75 - A Farewell to Mr. Luo

Chapter 75 Once they had flown far enough, Arthur finally stopped, then sought out a hidden spot to observe the situation from afar. Ghost Lamp watched Arthur's series of reactions, still unsure of the situation. As the cultivators in the distance approached, fear gripped his heart. "Why are there so many Golden Core cultivators? Could there truly be some unparalleled treasure within this underground palace?" Arthur, squinting as he observed the people heading toward the small palace, commented, “It is said this place was originally a dragon's lair, later converted into a ghostly abode.” “A dragon's lair?” Ghost Lamp almost exclaimed in shock. “Keep your voice down, or we'll be discovered.” From their vantage point, they watched hundreds of cultivators advancing toward the small palace. They seemed to be discussing something and proceeded to set up formations around the palace, arranging over two hundred people into two concentric circles, one below the other. Several Nascent Soul cultivators stood at the focal points of the formations. Once the formations were complete, a beam of white light shot out from within, with the two formations merging to envelop the small palace. An initially invisible protective layer around the palace suddenly became illuminated, forming a barrier that clashed with the two surrounding formations, neither side gaining an upper hand. “It looks like they're trying to break the formation.” “Let’s wait and see what happens first.” Arthur tensely watched the small palace. As the two formations contended equally, one of the Nascent Soul cultivators shouted, followed by a collective roar from the hundreds of other cultivators. The formations surged, overpowering the palace's defenses. Just as the palace's formation was about to counter, several Nascent Soul cultivators struck simultaneously with their swords, shattering the palace's barrier completely. With the formation shattered, the cultivators descended in disarray. Some disciples even spat blood, clearly severely injured. They supported each other, all showing joyful expressions as they looked at the palace. Amid their celebration, a roar suddenly echoed from afar, making Arthur turn pale and Ghost Lamp shudder. “Taoist, the monster is coming.” “Stay calm, it’s not after us.” Despite Arthur's reassurance, Ghost Lamp remained frightened; the previous encounter had left a deep scar. The monster that had emerged from the Seven Star Coffin now exuded an even more intense killing aura, far stronger than when they had last seen it. The hundreds of cultivators near the small palace also noticed the monstrous presence. Their faces darkened, even the Nascent Soul cultivators looked grim. "How can there be such a monster here?" Before they could discuss further, the monster charged forward, seizing a cultivator and eating him in one gulp. The Golden Core cultivator had no time to react before his head was devoured, his body collapsing lifelessly, horrifying everyone. “This is bad, everyone retreat!” Seeing the situation deteriorate, the Nascent Soul cultivators quickly commanded others to retreat while they pursued the monster with their swords. The sword aura was so fierce that even Arthur, some distance away, knew that he couldn't escape under its might. Unexpectedly, a clang resonated as the sword hit the monster, leaving only a red mark without penetrating. Angered by the pain, the monster turned to the Nascent Soul cultivator, roaring with blood-red eyes: "Roar." In an instant, it lunged, piercing the Nascent Soul cultivator's abdomen with a claw. Surrounding cultivators were stunned by the speed, unable to react in time. "Elder!" Other Nascent Soul cultivators hurried over to help. The injured Nascent Soul cultivator struck the monster away with a palm, gripping his wound while staring at the creature in shock. “This monster's eyes are blood-red, born from intense resentment. Someone reared such a powerful zombie here?” “Senior brother, are you alright?” “Just a minor injury.” “Who would've thought that in a few short years, such a monster was nurtured here? Its current cultivation is nearly at the Divine Transformation stage. If we don’t handle it now, it will wreak havoc outside in the future.” Arthur, overhearing fragments of their conversation, was shocked to learn that the monster’s cultivation was nearing the Divine Transformation stage, which explained why Golden Core cultivators stood no chance against it. Thankfully, he had escaped quickly before. Just as Arthur planned to leave, the monster seemed to go berserk, fighting the three Nascent Soul cultivators fiercely. The hundreds of Golden Core disciples stood by, initially thinking the three Nascent Soul cultivators would subdue the monster. However, the monster suddenly turned on the Golden Core disciples, slashing through the throats of a dozen with a sweep of its arm. It then devoured the headless corpses, filling its bloody mouth and exhaling foul breath. "Roar." Instantly, its wounds healed, and it roared even more ferociously than before. The bloody scene made several female disciples scream in horror. "Everyone, retreat immediately, don't come near here." Hearing this, the disciples turned and ran in different directions. Arthur, sweating profusely, turned to Ghost Lamp, "We should also retreat further." "I’ll follow your lead, Taoist." Before they could move, a commotion arose ahead. The monster seemed fixated on the Golden Core disciples, ignoring the three Nascent Soul cultivators. Watching disciple after disciple being slaughtered angered the Nascent Soul cultivators to the point of outbursts. "Fiend, cease your rampage!" “Senior brothers, let's form a formation.” The three Nascent Soul cultivators quickly set up a sword formation, entrapping the monster. Arthur, observing a potential shift in the situation, hesitated in his retreat. “Taoist, we should leave.” “Wait, something’s changing.” Arthur’s eyes shifted to the small, unnoticed palace. After a moment’s indecision, he decided to seize the chaos to investigate. He moved stealthily toward the palace, pausing periodically to ensure he was unobserved, urging Ghost Lamp to follow silently. Upon reaching the palace doors, Arthur hid behind a pillar, seeing the Nascent Soul cultivators still battling the monster. Seizing the moment, he gently pushed open the palace doors and slipped inside with Ghost Lamp. After quietly closing the doors, silence enveloped the hall, and light gradually illuminated the small palace. The interior resembled a living chamber, seemingly the residence of someone of considerable status. A massive screen at the entrance depicted an intricately carved scene of two dragons playing with a pearl. The lifelike dragons appeared poised to leap from the screen at any moment. Arthur couldn't help but gaze at the screen for a moment before moving past it to the main hall. Apart from a bed, the room housed scattered jade slips, discarded as if abandoned by their owner. “Taoist, look at these jade slips.” Arthur picked up a jade slip and attempted to open it but found it sealed. “Why won’t it open?” “Taoist, place the jade slip against your forehead and use your spiritual sense.” Arthur did so, and a flood of information instantly filled his mind. After a brief daze, he realized it wasn’t a cultivation technique or manual but mundane daily records of the owner’s life. “Let’s collect these and search elsewhere.” “Taoist, are these cultivation secrets?” “No.” Ghost Lamp, losing interest upon learning they weren't cultivation secrets, turned away. Arthur collected all the jade slips into a storage bag. With all collected, Ghost Lamp had disappeared elsewhere, but Arthur wasn’t worried. Even if Ghost Lamp fled, the lantern had been refined by Arthur, making it return at his summons. Just as Arthur was about to leave the room, he turned and noticed a small teapot on the table. The room was otherwise empty, with only that solitary teapot lying there. Curious, Arthur walked over and picked it up, discovering that it still contained some liquid. “It still has liquid inside? With the passage of thousands of years, any moisture should have evaporated long ago.” He opened the lid and saw a white, semi-solid substance inside, emitting an incredibly rich fragrance. “Though I don’t know what it is, it smells delightful. It might be something valuable. Better keep it.” After storing the teapot, Arthur went upstairs. The second floor contained even more items than below, with an entire wall lined with jade slips, some labeled with written characters, although Arthur couldn’t recognize the script. He randomly picked a scroll from the middle, placed it against his forehead, and glanced at it. “It’s not a cultivation manual either, just more trivial records. How idle must this person have been to write down their daily life?” The jade slip described more mundane details, like visiting some Sage for tea, noting the taste and quality of white fruit spirit tea, mentioning gifts exchanged, and commenting on who was the most miserly among the great halls. Disappointed, Arthur tossed the jade slip aside, not wanting to clutter his storage bag further, which already had limited space. As Arthur prepared to leave, he accidentally kicked something on the ground. Looking down, he noticed a jade slip partially hidden under a cabinet. He bent down to pick it up, initially planning to return it to the shelf. But then he noticed a unique symbol carved on it. Indicating a potential clue or something more valuable, Arthur decided to take a closer look. ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Thank you to those who voted for me or nourished me with nutrient solutions~ Thanks to the little angel who voted [Landmine]: lulula945 with 1; Thanks to the little angels who nourished me with [Nutrient Solution]: Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard! Previous Chapter Table of Contents Next Chapter