Chapter 994 – Survival of the Fittest
The leopard-headed expert exuded a wild aura, and although he looked like he was from the Demon Race, Ye Qingyu could immediately tell that he was not a purebred Demon Race expert. Instead, he looked like he hailed from some brutish land. His barbaric demon outfit and the manner in which he feasted on the corpses earlier showed that he was not from a very civilized domain.
This species of brute demons were the most vicious and cruel. They might have the cultivation of a Saint but they still acted like vicious beasts.
This leopard-headed brute demon slowly rose to his feet and used his arms to roughly wipe the blood from his mouth, then he flashed a toothy smile at Ye Qingyu, his expression terrifyingly savage, as though he was eyeing a piece of meat.
Ye Qingyu didn't respond but slowly and resolutely walked toward the arena.
The Life and Death Platform would determine the winner and loser, as well as the life and death of its contestants.
There wasn't anything else to be said since everything would be decided through this battle.
"Hehe, I see my opponent is another Human Race worm… Not bad, your meat looks tender and fine, so you'll be a delicious meal. This is just the time for me to feast till I'm full." The leopard-headed man looked contemptuously at Ye Qingyu, his gaze cold and cruel, as if he were looking at an animal to be slaughtered rather than an intellectual being.
Ye Qingyu remained silent.
In any case, it was pointless talking to this brute demon.
"Hehe, I see you've accepted your fate… I'll quench my thirst with your blood!" The leopard-headed barbaric demon was already charging toward Ye Qingyu at lightning speed even before he had finished speaking.
The Leopard Demon Race was known throughout the myriad domains for their agility and speed.
As the saying goes, speed is the only thing that can't be overcome amongst the martial arts techniques of the world.
Therefore, when faced with opponents of comparable yuan qi and cultivation, the experts of the Leopard Demon Race would utilize their fast and accurate speed to crush their opponents and emerge victorious even before their opponents could even launch an attack.
That was why the leopard-headed expert was so confident and sure of himself after arriving in the arena.
Unfortunately, today he was up against Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu did not move or dodge out of the way but remained standing where he was. He was calm and quiet, just like a fisherman waiting for a fish to bite. The [Blood Drinker Sword Pill] in his hand emitted an extremely dazzling blood-colored splendor, and divine splendor swirled around it as it charged and suddenly exploded everywhere. This also caused the demon qi fog a hundred meters above the arena to take on a blood-colored stain.
Its piercingly sharp sword will filled the entire arena.
Swish!
A ray of red sword radiance moved like flowing light at lightning speed.
This sword moved like lightning or a meteor through the sky, and it was even faster and more powerful than the leopard-headed expert's movements.
The leopard-headed expert drew closer and closer to Ye Qingyu, then all of a sudden, he paused mysteriously as though a powerful force was holding him in place. Before he could even react, a thin ray of blood light that was as thin as a thread cleaved him in half from top to bottom as it moved from his head all the way down through his body.
Boom!
There was an explosive sound.
The two halves of his body split apart like rotten wood and immediately transformed into thin smoke and ashes, as though two divine flames had burst from his body. Then, they dissipated into the Void.
After the [Blood Drinker Sword Pill] in his hand automatically absorbed the yuan essence and blood qi of the leopard-headed expert, it glowed even brighter.
"The combat methods employed by the Brute Demon Race are still as barbaric as ever. They only rely on their base instincts to fight. It can't even be regarded as a combat technique."
Ye Qingyu had not been worried at all before facing this opponent.
The arena became extremely silent.
Ye Qingyu looked at the dozens of corpses in the arena, and suddenly, an idea came to him. The blood light from his [Blood Drinker Sword Pill] radiated outward as it absorbed all the bones, blood, and yuan qi from these corpses.
The experts of the various races who perished on the Life and Death Platform were all Saints and so their corpses contained an extremely powerful spiritual force. The Leopard Brute Demon who had been feasting on these corpses earlier had also been drawing on the instincts of the Brute Demon Race to absorb the divine properties of these corpses but this method was far too primitive and barbaric, thus it paled in comparison to the [Blood Drinker Sword Pill].
After he put his [Blood Drinker Sword Pill] away, he felt more reassured.
The [Blood Drinker Sword Pill] had already stored the divine power of close to a hundred experts.
At the same time, on another Life and Death Platform—
This was another Life and Death Platform that was made of black rock and shaped like a round disc. It looked exactly like the Life and Death Platform that Ye Qingyu and the Leopard Demon Race had fought on earlier.
Someone stood in the arena, his Taoist robes billowing in the wind.
It was the Greater One Spiritual Master.
His eyes were completely jet-black, as though they were dyed with black ink with no white in them at all, which made him look extremely strange. His black robes were billowing despite the lack of wind, and his whole body exuded a mysterious demon qi that rolled abundantly like waves. He was surrounded by rays of black splendor and exuded an evil and creepy aura, as though he had stepped out from the depths of hell. He was an extremely frightening monster.
"Haha, is this what power feels like? Haha, as expected, the fastest way of cultivation in the universe is to swallow and refine the blood of others. In a matter of a few days, my strength has surged by three or four times. Hahaha, the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor is indeed a paradise for me. Hahaha."
A fanatical expression appeared on his face—he looked like a deranged person.
Ten breaths later—
He retracted his yuan qi and an abundant dark aura surged like a river all over his body and reverted to the form of an ordinary human, who gave off an ethereal and sage-like aura.
Then, something strange happened.
A string of black iron chains suddenly descended from the sky, passing through the black demon qi atop the Life and Death Platform, and hung upside down, looking like a black-scaled giant serpent hanging upside down over the platform.
"Are these the Sky-reaching Chains that my lord had mentioned?"
The Greater One Spiritual Master appeared calm as he looked at the chains in front of him. Everything had gone according to plan.
After killing one's opponent on the Life and Death Platform, the Sky-reaching Chains would automatically be lowered to guide the victor to his next destination.
The "Lord" that the Greater One Spiritual Master mentioned was one of the masterminds of the force that had been secretly supporting the Greater One Sect. Everything had gone smoothly for the Greater One Spiritual Master since he entered the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor. He managed to pass all the tests to arrive at the Life and Death Platform because of the map that his lord had given him. However, he had never seen his lord's face. During the only time he had been summoned, the voice seemed to ring out from the heavens and a black Chaos screen separated them.
He had an extremely limited understanding of that lord.
"I wonder who he is exactly? How could he have known so many secrets and even possessed a map of the Reincarnation Hall? He even told me about the Sky-reaching Chains in advance."
The Greater One Spiritual Master's brows knitted slightly and he grew a little doubtful.
"Could that lord be connected to the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor in some way?"
The Greater One Spiritual Master was slightly puzzled, but then he decided that everything else was secondary as long as that lord was willing to support him. It did not matter to him even if that lord turned out to be a devil from the depths of hell.
A strange and evil smile slowly spread across his face.
"Haha, I've received news of Ye Qingyu's arrival at the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor and found out that he has already passed the Heavenly River. He's probably arrived at the Life and Death Platform by now. This is truly great news. I hope that I'll be able to run into him in the following battles in the arena. If he were to be my opponent, after I've killed him and presented his head to claim credit for this deed, all the treasures that belonged to this peasant will be mine. Cackle, cackle, cackle…"
The Greater One Spiritual Master spoke with a cold and malicious expression.
As he cackled, he grabbed hold of the Sky-reaching Chains and rose into the air. He climbed upward and disappeared into the fog that hung a hundred meters above the sky.
…
…
"Sky-reaching Chains?"
Ye Qingyu asked in surprise as he carefully examined the black iron chains that had suddenly descended from the sky.
"That's right. The fight on this Life and Death Platform determines who lives and dies, so as long as one party dies, the Sky-reaching Chains will appear to guide the way. It is the only way out of the Chaos Demon Fog. If anyone tries to blindly walk off the Life and Death Platform and enter the fog without the guidance of the Sky-reaching Chains, regardless of his cultivation, that unfortunate person would be lost in the demon qi fog and would lose both his senses and life. Even a Quasi-emperor would not be spared from this fate," the million-year-old soul said telepathically once more.
So that's how things work here.
Realization dawned on him.
He had already experienced the strange illusions and the pressure that felt like it could crush him at any time.
Just then, he almost lost his senses and sank so deep into the illusion that he could not pull himself out of it. He would have definitely died without the chains to guide him.
He thought for a moment and asked as though a thought had just occurred to him, "Senior, does this mean that every single person who disembarked from the Ferryman of the Netherworld's boat would arrive at the Life and Death Platform?"
"Indeed," the million-year-old soul answered.
Ye Qingyu immediately frowned and said worriedly, "Doesn't this mean that Old Hu Bugui and Little Nine would have been sent to the Life and Death Platform? If they encounter a formidable foe, they… might be in danger."
"While this might be true theoretically, don't worry. I won't say too much at this point but I can guarantee them a safe passage through the Reincarnation Hall of the Chaos Demon Emperor," the million-year-old soul said.
This was not the first time that the million-year-old soul had made this promise.
Nonetheless, Ye Qingyu was still a little worried.
His concern clouded his judgment.
He looked at the boundless fog and knew that the million-year-old soul had an inordinate number of magical abilities. So, since the million-year-old soul had once again guaranteed the safety of Old Hu Bugui and Little Nine, their lives would not be in danger. Furthermore, Old Hu Bugui's Emperor qi tile and Little Nine's innate escaping technique would be able to save them in times of need.
"Let's go." Ye Qingyu rid himself of all distractions and gripped the black iron chains with both hands.
The moment he touched the chains, he felt an extremely clear, bone-chilling iciness, as though he had stuck both his hands into the waters of an ice pool that had been frozen over for thousands of years.
He soon transformed into a ray of silvery-white radiance and climbed up the iron chains, moving so fast that he looked like a shadow flitting past the black chains. Instantly, he disappeared into the fog.
As the iron chains guided him, the illusions appeared in the surrounding fog once again.
However, since he had already been through it once, Ye Qingyu was not caught off guard.
After he climbed almost one thousand meters, he reached the end of the iron chains.
He moved upward in a flash and the silver radiance landed on the black rock instantly.
He found himself standing on another Life and Death Platform.
A figure stood in the middle of the arena with his back facing him. This figure stood upright while riding the wind and looked as though he had been waiting for a long time.
Ye Qingyu's face hardened and he instantly moved toward one side of the arena.
The only rule of the Life and Death Platform was this—winning was survival, while losing was death.
A strong combat-will burned in the eyes of these two contestants.
No one said anything because all words were meaningless under such circumstances.
A bloody battle began once more.
…
Half a day flew by in a blink of an eye.
He had already been through thirty-nine Life and Death Platform battles and killed thirty-nine experts from different races and forces, including some famous experts from well-known forces from the myriad domains, and also experts from the imperial families of foreign races.
He killed them all, regardless of them having the identity of a formidable hero, the pride of the family, or a talented genius.
If he did not kill them, they would kill him.
Once he stepped onto the Life and Death Platform, he would either live or die.
Even if he took mercy on them, his opponents would never give up on the chance to kill him.
The only good news so far was that he had yet to encounter a Human Race expert.
It seemed as though experts of the same race were destined not to be led by the Sky-reaching Chains onto the same Life and Death Platform.
The battles that took place on the Life and Death Platform were about the survival of the fittest.
Each time he progressed, he would encounter an even more formidable opponent.
Finally, he arrived on his fortieth Life and Death Platform and encountered his fortieth opponent.
