Chapter 1752

Dawn arrived quietly amid the birds' calls; Hu Xiaotian opened his eyes. He lay on a hammock whose ends were tied between the branches of a large tree, stretched comfortably, unfolded the map, studied the route a bit. According to the markings on the map, after passing Black Stone Stronghold he would head southwest, travel thirty li on the main road, then enter the mountainous area. The forest where he rested was right at the entrance of Purple Dragon Mountain.

Last night, after escaping from Black Stone Stronghold, he had come here; he decided to rest in this forest for the night and then continue toward Purple Dragon Mountain.

After washing up, he ate a few mouthfuls of dry rations, then continued toward Purple Dragon Mountain. Looking up, Purple Dragon Mountain wasn't particularly tall, especially compared to the surrounding ranges—it was a bit shorter. However, the mountain's hue was tinged with a faint purple in the glow of the sunset; its summit wasn't steep like other peaks, but looked as if it had been sliced off by a sword, forming a plateau.

Not long after entering Purple Dragon Mountain, the road ahead had completely disappeared, and the locations marked on the map were not very detailed. The map showed that the Wuxian Sect's main altar should be near the summit. Hu Xiaotian climbed to the top and finally understood why the mountain had a flat top—it was a volcano, and the summit was its crater.

Following the volcanic crater's rim, he finally found the stone statue marked on the map as the Immortal's Guidance; the statue was also formed from piled lava. According to the direction the statue pointed, Hu Xiaotian went downhill and eventually found a small crack. Outside the crack, vegetation grew thickly; without this map, it would be hard to notice that a crack lay hidden within the dense foliage.

Hu Xiaotian looked around and saw no footprints of anyone passing through. If this were truly the location of the Wuxian Sect's main altar, there should be considerable traffic of disciples coming and going; anyone passing would leave footprints. Given the rampant growth of vegetation, it seems few people pass here—at least we can conclude that no one has come through here recently.

Hu Xiaotian drew his side sword and cut away the vines and vegetation in front of the crack, then entered it. The crack was extremely narrow, allowing only sideways passage; inside it was deep, dark, chilly and damp. He had thought that after walking a distance inside, the fissure would open up, but after moving sideways for over a hundred steps, there was still no sign of widening. At the narrowest point, he had to use the Tendon Changing Bone Shifting technique to shrink his body in order to get through, and the farther he went, the darker it became. Looking up, he could no longer see the sky. He took out a Night Pearl from his waist to illuminate the narrow, dark space, and saw that the front rock wall was entirely red, undulating like waves. Looking closely, he realized that the red coating on the wall consisted of countless ant-sized mountain ants, each the size of a grain of rice. Unlike the usual black ones, these mountain ants were entirely crimson, covering the rocks in a blood‑red hue.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought it was not good; if these mountain ants all swarmed up, even with his martial arts he would likely be gnawed down to a pile of bones. Fortunately the ants did not continue to approach Hu Xiaotian, stopping when they reached about two feet away from him. Hu Xiaotian had once swallowed the inner core of the five-colored spider king, knowing that this inner core gave him near immunity to all poisons; these ants must have smelled the special scent on his body, so they dared not come closer.

Hu Xiaotian tried extending his arm; indeed, where his arm approached, the ants quickly scattered outward. Hu Xiaotian was certain these ants would not harm him, so he gathered his courage and continued to push forward. Wherever he went, the ant crowds scattered aside, but he only looked ahead and neglected his feet. Suddenly a crack sounded under his foot, as if he had stepped on something broken. Hu Xiaotian lowered his head and, using the light of the Night Pearl, saw a pile of white bones beneath his feet. Judging by the shape of the remains, they were not human; perhaps an animal that had mistakenly entered the crevice, and after encountering the ant swarm, had been completely devoured by the ants.

Moving forward, the crevice widened slightly, but it became even more damp. The ground was covered with moss, and poisonous snakes of the same color as the moss writhed on the surface. These green snakes were small, yet their poison was extremely potent; they raised their heads, puffed out their chests, and constantly flicked their bright red tongues.

Hu Xiaotian took out a waterskin from his waist, took a sip of water, and then sprayed it toward the snake swarm; the poisonous snakes also scattered backward in retreat. Hu Xiaotian let out a helpless laugh, fortunate that he had earlier swallowed the inner core of the five-colored spider king; otherwise, even if Li Wuyou had given him a map, he could not have entered the main altar of the Wuxian Sect. This must be a secret passage, known to very few of the sect's members.

Although the group of poisonous snakes did not attack Hu Xiaotian, walking among them and hearing the constant flicking of the green snakes' tongues made him feel a bit creeped out. Even though he believed he was already immune to all poisons, anything could go wrong; he could not risk verifying his immunity by letting a poisonous snake bite him.

After great effort he left the poisonous snakes' territory; ahead the vines blocked the path again. Hu Xiaotian raised his sword and slashed the vines, opening a road. A glimmer of light finally penetrated ahead. Although it was only a glimmer, it still represented hope of escaping this narrow crevice. Hu Xiaotian patiently inched forward. Although he saw the exit, he still maneuvered in the narrow crevice for half an hour. Just then he reached there, the sunlight blazing, a strong gust blowing in his face. Hu Xiaotian raised a hand to his forehead to make a shade. He stared ahead and saw that the exit was actually atop a high cliff. Because the crevice was narrow and the outside was covered with vines, it was situated above the cliff, making it hard to spot. But if he tried to go straight out from inside, he would be smashed to pieces.

After adapting to the strong sunlight, Hu Xiaotian looked around and discovered that this opening was actually inside the volcanic crater, though he smelled no sulfur; it seemed the volcano was most likely extinct, and the crater was also filled with plenty of vegetation. Except for the side where Hu Xiaotian stood, which was relatively steep, the other areas had some slopes. On the opposite cliff face, many stone steps had been carved. Vegetation was lush, flowers bloomed everywhere, the mountain wind blew in his face, bringing waves of floral fragrance that refreshed his heart and lungs. Although it was a volcanic crater, what he saw was a scene teeming with life: butterflies danced, bees flew, colorful birds glided among them, and from time to time pleasant bird calls rang out. The sunshine was bright, orioles sang, swallows danced. Compared to the damp, humid, insect-infested narrow crevice he had just gone through, this place was completely a different world. Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, truly unexpected—this volcanic crater actually hid a paradise. The Wuxian Sect chose this place to establish its main altar; not only is the scenery beautiful, but the location is also hidden. It seems their sect leader still has good vision. (To be continued~^~)