This divine fire source was originally the legacy left to the Emperor by the ancestors of the Pangu tribe. The Faceless Tribe discovered it and seized it by force. It can be considered as returning it to its original owner."

Cheng Bai glanced at the huge bottomless pit below the altar, probed into the ground with his spiritual sense, and said in surprise: "There is a different world below."

He took Li Tong with him and flew down into the dark pit. The space inside was deep and wide. The dim light became brighter as they went deeper, but it was not the crater of a volcano.

The tunnel walls vaguely show a layered structure, as if there is an endless abyss layered upon layer. The dark purple and deep red color is dazzling, and it is difficult to believe that you are underground.

Going deeper, several passages of varying sizes appeared on the tunnel wall, crisscrossing each other, making Cheng Bai suspect that there was a complex maze hidden inside.

When a larger passage appeared in front of them, the deep pit finally reached the end, and at the bottom was a thick lake of blood.

Cheng Bai wrinkled his nose and didn't smell any blood.

Over time, the blood lake had long lost its essence, leaving only cold and dirty residue without any trace of life... no, if undead creatures can be considered life.

A huge 180-meter-long Netherworld Bone Dragon jumped out from the largest corridor on the tunnel wall. It seemed to be avoiding others, jumped into the blood lake quickly, swam towards the towering broken stone island in the pool, drilled into the island, and disappeared in a flash.

Cheng Bai could see clearly that it was the one that the bone mound encountered.

Li Tong shouted excitedly: "Hey, it escaped, the Netherworld must be inside."

The stone island is more than 100 meters in radius and has a unique shape, like half a broken giant egg. Its surface is dull and chaotic in color, and it does not attract any attention at all.

Cheng Bai looked at it for a few times, but couldn't remember what it looked like when he turned around. It was difficult for the shape to remain in his memory. He was shocked: "What is that? It seems to be able to disappear from other people's memories on its own."

Li Tong's baby face was solemn, and he said softly, "Chaos is indistinguishable, darkness is bright and dark. This is the shell of the Chaos Egg. Once upon a time, a member of the Pangu tribe was born here and left behind the eggshell."

Cheng Bai suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and wondered in his heart: "Could this be the place where Emperor Yunmen was born?"

Such a strange thing might contain precious treasures, so Cheng Bai excitedly came to Eggshell Island to search for it.

There was no human presence on the island, and the ground extended to the four walls in a honeycomb-like structure, with ups and downs like mountains, and the material had long been petrified. The originally exquisite, magnificent and rhythmic structure was now fragmented and full of potholes.

Cheng Bai looked around and asked in surprise, "Where did it go? It's so big."

This island is so small, but there is no trace of the huge Nether Bone Dragon.

Li Tong insisted, "There must be a medium that opens the Netherworld Path. The bone dragon got in and escaped, otherwise it would not have disappeared without a trace."

Cheng Bai opened his spiritual eyes and took a closer look. The lifeless chaotic eggshell still contained the rhyme of creation. It was a pity that there was endless aftertaste when he looked at it carefully. However, there was only one place with residual spiritual energy left.

It was a huge stone axe inserted diagonally into the ground. It was more than twenty meters long including the handle. It was crudely made, but polished to be extremely smooth. The material was exactly the same as the chaos eggshell. It looked inconspicuous at first glance and you would forget about it as soon as you turned your head.

Li Tong floated around the stone axe for a few circles and said happily: "The axe made from the Chaos Eggshell must have the Netherworld hidden in it."

Cheng Bai watched curiously: "Such a large axe, the Tyrant may be able to use it, how to open the Netherworld?"

"The Netherworld is a medium that connects different worlds. If certain conditions are met, you can travel back and forth freely. But what the conditions are... I don't know for now." Li Tong muttered to himself, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"You don't even know?"

Cheng Bai Wuxin studied it slowly here, pulled out the Chaos Giant Axe and weighed it, it was about 180,000 kilograms, and put it into the treasure bag first.

There is nothing worth seeing on Eggshell Island.

Cheng Bai suddenly put away Li Tong, hid in stealth mode, and whispered, "Someone is coming."

Two tall figures walked into the corridor where the Nether Bone Dragon appeared. They crossed the Blood Lake and walked onto the Eggshell Island leisurely. It was obvious that they had extraordinary strength.

One of them was particularly strong and sturdy. He turned out to be an old acquaintance, the Faceless Man leader who had fought with him on the Ladder of All Things.

The other faceless man was much taller and thinner. He took the main position while walking. When he spoke, the thin tentacles on his face trembled and made sounds: "The Nether Bone Dragon is clearly coming this way. Is there a Nether Road nearby?"

The faceless leader said respectfully: "My Lord, the Pangu ruins here have been excavated for many years. Every corner has been searched thoroughly, and even the blood pool has been drained of its vitality."

The lord inspected Eggshell Island and said, "Every time I see this place, I always feel that there may be something hidden here, but I forget about it the moment I turn around. It's really weird."

The faceless leader said absentmindedly, "I once tried my best to bring back some chaos fragments, but my research yielded no results. The vitality, spiritual energy, and essence were all gone. They are all made of the same material, so how could there be any difference?"

Cheng Bai secretly felt lucky when he heard this. He didn't know how many years it had taken for the Faceless Man to miss out on an unknown treasure.

"The master of our clan knew that there were ruins of the ancient gods here, so he occupied it himself and gained the greatest benefit in the ancient competition among all races. Unfortunately, the most precious fire of truth was taken away by Emperor Yunmen, and the master was also controlled by others, which led to our clan being displaced and declining, and even the great temple was abandoned."

The lord was filled with emotion and fell silent.

The Faceless Commander seized the opportunity to ask his superiors: "Yun Juan, Shen Ya and others have established the Glorious Legion and sent an invitation to form an alliance to jointly resist foreign enemies. What is your decision, Lord?"

The Lord commented: "After the Hunting and Martial Arts Conference, the Hunters Guild plans to integrate all the forces on the continent and hold a meeting at Jianya. They are determined to fight against the Sun Chaser regardless of the fact that all the major cities are occupied by the Ancient Gods. This is too presumptuous."

The Faceless Leader suggested: "The Sun Chasers look down on the junks on the Qiongqi Continent. Their goal is to take over Shanhui City, where there are abundant natural treasures, great power and influence. Why should our people risk their lives there? Lord, why don't you send an envoy to flatter them?"

The lord sneered and said, "The Gentlemen have always been hypocritical. In their eyes, our tribe is like a monster, and we are also an external enemy. Why not let them fight with the Sun Chaser, and we can sit on the mountain and watch the fight, waiting for an opportunity to profit."

"This is a great plan." The Faceless Leader echoed.

The lord nodded and said, "We should choose the lesser of two evils. There will definitely be people from the Gentlemen Clan who want to protect the old system and oppose it, which will inevitably lead to different factions. The Sun Chasers are not targeting our clan, so it is best to watch the fire from the other side of the river."

The Faceless Leader agreed, "Your Excellency is wise."

The lord became more and more proud as he spoke: "The master of our tribe has successfully freed himself from his shackles and has gained insight into the situation. If we are patient for a while longer, we will have a chance to regain our former glory."

The two men walked around Eggshell Island and found nothing unusual, so they crossed the Blood Lake and left.

Cheng Bai murmured, "The Faceless Man is ultimately a foreign race, and he just lives a secluded life on the mainland." No longer attached to this place, he instantly teleported outside the temple, met up with the Smoker, and ran south towards Li Hai.

Riding on the Smoker, flying over the sea, the sea is calm and peaceful, and the color is blue. Compared with the Kan Sea in the north, the islands in the Li Sea are sparse, and the sea breeze is even cooler.

Cheng Baishun rushed straight into the sky and roamed the sky.

The sky was clear and blue, with scattered white clouds floating in it. Unlike the surrounding clouds, one of the white clouds came and went as freely as a wild horse, and never drifted with the wind.

Hidden in the clouds is the Moyun beast, which looks like a white lion, with hair flying like cirrus clouds. There is a wing flapping on each side of its four legs. It is over a hundred meters long and huge in size, but as light as a feather.

Cheng Bai rode on the Smoker and sped near it, which was like a small boat passing by a huge ship.

The Smoker said, "The Moyun Beast is good at hiding itself. It acts as if nothing has happened when others are around. I'm afraid it's a trick."

Cheng Bailing looked and found that the cloud was indeed an illusion. The real Moyun beast was hiding in another cloud opposite, teasing the seeker.

"over there."

Under Cheng Bai's command, Smoker turned around and ran towards the real location of the Moyun Beast.

The Moyun beast was disturbed, and stuck its head out of the clouds and sneezed in the direction of Cheng Bai. Suddenly, a hurricane blew up, and the roaring hurricane swept towards them.

Cheng Bai's face changed slightly, and he slashed through nine layers of sword energy in succession, breaking up the hurricane. Then he snapped his fingers, and several vibration waves formed into sniper bullets, which shot towards the Moyun beast from the gaps in the strong wind, and "swish" opened several bloody holes on the monster's body.

Although he had the upper hand, Cheng Bai looked dignified because most of his attacks missed the target's vital parts and he made some major mistakes.

This has never been seen before. Although it cannot be said to be foolproof, Cheng Bai at least thought that he was always on target. Suddenly, he made an obvious mistake. The opponent might have some strange secret technique that greatly increased his chances of making mistakes.

The Moyun Beast roared in pain and released powerful force. The hurricane became even more violent, mixed with many rapidly rolling sharp wind blades, forming a blade storm that swept over, and the power made Smoker change color with horror.

Cheng Bai said in high spirits: "Come on, let's see whether your sword energy is stronger or mine is stronger."

The white clouds on the sea turned into rolling dark clouds, and the storm raged with thunder and fire. Soon the wind calmed down and a bloody rain fell.