Coupled with his tattered gray garments, he seemed to be a part of the ancient temple which lay behind him. Anyone who looked at him would have a hard time telling whether or not he was from the modern age, or ancient times.
Several hours passed, during which time explosions rang out constantly. On a few occasions, seven or eight explosions could be heard at exactly the same time, causing the ground to tremble.
Because of all these things, the pace of the powerful clan members and Chosen of the various sects had slowed down to a crawl. Further, the closer they got to the temple, the fewer available paths existed, until there was only one left. Of the over one thousand people who had come, many were dead or severely injured. The survivors now looked at the tiny path that led up into the distance. Nobody seemed willing to go first.
“The fact that there are restrictive spells in this place isn’t surprising. However, a mere step activates the explosive devices under the ground. For some reason, they don’t seem like restrictive spells to me!”
“Is it possible that someone buried these things here on purpose?”
“From the looks of it, that’s exactly the case. That means that the person who buried these things must be up ahead!”
“Dammit! How pernicious! How many of those things did he set up…?”
“I don’t care who did it, when we get to the temple, he’s dead!”
As more people joined the crowd, more and more enraged curses could be heard.
Finally, Taiyang Zi of Mount Sun snorted coldly and stepped forward. His body shone with brilliant light, and his expression was indifferent. Quite a few people looked over.
“Of course they aren’t restrictive spells,” he said coolly. “They are black-peeled medicinal pills!” With that, he extended his hand. A bright glow appeared in his palm, within which was a black-peeled medicinal pill.
“I happened to dig this pill up from a location further back. There is a chaotic qi inside of it, very unstable. It’s obvious that someone buried them here on purpose.”
At this point, Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto coolly said, “Ladies and gentlemen, these black-peeled pills do indeed contain extremely unstable chaotic qi, and it is certain that the path up ahead is riddled with pills just like this one. Why don’t we all join forces to clear the way?”
As a representative of one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, his words carried a lot of weight.
“The chaotic qi in that medicinal pill is very dense,” said Fan Dong’er from the Ninth Sea God World. Her voice was calm and pleasing to the ear, and when the Chosen of the other sects heard her words, they exchanged glances and then began to nod.
Since everyone was in agreement, people began to produce magical items. Ripples that resembled a great Dao flowed out, and a sound like the roaring of dragons and phoenixes could be heard. Beams of light intersected, and the ripples merged together to become a powerful force that surged ahead across the ground. As it passed, it seemed to scrape away the ground itself, cutting out a path about a meter deep.
Figures shot forward as the Chosen employed all the speed they could muster to follow the path toward the temple that could be seen at its end!
When they arrived, they saw a figure sitting cross-legged outside the temple wearing a tattered robe. He emanated an ancient aura, and seemed as archaic as the temple itself. Within the temple behind him could be seen the manifestation of an ancient Daoist rite temple, leaving everyone completely shocked.
The cross-legged man opened his eyes, and he almost seemed to be looking out at ancient times. When he spoke, his voice echoed out, bolstered by an archaic aura.
“I’ve been waiting for you….”
Everyone gasped and stopped in their tracks.