Chapter 368 – The Seal of the Chaos Demon Cave

“Everyone.”

Xu Xiayan’s voice drew the gazes of all the commanders and vice commanders present.

Su Ming and Chi Qian immediately focused their attention on her, no longer distracted.

Under these circumstances, Xu Xiayan first solemnly expressed her gratitude to everyone.

“I appreciate all of you cooperating with our Summer Chasing Smoke’s operation this time. Xiayan thanks you all in advance.”

As she spoke, Xu Xiayan gave a slight bow to the assembly.

This gesture prompted everyone present to rise to their feet.

“Commander Xu, you’re too kind.”

“It’s just a small matter.”

“Being able to participate in this SS-class mission is a rare opportunity for us as well.”

“That’s right, Commander Xu, there’s no need to be so polite.”

Many team leaders responded with continuous polite words, their attitudes quite respectful.

Facing the Summer Chasing Smoke team, whose strength could already rival S-class teams, these commanders and vice commanders from B-class teams truly had no qualification to calmly accept Xu Xiayan’s bow. Feeling awestruck was perfectly normal.

Only the people from Brocade Dragon Jade Pavilion and Iron Rose remained relatively calm.

“It’s merely a matter of mutual benefit.Zhu Qian was the first to speak, her voice surprisingly carrying a hint of childishness, somewhat doll-like, which created a contrast with her model-like figure and appearance.

“You provide the reward, we accept the employment – it’s only reasonable that we should cooperate with Summer Chasing Smoke’s operations.”

Qiao Liang followed up, his voice as steady and reliable as his appearance.

As for Su Ming and Chi Qian, neither of them said anything.

Joking aside, without Xu Xiayan’s employment, they might not even have been able to enter this Midnight Labyrinth. Accepting the employment brought them only benefits without drawbacks. If they didn’t cooperate, it would be somewhat ungrateful.

Moreover, from this trip to the Midnight Labyrinth, Su Ming’s gains were substantial, even greater than anyone else’s, which made him feel only gratitude toward Xu Xiayan for the opportunity she provided, with no other thoughts.

Now that their side had achieved sufficient gains, fulfilling their agreement with Summer Chasing Smoke was only natural.

Seeing this, Xu Xiayan smiled slightly, causing Wang Di beside her to unconsciously reveal an infatuated expression.

“Regardless, I will remember everyone’s assistance this time.” Xu Xiayan said thus: “Please, everyone, take your seats.”

Hearing this, everyone sat down again.

Soon after, Qiao Zhi, standing beside Qiao Liang, spoke up.

“Since we’ve all arrived at the tenth floor of the Midnight Labyrinth within the specified time, Commander Xu, shouldn’t you give us a proper explanation now?”

Responding to Qiao Zhi was Zhu Yun, standing beside Zhu Qian.

“That’s right.” Zhu Yun glanced at Chi Qian standing beside Su Ming before looking at Xu Xiayan. “We still don’t know the detailed content of this SS-class mission.”

This statement prompted the others present to voice their opinions one by one.

“Indeed.”

“What exactly is this SS-class mission about?”

“Since it’s an SS-class mission, it must be quite dangerous, right?”

“We hope Commander Xu will inform us.”

Everyone spoke in this manner.

Naturally, Xu Xiayan had no intention of contradicting them.”Since everyone has reached the tenth floor and arrived here, I will naturally provide a detailed explanation of the content of this SS-class mission.”

As she said this, Xu Xiayan first swept her gaze over everyone present, lingering on Su Ming for a moment before casually withdrawing her line of sight and continuing to speak.

“This SS-class mission is actually related to the Chaos Demon Cave.”

At these words, everyone’s expressions froze.

“The Chaos Demon Cave?”

Su Ming and Chi Qian also exchanged glances.

This mission actually involved the Chaos Demon Cave?

That was indeed a major matter.

What was the Chaos Demon Cave?

It was the largest Spirit Demon Abyss Entrance on the surface, the only Hell Gate that could threaten the survival of humanity on the continent.

Countless Phantom Demons had come to this world through the Chaos Demon Cave, and its very existence represented the greatest threat faced by humanity.

Even the terrifying species that had once turned the surface into Hell, destroyed numerous Base Cities, and claimed countless lives had manifested through the Chaos Demon Cave to reach the surface.

The very reason Tianfeng City existed was to deal with the threats brought by the Chaos Demon Cave.

If something happened at the Chaos Demon Cave, even a minor incident would require Tianfeng City to mobilize its full forces.

If the situation was slightly more serious, it would be perfectly normal for it to threaten the survival of everyone in Tianfeng City, and even all humans across the continent.

Therefore, the state of the Chaos Demon Cave had always been humanity’s greatest concern, affecting the nerves of the entire human race.

“I see.” Qiao Liang said with a grim expression, “No wonder this mission’s difficulty is SS-class.”

Since it involved the Chaos Demon Cave, it would be perfectly normal for even an SSS-class mission to appear, let alone an SS-class one.

Of course, this also made everyone’s hearts tighten, and they couldn’t help but become extremely tense.

“What exactly is going on?”

Zhu Qian even spoke up to press for details.

In contrast, Xu Xiayan remained extremely calm.

“Everyone, please remain calm.” Xu Xiayan first reassured them, saying, “Although this mission involves the Chaos Demon Cave, the current situation isn’t too bad. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have assigned an A-class team like ours to handle it. There’s no need for everyone to be too tense.”

Hearing this, everyone thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Indeed, since the mission had been assigned to an A-class team to handle, it proved that the situation hadn’t escaped Tianfeng City’s control.

Otherwise, the mission would have to be assigned to at least one S-class team, or even several S-class teams, and even the veteran experts who always guarded Tianfeng City would have to be mobilized.

The fact that this Peak strength hadn’t been deployed proved that the situation really wasn’t too bad.

Thinking this, everyone relaxed slightly.

However, Xu Xiayan’s subsequent explanation made everyone’s hearts tighten again.

“That being said, if we allow the situation to continue developing, it will definitely become very serious in the end.”

Xu Xiayan then abruptly changed her tone and said this.

“After all, the task we need to accomplish this time is to help Tianfeng City repair the Seal of the Chaos Demon Cave.”

Silence.

Everyone fell silent.

Even Chi Qian showed a trace of astonishment in her eyes.

Only Su Ming looked completely bewildered.

“The Seal?”The soft murmur was exceptionally clear in the tent where even a dropped pin could be heard.

Xu Xiayan heard it and, seeing Su Ming’s confused expression, immediately explained.

“The Chaos Demon Cave is the largest Spirit Demon Abyss entrance in this world. Of course it needs to be sealed, otherwise the surface world would have long been devastated.”

These words made Su Ming recall Longyao City and that Huaming Campaign.

The Huaming Campaign originated from a medium-small scale Spirit Demon Abyss entrance that appeared in Huaming District of Longyao City. This allowed Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss to have a direct passage into Longyao City’s urban areas, turning the entire Huaming District into a battlefield.

In that battle, Longyao City suffered heavy casualties. Ultimately, the President of Longyao City Sorcerer Guild, along with Upper-Rank Sorcerers from the guild, performed the strongest sealing-type spell among Advanced Spirit Arts – [Eighty-Fourth Form: Distant Abyss Gate] – to seal the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance. By cutting off the passage to the Spirit Demon Abyss, the Phantom Demons that had entered the present world lost their reinforcements and were eventually eliminated.

Thus, Longyao City achieved victory, and the Huaming Campaign was recorded in history as part of Longyao City’s historical records.

If the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance hadn’t been sealed in that battle, under the continuous assault of Phantom Demon armies emerging from the Spirit Demon Abyss, Longyao City wouldn’t have been able to achieve victory – even self-preservation would have been questionable.

Thinking about it this way, it would indeed be strange if the Chaos Demon Cave remained unsealed.

“If the Chaos Demon Cave weren’t sealed, the endless stream of Phantom Demons emerging over countless years would have long breached Tianfeng City’s defense line and invaded the inland areas.”

Faced with such a demonic cave that could continuously produce Phantom Demons, if the Tianfeng City side didn’t find a way to seal it, it would be equivalent to challenging how long chronic suicide would take.

Therefore, the Chaos Demon Cave must definitely have a seal – and one of extremely high Rank at that.

Chi Qian’s words confirmed this point.

“Could there be a problem with the Chaos Demon Cave’s seal?” Chi Qian said to Xu Xiayan with a grave expression. “Impossible. The seal originally placed on the Chaos Demon Cave was a Forbidden Art successfully cast through the Sorcerer Guild’s tremendous sacrifices. How could there be any problems?”

The others all nodded repeatedly, quite unwilling to believe this possibility.

This time, Su Ming could understand.

————「Forbidden Art」.

This refers to the ten types of spell formulas among Spirit Arts that are classified as forbidden and cannot be used lightly.

The hundred forms of Spirit Arts are generally divided into three levels:

Forms ranked 1-30 are low-level Spirit Arts.

Forms ranked 31-60 are Intermediate Spirit Arts.

Forms ranked 61-90 are Advanced Spirit Arts.

The higher the sequence ranking, the greater the power and effect of the Spirit Art. Particularly the Advanced Spirit Arts ranked 61-90 are said to possess world-destroying power comparable to nuclear weapons.

But above Advanced Spirit Arts, there is another level.

That is the ten Spirit Arts ranked 91-100.

These ten Spirit Arts far surpass Advanced Spirit Arts in both power and effect. Even the lowest-ranked Ninety-First Form is at least ten times more powerful than the strongest Advanced Spirit Art, the Ninetieth Form.If Advanced Spirit Arts are nuclear weapons, then these ten Spirit Arts are black technology—things that cannot be compared to any weapon born of human civilization.

Yet, despite their terrifying nature, these ten great Spell Formulas are not pursued by human Sorcerers but rather avoided with reverence.

Why?

The answer is simple.

Because using these ten Spell Formulas requires an immense price.

They cannot be unleashed merely by possessing Spirit Power.

To successfully release a Spell Formula of this Rank, specific conditions must be met.

Some require the complete evaporation and combustion of all one’s spirituality. Once successfully unleashed, the user is permanently reduced to an ordinary person, never again able to regain supernatural power.

Some demand blood sacrifice, offering a part of oneself as a tribute—such as a hand, foot, eye, or the like—forever losing that part to achieve release.

Some even require sacrificing one’s lifespan; upon activation, the user’s life is shortened.

The highest-level Spirit Arts ranked 91 to 100 in the sequence are all such Spell Formulas—feared for their dreadful power and the costs they exact.

Thus, human authorities have classified the ten Spirit Arts ranked 91 to 100 as forbidden, prohibiting their private teaching or dissemination. Even possessing a single Spell Formula book, if discovered, results in immediate confiscation and severe punishment for those involved.

These ten Spell Formulas are known as Forbidden Arts, shunned by all. Only the Sorcerer Guild headquarters in Tianfeng City holds the Spell Formula books for these arts, yet even there, learning them is forbidden. Only the senior elders of the guild are permitted access.

Of course, their ability to access these Forbidden Arts is solely for the purpose of sacrificing themselves for the entire human race someday.

Should a crisis arise that endangers all of Tianfeng City, the human race, or the human world, these Sorcerers would step forward, sacrifice themselves, and unleash the Forbidden Arts to save humanity from peril.

In the past, the Spirit Demon Abyss King, who turned the surface into Hell, was subdued when the Royal Family of Tianfeng City, alongside a group of Sorcerer Guild elders, collectively employed Forbidden Arts. They severed his arms, excavated his heart, weakened his power to the limit, and finally sealed him within the Longyao City Underground Ruins.

The consequence was the sacrifice of all members of the Royal Family and the Sorcerer Guild elders who performed the Forbidden Arts—none survived.

The Seal at the Chaos Demon Cave was also achieved through Forbidden Arts.

To seal this demonic cave that threatened the entire human race, humanity paid a tremendous price, employing Forbidden Arts to minimize the threat of the Chaos Demon Cave.

Though the Chaos Demon Cave, sealed by Forbidden Arts, still affects the present world—occasionally forming strange realms and allowing Phantom Demons to slip through the Seal’s gaps to continuously assault the human world—its threat is less than one ten-thousandth of what it would be at full power. Not even Nightmare Species can easily manifest through it, let alone more terrifying beings.

It can be said that the Seal on the Chaos Demon Cave is the primary reason humanity has survived to this day. Tianfeng City is merely a wall, a fortress built before the Seal.

Thanks to this, the Seal on the Chaos Demon Cave has always been humanity’s utmost priority and focus. Combined with the immense cost and sacrifice of the Forbidden Arts used, the likelihood of any issues arising is exceedingly low.From ancient times to the present, the Forbidden Art Seal imposed upon the Chaos Demon Cave has only ever malfunctioned once.

That single malfunction ultimately led to the terrifying descent of the Spirit Demon Abyss King.

Apart from that one instance, throughout countless years since, the Forbidden Art Seal within the Chaos Demon Cave has never faltered, remaining unshakably robust.

Now, Xu Xiayan claims the Seal requires restoration?

The crowd not only refused to believe it but dared not entertain the possibility.

Unfortunately, this was the truth.

“The Seal has indeed developed an issue.”

Xu Xiayan’s voice gradually reached everyone’s ears.

“Or perhaps, this problem has actually persisted all along.”

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(End of Chapter)