Chapter 203: Three Hundred Meters Underground!

Lu Ziyi guarded the Tianmen River for seven days and seven nights; perhaps she thought nothing of it, but Chen Mu remembered it in his heart.

Not knowing would be one thing, but now that he knew Lu Ziyi might be in trouble, he had to investigate—at least to ease his mind!

……

The next day.

The second round of eliminations for the Dragon-Tiger Storm Gathering commenced as scheduled.

Chen Mu, Huang Yuanhe, and several hundred other contestants who had passed the first round were led by a tournament official down a hidden underground passage.

The passage wound downward, its stone walls inlaid with soft-glowing fluorite stones, the air thick with dampness.

Descending steadily, they reached roughly three hundred meters underground, where the path suddenly opened up.

A vast underground space appeared before them.

The vaulted ceiling soared high, like another night sky, studded with countless pearls of varying sizes that cast a cold, starlike radiance, illuminating the entire cavern.

The surrounding walls were rough, bearing clear natural formations mixed with traces of human carving and shaping.

An ancient, desolate aura swept over them, evoking awe.

Legend held that this underground space had existed for over several thousand years, one of Wudicheng's most vital treasures.

"Look over there!"

Someone whispered in shock.

In the next instant, every gaze involuntarily fixed on a massive stone wall at the far end of the space.

Before the wall stood two colossal stone pillars, each requiring several people to encircle; their surfaces were covered in dense, unrecognizable ancient patterns, radiating an invisible pressure.

One of the officials who had led them down—a middle-aged man with a steady aura—stepped forward quickly and bowed respectfully toward the empty ground beside the pillars.

"We beg the two my lords to open the entrance."

As his words faded, the air beside the previously empty pillar rippled like water, and two elderly men in gray linen robes, their hair and beards white, appeared silently like ghosts.

Their auras were tightly contained; at first glance, they seemed ordinary old men—but the moment they opened their eyes, a crushing pressure, heavy as mountains, leaked out, causing the breath of the hundreds of contestants to stall, their Postnatal Realm faces turning pale.

Earth Altar Realm!

And at least Triple Flower Convergence or Five Qi Harmonization.

With two such powerful cultivators guarding the entrance, the danger of this second round of eliminations was plain to see.

Huang Yuanhe shrank his neck, leaned close to Chen Mu, and muttered in a trembling voice, "Brother Chen, is this really necessary? How dangerous must the ancient relics' beasts be to warrant two Earth Altar mid-realm guardians at the entrance?"

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened as it settled on the pillars and the two elders; his heart grew solemn.

He said nothing, but inwardly agreed with Huang Yuanhe's assessment.

Wudicheng deploying such deep reserves as a trial ground was no joke.

The dangers within the ancient relic space were likely greater than anticipated.

……

Under the awe-filled gazes of all, the two Earth Altar elders beside the pillars said nothing, exchanged a glance, then raised their withered palms simultaneously and pressed them toward the opposing pillars through the air.

Hum—

Vast amounts of true energy surged into the pillars; the ancient inscriptions on their surfaces ignited one by one, radiating brilliant light.

The space between the two pillars, once empty, began to twist and tremble violently, finally forming a gateway that rippled like water, glowing with a hazy aura.

A desolate, ancient scent, tinged with faint blood and wildness, rushed forth from beyond the light portal.

"The entrance is open! All contestants, present your tokens and enter in order!"

The official barked, his voice clear to every ear.

Swoosh~

The first contestant, token in hand, dashed into the light portal.

Then the second, the third, the fourth…

"Brother Chen, let's go."

Huang Yuanhe called out and stepped forward toward the portal first.

Chen Mu gripped his bronze token, his expression calm and unruffled.

Following Huang Yuanhe, he stepped into the rippling light portal.

Shhh~

The instant he crossed the portal, Chen Mu felt the space around him warp slightly, and the next moment, his feet touched solid ground.

He swiftly scanned his surroundings and found himself on a half-mountain ledge; behind him rose a sheer cliff, smooth as a mirror and towering into the clouds, the rippling portal now stabilizing slowly on its surface.

Huang Yuanhe, Su Yuanhua, and other contestants appeared one after another nearby.

Looking up, this ancient relic space had no sun or stars, yet a soft, bright glow filled the sky above, illuminating the entire world with a comfortable temperature—nearly identical to the morning hour outside, as if forming its own miniature world with a cycle of day and night.

Gazing outward, distant mountains rose in lush green layers, forests dense and verdant; nearby streams murmured gently, the air exceptionally fresh, even richer in vitality and spiritual grace than the outside world, as if standing within a primordial early spring forest.

Had he not known beforehand, one might easily forget they were three hundred meters underground in an ancient relic.

Once all contestants had been transported and gathered on the half-mountain ledge, the tournament official's booming voice echoed again in their ears.

"This is the venue for the second round. You must survive here for three days and kill as many strange beasts as possible!"

"Each beast you kill will automatically register its aura on your token; afterward, it will be converted into corresponding points. The stronger the beast, the higher the points awarded."

"After three days, the top one hundred scorers will advance to the next round!"

"Anyone who returns here before the time is up will be eliminated."

He paused, then pointed to two diverging trails below the mountain, continuing, "For fairness and to minimize unnecessary casualties, Postnatal Realm cultivators will descend the left path. Innate Realm cultivators will descend the right path."

"The regions reached by the two paths differ in overall beast strength. The point-earning rules also differ for Postnatal and Innate Realm cultivators."

"Now… the elimination round begins!"

Swoosh!

Whoosh~

At the word, several hundred contestants sprang into action, splitting into two streams by cultivation level and racing down the mountain along their respective paths.

Chen Mu naturally headed for the path on the right.

Huang Yuanhe followed at his side without hesitation, and the delicate Xue Ranran likewise chose the right-hand path, traveling together with Chen Mu and the others.

The trail down the mountain twisted and turned; ancient trees towered on both sides, strange flowers and exotic herbs grew everywhere, brimming with a primeval air.

Huang Yuanhe craned his neck this way and that in curiosity, unable to hold back his question: "Brother Chen, Miss Xue, what do you think the strange beasts in this ancient site look like? Do you suppose they have three heads and six arms, or breathe fire and spit ice?"

"Very likely."

Xue Ranran blinked her big eyes, also a little curious. "The records say that the strange beasts in these ancient other-dimensional spaces mostly have unusual bloodlines and varied forms, and indeed many of them possess strange abilities."

Chen Mu did not join the discussion; his gaze swept sharply over the surroundings, alert for any movement.

The three had not walked far along a clear, bottom-visible stream when the bushes ahead suddenly rustled and squeaked with a few sharp "squeak squeak" sounds.

"Here they come!"