Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46: The Great Hall
’A breakthrough!’
True Martial Realm Second Layer Early Stage.
Gu Yun took a deep breath and clenched his fist, feeling the vast, ocean-like power coursing through his body. A look of joy spread across his face.
With a thought, the Skill Level panel in his mind appeared before his eyes.
Name: Gu Yun
Realm: True Martial Realm Second Layer Early Stage
Cultivation Technique: Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision
(First Tribulation: Wind and Thunder Tribulation 25%)
Martial Techniques: Celestial Thunder Hand (Beginner 44%), Thunder Gang Body (Beginner 35%)
Wind and Thunder Saber Technique (Perfection), Mountain-Breaking Fist (Perfection), Wandering Dragon Step (Perfection)
Techniques: Three Thousand Thunder Flashes (Beginner 50%), Earth-Bursting Heaven-Shaking (Minor Success 50%)
Breath Concealment Technique (Minor Success 65%), Celestial Thunder Technique (Great Success 30%)
Sword Momentum: Minor Success Blade Momentum (98%)
Alchemy: Low Tier Human Tier (5%)
With his current strength, within the ruins of the Black Flame Sword Sect,
he might not be able to swagger around like he owned the place, but he could certainly make a swift escape.
Forget about steamrolling his way through; even if he ran into the strongest cultivator present—the one at the True Martial Third Layer Late Stage—
a strategic retreat would be no problem at all thanks to his speed.
’It’s time to leave.’ With that thought,
BOOM! Gu Yun used his Earth-Bursting Heaven-Shaking Technique, and the massive boulder blocking the cave entrance was sent flying by a wave of repulsive force.
His figure flickered, and he vanished from the gloomy cave, leaving only an afterimage to slowly dissipate in the air.
...
Gu Yun stood atop a mountain peak. A powerful wind swept past, making his long hair dance as he gazed into the distance.
Boundless mountains unfolded before him—a panorama of layered peaks and a vast, hazy sea of clouds.
The mountain range rose and fell like a turbulent ocean, reminiscent of a majestic, magnificent great wall.
’To stand upon the highest peak, and in a single glance, watch all other mountains shrink to insignificance.’
’Only from such a height can one witness the great rivers flowing between the peaks. The view is so much more vast and expansive.’
He wondered if he would ever have the chance in this life to see the magnificent view from the very peak of the Cultivation Realm...
He took a single step into the void, and his figure quickly vanished over the horizon.
...
Within these ruins,
the mountain ranges crisscrossed for thousands of miles.
As such, Gu Yun hadn’t encountered any of the other five people along his journey.
However, he did occasionally see signs of battle along the way: the ground in disarray, collapsed and shattered trees, and mottled bloodstains in the soil.
This must have been the result of the other cultivators battling a True Martial Level Demon Beast.
He saw no trace of any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures along the way and figured the other cultivators had already picked the area clean.
With that thought, Gu Yun’s figure suddenly accelerated, turning into an afterimage that crossed hundreds of yards in an instant. He continued to press forward at extreme speed.
Suddenly, at that moment,
BOOM!
A deafening, earth-shattering roar echoed from the distance, making the very air tremble.
A majestic pillar of light shot up from the depths of the mountain range, piercing the heavens!
The colossal pillar of light instantly captured Gu Yun’s attention, bringing him to a halt. As he stared, he could feel a vast and ancient aura emanating from the beam.
’What is that?’
’That must be where the true treasures of the Black Flame Sword Sect are hidden.’
The journey there would likely be dangerous, but he was determined to go.
He wasn’t one to live his life cowering. For some, 98% safety was as good as being in danger.
He, on the other hand, was willing to take a chance even with fifty-fifty odds.
He immediately changed direction.
Stepping through the air, he transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward the massive, heaven-piercing beam of light deep within the mountain range.
...
In a vast canyon,
towering mountains flanked the passage like sheer cliffs. Beyond the canyon was the source of the colossal, heaven-piercing beam of light.
Peering through the canyon, he could vaguely make out a grand, towering palace.
When Gu Yun arrived at the canyon’s entrance, two figures were already there.
One was the strongest of the group, the cultivator at the True Martial Third Layer Late Stage. He was a burly man in a black Profound Robe, with a Giant Que Longsword strapped to his back. The numerous scars on his face gave him a fierce and domineering air.
The other was Chen Daoming, the middle-aged cultivator in the long white robe.
Gu Yun had met them before. He gave them a slight nod of acknowledgment but said nothing, content to wait quietly.
The reason they hadn’t entered directly was that a protective Array stood guard beyond the canyon.
Even though a century of decay had weakened the Array to its limit, it was still too strong for one or two cultivators at the Second or Third Layer of the True Martial Realm to break through easily.
「An hour later,」
three more figures arrived.
Seeing that everyone was now present,
Chen Daoming stepped forward. "Everyone," he said in a heavy tone, "this is a restricted area of the Black Flame Sword Sect, and it’s protected by an Array.
Even after a century of decay, none of us can break through it alone."
"We must strike together as one. Only then do we stand a chance."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Just then,
a figure stepped forward.
It was the burly, middle-aged cultivator with the Giant Que Longsword. He spoke in a deep voice, "Fellow cultivators, let’s begin. We’re wasting time!"
Everyone nodded slightly in assent.
As he finished speaking, the power of his True Martial Third Layer Late Stage cultivation erupted, deep as an abyss. A ferocious aura radiated from him, and his long hair billowed behind him despite the still air.
The momentum coiling around him was like a rampaging, tyrannical dragon, backed by a majestic True Essence Power that made the air tremble.
He unleashed a beam of light from his Giant Que Longsword that seemed to tear through space itself. It blossomed between heaven and earth, a torrent of tyrannical power shooting straight for the center of the Array behind the canyon!
Just as Wu Sheng unleashed his slash,
Gu Yun drew his saber.
He instantly slashed out. A torrent of razor-sharp Sword Qi shot to the heavens, tearing through the void and shredding the air to pieces.
The roar of wind and thunder seemed to echo through the air as his attack shot straight for the center of the Array!
Seeing this,
the others all instantly unleashed their True Yuan, launching their most powerful attacks.
The sky filled with multicolored streams of True Yuan, each radiating immense power as they converged on the center of the Array behind the canyon.
BOOM!
The canyon trembled.
Having gone without any resources to sustain it for over a century, the Array was already incredibly weak.
The shield of light it manifested held for less than a moment before it cracked and disintegrated!
Immediately after,
everyone transformed into streaks of Escape Light, rushing into the area the Array had been protecting.
Once they passed through the massive canyon,
they found themselves in another world. The space around them was incredibly vast.
Gu Yun swept the area with his Spiritual Sense, but found it was nowhere near enough to perceive the area’s full extent.
He saw a palace standing tall before him, though he couldn’t guess its purpose.
Its great doors were wide open, revealing splendid walls within. It looked like a place for Sect meetings.
"For such a magnificent place to be completely empty... what a cruel joke! A cruel joke!"
An elderly cultivator who had lingered behind, hoping to find some hidden treasure, sighed in disappointment.
Gu Yun, however, had already left. The moment his Spiritual Sense confirmed the hall was empty, he departed to search other areas.
’A place like a Sect’s main hall is unlikely to be where the real treasures are hidden anyway.’
...
Gu Yun hovered in mid-air, gazing at a small hill before him. The surrounding Spiritual Qi was rich, and several cave residences were carved into its slope.
Before long, Gu Yun was hovering in front of one of the cave residences.
He threw a punch. Mighty power gathered in his fist, crashing forward like a surging tsunami.
The faint protective Array around the cave residence shattered in an instant.
Without a moment’s pause,
he became a phantom and flashed straight into the cave.
Inside the cave residence, a skeleton lay on the ground next to a meditation cushion.
Gu Yun’s gaze barely lingered on the skeleton; it was fixed on the Storage Ring on its hand.
’This is what I came for!’
With a wave of his hand, he used his True Yuan to retrieve the Storage Ring, which flew into his grasp.
At the same time, his Spiritual Sense swept across the entire cave residence. He found that, aside from the Storage Ring,
there was nothing else of value. This disappointed him for a brief moment.
He then used his Spiritual Sense to inspect the contents of the Storage Ring.
As he did,
Gu Yun couldn’t help but smile.
