Chapter 139: Ancient Tomb (Part 2)
Chapter 139: Ancient Tomb (Part 2)
In places like ancient tombs, the deeper one went, the better the quality of equipment dropped from slain monsters.
Even at the final treasure location where the Barren God Giant and Mechanism Blueprint were kept, if there were other treasures inside, their value was on a completely different level compared to all the equipment dropped by previous monsters.
A single piece might be worth more than all the previous equipment combined, or even far exceed it.
Using the ordinary method of taking turns to pick up equipment clearly wouldn’t work, as it would still cause everyone to have different thoughts.
“I will not take anything from the ancient tomb unrelated to Mechanism Art. I told you this before we came, and I will not change my mind. Regarding the distribution method now, I hope you will listen to my suggestion.”
After arguing for a long time, with everyone buzzing and noisy, Fang Geyin even suggested it would be better if everyone just relied on their own abilities to grab and divide the loot. Blood Colored Poppy had no choice but to raise her voice to drown out the others.
“After passing through each area, I will collect all the equipment we gained and distribute it according to its value and each person’s needs. If something is hard to price, or if someone wants a particular piece but cannot immediately compensate the others with enough value, the item can be temporarily left with me. We will distribute it after we leave the ancient tomb.”
“Poppy’s plan is good. I agree.”
Ye Rong was the first to nod. He was not familiar with the others at all; he was only pulled into this team by Blood Colored Poppy. Of course, he supported her proposal. Furthermore, finalizing the plan quickly, clearing the tomb, obtaining the Mechanism Blueprint and Barren God Giant, and receiving the promised reward was the development he most hoped to see.
As for whether he could gain any extra rewards in the tomb, Ye Rong did not hold high expectations.
“I just wanted to get some fresh air and was pulled here by Poppy to do manual labor. Let’s go with your plan for distribution.”
Graceful Dream Butterfly also agreed, as Ye Rong expected. Probably nothing in this ancient tomb could truly move her; she was just here for a break. With a particularly protective master like Yan Yingmu, it was practically impossible for her to lack any magic treasures.
With two people already agreeing with Blood Colored Poppy, one of whom was an unfathomably powerful and the most crucial combatant in the entire team, the other four found it hard to object. After each considering it, they all felt that what Blood Colored Poppy said was indeed the most suitable method. Entrusting the treasures to her, the initiator of this venture, for distribution was also the only candidate everyone could trust.
Fang Geyin grunted a couple of times and also tacitly accepted, saying nothing more.
With the map, they could easily avoid some deadly traps and maze-like forks in the ancient tomb, taking the fastest route towards the second underground level. The zombies and wraiths they encountered along the way, under the protection of the Supreme Fivefold Mist, didn’t even pose a slightly serious test for the team.
Blood Colored Poppy praised the Supreme Fivefold Mist as the number one defensive magical treasure under heaven. Although this was a bit of an exaggeration, it was indeed the strongest defensive magic treasure Ye Rong had seen so far. His own Mystic Purple Turtle Shell didn’t even have one percent of its effectiveness before it.
Wraiths were semi-spiritual entities, somewhere between physical and spiritual forms. They floated in mid-air, their figures flickering in and out of sight, appearing as transparent masses.
Unless a flying sword possessed genuine evil-purging properties, with great light and great righteousness, it could seriously harm wraiths. Otherwise, ordinary attacks could be mitigated by ninety percent due to their unique constitution. Swords slashing through them were like cutting water – parting upon impact, then converging again – causing almost no damage to them.
But this didn’t trouble the team. Whether it was Graceful Dream Butterfly’s Pale Flame or Blood Colored Poppy’s Divine Thunder of Yi Wood, both were the bane of wraiths. Upon contact, the wraiths died immediately, with no exceptions.
“This is the end of the first level of the ancient tomb, the place connected to the entrance of the second level!”
What appeared before the seven of them was a vast, hazy mirror of light. Inside, a giant mass of energy rotated, composed of countless smaller energy masses. The thunderous crashing sounds suggested the terrifying power contained within.
Approaching the light mirror, they could hear countless voices full of resentment, hatred, and curses emanating from the energy mass. Flickers of black Demonic Qi proved that this ancient tomb had clear traces of Demonic Path techniques.
“It seems that just by destroying this ancient tomb, we will surely receive rewards from our sects when we return. The setup here was likely built by a Demonic Path figure of some status.”
Blood Colored Poppy said joyfully. She originally thought the gains would only be the Mechanism Blueprint and Barren God Giant, but this was an unexpected delight.
Ye Rong and Graceful Dream Butterfly also showed happy expressions. They both came from Righteous Faction sects. Destroying things related to Demonic Cultivators always brought benefits from their sects; this was undeniable.
As for the others, they didn’t have that kind of treatment. They were disciples of Heterodox Schools, neither righteous nor evil, and sometimes even had conflicts with Righteous Faction sects.
Blood Colored Poppy stepped forward and slashed her sword hard against the giant light mirror. A mass of Demonic Qi rapidly drilled out, quickly condensing into a three-zhang tall demonic creature with a blue face and fangs.
“Killing it will allow us to enter the second level! Use your fastest methods, otherwise it will endlessly summon wraiths! Those with fire element spells can use them; it has almost no resistance to fire damage!”
A series of quick, urgent words from Blood Colored Poppy, who swiftly retreated back within the range of the Supreme Fivefold Mist. This time, she changed her attack method. A stream of starlight extended endlessly, fiercely cutting through the protective Demonic Qi surrounding the blue-faced, fanged demon.
This stream of starlight, when fully deployed, was a hundred zhang long, as if hanging directly down from beyond the ninth heaven.
Except for the Long-Legged Lady, the others all showed astonished expressions. This hundred-zhang starlight stream possessed immense potential force, vast and mighty, actually trapping the blue-faced, fanged demon firmly within it.
Ye Rong also looked stern. For example, first-grade flying swords only had sword lights two or three zhang long; no matter how much power was channeled, there would be no change. It was rumored that ninth-grade flying swords had continuous sword lights that could reach dozens of li, completely sealing off an area.
Although the starlight flying sword in Blood Colored Poppy’s hand couldn’t compare to the legendary ninth-grade flying swords, its starlight stream was still over a hundred zhang long, longer than any flying sword Ye Rong possessed.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, upon seeing the ten Pale Flames fly out from Graceful Dream Butterfly’s hands and pounce towards the blue-faced, fanged demon, everyone woke up and simultaneously shot out their sword lights.
A Level 50 Elite Monster, before such a team composed purely of genuine elite experts, actually had no power to fight back.
…
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the ancient tomb, a row of people stood, quietly waiting for something.
A spot of green light appeared on the horizon, a tiny speck the size of a sesame seed rapidly expanded, turning into a mass of oily green, like a fast-moving green cloud. Arriving before the ancient tomb, it rolled and churned, revealing a human form from within the green cloud.
Sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, red lips, white teeth – the standard appearance of a handsome young man. However, a treacherous, sinister air between his brows ruined his overall image, greatly reducing his appeal.
“Greetings, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Over twenty people below shouted in unison. An outsider might mostly think a group of NPCs from some unknown sect were active here.
“Junior Brothers, did you see Herbal Hall’s Blood Colored Poppy go in?”
This Eldest Senior Brother retracted the green cloud, which turned into a large green banner standing behind his back. On it, countless images of Insect Gus and creatures tangled and writhed, emitting creepy, grating sounds.
“Eldest Senior Brother, we did. Blood Colored Poppy brought six people into the ancient tomb. But judging by their appearances, none of the six were experts from Herbal Hall; we didn’t recognize any of them.”
A young man with a clever, honest-looking face stepped forward and reported one by one.
These people were actually all Players. Moreover, they had been tracking Blood Colored Poppy and the others, and they had done a very good job covering their tracks, remaining undiscovered despite so many experts present.
“Well done! This time, I will make Blood Colored Poppy understand the consequence of killing someone from our Baiman Mountain! I bet he never imagined there would be our people inside Herbal Hall who leaked this information. Those Barren God Giants will also all become my spoils.”
The Eldest Senior Brother said fiercely, his tone full of venom. These people were actually all disciples of the major Demonic Path sect, Baiman Mountain.
The Sect Leader of Baiman was a famous figure in the Demonic Path of Far Shore: the leader of the Southern Demonic Sect, Green Robe Ancestor!
And Baiman Mountain was also one of the Demonic Path sects with the largest number of Players, considered a mainstay in the fight against the Righteous Path.
“It’s all thanks to the Invisibility Pearl you lent us, Eldest Senior Brother. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to follow them so closely without revealing any trace.”
That person held out a shimmering, fist-sized pearl and returned it to the Eldest Senior Brother.
“I have already refined the Hundred Venoms Asura Banner to the Seventh Rank. It makes me immune to countless poisons; a shake of the Poison Cloud can cause those hit to feel weak in their limbs, poisoned, and fall to the ground! Let’s go!”
The Eldest Senior Brother waved the Hundred Venoms Asura Banner behind him. The mass of green cloud, nearly one mu in size, reappeared, enveloping all his twenty-plus junior brothers and flashing into the ancient tomb.
This large banner could actually carry so many Players for flight simultaneously; it truly lived up to its reputation.
The Hundred Venoms Asura Banner was one of the Seven Treasures of Hundred Venoms, the set of treasures Green Robe Ancestor most relied upon to dominate the world!
The Golden Silkworm Gu that Ye Rong had seen before, if it advanced one more grade and evolved into the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu, would also be one of these Seven Treasures of Hundred Venoms.
Being able to refine the Hundred Venoms Asura Banner to the Seventh Rank at this time, this Eldest Senior Brother was clearly the head disciple of Baiman Mountain, most favored by Green Robe Ancestor.