Chapter 567: Shady Firmament Old Mound
Translator: Sigma Editor: Hitesh
There was a desolated plain in the North of Spirit Treasure Sect. This was a cold, dry area, without a single blade of grass. The ground there had many open cracks.
This plain had countless burrows, like stars in the sky, which tunneled to the deep place underground.
Gloomy, cold wind blew vaguely, chilling the bones. It could even intrude warriors’ Sea of Consciousness, which could make people felt its eccentric features from deep inside the soul.
Burrows with different sizes looked like quiet but open mouths of demonic beasts. They were pitch-black, and one couldn't see the mysteries inside. They looked quite dangerous.
No one knows how those burrows were formed. They’d existed since this plain was discovered more than ten thousand years ago.
This place was quite strange. There was no rain; even if one stayed there for dozens of year, he would never see a drop of rain.
According to rumors, this land was the tomb where the corpses of experts were buried in the Antiquity Time. Those mysterious and dangerous borrows drilled into that deep place underground, leading directly to the Shady Firmament Old Mound.
…
After midnight…
Stars scattered in the sky, twinkling like fireflies. The wind howled over the gloomy, isolated plain, chilling to the bones.
A streak of shining light zoomed over, suspending above the plain.
Silhouettes landed one by one from the flying carriage at a giant burrow.
"All the caves in this area dug deep into the underground. Some are very menacing. One wrong step can bury you in this place forever… never to be rescued," Ye Xiong took a deep breath, explaining with a serious countenance. "If you can’t identify the direction and go there rashly, you may encounter some ancient barriers which will destroy both your body and soul."
"Be careful! It’s unknown for how long the Shady Firmament Old Mound has existed. In the legends, this place has stood here since the Antiquity Time." Zhu Yi was serious, giving advice to Lin Zhi, Luo Xiao, and Luo Meng. "Later on, you can’t act carelessly. Stay close to us. Once you’re lost, don’t move. Use the Sound Stone to call me."
Lin Zhi, Luo Xiao, and Luo Meng nodded slightly, seeming to be scared.
Each warrior in the Divine Great Land had heard about the eccentric, evil features of the Shady Firmament Old Mound. This plain had buried many experts. With one wrong step, the barriers would besiege them. Not many were lucky enough to escape.
Yue Ying and Yun Xin were giving advice to Li Mu Yu and Bai Hui Quan, asking them to be more alert.
Shi Yan frowned as he felt the thick, cold wind pour into his body. His heart shivered.
A cold wind was howling everywhere. No one knew how it was formed. However, this kind of wind had a strong penetration ability, as it could even blow to people’s bones, which made the Essence Qi stagnant.
Shi Yan quietly urged his energy, using a bit of the heat from the Earth Flame. A warm current flowed through his entire body. He was moved, as the cold, gloomy feeling was reduced by a great deal.
"Is it the entrance?" Yue Ying’s almond eyes lit up a little bit as she was looking at the big cave near her feet and asking with a soft voice.
A cold gust blew through that cave entrance. It was completely dark. The wind was blowing here and there just like some ghosts crying, which could scare people a lot.
"Yes, it is." While Ye Xiong was talking, he took out an indigo elliptic light ball and shot it out.
The light ball fell slowly, its color changing constantly. The deeper the light ball got into the cave, the darker the light was. Later on, the indigo light ball became glistening purple.
"The cold wind’s too strong. Wait for a few minutes, we’ll get in there." Ye Xiong was familiar with the situation here. He retrieved the light ball and then explained, "Cold wind will activate the barriers inside. As soon as the cold aura in there dilutes, the ancient barriers won’t be activated. We should wait."
In this delegation, Zhu Yi, Yue Ying, and Yun Xiu seemed to have some understanding of the status of this Shady Firmament Old Mound. They nodded to agree with Ye Xiong’s plan.
This was the first time Shi Yan and the juniors came to the Shady Firmament Old Mound. They knew nothing about the anomalies here. Thus, they didn't have the right to give their opinions. They had to act as they were told.
"No need to be tense now," Zhu Yi smiled and said with a warm voice since he saw the atmosphere was heavy. "If we don’t get into the cave, there’s nothing dangerous. Even if the cold gust out there is getting sharper, there’s no barrier or fatal danger. Ye-ge has visited here once. He’s explored the area. We just need to escort him there. Before we meet that beast, there should be in no danger."
When people heard him saying so, they relaxed their tense nerves a bit.
Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh!
The sound of bodies tearing through space came from a place far away, coming here with the cold wind.
A surprised light flashed in Ye Xiong’s eyes. He shouted, "Someone’s coming!"
Shi Yan immediately put up guard.
Zhu Yi exposed the hands he had kept hiding in the sleeves, which wore a lot of gem rings. Each ring was sparkling with amazing light in the dark. They were, of course, his secret treasures.
‘Filthy rich, indeed!’ Shi Yan acclaimed in his heart.
Each elder of the Spirit Treasure Sect was wealthy. They had collected a lot of secret treasures from managing trading in their cities. Experts of the Spirit Treasure Sect could rely just on the treasures to smash their opponents. And when the others lost, they wouldn’t have even seen the full abilities of those Elders.
Their various treasures were clearly effective in increasing their competence. When they had more weapons or tools, they could have more backups during the fight.
Sometimes, a battle could turn into a competition of burning money to see who had more treasures and medicines.
People from the Spirit Treasure Sect were famous for this aspect. They were good at this type of fighting.
The howling wind ceased slowly.
Zhu Yi closed his eyes, as a fluctuating flow of his Soul Consciousness expanded from him, discreetly moving to the direction of the howling wind.
Shi Yan knew he was sensing, so he just waited in silence.
Indeed, five seconds later, Zhu Yi opened his eyes, his face amazed. "Why have they come here…?"
"Who?" Yue Ying inquired immediately.
"Lei Mo of Thunder Emperor City and Ai Po of White Emperor City," frowned Zhu Yi.
Shi Yan arched his brows. His face slightly changed as his mind flickered.
Lei Mo was the City Master of the Thunder Emperor City of Fighting Union. Ai Po was Ai Ya’s father, the Master of the White Emperor City. Both of them had the Third Sky of Spirit Realm cultivation base. They all liked fighting, which made them tough to deal with.
It wasn’t strange that the City Masters of Thunder Emperor City and White Emperor City appeared at Shady Firmament Old Mound. What was strange was, why did they come at this moment?
He couldn’t help but look at Ye Xiong.
It was obvious that Ye Xiong had hidden something from them. If not, not many experts would gather at the Shady Firmament Old Mound for only one Heaven Thunder Beast.
According to Ye Xiong, hotshots from the Martial Spirit Palace and the Heaven Temple would come for this Heaven Thunder Beast, and that they were likely to meet them.
But at this moment, people from Martial Spirit Palace and Heaven Temple hadn’t come. Yet, the City Masters of Fighting Union had appeared one step ahead. It should be something concealed.
Yue Ying and Yun Xiu knitted their brows. They didn't look pleased when they looked at Ye Xiong, waiting for his explanation.
"I’m inviting you here to deal with the Heaven Thunder Beast. You don’t need to get involved in the other stuff." Ye Xiong relaxed his eyebrows, answering them neither slowly nor fast. Apparently, he didn’t want to make things clear.
He stated his opinions already, and the others couldn’t do anything now. As they had come here, they could only be persistent, walking on the same path as his.
Shi Yan suddenly recalled Ai Ya. He wondered if this woman would come here too. When they were in the Dark Magnetic Noxious Mist, this woman had trapped him once. If he weren't smart enough, he would have been killed.
In the first exotic land, Ai Ya took the lead and stormed to the intertwining galaxies in the sky. He didn't know what had happened there. When he got up there, she had disappeared.
He had the feeling that Ai Ya had collected something there. After he arrived the Divine Great Land, he had met up with Cai Yi. She told him that Ai Ya had come back to the White Emperor City, and not long after that, she had a breakthrough and started to grow rapidly.
Cai Ya was the precious pearl in Ai Po’s hand. He really loved his daughter. If Ai Po came to the Shady Firmament Old Mound this time, he would probably bring her with him.
Upon his thought, Shi Yan wanted to release the Soul Consciousness to sense.
However, right when was about to take action, he felt a sense of soul fluctuation discreetly move above their head.
When his Soul Consciousness was released, he shivered under that soul fluctuation. When he recovered and wanted to pursue it, it had already disappeared into thin air. The place where the howling wind came didn’t have any trace of soul fluctuations.
It seemed the other had used some means to conceal their aura and soul fluctuations to prevent their sneaking.
"They detected us," Zhu Yi squinted his eyes and snorted, "Stealthy. They hid their aura. Harrumph! Do they think that I can’t do the same?"
Then, an emerald ring on his finger sparkled.
Green waves covered everybody instantly like an upside down bowl.
This is a treasure in soul concealing category.
Waves of this green light prevented Soul Consciousness from piercing through. It covered their vitality fluctuations and aura, exposing nothing that could help identify their whereabouts.
Ye Xiong started to sense the change of the cave again. The light ball floated up and down for a while, but the purple halo didn’t have any big change.
Ye Xiong’s eyes brightened up. He laughed quietly. "Alright, we can jump down."
Then, Ye Xiong was the first person flying towards that cave. While he was slowly descending, he reminded the others. "Everybody should slow down. Don’t rush. Stay close to each other."
"Let’s go," Zhu Yi nodded. He swung his hand, as a tender energy covered Luo Xiao, Luo Meng, and Lin Zhi entirely. They slowly sunk down.
Yue Ying and Yun Xiu followed them. Shi Yan was the last one leaving; he was very cautious.
…
Thousands of li away, a group of six, including Lei Mo and Ai Po, was seen standing in front of a cave, frowning.
Ai Ya, the one Shi Yan had just recalled, was here. A young man with a tough and stocky build stood next to her. This man had a pure smile, and he seemed to have a close relationship with Ai Ya.
Ai Ya beamed a weak smile from the corner of her mouth while talking cheerfully with that young man. Perhaps she had forgotten Shi Yan, whom she had met in the Dark Magnetic Noxious Mist. Also, she had never thought that she would meet an old friend, who was a thousand miles away from her, in this ancient burial mound.
"Not much different," Lei Mo laughed, looking at the cave. "We shall go. Ye Xiong and the others seem to have the same purpose as us. We shouldn’t let them arrive earlier than us."
Ai Po was really handsome. He nodded, "Yeah, we should hurry up."
This group then slowly jumped into the cave.