Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 188

Chapter 188: Stone Fae

“More immortals…” The Nightmare Knights had an ominous feeling.

This was a barren land, such that the only people here were the Ji Clan’s Nightmare Knights who were assigned to guard this area. Even the Ji Clan’s immortal rarely appeared here.

Yet, so many immortals suddenly appeared here today. This made them wonder if something huge was going to happen.

“The two of you are…” Xia Yun clasped his fist and asked with a grim face.

“We’re disciples of Everchange Mountain. I’m Li Xiuming, and this is my junior sister, Chaoxianggong Nisheng.”

“Chaoxianggong Nisheng? What an interesting name,” Li Daoye remarked with a frown. “How are you related to Vastsea Country?”

“Vastsea Country?” Chaoxianggong Nisheng was perplexed. “I have never heard of that place. My family name originates from my tribe, and my tribe is a far distance away from here.”

Li Daoye and Fang Chen exchanged looks. Fang Chen figured that Vastsea might have been founded by offshoots of major clans, though this was just a conjecture for now.

They first exchanged names before Li Xiuming got to the point and said, “My junior sister and I stumbled upon an old map, which indicates that the abode of a powerful cultivator is near here. Are you here for the same purpose too?”

Xia Yun and the others racked their brains to see if they had heard about a sect named Everchange Mountain, but it didn’t ring a bell for them. Xia Yun spent seconds in thought before replying, “We should be after the same thing.”

“That’s great. Have you found the place yet?” Li Xiuming asked in delight.

“This…” Xia Yun and the others exchanged looks.

Li Xiuming noticed their hesitation and chuckled. “Since fate brought us together, we can split whatever we find in there equally. You don’t have to worry about us monopolizing everything.”

“Can I hold you to your word?” Xia Yun asked.

“Disciples of Everchange Mountain hold their promises,” Li Xiuming replied.

Xia Yun and the others discussed this matter with Fang Chen, and they eventually decided to bring Li Xiuming and Chaoxianggong Nisheng with them.

They figured that even if they didn’t lead them, it was only a matter of them before the two of them found their way. Besides, Li Xiuming and Chaoxianggong Nisheng were stronger than Xia Yun, so it would be better to work together with them rather than to work against them.

The Nightmare Knights led the way. Two hours later, they arrived before an unassuming cavern.

“Senior Brother, is this really the powerful cultivator’s abode? There aren’t any restriction arts imposed on the entrance at all.” Chaoxianggong Nisheng narrowed her eyes in skepticism.

Xia Yun looked at the leader of the Nightmare Knights and said, “How does your Ji Clan manage this place? How long does a to-and-fro trip into the cavern take? What have you found inside the cavern? Tell me everything you know.”

“This…”

The leader of the Nightmare Knights hesitated, knowing that this was no different from betraying the Ji Clan. He couldn’t take responsibility for that. But at the same time, he was dealing with a bunch of immortals with powerful means. This put him in a spot.

“I advise you to speak honestly. The Ji Clan won’t blame you,” Li Daoye advised with a sneer.

Li Xiuming glanced at Li Daoye with curious eyes. Why would an eighth stage Ki Refinement cultivator bring a third stage Ki Refinement cultivator out to hunt for treasures?

Other than that, he was also concerned about Fang Chen. He couldn’t help but think that there was something weird about Fang Chen’s aura, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Lord Immortals, beyond this cavern is another world. You’ll find yourself in a mystical place filled with all kinds of mysterious flora and fauna. Those are highly beneficial in raising a martial artist’s martial cultivation,” the leader of the Nightmare Knights reluctantly explained.

“There are also many ferocious beasts inside, and the Nightmare Steed is one of them. However, those who enter the cavern must stay there for ten full days before they are allowed to leave the place. That world is fraught with danger, such as gigantic stone monsters that breathe fire, but there are also ki stones that immortals are fond of.

“The Ji Clan organizes an expedition into the cavern once every three years, involving around 300 to 500 powerful martial artists, but there would only be around 40 survivors each time. Those beasts are impervious to swords and spears; our means as martial artists don’t seem to work on them.”

Upon hearing those words, Li Xiuming nodded his head and said, “Those beasts might have cultivated an immortal vein or two and are protected by spirit ki. Naturally, your inner ki will be useless against them.”

He turned to Xia Yun and said, “Brother Xia, since mortals are able to survive in there, I doubt the cavern will pose much of a danger to us. Shall we enter now?”

“What do you all think?” Xia Yun looked at the crowd. His question was mostly directed toward Fang Chen.

“Let’s head in and take a look,” Fang Chen said with a smile.

He took the lead into the cavern, and the others closely followed him.

When all of them finally entered the cavern, the leader of the Nightmare Knights suddenly took out a dragon head seal and slowly placed it into an aperture beside the cavern.

“Now that the door is closed, it can only be opened a year later,” he murmured with a sneer. He then instructed his subordinates, “Quick, inform the Ji Clan that several immortals have intruded on this place and I have trapped them inside.”

“Yes, sir!”

A few Nightmare Knights quickly left. The remaining ones revealed gleeful smiles.

One of them turned to the leader of the Nightmare Knights and said, “Chief, it’s lucky that you are sharp-witted. Those immortals might be strong, but their heads aren’t too good. How can they enter such a place thinking it through? Hah, there’s no way they can survive a year inside. Even the immortal worshiped by our Ji Clan dares not to carelessly enter the cavern!”

…

Shortly after Fang Chen and the others entered the cavern, they found themselves standing in the middle of a lush valley. Just then, a loud rumble echoed from the entrance behind them.

A golden restriction art reminiscent of eight trigrams had sealed off the entrance!

“This is a formidable restriction art!” Li Daoye used his art of omen reading to inspect the restriction art before remarking, “This restriction art has a strong aura. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator won’t be able to easily breach it.”

“It’s fine. It’ll dissipate within ten days. I doubt those mortals would dare deceive us,” Xia Yun replied with a calm smile.

“Look! Are those Nightmare Steeds?” Li Daoye suddenly pointed in the distance.

A massive herd comprising hundreds of steeds galloped past them. All of them were incredibly brawny. They were the Nightmare Knights’ mounts, the Nightmare Steeds.

“They have been nourished by spirit ki, but not so much that they turn into faes,” Li Xiuming said with a smile. “Those steeds are probably ordinary horses that the owner of this place rears here, but they evolved over time till they are comparable to some martial artists.”

“Senior, does that mean that there are faes here?” Chaoxianggong Nisheng asked.

Faes!

Xia Yun and the others turned grim. Faes had means that were not to be underestimated, though they did figure that a place fraught with danger like this was likely to have a fae or two.

“You and your inauspicious mouth!” Li Daoye screeched. “See, a fae is heading here now!”

Around three hundred meters away from them, a pile of stones suddenly stood up and transformed into a huge creature that was over six meters tall. Dark-green flames ignited on its body, as it coldly eyed the crowd.

Novel Notes