Chapter 2911
Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Tai was very interested in the Flowing Time Fruit, so he left Gong Yue's side and walked next to Yang Kai, trying to figure out the identity of Yang Kai's 'friend' in a roundabout way.
Naturally, Yang Kai wouldn't tell him the truth, and as the topic was subtly changed, Yang Tai couldn't appear too eager either. In the end, he could only leave the matter unresolved and walk away in disappointment.
The scene turned silent at that point as the seven sat down and rested, waiting for night to come.
An imperceptible wisp of Divine Sense suddenly stretched over towards Yang Kai, following that, Yang Kai heard a stealthy message from Hua Yu Lu, "Is there something wrong?"
Even though she was a woman, as the Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, she naturally wasn't some simple-minded little girl. She was able to catch some clues from Yang Kai's performance earlier, and that's why she was asking him this now.
Yang Kai responded, maintaining his composure, "Stick within ten metres of me once we enter the Ancient Cave Mansion."
Hua Yu Lu was taken aback and asked, "So there really is a problem?"
If there was no problem, then Yang Kai wouldn't have told her such a thing, but she couldn't tell what was going on no matter how she tried, so she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Yang Kai asked, "You must have heard about the opening of the Four Seasons Realm many years ago, right?"
Hua Yu Lu replied, "Yes. I also heard that you refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pill inside, Brother Yang."
The Four Seasons Realm was no ordinary Small Sealed World, but rather a legacy left behind by the Flowing Time Great Emperor. Every time it opened, the only ones allowed inside to train were the most outstanding Dao Source Realm cultivators of the Southern Territory, who often obtained huge amounts of benefits from within.
The most recent opening of the Four Seasons Realm was a big deal, one reason being that Yang Kai was able to refine a Heaven-defying Spirit Pill, the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, inside, bringing great fame to his name. However, the second and most important reason was that an Ancient Divine Spirit emerged from the Four Seasons Realm: the Ominous Beast, Qiong Qi!
Nobody could be unconcerned about the emergence of a Divine Spirit, especially when it was an Ominous Beast that was known for its ferocity in ancient times. It was said that Qiong Qi was the mount of Flowing Time Great Emperor back then, and after the fall of the Great Emperor, Qiong Qi had been sleeping in the Flowing Time Temple the whole time and only came out from the Four Seasons Realm during its most recent opening.
In the following years, the Masters of the Southern Territory were all on edge, worried that Qiong Qi would begin a reign of chaos; however, to everyone's surprise, Qiong Qi disappeared without a trace since the last time they heard about him, and as time passed, everyone's concern towards Qiong Qi also gradually weakened.
Hua Yu Lu had also sought out information regarding Yang Kai because she had seen how powerful he was, and due to the fact that he was going to accompany her to explore the Ancient Cave Mansion. She also learned some information about the Four Seasons Realm during her research.
Thinking back to it, she was already an Emperor Realm Master at that time while Yang Kai had just barely entered the Dao Source Realm; however, Yang Kai now had equal cultivation to her, and she even needed to rely on him for her own safety.
Faced with such a disparity, Hua Yu Lu's feelings grew inexplicably complicated.
"I once met one of the Gong Family's descendants in the Four Seasons Realm, and together, we each obtained one Flowing Time Fruit inside," Yang Kai explained.
Hua Yu Lu answered in surprise, "What good fortune."
Yang Kai smiled, "People only know that the Flowing Time Fruit can prolong a person's life, but they do not know that there are actually two types of Flowing Time Fruits. One of them can truly prolong a person's life after it is consumed, but the other one is a terrible poison. If eaten by mistake, then it would make time pass by and age the consumer rapidly. The two types of Flowing Time Fruit are all but impossible to distinguish by a layperson from their appearance, but their effects are exact opposites."
"Really?" Hua Yu Lu was quite surprised. Even though she was an Emperor as well, she was not well versed in Alchemy; however, considering that Yang Kai was able to even refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, then surely he must have great attainments in the Alchemic Dao, so he was no stranger to the Flowing Time Fruit.
He said that he and the Gong Family descendant obtained one Flowing Time Fruit each, and with his knowledge in spirit herbs, Yang Kai obviously chose the one that could prolong one's life. In other words, the one that the Gong Family descendant brought back must be the poisonous one.
Perhaps someone in the Gong Family may even be suffering because of it now…
But this was highly unlikely. Even though the Gong Family may not know the details of the Flowing Time Fruit, they would definitely find someone to refine it into a pill, and an Emperor Alchemist would surely know a thing or two about the Flowing Time Fruit. If that really were the case, then the Gong Family must have obtained some information about the Flowing Time Fruit.
But based on what Gong Yue said earlier…
When she thought of this point, Hua Yu Lu was shocked and immediately understood where the problem lay.
"Of course, this is only my suspicion. This Old Patriarch Gong seems to have been in retreat recently, so there is the possibility that he did not know what was going on in his clan; however, it is always better to be careful."
Hua Yu Lu nodded with deep understanding and stopped communicating with Yang Kai, lest the others catch onto them.
After breaking off contact with Hua Yu lu, Yang Kai swept his eyes around calmly. If his suspicions were to prove true, then there was definitely a problem with 'Old Patriarch Gong'!
It was a moonless night, making the stars in the sky seem all the more dazzling, but such a scene could not be enjoyed in the Southern Swamp as the poison mist covered the earth, blocking out any trace of light from above.
At midnight, something seemed to catch everyone's attention, and they all opened their eyes in unison.
*Shh…*
Yang Tai raised a finger to his mouth, signalling everyone to stay calm. Then, he retracted his aura and used a concealing technique. Without seeing him with their naked eyes, it would be possible that no one could even detect his presence.
Hua Yu Lu and Wu Kuang Yi obviously knew what was going to happen, so they too concealed themselves together with Yang Tai.
The others followed their example and retracted their auras as well.
The water of the swamp before them began to bubble, as if something was going to surface, and as everyone could tell, there was indeed a sign of life rising up from extremely deep within.
Soon after, a figure that was a few metres in length suddenly appeared before them.
The creature looked like a crocodile and also a little like a lizard. The strange-looking thing had eight claws, a long tail, and two big eyes on the top of its head, bulging just like a toad's. As it crawled up onto land, it would flick its tongue like a venomous snake searching for prey. Not only that, but it was also exuding an unpleasant smell from its body that made one want to gag.
The creature was terribly ugly in appearance, and even though the two women present had superb cultivations, they still could not help but show their disgust. Yang Tai, on the other hand, was looking at this creature with great interest, as if it were some sort of great delicacy.
More and more monsters of the same species began crawling out from the swamp in an endless stream. At first, there were only a dozen of them, then a hundred. Very soon, they were covering the ground for as far as one could see.
None of the Emperor Realm Masters present recognized what they were. They were likely a type of Monster Beast as their bodies were giving out traces of Monster Qi, but they didn't seem very powerful. At the very most, they would be Fifth or Sixth Order Monster Beasts, with some possibly not even having condensed their own Monster Core.
Any one of them could easily destroy a large number of this type of Monster Beast with a single palm, and none of the Emperors knew how such weak creatures were able to survive in this harsh environment. Though the group did not encounter any danger along the way, they had still perceived many ferocious beasts hidden below the swamp.
It seemed this species' only advantage was their great numbers.
The goal of these monsters seemed to be the thick poison mist, and as soon as they surfaced, they made their way towards it. The noise they gave off as they crawled on the ground was enough to give a person goosebumps involuntarily.
Very soon, some of the monsters at the front arrived in front of the poison mist barrier, and under the close watch of Yang Kai and the others, they spat out their long tongues. Then, a shocking scene emerged. The poison mist that was able to kill even a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master was actually swallowed into the bellies of these monsters, who all remained unharmed.
They were actually feeding on the poison mist, and the stronger the poison was, the more delicious it seemed to be for them.
A single monster could only devour an insignificant amount of the poison mist, which would then be quickly replenished by the fog around it.
But what if there were thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of these things…
One by one, they stuck out their tongues to lick the air, and the Emperor Realm Masters present could see with their own eyes that the impenetrable poison mist barrier in front of them was becoming thinner. Even though the poison mist around the area quickly replenished what was lost, it could not keep up with the consumption rate of these monsters.
More and more monsters dove into the poison mist bank, opening up a safe path behind them wherever they passed.
For the ones who were seeing this for the first time, they all had dumbfounded looks on their faces. Only then did they understand what Yang Tai was saying during the day.
There were countless oddities in this world, and there would always be one thing that overcame another. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, then who would believe that a Fifth or Sixth-Order Monster Beast could actually devour the poison mist that even an Emperor Realm Master could not resist?
And, from what Yang Tai said earlier, it seemed these Monster Beasts do not come out every night. They seem to be active only at a specific time. Otherwise, Yang Tai wouldn't have mentioned that they were just in time.
It was a miracle that they even discovered the Ancient Cave Mansion here as it was only exposed through a series of coincidences.
If it were not so, then the Ancient Cave Mansion would not have been left untouched until now. If it were so easily discovered, it would long have been looted by others.
Even though it was deep into the night and there was no light anymore, everyone present was a powerful Master who could see unhindered even in the dark. The poison mist that was blocking their way forward during the day gradually thinned under the assault of the dense pack of Monster Beasts, and a passage deeper inside soon began to form.
But as Yang Tai did not move, the others did not dare to move carelessly either. They were all waiting silently.
After waiting for around four hours, just as the sky was about to turn light, Yang Tai suddenly shouted, "Go!"
Gong Yue and Chen Bing Ru, who had long been prepared, shot forward immediately. Wu Kuang Yi and Fang Zhuo were in a better position, so they rushed in second, leaving only several tens of metres of distance between them and Yang Tai.
Yang Kai and Hua Yu Lu were left behind again, but with a gentle push from Yang Kai, Hua Yu Lu took the lead. This move warmed Hua Yu Lu's heart, and her sense of security was greatly increased.
As soon as the seven people began to move, they immediately startled the Monster Beasts that were devouring the poison mist. In contrast with their previous quiet disguise, these creatures all instantly let out a shrill cry. The disturbing noise crashed into everyone's ears like gold and iron clashing against each other.
Not only that, some of the Monster Beasts even leapt up high from the ground, pouncing towards the group with their tongues out, seemingly intent on dragging them down into the swamp.
