Blue Phoenix

by Tinalynge

  As soon as they reached the area, they saw all the experts who had rushed past them looking everywhere. Traps had been set off, and some had been injured, but the ones that were left behind were all working incredibly hard to find where this weird energy was coming from.

  It was as though the energy ripples appeared from the very center of the tunnel, as if from nowhere. Though, Hui Yue could soon see that something was not as it should be. The energy that exploded outwards filled up the entire tunnel except for the ceiling.

  One could expect that this was because the ripples were heavy and sought the floor, yet Hui Yue was completely convinced that whatever treasure was hidden here was placed in a room in the ceiling, much like how the last treasure had been hidden in the floor.

  Hui Yue said nothing, and if Xiao Ning had guessed the location, he also kept it to himself. Both of them were standing patiently watching the many experts.

  The atmosphere was already tense as all the experts were as busy watching each other as much as the walls, floors, and roof. No one wanted to be the first to find the treasure as they knew that they’d be stabbed in the back, yet they were not willing to let it fall to anyone else either. Because of this, everyone was more or less idling about.

  On the ground one could see that someone had already attempted to dig up the floor, except unlike the previous hole, nothing had been revealed here. Everyone was eager to start digging everywhere around them, yet no one did. If someone were to dig out the treasure, their back would be exposed and their death assured. Even though they were Saints, if a group of Saints attacked they did not have the ability to resist.

  Seeing the stalemate everyone was in, Hui Yue’s mind was working as fast possible. He was not going to give up the treasure he had waited so many days to see, but he also was not dumb enough to actually jump in there and make himself a target.

  He had already used some of Lan Feng’s ability and was not willing to use any more because there was a limited supply. Therefore, he needed to make a plan using Xiao Ning and his own strength.

  Lan Feng stayed quiet. He knew this treasure was not as important as the pills, so he decided to let Hui Yue decide how to pass this challenge without losing his life. Looking at Xiao Ning, a smile slowly formed on on his face.

  Gesturing for the older male to follow him, Hui Yue withdrew back through the corridor to where they had come from before. After retreating quite a ways, they finally couldn’t be heard by the other experts.

  Slightly confused, Xiao Ning followed behind the other man, looking at the group who was left behind. Everyone was on high alert, and the withdrawal of Hui Yue was not going unnoticed. None of the Saints present understood why the two had suddenly left, yet none had the courage to follow them. They had all seen the beaten up experts that littered the tunnels further back.

  Another thing was they had confidence in numbers. Seeing Hui Yue withdrawing himself and the massive body of Xiao Ning everyone knew that they would soon do something to take the treasure. However even if they knew this, what could they do?

  Many of these experts knew Xiao Ning. A good many of them were from the Taiyang Kingdom, and they prided themselves on being as strong as Xiao Ning. At least they thought so. What they were not aware of was that Hui Yue and the older man had consumed the golden pills allowing for their strength to soar to the heavens making it impossible for them to defeat the duo.

  “Do you have a plan?” Xiao Ning asked in a low voice; a voice so low that only Hui Yue could hear it and the question made him nod his head.

  “It is simple really,” He said with a grin on his face. “What we need to do is just for me to break the roof. I know where the soft spot is, and one attack will allow me to enter and gather everything.”

  “While I attack and store everything, you will guard me. When we have taken everything, we will run away. Although I prefer not to rush through this tunnel both you and I have spent such a long time observing it that we know more or less what the traps are like, where they are located, and how dangerous they are.”

  Hearing this, Xiao Ning could only nod his head. While the experts in front of them knew nothing about the traps, Hui Yue and himself had become experts in the short time they had walked through the tunnel. This was because of their slow advance; they had the time to thoroughly understand what the tunnel was like. As soon as they agreed on the plan they went into action.

  Hui Yue instantly rushed towards the location where the ripples were the strongest as he pushed his Velocity Flow to its limits while jumping into the air. Golden Wu Wei gathered around his elbow and with a hard strike he shattered the ceiling above them. Moments after a storage stone appeared in his hand and absorbing every item into it.

  While Hui Yue was greedily gathering the items, Xiao Ning also went into action. Powerful undulations of Wu Wei gathered around his body and moments after burst outwards. They created a massive barrier around the two experts. No matter how much the others tried to attack this barrier, it did not vanish.

  Seeing the sudden movement everyone was at first stunned, but their reactions were swift. Although they were shocked, they were all experts of the Saint rank. They had gone through hell and back during their countless years of training and experienced life and death battles. How could shock make them numb for long? Their attacks rained down upon the barrier, yet the barrier still stood. It shook slightly but nothing managed to break through it.

  Seeing this, the faces of all the experts fell drastically. How could the barrier of Xiao Ning be as strong as it was? He was nothing other than a mere three star Saint; the same rank as many of the experts attacking the shield yet is seemed as solid as a rock.

  As soon as Hui Yue gathered everything, he fell to the floor. The barrier was still protecting him as he gestured to Xiao Ning and waved his hand. “Time to run!” He said with a grin, and without waiting for the larger friend, he sprinted forward skillfully dodging one trap after another.

  Smiling at his back, Xiao Ning and the others gave chase. While Xiao Ning too managed to dodge the traps soon the scent of blood and the cries of experts resounded in their wake.

  Chapter 361 - Bodyguard

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  Chapter 361: Bodyguard

  Hui Yue and Xiao Ning ran a few kilometers before they finally slowed down. They, once more looked at the traps in front of them. With their sharpened sense they listened to the tunnel behind them and once more were on the lookout for more treasure.

  As they walked, Hui Yue took out the storage stone from his pocket and carelessly roamed through it. “Mainly weapons and armor,” Hui Yue sighed slightly disappointed. “All of them have inscriptions, so I assume that they are high-grade items; unfortunately, I already have a great weapon so they are of no use to me,” He continued and Xiao Ning nodded. Xiao Ning did not use a weapon; he used his Wu Wei to create the weapon or shield he needed.

  “Just put half here and we’ll decide what to do with it later,” Xiao Ning called out as he tossed a storage stone to Hui Yue who did just that. “I have an idea of what to do with my items,” He said. “The materials they are made from must be top notch. I am sure blacksmiths will pay a hefty price to get their hands on them,” Hui Yue chuckled. He had already decided to give the weapons and armor to Cou Ling. As for whether or not they would be reforged or sold, he did not care too much. No matter how good these weapons were, they were nothing compared to his Sword of the Icy Tempest.

  “Here,” Hui Yue said as he threw half of the spoils to Xiao Ning who caught it with a large smile on his face.

  Walking slowly they once more looked for traces of energy, scents of medicinal pills, or anything worth something yet they found nothing. After almost a day the first people who had pushed through the traps to reach the two experts appeared.

  They were unaware of Hui Yue’s full strength, but looking at the Saints in front of him, Hui Yue did not feel endangered. Looking at them a sinister smile appeared on his face as he channeled his spiritual energy thro
ugh specific meridians before the entire tunnel started rumbling. Soon after the ground started shaking and large fractures spread across the floor. So many, that one of the Saints who was caught by surprise was swallowed up by a massive rift in the ground. As soon as it had enveloped him, the crack in the ground suddenly mended itself, devouring the expert. An expert who would never again see the light of day.

  Looking at the two experts they had chased for some time, everyone was shocked to see this sudden burst of power, and even more so when they saw that the one who attacked was not the Saint, but the Emperor.

  Grinning, Hui Yue clenched his fist and multiple large spikes of Earth appeared from the ground.

  The first attack was obviously Earthly Tremor, Shaking the Earth while this was Earthly Tremor, Sharpen the Earth. These attacks had been perfected by Hui Yue. Although they could just barely hold their own against a Saint ranked expert they were deadly if one was unprepared. The second attack, however, did not kill anyone though one of the Saints got grazed by the spike and felt his blood flowing down his arm.

  Anger and confusion was seen in the eyes of the four experts who were left standing in the tunnel. Their friend and comrade had been killed just like that, and he had died at the hands of a mere Emperor. This was such a disgrace that one could only assume that this soul would never find peace.

  “You little bastard!” The man who had been allied with the dead cultivator suddenly roared. His eyes turned red from anger and his teeth clenched tight as he suddenly pounced towards Hui Yue.

  “I will rip you to pieces and make sure that your corpse will never be complete then I will piss on it!” Foul words kept flowing from his mouth as the distance between the two narrowed drastically, but Hui Yue did not move as a smile played on his lips. He just stood there watching the infuriated man charge towards him.

  A boom resounded in the tunnel and the ground shook once again. This time, it was not from Shaking the Earth instead it was from the impact of the Saint’s attack. It landed straight on a massive barrier surrounding Hui Yue and Xiao Ning. Standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a smile was on Xiao Ning’s face as he enjoyed showing off his powers like this.

  Seeing that his attack had been blocked his anger rose to the heavens and golden Wu Wei attacks rained down, one after another, on the barrier shaking it time and time again.

  “A mere three star Saint such as yourself thinks that you can damage my barrier? Ha ha!” Laughing out loud, Xiao Ning did nothing but stand there. He showed off his strength while Hui Yue contemplated what to do. The Wu Wei needed to keep the barrier active was actually not so much that it would be possible for the two of them to simply stand in place and, waiting for the four experts to use up all their energy. Then beating them would be simple indeed.

  “We cannot fight that monster. Even if he has to protect a meager Emperor his ability is too strong. Xiao Ning did you sell yourself to this young master for the sake of money?!” One of the Saints said frustrated. To anyone looking, it truly did look as though Xiao Ning was the bodyguard of this young Emperor.

  Snorting, Xiao Ning did not respond. He did not get angry hearing what the experts said. Had he seen someone else protecting an Emperor he too would have thought the same, but Hui Yue was no ordinary Emperor. Although Xiao Ning wished to yell to the world that his new friend was as strong as he was, he knew that it would in no way benefit them and thus he kept his mouth shut.

  “What should we do?” Hui Yue finally asked half to Xiao Ning and half to the experts outside the barrier.

  “You guys are incapable of even touching the sleeves of our robes, yet at the same time having you guys behind us is something which is not comfortable.” Hui Yue stated with calm, cold eyes and an even voice. What he said instantly send a shiver down the spine of the Saint ranked experts outside the barrier, and a feeling of danger enveloped their hearts.

  “What do you suggest?” The expert who had spoken before asked. Although he wasn’t as uncomfortable as the others since he knew Xiao Ning personally, he hoped that this would save him. In the minds of all the experts were the sights of the beaten experts who had been seen earlier, clearly left behind by Hui Yue and Xiao Ning.

  “You guys head down first. We will wait a couple of hours before we too will start moving again. That way our two groups should not interact with each other. It is true that you are going to enter the traps first, but you will also be the first to find any treasure,” Hui Yue argued and hearing his words no one could say that it was unfair. The only thing they did know was that it was truly something they did not wish to do. There were far more traps than treasure and even if they did find some treasure who could say if they would obtain it. Just thinking back to what had happened with the last treasure that was easily stolen by this group in front of them gave everyone a heartache.

  Sighing the man nodded his head, and with a sour expression on his face, he moved down the tunnel passing Xiao Ning and Hui Yue. As he passed, he sent the two a deadly glare.

  He was not the only one; the three others looked at the location where the crack had been earlier and felt a shiver run down their spine. It had been the perfect ambush, and any of them could have perished from it. Enmity had been sowed between the two groups, yet right now they knew that they had to endure. In this tunnel, Hui Yue and Xiao Ning reigned supreme.

  “Just you wait till I find my big brothers,” One of the experts mumbled. An expert from Yueliang Provence. It was clear that he was not referring to his real brothers but instead his brothers in arms. Hui Yue hearing the low voice only smirked and a cold gleam appeared in his eyes. “Bring your brothers and they will die along with you,” He answered in a low voice that drifted to the ear of the Saint from the Yueliang Province, and the words caused him to jolt as he looked back at the innocent looking young man who was looking at him with sincere eyes.

  Seeing this expression Xiao Ning almost burst out laughing but once more but held it as the experts disappeared down the tunnel.

  As the silence once took over, Xiao Ning scratched his chin. “You know, I keep wondering who you are,” He said with a light voice. “I am a Saint from the Taiyang Kingdom, and I know all the Saints within my kingdom. However, the Saints from Yueliang don’t seem to recognize you either, and I haven’t seen any Siban Empire Saints pay you special attention or showing any signs of really knowing you.”

  “You appeared out of nowhere with your weird strength, to be honest, we are all completely confused. Are you a Saint or an Emperor? Are you even from this world? I once heard that there are multiple worlds with experts as plenty as stars in the sky.”

  Pausing for a moment he shook his head, “I know you are the Grand Marshall of the beast army. Everyone with some rank knows that. The white hair gives you away, but what were you before? You don’t seem to be a beast, and I highly doubt that you grew up with them. You are different, but where did you suddenly come from? How can you control such strength?”

  “Don’t mind me,” He said while waving his hand. “I know that you are not going to tell me anything, at least not yet. I just find you to be an enigma, a mystery I would love to solve, but I don’t have the information for that yet.

  Hearing this Hu Yue laughed, “Don’t worry, I am from this world like the rest of you. I just try to keep a low profile, albeit the war kinda destroyed my intentions.”

  Hearing this Xiao Ning also laughed. Everyone knew he was the Grand Marshall of the beast army, but no one cared about that. What they did care about was where he came from and who was backing him. Also how he had managed to keep such a low profile for such a long time.

  Sighing deeply Xiao Ning shook his head once more. “One day tell me the whole story,” He said while looking around. “An hour has soon passed so let’s head out.” Hearing this Hui Yue nodded his head. “If we are lucky, then many traps will have already been triggered, and then we won’t have to worry about them.” He grinned. Slowly the two started moving down the dimly lit tunnel o
nce again.

  Chapter 362 - Monsters in the Tunnel

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  Chapter 362: Monsters in the Tunnel

  Although Xiao Ning and Hui Yue slowly walked through the tunnel, their speed had increased quite drastically since the other experts were no longer tailing them. Although they still needed to be attentive of traps, the majority of them had already been triggered.

  From time to time, the two experts would see blood on the floor and the walls showing that one of the Saints had been injured from the traps, but it seemed that no one had perished yet. The traps were vicious but after so many years these traps were no longer as strong as they were made to be. Add to that the fact that these Saints were all experts which helped them deal with these traps in the most efficient way.

  “I wonder if they found any treasure so far,” Hui Yue commented casually as he glanced down the tunnel in front of them. Some places the tunnel walls and floor had been dug up but no hidden room were seen within these holes.

  “It’s hard to say,” Xiao Ning said with a shrug of his shoulders. “What are you going to do if they truly find all the treasure on the way from now until the tunnel ends?” He asked curiously. Although he had been with Hui Yue for quite some time now, he still found that he did not understand this white-haired young man.