Star Gate

Chapter 437: Fine Wine For Fine Guests (I)

He Yong looked at Li Hao; the young man rolled his eyes. Don’t look at me, I was transported to the outer city last time. I don’t know why I wasn’t this time. Am I too strong for the transportation system now? Have I gotten heavier?

But he’d walked through the passageway when he returned, so he transmitted, “There’s a pitch black tunnel ahead that leads to the outer city. It’s not that dangerous, but don’t leave it. Although I don’t know what will happen, it's best to stay put inside. There seems to be something outside the tunnel!”

“Better be careful, the tunnel might be a tree hole,” Hong Yitang transmitted as well. “Enormous danger could lurk outside it. It’s possible that the tree envelops the entire outer city and is connected to Rift Canyon on the outside. It could also be the key as to why Battle Heaven hasn’t been buried by the passage of time.”

Li Hao blinked. A tree? A tree hole?

“Be careful when you’re inside and watch yourself in the tunnel,” Hong Yitang cautioned. “The situation can be much more dangerous than we think. I sensed last time that there are occasional attacks from tree breaches. They’re somewhat alive, but not too strong. Solars can easily dispose of them, but it’s best to be careful!”

He Yong raised his eyebrows. Since Li Hao and Hong Yitang had both shared information, he didn’t hold back either. “It looks like Battle Heaven really is dangerous. There’s some mention of it in ancient records. The royal family told me that it once welcomed a supreme heavyweight who left some ultimate treasures in the city. Those raised the city to a transcendent level of existence that represented his will. My information isn’t detailed, but it does suggest that there is particular meaning to this city.”

Li Hao was reminded of the scene he saw before—a supreme heavyweight? The one called His Imperial Majesty? When he decreed the “Battle Heaven” characters, it sent the city into a furor of agitation, excitement, and fanaticism. There seemed to be incredible meaning behind the characters. The elderly city lord had been so overcome that he nearly fainted.

It looked like the royal family grasped many things indeed, to know even this. Of course, there truly should be records from the ancient civilization. As momentous a happening as this one would leave traces behind somewhere. That personage had seemed extremely powerful and important.

“Also, there might be certain things of that person left in the city,” He Yong continued. “Even his will and intent! If that’s the case... then that would be incredibly valuable! Someone that the ancient powerhouses hailed as a supreme heavyweight might be stronger than we can imagine. Finding those treasures would be the real wealth!”

Something like those two characters? Li Hao didn’t transmit this to the others. Some things could be spoken of, some things could remain unsaid.

“Do we move with the wandering cultivators or by ourselves?” He Yong asked.

“Who says I’m traveling with you?” Hong Yitang snorted. I don’t want to!

“Who else, if not me?” He Yong chuckled. “The two of us can look out for each other, and with Li Hao as well, we’ll sweep the enemies in the city. No one will stand before us—we’ll have Hou Xiaochen crying for his daddy if he comes!”

Hong Yitang had absolutely nothing to say.

“Then we’ll head to the second passageway.” Li Hao didn’t care. “I didn’t take it last time, but Martial Uncle Hong did. Are there any benefits or effects to be had from it?”

“The effects are mediocre,” Hong Yitang transmitted as he walked. “They might be better for supernaturals. For martial masters... they’re insignificant. However, it does seem to somewhat assimilate visitors and change our presence so that it matches the city more. We will be able to evade some dangers this way.

“As for supernaturals that die inside it... it’s probably because they struck back or their energy ripples were too strong. That was interpreted as provocation and resistance against management. We’ll just walk through naturally in a moment.”

Li Hao understood. The trio ignored the rest of the explorers and headed inside. A dark tunnel appeared in front of them. It came alive with rustles as soon as they set foot inside, like there was something crawling on the ground. However, none of the three saw anything.

Something broke through the air before long; Li Hao punched it reflexively. Though it vanished just as quickly, the young man seemed to see something that flashed by. He thought of what Hong Yitang had said before—it did seem to be branches that whipped in and out of sight. They weren’t too strong, just Sunflare at most. He hadn’t had a chance to take a close look on the last expedition and didn’t experience them for himself since a Solar led the way.

A branch shook violently when Hong Yitang grabbed it for closer inspection; the entire tunnel began trembling. He quickly let go.

“Don’t do anything to these branches, just shoo them away. Bigger trouble might arise if we break them or cut them off! The weaker one is in a place like this, the safer! You wouldn’t be able to break a branch if you’re too weak. Powerhouses might die ghastly deaths if they’re too arrogant!”

Sometimes, it was those who knew how to swim that drowned. Those who didn’t how to knew fear. When they learned how to swim, they lost that fear. In the same vein, it would be quite normal for someone to be surprised if they fancied themselves familiar with the ruins and strong enough for them. Not even Hong Yitang dared be careless here.

The tunnel wasn’t that long. A sharp cry sounded behind them when the trio reached halfway, followed by a shriek. Some of the weaklings couldn’t even handle the branches. They were either Darkmoons or weak Sunflares who couldn’t react in time and were run through by the branches.

The three ignored the disturbances. Entering the ruins meant accepting the possibility of death. No one had forced them inside to seek fortune from the land of danger. Danger was upon them; dying here meant that one was too unlucky and too weak.

Cries of surprise repeatedly sounded behind them. A lot of people had entered this time. There were almost a thousand wandering cultivators alone, a number that far eclipsed the last expedition.

......

Li Hao and the others walked forward. Branches harassed them; they beat them back without issue. After a while, a faint light appeared ahead. Li Hao knew that it signified the perimeter of the outer city. The plaza would come next, a place where quite a few had died last time.

The young man’s footsteps paused briefly when they were about to emerge. Hong Yitang’s did as well. Their pace faltered briefly in unison, drawing a curious look from He Yong. Surprise and shock were clear in Li Hao’s eyes.

The same went for Hong Yitang. He looked past the plaza, at where several black shadows flashed across their line of vision. He gaped at Li Hao. Black Armors!

Indeed, they couldn’t be mistaken. That had been Black Armors in motion at the other end of the plaza.

“What is it?” He Yong asked curiously.

“Black Armors!” Li Hao transmitted. “We defeated the army of one thousand last time and took the armor with us. But just now... I saw Black Armors!”

“It’s either leftovers from last time or... there’s more than one troop of Black Armors,” Hong Yitang transmitted after observing for a while. “There may be many more that didn’t appear on the last expedition, or that they guard another direction. We can only enter through this direction this time. Are there city gates in the other directions? That could represent that there are four sets of gates and four troops of one thousand. We only eliminated one of them.”

There was another possibility in that Black Armors also resided inside the city and had been deployed to the outer city. Regardless of what the truth was, it meant that the level of danger had risen. The brash He Yong abruptly quieted down as well.

“What do we do now?”

“Screw it, we head forward! We’ll go to the second passageway before the others have arrived and enter the outer city, then head to the inner city. We’ll avoid the Gold Armor and locate some mysterious power stones for self defense!” Hong Yitang’s response raised He Yong’s approval.

That’s right! They needed sufficient stones to ensure that they wouldn’t become supernatural when their seals were undone.

The three quickly walked forward. Some of the wandering cultivators behind them seemed to know that the Black Armors had died last time. They felt that there was no threat in the outer city, which meant they boldly set foot into the outer city. They moved swiftly, as if deathly afraid of running into competition. It wasn’t long before agonized wails rang out!

These Black Armors were hard pressed to take down Solars, but Sunflares were easy. While the soldiers moved soundlessly, their footsteps were apparent. However, the intruders were charging so quickly that they didn’t care about footsteps. They thought it was competition catching up to them and died grisly deaths for it!

The ground started absorbing the blood and bodies again.

......

Just as Li Hao’s trio started through the second passageway, powerhouses entered the ruins. Faces twitched when they heard the screams from the city. They looked at Hou Xiaochen’s group.

“We exterminated the Black Armors last time, it looks like more have appeared!” The director frowned slightly. “Brashly entering the city is a dead end. We have to be strong enough or these Black Armors will be enough to give us a very hard time!”

“We eliminated them all last time, why are there more?” Violet Moon called out.

Hou Xiaochen couldn’t be bothered to respond. Figure it out yourself! He looked in the direction of the second passageway. Hong Yitang and the others had come in earlier with Li Hao. Were they at the ancient house, or were they in the city already?

There were people everywhere; a loud cacophony erased the quietness of the city. A pronounced din rose over the city to the point where someone decided to fly into the outer city.

They exploded with a loud detonation.

Hou Xiaochen could barely suppress an eye roll. Did they know nothing? To be honest, anyone who asked around a bit would know some of the dangers. So this meant that there were people who came without making any preparations and then just... died?

Did these supernaturals think they were the greatest beneath the heavens and not fear anything? As Hou Xiaochen and his colleagues thought, strength that was rashly gained was not treasured. No one knew the meaning of prudence. They were a bunch of idiots!

“Are you fools?!” someone yelled in the crowd. “You can’t fly, you have to take the second passageway first! There’s an air restriction in place that can kill even Solars!”

Only then did general understanding percolateㄡ