NOVPUB
Chapter 182: Mount Mu
Hui dug through the earth, burrowing deep into its depths. He glanced over his shoulder a few times. That Ding Lao, he isnt following me, is he?
Everyone, good work! Im eagerly awaiting your boulders! Ding Lao shouted.
Dammit, a little further! Hui dug at the wall with renewed desperation, carving his way through the earth. Argh, no, forget it! Ill dig all the way back to the roots of the Black Asp Sects tree, then escape into our palace! Surely Ding Lao wont dare to follow me all the way back there!
But where is it? Underground, I cant see where I am!
Ah, whatever! Ill dig until Im far enough away from Ding Lao and all those other cultivators, then pop up and take a peek! From there, I should be able to find my way back.
So decided, Hui clawed at the earth again, digging himself in a straight line under the forest. Whenever he hit a root, he dug down and around it, slowly dipping deeper into the earth. On and on, until the shouts of the other cultivators diminished, and even Ding Laos voice faded away. Even then, he kept digging. That Ding Lao is too dangerous. Its like he can sense when Im not cultivating my body! Ive got to keep pressing on until Im far enough away to escape in one fell swoop!
He dug on. Further and further. At last, he dug away a handful of earth, and his knuckles scraped against stone.
Huis brows furrowed. Stone? A boulder?
Dammit, I better not have run into a boulder! I dont want Ding Lao breathing down my neck again with a boulder right in front of me. And I dont even know how big it is! What if its huge?
No, no, Hui, dont panic. First, lets assess the situation. Maybe its a small boulder. Hui dug on, scraping his hands along the side of the boulder. The more he dug, the more of the boulder he revealed. Broad and gnarled, it stretched in all directions. The surface undulated in and out, almost organic. Its surface was almost as if it was covered in thick vertical strings, stretching from high above to far below. Vertical streaks of brown colored the surface.
Huis brows furrowed. He knocked his knuckles against it. This texture its almost as if its wood, a tree stripped of its bark. But its stone, its definitely stone!
He pressed a palm against it and sent a pulse of qi into it.
An incredibly ancient will met his qi pulse. Hui felt an incredible gaze fall upon him. Though it was only a glance, an incredible pressure more immense than any hed ever felt before surged in his direction. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Hui staggered back. His mind shook, and blood oozed out of his lips. His body trembled, on the verge of falling apart. Even apart from the ancient stone, his body continued to crumble, organs shuddering, bones shaking, his blood and qi on the verge of bursting out of him. As he stumbled away, he instinctively shed his skin, backing out of it as he walked. The damage slowed, but he immediately coughed up another mouthful of blood as the backlash of using the skin shed technique to heal for a third time in one day hit him.
Three skins, two heals! Thats my limit!
Ah, good thing I made the snake skin look like the ghoul skin! I have a fallback disguise!
Carefully, he approached the massive boulder again. This time, he didnt touch it, but merely stood near it, looking over it. What is this boulder, that its so incredibly powerful?
Decisively, Hui turned. With a wave of his hand, he collapsed the tunnel behind him, then sat down in front of the boulder in the lotus pose. I dont know what it is, but I feel as if great fortune can be found here. I wont be false to my instincts. They havent been wrong yet!
But just in case After all, that Ding Lao is awfully persistent. He drew out the ghoul skin and quickly wore it again. Disguise complete, he settled in to meditate.
The immense aura radiating from the rock spread around him. It seeped into him, full of thick vitality and a placid strength. He breathed in its qi and breathed out impurities. The ancient aura glowed in his mind, a pillar soaring up to heaven. He stood outside of it, watching it. Green light poured from the earth to the sky. A deep will roared wordlessly. Wordlessly, because it didnt need words. The will desired to be immortal! Yet something held it back.
A seal? Some kind of strong sealing force. This whatever it is, should be immortal, but someone has stopped it. Why? Who?
Does that have anything to do with why Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect teamed up with Black Asp Sect to take down Starbound Sect?
Hui pushed deeper, reaching closer to the pillar without touching it. The green light became brighter, glowing brilliantly in his mind. He flew upward, along the pillars length. Overhead, the light hit a ceiling and fountained outward, forming a canopy of green light.
Furrowing his brows, Hui pushed closer. Is this the seal? Its sealing the light
Wait. This light looks almost like a tree.
As he soared toward the top of the light, the canopy spread further and further overhead, blocking out the sky around him. Streaks of light became branches, branches stretched into leaves. He hovered close, gazing at the leaves. The shape burned itself into his mind. Hui frowned, then glanced down the side. Could it be?
The character for wood burned brightly down the side of the tree. His eyes widened. It is! This is that enormous tree!
But its rock?
Hui raised his eyebrows. Petrified wood! Over the centuries, wood sometimes fossilizes, turning into stone. This massive tree has completely petrified. Its stone, through and through.
He opened his eyes. Hui passed his hand over his storage ring and summoned the black dagger into his hand. He circulated his death qi into the dagger. It began to glow with dark light and emanate an aura of death.
The tree turned into stone. I want to transmute into crystal. This tree holds the clues I need to become crystal!
But Ding Lao could bust in on me at any moment. Putting that aside, even if I could immerse myself in seeking enlightenment here, I cant! I got distracted by body cultivation, but Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect is preparing to ambush the other sects. While I have the chance, I need to discover all the traps theyre setting, so I can warn Starbound Sect when they arrive!
Then, my only choice is to take a piece of this petrified tree with me!
Eyes flashing, Hui lifted the black dagger.
