Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (43 page)

Moving through the tunnels, the trip was like the others Hui Yue had experienced so far. Although beasts would occasionally leave the safety of the unlit tunnels and attack the caravans, multiple mercenaries who were present  would almost fight one another to be the ones to battle the beasts.

The reason they wanted to battle the beasts was obviously for the sake of claiming their corpse and demon core, earning them some extra money while managing the boring missions they had undertaken.

As Hui Yue rushed through the tunnels he came to see more and more caravans along the way; however, after having run for three days and three nights without pause Lan Feng suddenly took over his body and moved towards the side, gesturing for Xie Lan and Xu Piao to follow.

While Lan Feng was still in control, three cloaks appeared from within the young man’s storage stone and two of them were tossed to Xie Lan and Xu Piao. Neither of them waited to hear what was happening, instantly putting on the cloaks with Lan Feng doing the same.

Hui Yue said nothing as Lan Feng took over his body. The phoenix said that he would not help throughout the trip since Hui Yue needed to practice on his own, but the bird had done just that.

A few of the passersby looked curiously at the three and their actions, though none had the time to stay around and actually observe what was happening. Soon no one in the vicinity was able to recognize them as the group which had rushed through the tunnels earlier.

‘See that caravan?’ Lan Feng’s voice suddenly rang out in the consciousness of Hui Yue, and the young man nodded his head as he watched the three carriages surrounded by Dragon Corps soldiers. Looking inside one of the windows from where he was, Hui Yue saw Deng Wu, Sha Yun, and Wang Ju Long.

Seeing the caravan, both excitement and worry grew within him, his face filled with mixed expressions.

‘Do you remember what Scarface did to your team while you were traveling?’ Lan Feng asked with a smirk on his face. Hui Yue could only smile in return. How could he forget such a dangerous man.

‘I think it is time for us to follow his example. Let us see if Piao and Lan are kind enough to help out, or if I have to deal with this on my own.’ Hui Yue answered Lan Feng and suddenly felt in control of his body once again.

“That is…?” Xu Piao’s voice was low but hope was evident within. The older man hoped that he could make up for his mistakes by helping the three escape the Dragon Corps.

Hui Yue nodded his head as an answer to the question; his eyes deep in thought. “We will be Scarface,” He said a sinister smile appeared on his lips.

Understanding his intentions, Xu Piao turned slightly pale as he thought about the consequences it would have, but in less than a moment his eyes were determined and a nod of his head said that he agreed.

Seeing Xu Piao agree, Hui Yue felt grateful. He knew he could use the King ranked experts to save him, but saving him and helping him save Wang Ju Long and the two others were two different matters. Seeing Xu Piao agree to his plan would make things much easier for him.

Watching the caravan pass by, the group of three stayed back until they had around a kilometer of a head start and then Hui Yue finally started following behind. It was possible for Hui Yue to start weeding out Dragon Corps members during the day, however, he knew that it was not possible for him to do so without attracting too much attention. Due to this, he did nothing apart from slowly following behind. Waiting for the caravan to set up camp.

Being within the tunnels where there was no sun nor moon made it hard for travelers to say whether or not it was day or night. Due to this, rests were usually taken whenever it suited the party which would usually not last more than a few hours at a time.

Seeing the Dragon Corps team stop, Hui Yue also made his team stop and set up a campfire within five hundred meters of the carriage.

It was not uncommon that people were this close to each other since the tunnels were lit It was possible for the Dragon Corps men to look at Hui Yue, however, none of them paid any attention to the group of three cloaked men. They had only three while the Dragon Corps was filled with experts.

Hui Yue was in no rush any longer to start attacking. He wanted to get a good feel for the people in front of him. How was their camp set up? How many experts were there and which rank were they? What was within each and every one of the carriages? And what risks would they be taking?

Soon, Hui Yue found out that the guards were split into groups of around ten. These groups each made a campfire and one of these campsites would have the watch every break.

The carriage where Hui Yue had seen Deng Wu and Sha Yun in was constantly closed and surrounded by four guards. While the other carriage, the one without windows constantly had ten guards around it. The final carriage belonged to the four King ranked experts who lived within so that they did not have to sleep on the ground. Their rank was far above that.

Waiting until the majority had fallen asleep, Hui Yue merged with the shadows as he slowly made his way towards the campsite reaching one where ten were standing guard. One could say his cloak was crafted just for this mission, as when he put it on it fully hid his aura; while wearing the cloak and hiding in the shadows, like he was, he was completely undetectable. . Hui Yue merged with the Earth and pushed some of the Qi in his body to his eyes. He could now more clearly see the group of sleeping guards who were located slightly away from the rest.

Focusing completely, Hui Yue bit his lip as he summoned ten earthen spears. These spears were very different from the usual ones. They were only five centimeters in diameter but were incredibly sharp. They were a different variety of the Earthen Spear; they were Earthen Needles!  

These needles were all aimed at the temple of each of the guards. With a clench of Hui Yue’s hand the ten sharp needles all quietly sprung to life instantly slaying all ten guards.

Instead of being greedy, Hui Yue rushed back to the campfire which was being looked after by Xie Lan and Xu Piao.

According to Hui Yue’s calculations, no one should be capable of seeing that it was him who killed the ten men due to his cloak. If it came to a battle then he knew that he could forcefully withdraw Lan Feng’s Wu Wei. Doing so, however, meant that they would have to pause within a cave for a minimum of a year, maybe even longer.

Although Hui Yue did not know why Lan Feng insisted on having quite a lot of Wu Wei refined by the time they reached the Dragon Core, he did not question the bird. He knew that he could not use the Wu Wei unless there was really no other way to survive.

Having opened his Yin and Yang Qiao Mai meridians Hui Yue no longer needed sleep. As long as he was in a place where there was the essence of the heavens and the earth his body would naturally be replenished. This was something which greatly benefited him as he spent the time meditating.

It was challenging for Hui Yue to sit still and meditate. Pretending that he knew nothing of what happened at the front of the caravan. Even harder was that he could not just go straight into their camp and free his friends.

The tunnels were calm c for a long time and then suddenly after around five hours passed, Hui Yue opened his eyes and noticed hectic activity going on within the camp next to him.

At first, he waited to see them rush towards him, Xu Piao, and Xie Lan; however surprisingly enough, nothing happened apart from the caravan rushing to once more get ready to leave. Smoke wafted into the stale air of the tunnels bringing with it the scent of burnt flesh, something which made Hui Yue astonished.

Hui Yue and his two followers, got up as soon as the scent of burnt flesh made it their way and they moved forward overtaking the caravan, behaving as though the scent had scared them silly, something which would be completely understandable.

….

“Captain we need to at least question the cultivators who were camped around us!” One of the Dragon Corps soldiers said with an indignant voice as he looked at the burning corpses on the ground. One of the guards who lost his life the previous night was his good friend and his silent death caused great fear and anger to rise within all the other guards. In a team where so many guards were travelling together to have ten men dead just like that, with no sound and no chance of even moving, this caused irrational fear to plant its seed within the hearts of the majority of the Dragon Corps’ soldiers.

They all wanted to return and find the culprits because no one knew what might happen the next night, however, their captain was looking behind with a troubled expression on his face. After slamming his fist down on the table, his eyes gleamed dangerously in the dim tunnel lights.

“I have already said it once,” His voice was dangerously low, similar to that like a growling sound, and the guard in front of him felt a shiver run down his spine, “We will not pursue the ones who caused these killings. From now on we will not sleep while resting. While the majority of you Duke and Grandmaster experts have not opened your Yin and Yang Qiao Mai meridians, you should still be able to survive without sleep if you spend the evenings cultivating. While cultivating you can sense the energy ripples around you and another sneak attack should not be possible.”

Having said that, the captain said nothing else. With dark eyes, he started moving towards the carriage in which his three King ranked companions were seated. Entering the carriage, a sigh escaped his lips and he allowed for his body to slump onto a silken cushion which was placed on the floor in the carriage. It was to give them some comfort on this long journey.

“Does this have anything to do with the B ranked prisoners we acquired?” One of the Kings asked. A tall but very lean man, his nose sharp and his eyes and hair dark. His voice was very melodious as it floated towards the captain. The captain gritted his teeth as he nodded his head.

“I think those three men are following us, getting ready to get rid of us in order to release their friends.” He said while being reminded ofabout the three cloaked men he had been unable to detect earlier that morning. Being unable to detect their strength clearly meant that they were stronger than him and intentionally withdrawing their aura. If they were to start a battle against such esteemed experts it was likely that they would not just lose ten of their guards, but the entire squad not to mention their very important cargo.

Thinking this, he knew that the cargo within the second carriage was so important that the captain was ready to sacrifice every single middle dantian expert within his group.

Hui Yue frowned slightly as he noticed that there was no one from the caravan in front of them who came to question Hui Yue’s group. No one came over to ask them if they knew anything about the murders that occurred late into night.

Instead, it seemed as though they decided to just accept the deaths and then rush forward. Although the white-haired young man was fairly surprised by the turn of events he clearly was not unhappy. As soon as the caravan started moving, they too packed up their campsite and the three of them once more moved set out towards the next cave, staying only a few kilometers behind the big caravan.

It was quite normal for small groups to travel behind big caravans and it did not take long time before quite a few groups were following a few kilometers behind the powerful caravan.

There are many reason for this. Firstly, if a demon beast horde were to attack the big caravan was likely to repel them, and secondly, there was safety in numbers.

Bandits had never proven to be a large problem within the earlier caves. Although there were some bandit groups it was not as though they met them often, however, the further into the Dungeons of the Divine that they travelled, the more bandits they came across.

Travelling behind a massive caravan ensured that the bandit groups would flee. Even if they wished to attack one of the groups walking behind the caravan it was likely that the energy ripples from the battle would bring trouble for the main caravan then they would return to make the fighting stop. Usually by slaughtering them all.

The only ones who dared attack a large caravan was a large bandit group with high ranked members. These bandit groups would focus on the major caravans as that was the most profitable. If attacked, the followers would use the chance to run away Escaping to all sides in the hope that they would not be caught by the bandit groups.

Masquerading as one of these groups Hui Yue, Xu Piao, and Xie Lan kept traveling behind the major caravan, each one of them slightly hesitant.

Hui Yue expected to be questioned this morning as soon as the dead soldiers were found, but nothing happened. The group just rushed away from their previous location not paying any attention to the dead guards.

This took Hui Yue by surprise. After a while he finally realized that the leader of the caravan in front of him was on an important mission which he put above the life of his guards. A smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he came to this conclusion.

At first he expected he would needed to rush and kill as many as fast as possible. But seeing that the captain paid no attention to the deaths, Hui Yue knew he could take his time and in a safe way remove the middle dantian experts one after another.

Although he decided to go slowly, his heart quivered as the image of Wang Ju Long appeared before his eyes once more. Previously he had seen both Deng Wu and Sha Yun, and neither of them seemed to be injured, however, he did not manage to see Wang Ju Long. Though he assumed that she was within the same carriage and fine it was impossible for him to know for sure.

While thinking about this his flame of anger from within grew. This caused the blood red mist from within his dantian cave to start roiling in response.

At the last moment, Hui Yue calmed himself down and allowed for the tranquil cloud to push back the red mist. He sighed deeply as he wished that the two phenomena would be as easy to handle as the golden wings and the green pearl.

The caravan and its many followers kept traveling further and further into the tunnels, they were running unceasingly and one group after another fell behind. These followers were unable to keep up with the quick pace that the caravan set. Only Hui Yue and his group along with two other groups managed to keep up. After running for half a day, they finally took a break.

Just like the night before, Hui Yue set up a bonfire and waited for the caravan to settle down. It seemed that, unlike last night, they would not be sleeping tonight. Everyone was looking around alertly; perhaps even more alert now than they were during the day when bandits were likely to attack.

Seeing this a sneer appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he slipped into the shadows while watching both sides. Xu Piao and Xie Lan stood up as well and merged with the shadows. They closed in on the caravan. Not saying a word nor releasing even the smallest bit of their aura.

Unlike the previous night the guards on watch did not stay behind at the campfires any longer, instead they were patrolling the area in groups of two.

Standing in the shadow Hui Yue felt the two experts appeared by his side. All three were standing completely still, holding their breath as two guards walked their way.

Step by step, edging closer and closer Hui Yue waited for them to circle behind one of the caravans so that he could strike without being noticed. However, as the two guards moved behind the carriage two shadows by his side, Xie Lan and Xu Piao, rushed forwards and both executed a swift and decisive strike at the guards necks. Without a sound both collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, Hui Yue rushed over to pick up the storage stones before he too merged with the shadows just as the two King ranked experts had already done.

Waiting in the darkness ready to pounce on the next guards who passed by, Hui Yue’s eyes were gleaming with murderous intent. His hands were clenched tight as his eyes swept to the carriage his friends were locked up in.

Just as Hui Yu glanced at the other carriage he suddenly frowned as he heard the voices of children from within the carriage in front of him.

It was the carriage which did not have any windows. The only thing Hui Yue could hear was the voice of a few crying children and his face instantly paled. What was the Dragon Corps doing with young children?

Pondering for a moment Hui Yue nodded his head and a determined expression appeared on his face. Within moments he pulled backwards and gestured for the two King ranked experts to follow.

As they all retreated back to their campfire, Hui Yue was quiet for a short while before he looked to the two by his side.

“Will the two of you be able to hold back the four King ranked experts for about ten minutes?” Hui Yue asked seriously, his eyes filled with a certain amount of determination. The atmosphere around him chilled as a small red gleam slowly rose in his eyes.

Looking at each other, both of their eyes filled with determination and they nodded their heads before they once more looked at Hui Yue. “We can hold them back for ten minutes but no more than that,”

Hearing this the white-haired man felt grateful to his two friends. “Tomorrow night we’ll attack the entire caravan.” Hui Yue said his eyes determined, “Keep the King ranked experts under control and I’ll deal with the rest.”

Hearing him say this Xu Piao looked at him questioningly. Although Hui Yue was strong, seeing him planning on fighting with over twenty experts the same rank as him, some even a little higher, was something which should be impossible.

However, even though Xu Piao was worried about the young man he said nothing. Determination and certainty were evident on his face and the young man refused to allow this to end badly.

The following day happened the same as the day before. Hui Yue and his group followed the caravan which once again ignored the death of two guards and rushed towards the next cave.

Rushing for the whole day, Hui Yue spent some time planning the battle and strategizing with Xu Piao and Xie Lan. They planned when and where the two needed to meet the four King ranked experts.

Hui Yue himself would deal with all the Grandmasters, Masters, and Duke ranked experts.

As the time went by the caravan once more prepared to settle down and rest their tired and sore legs after rushing through the tunnel at top speed.

Seeing this Hui Yue’s group once more set up camp. This time he did not wait long before the three of them snuck closer  to the caravan.

Standing in the shadows of the carriage from where Hui Yue heard the crying voices, the young white-haired boy hid his body completely so that not one of the patrolling guards noticed him.

Standing behind the carriage, Hui Yue lifted his hand and suddenly a blue flame sprung to life over his palm.

The flame was small compared to how big it usually was, however, as soon as the flame came to life Hui Yue threw it as hard as he could at the carriage. Its ceiling instantly exploded as blue flames soared high into the ceiling of the tunnel.

As soon as the flame left his hand, Hui Yue rushed backwards into the shadows again. The three of them observed the four King ranked experts who quickly escaped their personal carriage and rushed towards the carriage which was now in flames.

Seeing the four experts, Hui Yue looked at the two people by his side before he closed his eyes and allowed for the red mist to billow outwards from deep within his dantain. It took over his entire body and swept into the surroundings, drawing the attention of all the cultivators in the camp.

“Behind the carriage!” A voice screamed out and a large group of lower ranked cultivators rushed towards Hui Yue who finally breathed out. He felt as light as a feather as he activated Velocity Flow, creating a copy of himself.

Both he and his copy rushed towards the cultivators. Blue flames lit up in his hands as he threw Fire Orb after Fire Orb at the men coming his way.

Having gotten rid of four men who were burnt to death, Hui Yue finally sat down and instantly merged with the Earth. He created pitfalls with Earthen Spears in the bottom where three unprepared cultivators fell down and were  instantly impaled, their eyes quickly dimmed as life escaped them.

“There is only one, attack him in groups!” Another man screamed as they rushed towards Hui Yue. Surprisingly enough, the four King ranked experts showed no intention of attacking this intruder, nor did they seem to have any interest in him. Instead the four of them surrounded the burning carriage in which the children were locked up. They ensuring that the fire died out and they protected the children within from anyone who would threaten them.

Seeing this, Hui Yue did not wait for long before he started rushing towards the other carriage with his friends locked inside.

Rushing as quickly as he could while at the same time avoiding every single member of the Dragon Corps, Hui Yue quickly made his way towards the carriage.

Just as he reached the carriage three men appeared in front of the frenzied Hui Yue, however before they had the chance to stop him two hands with five sharp claws on each finger grabbed their heads.

Relying on strength alone, Hui Yue bashed their heads against each other, while releasing a low growl. A cracking sound was heard as the two skulls splintered and blood started seeping out through all openings in their face.

Seeing what just happened, the third man did his best to escape. Hui Yue paid him no heed as he tore open the door of the carriage where his eyes lit up at the sight of his three friends waiting patiently for him.