Humanity's Great Sage

Chapter 876, Underground Cave

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

Ying Wuji felt that something was off about this independent cultivator who called himself Niu Meng. Sometimes, they were able to come to an agreement without a discussion.

Take this incident as an example. Faced with the door that led to an unknown place, they only had a brief exchange of words and glances before confirming what to do next.

There wasn’t a need for a long discussion or anything else. They could easily understand each other.

Ying Wuji and his subordinates would go inside first, and Niu Meng would follow them to prevent any danger from behind. There was no doubt it was easy to work with such a person.

If not for Niu Meng’s presence, Ying Wuji probably wouldn’t have taken the risk to find out what was beneath the ground. His main task was to bring these Cloud River Realm Masters here to collect Flames of Earthen Spirits, so he had a duty to ensure their safety.

What was ahead of them was unknown. It might be an opportunity, but there might also be danger. Ying Wuji couldn’t take such a risk. If Niu Meng weren’t around, he would’ve sent a message to the Pass and told some other Real Lake Realm Master to come over and look into the matter with him.

But with Niu Meng around, there wasn’t a need to put off the investigation.

Ying Wuji swept a glance over the Cloud River Realm Masters and selected half of them. “All of you will follow me while the rest will stay here and play it by ear. If something goes wrong, immediately send a message to the Pass.”

“Yes,” they replied in unison. Even the usually flirtatious female cultivator appeared serious now.

Ying Wuji was normally easygoing, so they could be more relaxed in his presence. But now, since he had given an order, they had to obey him.

“I’ll go in first, Sir Ying.” An Eighth-Order Cloud River Realm Master offered to take the initiative. Upon finishing his words, he was ready to step into the dark pit.

“Go away!” Ying Wuji pushed him away and leapt into the pit on the stone platform. Like the mouth of a beast, the pit swallowed his figure.

“Come in,” Ying Wuji said from underground. The Cloud River Realm Masters who had been selected earlier quickly did as they were told by jumping into the pit.

Lu Ye then followed them. After he was gone, the rest of the cultivators stood around the pit and stayed alert.

Inside the pit was a long stone staircase that led to an unknown place down below.

The stone staircase was apparently crafted by Humans. The steps were flat and smooth. Although it had been around for a long time, it was still sturdy.

They were a group of seven to eight people. Two Real Lake Realm Masters were at either end while the Cloud River Realm Masters were in the middle. They were cautious and made sure to make no noise.

The passageway was spacious as it could allow seven to eight people to walk down together shoulder-to-shoulder. The further down they went, the darker it was. Since all of them were powerful cultivators, they could divert their Spiritual Powers to their eyes so that they could see clearly in the dark.

Ying Wuji, who was in front, didn’t conceal his presence. He kept stopping in his tracks as though he had discovered something.

Lu Ye, who was at the back of the group, soon realised what Ying Wuji had discovered. When he passed by the spots where Ying Wuji had stopped, he could see some strange carvings on the stone walls on both sides.

There were all sorts of carvings without a central theme. Some were flowers while some were weapons. Human figures and beasts could also be found.

They seemed to be carvings the owner had randomly left behind in the past that contained no special meanings.

However, of all the carvings, the Sun appeared most frequently. In such pictures, many people could be seen kneeling and praying. Regardless of the owner’s background, these pictures showed that he revered the Sun in the sky.

They kept moving downwards without knowing how far they’d travelled.

There came a moment when the people in front suddenly exclaimed. Lu Ye, who was at the back, hastened his pace.

The moment he left the staircase and saw what was in front of him, he fell into a dazed state.

They were now roughly three kilometres beneath the ground. There was a cave so massive that they couldn’t see the end. Red lava streamed within the ditches. The liquid was so bright that it illuminated the entire cave.

What shocked them wasn’t how expansive the cave was. They were astounded by the presence of a city in the cave.

The buildings came in different heights. The houses were crudely built as they were scattered everywhere around the city. These houses were made from sturdy stones. Many of them had collapsed after being around for so many years. Only a small number of buildings were still intact.

There was an ancient city in this underground cave!

The ditches with lava streaming in them that crisscrossed each other were like the moats of this city.

Judging from what they saw and their previous experience, this city had been uninhabited for a long time.

They couldn’t imagine who would live in such an environment. Even a Real Lake Realm Master like Ying Wuji couldn’t stay here for a long time. He had to constantly activate his Spiritual Power to fend off the heat, which was immensely energy-consuming.

Hence, they almost couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw such a dilapidated city in this place.

“What are those things above?” A cultivator suddenly looked up.

Above them was naturally the cave ceiling, but due to the unique environment, it appeared to be red. On the ceiling, lights could be seen flickering at intervals.

Ying Wuji and Lu Ye leapt into the air and soon returned. They respectively held a fist-sized odd-shaped crystal.

“Fire Spirit Stone!” Ying Wuji was astonished.

Most of the Spirit Stones were not of any Attribute. However, there were some Spirit Stones that developed their own Attribute in a special environment.

Take this place as an example. The environment here was scorching, and Fire Spiritual Power was active. As time passed, Fire Spirit Stones were born.

These things were useless to other cultivators. Nevertheless, Lu Ye had cultivated a Fire-Attribute cultivation technique, and his Spiritual Power was of Fire Attribute as well. Making use of these Fire Spirit Stones to cultivate would be more efficient than using ordinary Spirit Stones.

Besides that, Spirit Stones with an Attribute had other uses that made sure they couldn’t be replaced by ordinary Spirit Stones.

Therefore, Spirit Stones with an Attribute were more valuable than ordinary Spirit Stones. If they were of the same size and quality, a Spirit Stone with an Attribute could be traded for three to five ordinary Spirit Stones.

The two sides usually regarded these items as strategic reserves.

Lu Ye had tried looking for Fire Spirit Stones in the Vault of Providence, but he couldn’t even find one. It wasn’t that these items weren’t available in the Vault of Providence. It was just that once these items appeared, they would be snatched up by cultivators from both sides.

It was like what happened to the Flames of Earthen Spirits.

Since Fire Spirit Stones were on the ceiling above the city, it meant that there was a complete fire ley line above them. Otherwise, Fire Spirit Stones wouldn’t have been born.

When they looked up, they could see that the glittering Fire Spirit Stones were as abundant as Stars in the sky.

No one had been here for the past thousands of years, so it was only normal that so many Fire Spirit Stones could be nurtured here.

“Should we collect them, Sir Ying?” a cultivator asked. He seemed to be excited as his face was flushing.

An opportunity was right before their eyes, so they were naturally tempted. If they could collect all the Fire Spirit Stones above them, even if the items were equally shared, each of them would still get massive benefits.

After giving it some thought, Ying Wuji said, “Since we’ve come across this chance, we certainly can’t miss it.”

“Shall we start, then?”

“Alright, but stay alert at all times.” Ying Wuji waved his hand.

The cultivators leapt into the air and flew towards the ceiling.

“What’s your plan, Brother Niu?” Ying Wuji turned to look at Lu Ye.

Deep within, he found it strange. Such valuable items were right before their eyes, but this cultivator named Niu Meng didn’t seem tempted.

“I’ll look around to see if there’s any danger.”

Only then did Ying Wuji realise Lu Ye’s intention, so he was grateful. “Thanks, Brother Niu.”

[As a cultivator from Thousand Demon Ridge, he’s indeed reliable! He isn’t untempted by the Fire Spirit Stones; he’s just cautious.]

“Don’t worry, Brother Niu. You’ll certainly get your share,” Ying Wuji said. Since Niu Meng was willing to look around and bear some risks, Ying Wuji naturally wouldn’t be stingy. They were in collaboration now. Although their tasks were different, Niu Meng should get his share when benefits were shared.

Lu Ye nodded and shuffled towards the city. Suddenly recalling something, he said, “You’d better let them pass all the Fire Spirit Stones to you so that it’ll be easier for you to make the calculation. It can prevent suspicion among the group members as well.”

During the process, if someone secretly kept the Fire Spirit Stones, it wasn’t like they could check everyone’s Storage Bag.

Rather than making everyone embarrassed, Ying Wuji had better keep all the items and share them with everyone later.

Ying Wuji instantly understood what Lu Ye meant, so he nodded. “You have a point, Brother Niu. I’ll do that.”

Only then did Lu Ye leave the place and enter the city.

Ying Wuji then leapt into the air and told everyone to gather before telling them to pass all the Fire Spirit Stones they had collected to him.

These Cloud River Realm Masters were not against the idea as they understood Ying Wuji’s intention.

They were all efficient as many Fire Spirit Stones were soon collected. When they had accumulated a certain amount of Fire Spirit Stones, they would pass the items to Ying Wuji.

While they were busy, Lu Ye discovered something as well.

In a half-collapsed stone house, Lu Ye looked at a stool with an awkward expression.

That was because the stool was made from a Fire Spirit Stone. Although it was sloppily made, the material used to craft it was unique.

He offered to inspect the city because it was an unknown place. Although it had been uninhabited for a long time, there might be some danger lurking in the dark. He had to find out everything before trying to get any benefits.

A cultivator had to constantly deal with dangerous situations, so he had to be cautious.

Much to his surprise, he was just walking around when he suddenly got such a reward.

He wondered who lived in the city in the past as they made stools with such incredible material. Weren’t they worried the stools would burn them? Could it be that all the people living in the city had cultivated Fire-Attribute cultivation techniques?

These things had been left here for a long time. Without special traces, there wasn’t a way to find out any information.

Lu Ye kept the stool and looked around. Only when he was certain there were no other valuable items did he leave.