Chapter 204: Extreme Deep Chill

Very quickly, the stone cave was opened, and a group of people holding glowing crystals of various sizes crowded around Xu Chen and followed the Elder inside.

This cave had likely not been entered for countless years, so it was filled with a heart-palpitating, chilling, and decaying aura; the sound of footsteps echoed through the silent cave, making everyone feel their scalps tingle.

Even Feng Zhao and the other strongest men of the tribe were cautious, not daring to even breathe loudly.

When there was danger, the Old Witch Master was the tribe's anchor and hope.

But when there was no danger, the slumbering Old Witch Master was the most dangerous existence of all.

Even if he was constantly decaying in his slumber, he was not someone that ordinary warriors with low strength like them could easily provoke or contend with.

"Feng Zhao, Feng Xing, Feng Feiyi, follow me in; everyone else stay here for now!"

After walking downwards along a winding path for about two hundred zhang, a thick stone door appeared before them, with a large number of lines and strange Ancient Runes carved upon it.

Stopping outside the stone door, the Elder issued the order, and so most of those who had followed remained behind.

The Elder stepped forward and pressed his hands onto several runes in the center of the stone door, continuously striking it with powerful Soul Power; very soon, an obscure aura on the stone door began to fluctuate, and after lasting for more than ten breaths, a large number of runes on the stone door suddenly flashed with red light, and the thick stone door creaked as it was slowly pushed open.

"After entering, everyone must take protective measures. The Old Witch Master has been slumbering for too long, and both his body and soul have begun to decay; I fear some dangerous parasitic insects and poisonous creatures may have grown, and it will be troublesome if they enter your bodies!" the Elder warned solemnly via Divine Sense Transmission.

Xu Chen, Feng Feiyi, and the others nodded earnestly.

Soon, the team, now reduced to five, walked into the stone door, where another long passageway lay ahead, though it had turned into a flight of stairs continuing downward.

A dense Black Mist permeated the interior; although not as thick as outside, it felt even colder, as if it were a living thing trying to burrow into the body through every pore.

The Elder constantly radiated a thick Soul Power to push away the Black Mist, and the tight leather clothing worn by Feng Feiyi and the others also flashed with a faint red light, isolating the layer of black fog.

Xu Chen likewise dared not be careless; not only did he release his Protective Origin Qi, but his Divine Sense also shrouded the area within ten zhang to vigilantly observe the surroundings.

Yet even so, this pervasive, chilling cold still made him feel extremely terrified.

An adult old creature with strength comparable to a Fifth-Tier Nether Beast or a True Spirit Realm expert, even if dead, was not something that trash cultivators at the Zhenyuan Realm or Danyuan Realm could easily provoke.

It was just like a True Spirit Realm cultivator; even if the physical body completely collapsed, the fully-formed Primordial Spirit could still leave the body and release almost the full power of the original form, capable of shattering the heavens and earth with a single strike, turning everything within hundreds of miles into dust.

As long as this Old Witch Master was not completely dead, his undissipated Soul could potentially unleash a terrifying attack at any moment.

Furthermore, these natives of Minghuang all cultivated the Soul, and their Soul Power was only stronger, not weaker, than that of a great True Spirit Realm cultivator.

The strength of a Soul Beast did not lie in its physical body, but in its bizarre Soul attacks, which cultivators of the same rank found difficult to resist.

Just like how True Person Yiyun and True Person Xuanhe were no match for that octopus Soul Beast in the Five Elements Array; if it were just an ordinary Third-Tier mid-to-late stage Demon Beast, a cultivator at the early Danyuan Realm with powerful Magic Treasures and Magic Spells would have a high chance of victory, and even if they couldn't win, they could almost always retreat unscathed.

But the two Danyuan Realm experts were completely defeated in one move before that Soul Beast, and if rescue hadn't been timely, they likely would have perished on the spot.

Moreover, the higher the rank of the Soul Beast, the more its Soul power would double compared to a cultivator of the same level.

A Zhenyuan Realm cultivator was almost unable to deal with a Second-tier Soul Beast.

And a Danyuan Realm cultivator was basically completely unable to deal with a Third-tier Soul Beast.

This was the most difficult aspect of the Immortal World facing Soul Beasts.

This time, the five people walked downward for another full quarter of an hour; according to Xu Chen's estimation, they were now likely at least two miles deep into the underground of the great mountain.

To keep an old fellow who was almost completely dead locked away in such a deep underground cave showed that the Feng tribe had paid a great price and also maintained sufficient caution and prudence.

"We are almost there, everyone be careful!"

The Elder warned again via Divine Sense Transmission, then pushed open a heavy stone door, revealing a stone hall; it was manually excavated, with the four walls and ceiling all neat and tidy, and embedded with some glowing crystals, which, while not particularly bright, allowed one to see the situation inside clearly at a glance.

On both sides of the stone hall, four stone chambers had been excavated, and inside each stone chamber sat a pitch-black Stone Coffin.

The entire stone hall was permeated with an extremely chilling and decaying aura, making one's Soul feel as if it had fallen into an ice cave of ten thousand years, cold enough to make one shiver uncontrollably.

Wisps of Black Mist hung suspended in the air like thick ink, gathering above every coffin, looking incredibly eerie.

Apart from this, there was nothing else in the entire stone hall.

Everyone looked at these coffins very nervously; Feng Feiyi even squeezed tightly behind Xu Chen, and Xu Chen, whose heart was pounding, felt his head vibrating along with it.

However, Xu Chen had no heart to pay attention to others at this moment; instead, he clenched his fists, his eyes like torches, and while enduring the cold and fear throughout his body, he cautiously released his Divine Sense to carefully observe these coffins.

There were eight coffins in total, and each coffin had crisscrossing lines and various runes on it; it was clearly an ancient Array, just like the stone door and the God Blood Pool, and it certainly possessed the ability to shield the Soul and seal it.

"What is stored within these stone coffins are the most powerful warriors of our Feng tribe throughout the generations; each one was comparable to the most powerful Nether Beasts of the Minghuang Di Jie, but it is a pity that they have slumbered for too long, and not one has been able to wake up again."

The Elder's sighing voice echoed in Xu Chen's mind.

Xu Chen's gaze landed on one of the coffins, and he transmitted via his fingers: "Is the Old Witch Master sleeping in there?"

Although a thick, ink-like Black Mist gathered on all the coffins, the Black Mist on that particular coffin was the densest, and its aura was the most chilling; even just touching the coffin with his Divine Sense made him feel as if he were being stared at by a ferocious beast.

The Elder nodded slightly and said: "Correct, that is the stone coffin where the Old Witch Master sleeps; let's go over and take a look!"

After speaking, the Elder took the lead and walked toward the stone coffin, and Xu Chen and the others hurriedly followed in silence.

Soon, the five arrived inside the stone chamber; looking at this huge, pitch-black Stone Coffin up close, that heart-palpitating, extremely chilling aura was even stronger, as if there were a ten-thousand-year-old corpse inside the stone coffin, ready to open the lid and jump out to devour people at any moment.

"I am going to open the coffin now; you all be careful and pay attention, and absolutely do not release too strong a Soul aura to stimulate the Old Witch Master, otherwise I cannot guarantee what might happen!"

The Elder warned solemnly once more, and after seeing everyone nod, he pressed his hands onto the coffin lid and released rolling waves of Soul aura.

The coffin began to release intense Soul fluctuations, and soon the lines and runes on the lid began to glow slightly; finally, as the Elder pushed forward with both hands, the lid slowly slid open.

Inside the coffin, a thick, ink-like Black Mist permeated the air.

When his Divine Sense probed inside, it was exactly like falling into a pool of ice-cold water frozen for ten thousand years; instantly, black ice crystals began to pile up in his dantian, Meridians, and Sea of Consciousness.

This was the first time Xu Chen had encountered such intense erosion by Underworld Qi.

However, his sensation was clearly much more intense than that of the Feng tribespeople; at this moment, although Feng Feiyi and the others also had faces full of terror and tension, they seemed much more familiar with this kind of Nether cold, and their resistance was much stronger.

Xu Chen's Divine Sense continued to probe deep into the bottom of the coffin, and finally, he saw an old man, completely naked and withered like a dried corpse; his hair had fallen out completely, and there was almost no flesh or blood left on his body, leaving only a layer of dry skin, making his head look like a terrifying skull.

However, after observing with his Divine Sense from head to toe for a long time, Xu Chen still obscurely felt a trace of a weak life force.

This Old Witch Master was indeed not yet dead.

But in this state, it was likely no different from being dead.

Most importantly, the skin of this old husk was pitch-black and ice-cold, and the extremely chilling aura accumulated in the coffin was being continuously released from his body; apart from a trace of weak life fluctuation, one could almost not feel any human aura or characteristics at all.

Just as the Elder said, this Old Witch Master's intelligence had already been eroded by the Underworld Qi, and the Blood Poison had completely rotted his physical body; now, apart from a withered shell, he no longer had any value.

"How terrifying, I never thought the Old Witch Master would have become like this!" Feng Feiyi retreated in terror, and at the same time, her surprised voice echoed in Xu Chen's mind.

After Feng Zhao and Feng Xing finished looking, they also turned pale, stepped back, and whispered to each other.

"How is it? Do you think the Old Shaman Master can still be awakened?" the Elder asked via voice transmission.

Xu Chen slowly withdrew his Divine Sense and said with a serious and earnest face: "It is hard to say for now. Although the Old Shaman Master has been in a deep slumber for a long time, his aura still remains. As long as a sliver of intelligence is preserved, there is still a possibility of waking him. In our Mortal World, there is a type of Spirit Pill that can nourish the Soul and flesh, but I dare not experiment on the Old Shaman Master. If the Elder agrees, I would like to go back and test it on other sleeping tribesmen. If it succeeds, perhaps there really is a chance to awaken the Old Shaman Master."

Upon hearing this, the Elder was overjoyed and said: "That would be best. First, test it on those tribesmen who have no hope of waking; whether they live or die is unimportant. If you can truly help save the Old Shaman Master, you will be the greatest benefactor of our Feng Clan and even the entire Nether Human Race. By then, all tribes will accept the Old Shaman Master's summons to help you find the way out."

Xu Chen nodded and said: "It is too early to speak of success. Let us not disturb the Old Shaman Master's slumber for now and return first!"

"Good, good!" The Elder hurriedly closed the coffin lid quickly.

With a 'Crack!' as the coffin lid closed, that terrifying Nether cold aura that made one's Soul, Meridians, and dantian feel as if they were freezing stiff was suddenly cut off inside, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief almost at the same time.

(End of this chapter)