Chapter 1206: Mystery of Entering Madness

Jiang Fan led the members of Tianji Pavilion across the seal.

The clanging of colliding weapons and faint roars, carried by the putrid, murky air, assailed them. A millennium had passed, yet the battlefield's killing intent remained. How brutal must that battle have been?

At this moment, Jiang Fan felt a sudden dizziness, clearly a symptom of poisoning. The area had been sealed for too long, allowing many harmful substances from the battlefield to evaporate into the air and accumulate without dissipating. As a result, the air contained potent toxins, affecting even Nascent Soul cultivators.

Looking at the large number of sects that had rushed in earlier, except for the four major sects—Shenxing Sect, Dayin Sect, Myriad Tribulations Sacred Hall, and Fire Worship Cult—the rest all displayed similar symptoms. Their disciples showed signs of pain, with some even collapsing to the ground.

Jiang Fan's heart tightened! What potent toxins!

Without a way to counter the potent poison, the entire sect would find it impossible to move forward. They would have no choice but to retreat beyond the seal and wait for the battlefield's air to be diluted by the outside world. However, for the air across a thousand-mile radius to be completely purified would take at least half a day! With such a long delay, the other sects would have already explored the area thoroughly.

Thousand-Foot and Shadowless exchanged glances, each seeing a glint in the other's eyes. This was a heaven-sent opportunity! As demon beasts of the Seven Aperture Demon Emperor level, their physical bodies were far stronger than ordinary people's, so this amount of poison would not affect them much. They could completely seize this chance to get rid of Jiang Fan!

Thousand-Foot's gaze flickered. He said, “Junior Brother Jiang, you all look quite uncomfortable. Perhaps you should leave the battlefield first. As your companions, the two of us will scout ahead for you.”

Jiang Fan glanced at the two of them. He immediately activated his Poisonous Core, absorbing all the potent toxins that had entered his body. His ashen face gradually regained its color, the dizziness quickly disappeared, and he returned to normal.

He let out a breath, exhaling a stream of turbid air containing black mist. He turned his head to look at the other members of Tianji Pavilion. Few people would be able to withstand such potent toxins. Indeed, only Huang Quan, who cultivated the path of fire, and the Tianji Pavilion Master, who cultivated the path of thunder, were unaffected. The others were all dizzy, stumbling, their faces either pale or ashen.

Wait a moment, why was Xia Chaoge also unaffected? Jiang Fan looked at her strangely. He hadn't heard that Xia Chaoge cultivated techniques like the path of thunder or fire. How was she completely fine?

Xia Chaoge was also startled. She looked around at the others and realized she stood out. It was then that she realized her secret might be exposed. She didn't want Jiang Fan to know that she had cultivated the Yin-Yang Heavenly Art. Otherwise, he would find out about her peeping at him in the lightning pool. Immediately, she gently rubbed her head, pretending to be dizzy.

Jiang Fan grew even more puzzled. Was Xia Chaoge's reaction that slow? Fortunately, he didn't have time to ponder it. He decisively activated his Heavenly Abyss Heart, releasing the lightning energy he had stored for a long time. He channeled it into the bodies of the others, expelling the toxins that had entered them. At the same time, the lightning energy formed a protective barrier, enveloping a hundred-zhang radius. All toxins within it were completely purged.

“Do not leave the lightning’s range,” he instructed.

Jiang Fan looked at the many retreating sects, a surprised expression on his face. Just the toxins in the battlefield's air alone were enough to keep most sects from entering. The dangers of the ancient battlefield were clearly immense. Tianji Pavilion needed to seize this heaven-sent opportunity!

However, where should they go? Mount Tianshan stretched for a thousand miles, and while it was said to be full of opportunities, they still needed a specific target.

“Go there!” A nine-colored radiance shimmered in Yue Mingzhu's eyes. She raised a finger, pointing towards the northeast corner of Mount Tianshan. In her vision, the entire Mount Tianshan was filled with immense destiny. Any random spot would be a major opportunity that would cause contention in the outside world. She was almost overwhelmed by the choices and could only pick the one with the strongest destiny to acquire first.

Jiang Fan looked at her in surprise, but still chose to trust her.

Soon after, the members of Tianji Pavilion arrived at their destination. At the foot of the enormous mountain, there were nine ancient giant corpses, each ten to nearly twenty zhang tall! Based on Jiang Fan's experience, they were all Nine Aperture Giants! They lay in a circular formation, neatly arranged on the ground. In the center of the circle was a human skeleton. His flesh had long since rotted away, leaving only bleached bones. His hands grasped a blood-red long saber. The tip of the saber touched the ground, propping up his skeleton so it remained upright.

As Jiang Fan and the others arrived, air currents stirred, raising gentle breezes. The rotten clothes on the skeleton turned into dust and scattered. Only the blood saber and the battle-worn skeleton remained standing.

Huang Quan observed, saying, “This is a human Nine Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator.”

Jiang Fan followed his gaze and noticed that part of the skeleton was crystal-colored. This was precisely a sign of imminent Spirit Transformation.

“The Nine Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator must have completely entered a state of madness,” Jiang Fan murmured softly. “A thousand years ago, Great Cang State released all of them to fight the enemy. This shows they were in a desperate situation with no one left to use, forced to deploy Nine Aperture Nascent Soul cultivators.” From this small glimpse, the despair of that battle a millennium ago was evident.

Fairy Yunshang stepped forward, observing the remains of the nine ancient giants. She found that all their heads had been completely crushed by immense force. “Their deaths are very strange,” she remarked. “The injuries are identical.”

Jiang Fan also noticed this. Soon after, on the crown of one giant's head, he found a caved-in palm print. It was precisely the ancient giant's own palm print. Looking at the human skeleton still standing with the blood saber, he understood.

“It must have been this Nine Aperture Nascent Soul senior,” he speculated, “who, before death, transmitted his madness to the ancient giants. His madness caused the ancient giants to go mad and then commit suicide.”

Huang Quan's eyes showed surprise. He looked at Jiang Fan and said, “You're quite good at guessing. This person was a demonic cultivator. He must have cultivated the Path of Heart Refinement. He immersed himself in the painful Path of Heart Refinement, unable to extricate himself. And he could also infect his enemies. The nine ancient giants couldn't bear the torment in their hearts and committed suicide.”

Jiang Fan was stunned. This path was too ruthless to oneself. To awaken sooner, one had to endure countless pains. Finally, by breaking free from the cocoon, one would achieve Spirit Transformation upon awakening.

“The madness in our Middle-earth was not entirely harmful, after all,” Jiang Fan mused.

Middle-earth, the Underworld, and the Heavenly Realm. Only living beings in Middle-earth, after reaching the Eight Aperture Nascent Soul stage, would encounter the terrifying state of madness. Jiang Fan once thought that when fighting the ancient giants, this was equivalent to crippling themselves. Because Nine Aperture Nascent Soul cultivators had their combat power completely restricted. Already at a disadvantage, they would find it even harder to contend with the Heavenly Realm. Now, it seemed, the Nine Aperture Nascent Soul cultivators in a state of madness were incredibly formidable. They could actually slay nine ancient giants of the same realm with just one person!

Huang Quan's eyes showed a hint of recollection. He said, “Of course! The madness in our Middle-earth is quite profound. The Underworld and Heavenly Realm are too busy being envious to even catch up! Once a cultivator enters madness, they gain domain power second only to a Venerable. It's mysterious and unpredictable, extremely dangerous. Master once said that Middle-earth could win, and the madness designed by the ancient sages played a crucial role.”

Jiang Fan was greatly surprised. The cultivation system of Middle-earth was originally created by the ancient sages. The purpose was to temporarily elevate the strength of top-tier Nascent Soul cultivators?