Chapter 9: Form is Emptiness (3)
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In the early morning, just before heading off to the valley, Leng Yi picked out over twenty of his trusted men.
To be fair, he also selected a dozen helpers from the mountain stronghold, led by Fatty, with Trissa among them.
Morris, Adeline, and the others wanted to tag along, but considering the need for leadership back at the stronghold, they begrudgingly stayed behind.
Navigating through the construction site of the tunnel, the group arrived at the edge of a steep cliff.
Using the fresh morning light to gaze down, they saw a verdant valley brimming with dense forests, making it impossible to spot any signs of what lay within.
Of course, this was all part of Leng Yi’s expectations.
“Lay down the ropes!” Leng Yi commanded.
The group sprung into action, slowly releasing the prepared long ropes down the cliff, securing one end tightly to a giant rock at the top.
Once all three ropes were deployed, Leng Yi was the first to grab hold and jump down, resembling a monkey gracefully bouncing along the cliffside.
Fatty was not one to be left behind.
As the representative from the stronghold, he couldn’t let the opportunity to explore their own valley slip away. If they really found treasure down there, the stronghold deserved the lion’s share—after all, it was their turf!
After what felt like an eternity, nearly an hour of careful descent, the group finally arrived at the valley floor, jumping with a mix of excitement and fear.
The view was essentially the same as above: towering trees, possibly hundreds of years old, every one of them stretching at least twenty to thirty meters high in a bid for sunlight.
The sight of the treetops clustering together was quite majestic.
With a sense of awe, Leng Yi advanced into the valley.
Being the first to arrive at the bottom, he noticed among the crooked trees a weathered human statue, covered in moss and appearing to be life-sized.
While there were still some doubters who believed that the Human Emperor’s seal spoken of by the Demon Sect’s Saintess was mere fiction, it was clear from their current situation that the Saintess hadn’t been fibbing.
Circling the statue a few times, they found it to be the only puzzle left to solve—surrounded by a sea of towering trees, still offering no other clues.
Fatty remarked, “Maybe… it’s just a statue?”
Leng Yi shook his head, “Don’t you feel that this statue is giving off an icy aura?”
“Statues are made of stone, they’re supposed to be cold,” Fatty replied, shrugging.
“It’s more than just surface cold; you need to feel it from within,” Leng Yi said dismissively.
Fatty stepped back, “I can’t do that.”
Alone, Leng Yi approached the statue, observing it closely.
Dressed in intricately patterned robes, the statue’s half-eroded, beautiful face was being slowly reclaimed by nature. Its long, elegant arms told him that the statue was indeed female.
For some reason, upon recognizing the statue’s gender, the first image that flashed through his mind was that of Frost North Snow.
Once that thought crossed his mind, the slightly decayed face of the statue began to resemble the Demon Sect’s Saintess even more.
Perhaps… it was just a coincidence.
After all, the Saintess was in her twenties at most; how could she possibly be from the same era as the Human Emperor?
Putting aside those thoughts, the priority was figuring out how to enter the Human Emperor’s prison.
Just as Leng Yi was contemplating whether to dig beneath the statue to check for hidden passages, the ground shook slightly, and over thirty earth mounds slowly emerged around them.
“Demon beasts!”
A guard shouted nervously, and everyone immediately drew their weapons, ready for battle.
Sure enough, within moments, grotesque humanoid creatures that looked like giant mosquitoes burst forth from the mounds, shrieking at the group.
“k*ll!”
It was a clash with no suspense whatsoever.
If not for the fear of hitting the trees with stray blades and causing collateral damage, Leng Yi would’ve already sliced through the horde in a matter of seconds.
But in the end, under Leng Yi’s leadership, they dispatched the disgusting creatures in less than five minutes.
The ground was soon drenched in black bl**d, the stench rising to the heavens.
Everyone instinctively covered their noses, looking towards Leng Yi for the next move.
Now that there were demon beasts guarding the area, it showed they were on the right track. They could afford to wait a few more days; once the basic tunnel was completed, they would bring a bigger force to dig three feet deep here—surely that would reveal the entrance to the seal.
Just then, perhaps feeling the wafting scent of bl**d in the air, the statue slowly began to descend into the ground.
Meanwhile, the ground shook again, revealing a dark cave entrance that suddenly appeared at the side of the cliff.
And the location of the entrance was precisely where the statue had been gazing moments before.
Leng Yi couldn’t help but rejoice.
Perhaps those demon beasts were merely tests set by the Human Emperor to gauge their strength. Once they prevailed, the deepest passages would automatically open, inviting visitors inside.
Fatty tiptoed closer to the cave emitting a chilling aura, feeling a tremor of fear in his heart.
“Boss, uh, how about we wait a bit? We can go in together when our king returns,” he suggested nervously.
With the secret right before them, Leng Yi was not one to delay.
“If you don’t want to go in, just guard the entrance. Giant Wave Gang members, follow me in.”
“Yes, Boss!”
As usual, Leng Yi led the way, with the gang members trailing behind.
Fatty stood aside, wide-eyed.
Trissa furrowed her brow, “General Duan, what if that masked guy causes trouble inside and we don’t follow him?”
“Um, alright, let’s go take a look,” he finally conceded reluctantly. They left two people at the entrance to guard against any potential surprises.
The cave was pitch black, and with every step down the stairs, it felt like light was drifting farther away.
The hesitantly advancing Fatty was drastically slowing down the mountain stronghold’s progress. They could hardly hear the footsteps of the Giant Wave Gang ahead.
Trissa, resigned, took out her four-stringed harp, using its faint glow to illuminate the descending staircase.
With some light, Fatty immediately felt relieved; he stopped panting and his legs moved much quicker.
They were walking when suddenly, a chorus of sharp screams echoed up from below.
The mountain stronghold members jumped in surprise, collectively halting in their tracks.
All eyes turned to Fatty, waiting for him to give further orders.
Should they rush to the rescue or make a hasty retreat…?
Fatty was sweating profusely, utterly unsure of what to do.
