Everlasting

 

“What do we do? Should we try to avoid them?” Third Pot Bro asked.

“There is no place for us to go. It will be safer for us to hide below.” After saying that, Chen Feng stamped his foot and the floor beneath them fell deeper into the ground as their hiding spot grew bigger.

“There are so many demonic humans running this way. If we rush out, we will surely die. It will be safer here,” Chen Feng said.

“Still, we must be ready to fight.”

The Overwhelming Astral Sword came out and created a sword trail to cover the hole of their hiding spot. After the stampeding atmosphere was cut off, they felt more at ease.

Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!

One demonic human after another leapt over their heads. Those merciless, unthinking demonic humans were actually revealing looks of fear. Whimpering, they all ran as fast as they can to distance themselves from the ruined building.

Sensing the chaotic auras leaping over their heads, everyone there – Chen Feng included – felt their hearts thumping. They were fearful that some of the demonic humans would find their way towards them.

After half a joss stick’s worth of time, the tremors gradually lessened and the auras coming from above their heads grew weaker and weaker.

“Were those demonic humans actually scared off?” said Lu Ta, a look of disbelief on his face.

“I will go check it out.” Just as Chen Feng was about to move up, a demonic human finally made its way into the hole from above. Its figure slipped down into the hole that everyone was hiding in.

Bang!

The Overwhelming Astral Sword sent a beam of sword energy out, striking the demonic human’s body. The impact of the beam sent the demonic human’s body flying tens of metres into the sky before blowing up.

Later, Chen Feng moved above ground and saw that almost all of the demonic humans there had disappeared, leaving only a small and sporadic amount left. Even those were hastily running far away. In fact, two demonic humans ran past Chen Feng. With the exception of the wind they brought with their speed, they did nothing else against Chen Feng, who was standing right there.

“Phew! That was dangerous.” Ye Ziming and the others quickly got out from the hole.

“Just one roar is enough to scare away these monsters who only know how to kill, turning them into defeated soldiers. Just what could unleash such a majestic atmosphere?” said a puzzled Chen Feng.

“Could it be a demonic item left behind during the war of the Demongods?” Ye Ziming’s face turned somewhat grim.

“To be capable of making those demonic humans flee like defeated soldiers with just one roar, it is surely not a good thing. What should we do?” Big Pot Bro asked.

“No matter what is inside, the fact that the demonic humans have run off presents a good opportunity for us. Didn’t you fellows see? They have already entered,” said Chen Feng with a smile.

There in the distance, Evil Moon Grotto Master and some other cultivators entered the ruined building and disappeared from sight.

“Although the road ahead is dangerous, there are people serving as vanguards. We can just follow them and observe what is going on. My inquisitive heart is on the verge of bursting,” said a smiling Ye Ziming. 

“Let’s go!”

By the time Chen Feng’s group made up their mind, Evil Moon Grotto Master’s group had already disappeared from sight. There were only nine people left within Evil Moon Grotto Master’s group. Their earlier battle against the demonic humans had taken the lives of a few cultivators from their group.

One ruined building after another kept appearing before their eyes. All of them shared one thing in common. They were all badly damaged. There were practically none that was intact. Additionally, they were all very big. Some of the buildings only had a small portion left standing. And yet, that small portion was bigger than a mountain. 

Apart from that, the other common factor was that the buildings were constructed using unknown materials.

…

“These ruined buildings appear to follow a certain pattern. I wonder which era they are from. How strange. Didn’t they say this is the battlefield of Primordial Demongods? Could there be people living here?” said a middle-aged cultivator who was walking beside the old cultivator. He was someone who had condensed out his Soulflame. Although he was still no match for Evil Moon Grotto Master or the old cultivator, he could already be considered an expert within the Concealed stage.

“Maybe these buildings have existed since before the battle of the Demongods,” said a young cultivator who quickly made his way to a stone pillar with a diameter of one zhang and height of ten zhang. It weighed at least hundreds of jin and rose up from the ground. Who knows what it was used for? (1 zhang = 3.333 m; 1 jin = 0.5 kg)

Chi!

The young cultivator swung his hand and clawed furiously at the stone pillar. Unexpectedly, his five fingers, which were as sharp as hooks, could only leave five shallow marks upon the surface of the stone pillar. He had failed to chip off even a single stone fragment from the pillar.

“What a hard stone.” Some of them were shocked.

The young cultivator was at level 7 of the Concealed stage and had already condensed out his Soulflame. Forget the average stone, even high-quality iron could be crushed by his fingers.

Bang!

The old cultivator’s hand abruptly shot out and his five fingers thrust deep into the stone pillar. Next, he pulled out a piece of fist-sized stone. Tightening his grip, the piece of stone was shattered.

“It is not the stone pillar that is hard. Rather, it is imbued with a strange and mighty power,” the old cultivator said.

“Although we managed to enter, I feel that the danger we face has increased instead. Everyone, be careful.”

“Where did that Mo Ji go off to? However, I wonder if that woman was telling the truth when she said there are Prized artefacts inside.”

“Heh. The item that this woman is looking for is definitely no ordinary item. It might even be a Sacred artefact.”

“There is something I want to tell everyone. Although Mo Ji had used us as cannon fodder, if we meet her, please bear with it if you can and do not attack her,” the old cultivator suddenly said.

“Why? Could it be we have to be afraid of them? Don’t forget, that woman has a Prized artefact. When the time comes, just swarm her and snatch it over,” one of the cultivators said.

“Humph! If you want to die, I will not stop you. However, don’t drag us down with you. Her four bodyguards are enough to handle half of us. And don’t discount those escorts of hers. Don’t forget, they are all disciples from immortal dao sects. Furthermore, that Mo Ji is not to be underestimated as well,” the old cultivator said.

“That is right. Not even I can determine her exact cultivation base. Besides, she possesses a powerful Prized artefact. If we really have to fight, I do not have the confidence that I can defeat her,” Evil Moon Grotto Master said.

Hearing those words, the others became shocked. Evil Moon Grotto Master had already cultivated up to level 9 of the Concealed stage and was on the verge of breaking through to the Sky Human stage. For someone like him to fail to determine Mo Ji’s cultivation base, what level was she at?

“Could Mo Ji be a Sky Human stage expert?” Elegant Gentleman asked in shock.

“Not necessarily. She may be using the magic treasures on her person to cover up her aura. No matter what, that woman is not to be underestimated. I suggest that we do not start a fight with her,” said the old cultivator.

“Everyone, remember that we are here to search for treasures, not to kill each other. Besides, you all heard that loud roar earlier. To have the ability to force so many demonic humans to flee, that existence must surely possess an unimaginable level of power.”

 “Eh! Something is amiss!” It was then that the young cultivator who left a mark on the stone pillar shouted out. There was a tremor in his voice caused about by panic.

“What is it?” the old cultivator frowned.

“One person is missing.” The young cultivator’s face was somewhat pale.

Shua!

Everyone there dispersed to inspect their surroundings. Next, their faces sank. There were clearly nine of them earlier, but now, there were only eight. One of them had disappeared before their very eyes. That was the equivalent of bumping into a ghost in the middle of the day. All of them felt their hairs standing on end.

At the same time, everyone released their soul powers to sweep the place. It did not take long for them to search through an area spanning a radius of over 1,000 metres. However, they were unable to find any trace of that person.

“The fellow who disappeared is at level 7 of the Concealed stage. For someone like that to disappear without making any noise, what is going on here?” one of the cultivators there shouted out reflexively.

The Young Sect Master of Demon Sound Sect, Xiao Yin, pondered for a moment before pulling out his Grotto Soul Flute. He then played the flute. Although no sound came from the flute, ripples of mysterious sound waves kept spreading through the area.

“This is a secret magic of Demon Sound Sect, capable of detecting the surrounding area. Even if someone had utilized an Invisibility Talisman, this magic will be able to detect that person,” the old cultivator said.

Hearing those words, everyone there turned their attention towards Xiao Yin, hoping that he could find some clues.

After some time, Xiao Yin finally stopped playing the flute. His face was extremely solemn and a trace of dread flashed across his eyes.

“Did you find anything?” asked the old cultivator.

“I think we should leave this place quickly. Earlier, I detected a trace of killing intent. Although it was just a trace, it brought fear into the depths of my heart. Maybe there is a very powerful and ferocious monster hiding near us,” Xiao Yin said in a hushed tone.

“All right. Let’s keep moving forward and see if we can find any trace of movements left by Mo Ji’s group.”

After the eight of them had left the place, a large, grey-coloured head suddenly appeared from beneath the stone pillar. Not a single one of the cultivators had realized that it was there. The head was slightly similar to that of a hippo, but the ferocious glint in its eyes revealed that it was a yao beast with intellect.

Immediately after that, the large head seeped back underground without making a single sound. It did not even exude any aura. 

It did not take long for Chen Feng and the others to arrive before the stone pillar.

“This place is the primordial ruins that Mo Ji mentioned. No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like it contains a Prized artefact. Right, where are those fellows? Aren’t they supposed to be in front of us?” Lu Ta said.

In addition to Evil Moon Grotto Master’s group, there were two other group of cultivators that had entered this ruin before Chen Feng’s group.

“These buildings are made from big stone blocks. Did some primitive tribes build them?” Third Pot Bro said.

“Maybe this is the hall of an immortal palace that has broken down to such a state. There is probably nothing good here,” Ye Ziming said with a smile.

“Mo Ji spent so much effort to come here. There must be a reason for that. Look here, there is a scratch mark on this stone pillar. Additionally, it looks fresh. It must have been done by Evil Moon Grotto Master’s group,” said Chen Feng, who pointed at the large stone pillar in front of them.

“Let’s go, we will slowly move forward. That way, if there are any dangers in front, they can be the ones to take it first,” said Lu Ta with a smile.

“Be careful!”

Chen Feng’s face sank and he hastily swung his palm to create a propelling gust, which sent Lu Ta’s body upwards. At the same time, a large yao beast shot out from underground, opening its eerie and bloody mouth as it moved to bite Lu Ta.