"Rumble... Rumble..." As if countless mechanisms had been activated, the ground shook. Wu Tianjun could feel himself sinking; the entire great hall where he stood was sinking, terrifying Xiao Qing to no end. However, Wu Tianjun's face remained calm, because his Demonic Infant could feel the calling growing increasingly urgent.
"Sigh... another person trapped like us, huh." A sigh echoed, filled with helplessness.
"I wonder if we will ever have a chance to leave this place." Another voice spoke up.
"Haha, I have been trapped here for thirty thousand years. Even though my cultivation has reached the half-step Saint Ancestor realm, what use is it? Won't I still die trapped here?" Another desolate laugh rang out. They possessed supreme cultivation; when they discovered the restriction, they thought there was a treasure and entered, only to end up trapped. It had already been thirty thousand years. Several people had come here over the years, but not a single one had a way to leave. Here, their spiritual sense was severely restricted. If they didn't speak, they wouldn't even know who was next to them in the pitch blackness. Although their cultivation had progressed, they still couldn't overcome this predicament.
"Oh, three peak Divine Venerables, five Saint Gods, and four... unknown realms. Are you all trapped here?" A youth's voice rang out, interrupting the old men and plunging them into silence.
"You... You can sense our cultivation?" a panicked voice cried out.
"How is that possible? Having entered the depths, how can you release your spiritual sense? No, wait, with your Deity-Communing cultivation, how could you possibly sense my cultivation?" another cold voice rang out.
"Oh! I don't know what realm you are in. Purple-haired old man, what realm are you?" the youth's voice spoke again.
"You... You can see me?" The voice remained cold, but it could not hide the panic.
"Is it that hard? You should be able to see this, right?" Wu Tianjun's Demonic Infant opened its eyes and spat out a blue-black flame. Then, his body gradually lit up with a green glow, like a lamp in the dark of night, completely unaffected by the surrounding demonic qi.
"Can you see me now?" Wu Tianjun said. "Isn't it enough to just release your spiritual sense? Your cultivation is so high, yet you don't know how to use your spiritual sense?" Wu Tianjun asked in confusion. As soon as he released his spiritual sense, he could see them clearly.
"What kind of flame is that... You can actually release your spiritual sense..." a terrified voice rang out. The speaker was a beautiful woman.
"The demonic qi doesn't seem to affect that flame at all. I wonder what kind of Divine Fire it is?" an old man said in shock. Given his level of alchemy, the flames he used were by no means weak.
"His spiritual sense is actually unaffected by the demonic qi here," another old man, around whom demonic qi flickered, said in terror.
"Hey! What's wrong with you guys? Why are you trapped here? Ah, and how do I get out?" Wu Tianjun said, bored. Hearing these old fellows speak, they had been trapped for a very long time.
"May I ask what this little brother's name is?" the beautiful woman asked. They had caught a glimmer of hope of escaping this place. Although this kid didn't look like much, he must have some unknown tricks up his sleeve.
"Ah! My name is Wu Tianjun. Greetings, seniors!" He paused. "How did you get trapped? With so much demonic qi here, it shouldn't be a place you can just enter casually." Wu Tianjun asked.
"Sigh... We saw a restriction and entered out of curiosity. Who would have thought... Several groups of people have come here over time, and all were trapped in this cage of light. No attacks work on it. Kid, why did you come here? The restriction outside is no simple matter." The speaker was a red-haired middle-aged man.
"Ah... So that's how it is! I felt like there was something I needed to get here, so I came... Huh? Is this the light barrier you were talking about?" Wu Tianjun was speaking when he was suddenly enveloped by a barrier of light, causing him to exclaim in surprise. "Oh! Such powerful spiritual energy. Isn't this a great place to cultivate?" Wu Tianjun said, astonished.
"Uh... Little brother, let's find a way to leave first. Cultivating here is great, but what's the use if we can't leave?" the beautiful woman said. This little brat was definitely doing this on purpose; how could he not see they were trapped here?
"Ah... I forgot! My bad!" Wu Tianjun said sheepishly, having forgotten that he was also trapped. "This place is actually quite interesting," Wu Tianjun remarked, looking around to assess his surroundings. It gave him a strange sensation, as if they were inside something. Yes, that was it! They were inside something.
"Interesting..." The old monsters felt utterly defeated. They had been trapped here for countless years, yet to this kid, it was merely "interesting."
"Don't you feel like we're inside some kind of object? Like a training ground," Wu Tianjun's voice rang out. "Except it can move," he added.
"We've guessed as much, but there's no way to leave," the purple-haired old man said coldly.
"My guess is that you've all been branded with a Demonic Source Imprint," Wu Tianjun's voice rang out, firm and clear.
"What is a Demonic Source Imprint? When was I branded?" one of the old monsters gasped, immediately scanning his own body but finding nothing.
"Are you saying we've truly been branded?" the purple-haired man asked. His voice was no longer cold, but it still carried immense authority. He, too, had felt a similar inkling.
"I also feel like I've been branded, but I can't find any trace of it," a Half-step Sacred Ancestor chimed in.
"A Demonic Source Imprint?! How do you know about that? Wasn't that technique lost since ancient times?" asked the old man shrouded in churning demonic energy.
"Oh? You guys actually don't know? This place really is interesting! Give me a moment to figure out how to get out of this light barrier, and then we'll talk. Hehe, Xiao Qing, go ahead and cultivate for a bit." Wu Tianjun looked at the old monsters as if they were children with a fascinating toy. Then, ignoring them, he closed his eyes and sat down.
"Yes, Master," Xiao Qing replied silently. It didn't know what else to do. If even those old monsters couldn't get out, what could it possibly do? It would just have to wait for its master.
Seeing Wu Tianjun fall silent, the old monsters were at a loss. After a while, a voice broke the silence.
"Ma Lian, what exactly is a Demonic Source Imprint?" the purple-haired old man asked coldly.
"I don't know much about it either. I've only heard that it was a method used by the Primordial Demon Clan to control their subordinates. Anyone branded with this imprint is bound to serve the one who placed it as their master for the rest of their life. However, with the decline of the Primordial Era, the technique was lost..." Ma Lian—the old man shrouded in churning demonic energy—explained.
"Serve the brander as master..." one of them muttered angrily. He was a proud, peak-stage Divine Venerable, and would soon become a supreme powerhouse at the Sacred God realm!
"So, he's letting us cultivate here just so we can work for him later," another old man remarked, his voice laced with bitterness.
"I'm not entirely sure either; these are just legends, after all," Ma Lian paused briefly. "But look at that little brother. For him to reach this place with only a Spirit-Connecting realm cultivation, his methods must be extraordinary." Ma Lian sighed. Powerful cultivators like them absolutely loathed having their fates placed in the hands of others.
"Sigh... I suppose that's all we can do." Having no other choice, they sat back down to cultivate. They were utterly helpless. After so many years of searching for a way out, their hopes of escaping had long since dwindled. Their only remaining hope was that a higher cultivation level might eventually allow them to shatter the light barrier and escape.
"I hope you have a way to leave this place," the purple-haired elder muttered silently to himself as he looked toward Wu Tianjun, even though he could see nothing but pitch blackness.
Wu Tianjun had been sitting in meditation for six hours. In truth, he wasn't actually cultivating, but was communicating with his Demon Infant and Primordial Soul.
"Are you sure that's the Demon Source Imprint? Who placed it?" Wu Tianjun asked the Demon Infant.
"That's right! It is indeed the Demon Source Imprint. It's also recorded in my inherited memories, and it might be useful in the future," the Demon Infant replied flatly.
"My inherited memories also contain records of this imprint. If I'm not mistaken, the one who placed it was a mighty expert of the Primordial Demon Race, though he has likely fallen," the Primordial Soul added.
"If he's dead, how could he have placed the imprint?" Wu Tianjun asked, puzzled. He was already dead, so why the hell did he leave some bullshit imprint? Fortunately, his Demon Infant was present, so the imprint had no effect on him.
"Perhaps it's an artifact spirit..." the Demon Infant suggested.
"An artifact spirit? What kind of weapon has an artifact spirit?" Wu Tianjun asked, his mind filled with confusion.
"We came here because I felt something calling to me. It seems this thing isn't sealed, but rather, its artifact spirit has simply become too weak," the Demon Infant said thoughtfully.
"Mm, I think so too. The artifact spirit here seems to have a special resonance with the Primordial Demon Race, which is why it called us here," the Primordial Soul agreed.
"Oh? Is that so? Demon Infant, I'll leave communicating with the artifact spirit to you then." Wu Tianjun's soul closed its eyes and fell back into a deep sleep, relinquishing control of his body to the Demon Infant. At this moment, a highly mysterious, fallen Dao charm enveloped Wu Tianjun's soul. Its exact nature was unknown, but since it had once resisted the Heavenly Tribulation, this Dao charm was clearly exceptionally powerful.
Once the Demon Infant took control of his body, Wu Tianjun's cultivation surged rapidly, only stopping when it reached the mid-stage Divine Lord realm. It seemed that after absorbing the lightning rain last time, his mini Demon Realm had grown significantly stronger. Releasing his divine sense, his Primordial Demon Qi flooded outward as he attempted to communicate with the unknown artifact spirit.