Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3937: Level’s Of The Mad Demon Depths

Lin Mu’s words visibly eased the chief’s worries.

"What I am searching for is something else entirely." Lin Mu explained calmly. "A hidden legacy. Perhaps a sealed inheritance. Perhaps a tomb."

His eyes wandered toward the mural again. "Whatever remains of the Virtuous Calamity Daoist himself."

The chief slowly relaxed and his shoulders visibly loosened.

"I am glad to hear that." He gently patted the crystal. "Our people owe their lives to this treasure."

"I understand." Lin Mu replied sincerely as he truly had no intention of taking it.

Apart from the moral implications, the crystal clearly served a vital function within the prison ecosystem. Removing it would likely doom this entire settlement.

Instead, Lin Mu asked another question. "Have you ever encountered anything resembling a hidden sanctuary or ancient tomb elsewhere within the Mad Demon Depths?"

The chief slowly shook his head. "Nothing like that."

"What about ancient ruins?"

Again, the chief shook his head. "Our predecessors explored everything they safely could. They found no hidden palaces, underground halls or any ancient burial chambers."

Lin Mu thoughtfully considered that answer.

Perhaps the vault truly lay somewhere no ordinary prisoner could reach. Or perhaps it remained concealed by formations beyond normal perception.

He decided to change direction. "I’ve heard earlier that there are multiple levels within the Mad Demon Depths."

The chief nodded. "There are three."

Lin Mu had expected as much.

"The first level consists of the upper cave systems where newly imprisoned cultivators are thrown."

"The second level..." The chief spread one arm around the chamber. "...is where we currently live."

Lin Mu quietly waited.

Naturally, the most important information concerned the final level.

The chief noticed his anticipation. "I have visited the third level. But only a handful of times." His expression gradually became serious. "My predecessor went there several times as well. So did the leaders of several neighboring settlements and we exchanged what little information we gathered."

Lin Mu leaned forward slightly. "What is it like?"

The chief remained silent for a brief moment before answering.

"It bears little resemblance to the first two levels." His voice carried an unusual heaviness. "You’ve already seen the caves and you’ve already seen the underground forest. But compared to the third level..." He slowly shook his head. "...those places almost feel peaceful."

Lin Mu raised an eyebrow as that description immediately captured his attention. "What makes it so dangerous?"

The chief answered without hesitation. "The Abrasive Insanity Baleful Energy."

Lin Mu frowned slightly as the name itself sounded ominous. "I’ve never heard of it."

The chief nodded. "Very few people have."

He walked toward one wall before resting his hand against the cold stone. "The Baleful Energy has existed there since time immemorial. No prisoner knows when it first appeared and no record speaks of its origin."

"Our oldest stories simply describe it as always having been there." He slowly turned back toward Lin Mu. "Our predecessors believed that long ago... the Baleful Energy filled the entirety of the Mad Demon Depths."

Lin Mu immediately thought back to the stories surrounding this prison.

The chief continued. "The first and second levels only became inhabitable after ancient experts suppressed most of that energy."

"The third level though..." His eyes narrowed. "...never recovered."

"What exactly does this Baleful Energy do?" Lin Mu asked.

The chief’s expression darkened. "It erodes the mind."

"It does not attack the body first, it attacks reason, judgment, comprehension, memory and even ego. It grinds away sanity little by little, until a person can no longer distinguish reality from madness."

Lin Mu quietly absorbed every word.

The chief continued speaking. "Those exposed for only a short time begin hearing whispers. They become suspicious of everyone around them before they struggle to maintain coherent thoughts.

But longer exposure changes people even further. They begin attacking shadows, they speak with people who do not exist, they laugh without reason, and they forget their own names." His voice lowered further. "The unlucky ones eventually lose everything that once made them human."

Lin Mu remained thoughtful as the description reminded him of certain soul affecting techniques. Except this appeared vastly more widespread.

"It is because of that energy..." the chief said quietly, "...that this prison earned its name: The Mad Demon Depths."

"Those who entered too deeply often returned insane. And many..." He slowly shook his head. "...never returned at all."

The shrine fell silent once more.

The warm light from the fat lamps flickered gently across the crimson crystal while Lin Mu’s thoughts rapidly connected everything he had learned. And now, the third level where an incomprehensible Baleful Energy still lingered after countless ages.

Every new answer only seemed to reveal an even greater mystery hidden beneath the Mad Demon Depths.

Lin Mu remained silent for several moments after hearing about the Abrasive Insanity Baleful Energy. His fingers lightly tapped against his arm as he organized everything the chief had revealed.

Every answer seemed to expose another layer of the Mad Demon Depths.

The place had long surpassed the image of a simple prison. It was an entire world buried beneath the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect, complete with its own ecosystems, civilizations, dangers, and history.

The deeper he looked, the more convinced he became that the Virtuous Calamity Daoist’s traces had been left here for a reason.

He looked back at the chief.

"What else is down there?" Lin Mu asked. "Other than the Baleful Energy itself."

The chief rubbed his beard thoughtfully before answering. "The Baleful Energy is the greatest threat, but it is not the only one."

He walked toward one of the walls of the shrine where a rough map had been carved into the stone. The markings were crude, showing only the first and second levels with a large section below them left almost entirely blank.

He pointed toward the lowest section. "The first danger is naturally the Baleful Energy itself. Even approaching it for too long will slowly grind away a person’s sanity."

His finger then tapped the empty area beneath it. "The second danger comes from those who have already succumbed to it."