Lin Jin and Old Lord waited until there was no more movement outside. Then, they exchanged glances and decided to go out and take a look.
This cave was a dead end with no other exits. Due to the unique geology of this immortal mountain, Earth Escape couldn't be used here. Turning back was the only way out.
Old Lord was still cautious. He cast a spell at the cave entrance, materializing a spirit bird to replace his eyes and fly out to check the situation. If there was danger, he could just stay inside.
However, after using the spirit bird to look around, Old Lord looked shocked.
"Come, let's go out." He pulled Lin Jin out. Seeing the situation outside, Lin Jin knew why Old Lord was like this.
Outside, the giant toad's carcass was strewn everywhere. Because this beast was huge enough, the corpses were now incomplete and scattered within a hundred miles. One could only imagine how shocking the scene was.
Lin Jin's scalp tingled at the sight.
The main point wasn't the carcass, but what could have killed so many giant rock toads in such a short period of time.
These weren't ordinary beasts. They were all Rank 8 beasts and if any of them were to be placed in Middle Earth, they would be able to cause a huge commotion and become invincible. But here on this immortal mountain, they were easily killed.
"It's an immortal devouring beast," Old Lord said.
He guessed this because as far as he was concerned, only a ninth rank Immortal Devouring Beast was capable of annihilating so many eighth rank ferocious beasts with ease, and no one else could accomplish this.
Didn't immortal devouring beasts do the same when they hunted immortals back then?
It was as easy as crushing dry weeds.
Compared to Old Lord's guess, Lin Jin found concrete evidence. He found a scale the size of a millstone next to a giant rock toad's carcass.
The scales were colorful, about three fingers thick, and incomparably sturdy. After examining them, Lin Jin knew that they belonged to the immortal devourer beast. Apparently, the immortal devourer had suffered some injuries while hunting down the rock toads.
Seeing Lin Jin's hand on the scale, Old Lord walked over to take a look.
"Lin Jin, what's wrong?"
Lin Jin didn't hide it. "Old Lord, this immortal devouring beast is acting a little strange now."
Old Lord was puzzled. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't determine the beast's current condition from a single scale. But Lin Jin could.
"What's so strange about it?" Old Lord asked.
Lin Jin gave it some thought. "This immortal devouring beast has been out of control lately."
The Grand Supreme Lord did not quite understand at first. What did it mean to lose control? No one could control the immortal-devouring beast, so how could it go out of control? Fortunately, Lin Jin put it in a different way. It was as if a person who had been following the rules had suddenly started breaking them.
The Old Supreme Elder immediately understood, and his expression changed.
Something was not right.
The rule of the Celestial Devouring Beast was to kill immortals. If this rule was changed, the problem would be huge. The Old Lord was not afraid that the other party would let the immortals go, but that they would start to kill the innocent.
Weren't these Giant Rock Toads the same?
The ferocious beasts on the immortal mountain were not immortals, so why would the Immortal Devouring Beast hunt them?
"Perhaps this matter has something to do with the world-ending phenomenon." The Old Lord made a conjecture.
Lin Jin nodded.
Based on his appraisal results, it was more or less the same. Other than that, Lin Jin also saw another piece of information from the Museum of Deadly Beasts while appraising the immortal devouring beast.
That was the origin of the Immortal Devouring Beast.
Previously, Lin Jin had guessed that since the Immortal Devouring Beast was so powerful, it might have originated from a fragment of the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone. Now that he appraised it, it was just as Lin Jin had guessed.
This Rank 9 Immortal Devouring Beast was transformed from a fragment of the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone.
In this case, the so-called loss of control didn't just refer to the Rank 9 Immortal Devouring Beast, but the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone as well. Combined with the Old Lord's apocalyptic divination, Lin Jin was now certain that there was a problem with the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone.
On the way here, Lin Jin learned from Old Lord that the world's lifespan was extremely long. The world went from chaos to creation, and then back to chaos again. This was a cycle, and each cycle lasted for tens of millions of years or even longer. This was the Heavenly Dao's cycle, and no one could avoid it.
However, this cycle wasn't just that. According to Old Lord's calculations, there was still more than half a year before the next cycle would return to chaos. In other words, it would take millions of years. It was impossible for the world to return to chaos in just a few years.
Lin Jin could only say that the problem lay with the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone.
Lin Jin and Old Lord continued up the mountain. They were currently measuring the immortal mountain with each step. It would probably take them some time to reach the peak where the Heavenly Dao's cornerstone was. Fortunately, Lin Jin and Old Lord weren't ordinary mortals. Both of them had various means, and it only took them a few days to reach the peak where ordinary people couldn't even reach in a hundred years.
Along the way, they encountered several more dangers. Fortunately, they managed to resolve them. There was even one time when they were almost discovered by the Rank 9 Immortal Devouring Beast. At that time, the beast was hunting another group of beasts on the immortal mountain and both sides were locked in a fierce battle. What they saw and heard refreshed Lin Jin's understanding of this world.
The closer they got to the peak of the immortal mountain, the more terrifying the beasts they encountered. Some of them were almost at Rank 9.
Old Lord told Lin Jin that these beasts didn't exist on this immortal mountain in the past. Needless to say, these beasts must have gradually formed over the past two thousand years. Lin Jin already had a theory in mind.
It was impossible for these beasts to appear out of thin air. They must have been immortal beasts from other parts of the Nine Heavens World that entered the immortal mountain. However, Lin Jin had seen immortal beasts outside the mountain. Although they were powerful, they paled in comparison to those on the mountain.
The key point here was that these immortal beasts only changed after entering the immortal mountain.
For example, Lin Jin had appraised the rock toads. They were originally Rank 6 immortal toads, which were common even in the Nine Heavens World.
Rank 6 immortal beasts actually became Rank 8 on this immortal mountain.
Moreover, their combat strength had increased by several levels. There were no beast appraisers to guide these immortal beasts on the mountain, so they had to rely on themselves to evolve.
This further proved that the immortal mountain was the main reason why these immortal beasts evolved.
Lin Jin was thinking about how Xiao Huo could evolve from Rank 8 to Rank 9. The Museum of Deadly Beasts didn't provide it so Lin Jin had never thought about it before. But now, based on his years of experience in beast appraising, Lin Jin felt like he had found a way to promote Xiao Huo to Rank 8.
And the key was this immortal mountain.
Xiao Huo had to evolve on this immortal mountain to achieve Rank 9. In other words, no matter how big this world was, only on this immortal mountain could Rank 9 beasts be born.
No one told Lin Jin this thought. It was all Lin Jin's own speculation.
Although he hadn't verified it yet, Lin Jin was more than eighty percent sure. To think that the problem that had plagued Lin Jin for more than a year would take a turn for the better.
Moreover, this wasn't a guide given by the Museum of Deadly Beasts. It was a method Lin Jin came up with himself.
Along the way, Lin Jin saw various plants and animals on this immortal mountain. The beasts that lived here must have formed their own food chain.
For Xiao Huo to evolve, he had to adapt to the immortal mountain in a short time and become the top existence of the mountain's food chain.
Just like a Rank 9 immortal devourer.
"Lin Jin, look over there. That's the Heaven's Foundation." Old Lord's voice interrupted Lin Jin's thoughts. Looking up, Lin Jin saw a gigantic black cuboid that connected heaven and earth at the peak of the immortal mountain.
Needless to say, this black cuboid rock was the Heaven's Foundation.
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