Chapter 85: Chapter 84: The Fear of a Celestial Level Expert
In truth, the moment Qin Li walked out of the ancient ruins with a torch, no fewer than twenty people had already spotted him!
This wasn’t because Qin Li was careless. The Divine Sense of a Celestial Level Martial Artist was simply too sharp. Though he had only held the torch for an instant upon leaving the ruins, to a Celestial Level Martial Artist, it was as conspicuous as a beacon in the dead of night.
In fact, Qin Li already had reason to be proud. He had used his Lightweight Skill all the way until he entered the ruins, and not a single person had been able to detect his movements!
Across the entire Celestial Essence Continent, there were very few Profound Level Martial Artists who could accomplish such a feat. So, for a Martial Artist who wasn’t even at the Earth Level, this was already something to be immensely proud of.
When those Martial Artists saw someone actually walk out of the ancient ruins holding a torch, they were all instantly filled with shock and suspicion, their minds racing with paranoia.
Qin Li’s guess was correct. While the group of Royal Family’s Celestial Level masters was besieging the Black Water Kui Ox, many people had been hiding in various locations, closely watching the battle.
For a Celestial Level expert, it wasn’t a particularly difficult task to evade the group of Profound and Earth Level Royal Martial Artists and enter Phoenix Lake.
In truth, Chen Yihan and the other Celestial Level experts of the Royal Family were aware of this. But relying on their superior numbers, they didn’t pay much mind to the other Celestial Level masters.
Even if the others managed to take a piece of the pie, the largest slice would still belong to the Royal Family!
But now, that confidence had greatly diminished. The reason was simple: out of seventeen Celestial Level masters, one had died, three were lightly injured, and four were severely injured—all because of a single Celestial Level Spirit Beast!
The three with light injuries wouldn’t be able to return to their peak state for at least two or three months. As for the four who were severely injured, they were lucky just to be alive! Even if they recovered, they could forget about making any further progress in their cultivation.
In the Royal Family’s historical records of later generations, this day would be known as the Black Day!
Chen Yihan had the seven injured and one deceased sent away. Now, only nine of the Royal Family’s Celestial Level experts remained. The fifty Earth Level Martial Artists, while a formidable force, were of little use in a situation like this.
So, upon detecting movement from the ancient ruins, Chen Yihan finally learned his lesson. He suppressed the urge to rush over and investigate.
Sure enough, after seeing no movement from the Royal Family’s side, the Celestial Level Martial Artists from various places could no longer hold back. About an hour later, they all flew towards the ruins.
Not long after, Chen Yihan heard the sounds of fierce fighting from that direction and couldn’t help but sneer. ’As expected of a bunch of incompetent masters,’ he thought. ’They started fighting before they even got their hands on anything.’
But gradually, the Royal Martial Artists realized something was wrong. Celestial Level Martial Artists had begun to flee from that direction!
At first, Chen Yihan and the others had counted over a dozen Celestial Level Martial Artists entering the ruins. But after a period of intense fighting inside, seven or eight of them actually came running out!
This meant that the battle inside might not have been between Celestial Level Martial Artists at all!
At this thought, Chen Yihan led the group of Royal Celestial Level Martial Artists and flew to the ruins. They arrived just in time to see a Celestial Level master rush out, his face a mask of terror. Seeing the large group standing outside, he said, still shaken, "Don’t go in! There’s... there’s a fucking ghost in there!"
"A ghost?"
Chen Yihan and the others were all stunned. A man behind Chen Yihan couldn’t help but laugh. "Friend, you are a Celestial Level expert yourself, surely a prominent figure. How can you spout such nonsense? Even if ghosts truly exist in this world, would one dare approach a Celestial Level Martial Artist whose Primordial Power is practically solidified?"
To their surprise, the old man, who looked to be over a hundred years old, flushed red. He glared fiercely, and an astonishing aura erupted from his body. Startled, Chen Yihan immediately raised his own aura to match it, barely managing a standoff with the old man. He couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, "You’re also a ninth-stage expert?"
The old man sneered. "Nonsense! The ones inside who weren’t at the ninth stage are all dead! If I weren’t at the ninth stage, how could I have escaped? I was kind enough to warn you, only to be mocked. Hmph, forget it. The Royal Family has always been arrogant. If you’re eager to die, go right ahead. I won’t be joining you!"
"Wait—"
Before Chen Yihan could finish, the old man shot up from the ground. His body was like a great bird, melting into the night and quickly disappearing from sight.
Chen Yihan glared at the man who had just spoken, sighed, and said, "I was hoping to ask what happened inside, but you had to go and anger him away. Honestly!"
Just then, several blood-curdling screams suddenly came from inside, followed by a massive fluctuation of Primordial Power.
"Not good!" Chen Yihan’s eyes widened in horror as he roared, "Get back! He’s going to self-destruct!"
The nine of them had just taken to the air when a deafening BOOM erupted from below. The roof of the great hall, which had been exposed more than ten meters above the water’s surface—a smooth, hard slab of marble—first caved inward violently, then suddenly exploded!
It was like the earth was splitting and mountains were collapsing. Countless fragments of rock shot toward the sky. The immense energy caused the entire cluster of ancient buildings to tremble violently, triggering a chain reaction. The waters of Phoenix Lake formed massive waves several meters high that crashed violently against the shore!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Chen Yihan and the others attacked the massive rocks hurtling toward them. After the thick cloud of dust and debris settled, a huge, dark hole was revealed below, like a terrifying monster with its mouth wide open, waiting for prey to deliver itself...
Wisps of ownerless Spiritual Qi drifted up from the large hole and quickly dissipated into the air, clearly belonging to the Martial Artist who had self-destructed.
"We’re... going down!" Chen Yihan hesitated for only a fraction of a second before making his decision.
On this trip, they had suffered heavy losses, and the prize had been snatched away by a Spirit Beast in Transformation. They were furious but dared not voice it. If they returned from the ancient ruins with nothing to show for it, how could they face the emperor back at the palace? What would they say then? That they were too incompetent?
Nine figures leaped into the black hole one after another.
Almost simultaneously, from all around Phoenix Lake and on Phoenix Mountain, dozens more figures shot toward the ancient ruins in the center of the lake like bolts of lightning!
Clearly, many powerful experts believed their opportunity had arrived.
「 ... 」
By this time, Hu, Bu Yunyan, and Leng Yao had finished butchering the Black Water Kui Ox. The three of them had roasted and eaten some of the remaining meat and bones, and packed a large amount into their backpacks. The meat of a Celestial Level Spirit Beast was undoubtedly a super tonic!
The bones were also Top-Grade ingredients for medicine!
However, the Black Water Kui Ox was too large for them to take everything. The series of events unfolding in the middle of the lake left the three of them feeling overwhelmed. A worried look appeared on Bu Yunyan’s face as she said, "Qin Li... he’ll be alright, won’t he?"
Although Bu Yunyan usually liked to joke with Qin Li, deep down, she already saw him as her own little brother. She was certain the young man had a bright future and didn’t want to lose a good companion like this.
Leng Yao’s gaze sharpened as she stared at the center of the lake. "I believe he’ll be fine," she said with a resolute expression. "But I think it would be best for us to retreat back to the cliff. More and more people are arriving. If someone discovers us, we definitely won’t be able to hold on to the Inner Core of a Celestial Level Spirit Beast!"
Hu nodded, agreeing that Leng Yao and Bu Yunyan had a point. Using his great saber, he dug a seven or eight-meter-deep pit in the forest and buried the carcass of the Black Water Kui Ox inside. "This deep, it won’t decompose for a month or two," he said. "If we get the chance, we can come back for it!"
Leng Yao and Bu Yunyan both understood the value of the Black Water Kui Ox and nodded silently. They were Hunters; naturally, they felt no pity for their prey. Besides, they weren’t the ones who killed it...
「 ... 」
Qin Li only felt the ground tremble slightly. He frowned, then continued reading. He hadn’t guessed wrong. This journal was the personal record of the builder of this immense ancient city—an astonishingly talented Ancient Great Power!
From its pages, Qin Li learned many things he had wanted to know. He discovered the origin of this great city and the reason for its sinking! He also found details about the Only I am Venerable combat technique.
After he finished reading, Qin Li’s heart surged with emotion, and he was overwhelmed for a long time. He respectfully put the book back in its place. He had only one thought about this ancestor: ’He was too powerful!’
Immediately after, he felt a sense of wry amusement. A single manual, the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat technique, had played the entire world for a fool!
At the same time, Qin Li was deeply moved by the devotion of this Ancient Great Power.
"Even with all the power in the world, I cannot bring you back. What meaning is there in living? This city was built for you. Since you are gone, then let it be your tomb!"
These were the opening words of that journal—or to be more precise, that diary.
