Chapter 148: The Demon Plane

Rushing back from the graduation ceremony to the Golden Garden in the Elosia Plane, Gao Jie Ming's heart held only one thought: to journey to that demon plane belonging to him.

He was filled with curiosity and anticipation for the "Purgatory Sulfur Plane" described by his mentor, Clark.

That would be the first plane he independently controlled, representing the preliminary foundation for Gao Jie Ming to construct his own "Wizard Tower."

Wizard civilization constantly progressed in all aspects over time, including the naming of certain things and the definition of certain concepts.

For instance, in the earliest times, an unbridgeable chasm existed between Formal Wizards and Wizard Apprentices; Formal Wizards possessed numerous traits that Wizard Apprentices lacked.

However, as wizard civilization evolved over time, the level of Wizard Apprentices grew higher and higher, and gradually, some traits once exclusive to Formal Wizards were also mastered by Wizard Apprentices.

By now, the greatest difference between a Grade One Formal Wizard and a Wizard Apprentice was likely the increase in mental power and lifespan; beyond that, there was no distinction.

The Wizard Tower was similarly so; the earliest Wizard Towers were simply a type of tower-shaped architecture.

Because wizards constantly modified their dwellings, their combat power increased significantly within their own Wizard Towers.

Later, with the development of the era, the concept of the Wizard Tower continuously evolved, changing from a simple tower-shaped building into a synonym for a main base.

Examples included the later Floating Cities, and the current—Plane Fortresses.

However, generally, perfect control of a plane had to wait until Grade Six; only then could one control a plane by contacting its plane origin, which was also an important reason why wizards of Grade Six and above could be called High-Rank Wizards.

After all, a Grade Five wizard was merely an individual, whereas a Grade Six wizard represented an entire war system constructed with a plane war fortress at its core.

He did not delay in the slightest, returning directly to the underground laboratory of his residence.

Gao Jie Ming walked quickly to the side of the teleportation array, took out a rune core shimmering with a faint light, and placed it in the center of the array.

This was the "key" to the spatial portal given by Mentor Clark, connecting to the permanent teleportation point established by the Plane Nuolun Workshop in the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.

Gao Jie Ming took a deep breath, calming the excitement within his heart.

He extended his hand, injecting his spiritual sense into the rune core.

In an instant, the rune core burst forth with dazzling light, resonating with the base of the teleportation array in the underground laboratory.

Space began to distort; a piercing humming sound filled his eardrums as a stable spatial rift slowly tore open, revealing a blurred and scorching scene on the other side.

Gao Jie Ming steeled himself, confirmed that his protective spells were intact, and then stepped into the rift.

In that instant, a thick and pungent smell of sulfur rushed straight into his nose; Gao Jie Ming reflexively furrowed his brows, nearly sneezing.

This sulfur smell was not ordinary; it carried a nearly tangible sense of scorching heat, as if it could penetrate into the lungs, making one feel unable to breathe.

Fortunately, the protective spells helped block most of the scorching air, making it merely foul-smelling rather than harmful to the body.

He raised his eyes to look; the scene before him made him deeply understand the meaning of the name "Purgatory Sulfur."

As far as the eye could see, everything was churning crimson.

There was not a trace of blue between heaven and earth; the sky was shrouded by a thick layer of dark red sulfur clouds.

Occasionally, lightning streaked through the depths of the clouds, bringing a momentary flash of ghastly white.

The air was filled with scorching steam and choking smoke; beneath his feet lay a scorched black land, as if it had been repeatedly burned countless times.

It was hard and rough.

Gao Jie Ming's body slowly floated upward as he looked toward the distance.

In the distance, massive volcanoes rose from the ground; they were not silent peaks but living furnaces.

The mountain bodies presented a charcoal-like blackness and a rust-like dark red; huge volcanic craters resembled the throats of abyssal beasts, constantly spewing out scalding steam and blazing ash.

There was even incompletely solidified magma, flowing windingly down the mountain bodies like viscous blood plasma, converging into rivers of crimson.

The lava rivers slowly spread across the ground; wherever they passed, everything was swallowed and melted.

The temperature in the air was shockingly high; even for a Formal Wizard like Gao Jie Ming, he felt his skin subtly burning, as if placed inside a giant steam oven.

Almost no green could be seen in the field of vision; only a few types of moss and fungi, adapted to extreme high temperatures and appearing dark red or scorched black, tenaciously clung to cracks in certain stone walls.

"No wonder it is called the Demon Plane," Gao Jie Ming thought with admiration. "If an ordinary person accidentally came here, they would probably lose their life on the spot."

At Gao Jie Ming's will, an invisible spell shield appeared around his body, completely isolating the external sulfur smell and high temperature.

He did not rush to act but instead unfolded his spiritual sense, spreading it out in all directions like an invisible giant net.

Simultaneously, he activated the Flight Technique, transforming into a streak of light to conduct a rough observation above the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.

The Purgatory Sulfur Plane appeared quite desolate.

During his flight, Gao Jie Ming saw many man-made stone caves or stone palaces with rough shapes that looked somewhat dilapidated.

Most were built against the mountains or formed by directly carving out the interior of the mountain bodies.

However, at this time, many damages had appeared on these buildings, and there was not the slightest sign of any life inside them, appearing empty and silent.

This was not strange; Mentor Clark had already mentioned that the Upper Demons originally living in this plane, being intelligent beings, were "packed away" along with everything else when the wizards conducted the plane cleansing.

Those Upper Demons had likely already become research materials or enslaved objects for certain wizards, leaving behind only these ruins; however, he soon discovered the greatest characteristic of this plane: the fire element was extremely active!

The fire element in wizard civilization represented not merely the fire attribute element.

Among the four fundamental particles constituting the cornerstone of the world—Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water—the "Fire" represented "Energy."

Therefore, the activity level of various energies in the Purgatory Sulfur Plane was also quite exaggerated.

The density of free energy particles in the air was so high it was simply breathtaking.

Moreover, the energy appeared more restless and filled with more aggression than in other planes.

"This means that the energy reserves of this plane are extremely abundant," Gao Jie Ming thought with wild joy. "Those active volcanoes likely remain active precisely because the energy of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane is too abundant."

Although it had been stated before that demon planes were rich in energy, Gao Jie Ming had not expected them to be rich to this degree.

Furthermore, although the environment was extremely harsh, Gao Jie Ming discovered that the Purgatory Sulfur Plane possessed a quite complete yet cruel ecological system.

He halted at the edge of a volcanic crater emitting thick smoke.

His gaze penetrated the gray-yellow sulfur smoke, revealing a cruel scroll of survival.

At the edge of the magma lived a species of creature at the very bottom of the plane's food chain, similar to red maggots; their bodies were plump, entirely dark red, covered in rough wrinkles, lacking eyes or obvious mouthparts, as if they were coagulated from lava itself.

They relied on absorbing the energy of the magma to survive and reproduce; countless such maggots wriggled densely in the cracks of solidified lava, forming a "red carpet" that made one's scalp tingle.

Just as Gao Jie Ming was observing these peculiar lifeforms, a lizard-like creature dozens of times larger than these maggots quietly poked its head out from a lava fissure.

Its hide was covered in thick volcanic rock scales, its limbs were thick and powerful, and corrosive saliva dripped from its mouth.

A glint of greed flashed in the lizard creature's eyes as it lunged fiercely at the "carpet" of red maggots.

It gulped down the maggots by the mouthful, the sound of its chewing standing out sharply against the roaring of the volcanic crater.

To it, every single maggot seemed succulent and delicious, as if it were the ultimate delicacy.

However, as a wizard, Gao Jie Ming could perceive the energy composition of these creatures.

He was surprised to discover that although these worms possessed no biological rank, their bodies contained vast amounts of highly aggregated energy.

Their bodies, which looked as though they would burst with juice at a mere pinch, actually held bodily fluids brimming with violent energy.

If splashed onto an ordinary person, this fluid would cause terrifying burns, easily searing through flesh and blood or even melting steel plates.

But for the creatures of this plane, such juice merely added a bit of stimulation to the taste, much like mortals eating spicy food.

Their bodies had fully adapted to this high-energy diet, perfectly absorbing the energy and integrating it into their own evolution.

Just as the lizard creature was feasting, a black shadow descended from the sky, diving down like lightning!

It was a massive winged demon; its wings spanned a full ten meters, dark red flames swirled around its body, and its sharp claws gleamed with cold light.

One glance was enough to tell that this fellow was the apex predator of this region!

Without the slightest hesitation, the winged demon tore the feeding lizard creature in half and began devouring its flesh and blood in great mouthfuls.

Large quantities of hot, energy-laden fluid gushed from the torn lizard's body, but the winged demon paid it no mind, clearly accustomed to it. Gao Jie Ming observed this scene from the air, his joy growing even greater.

Due to the exceptionally harsh environment, the combat prowess of the creatures here was also quite formidable.

Even organisms at the bottom of the food chain contained energy far exceeding that of other planes, while the apex predators of any given region were unmistakably Tier Two beings.

Such naturally powerful creatures made excellent subjects of study for wizards.

Their unique life structures, energy conversion mechanisms, and evolutionary methods adapted to extreme environments all held immense research value.

After measuring the ecological environment and energy conditions, Gao Jie Ming proceeded to test the mineral resources of this plane.