Chapter 1116 - Sneaking into the Underground Palace
Chapter 1116 - Sneaking into the Underground Palace
Boom boom boom boom...
The ground started cracking and fissuring layer by layer, but the sealing profound formation didn’t budge an inch. However, the experts that were attacking the seal could feel that the formation was slowly but surely weakening bit by bit, or else they wouldn’t have combined their efforts for so long.
Everyone was currently focused on the seal formation. With Yun Che’s strong concealment ability, no one discovered him getting close.
Yun Che stayed still. He swept his eyes across the group and the surroundings, carefully planning his next move. At this moment, his gaze suddenly stopped, noticing someone.
It was someone whose figure looked like and was close in age to himself. Yun Che noticed him as his profound strength was relatively low, only in the mid stage Sovereign Profound Realm, yet to enter the divine way. Having the qualifications to enter into this secret realm meant that one had to have a great status and be at the pinnacle of the three star realms, and this individual was by far the weakest of all that had entered. He was the only one there who had not stepped into the divine way and he stuck out like a sore thumb amidst all the experts.
Apart from this, his clothing was different from the others. He wore a patterned purple robe and exuded an air of nobility. Since his profound strength was extremely low, he wasn’t near the action and was on the outskirts of the group. In front of him were over a dozen experts that had joined together into forming a defensive barrier to protect him. They would constantly turn around to check on his condition, as if worried about his safety.
It was pretty obvious that while his cultivation level was really low, his identity was definitely anything but ordinary. Other than the three ruling sects, no one else would have the chance to bring their disciples in to explore the Illusory Sea Ancient Realm, and if they did, they’d definitely bring their brightest and their sharpest, disciples that they’d invest their all in. For someone at the Sovereign Profound Realm to come here, let alone exploring and looking for fortuitous encounters, the most fundamental issue of surviving was an impossibility.
Then the highest likelihood for this was that this person was here to watch the excitement! After receiving the news, he specially came here to witness the opening of the underground palace.
To have the qualifications and the guts to do so, he had to be someone important and was related to one of the masters of the ruling sects. He could be an elder or even a direct descendant of one of the great realm kings.
Crack!!
As though the firmament was being rent apart, a loud shattering sound rang out and the entire sky was filled with profound energy.ution All the individuals above the profound formation revealed looks of joy, yet none of them said a word. They vigorously channeled their profound energy and continued their furious barrage.
Cracks had started to show, and they quickly started to spread. Within a short moment, shattering sounds rang out once more, and the sounds were more and more concentrated. The sealing formation stopped revolving and quickly shattered over and over.
All the experts gathered together in order to destroy the sealing formation and the entire group was about to witness that moment. Yun Che frowned as he had not yet thought about what his next move was… Only the three realm kings would personally enter. The rest were not pinnacle characters of the three great star realms. This was the territory of the three star realms and so the Immortal Emperor Grass would of course belong to the three great realm kings...
What method am I able to use in order to snatch away the food from these huge sharks… there’s no way to do it!
Following the shattering of the formation, the ground started to shake. In the group on the outskirts, that purple robed man in the Sovereign Profound Realm was also starting to show his excitement. He personally flew up, trying to get a view from up higher, but as he quickly rose, he was hurriedly stopped by the men in front of him.
“Young Master! Don’t be rash, it’s too dangerous.” His guards held him back anxiously saying, “The seal is about to break, the Island Master has said before that once the seal breaks, there will most likely be a burst of violent profound energy streams. For the sake of your safety, we should move further away.”
Island Master? These two words caused Yun Che to raise both his eyebrows… Island Master of the Azure Haze Realm’s Wood Sun Island—Mu Baimei?
Was he Mu Baimei’s son?
That purple garbed youth broke out into laughter, “Haha, what a joke. Royal father is here, why would I be in any danger? If we retreat, won’t we be a bunch of scared mice, a joke to others?”
That guard knew that he couldn’t stop him with his advice and could only shout an order to the other guards, “All of you give your greatest focus now, make sure Young Master is safe!”
Every those in the group of the three realm kings were all covered in perspiration. After dozens of breaths, finally a large explosion sounded, as if a mountain was crumbling into a sea. The sealing formation had completely collapsed, but pieces of the formation had yet to dissipate. The leftover energy sent flying after the collapse brought along a tremendous amount of violent explosive force as they started to disintegrate.
“Everyone, watch out!!”
The group of experts closest to the epicenter retracted their power and calmly defended against the pieces. The rest of the remnant pieces were sent flying swiftly far away into the group watching the spectacle, raining a shower of violent explosions down upon them.
“Defend with all your might!”
The group started shouting. Those experts rose into the air, their palms struck out in a concerted effort, blowing away the fragments of the sealing formation. The younger experts quickly released their profound strength to defend against the fragments.
These were but fragments of a broken profound formation, and the bulk of it was already dissipated by the main group. For these experts, they didn’t pose much of a threat. Even if they were hit smack in the face, they would at most suffer some superficial wounds.
But within this group of experts, there was an exception.
“Young Master, watch out! Arrgghh!”
Several tens of fragments smashed downward from above the purple robed young man. All the guards in front of him used everything they had to block them for him, but after a sudden explosion, their defense was shattered and they were all sent flying. A single fragment that escaped their blockade started to fall, heading straight for the purple robed youth.
It was as if death was coming down for him. Though the profound formation fragment’s energy was very weak, to the Sovereign Profound young man, it was an annihilation that he was powerless against. Just the aura from it suppressed him completely like a heavy mountain, freezing his blood. He couldn’t move at all and the only thing he could do was cry out in despair.
“Young Master!!”
“Chun’er!”
Members of Wood Sun Island all screamed in shock, unable to help. Mu Baimei himself was tens of kilometers away, even if he could tear through space and teleport there, he’d be unable to make it in time.
Yun Che’s eyes shone with brilliance. Several thoughts flashed through his mind and he ultimately dashed out, firing off a Phoenix Arrow.
Bang!!
The Phoenix Arrow struck the fragment, blasting it apart. Although the young man wasn’t hit directly, the force from the blast wasn’t something that he could bear and he was sent flying away violently. He fell to the ground while letting out miserable cries.
“Young Master!”
Wood Sun Island’s members were briefly stunned by this, after which they rushed over at top speed and lifted the young man up. A few others anxiously checked him for injuries.
Whoosh!
A violent wind swept across the area and a middle aged man in green descended from the sky. He landed beside the purple robed young man. It was the great realm king of the Azure Haze Realm, Island Master of the Wood Sun Island, Mu Baimei! He quickly placed his hands against the young man’s chest before his expression started to slowly calm down.
“Royal father…” Looking at Mu Baimei, the fear in the young man’s eyes started to subside but he immediately cried out in pain, “Aiyah! It’s so painful… are both my legs crippled…”
“Island Master, please rest at ease. Young Master has only suffered injuries to his left shoulder and left thigh. His internal injuries are not heavy, his injuries are definitely not life threatening. He’ll make a full recovery in at most half a month.” a leader of the guard reported to the Island Master as he made his assessment. “Luckily this man helped out, if not, I cannot… imagine the consequences.”
“What do you mean my injuries are not heavy, I’m going to die,” groaned the young man.
Looking at the young man, Yun Che rubbed his nose and thought: Looks like I’ve saved a fool. No wonder… Even though he’s the son of a great realm king and has access to the best environment and resources, his profound cultivation is still so ordinary...
“Calm down, if he said you’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.” Mu Baimei seemed to be extremely fond of this son. He comforted him with a few words and then stood back up. He didn’t berate those guards who were now trembling for being inept, but headed straight towards Yun Che revealing a smile of gratitude. “Thank you, little brother, for helping just now, or else his little life would have been lost right here.”
Finishing, he put both arms at his side standing straight and gave Yun Che a bow of respect.
This gesture left Yun Che in great shock. This man in front of him wasn’t only a senior in terms of age, he also was the ruler of a realm, a realm king. Although he had saved his son, based on Baimei’s strength and identity, this gesture would leave anyone jumping in fright.
He hurriedly returned the gesture, face full of surprise. “Island Master Mu, this is nothing. Junior has long since heard the fame of Island Master Mu. Being able to rescue Island Master’s son is junior’s fortune. I cannot bear such a deep gesture from Island Master.”
“Hahaha, a life saving grace is worth it,” Mu Baimei laughed. His demeanor was calm, not having at all the pressure or suppression that a ruler of a realm would have. He turned around, “Chun’er, hurry up and thank your benefactor.”
“Aaah…” The purple robed young man was still groaning in pain. He looked at Yun Che with a fierce glare and shouted, “Why should I thank him? He nearly caused my death! If not for him, and if royal father had personally made a move, I wouldn’t have… waaaahh… so painful…”
Yun Che, “...”
“Sigh.” Mu Baimei shook his head turning towards Yun Che, “Little brother, please don’t be offended. My son has been spoiled by his mother since he was young. He’s still green with respect to some basic courtesies. This Mu will take the place of my son, Mu Tangchun, in thanking you. With regards to today’s matter, I will definitely reward you handsomely.”
“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.” Yun Che’s face was still full of shock.
Mu Tangchun? This name sounded so nice to the ears.
“Hehehehe.” At this moment, a sarcastic voice suddenly sounded, “Old Man Mu, since your son is already half dead, why are you still staying here. Hurry up and send your son home to recover. If you continue to delay and he loses his life, that’d be bad. After all it’s only a tiny little stalk of Immortal Emperor Grass. How can it be compared to your treasure of a son? Don’t you agree, Sect Master Han?”
As he was speaking, a figure started to slowly descend. His eye catching golden attire was evidence of who he was. The Southern Everlasting Realm’s great realm king—Emperor Nanlie!
By his side was the well built man, Han Kuan, great realm king of the Sea Gazing Realm. He placidly uttered, “Island Master Mu, you should go back and properly take care of your son.”
“Hohoho,” Mu Baimei didn’t seem to be angry but instead grinned. “I’m afraid I’ll disappoint the both of you. My son has only suffered some minor injuries, it’s far from being life threatening. How could that possibly delay or disrupt our quest for the Immortal Emperor Grass?”
“Hahahaha!” Emperor Nanlie laughed heartily. “Old Man Mu has indeed thought this through. After all, if this son dies, you can have ten more other sons. If the Immortal Emperor Grass is lost, I’m afraid you won’t even need to think about touching it ever again in this lifetime.”
“However…” Emperor Nanlie suddenly turned to look at Yun Che. “This kid’s life aura seems to be just around twenty years of age, yet he has cultivation at the Divine Soul Realm. Having these qualifications should make him very famous in our three realms, but this king does not recall ever having met him. In fact, being proficient in fire attribute profound arts seems to be a rarity in our three realms.”
In three realms where the sea was a major component, water laws and elements were particularly strong. It was extremely suitable for water attribute profound arts, not suited for fire attribute profound arts. In all of the three star realms, forces in the upper echelons didn’t have any fire attribute profound arts among them. It was a rarity even within the middle levels.
Yun Che was only twenty or so yet he was in the Divine Soul Realm. In any of the three ruling sects, he would be at the very pinnacle.
Emperor Nanlie was very dissatisfied with Yun Che saving Mu Baimei’s son, and therefore his tone wasn’t friendly. His topic aroused the interest of everyone around and Han Kuan also frowned, growling, “Kid, which star realm are you from and which sect are you from?”
Attracting everyone’s attention, Yun Che started to panic inside. He felt extremely stressed and as he spoke he lightly stuttered, “Greetings… Various seniors, this junior is named Ling Yun. I-I’m from the Darkya Realm. I was touring the Sea Gazing Realm when I heard the news that a big thing had happened here. I was curious, so I… so I…”
“What?” Yun Che’s words left everyone in surprise.
“Someone from the Darkya Realm? How dare you!?” Han Kuan’s face darkened, “How did you get in here? What motives do you have for coming here?”
“This doesn’t seem so simple at all.” Emperor Nanlie laughed, “This time we’ve invited all the large sects from the three star realms and opened this ancient realm. We’ve taken all precautions, trying to come in here isn’t that simple. I never would have imagined that there would actually be someone with such gall. Tut tut.”
“Forget it, forget it. It’s just an unrelated small matter.” Mu Baimei waved his hands. He turned to Yun Che, “Although your cultivation and qualifications aren’t ordinary, it still stands that you aren’t from any of the three star realms. Entering into this ancient secret realm is indeed not proper. However, on account that you have no malicious intents or evil machinations and furthermore saved my son’s life, we won’t pursue this matter. You should join up with the other sects and engage in your own exploration. If you have any fortuitous encounters or find any treasures, you can keep them.”
Yun Che’s fearful expression disappeared and was replaced with one of joy, “Thank you, Island Master Mu. This junior will never forget the grace Island Master Mu has shown me.”
“Go now,” Mu Baimei said with a friendly laugh. He turned towards Emperor Nanlie and Han Kuan, “Old Fox Nanlie, Sect Master Han, it’s time we get down to matters proper.”
The sealing profound formation had been shattered and a ten meter wide entrance appeared below them. A row of greenish black steps led downward. As far as the eye could see, everything was pitch black, no one knew how deep underground it led.
“This underground palace is indeed very deep. No wonder the undulations of the Immortal Emperor Grass are so weak.”
The three great realm kings stood at the entrance. Behind them were all characters at the elder level and those who partook in attacking the sealing formation. The other sects were already standing far far away, none of them were close.
Han Kuan stepped forward and sent his spirit sense into the underground palace. Shock plastered his face, “The air is heavily turbid!”
“The degree of turbidity is so immense that it will greatly suppress profound strength and divine sensing.” Mu Baimei also started to frown.
“This underground palace has never been discovered before. It has probably been sealed for over a million years. If the air wasn’t turbid that’d be a surprise.” Emperor Nanlie continued, “Besides the turbid air, I’m afraid that there will also be other dangers within. Old Man Mu and Sect Master Han are all men who have sons and daughters and families. Why risk your lives for the sake of a little stalk of Immortal Emperor Grass? Just let this king enter and scout ahead.”
“Old Fox Nanlie, this retarded old habit of yours will never change,” Mu Baimei snorted
“Don’t forget our agreement.” Han Kuan reminded them, “The three of us are all somewhat equal in strength. If we really fight with each other, there will only be injuries and losses on all sides, there will be no benefits at all. I’m sure all of you know this fact.”
“Sect Master Han can rest assured.” Mu Baimei continued, “After entering the underground palace, whoever gets the Immortal Emperor Grass first will have it belong to him. There will be no snatching or fighting over it. This underground palace being able to have an Immortal Emperor Grass grow within it will definitely have other special treasures as well. Whoever obtains the Immortal Emperor Grass will not be allowed to touch any other treasures within this palace. This agreement has been witnessed by all the elders of our three sects. I’m afraid none of us will dare to lose face by betraying the agreement.”
“Haha, very good,” Emperor Nanlie laughed yet again. Then, he took a large stride forward and entered the underground palace.
“All of you, guard the entrance of the passageway, do not let anyone near here!” Mu Baimei ordered and together with Han Kuan they also entered the passageway leading to the underground palace.
The air was thick and turbid in the passageway, and as they went deeper it just got worse. Just a few breaths later all their footsteps, as well as their auras, vanished from the spirit senses of everyone present.
Yun Che didn’t go far. He had heard their entire conversation. When the three great realm kings had entered the passageway, he had happily left their line of sight and became invisible. He had now quietly returned and was gazing intently at the entrance to the underground palace.
From afar, the entrance looked as if it was shrouded in a thick smoky fog.
What he had to do next, was naturally to enter the underground palace.
However, in order to make sure that there were no mishaps, those guarding at the entrance were all elder level characters of the three big star realms. They were all extreme experts at the level of the Divine Spirit Realm. All four sides had two men standing guard for a total of eight Divine Spirit Realm experts!
Furthermore, they all stood very close to the entrance. If he wanted to sneak into the underground palace, even the best possible position to sneak in was only about six meters from one of them.
They were experts of the Divine Spirit Realm. Within such a close distance, even if he executed Moon Splitting Cascade along with Flowing Hidden Lightning to their limits, there was a high chance of them discovering him.
And if they discovered him, there would not be a second chance. Forget about entering the underground palace, even escaping would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Yun Che slowly and steadily moved closer. When he was about three hundred metres away, he stopped. After a bit of hesitation, he didn’t continue forward.
No way! Although they don’t look like they on high alert, forcibly getting close… that kind of distance is too dangerous.
I need to find a way to make them leave… or give them something to distract them.
Should I assassinate some of their subordinates… however if I do that, it might put them on higher alert.
Or...
ROAAARR!!!
As Yun Che was struggling to come up with an idea, a loud roar exploded from the east. Although this explosive roar was far off, it was still very shocking and brought with it an unimaginable force.
And this distant roar sent a chill down all the experts’ spines. The elders guarding the entrance all looked to the east, “It’s a dragon’s roar!”
“Is that the Ironscale Flood Dragon that fled fifty years ago?” solemnly asked one of the Sea Gazing Realm’s elders.
“Xi Yuan! Just me here alone will suffice. Hurry up and take men to surround and kill it! We must not let it escape again at all costs!”
The dragon’s roar had excited all the three ruling sects. All the experts in the Divine Spirit realm started to soar into the skies, heading straight towards where the roar came from. Of the eight guarding the entrance, five of them flew off hurriedly, leaving only three, and these remaining three focused all their perceptions and senses southward.
This was a god given opportunity to Yun Che.
Under the invisible state, he unhesitatingly dashed forward. As he neared the hundred meter mark, he started to slow down and held his breath, getting closer, and closer... and closer...
The three experts were all focused toward the south. They were so distracted by the roar that they didn’t realize that someone had quietly made it past them, casually entering and disappearing within the turbid air of the underground palace.
A piercingly sharp smell shot through his nose, accompanied by a strong sense of suppression. However, in the blink of an eye, this suppression suddenly disappeared, even his invisible state wasn’t dispelled. The only thing affected was his spirit perception, which was restricted.
He had finally entered the underground palace. He breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t remove his invisibility. Ahead of him was all darkness. He stepped forward bit by bit on the ice cold rock beneath his feet, without a sound and not daring to light a fire to guide his way. He had spread his spirit sense to its greatest limits to sense what was around him.
He hadn’t forgotten that there were three great realm kings who had also entered into the underground palace~
Any one of them could easily crush him like a bug.
He could not let them discover his presence. The turbid air restricted his spirit sense, which would similarly restrict the three realm kings. This provided a layer of protection for him.
What he had to do next was to completely avoid the three realm kings and use the Sky Poison Pearl’s detection abilities to find the Immortal Emperor Grass before they did.
But, this underground palace was huge and the layout was extremely complicated as well. If there was only one road to the Immortal Emperor Grass, then avoiding them would be an impossibility.
As he got used to the thick turbid air and the darkness, Yun Che carefully sensed his surroundings and quickly picked up his pace. However after walking for a period of time forward, ahead of him was still a very long passageway. There was no splitting path, there wasn’t even any sign of an end. Yun Che started to feel uneasy.
At this moment a weak sound travelled from the front.
“Old Fox Nanlie, looks like this king’s son was fortunate enough and didn’t die. You must be very disappointed.”
This was Mu Baimei’s voice.
“That’s a given. Every time I think of how I will have to let my exquisite little daughter marry to that useless son of yours, this king always feels a pain in my chest,” Emperor Nanlie replied in a sarcastic tone of voice.
“Exquisite? Hmph, as expected of a pig you’ve raised. No matter how fat and ugly it is, you still consider it a treasure,” Mu Baimei mocked.
The both of them were constantly at loggerheads. From the way they addressed each other to how they always said the opposite things, it seemed like they even harbored some animosity and malicious intent within their words towards each other but despite all this the neither of them got angry at all, as if they were used to it.
Yun Che’s speed wasn’t quick yet he had caught up to them. This was because under the conditions of the turbid air, they were also being very careful as they proceeded.
Yun Che stopped in his tracks. From the voices and his sensing, he was only about three hundred meters away from the three realm kings.
If it were any other time, he would have most likely been discovered at this distance, but thanks to the strangely heavy and turbid air, he wasn’t in any immediate danger. However he still didn’t dare get any closer. He slowed his pace to a crawl as he heard their voices and maintained a fixed distance from them, following right behind without a sound.
He could only do this, unable to retreat or advance.