Chapter 852 Hidden Dragon Land
“Ah? Well, you’re right.” Chen Changqing’s mouth quivered.
They continued to fly forward. Soon, they arrived at a plain.
“This is called the Ancient Mine Plain.”
Dong Chen continued, “Surrounded by mountains, the area within 100 miles belongs to the Beast Mountain. Look at the numerous deep pits below. They are the entrances to the Ancient Mine. Inside each pit, there’s an energy s.h.i.+eld. Different entrances will lead us to different exits. Let me put it this way. Just like two trees, both the entrances and the exits, in large quant.i.ties, are like roots, but there’s a spatial channel in between. However, the Ancient Mine that connects Kun Xu World is in a plain, where we call the Hidden Dragon Land. It means that there are hidden talents in the Ancient Mine. Be careful.
“The Ancient Mine connected to the five worldlets in Hua nation is called the Southern Heaven Region. We have no idea how many regions there are in the Ancient Mine, but the area inside it is quite large. The Northernmost Sea is hidden in the Ancient Mine. The saying ‘There’s a fish named Kun in the Northernmost Sea’ means that there are some formidable beings in the Northernmost Sea.
“Don’t think that those at the Heaven Peak Stage won’t die. That’s genuine in those worldlets and the secular martial arts world. In the Ancient Mine, those at the Heaven Peak Stage will die too. At present, I know that five people at this stage have died in the Ancient Mine. Look at you; one has recently entered the Heaven Peak Stage, and the other two are merely at the G.o.d Realm Peak-stage.”
After saying that, Dong Chen took the lead to fly down.
“Uncle Dong, you’re right.” Chen Changqing echoed his words.
However, Mu Xue just ignored him. The Grand Elder of the Heavenly Knights Sect was powerful, almost the same as her father. Yet what did it have to do with her?
“My master is devilishly strong, and I, Mu Xue, am not afraid of anyone. This time, in the Ancient Mine, I’ll turn the world upside down with my master!” Mu Xue thought.
As for Zhang Han, he didn’t say anything.
Dong Chen was a little depressed. He shot a glance at Chen Changqing and murmured in his heart, “You’re promising and worthy to be taught.”
Among these three people, only Chen Changqing showed him some respect. As for the rest, their morality was getting worse day by day.
Dong Chen used to be respected everywhere he went. Nonetheless, when he went to Zhang Han’s place, everything changed.
Nevertheless, Zhang Han did have the capital to be arrogant since he was such a powerful being. Dong Chen was loath to see his disciple share the same manner with him.
“It’s true that when the master behaves wrongly, the disciple will do the same!” he thought.
“The Third Elder brought people to the Ancient Mine a week ago, but they haven’t come out yet, so only the four of us come here this time. My main purpose is to familiarize you with the environment of the Ancient Mine. As for resources…” Dong Chen glanced at Zhang Han and added, “Don’t reach for what is beyond your grasp. There are not many resources in the safe area, and how many resources you can obtain depends on your luck. I’ll tell you all the dangerous places ahead. You have to follow my orders throughout this journey. If any of you dares to act on your own, don’t think about entering the Ancient Mine again. Of course, I am not worried about Changqing.”
“Eh?”
Mu Xue widened her eyes.
“What do you mean by that last sentence?
“Are you saying that my master and I are unreliable?
“Hmph!
“It’s unreasonable!” Mu Xue complained in her heart.
She snorted and said, “I’ll listen to my master.”
Dong Chen’s mouth moved when he saw how obedient she was, yet he said nothing in the end.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Ancient Mine, they found that the pit was rather large, with a circ.u.mference of 100 meters. It bent down and looked like a nest of ants from the sky.
“I don’t know when the Ancient Mine began to exist. Anyway, as far as I know, it has existed for a long time. It’s dark inside, and it’s always been gray. You’ll know when you go in later. As for the dangers inside, they’re divided into three kinds, with the first kind being the environment. Up to now, the Northernmost Sea is recognized as the most dangerous area. The sea area in the south is called the Boundless Sea. It’s extremely dangerous and is a forbidden area. No one knows how vast this sea area is. The land area of the continent is several times larger than that of the secular world. The Hidden Dragon Land we’re in alone is as big as half the Hua nation.
“Let’s go in first. It’s your first visit to the Ancient Mine. No matter how much I say, you won’t have a good understanding unless you see it with your own eyes.”
Dong Chen took the lead to jump into the Ancient Mine and fly down. He felt that it was tens of thousands of meters deep. Finally, in the pitch-dark pit, they saw a blue light curtain flas.h.i.+ng ahead.
“This is the spatial channel. It’s very stable. We can go down there, but the fierce beasts and martial artists in the Ancient Mine can’t go up.”
Dong Chen shook his head slightly.
It was reasonable to say that the cultivators from those worldlets were like bandits. They could go down, but the other party couldn’t come out.
However, apart from the rich Spiritual Qi, some resources in those worldlets had been consumed a long time ago. If one wanted to improve his strength, he could do nothing but go into the Ancient Mine.
“The fierce beasts hate us outsiders and like to devour martial artists at the same time. We need to be wary of them. By the way, there are many martial artists coming from each city, and their higher-ups rarely appear. Some disciples in the G.o.d Realm and even Grand Masters will fight with martial artists from those worldlets. After years of development, the periphery of the Ancient Mine seems to develop into a battlefield. We need resources, and they guard resources. I don’t know what’s going on here anyway. Although the City Lords scarcely show up, they’ll soon appear when powerful people on our side wantonly slaughter their people. There are no specific rules except for an unwritten rule—experts can’t kill at will. Of course, if a martial artist like Changqing, who is almost invincible in the G.o.d Realm, kills martial artists at the same level from the other side, it’s likely that their higher-ups will come to kill him. Anything is possible because there’s no reason to talk about in the Ancient Mine.”
Dong Chen sighed. He recalled the scene when he first went into the Ancient Mine. It was still fresh in his memory.
“Let’s go.”
He was the first to enter the light curtain, followed by Zhang Han and the other two.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
It was as if the surroundings had turned into a world of darkness. No light could be seen, and nothing could be seen. The only thing they could feel was the partners around.
After about a second, colors flashed before their eyes. What greeted their eyes was an endless prairie with waist-high gra.s.s. Towering mountain ranges could be seen in the far west, and to the north, a broad forest was visible. As for the east and south, there was no edge as far as the eye could see.
“Our position is west by north of the Hidden Dragon Land. There are dangers on the prairie, such as bottomless pits, in which some kind of fierce beast may live. The most difficult to deal with must be the prairie wolves, which come in packs but may be encountered in the inner circle. There are untold fierce beasts in the northern forest, like the Beast Mountain in Kun Xu World. The western mountains are even more terrifying, with a pack of fierce beasts of high fighting power. Mountains and forests are all part of the Hidden Dragon Land. As for the safe area I’m talking about, it’s a city in the upper part of the Hidden Dragon Land, which is called the Dragon Scaly City. A hundred miles south of the city is the safe zone.”
Dong Chen looked around and introduced, “The Dragon Scale City is the outermost area where the Dark Warriors of the Hidden Dragon Land live. It’s also the closest city to the safe zone of our foreign martial artists. Si Nan, the City Lord, has dragon scales on him and is invincible in defense. He’s a formidable being whose strength has transcended the Heaven Peak Stage. About 100 miles north of the city, about 300 miles apart, there are two cities on both sides. The one in the east is the White Lotus City. It’s said that the City Lord owns a white lotus—a precious treasure. The one in the west is Lingxi City. The City Lord has a fierce beast called Lingxi, so he named the city after it.
“Of course, we named them this way, because our language is different from theirs and we don’t understand it.
“The area we are in is not a safe zone. Now, follow me south. Don’t look at the mountains and forests in the distance. In the safe zone and in the plain, there are also many lakes, mountains, and forests, which are on a smaller scale.
“Follow me.”
Dong Chen took the lead to go south.
“I’ll take you to take a look at the Dragon Scale City first. Of course, we have to watch it from a distance. When we get closer, the mighty City Lord will find us. The City Lords in the Ancient Mine are not peaceable. They’ll resort to killing when they’re unhappy. Therefore, all the martial artists from those worldlets have to run away when meeting them.”
“Then how can we recognize which one is the City Lord?” asked Chen Changqing.
“We can recognize them through their auras. The martial artists in the Ancient Mine don’t hide their auras. We can detect the auras of martial artists at any level. Besides, don’t forget that our soul sense can detect them as well,” Dong Chen replied.
“How can we tell where we are since the sky is always so grey here?” Chen Changqing asked again.
“We can only do it based on our experience. We have a map of this place in our hands.” Dong Chen took out three pieces of paper and handed them to the three of them respectively. “Put them away first. Go back and have a good look.”
“Oh, okay.” Chen Changqing thought for a moment and asked, “How can we distinguish the Dark Warriors from our martial artists? We can’t just say h.e.l.lo when we meet, can we?”
Chen Changqing imagined the scene. After the two sides met, they asked before saying anything else, “Hey, where are you from?”
If that was the case, it would probably be considerably chaotic.
“Ha.”
Dong Chen laughed out loud and said, “The reason we call them the Dark Warriors, oh no, the address comes down from ancient times because their bodies tend to be darker. They are dark, not black like the black ones. Their teeth are black, too. Their eyes, in particular, make them look weird because only the pupils are white and the others are black. You can tell the difference from the physical appearance.”
“I see.” Chen Changqing felt that it had broadened his horizons. He thought for a moment and raised another question. “Who’s stronger, the Dark Warriors or the martial artists on our side? I mean, at the same level. Or is it that, like the secular martial artists, their strength is judged by their cultivation and secret skills?”
“They value strength. Their moves are basically martial arts moves, but the energy is considerably strong, not weaker than that of secret skills. Relatively speaking, their martial artists are stronger because they have a chance to break through to the Heaven Peak Stage here, but they can’t make it in those worldlets. There are many opportunities here, just like the northern forests and the western mountains, where there are loads of divine objects and holy objects. Unfortunately, we cannot occupy them and can only move closer to them inch by inch from the periphery.”
Dong Chen said with emotion, “Not only us, but the Dark Warriors also fight for those resources. Han and Mu Xue should know that there’s a huge crystal stone vein under each city. The resources are not scarce, but we can’t get them. It’s said that in every city, there are some spiritual herbs that are superior to G.o.d-level treasures in the center of the crystal stone vein.”
“Herbs that have surpa.s.sed the G.o.d level?”
Chen Changqing gasped.
Mu Xue gasped too, for she couldn’t imagine it.