Chapter 127 (2): Inheritance of the Spear Demon

Before Fang Che even had a chance to react, he had already flown into the cave, and the entire world spun around him as the dark cave abruptly disappeared, replaced by a much more massive cave that was lined with countless torches, ensuring that its interior was as bright as day.

Standing not far up ahead was a black-robed figure holding a spear that was black as night, threatening to suck in the soul of the observer with nothing more than a fleeting glance.

It was impossible to describe this spear.

Physically, it appeared no different from a normal spear, but anyone who set their eyes upon it would be able to sense its unrivaled power.

A pleased smile appeared on the black-robed man's face as he said, "Finally, someone has come here. I don't know how long I've already been waiting here for."

This was clearly an illusion, but it felt impossibly real to Fang Che.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked in a hesitant manner.

"Who else would I be talking to?" the black-robed man asked with an amused expression.

Fang Che immediately extended a respectful bow as he greeted, "Fang Che pays his respects to Senior Spear Demon."

"No need for formalities," the black-robed man said with a faint smile. "Honestly, I don't like the title of spear demon, but it's what everyone likes to call me, so I had no choice but to accept it. My real name is Jun Lin, although I do wonder how many people still remember my name after all this time."

The Black Gold Spear in Jun Lin's hand vanished into his glabella as a streak of light, following which he asked, "What's the outside world like at the moment, Fang Che? Are we in times of peace and prosperity, or have the demonic forces taken over?"

Fang Che thought about it for a moment, then replied, "It's somewhere in between at the moment, but the world is close to falling into the clutches of the demonic forces."

"So that big centipede came out on top, after all," Jun Lin sighed.

"What's this big centipede that you speak of, Senior?"

Is he talking about the Heavenly Centipede Deity?

Instead of answering Fang Che's question, Jun Lin began with a brief recount of his own life.

"I began training spear techniques at three. You may not know this, but I was once the prince of a nation, but our nation fell when I was just fifteen, and I spent the next seven hundred years of my life, traveling the world and honing my spear techniques. After three thousand years, I was at the top of the world, and I felt like I was invincible.

“It was at that time that a rival of mine came to challenge me at this exact place. He was an inferior warrior to me, and I quickly gained the upper hand. However, as I swooped in for the killing blow, he was able to evade it, and I was unable to rein in my spear intent, thereby creating this cave. My opponent sneered at my ineptitude, admitting that he was an inferior warrior to me, but also denouncing my own perceived invincibility.

“He asked me how I could possibly consider myself invincible when I didn't even have full control over my own power, and I felt that to be a valid point. After that battle, I went to cultivate in seclusion, and when I finally reemerged a thousand years later, I had full mastery over my own power. From there, I came here to leave behind a spirit sense inheritance and a soul avatar to commemorate my final breakthrough."

"I see," Fang Che mused with a thoughtful expression. "At your cultivation base, you should've been near-immortal, how did you..."

"There are no absolutes in life. After I came out of seclusion, I traveled the world in search of a worthy opponent, but no one could withstand even a single attack. Even the former number one warrior in the world at the time fell to his demise from just a single thrust of my spear, and I had thought that I had truly reached the pinnacle of the world. Invincibility is a lonely existence.

“From there, I returned to this cave, then established a spirit sense domain and began residing here in seclusion."

An enlightened look appeared on Fang Che's face. It was no wonder this illusion was so realistic, given that it was a spirit sense domain.

"After becoming invincible in this world, I began to think about how I could transcend beyond its boundaries. However, in June that year, something happened. Violent tremors ran through the entire continent, and in some places, entire oceans dried up without any warning. After three months of these tremors, the world suddenly fell into complete darkness, so dark that you wouldn't be able to see your own fingers even with your hand held directly in front of your face.

“No one has an exact timeframe on how long this darkness lasted, but it was at least several months. When light finally returned, it revealed a completely changed world. Countless meteorites began plummeting out of the sky, pelting the entire continent in what seemed like an endless barrage, and this was accompanied by rain the color of blood."

The rain of blood fell for two months, and during those two months, regardless of what was planted anywhere on the continent, bountiful returns were sure to be reaped. In fact, you could plant some seeds one day, and your crops would be fully matured and ready for harvest just three days later.

“During those two months, I traveled to all of the farthest corners of the continent to see just how large an area this rain of blood was falling upon, and I discovered that it encompassed the entire continent! Every single day, there was a pervasive air of crushing grief between heaven and earth, constantly making one want to shed tears, and it completely robbed everyone of the joy of the bountiful harvests they were enjoying.

“No one had any idea what had happened, but at the time, I had already integrated myself with the Great Dao, and I could sense that it had suddenly collapsed, severing my connection with this world. Essentially, our planet had become a lone island in the boundless expanse of space. At the very least, that was how it had felt to me.

“I'm telling you all of this because once you accept my inheritance and begin progressing up the cultivation tiers, you'll encounter the very same thing as long as you don't die prematurely!

"I understand. I'll be sure to remember everything you've told me here," Fang Che replied in a solemn manner.

At the same time, he recalled something that Dongfang Sansan had told him in the past, that the god of their world was already dead.

Only now did Fang Che truly come to understand what this meant.

"After the blood rain, the continent returned to normal, and it was as if nothing had changed, but a select few people, including myself, knew that it was over for this world. We gathered together to try and figure out a plan, but we had no idea exactly what had happened to this world, so we didn't even know where to start.

“All we did was bicker and argue every day until we had enough and split up again. Five hundred years after that, many man-eating centipedes began appearing on the continent. These centipedes were extremely formidable, and they grew stronger from devouring humans. Thus, we came together once again to kill these centipedes, but there seemed to be no end to them, and the more we killed, the stronger they seemed to become.

“We knew that something was very wrong, so we began a search, and that eventually led us to a valley filled with millions upon millions of centipede demons. In the heart of the valley was a spirit sense avatar in the form of a centipede, much like my spirit sense avatar here, but one that was far more formidable. It was able to rapidly accelerate the growth of all the centipede demons in the valley, and we had no choice but to try and destroy it.

“However, the enemy was extremely strong, and of the nineteen people who entered the valley, I was soon reduced to the sole survivor, while the spirit sense centipede was also severely wounded. Thankfully, I was able to make a breakthrough thanks to the weight of my emotions and the extreme pressure of the situation, and even though I already knew at the time that my opponent was nothing more than a spirit sense avatar, I had no choice but to fight.

“I was the only one left, and if I didn't fight, then the entire continent would be devoured! However, this was the avatar of a god, and it proved almost impossible to kill. No amount of physical injury could put an end to its life, and the way to kill it was to destroy its soul. Unfortunately, I didn't possess the power required to accomplish such a feat, and the only way for me to destroy its soul would be to detonate my own.

“That was the option that I chose, and I was able to destroy the enemy, but I had suffered grievous injuries in the process. Even my Black Gold Spear had fallen into the spirit sense centipede and gone missing. I knew that I didn't have much time left, so I hurried back to this place, then used what little remained of my spirit sense to fortify this mountain and leave behind my inheritance.

“After that was done, I left once again to scour the continent, and to my relief, all of the centipede demons had disappeared. The day after I returned here again, I passed away, leaving behind only a spirit sense avatar, which is what you see now. No one has ever fought against a god before, yet not only was I granted the honor, I was able to come out on top and buy tens of thousands of years of time for this continent! I have no regrets!"