Chapter 18

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The entrance to the underground pit was several dozen meters high. A large plane could easily enter it.

The steps that led underground were also abnormally wide. Each step was about three meters wide.

The entrance looked like it’d been prepared for a giant that was more than 20 meters tall.

Furthermore, the underground pit had appeared in front of the group without warning. The scene was quite shocking.

Even Wang Hongen, who’d been prepared for this, was momentarily dumbfounded. However, a look of elation soon appeared in his eyes.

He said in a hurry, “This must be a relic from an ancient civilization. Let’s go in and have a look.”

However, Xu Yin hesitated. “We don’t know if it’s dangerous inside or not. It’s too dangerous to enter the area recklessly.”

“Then let’s first scout the inside with a small unmanned drone.” Wang Hongen was sufficiently prepared. He took out a few palm-sized drones to investigate and scan the inside of the underground tunnel.

The drone was extremely fast, and the images and data it obtained could were sent back to him in real-time. The drone also had a program that made use of artificial intelligence to automate the entire process.

“Temperature of 24 degrees, normal air content, normal humidity, no discovery of substances that are harmful to humans, no abnormal energy radiation…”

The data collected by the unmanned drone showed that the environment was suitable for humans.

They could see the images obtained by the unmanned drones clearly on the screen.

The underground tunnel spanned about a dozen kilometers. The entire tunnel was very flat and clean, with no dangers along the way.

At the end of the tunnel was a magnificent palace done in a strange style. There was nothing in the palace except for a tall altar in the middle.

Xu Yin also heaved a sigh of relief. The interior of the relic was very simple. There was no danger.

She then became extremely excited. Every ancient relic had important value.

This discovery alone was enough to publish tens of research papers.

The group of students didn’t think that far ahead. They were all extremely excited. The underground palace in front of them had far exceeded their imaginations.

Young people are always filled to the brim with curiosity.

Even Yun Qingshang looked eager to explore.

Wang Hongen was very satisfied with the group’s reaction. He quelled his excitement and said in a deep voice, “There’s no danger. Let’s enter and have a look.”

With Wang Hongen’s approval, the impatient students went in front and charged into the underground pit.

Gao Xuan smiled as he followed behind Wang Hongen while keeping a suitable distance.

He didn’t know which parts of the underground palace were dangerous. However, it would be easy to deal with any danger if he stayed by Wang Hongen’s side.

Yun Qingshang naturally followed close behind Gao Xuan.

Wei Zhenzhen also wanted to charge into the palace to take part in the excitement, but she was more interested in Gao Xuan.

Compared to the mysterious underground palace, the unbelievably handsome Brother Gao Xuan was more attractive.

However, Wei Zhenzhen was too embarrassed to follow Gao Xuan by herself, so she dragged Xu Yin along with her.

Xu Yin was particularly interested in the underground palace, but she couldn’t come off as too desperate.

Anyway, the underground palace wouldn’t suddenly disappear, so she didn’t have to be too anxious.

Wang Hongen was very silent and didn’t speak along the way. There was a glimmer in his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Gao Xuan was very curious. Just what did Wang Hongen want to do?

The palace was empty. It was clear that the Heavenly Dragon Eye wasn’t here.

Gao Xuan wanted to snatch the item from Wang Hongen’s grasp. However, he didn’t know anything about the item and might not know how to use it even if he did snatch it.

Miracle Items were all strange objects. Their function couldn’t be deduced using normal logic.

It was just like the God Slaying Sword. A person wouldn’t be able to use it if they didn’t know about the God Slaying Sword’s curse.

Gao Xuan decided to wait a little longer.

No matter how scheming and experienced Wang Hongen was, he wouldn’t expect there to be someone waiting for him here.

As a little sparrow hiding behind Wang Hongen, Gao Xuan didn’t have to be too anxious.

Wang Hongen and the rest of the group walked for half an hour to reach the end of the dozen-kilometer-long underground tunnel.

The students had long arrived by the time they reached the palace. They placed lights at various locations and fully illuminated the palace.

The palace had been built with giant slabs of stone. The style of the palace was simple and primitive, yet magnificent.

The domed roof of the palace was 200 meters wide. A person felt especially minuscule when standing in the palace. The stone platform in the middle of the huge palace was carved out of a whole slab of stone.

Many images were carved all around the stone platform. These images had simple and crass lines, yet it was obvious that these images depicted battle scenes.

A bunch of giants wielding various weapons was doing battle with monsters of various shapes and sizes. The giants always obtained victory in the end.

Xu Yin was especially interested in these images. She recorded the images with her smartwatch while she lowered her head and researched them.

Wang Hongen walked halfway around the stone platform and arrived at an area with Xu Yin’s back facing him. He pressed the Dragon Tooth Key in his hand onto the platform and quickly recited a few strange-sounding curses.

He had researched the Dragon Tooth Key for nearly twenty years and had learned all there was to know about the key.

This simple incantation was a chant that was used to activate the sacrificial altar.

The tall platform was a platform that the ancient intelligent Dragon Clan had used to sacrifice their prisoners of war.

He would have to offer a sacrifice of flesh and blood if he wanted to obtain the treasures that had been left behind by the Dragon Clan, especially the flesh and blood of pure, young teenagers.

Wang Hongen had insisted on leading a team here, as he needed a group of young students.

After the Dragon Tooth Key achieved resonance with the sacrificial altar, the giant sacrificial altar rapidly sank into the ground.

The giant slab of stone rumbled loudly throughout the process, and the entire palace shook.

The sudden change shocked everyone present.

The students had looks of fear on their faces. They didn’t know how to react.

Xu Yin jumped in shock. They wouldn’t have a chance of survival if the palace collapsed.

The underground tunnel was a dozen kilometers long. It was too late for them to start running now.

Fortunately, the loud rumbles and trembles soon stopped. The tall platform had disappeared. All that was left where it had been was a deep, giant crater. It looked about tens of meters deep.

A group of people craned their necks to look at the deep crater. They wanted to see what exactly was going on.

Wang Hongen silently took out a notch of Dragon Soul Vine from his pocket, then lit it up with a lighter before throwing it on the ground.

The Dragon Soul Vine released a pungent aroma. The scent was like deep-fried chili. It was particularly intense.

The group had taken off their filtration masks a long time ago, as the air in the palace was clean and fresh.

The sudden spicy aroma caused the group to cough violently.

To the side, Gao Xuan could see everything clearly. This was Wang Hongen’s doing.

Xu Yin also saw what Wang Hongen was doing. She asked incredulously, “Cough cough, Professor Wang, what are you doing?”

“This is dogwood that was used to expel evil and pray for good fortune during ancient times. I saw that there was such a ritual recorded in the historical records and thus took it out to try it,” Wang Hongen answered nonchalantly. He was very calm and collected.

Xu Yin didn’t think too much about it, but she felt that it was a little rude for Wang Hongen to do this without saying anything beforehand.

However, Gao Xuan felt that something was off. The Six-Winged Heavenly Cicada in his mind had already extended its wings and cried loudly to remind him that a great danger was imminent.

Gao Xuan could still make it in time if he left now. However, he was unwilling to just leave like that.

He whispered to Yun Qingshang, “Take him down.”

Yun Qingshang agreed. She immediately activated her strength and charged toward Wang Hongen.

With the boost she got from the Crimson Heart, Yun Qingshang was confident that she could capture Wang Hongen within three moves, but she only needed one move if she wanted to kill him.

Even though Wang Hongen was Source Power Level Five, he clearly lacked battle experience.

Yun Qingshang was extremely fast. Her figure had only just flashed when she arrived in front of Wang Hongen.

Wang Hongen was immensely shocked. Not only was Yun Qingshang extraordinarily fast, but just her palm had a force that seemed capable of pierceing through any object.

Yun Qingshang’s body was pulsing with Source Power. The Source Power was thick and pure. It was even slightly more powerful than his.

If not for witnessing this personally, Wang Hongen wouldn’t have believed that Yun Qingshang was so powerful at such a young age. Wang Hongen didn’t have much battle experience and thus was a little flustered when faced with Yun Qingshang’s fierce attack.

The people around them were also extremely shocked. They didn’t know why Yun Qingshang was attacking Wang Hongen.

Xu Yin even shouted to stop her. “Stop it!”

Yun Qingshang didn’t care about what Xu Yin said. She only listened to Gao Xuan.

Wang Hongen was ultimately a man who could achieve great things. He quickly calmed down in the face of danger. He knew that he could no longer retreat, and immediately steadied his footsteps to form a crossed fighting stance.

He had been practicing boxing for many years and had become adept at using a defensive stance. Faced with Yun Qingshang’s palm, he naturally executed the many variations of the crossed fighting stance.

Wang Hongen found his stride. The boxing technique he utilized looked even more practiced.

Yun Qingshang was a little surprised. They would be locked in battle if she attacked like that. It would be hard to capture Wang Hongen within a short time.

She no longer cared to conceal her strength. The palm she thrust forward suddenly bent and changed direction like a snake, slipping through the gaps in Wang Hongen’s stance.

This snake-shaped palm technique was exquisite and mysterious. Wang Hongen could only look on helplessly as she attacked him. He had no way of avoiding it. The tip of Yun Qingshang’s fingers landed on his chest.

Yun Qingshang was afraid that she would kill Wang Hongen with the attack and only used half of her power. However, she immediately sensed that something was off. The area where her fingers had hit was thick and sturdy. It wasn’t the body of a human.

“He’s wearing armor.”

Yun Qingshang immediately bent her fingers to form a claw. Her five fingers were like hooks, and they mercilessly tore at Wang Hongen.

With a rip, shreds of Wang Hongen’s mountaineering outfit were torn off to reveal the green-gray armor underneath.

This kind of defensive armor could protect the wearer from a small-caliber pistol. Yun Qingshang’s palm attack hadn’t dealt him any damage.

Yun Qingshang wasn’t upset that her attack had failed. She continued with a string of attacks without hesitation.

Even though Wang Hongen had armor, his battle techniques paled in comparison to Yun Qingshang’s. All he could do was protect his vital points and constantly retreat.

Yun Qingshang’s attacks were as fast as lightning. She didn’t give Wang Hongen any room to breathe, and Wang Hongen became haggard from her attacks.

The students around them were dumfounded. They didn’t know why Yun Qingshang was attacking Wang Hongen.

Yun Qingshang’s fierce attacks scared them. No one dared to call out and stop her, much less step forward and help Wang Hongen.

Xu Yin saw that Wang Hongen was about to be beaten to death and clenched her teeth. She was about to step forward to help when Gao Xuan stopped her.

“Wang Hongen isn’t a good person.”

Xu Yin froze. “No matter what kind of man Wang Hongen is, you can’t just attack him on a whim!”

Xu Yin was about to break free from Gao Xuan’s grip when a humongous roar suddenly came from inside the deep crater.

The roar was like a bolt of lightning or the furious waves of the ocean. It was deep and masculine and pulsed with power. It made everyone present tremble.

Gao Xuan had preemptively sensed the danger and grabbed Wei Zhenzhen, who was by the side, with his other arm.

The six wings of the Six-Winged Heavenly Cicada flapped rapidly. The silent, high-frequency spiritual resonance formed a shapeless barrier that enveloped himself, Xu Yin, and Wei Zhenzhen.

The shapeless barrier rippled wherever the roar hit it and barely managed to stay intact.

Even Wei Zhenzhen, whose cultivation level was the lowest, was unscathed.

The rest of the people in the palace weren’t as fortunate. They bled from every orifice and died on the spot.