Chapter Twenty-Four: The Journey of Divine Martial Arts
The man's wolfish gaze swept over them, especially lingering on Ya Feiyu's face. Ye Chi pursed his lips, his hands clenching unconsciously at his sides, even trembling slightly from the force. He didn't understand. Wasn't Ya Feiyu supposed to be wary? Where had the alertness expected of a major villain gone? Why was he so completely unguarded in front of this man who clearly harbored ill intentions towards him?
He couldn't explain where his intense anger came from. After struggling for a while, he could only say that it was because he was afraid that if something happened to Ya Feiyu, he would have no one to protect him.
Although he had great faith in Ya Feiyu's abilities, he couldn't help but reach out and grab the hem of his clothes, giving it a gentle tug as a reminder.
Ya Feiyu frowned as he looked at him, pulling his sleeve back from his hand. However, Ye Chi's small action reminded him, and he finally remembered the real purpose of his trip. He bowed and was about to speak when the man said listlessly, "Coming to Linglong Pavilion at this hour, with two low-level cultivators with you, are you here to get weapons for them?"
"That's exactly right."
"Hehe, since that's the case, then you've come at just the right time. I happen to have some weapons that no one claims ownership of. Considering your upright character, I will allow you to retrieve them."
This is like having a pillow handed to you when you're about to fall asleep! Ya Feiyu naturally didn't refuse, "I accept your kindness, senior. May I ask where you keep your weapon?"
The man toyed with his loose sideburns, his eyes lowered, and said lazily, "You may go to the underground chambers of this palace on your own."
"yes."
"By the way," the man suddenly asked a completely unrelated question, just like his previous erratic thoughts, "what's your name?"
The man's gaze was fixed on Ya Feiyu, who was slightly taken aback. After realizing that he was asking her a question, she replied, "Ya Feiyu."
“Oh… crow-not-language, crow-not-language…”
The man's voice seemed to grow fainter and fainter until finally, the illusory figure dissipated, slowly merging into the air and vanishing. It was unclear whether he disappeared of his own volition or due to insufficient spiritual power; after all, he was now merely a lingering remnant of his divine soul. Ya Feiyu bowed his head in mourning for a moment, then said, "Let's go."
Ye Chi snapped out of his daze and struggled to shift his gaze from the golden fountain to Ya Feiyu.
The tomb was so intricate it resembled a giant maze, likely the work of the tomb's occupant, deliberately designed to make it easy to get lost. However, there weren't any traps; if one knew their current location, it was relatively easy to navigate. Even so, Ye Chi, along with the incredibly sharp-witted Ya Feiyu and Shi Bai who helped with navigation, still walked back and forth for a total of half an hour before finally finding the entrance to the underground chamber, in an inconspicuous corner of a secluded room.
A heavy wooden board covered the entrance. Ye Chi struggled to lift it, and a warm glow shone through the floorboards.
This is the entrance to the underground chamber.
The floor door opened, revealing another dimly lit space. Torches were lit on the stone walls, but they didn't illuminate much. Even Shi Bai, who had the best eyesight among the three, couldn't see the path ahead. Ye Chi had to stick close to Ya Feiyu to prevent the elderly man with poor eyesight from accidentally bumping into the wall next to him.
Soon, after navigating a somewhat narrow path, they arrived at a more spacious area. There were more torches here, allowing them to barely see the path ahead—three paths in total, one on each side and one in the middle, all appearing identical.
Shi Bai tentatively stepped forward and touched the wall on the left side of the path, but was pushed inside by an invisible force. When he came to his senses, he tried to back out, still shaken, but was trapped inside by a barrier and couldn't get out.
"Master!" He pounded on the barrier, tears welling in his eyes.
Even someone as gloating as Ye Chi couldn't laugh now. These three paths were clearly meant for each of them to choose one to enter. Ye Chi was quite aware of his own strength; he was only at the early stage of Qi Refining. Without Ya Feiyu's protection, he could be easily crushed by any low-level magical beast, let alone in the Linglong Pavilion, where high-level magical beasts were commonplace.
Nobody knows what awaits him down there; this part wasn't even described in the original book!
Seeing his concerns, Ya Feiyu glanced at him, took out the brocade pouch from his body, and handed it to Ye Chi.
"Take it."
Those two simple sentences brought an unparalleled sense of security. Ye Chi gratefully held the brocade pouch, then turned to see Ya Feiyu taking off her jade pendant and giving it to Shi Bai.
Ye Chi withdrew his gaze and chose the small path on the right, while Ya Feiyu walked in the middle.
Once inside, it's pure black.
There were no torches lit on the stone wall, not even a faint light; it was almost pitch black. Fortunately, Ye Chi had a fire-type spiritual root, and he used a technique he had learned from Ya Feiyu to conjure a ball of flame in his palm. Although it wasn't bright enough, it was better than nothing at all.
The walls were damp, with water dripping down from time to time. Ye Chi looked up and saw that the space seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as he moved, and the air became much more humid. His feet would occasionally sink into small puddles, making a soft splashing sound that echoed in the gradually emptying underground space.
Suddenly, a chill ran down his back. He turned around warily, but there was nothing there.
He hesitated for a moment, turned his head back, took a few more steps as if to make a show, paused slightly, and then suddenly turned back.
My eyes met those of a rotting face.
It was a human face, but Ye Chi would never call it "human." The monster was covered in festering sores, its skin mostly gone, and rotting flesh peeling away bit by bit from its face, accompanied by a heavy dampness and a nauseating stench. Ye Chi stared in astonishment, backing away repeatedly, but before he could get far, another withered, rotting hand grabbed his ankle, pinning him to the spot.
Looking down, a hand emerged from the pool, and what was reflected in the water was not Ye Chi's figure, but another ferocious face!
In that instant, he realized what was happening and looked at the puddles he had encountered along the way. Countless monsters with festering faces emerged from them, staggering and swaying as they stepped toward him in groups, their eyes filled with crimson killing intent.
Although these monsters moved slowly, their sheer number proved that Ye Chi had virtually no chance of escaping them. They seemed to possess basic intelligence, surrounding him in a pincer movement, with a damned hand restricting his actions.
It can be said that there was absolutely no room for escape.
At this critical moment, he remembered the brocade pouch that Ya Feiyu had given him and quickly bent down to search for it. As a powerful cultivator in the Tribulation Transcending stage, Ya Feiyu didn't have many magical artifacts and talismans, but he could skillfully deal with various situations. Ye Chi took out an explosive talisman from it, ignited it with fire-type spiritual power, and then flung it fiercely at the monster that was getting closer and closer to him.
"Peng—"
A sudden burst of fire erupted, and acrid smoke mingled with the stench of decay, making the already confined space even more unbearable. Ye Chi involuntarily pinched his nose, his eyes reddening from the irritation, but he showed no sign of stopping. Ya Feiyu had prepared countless explosive talismans; even if they couldn't kill the monsters, forcing them back temporarily would be better than nothing.
At least it will give him a chance to survive!
He threw out several in one go, but his body, which was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, was already somewhat depleted. He had to keep one hand burning the flame in his palm while using the other to activate the explosive talisman, and his already limited spiritual energy was struggling to keep up.
The worst part was that the hand that was holding his ankle suddenly attacked, pulling him violently into the puddle.
He instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found himself in a pool of dark blue water. Occasionally, unidentified black objects would drift past, making the water even more murky. Ye Chi held his breath for a moment, then quickly realized he could breathe underwater. After a brief hesitation, he tried breathing and, sure enough, felt no pressure.
He wandered underwater, not even knowing the meaning of his actions, but he did it anyway. Soon, in a deep blue expanse, he saw an unusual color—blood red, somewhat deep, like blood that had dried up some time ago.
This is……
Unable to contain his curiosity, Ye Chi pushed off the ground and swam faster towards the blood-red light. Only when he got closer did he realize it wasn't just a simple blood-red light, but a blood-red halo, chain-like, wrapped around a jet-black sword.
The sword was stuck straight into a small mound. Ye Chi tried to pull it out, but even with all his strength, he couldn't get it out. However, he was unwilling to give up. It seemed as if something connected him to the sword. He tried to clear away the mud and rocks, but they seemed to be connected to the sword. Ye Chi tried desperately to remove them, but he couldn't get them off.
At that moment, unusual movements appeared at the bottom of the water, which had been as calm as still water.
The water flow seemed to be driven by something unknown.
Although Ye Chi didn't know exactly what it was, but...
He was quite certain that this thing was absolutely enormous.
As he was thinking this, a huge shadow suddenly fell over his head. Ye Chi was stunned for a moment, then looked up blankly.
He saw a pair of scarlet eyes staring directly into his eyes.
Those were the eyes of a wild beast, their vivid red as if stained with blood from slaughter, so ferocious that one couldn't help but want to submit to them.
Ye Chi was stunned for a moment, and the next second, the water surged suddenly.
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