CHAPTER 526: CHAPTER 525 CENTIPEDE

Hearing Song Jie’s rapid-fire questions, the White Lotus Door disciple immediately revealed a cold smile on his face, ready to spew his venom in a sarcastic tone.

Traitor, feeling proud of yourself?

Gongyang Han was not in the mood to listen to their bickering and said bluntly, "Continue. What else did Yu Qingqiu and the others say?"

"Yes," the White Lotus Sect Member nodded and said, "According to Yu Qingqiu, he has been in the underground tunnel for nearly two hours and roughly discovered that the Tunnel System can be divided into three layers.

The first layer is just simple tunnels, with complicated and twisting terrain where one could easily lose their way, going around in circles in one place.

But as long as one makes good marks along the way and has sufficient supplies, one can always find a tunnel back to the surface.

There’s no danger to life.

However, the situation on the second layer is more complicated; intruders will encounter stone doors one after another, and on the doors, there will be all sorts of strange and bizarre questions..."

The elder with white eyebrows furrowed his brows and asked in a low voice, "What kind of questions?"

"He didn’t explain in detail," the White Lotus Sect Member replied. "But he did say that on the second layer, if you answer a question incorrectly and enter the wrong tunnel, you will suffer a certain punishment. For ordinary tomb raiders without Mana, this is a situation of nine deaths and one life. But for Cultivators, it’s just a little dangerous, not a hopeless situation."

Gongyang Han’s mind settled slightly, then he asked, "What about the third layer?"

The White Lotus Sect Member furrowed his eyebrows slightly, not quite certain as he said, "According to Yu Qingqiu’s description, the third layer’s tunnels are similar to the second, but after answering the right questions, one can receive certain rewards, such as tree sap that can turn white hair black, fruit that can heal old wounds, and spring water that makes the user speak only the truth. The list goes on and on."

"Ridiculous," Song Jie shook his head and said. "Does he think this is some Immortal Master’s grotto Immortal Palace that he has lived in, hiding secret treasures for rewards? Even if Immortal Palaces really exist in this world, they definitely wouldn’t be hiding underground in Lvzhou, adjacent to the netherworld, full of mud and insects."

"An Immortal Palace may not be, but a secret realm is still possible." The white-browed elder closed his eyes to ponder for a while, then spoke softly, "According to rumors, the body of a demon giant or a loose cultivator with sky-high cultivation won’t decay for ten thousand years after death. As the Mana leaks out, the surrounding environment will undergo drastic changes, even spontaneously forming various unimaginable secret realms. However, we are currently trapped in Lvzhou. The pressing matter is to find a way out quickly."

Throughout history, there have always been rumors that some prominent Cultivator with outstanding prowess was once an ordinary person with no talent for cultivation, only transforming from fish to dragon overnight after accidentally entering the grotto of a predecessor and receiving an inheritance. Ordinary people of the rivers and lakes might covet the so-called secret realms. However, these fervent White Lotus Cult followers had only one thing in their minds: "The Sky has perished; the White Lotus must rise." Even if there truly were a secret realm, they would wait until after rescuing the Young Master to explore it thoroughly and offer its treasures to the Sect Hierarch.

The White Lotus Door disciple nodded in agreement, adding, "Yu Qingqiu said that if one enters the wrong tunnel on the third layer, then the dangers faced are far greater than those on the second layer. The noise we heard just now was from him opening the wrong great door, causing something to be released..."

Before the echo of his words had died away, that deafening boom rang out from the depths of the tunnel once again, this time even closer than before.

BOOM!

Rocks and clods of earth hailed down, the entire length of the tunnel trembling as if it might collapse and cave in at any moment, burying the anxiously panicking crowd beneath tons of earth and stone.

The Gale struck once more. In the eyes of Gongyang Han, who was shielded by the elderly man with white eyebrows, a resolute look flashed. He pushed his subordinate away, took out a ring-shaped Jade Pendant from his waist, and with determination, shattered it.

CRACK!

The sound of the jade splintering was so crisp that even amidst the howling Gale, it rang out unmistakably clear.

Behind Gongyang Han, a gigantic vermilion figure emerged, appearing slowly yet swiftly. It wore a dragon helmet and armor, holding a Short Spear in its right hand and a pagoda in its left. The figure had a kind face with benevolent eyes—stately and serene—yet an intimidating, ferocious, and mischievous intent seeped from between its brows and eyes.

The phantom slowly opened its crimson eyes. The violent winds ceased abruptly, leaving the entire tunnel so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, except for the tense breathing of the White Lotus Sect members, and the sound of blood sizzling from Song Jie’s shoulders—as he was still impaled by two arrows.

SCRAPE SCRAPE...

A series of subtle noises came from afar. Around the corner of the tunnel, an orange-red light appeared, as if someone with a bright torch was slowly approaching.

"Is, anybody, there?"

A hoarse, low, and intermittently pitiful voice arose from the corner, "Save, save, me..."

Every White Lotus Sect member, including Gongyang Han, tensed their faces and involuntarily gripped their weapons tighter.

"Is, anybody, there?"

The voice continued to call out, with the rustling of subtle footsteps growing ever closer.

Finally, as the orange-red torchlight turned the corner, the White Lotus Sect members could see the "thing" that was making the calls.

It was a gigantic monster, so large it almost filled the spacious tunnel. Its long, narrow body resembled a hybrid of a centipede and a Worm. A heavy, pitch-black carapace covered its back, with hundreds of pairs of white legs distributed beneath the shell on either side. As it moved across the dirt, these legs created a dense, unnerving skittering noise that made one’s scalp tingle and entire body uncomfortable.

The carapace on the centipede’s head section was twisted and deformed, presenting the shape of a human face. From the empty left and right eye sockets of this face, grew two glowing orange-yellow orbs, resembling eyes or lanterns.

Between the upper and lower jaws of the human face, three gear-shaped white bones extended, combining to form a structure similar to a rotary drill bit used in modern drilling engineering.

"Is, anybody, there?"

The massive centipede turned the corner and crawled slowly toward the crowd. The huge human face on its head emitted a hoarse, turbid call, its mouth’s drilling gears slowly turning, grinding the earth and rocks it touched into powder.

"What in the world is... this thing..."

Even the old man with white eyebrows, who had seen much of the world, couldn’t help but feel his palms sweat as a pervasive chill soaked through him.

The other members of the White Lotus Sect were even paler, their legs trembling, almost ready to flee.