Chapter 1826: Great Tomb Depths
Chapter 1826: Great Tomb Depths
Zu An followed Jing Teng down to the next floor. It was entirely different from the floor above. Everything was a faint red, and there was a strong bloody scent in the air.
“Be careful!” Jing Teng suddenly called out, reaching out to stop him. Her expression was extremely grave.
Zu An followed her gaze and saw some blood slowly flowing around. The dense mist that filled the air likely came from that blood. He looked around the place and quickly found the source of the blood. It was seeping out of a gate that wasn’t much different from the one on the floor above, except for the fact that half of it was dyed red. Even though the blood hadn’t completely covered the ground yet, from the looks of things, it seemed as if it would cover everything sooner or later.
“You absolutely can’t touch this blood. Otherwise, all of your blood essence will be sucked dry by the Blood Devil,” Jing Teng warned him, worried that he would move carelessly.
“Blood Devil?” Zu An asked as he looked at the red gate, thinking, Is the monster locked up inside the Blood Devil? This entire place is about to be corroded by the blood. He continued, “Why do I feel as if it’s about to break out of its seal soon?”
“There’s something wrong with the seal of the great tomb, which allowed it to obtain an opportunity. I think it’s not far from being able to escape,” Jing Teng said. Her brows furrowed, and she sighed worriedly before continuing, “Let’s go. We’ll ignore this place for now.”
…
Then, she led him deeper down. Zu An followed her, and along the way, he saw all kinds of strange monsters. However, there was one trait that they all shared: They were all absurdly ugly, to the point that it was horrifying and nauseating.
When he heard the monsters’ growls rising and falling, Zu An couldn't help but ask, “Didn’t you say that these monsters were sealed, and that they had to sleep to preserve their strength? Why does it seem as if they’re all going wild?” Even though there were thick prison gates separating them, the auras that leaked out from time to time really left him feeling alarmed.
“That’s because they can sense that there’s something wrong with the great tomb’s seal and have seen some hope of escaping. That’s why they’re gradually waking up,” Jing Teng replied calmly.
Zu An was alarmed. These were all creatures that weren’t weaker than the Ghost King, and many were even stronger. If they rushed out, wouldn’t this world be finished? He asked, “Is no one attending to the tomb’s seal anymore? What about the one who built this tomb in the first place?”
Jing Teng was stunned. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know. Maybe they’ve already disappeared.”
…
The pressure Zu An felt from all directions gradually grew stronger and stronger. All of his fine hairs began standing on end. It felt like being tossed into a lion or tiger cage while being completely helpless.
Fortunately, Jing Teng didn’t stop on each floor for that long. They almost immediately went down to the next floor each time.
After moving for who knew how long, when they reached the final staircase, Jing Teng stopped and said, “Big brother Zu, I know you were curious about what the monsters in the previous floors looked like, but you absolutely can’t look at the monster on the next floor.”
“Why is that?” Zu An asked. Even without her reminder, he could already feel a sense of danger in every cell of his body.
“Because you’ll die if you even glance at it,” Jing Teng said gravely.
Zu An asked ind confusion, “Did you make a mistake here? Shouldn’t it be that I'll die if it looks at me?” He recalled that Immortal Ruler Baopu had only used a single look to kill one of the Ghost King’s split souls. Even though it was just part of the Ghost King, it had been as strong as the main body.
“No,” Jing Teng said, shaking her head. “You’ll die if you give it a single look.”
Zu An was bewildered.
Jing Teng explained, “It’s a being that can’t be looked at. All those that see it will die. I can’t even tell you its name, because I’ll die as soon as I say it. If you hear its name, you’ll also die.”
Zu An was now truly shocked. You would die just from looking at it, or if you heard its name? Something that powerful was already beyond the limits of his comprehension. He couldn't help but ask Mi Li what was going on.
Mi Li said gravely, “There are some beings whose bodies carry laws and profound mysteries that are simply too high-level, so much so that lower-level creatures can’t handle them. If you become powerful enough one day, you won’t be crushed by those various laws.”
Zu An couldn't help but sigh, saying, “I used to think that Zhao Han was the strongest in the world. Now it seems we really were just frogs at the bottom of a well.”
For thousands of years, Zhao Han had been recorded as the strongest being in human history. In the past, people had even suspected that immortal ascension was just a legend, and that Zhao Han had already reached the pinnacle of cultivation.
Mi Li replied, “The origin power of Zhao Han’s world isn’t strong enough, which imposes a limit on the upper limit of his cultivation. It isn’t an issue with that world’s human race or Zhao Han.”
“Origin power?” Zu An asked, startled.
“You can think of it like this. The greater the origin power of a world is, the more abundant the natural ki within is, and the faster cultivation becomes. The upper limit of cultivation also rises. For example, that secret dungeon you experienced in the Fiend races’ Imperial Tomb was a world that contained tremendous origin power. There were even immortals and beings of the celestial court.
“The origin power of this secret dungeon is clearly at a higher level than your world’s. However, I can feel that this world isn’t complete. There’s probably something wrong with it,” Mi Li explained.
Zu An asked in surprise, “How do you know so much?”
“If I didn’t even know this much, how could I be your master?” Mi Li replied, rolling her eyes. “I’m going to make up for my sleep. Don’t bother me if you don’t need anything.” She didn’t say anything else afterward.
Zu An cursed endlessly to himself. This woman keeps sleeping all day; just how does she even get that much drowsiness?
However, he actually knew why she was doing that. She didn’t want him to rely on her too much, because then he would never be able to truly grow up.
…
Soon after, they arrived at the next floor. It was much larger than the previous ‘prisons’. The ‘gate’ that locked up the prisoner within was more like a row of pillars that supported the heavens. It was impossible to tell just how far those pillars extended, because the ends were completely invisible to the naked eye. It was enough to make anyone feel insignificant.
Zu An felt goosebumps cover his entire body. He felt some kind of strange enticement trying to get him to look over.
Jing Teng suddenly exclaimed quietly, “We’re leaving!” She grabbed him and jumped into the staircase on the other side.
Only then did Zu An catch his breath. He thought to himself, So that’s the feeling of facing higher-level laws and profound mysteries. He couldn't help but look at Jing Teng, asking, “Why do you know so much? Where are we going to end up by traveling all the way down?”
Jing Teng sighed. This time, she didn’t speak in riddles any longer and said, “It’s because I used to live here too. Didn’t you promise to accompany me until we reached my original body? My original body is just below.”
Zu An was speechless. He was about to go crazy from everything he was hearing. After all, in the depths of the great tomb, every time one went down a floor, the imprisoned monster there would be stronger. And yet Jing Teng was telling him that her original body was even deeper below? Didn’t that mean her true body was even stronger than that being they couldn't even speak the name of?
Just then, Jing Teng’s head tilted slightly to the side, and she smiled eerily at him. She asked, “Are you feeling regret now? Scared that I’ll eat you?”
Zu An sighed and replied, “I’m already all the way down here, so what else can I do? Compared to being eaten by you, I’d prefer it if you swallowed me.”
“Is there a difference?” Jing Teng asked, stunned. However, her face suddenly turned red and she shot him a look of playful protest, exclaiming, “Scoundrel!”
Zu An chuckled and gave her hand a kiss. He said, “Everyone in this world says I’m a moocher and thinks that’s some incredible insult, but I think it’s just an embodiment of my charm. If you really are that powerful, I’ll just keep mooching off of you. If we encounter any enemies, who cares if it’s Zhao Han or the Ghost King? You can just smack them straight to hell.”
Jing Teng was thrown completely off guard by his jokes. She said, “You really are shameless, you know? I really don’t know why Miss Qiu and the others like you.”
“Then how did you end up liking me?” Zu An retorted, moving closer to her with a smirk.
Jing Teng’s face turned red. She pushed him away, but she couldn't help but grin.
…
The two of them had already arrived at the last flight of stairs while they were chatting. Zu An expected an even more eerie and terrifying world to lie in wait, but instead, he was met with light. It had always been dark before, but this place was quite bright. The ground was like an azure sea, and yet while walking across its surface, there was no sign of water.
Zu An looked down, and was able to vaguely make out things that resembled small yellow stars. Every single star was joined by a yellow thread of light, forming complicated constellations.
Suddenly, something flashed past. He was greatly alarmed. He was about to retaliate when he saw that it was just a small shooting star. He wanted to see what it was, so he reached out to touch it, although he remained extremely vigilant, preparing to immediately move away if anything strange happened.
And yet, who would have thought that his hand would pass right through? It was as if the star didn’t exist at all.
Only then did he notice that several shooting stars flew past him from time to time, and the sky was full of constellations. Under the starlight’s embrace, everything appeared splendid and magnificent. There wasn’t a trace of the sinister and eerie sensation he had been expecting.