Looking around, Longyuan Mountain was swarming with people, bustling with activity.
Around the outskirts of Longyuan Mountain, a considerable number of soldiers were stationed to prevent ordinary civilians from intruding.
Experts from various Sects, and even so Lone Wanderers who had hardly ever shown their faces in Jianghu, all appeared on this Longyuan Mountain.
On the nearby peaks, one could see so figures hovering in the air. Such individuals were unquestionably Top Sky Apex Strong.
The two of them settled in a crevice. Xu Ruoyan looked around at the crisscrossing cracks and the cave-like openings. "The terrain here is extrely complex," she observed. "It’s not easy to find the entrance to the Palace."
"You don’t have to worry about that," Ling Chen said, surveying the surrounding terrain. "A large number of Experts from both the righteous and evil paths have gathered here. Among them, there are many talents who are well-versed in Array Formation. Even if the entrance is hidden deep, it will eventually be found. And there should be quite a few entrances to this place. It only requires a bit of ti."
"Then, where do you think we should start?" Xu Ruoyan asked. She knew Ling Chen had so understanding of Qin Dunjia, so she thought he might be able to discern sothing about the entrance’s location.
"Right here," Ling Chen said, pointing to a large crack in front of them. From the depths of the crack, a cold air unique to the underground seeped out. He had specifically chosen this vicinity when deciding where to land.
Hearing this, Xu Ruoyan also looked forward. The crack in front of her was indeed deep and dark, without a glimr of light. Looking at many other entrances, each one was occupied by nurous warriors. Many people had already entered the depths of the crevices to start exploring.
"Let’s go," Ling Chen said. While she was still hesitating, he had already stepped into the crevice and was heading towards its depths.
After a slight hesitation, Xu Ruoyan followed.
Underneath the crevice, the air was very cold, and the passages stretched in all directions.
After descending for about several tens of ters, the surrounding rock walls began to grow damp.
DRIP! DRIP!
Water droplets fell from the top of the rock walls, hitting the ground and quickly soaking Ling Chen’s and Xu Ruoyan’s clothes.
"Be careful!" Ling Chen suddenly called out, grabbing Xu Ruoyan.
BOOM!
The cave passage in front of them suddenly collapsed. Pieces of rubble fell, blocking the way forward.
"That was close!" Xu Ruoyan exclaid, her pretty face paling slightly. If not for Ling Chen’s quick reaction, she probably would have been hit by those huge stones. Getting injured would have been a small matter, but being trapped would have been disastrous. "How did you know it was going to collapse?" she asked, looking at Ling Chen, her expression showing surprise. The collapse had been completely without warning; at least, she hadn’t detected anything.
"A bit due to ntal Power, and a bit out of intuition," Ling Chen explained. He could now sense any movent within a range of five hundred ters. Plus, his Sword Dao Realm was approaching the Clear Heart Sword level. Once he truly reached that level, he would be able to foresee fortune and misfortune. For now, he could still handle minor situations like this.
"So, which way should we go now?" Xu Ruoyan asked. The path ahead had been completely blocked. Continuing forward didn’t seem realistic.
"We can only go back first and choose another route," Ling Chen replied. He had a general understanding of the underground passage’s layout. There had to be more than just this entrance. Since this path was blocked, other nearby paths must be passable.
After returning to the previous fork, Ling Chen chose another cave passage and continued to go deeper.
The terrain beneath Longyuan Mountain was complex. Finding the entrance to the underground Palace required considerable patience.
After searching for about half a day, Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan finally reached a very deep part of the underground.
Before them was an underground lake. The water was shallow, roughly reaching Ling Chen’s chest. For Xu Ruoyan, however, the water level ca up to her neck, making movent quite inconvenient.
"The water is getting deeper," Ling Chen remarked, feeling an astonishing coldness creeping up from beneath, as if his body was about to freeze solid.
Luckily, they had both reached the Grand Master realm and were able to form a shield of True Qi around their bodies, repelling the lake water and ensuring their flexibility.
SHH! SHH! SHH! SHH!
Suddenly, faint, unusual sounds ca from the water.
With his keen sense of hearing, Ling Chen looked towards the direction of the sound as it grew closer. In the cold, gloomy water, a black shadow was swiftly and silently approaching them.
The black shadow had nurous dark legs. It was entirely black and as large as a python. However, it wasn’t a python, but a centipede.
"It’s an Iron-skinned Centipede!" Ling Chen’s expression tightened.
The Iron-skinned Centipede was infamous for its Poison. Its venomous spit could easily poison a Great Master Level Powerhouse. Of course, a Great Master Level Powerhouse wouldn’t be foolish enough to swallow the venom.
Moreover, the venom was highly corrosive. Even a divine weapon could be corroded and riddled with holes by it. A human body wouldn’t be able to withstand such corrosion at all.
Apart from its venom, the Iron-skinned Centipede also possessed formidable defenses.
Ling Chen hadn’t expected to find an Iron-skinned Centipede in this seemingly lifeless underground lake.
"Let’s go," Xu Ruoyan urged. She had also heard of the Iron-skinned Centipede’s reputation. This Exotic Beast, if they got entangled with it, would be extrely troubleso.
"I’m afraid it’s too late," Ling Chen frowned. They were underwater; even if they moved as fast as they could, they wouldn’t outrun the Iron-skinned Centipede. Using Light Skill to travel on the water’s surface wouldn’t get them far either. Moreover, it was pitch black underground, and moving too quickly could easily lead to collisions with rocks.
"It’s coming!" Xu Ruoyan cried out.
Before Ling Chen could think further, the Iron-skinned Centipede shot forward like a flying serpent, suddenly accelerating underwater.
A glint of determination flashed in his eyes. Ling Chen drew his Cloud-hidden Sword, plunged into the water, and swam towards the Iron-skinned Centipede.
When dealing with an underwater Exotic Beast, one absolutely couldn’t afford to stay on the surface. Otherwise, any attack entering the water would have its power greatly diminished, making it even harder to injure the creature.
Rash fool! Xu Ruoyan thought. Seeing Ling Chen charge forward instead of retreating, she gritted her teeth, dived into the water as well, and swam after him like a beautiful deep-sea rmaid.
The underwater resistance was significant. Ling Chen could now clearly see the Iron-skinned Centipede. Its entire body was protected by an iron-like shell, with only small gaps between the segnts. Those must be the creature’s weak points.
Without hesitating, Ling Chen thrust his sword forward. The sword qi parted the water as the blade accurately pierced a gap between the shell segnts.
SHINK!
The sword tip successfully pierced through, but it only penetrated a re fraction of an inch before getting stuck, unable to go any deeper.
What? Ling Chen was startled that his sword was stuck. How could even this spot be so hard?
"You blindly attack without even knowing where the Iron-skinned Centipede’s weakness lies," Xu Ruoyan’s voice suddenly ca from behind him. "You really are quite dense."
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