Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (23 page)

”We are over here!” Zhou Long called out with a great smile on his face as Hui Yue and his friends were walking past the final row of house, officially exiting the mercenary city in which they had resided for a short amount of time.

Zhou Long had not shown up alone, behind him were five men all of them fairly familiar as Hui Yue instantly recognized them as the ones who won the tournament. In spite of winning, none of the present five men seemed to be happy about the fact that they won, in fact, they all looked rather uncomfortable about the whole ordeal.

Hui Yue was not only coming with his three friends, but he also brought Xu Piao and Xie Lan with him, making his group somewhat bigger than it had been before. Hui Yue felt a lot safer having those two King ranked experts by his side.

The smile on Zhou Long’s face was genuine as he saw how the white-haired boy was walking his way. Looking at the white hair, he was under the impression that this boy was related to the Frozen General, and as such he was a young master far more important than any in the underground world.

Hui Yue was completely unaware of what Zhou Long was thinking instead he was filled with vigilance as he observed him, yet on the outside he seemed casual and comfortable. Behind him Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long all three looked around them greatly astonished by the vast landscape which spread out in front of them.

There was a forest to the side and even small mountains were visible within this cave. Looking into the horizon it was impossible for them to see where the cave ended. It was quite similar to be above ground once more.

Birds were singing and flying through the air, and Hui Yue chuckled slightly as he saw how especially Sha Yun was gaping at the sights in front of her.

“We will have to travel for a few days before we reach the location of the Dwelling Demon Beast,” Zhou Long said with a serious voice his eyes no longer smiling.

“The Dwelling Demon Beast started moving a few years back, but it has so far taken three years to awake. I was personally sent to this cave for the sake of annihilating the beast, but even me alone will not be enough. With me is a team I am sure you all recognize. They are all Grandmaster ranked, and they are specialized in formations, a spiritual art which can only be accomplished by certain groups.”

“Within the Dragon Corps, formation specialists are very sought after as they are capable of combining their elements and releasing an attack which is far more powerful than that of their cultivation base, however, there are also very strict ruling with where and when those formations are allowed to be used.”

Zhou Long ensured that he explained everything as well as he could not leaving any details out, which once more made Hui Yue uncomfortable. Why was it that this man had the need to explain everything to Hui Yue? He was a young boy born into a poor family and he had never had any ties with the Dungeons of the Divine before. As to why he was treated the way he was, Hui Yue simply had no idea.

“The beast we are going to be hunting is very large,” Zhou Long continued, not noticing the odd expression within Hui Yue’s eyes, “If you look at the mountain range over there,” pointing towards a mountain range which could be seen in the distance. Hui Yue squinted his eyes and used Qi to increase his sight only to see two mountain ranges running parallel for sometime which seemed like fifty kilometers.

“The beast is living within this dense mountain range. Although it is not as long as the entire mountain range, it is still very large. It is a Horned Snake, but it has been living within this cave ever since the creation of these caves, and in all these years it has sucked in the essence of the heavens and the earth refining it within his beast core.”

“This beast is at the very least an Emperor ranked beast and it might even be a Saint, however it has been sleeping for millennia, even now while waking up is it impossible for the beast to move its body. We will take full advantage of this.”

“Although it cannot move its body, it is still capable of using the energy it has refined throughout the many years, and it has certain attacks which are very dangerous. We have never truly seen it display its full might as we have never truly attacked it before. When that happens be aware that you are responsible for your own safety.”

“The beast’s affinity is towards the Wood element, and it is a master of healing itself along with giving life to plants who can be even more dangerous than that little flower that is following you,” He continued while sending a glance at Little Poppy.

“All in all, as soon as we arrive we will work in groups. I will work alone, the formation team will work alone, and the six of you will work alone. Make sure that you survive the battle and you will definitely reap great rewards.”

Having said that, Zhou Long spoke no more and instead spent the time running ahead showing everyone the way towards the distant mountain range.

The large party of twelve rushed through the landscape and during the trip they came past many fields and farms which were sustained by agriculture. Unlike on the surface, these farms were not placed in small family villages, but instead placed individually.

Rushing through the constantly changed landscape  of fields, roads, open plains, and forests, Zhou Long managed to lead the party a great distance the first day, and he stopped as the sun was about to disappear in the far end of the cave.

Looking at the sun, Hui Yue flashed a wry smile as he was reminiscing about Sun. Although her physical body was still in the forest, she was everywhere within the world build by the four divine beasts, even here within the Demon Dwelling Cave.

They ended up setting camp within the outskirts of a small forest and Hui Yue started a fire and collected wood. Sha Yun set up the tents, while Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long cooked food.

The group had been together for such a long time that everyone had their jobs to carter to every time they made camp and they performed like a well-oiled machine..

Their smooth teamwork left everyone close by astonished and before they really noticed they were doing, Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu called them over as the food was done, simmering looking amazing.

The food consisted of a warm broth with some vegetables and meat, all of which they had purchased before the trip. Smelling the delicious food the group of formation specialists almost drooled, as the scent was enticing after rushing through the cave without breaks for a whole day, and Wang Ju Long even laughed as the rumbling stomachs betrayed the hesitant cultivators.

“Come and eat,” She said with her gentle voice and poured the broth into bowls for the guests, “There is plenty for everyone,” she continued. Within moments all twelve experts were seated on the ground happily eating the food that was prepared for them.

While Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu ensured that there was enough food for everyone. After finishing the delicious meal, the majority went to sleep leaving Hui Yue and Sha Yun alone, looking around with vigilance in their eyes as they had first watch.

“How long do you think we’ll be stuck underground?” Sha Yun asked curiously, as she looked up at the starry sky. The moon was hanging just beneath the stone ceiling, a sight which no matter how many times they saw kept looking foreign and different for the four friends.

“I don’t know,” Hui Yue answered honestly. “I am not even certain how long we have been here,” He continued with a sigh. “The time within the tunnels has made it impossible for me to keep track, but I do not think we should expect to leave within a year.”

Sha Yun nodded her head, as she had not expected it to be anything less than that either. “This beast we are going to fight,” She continued, looking around her to ensure that everyone was asleep, “There is something else on your mind is there not?” She asked, her voice worried for her friend.

Hui Yue showed her a wry smile before he nodded his head and with a low voice told her about all the worries he had. Having Sha Yun by his side was one of the things which truly made life easier for Hui Yue. She was always there to support him, and even if he tried to hide things from her she would always notice it from his behavior.

As the night grew darker and the moon rose higher into the sky, Sha Yun was completely aware of what was on Hui Yue’s mind, but even so she had no way of alleveing him of his worries. Hearing what Hui Yue said she too could see that it was odd that someone as prestigious as Zhou Long felt obligated to treat Hui Yue so well, but like her white-haired friend, Sha Yun was completely unaware of why that might be.

She also noted that although Zhou Long was extremely friendly towards Hui Yue, he was not paying any attention whatsoever to her, nor the other friends. It was as though they were complete nonexistant to him which was one of the reasons that she had not thought about it before. She never had much interaction with him and before they had gone on this trip, the two times he had spoken to Hui Yue it had been during the time where they were training. It was obvious that no one else noticed Zhou Long entering their courtyard.

As the moon rose to the sky Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long woke up. Both of them ready to take over the second watch of the night and with tired nods, Hui Yue and Sha Yun each climbed into their separate tents and within moments fell asleep.

Nothing happened the rest of the night, and the following morning Sha Yun managed to wrap up all tents in the time it took Deng Wu to whip up some congee with meat for breakfast. Seeing that there was yet another hearty meal, everyone was joyful and ate to their hearts content  especially since they knew there would be no breaks today as well. They were racing against time as they rushed towards the Demon Dwelling Beast rushing to make it before it truly woke up.

Wrapping up the final things, the entourage of twelve once more sat out rushing towards the mountain range which did not seem to be coming any closer, and although the mountain range was not getting closer the surrounding landscape was changing drastically.

There were no longer open plains, nor was there farms around, instead the terrain started to contain a lot of boulders and stones, the ground starting to slope upwards slightly, and the smaller trees and lighter forests turned into pine forests as they headed further and further in the direction of the mountains.

The previous roads they had travelled completely disappeared and instead they now made their way through animal trails, or they made trails themselves.

The entourage travelled days on end like this before they finally managed to arrive at the parallel mountain range, and excitement was growing within them as they got ready to climb the mountains.

Travelling through the cave, each day brought them closer and closer to their destination and every day was spent exactly like the first.

After having travelled with Hui Yue and his friends for a short time, the awkward atmosphere between the formation specialists and the rest quickly softened up and conversation started appearing between the two groups.

Although no one spoke about important things, nor did they give away any important information, instead they would converse about the enticing battle which they were rushing towards not to mention talk about the weather or the various discussion about the vegetation they came past.

Although the conversation was not deep, nor especially important it managed to bring forth a much more comfortable atmosphere and everyone was calm and relaxed as they made their way towards the dense mountain range looming in the distance.

Day by day they were getting closer to the mountain and one late afternoon they finally found themselves standing at the foot of the mountain. Excited smiles appeared on their faces as they got ready to climb the final stretch which was standing in their way.

Seeing that they were so close, everyone pushed their limits to the extreme as they rushed towards the top of the mountain climbing the rough and steep ground in an incredible speed, the twelve cultivators raced towards the top.

Hui Yue was the first to reach the top, most likely due to Zhou Long holding back the others, and his eyes gazed down towards the valley between the two parallel mountain ranges, only to widen in surprise as Hui Yue sucked in a deep breath of air.

When Zhou Long had stated that the beast was gigantic, he had in no way overstated the size of the beast. Although it was true that it did not fill the entire valley it was at least a few kilometers long.

The scales were mud-green and each scale was as tall as Hui Yue, their length double the human. The long body was laying completely still within the valley and right below Hui Yue was the snake’s head. A head so large that Hui Yue started wondering whether or not he truly would be capable of assisting Zhou Long with getting rid of this ancient snake.

The head was many times larger than what Hui Yue expected, the size ten meters long and seven meters wide. On the forehead of the snake was a tall, somewhat jagged, swirled horn. The horn seemed to have a very sharp edge and the bone it was created from was simply too astonishing, having a silvery hue shining from within.

Soon afterwards one person after another caught up to Hui Yue, all of them having solemn expressions on their faces as they looked down upon the massive beast. Although they had felt fairly certain about their abilities to defeat it previously, that confidence quickly crumbled next to the sleeping beast.

“Let us make camp here,” Zhou Long said with a quiet voice as he looked at the beast, his eyes not showing any surprise or lack of confidence, it was obvious that he had seen it multiple times before.

Hearing Zhou Long’s comment Hui Yue nodded his head. Although he too was taken aback by the size of the beast, he had long since noticed that it was truly in a deep slumber, and if they managed to attack while it was still asleep, it was highly likely that they could defeat it.

The one thing which made Hui Yue feel the most certain about their win was Zhou Long. The man was not ordinary, and to have him dispatched to this Demon Dwelling Cave also showed how much the higher ups valued this demon core.

Thinking about Zhou Long’s abilities and how easily he vanquished both the elemental flame and the beastly soul shadows with but a clench of his hands vigilance once again appeared in his eyes while he watched their surroundings.

Setting up camp was as smooth an action as it had been the other days, and as soon as the food was cooked everyone gathered around Zhou Long, impatient to hear what their plans would be.

“The beast down there is, as you all guessed, the Demon Dwelling Beast which this cave is named after,” Zhou Long stated as he lazily stretched while looking down the ravine where the body of the giant snake was visible for all to see.

Zhou Long showed no expressions of fear or hesitation as he looked at the beast, just patient apathy, as though he was looking at a worm something he could easily crush.

“Tomorrow at sunrise we will move down the ravine to the valley below. When we are there then we will split into three groups. The formation specialists will go to the right side, I will take the left side, and the rest of you go to the front of the snake’s head.”

“While we attack everyone will have to look after themselves, and if anyone dies they can not blame anyone other than themselves for being weak.”

“The formation spiritual arts will need to use the elemental flame and I expect you to also use Elemental Starfall as well.” Having said that, Zhou Long sent a meaningful glance towards the formation specialists who all nodded their heads.

“I expect that you use whatever attacks you have,” Zhou Long said with a smile to Hui Yue, “Do whatever you can, but keep in mind that your survival is of the greatest importance.”

Hearing this once more, Hui Yue could not help but wonder why exactly it was so important that he survive, but he had no intention of discussing it with the older man and instead he nodded his head and ate his food without looking at Zhou Long any more than necessary.

The evening had gone much like the others and everyone went to sleep early, though Hui Yue stayed awake for the first night watch.

Having wrapped himself up in a blanket, his eyes were looking down on the beast below which was illuminated by the light cascading down from the moon and stars above. The beast was obviously deep asleep and Hui Yue saw no reasons for the beast to be waking up, nor was there any signs of it being close to waking up.

Could it be that they had decided to execute it because they needed the powerful beast core? Hui Yue knew that the strength of the beast below was most likely that of the Emperor rank. It did not feel as powerful as Lan Feng, however it felt far stronger than Xie Lan and Xu Piao, the aura which was evident of all the cultivators close by.

Thinking about auras, the only one who seemed to have an aura as strong as the one Lan Feng possessed was Zhou Lan, however, Hui Yue had the impression that he was an Emperor ranked cultivator, most likely a peak ranked Emperor.

“Can I sit here?” Once again, Zhou Long managed to arrive out of nowhere, and Hui Yue had no way of noticing the other man causing him to feel slightly uncomfortable every time the man appeared.

Although Hui Yue was uncomfortable and stayed vigilant, his body did not reveal anything and neither was any worry evident within his eyes, instead he looked as he would when he talking with Sha Yun.

Patting the ground beside him, Hui Yue gestured for Zhou Long to take a seat and although it was a casual gesture, it was a gesture which showed that Hui Yue approved of Zhou Long as one of his friends. This caused the man’s smile to increase quite a bit.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” Zhou Long finally asked after having been seated still for some time his eyes squinted slightly as he was looking at the beast below.

“I’m not too worried,” Hui Yue said with a smile on his face. “To be honest, I am quite certain that you alone are enough to deal with this beast,” He continued while observing the expressions on Zhou Long’s face.

A knowing little smirk appeared on his face, it was simply impossible to understand what the smile meant.

“It will be dangerous,” Zhou Long said quietly, “Even with me here. It will be dangerous. Should you be in a position where you cannot handle the beast, make sure you come to me. I will make certain that you survive.” Zhou Long promised while patting Hui Yue on the shoulder before he stood up. “I better get some sleep,” He said as an excuse for moving away, “Tomorrow will be a great battle you will need of all the rest you can get.”

As Zhou Long left Hui Yue, the white-haired boy furrowed his brows as he thought about the words the man said. He would help Hui Yue survive, but what about Hui Yue’s friends? Were they not going to be getting any help?

….

As the sun broke through the sky, everyone was already up and about having packed up the tents and eaten their breakfast.

Today was the busy day where they would go hunting for the largest snake Hui Yue had ever seen, let alone heard about. Although he was slightly disturbed by the words Zhou Long said earlier, he also trusted his own ability to keep his friends alive and the hunt was something they were all looked forward to.

Moving down the ravine was much simpler than what he expected, and the twelve cultivators moved silently down the steep mountain side, quickly descending into the mist filled valley below.

The reason Zhou Long had chosen the morning was not only because the beast was in a deep slumber then, but also because it was a reptile. It was a beast which gained its strength from the heat radiating from the sun and as soon as it was high in the sky, the beast would be both stronger and faster. Being able to defeat it, Zhou Long needed the perfect timing, and that was exactly what they were going for.

The closer they got to the beast, the heavier the pressure was upon them all as they started to feel the sweat was trickling down their faces. Their hearts were beating erratically and they could not help but smile with excitement as they were closing in on their target.

Reaching the beast, the pressure was so intense that even Hui Yue felt the cold sweat on his back, yet even so he was not scared. If anything it increased his excitement and he could not help but feel helplessly bound by the urge to fight it.

Standing next to the beast, Hui Yue gestured for his friends to follow him and with ten meters between them and the snout of the snake they finally stopped; they stood staring agape at the massive face which was larger than the inn they stayed at.

The snake-like eyes were closed and its breath was a strong wind each time it exhaled. Standing in position, Hui Yue did not summon black blood, as he understood that direct contact with such a large beast would be deadly. Instead he summoned a flame in his hand which slowly turned from dark red to light blue.

Looking at the blue flame, Hui Yue could not help but smile in excitement, and behind him his friends were preparing in their own way.

Deng Wu had summoned a small army of fifty or so soul shadow beasts, while Sha Yun moved further back, but merged with the Earth, the earth itself claiming some of her body in the process.

Wang Ju Long was different from the others, in her hands was the red staff which Hui Yue bought for her, and in front of her was a large army of  small poppy flowers; all of them standing in front of Little Poppy, ready to attack whenever Zhou Long gave the order.