“Miss Sanaa, Mr. Billy, Deadland is just ahead. Please follow me!” Charlie Cooper said before leading the group through the air.
As they moved forward, the mist in the void became thicker, reducing visibility.
About two quarters of an hour later, the four of them stopped in mid-air.
Billy observed a pitch-black entrance about a kilometer ahead, with a diameter of roughly a kilometer, where mist churned within the black hole.
Even from this distance, Billy could sense the eerie aura emanating from it.
“Is that the entrance to Deadland?” Billy asked, pointing at the black hole.
“It’s not the true entrance, just a passage,” Charlie Cooper replied. “The real entrance is inside.”
“Let’s go in and take a look,” Sanaa suggested.
Soon, the four of them entered the black hole.
Almost immediately after entering, Billy shivered involuntarily; the eerie aura inside was several times stronger than outside.
Even the blood domain in the Silent Ruins wasn’t this extreme; it felt like a true hell, sending chills down his spine.
A few minutes later, they emerged from the black hole.
What lay before Billy was an entirely unfamiliar space, shrouded in mist with visibility only two to three hundred meters.
Billy noticed a bridge not far to the right, semi-transparent and extending into the mist.
“Miss Sanaa, Mr. Billy, this way please,” Charlie Cooper said, leading them onto the bridge.
After walking about four or five kilometers, they reached a pavilion-like structure; beyond it, there was no path.
Soon, they arrived at the pavilion. Billy looked down from it and couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise.
About a hundred meters below the pavilion, the mist in the void turned dark gray, with visibility reduced to tens of meters.
The layers of white mist and dark gray mist were distinct and clear, an awe-inspiring sight.
“Is that below the range of Deadland?” Sanaa asked, pointing downwards.
“Exactly,” Charlie Cooper nodded.
“Can those mists corrode other materials?” Billy asked curiously.
“Yes,” Charlie Cooper nodded again. “We call it death energy.”
“Let me try,” Billy said, taking out a Crimson Lance from his storage ring.
He controlled the lance with his mind and slowly lowered it into the death energy below.
Sizzle… In the next moment, Billy was surprised to see that any part of the Crimson Lance entering the death energy turned to nothingness, while the upper half remained intact.
“Amazing,” Billy squinted slightly.
He then took out several weapons, some Spirit Fruit, and beast cores from his storage ring and threw them down.
As expected, everything that entered the death energy zone instantly disintegrated.
“Try it with the Nine Dragons Cauldron,” Sanaa suggested.
“Alright,” Billy nodded.
With a focused look, he summoned the Nine Dragons Cauldron before them.
Charlie Cooper and Bobby Cooper couldn’t help but show a hint of admiration in their eyes as they looked at it.
The top-ranked Sacred Object was a treasure even if it couldn’t belong to them; appreciating it up close was still a treat.
Billy then controlled the Nine Dragons Cauldron to enter the death energy zone.
“As expected of the Nine Dragons Cauldron, it’s unharmed,” Bobby Cooper remarked as he saw it remain intact.
“Yes,” Billy nodded, relieved. He had been worried that if anything happened to the Nine Dragons Cauldron, Mr. White would skin him alive.
“Is Deadland just below here?” Billy asked again.
“Yes,” Charlie Cooper nodded. “About a thousand kilometers down from here is Deadland.”
He paused briefly before adding, “Within a hundred kilometers above Deadland, there is no death energy, so living beings can move around normally.”
“Are you sure?” Billy asked with a slight frown. “Would you like to come down with me?”
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Billy,” Charlie Cooper shook his head. “Although there is no death energy in Deadland, there is death energy which is hard for most people to resist.”
“If ordinary people stay in Deadland for too long, they will be affected by death energy; at best, they will lose their minds and at worst, their souls will be devoured by wandering spirits.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Billy’s mouth twitched slightly. This was like jumping into a pit!
“Don’t worry, death energy won’t affect you,” Sanaa said from beside him.
“Why?” Billy couldn’t help but ask.
“Because of your bloodline,” Sanaa replied.
“My bloodline?” Billy was puzzled. “Miss Sanaa, do you mean my bloodline is special and death energy can’t affect me?”
“In general terms, yes,” Sanaa nodded.
“In general terms?” Billy frowned again. “What about special circumstances?”
“I don’t know,” Sanaa shrugged.
“Alright then, let’s go down,” Sanaa said. “If anything happens that you can’t handle, just hide inside the Nine Dragons Cauldron.”
“Understood,” Billy nodded.
“Mr. Billy, if you meet our Ancestor, please give him this token,” Charlie Cooper handed a token to Billy. “It contains a message from our Sect Master; once he hears it, he will believe you are sent by us.”
“Got it,” Billy put the token into his storage ring.
Then he summoned the Nine Dragons Cauldron and entered its space after greeting the others.
He controlled the Nine Dragons Cauldron to descend slowly.
Billy didn’t know how long it took before the Nine Dragons Cauldron landed on solid ground.
He used his mental power to scan the surroundings but found no signs of life before stepping out of the Nine Dragons Cauldron Space.
As soon as he stepped out, he couldn’t help but gasp at what he saw.
The area was shrouded in gray mist; there were a few small hills with some withered trees and small ponds on the ground but nothing else.
The air was filled with dense death energy and occasional gusts of cold wind sent chills down his spine.
However, as Sanaa had said, this death energy posed no threat to Billy.
If an ordinary person were here, they would soon be affected by death energy and lose their sanity.
After adapting for a moment, Billy released his mental power to scan around again.
Although his mental power was obstructed here, it wasn’t too severe; he could still scan within a hundred kilometers radius.
As before, there were no signs of life within his scanning range.
After surveying his surroundings again, Billy started walking forward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! After walking for about half an hour, shadows flickered ahead and the death energy grew thicker.
Clearly, there were some wandering spirits around.
Soon after, dozens of shadows rushed towards Billy with claws extended.
These low-level spirits posed no threat to Billy; he casually swung his blade and they all vanished into nothingness.
After dealing with these spirits with one swing of his blade, Billy continued walking forward.
Along the way, more spirits occasionally attacked but none posed any threat to him.
Cackling… About an hour later, an eerie voice reached Billy’s ears…