Chapter 45: First Encounter with Yan Ying of the Celestial Dao Palace

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: First Encounter with Yan Ying of the Celestial Dao Palace

It was a vast space, with twelve stone statues arranged in a circle at its center.

And in this enormous space, besides Chu Fan and the two who were fighting, there was no one else.

Chu Fan was naturally curious. ’Why were the three of them the first to arrive here?’

But what puzzled him most was why these two had started fighting.

These two both possessed genuine Golden Core Realm Cultivation. Chu Fan was genuinely worried that if they fought to the end, the clash of their powerful True Qi would cause the space to collapse.

He walked closer and shouted to them, "Hey, how about you two talk it over? If you really have some deep-seated grudge, can you wait until after we’ve left this place to continue? If this place collapses, it won’t do any of us any good."

The two had been completely absorbed in their fight, but they couldn’t help but glance back when they suddenly heard Chu Fan’s voice.

But when they saw it was Chu Fan, they both revealed expressions of utter shock.

On the spot, they actually stopped fighting.

"Brother, how did you get here?" Master Ni asked, surprised and suspicious.

"I ran into two giant snakes in a tunnel. I was scared to death, but luckily a lot of people rushed in. They killed the snakes, and then I somehow ended up here," Chu Fan lied.

In response to Chu Fan’s answer, the two of them exchanged a noncommittal glance.

"What about you?" Chu Fan asked.

Master Ni waved his hand, clearly not wanting to say much. "More or less the same. I ran into two wild dogs."

Chu Fan’s gaze shifted to the disciple from the Celestial Dao Palace. The man, his face cold, had no intention of paying Chu Fan any mind. Instead, he looked at Master Ni and said grimly, "Once we’re out of here, we’ll settle this with our lives."

Master Ni shot him a cold glare in return.

Chu Fan was very curious. ’Why on earth did they start fighting? It’s like they have some irreconcilable grudge.’

’Back in the valley, there was no sign of this when they met face-to-face.’

’So their conflict must have started because of this place.’

’What happened between them before I arrived?’

Of course, curiosity was one thing, but Chu Fan had no intention of prying into their business. He began to survey the vast underground space instead.

’This place must be nearly a thousand feet deep underground!’

’Who could have left such a space here?’

The space was huge, roughly twice the size of the Lingyun Sect’s Martial Arts Arena.

At its center was a circle of twelve stone statues.

He approached one. The lifelike stone statue, standing over six feet tall, was surprisingly a rat.

The two words "Zi Rat" were carved on its base.

The one next to it was an ox, with "Chou Ox" carved on its base.

Further down were "Yin Tiger," "Mao Rabbit," "Chen Dragon," and so on...

The twelve animals were arranged according to the Earthly Branches.

’What does this mean?’

In truth, Chu Fan still had another question on his mind. ’Is this a required path to the secret treasure my master left behind?’

’Or is this some ruin that has reappeared in the world because of an earth dragon turning over?’

’Or maybe this ruin *is* the secret treasure, a place where my master wants me to receive an ancient inheritance?’

But no matter which possibility was true, the task at hand was to find a way out.

Although the space was large, there didn’t seem to be anything of value.

Chu Fan walked a full circle around the space. There were no murals on the Stone Wall, no patterns on the floor, and the dome above was empty. Even the spot where he had fallen from was now seamlessly sealed, with no passage visible.

While he was observing the area, Master Ni wasn’t idle either; he was also searching for an exit or a passage.

The disciple from the Celestial Dao Palace, however, was sitting cross-legged in meditation with his eyes closed, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Just as Chu Fan and Master Ni were coming up empty, the mouth of the Wei Ram statue, one of the twelve animal carvings, suddenly shot out a pillar of water that reached for the heavens.

After shooting up to a certain height, the column of water fell straight back down. The moment it hit the ground, it vanished instantly.

The pillar of water lasted for about ten breaths of time.

Chu Fan rushed over and stared intently at the Wei Ram’s mouth, even reaching out to touch it. But there was no opening for water at all!

’How did the water shoot out?’

He then crouched down to examine the spot where the water had landed, touching the ground, but he couldn’t figure out why the water had disappeared.

About one hour later, the mouth of the Shen Monkey also shot out a pillar of water, which likewise vanished upon hitting the ground.

’Could it be that these twelve animal statues correspond to the twelve hours? At the start of each hour, the corresponding statue spouts water?’

As Chu Fan studied the statues, the disciple from the Celestial Dao Palace looked at him with the disdain one would reserve for an idiot.

At that moment, Master Ni said, "Brother, the statues do indeed spray water according to the hour. I’ve already seen it happen four times since I arrived."

Chu Fan nodded and continued to carefully observe every inch of the space.

The statues spouted water three more times, yet he still found nothing.

Eventually, even Master Ni copied the Celestial Dao Palace disciple and started meditating on the ground.

Six hours had now passed since Chu Fan’s arrival, and still, no one else had entered the chamber besides the three of them.

"How can you two not be worried at all?" Chu Fan couldn’t help but ask.

"Who says I’m not worried? When I came down here, those few disciples from my Sect were still unconscious. I have no idea how they are now," said Master Ni.

The Celestial Dao Palace disciple kept his eyes closed and ignored them.

"If you’re so worried, why don’t we try to figure a way out together? If we just sit here, we’ll starve or die of thirst," Chu Fan said.

"You’ve looked all over. Did you find a way?" Master Ni retorted.

Chu Fan gave a noncommittal response, then asked quietly, "Hey, what’s the deal with you two? Why are you acting like mortal enemies?"

"I just said he was acting like a sissy, and he went crazy and tried to kill me."

The moment Master Ni finished speaking, the Celestial Dao Palace disciple’s eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with killing intent as he stared in their direction.

Chu Fan quickly waved his hands, playing dumb. "Brother, there’s no need for that, really. My mother always taught me to rely on friends when I’m away from home. Look, we’re all trapped here together, fellow sufferers in the same boat. We should be helping each other and figuring out how to get out of here."

"I have my own way of leaving," the man finally replied to Chu Fan.

Chu Fan was first taken aback, then he feigned a look of pleasant surprise and said, "Really? Brother, are you serious? Then please, get me out of here! I haven’t been home in days. My mother must be worried sick."

"Do you find it amusing to play dumb?" the man said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I knew you were a Cultivator the moment I first saw you. I just didn’t know your Realm. Since you were able to get here, your Combat Power must be at least at the Golden Core Realm, right?"

Hearing this, Master Ni’s eyes went wide as he stared at Chu Fan in disbelief.

Chu Fan rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed. "How did you know?"

Master Ni clicked his tongue. "Brother, you’re one hell of an actor! I really thought you were just an ordinary person! My name is Master Ni. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Chu Fan!"

"What?" Master Ni cried out in shock. "How is that possible? Didn’t I hear that Chu Fan’s Golden Core was shattered, leaving him a cripple?"

"There’s more to the story, which is why I’ve been hiding it. Please, Master Ni, don’t mention this to anyone."

"Don’t worry, I’ll act as if I’ve never met Chu Fan," Master Ni said quickly.

Chu Fan turned his gaze to the Celestial Dao Palace disciple. "And may I have your name, sir?"

"Yan Ying of the Celestial Dao Palace!" The man’s words were as indifferent as ever.

’Then again,’ Chu Fan thought, ’for someone as proud and cold as him to be willing to give his name is no small feat.’

’Haven’t you seen how the guy’s been wearing a dead man’s face the whole time?’

’He killed more than ten people from the Red Blood Mansion just because he said so, giving the order without the slightest emotional fluctuation.’

"Brother Yan, you said you knew a way out. What is it, exactly?" Chu Fan asked.

"Wait!" Yan Ying replied with a single, indifferent word. Perhaps sensing that Chu Fan would press him further, he added, "Wait for midnight to arrive."