Chapter 393
The opening of the central secret room was limited as only the first three batches of people who arrived there were eligible to open the secret room. There was a total of eight entrances to the central city, which meant that five of the entrances were destined to be disappointing.
For cultivators, various kinds of treasures were indispensable for cultivation. They went through great hardships to come to the central city, only to be have their lead taken by others. Let’s guess… If they encounter Xu Ziyan and the others, would they resort to sneak attacks?
Xu Ziyan was no saint, so naturally, he would not consider whether others have gained anything. He, along with Xu Zirong and Tianle, selected some items in the secret chamber. Interestingly, when Bai Hua entered the chamber, he could take away all the items. However, just after they opened the secret chamber, it was stated that each person could only take one item.
“This is really unfair.” Xu Ziyan murmured to himself. In the novel, it was clearly stated that Bai Hua swept the entire chamber clean, so why could he only get one treasure from there?
Of course, in terms of quality, the items they obtained were quite impressive. If he remembered correctly, although Bai Hua had cleared out the hidden chamber, the things he obtained seemed to be… all from the mainland?
That’s right!
Back then, Bai Hua had gained a rich harvest there, but from the perspective from a nascent soul cultivator, the items he acquired were considered ordinary.
Those items were not that worthless, but with the strength of a nascent soul cultivator, acquiring then would not be difficult.
On the other hand, the jade slip that Tianle held contained high-level ghost cultivation techniques, which might not be that valuable in Xuan Yu Realm since ghost cultivation was not mainstream there. Despite the technique being good, its actual value was hard to estimate.
However, the blood jade gourd held by Xu Zirong was different. That gourd, made from a ten-thousand-year purple crystal blood jade, was only the size of a thumb, but it not only allowed him to store essence blood and nourish blood beasts, but also boosted the power of his wood-type spells by fifty percent.
Possessing such a powerful treasure could be considered a top-tier item, and even Flowing Light Sect did not have similar collections.
A magic artifact capable of possessing such power was absolutely top-notch, and even the Liuguang Sect had no similar collection.
As for Xu Ziyan himself, he chose a mysterious thunder fruit. It was said that the fruit contained a trace of the power of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. After consumption, there was a slight chance of transforming one’s physique into a profound thunder cultivating body.
Of course, the probability was extremely small, to the point of being negligible. The so-called profound thunder cultivating body… Ahem, it referred to having complete immunity to the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder attacks during heavenly tribulation. Once someone with that physique was born, it was almost destined that one could safely ascend– – provided that they also had decent innate talent for cultivating. Otherwise, it would be possible that one might die before reaching the great ascension stage…
After each of them obtained their respective treasures, they immediately left the central secret room and arrived at the underground city area through a secret passage.
Upon entering the city area, the ‘divine cloth’ map slowly revealed the topography. The most eye-catching feature was the trap marked in blood red.
“What should we do?” Xu Ziyan scratched his head, feeling somewhat troubled. It was quite a dangerous trap, and if it were normal circumstances, they could just take a detour, which would at most waste some time. However, there was another secret room marked as a treasure chest on that street.
Needless to say, it must be one of the associated secret rooms. If they did not go there—— Xu Ziyan would feel sorry for his pockets…
Tianle was not blind either. He naturally saw the conspicuous red skull. Comparing its location with that of the secret room, he said hopefully, “Maybe… we can go around it…”
Xu Zirong smiled, “Then why don’t you give it a try?”
Tianle touched his nose, he was just not satisfied. Although the cultivation items in the central secret room were excellent, it was specifically for his ghost cultivator master. If he missed out on the opportunities in those subsidiary secret rooms, wouldn’t he be return empty-handed? That was clearly not his preferred outcome!
“Let’s go and take a look first. Even I’m not satisfied if we just give up like this,” said Xu Ziyan with a smile.
Humans were actually like this. Although they knew that there were huge dangers ahead, they were unwilling to give up such great benefits, because they had not seen the danger with their own eyes. Otherwise, they could not satisfy themselves.
After all, the treasure vaults in the central city far exceeded Xu Ziyan’s expectations. While the quantity might not match Bai Hua’s gains, the quality was far better.
“Brother, you should eat the profound thunder fruit before we go.” Xu Zirong said softly. The upcoming battle might be dangerous, so it was better to enhance their strength in advance.
Xu Ziyan nodded, and swallowed the profound thunder fruit.
As soon as the fruit entered his mouth, it turned into a black lightning bolt and merged into Xu Ziyan’s body. Victory Greenie in his inner core immediately rushed up to it, confronting the black lightning.
Xu Ziyan meditated calmly, ignoring the changes in his body, but only investing his spiritual awareness within his body, paying attention to the interna; battle between Little Greenie and the black lightning.
A long time ago, Xu Ziyan once cultivated a technique that relied on devouring the divine thunder to enhance his cultivation. However, back then, the highest-grade divine thunder he could devour was only a wisp of purple night divine thunder. Since Little Greenie had devoured that purple night divine thunder, it had not had the chance to evolve for a long time. Now, although the black lightning only had a trace of the nine heavens profound thunder’s power, in essence, it was still of a higher level than the purple night divine thunder.
Little Greenie ate very happily… Well, you read that right, Little Greenie’s eating.
Little Greenie and the black lightning bolt were entangled together, the two sides seemed to be evenly matched. However, in fact, Little Greenie was constantly devouring the other party’s origin because of its relatively large size.
If it was the real nine heavens profound thunder, it would naturally not be swallowed by Little Greenie so easily. Yet, the trace of power contained in that profound thunder fruit was really too little. Facing the powerful Victory Greenie, it could only be eaten in defeat!
First bite… Hmm, it’s so fragrant!
Another bite… It tastes awesome!
Taking one more bite… It’s been a long time since I ate such a delicious thing!
The last bite… (⊙o⊙)? Have I finished it?
Little Greenie wandered around inside Xu Ziyan’s body, still wanting to seek the delicious taste from earlier. Regrettably, it could not find it again. It reluctantly returned to the inner core and continued to play with the little snail, using its own lightning.
However, Xu Ziyan noticed that the lightning released by Little Greenie this time was already faintly tinged with a pure black color. Although it was still far from the real nine heavens profound thunder, there was a glimmer of hope.
Back when Little Greenie had devoured the purple night divine thunder, it had evolved into its current form. Now that it had absorbed a trace of the nine heavens profound thunder’s power, it had the possibility of evolving towards the nine heavens profound thunder.
Xu Ziyan slightly smiled and began to heal the injuries he had sustained inside his body. After all the hidden injuries were treated, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Brother, how do you feel?” Xu Zirong had been sticking close to Xu Ziyan, living up to his nickname: Personal bodyguard.
Xu Ziyan was already too exhausted to comment on his actions, so he just let him be.
“I’m fine.” Xu Ziyan replied with a smile.
“How is it? How is it? Fellow cultivator Xu, have you transformed into a profound thunder cultivating body?” Tianle quickly leaned over.
Xu Ziyan could not help, but laughed, “How can it be possible with such a small chance?”
Tianle said awkwardly, “There’s always a chance. It’s a pity though. I was going to ask you for help in ascension if you achieved the profound thunder cultivating body.”
Xu Ziyan rolled his eyes helplessly. Even if he had the profound thunder cultivating body, it would only mean that he was immune to his own thunder. If he helped others avoid thunder, he would have to bear double the impact. Even if he had the profound thunder cultivating body, he would not dare to help others with that!
The trio cautiously made their way towards the street where the treasure chamber was located. Along the way, they had to be wary of various kinds of spirits, but also to be careful of meeting other cultivators.
Killing and robbing for treasures was not only done by demon cultivators. Occasionally, even righteous cultivators from Xuan Yu Realm would also take part-time jobs. However, they were more concerned about their reputation, and if they encountered cultivators from other realms, the outcome might not be good.
As they carefully approached the street marked with a red skull, they found the journey surprisingly smooth, encountering no enemies at all.
“Something feels wrong.” Tianle could not help saying.
Throughout their journey, they occasionally came across battling traces, indicating that someone had cleared the path for them.
However, for unknown reason, they never met face to face. They went through several streets, but the opponents seemed to have disappeared without a trace, leaving no signs except for clearing the monsters.
“Everyone, be careful.” Xu Ziyan said in a low voice.
By analyzing the battle traces, they estimated that there were probably three to five people on the other group, cooperating well with each other. The number of monsters were quite many on the street, but judging from the speed at which they are moving, the other party did not seem to be causing any hindrance to their progress.
“If they were ahead of us, why didn’t we hear any battle noises?” Xu Zirong asked with a frown.
That was also what they found strange. According to the traces left by the other party, they were not much faster than them, but they could not even hear a single sound of fighting, which was indeed unusual.
“That’s the street ahead. Let’s go and take a look.” Xu Ziyan looked ahead at the corner of the street in front of him. If they turned left at that corner, it would lead them to the street marked with the trap. From the battle traces, it seemed that those who arrived earlier had probably taken that route.
Tianle nodded and dashed ahead, reaching the corner of the street first. He leaned against the wall and glanced at the side, and then—— He froze in place, standing there motionlessly.
Xu Ziyan was alarmed and hurriedly rushed over as well.
To be exact, Tianle had not entered the next street. With the rule’s wall in place, nothing in the next street should be able to harm Tianle.
However, Tianle remained immobile, apparently shocked by what he saw. What could possibly be so astonishing to render him motionless like that?
As Xu Ziyan leaped over, he already had his bow and arrows ready, preparing for an immediate counterattack if someone attacked. However, he did not expect that he, too, was stunned by the scene inside just as he looked beyond the corner…
For a brief moment, Xu Ziyan even doubted if he ever had passed through a dimensional portal or something similar.