Chapter 136: "What a waste."

Chapter 136: "What a waste."

"Then why haven't you gone in yet?"

Fat Dragon, who had just emerged from the little world, looked at the Golden Core man and asked.

"This..."

The man felt a bit embarrassed and explained, "The ice layer has just melted, and when the entrance opened, someone heard the roar of a ferocious beast inside. Judging by the spirit qi fluctuations, it's probably around the Fifth Level Core Formation."

"I'm only at the First Level Core Formation, so I dare not enter."

"Brother Qiu."

The scholar standing beside Chen Qiu looked at the oil lamps on the inner walls of the passage, his eyes narrowing as he whispered, "Those oil lamps are indeed very old-fashioned. As the oil burns, black smoke will rise, and the smell is a bit like burnt rabbit meat."

"This is fox oil."

"It's an extremely common demon oil. Don't even mention burning for thousands of years; if no one refills the demon oil, it won't even last three months."

"It doesn't seem like an ancient ruin."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded, and after a moment of contemplation, he decided to go down and take a look, relying on his superior cultivation. For safety, he asked the scholar to take his younger brother to Fat City first. That way, if they encountered any danger, they could quickly escape with the help of the scholar's bloodline.

After several breaths.

The scholar, who had already taken his younger brother to Fat City, returned and stood beside Chen Qiu.

"Let's go and take a look."

Chen Qiu, leaning on the Celestial Omnipotent Umbrella, took the lead and walked at the front, stepping on the stairs leading to the unknown depths of the earth. Fat Dragon and the scholar followed cautiously behind him.

After they entered.

The people present exchanged glances, all sharing the same thought. Almost seven or eight out of ten people entered the passage before them, proceeding cautiously behind Chen Qiu. Even the Golden Core man followed.

With Chen Qiu, the peerless heavenly prodigy, leading the way.

They could handle any crisis that arose. Even if they couldn't get any benefits, they might at least get some scraps.

If they missed this opportunity.

They would regret it for a long time. After all, this was an ancient ruin, and there might be many versions of heavenly treasures from before.

As they ventured deeper.

Murals gradually appeared on both sides of the passage walls. These murals looked like childish doodles, making it hard to discern what they depicted, and they contained no information.

Every three zhang, there were two burning oil lamps on the wall.

Bright and dim lights crisscrossed within the passage.

The passage was relatively narrow, accommodating three robust adults walking side by side. The slope wasn't too steep, the steps weren't high, and there was hardly any dust.

To be honest, it didn't look like an ancient ruin; instead, it resembled a dwelling inhabited by someone.

Chen Qiu extended his finger and touched the clay on the passage wall, feeling its dryness. When rubbed between his fingertips, it turned into a dusty powder. Logically, the soil layer covered by the endless ice plains for so long should have some moisture, not this dry.

Just then—

"Ahh!!"

Two shrill and painful screams suddenly echoed from the crowd behind them.

Two men, who had somehow deactivated their bodyguard spirit qi, were bleeding green blood from their seven orifices. Their entire bodies convulsed in agony, and in a short while, their faces had turned into a pool of flesh mixed with green blood.

This scene caused many people's faces to pale slightly, and they hesitated to venture further.

Exploring ancient ruins.

There was an unspoken rule: always activate the spirit qi bodyguard. You never know what toxic gases might have formed in the ruins over thousands of years. But judging by the deaths of these two men, the toxicity of the gas was too strong.

It couldn't have formed naturally; someone must have added something to it.

These two men had felt safe along the way and wanted to save some spirit qi, so they didn't use their bodyguard techniques. But in the moment the seal was lifted, they were instantly consumed by the toxicity and turned into flesh and blood.

This scene scared off many people.

Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators with lower cultivation levels gave up and left. It was clear that without sufficient spirit qi, they would die. Their spirit qi couldn't last long, and they needed to save enough for the return journey.

Only those with higher cultivation levels and greater courage remained, following Chen Qiu deeper into the passage.

Chen Qiu glanced at the two dead Foundation Establishment Cultivators behind him and then turned away. He wasn't worried about running out of spirit qi; with his capacity, he could go all the way to the bottom.

If he couldn't make it, no one else would either.

Even if he ran out of spirit qi, he could go to the little world to recover and then come back out.

However, as they ventured deeper, the end of the passage still wasn't in sight.

The steps that formed the passage were made of stones that blocked his spirit sense, preventing him from probing the end of the stairs. These stones were real treasures, and he secretly made up his mind to take them all once he figured out what was below.

Even if these steps were his only gain, it would still be a worthwhile trip.

At this moment, as they went deeper, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators following him gradually dwindled until there were none left. These cultivators knew that with their spirit qi, going any further meant certain death.

Only the man with the First Level Core Formation cultivation, who had been cautious from the start, remained close behind Chen Qiu.

After continuing for half an incense stick's time.

The bottom was still not in sight.

The man's spirit qi was also running low. He cautiously approached Chen Qiu and tentatively asked, "Brother Qiu, you have so much spirit qi. Can you cover me as well?"

"My spirit qi is running low."

"No matter what I gain later, I'll give you half."

Chen Qiu, walking at the front, released his spirit qi, enveloping the scholar and the others.

Hearing the voice from behind,

Chen Qiu stopped and turned to look at the man with the Golden Core cultivation behind him. After sizing him up, he shook his head and said, "Your words are a bit dangerous. If you listen to me, if you withdraw now, you might save your life."

Indeed, his spirit qi was more than sufficient.

Even with the consumption of the bodyguard spirit qi, it was still less than what his Heavenly Dao Golden Core could recover. Not to mention covering Fat Dragon and the others, even if he covered ten more people, there would be no pressure.

But why? People always needed a reason to do things.

The man didn't understand Chen Qiu's meaning and shook his head awkwardly, "Never mind, I'll try again. When my spirit qi runs out, I'll leave."

Then, as Chen Qiu turned around.

A flash of resentment passed through the man's eyes, and his face turned angry as he glared at Chen Qiu's back. If he ran out of spirit qi and was forced to leave, he would collapse the passage they came through on his way out. No matter how much spirit qi Chen Qiu had, he would be poisoned to death here!

Blame it on Chen Qiu's selfishness.

But just at that moment, Chen Qiu suddenly turned around again, and the anger and resentment on the man's face froze instantly. He forced a smile that was uglier than crying, "Brother Qiu, what's wrong?"

Suddenly!

He felt his sea of divine sense shatter in an instant, and in that moment of losing consciousness, he saw the gentle smile on Chen Qiu's face.

Chen Qiu took the jade box containing the Golden Core from the scholar and casually glanced at the corpse lying on the stone steps before continuing forward.

He had already given his warning, but this man didn't listen.

If this man had taken his advice and returned directly, he definitely wouldn't have killed him. But since he harbored resentment and thus hated him, it became difficult to spare this man's life.

People like this, if your cultivation is higher than theirs, they definitely won't seek open revenge.

But if they suddenly find an opportunity to secretly plot against you, they certainly won't miss it.

"People should listen to advice."

Chen Qiu sighed softly and shook his head before continuing down the steps, heading deeper underground. He felt like he had been arguing with the steps for the past two days. The day before yesterday, in the preliminary screening mystic realm of Heaven's Pride Path, there was a set of steps that extended endlessly upward, and now here, there were steps that went deeper and deeper.

Moreover, as he went deeper, he found that his spirit qi consumption was increasing. This meant that the toxicity in the air was getting stronger, and the depletion of spirit qi was becoming more severe.

After continuing deeper for half an hour...

Suddenly, the space ahead opened up.

When they emerged from the narrow passage, a green stone plaza appeared before them, with a stone stele erected in the center, engraved with three words: "First Stage."

The green stone plaza was surrounded by curved walls made of green stones.

At the other end of the plaza, opposite their position, there was a subterranean passage leading deeper underground. The passage was still lined with oil lamps and steps on both sides.

"First Stage?"

Fat Dragon curiously examined the stone stele in the center of the green stone plaza, engraved with the words "First Stage." He scanned the surroundings, "It looks like a mystic realm, and they said this is some kind of inheritance?

"What does this 'First Stage' mean, and I don't see any content for the first stage."

The scholar looked thoughtfully towards the passage leading downward at the opposite end of the plaza, "Normally, you should undergo the first stage test on this green stone plaza, and after passing the first stage, the passage on the other side would open, allowing you to proceed to the second stage."

"It seems that this place was once a testing ground, but it has been abandoned."

"I wonder which power's testing ground this was. Such a grand setup, just the sheer number of stones capable of blocking divine sense is not a small amount."

"This place is indeed an ancient ruin, but these oil lamps that never went out are a bit hard to explain."

". . ."

Chen Qiu looked expressionlessly at the stone stele standing in the center of the green stone plaza, remaining silent. This scene was very familiar, extremely familiar, as he had seen it just a few days ago.

This green stone plaza was almost identical to the one in the preliminary screening mystic realm of Heaven's Pride Path.

The stone stele engraved with the words "First Stage" was also exactly the same as the one in the Heaven's Pride Path mystic realm.

He narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the surroundings of the green stone plaza, and a possible thought flashed through his mind.

Perhaps, a long time ago in the Great Xia, before it became a prison, a sect had created a one-to-one replica of the preliminary screening mystic realm of Heaven's Pride Path as a challenge?

Just then—

In the corner, he discovered a set of dry bones. The flesh and clothing had long been eroded by the passage of time, but the skeleton's hand tightly clutched a token—the Celestial Prodigy Token. The token had lost its luster, and the words on it were extremely blurry.

He picked up this Celestial Prodigy Token and took out from his chest his own Celestial Prodigy Token to compare the two.

They were eighty percent similar.

Only some details were different, and the overall shape was not quite the same, but the words "Celestial Prodigy Token" were identical.

There was no storage ring on this skeleton, whether it had been taken or lost somewhere was unknown.

". . ."

Chen Qiu remained silent, and when he saw this Celestial Prodigy Token, he felt that his previous speculation might be correct.

He didn't speak and instead brought Fat Dragon and the others into the little world.

The toxicity here was stronger, and his spirit qi had been depleted. After returning to the little world to replenish his spirit qi, he continued deeper.

Second Stage.

Third Stage.

He continued deeper, passing through two green stone plazas, and it took nearly an hour in total before he reached the last green stone plaza, where there was no further subterranean passage leading downward.

This meant that this green stone plaza was the deepest point.

At this point, the toxicity was so strong that even his spirit qi couldn't withstand it, and he had to replenish his spirit qi in the little world every hundred breaths to continue staying there.

At the entrance, the man had mentioned hearing the roars of ferocious beasts within the passage, and his cultivation was even at the Fifth Level Core Formation. But as he went deeper, he hadn't seen a single ferocious beast until he reached the deepest part, where he finally saw the so-called ferocious beast—

A wolf pup.

It looked like it hadn't reached maturity yet, but it exuded the cultivation of the Fifth Level Core Formation. Its small body was curled up in the corner of the plaza, whimpering in fear.

He didn't take action.

He wasn't sure why this wolf pup, whose cultivation was higher than his, was afraid of him. He could only attribute it to the fact that this little wolf pup was afraid of humans.

But it was clear that this place had been sealed for many years, and he didn't know how this little wolf pup had survived, sealed deep underground, for so long. What did it eat and drink?

On the wall of the last plaza, several lines of words were engraved:

"Today, our sect will be destroyed, it is inevitable."

"Heaven has doomed us, but it is not a sin of war."

"I am the last Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect. Today is the 8,760th year of the Mock Heaven Sect's imprisonment here. The Mock Heaven Sect has been imprisoned here for far too long, and people have probably forgotten the name of the Mock Heaven Sect."

"In the Celestial Prison, there are heavenly restrictions, and Nascent Soul cultivation and attacks of Nascent Soul strength are impossible."

"After the research and inheritance of several Sect Leaders of the Mock Heaven Sect, a method to break free from this prison was finally found."

"Therefore—"

"The Mock Heaven Sect gathered all its strength to set up this Fake Talented Youth Path."

The words ended there.

The last few lines were extremely messy, and the last character, 'road', was left unfinished, probably due to some sudden accident.

". . ."

Chen Qiu's expression gradually became complex.

What did it mean that today was the 8,760th year of the Mock Heaven Sect's imprisonment here? Was the Great Xia prison not meant to imprison the Great Xia, but solely to imprison the Mock Heaven Sect?

It had only been a few hundred years since the founding of the Great Xia, and it was only after the previous version of the Heavenly Dao underwent changes that the nation came into existence. However, before the establishment of the Great Xia, the Four Forbidden Zones had already existed.

After pondering for a moment, he turned his head and looked at the little wolf cub cowering in the corner, trembling like a sieve. He couldn't help but smile and ask, "You're a Fifth Level Core Cultivation, why are you so afraid?"

"How long have you been here?"

A hint of confusion flashed in the little wolf cub's eyes, as if it didn't understand. After tilting its head and thinking for a moment, it used its claws to make three gestures in the air, seemingly indicating three years.

"Can you speak?"

The little wolf cub shook its head.

"Can you transform into a human form?"

The little wolf cub shook its head again.

"What a useless thing."

Chen Qiu sighed lightly, "Other monsters at the Golden Core Stage can transform into human forms, why can't you?"

Just then—

He noticed that the little wolf cub had several Spirit Artifacts in its mouth, and a glint of curiosity flashed in his eyes. He squatted down and gestured for the little wolf cub to come over, "Give me the Spirit Artifacts in your mouth, I want to see what's inside."

The little wolf cub was extremely obedient and immediately walked over, first spitting out three Spirit Artifacts onto its wolf claws. Then, it used its fur to wipe away all the saliva before picking them up and handing them to Chen Qiu.

"So obedient?"

Chen Qiu smiled and probed the Spirit Artifacts with his spirit sense, intending to examine them. One of the Spirit Artifacts had no restrictions, and it was filled with a large amount of food and water. It seemed that during the days it had been locked up here, the little wolf cub had been surviving on these provisions.

Normally, the Spirit Artifact should have been filled with food.

Now, it appeared that about two-thirds of the food was missing.

This amount of food was not enough to last a thousand years; at most, it would last for a few years.

Another Spirit Artifact without restrictions was filled with a large amount of fox oil. It seemed that over the years, the little wolf cub had been adding oil to these oil lamps, and the toxicity in the air was even difficult for Chen Qiu to endure.

However, the little wolf cub seemed to be completely unaffected by it, which was quite unusual.

The last Spirit Artifact was covered in restrictions, and although Chen Qiu didn't understand them, he could tell at a glance that they were extremely complex. Without much thought, he threw the restricted Spirit Artifact into the Little World, asking the shopkeeper to try to break it.

A monster had a Spirit Artifact in its mouth.

This Spirit Artifact was most likely given to it by its previous owner, but now...

Chen Qiu squatted down and looked at the little wolf cub seriously, "My name is Chen Qiu, and I'm a powerful Spell Cultivator from the Great Xia. Are you willing to follow me? There's a bright future ahead."

Such an obedient, strong, and adorable little wolf cub was hard not to like.

The only issue was that it was a bit shy around strangers, which was a bit difficult to handle.

The little wolf cub nodded its head vigorously, without any hesitation, and immediately snuggled up to Chen Qiu's feet, rubbing its head against his feet. It even stuck out its tongue, and its eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Quite interesting."

Chen Qiu smiled and stood up, holding the little wolf cub in his arms. As he stepped into the Little World, his spirit sense was also a bit lacking, so he wanted to replenish his spirit energy there first. After that, he would come out and check if there was anything else around.

He had initially thought it was an ancient ruin.

But it turned out to be a fake Talented Youth Path constructed by the Mock Heaven Sect, and it was basically empty. Along the way, he only saw one dried-up skeleton holding a Celestial Prodigy Token, and nothing else.

His primary concern now was how to quickly improve his cultivation and rapidly cultivate to the peak of the Golden Core Stage. As for how to leave this so-called Celestial Prison, as claimed by the Mock Heaven Sect...

That was something he would worry about after reaching the peak of the Golden Core Stage.

Each stage had its own tasks, and one should not overstep their boundaries.

Interestingly, according to the Mock Heaven Sect's claims, this place was originally built to imprison the Mock Heaven Sect, and he had unknowingly become the new sect leader of the Mock Heaven Sect. It was quite a coincidence.

Inside the Little World.

Fat Dragon stared blankly at the little wolf cub that was baring its teeth at him, then looked at Chen Qiu. Blood dripped from his fingertips as he murmured, "Brother Chen, didn't you say it was afraid of strangers and very docile?"

Brother Chen had just brought back a little wolf cub.

He heard Brother Chen say that it was docile, so he reached out to touch it, but before his hand even touched its head, it bit him. The wound wasn't deep, but blood was now dripping from it.

"I don't know either."

Chen Qiu shook his head helplessly and threw a few healing pills over, "First, take the healing pills to stop the bleeding, and it didn't use much force. Otherwise, a Fifth Level Core monster could easily bite your head off."

"Scholar, show me how to sign a Beast Taming Contract with a monster. I quite like this little wolf cub, and I want to sign one with it."

"From now on, it will also be a member of our Mock Heaven Sect."

Then he hugged the little wolf cub.

He lifted its wolf paw and pointed at Scholar and the others, "These people are all my brothers, you can't bite them. You can't bite anyone in this Little World, understand?"

The little wolf cub nodded.

Fat Dragon cautiously tried to touch the little wolf cub's head again, and although the little wolf cub still looked displeased, it didn't resist. It just closed its eyes.

"Hey."

Fat Dragon laughed, "It really works! It's quite human-like, and its spiritual intelligence is almost comparable to the Monster Clan. It's much smarter than ordinary monsters."

Scholar, standing nearby, asked curiously, "Did you find anything outside?"

"No."

Chen Qiu shook his head, "I'll go out and take a look later to see if there are any more mechanisms."

"Let's talk about that later. First, let's think of a name for this little guy; we can't keep calling him 'wolf cub' forever."

At this moment, inside the Little World, the shopkeeper sitting in the disciple dormitory was staring at the Spirit Artifact in his hand, looking dazed.

This Spirit Artifact was the one Chen Qiu had just given him to break.

The restrictions on this Spirit Artifact were the most complex he had ever seen, without a doubt. He had never encountered such complex restrictions before, not even in the Demon Clan's Spirit Artifact that Brother Chen had given him last time.

But for some reason, he had an inexplicable feeling that this restriction was extremely familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.

Without further thought, the man took a deep breath and focused his spirit sense, carefully infusing it into the Spirit Artifact to attempt to break the restrictions. Breaking restrictions was his greatest hobby; the more challenging they were, the more it stimulated his desire to overcome them.

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end