Chapter 1613: The Cunning Yuan Yangzi
"This is the Divine Wilderness Atlas!"
Yuan Yangzi's gaze swept across the Divine Wilderness Atlas as he spoke slowly, "Our Alliance Lord exhausted immense effort to decipher the information recorded within a jade stone, and only then discovered that beneath the Dongling Immortal Pool's mineral vein lies a sealed Divine Wilderness Atlas."
Saint Lady Hui Yue, Saint Lady Bi Luo, Lei Wensheng, Zuo Feiqing, along with Ling Feng and even the Despicable Donkey, all stared fixedly at the Divine Wilderness Atlas without blinking.
Yet with all their experience and insight, not a single one of them could glimpse even the slightest mystery hidden within it.
At that moment, a faint cracking sound suddenly rang out.
Everyone's attention was completely absorbed by the Divine Wilderness Atlas, so no one noticed that subtle noise.
Crack!
Something seemed to shatter.
In the next instant, Yuan Yangzi flicked his sleeve and threw out a crystal stone. At nearly the same moment, his right hand produced a talisman.
Whoosh!
A streak of dark radiance flashed.
Yuan Yangzi's figure instantly slipped into the void and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a cold voice echoing through the chamber.
"Dongling Immortal Pool's four Hall Masters, I will remember this!"
"Damn it, he escaped!"
By the time everyone reacted, it was already too late to stop him.
Only then did they realize that the elemental force sealed within their bodies had begun circulating once more. It was clear that in order to flee, Yuan Yangzi had willingly dispelled the God-Sealing Domain here.
"What a crafty old fiend!"
A cold gleam flashed through Saint Lady Hui Yue's eyes as she said icily, "It seems that after being captured, Yuan old fiend had already anticipated this step and prepared his escape in advance."
"That damned old bastard!"
Lei Wensheng cursed furiously, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"At the final moment, Yuan old fiend seemed to use an imprint crystal to copy everything recorded on the Divine Wilderness Atlas. If he brings that back to the Blood Shadow Alliance, it may become a serious threat."
Saint Lady Bi Luo spoke slowly, worry written plainly across her face.
Zuo Feiqing looked at the massive bluestone slab and said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, although Yuan old fiend escaped with a copied imprint of its contents, the true Divine Wilderness Atlas remains in our Dongling Immortal Pool's hands. No matter how one looks at it, our chance of uncovering its mysteries from the original should be far greater."
Saint Lady Bi Luo nodded.
"What Senior Brother Zuo says makes sense. Still, this matter must be reported to the Sect Leader and the three Half-Saint ancestors as quickly as possible."
Lei Wensheng glanced at the Divine Wilderness Atlas.
"So what do we do with this bluestone slab? Haul it back directly?"
After staring at it for a long while earlier and learning nothing from it, he had already given up trying to think too deeply about it.
"We should first see whether it can be moved."
Saint Lady Hui Yue drew in a deep breath. Her elemental force began circulating as she raised a jade-like hand and attempted to lift the stone slab.
Buzz, buzz!
The enormous bluestone slab trembled slightly.
In the next moment, Saint Lady Hui Yue let out a muffled groan and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Everyone immediately turned toward her, concern filling their eyes.
"Senior Sister Hui Yue, are you alright?"
Saint Lady Bi Luo hurried forward and gently sent a thread of pure wood spiritual energy into her body.
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
In terms of medical skill, Saint Lady Bi Luo might not surpass him, but the restorative power of her wood source was truly heaven-defying. Sure enough, before long, Saint Lady Hui Yue recovered her breath.
Her face remained grave as she said, "I am fine. This stone slab is simply far too heavy. I was careless just now and aggravated my injuries. In my view, it will take all four of us working together to move it."
That explained why Yuan Yangzi, despite clearly planning his escape in advance, only used an imprint crystal to copy the Divine Wilderness Atlas instead of taking the stone slab itself.
First, if he had truly stolen it, the four Hall Masters would have chased him to the ends of the earth.
Second, the bluestone slab was simply too heavy. There was no way he could have carried it alone.
"Hmph, Junior Sister Hui Yue is injured, so naturally you can't use your full strength. Let me handle it!"
Lei Wensheng laughed loudly and strode forward.
He specialized in lightning divine skills and also cultivated body refinement. Though his attainments in body refinement were not especially profound, when it came to raw physical strength, he was unquestionably the strongest among Dongling Immortal Pool's eight Hall Masters.
"Up you go!"
Lei Wensheng planted himself before the bluestone slab carved with the Divine Wilderness Atlas. He took a wide stance, bent his knees slightly, gathered every ounce of strength in his body, wrapped both arms around the slab, and drove power through his waist and legs in one explosive motion.
Crack!
A crisp popping sound followed.
Lei Wensheng's face darkened from strain, and he immediately hopped backward several steps, clutching his waist.
"Ow! My back!"
Ling Feng quickly stepped forward and lightly pressed several points along Lei Wensheng's lower back.
Only then did Lei Wensheng finally recover. He looked at Ling Feng with surprise.
"Little Brother Ling, I didn't expect you to have that skill!"
Ling Feng smiled and shook his head.
"I only know a little medicine. It's hardly worth mentioning."
At the side, Zuo Feiqing let out a faint scoff.
"Junior Sister Hui Yue already said it would take the strength of all four of us to move it, yet some people insist on showing off and end up asking for suffering."
Lei Wensheng whipped his head around and glared at him.
"Hmph, Surname Zuo, if you're so capable, try lifting it yourself. If you can't, then shut your mouth!"
The two were like fire and water, utterly incompatible. Neither could stand the sight of the other.
Ling Feng wisely stepped aside and kept out of it.
Still, as he looked at the Divine Wilderness Atlas, a strange sense of familiarity stirred within him.
Those patterns seemed vaguely familiar, as though he had seen something like them before.
He could not quite place where.
Before long, however, relying on his astonishing memory, Ling Feng had already memorized every single detail of the Divine Wilderness Atlas. It engraved itself deep within his sea of mind, never to be forgotten.
By then, Zuo Feiqing and Lei Wensheng had finally stopped bickering.
The four Hall Masters each took one corner of the bluestone slab and began working together to lift it.
Sure enough, with the combined strength of all four, the bluestone slab slowly rose from the ground despite its crushing weight.
"Hnng!"
"Hah!"
Muffled grunts constantly echoed through the secret chamber.
Lei Wensheng and Zuo Feiqing, being men, naturally bore most of the weight. Both clenched their teeth hard, veins bulging across their foreheads, legs trembling violently as though every last bit of strength had been drained from them.
As for Saint Lady Hui Yue and Saint Lady Bi Luo, they were also pushing with everything they had, fine beads of sweat forming across their brows.
Yet even after using nearly every ounce of strength in their bodies, they had only barely managed to lift the bluestone slab.
Now all four were frozen awkwardly in place.
They could neither set it down nor carry it forward.
For a moment, the scene became painfully embarrassing.
Ling Feng shook his head with a faint smile, drew in a deep breath, and strode to the center beneath the bluestone slab.
He looked at the four Hall Masters and said, "Hall Masters, let me lend you a hand."
"Nonsense! Stop joking and get away from that slab. If even one of us loses strength for an instant, you'll be flattened into meat paste!"
Lei Wensheng cursed under his breath.
Ling Feng remained unmoved.
Step by step, he walked to the center of the bluestone slab.
In the next instant, the power of his vitality erupted from his entire body.
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