After half an hour …
Sheng Ge followed the indistinct aura all the way into the depths of the Eighteen Linked Mountains. She stopped several times on the way and almost lost track of the aura.
It was only when she reached a mountain that she stopped and said, "It's no good. The aura has already disappeared, so I can't continue following it."
Su Yu surveyed the surroundings and was surprised to discover that the black mountain in front of him was the one he was responsible for excavating.
"There isn't even the slightest bit of aura left?" Su Yu's heart sank slightly.
Sheng Ge nodded. "Yes, I can't detect her aura at all. I could still vaguely detect her on the way here, but it seemed like she disappeared suddenly."
Su Yu was worried about Xue Qi's safety, so he went around the black mountain and observed it carefully. However, he still couldn't find any trace of her.
He spent most of the night searching for her.
When he went back to the camp, the people who were searching for her came back one after another.
Xue Qi was really in danger.
"Don't be anxious. Xue Qi is an inner sanctum disciple and has a Divine Master Realm cultivation, so she should have some means to protect herself. Even if she was kidnapped, she might not be harmed. We can just inform the manor and ask them to send people to search for her. It's better than looking for a needle in a haystack," Bai Shanliang comforted Su Yu.
In fact, everyone knew that this was just a low probability. Since the enemy had managed to kidnap Xue Qi quietly, it was obvious that they were more powerful than her. Hence, it was unlikely that she would be able to protect herself.
Su Yu forced a smile and said, "We can only hope that she isn't harmed before we find her."
All he could do was listen to fate and do his best.
If he reported this matter, the Elegant Spirit Manor would be alerted, and even the Manor Master would be alerted.
It wasn't a secret in the Elegant Spirit Mountain that many people went missing in the Eighteen Linked Mountains. This was a grave matter, so no one dared to report it.
That night, the Manor Master sent a hundred people to search the Eighteen Linked Mountains, and he also joined them. At night, the Eighteen Linked Mountains were brightly lit, as if it was daytime.
They busied themselves for the whole night, but still couldn't find Xue Qi.
The crowd's expressions were solemn, and they were all anxious.
This was especially the case for the sanctum's members, who had been stationed here for a long time. They were all dispirited, and they didn't have the mood to work.
"Sirs, the Elegant Spirit Mountain's Kneeling Gratitude Palace has caused mischief, and we have already informed the inner sanctum about it. The sanctum's higher echelons will come here in two to three days. Moreover, even the Palace Master will come here to investigate it personally. So, please don't worry."
The Red Blood Palace's Palace Master, Mo Tianxuan, is going to come here personally?
The dispirited crowd immediately regained their spirits as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
Mo Tianxuan was a mythical figure in the Eighteen Blessed and Heavenly Lands. Her All Creations cultivation could shake the eighteen domains.
If she were to take action personally, she would definitely be able to uncover the mastermind.
"As for Xue Qi's disappearance, you can all set your minds at ease. I've already contacted the inner sanctum, and I learned that her life plate is still there, which means that she's still alive and isn't in any life-threatening danger. So, when the Palace Master comes here, he will surely be able to save her." The Manor Master informed Su Yu and the others of this piece of good news.
Su Yu relaxed slightly. Is he still alive?
The Life Token was a privilege enjoyed by inner sect disciples. As an inner sect disciple, they would become the focus of the sect's protection. Therefore, the sect was very concerned about their life and death.
Inner disciples could leave a drop of their blood essence and inject it into a special token, turning it into a life token.
If the disciple died, the life tablet would sense it and shatter.
If he was safe and sound, it meant that the disciple was still alive.
Upon learning that Xue Qi was still alive, Su Yu heaved a long sigh of relief. Now, he just had to wait for the Palace Master to deal with the Eighteen Linked Mountains' ghosts.
Thus, everyone returned to work and continued to excavate the black mountain.
Su Yu also joined them.
A third of the black mountain had already been excavated, and after a whole day of excavation, only a third of it was left.
Such an exaggerated excavation speed was quite shocking.
After a whole day of excavation, Su Yu had gotten five Ghost Clan's items and six Human Clan's items. He estimated that he could exchange them for 16,000 merit points.
If he finished excavating it the next day, he would get another 16,000 merit points.
This way, 100,000 merit points would be more than enough to exchange for the Nine Suns Cosmos Sword Formation.
Splutter!
Sheng Ge's face was filled with delight as she came out of the mud. Her body's aura had become slightly stronger, and she wasn't far from the Level Three Fairy Realm. In fact, she would surely be able to advance into the Level Three Fairy Realm easily after tomorrow.
"It seems like you also got a great harvest," Su Yu said slowly as he examined her.
Sheng Ge's heart shuddered, and she hurriedly lowered her head as she replied obediently, "It was all bestowed upon me by my master."
She had been suppressed by Su Yu for too long, and fear of him had already taken root in her heart. It was a fear that came from the bottom of her heart, and it was difficult for her to even think of betraying him.
"Okay, did you discover anything about the last third of it?" Su Yu asked. Her perception of the Ghost Clan's aura was limited by distance, and the closer she was to it, the clearer she could sense it.
Now that they had almost reached the bottom of the mountain, Su Yu really wanted to know whether there were any treasures hidden there.
Sheng Ge asked in confusion, "Master, the Ghost Clan's aura I sensed didn't change much compared to yesterday. There were still around ten Ghost Clan's aura fluctuations, but the bottom of the mountain seemed somewhat strange."
Su Yu raised his brows. "Strange? How so? "
Sheng Ge replied, "Yesterday, we were too far away, so I couldn't sense it. It was only now that I discovered that there was a hidden space at the bottom of the mountain, and the Ghost Energy fluctuations within it were quite intense."
Could it be a powerful Ghost Clan's magical treasure, which was suppressed at the bottom of the mountain? Su Yu's eyes lit up. "You should rest for a while, then continue absorbing it. I'll see whether I can make a narrow passage and enter it."
Since he had continuously excavated a large number of magical treasures, people would surely suspect him. So, he believed that many people would come to the bottom of the mountain to investigate it. If he entered the bottom of the mountain first, he would miss a precious opportunity.
Sheng Ge was also quite interested in the secret space at the bottom of the mountain. "Fine, I will try to absorb a part of the blood essence and soften the soil."
After half a cup of tea's time had passed, Sheng Ge drilled into the ground. This time, she didn't need to absorb the rest of the Ghost Blood in the mountain. She just needed to soften a passage that was wide enough for a person to pass through.
After four hours had passed, the sky had already turned dark. With Sheng Ge's help, Su Yu had managed to make a passage that led to the bottom of the mountain.
Su Yu cautiously drilled into the ground.
When he reached the bottom of the mountain, he discovered that there was a natural cave at the bottom of the black mountain.
The cave was quite spacious, and it had many pitch-black passages that were intertwined with each other. This made the cave's terrain even more complicated, and it was impossible to tell which direction to go.
"Is there such a place at the bottom of the black mountain?" Su Yu was startled by this. Judging from its size, it seemed like the entire Eighteen Linked Mountains was a labyrinth-like cave.
If an ordinary person entered this place, they would most likely have to proceed cautiously. But, Su Yu had his Soul Eyes, so he wasn't afraid of anything.
Su Yu's eyes flickered with a white radiance, and the whole cave became transparent in his eyes.
In an instant, the whole cave was clearly visible to him.
Su Yu swept his surroundings with his gaze and discovered that there weren't any living beings in the cave. It seemed like a natural cave that had existed for many years.
Suddenly, Su Yu's pupils contracted. He discovered that there was a giant stone gate in front of him, which he couldn't penetrate.
Even his soul power was isolated from it. This meant that the giant gate's construction was no small matter.
Moreover, the person who had built it was obviously also an extraordinary person.
Su Yu's heart shuddered slightly, and he muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment before he walked toward the stone gate.
With his Transparent Eyes, he wouldn't lose his way, no matter how complicated the passage was.
After walking for an hour, Su Yu finally reached the stone gate.
"That's right! The powerful ghost energy fluctuations that I felt came from the stone gate." Sheng Ge's eyes shone brightly. She was quite excited.
Su Yu stroked his chin as he examined the stone gate.
The stone gate was three hundred meters tall, and it was made of a pitch-black material. It gave off a cold and gloomy feeling.
Su Yu could still feel the Ghost Clan's aura, which was slowly emanating from it.
This was a natural cave, so why would a man-made stone gate appear here?
Su Yu, who was filled with doubts, walked forward and observed it carefully. He discovered that the stone gate wasn't tightly closed, and he could faintly see a small crack. It seemed like it had just been opened by someone.
Su Yu's heart thumped, and he looked through the crack to see what was inside.
When he saw what was inside, his heart shuddered.
He had unexpectedly seen Xue Qi, who had gone missing.
Xue Qi was imprisoned in a blood-red light sphere, which had many tentacles stretching out of it. They were trying to crawl onto Xue Qi's body. However, a yellow pearl was hanging on Xue Qi's neck, and it emitted yellow waves that blocked the tentacles.
Xue Qi's eyes were closed tightly, and she furrowed her brows. It seemed like she was struggling strenuously.
Su Yu also discovered a large pile of white bones next to Xue Qi.
Judging from the color of the white bones, they had all died not long ago. The oldest one had died not more than half a year ago, while the newest one had died several days ago.
Su Yu's whole body shuddered as he thought about how many people had gone missing in the Eighteen Linked Mountains in the past half a year. Could it be that the evil ghost that was causing mischief was inside the stone gate?
An indescribable sense of crisis welled up in his heart.
Su Yu's gaze quickly swept the surroundings and observed the layout of the gate.
It was only after he observed it carefully that he discovered that the gate's structure was similar to an altar.
It was surrounded by a sunken pond, and there was a giant platform in the center, which had a flight of stairs carved on it. The platform's surroundings were also carved with mysterious symbols. They were twisted and strange, and they didn't seem like human language.
Su Yu recognized them with just a single glance, and his heart shuddered slightly. "Ghost Clan's language!"
Those twisted symbols were the Ghost Clan's language, as Yun Yazi had also studied them in his research.
"The Illusionary Spirit Departed Soul Formation!" Su Yu recognized the Ghost Clan's language, and it seemed like it was a secret technique related to souls.
The stone platform was probably the altar that used this formation.
This altar was quite old, at least a hundred years old. Ghost energy was surging around it, and a chilly wind was blowing.
Su Yu's pupils contracted when he saw a person lying at the center of the altar, amidst the surging ghost energy.
Su Yu couldn't see the person's face clearly, but the powerful aura he emitted made his expression become grave.
This aura was extremely powerful, and it was at least at the middle-stage Divine Master Realm.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
