by <unknown>
The technology of the Star Ocean Imperium was truly unbelievable!
"This is just a minor measure of defense in the underground fortress on the safest shortcut that I carefully selected," Bai Xinghe said. "On other roads, the traps and rune arrays are too many to count!
"After ten thousand years, with the passage of time and the intense tectonic movements, only less than one tenth of all the traps are still functioning.
"If it were ten thousand years ago when the fortress was just built, nobody would've been able to take over it without sacrificing tens of thousands of Cultivators!"
Li Yao threw the bottle back to Bai Xinghe and said, "Lead the way."
Bai Xinghe was surprised. "You only smeared one of your eyes?"
"One eye is enough," replied Li Yao.
There was no way that he would smear Bai Xinghe's ointment on both of his eyes.
If Bai Xinghe had done something untoward to the ointment, at least he could save one of his eyes and retain the ability to counterattack.
Bai Xinghe did not say anything more. His body suddenly turned into a streak of greenness as he dashed into the great array of gold threads.
The swimming golden threads, upon sensing that an object of intense spiritual energy was approaching, were dancing twice as fast as before!
Yet, Bai Xinghe seemed to be well aware of the patterns of the gold threads. He jumped and moved inside the array casually.
At first, he stuck to the ground like a dry leaf, then he moved forward on the wall like a gecko, and next he sprinted forward holding the ceiling. After a few jumps, he was already dozens of meters away.
Li Yao stared at his routes of movement without blinking his eyes. Then he darted into the array of gold threads in exactly the same way as Bai Xinghe did.
The dim, dark pathway did not seem to have an end. The area where the golden threads were dense was almost a thousand meters long. Li Yao was able to follow Bai Xinghe in the beginning, but as he went deeper and the gold threads became thicker, Bai Xinghe's shadow turned mysterious and unpredictable.
Li Yao had smeared the bright golden ointment that allowed him to see the array only on his left eye. Therefore, it was inevitable that he had misjudgment on the trajectory and speed of the golden threads.
Just the moment before he charged out of the array, his crystal suit accidentally touched one of the golden threads.
In the next moment—
Hiu! Hiu hiu hiu hiu!
Dozens of gold threads, in unstoppable brilliance, turned into flying swords and darted at the critical parts all over Li Yao's body brutally at a speed ten times higher than before!
Chapter 734: Surging Nether River |
Li Yao's eyes widened. Three layers of spiritual shields appeared on his body, and he leapt forward out of the array of gold threads agilely.
The dozens of gold flying swords brushed past by him and left shallow traces on his crystal suit.
The last one of them, however, was like a persistent parasite and stabbed into his left leg after a weird blink!
Li Yao screamed and rolled on the ground. He uncovered his crystal suit and discovered that the gold flying sword had torn away a slice of his leg, leaving a scorching wound. But thankfully, his bone was not hurt!
Li Yao gritted his teeth and retrieved a bottle of medicine from his Cosmos Ring. He spurted a cluster of white fog from the bottle onto his leg and temporarily froze the wound.
He then turned the gear on the bottle and pressed the switch again. This time, it was an azure foam, which looked like a gel, that were spurted out.
The foam was smeared on the wound evenly. It quickly consolidated when they met air. After being condensed, it became slightly elastic and looked like an artificial muscle.
Li Yao finally took a long breath and look back in fear.
Bai Xinghe looked at him emotionlessly during the entire process. In the end, he complimented, "Your movements were quite smooth. Perhaps you are not in the high level of the Building Foundation Stage, but the peak of it.
"However, the blow you took just now was as redundant as my coughs in the beginning.
"You tried to lower my wariness by hurting your leg intentionally and mislead me into thinking that your left leg would be your weakness. But the truth is, your fatal move would be carried out by your left leg should we get into a fight, wouldn't it?"
Li Yao was stiffened and cursed to himself.
Bai Xinghe smiled. "Don't be angry. I could have kept my finding to myself and pretended that I didn't see through your plan. If we really get into a fight, I would have been able to anticipate your move and find an opportunity to counterattack when you kick with your left leg under the illusion that I've been fooled, wouldn't I?
"I pointed it out as a gesture of my sincerity. The remaining journey will only be more difficult than the array of gold threads. If we continue mistrusting each other and having conflicts, it is possible that neither of us will leave the dark underground."
Li Yao was greatly alarmed. "There are more traps ahead of us?"
Half an hour later, Li Yao was dumbfounded and speechless when he saw everything before him.
Led by Bai Xinghe, they passed by more than ten intersections after quite a few zigzags and two arrays of gold threads before they finally reached the end of the pathway.
However, it was not the original exit of the pathway but a hole that had been torn open by brute force.
What appeared in front of Li Yao was a cliff whose bottom was unclear.
The rock stratums on the two sides of the cliff were ripped open, leaving an enormous hollow in the middle. The two of them seemed to be standing in the middle of a magnificent mountain looking at the mountain on the other side that was covered in hazy mist.
Looking down at the bottom of the cliff, Li Yao saw a raging river hundreds of meters below him.
Li Yao had never seen such a splendid and formidable underground river. It was like a rampant dragon rushing toward the center of the rock stratums at the core of the planet.
What was more blood-freezing was that the water of the river was greenish, as if billions of butterflies were lying on the riverbed flapping their wings together!
The river seemed exactly like the legendary Nether River in hell. Gloomy wind was blowing, and tides were surging, illuminating the crevices on the cliff with a miserable green and enshrouding everything in mysteriousness and horror.
This place was like the entrance to hell and the boundary that marked the world of the living and that of the deceased!
Huala! Huala!
Water pillars shot up hundreds of meters from the 'Nether River' every now and then. They bashed the walls on the two sides of the cliff like green flames, leaving dark green traces on the walls as if a giant centipede had just passed by. They were not gone until a long time later.
"The underground fortress has been built for ten thousand years," Bai Xinghe explained. "During the past ten thousand years, a great many tectonic movements have happened here and vastly reshaped the environment.
"About fix thousand years ago, perhaps because of the apocalypse that swept across the Flying Star Sector, a great earthquake took place on Spider Den although it was not directly hit by the meteorites.
"The earthquake resulted in countless faults below the ground and scattered the underground fortress!
"The underground fortress had no 'shortcuts' in the beginning at all, but the super earthquake created such a road for us."
Bai Xinghe took out a metal ball and tossed it into the air. The ball hovered above their heads and projected a beam of clear mystic rays toward the black fog on the other side of the cliff.
The mystic ray seemed to be able to pierce everything through. It outlined the other side of the cliff almost a thousand meters away.
On the cliff, dozens of giant crevices were glittering under the illumination of the mystic ray.
Pointing at the crevices across them, Bai Xinghe said, "Look, the crevices d
id not exist before the earthquake. The underground fortress on the two sides of the cliff was connected back then. It was flawless and had no loopholes at all.
"But the super earthquake tore the underground fortress in half. Naturally, some loopholes were revealed.
"However, most of the crevices lead to dead ends or empty warehouses. What we are going to is the crevice that I painted with double gold stripes. Look at it carefully."
Li Yao triggered the scanning ability of his crystal cameras as he observed his surroundings.
Jumping off the cliff toward the crevice in front of him meant a distance of around a thousand and seven hundred meters on average. It was a sprint for a crystal suit and not that difficult.
However, Bai Xinghe introduced their task in great detail and was much more prudent than when they were passing through the arrays of gold threads.
Li Yao thought of something and asked, "Are there any problems with the river?"
Bai Xinghe smiled. "There are no problem; there are just 'things'."
"Things?" Li Yao narrowed his eyes. The 'things' that appeared in this place were definitely not docile even if one was thinking with their toe.
Bai Xinghe explained, "The underground river is where the dozens of mother lodes of Spider Den congregated. A lot of spiritual liquids and valuable microelements are contained in the water.
"After the super earthquake, a lot of beasts living in other places migrated to the river and flourished. After thousands of years of being nurtured by the water, they absorbed a lot of microelements and underwent mutations. They can be quite tricky to deal with.
"In the darkness above our head, there are also beasts that feast upon the mother lodes. They and the beasts in the river always hunt each other and are mortal enemies.
"They are beasts, not traps. Therefore, there are no patterns about them at all.
"Before, when I entered the place, they were suppressed by the intimidating aura of the Nascent Soul Stage and were too awed to come close.
"However, I'm heavily wounded today. It's hard to say how they will greet us."
Li Yao warmed up his body, with cracking noises echoing from his joints. He glanced around again and said in a low voice, "Got it. Let's go."
"Alright!"
Hardly had the word flown out of his mouth before Bai Xinghe stomped on the ground, breaking hundreds of stones. He summoned his spiritual energy and darted above the nether river!
Li Yao moved, too, and chopped off a rock that was protruding out of the wall of the cliff with his arm. He caught the rock and threw it at the sky of the Nether River brutally!
Hiu! Hiu!
Bai Xinghe dashed into the broken stones.
Li Yao was no slower than himself and jumped on the rock he chopped off.
Huala! Huala! Huala!
The river below them seemed infuriated. Hundreds of thick green pillars rose up to the sky simultaneously, each of which concealed a hazy beast that looked both like a dragon and a boa. They opened their blood mouths and bit at the two intruders brutally!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Hundreds of awe-inspiring giant beasts swooped down from above. They smashed down like a cloud!
The beasts in the sky looked like bats at first sight, except that they were broader and narrower. Like sharp boomerangs, they hovered rapidly until they were close to the speed of sound. Their sharp edges were emitting cold brightness, which was a natural blade aura!
Bai Xinghe roared. The stones around him all exploded. Each of the stones was enshrouded in spiritual energy. He seemed to have hundreds of clones that attracted the attention of most beasts.
The six dragon heads that had fallen asleep for a long time were woken up again. Six dragon balls were spat out and circled around Bai Xinghe like satellites, mincing the ten or so beasts closest to him into pieces!
In the meantime, Li Yao stomped on the rock he was on heavily, crushing it to smithereens in his craziness.
With the counterforce, his speed was further accelerated. Hundreds of blade auras wreathed him and formed an impenetrable web of sabers around him.
When his saber flashed, four beasts in the sky were cut in half silently, and a large cluster of orange blood burst out in two green water pillars nearby!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Earsplitting explosions took place behind Li Yao. Dozens of fireballs illuminated the cliff as if it were daylight. The beasts in the air and the giant boas in the river had all become used to living in an environment with weak light. They were all stunned when they were caught in a flare all of a sudden.
Li Yao took the opportunity to sprint forward into the crevice across the cliff covering a distance of more than a thousand and seven hundred meters together with Bai Xinghe.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Dozens of beasts in the air failed to decelerate and hit the rocks near the crevice heavily, falling into the Nether River after a series of weird screams.
Inside the Nether River, the tides were roiling, and the dirty foam was exploding. Countless beasts in the air and the giant boas in the river were engaged in a chaotic battle.
The two of them, especially Bai Xinghe, breathed heavily on the ground for a long time. He had suffered heavy wounds previously. The fierce combat and the exhausting sprint affected his wounds. He held his abdomen, his body shaking.
After resting for a minute, Bai Xinghe said slowly, "In a moment, we are going to take off our crystal suits and suppress our capability to that of an ordinary person with the Soul Converging Technique. Remember, do not leak the tiniest spiritual wave.
"Because if you do, both of us will be dead for sure!"
Chapter 735: Palace of Stars |
Take off the crystal suit, restrain the spiritual energy, and suppress the capability to that of an ordinary person?
Li Yao's first thought was that Bai Xinghe was playing another dirty move. But after thinking a moment, he realized that the situation would be more in his favor if they both lost their crystal suits, since the Dragon King Battlesuit that Bai Xinghe wore, although damaged, still boasted much higher specifications than his Dark Crow Battlesuit.
Besides, Bai Xinghe's heavy wounds were being suppressed by his spiritual energy. If he were to restrain his spiritual energy and revert to an ordinary person, his wounds would only become heavier.
The proposal that Bai Xinghe made was disadvantageous for him from whatever perspective.
While Li Yao was pondering, Bai Xinghe had already removed his Dragon King Battlesuit and gradually sunk his spiritual energy to the depths of his cells with the Soul Converging Technique.
"Wu—"
Without the support of the spiritual energy and resisting his wounds with his body of flesh and blood, even a man as tough as Bai Xinghe still grunted.
Bai Xinghe flipped his hand and took out a drug, smearing all the ointment on the terrible wounds on his abdomen. As bloody foam popped up nonstop, a hint of color returned to his pale face.
Bai Xinghe smiled miserably and said, "There's a big guy ahead who takes spiritual energy as food. All the living creatures that emit spiritual waves are prey to it. The more intense their spiritual waves are, the greater an appetite it will have!"
Li Yao thought for a moment and took off the Dark Crow Battlesuit, too. He suppressed his capability to its limits and only dragged the crystal bomb in Bai Xinghe's stomach with one of his telepathic thoughts to make sure that it wouldn't explode.
Back when he was in the Heaven's Origin Sector, Li Yao had once been enlightened by Iron God Yan Ba, a body fundamentalist in the Nascent Soul Stage. If they were both barehanded, Li Yao was the one who had more of an advantage. Therefore, he was not worried that Bai Xinghe might play tricks on him.
The two of them walked forward for another twenty minutes along the narrow crevice.
The rock stratums there were more seriously wrecked. They would be walking through the natural caves one moment, then stepping on rusted pathways, jumping off gaps dozens of met
ers deep the next moment, and sometimes climbing cliffs dozens of meters tall along the thick and rough walls like lizards.
After walking for a long time, they still had not run into the 'big guy' that Bai Xinghe mentioned. While Li Yao was suspicious, Bai Xinghe suddenly hushed him and pointed upward.
Above their heads was a long and deep gap that led straight up to the ground. It was almost like a natural well.
Li Yao glanced at the well roughly and only felt that the rocks inside the well looked quite weird and aggressive.
When he observed carefully, he gasped and discovered that a monolithic beast that looked like a giant spider was crouching on the wall of the well!
The beast was unbelievably huge. It had more than ten limbs, each of which were around seven meters long. It was a bright gray color and covered in rocky lumps, completely fitting in the environment.
The beast was sleeping. Its complex, deformed eyes were a lackluster red color that looked like dried blood on what seemed to be its head.
Li Yao watched more carefully and found that almost ten of its limbs and half of its torso were hidden in the solid rock, like a crocodile that was half sunk in a swamp.
Bai Xinghe said in an extremely low voice, "Don't fret. I call the big guy 'Lustful Rock Spider'. It is perhaps a spider-type beast that has gone mutations in the mother lodes of the earth class below the ground. It is naturally endowed with the Earth-Escaping Technique. Despite its enormous size, it can enter and exit the rock stratums freely with the technique.
"However, the Earth-escaping Technique consumes a lot of spiritual energy. Therefore, it spends most of its time dormant to avoid exhaustion until a prey with immense spiritual waves shows up and serves as its dinner.
"We are not emitting any spiritual waves right now. It is not worthwhile for the beast to waste abundant spiritual energy to hunt us down with the Earth-Escaping Technique, because the spiritual energy it absorbs by devouring us will not cover what it wastes to capture us. It is not a fair deal.
"We are totally safe if we don't irk the beast."
