Chapter 247: Exploring the Profound

Brilliant light like a torch, soaring into the sky and reflecting in the air.

In his ears, he only heard a grand sound, as if a god were beating a heavenly drum, rumbling and resounding, making people's eardrums swell and feel slightly stinging.

Chen Hang's heart moved, he unleashed his body, leaped into the clouds, and after a while, shook off the layers of flowing clouds, climbing to a height of several thousand zhang.

Looking from such a height, he saw that in the four cardinal positions of the palace, there was a mass of brilliant light flashing, as if some kind of living thing, breathing in and out.

Each time, it could absorb a massive amount of spiritual energy from the cave heaven, as majestic as a giant tide in the sea!

Stirring the entire small cave heaven into a mess, the momentum was extremely grand!

Chen Hang watched quietly for a long while, then closed his eyes and observed carefully, only feeling that when the four Water-Fire Wells were opened, deep in the extreme of the sky, there seemed to be a clicking sound of an egg cracking.

Intermittent, barely perceptible—

"This Flowing Fire Liuhuo Liuhuo Honghua Fan Dongtian, I fear it can no longer be sustained..."

He opened his eyes, shook his head slightly, shook his sleeves, and turned into a white light, escaping toward the Bright Virtue Hall below.

And after arriving at the hall, all the disciples were alarmed and had already gathered in the great hall.

Seeing Chen Hang enter, they all saluted together, their demeanor very respectful.

"You all don't need to be so polite. Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong Shen must be waiting inside. Please."

Chen Hang exchanged glances with the red-browed Daoist, nodded slightly, and greeted them.

After the cultivators passed through the wall and stepped onto the golden bridge.

Beside the Water-Fire Well, besides Shen Cheng, there were already four or five Daoists standing there.

"Why are you fellow disciples so late."

Shen Cheng turned back and smiled, saying:

"Now the three stone doors in front of the underground palace have been removed. It seems that Zhao Tong's side has also succeeded. We enter the underground palace, and there is no more obstruction!"

As early as seven days ago, Shen Cheng had already mastered this Water-Fire Well in the Bright Virtue Hall, so he didn't have to imprison himself in this cave hall anymore and could travel freely with his true body.

However, because Zhao Tong's side was repeatedly harassed, his progress was also slightly slower.

Until today, the stone doors were all open, and the restrictions were loosened.

This also meant that Zhao Tong had finally guarded the Water-Fire Well in the west position and had not been snatched away by noble clan disciples.

"Thinking carefully about being able to possess this object, it was truly not easy."

Shen Cheng clapped his hands and smiled, then pointed to the crowd, saying:

"Chen Xiao Shixiong, you first killed and defeated Qiao Yan and others. This act is no different from breaking one of Xiao Xiujing's arms! And when guarding the Bright Virtue Hall, you repeatedly frustrated the sharpness of Yin He and Ji Yuetan, making the enemy crowd fearful upon hearing the news and not daring to approach... In my view, Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong should be credited with the first merit!"

Once these words came out, no one was unconvinced.

Shen Ming nodded slightly, and the red-browed Daoist's face contained a smile.

"And as for the second merit—"

Shen Cheng smiled.

Before he finished speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by a voice that soared to the sky.

The cultivators turned their eyes to look, their vision suddenly blurred, and then they only saw a ray of light shooting over from the golden bridge, cold light overflowing, and in an instant, it arrived at the stone platform, revealing He Manzi's figure from within.

He pressed his hand on his sword, scanned the field, and laughed arrogantly:

"The first merit is naturally Chen Xiao Shixiong. I dare not rank above him... And as for the second merit, who else but me!"

"With this temperament of yours, it is only because several fellow disciples are broad-minded. If it were someone else, how could they tolerate you?"

Shen Cheng shook his head and scolded with a smile, waving his hand to signal him to step back.

Shen Ming and the red-browed Daoist had long been used to this scene, their expressions remaining normal, without any movement.

And after a round of ranking merits.

Seeing that the emotions of the cultivators were all stirred up, their fighting spirit was high, and they had the intention to compete for the lead.

Shen Cheng was very satisfied in his heart, so he struck while the iron was hot and also said the highlight of today:

"After you fellow disciples enter the underground palace, no matter what kind of creation you obtain, Shen will not take a single bit! I only ask you fellow disciples to help Shen with one arm, to compete for a side-door Dao book in the underground palace. After the matter is done, Shen still has a generous gift to offer!"

Once these words came out, except for Chen Hang and Shen Ming who already knew the inside story,

even He Manzi's face revealed a trace of surprise, his eyes flickering.

"Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong Shen, can these words be true?"

The red-browed Daoist was overjoyed, ignoring his usual demeanor, hurriedly walked out of the crowd, stepped forward a few steps, and bowed to ask for advice:

"Is Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong Shen truly like this?"

"When have I ever had deceptive words in my life?"

Shen Cheng did not take these words as an offense, smiling slightly.

"Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong is righteous! Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong is righteous!"

The red-browed Daoist was overjoyed upon hearing this, raised his arms and shouted: "With such great kindness, how can we not be willing to die for you?!"

The cultivators were overjoyed and responded in unison, the sound like thunder, causing the echoes in the cave hall to be endless, the sound rumbling.

"Please!"

Seeing this, Shen Cheng felt settled in his heart, cupped his hands, and secretly guided the Dharma seal.

Auspicious clouds immediately sprayed out from the Water-Fire Well, like bright moon shining clear brilliance, the Milky Way containing stars, and a huge suction force was born out of thin air, making everyone unable to control themselves, like tired birds returning to the forest, flying toward the well mouth one after another.

In just a moment.

The stone platform was empty, and not a single figure could be seen...

Yi Luo Hall.

Seeing the people beside him turning into light and disappearing one by one.

Yin He looked coldly at Xiao Xiujing, who was smiling on his face, and also greeted, taking his own men, and threw toward the well mouth.

After a few breaths.

On the stone platform.

Only Ji Yuetan and Xiao Xiujing remained.

"Everything, I will have to trouble Bai Xiaoxiao Shixiong Ji."

Xiao Xiujing bowed to him.

"Xiao Sanlang is polite, this is the proper meaning!"

Ji Yuetan did not dare to accept this salute, dodged to the side, a trace of meaningful smile appearing on his face:

"I heard that that madman Chen Hang, after harming Brother Qiao, also snatched Xiao Sanlang's Dharma artifact, the Moon Wheel Mirror? After I eliminate this thief, I will definitely return the object to its owner, and absolutely will not let Xiao Sanlang lose this treasure!"

"Since that is the case, Xiao will look forward to it!"

Xiao Xiujing's gaze flashed.

The two looked at each other and laughed loudly.

And after all four Water-Fire Wells were opened and the cultivators had entered the underground palace.

Suddenly, a sound that collapsed the sky spread, the cloud layer sank together, descending no more than a hundred zhang, and then exploded in chaos!

The earth shook and the mountains swayed, dust flew and smoke rose, reaching several hundred zhang high, blocking people's eyes.

Before long, a crack slowly appeared in the sky, and no one knew how long it stretched.

Through that crack, vaguely, it seemed one could see one or two scenes of the present world, but it flashed and disappeared, and soon even that crack disappeared.

Qiao Rui, who was startled by this movement, looked at this scene, was stunned for a while, then carefully retracted her head into the rock cave and carefully sealed the entrance.

"Flowing Fire Liuhuo Liuhuo Honghua Fan Dongtian, it is about to crash..."

She thought in her heart.

Before his eyes, it seemed there were countless red and black lights flashing back and forth, dense and numerous, impossible to exhaust.

After a short trance.

Chen Hang's eyes blurred, and after he could see things again, he was already in a strange territory that was almost a ruin.

Above his head, there were no clouds and no light, and no one knew how high it was.

All around was dark and gloomy, looking from afar, one could see some broken walls and ruined walls and half-collapsed pavilions and palaces.

Not to mention any vitality, even spiritual energy and treasure light did not exist.

At present, Chen Hang was alone, and people like Shen Cheng and He Manzi were not here.

And after releasing his mind to observe, within several miles, he did not find the Qi of any familiar person.

From this point of view, the movement of the Water-Fire Well was not fixed, but instead scattered everyone to different areas of the underground palace...

He pondered for a moment, took out the tortoise shell in his hand, divined a hexagram, and seeing that the hexagram was ignorant and could not see any results, he did not hesitate, chose a direction at will, and flew up.

In this underground palace, in all directions, there was a faint sense of oppression and danger, causing the Tai Su Jade Body to warn from time to time, clearly not a good place.

After walking for about half a cup of tea, when he saw from afar a palace with three green clouds circling above, smoke and mist flowing, and the form was extremely magnificent and grand!

Chen Hang stopped his escape light slightly, and a trace of joy could not help but appear on his face.

Along the way, everything he saw was broken ruins and strange stone carvings.

Naturally, he could not find any usable things in those ruins, and if he rummaged, he would only get covered in dust.

And as for those strange stone carvings, although their forms were tall, reaching several dozen zhang, they were all in the form of an old man holding a staff in red robes, suspected to be the true owner of this Flowing Fire Liuhuo Liuhuo Honghua Fan Dongtian, Fire Glow Old Ancestor.

But the stone carving itself was just an ordinary object.

It did not contain a trace of spiritual energy and was not some puppet object...

The palace in the distance was floating and ethereal, mysterious and dark.

Clearly, the restrictions within the palace still existed, which was why it revealed such an atmosphere.

Since that is the case.

Inside the palace, it is said that there might be one or two cultivation resources sealed and left until today!

Chen Hang's mind moved, he drove his escape light, and continued to walk forward.

But when he was within a few miles of the palace, he noticed a strong wind suddenly attacking from behind his head, flashed his body, and moved horizontally several zhang at the last moment, easily avoiding it.

Looking with his eyes, the object that attacked was a heavy, large blue stone that two people could embrace.

At the same time, a giant ape with scales and armor, with a tail growing on its back, also drilled out from the distant ruins, hissed at Chen Hang, which was ear-piercing and unpleasant, and then lifted a giant stone, aimed at Chen Hang, and made a gesture to throw it!

After this hiss.

It seemed to wake up countless dormant strange beasts at the same time.

In an instant, countless strange beasts broke out of the ground, roaring sounds one after another, connecting into a piece!

"Ying Ape?"

Chen Hang was slightly surprised: "Even here you have?"

Underground palace east side.

Beside an octagonal pavilion whose Dharma light was already weak, He Manzi's figure suddenly retreated several dozen zhang, and at the same time, he recalled his flying sword into his hand.

Seeing that the group of strange birds resembling Bi Fang still refused to give up, hundreds and thousands, continuing to kill in a dark mass.

A trace of impatience flashed in his eyes, he raised his true Qi, and exhaled a wild whistling gale, rolling it violently.

This Daoist technique was called "Three Platforms Calm and Settled Wind", not attacking the physical body, but specializing in attacking the divine soul and nature.

If a cultivator with an unstable nature encountered this wind, boundless delusional images would immediately arise in his mind, his body would be stiff, like a walking corpse, and he could only be slaughtered.

Even Daoists who have cultivated profound skills, when encountering superior Daoist techniques like "Three Platforms Calm and Settled Wind", cannot treat them lightly and need to deal with them carefully.

When these beasts and birds with ignorant nature encountered this wind, the outcome was self-evident.

Only seeing the pale gale like a flood, washing over, after only a few rounds of rolling, those hundreds of strange birds were like having drunk enough strong wine, swaying, their figures unstable.

A few even fell to the ground, rolling and tumbling.

He Manzi sneered, raised his spirit, seized this gap, and fiercely killed with his sword!

Cold light shot out, blood exploded miserably, feathers flew—

But after less than half a cup of tea, there was not a single strange bird in the air, only blood-stained corpses all over the ground.

He Manzi raised his sword and slashed at the octagonal pavilion, but it only made the spiritual light tremble, failing to break the restriction.

He raised his eyebrows, just about to use his trump card, but heard a human voice sounding from afar.

Because he did not know whether the newcomer was an enemy or a friend.

After hesitating for a moment, He Manzi still unleashed his body, hid behind the mountain wall not far away, and watched the changes quietly.

Initially, the human voice was very blurry.

But after a few dozen breaths, it gradually became clear.

In mid-air, only seeing Wang Dian and Liu Lingzheng stepping on a purple cloud of about a mu, looking at the octagonal pavilion, their faces still carrying some surprise.

"There might be something tricky here. Look at these strange birds, their corpses are still warm, clearly not dead for long. The person who killed them should also be nearby..."

Wang Dian frowned and looked at the mountain of bird corpses on the ground, suddenly remembering the teachings of several elders of the Jiang clan on weekdays.

He felt inspired, could not help but raise a caution, and said:

"Brother Liu, you and I have gathered in one place by chance. For the sake of stability, we should go and seek Senior Brothers Liu Guan and Sima Mingye. As for this octagonal building, it won't be too late to open it after the two Senior Brothers arrive."

"Younger brother, what are you afraid of? I have the 'Golden River Cart' gifted by my elder brother, which can fight and run! In this underground palace, there are very few who can hurt you and me!" Liu Lingzheng did not take Wang Dian's suggestion seriously, laughed loudly, and said:

"The so-called heaven gives but you don't take, instead you suffer the blame! A good creation is in front, how can there be a reason to hand it over to others? Even if my elder brother is in front, it is absolutely not allowed to be yielded!

Don't worry, that thief who killed the birds must be afraid of your and my majesty, so he hid far away. What is there to be afraid of!"

And seeing that Wang Dian was still hesitant, Liu Lingzheng lost patience and opened his mouth:

"You and I now both have trump cards to protect our lives, which small fry dares to come up and seek death? Even if that scoundrel Chen Hang is in front, I don't put him in my eyes, instead—"

Before the words fell.

A sword light had already killed from somewhere, easily, almost splitting his half body!

It was only blocked by a mass of golden light, which bounced it away, not letting Liu Lingzheng lose his life on the spot.

This change was only in the blink of an eye.

Startling Wang Dian, his expression stagnated, at a loss...

"Who! Who..."

Enduring the heart-piercing pain, Liu Lingzheng slapped his hand hard, and the purple cloud beneath him shone with heavy rosy light, protecting his body, trembling and saying.

"Just you small fry, also dare to speak wildly? No need for Chen Xiao Shixiong to take action, I alone can behead you!"

On a distant mountain, a sword light soared into the sky, standing within was a green-robed youth with a face full of frost.

"Who are you?"

Wang Dian's pupils shrank.

"A dog with a broken spine, also worthy of asking my name?"

He Manzi flicked his sword, sneered, and without much talk, killed with another sword in an instant!

And at the same time.

Another place.

As Chen Hang raised his hand and withdrew his true Qi from a giant pillar.

Under the gaze of countless strange beasts, the palace instantly faded its light, the restrictions inside opened, and the door slowly appeared.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 248 =====

(End of Chapter)