Chapter 166 Mysterious Civilization
Lyu Liang glanced at the dark-skinned man subconsciously, but did not get any response from him. He had to keep his doubts to himself and prepared for the meeting.
At that moment, a skinny, bearded senior, sitting in the middle, said softly, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin the meeting! Lyu Liang, welcome to our camp. And our friends below, please introduce yourselves.”
Huangfu Gang had already introduced himself, so he did not say anything. Duan Xiaofang, who had messaged Lyu Liang previously, was the first to introduce himself. Following him was a robust man called Zhu Neng, who came from the Haofang Territory. Sitting beside him, was an idle young man called Zhao Yucheng, who had a drowsy look, just like White.
The dark-skinned man was the last to introduce himself. He simply cupped his hands, gave a brief introduction, and then sat down. But he was the one that amazed Lyu Liang most, because he came from the Ghost Realm and his name was Feng Xiu.
Lyu Liang had heard of the family name “Feng.” No wonder the dark-skinned man looked vaguely familiar. As such, there were indeed people from the Feng family in the reinforcements of the Ghost Realm. Lyu Liang took Feng Xiu’s warning seriously, but he also wanted to find out the truth by himself.
Then, the nine influential figures of the Immortal Allies started the meeting, with only one topic—to choose people who were qualified to enter the relic of mysterious civilization, three months later.
Lyu Liang could understand part of the content, but he still had many doubts. However, he kept the founding father’s words in mind and decided to consult him, after the meeting.
What he learned was that they would choose 10 people to enter the relic, three months later. These people could be either jointly recommended or selected through competitions. Anyway, people with mediocre skills, would not get any chance to approach the relic.
Lyu Liang was undoubtedly on the list of joint recommendation, together with Feng Xiu and the idle young man. The other people were not on the list, but they look composed, seemingly to have known the results, beforehand.
The meeting ended, with Lyu Liang feeling partly confused. After that, he declined the invitations from Duan Xianfang and Huangfu Gang. He claimed that, since he had just arrived, he had to meet his Master and several old friends first, and would visit them some other day.
Then, the six went to Lyu Liang’s cave residence. After a moment, the founding father arrived. He set a restriction formation at the door, and began giving them more details.
“Five years ago, the relic of mysterious civilization appeared, and both sides sent people to explore it. We found that there’s a mysterious restriction formation in it. Anyhow, 20 people are allowed in, at one time, and they can stay for one year, at most. After that, they will be transmitted out and not allowed to enter again.”
“Both our sides used to compete to send more people in, and only after numerous casualties, did we find how miraculous and horrific this relic is—there were not only powerful artifacts like cannons, but also terrifying monsters, who could destroy masters at the Peak of Almighty Immortal, in no time.”
“According to some survivors, the relic is filled with mysterious, giant creatures. Although they can’t speak the human language, and some even have no spiritual intelligence, they have such unrivaled powers that any magic treasure or moves will not work on them. And you could escape only if you’re lucky enough.”
“At last, we reached an agreement with the Nether Big World, that each side will send 10 people into the relic every year and what we can obtain, will be up to our skills. I entered the relic, one year after the agreement. At that time, only four of our 10 people survived, and the others died in the relic, due to different reasons.”
“But the result was quite fruitful. In an ancient cave residence, we found the four cannons which you saw, at the transmission formation in the Jibo Territory. Their immense power was beyond our imagination, but due to the time limit, we could only get those four, and our opponents also obtained four. Then, both sides put the cannons to use in the wars afterward, which caused the number of casualties to double after that.”
“Then, we realized the importance of the relic, because there might be some powerful existences, that could directly decide the winner of the war. So both sides hardly competed or fought in the relic after that, but instead, focused on looking for treasures.”
“And then, we found that one person was able to stay inside for over one year, without being transmitted out or restricted by the 20-people limitation. The reason being that he had eaten some unknown fruit. But it was said that he was killed by a giant monster when he was inside, and up till now, we still can’t figure out how it happened.”
“I have a map of its periphery. It’s a pity that this is the deepest range we can explore. Take a look.” The founding father unfolded a scroll, on which there were some circles and patterns in different colors.
The founding father pointed at the outer layer and said softly, “This is the outside space when you enter the relic. It is a forest, filled with towering plants, and those fierce beasts usually show up here. We have fully explored this space already, so there should be nothing else to check out here. But remember, you must block your auras until you come out of the outermost layer.”
Lyu Liang was stunned and asked, “Master, so we can’t fly but only walk? What if we confront those from the Nether Big World? And how will we know whether we are out of the zone or not?”
The founding father pointed at the dark-colored adjacent area and said, “Getting through the forest, you will find a range of steep mountains. Once you arrive there, it means that you have arrived at the outside space. Don’t worry. Even if you meet those from the Nether Big World, they will not dare reveal their auras either, because that will attract the beasts to them and probably lead the entire squad to destruction.”
Then, the founding father told them more details about the relic—the mountainous area was the farthest exploration space for both sides, and those cannons were found in an abandoned cave residence there.
In principle, their task was to explore the mountainous area. After all, it was so vast that what they had found, was just the tip of the iceberg, after several years’ efforts.
The point was that, although the two sides didn’t fight anymore spontaneously inside, it was not written into a treaty. Since they entered through the same entrance, they would not be too far from each other. Therefore, it was vital to guard against raids at all times.
The six learned about all the details of the relic. Generally, the 10 people had to find as many treasures as possible, avoid any dangers, and the time was theoretically limited to one year.
“Master, two talents and I seem to have been confirmed on the list. What about the other seven teammates?” Lyu Liang asked the question he was most concerned about.
The founding father glanced at the other five people, and then said softly, “Two months later, there will be a competition. As long as one can pass the three tests set by the Immortal Allies, he can get the qualification to enter the relic.”
The founding father left after saying this, and the six began discussing about who would compete for the qualification.
Liu Jiahao, Liu Jiawen, and Zheng Xuan, not surprisingly, resolved to attend the competition. The reason was quite simple—they were here to help Lyu Liang and would naturally follow him into the relic.
After thinking for a while, Yang Ying also decided to attend. Wen Ying hesitated for a long time and finally chose to quit. Since her cultivation had just reached the Peak of Almighty Immortal, she had not mastered it well yet, she would just settle down and do some cultivation, during this period.
After the discussion, the six began their cultivations respectively, and planned to meet two months later.
Before Lyu Liang began his closed-door meditation, he met the founding father alone, to find out about something he was concerned about.
“I know why you are here, and I’m thinking about how to tell you the news. Now that you’re here, just follow me and meet some old friends” The founding father said, as he led Lyu Liang to fly westward.
The architecture in the West was distinct from others. It was in a different style and exuded thick Demon Qi, which suggested that this was the Demon Clan’s camp.
Before Lyu Liang landed, he heard Zhu Yan’s voice below, “Haha, I knew you would be here. My brother, we meet again!”
Lyu Liang looked around and found Zhu Yan and the other three Saint Emperors. Behind them were Yun, Cui, Zhang Hao, and the blue-eyed Giant Tiger, all of whom were Lyu Liang’s old friends.
Among them, the blue-eyed Giant Tiger, who had transformed into a 10-meters-tall giant man, reverted to his original form at the sight of Lyu Liang. With tears running down his face, he lunged at Lyu Liang, excitedly.
“Haha, my old friend, you have reached the Middle-stage of Void Return, during these years! Oh, no, it should be the Middle-stage of Demon General. Congratulations!” Lyu Liang said joyfully.
“Oh! Master, I’ve heard about all your deeds. You are so awesome! But compared to you, I am growing so slowly. However, Saint Emperor White Tiger told me that, when I reach the Demon Fairy level, I can then fully stimulate my talent. At that time, I will come back to you and help you! Anyway, I will try my best!” The Giant Tiger’s eyes lit up, with a resolute air.
Then, Lyu Liang greeted the four Demon Emperors and his other friends, and expressed his sincere thanks to them, for their assistance.
And there was another piece of surprising news—Zhu Yan had decided to take part in the competition two months later, so that he could explore the relic, with Lyu Liang.
After leaving the Demon Clan’s camp, the founding father didn’t take Lyu Liang elsewhere. Instead, he sighed and said with mixed emotions, “I know you want to ask me about your friends in the Sword Character Immortal Palace, and about your sister Lyu Xinyun. But be prepared for what I’m going to say, because you may not be able to see them in such a short period.”
Lyu Liang’s heart jolted and he nodded solemnly. The manner in which the founding father had said this, denoted that it would not be something pleasant.
The founding father gave a deep sigh and said softly, “Since the Blood Divine Sect joined the alliance, Zhao Tianding has disappeared totally, and even now, we don’t know where he has gone to. And your sister, she was injured severely a hundred years ago, and she’s now recovering in the Xuan Nyu Sect. It’s said that it would take another hundred years for her full recovery. At that time, someone stole the top treasure of the Xuan Nyu Sect, Great Manual of Heavenly Enchantment, and he hurt your sister, when she was caught off guard. Her Qi Meridian was injured, and her Cultivation Method was undermined. That’s how she became like this.”
Hearing the words, Lyu Liang glared and gritted his teeth. He said, “Xinyun is the pro-disciple of senior Xuan Nyu Fairy in the Xuan Nyu Sect. Who could have such power to steal the manual and wound Xinyun so seriously? Could it be…”
Lyu Liang’s heart jolted—he seemed to know who could have done it…
With a bitter look, the founding father lowered his voice and said, “We’ve trusted the wrong person. He’s not a stranger, but the one you’re familiar with. He’s Zhang Ran, your best friend in the past!”