Chapter 2660 - 2722: Underground Cave
This is definitely a very dangerous aura, Li Yifei could feel it. As his cultivation level increased, his ability to perceive danger also grew stronger, and there were several cold auras that made Li Yifei stop immediately. He wanted to catch up with the other party, but he couldn’t recklessly put himself in danger. Instead, he had to figure out where the danger was coming from first.
Thinking of this, Li Yifei stopped walking and looked over. He was slightly surprised because he saw some giant objects. He used "giant" because they were truly enormous. Approximately thirty to forty meters ahead, there was a vague glimpse of a several-meter-long insect. Due to blurred vision, Li Yifei couldn’t determine if this insect was a statue or a living creature. In any case, the dangerous feeling emanated from this entity.
This place was Miao territory. Finding a giant insect in such a place made it hard for Li Yifei not to think of it as a worm object. Could it be the Worm King? Probably so. For the current Li Yifei to feel a sense of danger, an ordinary worm object would not have sufficed. After all, if Na Yi were to use a Passion Worm on Li Yifei now, it would perhaps not work so easily since Li Yifei’s cultivation was too high, granting him natural immunity.
Oh, Li Yifei shook his head. Worms were still rather sinister. Even now, Li Yifei couldn’t claim full immunity to them, as they were indeed quite sinister.
Without the worms, Li Yifei found fewer restrictions, leading to a more harmonious life with his family; however, he also lost a saving grace. In critical times, worms could indeed save him. Yet, Li Yifei knew that the worms hadn’t disappeared but had merged with him, integrating into his body. The significant improvements he made after dual cultivation with Su Lio were likely due to the worms.
His mind wandered a bit far, and Li Yifei estimated, based on his senses, that the other dangerous feelings might also stem from such entities. In this case, it was likely the base of some sect or the tomb of a Great Power.
The person entered here skillfully, likely someone from the village, which indeed seemed suspicious.
Thinking of this, Li Yifei steadied his mind and quietly proceeded inside. As expected, upon approaching, Li Yifei saw clearly a giant mantis-like creature. This thing appeared neither stone nor metal, possibly just a castoff shell, and it exuded a sense of danger, though whether it was alive or dead remained unknown.
After glancing at the creature, Li Yifei proceeded forward, instinctively feeling that the solution lay ahead. Finding that person might unravel the night’s mystery.
With this thought, Li Yifei continued onward. Before long, he had left this section, moving deeper. By then, he was likely over 150 meters from the exit and heading downward at an angle. Based on the mountain’s size, he was probably at the core of this mountain’s middle section. It seemed that years of geological changes hadn’t affected this place, though there was still a decaying odor. Li Yifei temporarily held his breath to avoid any potentially poisonous fumes.
It was a vast space, about the size of a football field. Don’t even consider other factors; just creating such an enormous space would have been a project involving thousands of people over many years in that era. Even today, it would be a massive undertaking, and one would have to consider the mountain’s structure. A slight looseness could cause it to come crashing down, obliterating everything.
Li Yifei looked up for a while, estimating the workload, as there were obvious signs of chiseling inside the cave; it was almost certainly not a naturally formed cave, including the areas he traversed on his way.
Once he finished contemplating, Li Yifei then focused on observing the entire space. The mountain seemed to have some glowing objects embedded in its surface, and here, there were almost no corpses. It appeared that cleanliness was a must here. Soon, Li Yifei spotted something resembling a treasure trove located in the middle of the entire site. Oh, it wasn’t a treasury, but a massive stone coffin, about the size of a large truck, its exterior pitch black, as if shrouded in darkness.
There were no dangerous auras emanating from it, so Li Yifei was less alert as he hid in the shadows. Yet, he didn’t truly feel safe because, here, he was an outsider. He hadn’t seen the person he was tracking, implying that although he cautiously followed, he might have already been discovered, detected, which meant the other party was also avoiding him.
Even if he hid, he might be in plain sight, and therefore, there were many dangers.
If he stepped on the entrance, it wouldn’t be fun! Li Yifei thought unnecessarily. After all, he was essentially trapped at the mountain’s core. Moving in the dark for a while, Li Yifei moved toward the centrally elevated large black stone coffin. Suddenly, his ears caught a rustling sound. Li Yifei then confirmed that there was water around the stone coffin, seemingly underground water. When he approached the water’s edge, just about to examine it, he sensed danger, pushed off his toes, and leaped backward. Then he saw a black shadow leap out from under the water, about half a meter long, with sharp teeth.
It was a large black fish, seemingly a meter long, leaping two meters, appearing intent on attacking Li Yifei. However, he dodged quickly, preventing the fish from succeeding, though given those teeth, it certainly wasn’t benign.
This was the first living thing Li Yifei encountered after entering. Those large insects, though fearsome, were ultimately immobile, whereas this black fish was quite capable of biting people, with sharp teeth posing a definite threat.
Of course, Li Yifei wasn’t afraid of such creatures. He could kill the black fish with a wave of his hand, though he didn’t know how many lurked underwater. Thus, he didn’t want to tussle with them, at least not at the moment.
Walking around the riverbank, Li Yifei circled about half of it, still without spotting the person’s shadow, causing his unease to grow. Something wasn’t right. With his level of cultivation, silently tracking someone shouldn’t have been difficult, yet he hadn’t found the person. Could it be the person realized he was being followed, deliberately luring him in before leaving through another route?
In the previous basketball court-sized space, there were several paths, making such a scenario possible. Indeed, it was possible, but Li Yifei couldn’t confirm it. The person came from the village, and Li Yifei was unaware of such an individual hidden within. Na Yi and the others likely didn’t know either. Such a dangerous person, Li Yifei didn’t know his intentions.
Thus, he needed to quickly decide and find a way to respond, to avoid harming the innocent.
Upon completing a circle, Li Yifei finally discovered a path, or what might be considered a path, not over the water but along a side ceiling. There appeared to be a line leading to the stone coffin. There, Li Yifei also noticed some items beside the walls: clothing and traces of human activity. Judging by the clothing, Li Yifei could confirm that it belonged to the person he was tracking, and it was a man because the shoes were large, size 43, and the clothing was masculine.
Heh, Li Yifei looked at the line, speculating whether the man escaped here to the coffin. It was likely so, prompting Li Yifei to employ his agility, scaling the line. It was the only route leading to the stone coffin, though seemingly dangerous. A drop midway could result in becoming fish fodder.
Anyone who has watched documentaries on the Amazon River knows that in collective action, even a large elephant could be reduced to bones if it fell in. Li Yifei, possessing Protective True Energy, still preferred not to intimately encounter those creatures.
Halfway there, Li Yifei glanced at the black stone coffin, still vaguely indistinct. Suddenly, he heard faint sounds, akin to a rat gnawing on bones, producing a rustling noise from within the stone coffin. Li Yifei, now near the coffin, could descend in a few steps. Unsure of what the coffin was made from, it appeared to have a black aura enveloping it, making it impossible to see clearly.
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yifei became cautious. He was nearly at the endpoint; there could still be dangers.
It was a very large black stone coffin, the largest Li Yifei had ever seen, measuring seven to eight meters in length and three to four meters in width, seemingly intended for giants. However, people of status and position sometimes had large coffins after death, so it wasn’t entirely unusual.
Standing on the stone coffin, Li Yifei continued to hold his breath, entering a Turtle Breath State. In this state, he could maintain it for half an hour, so there was no immediate concern about inhaling poison gas.
The stone coffin’s surface was smooth, at least as far as Li Yifei could tell. But as he reached the other end, he noticed something intriguing. There was a hole large enough for a person to pass through. Li Yifei was about to investigate when a voice emanated from inside. The sound seemed a bit distant, prompting him to focus on listening.
It was in the Miao language, a language Li Yifei couldn’t understand. After listening for a while, he couldn’t discern a single word. If Na Yi were here, perhaps she would grasp what the speaker was chanting. Although the speech wasn’t rapid, it seemed to be some kind of prayer or invocation.
Despite not understanding, Li Yifei was somewhat pleased because he had found the person. This guy was here practicing cultivation.
Looking into the stone coffin’s black hole, Li Yifei speculated that there was probably another world below. The sound seemed farther away than the visible space suggested. After contemplating for a moment, he decided to venture further inside to meet the person and see what kind of tricks they were up to.
Ordinarily, Li Yifei wouldn’t be so curious, but the peculiarity of the Bunong situation made him vigilant and defensive towards these unusual occurrences.