The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 900
The thousands of martial artists had been rapidly descending along the walls, but now, many of them had stopped and were hesitantly looking down below. Though they hadn’t noticed anything at first, these martial artists now keenly understood that they had already encountered the first obstacle of the Origin Immortal Treasury.
This obstacle was not other ambitious experts, but the rapidly thinning air in the pit.
This was an impassable barrier!
Once the air became thin enough, martial artists would die just like the rest.
“Damn it! How could it be like this?!”
A martial artist who had been crawling along the wall like a spider some several dozen feet from Wang Chong sensed the strengthening stifling sensation, and even his Stellar Energy flow began to be affected. He couldn’t help but punch a fist into the wall.
He had originally believed that his greatest foes in obtaining the Origin Immortal Art were top-class experts like the Black Yin Ancestor and Wang Chong. He had never expected that this first barrier of thinning air would become the barrier that he could never overcome. He found this opponent more difficult to accept than any other.
“We’ll die if this continues! Retreat! Hurry and retreat!”
“This cave is just too deep, more than one thousand meters… Who knows how far down it goes!?” another martial artist said in despair.
They had thought it would be seven or eight hundred meters at most, but they were now at more than one thousand meters with no end in sight.
Chapter 1439 - Bottomless Pit!
Chapter 1439: Bottomless Pit!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“It’d be great to be the world’s number one, but you need to have your life to enjoy it! It’s no good! I have to retreat!”
A martial artist gnashed his teeth, struggle in his eyes and a mighty battle taking place in his heart. Finally, he reversed course, crawling upward on his hands and feet.
He sensed that if he didn’t turn around now, he would truly lose his grip and die in vain.
One person turning around was like the first domino in a line, and other martial artists instantly began to turn around and reluctantly climb back up. This formed a stark contrast with that desperate struggle to be first from before.
Treasure was important, but life was even more important.
As time went on, the vast majority of the martial artists continued to descend, driven by the allure of treasure. Twelve hundred meters, fifteen hundred meters, eighteen hundred meters, two thousand meters… Several hours passed, and the lack of noise besides the sound of climbing had become rather frightening.
However, the pit continued to have no end, continued to be that bottomless abyss.
As time went on, more and more martial artists could no longer keep up and were forced to turn back.
Wang Chong was motionless, minimizing his breathing to its utmost. If one didn’t look carefully, one would even think that he was a lifeless corpse.
The Turtle Breathing Art!
The unusual art he had learned from the Sindhu monks finally had a chance to display its use.
Martial artists were unable to endure in thin-air environments because their metabolisms were too powerful. But if one dropped their metabolism to the lowest possible level, one would naturally need much less air.
Thus, even if the air was thin, one could still move around normally.
This was the countermeasure Wang Chong had thought of to deal with this bottomless abyss.
“Not bad!”
On the head of the white dragon, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had been extremely worried about Wang Chong. But now that he heard how long Wang Chong needed for each breath and that his metabolism had dropped to its lowest possible level, he couldn’t help but subtly nod.
Although Wang Chong was young, he was extremely experienced. There was no need to worry about him in situations like these.
Buzz!
A moment later, the Demonic Emperor Old Man closed his own eyes and used an unusual art of his own.
He did not know Wang Chong’s Turtle Breathing Art, but as a grandmaster of the martial arts world and the evil path’s number one, the Demonic Emperor Old Man knew far more arts than Wang Chong.
At the same time, the Wushang Village Chief also minimized his breathing.
The multitude of martial artists continued to clamber down the walls like monkeys. Fortune was found in danger, and there were still many martial artists unwilling to give up in the face of this particular danger.
We must be nearly three thousand meters from the top now! But there’s still no bottom in sight. Just how deep is this pit left behind by the Origin Immortal Lord? And why did he have to make his treasury so complicated?
Wang Chong sat motionless, using his Stellar Energy to attach himself to the white dragon. Meanwhile, his mind was buzzing with thought.
Whether in this life or the last, Wang Chong had been through countless dangerous places, but none of them had made him feel as insignificant as this giant chasm. The people hanging on the walls were like tiny ants, and they were liable to drop down at any moment.
This pit seemed to be part of a world of giants, and no one knew where its terminus was.
At three thousand meters, the air was extraordinarily thin. This distance was unimaginable for many martial artists, comparable to an abyss. But Wang Chong sensed that this was a small distance for this massive pit with a diameter of seven to eight hundred meters.
Everyone who comes here is here to become the world’s number one, but who knows how many of them can last until the bottom?
As this thought passed through his mind, Wang Chong slowly raised his head.
From Wang Chong’s perspective, up above was darkness. The opening they had come in through was suspended high in the sky, a tiny star about the size of a sesame seed. And from what he could make out, there were still many martial artists clambering their way down.
These scenes combined to give an impression of this place as a dark passage to another world.
Whoooah!
As he was thinking, his surroundings trembled and a large amount of stones and gravel dropped down. The white dragon also trembled, shaking Wang Chong along with it.
Startled, Wang Chong hurriedly steadied himself.
It’s the pit wall!
Wang Chong’s eyes gleamed as he focused on the cave wall down below.
At this depth, the light was extremely weak, and it should have been impossible to see anything. But Wang Chong could see a faint white light reflecting off the walls.
“Chong-er, be careful! The walls here are much smoother and the stones are looser. We can’t use the white dragon any longer!”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man’s voice came out of the darkness, extremely grim.
After three-thousand-some meters and with no end in sight, the walls of the pit had become more difficult to climb. This was something that no one had expected.
“Brother Fang, get ready to dispel the white dragon. We’ll use our own feet! Chong-er, are you ready?” the Demonic Emperor Old Man sternly said, speaking first to the Wushang Village Chief and then to Wang Chong.
“Mm.”
The Wushang Village Chief nodded. He had used the white dragon to be cautious, as they did not understand this place very well, but there was no need for it now.
“Your disciple understands!”
Wang Chong sternly nodded, but there was little change to the expression on his face.
The change had come faster than expected, but Wang Chong was also of the opinion that it was time to use his own hands and feet.
Whoosh!
A few moments later, one of the white dragon’s feet slipped, sending another shower of dirt and stone plummeting into the abyss. The weight of the dragon and the three passengers upon it was far more than the walls could bear.
It was now much better for the three to split up and travel alone.
Roooar
!
With a dragon cry, the Wushang Village Chief clenched his hand. The lifelike white dragon immediately vanished, turning into a six-foot-long white cane that flew into the Wushang Village Chief’s hand like a bird.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The Demonic Emperor Old Man had already leaped forward, creating a small arc in the air. His two feet firmly attached themselves to the smooth surface of the wall, and powerful Stellar Energy surged through his soles and into the cave.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man proceeded to simply traverse the cave wall like he was walking on flat ground, heading deeper into the darkness. The Wushang Village Chief also extended his cane, landed on the wall, and began to follow the Demonic Emperor Old Man in a similar fashion.
As for Wang Chong…
Although his strength was limited, as a master of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, he was extremely proficient when it came to exploiting the pull of his Stellar Energy.
Whoosh!
The moment he jumped off the white dragon, he extracted some energy from the Energy Condensation Pearl and gathered it into an energy vortex at his abdomen. This produced a repulsive force that more than halved the immense pull coming from the bottom of the pit. Meanwhile, his two feet extended toward the wall and were soon held fast to it.
This should be enough. Using this method, I should be able to minimize the pull from the bottom of the pit, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
The energy vortex was something he had begun to think about even before entering the pit, but he had still needed some time to finally comprehend it. He wasn’t sure about it at first, but it was now apparent that this energy vortex was proving rather effective. Even so, Wang Chong did not dare to be careless.
This pit was a dangerous and unknown world. Wang Chong’s little trick only allowed him to maintain a fine balance. While he had it easier than others, he was still in no place to relax.
No one knew what other perils might be within this massive pit!
“Everyone, be careful! It’s probably going to get a lot more dangerous from here.” The Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke one last time before he vanished into the darkness.
Wang Chong closely followed.
Thirty-five hundred meters, thirty-seven hundred meters, thirty-nine hundred meters…
As they ventured deeper and deeper, breathing became increasingly arduous. There were many places where the wall seemed extremely smooth, but the slightest pressure would cause it to crumble like tofu, making it very easy to fall.
How are we still not at the end?
Wang Chong creased his brow. He could hear the sounds of crumbling stone around him, and in the darkness, he could vaguely make out that a few people were continuing to descend.
There were significantly fewer martial artists at this depth than there had been at the beginning, but it was still a significant number.
Wang Chong sensed that there were seven or eight hundred.
Some people were using sabers and swords, and some people were even using steel rope. Everyone was using their own skills, and no matter who they were, anyone who could reach this level was an incredible expert.
Wang Chong focused his mind and continued to make his way down.
To walk down a cave wall as if one was walking on flat ground was extremely difficult. If he fell, not even Wang Chong knew if he would be able to survive.
Four thousand meters, five thousand meters, seven thousand meters—at this depth, not even the light from the entrance could be seen anymore.
He was surrounded by a world of darkness that was brimming with danger.
And there was still no sight of the end.
Chapter 1440 - Ambush in the Darkness!
Chapter 1440: Ambush in the Darkness!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“What’s going on here? It’s already seven thousand meters! Why is there still no end?!”
A frantic roar exploded out of the darkness. After climbing so far and consuming so much Stellar Energy, after the air had become so thin and the walls so dangerous, some martial artists had finally reached their breaking point.
If they had known that this pit would be so deep from the very start, many of them would have considered for a very long time before venturing in. But what was most crucial was not that it was deep, but that there was no telling how deep the pit went. This was the most excruciating aspect.
“Let’s go!” a reluctant voice called out. “If this continues, we’ll be exhausted to death before we even reach the Origin Immortal Treasury.”
Even these powerful martial artists had begun to lose hope, and some of them had already turned around and started the climb back up.
In the face of this seemingly endless challenge, they had finally decided to retreat.
This is fine. At least we can eliminate some of the weaker competitors beforehand!
Wang Chong smiled. He instantly understood what the Origin Immortal Lord’s intention was.
The temptation of the Origin Immortal Art was simply too much, and there was almost no martial artist that could resist it. This bottomless pit could make the majority of martial artists shrink back in the face of difficulty, avoiding meaningless casualties.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a scream rang out through the darkness, loudly echoing throughout the pit. And unlike before, this was a scream of extreme pain, the scream of someone who had been injured by an ambush.
Buzz!
Wang Chong grimaced and he immediately sensed intense danger. But before he could react, he heard several piercing whistles coming toward him.
Across from Wang Chong, twenty to thirty needles were approaching at astonishing speed.
Bang!
Wang Chong immediately sent out a burst of energy from his dantian, which took the form of a wall to protect his surroundings.
Pingpingping! The assassination needles were all knocked away.
But a moment later, he heard a ‘pahpahpah‘ coming from over his head.
“Not good!”
Wang Chong trembled in understanding. Turning his head, he saw that twenty to thirty meters above him, a row of needles had thrust into the wall. A moment later, the Stellar Energy in these needles detonated.
Rumble! Dirt and stone poured down, smashing toward Wang Chong.
Swoosh!
Wang Chong thrust his palm out behind him and then lunged to the side.
A split-second later, several dozen needles wrapped in destructive energy shot toward Wang Chong. Half of them were aimed directly at him while the other half were aimed at the loose rock around him.
The pull of the pit was immense, and it was directly affecting Stellar Energy. This was extremely dangerous to martial artists, and as this mysterious assailant was forcing Wang Chong to move around while also destroying the walls around him, they clearly harbored ill intentions.
They wanted nothing more than for Wang Chong to fall.
More Stellar Energy rumbled out of Wang Chong’s body, rapidly expanding the energy vortex in front of his abdomen so that he could better resist the pull of the cave. At the same time, Wang Chong once more moved positions, creating an enormous pull from his body that held him fast to a part of the wall some seven to eight meters away.
As he was doing all this, Wang Chong waved a sleeve, sweeping up ten-some needles and the seven or eight boulders that were coming from above with his Great Yinyang Stellar Energy and sending them flying at his assailant.
“Go!”
The flickering images of the sun and moon appeared around Wang Chong as he pushed the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to its limit, and those needles and boulders picked up speed, flying as quickly as lightning bolts.
Boomboomboom!
A few seconds later, explosions could be heard from the other side along with the sound of rubble crumbling down. After that, a strange and evil laughter could be heard.
“Kekekeke, kid, you’re rather lucky to have es
caped with your life!”
“The Black Yin Ancestor!”
Wang Chong’s eyes chilled, instantly recognizing the voice.
The Black Yin Ancestor had moved out faster than most, following mere moments after the Four Ends Martial Lord. Logically speaking, he should have been at least two thousand meters ahead of him, but it turned out that he had turned back and laid an ambush.
Wang Chong could tell from his voice that he was seven or eight hundred meters away, on the other side of the pit.
If this were the surface, this distance would be nothing at all. But in this pit, where the air was thin and the pull of gravity strong, flying was extremely difficult. Not even peerless experts like Wang Chong and the Black Yin Ancestor could cross this gap.
It was precisely because the Black Yin Ancestor had noticed this that he had decided to lay his ambush.
“Ah!”
As Wang Chong’s mind was rapidly turning, trying to think of a way to deal with the Black Yin Ancestor, there was a shout of alarm.
“Zhang Wenfu, you bastard!”
The Black Yin Ancestor’s panicked and furious voice faded into the distance.
It sounded like he had suffered some sort of loss.
“Chong-er, how is it? Are you injured?”
In a rush of air, a figure appeared at Wang Chong’s side, looking solemn. His master, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, had at some point turned around to check on him.
“I’m fine!”
Wang Chong felt a surge of warmth as he shook his head.
“But it seems like the Five Ancestor Alliance has already begun to target others.”
When gathering the pieces of the treasure map, everyone had worked together, with even the Black Yin Ancestor playing a significant role. But now, their relationship as temporary allies had clearly come to an end.
The Black Yin Ancestor’s attack clearly indicated that their relationship had entered a new phase.
In this phase, everyone would use all the tricks available to kill their opponents and reduce their competitors.
“The situation down here is very complicated. Our vision is restricted, as is our strength. Do your best to not get very far from me. In this way, no matter what sort of scheme there is, your master can deal with it at any time,” the Demonic Emperor Old Man sternly said. Ever since they had entered this pit, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had become abnormally grave.