Chapter 35
The spiral staircase continued to extend downwards. With a long and narrow slope, throwing down a Daoist Light Talisman did not reveal the end as its brilliance finally vanished from sight.
Su Xing let out a breath of cold air. If this really was the path leading to the grave, then it was insufferably long. This path looked remarkably clean, and it did not seem like there was a trap, either. In the surroundings, Su Xing noticed that there were no signs of any previous intruders.
Even so, Su Xing did not dare to be even slightly careless. Liangshan continent was full of secrets, and only the Heavens knew what other great dangers were hiding around the corner. As Su Xing walked, he kept a vigilant watch of the surroundings.
Gong Caiwei unexpectedly glanced at Su Xing and smiled: "You really are a careful man. Could it be you are unable to use Divine Intent."
Su Xing’s mouth twitched. He had only recently comprehended Divine Intent during the rush to Rippling Wave Kingdom, but his Divine Intent could only be described as utterly unreliable. Apparently, it was dispersed by using one’s own will. The Star Generals are all born with it, but Star Cultivators must first refine their own Divine Sight. However, practicing this Divine Sight was far more exhausting than the Chaotic Tail Escape Technique. After spending half a day, Su Xing had ended up with a sort of overdraft.
Listening to Wu Xinjie’s explanation, it seemed that the best method to cultivating Divine Intent was still to have a superior art.
Gong Caiwei looked at Su Xing without replying and continued to advance downwards. Suddenly, she turned, and with a smile that was at the same time not a smile, said: "Is your Star General the Knowledge Star, Resourceful Star Wu Yong?"
Su Xing completely did not expect that she would ask this. For a moment, he was speechless and did not know how he should reply. In a duel between Star Masters, even the ident.i.ty of their Star Generals was a trump card. There were various countermeasures for addressing the difference in the rankings between Star Generals. For example, the array used last time at Grand Border City to trap the Majestic Star was specifically targeted at Lin Chong. Thus, this is why the Knowledge Star Wu Yong’s first Huangjie Technique is "Think Then Act."
Although Gong Caiwei did not mind compromising her own Star General, in the end, there was an inherent difference in this girl. With a single look, it was obvious that this girl was the type that was tricky to deal with. Besides her build, brow and bust, the other a.s.sets she took pride in included those Snow Soul Sword Arts and that unfathomable Star Energy.
From start to finish, Wu Xinjie and Lin Yingmei had never revealed their Destined Star Weapons, so how did she find out?1
Gong Caiwei noticed Su Xing’s silence, and giving a faint smile: "This Gong was only guessing. This should be the first time I’ve seen you, but you spent only a short amount of time to figure out the mechanism. Only the Knowledge Star could have such talent."2
Didn’t you also figure it out?" Su Xing tried to downplay the fact.
"This Gong’s Star General The Resourceful Strategist doesn’t lose out to the Knowledge Star!" Gong Caiwei said emphatically. "Once I had Zhu Sha’s hint, only then did this Gong figure it out without issue."
Su Xing inadvertently glanced at the stonelike Leader Star, but he said nothing.
The group walked for a very long time before they finally arrived at the end of the slope.
The end opened into a wide, open clearing.
Su Xing proceeded to activate another Daoist Light Talisman. Sweeping it all around, they were able to clearly see their surroundings.
Underneath this ancient tomb was some other beautiful wonderland, with murals, gla.s.s lamps and an army of figurines.
There were many copper lampstands scattered everywhere, all of them manufactured in the shape of lamp-holding slaves, and each slave was kneeling with both legs, their hands holding up
A sarcophagus was placed upon a platform that jutted out at the very top of the main hall. It seems that was final resting place for the ancient tomb master’s skeleton.
"This ancient tomb truly was unexceptional."
Wu Xinjie was greatly disappointed.
"For an officer as insignificant as this to have such a clever mechanism could be considered unexpected. What else could there be." Gong Caiwei had on a face that asked if there was something else.
"It isn’t often that you hear an ancient tomb contains a a changed corpse, but where’s the tomb’s guardian ent.i.ty? There should be a ghost at the very least?" Wu Xinjie’s head shook left and right.
Su Xing had absolutely nothing to say regarding her tendency to seek thrills.
"Then you should have went to the Thousand Buddha Tomb. You’ll definitely remember it for the rest of your life." Gong Caiwei snorted.
"Who’s there?!" Su Xing suddenly raised his head and shouted.
Within the darkness above the ancient tomb, a light discreetly lit up a bit, a sort of faint light, carrying with it a soft, white glow. She hovered within the darkness uncertainly, as if she was in the middle of a struggle against drowsiness, opening her eyes slowly one after the other. She was also like a wisp of smoke, bringing with her a slight mist.
The white shadow transformed itself into a warm and gentle young lady, though that pair of expressions was filled with a cold that could invade the heart.
Gong Caiwei was blank for a moment, but then she whispered: "It’s the ghost!"
"That’s the ghost?" Su Xing was stunned.
According to ancient legend, from birth to death, only the soul would not be extinguished. When a life ended, soon afterwards, the soul would leave the body and head towards the next life, every generation living and dying, reincarnating endlessly. However, somewhere in the world, there were bitter ghosts suffering from the three poisons of greed, anger and sentiment. Fearing death, they yearned for the material world. Dwelling on the past, refusing to pa.s.s on, these were the so-called "ghosts."
Especially within old burial mounds, there were some of the deceased that would take people with them into the grave.3 The deceased would take advantage of their victims’ resentment to refine a spirit to act as their own tomb’s guardian.
These sorts of ghosts were often far more fearsome than some trap.
The Su Xing that disbelieved in the supernatural had never seen such a thing. Even though he knew Liangshan Continent was filled with the mysterious, upon suddenly seeing this, he was truly given a fright.
When the two people cried out, the sound drifted and faded from far away within the ancient tomb, as if a lion had fallen into a tranquil lake and stirred up ripples. The light immediately s.h.i.+fted over to the distant darkness like it was alarmed by something, and within the dark surroundings, it lit up once more.
Su Xing’s mind was jumping, and right after, almost as if the heart within his chest had stopped beating, he ceased breathing. He saw the beams of light as well as that spirit just now had almost the exact same pale glow. The darkness in front of them lit up. Afterwards, as if countless lamps had been lit, deathly pale lights began to rapidly sparkle, so much so that when he lifted his head to look, the area above him was also illuminating, flas.h.i.+ng a serene yet lifeless light.
Countless ghosts, as if awakening from a deep slumber, sensed the warmth of the very first human bodies in several hundred years and a.s.sembled where they were. Then, with the white light of wispy smoke, drifting indefinitely, they transformed into all sorts of faces, male and female, old and young, beautiful and unsightly. Each deathly pale face was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the desire, the addiction, for flesh. Within Su Xing’s eyes, there was but a single feeling: icy cold.
"You really jinxed us."4 Gong Caiwei spat darkly.
Wu Xinjie innocently stuck out her tongue.
The Leader Star Zhu Sha’s Five Elements Weather Banner unfolded in full, and though she seemed cold and determined, she was not that ruthless, for five small flags encircled the group and became a barrier.
It was as if a s.h.i.+ning flame had forced the ghosts to retreat a meter.
"Unexpectedly, this is a ‘Warding5 Array.’" Wu Xinjie sighed darkly.
SFX: "Clang!"
From the middle of the darkness came this clear sound.
Gong Caiwei’s face was cold as frost. Seizing her sword, unsheathing its icy cold edge, it spewed forth boiling ice and fire.
"Young master Su Xing, do you have a means of fighting ghosts?"
Su Xing brought out the Binding Dragon Whisk, for it could be considered the sole artifact before his eyes that he could use.
A whisk? Gong Caiwen felt like laughing.6 Gripping her sword tightly, she raised her cold sword.
"With so many ghosts, if you raise them as a magical army, then that’s not bad. But what a shame that they ran into this Gong."
Gong Caiwei lightly shouted. The lethal icy sword, under the grip of its master, blue light flaring vigorously, shot out countless rays that met the rus.h.i.+ng ghosts and swept them aside. In an instant, the pale light of the ghosts lost out in brilliance to the blue light before them. Despite this, these ghosts apparently had no concept of fear at all, and like before, rushed again from all four directions.
The moment the blue light touched the ghosts, a sword qi burst forth that chilled to the very bone. With a buzz, the first dozens of ghosts immediately vanished under the sword, their souls flying and scattering away.
Su Xing wasn’t idle, either. With a shake of the Binding Dragon Whisk, its magic power turned into a thread, shooting out from the whisk. Although its power wasn’t as stunning as that of Gong Caiwei’s G.o.dly weapon, victory lay in repeated attacks. Within a period of time, the two worked together to suppress the ghosts’ attack. The ghostly howls of the ghosts resounded within the void and darkness of the main hall, a sound that would make anyone’s blood run cold.