Chapter 1720

The crowd fell silent; no one had expected this place to be in a desperate situation.

"Let's go." Wang Meng called out to them, urging them to keep moving forward.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked ahead.

He saw eighteen black-clothed, masked figures appear up ahead.

Lin Chen and the others immediately grew wary.

They examined them carefully and discovered that the eighteen black-clothed figures were stiff—they had clearly all died.

"Were they poisoned to death?" Lin Chen asked, frowning.

They were all elite disciples of Tian Yuan City, extremely sensitive to poisons, so they recognized it at a glance. "Most likely," Wang Meng said, equally puzzled. "How could there be poisonous fog here? How strange."

……

They skirted around the eighteen black-clothed, masked figures and continued forward.

They hadn't walked far when they spotted another group of people—roughly fifty or more.

These people were powerfully built, holding various spirit artifacts in their hands; one look told of extraordinary origins.

Unfortunately, every one of them was dead!

"Were they killed by someone, or poisoned to death?" Liu Wenbo asked, puzzled.

Lin Chen examined them carefully, then shook his head and said, "Neither. These people were most likely killed by a formation."

Everyone was stunned. A formation? What kind of formation could kill over fifty powerhouses?

"Everyone, follow me." Wang Meng took the lead and continued forward.

They carefully skirted around a large pit and once again saw eighteen black-clothed, masked figures.

These masked figures stood ramrod straight where they were, gazes resolute.

Lin Chen grew even more puzzled: "Who exactly are these black-clothed, masked figures? What did they come here to do?"

They pressed on, and after rounding a small hill, a massive pit appeared.

The pit was over a hundred square meters, with several marks along its edges.

"These marks clearly only just appeared not long ago—a great battle must have taken place here!" Liu Wenbo said at once, his sharp eyes catching it.

Lin Chen sensed it carefully and said, "Indeed. This should be where the black-clothed, masked figures fought with others."

"With so many powerhouse corpses here, could the black-clothed, masked figures have been wiped out?" Liu Wenbo guessed.

"No, that can't be right." Lin Chen observed carefully for a moment and said, "Look—although these corpses are all dead, their postures are very natural. Clearly they didn't suffer any pain before dying."

"You mean these black-clothed, masked figures committed suicide?" Li Yunxi asked, puzzled.

Lin Chen nodded and said, "It should be so. These black-clothed, masked figures killed themselves to cover the retreat of the others!"

"It would be great if that's really the case—then we could leave here with peace of mind." Wang Meng said with a sigh of relief.

Lin Chen, however, kept feeling something was off, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"Let's leave this place quickly," Li Yunxi urged.

They pressed on and encountered several more waves of black-clothed, masked figures.

These black-clothed, masked figures all stood ramrod straight where they were, motionless.

As Lin Chen and the others walked past these black-clothed, masked figures, they felt a chill sweep over them, as if being watched.

"These black-clothed, masked figures are also shrouded in thick poisonous fog!" Lin Chen said at once, reaching out to touch one.

"What?!" Li Yunxi and the others were shocked. "These black-clothed, masked figures died of poisoning?"

Lin Chen nodded and said, "It should be so. It seems our earlier guess was wrong—these black-clothed, masked figures didn't commit suicide; they were killed by someone!"

Everyone fell silent. What secret was this place hiding? Why did powerhouse after powerhouse keep meeting with mishaps nearby? And most importantly, they all died! Without even the Kangdeji Society to resist.

"Everyone, be careful." Wang Meng raised his hand to halt the group's advance. "I sense something's wrong."

"What's wrong? I think everything seems perfectly normal," Li Yunxi said, vexed.

Wang Meng shook his head and said, "No! Think about the black-clothed, masked figures and those dead people we encountered before—they were all poisoned to death. I can feel the poisonous fog here growing thicker and thicker. If I'm not mistaken, this place should be a poisonous fog forest!" "A poisonous fog forest?" Li Yunxi and the others were still somewhat confused.

Wang Meng said in a low voice, "Legend has it that in ancient times, many powerful demon beasts and magical beasts lived in the forests. These demon beasts and magical beasts were born carrying poisonous fog, and over time the poisonous fog spread throughout the entire forest, forming a poisonous fog forest. If our guess is correct, this should be the legendary poisonous fog forest."

"Then what should we do?" Liu Wenbo asked nervously.

Wang Meng shook his head and said, "I don't know, but we must move with extreme caution. This poisonous fog forest is far too dangerous—one careless step and we could be trapped here forever."

The group took a deep breath; they felt pressure like never before.

But they did not retreat, and carefully pressed on.

They passed the battle site of the black-clothed, masked figures and the others, and continued deeper in.

They hadn't walked far when they saw a massive valley.

All around the valley were towering Shanfeng piercing the clouds, with a small lake below.

On the lakeshore stood a small wooden cabin.

Inside the cabin, a middle-aged man sat at a table reading a book.

"Excuse me, is this the ruins of the Holy Wu Dynasty?" Lin Chen stepped forward and asked.

The middle-aged man raised his head, glanced at them, and nodded. "That's right. This is the ruins of the Holy Wu Dynasty."

Lin Chen and the others were thrilled—they had finally found the legendary ruins of the Holy Wu Dynasty!

Wang Meng looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Why is there so much poisonous fog here?"

The middle-aged man smiled mysteriously and said, "Come with me."

The group followed the middle-aged man down to the bottom of the valley.

The middle-aged man pointed at a Shanfeng and said, "Do you know the secret of this Shanfeng?"

Lin Chen and the others all shook their heads.

The middle-aged man continued, "This Shanfeng is the treasure vault of the Holy Wu Dynasty. Long ago, to protect its legacy, the Holy Wu Dynasty hid all its treasures here."

GLOSSARY:

【Wu Wang, Lin Chen, Wang Meng, Liu Wenbo, Li Yunxi, Lin Yiyi, Shanfeng, Kangdeji Society, Holy Wu Dynasty, Tian Yuan City】

"What? The treasure vault?" Lin Chen and the others were shocked.

The middle-aged man nodded and continued, "There is a formation inside this mountain peak; only by solving the formation can one enter."

Lin Chen asked in confusion, "Then what is the matter with these poison mists?"

The middle-aged man explained, "This mountain peak is filled with a great array of poison mists. These poison mist arrays were set up by the Sacred Martial Dynasty to protect their inheritance. Only by solving the poison mist array can one enter."

"I see." Lin Chen and the others finally understood.

The middle-aged man looked at Lin Chen and Wang Meng and said, "I see you are not ordinary people; you must surely know the method to solve formations, right?"

Lin Chen nodded and said, "Yes, we know the method to solve formations."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, but he then sighed and said, "It is a pity I do not know the method to solve formations; otherwise, it would not be so troublesome."

Lin Chen and Wang Meng exchanged a glance, then said, "We are willing to help you solve the formation."

A trace of gratitude flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes; he then took a golden token from his robe and handed it to Lin Chen.

"This is a token of the Sacred Martial Dynasty; with it, one can enter the treasure vault," the middle-aged man said. Lin Chen took the token, his heart surging with excitement. They had finally reached this step; next came the true challenge.

The middle-aged man pointed to a small cave beneath the mountain peak and said, "That cave is the only passage to the treasure vault; you must be careful. The poison mist array of this mountain peak is extremely powerful; a slight mistake will trigger a mechanism, plunging you into a state of no return."

Lin Chen and Wang Meng exchanged a glance; they knew the coming action would be extremely dangerous, but they were confident they could successfully solve the poison mist array and enter the treasure vault.

The middle-aged man saw they were ready, so he said, "Go ahead; I will wait here for your good news."

Lin Chen and the others thanked the middle-aged man, then walked toward that small cave.

They walked forward along the small cave; the deeper they went, the thicker the poison mist became. They used true qi to protect their mouths and noses, trying to slow the inhalation of the poison mist.

After walking a distance, they felt their bodies somewhat unwell. Lin Chen knew this was due to the poison mist; if they did not find a solution soon, they might remain here forever.

Suddenly, a huge stone door appeared ahead, carved with ancient patterns. Lin Chen and Wang Meng studied these patterns and quickly found the location of the mechanism.

They used true qi to activate the mechanism, and the stone door crashed open.

"Finally here," Liu Wenbo said excitedly.

They entered the stone door and found a huge cave inside. The cave was filled with jade platforms, and on each jade platform lay a treasure.

"Are these the inheritances of the Sacred Martial Dynasty?" Li Yunxi asked in surprise.

Lin Chen and Wang Meng walked to the jade platforms to examine them closely, discovering that each treasure contained immense power. Some were ancient swords, some were spiritual pills, and there were even some ancient secret manuals.

"These treasures are all very important; you must be careful," Lin Chen warned.