In a misty, mysterious land, strange flames occasionally flickered in the distance, quickly vanishing. A deathly silence enveloped this unfamiliar, peculiar place.
Suddenly, the stillness was interrupted by a distortion in the space, and a tall figure emerged.
"This is the Heavenly Tomb?"
As Gu Fei appeared, his gaze curiously scanned the surroundings. Grabbing a handful of the misty gas in front of him, he discovered that it was filled with dense, worldly energy. If one were to cultivate here, the results would be twice as effective.
"However, this is only the first layer. The deeper layers hold even higher concentrations of energy."
Without lingering, Gu Fei continued walking toward the depths of the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb. Due to the pressure of the energy here, prolonged flight was impossible. Even with Gu Fei's current cultivation as a late-stage one-star Dou Saint, he couldn't withstand the pressure for long.
"Looking to die?"
After only taking a few steps, Gu Fei lifted his hand slightly, then clenched it fiercely. Instantly, the surrounding energy condensed rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the mist dissipated, revealing a shadowy, ethereal figure in Gu Fei's line of sight.
This type of ethereal figure was unique to the Heavenly Tomb. In the first layer, most energy bodies were only at the strength of a low-level Dou Venerate, posing no threat to Gu Fei. With a flick of his finger, the ethereal figure twisted violently before exploding with a pop.
As the energy body burst apart, a thumb-sized crystal remained suspended in the air, glowing faintly and exuding dense energy.
Grabbing the energy core, Gu Fei activated his cultivation method, causing a surge of pure energy to flood from the core into his body. This energy required little refining- just a single circulation through his meridians was enough to absorb it.
"A third-level energy core is equivalent to the effect of a low-level eight-tier pill. This Heavenly Tomb truly is a treasure trove for cultivation!"
After absorbing the energy core, Gu Fei swiftly traversed the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb. His goal was to reach the third layer, as only the energy cores there would benefit a Dou Saint like him.
Before long, he encountered a dozen more ethereal figures with vacant eyes, all floating in mid-air and blocking his path. Without slowing down, Gu Fei raised his hand, and the figures instantly turned into energy cores, which he collected. After dispatching the energy bodies, he continued onward without hesitation.
...
The vast Heavenly Tomb was perpetually shrouded in dense energy mist. Under the pressure of this energy, any object attempting to fly would feel as heavy as a mountain. After a short flight, one would feel utterly exhausted. As a result, the Heavenly Tomb seemed to stretch on endlessly.
At the edge of the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, a graceful figure was darting quickly across the landscape. Her jade-like hands glowed with golden light, swiftly striking the energy bodies blocking her path. Within minutes, all the energy bodies were destroyed, leaving behind energy cores.
"It's been three days, and I still haven't seen any sign of Brother Gu Fei!" Xun'er muttered, collecting the energy cores and gently brushing aside a lock of hair from her forehead. She looked somewhat tired. For the past three days, she hadn't rested, constantly rushing forward in hopes of "accidentally" running into Gu Fei.
"Since you're already here, why hide? Have the people of the Hun Clan fallen this low?"
Suddenly, Xun'er frowned slightly and glanced to her side, her eyes filled with disdain. As her cold voice echoed, the space in the distance rippled. Two black-robed figures stepped out, their sinister aura slowly spreading.
"Heh, no wonder you're of the Gu Clan's divine bloodline- your perception is truly sharp..."
"I wonder how the Gu Clan would feel if their divine bloodline fell here in the Heavenly Tomb?"
The two figures, entirely shrouded in black robes, slowly walked toward Xun'er. At this moment, a chilling killing intent emanated from them without restraint.
"Hun Ya, Hun Li, you two have quite the nerve!" Xun'er's eyes were icy as she stared at the two, speaking slowly. "It seems the Hun Clan no longer wishes to leave the Gu Realm!"
"Heh, there's nothing brave or foolish about this. Your identity holds no threat over us!" Hun Ya sneered. "Besides, if you die in the Heavenly Tomb, how could the Gu Clan suspect us?"
"Just you two?"
Golden flames flickered in Xun'er's eyes as she spoke indifferently.
"Boom!"
At the moment Xun'er's eyes were surrounded by golden flames, the man named Hun Li stomped fiercely on the ground, his ice-cold fist crashing toward Xun'er without any fancy techniques.
"Hmph!" Xun'er snorted coldly, not retreating in the slightest. She raised her palm to meet his fist head-on.
"Boom!"
The clash of fist and palm unleashed a terrifying wave of energy, shattering the stones beneath them. Hun Li staggered back two steps, but before Xun'er could capitalize on her advantage, Hun Ya's attack arrived, nullifying her previous momentum. In the next moment, countless black chains surrounded Xun'er, locking down the space around her.
"Do you think this can hold me?" Xun'er smirked as golden flames surged forth. With a series of metallic clinks, the chains shattered.
"Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame? This woman is incredibly strong..." Hun Ya thought, feeling a wave of shock. In their first exchange, he realized how powerful Xun'er was. Even with both of them working together, they might not be a match for her.
"Let's retreat for now. There may be other Gu Clan members nearby. We'll regroup once we reach the third layer!" Hun Ya quickly transmitted to Hun Li.
"Alright!" Without hesitation, the two faked a strike and swiftly fled, trying to distance themselves from Xun'er.
"Think you can escape?" Xun'er, long frustrated, unleashed her pent-up anger and chased after them.
To evade her, Hun Ya and Hun Li pushed their speed to the limit, flying as fast as possible under the Heavenly Tomb's pressure.
"Damn it, this woman's gone mad- she's been chasing us for an entire hour!" After an hour of flying, Hun Ya and Hun Li were at their limit, struggling under the immense pressure, yet Xun'er was still hot on their trail.
"You two, looking for me?" Suddenly, a voice echoed from the space ahead of Hun Ya and Hun Li.
The moment they heard the voice, their faces turned deathly pale. They had inadvertently run straight into the hands of a true monster.
"Brother Gu Fei, I knew you wouldn't ignore me!"
A joyful and relieved voice sounded from behind, as Xun'er finally caught up, her eyes filled with surprise and delight upon seeing the familiar figure.
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TL/n:
We've finally hit 200 chapters after one week! That's over 25 chapters a day- I'm the best aren't I?
Jokes aside, now that we're almost caught up with the raws it's time for me to slow down. I'll update once a day from now on- 10 or more chapters per release.
Thanks to everyone who's been pointing out my mistakes so far- you guys are awesome.
Also, thanks a lot for the support and don't forget to leave a review if you're liking it so far.
I'll catch you all on the next episode.