Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 528 Not an ordinary human!

The seal remained secure, but he could sense that the light emanating from Yuan Zhenzi's statue had dimmed slightly. Time was running out; he had to act quickly.

"Senior Yuan Zhenzi," Luo Wen said silently to himself, "please hold on a little longer. I will find a solution as soon as possible."

A few days later, one morning, the sky was overcast, with thick clouds hanging low, as if rain was about to fall at any moment.

Luo Wen stood in the courtyard, looking at the gray sky, his brows furrowed slightly.

For the past few days, he had had a persistent, inexplicable unease, like a weight pressing on his heart. Each time he tried to sense the situation in the Demon-Suppressing Abyss, that unease would intensify.

"It's time to go and take a look," he muttered to himself.

Since returning from Qingyun Town, he had been busy organizing information on the evil spirit, consulting Elder Xuanqing on advanced sealing techniques, and guiding Lin Feng and Zhao Xue's training. These matters occupied most of his time, preventing him from taking the time to patrol the Demon Suppression Abyss.

But today, the feeling of unease was so strong that he had to go and see for himself.

Rowan returned inside, changed into suitable clothing for a long journey, strapped on his longsword, and checked his belongings. Once everything was ready, he left his lodgings.

Qingfeng Lane was quiet; most of the neighbors were still asleep. Luo Wen quickly walked through the lane and onto the main street.

It was just dawn, and the streets were nearly deserted. A few early-rising vendors were setting up their stalls, their calls weak and listless, clearly not yet fully awake.

Rowan left Tianqi City quietly without alerting anyone.

Once outside the city gates, he no longer suppressed his speed, moving like lightning as he sped towards the Dragon Vein Mountains.

The clouds in the sky grew thicker, and a damp smell filled the air. The distant mountains were shrouded in a layer of gray mist, looking eerie and mysterious.

About two hours later, Rowan arrived at the entrance to the Netherworld Valley.

The environment of the Netherworld Valley was similar to when he last visited, still shrouded in black mist and filled with eerie atmosphere. However, Rowan keenly sensed that the demonic energy in the air was denser than before, and carried a hint of restless fluctuation.

"There was definitely something wrong," he thought to himself.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the Demon-Suppressing Abyss along the familiar route.

Along the way, he saw some unusual sights.

Several of the small cracks he had sealed had begun to loosen their seals. Although they weren't completely ineffective, the rate of energy loss had noticeably accelerated. New cracks appeared on the ground, from which black gas continuously seeped.

“These cracks are new,” Rowan crouched down, carefully examining a new crack. “Judging from the marks, they must have formed within the last three or four days. What is driving the cracks to expand?”

He stood up and continued walking forward.

The deeper you go, the more serious the situation becomes.

The once lifeless Netherworld Valley was now teeming with faint signs of life. These were not the signs of normal creatures, but rather the signs of evil spirits—something was beginning to flourish in this land.

Rowan's pace quickened, and his unease grew stronger.

Finally, he arrived at the edge of the Demon-Suppressing Abyss.

The sight before him caused his expression to change drastically.

The stone statue of Yuan Zhenzi still sat upright in the center of the abyss, but the light emanating from him was much weaker than when he was last seen. The faint light was no longer uniform, but fluctuated noticeably, like a candle flame in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment.

Beneath the statue, the massive crack was trembling violently.

Black energy surged wildly from the crack, several times more concentrated than before. The energy churned in the air, forming a huge vortex that emitted a low, mournful sound, as if something was struggling to break free.

"Oh no!" Rowan's pupils contracted sharply.

He released his mental energy to carefully perceive the situation inside the crack.

The next moment, his expression turned even more unpleasant.

At the edge of the crevice, a colossal figure was climbing upwards. The figure was entirely black, enormous, resembling a giant centipede, yet not quite. Its body was composed of countless segments, each covered in sharp barbs and twisted limbs. Its head had numerous eyes and tentacles, frantically pounding against the edge of the crevice.

Even more terrifying is that its body is stuck right at the narrowest part of the crack, like a wedge, forcibly opening the crack and preventing it from healing automatically.

“So that’s how it is,” Rowan understood. “This demonic beast has been trying to widen the crack, allowing more demonic energy to leak out. It’s a minion of an ancient star beast, paving the way for its master’s awakening.”

Without hesitation, he leaped into the abyss.

The abyss was deep, its bottom unseen. As Rowan fell, he mobilized his genetic energy, forming a protective aura around himself. The surrounding black energy constantly assaulted this aura, but was easily repelled.

After falling for about several dozen feet, Luo Wen finally saw the full appearance of the monster.

It was much larger than he had imagined, at least twenty zhang long, and as thick as a water bucket. Its jet-black shell was covered with strange patterns that faintly glowed red, like fissures flowing with magma. Dozens of legs grew from each segment of it, gripping the rock walls on both sides of the fissures tightly, wedging its body there firmly.

Sensing Rowan's approach, countless eyes of the demon beasts turned to him simultaneously, emitting piercing roars.

"Humans?" a deep, hoarse voice came from the beast's mouth. "How dare a human trespass here? Foolish!"

It opened its enormous mouth and spewed out a jet of black gas that shot towards Rowan.

Luo Wen dodged to the side, simultaneously drawing his longsword and slashing at the monster.

"clang!"

The sword light collided with the beast's shell, producing a crisp, metallic sound. Luo Wen felt a numbness in his hand, and the sword almost slipped from his grasp.

"What a hard shell!" he exclaimed in surprise.

The demonic beast let out a smug laugh: "Foolish human, you think you can hurt me? My shell has been tempered for thousands of years, impervious to blades and spears, water and fire! Your broken sword can't even scratch my skin!"

“Is that so?” Rowan said coldly. “Then let’s try this.”

His body shone brightly, the fusion of genetic energy and spiritual power bursting forth with dazzling brilliance. This energy flowed along the longsword, forming a layer of golden light on its surface.

"break!"

Luo Wen shouted and swung his sword down again.

This sword strike was several times stronger than the previous one, carrying a world-destroying momentum, and directly struck the monster's head.

"Crack!"

A deep crack appeared on the monster's shell, and black blood gushed out from it.

"Aow—" the monster howled in pain, "You hurt me! You actually hurt me!"

It writhed wildly, countless limbs reaching for Rowan. Each limb was covered in sharp barbs, gleaming coldly.

Rowan dodged left and right in the narrow crevice while launching continuous attacks.

This is a tough battle.

The limited space within the rift prevented Rowan from fully unleashing his abilities. Meanwhile, the monster's body, tightly wedged within the rift, held a strategic advantage. Its countless limbs acted like a net, sealing off every nook and cranny.

"Damn it!" Rowan dodged an attack from one limb, but was grazed on the shoulder by another limb, leaving a bloody gash.

"Hahaha!" the monster laughed wildly. "Human, you are too arrogant! Here, you are no match for me! Just accept your death!" It spewed out another stream of black gas, this time even more violently than before, almost filling the entire crack.

Rowan was forced to retreat downwards to avoid the attack.

But the direction he retreated was into the deeper part of the abyss.

The surrounding light grew dimmer, and the black aura intensified. Rowan could sense a terrifying power surging below—the aura of an ancient star beast.

"We can't retreat any further," Rowan thought to himself. "If we retreat any further, there will truly be no turning back."

He stopped, adjusted his breathing, and prepared to launch the final attack.

"What, not going to run away anymore?" the demonic beast sneered. "Finally scared? Too bad, too late!"

It opened its mouthparts, preparing to launch another attack.

At that very moment, Rowan made a move.

His figure transformed into a golden bolt of lightning, rushing towards the demonic beast at an incredible speed. The demonic beast's eyes couldn't even keep up; it only saw a flash of golden light, and then—

"Pfft!"

The longsword pierced the monster's mouth, went through its head, and emerged from the back of its skull.

"No...impossible..." The beast's voice trailed off, its eyes filled with disbelief. "How could you...be so fast..."

“Because I am not an ordinary human being,” Rowan said coldly.

He twisted the hilt of the sword hard, then pulled it down sharply.

The sword light slashed down along the monster's body, splitting it in two from head to tail.

“Ah—”

The monster let out a final scream, its body began to convulse violently, and its limbs, which were tightly gripping the rock wall, loosened one by one.

Then, its body split in two and fell into the deepest part of the abyss.

Rowan hovered in the center of the crack, watching the monster's body disappear into the darkness, and let out a long sigh of relief.

But just then, an accident happened.

As the monster's body fell, it created a powerful gust of air that swept away all the black mist in the crack, revealing the true scene below.

Rowan subconsciously looked down.

At that moment, his body froze.

In the deepest part of the abyss, there is an eye.

It was an enormous eye, beyond description. Its pupils were jet black, like two bottomless black holes, seemingly capable of swallowing everything. Around the pupils was a blood-red iris, covered with strange patterns, like some kind of ancient runes.

That eye is looking at him.

Rowan stared into that eye for less than a breath, but in that brief moment, a terrifying mental force suddenly surged into his mind.

"what--"

Rowan let out a painful groan, clutched his head, and swayed in the air.

That spiritual force was too powerful, carrying an ancient, savage, and indescribable pressure. It was like a giant hammer, slamming down on Rowan's consciousness, attempting to completely shatter his spirit.

"Who are you?"

A deep voice echoed in Rowan's mind, an old and dignified voice with a weighty quality that transcended time.

"You...don't belong to this world...where did you come from?"

Rowan gritted his teeth, desperately resisting the erosion of that mental power. Veins bulged on his forehead, sweat poured down like rain, and his face turned as pale as paper.

"Get out!" he roared inwardly.

He mobilized all the genetic energy within his body, building a solid defense line deep within his consciousness. That defense line collided violently with the invading mental power, producing a series of booming sounds.

"Interesting..." the voice seemed somewhat surprised. "You can actually resist my will? It seems you're no ordinary human..."

“I don’t care who you are,” Rowan gritted his teeth, “you can’t control me!”

He suddenly opened his eyes, no longer looking at that eye, and instead struggled to fly upwards.

Behind him, the voice let out a low laugh.

"Run away, run away... You've already seen me anyway... From now on, you'll never escape my influence... We'll meet again eventually..."

As the sound faded away, Rowan finally broke through the crack and arrived above the Demon-Suppressing Abyss.

He landed on the edge of the abyss, gasping for breath.

What happened just now was truly terrifying.

That eye… that was the eye of an ancient star beast. Though it was still asleep, its consciousness had begun to awaken. That burst of spiritual power just now was released by it.

"Its mental strength is too strong," Rowan felt a chill run down his spine. "Even a brief contact almost made me lose consciousness. If it were to fully awaken..."

He didn't dare to think about it any more.

He forced himself to stand up and checked the condition of the crack.

The good news is that the cracks have begun to heal automatically after the monster was killed. The power of Yuan Zhenzi's seal is working, slowly pulling the edges of the cracks closer together.

The bad news is that several of the smaller seals he had previously set up have completely failed. He needs to reset the seals to stabilize the situation here.

Luo Wen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

“Take care of what’s in front of us first,” he muttered to himself. “We can deal with the rest later.”

He began to rearrange the seal.

This time, he was even more meticulous than before, repeatedly checking each formation to ensure there were no flaws. He also strengthened the seals at some key locations to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

After a busy day, all the seals were set up.

Rowan stood up, looked at his masterpiece, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"This should hold out for a while," he thought, "but it's only a temporary measure. If we can't address the root cause, something bad will happen sooner or later."

He turned and left the Demon-Suppressing Abyss, heading towards the edge of the Netherworld Valley.

The sky had completely darkened, the dark clouds pressed even lower, and a sense of impending storm permeated the air.

(End of this chapter)