Another Underground Palace
In a flash, Tian Jiancheng got around to Mu Yu’s rear and almost caught him. In the last moment, Mu Yu resorted to summoning vines to shake off his pursuer and make a break. Tian Jiancheng locked onto Mu Yu’s aura but lost him when Mu Yu disappeared into the passage.
Demon vines were commonly found plants that could move, also preferring dark and moist places, hence their tendency to hunt in the dark. Accordingly, Tian Jiancheng wrongly concluded the vines just happened to be growing in the dark passage.
By the time Tian Jiancheng got rid of the vines, he had lost track of Mu Yu; not even tracing Mu Yu via spiritual sense brought up any clues. He was quite annoyed a Body Severing Realm cultivator escaped him. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to regroup with Tian Budai and company.
Tian Budai, who went out of his way to learn some of the fiend language in order to find the desert eagle fiend king, could understand some of the text on the stalactites. He crouched to stir the water and relayed, “This is Desert Eagle Imperial City’s secret fiend beast army – Fiend Prison. We’re late by the steps of it.”
“The person here just now must’ve taken it. Luckily for him, he managed to get away thanks to the demon vines,” Tian Jiancheng fumed.
Zhou Jinglin used a talisman to reveal a pagoda image on the protection formation. He reported, “This is the Brilliant Blood the mysterious individual had. Did they also come here?”
“We didn’t come here just for the Fiend Prisons. The pagoda is the most important item. We can’t allow them to get away with it. After them.” Tian Budai stood up and gave chase.
Mu Yu kept moving as he was worried Tian Budai’s crew would catch him; he even relied on Wood Spirit Sword to make haste. He only managed to give Tian Jiancheng the slip thanks to a slit in the wall that he found. By the time he crawled out of it, he was in another passage. Forked paths annoyed him, while the constant staircase leading upward frustrated him. It had been two hours since he was lost, and the rain only poured harder – figuratively speaking.
“I’m spent. Let’s take a break,” said Xiaoshuai, thumping his chest.
“I’m the one who’s doing all the running!” Mu Yu flicked Xiaoshuai’s head. The four paths before him were already frustrating him to no end.
“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, I choose you!”
“Can’t you sniff out where there’s potent spiritual qi? That’d help us define our direction.”
“There’s a strong pungent smell in this passageway that’s interfering with me smile, so no…”
“Pungent smell? What smell?”
“I don’t know myself. The scent is segregating spiritual qi. If you don’t believe me, try gathering spiritual qi in the environment. See if you can cultivate using it.” Xiaoshuai wagged his tail, driving home his point.
Mu Yu also gave it a try and verified Xiaoshuai’s report. Originally, he planned to tail the individual in yellow since he was carrying so many fiend spirits on him. Having said that, neither he nor Xiaoshuai would’ve been able to trace their spiritual qi if the individual stored it in his cosmic pouch. Mu Yu had a theory: the best place to seal the fiend king would be a place where he couldn’t access spiritual qi. The same applied to the white ape fiend king before. If the hypothesis held true, then this place was similar to the spiritual qi core that took spiritual qi from the white ape fiend king’s sealing spot.
“Can you find where the stench is coming from?”
“The rodent can do it. He grew up on poop,” the dragon vine suddenly insulted.
“Shut up, Earthworm.” Xiaoshuai begrudgingly pointed down the middle path and warned, “Are you sure you want to go down there? My nose won’t work once we head down that path.”
Mu Yu strode toward the path Xiaoshuai pointed. The pressure imposed on him felt akin to his clothing strangling him. Several minutes in, they found an exit. Mu Yu was experienced enough to stay vigilant even though his ticket out was right in front. Upon reaching the border, he rubbed his eyes and remarked, “You can’t be serious…”
The statues, the size, the one-hundred-odd golden steps two-metres wide, the fiends lined up on either side… It was the same, the same fiend underground palace Mu Yu and Qiao Xue ventured into at Second Heaven!
Mu Yu exhaled and muttered, “Weird, the city and Second Heaven aren’t connected somehow, are they? Would the desert eagle fiend king’s core also be here?”
The throne at the top of the staircase came straight out of Mu Yu’s memory. Howbeit, a striking man sat there in an unfettered pose, exuding the vibe of one meant for freedom in the sky. That symbol could only have belonged to one individual – Desert Eagle Fiend King.
“Xiaoshuai, how did you find the fiend king’s core at Second Heaven? Can you try it again here?” Mu Yu flew up to where the throne was for he remembered the white ape fiend king’s core was located somewhere above his throne.
“I don’t think it’s here; it smells different to fiend spirits. My nose isn’t even working here.”
Mu Yu inspected the throne and statue. He figured all the fiend king’s had appearances identical to cultivators based on experience. He spotted a pendant sitting on the fiend king’s chest. “Isn’t this Brilliant Blood, though slightly smaller?”
Suddenly, the statue caught Mu Yu’s wrist. The statue turned his head to Mu Yu and lit up his red eyes. “How dare you blaspheme my belongings?”
“Whoa, what the heck?!”
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
