Chapter 145: Sure Enough, They Came Too

A teleportation array!

Fang Junyue was truly blessed with great fortune. He actually knew of a teleportation array—one that had been rejected and forbidden by two women.

Yet now, no one was here to stop him, and he had no other lingering concerns.

Only two problems remained. First, the other end of that teleportation array possessed formidable guardians. Although much of it should have been destroyed by predecessors, certainly not all of it was. Muri Daolang’s grandfather was living proof of this. However, with Lightning’s help, his situation shouldn't be too dire; at the very worst, he should be able to escape back to this side of the array.

The second problem was that the other end might not truly lead to the central area. It might lead to some other place in these mountains, or perhaps somewhere even further out in the surrounding desert.

A sharp gleam flickered in Fang Junyue’s eyes.

Should he go, or not?

After being subjected to that series of taunts by Lightning, Fang Junyue had truly experienced a sudden awakening. He no longer had the slightest interest in the opportunities hidden within these mountains. He couldn't use the Longevity-Delaying Grass and didn't need it; as for everything else, they were mere commodities that could be bought with spirit stones. Was there truly any need to pursue them so obsessively?

After pondering for a short while, Fang Junyue looked toward Lightning.

"Lightning, I'll give you one hour to rest. An hour from now, accompany me to a place."

Fang Junyue said with a serious expression.

"You haven't really discovered some teleportation array, have you?"

Lightning widened its eyes.

Fang Junyue smiled without a word.

……

An hour later, the man and the horse set off, heading straight toward the direction of that underground palace.

They did not turn toward the direction of Yang Xiaoman and the other. Firstly, five days had already passed, and they might no longer be in that area; secondly, searching for them would waste time, and his time was already tight enough; and thirdly, there was inherent danger after all. Returning to tell them would simply mean inviting them to come along or refusing. If they refused, a special notification would be pointless; if they agreed, it would only drag them into the mess as well.

Along the way, because cultivators were unable to cross those pitch-black mountains, they had clearly begun gathering and wandering about, while waging fierce battles to secure the dwindling opportunities.

Fang Junyue’s spiritual sense even caught sight of a few cultivators from the Peach Blossom Sword Sect. However, seeing that their situation was still relatively stable, he ignored them and flashed past.

Along the entire journey, he ignored all opportunities, avoided all disputes, and headed straight back in the direction he came from.

Nevertheless, two groups of demonic sect disciples still targeted him, attempting to seize his possessions. Hailing from the Jedi Sword Palace and the Myriad Savage Mountains respectively, they were all slain under Lightning's mighty display of power!

He continued his journey back.

It took a full three days before Fang Junyue finally reached the underground palace from earlier. On the surface, there were no traces of anyone else having been there.

When he reached the fifth level, Fang Junyue was dumbfounded.

The broken bricks and rubble he had deliberately used to cover the teleportation array had been swept away, and within the seven depressions of the array, seven top-grade spirit stones that had already turned ashen-white still remained.

Someone had gone in!

"Who is it? Other cultivators, or Daolang?"

Fang Junyue spoke the words aloud involuntarily.

"You'll know once we go in. Be careful and be ready to act at any moment!"

The white horse Lightning stood nearby, speaking in a tone that sounded disdainful yet carried a hint of care.

Fang Junyue nodded slightly. He first retrieved the seven dead spirit stones, then took out seven new ones. Clutching his sword tightly in his hand and activating his Golden Bell Cover barrier, he stepped onto the teleportation array together with the white horse Lightning.

Swish—

The seven spirit stones shot precisely into the apertures.

White light burst forth fiercely, and a buzzing sound arose. Just like when he first entered the bottomless light realm, a spinning world and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

This sensation lasted for only a few breaths. After his vision blurred, his surroundings had completely changed.

……

This was a circular hall measuring twenty to thirty feet across.

Fang Junyue stood at the very innermost part of the hall, which was also the location of the teleportation array's exit on this side. Within the hall, there were no fragmented walls or rubble of any kind; it seemed completely undamaged, empty, devoid of anyone else, and quiet to the extreme.

The lighting was not dim. Fist-sized luminous pearls were embedded in the walls, and though countless years had passed, they still emitted a soft radiance.

The air was filled with a certain musty smell of decay and dust, far from fresh.

"……The air circulation is very poor. Could this be a small enclosed space?"

Fang Junyue thought to himself, and his mind began to spin rapidly.

Seeing no enemies, Fang Junyue and Lightning relaxed their tense nerves temporarily.

His gaze turned toward the location of the main door ahead. It stood wide open, and at a glance, the outside seemed to be an even larger hall-like space.

Fang Junyue did not rush out immediately, using his spiritual sense to observe instead. At this look, a strange phenomenon occurred once more: his spiritual sense was actually tightly sealed within his physical body by some bizarre heavenly force, unable to extend outward, rendering him completely incapable of perceiving anything.

He tried several times in succession, but to no avail. Reaching for the storage pouch at his waist, he found that the items inside could still be accessed.

"Lightning, my spiritual sense cannot be projected outside my body to scout. How about you?"

Fang Junyue asked.

Lightning replied, "I can't sense anything either. However, we beast clans possess instinctive aura perception regarding flesh and blood. If that fellow is not too far from me, I will likewise be able to detect his presence, though if I haven't laid eyes on him, I won't know who it is."

Fang Junyue let out an "oh" of understanding, his heart relaxing slightly. At the very least, this meant he didn't have to worry about being ambushed.

"Did you feel that spatial fluctuation?"

Fang Junyue asked again.

"No, your luck has run out. I'm afraid we've gone to the wrong place!"

Lightning answered very directly, without the slightest bit of tact.

Hearing this, Fang Junyue’s face darkened slightly. He knew things wouldn't go that smoothly. But since they had already arrived, they might as well head forward and investigate; perhaps there would be some other unexpected discoveries.

The man and the horse walked forward.

……

Upon exiting the doorway, he discovered that the hall ahead was not as spacious as he had imagined. Only about twenty feet wide, it was long and profound, with the dark depths at the far end almost out of sight. Many of the luminous pearls on the walls here had been smashed to pieces.

On the ground, stone puppet-like objects lay scattered in disarray, with broken debris everywhere. Interspersed among them were weapons forged from black iron-like metal—spears, bows, and arrows of all kinds. Some had rotted away, while others were as good as new. They looked similar to mortal weapons, but Fang Junyue was almost certain they were definitely extraordinary items.

The sight before them also corroborated the speculation between him, Yang Xiaoman, and the Muri Daolang siblings.

Scanning with his eyes, not a single intact stone puppet remained, showing that the cultivators who had arrived earlier had already helped them destroy most of the obstacles.

Predecessors plant trees, descendants enjoy the shade. Their luck wasn't bad.

Swish, swish—

Fang Junyue maneuvered his Cloud-Soaring Technique, flying slowly above the shattered stone puppets. Spotting a bow and spear that were as good as new, he casually picked them up to study slowly when they returned; at the very worst, they should fetch a good price as crafting materials.

In this long, deep passageway, absolute silence reigned.

"There's someone ahead!"

Lightning suddenly transmitted its voice mentally to Fang Junyue, causing his footsteps to halt.

"It's that fellow who was at a stalemate with your senior brother and left later."

Lightning added.

Muri Daolang? He knew this guy wouldn't just give up.

A light flashed in Fang Junyue’s eyes.

"Daolang, is that you?"

Fang Junyue shouted loudly toward the distant darkness.

"Junyue? You bastard, you finally made it!"

Muri Daolang’s pleasantly surprised voice echoed from the darkness.

Fang Junyue burst into laughter and sped forward through the air.

"Don't come over!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out, Muri Daolang’s voice tinged with a stern tone!

"What is it?"

Fang Junyue’s heart tightened, thinking there was some terrifying danger ahead or that Muri Daolang had suffered some strange injury.

"You are the dignified genius prodigy of the righteous high sect, the Peach Blossom Sword Sect, once in ten thousand years, while I am a despicable and shameless demonic sect fiend. For the two of us to be fraternizing like this, what kind of decency is that? If word gets out, it will damage your reputation!"

Muri Daolang’s voice drifted from the darkness.

"Your grandfa—"

Fang Junyue’s face turned pitch black as he cursed aloud. What kind of people am I making friends with? Once again, he felt himself transforming into a clown!

Beside him, Lightning was laughing so hard its mouth was nearly twisted out of shape, especially since Muri Daolang’s voice carried three parts teasing banter, three parts feigned sighing, and four parts reluctance to look back at the past, delivered in an extremely bizarre tone.

"Stop messing around, it's just me and Lightning who came in!"

Fang Junyue shouted, continuing to dash forward with the white horse.

"Just you and Lightning came in?"

Muri Daolang’s voice grew even more joyful as he said, "Terrific! That's for the best; it spares both of us from feeling awkward. That senior brother of yours has an excessive sense of justice. In my view, he definitely harbors a deep grudge against someone in our demonic path."

From the darkness ahead, Muri Daolang’s figure emerged. He seemed to have sustained some injuries, walking with a slightly unsteady gait.

Before long, the two men and the horse converged.

Fang Junyue looked closely and saw that Muri Daolang had indeed suffered some injuries—burn wounds, it seemed, with the trousers at his thighs burned to tatters and his skin blackened. Other than that, nothing else was visible, and his spirits seemed quite good.

"How did you get hurt?"

"Outside the door on the other side, there are still guards after passing through."

Speaking of serious business, Muri Daolang turned serious and continued, "Fortunately I ran fast. However, after entering here, they didn't chase in. Give me a little time to recover, and I can fight again."

Fang Junyue nodded slightly, not in a rush to head outside just yet, and asked, "How long have you been in? Where is your younger sister?"

Muri Daolang replied, "About a day and a half. After we separated from you two, our days weren't easy. She sustained some injuries, so I took her to the outer perimeter of the return path to find a place to hide before coming over alone. What about you? What happened to you?"

After listening with a nod of understanding, Fang Junyue briefly recounted what had transpired.

Upon hearing the tale, Muri Daolang gave a hearty chuckle and said, "Let's forget about those messy matters. Since you and Lightning have also come, it's just right. Let's charge through together and see what kind of opportunities lie deep inside!"

Fang Junyue naturally had no objections.

……

At that moment, the two men and the horse were unaware that back at the underground palace on the other side, out in the wilderness, yet another group of people was unknowingly heading in this direction.