CHAPTER 485: CHAPTER 484: STRANGE LAKE_1

"No, fall back quickly!"

Upon seeing the Teng Beast charging forward, the Wild Python Sect elder regained much of his composure. With his arm severed, his strength would be greatly reduced. If he were to fight Ling Chen again, he would likely lose his life here. Therefore, retreating from this place immediately was the best option. This kid has peculiar moves and always possesses unexpected attacking techniques. As for the Teng Beast, it was previously defeated by Ling Chen in the Sky Demon Tower; relying on it to defeat Ling Chen is nothing short of a pipe dream.

The Teng Beast, hearing this, was somewhat unwilling, but it had no choice. He himself had no confidence in defeating Ling Chen, so it’s better to retreat for now.

"You little beast, I’ll never let you go!" Supported by the Teng Beast and a dozen Disciples from the Myriad Beasts Sect, the Wild Python Sect elder, his hair disheveled, roared with a voice full of venomous resentment, then fled miserably into the distance.

Once the people from the Myriad Beasts Sect had retreated, Ling Chen breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he too was severely injured. He had just taken a direct punch from the Wild Python Sect elder, which had caused internal injuries. However, Ling Chen suppressed the pain and didn’t show it, so everyone assumed he had only suffered superficial wounds.

"Thank you, Saint Child, for saving our lives." Yao Fang and the others approached, expressing their gratitude.

"Check on Yao Yingying quickly; her injuries are probably not light," Ling Chen said calmly.

He hadn’t intervened to save these two merely out of meddlesomeness; the Teng Beast and the Wild Python Sect elder were targeting him anyway, and he couldn’t let innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire. Rescuing these few was simply a convenient act for him.

Upon hearing this, Yao Fang quickly went to Yao Yingying’s side. Indeed, the latter had several broken bones from being sent flying by a palm strike from the Wild Python Sect elder. Her injuries were not light.

Ling Chen only saw to their immediate needs before parting ways with them. He now urgently needed to find a place to recuperate.

After resting for several hours, Ling Chen continued his journey.

As Ling Chen delved deeper, he discovered that the Bottomless Demon Abyss was not an endless expanse of flat ground. Instead, it featured numerous cracks and pits leading to even deeper regions, all unfathomably profound. Even Ling Chen dared not approach them recklessly.

Guided by the Human Emperor, Ling Chen didn’t encounter much significant danger along the way. As he ventured deeper, the cold, eerie demonic mist around him grew denser.

Moving like a phantom, Ling Chen ascended a valley wall. Looking down, he saw a lake deep in the valley, shimmering with a very strange luster.

The lake was likely a hundred miles wide, its extent beyond sight. After a brief survey, Ling Chen decided to go around it.

"It seems there’s something at the bottom of this lake," just as Ling Chen was about to move on, the Human Emperor’s voice suddenly resonated in his mind.

"Something?" Ling Chen was stunned and stopped. If the Human Emperor said there was something, it couldn’t be ordinary. It might very well be some extraordinary Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Without much hesitation, Ling Chen plunged into the bizarre lake.

SPLASH!

The moment Ling Chen’s body entered the lake water, he felt an extremely sinister and peculiar Energy surging from all directions. It streamed incessantly into his body. Amidst this Energy’s permeation, Ling Chen could feel a faint, pricking pain emanating from within.

Just as Ling Chen began to feel apprehensive, he suddenly sensed that some of his old internal scars were gradually healing and disappearing.

Over the years, Ling Chen had engaged in countless life-and-death battles and numerous bloody skirmishes. Naturally, his body harbored various scars, both large and small. Although his robust constitution allowed him to recover quickly from severe injuries, some underlying damage inevitably remained. These subtle injuries were often so minor that even Ling Chen himself barely noticed them. While they didn’t significantly hinder him, such hidden wounds could become a major problem if they accumulated to a certain point and erupted.

However, the water of this strange lake possessed such a unique effect.

Like a fish, Ling Chen dove towards the lakebed. Here, the water was about a kilometer deep. Pressure assailed him from all sides, eventually distorting his Protective True Qi barrier.

"Is there a mechanism here?

" Ling Chen scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally settling on a nearby lever-like protrusion.

The ground there glowed with an ancient bronze luster and appeared to be inscribed with archaic patterns. This lever was clearly part of a mechanism.

Ling Chen approached the mechanism, reached out, gripped the lever, and pushed down hard. The ground suddenly split open, and before Ling Chen could react, he plummeted downwards.

The fissure remained open for only a few breaths before sealing itself once more. When Ling Chen regained his senses, he found himself in an underground palace passage.

Before him lay a long bronze corridor, its end lost in darkness. Judging by the current situation, this must be a Palace.

I didn’t expect a water palace to be hidden beneath this lake! This palace is submerged, implying it’s very ancient. At the very least, when this palace was built, the lake above couldn’t have existed. Ling Chen was quite astonished.

Venturing deeper into the water palace, Ling Chen found it wasn’t very large, perhaps only about a hundred meters square.

However, the interior exuded an eerie atmosphere at every turn; the water palace was riddled with traps. Within a short while of entering, Ling Chen had already encountered three of them.

One trap was particularly perilous: walls closed in from all directions, threatening to crush him. If he had been caught, even the most formidable expert would have been either crushed into pulp or trapped alive inside.

The water palace was largely deserted. Ling Chen explored several stone chambers but found nothing of significant value.

Thus, Ling Chen gradually made his way towards the central area of the water palace.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Ling Chen sensed a slight anomaly. His gaze darted towards a stone chamber about three hundred meters ahead.

The anomaly was clearly emanating from that direction.

Ling Chen moved swiftly, arriving at the location where his Mental Power had detected the disturbance within minutes. Just as he neared the entrance, he overheard voices discussing something inside.

"Damn it, someone beat us to it!"

"Isn’t that woman Xia Yunxin? She’s still comprehending. Let’s kill her and seize her fortuitous encounter!"

"Hold on. Now isn’t the best time. Wait until the Demonic Seal on her brow is fully formed. Then kill her, seize the Demonic Seal, and all her painstaking effort will be mine."

Hearing the last voice, Ling Chen recognized it instantly. It was Chu Tiange.