Chapter 572 - 568: Fire Cloud Divine Sect

Chapter 572: Chapter 568: Fire Cloud Divine Sect

Hong Yu stared blankly ahead.

The end of the tunnel opened into a whole new world.

All around him were golden Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ores. Each piece of Blazing Flame Pure Gold radiated scorching energy fluctuations—they were of absolute top quality.

If the Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ore here were mined, it would be enough to forge a huge number of Primordial Weapons.

’The reserves of this Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ore are quite substantial. It’s enough to forge a full set of Primordial Weapons and Battle Armor for every powerhouse in the Hong Alliance!’ Hong Yu’s heart pounded with excitement as his gaze swept across the area.

Among the four factions, the Hong Alliance was undoubtedly the weakest.

Forging a batch of Battle Armor and Primordial Weapons at a time like this was undoubtedly the fastest way to increase the Hong Alliance’s overall strength.

"Everyone, look around. We’ll clear out any dangers in the vein first, then we can arrange for people to come in and mine the ore!" Xuantian commanded.

The powerhouses of the Hong Alliance immediately began to search the area.

The other factions did the same.

Hong Yu appeared to be checking for hidden dangers as well, but he was secretly keeping a close watch on the movements of Mang Kun and the other War Race powerhouses.

He still believed that old geezer was definitely hiding something.

’What a pity. My Primordial Gang Fighting Technique can no longer absorb ores below the Sixth Grade. Otherwise, this batch of Fifth Grade High Level Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ore could have helped my cultivation advance even further!’ Hong Yu murmured to himself with some regret, looking at the dazzling array of Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ores around him.

Just then...

"Brother Hong, I’ve found something over here!" a Hong Alliance powerhouse shouted.

Hong Yu was taken aback.

He saw a figure dart past him, rushing over before he could.

"Get out of my way!"

The one who attacked was Mang Kun.

His face was grim as he thrust a palm strike at the Hong Alliance powerhouse.

This Hong Alliance powerhouse was just an ordinary Primordial Embryo Realm expert. Facing a palm strike from the War King Level Mang Kun, he couldn’t even dodge. A flash of fear and despair crossed his eyes.

"Mang Kun, you’re asking to die!"

Hong Yu’s eyes narrowed as he let out a cold shout. His figure flickered and vanished, reappearing in front of Mang Kun in an Electric Flash.

He threw a punch!

BOOM!

Fist and palm collided, and both figures shuddered from the impact.

Hong Yu’s feet dug into the ground, anchoring him firmly like steel pillars. Mang Kun, on the other hand, was sent stumbling back several steps by the force of the punch.

He stared at Hong Yu, his expression a mixture of shock and anger, but deep in his eyes, a flicker of glee appeared. ’Humans are so cunning,’ he thought. ’If I had led them directly to this place, they would have been suspicious of me. Only by letting them discover it themselves, and then acting as if I’m trying to snatch it away, will they dive in headfirst!’

While thinking this, Mang Kun’s face contorted into a mask of fury as he glared at Hong Yu.

"Are you alright?"

Seeing that Hong Yu had risked his own safety to save him, the Hong Alliance powerhouse was moved to the brink of tears. He shook his head repeatedly. "I’m fine!"

"Good to hear."

Hong Yu turned his cold gaze on Mang Kun and said in a low voice, "Mang Kun, what was the meaning of that?"

"What meaning could there be? I just thought you’d found something good and subconsciously wanted to snatch it," Mang Kun said with a nonchalant expression.

The cunning old man’s acting skills were out of this world.

At this point, the powerhouses from the other factions had gathered around.

Xuantian’s expression was ugly. "Is this the War Race’s idea of cooperation?"

"Hmph!"

Mang Kun snorted coldly and said nothing.

Bai Luoxue sneered. "Didn’t we agree to cooperate fully and eliminate the dangers first after coming in? Your Hong Alliance people found something good and didn’t share it with us. Of course that would anger our friends from the War Race!"

Xiahuang Wudi nodded, feigning regret as he chided, "The people of the Hong Alliance are so thoughtless. But it’s not surprising. They’re just a bunch of lowly commoners. You can’t expect them to have any class! You can’t expect beggars to understand the ways of nobility, can you!"

This verbal taunting and ridicule made the faces of the Hong Alliance powerhouses turn pale and then flush with anger.

This was a blatant slap in the face!

Xiao Shilang wore a mocking expression but pretended to be a peacemaker. "Oh, since we’re cooperating, let’s not bicker over these things. After all, it’s not like they could choose their own birth!"

"HAHAHA..."

A group of War Race powerhouses laughed without restraint.

The Hong Alliance powerhouses felt a stifling frustration in their chests. The feeling of being scorned by everyone was unbearable.

Hong Yu took a deep breath, knowing that if he attacked Mang Kun now, it would just give Xiahuang Wudi and the others an excuse to make a move.

He could only swallow his anger and turn to the man from before. "What did you find?"

"I just felt that this piece of ore was a bit loose, so I tried to move it. After I moved it, this thing appeared!" the Hong Alliance powerhouse said.

Hong Yu fixed his gaze on it and was momentarily stunned.

Indeed, there was an overturned piece of Blazing Flame Pure Gold on the ground, revealing a pit. Inside the pit lay a piece of black metal.

The metal was smooth and flat, with fine lines and strange Runes etched onto its surface.

"Could someone have been active here before?" Hong Yu murmured.

He gave Mang Kun a thoughtful glance.

The old fox hastily averted his gaze, a clumsy attempt to hide his intentions that only made Hong Yu more suspicious.

"Huh? Why is there something like this here? Could it be that people were active here in the past?" Bai Luoxue had also spotted the metal plate and asked, puzzled.

Xiao Shilang mused, "Speculation is useless. Why don’t we try digging deeper? We might make an unexpected discovery."

Mang Kun of the War Race nodded. "The War Race has no objection!"

Everyone looked at Hong Yu.

Hong Yu hesitated for a moment before nodding as well. "Then let’s dig it up. But I must warn all of you on one point: if anyone dares to attack a member of my Hong Alliance again, then don’t blame me for getting nasty!"

His gaze was as cold as ice, and a chilling killing intent radiated from him.

It sent a shiver down everyone’s spines, and no one dared to object.

So, everyone began to dig around the metal plate. The excavation was swift. The metal plate gradually extended in all directions, and what they finally unearthed was a structure resembling an altar.

This metal altar was over four hundred square meters in size, pitch-black, and covered in strange Runes. A faint but palpable aura, both grim and fiery, emanated from it.

"Everyone, look! The metal altar seems to lead over here!"

Blocking their path was a stone wall that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the cavern, covered with a large amount of Blazing Flame Pure Gold Ore.

"I’ll do it!"

Tuso of the Earth Tiger Tribe stepped forward.

His hands glowed with a metallic luster. With a series of BANG, BANG sounds, he single-handedly excavated the layer of ore and loose earth blocking the way.

HISS!

What was revealed before them was a palace wall.

The wall was black as ink, with runes flowing across its surface like streaks of dried blood.

"There are words here!"

Hong Yu saw the strange, obscure characters. They were crooked and twisted, and he couldn’t make out their meaning.

He immediately asked Little One.

The miserable Tower God was sleeping and was woken up by Hong Yu. He looked over reluctantly and then said, "Oh, this is a stronghold built by a faction called the Fire Cloud Divine Sect. But the Fire Cloud Divine Sect was destroyed many years ago. Behind this palace wall lies the Fire Cloud Divine Sect’s hidden treasure hoard. The only way to open the wall, however, is to use human blood to ignite the Divine Fire."

"Human blood? Do other races not work?" Hong Yu paused, as if he’d realized something.

Little One said, "Of course not. Humans are the Spirit of All Things, and human blood has extraordinary properties. Oh, it also seems to say something about this being left by the ancestors of this shattered battlefield for their descendants, containing great treasures and whatnot!"

’Descendants? The ancestors of this battlefield... wouldn’t that be the ancestors of the War Race? So Mang Kun and the others must have known about this place all along. Their goal was to lure us in here and use our blood to open the Fire Cloud Divine Sect’s treasury?’

Hong Yu pieced it all together.

He finally understood why Mang Kun had seemed so familiar with the tunnel, even having Locust-Dispelling Powder prepared to deal with the Earth Flame Poison Locusts.

He also understood all of Mang Kun’s strange actions from just now.

He was clearly trying to create the illusion of a great opportunity here, to lure them into helping him open the Fire Cloud Divine Sect’s treasury.

It was true: those who are not of my race must have a different heart!

’That treacherous old bastard,’ Hong Yu thought viciously. ’After this is all over, if I don’t dig out that horn on his head and use it as a stool, then my surname isn’t Hong!’ He then asked, "Little One, is there really no other way to open this wall besides a human blood sacrifice?"

Little One pondered for a moment, then chuckled. "Hehe, well, about that... there is a way, but..."

Hong Yu rolled his eyes. "You’ll get a cut of the benefits!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

"Ah-ha, ah-haha! Why must you be so courteous! You know me, Little One, I’ve roamed the ages. I’m a being of loyalty and righteousness, valor and integrity..."

Little One kept bragging until he saw the veins on Hong Yu’s forehead throbbing, looking like he was about to explode. He quickly changed his tune. "The method is very simple. You just need to alter the Array’s structure a bit, and then use the Blood Soul Stone you got earlier as the activation energy source. That will naturally activate this Fire Cloud Divine Sect altar and open the treasury inside!"

"Good. Tell me how to alter the Array’s structure!"

"Catch!"

A mnemonic for altering the Array’s structure flooded into his mind. After silently running through it, Hong Yu grasped the method.

「Meanwhile...」

Mang Kun was pretending to be shocked, staring at the row of ancient characters. "Th-th-this is actually the treasury left by our ancestors? I thought it was just a legend, but to think our ancestors really left us a place like this! Everyone, this time you’re basking in the glory of my War Race. You’re about to receive a heaven-sent opportunity!"

The old geezer acted all excited and emotional.

His performance made Hong Yu want to secretly give him the middle finger. He could be summed up in three words: full of shit!

Mang Kun said with a solemn face, "This is the place where my War Race ancestors stored their treasures and heritage. Originally, this place should belong only to us, the War Race. But since this old man promised to cooperate with you, I will naturally not take all the benefits for myself. We will divide the treasures inside equally among the four factions."

"A treasury left by the War Race ancestors?"

"If it has the War Race’s heritage, there must be a lot of treasures inside!"

"But this Array seems difficult to open, doesn’t it?"

After their initial excitement and agitation, everyone was stumped.

They had no clue about this altar’s Array; no one knew how to open it.

A smile flashed in Mang Kun’s eyes, but he put on a troubled expression. "Actually, this old man does know how to open the altar’s Array, but..."

"Elder Mang, please speak. But what?" Xiahuang Wudi’s eyes were already gleaming as he asked eagerly.

After hesitating repeatedly, Mang Kun sighed. "The method to open the Array is to activate it with human blood. The blood of my War Race is useless; only the blood of you humans will work. I estimate this Array will require the total blood volume of about three people. But don’t worry, there are many of you here. If everyone contributes a little, it should be enough!"

"Whether you are willing to try or not is up to you!"

Mang Kun said no more, acting as if he wasn’t particularly keen on opening the Array.

Xiao Shilang and the others hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to give it a try. For dozens of people to contribute the equivalent of three people’s worth of blood wasn’t that much. Thinking of the treasures in the hoard, they decided to take the risk.

A look of triumph, as if his scheme had succeeded, appeared in Mang Kun’s eyes.

But just then, Hong Yu stepped forward.

"I have a way!"