Chapter 233: Chapter 202: Hummingbird 1

The underground passage was only about ten meters long. Quickly, everyone reached the end and entered a square cellar.

It was hollow inside, with only a stone door standing in the center. The door was carved with lifelike flowers, birds, fishes, and insects, and showed no signs of spiritual power fluctuations, appearing like a simple painting.

On both sides of the stone door hung two oil lamps emitting a green glow, lighting up the entire cellar.

As Xu Mu entered, an inexplicable chill sprouted in his heart.

The woman stood in front of the stone door, squeezed a spell, and then a terrifying pressure erupted from within her.

Hiss!

Everyone felt their bodies suddenly sink, as if a giant rock of thousands of pounds had suddenly landed on their shoulders. Their muscles tensed and they quickly mobilized their spiritual power for defense.

This pressure was much stronger than the Nascent Soul Stage, and might have reached the Divinity Transformation Stage.

But Xu Mu had never seen a strong individual at the Divinity Transformation Stage, so he could not be entirely certain.

The only thing he could be certain about was that if the other party wanted to kill them, a single finger would be enough.

She has such powerful strength and proficiency in puppetry technique. Why didn’t she enter, and instead let us in?

If there’s no catch here, even a fool wouldn’t believe it!

Certainly none of the six were fools. They had all probably realized this, yet none of them presumptuously asked questions.

Roar!

The woman’s spell entered the stone door. The stone door filled with patterns made a thunderous noise, slowly opened, revealing a grey, cloudy space.

Compared to the cellar they were in, the light inside this space was much brighter, like the daylight before the sunrise.

The space inside was filled with flora, and there were even distant hills and waterfalls. It looked no different from ordinary mountains.

The only difference probably was the strands of black fog drifting around, which shaped into various forms under the wind blowing through the mountains.

Whoosh!

As the stone door opened, a puff of black fog happened to drift toward them, passing through the stone door and filling the cellar.

The originally cold cellar suddenly became colder.

The woman did not stop it, allowing the black fog to fill the cellar.

Buzz!

Facing the approaching black fog, the high-tier robes of Xu Mu and the others naturally responded, radiating substantial spiritual light, blocking the black fog outside.

Crackle!

The thundering power within Xu Mu, as if stimulated, suddenly erupted a streak of purple thunder, instantly obliterating the approaching black fog.

This instinctive reaction was so fast that even Xu Mu couldn’t stop it.

It wasn’t hard to guess that these black fogs must be the Yin evil spirit mentioned by the woman, as it had elicited such a great reaction from his thundering power.

“Huh?”

Everyone, except the woman, turned towards him upon sensing the aura of the thunder.

“The Martial Method you cultivate is actually thundering-related, that’s really enviable!” said the chubby man in a purple mask with a smile.

The power of thunder naturally countered the Yin evil spirit. Unless something unexpected happened, he would definitely have an advantage in the forthcoming operations.

The others remained silent, but their eyes also revealed a hint of envy.

“I’ve barely grasped the basics. You’re too kind,” Xu Mu responded modestly.

Now was not the time to brag. Although they were separated at first, if they tried to force him to take the lead by using his thundering power as an excuse after they reunited, it would be troublesome.

“Don’t be humble. I believe…” The purple-faced chubby man was interrupted by the woman before he could finish his sentence.

“Enough with the talking, hurry up and get in. As long as you complete the task I’ve assigned you, not only can you take back your original belongings, but you will also receive a satisfactory reward!”

The woman smiled.

No way we’d believe that!

All six of them cursed inwardly, but no one dared to speak out, not even daring to show any expression.

“It’s an honor to serve senior!” The chubby man with a purple mask slapped the flattery and walked towards the grey space.

But before entering, he cast several layers of defensive spells on himself and took out a small silver shield.

With the spiritual light emanating from the shield, it was definitely a magic treasure, and had already reached tier nine.

Xu Mu’s eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

The ability to use a tier nine magic tool means that this purple-faced chubby man was definitely no weakling.

In fact, he might be the strongest of them all.

The other four also displayed a hint of caution in their eyes.

This also showed that none of the four was at the Nascent Soul Stage, otherwise they wouldn’t be so wary of a ninth tier treasure.

Of course, if there was an Actor King among them, no one could do anything about it.

After the portly man with the purple mask released his silver shield, it quickly enlarged until it stopped at the size of a washbasin, floating in front of him, shielding the vital points.

Subsequently, the man with the purple mask took out several high-tier talismans and held them in his hand. Once everything was ready, he stepped into the grey space.

All five people were nervously watching, but fortunately, no abnormalities occurred, and the man with the purple mask successfully passed through the stone gate.

“Nothing wrong!”

The chubby man in purple waved to them. Only then did the others release their body-shielding lights and defense treasures, and walked in one by one.

Just as the six of them entered, before they had a chance to observe their surroundings, the stone door behind them began to slowly close with a loud rumbling sound.

The six people hurriedly turned around to look, at this point a woman’s voice came from outside.

“This passage cannot stay open for long. After you finish your task, return here and I will reopen it for you!”

Although they were unwilling in their hearts, they did not dare to stop it,; after all, the woman held the upper hand.

Once the stone door slowly closed, the surrounding space distorted like ripples, and the stone door disappeared before the six people as if it were an illusion.

Everyone immediately checked with their divine intent, but could not find any traces of the stone gate, as if it had never existed.

Damn it!

Xu Mu couldn’t help but curse in his heart.

This stone gate was likely a unique portal device, without it, they would not be able to leave here with their powers.

The current situation could be aptly described as a desperate struggle!

Without completing the woman’s task, they could not think about leaving at all!

“That woman…!”

The female cultivator in the blue mask gnashed her teeth in anger, but that was all she did.

She didn’t dare to truly insult the woman, as there was still a white cat puppet made by the woman on her shoulder.

“What should we do now?” the woman with the blue mask asked first.

The six of them looked at each other. It was the chubby man in purple who spoke first.

“Fellow Daoists, how about discussing a plan before we act separately?”

“I’m not a fan of being with others, so I’ll go first… eh?”

Before the man in the green mask could finish speaking, a rustling sound came from the six people’s ears.

Following the sound, they saw a large flock of black strange birds, flying out from the nearby bushes. The densely packed birds, like black clouds, dove towards them, cawing loudly.

These strange birds were mostly the size of a palm, covered in black feathers. Their wings and heads resembled ordinary birds, but their bodies were similar to wasps, with thin waists, large bodies, and tail needles.

“Bee-tail birds! Watch out for their poison needles!”

The white cat puppets on the shoulders of the six people spoke almost simultaneously.

“A group of first-tier and second-tier monster beasts, no matter how many there are, they can’t be that troublesome!”

The man in the green mask snorted, squeezed the Finger Jue, and instantly formed a sky full of sword Qi, shooting towards the incoming bee-tail birds.

These were just mere grade one and grade two monster beasts, no, to be precise, they were savage beasts. Naturally, they couldn’t be a match for a cultivator at the Golden Core Stage. In front of the green-masked man’s sword Qi, thousands of bee-tail birds were wiped out in an instant, and turned into a ground of broken bodies.

But the man in the green mask who had demonstrated his power, not only didn’t show any joy in his eyes, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath, then he took out a top-quality Spirit Stone and absorbed out all of the spiritual energy within.

The white cat puppet spoke again: “The spiritual energy here has long merged with the spirit, and it is impossible for you to change with your level of cultivation. So it’s better to conserve your spiritual power!”

Everyone immediately understood why the man in the green mask had such a reaction.

While others were worrying, Xu Mu couldn’t help but rejoice secretly. His Divine Skill, Swallowing Heaven, doesn’t differentiate attributes; it can absorb and utilize any form of energy.

Under such circumstances, he held a great advantage.

With that, he might stand a chance even against those at the late Golden Core Stage.

“Senior, what should we do now?” asked Xu Mu, looking at the white cat on his shoulder.

Perhaps the White Cat hadn’t expected Xu Mu to call her ‘senior’, so it gave him a somewhat surprised look before saying, “There aren’t any powerful beasts in the outer parts of the secret realm. Staying together is just a waste of time. Let’s split up!”

The man in the green mask didn’t say a word, he turned around and left. Then the woman in the blue mask and the man in the red mask also left without a word.

Those who could cultivate to the Golden Core Stage in the Tianhe Sect were by no means weak, each having their trump cards and confidence. Unless necessary, they wanted nothing to do with this group warming exercise.

“Seeyou at the finishing point, fellow Daoists!”

The chubby man in the purple mask cupped his hands and turned to leave.

Xu Mu took steps to leave after confirming the direction from the jade slip. In the end, only the man in the black mask was left standing in the same place. After waiting for the other people’s figures to completely disappear into the dense forest, he walked towards the dead bodies of the bee-tail birds.