Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He had beaten the Heavens by half a move! Zixia Fairy was astonished. Never had she thought that Xu Que could do such a thing! In the World of Cultivators, Heaven is the only thing that is revered. In the whole world, who would dare to say that they could surpass the Heavens?
Xu Que was the only one who had dared to utter such words; this young man standing right in front of her. If it was still the Zixia Fairy of the past, she would think that this lad was too arrogant. However, after seeing how Xu Que broke the formidable Chess Board Sea Spell, Zixia Fairy had begun to think otherwise.
Because to a cultivator at the Golden Core Stage, a Chess Board Sea Spell of this level was comparable to going against the Heavens! Also, now, not only did Xu Que break the spell, but also he survived and said that he had just beaten the Heavens by half a move. Strangely enough, he sounded almost too humble. When Xu Que said that he had only beaten the Heavens by half a move, it wasn’t just to act tough. It was his exact sentiment – that he did not have a full win.
Why? Because he felt indignant to have spent 5 million Acting Tough points for that! If he had claimed the Celestial Artifact without spending a single Acting Tough Point, then he would concede that this was a full win.
….
Thanks to the pill given to him by Zixia Fairy, Xu Que’s injuries healed at the speed of light. He was now almost fully recovered! After this last dangerous encounter, Zixia Fairy appeared to become hesitant.
“Joker, why don’t we stay here? Once I’m out, I’ll bestow upon you a piece of enlightenment!” she said, looking into Xu Que’s eyes. She didn’t want Xu Que to risk his life for her anymore, for this path had changed too greatly and become too dangerous. She could no longer predict future dangers.
Xu Que immediately put on his most determined look as he answered righteously, “Miss Azi, please, don’t tell me such silliness! If I, Joker, am a coward who fears death, I wouldn’t have come here!”
“But…”
“No buts! I already knew that there would be dangers when I decided to come. Because I believe that to become great, I will need to go through millions of calamities; to experience many dangers; to be fearless, to be reborn in a blood bath, and finally to emerge into greatness!” Xu Que’s words were as firm as concrete; there was no trace of fear on his face, and he looked domineering and powerful.
Zixia Fairy still felt slightly reluctant, but, in the end, she agreed with him. On the one hand, she felt that what Xu Que said made sense. After all, cowards who fear death and avoid dangers will never become great! On the other hand, she knew that Xu Que would never stay. So instead of parting with him, they might as well travel together. That way, she could take care of him just in case he got into a bind. She rebutted him no more. She nodded and they continued on their journey.
After the enormous Chess Board Sea Spell had been broken, this place went back to its original form. The sea had become a lake, and what seemed to be a borderless space before was now surrounded by stone walls. A deep tunnel opened up from the crevices of the stone walls, revealing a pitch-black passageway.
Xu Que and Zixia Fairy looked at each other for a moment. Then, they strode forward together, entering the tunnel. Along the way, it felt like they were back to ground zero.
There were some spells to keep out intruders, but they were all easily broken by Xu Que and Zixia Fairy. They made swift progress. As the spells and traps increased in complexity and number, Xu Que and Zixia Fairy worked well together and demonstrated more and more chemistry.
Most of the time when Xu Que was blowing up one corner of the forbidden area, Zixia Fairy’s magic art would follow up just in time to blow up the other end of the area, causing it to collapse in a heartbeat. Sometimes, Zixia Fairy would strike first. Xu Que would then cover her swiftly, and together they would break the spell quickly.
To have such chemistry was uncanny. It was as though they were telepathic, and it confused them both. Regarding this, Xu Que felt secretly happy. He assumed that it was just the Red Rope of Marriage doing its magic and pretended to be oblivious to what was happening. There was nothing but focus on his face, and they continued to go deeper into the tunnel.
…
A few hours later, a ray of light finally shone through at the end of the tunnel. It was either an exit or another entry point. Xu Que and Zixia Fairy halted their steps, and their expressions turned solemn as they exchanged a glance.
“We’ve got company!” said Zixia Fairy first.
“Lots of them!” Xu Que nodded.
Though they were not yet near the end of the tunnel, they could sense hundreds of other Cultivators’ auras. There were obviously many cultivators gathered there. What was even eerier was that their breathing was stable and stationary, except for a few who were moving slowly. If not for the fact that they did not attempt to hide their auras, Xu Que almost thought that it could be an ambush!
“Weird! Could it be that there’s a big piece of enlightenment inside?” Xu Que frowned in suspicion.
Zixia Fairy’s face filled with dread, and she disagreed, “No, I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid that we have another humongous spell in front of us!”
“Another spell?” Xu Que stirred at her words. He had obtained a Celestial Artifact from the previous Chess Board Sea Spell. If this spell is as powerful as the former was, could it be there was another Celestial Artifact waiting for him?
Jackpot! Jackpot! I may strike it rich again this time!
Excitement rose within Xu Que, but it was not noticeable on his calm face. He lowered his voice and said, “Miss Azi, shall we take a look?”
Zixia Fairy’s brows curved into a pretty frown as she thought. After a while, she nodded and reminded him, “Joker, if you encounter any danger, you have to leave immediately! Don’t try to save me. I won’t die!”
“Umm….” Xu Que didn’t give her a straight answer. He did not want to waste any more time acting tough, so he marched forward instead.
Zixia Fairy knew that he was patronizing her, but since he had already moved, she had to follow him. Soon enough, they reached the end of the tunnel. While both had not let down their guards, they had not encountered any dangers yet – until they took a step out of the cave, where both of them froze on the spot.
…
Whoa! This is a vast secret chamber! It was the size of two football fields and its stone walls were filled with countless other similar exits from many other tunnels, as though it was the meeting point of all tunnels, a nexus.
Xu Que and Zixia Fairy were just some of the many who were walking out of the tunnels and thus did attract much attention. Of course, this was also because there were not many breathing humans left here. Xu Que finally understood the reason behind the hundreds of stable and stationary cultivator auras he sensed in the tunnel. It became apparent what was going on. These cultivators stood as still as the Terracotta Warriors, in the middle of the chamber at floor level; expressionless, they did not even blink their eyes.
“What is going on? Have they been held captive?” Xu Que asked in astonishment.
Zixia Fairy grimaced too, and she shifted her gaze toward the cultivators who were loitering at the exits. Suddenly, her expression changed, “This place is odd, Joker, look at those standing near the exits like us!”
“Oh?” He followed her words and looked over. Apart from the side where they were standing, he saw many other cultivators standing at the exits at the other three walls.
However, at this moment, these people had all fixed their gazes on the space above, as they mumbled soundlessly under their breaths.
Xu Que instinctively followed their gazes, but there was nothing other than a pitch-black ceiling. “I don’t get it. There is nothing above! What are they looking at?” asked a stunned Xu Que.
Logically speaking, shouldn’t the cultivators rooted in the middle of the chamber draw more attention than the ceiling? Why did all these people seem so fixated on the ceiling? They also spoke without making any sounds. Could it be that they are using the art of soundless communication?”
Boom!
A loud explosion suddenly came from behind Xu Que!
“Not good! Let’s go!” Zixia Fairy raised her voice as her expression changed. However, they could not make it in time. The tunnel behind them had burst into flames!
In the next moment, the tunnel where they had come from disappeared before their eyes, as if it was severed in half, leaving behind a ruin of pitch-black nothingness.
“Too late, we have entered the spell zone!” Xu Que shook his head, with his heart heavy. He could hardly contain his eagerness and delight! The more difficult the spell, the more likely that it was supported by a celestial artifact, just like the one he tackled before!
Dismay crept into Zixia Fairy’s voice, “Joker, something’s not right, look above us!”
Following her gaze again, Xu Que couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The ceiling that was black before was now projected with images of cultivators killing each other, going insane, or zoning out! Moreover, those were images of the Cultivators who now stood right in the middle of the chamber!
“It’s over! It’s all over!” They heard someone say from the opposite wall, his voice trembling from profound fear and horror. “There’s no way out of this calamity! Are we going to end up like them?”
