Ascension of the immortal Asura

John had slain many people within the mysterious lands and ancient city, obtaining their spatial rings in the process. Not only that, but he had slain all but one of the Bloodfiend Sect Emperors, as well as a few kings. While Miko had kept the ring of the Sword Emperor, John still had the ring from Damon, as well as the Corpse King and the Grant, the Assassination King.

Each of them had slain countless youths within the ancient city and obtained their spoils. The number quickly added up, and after a brief search through all his belongings, John found over forty spatial rings, all containing various items.

The items within would surely contain the various wealth's of each of the youths, as well as all the items they had obtained within the ancient city.

Tremble!

John's soul suddenly trembled, and Kirii quickly escaped it.

"Hmm? What are you doing?" John asked curiously. Kirii rubbed up against John, nudging his head against him, before it took off within the basement. It sped around like a blur, running every which direction.

"Haha, I suppose you have been cooped up for some time."

John watched Kirii speed about with happiness and glee for some time before his gaze returned to the rings before him.

"Let's see what's here."

John sent his divine sense into the first ring he had picked up, quickly inspecting its contents. A small pile of spirit crystals laid in the center of the spatial dimension, and several weapons laid scattered about.

"Spirit crystals, some shitty weapons, and some low grade pills. Not much to look at."

John gathered the items to his own palace dimension, before inspecting the next ring.

"Shit."

"Nothing of value."

"Useless."

John inspected ring after ring, but mostly found things far beneath his notice. While there were a few somewhat impressive items, such as Core Formation Weapons or pills, it was nothing to go crazy about.

"Hmm?" John's interest was suddenly piqued as he inspected yet another ring.

A scythe suddenly appeared in his hands, as he inspected the weapon that was in the ring. His expectant gaze soon turned into disappointment however. He stood up and gave the weapon a few swings, testing its might, before sitting back down.

"Just a low grade Core Formation Scythe. I was hoping it would have been an ancient scythe, much like the sword or axe I have. It's not a bad weapon, but I've already outgrown Core Formation Weapons. Only Meridian Forging Weapons and above have the weight I need to fully take advantage of my body's strength."

While John could use the scythe in the meantime, his battle axe was far more powerful, and so there was no need to do so.

"I'll see if the sect has any profound scythes for sale. If not, I'm sure there's a master weaponsmith in this sect who can make me my scythe. It'll probably cost quite a sum to do so, but I have no shortage of money right now."

John tossed the scythe aside, before continuing to inspect the rings. His inspection revealed several pills, many of which he didn't know the origin of, as well as some other baubles of varying purposes.

"Most of this stuff is useless to me, but I can sell them for quite a hefty sum."

While John did not want for money after his discovery of the spirit mine, he wouldn't mind adding more money to his reserves. Money was everything in the cultivation world, and without it, getting the resources needed to advance was very difficult.

His inspection of the Corpse King's ring revealed many corpse puppets, as well as some decent ancient weapons. However, none of them suited him.

After going through all the lower level spatial rings, John finally got to the ring of Damon, the Blood Emperor.

"Damon was a ruthless bastard who probably cut down dozens of youths in that land, or even more. I'm sure there will be quite a few treasures inside this ring."

John's divine sense entered the ring, and his eyes quickly lit up.

A small mountain of spirit crystals, containing at least several million crystals, immediately came into view. To the side of the mountain, dozens of weapons laid strewn about. Several of them emanated an ancient aura, and some of them were even Meridian Forging Grade weapons.

Several barrels and jars were grouped together, containing a countless amount of pills with varying purposes, from raising cultivation levels, to medicinal, and much much more.

"There must be at least a million spirit crystals worth of pills here. Damon was quite spoiled."

There were some that would serve his essence cultivation well, allowing him to advance more quickly.

"No wonder that asshole had such a high cultivation. These pills are incredible, and were probably found within the ancient city."

After inspecting the pills, John's divine sense inspected the final corner of the spatial area. This area contained the odds and ends of Damon's collection, including scrolls containing cultivation techniques, battle arts, medicinal recipes, as well as other items.

"Hmm?" John's eyes locked onto one particular scroll. He quickly unfurled it.

"The Crimson Hell Domain! How kind of Damon to gift me such a nice domain technique."

While the Crimson Hell Domain had no effect on John, that was just because of his unique cultivation situation. Against all others, it was an incredibly ruthless and powerful domain.

"I'll be sure to study this in the future."

John put aside the scroll, and continued to read through the others. He spotted an ornate scroll, more detailed than the others. He quickly unfurled it.

"The Blood Tyrant Law!"

John quickly read through the scroll. "This is the cultivation technique of the Bloodfiend Sect. While it's useless to me as I cultivate using the Primordial Extermination Lightning Technique, it still could serve a purpose for me in the future."

John read through the scroll before putting it down. He quickly inspected various other items, including several formation disks and talismans.

"This is the last item," John murmured as his eyes locked onto the item. A small frown appeared on his face, as he was hoping it would be an incredible item. It radiated quite an ancient aura, revealing it to be an item found within the ancient city. As such, John had high hopes for the item.

"Its a mask?"

The item was a featureless mask, as if it was from a mannequin. There were two holes for eyes, a nose, and a slight opening for the mouth. If the aura was not so incredible, John would have assumed that it was a mask a mortal had made and tossed away.

After inspecting the front of the mask, John turned the mask over and inspected the back of the mask. After careful inspection, he was able to notice incredibly faint yet incredibly detailed formation runes lining the interior of the mask.

He studied the runes for a moment to see if he could make out their purpose, but was unable to.

"I really need to start studying formation runes, as I won't always have Adam to tell me what they are," John grumbled to himself.

"Does this mask even have a purpose?" John grumbled out loud.

After a moment's hesitation, he pressed the mask to his face, expecting nothing to happen. However, his expression quickly changed as he noticed it suction to his face, becoming flush with his skin.

"What the fuck?" John yelled out loud as he pulled the mask with his great strength. The mask resisted him, intending on staying flush with his face. John put even more strength into his grip, desperate to get the mysterious mask off of his face.

After a momentary struggle, the mask was pulled off his face, leaving John slightly disturbed. However, he had felt no danger from the mask when he had worn it.

After a moment of hesitation, John once again donned the mask, feeling the same suction force before it became flush with his skin.

John quickly raised a mirror that he had found in one of the spatial rings in front of him, inspecting his face. The mask rested on his face with the same featureless design, making him look quite odd.

"Is this it? This is all it does?" John mumbled out loud as he continued to inspect it. However, no amount of Qi being sent into the mask, or anything else would cause it to do anything.

"I noticed small formation runes, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, on the back of the mask. Maybe I'll ask Adam about it and see if he knows what this mask is."

John went to set the mirror down, but his hand suddenly paused as he quickly glanced back at it. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the mirror, and the reflection staring back at him.

"What the hell?"

The face that was staring back at him was not that of his own. His face, now in the image of Adam, now stared back at him.