Lin Feng took the Saint Emperor forwards. They quickly arrived at the top of a mountain and stopped. Lin Feng gazed into the distance.
There was a gigantic valley below, in which there was indeed a battlefield. Smoke kept rising up in the air, and there were caves and fortresses everywhere, with tents scattered between. Many people were sitting around, looking confused. There was an invisible and intangible Qi around them which indicated they had been fighting for a very long time.
In the sky was a gigantic curtain of fire. Lin Feng was still far from all this, but he could sense an enormous amount of strength. That strength wanted to pierce through his third eye, leaving him no choice.
"How come there are so many Saint Emperors?" asked Lin Feng. Those people all seemed to be Saint Emperors.
"They're like me. After they came in, they weren't able to leave. Even though I've been here for a long time, many people have been here for much, much longer than me. Some of them have been here for ten thousand or even a hundred thousand years. The most incredible thing I've seen here was seven generations of people who met in here, they were from the same clan and surprisingly they all met in here. You know, at our level, if we don't get killed, we almost never die," the man replied. It reminded him of the Supreme Ancient Pit of Hell, generations of people entering the forbidden territories and getting stuck inside.
"Since it's a battlefield, it must be to death, right? Why are there so many people?" asked Lin Feng.
"The FIRE word in people's third eyes is a gift offered by the spiritual being to protect people before dying. Even if their body is destroyed, they can use body capture to come back to life. Saints have incredible healing abilities. I have personally died twice; once I was saved and brought back to life, and once I stole a body using body capture."
That person looked sad and devastated, he had no way to live. He had become a puppet, only death could save him.
"According to legends, there are spiritual beings' historical remains in the Godly Grave, but there's only a battlefield here? How come? What is the purpose?" Lin Feng didn't understand.
"Lies. Everything is a lie in the Continent of the Nine Clouds," said the man firmly. "I've heard many things I would have never dared believe in the past. For example, people who manage to leave usually find historical remains, and the spiritual beings allow them to leave. Many people who come here are strong fighters, and they can make the spiritual beings disappear, but do spiritual beings really disappear? The spiritual beings who made the Shrines, are they alive or not? Are there only peerless Saints who controlled Shrines?"
"You think that the spiritual beings still exist?" asked Lin Feng.
"I also used to think that the spiritual beings, or gods if you wish, had disappeared. But since I've been here, I'm sure that the nine gods still exist. Otherwise the existence of the Godly Grave wouldn't be justified. Those people, or deities, despise us. They use us like chess pieces. They look down at us from the sky. The Godly Grave is a forbidden territory for us; for them, it's a game!"
He looked terrified, desperate, panic-stricken, and terrifyingly sad. He put his hands on his head and shouted furiously, "No, no…"
"What's going on?" asked Lin Feng frowning. His informer went into a frenzy, writhing in pain.
"The word in his third eye!" Lin Feng was astonished. The word in his third eye started burning, then it grew large enough to surround his body.
"No!…" the cultivator screamed, and began to burn.
Lin Feng pulled a long face, and moved forwards. Ice surrounded the man, but it was useless. He burned down to ash and finally, only the gigantic word 'FIRE' was left behind.
"He's dead." Lin Feng was grim. They were chatting about the gods, and suddenly that person had begun to burn. How mysterious. Lin Feng raised his head and looked up at the sky. Did gods really exist?
According to legends, there had been a great war in the ancient times, and the gods had vanished. Was it all a lie?
Was everything about the Godly Grave a lie, too?
Lin Feng looked at the ashes and bowed. "If I hadn't taken you back, you wouldn't have died. I just didn't know."
Lin Feng turned around and gazed into the distance. Someone came out of a fortress. He had big eyes, but looked remarkably dignified. He sensed something and looked back at Lin Feng. However, he didn't look surprised; it was just another person who had come to the Godly Grave.
It was normal. Many people came here.
"Since you're here, come down. There is no exit," said that person. Lin Feng's eyes twinkled. He had no option, he jumped forwards.
Lin Feng walked slowly through the valley. However, when he landed on the ground, an invisible and intangible strength crashed onto his third eye. The word "FIRE" appeared there, just like the one on the man who had just died.
"Is it really a god's signature?" murmured Lin Feng. If there was no god, what was the explanation? No wonder the man had suspected they were still gods after having spent such a long time here.
Lin Feng walked past a middle-aged man. The man looked at Lin Feng and said, "From now on, obey me. If you disobey, you'll die."
That middle-aged man was a low-level Saint. Lin Feng's cultivation level was always blurry in other people's eyes. He looked ordinary.
"What do I need to do?" asked Lin Feng. He didn't show how strong he was. He needed to understand what kind of place the Godly Grave was, and he needed to get pieces of information from other people.
"Nothing. Just stay with them. If there's anything to do, I'll tell you," said the middle-aged man indifferently. In the distance was an army of cultivators.
Lin Feng nodded and walked over to them. Those people looked at Lin Feng apathetically, totally expressionless.
"Another unlucky person," a woman sighed. Lin Feng turned around and looked at her. She was wearing black clothes. She didn't look beautiful, she looked just normal, clean, and simple.
Lin Feng smiled and sat down next to her. She was a bit surprised, but she smiled and said, "Where are you from?"
"Northwest Area," said Lin Feng smiling.
"Northwest Area? You're from the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds then. It's not far from the Fire Shrine. No wonder you came through the fire door," said the woman smiling. She stretched her hand and said, "Lin Yi."
"Lin!" Lin Feng's heart twitched, but he shook her hand and smiled, "Mu Feng."
"By the way, Lin Yi, you said I'm from the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds, but are there people here from other places, then?" asked Lin Feng. He was curious.
"I don't know. I've only been here for a dozen years. I've talked to some people, but some of them are from places I've never heard of, and I don't know whether they were from the Imperial Court of the Continent of the Nine Clouds or not."
"You've been here for a short time too, then. What's going on with the battles? Who are we fighting? And why?" asked Lin Feng. There had to be a reason to fight. The one who had died had told Lin Feng the gods were just playing a game…
"For merit and to open the gods' historical remains, but we are just cannon fodder," said Lin Yi smiled sadly. People around looked at her, all looking devastated. What a tragedy to be there!