Chapter 573 - 569: Struggle for the Fetal River

Chapter 573: Chapter 569: Struggle for the Fetal River

"I have a way!"

Hong Yu stepped forward, a calm smile on his face.

Everyone was stunned. ℯℯ𝑙.

Mang Kun, in particular, frowned deeply. He stared intently at Hong Yu, looking rather agitated. "Little friend Hong Yu, this is an array set up by my War Race ancestors. Even we of the War Race only know this ancient method to open it, yet you claim to have another way? Are you trying to say you doubt my War Race?"

Hong Yu glanced at him.

’This cunning old fox is full of schemes and conspiracies.’

’I’ve disliked him for a long time.’

If he weren’t considering the bigger picture, Hong Yu would have pinned him to the ground and given him a savage beating. He couldn’t be bothered to feign civility any longer and said coolly, "You’re right, I don’t trust you."

"You..."

Mang Kun’s face paled, and he was rendered speechless.

"Hong Yu, you’re not just stopping us because you’re afraid to bleed, are you?"

"I bet he wants to take the treasure for himself! He’s trying to trick us into leaving so he can have the Hong Alliance come in and open the array!"

"I think so too. That guy is sinister!"

The experts from Divine Venerable City and the City of Sorrow chimed in one after another, as if they were certain Hong Yu was plotting something nefarious.

Hong Yu swept a cold gaze over the crowd and sneered. "A bunch of idiots. Think about it. Hasn’t the behavior of these War Race seniors been strange this entire journey? The Locust-Dispelling Powder could have driven off the Earth Flame Poison Locusts, but they never told us. Then, when we encountered that hard rock blocking the entrance, it just so happened they had Tuso, who’s an expert at digging."

"And now we’ve found this place, and they just so happen to have a way to open this formidable array, but it requires human blood to activate. Don’t you all think this is a bit too coincidental?"

Hong Yu raised an eyebrow, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone. "Just imagine, if my guess is correct, this old fox is setting us up. If you offer your blood to the array and it turns out to be a trap, you might just get sucked dry like with the Earth Flame Poison Locusts."

"This..."

"He... he might have a point."

None of them were complete fools. After Hong Yu’s reminder, they began to sober up from the excitement and thrill of discovering the treasure.

One by one, their gazes toward the War Race experts turned hostile.

The War Race experts glared back angrily. Mang Kun’s face was ashen as he looked at Hong Yu and snorted coldly. "Fine! If you don’t believe us, then we’ll just leave!"

"No need to rush off. If you leave now, it’ll only confirm my suspicion that you have a guilty conscience," Hong Yu said lightly.

"You’re going too far!"

Mang Kun glared furiously.

Hong Yu replied, neither servile nor overbearing, "Hmph. We both know perfectly well who is really deceiving and harming others here."

"Fine, fine, fine! Since you don’t trust this old man, I won’t say another word. You claim you can open this array? Then go on! I’d like to see what tricks a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you has to open the treasury of the Fire Cloud Divine Sect!" Mang Kun snarled viciously.

His venomous gaze, like that of a viper, was locked onto Hong Yu.

Hong Yu just gave a carefree smile.

Then, following the method Little One had taught him, he began to alter the array’s structure. His movements were as fluid as flowing clouds and running water, completely smooth.

Under his manipulations, the entire array rumbled, its structure truly being changed.

「Ten minutes later.」

The massive metal altar array before them had been completely transformed. If it had felt sinister and terrifying before, the metal altar now gave off a fiery, warm feeling.

"Go!"

The Blood Soul Stone shot into the center of the metal altar.

BUZZ!

As Hong Yu activated the array, torrents of blood-red energy erupted from the Blood Soul Stone and began to circulate throughout the metal altar.

The terrifying energy fluctuations surged mightily, like rivers of blood flowing and weaving across the metal altar.

A red glow enveloped the entire cavern.

At that moment, the surging, potent energy made everyone’s expressions change once again. Such a terrifying energy fluctuation, and the array hadn’t even been fully activated yet. How could this be a level of power achievable with the blood of just three people?

In an instant, the faces of the experts from Divine Venerable City and the City of Sorrow turned ashen.

They eyed the War Race experts with hostile expressions.

The smug confidence on Mang Kun’s face had been replaced by astonishment and a deep-seated disbelief.

He simply couldn’t understand. Why was it that even his own War Race could only use such a crude method, luring human experts in to activate the array with their blood?

Yet Hong Yu possessed such a heaven-shaking, god-moving technique!

’He really couldn’t figure it out.’

His expression flickered as he studied Hong Yu. Mang Kun sent a mental transmission to the other War Race experts: "It seems this human really does have a way to open the altar array. Once we’re inside the treasury, find an opportunity to kill everyone else. Leave this one named Hong Yu. It would be best to subdue and enslave him to open arrays for us in the future!"

"Understood!"

"Jie Jie, I’ve been wanting to deal with this brat for a while!"

A murderous glint appeared in the eyes of the War Race members.

Just then, a dull BOOM sounded from the array ahead. The Blood Soul Stone in the center flew back into Hong Yu’s hand, its light much dimmer.

To open this array, the Blood Soul Stone had expended a full thirty percent of its energy.

At this moment, the crowd became even more certain that Mang Kun had indeed been trying to set them up.

"Hmph!"

Mang Kun snorted coldly and said no more.

Hong Yu gave a cold smile and slapped several nodes on the array. With a series of crisp CRACK-CRACK-CRACK sounds, the metal altar, sealed for who knows how many ages, began to operate once more.

Starting from the middle, the palace walls slowly parted to either side.

As the walls opened, a dense wave of Energy Aura surged out.

SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH!

The roaring sound of rushing water boomed, deafeningly loud.

Everyone entered and discovered a whole new world inside. All sorts of rare plants grew here, including precious Spirit Medicines that had been extinct in the outside world for many years.

Due to the long passage of time, many of the Spirit Medicines had already withered.

However, some were tenacious. The youngest among them were at the Thousand-year-old Level. A quick scan revealed at least a thousand stalks of Fifth-Grade Spirit Medicine or higher.

"HISS... So many Spirit Medicines!"

"Grab them!"

Everyone’s eyes filled with ecstasy and greed as they rushed forward.

The experts of the Hong Alliance were also about to make a move but were stopped by Hong Yu. They looked at him in confusion, and Hong Yu gestured with his eyes toward the War Race experts.

They weren’t moving at all. Instead, they watched the fastest-charging experts with looks of mockery.

SIZZLE!

One of them was the first to touch a Ten Thousand Years Level Sixth-Grade Spirit Medicine.

But the moment he touched it, a bolt of golden lightning struck down, obliterating him into ash.

"Not good! These Spirit Medicines are protected by a powerful Prohibition! Don’t touch them!"

"Damn it, we can only look but not touch..."

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the crowd. The person who just died had the combat power of the twelfth Unparalleled True Dragon, yet he was killed in the blink of an eye. Who would dare to try now?

Looking at the Spirit Medicines that were so close yet untouchable, the experts from Divine Venerable City and the City of Sorrow couldn’t help but feel unwilling and regretful.

Xiao Shilang looked at Hong Yu. "Hong Yu, you have Mastery over breaking arrays and Prohibitions. Do you have a way?"

Bai Luoxue also said, "If you break the Prohibition, you can have half of the Spirit Medicines here!"

But Hong Yu shook his head. "Sorry, I’m powerless against this Prohibition. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be willing to just stand here and stare at so many Spirit Medicines either."

"Alright then."

"It seems we’re not fated to have these Spirit Medicines!"

Disappointed, the group continued forward.

What they didn’t notice was that as they were leaving, Hong Yu had left a small, furry, black-and-white Little Beast behind.

It hid in the grass, only poking its head out after Hong Yu and the others were far away.

Its fluffy body rolled like a ball as it took a deep breath. Its jewel-like eyes darted around, and drool dripped from its mouth.

It stood up, holding its fluffy front paws together at its chest.

The three golden hairs on its head SWISHED and burst with golden light. Then, with a wave of its little paw, a thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine from within the Prohibition vanished and reappeared in its grasp.

It took a big bite of the Spirit Medicine, chewed a few times, and then, seemingly finding the taste unsatisfactory, tossed it listlessly into the air.

One of the golden hairs flashed, and the Spirit Medicine was sucked into a Different Space.

"Huhu, huhuhu!"

This little thing was, of course, Huhu!

Hong Yu had left it behind specifically to gather the medicine. Huhu could ignore any Prohibition!

’Besides, while the Prohibition was strong, it wouldn’t have been a problem for me. I had already decided to take all these Spirit Medicines for myself, so why would I care about the fifty percent Bai Luoxue promised?’

"Huhu!"

While Huhu was excitedly reaping its great harvest, Hong Yu and the others had approached a long river from which came the sound of terrifying waves. The river was about a hundred meters across, not too wide.

But the currents were extremely turbulent.

A hazy mist filled the air, making it impossible to see the opposite bank.

"The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is so dense here!"

"I feel like the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the air is comparable to a Fourth-Grade Pill!"

"Wait, I know what this river is! This is the legendary Essence River! My heavens, how could we have stumbled upon such a peerless treasure land?"

"What’s an Essence River?"

"The Essence River is formed entirely from condensed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. In other words, the water here is actually just Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi that has condensed after reaching a terrifyingly high density. I once read about the Essence River in an ancient book. It says that an Essence River will form one Essence Fetal Disc every hundred years. Look! There are twenty Essence Fetal Discs in this river! That means it has existed for two thousand years!"

Xiao Shilang explained with immense excitement, "The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the Essence River is incredibly violent and cannot be absorbed directly. The only way is through an Essence Fetal Disc. By sitting cross-legged on one, you can absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the river. An ancestor of mine once encountered an Essence River, but it was only a hundred-year-old one. Yet, by cultivating on its Essence Fetal Disc for just three days, he leaped from the Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm all the way to the Late-stage Primordial Embryo Realm!"

"HISS!"

Everyone’s eyes burned with fervor.

Aside from Mang Kun, everyone present was an expert at the Primordial Embryo Realm (War General) Level.

This Essence River was undoubtedly a heaven-sent opportunity for everyone to increase their strength.

GULP!

Someone suddenly swallowed hard.

That gulp was like a signal. The experts, who had been ready to spring into action, instantly made their move, all trying to seize an Essence Fetal Disc for themselves.

Hong Yu narrowed his eyes, his will to fight surging.

He was just as determined to claim an Essence Fetal Disc.

A great battle was finally about to begin...

[Early morning update! It’s Monday, so you all have recommendation tickets. Please send them my way!!]