The fortunate thing was, although his hand had pressed the button, it seemed the button had grown rusty from not being used for so long. It got stuck and didn’t immediately activate.

“Get back!” Yue Xiaoqian pulled on Long Chen’s other hand, pulling him away. Long Chen was embarrassed, not knowing what he had done.

“I sensed what is inside just now. Perhaps we won’t be able to obtain the peak grade Heavenly Source Extract!” said Yue Xiaoqian. “Close your eyes. I’ll transmit what I sensed.”

Yue Xiaoqian pressed two fingers on Long Chen’s forehead. A scene appeared in his mind. At first, it was indistinct, but it gradually became clearer.

He saw a long and narrow passage that was filled completely with black insects. Each insect was five feet long and completely black. They had eight legs and two hooks at the front that shone with a cold light.

“Corpse Devouring Insects?! How could they grow this big?” Long Chen might not be claustrophobic, but seeing this many insects filling the passage, he felt a chill.

The entire passage was overflowing with them all the way to the end. In fact, it was impossible to see the end. At the same time as he was shocked by this scene, he was also shocked by Yue Xiaoqian’s abilities. This stone gate and the wall had formations that made it so even his powerful soul energy was unable to sense what was beyond it.

“These are not the outside world’s ordinary Corpse Devouring Insects. They are Gadfly-Ants, an ancient variant of the Corpse Devouring Insects. They live underground all their lives, absorbing the Death Qi in the air as food. Without corpses to eat, they will enter a hibernation state and still not die. In theory, they can live forever. They don’t have ranks as they are not classified as Magical Beasts. They are simply one of the world’s strange creatures. The poison on their hooks is extremely corrosive, and even seventh rank Magical Beasts, if they aren’t heavily armored beasts, would not be able to stop the corrosion. This channel is almost thirty miles long and three hundred miles high. I don’t know if it’s because they were given too much time that they reproduced, but the entire channel is filled with them. If we opened the door, we would have been drowned by them,” said Yue Xiaoqian.

These Gadfly-Ant Corpse Devouring Insects were too difficult to deal with. Even in the ancient era, they were extremely famous for their terror. They were the nightmare of countless cultivators, as no one wanted to provoke them.

Long Chen couldn’t help sighing. If only he had a completely sealed armor like Guo Ran’s. According to Yue Xiaoqian, the offensive power of these insects far surpassed sixth rank Magical Beasts. A single sting could be fatal.

“Then how about this: I’ll think of some way to draw them away,” said Long Chen.

“How?”

“I’ll dig a hole here and then open the door, bringing the insect army in. Then you go in and take the treasure,” said Long Chen. He could only go with such a clumsy method.

If the Earth Flame was not in slumber, he could use it to attack. These insects definitely wouldn’t be able to defend against that. But Huo Long was still digesting the immense energy from the other Earth Flame. As for thunderforce, it wasn’t very effective against these insects.

“Will that really work? These insects are extremely fast. They can fly,” said Yue Xiaoqian.

“Don’t worry, I’m confident in my speed.” Long Chen looked around. Suddenly, he flew on top of the huge statue’s head. He was looking around for a good spot for Yue Xiaoqian to hide.

But once he was on the statue’s head, he saw a good recess in it. That recess was the notch in the helmet. If she hid here, then unless the insects flew above the statue’s head, they wouldn’t be able to sense her. It was an excellent hiding spot.

“Xiaoqian, I’ll do my best to draw out all the insects while you hide here.”

“Are you sure this will work? I feel like it’s very risky,” said Yue Xiaoqian. Those insects were just too powerful.

Long Chen smiled. Yue Xiaoqian was still the same Yue Xiaoqian. She was incredibly learned, but her actual experience was pitifully low. She was still a novice.

Since he had already thought things through, Long Chen didn’t hesitate any longer. He spread his divine sense, and at the entrance, he slashed his sword above.

BOOM! Sword Qi destroyed the roof. The outside world was revealed.

Although the Xiao tribe had marked this place, they hadn’t come here. In other words, this was an abandoned trial.

It was fortunate they hadn’t come here, as if they had, they would find that this wasn’t a trial, but a deathtrap. Long Chen slashed his sword several times, creating a large opening that made it convenient for them if they needed to run. The channel needed to be wide enough so that even if the mass of insects appeared, they could still get out.

He had just prepared this when he suddenly frowned. He sensed something.

He sent a message to Yue Xiaoqian, telling her not to move and to just wait there. He flew above ground and stealthily looked around. Sensing the direction, he rushed off.

This feeling was strange and was also familiar to him. He thought he was sensing someone he was friends with. But when he crossed a mountain, he saw a figure that made him stunned.

“Huang Junmo!”

This person was precisely the Bloodkill Hall’s number one expert. He was looking at a map in his hand, looking for something.

“Hehe, I’ve got it!” Long Chen stealthily crept back, spreading some medicinal powders to change the look of the ground. It quickly began to change color, and according to a normal inspection, it would look like it had been thousands of years since anyone had come here.

He then took out Flying Rainbow. A ray of light soared into the sky and then returned.

He had just been about to add some more elements into the mixture when he sensed Huang Junmo moving. Although he couldn’t see him, that familiar feeling was growing closer.

That feeling came from Huang Junmo’s sword. Back when he had stabbed Long Chen, his sword had been dyed by his blood. For some unknown reason, he was extremely sensitive to his own blood. He had actually been able to sense Huang Junmo because of it.

This was destiny. How could Long Chen let this opportunity slip by? He shut all his pores and once more scattered medicinal powders, erasing the leftover odor in the air.

He couldn’t leave behind any clues. A peak assassin like Huang Junmo would immediately see through the slightest mistake.

After completing this, Long Chen returned to the underground plaza. On the way, he continuously sprinkled medicinal powders, concealing his and Yue Xiaoqian’s auras.

“Xiaoqian, close your pores. Don’t release the slightest aura. Follow my lead; we’ve run into a precious person.”

He repeatedly warned her to keep herself completely concealed. Then he asked the Eastern Wasteland Bell, “Senior, help me out. It’s just a little thing.”

“What is it?”

“Hehe, it really is just an insignificant matter for you.”

…

Huang Junmo flew underground. Just now, he had seen a flicker of light coming from here. Although he hadn’t seen it clearly, he had still flown over.

As soon as he arrived, he had seen the underground cave and carefully entered. He constantly looked around, also paying attention to the footprints on the ground.

Long Chen laughed sinisterly. It was fortunate he had come prepared and hidden all the markings. Even if there were signs that people had come, they seemed extremely old. There were no clues.

“The Immortal Dao is transcendental, while all living things have mundane troubles; destiny exists in the mortal world, and priceless treasures belong only to the fated.”

Huang Junmo had just entered the plaza when an ancient voice reverberated throughout the room. It possessed a shocking weight to it, as if each word was the ringing of a monastery temple’s bell, shaking people’s hearts. It was like the teachings of gods, something no one would dare to disrespect.

These words came from Long Chen’s mouth. However, the Eastern Wasteland Bell was adding some special effects. Even Yue Xiaoqian was stunned. She didn’t understand what was going on. The two of them were hiding in the recess at the head of the statue.

Long Chen was enveloped by some sort of holy light, making him look like a god. He was reciting some thought-provoking and profound Buddhist allegories.

“Little fellow, you really are talented. Such nonsense words are spouted from your mouth without the slightest hesitation.” Even the Eastern Wasteland Bell had to admire this ability of his.

“Hehe, it’s all thanks to senior’s cooperation. Work with me until the end,” laughed Long Chen.

“Who’s there?!” shouted Huang Junmo, his sword already in his hand.

“This lord is the Great Spirit God’s subordinate, the seventh divine general, Huyou Niyadenidaye[1]!” said Long Chen.

Huang Junmo’s heart shook. He stared at the huge statue, not saying a word. He was somewhat unable to believe that this statue in front of him was alive.

But after his initial disbelief, he heard the divine charm and Immortal Dao within that voice. There was no way a human could make such a sound.

“Disciple is Huang Junmo. Greetings, senior Huyou… Niyadenidaye. Please forgive me for my previous offense.” Huang Junmo bowed. This divine name Long Chen had come up with was too awkward-sounding. If it weren’t for Huang Junmo’s great memory, there would have been no way for him to repeat it.

“You’re not kneeling in front of this lord? You must be insincere and disrespectful. You have no destiny with my treasure. Even if you are… Enpuda’s disciple, the rules can’t be broken.”

Originally, Long Chen realized he was about to make a slip of the tongue and say he was from the Bloodkill Hall. But he suddenly realized his mistake and stopped. Luckily, the Eastern Wasteland Bell had taken his place to speak.

Hearing the name Enpuda, Huang Junmo was shocked. That name could not be randomly spoken. Other than the Bloodkill Hall’s higher-ups, no one knew that name. Even he had only earned the qualifications to hear it half a year ago.

Huang Junmo immediately knelt on the ground, prostrating himself. “Disciple was rude! Please forgive me!”

[1] 忽悠逆丫德泥達椰=Huyou Niyadenidaye. This name is a homonym for 忽悠你丫的你大爺. 忽悠=trick/dupe. 你丫的 and 你大爺 are curses. You can just treat them as ‘fuck you’. On a curse scale, they rank middling.