Chapter 1264 - 640: Unequal Battle
"Alright." She thought for a moment and, holding his hand, quietly followed. Cultivators wouldn’t care about ordinary wealth, nor would they consider "future generations." This group of people were indeed all mortals! She was more interested in knowing who the "person" mentioned by these people was, who would offer such a hefty reward to bring mortals in, and what was their purpose?
In the perception of Changtian and Ning Xiaoxian, this group of mortals numbered around seven, led by a burly man with a full beard, who was referred to by others as Boss Kun. Counting the deceased, this team originally consisted of eight people.
It made sense, in a place where enemies are strong and allies weak, and where visibility is zero, it’s wise to keep the adventuring party small. Otherwise, one fool could cause a total annihilation, and this is not a game, there’s no chance for a do-over.
At this moment, Boss Kun was leading the group back to the underground palace from the Water Room. Several people gave the Water Room a reluctant last glance, seemingly with some hesitation in their hearts. This waterway might indeed be their only chance to leave the perilous underground palace, but they passed it up lightly.
Under Boss Kun’s guidance, this group indeed managed to avoid at least three or four patrols of Mountain Anchors without incident, continuing deeper into the underground palace. Honestly, facing a horde of Mountain Anchors, these people were really too weak. But Boss Kun seemed very familiar with the internal structure of the underground palace, always finding a suitable hiding place at the critical moments.
Changtian and Ning Xiaoxian followed behind, growing increasingly curious.
It’s perpetually dark here, so Boss Kun and his group couldn’t walk with torches, or they’d be a glaringly obvious target for the monsters. Yet, these people moved, turned, and even ran without any hinderance, clearly able to see in the dark.
This was not surprising because there are several elixir recipes circulating among the populace that grant night vision upon consumption, though the ingredients are a bit bizarre, like cow eyes or Dog Treasure. What truly amazed them was that these mortals could hold their breath just like cultivators.
Everyone has their own unique scent. Someone like Ning Xiaoxian, who loves beauty, applied Ningxiang Dew, surrounded by a fragrant aroma.
Yet, when she sneaked into the underground palace, she used her divine skills to completely lock in her scent, not letting any escape, or else the monsters, with their keen sense of smell, would have pounced on her like bears drawn to honey.
These mortals somehow managed to eliminate their scents. This alone indicated that they had some knowledge of the underground palace and came prepared. Without something to rely on, they would probably have retreated at the first encounter with a Mountain Anchor. Even a mountain of gold and sea of silver won’t do any good if you don’t have a life to spend it.
They traversed rapidly in the dark, not daring to make a sound. Everything was peaceful, while Boss Kun silently recited, probably discerning direction and routes. The architecture of this underground palace was indeed precise, with each passageway almost identical in height, width, and narrowness, and every intersection uniquely similar. Even with a good memory, Boss Kun had to constantly compare and contrast.
Seeing this, Ning Xiaoxian became more convinced he had obtained a map of this place beforehand, or he would never be so adept. This was truly interesting, the Earth Evil Vein had long been suppressed by the underground palace, and only half a year ago, with the ground tremors, did a small opening to the Human Sacrifice Pit become unsealed, allowing earth energy to leak out. How did this group’s employer manage to acquire a map of the underground palace?
Some sixty feet away, two Mountain Anchors were leisurely passing by. Everyone held their breath and stopped, blending into their surroundings like wood or stone. The antennas on the Mountain Anchors’ heads brushed the ground, yet they did not perceive human presence. These creatures also shared some characteristics with ants, their head antennas could sense vibrations on the ground, so whenever Boss Kun and his people encountered them, they had to stand still early on.
Seeing these two finally wander off, the people in the group couldn’t help but sigh in relief. However, it’s impossible for human nerves to be perpetually strained at high intensity, lest mistakes occur, like what happened now—
"Crack," a small sound suddenly echoed in the empty space, as if someone had snapped a twig.
The ground here was generally quite clean, and what lay there weren’t twigs, but a dried fragment of a Mountain Anchor’s limb, which had been lying there for who knows how many years, becoming dry and brittle. Just now, the person who spoke in the Water Room accidentally stepped on it, instantly producing this sound.