Chapter 428: Ten Thousand Li Underground
Translator: Swammped Editor: Hitesh_
On the altar, the six light beams connected the sky and ground like the six pillars of heavens, rendering the altar and dozens of li around it illusory.
The Stoneman Array was under the altar, and the air was almost freezing.
After a while, the Yin Demon Master’s expression calmed down. A cold glint flickered in his eyes as he said, “Master Jadewater, there is no need for you to meddle in this affair.”
Master Jadewater was conversing with Iron Wood via Zhen Yuan transmissions. He was astonished after finding out that the altar was related to the secrets of undying body, and soon became extremely excited. He faintly smiled and said, “Your words are wrong, Yin Demon Master. Treasures are related by fate. Since this altar has appeared here, don’t you think it’s somewhat linked to me by fate? How can you ask me not to meddle?”
“Hmph!” Yin Demon Master snorted. He knew that having the former leave at this point was impossible, so he followed by saying, “I admit your strength Master Jadewater. But, aside from you, all the rest have to get out. I think you also wouldn’t want them following us.”
“That…!” Master Jadewater was somewhat hesitant. He swept his gaze across Iron Wood Spirit Warrior and the rest.
Iron Wood Spirit Warrior urgently said, “He knows much more about this than anybody else. Without us to restrain him, the secrets of undying body will ultimately fall…”
“You’re courting death!” Before Iron Wood could finish his sentence, Yin Demon Master flared up. A cold, grayish-black qi erupted as he chopped toward the former, even enveloping Black Snake Spirit Warrior and Old Man Sky Eagle, aiming to kill them all.
“Jade Spiral!”
At the crucial moment, Master Jadewater formed a seal with his hands, using the profound martial skill he was proud of. A stream of water whirled before the three facing the assault, blocking the incoming strike.
“Master Jaderiver, what do you think you’re doing? Do you really wish to fight me to death?”
Yin Demon Master glanced at Master Jadewater gloomily.
The latter cleared his throat and said, “They can’t die. If you want to kill, kill all those Astral Reaching experts as well. What do you think?”
“This is bad!”
Hearing these words, the complexions of Astral Reaching experts changed. One by one, their Zhen Yuan erupted as they charged outside like bees out of a broken nest.
As for Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng, they retreated more than a hundred meters with their Zhen Yuan circulating to the limits, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
“Hehe, they can all die!”
Yin Demon Master didn’t think Astral Reaching experts could cause any impact. However, all that happened before left him stifled. So, he could use the Astral Reaching experts to vent.
“Earth as heavens, suppress and kill!”
The Yin Demon Master had comprehended the Earth profound. With one fist, the heaven and earth reversed. Sky was no longer the sky and ground was no longer ground; they were completely overturned. Not only did it plunge the sense of direction of the escapees into chaos, it even made them lose their sense of balance, causing them to sway uncontrollably. Immediately after, an earthen-yellow sky-covering hand fell, heavily crashing down.
“What a frightening profound!”
Ye Chen’s eyes turned into slits. This fist from Yin Demon Master was already beyond the category of techniques, ascending to the level of the profound mysteries of cosmos. Everything within the range of the fist was in chaos. Heaven and earth had overturned, and all those inside were like ants, not even able to bring out thirty percent of their strength. To face a full power strike of Yin Demon Master with thirty percent power couldn’t even be described as smashing an egg on a stone.
The power of a Sea of Soul realm Master completely exceeded Ye Chen’s imagination.
Just as the Astral Reaching experts within a perimeter of several li were about to be crushed, the undying altar spun suddenly. The six light beams combined into one thick beam that pierced the sky and through all the three layers.
The Stoneman Array underneath the altar suddenly caved in, forming a vertical and deep tunnel with a thickness of ten li. A grey-colored tornado surged with the altar as the center, seeming like a huge funnel that penetrated the tunnel.
‘Ah! Ah!’
Without any opportunity to resist, everyone within ten li were swept inside the tunnel. The Astral Reaching experts outside ten li couldn’t resit the tornado’s suction either, and were sucked in the next moment as well, including the numerous stone sculptures.
“What’s going on?”
As Sea of Soul realm experts, how could Yin Demon Master and Master Jaderiver let the tornado control them? They urged their Zhen Yuan, trying to break free. But, the tornado was so huge that its suction power could even engulf the clouds in the sky. Despite their repetitive struggles, they were ultimately sucked in.
Inside the tunnel, about a hundred people were rapidly descending.
“This scene… It looks the same as in the image on the altar.” Murong Qingcheng recalled the altar image. Apart from the altar, there were flickering lights on the altar and a tornado. It could be assumed that once the altar appeared, this was bound to happen.
Ye Chen’s forehead swelled, radiating out soul power downward. After a few moments, he sucked in a deep breath and said, “This tunnel is more than hundred li deep. It’s gonna be troublesome.”
Underground was an unknown territory in itself. Astral Reaching experts could ascend the heavens and dive underneath the ground, but within a limit. For heavens, the Stunning Sky was their limit, while twenty to thirty thousand meters was the limit underground. In other words, Astral Reaching experts were unable to go down more than forty to fifty li underneath. However, they had already sunk for dozens of li as of now, and with no end in sight. This meant that the tunnel was at least a hundred li deep.
Huff!
Suddenly, the suction power inside the tunnel multiplied, and their falling speed exceeded five times that of sound. While it was true that Astral Reaching experts could attain five times the speed of sound if they tried with all their might, that was under normal circumstances. The current circumstances were anything but normal. They had basically no control of their body. Some relatively weak Astral Reaching experts almost spilled out their guts, sustaining heavy injuries.
Almost subconsciously, Ye Chen grabbed the soft, little hand of Murong Qingcheng. Murong Qingcheng blankly stared for a moment before briefly holding his hand back.
Fifty li.
Seventy li!
A hundred li!
A hundred fifty li!
Two Hundred Li!
“We’re dead. We’ve already sunk two hundred li underground.” Some Astral Reaching experts wailed. If they had known earlier, they wouldn’t have joined in.
On the other hand, the faces of Sea of Soul realm experts remained passive. The depth of a few hundred li was within the limit of their abilities. Moreover, they believed that this was not a disaster, but their chance. The secrets of undying body certainly awaited them in the depths underneath.
Huff….
The suction power increased again, and the speed increased from five to seven times that of sound. Even Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng were somewhat unable to adjust to the sudden increase. Their brows gradually creased.
“The suction power is getting worse and worse. I’m afraid that the true depth will be beyond our imagination.” Ye Chen closely held Murong Qingcheng’s hand and spoke via Zhen Yuan transmission.
Murong Qingcheng replied, “There has always been a rumor that there is another world in the boundless depths. I wonder if it’s related to this tunnel.”
“Since we’re already here, let’s sit back and see where it takes us.”
Ye Chen looked around him. Everything was muddled, though he could occasionally see one or two indistinct stone sculptures. In this strange situation, the sculptures seemed to be carrying the essence of martial dao. They were thought-provoking and allowed him to calm down.
Three hundred li!
Five hundred li!
Eight hundred li!
A thousand li!
Soon, they arrived at the depths of thousand li. At this moment, even Sea of Soul realm experts began to panic a bit. Depths of thousand li were something they had neither ventured into, nor heard of. How deep was the True Spirit Continent? Nobody could say for sure since the ancient times.
“Are the secrets of the undying body really underneath?”
Uncertainty flickered on the Yin Demon Master’s face, along with a trace of dread. The depth of thousand li to him was more or less a dangerous forbidden zone. Furthermore, the forbidden zones underground were basically certain death. The danger was far higher compared to the forbidden zones on the surface.
Not far away, Master Jaderiver smiled bitterly. He occasionally tried to measure the depths with his soul power, but the results always left him terrified.
As for Iron Wood Spirit Warrior and other Sea of Soul realm experts, all of them had pale complexions. They had resigned their fates in the hands of heavens. At this stage, regardless of how they struggled, it was all futile. There was no need to think much.
The suction power continued to increase, already making them attain the speed ten times that of sound. More than ten Astral Reaching experts had already spurted blood and died, becoming a body without consciousness. Strangely, an illusory light floated out of these corpses, merging with the statues and making them seem even more mysterious.
Two thousand li!
Three thousand li!
Five thousand li!
The endless depths left everybody terrified. What kind of concept was five thousand li underground? The distance between the surface and Stunning Sky was merely five hundred li. Five thousand li was ten folds higher than that. Moreover, the underground space was not made of air, but hard soil. Every inch was thicker than hundred folds compared to air. Buried so far underneath, their despair could be imagined.
Fortunately, the suction power didn’t increase further after the speed got to ten times that of sound. Otherwise, even fifty out of hundred wouldn’t have survived.
Six Thousand li.
Seven thousand li!
Nine thousand li!
After nine thousand li, the suction power finally started to decrease. From ten times the speed of sound to eight, five, and then to three.
At nine thousand nine hundred li, Ye Chen eventually sensed the end and muttered, “Unsurprisingly, we’re about ten thousand li away from the surface.”
“Such a depth is really enough to leave one in despair.” Murong Qingcheng couldn’t remain calm. She felt heavy, as if a rock was pressing on her heart, stifling her breath.
The world underground was not completely dark. Amidst the dusky surroundings, everything was dark-green colored, stretching all the way to the horizons. It was a span of huge rainforest, and they were descending from thick, gray-colored sky.
Huff!
As they made their way through the clouds, the attraction force completely disappeared. Only the stone statues, due to being too heavy, rapidly fell toward the rainforest, creating huge depressions and setting off huge shockwaves that startled the strange birds and forest beasts.
“What’s going on? I can’t feel my Zhen Yuan.” Someone tried to arouse Zhen Yuan to slow the fall, but discovered that there was none, and called out in fear.
“Me too.”
“Damn! Without Zhen Yuan, how are we supposed to survive in this ghostland.”
