Divine Emperor of Death

Davis and Stella went inside and made their way across many pathways, finally floating up only to find they were in a pool in a cave.

There were a few constructs floating here and there.

However, a large number of men with spears hurried to the edge of the pool, pointing their sticks towards the river.

Obviously, they had found there were intruders.

Davis and Stella didn't care. They ascended from the pool and looked at defenders with pity.

"Stop! Who are you!?"

"The random guy who came to punish you for having a foolish inheritor like Harmon."

"Insolent! How dare you speak of our inheritor like that!?"

"…"

Davis looked at the person who looked like the head of these guards yelling at him. This guard appeared to be a Level One Immortal Emperor.

Sighing lightly, Davis raised his hand, causing the other party to flinch and fly to him as though he lost control of his body.

"What the!?"

He had just spoken, but he was already before Davis, his head grabbed.

"Impossible! I'm an Immortal Emperor!"

Davis didn't bother to reply. Instead, he performed a soul search and learned some things, his eyes narrowing.

This head guard was born in the last three hundred years, but that didn't mean he didn't know some secrets after he had made it to this level.

This was undoubtedly the Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture Clan's hideout. Further inside this cave was where the entrance to their mini realm was present. It seems that every hundred thousand years, they do open their mini realm to go out and replenish their supplies.

It didn't seem like they were completely closed off but the tracks they left were extremely minute that it was like they didn't exist at all. However, supplies wasn't all they replenished as they also kidnapped human women to breed and keep them from dying out.

The reason was that it was because the the Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture can convert blood essence into soul force, so they repeatedly sacrifice their blood essence to increase their soul essence and thereby, increase the prowess of their immortal soul force.

And why did this guard know this?

Because he had been assigned to head out after things have calmed quite a bit, kidnap some women and return without making a fuss although he was quite intent on making a fuss and enjoying himself since the chaotic period was already here.

Yes, he was the culprit who used a strange technique and caught the eyes of the onlooker and eventually a town mayor. It was a classic mistake from a young master archetype guard who got full of himself with his above average talent.

"Foolish as Harmon…"

Davis shook his head, crushing his head into meat paste as he clenched his fist. Brain matter squished out along with crimson juices but it didn't stain Davis as he was covered in a layer of martial energy.

The head guard fell into the pool, turning the water red.

The sheer sight of it had the Immortal King guards shuddering in their uniform. Their hands trembled and so did their spears, some even having lowered it already as they seemed to have lost hope.

"No way… it's the Divine Emperor of Death…"

Some seemed to finally recognize him, but Davis was concerned a bit for their mental capabilities. Didn't they just see him on the projection of the Candidacy? Or were they on guard duty and had no way to watch?

He thought for a few seconds before it didn't matter anymore and waved his hand.

*Bang!~* *Bang!~* *Bang!~* *Boom!~*

His martial energy slung out like a baseball bat, crushing each and every one of the guards in its wake. Some got squashed and exploded, while the others smashed into the cave wall and exploded into a fountain of blood.

The scene was utterly gory, making Stella reel back a bit.

In her eyes, she didn't see herself squashing those soldiers when she crushed them underneath pure spatial pressure, but here, she could see each of them getting crushed to bits and exploding into a fountain of blood. It was gruesome, to say the least, but she also understood that what she did was the same, choosing not to take her eyes off them.

The two of them then proceeded to enter the cave and found a spatial vortex further. It was clear it was connected to the mini realm of the Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture, but Davis didn't leave out the chance of it suddenly changing coordinates and throwing him into the true immortal world.

'Nah… that wouldn't happen…'

He chuckled to himself and stepped inside, entering a vast world.

He seemed to be on a mountain high above the skies where clouds were plenty.

Abruptly, a colossal creature descended, flying as it flapped its wings.

Its massive wingspan stretched over three hundred meters, blotting out the sky for Davis.

Stella also stepped inside and saw this creature descending on them. Her brows raised as she saw a bird whose feathers were a deep, almost crimson black, giving it an ominous appearance. Its razor-sharp beak was elongated, appearing to be capable of tearing through the flesh of dragons.

For a vulture, it didn't have a bald head. Instead, it possessed a crown of sharp, ruby-like crystals encircling its head, culminating into a large, glowing ruby crystal set in between its eyes.

"Woah~"

Stella reacted, causing Davis to open his mouth.

"Yeah, that's a Level Four Immortal Emperor Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture. See that ruby crown set? That's said to serve as a focal point of its specialty, capable of absorbing and converting the blood essence of its prey into soul force, grating this avian beast incredible soul capabilities. In theory, it would never run out of soul force if it kept devouring blood essence and converting it, but they also use it to increase their cultivation at a massive speed. Oh- and it is said that they were hunted to extinction, but the truth is that they managed to hide themselves before that could happen. Do you want to ask anything else, Stella? Don't be shy-"

"Human!"

The Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture finally screeched after seeing Davis yap his mouth away without a care for its presence.

"Don't be in a hurry to die. I do indeed fancy your ruby crystals as I think they would pave a path for my Reaper Soul Legion, so will you let me take my time to conduct research while you're still alive?"

"Insolent! Die!"

The Soul-Devouring Blood Vulture screeched. Blood-colored energy formed from its ruby crystals. It wasn't immortal essence energy but immortal soul force, something that magical beasts rarely used.

This sanguine soul force radiated into a bloodcurdling might that induced fear in the hearts of those who encountered this power. Its crimson eyes glowed with pure malevolence before it flapped its wings one last time, causing the sanguine energy to shoot toward Davis.