Ding Meng and the others soon found the exploration team. However, other than Fang Yihui, none of the members of the exploration team were alive. This group of young men and women were all embedded in the walls. They were no longer alive. The pus wrapped around them as if it was corroding their bodies, but it was more like it was sucking their bodies.
Leah and Torre, in particular, died in a horrible way. Their skin seemed to have been peeled off, and there were many large and small holes in their bodies.
"This is a sacrifice!" Xian Yuan said in a low voice.
The sacrifice of the Devouring World was not only the contribution of the power of the human Origin Energy Cultivators. The venom also devoured the memories and knowledge of the human Origin Energy Cultivators. After all, the Devil Race was also a race that was good at learning and evolving.
On one side of the passage, Fang Yihui was sitting with his back against the wall, panting. He was obviously seriously injured, and his breath was very weak.
Ding Meng walked forward and injected a small amount of energy into him. Only then could he raise his head and speak. The first thing he said was, "Run, run —"
Ding Meng frowned.
Fang Yihui explained, "Brother Ding, run!"
Ding Meng asked, "Are the leaders of the Devouring World inside?"
Fang Yihui's expression was very disappointed. "We've all been deceived. I've been deceived by my sect's people, and I've also been deceived by the officials. They sent us here to die. The things inside are definitely not something that can be stopped by human strength."
Everyone found it hard to understand. Ding Meng comforted him. "Brother Fang, what did you find?"
Fang Yihui suddenly showed a terrified expression. "I don't know. We don't know what it is. Brother Ding, it's not too late to run now. The ground coordinates are 54A, 54B, 2133. There is a spaceship 3,000 kilometers away from here. Take it and you can return to the Federation. Run..."
Ding Meng said in a low voice, "Brother Fang, be patient. I will take you away after I go in."
At the end of the passage was a cave entrance. After walking out of the cave entrance, they found themselves in an extremely large super cave. The size of this cave could be said to be no less than a starship. Then, Ding Meng finally understood why he had such a familiar feeling. Although this was his first time here, it was not his first time seeing this place.
In the last round of the Starlight Examination, the map called "Purgatory Furnace" was exactly the same as the one in front of him.
Eight 20-meter-wide paths paved by black liquid poison formed a meter-shaped super bridge. Looking down from the gaps, one could see an endless dark abyss. The surroundings of the cave faintly formed three layers of circular passages. Ding Meng and the others were in a small hole dug by the exploration team on the south side of the three-layer circular passage.
In the middle of the super bridge was a huge circular pool. The pool water was so clear that one could see the bottom. In the middle of the pool stood a strange twisted tree stump. At the top of the stump was a flickering bright spot, flashing white light.
What else could this place be but the "Purgatory Furnace"?
It was just that last time, it was a virtual space simulated by the Keke server. This time, it was a real Devouring World, and the scale was dozens of times larger.
In fact, this cave was similar to the energy crystal space in the Fertile Chalk Galaxy. The treasures in the center were all surrounded by large bridges. On Poison Dragon Planet, there were energy crystals, and in the center of the Dark Night Abyss, there was a Shadow Tree.
At this moment, Ding Meng suddenly remembered a lot of things. He had participated in the Starlight Examination more than ten years ago. The "Purgatory Furnace" map was designed by Feng Chen, a guest professor of Starlight University. However, Feng Chen had another identity. He was also a senior data master of the Starlight Corporation.
At the time, Feng Chen and Du Peixing explained that the "Purgatory Furnace" map was inferred based on the riots in the Linda System. It was indeed the border terrain of the Devouring World.
That was the problem. This place was not the border, so why was the terrain exactly the same?
It was certain that Feng Chen was lying. They might not have been here before, but they definitely knew of its existence. What was the connection between the two? What secrets were hidden here?
Or was this place also an important part of the Starlight Corporation's new energy plan?
Ding Meng realized that it was not easy to connect all these pieces of information together. Therefore, he sent all these pieces of information to everyone.
The girls were also surprised. However, Jun Ling pouted at Ding Meng. "Look below."
Ding Meng took two steps forward and looked down carefully. He realized that there were people on the first floor of the bridge on the west side. However, the height was too high. It was difficult to see the people below clearly with the naked eye. They were smaller than ants.
There were not many people on the bridge. There were a total of twelve people. Based on their physical characteristics and attire, it was obvious that they were experts of the Devouring World. They were at least at the Sect Master level. Four of them had auras that were much stronger than the Sect Master.
Ding Meng made a rough judgment. This should be the gathering of the leaders of the Sacred Domain, Spirit Mountain, Immortal Sect, and Demon Shadow.
"You guessed right."
Xian Yuan spoke again. "Dou Yun of the Sacred Domain, Bai Laishan of the Spirit Mountain, Qing Ye of the Immortal Sect, and the Demon Shadow's woman are all here. The rest are their followers. The followers are all Sect Masters."
Ding Meng spread out his telekinetic vision. Dou Yun of the Sacred Domain was also a woman. Her appearance was similar to Xian Yuan's Lengyin. They were almost made from the same mold. However, her overall appearance looked younger than Xian Yuan's.
Bai Laishan of the Spirit Mountain was slightly better. He looked no different from a normal human. However, he wore all kinds of metal pendants all over his body. He looked like a shrewd jewelry merchant.
Qing Ye of the Immortal Sect was more shabby. It was impossible to tell whether this person was male or female. He was like a tree man born from nature. His skin was like tree bark. It was incomparably green. He looked like a human but more like a poisonous plant.
The last one was the Demon Shadow's woman. She was purely a humanoid black fog floating in the air. Only her face was left.
It was abnormally strange and terrifying.
Ding Meng muttered, "Is the central pool a sacred lake?"
Xian Yuan said, "That's right!"
Ding Meng said, "Does it need to be sacrificed to grow the Demon Shadow Tree?"
Xian Yuan sighed. "It does need to be sacrificed. However, we don't know if the thing in the sacred lake is the Demon Shadow Tree."
Ding Meng asked, "Why?"
Xian Yuan explained, "Normally, the sacred lake can nurture all kinds of natural treasures, including the Demon Shadow Tree. However, this place is so secretive that the leaders of the four major families are all here. It's hard to say if it's the Demon Shadow Tree …"
Ding Meng also thought back to her Starlight Trial. Back then, when the holy lake had been activated and the mystical tree had reappeared, the trial had ended the moment she reached out her hand. It was clear that even Feng Chen, the designer, did not know what the holy lake would eventually give birth to.
But now, that mysterious aura could be explained. It came from the light spot in the central sacred lake.
At this moment, the four groups of people below seemed to be discussing something. Dou Yun's expression was cold, and Bai Laishan was silent. Only Qing Ye and the woman were very active.
"I didn't expect to find it here after decades of searching," the woman said. More accurately, she was speaking from the humanoid black fog in the air.
Qing Ye sighed. "That's right. It's all thanks to these human scientists using such a primitive method. With the Origin Energy users' probing abilities and our Demonic Beasts' senses, they probably won't be able to find this place even after thousands of years."
The woman chuckled. "Don't worry. I've already treated them well."
Qing Ye sighed. "But those humans are too weak. Their strength is not enough to support the sacred lake."
When he said this, his gaze fell on Dou Yun. Dou Yun was originally very cold, but he was irritated by Qing Ye's gaze. "What's wrong?
Are you going to sacrifice your disciples and grand-disciples to fill up the sacrificial energy? "
This was how the Devouring World had always done things like this. However, as the leaders of their respective sects, there were some things that they couldn't say out loud.
Qing Ye smiled sinisterly. "Lord Dou Yun, your Saint realm cultivation has already reached such a level. It's already a great fortune for you to be able to come to the Firestar Palace."
Ding Meng listened carefully. So this place wasn't the Purgatory Furnace, but the Yao Imperial Palace.
Dou Yun's expression turned even uglier. "Lord Qing Ye, are you saying that you want us Saints to contribute to the sacrificial energy first?"
"Cough, cough. That's not what I meant."
Qing Ye was a bit embarrassed. "Since we've all found this place, what we need to do now is to think of a way to sacrifice the sacred lake and open the eight immortal bridges. If the bridges don't open, then none of us will have a share of this fortune."
Dou Yun said coldly, "You want us Saints to contribute first? Then let me ask you this. Once the immortal bridges open, who will distribute the natural treasures in the sacred lake?"
"That's right!"
Bai Laishan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. "If we Spiritual Mountain contribute first, then shouldn't we be the ones to choose the natural treasures first?"
"This..." Qing Ye was embarrassed once more. You two sure are taking advantage of the situation.
In truth, he knew that the Sacred Clan had declined greatly in recent years. They were no longer as glorious as they were a hundred years ago. The main reason for this was that Xian Yuan King had fallen on Thousand Sails Star.
However, Xian Yuan had always been on good terms with Bai Laishan. The Spiritual Mountain Clan was not to be underestimated, and Bai Laishan had always taken care of the Sacred Clan. Qing Ye didn't dare to ask for too much.
On the other hand, Luozi's Specter Clan had been growing stronger and stronger over the years. Luozi was in charge of many major matters in the Devouring World, so Qing Ye had no choice but to turn his attention to Luozi.
Luozi suddenly let out a hair-raising laugh. "Hehehe, my three colleagues, please don't worry. How can the sacrificial ceremony of the Yao Imperial Palace involve the sacrifice of my clan's disciples?"
Dou Yun stared at him suspiciously. "Could it be that Lord Luozi wants to go to the Holy Grail Federation and capture some Origin Ability users alive to sacrifice?"
Luozi laughed. "There's no need to go through so much trouble. There are already human experts who have delivered themselves to our doorstep. Today is a good day for us."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked. Even Jun Ling almost thought that his side had been exposed. Who knew that Ding Meng would shake her head. This was simply impossible. The immortal elemental dreamland was always open. Even if they shouted from above, it was impossible for those below to hear.
Eisendale suddenly pointed to the second floor in the north. "I see it. It's over there!"