Chapter 117

"Elder Jiang!!! We must be the first to seize the prize!!!"

Zheng Feng, with an excited look on his face, wanted to squeeze to the very front with his sister, while simultaneously sending a voice transmission to Jiang Ye via true qi.

Jiang Ye, however, retreated two paces without changing his expression, avoiding the surging crowd, and responded via true qi transmission:

"True Disciple Zheng, I actually think there is no need to be too anxious. Firstly, we don't know what dangers lie behind this stone door; rushing in blindly is likely to lead to more misfortune than fortune. Secondly..."

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd who were filled with excitement and scrambling to be first, his tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning:

"No matter what treasures are inside, whoever gets them first will become the target of everyone, besieged by all. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Feng was slightly startled, then took a look at the crowded throng around him.

The faces of those people were filled with a somewhat crazy excitement, their eyes holding nothing but greed and urgency.

Ginger really is spicier when it's old!

Zheng Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse in his heart, and decided to follow Jiang Ye's advice, pulling his sister and quietly retreating to the back.

They retreated to the edge of the crowd, found a relatively empty corner to stand, and watched the scrambling crowd with cold eyes.

In the blink of an eye, over a thousand people had gathered at the stone door, a dark mass of heads moving, packing the open space in front of the stone door so tightly that not even water could pass through.

The Hanjian Sect used a tactic of casting a wide net to catch many fish, sending out all their outer sect disciples; looking at it, it was a dense mass of light blue martial attire.

Those disciples were all rubbing their fists and wiping their palms, their eyes filled with greed, wishing they could rush in immediately and make a big haul.

Meanwhile, the outer sect disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect were gathered not far away with helpless expressions, looking longingly toward the stone door, their expressions complex and filled with unwillingness.

They had been ordered not to enter and could only guard the outside, watching others rush in.

Many were cursing the Elders of Jin Chen Peak in their hearts.

Talking about being worried about the safety of the outer sect disciples, telling them not to go in and just guard the outside.

Isn't it just because they are worried that if they get some opportunity inside, they will swallow it all themselves?

Rumble!!!

The stone door slowly opened, the heavy stone door moving to the sides and emitting a deafening roar, as if the entire mountain were trembling.

When the crack in the door had just revealed a gap wide enough for a person, a figure rushed in impatiently.

It was none other than Zhu Ying of Jin Chen Peak.

He was filled with excitement, his figure like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared behind the stone door.

But the next instant, his expression changed abruptly.

Inside this grotto, unlike the previous caves, there were no night-luminescent pearls embedded in the mountain rocks on the ceiling.

The entire grotto was pitch black, unable to see one's own fingers, and there was even an eerie mist floating about.

That mist was grey and hazy, like aged cotton wool, swallowing all light completely.

Even with his vision as an Embracing the Pill Realm martial artist, the visibility was no more than half a meter.

Zhu Ying's heart trembled inexplicably, his footsteps coming to an abrupt halt, and he didn't dare to rush forward any further.

He stood not far behind the door, observing his surroundings vigilantly, a layer of fine, cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

Soon, as the gap of the opening stone door grew larger, more and more people rushed in.

The people of the Hanjian Sect and the people of the Profound Heaven Sect, like a broken dam, instantly filled the open space behind the stone door.

In just a moment's time, the thousand people outside the door had all filed in, squeezing into this dim and eerie grotto.

"Why is it so dark in here!"

"It's really strange, are there no night-luminescent pearls installed in here!"

"It seems there is also a layer of grey mist..."

"This makes it impossible to see clearly at all!"

"Quick, light the fire starters!"

Everyone took out their fire starters one after another, the "hissing" sounds rising and falling, clusters of flames lighting up in the darkness, illuminating the surroundings with flickering shadows.

But the grey mist was too thick; the firelight could only illuminate the area within a foot or so, and everything in the distance remained pitch black, with nothing to be seen.

"This mist is strange; it actually blocks my vision."

Jiang Ye opened his Fire Eyes without changing his expression, the crimson-gold flames flashing in his pupils as he tried to observe the surroundings.

But the mist inside this grotto didn't know how it had formed, and it actually couldn't be penetrated even by his Fire Eyes, greatly hindering his field of vision.

Even so, he still vaguely saw that there seemed to be some somewhat strange figures standing in the mist, flickering and motionless, like clay sculptures or wooden carvings.

His heart felt a slight chill, but he didn't make a sound, instead quietly retreating two more paces.

If there was anything wrong, he would immediately retreat out of the stone door.

Secret treasures are good, but keeping one's life is more important.

The next instant.

Rumble!!!

The stone door that had been open actually closed all at once, the speed of closing much faster than when it opened, the heavy sound echoing in the grotto and making people's eardrums ache.

Jiang Ye was slightly startled, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

Does this stone door have a consciousness of its own?

It opened so slowly just now, yet now it closed so rapidly, as if it had long since calculated the timing to trap everyone inside.

"Why did this stone door close for no reason!"

"Doesn't this cut off our retreat..."

"Something is wrong; I feel that this grotto is extremely wrong..."

The crowd, who had been filled with excitement, saw this eerie scene in the grotto and saw the stone door suddenly close, their faces immediately revealing a measure of unease.

That unease spread through the crowd like a plague; some began to whisper to each other, some looked around, and some subconsciously gripped the weapons in their hands.

Hua Qingshui, who was always chuckling on weekdays, now had a face filled with solemnity.

He looked up at the closed stone door, his gaze carrying a hint of contemplation.

A moment later, he spoke in a low voice, his voice neither high nor low, yet clearly reaching everyone's ears: "From now on, everyone must be extremely careful."

"Yes! Elder Hua!"

Xie Tang and the other Embracing the Pill Realm Elders nodded with solemn expressions, their gazes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Hua Qingshui turned his head to look at the two slender figures behind him and asked softly: "The two of you have relatively sharp senses; did you discover anything?"

The two figures quietly walked out from the shadows; they were the Hua sisters of the Profound Water Peak.

These twins had mysterious movements; after entering the ruins, they had disappeared, and they only appeared shortly before the stone door opened.

At this moment, their expressions were solemn, their identical exquisite faces filled with vigilance.

They shook their heads slightly and said in unison: "No, this mist is very strange; it completely covers our senses. We can't feel anything at all."

Hua Qingshui nodded slightly, his gaze turning toward the dark mass of people not far away, a flash of brilliance appearing in his eyes.

He glanced at the people of the Hanjian Sect, his voice carrying a hint of deeper meaning: "Then let them go first; they have more people anyway."

Everyone immediately understood; the Hanjian Sect had brought so many outer sect disciples in, they certainly wouldn't be able to hold back...

"Little Hui, how is it? Can you smell anything?"

Zheng Feng followed Jiang Ye with his sister and asked in a low voice.

Zheng Hui's brow furrowed tightly, her small nostrils twitching constantly; a moment later, she spoke somewhat uncertainly: "No, this mist is strange; I can't smell it clearly, but I vaguely smell a stench..."

Her voice carried a hint of hesitation and a hint of unease.

"A stench?!"

Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng looked at each other, their hearts chilling simultaneously.

Since entering these ruins, the only thing that could make Zheng Hui smell a stench seemed to be that corpse ghost.

"I feel that I must immediately smell that Miss Yang's fragrance."

Zheng Hui suppressed the urge to vomit, wanting to find Yang Han's figure in the crowd.

Just at this moment, those outer sect disciples of the Hanjian Sect were already holding their fire starters and cautiously exploring forward.

The firelight flickered in the thick mist, only able to illuminate the area within a foot or so.

Their footsteps were very light, their breathing very heavy, and every step they took required them to look around for a long time.

"Ah——!!!"

A disciple's scream suddenly came, the voice filled with terror, echoing in the silent grotto and making one's scalp tingle.

Everyone immediately stepped forward a few paces and looked toward the source of the sound.

They saw that under the illumination of the firelight, a figure covered in black hair was looming in the mist.

That figure was tall and burly, its face black, death aura entwined, its ten fingers curved like claws; it was a corpse ghost!

It stood there quietly, motionless, like a clay sculpture or wooden carving.

"It's a corpse ghost!!!" A cry of alarm erupted in the crowd, and some subconsciously retreated a few paces.

"Don't be afraid! These corpse ghosts are very dull! They won't attack people at all!"

An Elder of the Hanjian Sect holding a refined steel longsword sneered and immediately stepped forward.

He had encountered these corpse ghosts in the caves outside before and had been startled at first.

As a result, he soon discovered that the corpse ghosts here were very dull, not at all as bloodthirsty as rumored, just standing there stupidly and letting people slaughter them.

"Let me send you to the afterlife!"

This Elder shouted sharply, a sharp golden true qi surging from the longsword in his hand, stabbing toward the corpse ghost's head like wind and lightning.

The sword light traced a golden line in the mist, so fast that its trajectory was almost impossible to see.

The next instant.

The corpse ghost looming in the mist suddenly raised its hand and grabbed the longsword infused with golden true qi.

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew everywhere! The refined steel longsword emitted an unbearable groan in the corpse ghost's hand, the sword body trembling violently.

"Roar——!!!"

Accompanied by a teeth-aching roar, the corpse ghost exerted force suddenly, actually snapping the refined steel longsword in one go.

The broken sword fell to the ground with a "clatter," fragments scattering everywhere.

Immediately, the corpse ghost's pitch-black claws slapped fiercely toward the chest of the Hanjian Sect Elder, the speed astonishingly fast.

"What—"

That Elder had already felt something was wrong the moment the longsword was grabbed and subconsciously wanted to withdraw and retreat.

But the corpse ghost's attack speed was too fast; that claw, carrying the force of a thousand jun and a fishy wind, instantly pierced through his chest.

"Puchi!"

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The corpse ghost withdrew its claw, and hooked on the tip of the claw was a heart that was still beating, steaming hot and dripping with fresh blood.

It opened its ferocious mouth and actually swallowed the heart in one gulp, the chewing sound exceptionally chilling in the silent grotto.

The smell of blood spread rapidly in the mist, the thick, rusty scent like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up layers of ripples.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar..."

Teeth-aching roars suddenly came from the mist, rising and falling, surging from all directions.

Following closely, pitch-black figures darted out from the mist, surging toward the crowd like a tide.

Those dense black shadows loomed in the firelight, countless in number, as if the entire grotto had become their nest.