Easily making their way back to the giant hall, Wu Tian walked amongst the corpses, still somewhat fresh thanks to their previous cultivation levels. He leisurely marched forward, passing two pillars before meeting a staircase, only small when compared with the entire hall. Stepping onto it, Wu Tian took a few tens of seconds to reach the top. On each side was a pillar, the last two out of the four. All still questionable in their structure.

In front of him, amidst the darkness, a giant rectangular frame. As if a sharply cut door should have been there. A bit of damp yellow light came from its depths.

Closing in, he lowered his head, a large corridor forty meters in width and ninety meters in height going down, no stairs to be used, only a smooth ramp. Everything was lit with a bright yet murky yellow glow.

Each side of the corridor had carvings of all kinds, however two of them bothered Guizou. They were the reason they previously left this place without continuing.

"Seeing it twice doesn't change anything. Those are golems." The slanted corridor only went as far as four hundred meters down before turning sharply to the left. Near this turn, on the left side was a carving seventy meters tall. It was the first golem. As for the remaining one, it was right in front of them, on neither sides, but rather on the wall facing them.

Two golems of unknown strength still lodged into their respective positions was not appealing.

"I'm not sure if we can go on..." Guizou did not waste much breath, directly pointing out the issue at hand. Just one had nearly killed Wu Tian. This time, they had the advantage of not being spotted. The best bet was stealthily going inside, but would it work?

"I'll possess you." Having recovered just before entering the hall, Wu Tian was ready.

His eyes turning green, his body suddenly vanished into a cloud of dark smoke. Into his mind, information was being given.

I'll teach you along the way, just in case. This one is the second part [Deep Abyss] from the high Heaven Grade martial method [Dark Moon Chaotic Abyss]. It is mainly used for assassinations. Some of it is just stealth, other parts for attacks and the fifth for both.

The lump of dark smoke silently flying across the corridor, it slid just above the ramped floor. Wu Tian's nearly invisible body was crossing dozens of meters each second. Guizou still held back just to be sure. After some time, they passed the first golem, ending face to face with the second. Not being targeted, they heaved a sigh of relief.

Turning left, the ramp continued, a strange design choice since the beginning.

The area further down was pitch black, ominous to most. Still going, Guizou could see everything. But the next problem soon arose. The darkness was not natural. Most likely artificial, or accidental at least. All of it came from condensed Principles of Darkness. Coating Wu Tian's flesh with a bright fiery light, Guizou forced the way through as he walked casually. Can't believe using some barebone Principle of Fire to be costing so much spiritual energy in here... Is it because my soul is not strong enough to wield them safely? Without using his spiritual energy as a shield, Guizou would burn himself to death. Forcibly using Principles was not recommended without being at least a Monarch. Since his cultivation had been wasted due to the obvious, bringing out some of the Fire Dao was quite dangerous. Especially such an amount.

Wu Tian was unable to see anything this time, not even his own body. When his head looked around, he could not even see his very own nose. Everything was pitch black and nothing else.

Guizou on the other hand could see very clearly. The veil of darkness was torn to shreds under his vision. The place was quite different than expected. There were no more golems tens of meters tall, no carvings or pillars. It certainly lacked its sharpness as well. No clean edges since it was not a corridor nor a hall, but a cave instead. It was only thirty meters wide and barely three meters high.

The texture was dark blue and rugged, the whole area circular. In the center, there finally came back tiles and carvings. But not many of them. He could see the new challenge. A round stone table full of these carvings, like an altar, was placed in the center. Next to it, two figures.

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"Kiddo, I think this will be a tough one. Let's retreat. Don't even ask, this place is too difficult. I'm sorry, but until you reach Seven Stars at least, we shouldn't come back here for the time being. Depending on how I feel when you manage to breakthrough the Star Realm, I will decide then."

Wu Tian did not ask, though he was incredibly curious. What else could make his old master retreat? Golems? Perhaps more of them?

The so called old master slowly retreated, dispersing the Fire Principle after some time. They came out of the corridor as dark smoke, soon converging, turning back into a human body.

Guizou was annoyed. Near the altar or table were two knights in full body armor. The color was black as well. The two were thin with human height. Their helmets had two thin horns going upward. From the small openings, dark smoke was oozing out.

The real threat came from their auras. Two damn Grandmasters! Still intact too! Remembering a bit more, trying to gauge more accurately, Guizou frowned. Never mind Grandmasters, they are half-step Lords!

Shaking Wu Tian's head, he was annoyed. Five years and an arm wasted were not much to him, but he knew how troubling it would become to the youth.

His steps ethereal, he crossed the corridor, the hall, the trap corridor and finally climbed back up from the dark abyss.

Exiting the young man, Guizou stroke his beard. "Unfortunately, this is over. I didn't expect such an outcome to come so coldly." Wu Tian recovered his lucidity, controlling his body. He directly snapped. "Are you telling me we wasted our time?! I lost a fucking arm!! And for nothing?!!" Wu Tian nearly wanted to puke from irritation. It was his dominant arm! A whole damn limb! Lost! A crippling injury to a martial artist! A devastating blow to a cultivator's future!

Guizou massaged his forehead before covering his eyes, sighing as he looked up. "Ha~"

"Listen kid. I feel for you. I truly do. I've seen less worse with more devastating effects. This is a true blow to your potential. But what are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do? What is done is done. Never mind rewinding time now, I wouldn't be able to do it even at my peak!"

"As for what comes next... there are ways to regrow a limb and other things to do. Right now, you might die before another breakthrough. We need to extend your lifespan now! We can't waste time. You can't! You can't afford it!" If Wu Tian perished now, Guizou would not die. With a Heart Soul and some hibernation, finding someone else would be feasible, albeit long and tedious. But it was possible.

For Wu Tian, he had to realize that his death was the end. Even he did not know what came after death.

Finally realizing this fact, Wu Tian paled. The pain or fear of dying was not the worst. No human truly feared such a thing to absurd degrees. However, there still was a fear that no living being could escape from. A terror all beings would tremble in front of.

The unknown.

The reason people fear the dark, avoid the seemingly deserted places and collapse when facing death. All because of the unknown. The most paralyzing fear only fools can ignore. Only when one's rationale cannot bring itself to understand its concept does its terror fades into nothingness.

The only way to counter this horrible fear is to not be capable enough to envision its endless reach.

Wu Tian was not absentminded. He knew and understood perfectly well what death meant. That death would only lead him to the unknown. One of the purest unknown as well, where no information could be used to judge anything from its mysteries.

It was worst than jumping head first into the abyss. At least, one would know what might happen on impact, deduce things and outcomes. Possibilities and such happenings. But when something was filled with possible and impossible, dark and light, mayhem and order, imaginable and unimaginable, it directly took a different turn. A completely whole new meaning.

Sweating from head to toe, Wu Tian felt his current predicament to be falling down like a meteor. Each millimeter closer unveiling a new horror. He knew this feeling somewhat well. He previously had this sensation when buying herbs.

Crisis!

With nothing to his name, Wu Tian directly patted the longsword to his waist before turning around and sprinting out of the cave.

Ice turned into grass. The light was covered in countless shadows. Leaves and trees everywhere. Not wasting time, his eyes wide, Wu Tian ran in one direction without hesitation. He did not think. He dared not to.

Guizou did not stop him, unwilling to waste his time arguing with a crazy man. Therefore, he returned to the pendant, spending some spiritual energy to spy on the outside world.

After five whole days, Wu Tian had yet to stop. He was a bit tired, a Warrior he may be, but the speed he was going at was astounding to say the least.

If a tree was in his way, he would smash it apart. If a boulder stood in his path, he would obliterate it. Sprinting out of the dense ominous forest before entering a clearing, a tall grey mountain was facing him from afar. At its base, a bunch of wooden houses could be seen.

Finally calming down, he frowned. Guizou came out of the pendant when seeing his expression. "Are you done? Now go back to the bush facing the cave and dig out your belongings. At least the money."

Speechless, Wu Tian silently turned around.

He would not open his mouth for the following days.