Chapter 89: A Natural Spirit-Gathering Formation [Please Subscribe]

As Li Yang drew near the floating island, a pure, vigorous spiritual current of heaven and earth surged against him. At once, every cell in his body seemed to come alive, greedily drinking in the energy in the air, and he could not help but let out a long, satisfied sigh.

“A fine place. Truly a fine place. Pity, though.”

At that moment, the divine sense of the Purple Skies Daoist swept across the entire gorge, and he could not help but sigh in admiration.

“Senior, is something wrong?” Li Yang asked in confusion at the tone.

To him, it was merely a naturally formed magnetic mountain. The fields around it were somewhat strange, and since few people ever set foot here, the spiritual energy was simply richer than usual. He could not see what was amiss.

“This place’s energy field is a naturally formed spirit-gathering array, sealing heaven and cutting off the earth. If one could bury a spirit stone here, this would become a natural paradise of seclusion. This magnetic island is the very foundation of such a blessed land!”

“This island itself is made of magnetic stone, and it is large enough in scale to be the perfect material for forging a special magical treasure. Pity that your cultivation is still too shallow, boy. With such a priceless treasure right before your eyes, you can only stare at it helplessly.”

Hearing this, Li Yang’s face darkened. Why did he feel, from the Purple Skies Daoist’s tone, a faint hint of schadenfreude?

“Senior, there is no need to worry. Perhaps I cannot do anything with it now, but this place is remote, and the island is not going to grow legs and run away. When my power is sufficient, I can come back for it then.”

With that, Li Yang sprang into the air, leaped down from the island, and began to patrol the valley.

“So this is the underground river leading here?”

Before long, Li Yang saw, beneath the cliffs at the edge, an underground stream flowing out from the mountainside.

Looking at the deep, dim cave ahead, he merely hesitated for a moment before turning into a streak of golden light and shooting inside.

Following the underground river, Li Yang flew upstream all the way. The dark surroundings of the cavern did not hinder him in the slightest.

“Water-swine wasps!”

In the gloom of the cave, Li Yang looked up at several cocoons hanging from the ceiling, and his heart stirred.

If he had guessed correctly, this was the underground river from the original story by which Hu Bayi and the others entered the King Xian Tomb. The cocoons hanging from the cave roof were the result of a vicious and cruel form of sorcery, larvae refined from living human beings.

There were countless kinds of gu insects, and this species known as the Water-swine Wasp was especially strange. Fierce beyond measure, yet utterly without intelligence, its cocoon hatched once it met water. To ordinary people, it was a mortal menace.

However, this kind of gu insect, resembling a feral beast, was excellent blood nourishment for the Golden Toad. Though each individual was small, the blood and vitality within them were no weaker than those of some large beasts, and in fact even surpassed them. With so many of them here, they were perfect as sustenance for the toad’s transformation.

“Ha...”

“Rumble... bang bang bang... crack crack crack...”

Standing on the surface of the surging underground current, Li Yang stirred his qi and blood, then stamped hard with both feet. The river surface exploded at once, and pillars of water shot high into the air, smashing fiercely into the cocoons on the cave ceiling.

“Buzzz...”

In an instant, the cocoons on the ceiling shattered, and one after another, insects like enlarged hornets burst out of them and rushed toward Li Yang above the water.

“Croak... gurgle...”

Li Yang flicked his sleeve, and the Golden Toad grew with the wind, its body swelling to the size of a water buffalo as it settled firmly on the water. Looking at the dense swarm of Water-swine Wasps in the cave, a greedy glint flashed in its bulbous eyes.

“Go on then...”

Li Yang reached into empty space and drew out a translucent yellow-brown glass syringe. It was the bloodline hormone developed by Dr. Rick and the others.

“Psst!”

As if understanding what he meant to do, the Golden Toad cooperated by opening its huge mouth, allowing Li Yang to inject the serum into the soft flesh beneath its jaw.

With the toad’s thick-skinned resilience, an ordinary hardened needle could not possibly break through its defenses, so whenever Li Yang injected the bloodline hormone, he chose the relatively soft underside of its mouth.

Still, even that required Li Yang’s considerable strength. For an ordinary person, even the tender flesh inside the toad’s mouth would not be something he could pierce.

“Croak, croak, croak...”

The instant the bloodline hormone entered its body, the Golden Toad’s dark brown skin turned red at a visible speed, and wisps of white steam began to rise faintly from its whole body.

“Suck... suck... suck...”

Facing the Water-swine Wasps diving from above, the Golden Toad opened its mouth wide. A fierce force of suction arose, and a gale swept through the entire cave.

At once, the Water-swine Wasps in the air poured into the toad’s mouth as though swallows returning to their nest. The process continued for a full three or four minutes before their numbers gradually began to thin.

“Burp... gurgle...”

Only after every Water-swine Wasp in the cave had been swallowed did the Golden Toad let out a satisfied burp. As its belly wriggled, the dark red of its skin slowly returned to its original brown-black.

Seeing the drowsy toad, Li Yang nodded in satisfaction. If he remembered correctly, there was also an ancient species of razor-toothed viperfish living in the water of this underground river.

This kind of fish was a type of piranha, and among the most ancient of its line. Creatures with such fierce and carnivorous temperaments generally had no weak vitality within them.

But today the Golden Toad was already full and needed time to digest, so Li Yang did not intend to move against them. Once the toad had finished digesting the blood food in its belly, it would not be too late to deal with them.

In Yunnan’s Insect Valley, spiritual energy was much richer than outside, and countless strange beasts had been nurtured there. Those beasts whose blood and vitality were abundant by the standards of the outside world were especially numerous here.

Li Yang’s purpose in coming here, aside from the treasures in the King Xian Tomb, was chiefly the essence blood of these strange beasts. Perhaps, with this chance, the Golden Toad might complete its final metamorphosis.

Flying rapidly along the cavern, Li Yang’s speed was such that in the blink of an eye he saw a shaft of white light appear ahead.

After emerging from the underground river, he looked around to take in the terrain, memorized the route in silence, and then headed toward the village of the Hui people.

“Brother Li, you’re back. Well, did you find the location of the King Xian Tomb?” Chen Yulou and the others, who had been setting up camp beside the Hui village, hurriedly gathered around him, faces full of anticipation.

“Brothers, there is no need to worry. I have already confirmed the tomb’s location, and I have even found the way in and out.”

Seeing how anxious they were, Li Yang did not keep them in suspense and spoke with a smile.

“Damn it, that’s wonderful! I knew Brother Li would never let us down!” Luo Laowai said with delight, clapping his hands. “Brothers, take down the tents. We’re leaving now.”

“Marshal Luo, there is no need to rush. The King Xian Tomb is fraught with danger and riddled with mechanisms. It is already late today; let the brothers rest for the night and recover their strength. We can set out at first light tomorrow.” Seeing Luo Laowai’s impatience, Li Yang glanced at the sky and raised a hand to stop him.

“Brother Li speaks truly. Tomb-robbing is no trivial matter, especially with a great tomb like this one. There will surely be grave danger inside. Better that we proceed with caution,” Chen Yulou said to the others, waving them back to their fire and meal preparations.

“Daoist Li, what exactly is so dangerous about this King Xian Tomb? Back at Bottle Mountain, you mentioned it so often. Now that the tomb is right before our eyes, could you explain it properly?” asked Partridge Whistle.

“Regarding King Xian’s origins, I believe fellow Daoist Partridge Whistle also knows a fair amount. He was once a priest of the ancient Dian kingdom during the Han dynasty.”

“Later, to avoid the ravages of war, he led part of the Dian people who worshipped an evil god out of the kingdom and proclaimed himself king. He was himself a sorcerer skilled in dark arts. The King Xian Tomb was built over his entire lifetime, with the resources of an entire nation, and with painstaking effort, all in pursuit of immortality. As for the specific dangers within, I know only the surface of them and not their true workings. I only know that beside the Orb of Dust there is a great serpent guarding it, and that may well be the mountain god these Hui people speak of!”

Faced with Partridge Whistle’s questioning, Li Yang could only choose the things he knew and say them.

As for the King Xian Tomb, the records from his previous life and those in the film differed somewhat, and he did not know which version this world followed. Still, when he was at the floating island earlier, he had indeed detected a vast life force in the nearby mountain belly. It should be the giant python that the Queen of Jingjue kept as a guardian for the Orb of Dust.

“A great serpent? What sort of great serpent could be called a mountain god? Could it already have turned into a dragon?” Luo Laowai cried out in alarm.

“Turning from serpent to dragon is only a legend. Though dragon and snake belong to the same family, not every snake has the chance to become a dragon. Without great wisdom, great perseverance, and great fortune, there is absolutely no possibility of transformation.”

“A snake is yin by nature, while a dragon is a divine being of perfect yang. To cast off the serpent body and become a dragon seed is no easier than for a ghost immortal to transform into pure yang. Marshal Luo, rest assured of that. Even if it truly could become a dragon, or even only a flood dragon, I would never dare reach out to stroke its whiskers!”

Looking at Luo Laowai’s expression, Li Yang smiled and offered his explanation.

“Now that the King Xian Tomb lies right before us, whatever dangers it contains, there is no room left for us to back away. Rather than sitting here and imagining things, we might as well eat our fill, drink our fill, and sleep soundly for the night!”

Seeing that Li Yang’s account had dampened everyone’s morale, Chen Yulou had no choice but to step forward and make the final decision.

“That’s right! Damn it, we’ve already come this far. No matter what monsters lie in that tomb, asking me, Luo, to turn back like this is utterly impossible. Brothers, eat up! Once we’re full and rested, tomorrow we’ll either dine on fine food and drink or lose our lives in the yellow springs. It all depends on everyone’s own skill.”

With both hands raised high, Luo Laowai shouted to the crowd, then turned and strode toward the tents behind him.