Great Red Immortal Sect

Chapter 28 Underground Palace
Inside the underground palace, down the stairs.

The road seemed to have no end, winding and twisting. Liu Xiaowen didn't know how long he had been walking.

First, he encountered a sea of fire, a test of his cultivation. He had to channel his Qi to resist it, and he could only make it out after a moment's effort. Then, he encountered a stone gate, a test of his Qi and blood. It felt heavy and almost exhausted his strength. Finally, he encountered a swarm of insect monsters. He killed them until his eyes turned red and his magic power was exhausted. Only then did he make it out. He barely made it through the remaining obstacles.

Although these trials were somewhat difficult, they were still within his control. The further he went down, the closer he felt the alluring fishy smell was to him. A behemoth like a whale was right below, waiting for him to appear and swallow him up in one gulp.

Now there is only one left.

At the end of the road, a stone chamber appeared. Inside, the walls were invisible, as if the space was endless. A thick black fog rose, and something huge, resembling a dragon, snake, or insect, began to move. Its massive body moved across the ground, making a harsh scraping sound.

Liu Xiaowen placed his hand on his sword, poised to strike, holding his breath as he recalled the moves from the Congming Yiqi Sword Technique. Though young, his experience slaying demons alone in the mountains allowed him to maintain a steady mind and body as he sought to locate the creature.

The thick fog was blown away by a gust of wind, and something like gold and iron fell down. Liu Xiaowen turned over to avoid it, twisted his waist and turned in the air, and the Earth Evil Fire flowed, attached to the sword, and stabbed straight forward.

By the light of the fire, Liu Xiaowen finally got a clear look at the creature. Its upper body was a giant scorpion the size of a white elephant, while its lower body was a snake the thickness of a water tank. It looked like the two insects had been separated and reassembled, its ugliness tinged with strangeness.

The sword pierced its axe-like pincers, and with the help of the Earthly Evil Fire, penetrated about a finger's distance, burning the surrounding white shell to charred black and emitting a foul odor.

This injury was almost painless to the giant creature. Instead, it aroused its ferocity. It let out a shrill sound like a whistle, twisted its snake body, and was about to stick to Liu Xiaowen's face in an instant.

"Now we can only maneuver around, not fight head-on."

The monster's aura was that of a late-stage fetal breath, its power was terrifying, and through some secret method of refinement, its power far surpassed any monster Liu Xiao had ever heard of. He could only dodge under the monster, not daring to fight it head-on. For now, he could only maneuver around it, wasting time with it.

On the other side, inside a boat on the lake.

It has been a long time since the younger generations of each family entered the underground palace, but there has been no movement.

Although Xu Xuan remained calm, he felt deeply uneasy. He had no idea what was happening within the underground palace. He only knew that if he was about to be fatally injured, the formation would have sent him out early, but some injuries were unavoidable.

"Xiao Wen, don't try to be so arrogant."

Liu Qiuci, standing by, also had a grim expression. He must have felt a bit uneasy about his own son entering the house. Of all the families, the one with the calmest expression was probably the one sent by the Zhu family, who seemed confident.

There was a mist under his feet, covering his calves, and he felt as if he was not in the human world.

"Wait a little longer, they should have reached the last few places."

Zuo Mohe on the side whispered, obviously with some confidence.

The formation outside the underground palace suddenly flickered, and a person was sent out. Someone from the Wu family immediately exclaimed, it was obviously a descendant of this family.

"It seems the Wu family is truly doomed. Wu Heyi is gone, and the remaining descendants are of little use."

Liu Qiuci lowered his voice and spoke to the two people next to him.

"The Wu family is close to our Kongjian Sect, located to the north of us. During the demonic disaster, they hid behind it, cowering fearfully and closing the mountain gate, sending the people under their rule into the monster's mouth. Now this is retribution."

Zuo Mohe's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the Wu family members nearby to hear. The leader of the Kongjian Sect had obviously had a long-standing grudge against the Wu family, so he immediately laughed without letting them off.

"Don't say anything, the people from the Immortal Sect are watching. Now is not the time to fight."

Liu Qiuci stopped Zuo Mohe, fearing that the two groups would start fighting over a disagreement.

"Now that the Wu family is out, there are six people left. Excluding the one reserved for the direct descendant of Changsheng Temple, it should be a five-for-three situation. I don't know which family will lose."

Xu Xuan looked towards the direction of the underground palace, with some worry in his eyes and a faint purple lightning flashed in his pupils.

The ancient white jade stele in the sea of qi was floating up and down. He seemed to see a huge cocoon as big as a mountain emerging from the horizon, breaking open to reveal some kind of huge nymph or beast-like creature. Next to this creature, ferocious spells appeared and fell from the sky, straight into the underground palace.

This illusion startled him, but in an instant he completely forgot what he had just seen. He just felt that something was wrong and his heart was in a knot.

In the treasure ship cabinet, the old Taoist is still calculating something.

"Master, has the poison chosen a host now?" The Taoist in green robe was still standing under his seat. Seeing that there was no movement in the underground palace, he felt a little worried.

"Xi Ming, wait a little longer. Perhaps the fight hasn't gotten intense yet. This Red Fighting Centipede is known for its fierce fighting spirit. Coming from Shu, when they fight for the spot to be cleansed in the Spiritual Spring, these people on the plains will surely get really angry."

"Master, Cunsi also has some Shu blood. The great witch specifically asked him to come as well, so that he wouldn't be left behind—"

The green-robed Taoist priest named Xi Ming sitting below seemed to have thought of the worst possible outcome and became worried about his own disciples, his face darkening.

The old Taoist stopped calculating and replied with some suspicion:
"It's impossible. We first let him enter a secret passage where there's no fighting and then reserved a seat for him, so there's no fighting. We also let him recite the Heart Purification Mantra silently from time to time, so that his mind is as calm as a lake. There's no way he can be connected."

"What's more, my Changsheng Temple still has its luck. With a real person guarding it, we should be able to stop that poisonous creature from getting close."

"I wonder what kind of magical power Wu Huang wants to cultivate through this?"

Xi Ming felt a little relieved and asked about other things.

"I heard it's the [Poison Watching Society], and they're looking for five people. Each of them will have a poisonous creature possess them, and their magical powers will connect. Then, they'll all go into the Witch Wasteland and fight together, and raise a true Gu."

"After all, it is the righteous fruit of the shamanic way. Its mysteries are beyond our comprehension."

Xi Ming sighed a little. Although this matter was a bit despicable, Wu Huang had promised Changsheng Temple an irresistible benefit, so his own master helped to send four people. Now the only one missing was the one with the blood of Shu Kingdom.

In the current world, poisons are not prominent, and Gu poisons are not flourishing. It all depends on whether Wu Huang can succeed. If this [poison] is restored to its place, all poisonous insects in the world will have a true master.

"Master, I have another question. Since Wu Huang is only one step away from achieving success, why would he bother plotting against the sword art passed down by the ancient Shu?"

Xi Ming looked outward, as if through the plywood, at Xu Xuan and Zuo Mohe.

"This matter involves far-reaching implications. I've searched the ancient texts and only know that the ancient great sorcerer who controlled the path of [Poison], upon attaining enlightenment, formed a cocoon, like a towering mountain, standing within the Kingdom of Shu. A true swordsman in Shu slashed open that mountain cocoon with a single strike of his sword, freeing the six desires, dispersing the seven emotions, and easing the eight sufferings. This helped the great sorcerer escape disaster and achieve the Golden Elixir."

"Now, if future generations wish to prove this Dao, they must emulate their predecessors. They have sought out the sword tradition passed down by ancient Shu, and want to use the heir to refine it into a witch sword to recreate the old story."

Xi Ming seemed to be thinking about something, and whispered:
"The higher-ups are keeping a close eye on things. Each family will only let Wu Huang take one away. Otherwise, if their luck runs out, it will be troublesome."

Outside the pavilion, Xu Xuan and Zuo Mohe were still discussing their experiences in swordsmanship, and they were having a very pleasant conversation.
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Liu Xiao heard that the situation had reached a critical juncture. The magic sword in his hand surged with evil fire, and he twisted and turned, dodging the giant scorpion's pincers. He had just been swept by the snake's tail, and was sent flying against the wall, breaking several bones and spitting out several mouthfuls of blood.

His magic power was about to run out, but the monster in front of him showed no signs of exhaustion at all.

'What should I do?'

The monster's upper body was scorpion-shaped, its carapace glistening white, as if cast from fine iron. A magic sword couldn't penetrate deeply. He could only use the [Pray to Fire] command, harnessing the fiery earth fire to burn along the wound, but the effect was insignificant. The [Initiating Bright Light] was only a single ray, unable to penetrate the mirror-like carapace, scattering wherever it touched.

He calmed down and looked at the lower half of the monster. It had a snake-like body and was covered with scales, but only some thin scales remained under its belly. It was not well protected. Perhaps he could cut it open from there?

As he stepped forward with his sword in hand, his heart had never been beating so fast before, and his eyes seemed to reveal the monster's internal organs.

Just one sword strike.

He stuck close to the monster's front, risking being hit by a pincer, and got under it. The giant pincer came down and grazed his right leg, causing him to lose sensation in it instantly.

"Chance."

He swung his sword, using the most basic sword technique [Chang Qi Xing Yun]. The sword force spread out, easily cutting into the soft abdomen of the monster, and then stirring it up.

Liu Xiaowen had used the last resort of the [Pray for Fire] command to ignite all his magic power. The evil fire surged and exploded in the belly of the monster, emitting a burnt smell.

The giant claws fell and were about to hit him, but they slowed down little by little and finally lost their life.

A very obscure aura emerged from him, and he felt his eyes burning a little red, and it seemed that something red was crawling in the corner of the wall.

(End of this chapter)