Demonic Mountain

Demonic Mountain, majestic and suspended in the void. This Demonic Mountain was truly colossal. Even a single platform or a valley depression at its base could rival the landmass of Earth. Thus, at the foot of Demonic Mountain, magnificent palaces were constructed, some towering nearly ten thousand miles high. Only Immortal beings could reside in such palaces! “No loud noises!” “No fighting or killing!” “No flying out of the valley!” “Violators will be executed without mercy!” A majestic voice echoed through a valley depression. Within the valley depression, figures were scattered—some sat cross-legged, others leaned against rocks, and some chatted in small groups. Their appearances were remarkably similar: two hands, two feet, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, even their height resembled that of Earthlings. The only difference was that everyone had two curved horns on their foreheads, either black curved horns or silver-white curved horns. At a glance, there were approximately several thousand people within the vast valley depression. “Master, how long do we have to wait? Demonic Mountain has been sealed off, and the Virtual Universe Company won't let us in,” a black-horned youth, clad in combat armor with bare arms, whispered. Beside him, six other men and women surrounded the elderly man in purple combat armor at the center. These eight individuals. The elderly man in purple combat armor was a Sector Lord, and his seven disciples included two Domain Lords and five Universe-level practitioners. “We can only enter once a full ten thousand people have gathered!” The elderly man in purple combat armor's ancient voice rang out. “Master,” a clear voice chimed in from beside him. A silver-white horned girl couldn't help but say, “The powerhouses arriving from various planets sometimes come in large numbers, sometimes in small. There's no pattern! We've only gathered over six thousand people now; who knows how long it will take to reach ten thousand?” “Do you wish to defy the Virtual Universe Company's rules?” The elderly man in purple combat armor turned his head, glancing at his disciple. The girl bit her lip, not daring to speak further. “Just wait patiently,” the elderly man in purple combat armor sighed. “As long as any of you can survive in Demonic Mountain for a month, you'll be recruited by the Virtual Universe Company. Then you can venture into the vast cosmos. Compared to the boundless universe, our Nine Star Sea is truly minuscule.” His seven disciples' eyes all lit up. Indeed. Historically, many from the Nine Star Sea (a collective term for nine ancient planets) had joined the Virtual Universe Company. Some, after venturing into the cosmos, returned home to establish sects, leaving behind high-tech video records and the like. This allowed the powerhouses of Nine Star Sea to understand the vastness and wonder of the universe. “Remember, if you feel it's too dangerous and you can't last a month, immediately find an exit and leave,” the elderly man in purple combat armor instructed. “Safety first! If it doesn't work out this time, you can go back and continue cultivating, returning when you're stronger.” “Understood,” all seven disciples nodded. Suddenly— A suppressed clamor erupted in the distance, causing all eight, master and disciples, to stand up. “Master, look over there?” “It's the Virtual Universe Company's Silver-Clad Enforcers.” The eight, master and disciples, along with the thousands of others in the valley depression, watched in shock as a large group of silver-clad figures flew out from the majestic palace in the distance. These silver-clad figures were all Silver-Clad Enforcers of the Virtual Universe Company, possessing extremely high privileges. Even the Sector Lords among the natives dared not offend them in the slightest. “So many Silver-Clad Enforcers?” “There must be nearly a hundred of them.” “What are so many Silver-Clad Enforcers doing out here?” The thousands of native powerhouses from Nine Star Sea, ranging from Universe-level to Sector Lords, were utterly astonished, yet none dared to make a loud noise. Because defying the Virtual Universe Company's rules had only one outcome—death! “Look, a spaceship.” “Wow, what a beautiful spaceship.” The eyes of the thousands of natives lit up. In the distant void, a cosmic spaceship rapidly approached, soon hovering above the valley, its hatch opening simultaneously. A black-haired youth, clad in camouflage combat armor, military trousers, and combat boots, stepped out of the hatch. The nearly hundred Silver-Clad Enforcers rumbled over, all standing respectfully in unison. At the very front of the hundred Silver-Clad Enforcers, three individuals in white robes—two men and a woman—bowed slightly: “Your Highness Luo Feng!” “Your Highness Luo Feng!” The nearly hundred Silver-Clad Enforcers were even more deferential. Luo Feng, suspended in mid-air, nodded slightly. He then flew towards the palace, accompanied by the three white-robed figures and followed by the group of Silver-Clad Enforcers. “Heavens!” “My goodness, even the White-Robed Protectors came to greet him personally?” “The White-Robed Protectors are all peak Sector Lords acknowledged by the Origin Laws, second only to gods!” “I can tell, that black-haired youth is merely Universe-level.” The thousands of native powerhouses dared not speak loudly, only whispering amongst themselves to vent their shock. The Silver-Clad Enforcers, who were once so high and mighty... were as respectful as grandchildren before that black-haired youth. Suddenly— One of the Silver-Clad Enforcers broke away from the main group, diving directly into the valley, instantly causing the thousands of voices to drop sharply. “Listen closely, all of you.” The Silver-Clad Enforcer coldly overlooked the thousands of native powerhouses. “A His Highness from our Virtual Universe Company headquarters is about to enter Demonic Mountain for a trial. Therefore, the Demonic Mountain's blockade will be lifted immediately. You may also enter Demonic Mountain. All of you, go collect your identity tokens and prepare to enter Demonic Mountain.” “Yes, sir!” The thousands of native powerhouses responded respectfully. The Silver-Clad Enforcer whistled away, leaving the group of native powerhouses below overjoyed. “It turns out a His Highness from headquarters has arrived; our luck is truly good. We don't need to gather ten thousand people anymore,” the elderly man in purple combat armor chuckled. His seven disciples beside him were also overjoyed, and the silver-horned girl quickly asked, “Master, who exactly is that His Highness? His status seems incredibly high.” “A His Highness from headquarters is the most extraordinary genius selected by the Virtual Universe Company from the vast cosmos. They are tens of thousands, even millions of times stronger than you,” the elderly man in purple combat armor explained. “And for three White-Robed Protectors to personally greet him, this genius's status is comparable to a god!” “Comparable to a god?” The seven disciples' eyes widened. ... Luo Feng flew towards the palace, looking down at the group of native powerhouses in the valley below. “Your Highness Luo Feng, these are native experts from the other nine planets. According to the rules we've established, to enter Demonic Mountain... the minimum requirement is Universe-level. So, among these natives, Universe-level practitioners make up the majority, Domain Lords are fewer, and there are also some Sector Lords,” the tall, handsome white-robed youth explained with a smile, all the while carefully observing His Highness Luo Feng before him. Luo Feng's name was quite renowned within the management ranks. Although he was a low-ranking member of the management, he knew that... Luo Feng had passed the seventh level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge without even undergoing his first qualification battle. This made many of the Virtual Universe Company's true higher-ups pay serious attention to Luo Feng. How could such a figure be treated lightly? They greeted Luo Feng with the same protocol used for members of the Primal Secret Realm: three White-Robed Protectors and a squadron of Silver-Clad Enforcers. For regular members of the Taichu Secret Realm, one White-Robed Protector and nine Silver-Clad Enforcers would suffice. ... On the second floor of the palace, Luo Feng entered, accompanied by the White-Robed Protectors. Meanwhile, the thousands of native powerhouses filed into the first floor. “These are your identity tokens!” “Each of you, quickly collect an identity token.” A Silver-Clad Enforcer was distributing the tokens, which were entirely black. He continued, “There are two ways to join the Virtual Universe Company: one is to survive in Demonic Mountain for a month. The second is to kill others and obtain one thousand black tokens or one red token.” “The black tokens are the identity tokens each of you receives.” “The red tokens are the identity tokens carried by the His Highnesses from the Virtual Universe Company who come for trials. As long as you can kill a His Highness and seize a red token, you can not only join the Virtual Universe Company but also obtain treasures valuable enough to be coveted by even Immortals!” These words merely made the eyes of the thousands of natives light up, but they weren't surprised. Because this rule had been passed down for countless years; they all knew it. ... Second floor of the palace. “This is your identity token,” the white-robed youth said, handing Luo Feng a red token with a smile. “You must remember, once you appear within 500 meters of those natives, the tokens will sense each other, and they'll know you possess a red token. They will then relentlessly besiege you.” “I know all that,” Luo Feng nodded. He had already read the detailed introduction. Killing him... Those natives could immediately turn their fortunes around, so of course, they would fight desperately. “Within Demonic Mountain, what can kill you are, firstly, the natives, and secondly, the illusory beasts within Demonic Mountain,” the white-robed youth explained. “Of course... if they can kill you, you can also kill them. As long as you collect 10,000 black tokens, you'll receive an additional reward. This is an extra reward beyond the mission!” “An additional reward?” Luo Feng's eyes lit up. “I didn't know about that.” The white-robed youth smiled, “The additional reward is better than your mission points!” “Oh?” Luo Feng's heart stirred. “However, I don't have the authority to tell you what the reward is. Once you truly obtain 10,000 black tokens, you'll receive that additional reward. Rest assured... when the Virtual Universe Company makes a move, they are extremely generous,” the white-robed youth chuckled. “Just 10,000 black tokens can be exchanged once. If you get 20,000 black tokens, you can exchange twice. There's no upper limit, you know.” Luo Feng shook his head with a smile. Is it that easy? How many native powerhouses have entered in total? Among those natives, there are even peak Sector Lords! This 'Demonic Mountain mission' is not easy at all. Demonic Mountain, Demonic Mountain, what makes it demonic? Actually, while the natives pose a significant threat, if one simply tries to avoid them and doesn't aim to collect 10,000 black tokens, then the threat from the natives is far less than the threat posed by Demonic Mountain itself! “Demonic Mountain, when entered from the front, leads to the 'Demonic Sound Mountain' region. When entered through the caves at the back, it leads to the 'Ice Mountain' region,” the white-robed youth chuckled. “I believe Your Highness Luo Feng is aware of the difference between the two areas. Please make your choice, Your Highness Luo Feng, which area of Demonic Mountain would you like to enter?” Demonic Mountain, two sides of one entity. It can be divided into the Demonic Sound Mountain and Ice Mountain regions. The two unique environments formed by cosmic evolution are, in fact, the most terrifying aspects of Demonic Mountain.