"Ancestral grounds…of the second strongest Devil race sect…" John repeated slowly while staring at the Prime Shadow.
The Prime Shadow met his gaze with a smile.
"Gahaha, you don't need to be concerned," the Prime Shadow laughed. "The Devil Continent has very good perimeter defenses, and this ancestral ground is protected by even greater defenses as well, so they're confident and don't believe anything can slip past their guard. Unfortunately for them, I am their worst opponent when it comes to slipping past defenses."
John studied the obviously prideful look on the man's face, then shook his head at the craziness of it all. If they were caught, that was it. They would not be able to fight their way out of this situation.
'The Prime Shadow has placed his master's legacy in my hands, so he wouldn't throw me into a sure-death situation. I'm sure he's in control of this situation…I hope.'
"So what are these ancestral grounds for?" John asked, ignoring the danger of the situation. He would let the Prime Shadow handle any danger that came their way.
"When the Asura and his horde of demons invaded this world, the horde of demons included the Titan Demon Race," the Prime Shadow said, staring out at the world of fire and gloom before them.
"Like the ones we saw at the training grounds?" John asked curiously, to which the Prime Shadow nodded his head.
"The battle for this world claimed the lives of countless humans, and quite a few demons as well," the Prime Shadow continued, eyes scanning the horizon. "This land was where the main force of the Titan Demons fought. Titan Demons were famed for their size, as well as physical power. They relied solely on their bodies for combat, unlike many other demon races. After the Asura left, all the remaining Titan Demons were slaughtered, with most of them slaughtered here, exactly where we're at."
John looked all around, and saw nothing but volcanoes and fire. The Titan Demon graveyard he had seen before had shown their skeletons were capable of withstanding the eons of time, but none were to be seen here.
"You won't find any of the Titan Demon remains," the Prime Shadow said, seeing through John's intentions.
"Where are they then?" John asked curiously.
The Prime Shadow smiled, then pointed forwards, towards the three towering volcanoes before them.
"You mean, that blood is?" John asked.
"Yes," the Prime Shadow nodded. "That fiery blood spewing from that volcano is Titan Demon blood."
John shifted his gaze to the blood flowing down the volcano. It was so abundant that he was sure it could fill up an entire lake, perhaps even a small sea. Countless rivers of Titan Blood flowed down the side of the volcano, pooling at the bottom, seeping into chasms surrounding the volcano.
"After the war, humanity used most of the demon corpses for various purposes," the Prime Shadow continued, "but the Titan Demons were ignored."
"Why?" John asked. Demon corpses could contain countless resources. Such as his scythe blade and core from the Abyssal Demon.
"While alive, Titan Demons were perpetually cloaked in infernal fire," the Prime Shadow said, shifting his gaze to John. "The bodies of Titan Demons are like volcanoes themselves. The very blood within their body burns at an incredible temperature, making them like walking volcanoes. When they were felled, most of the humans capable of withstanding those temperatures were either killed or left this world, and so the corpses were left to rot. However, instead of rotting, they ended up transforming this land into the hellscape you see before you, like a natural extension of themselves."
John stared at the endless ocean of fiery volcanoes, awed by the Titan Demon's very nature being so powerful that it transformed nature itself, even after death.
"The Titan Demons you saw on the human continent were weaker than the ones that were felled here, so they didn't alter the land nearly as much," the Prime Shadow continued. "Millenia passed, and eventually new powers arose, powers capable of withstanding the tremendous heat of this land. Those powers eventually claimed the Titan Demon corpses as their own, and even integrated the Titan Demon blood into themselves, thus becoming one of the first types of Devils to appear on this world."
'So that's how they became Devils...absorbing the blood of demons, altering their bodies to become half-human half-demon. It's not much different than my Immortal Asura Body, other than I can control that transformation, while the Devils are seemingly permanently stuck in that transformed form.'
"Over time, the Titan Devil race transformed this land into their ancestral grounds, and fully converted the corpses of the Titan Demons into ancestral inheritances," the Prime Shadow said, pointing to the three volcanoes before them.
"All of the Titan Demon blood was infused into this volcano, to perpetually cycle and feed of the land, maintaining its power," he said, then pointed to the volcano spewing the gray liquid. "The bones of the Titan Demons were ground to dust and infused into that volcano," then pointed to the volcano spewing the purplish liquid.
"Do you know what the Titan Demons are the most famous for?" The Prime Shadow asked John.
"Their size?" John shrugged.
"Their meridians," the Prime Shadow said, lightly smiling as he noticed John's expression become much more attentive. "Due to its size, the infernal environment within, as well the amount of Qi that moves through its body, the Titan Demons were famed to have some of the most formidable meridians in existence. That purplish substance you see are the meridians from the Titan Demons, ground down and infused into that volcano, eternally becoming Titan Demon meridian essence."
John stared at the purple liquid with envious awe, heart beating with desire. He also desired the blood, to see if he could use it for cultivating his Asura body, but the most important thing to him right now was strengthening his meridians.
"Every five years, the Titan Devil's open their ancestral grounds, and bring their most promising geniuses to infuse the Titan Demon blood, bone, and meridian essence into themselves, strengthening their bodies and talents to incredible levels," the Prime Shadow explained.
"How do they go about absorbing the Titan Demon meridian essence?" John asked, wondering if there was a special way to go about it.
"They have a special process to help their geniuses absorb the three Titan Demon aspects," the Prime Shadow said, "but we do not have access to that process. For yourself, you will have to do it the direct, and more painful way. Entering the meridian essence, and absorbing it forcefully."
"I figured," John said, eyes glued to the purplish meridian essence. "And if I enter the meridian essence, will my presence be detected by the Titan Devils?" he asked.
"The Devil's do not expect anyone to be able to enter this land without their notice, so they do not pay too close attention to this area when it's closed off," the Prime Shadow said. "You should be able to enter the meridian essence and absorb some of it into your body without their-"
Che!
The Prime Shadow stopped speaking as he watched John instantly shoot towards the meridian essence mountain, not even waiting for him to finish his sentence. He watched as John flew to the top of the volcano, then plunged directly into the mouth at the top, disappearing within. An odd look lingered on the Prime Shadow's face as he watched this unfold.
"I had assumed I would have had to throw him into that burning meridian essence myself. I guess when it comes to raising his strength, this child will do anything," the Prime Shadow said softly, then smiled.
He moved towards the top of the volcano, then peered within.
"Three hours would be impressive. Four hours would be incredible. Let's see how long he will last. I wonder if he'll defy all expectations once more," he said to himself, then sat in the air cross legged, attention towards the horizons.
