Chapter 274: Demon Trial Grounds

Translator: podao001

Counting Chen Feng, there were 18 people in total going to the Demon Trial Grounds. The others, however, were all elite disciples.

Every day, some disciples from Extreme Celestial Sect would enter the Demon Trial Grounds to train themselves. Sun Xuan’s group consisted of disciples who were fairly well-acquainted with one another. They had entered the Demon Trial Grounds many times before.

“Junior Brother Chen’s name has become very famous these days. Thousands of elite disciples from our sect are now discussing that incident involving you. For even Zhao Hai to lose to you, it seems Junior Brother Chen is most likely invincible amongst Concealed stage cultivators,” Sun Xuan said with a smile.

“He he. Senior Brother Sun, you cannot address him as Junior Brother Chen anymore. You should address him as Senior Brother Chen,” the disciple beside him said with a chuckle.

“When Chen Feng gets promoted to elite disciple, we will naturally be addressing him as Senior Brother Chen. We cannot do it before then. However, Junior Brother Chen is already this powerful now. Doesn’t it mean that not even Sky Human stage cultivators can match up against you after you get promoted to the elite disciple rank?” Sun Xuan said jovially.

“Fellow brothers, surely you jest. Sky Human stage cultivators who have overcome Lightning Tribulation are not the type of beings we Concealed stage cultivators can take on,” said Chen Feng with a wry smile.

“However, Junior Brother Chen should exercise caution. You have offended the Zhao Family. They will never let this slide,” said Sun Xuan out of good will.

“However, if Junior Brother Chen becomes an elite disciple or a core disciple, the Zhao Family will probably not be recklessly trying to trouble you!”

“Cultivation must be done slowly. This time, I am entering the Demon Trial Grounds with the hopes that my cultivation base can break through again,” Chen Feng said.

Their group chatted and laughed amongst themselves. It did not take them long to exit Extreme Celestial Sect. The entrance to the Demon Trial Grounds was located 1,500 kilometres away from Extreme Celestial Sect.

When Chen Feng and the others arrived, he saw that other cultivators could also enter the place. There were also some cultivators from Extreme Celestial Sect guarding the entrance.

“Eh? Other people can enter as well?” Chen Feng saw that the group entering the Demon Trial Grounds earlier consisted of loose cultivators.

“Disciples from our sect can casually go in and out. However, if loose cultivators and disciples from other sects want to enter, they will need to pay spirit stones,” said Luo Bo, who was beside him.

“I wonder how much spirit stones are needed,” asked a smiling Chen Feng.

“At least 1,000 Magic crystals!”

“So vicious!” Chen Feng was surprised.

“I didn’t think our sect could have such a kind of revenue as well!”

“Greetings, fellow senior brothers.” Sun Xuan led them forward and bowed to the guards. To Chen Feng’s shock, the disciples guarding the entrance were all at level 9 of the Concealed stage. Chen Feng could sense that even the weakest one amongst the guards was stronger than Sun Xuan.

“There are usually 10 elite disciples standing guard here. There are also two Sky Human stage seniors keeping watch nearby to deal with any unexpected situations,” whispered Luo Bo, who was standing beside Chen Feng.

“Additionally, this place is originally one of our Extreme Celestial Sect’s sites. People generally wouldn’t dare try to cause trouble here!”

One of the guards checked the tokens from Sun Xuan and the others and nodded his head. Finally, his eyes fell upon Chen Feng. “Hmm, why is there a low-rank disciple here?”

Chen Feng did not reply. Instead, he released some of his aura outwards. Immediately, the guards’ eyes lit up.

“I didn’t think there could be someone like this amongst the heir disciples. It was our mistake. You fellows can enter. Duration is one month. If you do not come out by then, you know the consequences,” said the leader of the guards with a nod of his head.

Chen Feng and the others then entered the teleportation array. With a flash of light, they all disappeared.

Chen Feng and the others had only just disappeared when the teleportation array beside the one they were using glimmered. Next, three cultivators, soaked in blood, appeared within the teleportation array.

“Eh? That is Elder Wang’s group.” The guards revealed looks of surprise and they quickly stepped forward.

“Elder Wang, what happened to you all? Did you enter too deep?” The leader of the guards led the others to prop Elder Wang up. Amongst the three cultivators who appeared, only Elder Wang was conscious. The other two had fainted.

“Hurry up and call reinforcements,” Elder Wang’s voice was very hoarse.

Pa!

The guard leader crushed the Messaging Talisman in his hand. In less than one breath’s worth of time, two Sky Human stage cultivators appeared before them.

“Elder Wang, what happened? Did you encounter a Great Demon?” one of the Sky Human stage cultivators hastily asked while the other cultivator swiftly brought out some medicinal pills to help the three wounded cultivators recover.

After exerting himself for a bit, Elder Wang quickly said, “Hurry, inform the sect. The number of demonic humans in the Demon Trial Grounds has suddenly increased. Additionally, there are also some Great Demons amongst them. The other three elders who entered together with us have been killed off. We had to go all out to carve a path out. From this moment on, seal up the passageway. Do not allow any more disciples to enter.”

“What? This is bad! A group of elite disciples had just entered!” The guard leader’s face sank.

“What? How many disciples were there?” Elder Wang became anxious. His group had nearly suffered from total annihilation. The elite disciples would simply be marching to their deaths by entering the Demon Trial Grounds.

“A total of 18 disciples. Wait, there is an heir disciple amongst them as well,” the guard leader hastily replied.

“Hurry up and inform the sect! The best move would be to send experts in. 18 elite disciples! Those are all talents from our sect. Entering at a time like this, they will most likely not make it out!” Elder Wang anxiously cried out.

“How about we enter and bring them out?” said the two Sky Human stage cultivators guarding the entrance.

“No! It is too risky. If the Great Demons target you, the both of you can forget about coming out,” Elder Wang said.

“Some loose cultivators are coming.”

“Stop them! Tell them that the Demon Trial Grounds is temporarily closed!”

...

Light flashed before Chen Feng’s eyes. Next, his body abruptly sank down. He had arrived at the Demon Trial Grounds.

“There is something wrong about this place,” said Chen Feng after performing some minor movements. He could sense a suppressive effect around him.

“It is only natural. After entering the Demon Trial Grounds, we humans will be subjected to 10 times the normal pressure due to the laws here. Moreover, the deeper we go, the greater the suppression. On the contrary, the living beings from the Demon Plane are not subjected to this suppressive effect,” Sun Xuan said.

“This truly is a place for cultivation.” Chen Feng smiled. This level of suppression was nothing for him. The might of his fleshly body alone was enough to offset the suppressive effect.

The demonic energy here is similar to that from Demon Soul Valley. However, there are also vast amounts of spiritual energy mixed within them. This place should be different from the Demon Soul Valley. Chen Feng secretly sensed and analysed his surroundings.

Unlike Chen Feng, this was not the first time Sun Xuan and the others had entered this place. They were very familiar with the place. They did not recklessly venture forward like other loose cultivators. Instead, they brought out a map and came together for a discussion.

“Last time, we ventured 1,500 kilometres inside. Let’s go deeper this time, else we will not be able to find any good items.” Sun Xuan was the first to speak up.

“Yes. Recently, the number of loose cultivators entering has grown. Pretty much all the good items in the peripheral areas have been taken away!”

“I agree with the suggestion to go deeper. Recently, I am working on concocting a batch of medicinal pills. I happen to require some Imperial Blood Grasses. Hopefully, I can find some this time!”

“Yes, last time I turned in some demonic spirit stones in exchange for some contribution points. Just a little bit more and I will be able to exchange out an Earthen-tier magic technique!”

“I also need a Withered Bone Vine!”

“Ha ha ha! You wish! A Withered Bone Vine is enough to be exchanged for a Prized artefact! I haven’t been able to get my hands on a Prized artefact yet.”

“Junior Brother Chen, do you have any opinions?” Sun Xuan turned to ask Chen Feng.

“He he, this is my first time here. You fellows should make the decision,” Chen Feng said with a chuckle.

“Since there are no objections, we will go deeper this time,” Sun Xuan said with a smile.

After that, Chen Feng followed the group as they ventured forward, carefully observing his surroundings as he did. He had also attempted to absorb some of the demonic energy there and found that the demonic energy there was not much different compared to the demonic energy from Demon Soul Valley.

“Is this still within our Eternal World?” Chen Feng forwarded the question hovering within his mind.

“Of course not. This should be a separate planet,” answered a smiling Sun Xuan.

As they were subjected to a high level of suppression there, they all flew forward at a low-altitude. However, by doing so, their flight speed was decreased.

After one day, they were only capable of venturing over 500 kilometres into the Demon Trial Grounds. Naturally, they were not simply flying forward. Rather, they were actively scanning the ground below.

As they were advancing, they also encountered some loose cultivators and fellow disciples from Extreme Celestial Sect. However, they did not group together. Instead, they went on their separate ways. It was precisely because they were fellow disciples that the competition within the sect would become more intense.

“As expected, there are no longer any good items here. We can’t even find a piece of demonic spirit stone,” one of them complained.

“Who knows just how many people have used this route? It would be weird if we could find anything!”

After venturing 1,000 kilometres in, they finally encountered demonic beasts and demonic humans, a lot of them. There were over a hundred grotesque-looking demonic beasts and demonic humans with bloody, gaping mouths. Intense, black-coloured killing intent surged forward, converging together. Chen Feng and the others could feel the streams of demonic energy around them falling into a state of chaos.

“It’s actually a group of low-level demonic beasts. It seems we can only kill them and sell their hides.”

Chen Feng’s side was the first to attack. After a ferocious assault, the demonic beasts and demonic humans were wiped out. In fact, Chen Feng did not even get the opportunity to attack before they were all defeated.

“These small fries are wasting our time.”

After that, they advanced again. However, before they could make it past another 50 kilometres, another group of demonic beasts rushed towards them. This time, the number of demonic beasts was higher, up to 300 of them. In the end, however, they were all killed by Chen Feng and the others.

None of them took the matter to heart. At any rate, encountering demonic beasts within the Demon Trial Grounds was a normal occurrence. It was a very common thing here.

As they continued forward, however, their faces began to sink. In less than 500 kilometres, they had encountered 10 waves of the demonic beasts. Furthermore, each wave was bigger than the preceding one. Their individual strength was also rising with each wave. On the tenth wave, there were more than 1,000 demonic beasts and the strength of the demonic beast leader was close to that of a Great Demon. Finally, by joining forces, they were able to finish off the demonic beast leader. After that, though, they still had to exert themselves to break apart the remaining demonic beasts.

1 li = 0.5 km