Chapter 194: Hitting a Wall

Seeing this action from Xu Chen, Qin Zhao and the several men were instantly stunned.

They had never seen anyone able to walk directly in the air like this, so they all exclaimed and shrieked in a gibberish tongue as if they had seen a ghost.

"Pulagutu agal!"

Feng Feiyi shouted loudly at the men, appearing somewhat embarrassed, and led Xu Chen straight into the cave.

Feng Zhao and the other tall and burly guards were dazed for a moment, then hurriedly followed, surrounding Xu Chen and the other person in the front, back, left, and right.

Inside the cave was a man-made passage, about one zhang high.

Walking inside, Xu Chen felt it was quite spacious, but to Feng Feiyi, Feng Zhao, and the others, it was barely enough to pass through; although they didn't need to hunch over, they could touch the ceiling by reaching out their hands.

Walking in the middle of such a group of tall and burly people, Xu Chen felt immense pressure.

Because apart from Feng Feiyi, several fierce Soul auras remained fixed on him, as if they wanted to see through him inside and out.

Although Xu Chen did not want to retaliate, he also did not want to be observed like a monster, so he kept releasing his Protective Origin Qi to block these Soul auras.

Perhaps because Xu Chen's few steps of walking on air had provided a hint of deterrence, Feng Zhao and the others no longer held the unbridled hostility they had at the start, though they remained very vigilant, keeping Xu Chen firmly surrounded.

Just like this, escorted by the crowd, Xu Chen followed behind Feng Feiyi, stumbling along the winding passage for about half a stick of incense's time, when the path suddenly opened up, and a massive stone cavern hall appeared before his eyes.

The hall was clearly man-made; the surrounding stone walls were as neat as if carved by blades and axes, and glowing stones were embedded everywhere. What surprised Xu Chen even more was that the Black Mist in this hall was extremely thin; if his Divine Sense had not been strong enough, he would have barely been able to sense the existence of the Black Mist.

He could even feel a trace of long-lost warmth; although not as good as the Mortal World, for this cold, pitch-black, sunless place, it was practically like a Grotto-Heaven.

There were many people in the hall, men and women, old and young, but apart from a few, most were not wearing armor like tight leather suits, but rather simple clothing, with some even just wrapped in a piece of animal hide.

These people's appearances were similar to Feng Feiyi's: red hair, with some strange red patterns on their faces.

Seeing Xu Chen and Feng Feiyi, there was an instant burst of exclamation and commotion in the cave; some women shielded their children and hid, while several robust men and women excitedly surrounded them to greet Feng Feiyi.

One of the men was slightly familiar to Xu Chen—it was the guy who had appeared with Feng Feiyi not long ago but had fled alone.

Feng Feiyi was not dissatisfied; instead, he was pleasantly surprised and communicated with these people in their gibberish. He likely said quite a lot regarding Xu Chen, causing even greater commotion in the cave. Many people wore expressions of disbelief, and some even took off running toward another passage on the side of the hall.

"They have gone to find the Clan Leader and the Elders, do not be nervous!" Feng Feiyi transmitted via voice.

Xu Chen nodded slightly.

To say he wasn't nervous would be impossible; he felt like a little white rabbit that had entered a wolf's den.

All around were vigilant, hostile gazes, and waves of powerful Soul auras wrapped around him like a flood, observing him without restraint.

Of course, Xu Chen was also observing these people at the same time.

Able to breed and survive in this sunless Minghuang, these humans could no longer be considered true humans. Apart from their appearance and physique being barely acceptable, they had actually undergone massive mutations from their Souls to their physical bodies, possessing not a shred of human aura.

Even the children who had just learned to walk emitted Soul fluctuations no weaker than a First-tier Soul Beast.

And all the adults had even stronger Soul auras; regardless of gender, they had Soul strength no weaker than a Second-tier Soul Beast, with many even stronger, capable of rivaling a Third-tier Soul Beast.

Just as both sides were observing each other, a very fierce Soul aura suddenly swept over from the depths of the hall and landed on Xu Chen.

Xu Chen's expression changed slightly; he felt the Blue Light Treasure Bottle in his Sea of Consciousness vibrate slightly, and a faint, hazy blue light emerged around him.

This aura was not at all weaker than the strength of that giant octopus beast.

Although it was merely a simple probe, it easily broke through the obstruction of his Protective Origin Qi.

However, Xu Chen knew this was likely the observation of the so-called Clan Leader or Elder, so he did not mount a stronger defense, simply allowing this aura to observe him.

A moment later, accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, two old men with withered yellow hair, surrounded by several young men and women, strode out rapidly from the side passage, shouting and scolding from afar.

The onlookers began to retreat, and soon, the group arrived in front of Xu Chen.

Feng Feiyi hurriedly stepped forward to explain, even taking out the porcelain cup Xu Chen had given him.

The two old men had cold and serious expressions; while listening to Feng Feiyi's explanation, they gathered together to look at the porcelain cup. Slowly, looks of shock appeared on their faces, and then they began to ask questions incessantly in their gibberish. Feng Feiyi explained continuously, and with every answer, the expressions on the two old men's faces grew more surprised, while the surrounding onlookers also kept emitting exclamations and noisy commotion.

It seemed Xu Chen's origin and identity were too inconceivable for them to understand or accept.

However, Xu Chen could not understand a single word of their conversation and could only stand in the middle, continuing to be watched like a monster.

"You say you come from the Mortal World, do you have any proof?"

Suddenly, a cold, dry, and aged voice rang out in Xu Chen's mind.

It seemed Feng Feiyi's explanation had not satisfied the old man, so he had directly used the simplest method of Soul communication.

Xu Chen focused his Divine Sense on the two old men and transmitted: "I do indeed come from the Mortal World, but I do not know what kind of proof you want?"

One of the old men looked at Xu Chen with a serious expression and transmitted: "Any proof will do, because we have always lived in Minghuang and have never heard of anyone from the Mortal World coming here. Such an item alone cannot prove your identity and origin."

Xu Chen flipped his hand and took out a ceramic teapot, saying: "This is something we use in the mortal world for drinking water, called a teapot, and this cup is the matching tea set. I wonder if this counts as proof?"

The old man took the teapot and examined it carefully, then handed it to the other old man beside him to look at. The two exchanged a few low, gibberish words, and one of them shook his head: "These two items of yours are indeed very strange, but they have no aura at all, so we cannot distinguish them. Besides, we also have vessels for drinking water; although they are not as good-looking as yours, they serve the same purpose."

Xu Chen thought for a moment, flipped his hand, and took out a Second-tier Spirit Herb: "What about this?"

Looking at this verdant, green plant that resembled bamboo joints and emitted a hazy spiritual light, the onlookers instantly erupted into an even more intense exclamation and commotion. Looks of surprise appeared on the faces of both old men almost simultaneously. One of them reached out to take the Spirit Medicine and observed it carefully; the more he looked, the more shocked his expression became. He then transmitted: "This thing is indeed quite strange; it does not look like something from Minghuang, but this is still not enough."

Xu Chen immediately wore a troubled expression and said: "I was only inadvertently swept into Minghuang by a Nether Beast; it is impossible for me to carry many things. By the way, my storage Magic Treasure is different from yours..."

As he spoke, Xu Chen took off the Storage Bag hanging from his waist.

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, and he looked disheveled and dirty, while this Storage Bag looked dusty and unremarkable. However, such a man-made item was clearly very different from things in Minghuang.

The two old men took the Storage Bag and began a new round of observation and discussion. Finally, with everyone watching, Xu Chen took out a pile of pots, bowls, and ladles, as well as a bag of flour and a bucket of water, and everyone had no choice but to believe him.

And after believing, while everyone was amazed, they also felt quite a bit of disdain, and the previous tension and hostility subsided by more than half.

Although the things Xu Chen took out were all very strange, they had no aura fluctuations and clearly did not look like anything valuable.

The two old men also breathed a sigh of relief, and the Soul aura that had been pressing down on Xu Chen was withdrawn. One of them said with a very strange expression:

"I didn't expect the Mortal World to have fallen to such a state. Ancient legends say the Mortal World had countless spiritual items and a large number of incredibly powerful figures who could destroy the world with a wave of their hands, but I see nothing extraordinary about you. However, your courage and ability seem quite good, to have been able to survive in Minghuang alone for so long and even save people from our tribe. But if you want to return to the Mortal World, I am afraid we are powerless, because the path between the Mortal World and the Underworld was severed long ago. If it were truly possible to go back, we wouldn't be trapped here suffering. The Underworld is simply not suitable for human survival; you have seen it yourself, now we can only hide and live underground, food is becoming scarcer, and reproduction is becoming more difficult. God knows how much longer we can hold on."

The old man's words caused the emotions of all the surrounding onlookers to sink, and the sounds of ridicule and mockery diminished by more than half.

Although Xu Chen felt a sense of shared grief, he knew now was not the time for pity, and he certainly could not reveal too much of his true wealth, so he could only cup his hands and request earnestly:

"Feng Feiyi has already told me about this on the way here, but I fear I cannot adapt to the aura and food of Minghuang. If I do not find a way back, I might not last long before I die. I hope the Clan Leader and the Elder will allow me to visit your Ancestral Temple to see if I can find any clues about returning."

An old man shook his head: "Although we sympathize with your plight, the Ancestral Temple is our holy ground; apart from the Feng Clan, no outsiders are allowed to enter. Moreover, the things in the Ancestral Temple are very simple and contain no clues regarding any passage; even if you went to see them, it would be of no help."

Xu Chen said helplessly: "I have nowhere else to turn now. For the sake of us all being human, I ask the Clan Leader and the Elder to be accommodating. Besides, the passage has actually always existed; now, Nether Qi has already sprayed into the Mortal World through the rift between the two realms, and a large number of Nether Beasts have begun to ravage the Mortal World. As long as I find even a single clue about the Nether Rift, I still have hope of surviving. As long as you allow me to visit the Ancestral Temple, whether I find clues or not, I will give you some gifts, including this teapot, as well as some food and water. Also, if you find the Spirit Medicine useful, I have a few more..."

However, no matter how much Xu Chen racked his brains and made promises, the two elders simply shook their heads, refusing to budge in the slightest.

(End of this chapter)