Chapter 605: Chapter 605

Cassius examined the vast, empty underground cavern. The former brightness of the ashy land had vanished, replaced by the usual dimness of an underground chamber. The air carried a strange earthy dampness, and wide areas of moss on the walls glimmered faintly green. Chilly wind blew through the darkness, causing the green light from the moss to glow and momentarily illuminate the surroundings.

A smooth oval opening lay embedded in the cavern's vast rock face. The hole was pitch-black, issuing gust after gust of gloomy wind laden with an intensely unsettling aura of evil.

At a glance, it resembled an enormous ominous black gemstone. The opening measured several hundred meters across and occupied a huge portion of the cliff. Moss grew especially dense around it, spiralling like a giant net across the rock face.

The once-normal moss had mutated; it brightened and dimmed with each breath of wind, as though it were breathing. The flickering green light was disquieting. Without doubt, the hole did not open onto another underground wall but led straight to the World of Calamity.

It was an inter-world passage!

Huff... hiss... huff... hiss...

The black hole gaped like a monster's maw, exhaling the World of Calamity's air one moment and inhaling ordinary air the next. A faint yet pervasive pressure filled the cavern. This text is hosted at N()velFire.net

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

A lone figure walked through the vast space. His hard leather boots crunched over moss, and the hem of his black coat swayed. Cassius walked the rim of a giant fist-shaped crater.

"There are signs of fierce combat at the Holy Fist level. Judging by the traces, it happened roughly sixty years ago. There are no marks of the Southern Dipper Waterbird Fist or Thorn Feather Force. It seems White Bird Holy Fist truly burned everything of himself during that calamity tide..."

His steps halted, and his thoughts drifted back to his time-travel. The hot blood of that battle had yet to cool.

"Could Flaming Sun Holy Fist really have slain Pale Origin with that unknown Holy Fist that Feng Liusi met on the Eternal Archipelago?"

Cassius turned his gaze to the wall and the pitch-dark passage.

"Apparently not, or this breach between the surface world and the World of Calamity wouldn't exist. Something must have happened... Did those three fight all the way into the World of Calamity?" He pondered inwardly.

Only one thing was certain. Pale Origin was definitely no longer in the surface world. Otherwise, the Ripple Practitioners and their bone rings wouldn't have kept weakening. In fact, although their overall strength had steadily declined, the two or three new generations of Ripple Practitioners over the past sixty years had not been parasitized. By some strange fortune, they had gained freedom instead.

What a pity... Cassius thought in regret.

Had Pale Origin still been in the cavern, he and the Flaming Sun Holy Fist could surely have taken it down together. After all, Southern Dipper Force was brutally effective against the undead nature of dark creatures.

"Although Pale Origin can't be slain again, this inter-world passage can still be put to good use."

Staring at the flickering hole, ideas he had thought of in the past surfaced again. At present, Cassius could not enter the World of Calamity at will. However, his soul still contained the Mark of the Spirit Bearer.

In theory, he could activate it and reach the Tower of Refuge. However, he had tried and received no response during the past half month. The mark had lost its effect and he formed two theories about his situation.

First, his own strength might be too great. He had reached the legendary Holy Fist realm and advanced far within it. If he unleashed all his Qi, it could become a whole world. The mark might be unable to transmit such a terrifying amount of Qi. Every tool had limits; none could be used without condition.

Second, the Tower of Refuge itself might be compromised, or its link to the mark severed. All of this was likely tied to the battle that had destroyed the Hongli Empire. A terrifying great tide had swept from World of Calamity and even affected the surface world. The connection between the mark and the tower had probably been cut then.

Either that, or when the Lightless Night descended on the World of Calamity, the Tower of Refuge had been destroyed during the chaos of Ultimate Dark Forms’ rampage. In short, Cassius could now only enter the World of Calamity via special zones where there was a weak-point

The best was an inter-world passage, like the one he had just discovered. However, it seemed a bit narrow. When it was first blasted open, it had likely been broad, but later had healed and contracted under the two worlds' rules.

As things stood, Cassius likely could not squeeze through. Though he seemed tiny beside the hundred-meter passage, his true form contained the vast Qi of a Dominator Fist. If his Dominator Fist Qi surged forth, the passage would indeed be too cramped to ram through.

"This inter-world passage must be widened. It must be big enough for an Ultimate Dark Form to squeeze through. Only then can the plan proceed."

Cassius lowered his lids as his dim pupils glinted with a trace of murderous intent. He had many major goals he wanted to accomplish now that he was in the real world. One of them was to slay another Ultimate Dark Form. By doing so, he would force his Golem Covert Martial Arts to evolve fully and push his body past its bottleneck to the level of an Ultimate Dark Form. That would grant him a terrifying boost!

He had vast strength and dreadful destructive force with Dominator Fist Qi. However, with a body of Ultimate Dark Form, he would be indestructible! The combination created a frightful synergy. At that point, Cassius himself would be an unkillable monster!

He would have astounding defense and infinite regeneration, yet also wield extreme offensive might. Every slash would draw blood, while every punch was a critical blow. Dark creatures, incapable of killing an equally immortal Cassius, would instead be beaten to death by his wild fists!

Therefore, breaking through to Ultimate Dark Form level was urgent. Coincidentally, the passage before him was clearly the opportunity he wished for. Cassius needed to widen the passage enough for an Ultimate Dark Form to enter. Then he would lure one out by fishing for it.

Why lure it out instead of hunting inside the World of Calamity? The reason was much like his battle with the Seranar King. Fighting on home ground and foreign ground were two entirely different concepts. In the World of Calamity, the air brimmed with calamity, letting an Ultimate Dark Form replenish itself absurdly fast. This meant their combat power rose and their regeneration soared. Moreover, the World of Calamity was their nest. The clash of a Dominator Fist and an Ultimate Dark Form might attract more of them. If the Ultimate Dark Form set its mind to escape, it could do so easily.

Cassius might be able to suppress and defeat one, but have little chance to kill it. Besides, the World of Calamity's current state was uncertain and likely differed from a hundred and sixty years ago in the time-travel.

During the final battle, the Gate of Heaven had opened and Lightless Night had descended. The long-balanced standoff between Ultimate Dark Forms and Holy Fists might have been shattered. Since things were still unclear, Cassius dared not be rash. If he charged in and was beset by a dozen Ultimate Dark Forms, it would be disastrous.

It would be better to perfect his body first. Then, even besieged, he could rely on his undying trait. Sometimes, survival capability was the key factor, and all of it required making use of this inter-world passage first.

On a grey-black plain in the World of Calamity, a giant beast hundreds of meters tall strode along, leaving deep footprints in its wake. Every now and then, it halted and thrust out a scaly arm wreathed in black smoke, and caught a fleeing dark creature.

Bones cracked and blood flowed between its serrated fangs as a mangled wad of flesh slid down the beast's throat.

Two jets of burning black smoke roared from its nostrils. It was an extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creature, an apex predator below an Ultimate Dark Form. Creatures like it roamed the World of Calamity, feeding and slowly building their deep reserves of energy. Their aim was to one day break through the Ultimate Dark Form threshold!

The smokey giant took another step, shaking the ground. Still unsated, its horse-like giant face swivelled, two pairs of green eyes darting about. It seemed to be locking onto new prey, eager to feed again. Suddenly, the beast sensed something and charged toward a distant direction.

It soon arrived at a vast canyon. The canyon was broad enough for such a beast to move freely.

Thoom, thoom, thoom...

A string of massive footfalls echoed through the canyon. Deep in the canyon, hundreds upon thousands of dark creatures were clustered before a pitch-black enormous opening, crazily devouring with blood smeared over their jaws. Through the gaps, one could see that they were eating round balls of flesh that exuded the irresistible delectable scent of humans. Moreover, each contained pure calamity residue!

Such delicacies were far too enticing. The aroma alone fully triggered the creatures' instinct to feast. At the moment, neither an earthquake nor avalanche could stop them. Every extra bite was a profit.

The smoke-clad giant rounded a bend and halted. A bloody grin split its scaly horse face. There was no need to hunt; there was a buffet here!

A plume of black smoke shot skyward.

Crunch! Argh... argh... argh...

Five minutes later, the smokey giant was feasting happily, its maw dripping viscous blood. Hundreds upon hundreds of dark creatures rested in its belly, including those shredded flesh-balls on the ground. Those tasted even better, though they were a bit scarce. If only there were more...

Snorting, the smokey giant suddenly caught the scent of that alluring flesh-ball again. Its four eyes focused on a single point. A dozen flesh-balls had appeared right in front of the hundred-meter-high black hole.

The beast strode over and swept them up with its long tongue. Raising its scaly head, it stared at the pitch-black hole, confusion in its eyes. Was the flesh-ball scent coming from inside too?

After a brief moment of thought, the smokey giant cautiously stepped forward. Suddenly, its head seemed to pass through an invisible membrane. The scene on the hole's other side sprang into view.

It was not a vast cavern but a round black mass blocking the passage, with faint green lustre along its rim. The smokey giant snorted again with puzzlement flashing across its face.

A heartbeat later, a terrifying bloody red light blazed, filling the passage. It was an eye! A colossal bird's eye blocked the hundreds-meter opening! When it opened, an aura of endless terror swept out, seemingly able to annihilate all. It was past extreme fear. The smokey giant was horrified. Its proud, bulky body that had ensured its survival so far was a dwarf compared to that single eye!

No, just the pupil alone exceeded the hole's entire outline. There was a vicious, bloodthirsty bird of prey on the other side!

"Roar!" The giant bellowed and staggered back, but it was too late. A scaly, scarlet talon seized it firmly within the passage.

With a slight squeeze...

It burst into fragments!

Instantly, the extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creature perished on the World of Calamity side, its calamity energy exploding outward. Simultaneously, a terrifying, dominating Qi swept out in the surface world, the two forces raging and canceling each other.

The inter-world passage gradually grew taller and wider during the clash. Inside the enormous cavern, Cassius watched it all unfold in silence. That little trial had been a great success! He would keep doing the same. Bit by bit, he could widen the passage to a sufficient size.

As for the flesh-balls tossed into the World of Calamity, they were, of course, the Ripple Practitioners he had crushed with Qi earlier. People who followed calamity were never decent. On a broader scale, they could be called traitors to the surface world or lackeys of the World of Calamity. Of course, Cassius hadn't butchered them for that reason; he simply found them displeasing.

At any rate, possessors of calamity made excellent bait. They were human to begin with, yet held refined calamity energy. It was an irresistible scent for dark creatures. After all, to hook a big fish, one must first chum the waters. That way, the final catch would be both huge and plump.