Chapter 583: Underground River
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
His honor was being challenged by a youth in front of so many ancient martial art practitioners of the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension. As the sect leader of Weapon Forging Sect, Jiang Jingtao naturally could not stand for it.
He took one step forward. With a flash of his silhouette, he appeared before Mo Wen.
His earlier attack had been designed to simply test Mo Wen. He did not believe that in a battle between life and death, the youth would still continue to act so arrogantly.
Mo Wen narrowed his eyes slightly as he felt the astonishing imposing manner and killing intent emanating from Jiang Jingtao’s body. His expression remained as calm as usual.
Just as Yin Banshuang had said, his specialty was not in his strength, but his combat skill. Since Jiang Jingtao was not much stronger than him in terms of power, he would not pose much of a threat to Mo Wen. Also, if there were no surprises, Jiang Jingtao would most likely not be a match for him.
Just as Mo Wen was prepared to unleash the Inferno Star Lord’s method of the three Glories, a loud sound suddenly reverberated through the cave. Then, the earth and the mountains shook, and large boulders fell from above them.
“What’s happening?” The ancient martial art practitioners in the cave began to panic one by none. Some people even had eyes full of fear. After all, this was not an ordinary place, but an abyss deep underground. Danger lurked everywhere.
“The Cold Wave has receded and the Blizzard Bears have left their dens!” An ancient martial art practitioner exclaimed loudly, pointing to a cave in the distance.
This cave looked wider the deeper it went. The furthest point inside was connected to a dark underground river. It stretched on for a long distance. No one could see where it ended.
“The Cold Wave period has finally passed?” Upon hearing this, the eyes of the surrounding ancient martial art practitioners flashed one by one with looks of joy. The reason why so many ancient martial art practitioners had gathered in this cave was to wait for the Cold Wave period to pass.
This cave was not simple. There was an underground river inside. No one knew why the river’s water was chilly beyond compare, yet did not freeze. Even if later stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners fell into the river, they would instantly become ice sculptures, let alone beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners.
Usually, no one would pay heed to the river, and even more so no one would take the risk of crossing it. But Luofeng Sect’s treasure was at the end of the river. This meant that the group of ancient martial art practitioners had to come up with a way of crossing the river.
After many experiments, there had finally been a breakthrough. The underground river would have three Cold Receding Periods every month. Each time, the cold receded for a duration of two hours once every ten days. This would occur once at the start of the month, once in the middle and once more at the end.
When the cold receded, the temperature of the waters of the underground river would rise. At this moment, a beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioner could confidently cross the river.
The last time the cold had receded was ten days ago. Because all the ancient martial art practitioners of the large sects had not been prepared, they had missed the best opportunity to cross the river.
Additionally, deep within the underground river lived a few Blizzard Bears. The Blizzard Bears had cultivation comparable to the pinnacle of the Golden Elixir realm. They would be the greatest obstacle to all the ancient martial art practitioners who were crossing the river. But the Blizzard Bears loved places that were treacherously cold. When the cold receded, they would choose to leave their dens and search for colder places. When the underground river returned to its usual chill, they would return again. Hence, this was the best opportunity to cross the river.
“The Cold has receded. Cross the river immediately.” Some ancient martial art practitioner sects had already begun leading their ancient martial art practitioners, anxiously jumping into the river. The cold would return in two hours. It did not give the crowd a lot of time. At that moment, there was not much hesitation.
“Humph, consider yourself lucky, young man. I will meet with you later,” Jiang Jingtao coldly snorted. With a backflip, his silhouette which had been about to pounce on Mo Wen changed direction in midair, furiously dashing towards the underground river.
“All members of the Weapon Forging Sect, follow me.” Jiang Jingtao gave an order. His silhouette had already appeared in front of the underground river by the time he had finished speaking. All of Weapon Forging Sect’s ancient martial art practitioners immediately followed him. In an instant, another empty spot appeared in the cave.
Mo Wen retracted his hands and stood there looking at Jiang Jingtao’s silhouette, remaining silent and not saying anything.
“We should make a move as well. It is certain that Luofeng Sect’s treasure is at the end of the underground river. If we are late, the treasure will certainly have been snatched up by other people.” Chen Wuhui looked at Mo Wen. By now, Chen Zikuang and Xia Kunqian had already recovered from their injuries, their cultivation restored to peak condition.
Mo Wen nodded. He followed the others from Intentionless Sect and walked towards the underground river.
“Ah!” Suddenly, a shriek came from the underground river. It was followed by the stench of blood pervading the air. Ordinary people may not have smelled it, but the sense of smell of ancient martial art practitioners was sensitive. Immediately they knew that the stench of blood came from the underground river some distance in front of them.
Mo Wen focused his gaze and peered into the distance. He discovered that someone had carelessly fallen into the river. He did not know what living creature was in the waters of the river, and could only see water splashing and blood spurting out from the bottom of the river. Anyone could tell that the ancient martial art practitioner had met an unfortunate end.
“Such a frightening gravitational pull.” The ancient martial art practitioners that had walked into the underground river drew cold breaths one by one. It was because they discovered that the gravitational pull in the area around the underground river was much stronger than that under normal conditions. If a beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioner flew above the underground river, they would most likely be pulled down into the river very quickly by the terrifying gravitational pull.
The ancient martial art practitioner had fallen straight into the underground river because he was flying above it and could not withstand the astonishing gravitational pull.
After a while, another scream was heard. Another ancient martial art practitioner could be seen directly plunging into the river. After the scream was released, water splashed and blood spurted out from the bottom of the river. Then, everything became calm once again. Exactly as before, another ancient martial art practitioner had lost his life.
“Such frightening gravitational pull,” an ancient martial art practitioner shouted loudly, with a terrified expression. “It is practically impossible for an ordinary beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioner to cross the river.” The man remained flying in midair but his body was slowly descending. He was shaking and seemed to be unable to keep it up for much longer. Soon, he would end up the same as the other two ancient martial art practitioners.
He shouted in terror, not daring to continue flying forward. He turned around and frenziedly flew back. Luckily, he was not far from shore. Before he fell into the river, he managed to successfully escape.
Some of the ancient martial art practitioners who had been among the first to leave began to fly back after realizing the danger. No one wanted to fall into the river and die a meaningless death.
Of course, there were also a few ancient martial art practitioners with rich cultivation who believed that they could withstand the gravitational pull in the space above the underground river. Not only did they not turn back, they decisively flew forwards swiftly.
The members of Intentionless Sect and the rest who had just come over had serious expressions. Although the Cold Wave had receded, the underground river most likely still hid some unknown dangers.
“Little friend Mo Wen, I should be able to cross the river.” Chen Wuhui’s gaze was directed at Mo Wen. His eyes had a look that sought Mo Wen’s opinion. He felt Mo Wen was more and more mysterious and incredulous, like a fog. So, he was not certain whether Mo Wen could cross the river. Although Mo Wen had displayed sufficiently powerful ability before this, without knowing exactly what he was capable of, Chen Wuhui was still worried.
There were a few intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners in front that had kept flying forward without turning back that had not fallen into the river. So, Chen Wuhui concluded that the gravitational pull above the underground river would most likely not affect him.
In terms of cultivation, his was far superior to other common intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners. His cultivation had reached the pinnacle of the intermediate stage.
“Old Grandfather Chen, do not worry. With my ability, I can cross this river without any problems.” Mo Wen nodded. He had merely taken a glance at the underground river and he had figured things out. His physical strength was not very helpful in his flying, but with his cultivation, which had reached the edge of the intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm, and some tricks, he would most likely not have any problem crossing the river.
Upon hearing his response, Chen Wuhui nodded. Then, he looked at Xia Kunqian, saying, “Elder Xia, this trip is dangerous and I am afraid that we might get into accidents. How about you stay here and coordinate the situation?” Chen Wuhui’s wished to advise Xia Kunqian to not cross the river and instead to wait for them in the cave. Even though Xia Kunqian was the eldest elder of the Intentionless Sect and his cultivation was far stronger than that of other common beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners, nobody knew how much danger was hidden in the underground river. Making Xia Kunqian stay could perhaps save his life.
Chen Zikuang, he didn’t say anything to his son. Chen Zikuang’s ability was far above Xia Kunqian’s; furthermore, he carried a few powerful sect treasures with him. Chen Zikuang would most likely be able to save himself.
“I’ll follow whatever the sect leader orders.” Xia Kunqian bowed slightly. He didn’t reject Chen Wuhui’s order. In reality, he knew that with his ability, he would most likely die if he ventured into such a dangerous place. He could relax and be safe staying away from the danger.
“Since we have decided, let’s explore this underground river.” Chen Zikuang was excited to explore the underground river. His cultivation was only inches away from the intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm. In terms of combat ability, his ability was no less than that of common intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm practitioners. A dangerous place like this would be a perfect training ground for him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Zikuang dashed into the underground river with a flash of his silhouette. He had the Great Mountain Inkstone, a spiritual weapon in his hand. He waved his sleeves and strode deep into the underground river. His manner was imposing and he moved swiftly like a deity. His figure formed a vivid contrast with those ancient martial art practitioners who were crossing the river carefully.
“Brat, would it kill you if you don’t show off? After this, if you suffer losses, don’t scream for help.” Chen Wuhui cursed under his breath. His silhouette flashed past and he quickly followed Chen Zikuang. The old man was naturally scared that something would happen to his only son; therefore, he followed closely behind his son to protect him.
Mo Wen smiled. With a wave of his sleeves, he took a step and his figure appeared above the underground river.
As expected, the gravitational pull above the underground river was not normal, equal to ten times that of the outside. Even a beginning stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioner could not fly under such a gravitational pull. No wonder ancient martial art practitioners had kept falling into the river.
However, it was not a problem for Mo Wen. It wasn’t just thanks to his cultivation. Ever since he had practiced the Glory of Wind, he was like a gust of wind, transforming into the wind and moving swiftly at all times. He could skillfully dissipate half of the gravitational pull exerted on him. Even with his Embryonic Breathing realm cultivation, he would most likely be able to cross the river easily, let alone with his current cultivation.
Only when he flew into the space above the underground river did Mo Wen discover that the river below was crystal clear. It kept releasing a chill to the outside, causing the surrounding environment to be far colder than the outside. Even though right now it was considered the Cold Receding Period, it was four or five times colder than the outside.
In the river, dark shadows flickered. They seemed to be fish but did not look like fish. They could well be special monstrous beasts. Without a doubt, those ancient martial art practitioners that had fallen into the river had all perished because of the dark shadow creatures in the water.