These people might have taken him to be more of a simpleton than he realized. Given the ever-present threat of danger in this underground cave network, how could he possibly ever let down his guard? If it had been Young Master Qingyang who had come forward, he might have fallen for the trick, but that was only a possibility.
He had only just met this middle-aged martial artist and never interacted with him before, or even exchanged a sentence with him. How could he possibly just cast aside his suspicions and trust a complete stranger?
And besides, that middle-aged martial artist had no idea…
That Wang Chong had recognized that familiar aura on his body from the start. It was just that he couldn’t be absolutely sure without firm evidence!
“Damn it!”
The middle-aged martial artist gnashed his teeth and his curses echoed through the cavern.
“You avaricious fools! No matter how great your martial arts are or how many people there are, any who dare to intrude upon the grave of the Origin Immortal Lord will only face death! The moment you stepped in here, it was decided that you would not come back alive!”
As the middle-aged man cursed, he forced his body to turn around and used the strength of Wang Chong’s blow to rush toward a gap in the surrounding martial artists.
Phweeeet!
As he was fleeing, a strange piccolo-like sound began to echo through the caves. Swish! Swish! As this shrill sound bounced off the walls, thin and sharp spider threads erupted from one of the cavern’s walls.
Aaaaah! A line of martial artists was caught off guard, the threads piercing through their backs and cutting them in two.
“Not good! It’s that spider!”
“Did it come back?!”
“Damn it! Everyone, watch out!”
They had all been intending to stop that middle-aged martial artist, but the attack of the Darkshadow Spider threw them into panic and they began to scatter.
The terror of those thin spider threads was still fresh on their minds. No weapon could stop them, much less mere bodies of flesh and bone.
“Hmph! You think you can run?”
Wang Chong sneered as he gazed at the fleeing figure of the middle-aged martial artist.
He had remained motionless not because he was being merciful, but because the moment the middle-aged martial artist had attacked him, it had been foreordained that he would never leave this cavern.
Boom!
As that middle-aged martial artist was on the verge of jumping into another cave, Wang Chong bent his fingers like claws and motioned as if to grab at the man.
Boom! The images of the sun and moon appeared on Wang Chong’s shoulders, and a fierce gale stirred to life in the cavern. An immense and terrifying pull instantly seized the martial artist and began to pull him back into the cavern.
“Not good!”
The middle-aged martial artist paled in surprise. Stellar Energy exploded out of his body as he pushed his strength to its limits in the hopes of escaping Wang Chong’s Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.
But Wang Chong had cultivated the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to its apex. How could it be so easy to escape from?
Chapter 1472 - The Origin Immortal Villagers!
Chapter 1472: The Origin Immortal Villagers!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Hmph, hand over your life!” an icy voice resounded as a powerful energy began to rapidly approach the middle-aged martial artist.
Young Master Qingyang’s guard, Sword Dragon, had chosen to strike. In a flash of lightning, dark thunderclouds appeared above Sword Dragon’s head, and within this thundercloud, a strange and savage demon god bared its fangs, its eyes as sharp as swords.
This powerful aura caused the martial artist to scowl, and he had to turn around and thrust out his palms, sending Stellar Energy surging toward Sword Dragon.
A fierce gale exploded outward as these two energies clashed, their collision sounding like a collision of steel.
Before the middle-aged martial artist could react, Sword Dragon’s Stellar Energy suddenly poured forward, flowing past the martial artist’s palms and into his body. It penetrated through all his meridians, sealing them off.
Thud! The martial artist’s eyes went wide as he dropped motionless to the ground.
With a single move, Sword Dragon had completely sealed off his Stellar Energy. After doing this, Sword Dragon bent down, picked up the middle-aged martial artist, and threw him down in front of Wang Chong in a cloud of dust.
“Young Master, you should decide what happens to this person,” Sword Dragon sternly said. His posture was erect and his body was brimming with energy. It seemed like he had exerted little effort in this clash.
Wang Chong nonchalantly smiled. Sword Dragon was a top-class expert personally trained by Young Master Qingyang, only a sliver away from an Imperial Great General. It wasn’t unusual for him to display this sort of strength.
Wang Chong quickly moved his gaze away from Sword Dragon to the middle-aged martial artist at his feet.
“Bastard! You dared to attack Young Master Wang!”
“He’s even able to use a flute to control that spider! He’s definitely not one of us!”
“Interrogate him and find out where he came from! It can’t be somewhere ordinary!”
“This bastard killed Shen Chu! I’ll avenge him with my own hands!”
Seeing that the middle-aged martial artist had been captured, the surrounding martial artists all voiced their rage. Even the slowest of them understood that since this person could control the spider, he definitely wasn’t one of their comrades. There was an extremely high chance that he was closely linked to the Origin Immortal Treasury.
But as that Darkshadow Spider was still lurking nearby, they didn’t dare to approach him.
“Relax! That spider has already gone!” Wang Chong suddenly said. If not for the fact that it had been compelled by the flute, the Darkshadow Spider would have never been so bold as to return and face him.
“Speak! Just who are you?!”
Wang Chong lowered his head and stared at the middle-aged martial artist. But that man merely snorted and turned his head, refusing to talk.
“Bastard! At a time like this, you still won’t talk! Young Master Wang, let me teach him a lesson! I have at least one hundred and eight ways of making him confess his true background.”
The martial artists were all infuriated by the man’s attitude. Many of their comrades had died to the traps in this place, and now, they had finally found one of the people responsible for all this. Their anger was understandable.
If not for Wang Chong’s presence, they would have already rushed up and beat him to death.
Wang Chong said nothing, merely gestured to halt the agitated crowd.
He squatted down and indifferently said, “You probably mixed into the martial artists from the very start, right? You were probably tracking our movements from the surface all the way down into these caves, truly a most reserved character. But what do you mean when you say that we selfish and greedy people are daring enough to intrude upon the Origin Immortal Lord’s grave? Isn’t this the location of the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury?
“And there are so many treasure maps for the Origin Immortal Art circulating in the martial arts world. It’s not like we were the ones responsible for such a thing, right? Since the treasure maps are being circulated, isn’t it exactly so that they can be gathered and used to open the Origin Immortal Treasury so that the Origin Immortal Art can see the light of day? Isn’t this why the treasure maps exist?
“Moreover, the Origin Immortal Art has already been lost for more than two hundred years and is essentially extinct in the martial arts world. Presumably, this supreme art is not easy to inherit and requires someone with superb comprehension ability and talent. Is it not the Origin Immortal Lord’s will that a successor be found for his art?”
“Hmph, you ignorant
fools! You have no idea what you’re doing. This sacred land is not the ordinary treasure ground you imagine, and you have no idea what will happen when this place is completely opened! This will be a disaster the drowns the entire world! No matter what, all of you must die! Just like that other batch of avaricious fools from several hundred years ago, none of you will leave alive! Die for your greed and idiocy!”
The middle-aged martial artist’s voice was suffused with immense hatred and loathing, his words practically sounding like a curse. He shut his mouth and his eyes, ceasing to converse with Wang Chong.
Buzz!
The crowd exploded at these words.
“It really was all their doing!”
“You said ‘several hundred years ago’? What do you mean? Did others come here once only to all be killed by you?”
“Bastard! What other schemes do you have? Just what do you plan by killing so many people?!”
“Kill him! Let me kill him!”
Their eyes had turned red with agitation and fury.
One group had firmly believed that they were going adventuring for fortune, but another group had concocted this adventure as a scheme, treating the other group as chess pieces. And who would not feel anger upon learning that they were just a pawn?
The crowd surged forward, wanting to kill the middle-aged martial artist. But as the man had been captured by Sword Dragon and Wang Chong, they did not dare to actually do the deed until the two of them said anything.
“Don’t waste your strength. I only chattered about so much because I’ve already spread the word. All of you will soon die here, hahaha!”
As the middle-aged martial artist scanned the crowd, he gave an eerie smile. Moreover, his loud laughter was brimming with scorn and derision.
“Impudent!”
“Bastard!”
“This old man will kill you now, and then we’ll see how arrogant you are!”
The crowd was once again provoked, but Wang Chong felt that something was not right. This middle-aged martial artist gave him a very strange feeling.
“It’s not right!”
A thought passed through his mind, a vague idea, but it was too late. “Ah!” There was a cry of alarm as a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of the man’s lips, and then his entire body went limp. His face still maintained that eerie and mocking smile.
“This scoundrel… is dead!!” a martial artist cried out.
“Bastard, even faking your death!”
Another martial artist grabbed the man’s collar in fury, not believing that he would die so easily.
“There’s no need to test. He snapped his meridians. He’s as dead as dead can be,” Wang Chong slowly said.
If a person wanted to end their life, particularly if they had intended to do so from the very beginning, it would be very difficult for an outsider to stop them. And the middle-aged martial artist clearly understood that he had little chance in front of Wang Chong, so he intentionally provoked the crowd to buy himself some time.
“This… How could it be so fast?!”
A martial artist squatted down, tested to see if there was breathing from the nose, and felt his cooling body. He quickly understood what had happened.
The cavern became deathly still, everyone dumbstruck.
No one had expected this person to die so abruptly.
“So, was this all to send a message?”
Wang Chong glanced at the corpse and slowly stood back up. Wang Chong was not surprised by this man’s death. Even if he didn’t commit suicide, the crowd probably wouldn’t have let him go.
But the final words of this man had left Wang Chong with much to ponder.
“In other words, those people have received the message and should be here very soon.”
Wang Chong was pensive. He recalled that mysterious third party that had been secretly controlling the Origin Immortal Formation.
Wang Chong didn’t fear a direct clash with these people, but it was clear from their previous conduct that they wouldn’t give him this chance.
What Wang Chong was most worried about was their ability to control everything, control the mechanisms in the cave network. Whether it was the Dragonbeasts, the Nightmare Beast, or the Darkshadow Spider, none of them had been easy to deal with, and Wang Chong had no idea how many more such dangers were lying in wait.
Wang Chong scanned the area. The cavern was quiet, but Wang Chong felt an invisible tide of danger surging forward.
Young Master Qingyang and Sword Dragon came over and whispered to Wang Chong, “What’s wrong?”
“If that man was speaking the truth, this place is no longer safe. We must leave as quickly as possible,” Wang Chong sternly said.
Young Master Qingyang was taken aback, but he quickly nodded. “Mm.”
This cavern was now extremely dangerous, and even if Wang Chong hadn’t said anything, he and his guard were already about to leave.
“Look! What’s that?!” someone suddenly called out.
Wang Chong and Young Master Qingyang turned to look.
Chapter 1473 - Special Green Leaves!
Chapter 1473: Special Green Leaves!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
A martial artist had squatted in front of the middle-aged martial artist’s corpse. The mouth of the corpse was half-open now, and the martial artist squatting next to him now held a small green leaf in his hand, apparently extracted from the corpse’s mouth.
“What is this?”
Wang Chong blinked and then began to carefully examine that leaf.
Another martial artist began to search the corpse’s body.
“Look, there’s some here too!”
A cloth satchel hanging from the corpse’s waist was packed with these green leaves.
Everyone stared at each other in speechlessness.
Wang Chong and Young Master Qingyang also exchanged glances, their brows furrowed. In the end, Young Master Qingyang stepped forward and snatched a leaf from the satchel. He brought the leaf up to his nose and sniffed, but didn’t seem to learn anything. He then mimicked the middle-aged martial artist and placed the leaf in his mouth.
“How is it?” Wang Chong asked.
Young Master Qingyang shook his head, his brow furrowing even deeper. But a few moments later, his eyes brightened and a strange expression took hold of his face.
This subtle shift attracted everyone’s attention.
“Great! No wonder he could move so freely this deep underground.”
Young Master Qingyang took the leaf from his mouth, an expression of wonder on his face.
“When you mix this leaf with saliva, it can produce large amounts of air. Thus, even when the air is thin, they are completely unaffected. The vast world truly does have everything! Even after reading so many books, so many accounts of strange places and legends, I’ve never heard of something like this.”
As Young Master Qingyang spoke, he took two more leaves out and passed them to Wang Chong and Sword Dragon.
Wang Chong dubiously placed the leaf in his mouth. There was nothing at the start, only a slight bitterness as the leaf entered his mouth, but the moisture of the saliva soon caused small bubbles of air to rise from the surface of the leaf. It was just a few at the start, but the number soon exploded.
Even more strange was that a significant number of these air bubbles passed through the walls of the mouth into his blood vessels, where they circulated through the rest of his body.
This underground cave network was lightless and at least sixteen thousand meters beneath the surface. The air was so thin here that breathing was excruciatingly difficult. Even Wang Chong was forced to rigorously control his breathing so he only exhaled and inhaled once every fifteen minutes. Even so, danger still followed him like a shadow. Everyone’s strength was reduced, a heavy weight pressed against their chests.
But with the air provided by these leaves, that weighty feeling was swept away. Not only
that, Wang Chong felt much more energetic, his Stellar Energy beginning to flow faster and his injuries settling down.
It’s extremely concentrated oxygen!
Wang Chong’s eyes flashed in understanding.
Young Master Qingyang knew only that these leaves produced air, but Wang Chong had immediately determined that this was extremely concentrated oxygen. Although there wasn’t much, its high purity made it more than enough to fulfill the needs of a martial artist. With this oxygen supply, Wang Chong’s strength rose to another level and he would no longer be restricted by a lack of oxygen.
Wang Chong had instantly realized the immense value of these leaves.
“Wonderful! With these leaves, we can move underground without restraint!”
The crowd of martial artists became excited.
As everyone eyed the satchel of leaves, an elderly voice spoke up. “Wait!”
Everyone turned to a man with snow-white hair, wearing a silver robe. This elder seemed to wield a great deal of prestige, and his emergence instantly silenced the crowd.
“It’s Elder Zhao!”
“Everyone, let’s listen to Elder Zhao!”
Suddenly, the crowd backed away and looked respectfully at the elder.
Surprise flashed in Wang Chong’s eyes, and he looked to Young Master Qingyang with an inquisitive glance.
“This man is Zhao Qianwei, an elder of the Pure Qian Sect. He is well-known for always trying to reconcile the conflicts of the martial arts world. He is an extremely senior individual in the martial arts world, and even people like Song Yuanyi and the Black Yin Ancestor will occasionally show him respect.” Young Master Qingyang whispered an explanation. He paused and smiled before continuing.
“In addition, Zhao Qianwei is known for refining pills, particularly medicines. You probably understand why he’s so revered in the martial arts world, right?”
Young Master Qingyang profoundly glanced at Wang Chong.
Wang Chong understood. Whether it was in the Imperial Court or the martial arts world, alchemists enjoyed deep respect. Martial artists spent every day embroiled in mortal combat, and no one knew when they might need the service of an alchemist. If Zhao Qianwei had this kind of status, it was easy to understand his prestige in the martial arts world.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 918
