Chapter 210: Chapter 149: White Bone Ridge (2)

Lü Zhong wasn’t afraid. A wisp of Golden Flame emerged from his fingertip and dispersed the phantoms.

After walking for a while, he even ran into other cultivators.

This team of Qi Refining Cultivators was clearly here specifically for the phantoms. Every so often, they would toss out an Evil Exorcism Talisman or two that would detonate right in the middle of a swarm. Once the phantoms were burned away by the Yang Qi, they would go over and collect the Spirit Calming Dust.

Judging by their extremely practiced movements, they must make a living this way.

Giving them a wide berth, Lü Zhong arrived at a small valley.

This place saw no sunlight year-round, and black winds transformed from Yin Qi howled everywhere. As a result, the phantoms hiding here were quite strong. He had just entered the valley when he spotted an Armored Corpse. Judging by the bronze sheen on its skin, he knew it was about to break through to Tier Two.

Upon inspection, he could see the Armored Corpse had been slain only recently.

He scanned the surrounding signs of combat, guessing that the cultivators inside weren’t very strong. ’Even if there’s a Foundation Establishment Cultivator among them, they’re probably only in the Early-stage Foundation Establishment,’ he thought. ’They pose no threat to me.’

Gazing at the wisps of Nether Bone Fire drifting on the wind inside the valley, he released his Wood Spirit Wind-controlling Ship and flew inside.

There was no need to collect the Nether Bone Fire. It was just fuel, anyway. He could simply release his Spirit Forging Fire to devour it directly.

During this process, a few reckless phantoms tried to launch sneak attacks.

Lü Zhong dispatched them all with ease. This was, after all, the old lair of a long-extinct Demon Cultivator, now treated by other cultivators as a place to farm raw materials. How could any truly powerful phantoms still exist here?

He swept through area after area, his fire devouring a vast amount of Nether Bone Fire as fuel.

Slowly, the Spiritual Attribute of his Spirit Forging Fire began to grow stronger.

Lü Zhong felt a surge of joy at this welcome development.

’At this rate,’ he thought, ’once I’ve collected all the Nether Bone Fire in White Bone Ridge, my Spirit Forging Fire will be ready to advance to the next stage.’

BANG!

Just then, the sound of an explosion echoed from up ahead.

In the distance, he could see a peak made of bone being blasted to smithereens.

A moment later, a clattering cascade of fine bone fragments rained down.

Lü Zhong scowled. The sudden explosion had scattered a great deal of the Nether Bone Fire, reducing it back to faint specks of phosphorescence that no longer held any value for him to absorb.

He had been lucky to find such a perfect spot, only for someone to ruin it. How could he not be furious?

’I’ll just have to see what you people are making such a fuss about.’

With that thought, Lü Zhong recalled his Flying Ship, activated his Concealing Breath and Concealing Trace Techniques, and crept silently toward the disturbance.

...

Before a freshly blasted tomb passage, the faces of the Five Heroes of Cloud Mountain were alight with joy.

Their leader, an old man with a bulbous, red nose, pointed at a rapidly fading mural on the tomb passage wall. "Excellent!" he said, his voice trembling with excitement. "It really is the Ancient Yin Demon’s Mistress’ Tomb!"

The Ancient Yin Demon had been the former master of White Bone Ridge.

According to ancient texts, this Late-stage Nascent Soul Demonic Cultivator had taken more than a thousand mistresses in his life. However, his absolute favorite—the one buried in the mountain before them—was said to be the only one he truly cherished.

To have remained undiscovered for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, just showed how incredibly well-hidden the tomb was.

"There’s no time to lose! Third Sister, you and Fifth Brother stand guard. Second Brother, Fourth Sister, with me!" the old man with the red nose ordered. He quickly led two of them into the tomb passage.

Lü Zhong watched this scene unfold.

He made no move, however, because a third party was also present.

In a fissure in the rock face just ahead of him, two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators dressed in black were watching the group known as the Five Heroes of Cloud Mountain.

’These two are incredibly cautious,’ he noted. ’They’re using Concealing Breath and Traces, just like me.’ If Lü Zhong hadn’t been constantly vigilant, and hadn’t been using his "Scene Regression" ability to scan a simulation of his surroundings with his Divine Sense, he might never have noticed them.

He used Scene Regression one more time to confirm the cultivation levels of the two black-clad cultivators.

’Good, they’re both at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment,’ Lü Zhong thought, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

Just to be safe, he carefully scanned his surroundings one more time to make sure no one else was hiding behind him.

He found nothing.

Using his Scene Regression to eavesdrop on the two cultivators below, Lü Zhong’s expression gradually turned strange. He had actually heard the words "Black Muzhu," and the pair seemed absolutely certain the item was in the tomb.

’The Black Muzhu is related to Chenyuan Palace, and it attracts the attention of the Black Corpse Hall?’

As he continued to listen, Lü Zhong grew even more astonished.

He recalled his own past experiences, which seemed to confirm their words. That Tree Spirit named Locust Tree Slave had been sent by the Black Corpse Hall, and it had appeared not long after he himself had acquired a Black Muzhu.

In all his time in Lingyue Immortal City, if there was one topic that interested Foundation Establishment cultivators most—aside from which Sect Clan’s mistresses were the youngest, prettiest, and most fun to be with—it was Chenyuan Palace, which opened once every twenty-five years. Every Foundation Establishment cultivator Lü Zhong had met in Lingyue Immortal City seemed utterly fascinated by this Secret Realm.

Lately, talk about Chenyuan Palace had grown even more frequent.

Lü Zhong had made some inquiries himself. Rumor had it that the Secret Realm contained a Spiritual Object with effects comparable to a Golden Core Pill. That was why every time Chenyuan Palace opened, a huge number of cultivators would use a Black Muzhu to enter and seek their fortune.

At this thought, his eyes lit up.

Meanwhile, the three members of the Five Heroes of Cloud Mountain who had entered the tomb finally emerged, having successfully retrieved the treasure.

However, while three had walked in, only one walked out; the other two were being dragged. A flame-like Yin Qi roiled and boiled around the bodies of the old man with the red nose and a woman in a red dress.

Their bodies were visibly withering at a rapid pace.

Even unconscious, the old man still clutched a jade box tightly in his hand.

As he was being dragged, the jade box struck the ground and shattered.

A pile of exquisite jewelry spilled out, and mixed among the pieces was a single black bead.

The moment he saw it, Lü Zhong knew it was a Black Muzhu.

At that exact moment, the two cultivators in black made their move.

They were both swordsmen, and with their Foundation Establishment Stage strength, crushing mere Qi Refining Cultivators was child’s play.

Watching the Five Heroes of Cloud Mountain fall one by one, Lü Zhong decided it was time to act.

This was the first time in many years he had willingly thrown himself into such a maelstrom.

Obtaining a Black Muzhu meant gaining entry to Chenyuan Palace, which in turn meant a chance to fight for a Core Formation Spiritual Object. Faced with such a massive potential reward, a little risk was well worth it.

’Still, I need to be wary of the shorter one.’

Lü Zhong had a feeling that man was hiding his true strength—another old schemer, most likely.

He took a deep breath as two swords slid from his sleeves into his hands.

Since he had decided to act, there was no reason to hold back.

He summoned a Spirit Wind to protect himself and immediately unleashed his Meteor Technique.

In a flash, Lü Zhong was in front of the other black-clad cultivator. With a flick of his wrist, he sent two sword projections hurtling toward the man’s chest.

When Foundation Establishment Cultivators fought, sneak attacks were rarely effective due to their Protective Gang Qi.

His opponent was clearly a combat veteran, confident that his Gang Qi could block the two strikes.

A vicious glint flashed in the man’s eyes. He formed a seal with his left hand while his right hand wielded his sword, unleashing a dozen swift strikes at his assailant with a series of SWISHES.

’He’s probably a sect cultivator,’ the thought flashed through Lü Zhong’s mind. He made no attempt to dodge the incoming flurry of sword projections. His own Star Yang Gang was nothing to scoff at; it was more than enough to block this wave of Sword Techniques.

’I bet you didn’t expect me to be a Magic Cultivator, did you?’

He used his Star Shifting Step to close the distance, ignoring his two repelled swords while chanting an incantation.

Empowered by his Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill, and now at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, the Late Sun Magic Sword he summoned was nearly corporeal. After infusing it with a massive amount of True Essence, its might as a Magic Skill was comparable to a High-grade Magical Artifact.

A dozen sword strikes might not be enough to break through his Gang Qi.

But what about several dozen strikes unleashed in a single, frenzied barrage?

Lü Zhong had already experimented with this and knew the answer.

He had to admit, the Late Sun Sword Skill was truly a god-like technique for close-quarters combat.

A short burst of power like this was enough to shatter Protective Gang Qi.

’No wonder the ancient texts always said that due to the scarcity of Spiritual Artifacts, combat between Foundation Establishment True Cultivators was often decided by Magic Skills. It seems they were right after all.’

The moment he broke through the man’s Gang Qi, Lü Zhong pressed his attack relentlessly.