Chapter 2703 - 2702: Numerous Trials

Chapter 2703: Chapter 2702: Numerous Trials

Those Spiders and centipedes had all crawled out of that vine-covered cave from just now.

They were Demonic Beasts sealed by a Wood Elemental Sealing Formation, and no one knew how long they’d been breeding in that cave.

This wave of black Wudu creatures surged up savagely; even after one sweep of Sword Qi, the ones behind still trampled through the blood and kept pouncing forward without end.

When they got close enough, the Spiders all shot strands of web toward the Cultivators inside the cave.

White threads slithered through the crowd, tangling up the hands and feet of a swarm of Kunlun Disciples.

Quite a few Disciples were tightly bound; the moment their movements slowed, they were swallowed by that raging black tide of poison.

Huge Spiders threw themselves on top of them, Zhang Kai dagger-like fangs, and bit straight through those Disciples’ bodies.

One senior brother hastily released a Flame Talisman, unleashing a great blaze at the Spider swarms on both sides.

Crackling booms rang out; the scorching flames triggered violent explosions that thundered through both sides of the cave for hundreds of meters.

The fire oil ignited in sheets, turning the stone walls of both tunnels red-hot.

Under the roasting of the inferno, the Spider and centipede swarms retreated in fright, leaving behind a ground of reeking corpses belching black smoke.

Long Fei and Jiufeng stayed in the middle, blocked in by Kunlun Disciples from both sides, completely untouched.

Whenever the Spiders and centipede swarms charged up, the Disciples on both sides helped block them.

More than a dozen Disciples died in the poison tide—some corroded by venom, some gnawed apart by Spiders, some shredded into mince by centipedes.

The scene was brutally gory, enough to make anyone’s stomach churn at a glance.

One Kunlun Disciple broke down screaming, "I want to go back, what the hell is this place?!"

"How much farther is the road ahead? Why don’t we just go back?"

"This place is way too terrifying, it’s not somewhere humans should stay at all!"

"..."

The crowd of Disciples were scared witless and no longer dared to move forward.

A senior brother barked, "All of you calm down. Retreating now is still a dead end. There are Formations and poisonous Spiders and bugs behind—how could you possibly return safely? Our only chance is to go deeper, find First Senior Brother and the others. With them wielding Kunlun Talismans to protect us, we might have a hope of getting out alive."

Someone echoed, "Senior Brother is right. There’s no way to retreat now; we can only keep going forward and rendezvous with the experts of the other Sects if we want even a sliver of hope."

Everyone’s emotions gradually settled. After swallowing Pills and checking their numbers, of the roughly hundred people, half were already down.

In the middle of the crowd they spotted Long Fei and Jiufeng, the two of them eating and drinking out of boredom.

Just now, while everyone was fighting, they’d had a chicken leg in their left hand and a wine jug in their right, eating with obscene gusto.

The others were already speechless. They couldn’t have them lead in front, couldn’t leave them at the rear, and hiding them in the middle was basically giving them a free ride.

The leading senior brother, frustrated, ordered, "Stop hiding in the middle. You two go up front and scout the way."

Long Fei gnawed on his chicken leg, eyes innocent. "What if we run into another Formation?"

The senior brother said, "Then we’ll see whose luck is better. If you two still keep getting lucky, we really won’t have anything left to say."

Long Fei and Jiufeng had no objections and once again took point at the very front.

A group of Disciples followed closely behind them, expressions taut, completely devoid of the ease they’d had upon first entering.

They quickly stepped into a wide cave, all blazing with golden light, its walls actually entirely covered in gold.

The cave was packed with spike-like rocks, glittering with golden light, blanketing the entire cavern.

One Disciple couldn’t resist his curiosity and drew his sword to scratch at a chunk of stone on the wall.

With a harsh sizzle, the golden wall was cut open by the Longsword, soft as if made of mud.

The Disciple picked up a piece and cried out in shock, "This is gold!"

"Gold?"

The other Disciples’ eyes lit up, their hearts instantly pounding.

Gold was a rare substance in this world as well, used as currency in the mundane realm.

Even Cultivators, faced with such a golden cave, couldn’t help but feel a bit of greed stir.

Someone said, "We’ve gained no opportunities since coming in. Why not take this gold out and at least become wealthy men?"

A senior brother scolded, "We who walk the path of Cultivation, what use is greed for money?"

A Disciple said, "Senior Brother, we Outer Sect Disciples can’t break through to True Immortal Realm. In the end we’ll still descend the mountain to live like commoners. This gold will be our capital then!"

"Yeah, I once went down the mountain and saw a Senior Brother. He was doing poorly in the mundane world, performing tricks on the street to get by—utterly miserable."

"If we haul all this gold out, we won’t have to worry about our livelihood once we leave the mountain. Grab a little casually and we can buy an estate and live out the rest of our lives in comfort."

"..."

Everyone argued back and forth, until even the various senior brothers couldn’t help but feel tempted.

They instructed their junior brothers, "Be careful. Don’t get too greedy!"

The junior brothers were excited, nodding nonstop, and raised their Longswords to start hacking at the golden Zhuzi.

It really was like chopping melons and vegetables—each swing toppled a pillar, and they hurried to stash it in their Storage Rings.

Each Gold stone pillar weighed at least a hundred catties.

Just one of these would be enough for a lifetime of food and clothing.

The crowd couldn’t beat back the greed in their hearts; after chopping one, they went after the next, unable to stop at all.

At this moment Long Fei offered a reminder, "Senior Brothers, that’s about enough. This place might hide some danger."

The crowd glared at him and cursed, "You damn jinx, who asked for your opinion?"

"Shut up! What danger could there be in a place like this?"

"Everyone gets a share of this gold—except you. Stand there and behave. If you dare steal even a single chunk, I’ll chop off your arm!"

Someone threw out the warning, then lowered his head and focused on reaping gold.

Jiufeng watched, shaking his head with a sigh. "Kunlun Disciples in all their supposed glory, and yet look at them now."

"Flourish and decline, cause and effect—it’s only natural."

Long Fei’s expression stayed calm as he watched: underneath the harvested Gold stone pillars, tiny golden bugs were crazily crawling out one after another.

The Disciples plundering gold with their heads down still didn’t realize; in a short while, their feet would be covered in the things.

One Disciple felt an itch on his sole, reached down to touch, and instantly screamed in horror, "My foot!"

Everyone was jolted by his cry and whipped their heads around, only to see that his right foot had turned to bare bone.

He stumbled back a step and fell flat on his rear.

In just an instant, something gnawed his entire lower body clean, likewise leaving only white bone exposed.

The Disciple let out a miserable scream, hastily throwing off his flesh body as his Primordial Spirit jumped free.

A senior brother stared at the golden granules on the ground and immediately shouted, "Something’s wrong!"

He flung a Light Gathering Stone down to the ground, and only then did everyone clearly see the floor covered in golden bugs, shaped like ants, carpeting the ground and already hemming them all in.

Another Disciple got hit: the Gold-Devouring Ants chewed off both his feet, sending him rolling on the ground; in moments, even his bones were gnawed completely clean.

"Those are Gold-Devouring Ants!"

One Disciple cried out in panic, and everyone stepped into the air, hovering above.

Just then, the Gold all around the cave began to buzz with a dull hum, and a tremendous Magnetic Force surged from the walls toward the Disciples, yanking the Longswords in their hands and at their feet away with a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The enormous Magnetic Force even formed a barrier.

A senior brother tried to break through the sky with a Magical Treasure, yet was completely trapped inside this Magnetic Force barrier.

Someone finally cried out in sudden realization, "Golden Elemental Power—this place is a Formation too!"