Shrouded Sky

Chapter 278 - The Power of Kings

In the middle of the grand canyon, the ancient tomb was like an abyss.

Only the corner of its city gate was exposed, and no one could yet estimate how vast and majestic it truly was. From within, endless ghostly soldiers and spectral horses charged outward, slaying them was like scooping the sea with a cup, never-ending.

The outstanding disciples of the great sacred grounds had already gone deep inside. Many disciples of other sects and great powers followed, cutting down the ghostly troops and forcing their way in.

Dong, dong, dong…

The war drums thundered like rolling skies, echoing from deep inside the underground palace. Ghostly troops surged out like black tides, wave after wave. Countless cultivators perished on the spot.

But for the sake of the Nine Secrets, none of the superpowers were willing to retreat. Masses of cultivators charged inside, brandishing their weapons, clashing with the spectral soldiers and steeds.

Soon, someone unleashed Departing Fire, burning through vast swathes of them. Entire groups of ghostly beings vanished into nothingness.

“Kill!”

Battle cries erupted everywhere. The fighting was brutal beyond measure. Before the underground palace, corpses piled up like mountains. The ghostly cavalry trampled many into bloody paste.

Only after an entire hour did the killing slowly subside. No one could count the dead. The gatefront was drenched in crimson; flesh and earth had merged into a muddy swamp, blood pooling into red pits, a horrific sight.

Finally, the city gate fell silent. Ghostly soldiers dwindled until only a few remained, no longer rushing outward. The surviving cultivators mostly had already entered within.

“Guys, should we still go inside?” one cultivator asked, pale and trembling.

More than a hundred people remained before the gate, their faces grim. Some female cultivators vomited; their strength was lacking, so they had stayed back until now.

“The ghostly troops are nearly gone. It should be safe now. We can enter.” another pale-faced cultivator said.

“This ancient tomb is far too terrifying. It isn’t something we should dare to enter. In the depths of the underground palace, stronger spirits are sure to appear.” someone else objected.

In the end, a small group chose to enter, but the majority remained cautious and wisely fled the canyon, returning to the surface.

Then, three figures descended from the sky, landing before the underground palace to gaze inside.

“Daoist Duan, are you going in?” Ji Ziyue asked.

“Wait a little longer,” Duan De replied calmly, showing no anxiety.

Ye Fan laughed. “You’re not afraid the Nine Secrets will be taken by others?”

“You’re not in a rush either, are you? Treasures like that can’t be forced. Even if they go first, it doesn’t mean they’ll obtain it.” Duan De remained steady.

“Buzz!”

Suddenly, the underground palace quaked violently. Its Yin aura grew heavier. Many cultivators cried out, followed by fresh battle cries.

Duan De’s expression changed. “I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The truly powerful things are only now appearing.”

Deep, bestial roars. Violent clashes. The depths of the underground palace became utter chaos. Miserable screams rang out in waves.

“Are you sure this is really the tomb of that ancient clan? Something feels off.” Ye Fan asked.

“It’s very wrong indeed. The sheer number of ghostly spirits, such beings need millions of years to form.” Duan De frowned.

After another half hour, the underground palace grew quiet again. The roars faded. Soon after, some cultivators stumbled out, disheveled, pale, and grievously wounded. Many bore terrible claw marks. Some had even lost entire arms.

“What happened inside? What did you encounter?” Duan De, wearing a kindly look, asked with concern.

“Don’t even mention it! That place is a den of ghosts, everywhere, fierce specters. The deeper you go, the stronger they become.”

“Whichever bastard discovered this tomb dug up Yellow Springs water! To hell with the Nine Secrets! I lost an arm for nothing!” a big man cursed bitterly, staggering away.

Duan De rubbed his nose, saying nothing.

In just half a quarter of an hour, many people rushed out of the underground palace, everyone discouraged, unwilling to risk their lives any further.

“That’s enough. Time for us to go in. If we wait longer, nothing will be left.” Duan De decided to act.

Ye Fan said, “I don’t wish to enter. This place is ominous. Likely there is no Nine Secrets at all.”

Ji Ziyue also stopped. If even her older brother couldn’t handle the beings inside, she had no chance. It seemed wiser to seek elders for help.

“In that case, I’ll seize the Nine Secrets myself.” Duan De’s figure blurred and vanished into the gate.

“Little Daoist, you should leave this place quickly.” Ji Ziyue thought for a moment, then flew out of the canyon into the distance.

The place was far too dangerous. Even trying to fish in troubled waters was useless, specters beyond number, no chance of gains. Ye Fan, too, refrained from acting rashly, waiting outside.

Suddenly, a large dog leapt down the canyon’s cliffs like a lone wolf, it was the Black Emperor.

Ye Fan had changed not only his appearance but also his very essence, even his scent. Not even this dog demon could recognize him by smell.

“Yo, Black Emperor… over here!”

The great black head jerked up, startled, baring its teeth.

“It’s me. Don’t draw attention, send thoughts by divine sense.” Ye Fan hadn’t expected it to appear. His quiet patience stirred again. With this beast’s skill at breaking ancient seals, entering the underground palace together gave them a fair chance.

The big black dog scowled. “I was looking for you! I followed you to the Ageless Chamber to save someone, and what did I get? Nothing! Not even a hair. All my effort wasted.”

“Did your conscience get eaten by a dog?”

“Screw you!” the dog nearly lunged.

Ye Fan sent his thought: “Calm down. That old monster clearly fused into your Divine Bell. How could you say you got nothing?”

“That fiend merged with my bell temporarily. I can’t refine it. No scripture to be gained.” the dog growled bitterly.

Ye Fan chuckled. “Simple. When Pang Bo returns, I’ll have him make you the sect’s guardian beast, then pass you supreme scriptures.”

The Black Emperor’s eyes narrowed. “Boy, believe it or not, I’ll shout that the Motherly Energy Source Root is here, and let the mob tear you apart!”

“Alright, alright, chill out, we’re on the same rope, both ants dangling. No point fighting. Let’s enter together and see what spoils we can reap.”

“You just want me to break the seals, don’t you?” The dog sneered knowingly.

Ye Fan’s face was calm. “This is a ghost nest. I’m letting you in to seize some benefits. There won’t be many seals.”

“If you want my help, just say it straight. Don’t make it sound like I owe you.” The dog bared its fangs.

“I wanted to ask, can you inscribe a formation that crosses the void?” Ye Fan asked seriously.

The Black Emperor puffed up proudly. “Who am I? Above and below heaven, none can compare. There isn’t a rune I can’t carve. With enough Origin essence, I could even send you to the Central Province.”

“Truly?” Ye Fan’s heart stirred.

“Of course.”

Ye Fan’s eyes lit up. “No need to waste words, just inscribe it now. Doesn’t have to span millions of miles. Even a thousand-mile void jump will serve as our escape route.”

“To carve such a thing, I need special materials. Got any Mystic Jade Platforms?” the dog rolled its eyes.

“I’ve collected some.” Ye Fan threw out a massive slab several meters long, black, yet faintly glimmering.

He had avoided entering earlier for another reason: the great sacred grounds coveted the Nine Secrets, and surely their grand elders lurked nearby, sealing off the exits. But now that the Black Emperor was here, if it carved void-jumping runes, Ye Fan would have a way to escape.

A quarter of an hour later, Ye Fan and the Black Emperor entered the underground palace, though not together. One led, the other followed. The dog even shrank into a two-foot-long mutt, avoiding recognition.

This subterranean world was vast. Palaces stretched endlessly, more like an ancient underground fortress than a single tomb.

Along the way, they passed many corpses. Now and then a ghostly soldier attacked, but Ye Fan dispatched them easily, this was nothing like facing thousands.

“Once inside, keep an eye out for a fat Daoist. No, he’s changed his appearance, looks like this…” Ye Fan sent the image.

“You mean, bite him at the right moment and steal his treasures?” The dog gave him a sideways look. “And you actually dare ask me to do something so low?”

“Honestly, I’d bite him myself if I could, but my teeth aren’t sharp like yours. That bastard will definitely sniff out a treasure. If you shadow him, we’ll profit for sure.”

The underground tomb was vast and ornate. Dragon-carved pillars, phoenix-etched walls, clearly constructed with great care. One palace after another unfolded before them.

“Meow!”

A piercing cat’s cry suddenly echoed. From a stone hall, a black streak shot out, striking at Ye Fan like lightning.

It was enormous, fifty to sixty meters long, claws a foot long. It looked like a giant black cat, but its body was covered in scales. Muscular and fierce, its fangs gleamed like daggers.

Ye Fan punched, shattering it. The creature dissolved into dense Yin aura, leaving behind only a pool of foul blood.

The Black Emperor’s face grew grim. “It bled? An incorporeal body producing blood… This place is truly vicious. It must have been sealed ten, even twenty thousand years.”

Deeper they went, several miles in, Ye Fan grew increasingly unsettled.

He saw a ghostly giant over ten meters tall, flesh already formed, but half its body had been hacked off, as if by the Grand Desolate Halberd.

Soon, he encountered dozens more ghostly soldiers with scales on their bodies. Around them lay shattered weapons of Dao Palace Realm. Their bodies bore burns, half-destroyed, as though struck by the Radiant Light Scripture.

Rumble, rumble…!

A river of yellow water roared through the palace, reeking with a nauseating stench.

Not far on, they found golden-armored ghostly soldiers, faces flushed, almost alive, though already slain.

Then came mountains of bones, massive snakes slithering among them, hideous and feral. Next, they discovered a blood lake, with strange creatures stirring within, though cowed by earlier battles and unwilling to attack.

They pressed on for over ten miles, until they reached the very end of the underground palace, and the scenery completely changed.

The Yin aura vanished. Ahead lay brilliance, radiant and holy.

There stood pavilions of jade and crystal, glittering with resplendent light. Divine radiance streamed everywhere.

Around it all, lush greenery spread, rare flowers and herbs thriving in this underground world.

“How strange, I thought this was a ghost nest, yet here lies a palace shining with holy light.” Ye Fan was astonished.

The buildings gleamed golden, yet were nearly transparent, like both divine jade and precious metal, dazzling to behold.

The Black Emperor jumped in fright. “Damn it, don’t tell me… This holy power… Are they trying to prove emperorship through a corpse?!”

“Ji Haoyue, the Leviathan Prince, Jiang Clan’s God-King Physique, and the disciples of the sacred grounds have already gone inside. Who knows what they’ll discover.” Ye Fan’s eyes gleamed.