novelapdf Chapter 62 Underground Flame Cave
Chapter 62 Underground Flame Cave
After an incense stick had burned, the group finally returned to the cave entrance where they had just entered the mountain.
The burly man with the black beard still had a hint of joy on his face. He raised his hand and unleashed a powerful palm strike of spiritual energy, blasting away all the rubble blocking the cave entrance.
Gravel flew everywhere like raindrops, raising a cloud of dust.
But just as the smoke and dust had not yet dissipated, a sharp "whoosh" sound rang out, and a long sword suddenly pierced through the back of the burly man with the black beard.
The burly man with the black beard suddenly stiffened, his raised arm still hanging in mid-air.
Blood gushed from his mouth, trickling down the corner of his lips. He turned his head with difficulty, his eyes fixed on the person behind him, a hoarse, gurgling sound coming from his throat: "Why...why..."
Before he could finish speaking, the light in his eyes dimmed rapidly, and he collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud, completely lifeless.
The one who killed him was one of the two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators among the five, a man dressed in a blue robe.
He expressionlessly drew his longsword, wiped the blood off the body of the burly man with the black beard, then bent down and pulled off the bulging storage bag from the man's waist, casually hanging it on his own.
After doing all this, he stood up, looked at the corpse of the burly man with the black beard, and a cold, sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "Having obtained so many magical treasures, you still think about going back to be Cao Lu's dog? What a fool. We might as well divide them up and find a place to live a carefree life. Isn't that a hundred times better than having to be subservient to someone else?"
After saying that, he slowly turned around and his gaze fell on Mu Chunfeng, who had been standing at the end of the line.
His eyes held undisguised greed and contempt, as if he were looking at a lamb to the slaughter.
"You call yourself Master Mu? You really think you're something special? You're just a blind man in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Tsk tsk, today, you'll leave your life here too."
Before he finished speaking, the flying sword in his hand was already wrapped in a sharp wind and slashed straight towards Mu Chunfeng's head!
The other three cultivators, as if they had planned it together, simultaneously activated their magic power, unleashing various magical artifacts, ready to swarm and kill Mu Chunfeng.
Despite the spring breeze, Ke Mu remained standing still, neither flinching nor avoiding the scene.
As the flying sword was about to sever his neck, the blue-robed cultivator's sinister grin widened.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beside Mu Chunfeng. The Snow Demon raised his hand and grabbed the speeding flying sword firmly in his palm.
The blue-robed cultivator's expression changed, and he hurriedly activated his flying sword with all his might, but the flying sword in the Snow Demon's hand was as if it had been welded shut by iron clamps, and it did not move at all.
The blue-robed cultivator was somewhat alarmed by this scene. He hadn't expected that this person could subdue his magic weapon with just one hand. He suddenly remembered what Cao Lu had told them before they set off: that he couldn't quite see through Mu Chunfeng and hoped that they could find out some of his background on this trip.
However, they had already killed their leader for those magical treasures, and now that they had completely turned against each other, even if Mu Chunfeng really had some tricks up his sleeve, he had to see it through to the end.
"Pooh!"
He spat, feigning composure, and said coldly, "So what if he's just a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator? The four of us can't possibly lose to the two of you! You're all going to die here today!"
Before he could finish speaking, the magical artifacts of the other three had already come hurtling towards him.
Mu Chunfeng spoke calmly, his voice utterly indifferent: "Snow Demon, kill them."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Snow Demon's figure vanished from its spot and rushed straight towards the four of them.
The three magical artifacts flew past his afterimage almost without him noticing. Before the three cultivators could react, they were violently blasted away by the protective aura that suddenly erupted from the Snow Demon's body. They spun in the air and crashed into the stone wall, their aura instantly dimming.
The Snow Demon's magical power surged, and with a flick of his left hand, several ice spikes instantly condensed in front of him, carrying a biting chill, and shot straight toward the four people.
At the same time, a cold light flashed in his right palm, and a long spear, its entire body ice-blue and exuding a chilling aura, materialized. He followed the ice spike with lightning speed and charged forward.
Seeing the ice spikes coming, the four dared not be careless and hurriedly waved their magical weapons to block them. The clanging sounds of the ice spikes clashing were incessant, and they had no time to pay attention to the snow demon that was approaching.
When the Snow Demon arrived in front of them, the four cultivators tried to resist, but several screams rang out in succession. The Snow Demon raised and lowered its spear, piercing three of them through the chest one by one.
Just as the Snow Demon was about to make his move on the last blue-robed cultivator, the cultivator finally realized something—the Snow Demon was actually a Core Formation cultivator!
With a "thump," the blue-robed cultivator knelt down on the spot, begging for mercy from the Snow Demon. However, the Snow Demon ignored him and continued to carry out Mu Chunfeng's orders, sending the blue-robed cultivator to reincarnation with a single spear thrust.
All four Foundation Establishment cultivators perished.
After dealing with them, the Snow Demon flicked his wrist, and his spear vanished into countless ice crystals.
He raised his hand and grabbed all five storage bags and one spirit beast bag from the ground, then turned and returned to Mu Chunfeng's side.
Mu Chunfeng took the storage bag, ignored the corpses, raised his hand to cast a spell, and sealed the cave entrance again with rubble. He then turned and walked back towards the cave.
He was still pondering how to find an excuse to return to the cave. If he returned rashly, it would surely arouse the suspicion of the black-bearded big man and others. However, if he waited until he returned to Kui Xing Island before returning, it would take too much time.
Now these people are blinded by greed and killing each other, which just suits his wishes.
Before long, Mu Chunfeng returned to the interconnected stone hall and stood in the center of the hall.
At first glance, this place is empty and unremarkable, no different from other places.
But the real secret lies hidden in the ground beneath his feet.
On the circular stone ground beneath his feet, which was two zhang wide, were carved fine lines and patterns of flying birds and beasts, looking no different from ordinary decorative stone carvings.
Even if an ordinary Core Formation cultivator came to examine it carefully with their divine sense, they would not be able to detect anything unusual.
However, under the power of Mu Chunfeng's double pupils to see through illusions, beneath the stone surface lay a bottomless hollow space.
He bent down and touched the patterns on the stone surface, feeling the warm, rough texture.
After groping around for a moment, his finger finally stopped on a stone carving of a flying bird, about two fingers wide.
The stone fits perfectly with its surroundings, yet there is a very slight looseness.
He stood up and glanced at the Snow Demon. The Snow Demon immediately understood, conjured a spear in his hand again, reversed the spear shaft, and used the butt of the spear to stab the rock hard.
"Click—"
A crisp click sounded as the mechanism was activated.
Immediately following was a dull rumble accompanied by the sound of chains sliding, and the circular stone surface beneath their feet began to sink at an extremely slow speed.
"Heh, mechanical arts."
Mu Chunfeng chuckled softly as he and Xue Mo stood on the stone platform, which slowly descended.
The surrounding area was filled with dark rock walls, with only the faint blue light emanating from the Snow Demon illuminating the small area around it.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the stone platform finally landed on the ground.
A hole suddenly appeared before them, and at the same time, an extremely dense fire-attribute aura rushed out, followed by a surge of heat that scorched and distorted the air.
"It seems that this is where the secret of this cave lies."
Mu Chunfeng gestured for Xue Mo to lead the way, and the two slowly entered the cave and walked down the narrow passage.
The passageway grew increasingly hot, and the rocks beneath our feet began to scorch.
Not long after they walked, a scorching red light shone from the end of the passage.
The moment they stepped out of the narrow passage, a breathtaking view unfolded before them, revealing an endless underground world of lava.
The boundless crimson magma surged and boiled, with huge bubbles constantly rising from its depths, bursting with a dull "gurgling" sound.
A wave of sweltering heat shot up, turning the entire space a vibrant orange-red.
At this moment, they were standing on a rocky platform at the very edge of the lava lake.
Mu Chunfeng and Xue Mo immediately took flight, hovering in mid-air, and carefully examined the huge underground space.
He first flew up several dozen feet, then looked around at the space, which at first glance appeared to be at least several dozen miles wide.
But he soon noticed something was wrong—the environment here looked just like a volcanic crater.
The space they were in was wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, with the rocks on both sides constantly moving upwards.
However, the top above was not an empty opening, but was sealed shut by a thick layer of black rock, like a boulder blocking the crater.
Mu Chunfeng flew up for a while longer and looked closely. He saw that there were several tiny gaps at the junction of the uppermost rock layer and the crater wall. Moreover, none of the junctions had a smooth transition formed naturally. They were sharp and angular, as if they had been forcibly cut and pieced together!
Mu Chunfeng's pupils contracted sharply. Combining the route he took from entering the ancient cultivation cave to arriving at this underground space, a shocking conjecture exploded in his mind.
It turns out that the small island, which spanned several dozen miles, where he first landed and searched for the ancient cultivator's cave, was not a naturally formed island at all!
That's basically a giant pot lid!
It was moved here by someone with extraordinary abilities and placed on top of this volcano with perfect fit to cover up the secrets here!
The cave passage he had traveled through was merely a route from the inside of the island to its outer edge, and then through a hidden passage, he entered the hidden core of the volcano!
Upon reaching this conclusion, Mu Chunfeng couldn't help but gasp.
To move an entire island spanning tens of miles and place it on top of a lava lake—such a heaven-defying feat would be difficult even for a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. It would probably take even a Nascent Soul stage monster considerable effort to accomplish.
Since this place is worth the ancient cultivators' efforts, there must be some secret or treasure hidden here!
He suppressed the shock in his heart, composed himself, and quickly scanned his surroundings with his divine sense, while simultaneously activating his double pupils to peer into the depths of the magma.
After confirming that there was no sign of life or hidden formations or restrictions within a radius of several miles, he led the Snow Demon towards the center of the lava lake, wanting to explore this huge underground space.