The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Saving effort is also a profound skill.

When they reached the entrance of the slaughterhouse, the remaining Mountain Anchors had already been intimidated by his ferocity and retreated several steps back.

This creature also possesses basic spiritual intelligence, witnessing the strange being before them slaughtering their companions effortlessly; how could they still have the mindset to walk forward to their death?

However, Changtian did not make things difficult for them. After the Mountain Anchors retreated a sufficient distance, he led Ning Xiaoxian away, surprisingly not disposing of these monsters in passing.

Even though her Changtian looks quite handsome, the way he deals with enemies has always been simple and brutal. She pouted, unable to bear looking directly. She really liked that golden whip. When would she be able to have such an eye-catching magic treasure? Ahem, if she were to wield the whip, would she have the style of a fierce lady?

"You just let them go like that?" Soon, loud chewing sounds echoed from behind, eerily resonating in the empty passage. Obviously, food is scarce in the underground palace, and these creatures wouldn’t spare their companion’s corpses.

"Too weak, and there are too many Mountain Anchors in this underground palace, not worth the energy," Changtian said flatly, "Such exotic beasts were originally timid, and even after mutating in this underground palace, they haven’t made much progress. You could tell from how they reacted to the Firefly Grass earlier. The Barbarians would never use such creatures to guard a palace."

She reminisced about the Mountain Anchors’ reaction upon seeing the light; indeed, it was a mixture of curiosity and fear. Obviously, if these creatures weren’t tainted by Evil Qi, they would be even more timid.

"So?" she asked, somewhat puzzled, "Did these exotic beasts sneak in through the soil? But the underground palace was airtight from the start; how could there be any gaps to squeeze through?"

"Perhaps they are being raised here, but not for guarding purposes," he listened attentively for a while, "I can hear the sound of water nearby."

Could it be? She didn’t hear anything, but following Changtian should be safe. So she let him lead her on a winding path, not knowing how many deep alleys they had bypassed.

Along the way, they could hear rustling sounds echoing through the passage. However, this time, Changtian had no intention of looking for trouble, so he concealed both of their auras and traveled swiftly. The Mountain Anchors patrolling back and forth didn’t even catch their shadows, and they broke through the line of defense, reaching a distant place.

Ning Xiaoxian also noticed that along the way, there were indeed no mechanisms like Dragon-breaking Stones, Mechanical Crossbow Arrows, traps, or even sunken passages.

"I told you, the Barbarians aren’t foolish. They know that time is the ultimate enemy of all Mechanical Techniques; hence, they don’t waste their efforts on such futile measures," Changtian transmitted to her, "So the Barbarians must have adopted other methods to guard this place."

With thick Evil Qi filling the air, cultivators entering this place would find their spells cut off, rendering them like mortals. But everyone daring to enter would surely have some hidden skills. What defensive measures could the Barbarians have left here, ensuring the underground palace is safeguarded and remains effective for thousands of years?

Just as she was pondering, faint sounds of water indeed came from ahead. When they were about three miles closer, the sound of gurgling streams grew louder, and with her keen sense of smell, she caught a faint whiff of water vapor.

There’s actually an underground river here!

Turning around the corner, the view ahead opened up suddenly.

This space before them covers at least 400 square meters. Underground water, coming from who knows where, flooded the entire stone room floor and rushed forward. The current was swift, and the water was exceptionally clear, allowing them to see the bottom instantly, revealing that the deepest point only came up to their waist.

It turned out to be a massive water-covered plaza.

Most importantly, there were fish in the water! Ning Xiaoxian could see that at the source of the stone room, live fish about two or three feet long frequently dashed down into the water plaza, splashing around for a while and creating a large spray of water. The sound, different from ordinary flowing water, spread out, quickly drawing in Mountain Anchors that jumped into the water to catch the fish and feasted on them with gusto.

Changtian and Ning Xiaoxian exchanged glances, both suddenly realizing: Although the underground palace is nearly sealed, the free-roaming Mountain Anchors are living creatures. Even with the supplement of Evil Qi, they would starve to death without food. Ingeniously, the designer of the underground palace had purposefully introduced a large river, flooding the stone room. As the river water entered, the creatures in the water were naturally swept in as well, serving as food for the Mountain Anchors. However, such a food source is insufficient for the Mountain Anchors, thus effectively controlling their numbers.

Ning Xiaoxian, with her sharp eyes, noticed green algae in the water, understanding that the underground palace had drawn in a surface river. However, the Mountain Anchors, incapable of swimming by nature, couldn’t escape from the river, and the water blocked the entrances and exits of the stone room, so fresh air still wouldn’t flood into the underground palace.

But why would the owner of this underground palace raise Mountain Anchors? It surely wasn’t for amusement. Intuition told her that she wouldn’t like the answer to this question.

The Mountain Anchors in the Water Room patrolled back and forth twice until they confirmed that no more new food was being flushed down, then reluctantly returned to the underground palace. The water’s edge was a hunting ground, so the relatively weaker Mountain Anchors were unwilling to stay there because, during food shortages, this species would also turn on each other.

Silence fell over the area. Changtian squeezed her hand and transmitted, "Wait."

Sure enough, after a while, voices suddenly emerged from the end of another passage: "There is live water here. Let’s escape from here!" Although the voice was suppressed, it was filled with ecstasy. Obviously, the speaker had had enough of the monsters in this underground palace.

There really are living humans in this underground palace!

Ning Xiaoxian blinked. These people had such skills, lowering even their heartbeat and pulse to the bare minimum, otherwise keen-eared Mountain Anchors would hear a mortal’s heartbeat; how could they have survived? Moreover, even though fresh air had poured in from outside after the Sacrificial Pit was broken, the deeper one ventured, the thinner the air became and the greater the concentration of Evil Qi. That these people had made it here alive was well beyond the knowledge of most cultivators.

Another man’s voice rang out coldly: "Just because of one coward, are you all this scared? Xu Ding’er brought about his own death, causing such a ruckus and nearly dragging us down with him. Be more careful going forward; there’s still a possibility to complete the task. Think about the heavy gold that person promised us, wealth that would last ten lifetimes, for your descendants to enjoy. Are you truly willing to give it up so easily?"

His words at the end bore a persuasive tone, and the others probably felt tempted too, since no one else spoke up.

Changtian glanced at the beauty beside him, seeing her almond eyes slightly narrowed, knowing her interest was piqued, so he transmitted, "Go and test their reality?" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)