Chapter 356: Chapter 331: Descendants of the Ancient Times_1
The giant beast’s eyes were darting back and forth between Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo, and Lu Yan was drenched in cold sweat, struggling to restrain himself from taking action.
After a while, the beast let out a few grunts and shook its head before casually turning around and walking off. After a while, it just laid down and started to snore loudly.
Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo exchanged glances.
"Could it be because of the Dao Book? Does the Dao Book have such a function, it only appeared after its transformation?"
"This beast is full of potent immortal power and seems to be related to immortals. However, it seems less intelligent, with its eyes only filled with brutal bloodlust. Could that be why the Dao Book was effective?"
Lu Yan’s thoughts raced as he analyzed the situation.
They needed to understand this correctly. If they miscalculate the effectiveness of the Dao Book, and recklessly confront an immortal in the future, wouldn’t that be suicidal?
"Yinuo, let’s go."
Lu Yan grabbed Yinuo and cautiously moved around the beast towards the Longkong Cave. The beast didn’t react at all.
"Eh, there’s a skeleton here."
Approaching the cave, Lu Yan spotted a headless skeleton on the ground. A thick layer of dirt had accumulated on it, indicating that it had been there for many years.
With a wave of his hand, the dirt was lifted and a Sumi Mustard Seed Bag was revealed next to the skeleton.
With a push of his True Vigor, the Sumi Mustard Seed Bag fell into Lu Yan’s hands.
"This skeleton must belong to someone who came here 300 years ago and was killed by the beast."
Shen Yinuo commented.
Lu Yan nodded and glanced at the beast that still lay motionless. They both made up their minds, accelerated their pace, and headed into the cave.
Inside the cave was a long corridor, which was too narrow for the giant beast to pass through.
A stone gate blocked the corridor at the end.
But Lu Yan didn’t receive any warnings from communicating with the Dao Book.
There are no wish patterns here?
"Yinuo, are there no wish patterns here?"
Lu Yan asked Shen Yinuo for confirmation.
"Strange, I also didn’t see any wish patterns. Could it be that the person who hid the treasure figured with the giant beast present, there was no need for a wish pattern?"
Shen Yinuo carefully observed, then picked up a stone and threw it out. As expected, there was no reaction.
Then, Shen Yinuo threw a second stone, this time directly at the stone gate.
But when the stone made contact with the gate, dense wish patterns emerged on it. These intricate patterns connected the gate with the surrounding walls.
The stone that was thrown bounced back without causing any damage.
The Dao book, too, gave no warning.
"This is a purely defensive wish pattern formation. It isn’t aggressive, but maximizes its defense."
Shen Yinuo discerned its features and explained.
"Yinuo, there’s a notch on the stone gate. See if the token you have can open it."
Lu Yan suggested.
Shen Yinuo nodded, took out a token, wrapped it in True Vigor and set it into the notch.
It fit perfectly.
But the stone gate didn’t budge.
"What’s going on?"
Shen Yinuo was also surprised, took out the token, turned it over and put it back into the notch, but there was still no movement.
"Could it be, this token can’t open this stone gate?"
Lu Yan speculated.
"Not sure."
Shen Yinuo shook her head.
"If the token is useless, let’s see if we can force it open."
Upon finishing his sentence, Lu Yan pulled out his Five-Colored Battle Knife, pushed his True Dragon War Body to its limit and slashed at the gate.
However, when the blade touched the stone gate, it was blocked by countless wish patterns. Lu Yan’s blade felt like it was slicing into cotton, offering no resistance. The next moment, a strong rebounding force erupted and Lu Yan involuntarily staggered backward.
And the stone gate remained unscathed.
"The one who set up these patterns is definitely a top-notch master, with a powerful soul that has not dissipated for thousands of years."
Shen Yinuo stated.
Not to be deterred, Lu Yan tried again a few times, even putting away his Five-Colored Battle Knife and using True Dragon Nine Strikes. But the result was just the same as before, ineffective.
"If the stone gate can’t be opened, perhaps we can tunnel through the walls from the side, bypass the stone gate and get inside."
Lu Yan suggested, but he smiled wryly as soon as the words left his mouth.
He couldn’t help but think, would the person who set up the formation not think of this?
If there was a cave behind the stone gate, the cave walls would certainly be inlaid with wish patterns.
Shen Yinuo seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
But after a discussion, they decided to give it a try. Who knows, it might work?
Lu Yan pulled out his Five-Colored Battle Knife again and began hacking at the wall without wish patterns.
The knife’s blade was extremely sharp, and with Lu Yan’s True Vigor backing it, it sliced through the wall as if it were clay.
Chunks of rock were dug out by Lu Yan.
Soon, he had dug a passage over ten meters long. Then he began to dig inward but after a certain distance, dense wish patterns emerged on the stone, repelling Lu Yan’s knife.
"As expected, it doesn’t work."
Lu Yan sighed and finally gave up.
"Could it be that we need to do that?"
At this moment, Shen Yinuo seemed to be lost in thought before finally coming to a decision after a long while.
She placed the token back into the notch, then squeezed out a drop of blood from her finger and let it drop onto the token.
The moment Shen Yinuo’s blood touched it, the token absorbed it like a sponge. Immediately after, the previously dim token started to emit a blood-red glow. Tiny patterns crawled onto its surface, connecting and integrating seamlessly with the patterns on the stone gate.
Click!
The stone gate shook slightly, then... it slowly opened.
Lu Yan stared, dumbfounded, his gaze towards Shen Yinuo now held a touch of strangeness.
"You figured it out?"
Shen Yinuo bit her lip and asked.
"I may not look the sharpest, but I’m not stupid."
Lu Yan gave a laugh.
If he couldn’t figure this out, he might as well hit a block of tofu and die.
Shen Yinuo’s blood could open this door, which meant her identity was undoubtedly related to the Dagu royal family, probably carrying Dagu royal bloodline.
This explained why Shen Yinuo had a map and token to the hidden treasures of the Dagu Dynasty.
It also accounted for the many anomalies about her.
"Could it be that the Asura Sect from five hundred years ago also had connections to the Dagu royal family?"
All sorts of thoughts surfaced in Lu Yan’s mind.
Shen Yinuo cultivated the Asura Hand technique that originated from the Asura Sect.
The Asura Sect once swept many provinces with the intent to overthrow the Da Chu Dynasty. If it was the deeds of the Dagu royal descendants, it would make sense.
They were just trying to restore the old Dagu.
"Lu Yan, you must keep my secret."
Shen Yinuo said.
"Naturally, your identity doesn’t matter to me. You are you in my heart, Shen Yinuo, the one named Yinuo who’s worth a thousand pieces of gold."
Lu Yan laughed.
Shen Yinuo also laughed - a radiant beauty that was unmatched.
"Let’s go inside and see what we can find."
After speaking, Shen Yinuo activated her True Vigor, and the token returned to her hand.
The two vanished and crossed the stone door.
Once they passed through the stone door, it rapidly closed shut, fitting together seamlessly.
Behind the door, a passageway continued onward, leading to a spacious cave.
But looking around, the cave was empty.
Only in the center of the cave sat... a mummified corpse.
And slung around the mummy’s waist was a Sumi Mustard Seed Bag.
The two of them looked solemn, readying their True Vigor as they prepared to ward off any sudden attack.
They remembered the previous treasure site in Xuan Zhou, where a terrifyingly strong entity had emerged.
Could this mummified corpse also come back to life?
The two examined the corpse carefully.
The mummy appeared to be an old man, with snow-white hair, short and shriveled frame, skin hugging tightly to bone, and there seemed not to be a hint of life.
"Is it dead? I can’t sense any life force."
Shen Yinuo said.
Lu Yan didn’t answer because he wasn’t sure.
Technically, the time since the end of the Dagu Dynasty was over two thousand years, and this man, if he had been sitting here all along, should have definitely died.
But after experiencing the treasure site in Xuan Zhou and the incident with Lin Yan, Lu Yan was not confident enough to make such a determination.
For all they knew, this terrifyingly strong entity might have some trick up their sleeve.
"Almost dead, just a breath away."
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
The two of them jumped, promptly retreat, scanning their surroundings, they found no one else. Their attention returned to the mummified corpse.
"Venerable one, was that you speaking just now?"
Lu Yan asked, his fist clasped in respect.
"Apart from the two of you, who else could it be?"
The voice rang out again, yet the mummy’s lips hadn’t moved.
Could it be ventriloquism?
"No need to speculate. When one reaches the Primordial Spirit Realm, they can use the power of their Soul to produce sound. It’s a trivial technique. However, I’m surprised that you two, who have not even reached the Primordial Spirit Realm, could enter here."
The voice spoke out again.
Just as the words fell, the mummy’s eyes popped open, like two bolts of lightning piercing the void.
Subsequently, a heartbeat echoed within the cave.
The mummy body glimmered, becoming somewhat plump. Its skin also appeared a bit more vibrant.
"Indeed, still alive."
The life force of these people astounded Lu Yan. He was on high alert, ready to defend or retreat at the slightest sign of danger.
The elderly figure rose, rotating his body, making a sound akin to frying beans.
Next, his gaze passed by Lu Yan and fell directly on Shen Yinuo. His eyes shimmered as he took a closer look.
Suddenly, the old man took a step forward, like a bolt of lightning. His withered palm reached out towards Shen Yinuo.
"Stop!"
Lu Yan shouted and, with all his might, attacked with the True Dragon Nine Strikes aiming at the elderly man’s head.
The elderly man casually swatted his palm, colliding with Lu Yan’s strike. Lu Yan flew back, crashing into the wall.
The elderly man remained unmoved.
But he was clearly surprised, looking at Lu Yan with newfound appreciation. "To possess such combat abilities in the True Body Realm, truly unheard of. Good, very good."
As he spoke, his fingertips had grazed Shen Yinuo’s arm, a drop of blood staining his hand.
With a breath, the elderly man took in the blood, tasting it carefully.
His eyes sparkled brighter.
"A descendant of the Dagu royal family, yes, indeed. The Dagu royal family line has not ended. Not only that, but they also have extremely gifted talent. Hahaha, excellent, very excellent!"
The elderly man burst into laughter.
