919 Imminent Peril
This discovery was a pleasant surprise to w.a.n.g Zhong. Furthermore, even though the Pioneering Order was contained and covered by the red crystal, he could still feel a faint wave of energy emitting from the Pioneering Order. He could even see light beams circulating on the surface of the token. It was not a useless item that used up energy.
There was nothing else to say. Whether they would be able to escape from this place depended on this item.
w.a.n.g Zhong tried to use his blood to unseal the red crystal. As expected, although his bloodline was approved by this s.p.a.ce, it was not the key to unsealing the red crystal. When his blood dripped on the surface of the red crystal, there was no effect.
There might be other ways to unseal the crystal, but they did not have the time to slowly explore. w.a.n.g Zhong did not say anything else as he drew the Nebula Sword. He definitely had to obtain this item! All the divine Soul Power in his body was activated and flowed into the divine sword. The Nebula Sword shone with a profound light, and a starry sky that seemed to contain celestial powers started to form. He aggressively slashed the sword at the red crystal.
Boom!
There was a violent explosion, like the explosive sound of thunder on a clear day. In the distance, Tatamu was so shocked that it knelt on the ground. Even Simba was so scared that he fell and landed on his b.u.t.tocks.
The red crystal was extremely hard. w.a.n.g Zhong could feel his hand trembling from the ma.s.sive backlash of energy. Although he was simply testing out his sword, he had used almost all his energy, but only a fingernail-sized piece of the red crystal had been slashed off. This was a huge hit to w.a.n.g Zhong’s confidence.
Again!
This time, he was not just testing out his sword. The Nebula Sword started to s.h.i.+ne as multiple incomplete shadows appeared and millions of sword images formed. Wild Wind Sword Technique!
Sword images immediately filled their surroundings as a white light engulfed them. To an Octopus Sword Saint, w.a.n.g Zhong’s understanding of the sword was probably childish. However, in terms of attacking speed, he did not lose out to a Sword Saint. As he slashed the red crystal, it was evident that his explosive power and endurance gradually matched up to that of an Octopus Sword Saint.
The palm-sized red crystal was attacked by a rain of sword images and was whittled down piece by piece. This was a detailed and painstaking task that exhausted time and energy.
Luckily, the deeper w.a.n.g Zhong dug into the red crystal, the softer the structure of the crystal became. When he reached the innermost layer, he found out that it was made of liquid. Thus, he no longer had to whittle down the crystal. After over ten minutes of wildly attacking, he had finally cut through the crystal and obtained the token.
He used his Soul Power to explore the token and discovered that it was different from the modern Pioneering Orders he had used. There were distinct differences in the operating order and the transmission array contained within this token. However, w.a.n.g Zhong had no doubt that this was a Pioneering Order from the Holy Land as it was made out of the same material as the ones he had used before. Although the operating order was more complex, the transmission energy within the token was much more powerful than the Pioneering Orders he had used. Once his Soul Power touched the transmission order, he would immediately be sent out of the mysterious remains. Although he did not know where he would end up, looking at the powerful transmission energy in the token, w.a.n.g Zhong felt that he might even be transported back to the Holy Land.
That would be an unbelievable journey. They had taken a full three days to travel from the Holy Land to the Mizobudapi World even though they had flown at full speed. The distance they had traveled was much longer than they could imagine. If w.a.n.g Zhong used a modern Pioneering Order, it would be able to transport them through only 0.01% of the distance they had traveled. The modern Pioneering Order was said to be able to transport one to any place in the Fifth Dimension, but this was restricted to the small area of the Fifth Dimension that humans controlled.
He never expected that the pathway to escape this place would be lying in plain sight here for him to pick up. Furthermore, it was an ancient Pioneering Order. w.a.n.g Zhong sighed. The world was truly unpredictable.
Simba could not control the excitement on his face. During times like this, he completely forgot about how he constantly complained that w.a.n.g Zhong took too many risks. “Ha ha ha, we have entered this rear area and caused complete chaos here. Then, we will leave with great ease! We have leveled up! Lao w.a.n.g, do you think that our legacy will live on for centuries?”
“Me too, me too!” Tatamu proudly stood beside w.a.n.g Zhong. It craned its neck and puffed out its chest. “Tatamu has followed in the steps of the Great Master. Tatamu will be featured beside Master and will be remembered for centuries along with Lord Simba!”
“Go away. You are a captive! What does this have to do with you?” Evidently, Simba was very unhappy that this fellow had joined in.
“Why not!” Tatamu panicked. Being remembered for centuries would be the greatest achievement of the Polylegs. Thus, it was ready to go all out and shouted at Simba, “Tatamu was the one who activated the transmission array and allowed Master to enter this place!”
“Are you starting to rebel? Do you dare to talk back to me? Do you have too many legs?” Simba was furious and shot a terrifying gaze at Tatamu. He realized that Tatamu’s respect and flattery were all fake. “Lao w.a.n.g, let’s go. Don’t bring this fellow along!”
Tatamu was dejected. “Wait!” However, w.a.n.g Zhong did not pay any attention to them.
Salamander had been guarding the entrance of the treasure vault. The Octopus people troops had not caught up. Now that he controlled the Pioneering Order, they could leave at any time. Since they had time now, w.a.n.g Zhong turned to look at the Golden Stone Slab.
The Octopus people treasured the Golden Stone Slab immensely. Even the Holy Saint Teacher did not hesitate to go to war with a peak level-three civilization over the slab. w.a.n.g Zhong could not believe that it could only be used to summon Soul Guards.
He had experienced many hards.h.i.+ps along the way. He had to take away some profit from this journey!
He raised the Nebula Sword once again and started slas.h.i.+ng at the red crystal. He was helpless against the defensive capabilities of the red crystals. However, this time, his objective was bigger, and his mission was more difficult.
The red crystal that contained the stone slab was much larger than the red crystal that contained the Pioneering Order. However, there was one benefit to this. He did not need to completely expose the stone slab. He only had to cut away the outer surface of the crystal and slowly whittle down the crystal when he had the time. This was like a detailed carving, except that he was using a large sword to cut through the crystal. Although the crystal was much larger, it was much easier for w.a.n.g Zhong.
The Nebula Sword became much more active in this s.p.a.ce. Furthermore, w.a.n.g Zhong had leveled up. However, he still needed to achieve a deeper level of comprehension before he could advance to the Heavenly Soul Stage. w.a.n.g Zhong did not slack off in this aspect. It would definitely be harder for him to advance to the Heavenly Soul Stage as compared to Mu Zi, especially since he had three Soul Guards with him. Furthermore… Simba could be considered as a Soul Guard to a certain extent. However, he would only know the truth once he asked Uncle w.a.n.g and Aunt Shea. w.a.n.g Zhong suspected that Aunt Shea definitely knew something. After all, she was the person who had saved Scarlet.
The sword techniques of the Octopus people had their own unique qualities, but w.a.n.g Zhong did not belittle himself in terms of his own sword techniques. After all, he was only a Heroic Soul soldier and a rookie in the Holy Land. The Holy Land would definitely have combat techniques for Heavenly Soul Stage soldiers, but he had to return to the base first. When he thought about how he would go back very soon, his heart was lit aflame. Distance truly made the heart grow fonder. He wanted to see Scarlet, Grai, and the rest. This was his happiness in life!
It was much easier to cut through this red crystal. w.a.n.g Zhong used all his strength to hit the crystal with the sharp Nebula Sword. After just three or four minutes, a large hole had appeared in the 50-centimeter-wide crystal. Of course, if someone from the Sword Faction were to see this, they would definitely faint. Who would use the divine sword for such purposes?! Heinrich had been given the sword so that he could show off, but even he had abandoned the sword.
“Master, you can do this! Master, you can do this! Master, you can do this!” Tatamu constantly waved its handkerchief by the side and shouted with all its strength as if it was waving a flag and cheering its comrades on. This fellow had powerful learning abilities and could now speak simple human language. Of course, w.a.n.g Zhong suspected that it had done this on purpose. He even wondered whether it already mastered the human language. After all, even the Octopus people understood human language.
Simba constantly observed w.a.n.g Zhong’s progress. Then, he glanced at the pathway. He seemed anxious yet excited.
Suddenly, there was a sound from the other side of the pathway.
Boom!
A wave of heat exploded from the other end of the pathway. Salamander had attacked with flames. However, there was an explosion, and the wave of heat was extinguished. Before Salamander could even issue a warning, the pathway turned quiet.
They had encountered a powerful enemy. Tatamu’s expression changed, and it no longer dared to cheer its master on. Instead, it looked at w.a.n.g Zhong helplessly. On the other hand, Simba roared, “Lao w.a.n.g!”
w.a.n.g Zhong remained unmoved. The Nebula Sword in his hands grew even more powerful as he stabbed the sword several centimeters into the red crystal. He connected with Salamander’s soul consciousness and could clearly see the enemy that was rus.h.i.+ng over from the entrance of the pathway. Four Octopus people had appeared. They were all wearing golden battle armor or robes. Salamander had started to attack before they fully materialized, but his attack only delayed them for one or two seconds before he was immediately killed. As a result, w.a.n.g Zhong lost his connection with Salamander, and the vision stopped.
Out of the four Octopus people, three of them were Sword Saints, while the last one was a Warlock Saint. The Warlock Saint in the lead held a bright red crystal in his hand. It seemed to be some form of identification that was related to this place, reducing the suppression that this place had on Heavenly Souls. As a result, they were still at full strength, unlike Pievrov who had been reduced to a Semi-Heavenly Soul.
Even under normal circ.u.mstances, w.a.n.g Zhong would have been uncertain if he could defeat such high-leveled experts in a one-on-one battle. However, he did not give up and concentrated even harder. His soul and consciousness were fully focused on the broken red crystal in front of him. He even forgot about everything else in this instant.
Boom!
There was a loud explosion. The sword was very powerful and cut deep into the red crystal, almost completely breaking the entire red crystal. Only a few centimeters of the crystal remained intact.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoos.h.!.+
The enemies on the other side of the pathway had heard the explosion here. A terrifying pressure immediately filled the air. Did this human actually dare to fight back?!
The final strike! w.a.n.g Zhong took a deep breath and acc.u.mulated all his strength. All of his consciousness and spirit were concentrated into this attack.
Several shadows were traveling rapidly through the pathway. The Heavenly Souls exploded with terrifying power and traveled through the long pa.s.sageway in less than twenty seconds.
Cras.h.!.+ It was the sound of a sword slas.h.i.+ng against a crystal. It sounded like a clap of thunder. The ma.s.sive red crystal had been cut through, and the atmosphere grew chaotic.
The first shadow to appear was the Warlock Saint, who was carrying the red crystal in his hand. It was Sauron himself. He had received the secret signal that Tatamu had sent while he was discussing things with the royal family in the Imperial City. He had wanted to secretly return and deal with this situation, but the royal family saw through his plans. Evidently, they did not want him to quote a price only after he had solved this problem. Thus, the royal family quickly publicized this matter and started a manhunt in the Imperial City. This caused Sauron to be furious, but he could not do anything about this. If he was able to capture w.a.n.g Zhong, so would other people. The reward would belong to whoever captured the criminal. Sauron already had a generous reward in his hands, but the bounty had escaped. He even had to compete with other people for this bounty. This was simply…
Thus, he was boiling with rage and pursued w.a.n.g Zhong relentlessly. Along the way, he had even attacked and defeated two new Sword Saints who were in a similar distance as him in order to reduce compet.i.tion. However, he did not expect w.a.n.g Zhong to escape to the Sacred Mountain, the restricted area of the Octopus people that had a terrifying seal. Sauron could only look on helplessly as Pievrov, the Sword Saint who was in charge of guarding the area, chased after him. Sauron did not know what to do.
However, Pievrov did not come down. The royal family received this news and brought along the identification crystal that could open up the restricted area. Sauron anxiously caught up and joined the first wave of people to enter the restricted area. At first, eight people had come to this area, including three Warlock Saints and five Sword Saints. However, when they saw that the transmission array engraving had been activated, they split up into two groups. The other group was investigating the altar. After all, the altar was more important to the Octopus people. The altar was a sacred place where the corpses of their ancestors lay. They definitely could not allow any blasphemy at the altar. Sauron and three other Sword Saints had come to the treasure vault. The moment they saw the pa.s.sageway, they saw a familiar creature guarding it. One of the Sword Saints had killed the creature, and they rushed in, ready to attack.
Sauron was taken aback. At that moment, he was the fastest among all of them and was the first to rush into the treasure vault. However, the first thing he saw was the precious stone slab dropping from the red crystal on the wall and landing in the hands of that human. Then, the slab disappeared.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You’re asking for your own death!” There was boundless rage in Sauron’s heart. At the same time, he was secretly happy and heaved an internal sigh of relief. Although he had experienced many twists and turns, he was still the first person who had caught up. As long as he caught up, it would be easy for him to deal with this situation. This human had some tricks up his sleeve, but in front of him, these were no more than tricks!
A terrifying arcane energy had gathered at the tip of his finger. This place had been enclosed by the power of the Phoenix G.o.d’s carca.s.s. The human would not be able to escape through the sky or underground. Furthermore, the three Sword Saints beside him were his juniors who respected him immensely. He was not afraid that the human would escape. He would capture the human alive! He would definitely take back what he had almost lost!
But before the arcane cage had fully formed, the human started to emit a blinding white light. The aura in the area started to change as a ma.s.sive, terrifying pathway rapidly opened up.