Chapter 573: Shennongjia

“That was our country’s first encounter with monsterkind… Later on, we found out that there were also sightings of monsters in other countries.

“The USSR also had its fair share of monster encounters. They call these abominations ‘demons.’ As the USSR had more land than people at the time, its government was able to lock these demons away in Siberia. They were hunted down on a massive scale for experimentation, all in the name of creating the ultimate soldier…

“We also discovered something quite fascinating. The more ancient these monsters were, the higher their levels were. Conversely, the closer they are to the modern age, the lower their levels are, much like the wolves and tigers you see nowadays,” said the old man, his lips moving tirelessly as he told Gao Peng secrets that were long buried in the annals of history.

Only a few were privy to these secrets, which had long been hidden from the human consciousness behind the mists of time.

“Our country was a bit too slow to discover the existence of these monsters…” said the old man, smiling. “This had nothing to do with the fact that we simply had no time to probe further into these matters. However, we were lucky, as our ancestors left us quite an inheritance.”

“Are you referring to the ancient texts that they passed down?” said Gao Peng. This was the most logical answer he could think of.

“Correct,” said the old man, impressed.

“Most of these ancient texts contain references to familiars. For instance, the Taoist writer Zhang Junfang of the Song Dynasty maintained records of the paranormal. He was also the author of the book Cheng Yi Ji, which contained written accounts of all kinds of ghosts and creatures of the night that were especially active in that era.

“To the people back then, these creatures were ghosts and apparitions that preyed on the superstitious mind. However, we can now say with certainty that they were, in fact, monsters. Due to the prevailing superstitions and lack of firepower, the people back then had a hard time dealing with these entities. With word of mouth being the sole means of communication among people, these creatures gradually faded away from the human consciousness…”

“Zhang Junfang?” Gao Peng had heard of him. He was a famous fiction writer from the Song dynasty. Gao Peng had taken his book Cheng Yi Ji as nothing more than an outlandish tale.

“Besides being a writer, Zhang Junfang was also a trainer. He was able to figure out ways to allow some of his familiars to evolve. His work has proven beneficial to our research. Thanks to him, we were able to make good progress in our work,” the old man revealed.

“There haven’t been many people like Zhang Junfang here in the Huaxia region in the last 5,000 years. However, I should remind you that 5,000 years is an extremely long time. In ancient times, monsters of all shapes and sizes thrived even here in the Huaxia region.

“Our country has been a populous country since ancient times. With the arrival of guns and cannons and the explosive growth of our population, the monsters native to our country, which were already quite few to begin with, saw a drastic decline in numbers.

“A year after our discovery of the sasquatch in the Shennongjia region, we also caught a 60-foot-long green-striped anaconda in Loch Ness.

“In the third year, we saw an increase in monster activity around the world. There were even instances of devolution among the existing animal population. It was then that we realized something wasn’t right.”

Gao Peng silently listened to the old man’s tale.

“The emergence of monsters in the Shennongjia region didn’t happen by chance. We later discovered a passageway leading into the depths of the planet. There, we detected tremendous energy feedback,” said the old man, looking Gao Peng straight in the eye.

The depths of the planet? Gao Peng frowned. “You mean the Earth’s core?”

“No, not the core,” said the old man, shaking his head. “We believed that it was a pocket dimension. We also detected a high concentration of spiritual energy in it. That’s when we began to suspect that the end of the Age of Dharma Decline wasn’t coming, as the planet’s spiritual energy was being sucked away by this pocket dimension.

“The entrance to the passageway in Shennongjia will soon be opened. We’ve made the necessary arrangements to explore the passageway. Naturally, this expedition will be fraught with danger. I can only come to you for help, as we’re currently experiencing a shortage of trainers competent enough to handle this task.

“You can keep whatever you find there to yourself. As long as you’re the first to claim something as your own, no one can take it away from you. I hope that you’ll at least consider taking on this task and help keep our researchers safe. To the best of your ability, of course.”

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Gao Peng pondered this for a moment. Finally, he said, “Okay, I’ll try.”

…

July 6th. Weather: clear.

On the outskirts of Shennongjia, ten cars were parked along a small pathway, with a crowd of familiars idling around them. The people here belonged to various influential factions in Huaxia. They had been recruited specially for the purpose of exploring the hidden passageway in Shennongjia. Some of them were even from the ancient clan.

Due to the world limiter in place, the most powerful trainers that the ancient clan could provide were its Emperor-tier trainers.

To the north stood a group of young men and women in white attire. There were seven to eight of them, and they were all carrying metal boxes under their arms. “Who the hell are we waiting for? Who does this guy think he is?”

“You mean the guy from the Southern Sky Group?” someone said hesitantly.

“Are you blind? He’s already standing right there,” said the speaker, slapping his comrade on the shoulder. “Even someone like him showed up on time. Makes you wonder who could be so bold as to keep us all waiting for him or her.”

Everyone here knew that Gao Peng would be joining them. Those who didn’t know about this were eventually informed personally by the organizers of the expedition. They also figured that it would be wise not to get in the way of this demon named Gao Peng, lest they incur his wrath.

Gao Peng had shown up early like everyone else. After all, respect was a two-way street. However, there was no point in him assuming a more humble front than he had to, as it would only give everyone else an excuse to push him around.

Suddenly, a streak of green light appeared in the distance. As it drew nearer, everyone could see that it was a green-feathered Luan bird. It gradually descended from the sky, a number of people sitting on the bird’s back.

“Sorry for being late,” said one of them in a sincere tone. The group of people proceeded to jump down from the green Luan bird.

The person who had apologized let out a disgruntled hmph. Why do I have to apologise to these people? Recalling what her father had said to her, Qing Xu furrowed her brows and threw a glance at Gao Peng in the crowd.

“They’re from the Qing Luan Tribe,” said Bei Qing Yan flatly beside Gao Peng. She always assumed the same cold, indifferent tone when speaking to others.

[Monster Name]: Sub-Blood Qing Luan

[Monster Tier]: Level 68 (Emperor-tier)

[Monster Grade]: Legendary/Legendary

“Is the Qing Luan Tribe strong?” asked Gao Peng in a low tone.

“They’re one of the seven strongest tribes,” answered Bei Qing Yan.

The seven strongest tribes… The Sang Tong and Youhu Tribes, who were considerably weaker than these seven tribes, already had Overlord-tier familiars in their midst. There was a high chance that the seven tribes had Saint-tier familiars of their own.

These Saint-tier familiars had their own territories. Their combat power was probably a few times higher than that of an Overlord-tier familiar. Even though Gao Peng wasn’t afraid of the Qing Luan Tribe, he knew that it wouldn’t be prudent to have them as an enemy. It would be much better to have them as allies.

Everyone began walking down the pathway in front of them. They were in a valley, with steep mountain faces on both sides. Vines wound down around them. When they reached the deepest part of the valley, a curious scene suddenly unfolded before them.

The path ahead ended at what appeared to be a scene straight out of an oil painting. Leafless trees stood around them, while a yellow moon hung overhead in the sky. Weeds grew rampant beneath their feet. It was as if they had entered some part of the underworld.