Chapter 184: Split up to Escape

The six of them continued to run frantically. However, this underground palace was too vast; since they took about half a day to enter, how could they possibly leave in an instant?

While they ran, all of the divine dragon’s breath in the underground palace rushed madly towards the direction of the divine dragon hall.

Mo Tiange glanced back quickly. The dark passage was completely quiet, and the only weak source of light came from the weak lights of the moonstones they were carrying. Nevertheless, within this quiet, there was a kind of pressure which made her tremble with fear.

As the divine dragon’s breath gradually faded, the pressure it brought also lightened. Despite this, the six of them became even more frightened because the fading divine dragon’s breath was actually accumulating in one person’s body, and they had no idea how that person would end up after he absorbed all the divine dragon’s breath.

In the midst of their escape, they suddenly heard a deafening roar which sent waves through the water and shook the entire underground palace.

The six people all had changes in their expressions. The roar was deep and they couldn’t hear it clearly, but they could detect the majesty it carried. The might of divine dragons… Could it be that Ren Yufeng really succeeded?!

“Senior Martial Brothers…” Tang Fang called out. His expression turned very ugly. “What should we do?”

A bitter expression appeared on Qiu Zhiming’s face. “Run! We can only run for our lives as quickly as we can and hope that Ren Yufeng hasn’t finished whatever he’s doing now. We have to quickly run back to the sect and report this matter…” He then looked at Yu Xiaoran, whom he’d been dragging and pulling with him, looking completely bitter. “Junior Martial Brother Yu’s injuries are too heavy; I… I’ll take him with me. You guys should each do what you can—run for your lives as quickly as you can!”

“Senior Martial Brother Qiu!” Tang Fang turned pale. “You mean…”

“Some of us have to succeed in escaping and report back to the sect, or we’ll all be buried together here otherwise!”

“Senior Martial Brother Qiu’s right,” Xiahou Yuan said with a stern gaze. “Junior Martial Brother Tang! Stop being fussy! The most important thing is for us to protect ourselves now!”

Tang Fang’s gaze dimmed but eventually, he clenched his teeth and nodded. “Alright—let’s run in different directions. Whoever manages to escape has to go back to the sect and report this matter. If we can’t escape, then…”

“Then it means we’re out of luck.” Jiang Shanghang said. His expression showed his determination. “Once we’re out of this underground place, we’ll split up and run; our odds of success will be a bit higher than if we ran out together.”

Aside from this, there was no other way.

Mo Tiange was listening to their conversation in silence. All of them were Zhengfa Sect disciples, so there was still some affection between them. Qiu Zhiming, for example, was willing to take Yu Xiaoran along on his escape, although doing that would greatly slow him down. Nevertheless, she wasn’t a Zhengfa Sect disciple—to her, they were just strangers brought together by fate, so she had to look after herself.

“Junior Martial Brother Ye…” Jiang Shanghang looked at her in hesitation. “You…”

Mo Tiange knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Zhengfa Sect cultivators’ Fleeing Water Technique underwater. She was only able to follow them now because of the extraordinary power of the Cloud-Treading Boots, and because Yu Xiaoran was injured, thus slowing down their speed.

“Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother Jiang,” Mo Tiange said faintly, “Although my Fleeing Technique isn’t good, I still have some ways of protecting my life.”

She initially planned on looking for an opportunity to knock Jiang Shanghang out and bring him into the Virtual Sky World with her; that could be considered as repayment for the friendship he showed her by staying behind to protect her before. However, since they already had an alternate plan now, she didn’t need to continue with hers. After all, although she trusted Jiang Shanghang, her trust hadn’t yet reached the stage where she would desperately do everything she could to ensure his survival.

Jiang Shanghang’s gaze wavered for an instant, but he eventually clenched his teeth. “Then… It’s every man for himself. If fate dictates it, we’ll meet again one day.”

Mo Tiange nodded. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. After so many years, there weren’t many people she could trust. Before she was twenty years old, she only had her Second Uncle, and after she was twenty years old, she could count on a few people from Xuanqing School. As for other people whom she met by chance, she might be able to work with them for some time, but in the end, she couldn’t trust them wholeheartedly.

Initially, she also felt like that towards Jiang Shanghang. She even felt angry because he concealed their real purpose for going there. Nevertheless, when he willingly gave up his chance to look for treasure and stayed behind to look after her, she felt that maybe she could trust him a bit more. But now, she didn’t have time to verify her thoughts.

Never mind. They were just strangers who met by chance; it was every man for himself. Under fate, everyone was just floating duckweeds. They met each other by chance and were separated by fate. As long as they were alive, they might have another chance to meet again—back when they fled from Mount Yunwu, they also didn’t think they would meet again.

“That’ll do; stop with all the superfluous talk. Split up!” Qiu Zhiming shouted then took the lead in rushing out of the underground palace.

Nobody hesitated. One after another, they fled following the current.

Once they were out of the underground palace, they left through the Transporting Formation on the divine dragon monument then activated their Fleeing Water Technique; each fled at their fastest speed.

Mo Tiange saw four Flight Lights flashing in four different directions and disappearing into the distance.

Mo Tiange didn’t escape with them. Instead, she turned around with a sigh then once again passed through the Transporting Formation to enter the restriction on the divine dragon monument.

Those four people had a natural advantage underwater, so she was doomed to be left behind by them. If Ren Yufeng needed a long time, everyone might be able to escape. But if he finally started to chase after them, the first one he would catch up to would be her.

While pressing the space between her eyebrows, Mo Tiange muttered some incantations. A light appeared at the point she pressed and grew increasingly brighter. Several seconds later, her body was hidden from sight, disappearing in the Land of Hiding Dragon.

She pointed at the space between her eyebrows again, causing a pearl to emerge, then she made a slashing gesture with her fingers. The Virtual Sky World was torn open, creating a crack from which she could watch the situation outside.

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Within the Virtual Sky World, her previous fear would never materialize. She could comfortably hole up within the Virtual Sky World, and no matter how powerful Ren Yufeng became, he could never find her.

Furthermore, she also wanted to see the so-called divine beasts from the Distant Past era—she wanted to see how strong Ren Yufeng would become after he absorbed the divine dragon’s breath.

The entrance to the underground palace was still open like before, but the divine dragon’s breath inside it was growing weak. Eventually, even the breath lingering on the divine dragon monument also started to rush towards the underground palace. Before long, the divine dragon’s breath in the vicinity of the divine dragon monument disappeared completely.

Mo Tiange fixed her attention on the entrance to the underground palace. Her body was now inside the Virtual Sky World; although she could see the situation outside, she couldn’t use her divine sense, so she didn’t know whether or not Ren Yufeng had already started to chase them. However, since the absorption of the divine dragon’s breath already stopped, he would most likely come out soon.

Sure enough, a short while later, Ren Yufeng’s figure rushed out of the entrance.

After getting a glimpse of him, Mo Tiange furrowed her brows. She wasn’t physically outside, so she couldn’t sense Ren Yufeng’s current momentum. Ren Yufeng’s external appearance, however, was already miles apart from before!

Ren Yufeng originally looked like a young man in his twenties. He had an unpleasant bearing and a fair face. The current Ren Yufeng, however, had a pitch-black face and malevolent bearing. Moreover, his whole body was emitting a black aura—it was as if he had been possessed by the devil.

Seeing his appearance gave Mo Tiange’s heart a jolt. The dragons were the divine beasts of the Distant Past era which were rumored to be awe-inspiring and have overwhelming momentum—they were innately the race closest to the Gods. No matter whether it was the divine dragon’s breath on this divine dragon monument or the divine dragon’s breath on the divine dragon statue inside the underground palace, both felt majestic and sacred.

But Ren Yufeng’s current appearance looked as if he had been possessed by the devil—she couldn’t sense the slightest sacred vibe of the divine dragon’s breath in him!

Mo Tiange was certain he hadn’t absorbed the divine dragon’s breath and turned into the so-called divine dragon’s child but what was this all about then?

Ren Yufeng also stepped into the Transporting Formation, then he was transmitted to the area outside the restriction on the divine dragon monument.

Mo Tiange pondered her next steps for a moment. In the end, she pressed the space between her eyebrows to exit the Virtual Sky World then once again walked into the underground palace.

This world had existed for millions of years from the ancient times until the present day. These millions of years were divided into several phases: the Distant Past, the Extinction of Gods, the Middle Ages, and the present time.

At the dawn of creation, the world took shape, and both Gods and spirits emerged—this was the Distant Past era. The Distant Past lasted for no less than several million years. In the beginning, it was a world of Gods, demons, and spirits. When the human race appeared later, the Gods left the human world, but spiritual beings remained.

The era when demons, spirits, and humans lived together was called the ancient times.

During the long Distant Past era, the ancient times were a comparably special several hundred thousand years. Humans who were born then gradually turned into the brain of the world and later on, cultivators appeared among them. Several hundred thousand years later, their wisdom had grown; they’d learned how to cultivate from demons and spirits. Those who leaned towards spirits became immortals, and those who leaned towards demons became devils.

The power of the immortals and the devils gradually became stronger until eventually, a war broke out between them. The Gods, who had laid down the rules of the world, interfered, ordering the immortals and devils that were powerful enough to transform nature to fly to the heavens, and the demons and the spirits to move to another world, leaving behind only weaker righteous and devil cultivators in the human world. Thus, the ancient times ended.

It was precisely during these ancient times that the divine beasts became the rulers. Divine beasts were the strongest spirits. Unlike righteous or devil cultivators who had to practice to obtain magic power, they were born with innate spiritual power. The strongest among them were almost like the Gods—they were far stronger than both the immortals and the devils. They were also the source from which human cultivators learned to practice arts.

Judging by its sacrificial scene drawings, this divine dragon sacrificial temple probably dated back to sometime not long after humans appeared, a period when humans had yet to cultivate into immortals or devils. The Distant Past era lasted for millions of years, and the ancient times occupied roughly several hundred years of it. The ancient times were also the period when humans were born. During that period, the Gods left the human world, causing the divine beasts to be the most formidable force humans could interact with. They possessed the bloodlines of Gods, so they were extremely sacred—they were the strongest kinds of force among the spirits.

During the ancient times, the divine beasts were the Gods in the heart of the humans.

The divine dragon’s breath on the divine dragon monument and in the underground palace indeed possessed the majesty and the sacredness a divine beast ought to have.

If one really absorbed that kind of divine dragon’s breath, the spiritual aura inside their body definitely would be pure; it certainly wouldn’t be black like those of people who’d been possessed by the devil.

Immortals stemmed from spirits while devils stemmed from demons—there was absolutely no reason for one who absorbed spiritual breath to become a devil!

Mo Tiange was certain Ren Yufeng’s so-called method of absorbing the divine dragon’s breath was definitely wrong. But how could it be wrong?

It made no sense that a secret technique from this divine dragon sacrificial temple would turn people into devil cultivators. Otherwise, how could this dense divine dragon’s breath be explained?

Spirits restrained demons. Spiritual things also possessed innate restrictive power towards devils; according to reason, devil aura shouldn’t show up where there was divine dragon’s breath.

Unless… the aura on Ren Yufeng’s body wasn’t really devil aura, or… this simply wasn’t divine dragon’s breath at all!

Mo Tiange once again entered the divine dragon hall.

Without the divine dragon’s breath, this divine dragon statue also lost the pressure it emitted previously.

She bypassed the divine dragon statue then stepped into the stone door which Tang Fang and the others ran out from before.

Although she was already mentally prepared, Mo Tiange was still thunderstruck.

This was a huge skeleton. Even though it lost its life millions of years ago, the pressure it left behind was terrifying.

This was a divine dragon’s skeleton.