Su Ming looked as calm as he usually was, but his level of vigilance had already reached its highest state. In fact, if it was not because he would feel incredibly regretful if he suddenly gave up after reaching this point, then he would have immediately left.
After all, this feeling of no one else but them noticing someone watching them from the back of a mysterious sealed region would make anyone"s skin crawl.
At that moment, when Tian Lin and the others stepped into the tunnel and began charging forward, the endless white threads in Crimson Flame Planet that originally could only be seen in the True Guards" projection of light, covering all the area around… had already shattered to bits and pieces.
Almost one fifth of the threads had been reduced to dust, and the rest of them showed signs of following the same fate. These signs, however, had not showed up after Su Ming and the others entered the place, but had begun at the instant all the seals around the ferocious beasts in Crimson Flame Planet shattered.
Even if Su Ming and the others had not entered the place, the white threads would have still slowly become weaker.
At the deepest parts of the seal was a region that was not too far away from Su Ming and the others. The black sword that had pierced through the skull of the skeleton which was immersed in the endless purplish black magma was trembling furiously at the moment.
It was as if the sword was about to be forced out. Dark light shone in the skeleton"s sockets, and even the other two swords that had pierced him were slowly becoming loose.
At the same time, signs of some flesh being restored showed up on his body, and threads of flesh and blood covered his skull, making it seem like the skeleton was coming back to life!
"I can sense… the presence of an Abyss Builder…"
Yet at the instant some flesh and blood had been restored, an endless amount of white threads suddenly appeared in the region where the skeleton was. These threads criss-crossed over, forming a net. One fifth of this net had disappeared and the remaining parts were slowly being dissolved, but they could still somewhat maintain their form. Clearly, the net formed by these endless white threads was the seal that was suppressing the alien race"s Duke of Crimson Flame.
The white net gathered swiftly and soundlessly around the skeleton from all directions. It then phased through his body, intersecting with the threads from the other side. A shudder ran through the skeleton, and the flesh and blood that had grown on his face turned into pieces of shredded flesh that were separated from his skull.
The white net repeated this process again. Once it phased through his body while intersecting with the other threads nine times in a row and not a single bit of flesh was left on the skeleton, the net slowly hid itself away.
However, the skeleton seemed to have already become used to this sort of matter. The sword in his skull was still trembling and slowly becoming loose, and the dark light in the skeleton"s sockets was gradually becoming stronger.
During all this, Su Ming and the others were traveling at an extreme speed in the external area of the region where the Duke of Crimson Flame was sealed. They ran through one of the holes within this area that was filled with an innumerable amount of densely packed holes which seemed like a beehive, outside the layers upon layers of seals that looked like membranes. However, before long, Tian Lin and the others in front of Su Ming were forced to stop.
A screen of light s.h.i.+ning white was right before them, blocking their path.
Sun Kun observed the screen of light for some time before saying in a low voice, "The seal here is much stronger than the previous one. I will need some time."
Su Ming was standing not too far. The bald crane was by his feet, and it was letting out a lazy yawn while looking at Sun Kun in disdain, thinking that if it was the one who took action, then the seal would be broken within an instant, but since Su Ming did not seem to want it to do anything, the bald crane remained happily idle.
However, as it laid by the side, it looked at the area, and that dazed look appeared on its face again.
"d.a.m.n it, why does it feel like I"ve come here before… No, I"ve been in some place similar…" The bald crane vigorously shook its head, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not remember too much.
Su Ming stood silently by the side while his heart and soul remained in a state of high alert. The closer he came to the depths of the seal, the stronger the feeling became. He cast his gaze around the area, with all his cultivation base circulating through his body. Su Ming also had his Atman gathered on the poisonous wasp at the cuff of his sleeve.
Soon, Sun Kun wiped off the sweat that had broken out on his forehead. As he formed a seal with his hands, he pointed at the screen of light, and a Feng Shui compa.s.s appeared on his right hand. The needle on the Feng Shui compa.s.s was spinning rapidly, but once every ten breaths, it would stop for a brief instant. Every single time it stopped, Sun Kun would swiftly lift his left hand and point at the screen of light, which was like the surface of water. Once Sun Kun"s finger landed on it, ripples would appear from the spot where his finger touched, then spread out.
When Sun Kun"s finger touched the screen of light the ninth time, the number of ripples on the screen of light increased. When they intersected, it was as if billowing waves had stirred up on the screen of light.
"Strike these nine spots at the same time with all your strength!" Sun Kun immediately said, but before Ye Shen Tong managed to attack, a glint appeared in Tian Lin"s eyes.
He lifted his right hand, and nine branches appeared on his right palm, growing rapidly. Those tree branches instantly touched the nine spots on the screen of light. As a m.u.f.fled boom rang in the air, the screen of light shattered. Tian Lin"s face turned pale for an instant. As he moved a few steps back, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked swiftly towards the tunnel that appeared after the screen of light shattered.
Sun Kun, Ye Shen Tong, and the old hunch-backed Long Li"s expressions also changed at the same time. Su Ming"s pupils shrank as well. As the screen of light shattered, an incomparably pure presence of a World Plane spread out from within.
"The presence of a World Plane! It"s really the power of a World Plane! It"s so dense… If I could just train here for several years, I"m confident that I"d be able to reach the middle stage of World Plane Realm!!" Long Li was visibly moved. As he took a step forward, the others also moved swiftly into the tunnel.
Su Ming was still the last to enter, but at the moment he stepped into the tunnel behind the shattered screen of light, even his breathing quickened slightly. The first thing he saw was that the walls of the tunnel had been formed from a deep blue stone. The physical strength coming from them far surpa.s.sed that of what he obtained at the surface of the planet.
In fact, there was simply no way to compare them. It was as if one was a faint, glimmering light, and the other was a bright moon.
"The power of the World Plane in this place is just what has escaped to the peripheral of the seal. The deeper we go, the thicker it"ll be. The six screens of light that form these seals aren"t something that we can usually break open. Right now, since the seals on the surface have shattered, this place also fell into a state of collapse, weakening a lot. That"s why we obtained this chance.
"That"s why… if we stay here and not move forward, we will regret it," Tian Lin stated flatly. As his voice reverberated against the stone walls, he was the first to move deeper into the tunnel. As his back was turned towards the group, no one saw the strange light flickering in his eyes at that moment. Besides excitement, there was both antic.i.p.ation and madness in his expression.
Long Li sucked in a deep breath of the power of the World Plane in the place. A resolute expression appeared on his face, and he charged deeper into the tunnel. As for Sun Kun and Ye Shen Tong, they exchanged glances with each other, then chased after the other two.
Su Ming had been silent all along the way. At that moment, he had his right hand pressed against the stone wall, and only when the cycle of withering and becoming full repeated itself several times on his arm did he lift his hand. However, the increase in his physical strength during this short amount of time was already comparable to him absorbing the blue stones on the surface for several months.
"Fortune comes to those who take risks… it"s worth it!" A glint appeared in Su Ming"s eyes, and he charged forward. However, he did not relax his guard in the slightest. He became only more alert as he followed the others.
While the group charged through the tunnel, Su Ming felt gooseb.u.mps suddenly raise on his skin. A strong sense of danger swiftly filled his heart, and piercing sounds that were connected with each other came at them from behind.
Su Ming grabbed the bald crane without any hesitation and turned into a long arc, then activated his full speed without holding anything back, catching up to the four people in front with one single loud whoos.h.i.+ng sound.
"There"s an anomaly at the back!" he immediately shouted. He did not stop, but instead went even faster. At that moment, the other people also sensed what had happened, and their expressions changed drastically. As the piercing whistles grew louder… numerous red threads showed up behind them!
"Why are there so many?!"
Ye Shen Tong felt his skin crawl. With a roar, he took a step and charged madly forward. As the other people"s expressions changed as well, they too swiftly activated their full speed.
However, this was a tunnel. There were no paths to veer to the side. The only directions available for them was forward and backward. At that moment, there were too many red threads behind them, so once they caught up to any one of them, they would definitely die.
They could only move forward!
In this moment of crisis, the five people no longer bothered preserving their speed, and their levels could be immediately seen clearly. The fastest among them was not Tian Lin, but Long Li. Only an afterimage could be seen of him. The second was Tian Lin. Since his Nascent Divinity had changed places with his physical body, he was no longer held back by the limitations of his physical body, and he was only slightly slower than Long Li as he charged forward.
The third was not Ye Shen Tong or Sun Kun, but Su Ming!
Su Ming"s area of expertise had always been speed. As he blasted forward at full strength, even Ye Shen Tong and Sun Kun found it difficult to surpa.s.s him. However, he could only surpa.s.s them because this was a tunnel and this was a short distance run. If they were in the world outside, then Su Ming would gradually slow down. He would not be able to maintain his speed for long, like those who had truly become World Paragons.
As the ground pa.s.sed beneath them, they instantly widened the distance between them and the large amount of red threads. The piercing whistles by their ears became much fainter, but the sense of danger still lingered in their minds.
After a moment, Long Li suddenly let out a m.u.f.fled groan from the front. His body tumbled backwards instantly, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Tian Lin"s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and his expression turned incredibly sour.
Another screen of light appeared before them. There were ripples s.h.i.+ning on it at that moment, a telling sign that Long Li had tried to use his robust power to break through, but had been bounced back. This alone was a telling sign that the third screen of light was much stronger than the previous two.
With a pale face, Sun Kun cast a glance at the screen of light and immediately said in a sharp voice, "I"ll need an hour."
Tian Lin, a serious expression on his face, swept his gaze past Su Ming, then shouted fiercely, "There"s no need to open the screen of light an hour later, because all of us would be dead. My fellow Daoists, let"s all attack at the same time and hold nothing back! This is a matter of life and death!"