“Since no one’s going, I’ll go first,” Xu Zimo said as he put away the Dark Sky Tiger and, dressed in his purple robe, stepped into the Slaughter God Tower.
Seeing his back, the others finally began moving inside as well.
The moment Xu Zimo entered, he sensed something was off.
The tower was filled with blood-red spiritforce. Anyone who breathed it in would start to feel violent and aggressive.
Xu Zimo isolated the energy, but some nearby rogue cultivators had already started attacking each other under its influence.
Looking straight ahead, the tower resembled a maze.
The paths extended in every direction, and along the sides were many tightly packed rooms that looked ancient.
Each room had a bronze door with a lion-shaped iron ring.
Xu Zimo took the middle path. Each room only allowed one person to enter.
Once someone entered a room, a seal would form, preventing anyone else from going in.
Xu Zimo didn’t rush like the others to grab a room. He calmly walked until he found an empty one and stepped inside.
Inside, the blood-red spiritforce was even thicker, almost forming into a fog.
The room’s space was vast, much larger than it appeared from the outside.
It looked more like a boundless plain, bare, endless, with nothing in sight.
At the entrance to the plain stood a stone monument.
Xu Zimo walked closer and saw two words written on the blood-colored stone.
"Kill people."
Xu Zimo frowned. As he stepped past the monument, there was a buzzing sound, as if something had been activated.
A transparent barrier appeared around the entire plain, locking it in completely.
Then, a loud roaring came from all directions.
The ground cracked open beneath his feet, and blood-covered corpses began crawling out from the earth.
They were more like zombies, undead creatures with varying strength depending on their power when they were alive.
“One hundred thousand zombies. Kill them all to pass to the second trial.”
The blood-red spiritforce above gathered into words in front of Xu Zimo.
“Interesting,” Xu Zimo smiled.
Forget everything else, even if these zombies just stood still, killing a hundred thousand of them would exhaust anyone.
With a wave of his right hand, he tore open the space in front of him.
From within it, the massive form of Chaos stepped out.
“Kill them all,” Xu Zimo ordered.
As Chaos started tearing through the zombie horde, Xu Zimo relaxed.
He hadn’t come here for Bai Changfeng’s legacy. Although Bai Changfeng had been powerful, he was only at the level of an Immortal Path cultivator in his prime.
What truly drew Xu Zimo here was a reaction from the True God Sword’s shard within his body, it seems one of the fragments of the True God Sword was inside the Slaughter God Tower.
The True God Sword was tied to the secrets of the ancient Celestial Court, once wielded by the strongest being of the Desolate Era.
Xu Zimo couldn’t pretend he wasn’t tempted.
After sealing the monsters in the Blood Rune Space, the flower keeper had vanished along with the Valley of Flowers.
Only the legacy of the Desolate Era he created and the five fragments of the True God Sword remained.
It’s said that once all five pieces are gathered, the sword can be reforged, and the ancient Celestial Court can be reopened.
The sword is the key to that seal.
To follow in the footsteps of the Holy Progenitor, to uncover the forgotten history, and trace the origins of the Desolate Era, that was the true goal.
Xu Zimo had already found four fragments. This would be the fifth and final one.
...
Since Chaos was at the Immortal realm, the zombie army, while large, was no real threat.
Still, the sheer number made the trial fittingly brutal, it was easy to see why it was called “Kill people.”
It took over an hour, but Chaos eventually wiped out all the zombies.
When the last one died, the surrounding barrier vanished.
The room door reopened, signaling it was time to move on.
Xu Zimo stepped out and saw that many room doors had opened.
Some doors had no one emerge, obviously, those inside had died.
Those who did survive were covered in blood, with thick scabs crusted all over their bodies.
They looked like they’d been pulled out of a sea of blood.
The strong stench of blood filled the air. Xu Zimo could tell from their blank, numb expressions that these people had lost something in the killing, they now looked at life without emotion.
“You really are something, Brother. Coming out of the first trial still looking so calm and relaxed,” a voice said.
Xu Zimo turned and saw Hao Chen, the Holy Son of the Vast Immortal Sacred Ground, walking over.
Unlike most others, Hao Chen only had a few bloodstains on his clothes and still looked composed.
“You’re not bad either,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Are you really that interested in Bai Changfeng’s legacy?” Hao Chen asked.
“His legacy may be strong, but it’s not for everyone. From what I’ve seen, it looks like Bai Changfeng wants to train a killing machine.”
“Then what’s your reason?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.
“To be honest, I didn’t come for the legacy either. Bai Changfeng once killed a Grand Elder of our Vast Immortal Sacred Ground. I’m here for one thing,” Hao Chen said sincerely.
“You’re hoping I won’t fight you for it?” Xu Zimo asked.
“I hope you’ll let me have it. I would be truly grateful,” Hao Chen said, cupping his hands respectfully.
“Don’t worry. I’m only here for a specific item. I’m not interested in the rest,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.
“Thank you,” Hao Chen nodded.
As they talked, all the room doors had opened. The first trial was officially over.
In front of them, blood-colored spiritforce surged and formed a spatial portal.
The portal spun counterclockwise, it was unclear where it led.
“I don’t want to go in. I want to leave,” someone said, clearly shaken by the first trial.
“You can’t leave. The moment we entered, this tower was sealed shut,” someone else replied coldly.
“Unless your strength surpasses Bai Changfeng’s, there’s no way to break the space.”
“Sigh, I should’ve known. With the way Bai Changfeng was, there was no turning back the moment we stepped in.”