The Heavenly Road: God Hunters

Chapter 017 Valley of Hell (revision)

Hearing the terms put forward by Ace, Manager Zao gulped his saliva. Red Demon Fangs are extremely rare and almost equal in value to the lion's carcass. Coupled with an additional three hundred thousand gold pieces, it was a little burdensome for him. But because of the Ace he was facing, inevitably Manager Zao had to agree to it. Rejecting him was the same as going against one Divine Palace.

"After all, Red Demon Taring is indeed quite difficult to obtain, and I happen to have only one. With an additional 300 thousand pieces of gold, it feels quite comparable to the value of the carcass of this blue fur lion. Although maybe I can get a greater advantage if it auctioned off," Inner Manager Zao sighed.

Seeing his behavior, Ace immediately concluded the choice taken by Manager Zao, "Oh, so this esteemed Manager of Zao would refuse him yes," he said.

"Where might I, Manager Zao, the owner of the Gharib Pet Shop that is part of the Red Dawn Association, be denied any profits in plain sight. I agree," he said with cold sweat.

Quickly, Manager Zao called his servant to bring him what Ace had asked for. Shortly after, the servant girl returned with the item in question.

"This is the only Red Demon Taring I have," he said, giving the object at once with a storage ring containing 300 thousand gold pieces.

"Mh... The fangs of a rank 6 Red Demon. Manager Zao is truly generous as his name suggests," Ace replied and laughed happily. After checking the amount of money, Ace then told him to transfer it to the storage ring that Asta had.

The thing that made the fangs of the Red Demon so rare was that only the leader of the Red Demon group had such fangs. At the very least, the Red Demon that had already grown its fangs was at rank 5. Although this was actually a loss for him, at least he was not really squeezed.

On the other hand, the rarity of the Blue Feather Lion was due to their strong determination and not being easily subdued. Most of them would choose to die through their own spirit abilities rather than leave their bodies intact. The only thing they usually left behind was their own Animal Gem.

Due to the uniqueness of his spirit ability which possessed the blue fire element, it attracted the attention of cultivators to make him a Temporary Spirit Beast. But with the state of the body intact, it will certainly make the Puppet Masters crazy and try to fight over it. Because how not, with their abilities, the lion can certainly be revived without feeling, and if it is sold again, it is likely to be sold at a very high price.

After the exchange transaction was completed, Ace then whispered something into his ear, "I hope you don't spread about my arrival as well as about this boy, or else I will destroy your place" he said.

Listening to his threat, Manager Zao smiled in horror, "Then, wouldn't it be better to cover his face? I happen to have something to use,"

Asta narrowed his eyes, trying to guess what exactly they whispered before him, "Can you speak out loud? I'm also curious," he said, instantly making Manager Zao laugh.

"Son, it's not good for you to listen to the adult chatter" he said, telling the servant girl beside him to welcome the guest back.

Manager Zao then took out an Ordinary Heavenly Artifact ranked 3rd Middle class from within his storage ring and gave it to Asta.

"This is my gift to you, Asta. Although it is only a rank 3 Ordinary Heavenly Artifact, it has a very meaningful use for you. Aside from covering your face, this mask can also be useful for disguising your aura even from a King realm cultivator. This is very useful for you to disguise your identity," explained Manager Zao while giving the mask.

"Manager Zao, isn't this too much?!" asta was surprised.

"No! Nah! Something this great must be very expensive. I can't take it," he continued.

"What's wrong. I don't need it anyway, but at least it will be useful in your hands" Manager Zao said with a smile.

"Take it, after all it is his good intention, and you must not refuse it," said Flares concealing his evil smile, knowing what Ace whispered earlier, so he gave an additional artifact.

Because the teacher had also said to accept it, Asta took the mask, although his premonition said that Manager Zao's intention was due to Ace's earlier whisper, "Then, thank you, Manager! I will definitely remember your kindness," Asta said thanking him.

Manager Zao put on a thin smile, trying to cover up the pain in his heart from having to lose again. In the end, Ace actually blackmailed him.

Asta immediately put on the mask to try it. Sure enough, he could instantly disguise his cultivation level.

Before leaving, Flares asked Asta to buy him some herbs. Because some herbs were not so valuable, Manager Zao only gave them away for free, afraid that Ace would squeeze them if he gave a price for less valuable ingredients.

"No need to pay. These medicinal ingredients were only worthless materials. Just take it as a gift from me" said Manager Zao, refusing the money Asta gave.

A Heavenly Artifact was the designation for a piece of equipment generally created by Forging Masters. Heavenly Artifacts are divided into two types namely Ordinary Heavenly Artifacts and Characteristic Heavenly Artifacts.

The difference lies in the materials used as well as their strength level. Ordinary Heavenly Artifacts generally could not be stronger than Characteristic Heavenly Artifacts of the same rank. Ordinary Heavenly Artifacts were created only with mineral materials, while Characteristic Heavenly Artifacts were created with a mixture of mineral materials and supernatural animal body parts so as to make it able to possess a slight ability of supernatural animal spirits.

Generally, Heavenly Artifacts have 7 ranks with three classes, as well as medicinal pills:

1) Low

2) Intermediate

3) High

After everything was completely finished, Asta said his farewell and left the Zao Manager's Gharib Animal Shop to continue the journey towards the Hell Valley, one of the Arkhan Empire's forbidden lands located in the Huo Province of the Holy Land of Fire.

Although Asta initially wanted to enjoy a stopover in the City of Fire, but of course Ace and Flares would not allow it. That would slow down his plans for training.

Days passed since Asta left the Holy Fire City. While enjoying the journey, Flares did not stop giving explanations regarding the Cultivation World so that Asta could immediately cover his lag in terms of knowledge.

Every day, Flares would give him a test to defeat Rank 4 Unseen Beasts. It was aimed at continuously increasing his understanding towards the Heavenly Art of the Dark Fire God Area and the Fire of Darkness Roaring Nirwana, which were the first two pages of the Dark Fire God Book. Today, the supernatural animal Asta was fighting was an Electric Thorny Tail Bull.

Thanks to the exercises that have been done for days, Asta's basic control ability is greatly improved. From before it was only a low level, it had now risen to the middle level. Although Asta was already quite adept at controlling the explosion of the Dark Fire Boiling Nirwana power and the Dark Fire God Area, yet he was still unable to bring out his full potential.

Although it takes time to defeat the bull, Asta is no longer as difficult as when dealing with the Blue Feather Lion. Each time Asta completed their daily tasks, they took a break to eat before continuing on the journey.

On the way, Flares talked about Spirit Essence, "My disciple, do you know what Spirit Essence is?" ask Flares.

Asta nodded slowly, "Didn't Master have explained this before? As I recall, Master once said that the Spirit Essence is the essence of power born from living beings. Is there a different explanation?" ask Asta back.

"Not an explanation, but rather a difference between each type of Spirit Essence. In addition to the levels, Spirit Essence was also divided into 3 categories," Ace said.

"What does it mean that Spirit Essence has its own kind?" ask Asta amazed.

Spirit Essences had varying, and even countless, characteristics. However, Spirit Essences can be distinguished into three types:

1) Star Spirit Essence, which is Spirit Essence which includes elemental power.

2) The Spirit Essence Tool, that is the Spirit Essence which includes the power of Artifacts and the like.

3) The Spirit Essence of the Universe, encompassing powers that include the Unseen Beasts, Plants, and so on.

After Flares gave a further explanation, Asta finally understood and reached a conclusion.

"So, if someone is born with the Spirit Essence Tool in the form of a Sword Spirit, he can become a Spirit Master and simultaneously a Sword Master at the same time, right, Master?" ask Asta.

Flares nodded his head, "Yes, you're right. And that was why the number of Spirit Masters would always be more than any other type. Nonetheless, it was not that someone born with a sword spirit could not become a Spear Master. There is always an opportunity and a way for those who try" he explained.

"The heavenly resources and energies in the Hell Valley are extremely abundant, and it matches your fire element Spirit Essence. That's why he and I have agreed to take you there" Ace added.

"Ahh, now that I understand," Asta nodded his head understandingly.

The journey went unnoticed, and they finally arrived at their destination after a few days. In front of them were two huge towering trees, as if to be the entrance to the final destination.

The aura emitted by the trees was frightening, as if it stored a mysterious story behind it. "We have reached the Valley of Hell. Right now, we're at the entrance to the valley where you're going to train. This is one of the forbidden locations in Huo Province, the Holy Land of Fire," Ace explained.

Asta was no longer surprised by his name, "I guessed it. Where maybe a valley has a name like this if it is just a normal place," Asta said without surprise. Flares only laughed a little at hearing it.

"You will realize how great this place is before you enter the valley" Ace said with a smile, then invited Asta to pass through the two large trees.

However, Asta is not so easy to believe and follow Ace just like that, especially after several times being bullied by him. His premonition told him something was bad if he passed the tree.

Seeing Asta doubtful, Ace yelled at him to catch up immediately. However, carefully, Asta finally stepped towards Ace. However, sure enough, when his foot set the ground between the two trees, he was thrown back.

"What are you doing? Hurry here! Don't you want to practice soon? Forget about that barrier and hurry up. You only need ten steps to get through it," Ace shouted from the other side while ridiculing.

Flares shook his head, "Do it slowly and carefully. Try to learn how to get past this barrier. To enter a place with many benefits, of course there are certain tests that must be passed first," he said giving advice.

Ace continued to step towards the valley, "I hope you can find a solution to pass through the barrier of these two large trees within a maximum of two weeks. I'll wait for you in the Valley" he exclaimed as he reminded Asta.

"What?! So I'll be alone in this place?!" asta shouted confused.

Flares quickly got up and hit his head, "Are you ignoring Master's whereabouts?" he said he was upset because he felt he did not exist.

Asta chuckled, "But Teacher is only a soul, not a physical," he replied.

After that, Asta tried again to move his legs, "Ukh! This pressure... Why is it so strong..." However, right then and there, he bounced back.

"Just one step, I'm out of energy. How can I get through the next steps?" asta's murmuring is confused.

"As I've said, try to figure out how to deal with it. Remember what Master and Ace said about this place. Try to remember again," said Flares.

Asta was silent for a moment, recovering his condition while recalling what Ace and his Master had said during the trip.

After his condition recovered, Asta intended to try again to break through the barrier. "Don't rush. Try to circulate your heavenly resources throughout your body to reduce the pressure" suggests Flares.

By following her Master's advice, Asta tried the method and entered the barrier. Sure enough, his first step he managed to overcome by leveling the heavenly source throughout his body. However, when it came to the next step, the barrier pressure became heavier, even many times over, making the heavenly source protector he created crumble and he was thrown out again.

"This barrier is really hard to overcome. How could Ace get through it so easily?" annoyed.

Not wanting to give up so easily, Asta stood up again and suddenly thought of an idea, which was trying to pass through the barrier from beside one of the trees. Flares tried to warn, but too late, Asta had already stepped up and thrown further than before.

"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you. It's best not to try to pass the two trees from the outside or you'll feel the consequences" Ace exclaimed from a distance, reminding Asta of something he forgot.

"Slowly...!!" his reply was upset that he had received a late warning from Ace.

Ace laughed looking at him and this time actually went to leave him there. Flares also laughed at Asta who was emotional.

"Two of these trees were installed here to weaken its blocking effect. That's why you bounced away trying to get through from the outside" Flares explained.

After Asta recovered again, he prepared to try once more. In front of the barrier, Asta paused for a moment and launched an attack.

"Basic stupid! What are you—"

"Bumm!"

"Akhc!! Shit!" he shouted after receiving a counterattack from the barrier.

"Based on stupid students! Do you want to kill yourself!" shouting Flares.

Asta only chuckled, not expecting the barrier to reflect his attack back. However, his careless manner reminded him of what Ace and his Master had said, that the place had a circulation of heavenly resources suitable for him.

"Teacher, take it easy, because now your students have found a way," he said confidently.

With a step full of confidence, Asta again tried to pass through the barrier. Forcibly breaking through with his current ability was impossible, so he needed to increase his strength first by training under the pressure of the barrier directly.

As he began cultivating in the first step, the round of heavenly resources in the place was perfect for him. He could faintly sense the opportunity to break through to the Master Realm if he continued his training under the barrier.

However, in just a matter of hours, the pressure on the first step seemed no longer too heavy for him. Asta continued his cultivation in the second step and beyond.

---

A week had passed since Asta started cultivating under the pressure of the barrier. Several times he felt like breaking through to the Master Realm, but always felt lacking in his ability. Opportunities come and go. Asta got up from his seat after training in the eighth step which was no longer effective. He stepped onto the ninth step and started training again.

The cultivation of the Dark Fire God that his Master taught him made his development extremely fast. Asta had just learned that the Dark Fire God's cultivation was on the third page of the Dark Fire God's Heavenly Book. One day later, Asta felt that the ninth step was no longer effective for training, so he got up and stepped onto the tenth step.

Unlike the previous step which was always greeted with pressure, in this tenth step Asta did not feel anything.

"Maybe this is still not my chance to break through to the Master Realm," he murmured softly, complaining.

"To break through to the Master Realm isn't as easy as you think, let alone with your current level of Bodybuilding, my disciple. In order to penetrate the Master Realm, you must have an understanding as well as an achievement in your heavenly path as a Master. With all the experience you've accumulated over the years, it's not enough to make you break through the Master Realm" explained the Master giving an explanation of the impasse.

"Teacher's right. I shouldn't be in too much of a hurry to break through the Master Realm. After all, our initial goal is to improve Basic Control as well as Body Raga," he said back excited.

Since the tenth step did not produce any pressure that could help him train, Asta stepped his foot intending to catch up with Ace. However, something beyond estimate happened.

"Damn! I was fooled again! I must immediately stabilize my sea of resources, otherwise I can die!" annoyed screams.

Instantly the ocean of its source exploded and spun even faster. Accidentally, he unleashed his spirit essence and the release of his animal spirit as it was unable to control the explosion of his heavenly source ocean.

"Damn...!! If I leave it alone, I could die! Teacher, help me!" yell Asta.

Flares instantly entered his heavenly source to help control Asta's shattered sea of resources.

Over the course of five days, Asta continued to try to balance its chaotic source ocean. Now, there was only one more day left of the time given by Ace.

"Finally...!!! I managed...!!" he cried with excitement after successfully rebalancing the ocean of its source.

To recover his wasted energy during the process of balancing the ocean of resources, Asta chose to relax for one day. On the other hand, it was Flares who also helped him choose a short break inside the ring necklace. Fortunately, Asta had previously killed many supernatural animals, so he took some meat to roast.

The next day, Asta walked down the path that Axe passed before. During the walk, he felt the temperature of the place was quite hot.

Asta continued to walk into the valley deeper. There, he found Ace sitting on a rock in front of the mouth of a cave so large.

"I thought you were dead out there" he said with a small laugh.

"Hehh, just such a barrier, which might kill me," Asta replied arrogantly.

Ace laughed at him, "We'll see how you'll survive after this" he said with a laugh.

Again, Asta felt a bad feeling just from his words. He stepped on his foot, "Ace! What are you doing!" his shout was shocked to feel a pressure that was a hundred times stronger than in the 10 steps of the barrier.

"What's that tone of your voice? You think this pressure is coming from me? Cih... Pressure like this you can't get through it, let alone my aura," he said evasively.

"Come on, Ace, can't you be serious. I can die if I press on like this,"

"It's not from me, you idiot! This pressure was indeed coming from this valley. You have to walk in here. If you can get in, I promise I'll help you withstand this pressure. Until finally, little by little, you'll get used to it later,"

With all her might, Asta tried to crawl in facing the pressure. His sweat poured out profusely, his body trembled violently, his eyes reddened, until the sea of its source was almost dry for the sake of being able to endure. If not for his determination, maybe he had been unconscious since.

Deadly for hours, Asta tried to crawl closer to Ace with difficulty until finally able to reach it. Faintly, he saw Ace smiling at him, then Asta was unconscious because he was out of energy.

"I don't think this brat has this much determination," Ace's inner heart. Then, then, he carried Asta into the cave.