Chapter 43: Grand Valley Tomb

As the sun glared heatedly upon the emerald, lush below, a magnificent cave entrance could be seen near the edge of the greenness.

While the rest of the surroundings was bathed in cheery sunlight, only this area gave off a gloomy feeling. A strange coldness could even be felt around the location where the mouth of the large cave was. And in front of the entrance, a transparent glass-like energy was present, seemingly blocking off everything from entering the cave. This was a formation barrier.

Despite the dark atmosphere in this area, there are several hundreds of cultivators gathered on this spot. They all stood around, chattering among themselves while occasionally shooting a glance at the cave entrance that was protected by a barrier.

There were many strong auras coming from this huge group, however, each of them knew that even if they were to combine their entire strength they would be unable to move the cave barrier in the slightest! This seal had been placed in front of the cave for several decades, only to be lift once each year. Until that time, no one would be able to break in and enter! Not even the peak level figures in the Long Dynasty are able to.

Once the barrier to the cave was lifted, one would have merely one day’s worth of time to explore the cave. And when that time is up, if one does not exit on time, they would be trapped inside the cave until its next opening!

While cultivators did not need to eat or drink, and could solely rely on the Qi around them to survive for several months. But that did not mean they could do so forever, lest they have reached an unfathomable level of cultivation! And it could be safely assumed that no one in the Long Dynasty possesses such strength.

Thus, being trapped in the cave at that point is absolutely equivalent to death for these Long Dynasty practitioners!

*Rustle* *Rustle*

Two young man and one young lady from the heavy forest, along with eighteen other youths who followed closely behind them. However, they were at the very end of the crowd, thus no one noticed their sudden appearance. Everyone was fully concentrated at the cave entrance before them.

“We are finally here now, brother Huang Xue! Do you see that cave entrance that’s being blocked by a powerful barrier? That is the Grand Valley Tomb!” One of the two, a young man wearing a luxurious blue robe, spoke with a laugh as he looked over at the person beside him.

And that other person was naturally Huang Xue, who was dressed in a pure white robe decorated with black linings. He looked towards the Grand Valley Tomb as a thoughtful look appeared on his face for a moment.

“What a weak barrier…” Huang Xue silently thought as he followed his group forward.

The time for the Grand Valley Tomb to open was about to begin.

*Zzt!*

*Zzt!*

An excited tremor ran through the crowd of cultivators as they all turned to stare at the cave entrance.

“Look! The seal is weakening!”

“The Grand Valley Tomb is about to be open! Hurry, quickly move to the front! If you’re too slow, you might not get any benefits at all!”

“Everyone, get ready!”

As the hundreds of cultivators prepared themselves, the barrier which had guarded the cave entrance slowly dissipated before their eyes. A soft “peng” sound echoed out as the seal completely disappeared!

The moment this happened, the eyes of several cultivators turned red as they stormed straight into the cave. However, right at this moment, several figures quickly shot past them! In the process, those same figures did not hesitate and threw out several attacks at the people in the front before overtaking them!

“What! How dare you attack others like this! Do you really thi--mm?” One young cultivator shouted, but before he could finish, he was pulled back by an elder of his clan.

“You fool! Look who they are before you sprout your nonsense!” The elder reprimanded.

The young cultivator regained his sense as he carefully looked towards the figures who were currently entering the cave. At the lead were six youths, each wearing different clothing styles and releasing an air full of arrogance. A few elders also followed closely behind them.

When the young cultivator recognized who they were, cold beads of sweat broke out from his forehead.

“My god! Th-those people are from the major factions of the entire Long Dynasty!”

Other cultivators had long began to recognize who those audacious figures at the very front were.

“There’s Zhang Bifan of the Zhang clan, Du Qianxi of the Du clan, and Ji Xiong of the Ji clan! Even Mei Hua of the Thousand Flowers clan came!”

“Quick, look at those people trailing behind them! Those two youths are from the Fierce Dragon clan and Winged Moon Faction: Hei Yuan and Kui Tian! They were the ones who attacked the other cultivators! As expected, those ruthless people came as well…”

Facing those people who had powerful background, none of the cultivators present had any desire to voice their indignation anymore. They could only keep their anger to themselves and hope for a fortuitous opportunity inside the Grand Valley Tomb!

After the six youths entered the cave, the elders who had been escorting them likewise stopped. Since this was an opportunity for their younger generation to train themselves, the elders did not want to interfere, for fear of impeding their growth.

Right after the the six persons entered, twenty youths suddenly charged out of the crowd and into the cave entrance. The elders who had previously escorted the youths inside was surprised but did nothing to stop them. Moreover, once they saw the pendant dangling from Huang Xue’s waist and the family crest on the other youth’s clothes, the elders’ face paled.

When the other cultivators saw Huang Xue’s group, they naturally recognized the family symbols those people carried. A tremor of shock ran through the crowd of cultivators.

“That...that is the symbol for the Yin clan, Yang clan, and Shen clan! Those powers actually came as well?!”

“What is wrong with that? Those powers would appear at this event every year as well, though typically only one or two of such factions would come...this year to have three come at once…”

“Aii...with so many major clans here just how will we even get any benefit?!”

However, bitterness soon replaced the shocked faces of every cultivators present. With the appearance of these strong families, they knew that their chance at obtaining truly extraordinary items had diminished greatly. But nonetheless, these cultivators continued onwards in hopes of at least being able to obtain something good.

Inside the Grand Valley Tomb.

Huang Xue and his group soon arrived at a large open hall. The place was upheld by several brown colored stone pillars and the walls were likewise old and battered. At the other end of the room, a total of five entrances laid open. They arrived just in time to see the six youths darting separately into those five openings.

“Brother Huang Xue, which entrance should I choose? From my experience here previously, each of those openings would lead to a new route filled with various opportunities and dangers. And every time the tomb has been opened, the cave’s structure has changed many times, thus each time these entrances would lead to different situations.” Yang Chen explained beside Huang Xue. “I trust Brother Huang Xue’s judgement, so I will let you choose our route!”

Huang Xue smiled as he replied: “Since brother Yang Chen believes me in like this, I will of course not let you down.”

He then turned and pointed towards the cave entrance at the center. That was the same one where Du Qianxi entered, and where Huang Xue felt an abundance of energy. It was likely that there were still many treasures untaken beyond that entrance.

“Mmn. Since brother Huang Xue chooses this route, we will follow it.” Yang Chen said. Turning to Yin Liqin, he respectfully asked: “How about you sister Liqin? Will you follow us as well?”

Yin Liqin gave a graceful smile and replied: “This is my first time exploring this Grand Valley Tomb, therefore I will have to bother brother Chen to guide me around here.”

Yang Chen laughed as he quickly responded: “Haha, what are you saying, sister Liqin? You coming along with us could be said to be our fortune! We wholeheartedly welcome you.”

Off to the side, Huang Xue looked at Yang Chen for a moment before he proceeded towards the middle entrance. The rest followed along as they all entered the cave entrance.

After the large group left, the air blurred for a second, revealing the figure of a young man dressed in tattered brown robe. A bagua mirror was held in his right hand. Looking towards the middle cave entrance with cold eyes, the youth’s body and aura slowly disappeared, merging in with the surrounding just as several other cultivators finally arrived at the cavern hall.