Chapter 1122: Chapter 1121: The Majestic Cemetery_1
The border between the Flying Horse Dynasty and the Bei Liang Dynasty is lengthy, and the tomb that the Galan Sword Emperor referred to is located in the middle section. Without someone to lead the way, Shi Xiaole would probably never find this place in his lifetime.
This is probably the advantage of traveling the world, not only does it broaden one’s knowledge and open one’s mind, but sometimes, with a bit of luck, one might stumble upon unexpected opportunities, big and small.
Essentially, as long as one reaches the Dragon Gate Realm, warriors in the Martial World would choose to wander around. Shi Xiaole has been doing the same for years, only that he mostly had matters to attend to, unlike others who adventured purely for the sake of adventure and exploration.
A different state of mind brings entirely different insights. Shi Xiaole silently decided that once he had dealt with the troubles at hand, he must visit various places—this time, for himself!
"This is the place I was talking about."
The speed at which a Heaven Realm Martial Emperor travels is unimaginable for ordinary people. After seven days, the trio arrived at their destination.
Looking around, this place was a deserted stone beach, with unevenly piled stone caves on the ground, twisting and turning, layered and overlapped. If one didn’t use their mental power, even a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor could easily get lost inside.
Whoosh!
The Galan Sword Emperor was the first to rush into a Stone Cave Mansion in front of them, with Shi Xiaole and the Dustless Sword Emperor quickly following suit.
The Stone Cave Mansion was vast, with numerous branching paths. Some junctions even had vertical channels, much more complex than a maze. In no time, Shi Xiaole had turned through thousands of bends. Such a feat was only possible for a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor; an ordinary person couldn’t possibly remember the way.
Years ago, in the Floating River Area, Shi Xiaole had entered Dongfang Haoran’s Stone Cave Mansion, which was also interconnected in all directions. However, compared to what he saw now, it was hardly worth mentioning.
About a quarter of an hour passed.
The three had gone deep underground, tens of thousands of meters in depth and over a hundred thousand meters in length, probably reaching the territory of the Bei Liang Dynasty. Finally, the Galan Sword Emperor stopped.
In front of them was a stone door filled with holes, from which beams of light shone through. The Galan Sword Emperor swiftly flicked his fingers, sending Sword Qi into several of the holes.
The next moment, the stone door slowly opened.
"You, you’ve actually found such a place?"
The Dustless Sword Emperor was astonished.
The underground Stone Cave Mansion was unfathomably large, and finding a tomb within it was not exactly like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it was close. Forcibly destroying the Stone Cave Mansion was out of the question. Once the tomb’s Array System was triggered, self-destruction was all but guaranteed.
"Is your intuition really that strong?" The Dustless Sword Emperor glanced at the Galan Sword Emperor.
He guessed correctly. The reason the Galan Sword Emperor could find this place was not just intuition; he also possessed a book that recorded several strange tombs from ancient times.
A few years ago, when passing by this area, the Galan Sword Emperor happened to remember it and stumbled upon it by mistake. Otherwise, rashly attacking the stone door would have caused the tomb to self-destruct as well.
If he did not trust the Dustless Sword Emperor and Shi Xiaole’s character, even if the Galan Sword Emperor couldn’t enter the core area, he would not have brought anyone with him.
The three entered through the stone door, which closed automatically after a short while.
Beyond the stone door was a narrow corridor which abruptly opened up into a vast underground palace.
Shi Xiaole and the Dustless Sword Emperor were both stunned.
For the underground palace before them was incredibly luxurious, its scale far grander than that of many top-tier powers of the present day.
Entering through two huge vermillion doors that stood a hundred meters tall, the first things that caught their eyes were various pavilions and towers, all made of jade, illuminating the dark underground brighter than daylight.
The flowers and plants along the way were also rare and unusual spirit species. The artificial lakes were filled with spirit liquid, crystal-clear like gemstones and fragrant, with little evaporation.
Even the inconspicuous footpaths on the grassland were surprisingly paved with sun and moon crystals!
Shi Xiaole was immensely shocked.
Just who was the owner of this tomb? Not to mention the core area, the value of this palace alone far exceeded that of any top-tier power in the world!
"Could this be the tomb of the Holy Monarch from the past?" muttered the Dustless Sword Emperor.
In recent years, more and more secret realms and ancient lands have emerged, with much information being disclosed. For instance, everyone now knows that the Holy Monarch was the founder of the Golden Abyss Alliance.
Also, some old relics claim that the Holy Monarch orchestrated the great battle between good and evil over six hundred years ago. In many people’s eyes, the mysterious Holy Monarch is arguably the most famous person in the Martial World of three thousand years ago.
Shi Xiaole took a glance at the Dustless Sword Emperor but said nothing.
The spirit liquid in the lakes was beneficial for warriors at the Spiritual-Passage Realm. The sun and moon crystals could be absorbed by those at the Dragon Gate and Divine Barrier Realms. However, the quantities were immense, making them difficult to carry, and since the Galan Sword Emperor was a loner, they held little attraction for him.
Shi Xiaole, on the other hand, had the Nine Heavens Mountain. If he could obtain these resources, needless to say, the mid-level warriors of Nine Heavens Mountain would surely ascend to a higher level, significantly boosting their strength.
The Galan Sword Emperor seemed to perceive something and said, "The things here, what I want I have already taken, the rest you two can do as you like with."
The Dustless Sword Emperor shrugged his shoulders. "I only have two disciples, and they’re both Human Realm Martial Emperors. These things are of no use to them."
"In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony."
Shi Xiaole was overjoyed. Of course, with the other two in front, he dared not reveal his system space and could only plan to return and extract the treasures later.
The Dustless Sword Emperor shook his head, aware that it would be quite difficult for Shi Xiaole to transport so many items to Nine Heavens Mountain, especially at such a critical time when everyone was searching for him.
As the three continued their journey, they encountered many puppets along the way, which seemed to have been recently destroyed, judging from the scattered parts.
"I did this. These puppets each possessed Divine Barrier Realm cultivation."
Dolls belong to the mechanism technique and are certainly not of the same vein as the Blade Slaves Sect. Shi Xiaole couldn’t imagine the level of skill required to create such dolls, for no one in the world today could accomplish this feat.
Looking at it from another angle only further proved how terrifying the owner of the tomb was.
Soon after, the three saw a fifty-meter-high door made of jade, with waves of cold air rolling towards them.
"Qingyu Stone?"
Dustless Sword Emperor opened his mouth wide.
Qingyu Stone, one of the top ten precious stones in the world, possessed the ability to calm the mind, clear the spirit, and heal poisons and injuries. Its value was immeasurable. Of course, it wasn’t necessary for people like them, but for martial artists below the Void Origin Realm, it was an extremely rare treasure.
To think that it was used here as a door was a complete waste of its potential!
In front of the jade door, there were three platforms, each ten meters in length and width.
Galan Sword Emperor said, "This is the key point. Once the three of us ascend the platforms, we must defeat the light shadows on top within a quarter of an hour, but the difference in our finish times must not exceed a hundred breaths; otherwise, the great door will close."
This was the pattern the Galan Sword Emperor had discovered after numerous tests.
He would have liked to enter alone but it was impractical, as the light shadows were too strong. His fastest victory had taken nearly a quarter of an hour, with no time left for the other two.
This time, with the addition of Shi Xiaole and the Dustless Sword Emperor, their chances should be better. However, it still depended on the rules of the tomb. If the strength of the light shadows was close to their own, then the other two might struggle greatly.
Without further ado, the Galan Sword Emperor rushed to the platform on the far left. A light shadow appeared out of nowhere and immediately charged at him.
Ding ding ding.
The Galan Sword Emperor didn’t focus on the offensive and was quickly put at a disadvantage by the light shadow, but Shi Xiaole could see that the opponent was playing a steady game, with plenty of strength in reserve.
Not daring to waste any time, Shi Xiaole and the Dustless Sword Emperor also leapt to the other two platforms.
Swish swish.
Two light shadows entwined around them.
"Dustless and Immaculate!"
The Dustless Sword Emperor’s first move was a killer technique, and with a flash of his sword, he pushed the light shadow back.
He then realized that the strength of this light shadow was slightly inferior to the one the Galan Sword Emperor faced, but it was only by a fraction, and carelessness could result in defeat, let alone a victory within a quarter of an hour.
Compared to the Galan Sword Emperor’s defensive-then-offensive strategy, and to the Dustless Sword Emperor’s agile variations, Shi Xiaole’s swordsmanship had only one characteristic: speed.
With one strike, before the light shadow could react, it was pierced in the shoulder. Only then did the light shadow’s sword graze the Cleansing Evil Sword, sending off a spray of sparks.
Shi Xiaole withdrew his sword and stabbed again, once, twice, thrice, his hand and sword creating cascades of illusions, nearly engulfing the light shadow. Suddenly, the light shadow swelled and, with one strike, sent Shi Xiaole flying dozens of meters before lunging forward again.
While resisting, Shi Xiaole also had the capacity to observe the other two platforms.
The Galan Sword Emperor was facing the strongest opponent, the Dustless Sword Emperor’s opponent was about the same as his own. If he exerted his full power, he could finish the fight in roughly half a quarter of an hour. After all, it was nothing but a light shadow; its reactions couldn’t possibly match his.
But it seemed that the other two would not finish so quickly, so Shi Xiaole had to suppress his urge to end the fight and played patiently instead.
With hundreds of breaths left before the quarter of an hour was up, the Dustless Sword Emperor’s longsword suddenly trembled at high speed, taking on a transparent shape. The light shadow’s sword struck it, only to pass through as if it were not solid.
Bang!
The transparent sword erupted instantaneously, shifting from void to solid, and shattered the light shadow to pieces.
Boom boom boom.
The jade light door suddenly opened, only to be blocked by a layer of light barrier, giving the impression that it was impenetrable.
Just a moment later, the Galan Sword Emperor bellowed, his sword momentum switching from stillness to motion, sweeping out like a surging river and likewise obliterating the light shadow.
From this efficiency, the Dustless Sword Emperor’s combat talent seemed to surpass even the Galan Sword Emperor’s.
Shi Xiaole mulled over this thought in secret. Seeing the other two looking anxiously at him, he no longer held back. The Cleansing Evil Sword thrust out at breakneck speed, uniting nine strikes into one, breaking the sound barrier.
Puff!
The force of nine swords was immense, and with the preliminary groundwork laid by Shi Xiaole, the light shadow burst open from within when it was still a zhang away from connecting with Shi Xiaole.
"Splendid!"
The Dustless Sword Emperor praised aloud, yet could not help but feel a thrum of trepidation.
How could he not discern that the strength of their respective light shadows was nearly equal, meaning that Shi Xiaole’s prowess was not inferior to his own, fully qualifying him for a spot among the top fifty on the Emperor List.
The Galan Sword Emperor’s expression also shifted.
At first, he was worried about the others slowing him down, but goodness, their efficiency did not lag behind his own. The Dustless Sword Emperor aside, seeing how easily Shi Xiaole handled the fight, could it be that he still had strength to spare?
However, the Galan Sword Emperor soon showed a delighted expression, as right after Shi Xiaole defeated his opponent, the light barrier at the great jade door vanished.
The three hurriedly rushed in.
