Wang Chong nodded and began to swim as well.
“This underground river is too far from the surface, and the air is thin. We can’t remain here for very long. I’ll take you away from this place first, and then we can come up to the surface for air.” The Lone Silence Ancestor’s Psychic Energy once more entered Wang Chong’s mind, and the man himself seemed to exude an air of caution.
In this air-deprived place, communicating with Psychic Energy was the most convenient. However, the ever-present Psychic Seal prevented them from communicating over very long distances.
“This is for you!”
Wang Chong swam up to the Lone Silence Ancestor’s side and gave him a green leaf.
“What’s this?”
The Lone Silence Ancestor glanced at the leaf in surprise.
“Heh, you try it and you’ll know!”
Wang Chong did not give much explanation as he smiled.
The Lone Silence Ancestor and the others had used various methods to get past those dangerous beasts. This had allowed them to avoid many dangers, but they had also missed out on a few things.
At the very least, the Lone Silence Ancestor knew nothing about these leaves that could produce pure oxygen.
As the Lone Silence Ancestor placed the leaf into his mouth and sensed it producing oxygen, Wang Chong could clearly see the man trembling and staring at Wang Chong in shock.
“To think that there would be something like this!”
The Lone Silence Ancestor’s eyes were dumbfounded.
“Where did you get this? With this leaf, we can swim freely in this underground river without needing to go to the surface for air.”
The Lone Silence Ancestor was well aware of how important these leaves were. The air was incredibly thin sixteen thousand meters under the ground, and in such a place, these leaves were heaven-defying divine artifacts! They were more precious than the finest weapons and treasures.
More importantly, for a powerful controller of water like the Lone Silence Ancestor, this leaf covered his greatest weakness, removing most of the threats to his life.
This leaf was enough to last him a very long time.
“Heh, this was a surprising harvest from encountering those monsters.”
Wang Chong remained enigmatic.
Wang Chong took two more leaves and gave them to the Lone Silence Ancestor.
These leaves would allow them to remain in the underground river for a very long time.
“Let’s go! I’ll take you to see what’s going on up ahead!”
The Lone Silence Ancestor waved at Wang Chong and swam forward.
The river was four meters wide, enough for seven or eight people to swim side by side. The waters were cold and clear, as there was too little oxygen. There were no plants or other small organisms to be seen.
But as Wang Chong spread out his Psychic Energy into the surrounding earth, he immediately noticed something strange.
“Heh, as expected of the Demonic Emperor’s disciple, you possess formidable Psychic Energy!” the Lone Silence Ancestor’s voice rang out in his mind. He had apparently noticed what Wang Chong was doing.
Wang Chong looked questioningly at the Lone Silence Ancestor. “Senior, what’s going on? Above this river seems to be…”
“Heh, an ore vein, right?” The Lone Silence Ancestor cut Wang Chong off. “This is the final barrier, the reason that even though I’ve been swimming in this underground river for a long time, I have yet to obtain the Origin Immortal Art. I just can’t get past it.
“It’s said that the Origin Immortal Lord was an erudite scholar who was so skilled in divination that he could look far into the future. When he chose to place his treasury here, he already predicted and took measures against anyone trying to get around his traps. He truly deserves his reputation as one of the geniuses of ancient times!”
A look of praise appeared on the Lone Silence Ancestor’s face. There was no regret, only admiration and respect for the Origin Immortal Lord.
But Wang Chong was completely focused on the ‘ore vein’ the Lone Silence Ancestor had mentioned.
Wang Chong had much more Psychic Energy than the Lone Silence Ancestor, and as the Lone Silence Ancestor was speaking, he had been sending his Psychic Energy deeper and deeper into that… ore vein.
It was called an ore vein, but it was very different from the vast majority of ore veins.
The majority of ore veins were formed from ore that needed to be refined to obtain the metal, but the ore vein above Wang Chong was made entirely of extremely pure metal.
This metal was extremely tough, seemingly tougher than refined steel.
To be more precise, the Origin Immortal Lord had probably built his palace in the middle of this abnormally tough metal ore vein.
Buzz!
In shock, Wang Chong seemed to realize something.
Despite the vastness of his Psychic Energy, Wang Chong couldn’t tell where the ore vein came from and where it went. The ore vein seemed endless and perhaps completely wrapped around the palace.
“I’ve been all along this river already, but I realized that other than that hidden passage in the hall, this underground river essentially winds around the ore vein and starts heading off in a completely different direction. There’s no way of using it to get inside the palace. I even inspected that passage we used just now. There’s a high chance that when the Origin Immortal Lord or one of his earlier disciples was building this underground palace, they left this passage so they could use it to get water. After all, this cave was probably where the generations of the Origin Immortal Art’s successors cultivated their martial arts.
“The northwest is lacking in water, and cultivating the art requires them to be undistracted. It’s not possible for them to frequently go out to get water, so this underground river is the only source. In addition, if my guess is right, the passage was originally a natural fissure linking the cave with the river. This was why they chose it as a means to obtain water, expanding it while also placing an incense burner over the hole to hide it.
“A source of water is a problem that needs to be resolved, but there’s no reason for the Origin Immortal Lord to have created a second source, so there’s probably no second passage. If one wants to obtain the Origin Immortal Art, one can only enter the underground palace and force one’s way through the barriers, defeating each of the six successors of the Origin Immortal Lord.”
The Lone Silence Ancestor explained to Wang Chong as he led the way. By the end, there was a faint hint of disappointment in his voice.
The six successors of the Origin Immortal Art were all incredibly strong, as Wang Chong had already seen. The weakest, the sixth-generation successor, had easily killed the Four Ends Martial Lord, and the walking corpses farther in were probably even stronger.
The Lone Silence Ancestor’s strength was extremely close to the Four Ends Martial Lord’s, and even if he borrowed the power of the underground river, he wasn’t that much stronger. If he tried to force his way through, he would probably just end up dead.
The successors of the Origin Immortal Lord were far too strong to let any of their opponents escape so easily.
“Senior, can you take me to look around this river?” Wang Chong suddenly said.
Wang Chong was weaker than the Lone Silence Ancestor, so if the Lone Silence Ancestor couldn’t force his way through, Wang Chong had even less of a chance.
But while the Lone Silence Ancestor could withdraw if he couldn’t obtain the Origin Immortal Art, Wang Chong could not. Without the Origin Immortal Art, he would not be able to pacify the chaotic Stellar Energy within him, leaving him with an incredibly high chance of triggering his cultivation defect and ending up crippled or dead.
Chapter 1487 - The Gonggong Divine Art!
Chapter 1487: The Gonggong Divine Art!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Fine, follow me!”
After some thought,
the Lone Silence Ancestor nodded, and then he swam forward like a big fish.
Splashsplash! As the two began to move, the splash of water came from behind them.
Bzzzz! Electricity seemed to arc through the bodies of the pair as they trembled in shock and glanced at each other with grave looks in their eyes.
The waters of this underground river were extremely cold, and most importantly, unlike the rivers of the surface, they were extremely calm. The only sound was that of its flow, and there would not be any splashes unless an external object entered.
“Someone’s come in!” Wang Chong sternly said, his straight brows creasing.
This underground river was not at all easy to discover. If there was one way to get in this place, it was moving aside the mountain-shaped incense burner and finding the passage beneath it.
“I wonder who it could be?”
The Lone Silence Ancestor frowned, a pensive look in his eyes.
“These people are coming for us!”
Wang Chong shook his head. The Lone Silence Ancestor might not have had the proper perspective to determine if these were friend or foe, but Wang Chong was sure that it was the men in black. Only they would have the reason to doggedly pursue him, finding him no matter where he fled.
Moreover, the passage into this river was precisely in the palace guarded by the fifth-generation successor. The incense burner covering the passage had probably been destroyed during the battle, allowing the men in black to find the passage and realize what was going on.
There was only one passage, but the men in black had not found him despite so closely pursuing him. It was very easy to connect the dots.
Splash!
As he conversed with the Lone Silence Ancestor, an even louder splash came from behind him. The other party was beginning to swim toward them at astonishing speed.
“Run!”
The Lone Silence Ancestor’s eyes narrowed as he pulled on Wang Chong and swam forward.
Several hundred meters behind them, several powerful figures were swimming through the river like dragons, getting closer and closer to Wang Chong’s position.
These people were shrouded completely in black robes, leaving only their eyes exposed, and they exuded a mysterious aura.
Wang Chong’s guess had been correct. The ones behind them truly were the men in black.
“Hurry! Search this place from end to end! There’s only one underground river, and there’s no way for them to escape. No matter what, we have to capture that brat!
“The Origin Immortal Village Chief is already in the hands of our lord. Only that foul brat is left! If we can’t complete the mission, you all know what will happen!” the third bamboo hat man coldly said, his voice transmitted through Psychic Energy to the men in black behind him.
“Yes! Milord!” everyone replied in unison.
The third bamboo hat man quickly focused his gaze up ahead.
Roooar!
Water gathered around the bamboo hat man, shrouding him as he transformed into a serpent dragon some ten meters long.
Only now did the third bamboo hat man reveal that he also possessed a formidable Water Element art.
Bang!
In a spray of water, the third bamboo hat man summoned raging waves to push himself and the men in black around him to go faster and faster.
While his strength might have been limited in the caves, in the water, not only was he not weakened, he actually became stronger.
“Kid, you can’t escape!”
The bamboo hat man’s eyes flashed with sharp light as he charged forward.
“So fast!”
Wang Chong and the Lone Silence Ancestor instantly sensed what was going on behind them, and their minds were shaken.
“Let’s go!”
A bright light gleamed in the Lone Silence Ancestor’s eyes, and a moment later, the pair began to swim even faster. But unlike the sound and fury behind them, the pair moved without a sound, the water parting before them so as to reduce the resistance they faced.
And as the Lone Silence Ancestor pulled Wang Chong forward, Wang Chong could sense that they were both being dragged forward by an enormous pull in the water itself.
This pull seemed completely natural and inconspicuous, but the power behind it was far greater than the third bamboo hat man’s serpent dragon.
As Wang Chong spread out his Psychic Energy, he sensed that a massive three-pronged trident had appeared in the river ahead them, ten-some meters long and formed from the river waters.
This trident exuded a profound and ancient energy.
“This is…”
Wang Chong’s eyes twitched and widened in realization.
The Gonggong Divine Art!
Wang Chong immediately remembered a powerful Water Element art that very few people in the Central Plains knew about.
This art was said to have been passed down from ancient times by the Water God Gonggong1. It possessed an incredible ability to control water. While few records of it existed in the records of the Central Plains, Wang Chong had come upon a record or two during the apocalyptic era.
The most obvious symbol of the Gonggong Divine Art and the easiest way to recognize it was the giant Gonggong Divine Trident that would appear at the user’s side when the art was used in the water.
Wang Chong had always believed that the art had been lost, but now, to his surprise, he was seeing the Lone Silence Ancestor using it.
No wonder the Lone Silence Ancestor can control the weather and summon the rains, in addition to becoming much stronger when water is present! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
As the Lone Silence Ancestor had not said anything, Wang Chong naturally did not expose him. Every person had their secrets, and the Lone Silence Ancestor was no exception.
The Lone Silence Ancestor did not notice the shift in Wang Chong’s expression, as his eyes were completely focused forward.
“Just who are these fellows? Everyone here is coming for the Origin Immortal Art, but these people seem intent on hunting us down. We can’t even hide by jumping into this river. And these people are too mysterious. Even martial arts titans like us who have lived for many years have never heard of them, and they also seem to have some deep relationship with those Origin Immortal Villagers!” the Lone Silence Ancestor muttered. He had not connected this matter to Wang Chong at all.
His mind was still pondering the conversation between the bamboo hat leader and the Origin Immortal Village Chief.
This conversation had clearly been a great shock to martial arts titans like him and the Black Yin Ancestor.
Wang Chong said nothing, but his expression turned grave. The battle in the cave back there had actually managed to cover for him.
Wang Chong suddenly changed the subject. “They’ve sped up. It seems like they won’t rest until they catch us!!”
Wang Chong’s words also had the Lone Silence Ancestor realize what was going on, and he frowned once more.
“Let’s go! We’ll swim up ahead. The air is lacking, so they won’t be able to last for long and will have to leave!” the Lone Silence Ancestor sternly said.
“It’s useless! If my guess is right, they should also have those green leaves.”
Wang Chong shook his head, and his words caused the Lone Silence Ancestor’s heart to sink.
Wang Chong had obtained the leaves from the body of an Origin Immortal Villager, and the men in black had captured quite a few villagers, so they had probably also obtained the leaves. Moreover, the men in black clearly had some understanding of the Origin Immortal Villagers, so Wang Chong wouldn’t have found it strange if they had prepared similar items beforehand.
“Ah? Then what do we do?”
The Lone Silence Ancestor paled.
There was a danger in traveling this underground river. If they swam too far and used up all their leaves before they could find another exit or get back to the surface to take in air, they would be the ones who died.
An
d most problematic was that they couldn’t expose themselves. The men in black had only conjectured that they were in the river, but they had no firm evidence.
But once they were discovered, even more men in black would enter the river, perhaps even the man with the three-eyed deer mask joining them.
This was something that Wang Chong and the Lone Silence Ancestor had to worry about. They had no desire to actually engage in a pitched battle with the men in black.
Rumble!
As the two conversed, they swam forward at full speed. Suddenly, a massive trembling came from overhead. Some invisible energy seemed to be pushing at the ore vein above them, causing it to tremble and shake.
Moreover, the pair could also hear a deafening clanking of gears that chilled their hearts.
Wang Chong suddenly realized what this was.
“It’s the Origin Immortal Villagers!”
Only the Origin Immortal Villagers were capable of operating the switches throughout the underground space. However, this sound was simply too loud, and even that vast ore vein was trembling.
What a powerful mechanism! The Origin Immortal Villagers must have sensed danger and activated it to use against the men in black! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
The two of them had been in the river for some time. This had allowed them to avoid the vast majority of dangers, but it had also made them clueless of the situation in the caves.
But based on the shaking, the battle at the final barrier was undoubtedly fierce.
“Not good!”
As he was thinking, he heard a cry of alarm. His blood ran cold as he looked around and noticed that the walls of the underground river were trembling, sending large blocks of dirt and stone into the water. And fifty to sixty meters ahead, the rocks above the river collapsed, a massive boulder slamming down and blocking off the river.
Wang Chong and the Lone Silence Ancestor instantly paled.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 926
