by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
The two of them entered the passageway and were shocked to find quite a few bodies of Gadfly-Ant Corpse Devouring Insects inside.
However, they weren’t true insects but the results of their molting. Those elite insects that had come out in the end obviously had to have experienced some kind of metamorphosis to possess such power. They had been comparable to seventh rank Magical Beasts.
A disgusting stench came from the passageway, but Long Chen and Yue Xiaoqian endured it. If they closed their pores and stopped breathing, it would cause their spiritual perception to sharply drop. In such a dangerous place, such an action was foolhardy.
“No wonder!”
The two of them walked in three hundred meters when they saw multiple channels ahead. Each channel was so long that they couldn’t see the end. That was why there had been so many insects. All these channels had been filled with the insects.
“How curious. After this many years of no food or water, how did these insects survive?” wondered Long Chen.
“Gadfly-Ant Corpse Devouring Insects are a special corrupt insect. Legend has it they are one of the poison insects that the Corrupt God raised with his own body. With the Corrupt God’s blessing, they can survive forever. Although that’s just a legend that can’t be trusted, there really is a special rune on their backs that can absorb Death Qi. Although this place is sealed and they can’t leave, those runes can still absorb Death Qi from outside despite the restrictions. Whether it is flying birds, roaming beasts, or even the insects in the ground, as long as they die, they will release Death Qi. The Gadfly-Ant Corpse Devouring Insects absorb that Death Qi to grow and breed. Furthermore, their most terrifying aspect is that they can enter a state of quasi death, and in that state, the amount of energy they use is essentially zero. So in theory, their lifespan is unlimited. Even if they survived since ancient times, it’s still reasonable,” explained Yue Xiaoqian.
“Xiaoqian, you really are erudite!” praised Long Chen. He really had to prostrate himself in admiration towards her learning. Even if he exhausted himself to death, he would never be able to catch up to her.
“Haha, I’m the one who has to admire you. You really know how to babble: ‘The Immortal Dao is transcendental, while all living things have mundane troubles; destiny exists in the mortal world, and priceless treasures belong only to the fated.’ Huang Junmo wasn’t the only one who believed it, even I believed it. At that time, I really thought you were the incarnation of a god. You really are dislikable!” said Yue Xiaoqian a bit resentfully. She felt that she was foolish for falling for it.
Long Chen couldn’t help but laugh. Talking about reasonable things wasn’t his strong point. But when it came to spouting nonsense, he had never been afraid to compete with anyone.
“Tell me, how did you come up with such a random name?” Yue Xiaoqian was a simple and pure person. She felt there was definitely a problem with Long Chen’s name, but she didn’t know what.
Huyou Niyadenidaye? That really wasn’t something he could explain. Curse words weren’t anything to be proud about. Long Chen shook his head. “It was just a random name I came up with. It doesn’t have any meaning.”
“No, you’re definitely lying,” said Yue Xiaoqian, looking into Long Chen’s eyes. “You can’t trick me. You definitely had some kind of meaning behind them. Niyade, nidaye? Nidaye as in your uncle?”
Long Chen immediately began to sweat and nodded. “Alright, it’s just your uncle, nothing else. Look, we’re at another fork. Take a look and choose which path we should take.”
Long Chen really didn’t want to keep talking about this topic. He had also experienced how difficult Yue Xiaoqian was to deal with. She had a kind of innate spiritual perception that allowed her to tell when people were lying. That was awkward.
“This way.”
The two of them continued onwards, insect molts cracking beneath their feet. They had already made four turns, and seeing this twisting cavern, they finally understood why there had been so many insects.
“We’ve arrived.” They finally reached the end of the channel. There was a three-meter door of light in front of them. Long Chen thought about it and decided to let Yue Xiaoqian enter first.
This kind of danger of the unknown was something he should have tested first, but with his bad luck, it really wasn’t advisable for him to do that. So he had Yue Xiaoqian go in first.
Once Yue Xiaoqian entered, he followed right behind her. As soon as he entered the light door, he let out a startled cry.
As soon as he was in, he found that he was floating in water. He hastily closed all his pores, afraid that something was wrong with the water.
But Long Chen found that Yue Xiaoqian was incomparably excited. He asked, “This is the peak grade Heaven Source Extract?”
Yue Xiaoqian nodded. She took out a small jade vase. Its runes lit up and the liquid around them began to pour into it. It was clearly a spatial storage object.
As the water level descended, Long Chen realized they were in a square space three hundred meters wide and twenty-five hundred meters tall. At the center was a giant stone stalactite.
“Heavens, there’s so much peak grade Heaven Source Extract. Long Chen, am I dreaming?” Yue Xiaoqian couldn’t believe it.
“It’s real. I’ve encountered the same thing. Back then, I almost thought that it was a bathing place,” laughed Long Chen. Thinking of his ignorance back then, he felt a burst of embarrassment.
“Long Chen, you really are my lucky star!” Yue Xiaoqian was extremely emotional now, and she tightly hugged Long Chen. This peak grade Heaven Source Extract was of the utmost importance to her original devil race. It could raise their overall talent without any drawbacks. It was practically a divine elixir.
Obtaining all this peak grade Heaven Source Extract, she was incomparably excited. She drank a bit right there and then, immediately feeling completely refreshed. Even her Spiritual Strength increased, making her so excited that she seemed like a happy child.
Once she calmed herself down a bit, they returned to the original plaza with the eight gates. The other seven gates also had Heaven Source Extract as their ultimate rewards, but their quality was worse.
Furthermore, each channel behind each gate was also filled with Gadfly-Ant Corpse Devouring Insects. For them, risking danger by fighting against all those insects wouldn’t be worth it.
The two of them left the underground cave. They had a brief rest while Yue Xiaoqian used the Heaven Source Extract to increase her power.
Long Chen found that Yue Xiaoqian’s energy was very special. It was different from any other cultivator’s energy that he had ever seen.
But that peak grade Heaven Source Extract was able to purify and increase that strange energy inside her. It was like a treasure just for the original devil race.
Once she woke up from her meditative state, Long Chen offered her a certain thing. “Here, have a fruit!”
Chapter 860 Arming the Alliance
When Yue Xiaoqian ate the fruit, she was stunned as she suddenly noticed that other than her core energy, another kind of energy had appeared within her body.
When she circulated that energy, not only was she not restricted by the world, but she even received a kind of blessing from it that increased her own power.
“Long Chen… what fruit is this?!” Yue Xiaoqian was completely shocked. How could there be such a heaven-defying existence in this world?
“I call it a Heavenly Dao Fruit. It’s one of my secrets, so please keep it from others,” said Long Chen.
“I swear I won’t tell anyone. I won’t even tell my mother,” said Yue Xiaoqian solemnly upon seeing how serious he was.
“Xiaoqian, I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this Heavenly Dao Fruit is too important. I have no choice but to be cautious,” said Long Chen.
“I know, and I understand. Thank you for sharing such an important secret with me,” said Yue Xiaoqian gratefully, holding Long Chen’s hand.
He nodded. As long as Yue Xiaoqian didn’t bother him with how he had such a thing, he was at ease. “Then how are your gains?”
Yue Xiaoqian stood and formed a hand seal. A huge image appeared behind her. That image seemed to be a flower, but not a flower. It looked like a cross between a flower and a leaf. It was extremely bizarre.
A powerful aura erupted out of Yue Xiaoqian, soaring straight into the clouds. At the same time, space began to rumble around her.
“What a powerful aura!” Long Chen was startled. Yue Xiaoqian was extremely powerful. This was just her initial control over her new Heavenly Dao energy, and she was clearly unfamiliar with using it. However, this aura showed that she was even stronger than he had thought.
Yue Xiaoqian pointed her finger three times, and three rays of Sword Qi shot out.
Three holes appeared in a distant mountain. It then collapsed, shocking Long Chen.
In just a few breaths, Yue Xiaoqian had managed to release such an attack with an unfamiliar energy. Her comprehension abilities were almost terrifying.
“Amazing, absolutely amazing! Long Chen, I can actually control the outside world’s energy now! When I run into enemies, I don’t have to worry about exposing myself anymore!” said Yue Xiaoqian excitedly. Although she was veiled, her smile had turned her eyes into beautiful crescent moons.
Long Chen nodded. This result was excellent. If he could obtain more Heavenly Dao Fruits, then more of the original devil race’s experts could roam the Martial Heaven Continent.
“Xiaoqian, how much of your true power can you release with the Heavenly Dao energy?” asked Long Chen. This was an important point.
“Around eighty percent.”
“Just eighty percent?” Long Chen couldn’t help being disappointed.
“That’s already amazing. This Heavenly Dao energy is even better than what I originally thought. When I tried it, I found that other than my core divine abilities, many of the techniques of my original devil race can be used with it. Although their effect is slightly lower, we don’t need to be so helpless when fighting now. Furthermore, other than our strongest core divine abilities, even some magical arts can be used without revealing our devil mark. It’ll be extremely safe.
“Previously, we had to rely on devil cores to deceive the Heavenly Daos. We couldn’t fight outside, because once we did, it would exhaust our core energy, and we wouldn’t be able to replenish it without returning to our Skyscraping World. The more we used, the more dangerous it would be.
“That’s also why I always ran when I encountered enemies. Against those Blazing Wolf race’s experts, I really had no way to handle them. It was fortunate that you came, or I might have been exposed. But now I can use Heavenly Dao energy, and I can replenish it whenever I want. It feels delightful!” Yue Xiaoqian’s excitement still hadn’t lessened in the slightest.
She had always been unable to fight back against enemies. That was extremely depressing. But now she was finally free of it.
“Then that’s good. Is there anyone else from your race that entered the Immemorial Path with you?” asked Long Chen.
“Yes. This time, thirty-seven of us entered. They’re all our race’s elites,” said Yue Xiaoqian.
“Can you find them?”
“We have a secret art to communicate.”
“Good. Then I’ll give you some Heavenly Dao Fruits, and you distribute them. Otherwise, it’ll be too dangerous for them,” said Long Chen.
“You have more?!” Yue Xiaoqian was startled. How could he have so many heaven-defying fruits? “Okay, I’ll immediately gather them.”
Yue Xiaoqian suddenly formed hand seals, and a mark appeared on her forehead. That was the Devil character. But that Devil character had a faint golden glow to it, and it appeared sacred and hallowed. When it lit up her face, she seemed like an immortal.
Six hours later, someone new arrived. It was a handsome man with shoulder-length hair. He flew in front of Yue Xiaoqian and bowed according to an extremely ancient etiquette. “Greetings sacred daughter, greetings senior Long Chen.”
Yue Xiaoqian returned the etiquette and said, “It’s been hard on you. Did you run into any dangers?”
“Thank you for your care. Disciple only ran into some minor troubles with nothing worth mentioning.”
Seeing that Long Chen was a bit dumbfounded, Yue Xiaoqian smiled and said, “You don’t need to find it strange. Everyone in the original devil race recognizes you now.”
“Many thanks senior Long Chen for your benevolence. Otherwise, there would have been no way for us to leave the Skyscraping World and serve our race!” That person once more bowed toward Long Chen.
Long Chen felt extremely awkward. He hastily cupped his fists in return. That strange bowing form was extremely particular, and he wasn’t able to imitate it.
Yue Xiaoqian laughed, “Long Chen, you don’t need to be so courteous.”
Long Chen nodded and directly gave that person a rank two Heavenly Dao Fruit. That person glanced at Yue Xiaoqian and saw her nod before he received it.
The second person quickly arrived after the first. Then the third and fourth. Long Chen was startled by this efficiency.
In just one day, the majority of them had already gathered. They had to have some kind of secret technique that allowed them to cross the wider abysses, or there was no way they could have gotten here so quickly.
Once everyone was gathered, there were only thirty-two of them. Sadness appeared in Yue Xiaoqian’s eyes. Those other five people had clearly fallen.
“Sacred daughter, don’t be aggrieved. They died for the race, and they were our honorable warriors!” comforted a woman.
Yue Xiaoqian nodded. The reason why she was so sad was because those fallen warriors hadn’t died because they hadn’t been as strong as their opponents. They had died to keep the secret of the original devil race, dying because they hadn’t revealed their true power.
To not be exposed, they had chosen to die. That was what made Yue Xiaoqian feel the worst. They were true warriors worthy of respect.
Three days later, all of them had consumed the Heavenly Dao Fruits and become rank two Celestials. They all had another kind of energy in their bodies that made them incredibly excited. Their gratefulness towards Long Chen reached a new level.
“Long Chen, do you want them to travel alone again or come with us?” asked Yue Xiaoqian.
“Staying with us is too dangerous.” Long Chen shook his head. Although they were all experts, his enemies were too powerful. They hadn’t reached that level yet.
Although they had consumed the Heavenly Dao Fruits and used the peak grade Heaven Source Extract, they weren’t on the level of Yue Xiaoqian. Thus, they couldn’t fight alongside him.
“Before you leave, I want to say a few words. If you do run into danger, use your full power to kill your way out. Even if that exposes your identity, it’s fine,” said Long Chen.
“Long Chen…” Yue Xiaoqian and the other original devil race’s members were all startled.
“Since we’ve chosen to be allies, I treat you as my brothers and sisters. Your lives are the most precious. Even if you have to expose yourself, that’s not important. The most important thing is for you to live. Even if the heavens collapse, I will be there to help you carry them. Your lives aren’t able to impact the big picture, so don’t pointlessly sacrifice them. Alright, you can all go. I wish you good fortune!”
Huge waves rose in the hearts of the original devil race’s members. Although his voice was calm without immense passion, it revealed his confidence. At the same time, the care within his voice warmed their hearts.
They once more bowed toward him and went in their own directions. They needed to find more opportunities and resources for their original devil race so that they could grow.
“Thank you, Long Chen.” Yue Xiaoqian’s eyes were slightly reddened. She also didn’t want her people to die, but she didn’t dare to say the same words that he had. She didn’
t possess that confidence.
“You’ve thanked me so much, are you really not going to consider giving your heart to me?” teased Long Chen.
“A nice thought.” Yue Xiaoqian lightly hit him and turned away, wiping away her tears. She was completely red.
After some light teasing of a beauty, Long Chen opened his map. The two of them were currently in the middle section of the eastern region of the Immemorial Path.
If they continued forward, they would reach another huge block that was almost the same size as the Ten Thousand Beast Forest. But this huge block was actually a castle.
That area was a trial region that had to be traversed in order to get deeper into the eastern region. However, it could no longer be referred to as a trial region, as it had completely broken down. It was the only huge ruins in the eastern region.
“Xiaoqian, let’s go. I’ll bring you to a very lively place.” Long Chen smiled. He could run into many ‘friends’ there.
Chapter 861 Blood-Colored Ancient Castle
The Blood-Colored Ancient Castle was the largest comparatively preserved trial region in the Immemorial Path’s eastern region. It was different from the Ten Thousand Beast Forest. The Ten Thousand Beast Forest had just been a primordial forest.
The Blood-Colored Ancient Castle was millions of miles long. It was a shocking, practically endless construction. The entire castle was the exact same color as fresh blood.
Originally, this castle had been built so grandly that it soared into the clouds. But that majestic and towering scene was gone. It was now a pile of ruins filled with an air of decay and dejection.
There were two Righteous experts carefully advancing at the edge of the castle, searching the ruins.
Although countless years had passed, although countless people had explored it, the number of people that had been able to reach its core region was pitifully low. Furthermore, the castle was so large that no one would dare to say that they had finished exploring the outer region.