In the gray mist.
A fierce flying dragon soared across the sky, its tattered blood-red wings stretched over thirty ters long, larger than other subspecies of flying dragons. This was the Flying Dragon King-Blood Fang, a nad and titled monster in Abyss City, imnsely powerful. Although not a fated Legend, it was a Legendary Level monster. Its neck was slender, reminiscent of the mounts of the Ring Spirits from the Magic Ring, yet arguably more formidable, as Shawn had personally witnessed it hunting a massive nine-headed serpentine lizard.
To survive in the Bizarre Realm, even a roadside mutant bug poses a Monster Level threat and can easily take the life of an adult male.
Shawn was presently perched on the back of the Flying Dragon King-Blood Fang, facing Aemon, who was leisurely enjoying the scenery. Their group had flown over a thousand kiloters, yet Shawn was unsure of his current location.
Aemon rose and pointed toward the vast swamp in the distance, stating, "There lies the domain of the Old One—Swamp Master—ndor."
"Recently ascended to one of the Old Ones over the past millennium."
"Due to its ascension, the toxic miasma in the vast swamp has slowly begun to spread across the entire planet, transforming vast plains into Poison Gas Swamps. Now, the air in the Bizarre Realm is unfit for ordinary humans. While the toxicity poses no threat to Transcendents, it induces hallucinations in common people, leading them gradually into madness." (Transcendents can make a Constitution saving throw.)
"It is the first Old One we must eliminate!"
"Abyss City has been preparing for its defeat for nearly twenty years."
"However, its true form does not reside on the physical plane but sowhere in the Inner Plane. We must patiently await its next awakening."
Aemon is a very patient teacher.
Although Shawn knew he was the mastermind behind many deaths, while interacting with him, Shawn couldn’t help but be drawn to Aemon’s charismatic aura. Even though Shawn didn’t agree with his chaotic evil beliefs, so of Aemon’s views were convincingly persuasive. This inherent charisma garnered him many followers in Abyss City.
Shawn lifted his gaze towards the vast boundless swamp in the distance and solemnly asked, "Are you saying its existence altered the entire planet’s air composition?"
"The toxic, hallucinogenic gas gradually kills ordinary people?"
Aemon nodded calmly, "You could say that."
"However, the residents of Abyss City possess a hint of demon blood; inhabitants from the Lower Plane’s purgatory organisms are essentially immune to ordinary toxins."
"But unless it is defeated, the toxic miasma covering the planet will only worsen."
Despite his fanatical and obsessive deanor, Aemon genuinely desires to eliminate the Old Ones.
This marked the third Old One he had recounted to Shawn. Aemon possessed intimate knowledge of the Old Ones across this continent, understanding how they altered the world. The distortion of laws transford the Bizarre Realm into an inhospitable land for mortals.
Aemon turned his gaze back to Shawn and said calmly, "I’ve already signed you up for the Abyss Arena."
"With your current strength, entering the arena is almost certain death!"
"You have only three months to improve yourself."
"I don’t have ti to nurture you slowly, so I can only arrange the most brutal trial for you."
"This is the survival way of a demon I want to teach you."
Shawn was already aware of this because, before leaving Abyss City, Aemon had taken him to the massive filthy and bloody Purgatory Arena, resembling the ancient Roman coliseums but crueler and more rciless.
The entirety of Abyss City is fertile ground for cultivating chaotic evil; here strength is the ultimate power, granting all to the mighty!
It even maintains a slave system.
Aemon’s goodwill and malice towards Shawn were equally evident. He only cared about Shawn’s strength; without it, Shawn held no value in his eyes.
Shawn took a deep breath and said, "Only three months?"
The opponents in the Abyss Arena are primarily High Tier Transcendents or terrifying Evil Objects from the Bizarre Realm, sotis even Legendary Level enemies. With Shawn’s current strength, facing them is almost certain death.
"Yes." Aemon’s cruel smile surfaced, "Moreover, you cannot advance in such a short ti, unless you want to beco a Witch Demon in the future. You’d better stay at your current Tier until I can find the next Extraordinary Relics for your advancent."
"In your current situation, the only way to escape the Law of Death is to wait until I find the Extraordinary Origin of the Mind Path, then reforging a heart using the Heart of the Abyssal Calamity as a ans to resurrect you once."
"Only by advancing to a fated Legend using both Arcane Magic and the Mind Path can you completely rid yourself of the transformation imposed by the Book of the Dead on you."
"Otherwise, the Rotting Egg Mother might erupt at any ti; your life will always be in the hands of those old bones."
Shawn couldn’t help but reveal a bitter smile. No matter how eloquently Aemon spoke, it didn’t change the fact. He calmly replied, "You an I can’t perform an advancent ceremony during my upcoming trial?"
"I must endure the trial at the Tier of a Third Ring Wizard?"
Aemon smiled, "For the upcoming trial, the Third Ring is sufficient."
"They almost ruined your cultivation; I must use drastic asures to pull you back."
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