Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  Jumping back and standing by Hui Yue, Xiao Ning grinned at his younger friend while Hui Yue smiled in return.

  “Even I am astonished to see you being able to control so much after breaking through,” Hui Yue’s voice drifted into Xiao Ning’s ears, and the words caused pride to appear in the older expert’s eyes.

  “Well there is no reason to stay here any longer,” Xiao Ning said as the final stone fell to the ground. “Let’s go to the grave in front of us. I’ll trust my back to you, and believe me I will have yours.” He said seriously, and his words caused Hui Yue to feel safe. The younger expert nodded his head, and instantly the two experts rushed through the dust filled chamber. Seeing the many Saints who scrambled backwards now pouncing forward, everyone followed and disappeared from the hall with fervent gazes in their eyes, ready and excited to see what was prepared for them.

  Rushing forward, no one knew exactly what they were expecting, yet the moment they appeared on the other side of the door, everyone came to a standstill. Even Hui Yue had a dubious expression on his face.

  In front of them was the exact same sight which had met them when they first entered the outer grave. A whole lot of tunnels were shown in front of them. Although these tunnels looked far better than the previous one, it was clearly the same as before.

  Being stunned for a moment, Hui Yue suddenly heard Lan Feng’s voice. ‘The third tunnel to the left; it has the strongest undulations,’ He commented, and without waiting any further Hui Yue rushed down the tunnel.

  Xiao Ning was at first shocked to see that Hui Yue did not wait to discuss with him, yet seeing the determined expression in Hui Yue’s eyes he decided not to argue and followed behind.

  Left behind, everyone else looked at the other tunnels. Everyone thought of what they had been through up until now and knew that if it were the same, it would be even more challenging than before. Their faces turned serious and slightly fearful, yet determination shone in their eyes as they soon split up and took their own tunnels.

  Chapter 359 - No Need to Rush

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  Chapter 359: No Need to Rush

  As soon as the two, Hui Yue and Xiao Ning, picked a tunnel and started to walk inside the speed with which they started off at quickly died out. Hui Yue started walking incredibly slow as he, observed everything around him looking for hidden traps or doorways leading to more treasure. Now that they had entered the inner grave every treasure they came across would be priceless, and no one was dumb enough to leave them behind. To be honest, even leaving behind treasure in the outer grave was rather stupid.

  Seeing Hui Yue slow his pace, Xiao Ning copied his actions as he too started to observe their surroundings. Unfortunately, he did not have the same assistance Hui Yue did. While the white-haired young man managed to avoid every trap so far thanks to Lan Feng’s keen senses, Xiao Ning was not as fortunate. Time and again he had to use his Wu Wei to create shields to protect himself, and Hui Yue, from traps he set off.

  Neither of the two experts spoke, instead, they slowly advanced yet so far all they had found were traps. Though even so they did not feel very disappointed by this, but were becoming more and more excited as time went by.

  “Can you smell the heavy medicinal aroma in the air?” Xiao Ning asked excitedly as he almost jumped up and down in excitement. His eyes were glazed with a fervent look, and his mouth was slightly open. Had he not been an esteemed Saint, then Hui Yue was completely sure that the expert in front of him would have been drooling uncontrollably thinking about the herbs awaiting them further down the tunnel.

  “I can smell it,” Hui Yue agreed with slight laughter. The scent that permeated the air and wafted down the corridor they were in was familiar to the two experts; it was the smell of the golden pills.

  Although this scent drifted towards them, promising them great rewards just around the corner, neither Hui Yue nor Xiao Ning forgot that they were currently in the middle of a grave filled with traps. Neither of them wished to die from a stupid mistake and as a result, both of them were even more careful than they had been before. They could not afford to let their greed overwhelm them; this place was simply too dangerous.

  It did not take long before the scent had grown immensely, but the odd thing was none of the treasure huts from the outer area were visible here, nor were there anything else indicating that there was anything hidden nearby. Nothing other than that scent which could make even Saint go insane with greed.

  Looking around, Hui Yue frowned. The scent had become so overwhelming that the pills had to be right next to them, but no matter where he looked, all he saw was the tunnel wall with a light stone placed here and there at seemingly random intervals. They let a dim light shine over the stone floor.

  These light stones had been shining for who knew how long and their light had dimmed considerably. To the point where it was almost completely dark within the tunnel. Hui Yue had the sight and senses of a wolf, and he had no problems seeing everything in front of him, this was, however, slightly harder for the defense type Saint Xiao Ning. He was not used to having to pay so much attention to his surroundings; he was used to just rushing through everything and relying on his defenses to get him through everything alive.

  ‘Stop!’ Lan Feng suddenly yelled out from within the dantian cave. Hui Yue, on instinct, stopped in his tracks not moving even an inch. Noticing this, Xiao Ning stopped dead in his tracks as well, and the two of them were completely silent as they looked around. One of them scoured the ground looking for something specific while the other was confused and shifting his weight from side to side looking uncertain.

  ‘It’s here,’ Lan Feng said with a certainty Hui Yue had not heard for a long time. ‘There has to be a hidden chamber under this tunnel floor, and if I am correct then there will be a small mountain of pills. This is definitely not something we pass up.’

  Nodding his head, Hui Yue withdrew his sword and started to slash at the ground beneath him. At first, Xiao Ning was completely shocked, but as time passed, he looked at his new friend’s actions with a new light. His eyes brightened, and he summoned a Wu Wei shield which he slammed into the floor causing it to chip and fracture. Their attacks caused debris to fly everywhere and soon the sword and shield had created a small hole in the tunnel floor. After breaking through the scent of the medicinal pills were countless times stronger than ever before.

  The scent made both Hui Yue and Xiao Ning take in a deep breath as their eyes widened and their hands started digging harder than they had done before. The poor sword which was known as a sovereign of weapons, created by the Nine Heaven’s Blood Devouring Metal, was being used as a shovel. Had Cou Ling seen this, she would have coughed up blood. Although digging had no effect on the sharpness of the sword, nor the durability, however, it was an outstanding weapon and should have been used with dignity.

  Right now neither Hui Yue nor Xiao Ning really cared about their disgraceful behavior or the abilities they were using; all they cared about was entering the hidden room beneath the tunnel.

  It took them astonishingly an hour to break through enough for the two of them to enter the hidden chamber under the floor. Entering the hole both held their breath, shocked to see just how many treasures they had found.

  The room was stacked with mountain after mountain of medicinal pills. There were purple pills, white pills, golden pills, blue pills, and black pills. Some of these pills Hui Yue had not seen before while he also noticed that none of the red pills were present.

  Xiao Ning and Hui Yue looked at each other and nodded their heads at the same time. Neither had the urge to steal from the other, and they easily split the mountains of pills into their storage stones before they jumped up from the room and slowly but steadily moved further into the tunnel.

  Despite them taking everything, the scent of pills had not vanished, as a matter of fact, the scent had branded itself to the two experts after they had bathed in it in the hidden room. Smiling slyly neither of them could change thi
s, but they also both knew that they might as well have signs on their heads saying, ‘We found some pills.’

  Knowing they could do nothing to change it, Hui Yue just heaved a sigh before they continued forward. He also remembered to thank Lan Feng for reminding him of the hidden room. “We need to be even more careful now,” Hui Yue said with a sigh. “Who knows how much treasure we have left behind,” He continued, and Xiao Ning nodded his head. He knew what Hui Yue was referring to. “In the outer grave the treasures were all placed right in front of us, for us to pick up like one would take fruits from a tree, but here in the inner grave, everything is far more difficult. I imagine that some treasures are even impossible for us to sense. We need to keep an eye on both traps and treasures in the future.”

  Although Xiao Ning already knew what Hui Yue was going to say, he did not get upset that Hui Yue said it. It was important if the two of them wished to gain a great deal during their trip.

  “It is not only the treasures that are different,” The older cultivator grumbled. “We also need to keep in mind that in the outer grave there were rooms testing our abilities time; however, now what we are walking down is one massive tunnel. This is nothing like what we expected and nothing like what that spirit imprint said. While we are here, we need to forget everything about the outer grave and focus fully on reaching the inner one.”

  Hui Yue nodded his head as the words Xiao Ning said made perfect sense. It was so obvious that it was easily overlooked. Following Hui Yue’s advice, the two slowly started to examine every single inch of the tunnel moving forward at a snail’s pace.

  After having been in the tunnel for almost a day the two experts were still nowhere near the end and the speed with which they were moving was incredibly slow.

  “Wait!” Hui Yue suddenly called out. His hearing was sharpened as though he was in wolf form as he had heard rustling from behind them. He heard the sounds of someone heading their way. At first, Xiao Ning was surprised as to why Hui Yue called out, but moments later he too heard the sounds of steps within the tunnel steps that were rapidly coming their way.

  It took less than a minute before the experts reached Hui Yue and Xiao Ning. It was a group of three Saints, all of them moved together and their eyes filled with disdain as they arrived behind the Emperor and the Saint in front of him. Looking at these three experts it was clear that they had not been in the chamber when the Heaven’s Door had been opened; instead, they had clearly arrived later and then picked a random tunnel to head down.

  “Hey, little boy why don’t the two of you hand over the treasures you’ve found so far?” One of the experts asked with a sinister smile on his face as crackling laughter escaping the two experts by his side.

  Looking at the three of them, Hui Yue and Xiao Ning quickly exchanged a glance. Both of their eyes were filled with pity. Looking back at the three experts Hui Yue could only sigh as he once more released the locked up aura from Lan Feng, and the ripples surged outwards at the same time as golden Wu Wei gathered around Xiao Ning.

  The more his strength rose, the paler the three experts before them became.

  “Wait, wait, wait!” The one who had spoken first said once more while backing away, “We misunderstood; we had eyes but could not recognize Mt. Tai, pardon us,” He said while his hands trembled, and he bowed deeply to the two Saints in front of him. The Saints who had been laughing before had turned completely silent. Their eyes widened in shock, and they quickly bowed as deeply as they could while seeking forgiveness.

  Looking at the three experts in front of him, Hui Yue contemplated for some time. He knew that Xiao Ning was awaiting his decision but he was unsure of what to do. Releasing them would undoubtedly bring trouble later on, but killing weaklings like them for just threatening him was not his style.

  ‘What should we do?’ Hui Yue sighed to Lan Feng, and fortunately, the bird was willing to answer. ‘Although you don’t want to kill them, who says you cannot give them a good beating. I would definitely kill them, but a good thrashing works too.’

  Hearing this Hui Yue nodded his head and cracked his neck; he rolled his shoulders and pounced at the man speaking.

  Seeing the sudden advance and the shocking speed with which it was carried out, everyone was too stunned to react. Even Xiao Ning had issues following the speed that Hui Yue used to attack, but he following behind the white-haired young man.

  Looking at the faces of the two, they were completely expressionless as they let their hits and kicks rain down upon the three experts who had expressions of shock and horror.

  Chapter 360 - Trash Gets Left Behind

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  Chapter 360: Trash Gets Left Behind

  The fight was completely one-sided. Hui Yue and Xiao Ning instantly defeated the group that attempted to rob them. Although their kicks and fists were relentless, they did not continue after they lost consciousness. For Hui Yue there was no reason to beat someone when they were down.

  Xiao Ning seemed to have a similar thought, and he stopped attacking as he looked at the bloodied, unconscious people furrowing his brow. “What do we do with them now?” He asked slightly confused, but Hui Yue just shrugged. “They are cultivators,” He pointed out, “Although they are going to be sore they won’t die. Just leave them here,” He said before he squatted down in front of them and with experienced hands started to roam about their clothes until he found a few storage stones. “This is the price you pay,” He said before he tossed some of the storage stones to Xiao Ning, not forgetting to share the spoils of war.

  Accepting the stones, the two experts once more continued onwards, but although they had already been caught up to once, they did not increase their speed. Slowly and steadily they continued their thorough examination of the tunnel.

  “Sigh, I keep wondering when they will give up,” Hui Yue said as he stepped away from a Saint who was lying unconscious on the ground.

  It had been three days since they fought the first group of experts, but since then, they were forced to leave one group after another unconscious in their wake. Three days had passed, and now the experts who arrived quickly rushed further down the tunnel upon seeing Hui Yue and Xiao Ning; none of them apparently wanting to fight these two abnormalities. It was clear that everyone else had fallen to these two opponents and despite one being an Emperor they were not to be taken lightly.

  Hui Yue only used his Saint strength once, and that was in the very first battle afterwards he used his own strength and heavily relied on the Earthly Tremor to defeat Saint after Saint. This ability was far more destructive than he imagined as the attack was almost equal to the Saints that he was defeating.

  Hui Yue took the opportunity to try out the first three forms of Earthly Tremor: Shaking the Earth, Sharpening the Earth, and Hand of the Earth. Hui Yue had perfected all three of these abilities, and he could use them to defeat low leveled Saints.

  “You are quite ferocious even just using an Emperor’s strength,” Xiao Ning commented after they defeated yet another group. “I so effective because I have someone skilled by my side,” The white-haired young man commented with a friendly smile as he tried to make it seem like the big Saint did all the work.

  “You are an enigma,” Xiao Ning suddenly said looking at the young man in front of him. “Are you truly a Saint, or are you an Emperor? Are you here for treasure or do you want something else? You have shown an understanding of the grave that I haven’t seen from anyone else. You are without a doubt the most troublesome individual I have ever met.” Contemplating for some time, Xiao Ning shrugged. “Well, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. You and me are a team, and we will go through this grave together. If you’re aiming for something other than treasures, then I am sure that it is as valuable, and therefore I’ll follow you no matter where you go.”

  Hearing this Hui Yue was surprised. He was here for the sake of treasures, and he truly knew as little as others about this area. He was just fortunate to have Lan Feng inside his body. Lan Fen
g was able to easily tell where the treasures were located.

  “I’m here for treasure,” Hui Yue said with a low voice as he looked at the ground in front of him. “We have been walking for three days and haven’t seen anything whatsoever while moving around. Could it be that this grave is as massive as the entire Taiyang Kingdom? We should be nearing more treasure. An abnormality has appeared in the energy ahead, but it is still very faint. All we can do is hope that no one else has noticed it.”

  Moving further and further into the tunnel the very weak energy ripples started to pick up strength and soon they were almost as strong as the medicinal pills had been. Yet the energy was different. The pills had not released energy ripples as such but medicinal scent while this was actual energy ripples, making Hui Yue understand that this was without a doubt something different. It was highly likely to be armor or weapons.

  “Well no matter what it is, it will be ours,” He whispered to himself as he slowly inched closer and closer to the place where all the energy ripples reached their peak.