Chapter 18- Golden Dragon and Ice Phoenix
Inside Su Yan's wooden house, Su Mu and Su Yan were sitting cross-legged next to each other while discussing some random topics.
"How long do I need to live in your wooden house?" Su Mu asked, making Su Yan's beautiful face frown.
What did he mean by 'her' wooden house? Weren't they living in it together for more than a few months? This made Su Yan really annoyed. Where was his concern about living in someone else's place when he was spending hours at Hu Jiao'er's place?
Looking at Su Yan, Su Mu couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I'm just kidding. Why are you so serious?"
Just as his words finished, Su Mu brought his face so closer to Su Yan's that she was able to feel his breath.
"Uhhhh." Su Yan grumbled, her face blushing as she wanted nothing more than to freeze Su Mu into a popsicle once again, but she knew that he would melt the ice around himself right away. No matter how much she tries, keeping her calm and neutral temperament in front of Su Mu seemed impossible. One way or another, he'd somehow make Su Yan lose her composure. But strangely enough, Su Yan didn't mind it that much. Ever since she started living with Su Mu, her mood has been very good. Although there were some 'ideas' in her mind about Su Mu that she, as Su Mu's older sister, wasn't able to accept.
Just as Su Yan was about to open her mouth again, the ground suddenly began to quake fiercely. After shaking several times, Su Mu and Su Yan could hear the three Sects' Disciples within Black Wind Trade Area falling into chaos.
After that moment, it seemed that loud shouts could be heard from a distant place. Unfortunately, those voices were not clear.
But Su Mu could hear them quite clearly. It wasn't hard to figure out that the one shouting in anger was none other than Long Zai Tian while Meng Wuya was constantly cursing the former's eighteen generations.
The intense fight that was ongoing at the Blood Battle Group's mining area could be heard from dozens of kilometres away! Even from such a distance, Su Mu could feel the True Qi fluctuations from the members of the Blood Battle Group along with very slight Saint Qi fluctuations.
Both Su Mu and Su Yan stepped out of their wooden house. Just as they were about to leave, they heard several doors open all at once within the Black Wind Trade Area.
Su Mu recognized a few of the figures who just emerged. One of them was none other than Hu Jiao'er while the other was Fang Ziji, the first-seat disciple of Storm Hall.
Hu Jiao'er looked at Su Mu and waved her hand with a smile, making him smile back at her.
'Is this jealousy I smell?' Su Mu thought, feeling the temperature around him and Su Yan was dropping at a very high speed. So much so that people were stepping away from them.
"If you have something to say then why not say it?" Su Mu asked with a smile, turning towards Su Yan.
"I'll be going ahead." Su Yan replied before she started flying towards the Blood Battle Group's mining area.
"Even Jiao'er is more honest with her feeling than Su Yan is." Su Mu muttered, looking at the three people who were flying towards the mining area.
Su Yan was the fastest, next was Hu Jiao Er and finally, Fang Ziji.
After a few seconds, Su Mu activated the 'Seven Divine Steps' as he started running towards the Blood Battle Group's mining area while jumping over several rooftops.
[Back in the Blood Battle Group's Mining Area]
After Meng Wuya raised Long Jun and dashed here, he directly looked for Long Zai Tian. The latter, who had not fully understood the entire matter at hand was shocked when a killing strike was directed towards him. Meng Wuya's actions were unjustifiable, at least from Long Zai Tian's point of view.
Long Zai Tian had never met this old man but was attacked. Even if he wished not to fight, as the Vice Leader of the Blood Battle Group, he had no choice but to uphold the clan's reputation and fight. Only a coward would turn tail and flee.
However, it took less than ten moves before Long Zai Tian was knocked down from the air by Meng Wuya.
Unfortunately, Hu Man and his other clansmen could not allow their Vice Leader to die at the hands of Meng Wuya. They had no choice but to get involved in their fight.
Although Hu Man was glad to see Long Zai Tian suppressed, he could not simply allow the Vice Leader of the Blood Battle Group to get one-sidedly beaten up and killed. That man held the reputation of the Blood Battle Group. If he were to fall, he would drag down the Sect with him.
Ten Immortal Ascension Realm Experts charged at Meng Wuya. However, like an unbeatable god, he remained unscathed. He had shown that he had the strength to back up his arrogance.
However, the attacks he dealt with were not only physical; they were also verbal. Like a viper, he managed to provoke and shame Long Zai Tian.
Long Zai Tian's face turned purple from shame as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He couldn't do anything but curse Meng Wuya. With only twelve moves, the latter had managed to completely suppress him. His dignity and pride as the Vice Leader of Blood Battle Group were destroyed. How was he ever going to recover his reputation?
At this time, Meng Wuya retreated upwards. Meanwhile, the Blood Battle Group's experts were all standing on the ground. Both sides halted, waiting for the next confrontation.
Long Zai Tian clenched his jaws, while his mouth was full of fresh blood. His body trembled as he endured the humiliation, not daring to be so dissolute in front of such power. "May I ask your excellency, when have I offended you so much that you need to humiliate me like this?"
Long Zai Tian was not willing to further annoy Meng Wuya. The old man had sufficient strength to kill him. How would he possibly be foolish enough to enrage this man?
Meng Wuya gave an arrogant snort and said with disdain, "You have neither wronged me nor annoyed me!"
Hearing his nonsensical words made Long Zai Tian tremble with indignation.
Meng Wuya scorned at Long Zai Tian's cowardly response and angrily cursed, "I will destroy your eighteen generations of heritage! Even if you feel aggrieved, you are incapable of revolting! However, I must let you and all else know. Your treatment today is for the bitter experience of what my precious disciple endured!"
Long Zai Tian's eyes widened as he asked, "Your disciple?"
Murderous intent could be seen from Meng Wuya's eyes as his voice sunk lower, "It's all because of your descendants! They dared to make a move on my precious disciple! Fine! I will also make a move on your entire family!"
"Can your excellency be clearer?" Long Zai Tian asked slowly. He finally realized that this old man truly had a grudge against him. How would he further dare to provoke Meng Wuya?
"Any clearer? HeHeHe!" Meng Wuya's complexion turned cold and severe. Shouting loud and clearly, "Why don't you hear the reason from your grandson in hell? Ask him what that little bastard did a few days ago!"
Long Zai Tian's complexion turned for the worst as he asked, "What happened to Long Hui?"
Suddenly, Long Jun opened his mouth. "Grandfather, I had not seen my younger brother for nearly a month now. The last time I saw him, he brought Master Wen out to handle matters. Till this day, he has not returned."
After hearing the depressing news, Long Zai Tian had the expression of a dead man. From Long Jun's explanation, Long Zai Tian could deduce that Long Hui must have been killed. Since it was his grandson, Long Zai Tian had also guessed the cause of his grandson's downfall. It must have been due to a beautiful female apprentice.
Meng Wuya took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand. As his hand rose, the entire world seemed to change colour.
The Blood Battle Group and various people had panic-stricken looks on their faces as they simultaneous fled to Long Zai Tian's side. Gazing at Meng Wuya's movements, preparing for his strike.
Once Meng Wuya shouted "Death!", his hand rapidly fell and waved maliciously towards Long Zai Tian's position. A giant palm suddenly appeared from the empty space. It was made up of the prestige of the world, with unstoppable force, capable of shaking the heavens and earth!
At that moment, The Blood Battle Group's experts also displayed all of their most powerful killing strikes, trying to counter Meng Wuya.
Qi from the two sides collided, blowing away the sand and stones on the ground. However, even against the ten experts, Meng Wuya's giant palm did not slow down in the slightest. At this moment, Meng Wuya seemed much more reliable than his usual self.
"That old man sure is enjoying himself." Su Mu said, sitting on a tree branch not too far away from the battlefield. As for why he was here even before Su Yan and the others? He used his Sword Qi to execute the Seven Divine Steps, making the technique way faster.
The First of the Seven Divine Steps allowed Su Mu to keep increasing his speed as long as he keeps running until his body hits the limit. So the first step was the best when it came to covering large distances or running away from enemies, not to mention that the amount of Qi it consumes was minimal at best; just like this one, the technique had six more steps, each with different applications and uses.
A big bang echoed as the giant palm landed on top of all the Blood Battle Group's clansmen. In a flash, the ten experts were forced to squat on the ground, their eyes almost bursting out of their sockets due to the force, as they circulated their True Qi with all their might to resist the attack.
But Su Mu noticed something. Unlike most of the cultivators from the Blood Battle Group, Hu Man was in rather good condition. He could tell that Meng Wuya was making a conscious effort to not harm Hu Man too much.
The ground cracked, slits appearing one after the other. Underneath them was the Blood Battle Group's mining area. Due to the many tunnels underneath them, the force of the collision caused the underground tunnels to collapse.
The crashing sound of the tunnel's collapse reverberated for kilometres. The cultivators from the Group were resisting Meng Wuya's strike, taking the opportunity of the falling speed to escape from his strike.
The giant palm finally landed on the ground, leaving a deep imprint on it.
Due to the protection of the ten Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivators, Long Zai Tian had not died. Unfortunately, that did not mean that he escaped Meng Wuya's attack unscathed. Long Zai Tian continued to spit out a mouthful of blood as his complexion continued to grow worse; becoming even paler. The other Blood Battle Group experts also had ugly complexions. They had not anticipated Meng Wuya's strength to be so profound. How was it possible that Meng Wuya was an Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivator like them? How was it possible for him to be this strong? Moreover, the martial skills that he used were extraordinary. They were most likely a rank above the martial skills they practised.
Despite their impressed reaction, Meng Wuya's face remained indifferent as he snorted. Although he wanted to pursue them and continue to strike them down, there was a sudden burst of Qi from underground that made his own Qi fluctuate.
Meng Wuya's attention turned to the source of this disturbance and was shocked beyond words.
"Here it comes." Su Mu muttered with a smile, jumping off the tree branch while looking at the place where the Qi fluctuations were the densest.
The next moment, a golden ray of light burst out from the ground. This ray of light soon turned into a golden dragon. Following closely to the dragon was a blue light, which turned into a majestic ice phoenix, flapping her wings.
'How many millions of years has it been, I wonder?' Su Mu thought, looking at the Golden Dragon and the Ice Phoenix as a nostalgic feeling filled his heart. The reason Su Mu hurried to the battlefield was simple, he wanted to see the inheritance seal being broken with his own eyes.
{A/N- Just in case, he is not thinking about Yang Kai or Su Yan. It'll be explained later on.}
"Beast Souls?" Meng Wuya's eyes stared fiercely at these two huge forms.
Extraordinarily strong Monster Beasts, even if their mortal bodies had withered away, their souls could still exist in this world. Their souls could even wait until an opportunity for resurrection arises. Since the dragon and the phoenix were considered the king of Monster Beasts, naturally, they both could maintain their souls.
Even with Meng Wuya's experience, the first time he saw the Monster Beasts, he had thought that these were their souls. However, upon closer inspection, he frowned. He could not feel any soul from these two forms. They were both soulless.
These two huge beings were unexpectedly, purely made from the world's gathering of energy to form a dragon and phoenix-shaped seal.
"This place…" The strange phenomenon made Meng Wuya vigilant, as he scanned the area to find a cave within the ground, about 70 meters deep. He could feel remnant traces of broken seals.
The seals must have been broken by the battle earlier. This caused the dragon and phoenix energy to escape from the cave.
It was unbelievable that such a discovery was made by accident! No, was it really an accident, to begin with?
'Why not destroy the Blood Battle Group's Mining Area?' Su Mu's words appeared in Meng Wuya's head as he raised the range of his Divine Sense.
'How is he?' Just as he raised the range of his Divine Sense, Meng Wuya realised that Su Mu was standing on the ground not too far away from the battlefield while looking at the two energy beings with a neutral expression.
As Meng Wuya further pondered, the two giant forms turned into one. The golden red and the ice blue blend mutually together, producing a beautiful sight. However, the form emitted a kind of unapproachable burning hot and cold energy attack; so strong that no one felt confident enough to resist.
'How nostalgic.' Su Mu thought, sighing.
"Retreat!" Hu Man shouted angrily, forcing his clansmen to fall back.
Even with his profound strength, Meng Wuya also fell back. He too had felt that he was unable to resist the energy attacks. While on his way, he picked Su Mu up as well, much to the latter's discomfort.
Suddenly, the dragon roared. The sound was so powerful that people could feel their ears splitting. Following the dragon, the phoenix made a resounding cry.
As they both continued to circle about in the sky, the more superstitious people considered this as a good omen.
After a long time, the dragon and phoenix both simultaneously flew back into the cave.
As the two forms reentered the cave, a loud bang could be heard. The earth started to tremble as a much larger burst of Yuan Qi fluctuation spread out from the cave. The energy this time was much more powerful than the time when the dragon and phoenix appeared. The whole mining area became bright, as though a ray of sunlight continued to engulf this area.
After a while, the ray of light dissipated gradually as the Yuan Qi fluctuations also calmed down. It was slowly returning to the previously tranquil environment.
Meng Wuya, who was floating in midair along with Su Mu, looked down upon the cave quietly. His eyes and cheeks shivered as he muttered, "Heaven's Cave Inheritance?"
His excitement overwhelmed him as he could not help but move forward while carrying Su Mu to check his suspicions.
Now, above the cave, there was a thin light barrier, about 33 meters from the surface, preventing anyone from looking inside the cave. Mysterious writings could be found on this light barrier. While Meng Wuya was busy with this, Su Mu was reading the mysterious writings on the light barrier.
'How could this be? This small place has a Heaven's Cave Inheritance?' Meng Wuya thought that he must be in a dream; after all, such matters were truly out of his expectations.
A Heaven's Cave Inheritance was formed from a profound cultivator at the time of his death. The place holds the opportunity to grasp all the valuable secrets and knowledge that the cultivator had experienced in his lifetime. Such an opportunity to study the cultivator's knowledge is indispensable. Moreover, the cave must have held some treasures that this cultivator had held onto at the time of his death. For example, Medicine Pills or Secret Treasures.
It can be said that Heaven's Cave Inheritance is simply buried treasure waiting to be taken. Whoever obtained the inheritance would one day have the opportunity to reach the same realm of cultivation as the cultivator who created this cave.
"Old Man, how long do you plan on keeping me here? Aren't you too excited for an opportunity that you have no right to participate in?" Su Mu said in a bored tone after he was done reading the writings on the light barrier.
Hearing his words, Meng Wuya remembered that Su Mu was still tagging along with him as they both landed on the ground.
"Do you have anything to say about this Inheritance Cave?" Meng Wuya asked, narrowing his eyes at Su Mu.
Su Mu just tilted his head with an innocent expression. "Senior Meng, what's an inheritance cave?"
At his words, Meng Wuya wasn't sure if he wanted to cough up a mouthful of blood or slap Su Mu to death. Was this little brat trying to make all this pass as a coincidence?
While this was going on, the cultivators from the Blood Battle Group tried to enter the Inheritance Cave, only to be repelled outside again and again.
Hu Man knitted his brows as he tried to think. Suddenly, he could hear multiple flap-flap sounds of clothing from afar.
The Blood Battle Group's complexions turned bitter and astringent while some of them muttered, "That was too fast…"
In a short while, five Elders from High Heaven Pavilion appeared under the leadership of Wei Xitong above the mining area. After a while, the Storm House's Immortal Ascension Realm experts also arrived under the leadership of House Master Xiao Ruohan.