A Chaotic World 285 The Green Mis

"All right then," Lu Tianzi nodded.
He certainly would not decline an express ticket that was handed to him on a silver platter.
But before they could even take a step forward, Elder Xiquan spoke up once more.
"Hold it right there, Elder Ximo. I am only telling you to come along, not them," Elder Xiquan snorted in disdain. "Since Beiwei Jinguo is one of the top three rankers from the Healers' Meet, I have no issue with bringing him along with us. But it wouldn't be fair to the others if Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi are allowed to come along with us as well, would it?"
"Hmm?" Elder Ximo was completely caught by surprise.
Even if Elder Xiquan did not want Lady Qianxue and Sir Tianzi to follow along, he could easily have said so with a voice conveyance. By speaking out like this, Elder Xiquan was really not giving them any face at all!
But why?!
They were talking about an Overlord realm powerhouse here!
Even if Elder Xiquan had another Overlord as backing in the form of Wuye Mingxuan, it simply did not make sense to offend Lady Qianxue for no reason!
"What's with your shocked expression?" Elder Xiquan sneered. "Or do you still wish to continue accompanying those imposters?"
"Imposters?" Elder Ximo blinked in confusion. "I don't quite understand?"
Lu Tianzi, Nanlan Qianxue, and Beiwei Jinguo all frowned as well.
Since when had they ever pretended to be someone they were not?
"Do you still not get it even after I have said this much?" Elder Xiquan snorted in disdain. "If that's the case, then I might as well just spell it out for you. Those people you are standing with? The highest of their cultivation levels belongs to the guy at the First Cycle Origin Core realm. In comparison, the girl has yet to even enter the Origin Core realm! Overlord? What a joke!"
Even if Elder Xiquan had doubted Wuye Mingxuan's words before, all his doubts had been blown away the moment Wuye Mingxuan revealed that he was an actual Overlord realm martial artist.
Elder Ximo widened his eyes in shock before turning to look at Nanlan Qianxue. "Lady Qianxue, is that true?"
"Why are you asking me?" Nanlan Qianxue was dumbfounded by the absurd situation. "Wait, did you think that I am an Overlord realm martial artist all along?"
"So that's why you have been treating us this well," Lu Tianzi sighed. "I am not sure why you thought so, Elder Ximo, but he is right. Neither one of us are at the Overlord realm."
"This…" Elder Ximo was speechless.
But how was that possible?!
Everything before this pointed to Nanlan Qianxue being an Overlord realm powerhouse!
For him to make such a terrible blunder, no wonder Elder Xiquan was upset.
"That said, calling us imposters is a little over the top," Lu Tianzi turned his gaze towards Elder Xiquan. "Not once have we mentioned our cultivation levels, so who are you to call us imposters?"
"I have neither the time, nor the interest, to get into a debate with the likes of you right now," Elder Xiquan harrumphed. "Elder Ximo, are you coming or not?"
The gap in the poison mist was closing soon. If they wanted to take advantage of it, they had to do so right now.
"I… I am coming," Elder Ximo let out a deep sigh before answering. He clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi. "Regardless of the circumstances, it is fate that we have befriended each other. Stay safe, and let's chat again after we are out."
"Stay safe as well," Lu Tianzi returned the greeting.
Even though the situation had become a little awkward, it appeared that Elder Ximo still wished to retain this friendship.
Since that was the case, there was no reason for Lu Tianzi to reject him.
"Come with me, Young Brother Jinguo," Elder Ximo waved the young poison master over. "It will be better for you to follow us. With the help of Sir Wuye, we will surely be able to get far this time."
"No, I am fine," Beiwei Jinguo declined without hesitation. "Please go ahead without me."
"Are you sure?" Elder Ximo asked again in surprise. "Think it through properly. Such opportunities don't come often. This might be the closest you will ever get to the heritage of an ancient poison master!"
"I am certain," Beiwei Jinguo answered resolutely.
"If that's the case, then I shall not insist," Elder Ximo nodded before turning to another young lady in the group. "Young Sister Tingli, how about you? Do you want to come along?"
"Yes! Please bring me with you!" Jueshe Tingli agreed instantaneously, a reaction that was in complete contrast to that of Beiwei Jinguo.
Jueshe Tingli was ranked third in the Healers' Meet and thus allowed to participate in this tomb exploration.
That being the case, the elders of the Healer Circle certainly would not just leave her to her own devices. Otherwise, it would simply defeat the purpose of allowing her to come along.
"Good, let's go then," Elder Ximo wrapped his Origin Force around Jueshe Tingli and brought her through the gap in the green mist.
Elder Xiquan shot one last look of despise towards Lu Tianzi. "An ass in lion's skin."
He then followed after Elder Ximo as well.
Lu Tianzi ignored Elder Xiquan, turning towards Beiwei Jinguo instead. "You do know that you didn't have to do that, don't you? What Elder Ximo said is right. An actual Overlord does have an edge in such a situation. Following them would have yielded you far greater benefits."
Lu Tianzi believed that Beiwei Jinguo had rejected Elder Ximo because he wanted to remain loyal to Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue.
After all, if Beiwei Jinguo were to join Elder Xiquan's group right after Elder Xiquan insulted them, anyone would see it as though he had switched sides.
But Lu Tianzi simply did not care about such fleeting concepts.
So what if Beiwei Jinguo decided to join the elders of the Healer Circle?
As long as Beiwei Jinguo did not act to harm him, there was no reason for Lu Tianzi to feel offended.
However, Beiwei Jinguo simply looked at Lu Tianzi before letting out a meaningful smile. "You say that, but why do I have a feeling that staying with you will yield me greater benefits instead?"
Earlier when Wuye Mingxuan released his attack, Beiwei Jinguo had noticed how every single Origin Core realm poison master had been forced down by the pressure.
In stark contrast, Lu Tianzi was the only one who did not flinch much, and that was despite having to guard both Nanlan Qianxue and himself.
For a First Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist to be capable of this, Lu Tianzi was certainly no simple character either!
"Hmm?" Lu Tianzi raised an eyebrow in confusion.
But before he could ask what Beiwei Jinguo meant, the rest of the poison masters suddenly rushed towards the green mist ahead.
There were still a few short moments before the gap closed entirely, and all of them wanted to take advantage of the remaining time to get past this obstacle as well.
In fact, it was not only about getting past this obstacle.
As long as they kept pace with the leading group, they might just be able to continue leeching on Wuye Mingxuan's strength to clear the next few obstacles as well!
Now that Elder Xiquan was no longer there, nothing was holding them back anymore!
Still, there was only a small gap in the green mist, how would it ever be able to fit this all these people at once?
"Get out of the way!"
"I was here first! Everyone get lost!"
Energy undulations rippled out in all directions as the many poison masters released their Origin Force to hinder others, wanting to force the others to back down so that they could be the first to go through the gap.
The moment any of them made a serious attempt to force their way through, the others would immediately send out their Origin Force to force him back.
All of them were Origin Core realm martial artists and had profound movement techniques at their disposal, allowing them to move at great speed. Had they not acted against each other, many of them would have already rushed through the gap by now.
However, there were too many of them, and time was limited.
Even if they really queued up in an orderly manner, there was no way that all of them would be able to make it through before the gap closed.
Because of that, all of them wanted to make sure that they were the first one through.
But with everyone actively keeping everyone else in check, it was simply impossible for anyone to make it through.
"Everyone, this is going nowhere," an old lady who looked to be in her late seventies finally spoke up. "At this rate, none of us will be able to enter. Isn't that just slapping our own faces? Why don't we select a few people and let them through?"
"Let me guess. Are you asking to be one of the few?" another poison master asked unhappily.
"Indeed I am," the old lady answered unabashedly. "But whatever I gained within, I will make sure to share with everyone here!"
"Why don't I go in and share what I gained with you then?" the other party was obviously unwilling.
Just as everyone was distracted by their conversation, a young poison master suddenly rushed out towards the gap in the green mist.
Guarding himself with his Origin Force, the young poison master charged forward without a care.
"Dream on!"
"As if I will let you!"
Origin Force gushed forth from the other poison masters as they reacted almost instantly, including the old lady who had wanted to be the first among them to enter.
"Naïve!" the young poison master let out a cold chuckle.
He pulled out a white bead from his spatial ring and crushed it without hesitation.
A storm of energy was immediately released from within the white bead, materialising into the shape of a shield that floated behind him.
Bang-!
The shield rattled under the pressure of the Origin Force, lasting only a single moment before crumbling.
However, this one moment was exactly what he needed.
In that one moment, the young poison master was able to slot himself into the gap, becoming the first one among them to rush through.
"Damn it! I am going next, and none of you are going to stop me!" the old lady yelled in anger before charging towards the green mist.
Just like the young poison master from before, the old lady possessed her own defensive treasures.
She was confident that as long as the pressure on her was no greater than the one earlier, she would only have to suffer a small loss in order to reach the gap in the green mist!
But this time, no one actually acted to stop her.
Why?
Simply because there was no longer a reason to do so.
In fact, if the old lady had not been blinded by her rage, she would have noticed just as well that the gap in the green mist was no longer large enough for a person to pass through.
By the time she did notice, it was already too late.
The green mist rapidly closed in on her, engulfing her body in an instant.
She did not even have the time to scream as her body withered away, her skin and flesh falling off in flakes. Her hair disintegrated, leaving behind particles of dust that was lost in the green mist.
Her eyes widened in terror, which only created a greater surface area that was in contact with the green mist. Her sclera turned from white to red, then green. But that was only before her eyeballs withered away and fell out of their sockets completely.
A thin streak of blood spilt out from the corner of her mouth, but even that was rapidly corroded away by the poison.
Before long, her skeleton crashed to the ground, and even the skeletal remains was slowly shrinking, slowly being corroded away within the green mist.
Everyone present could not help but frown.
The old lady was not weak at all, and was actually at the Third Cycle Origin Core realm.
Yet because of her recklessness, she had still ended up becoming the first casualty among the group.
At this very moment, everyone understood one thing.
The Healer Circle was not joking about the dangers of the ancient tomb.
If any of them were to ever get careless, the next one to suffer the same fate as the old lady could just be them!

Chapter end