Chapter 232: Lost Ground
In the tomb, Cui Dingzhi and Xie Ding heard Xiahou Bubai’s warning shout and immediately rushed toward the cave entrance regardless of everything. However, the two only managed to see Xiahou Bubai’s figure flash and disappear before seeing the Dragon-Slaying Stone crash down, dust splashing to fill the entire passage.
Greatly shocked, ignoring the large and small stones still falling continuously from the top of the passage, Cui Dingzhi and Xie Ding pounced forward and, without hesitation, circulated their full cultivation at the same time, simultaneously striking toward that massive boulder weighing ten thousand jun!
Dazzling white light and multicolored light immediately filled the entire passage. Amid the deafening roar, those falling stones were instantly shattered to pieces, then swept up by the fierce blast and scattered everywhere…
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When Sun Yuanlang, Pei Yuqiu, and the others arrived one after another at the Dragon-Slaying Stone, they saw that the two Grandmasters Cui Dingzhi and Xie Ding were already exhausted on the ground, blood streaming from their hands…
Looking again at the Dragon-Slaying Stone, a bowl-mouth-sized black round hole was prominently visible. The several Grandmasters knew at a glance that it was the work of Cui Xie and the other. They had combined their cultivation in one spot, attempting to break the surface with a point, but clearly had not succeeded…
“What happened?!” Pei Bang and his nephew were in the same camp as Cui Xie. While asking in a deep voice, they quickly stood in front of the two to prevent anyone from taking advantage of their exhaustion.
Actually, Cui Xie and the other’s bodies were not seriously injured. After all, they were Heavenly Rank Grandmasters who had opened the Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Main Meridians, with true essence flowing endlessly. Even if temporarily exhausted, they could recover in the blink of an eye. The two were mainly mentally shocked, which was why they appeared so disheveled…
“We’re done for…” Xie Ding looked pale at that black hole and said, “We’re trapped in this tomb…”
“Nonsense! I refuse to believe any place can trap so many Grandmasters like us!” Pei Yuqiu refused to accept it upon hearing this. He raised his hand for a Mountain-Splitting Palm, heavily striking the Dragon-Slaying Stone and immediately kicking up dust everywhere.
Once the dust settled, everyone saw that Pei Yuqiu’s palm, which could split monuments and crack stones, had only left a shallow palm print on the Dragon-Slaying Stone.
“How could this be?” Pei Yuqiu looked incredulously at his own palm. Clearly, the hardness of that Dragon-Slaying Stone far exceeded his imagination.
The other Grandmasters looked at that palm print, then at the small hole less than a foot deep made by Cui Xie combining their strength, and involuntarily gave up any thought of taking action. Their expressions became extremely grave one by one—these skillful and bold Grandmasters finally began to feel uneasy.
“This is not natural stone, but cast stone.” At this time, Sun Yuanlang’s voice rang out: “Legend has it that when building princes’ tombs in the Qin and Han dynasties, craftsmen would calcine natural rock with a secret formula, making the rock as hard as iron, and thus the tomb as impregnable as a fortress.”
“So what if it’s cast iron?!” Mei Yu raised her fine brows upon hearing this and said, “With so many Grandmasters here, we can just work together to smash it!”
Although the several Grandmasters felt Mei Yu’s proposal was somewhat reckless, they did not think it was fanciful. Grandmasters existed to create the impossible!
Wei Yang loudly chimed in: “Sister Mei is right. It’s just a Dragon-Slaying Stone—how could it stump so many Grandmasters like us!”
But Cui Dingzhi’s weak and powerless voice poured down like a basin of cold water: “Even if we smash this Dragon-Slaying Stone, there are at least ten more behind it…”
“…” Wei Yang immediately fell silent. Even Grandmasters were still flesh and blood…
Zuo Yanqing personally inspected it and confirmed this path was blocked. He let out a bleak sigh, disinterested, and said, “Look around. See if there are any other passages…” He could already clearly feel that the Investigative Bureau and the Emperor had been schemed against this time. Ninety-nine percent it was someone using the Taiping Token to set a trap, luring them headlong into this carefully designed trap.
Since it was a carefully designed trap, how could it leave an exit for the prey?
The other Grandmasters had also thought of this. The air in the tunnel almost stagnated. But just as they had known from the start this might be a trap and still plunged in, no one would admit they could no longer escape. On the contrary, they all silently nodded and began searching separately in the tomb…
Nothing else, only harboring fluke thoughts.
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Sun Yuanlang was only with the Saintess, carefully searching in a section of tunnel.
“Master, it’s all my fault for not investigating clearly,” the Saintess said somewhat dejectedly. “I didn’t even see this was a trap.”
“It’s not your fault. It was Master who was greedy.” But Sun Yuanlang shook his head. This was not just to comfort the Saintess, but his true thoughts at the moment.
Actually, when Sun Yuanlang had ordered Taiping Dao to fully investigate Gaozu’s Treasure Vault, he had been scheming a feint in his heart. He wanted those Noble Clans to think Taiping Dao intended to wade into Gaozu’s Treasure Vault’s muddy waters just like them… The relics of Kou Xianzhi in Gaozu’s Treasure Vault held significance for Taiping Dao no less than the Imperial Seal of the State for Great Xuan, so everyone would believe it without doubt.
To guard against Taiping Dao, the various clans would have to send more and stronger experts to Mount Mang, naturally leaving far fewer experts stationed in Luojing City—giving Sun Yuanlang the chance to openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing at Chencang!
He planned to take advantage of the capital’s vulnerability to go deep into the Lu Clan alone, force Lu Xin to reveal the Imperial Seal’s whereabouts, and then use it to coerce Lu Clan Leader Lu Shang into handing over the Imperial Seal!
Although based on his understanding of Lu Shang, he knew that Lu Clan Leader would never dare let news of the Imperial Seal in the Lu Clan be made public, getting that old fox to spit out what he had already swallowed would definitely take considerable effort. So in Sun Yuanlang’s view at the time, one could not have both fish and bear’s paw. If he wanted the Imperial Seal, he definitely could not also go for the Treasure Vault. But to ensure foolproof success, he hadn’t even told his disciple the truth, letting the Saintess always believe her Master was going to Mount Mang for a share…
It was only before setting off for Mount Mang that Sun Yuanlang quietly told the Saintess he had some other business to handle first and for her to stay hidden, absolutely not following into the tunnel without him. Only then did Su Yingxiu vaguely realize that her master’s true goal was not the Treasure Vault…
But what Sun Yuanlang never expected was that obtaining the Imperial Seal went so smoothly it was jaw-dropping. He hadn’t alarmed anyone in the Lu Clan or made a big fuss, yet he got the Imperial Seal of the State from Lu Xin’s son… Sun Yuanlang had originally planned to take one night to get the Imperial Seal, but unexpectedly it only took a little over one hour total. Estimating the time, he surprisingly had plenty to spare to come here to the tunnel and join the fun.
In the end, know when to quit, or press the advantage? Sun Yuanlang pondered repeatedly and ultimately could not suppress the impulse to have both fish and bear’s paw. He threw Lu Yun into the pit and hurried here at top speed, bringing the Saintess down into the tunnel…
As the saying goes, skillful and bold. His martial arts were at the pinnacle even among Grandmasters. As long as Zhang Xuanyi did not appear, even if surrounded by Grandmasters, Sun Yuanlang could retreat completely with the Saintess. With this confidence, of course he had to wade into the muddy waters to see if he could catch a big fish!
Who would have thought they would end up so muddled and trapped in the tomb…
“It’s all Master’s fault for being too careless…” Sun Yuanlang sighed somewhat annoyed. In the end, it was his own greed. But after all, he was a hegemon of a generation. He quickly adjusted his emotions and faced the current predicament: “Fine then. Our master-disciple pair is fated for this tribulation. I refuse to believe we will die and disappear here!”
“Master is right.” Seeing Sun Yuanlang rouse himself, Saintess Su Yingxiu felt greatly reassured and smiled charmingly: “Heaven never bars the way completely. There must be a sliver of hope!”
“Exactly.” Sun Yuanlang laughed heartily, his eyes shining with divine light: “Then our master-disciple pair will find where exactly this sliver of hope lies!”
