CHAPTER 480: CHAPTER 480: HESITANT TO ACT DUE TO FEAR OF HURTING THE INNOCENT_1

"I’ve heard that some powerful individuals, fearing pursuit from enemies or the approach of their lifespan’s end, would use Battle Intent to seal themselves, waiting to be rescued."

"Brother Qin, do you think the person in this ice could be one such powerhouse?" Lu Xingchen pondered for a moment before speaking softly.

"Hm?"

Qin Feiyang looked startled, turned to Lu Xingchen, and asked, "Who told you that?"

What Lu Xingchen mentioned did indeed occur. But it was a secret. The imperial palace possessed a historical record of such instances, but this record was kept in the Emperor’s study. Even Qin Feiyang, in his former capacity, wouldn’t have dared to barge into the study without the Emperor’s permission.

Thus, in the current Great Qin Empire, absolutely no more than ten people knew about this.

However, Lu Xingchen knew about it in such detail. Though he was a Top-Grade Alchemist, he was merely someone from Spirit State. It was quite strange.

Lu Xingchen’s eyes flashed as he chuckled, "I just happened to hear about it from someone, but I don’t know who that person was."

Something’s off, Qin Feiyang muttered inwardly. This Lu Xingchen is definitely more complex than he appears.

However, he didn’t betray any suspicion and shook his head. "I’ve never heard of anything like this before, so I can’t make any judgments."

"I see!"

"So it seems it was just a rumor, not to be trusted," Lu Xingchen said with a faint smile.

A rumor? Qin Feiyang sneered inwardly. Lu Xingchen must have realized his slip of the tongue and is trying to cover it up. Little does he know, he’s only making it more obvious.

CLANG!

Without saying much, Qin Feiyang drew Blue Snow.

Seeing Blue Snow, Lu Xingchen clearly showed a trace of dread and said, "Brother Qin, you should think carefully before breaking the ice."

"There’s nothing to think about."

Qin Feiyang stepped forward and lightly scraped Blue Snow across the ice, instantly creating a gash.

"What a sharp blade!"

Lu Xingchen’s pupils contracted.

Seeing that Blue Snow could cut through the ice, Qin Feiyang began to break it.

THUMP!

In a short while, a large piece of ice fell off.

"Wait!"

As the ice fell, Lu Xingchen’s face changed drastically, and he hastily grabbed Qin Feiyang’s arm.

"Hm?"

Qin Feiyang raised an eyebrow. But the next moment, his expression also changed dramatically. He instantly backed out of the ice cave, disbelief filling his eyes.

Because that piece of ice had fallen, the ice layer thinned, so now they could clearly see the figure frozen within.

It was not a human, but a black stone monkey!

If it were an ordinary black stone monkey, neither Qin Feiyang nor Lu Xingchen would have been so surprised. What shocked them was that the black stone monkey in the ice actually had five heads!

This meant that this beast was a being surpassing the War Ancestor realm!

Lu Xingchen gulped. "Now I finally understand why those black stone monkeys were trying to drive us away. This monkey must be the true Monkey King!"

"Let’s go!" Qin Feiyang urged, then turned and ran out without looking back.

Lu Xingchen glanced at the black stone monkey, a glint flashing in the depths of his eyes, and followed suit.

However, just as they neared the cave entrance, a terrifyingly fierce aura surged in from outside.

Lu Xingchen whispered, "Not good, the Monkey King is back."

Qin Feiyang immediately stopped, his heart leaping into his throat. But thankfully, the Monkey King didn’t seem to have noticed them and didn’t enter the cave.

Lu Xingchen asked, "What do we do now?"

Qin Feiyang replied, "Our only option is to have the burrowing beast dig a tunnel."

With a wave of his hand, the burrowing beast appeared.

"Bastards, how dare you trespass here!"

Just as the burrowing beast appeared, the Monkey King outside began to roar in anger. Immediately after, Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen felt the Monkey King’s aura enter the cave, rapidly approaching them.

"How did it discover us?" Lu Xingchen asked in surprise.

Qin Feiyang also frowned. Suddenly, he shook his head and said with a wry smile, "It must be our footprints."

Lu Xingchen paused, then couldn’t help but give a wry smile as well. Before entering the cave, they had paused at the entrance; that’s when they must have left footprints on the ground.

What a careless mistake!

The burrowing beast scanned them and said angrily, "Hey, you two! Can we escape first before you chat about useless things?"

"There’s no escape." Lu Xingchen shook his head. "Digging a tunnel now is too late. Unless we hide in the ancient castle again. But we can’t hide in there forever."

"Let’s gamble!"

Qin Feiyang gritted his teeth and brought Lu Xingchen and the burrowing beast into the ancient castle.

Almost the next moment, the Monkey King arrived at the spot where they had vanished. It didn’t stop, but rushed directly towards the ice cave.

Once the Monkey King was gone, Qin Feiyang and Lu Xingchen reappeared out of thin air. Having already concealed their auras, they sped towards the cave entrance.

"Damn bastards, This Emperor will kill you!"

A furious roar erupted from the deepest part of the cave. The Monkey King whirled around and shot towards the entrance like lightning.

"It’s moving too fast, we need to hide!" Lu Xingchen shouted, his face turning slightly pale. The Monkey King was completely enraged. If it caught them, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Without any hesitation, Qin Feiyang grabbed Lu Xingchen and re-entered the ancient castle.

The Monkey King rushed out of the mountain cave, but seeing no sign of Qin Feiyang or Lu Xingchen, it roared repeatedly in frustration and anger.

「Inside the ancient castle!」

Lu Xingchen sighed, "It seems we’re going to be trapped here."

Qin Feiyang shared the sentiment. Now that the Monkey King is on high alert, if we let the burrowing beast out to dig again, it will definitely be discovered. Digging would inevitably create some sound. Therefore, this plan is no longer feasible. But it’s not like there are no other options. That ice-sealed Monkey King must have sealed itself. According to ancient records, this type of self-sealing can preserve a life indefinitely. For instance, if one self-sealed a thousand years ago, they could still live on after the seal is broken a thousand years later. But there are also fatal flaws. First, one’s cultivation will decline with the passage of time. Meaning, it will drop little by little. Second, a large amount of fresh blood is needed to awaken a self-sealed being. Without fresh blood, even if you thrashed it severely or even killed it, it wouldn’t awaken. And this point can be precisely exploited. As long as they get their hands on that ice-sealed monkey, the Monkey King outside will surely be wary of acting recklessly. However, this method is somewhat risky. Because doing so will undoubtedly enrage the Monkey King further. In the future, as long as they are in this great canyon, it will inevitably hunt them down relentlessly. In truth, this is a gamble! And right now, there seems to be no other choice.

Time to act!

Immediately, he explained his plan to Lu Xingchen.

After listening, Lu Xingchen was slightly stunned, then asked in surprise, "Didn’t you say you knew nothing about self-sealing?"

Qin Feiyang smiled faintly. "Like you, I’ve only heard it through hearsay."

Lu Xingchen said, "So, this might not be a rumor then?"

Qin Feiyang said, "I don’t know if it’s a rumor or not. I only know that we can’t stay trapped here; we must take this gamble."

Lu Xingchen pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. It’s rare for us to cooperate. Today, I’ll risk my life to accompany you, my friend!"

He’s putting on quite an act, Qin Feiyang sneered inwardly, concealed his aura to the utmost, then led Lu Xingchen into the passage.

After glancing towards the cave entrance, they both dashed towards the ice cave.

Arriving at the ice cave, Qin Feiyang, without a word, directly took out Blue Snow and began to carefully cut the ice.

Right now, they absolutely cannot make any sound. Because once the Monkey King is alerted, it will definitely guard this place, and then they’ll truly be trapped for life.

But things rarely go as planned. Whatever one fears, often comes to pass.

They both clearly sensed the Monkey King’s aura entering the cave and rapidly closing in on them.

"We can’t dawdle any longer! Faster!" Lu Xingchen urged in a low growl.

Qin Feiyang’s gaze hardened. He gripped Blue Snow and began to swing it like lightning, the blade scraping against the ice with a piercing sound.

The Monkey King detected this immediately and roared, "Damn you bastards, This Emperor won’t let you off!"

Qin Feiyang shouted, "Block the passage!"

Lu Xingchen looked up and waved his hand. Wind energy surged forth, blasting the area in front.

BOOM!

With a tremendous crash, the earth and stones from the ceiling of the passage caved in.

"ROAR!"

The Monkey King roared. Its Battle Intent turned into a torrent, obliterating the mud and stones blocking its path into dust!

"Faster!" Lu Xingchen shouted.

Qin Feiyang’s expression was grim. Even though the Monkey King was about to reach them, he didn’t lose his cool, nor did he panic. Chunks of ice were continuously cut away. At the moment, the ice layer was only half a chi thick.

BOOM!

In less than three breaths, the Monkey King charged out from the dust and smoke. Seeing Qin Feiyang’s actions, its oppressive might suddenly surged forth, pressing down on Qin Feiyang.

CRACK!

Just then, a large piece of ice broke off.

Qin Feiyang’s eyes glinted. Blue Snow plunged into the remaining ice as he shouted, "Retract your pressure at once, or I’ll pierce its heart!"

"You dare!" the Monkey King shouted angrily.

Qin Feiyang exerted a slight force on his arm. The ice layer was now only a finger-width thick; it couldn’t stop Blue Snow at all!

Seeing the sharp tip of Blue Snow about to pierce the frozen monkey’s chest, the Monkey King hastily retracted its pressure, crying out, "Don’t, don’t, don’t! We can talk this over!"

WHOOSH!

Seeing this, Lu Xingchen also quickly retreated to Qin Feiyang’s side. Then they exchanged a look, a hint of delight appearing in both their eyes.

It seems they won the gamble this time.

The Monkey King scanned them, its gaze fixing on Qin Feiyang. "Retract your dagger, and This Emperor will let you go," it said gravely.

"No way," Qin Feiyang shook his head.

"Exactly!" Lu Xingchen added. "If we really withdraw the dagger, I’m afraid you’ll immediately attack us."

A dangerous glint flashed simultaneously in the depths of the Monkey King’s eight eyes. "This Emperor’s word is gold!"

Qin Feiyang snorted. "Hmph, we’re not fools. Your promise means nothing to us."

"Then what do you want?"

"Let me tell you, if you dare harm a single hair on its body, This Emperor will hunt you to the ends of the earth and never let you off!" the Monkey King spoke sinisterly, the ferocious gleam in its eyes sending shivers down their spines.

Qin Feiyang said, "Don’t worry. As long as you cooperate with us, we won’t hurt it."

The Monkey King, suppressing its inner fury, asked, "How should I cooperate?"