Chapter 367: Playing Catch Up
Hearing the words from their older martial brother the other experts instantly felt better. They did not believe that if all of them fought seriously, then they would not defeat the team in front of them. After all, they had an Emperor in their midst, and although this Emperor clearly had some skilled attacks, he was still not a Saint. Killing him and stealing his storage stones would be easy.
Further down the hallway, a faint smile was visible on Hui Yue’s lips as his eyes hardened when the words of the oldest martial brother were said behind him. His ears, which seemed human, had the same senses as though he was in his wolf shape and hearing their low words was in no way a difficult task for him. If they truly were to try something they would be greatly surprised to see how Hui Yue and his group took care of them.
Although Hui Yue was indeed an Emperor, no one in his group believed that this was his actual level of strength. They were all certain that he used a cultivation technique which made it seem as though it was lower than his actual level. But even taking this into account they did not fully understand him nor his strength. Even without raising his cultivation level to the Saint rank, he was still able to get rid of those stone beasts as though they were made from porcelain and not marble. They shattered as soon as he so much as looked at them. This was something they could not do even with their Saint strength.
“I assume that we are in the actual inner-part of the grave now,” Hui Yue said with a low voice alongside his light steps. He was not willing to fight against any more traps unless it was absolutely necessary, and he was constantly observing what was happening in front and behind them.
Hearing his words, none of the Saints replied, but all of them nodded their heads. They were too cautious to even speak. “We cannot be the first ones to arrive here,” He continued as he looked around them. “We need to catch up to the ones in front of us, or we will not be getting any treasures,” He stated as a matter of fact while looking around. “Let us move as swiftly as we can without making any sounds. We need to catch up if we want to obtain anything worthwhile. They have already grabbed anything of value so far. Also when we encounter them, don’t insult them or steal their treasures. For them to have managed to come this far as swiftly as they did shows that they are not to be taken lightly. Although we might be able to win if we truly go against them, it is likely that we can do so only with a few casualties. For us, living is more important than unknown treasures.”
Hearing his words the experts around him were all taken aback, even Xiao Ning did not expect that Hui Yue would pass on treasures that others had taken for the sake of not risking their lives. The experts with them were some whom Hui Yue had previously considered disposable, yet now he was worried about well-being. It was clear that he had changed his opinion of these experts.
Now that Hui Yue had made these three experts a part of his group he would ensure that they lived through the tomb. At least he would do his best to ensure everyone survived. Once they entered his care, they could not just leave.
“What should we do if someone attacks us?” Xiao Ning suddenly asked while looking curiously at Hui Yue. It was sudden, but Hui Yue had suddenly become the focal point of their group; the one who determined what they did, how they did it, and when they did it. Although he seemed the weakest of them all, he had saved them time and again, and the display of power he had shown, not only against Wu Wei Warriors but also against the stone beasts, it was clear that he was the strongest in their group. Therefore, he was suddenly made into their leader.
Hui Yue did not mind the new responsibility, and he grinned as he heard the question. “If anyone is going to test our strength then we will let them know that we are no pushovers either,” He answered. “We will fight for our position and ensure that do not lose anything we have obtained so far. If they try to test us, then they have to be ready to give up their lives,” Hui Yue said calmly, but his words shook the other Saints.
Nodding Xiao Ning was not disappointed by the answer. The three other experts were shocked to their core. Although they had been used by Hui Yue previously, that had been made up for by how he had taken care of all the Wu Wei warriors for them. By how he ensured that they could safely make their way through the tunnels without requesting them to give up their treasures or anything they would obtain.
“Thank you,” One of the three said from his heart as he bowed to Hui Yue. “My name is Ye Ling. I am the patriarch of the Ye family within the Taiyang Kingdom. I will follow you through this grave, and when we leave, I will owe you one,” The expert said solemnly as he looked into Hui Yue’s eyes. Although Hui Yue was far younger than Ye Ling, he had this mysterious strength that allowed him to be Ye Ling’s superior.
It was not only Ye Ling who was touched by Hui Yue’s answer, but the others had red eyes and their hearts were elated from his gratitude. To have Hui Yue and Xiao Ning by their side, they would definitely not be robbed or in any way made into easy targets as they would have been if they were alone.
“I am Zhu Jun. The patriarch of the Zhu family from the Taiyang Kingdom. I will never forget the kindness you have shown me today.”
“I am Luo Qiang. Patriarch of the Luo family from Muchuan City, and I too will always keep this favor in my heart. Should you need someone in the future, I will go to the netherworld and back for you. May the heavens strike me down should I not follow you!”
Seeing the three passionate experts, Hui Yue was taken aback. He had not expected that they would react the way they did, but his heart warmed. He could not help but feel better. With four experts backing him, he had reached the requirements to become quite an important person back in Muchuan City.
Even Xiao Ning was grateful. He just kept it to himself, between him and Hui Yue there was no longer need to express gratitude; they had long since become martial brothers, but even so, Xiao Ning was relieved. He remembered how Hui Yue had warned him that he would attack the Taiyang Kingdom experts if he had to, yet now he had taken them under his wing. It was clear that for their new friendship, Hui Yue was giving the Shield of Taiyang Kingdom much face.
“Good, good, I am very grateful,” Hui Yue said with a low voice. “But we need to keep our voices down. Although we can deal with the creatures this grave has tossed our way so far, we don’t know if there will suddenly appear something we cannot deal with. Let us keep quiet and move forward.”
Agreeing, they kept quiet and continued forward. The hallway ended, and a massive door had been opened leading into a chamber of enormous proportions. The chamber was circular with pillars holding up the ceiling, and a strong aromatic of medicinal pills could be smelled. In this chamber, another group of experts was currently looking at one of the pillars with a confused expression in their eyes.
‘This room is about greed,’ Lan Feng said shocked. ‘There are medicinal pills stored inside each and every pillar, but if you take all the pillars you will never again move from the room; you will be buried with the treasure you get. Should one take half of the pills and leave the other half? Who knows if taking away half of the pillars is the limit to hold up the ceiling before it would collapse? It does not look like the other group has started to take any pills yet so do as I say. Take the pills from the first and second, but leave the third pillar. Repeat this, and take the next two, then leave the sixth pillar. Always leave the third pillar be to support the ceiling. And hurry! The other group will soon notice what you are doing and will do the same.’
Nodding his head, Hui Yue quickly told the experts his plan. “We will split up, but if any of you are in trouble call out, and we will run to that person in an instant. Staying alive is more important than a few medicinal pills.” He concluded before he broke one pillar and saw a flood of golden pills vanish into his storage stone.
Seeing the pills, the other experts gulped and instantly copied his actions, making sure to always leave the third pillar alone.
The experts who had been in the chamber were at first were shocked when they saw the decisiveness of Hui Yue and his group, yet they quickly grasped the pattern they were using and without going to confront Hui Yue or any of his friends, they started to take two thirds of the pillars themselves.
Everyone worked incredibly efficient, and they had taken many of the pills in the room before a third group arrived within the chamber. Seeing Hui Yue and his friends taking the pills and leaving every third pillar and seeing just how many pills spilled out, their eyes filled with greed. They subdued their greed when they noticed another group was present.
“We are not going to cause trouble just yet. Let them pick up the pills since we will just steal them anyways. Let’s go and steal the pills from the pillars where the other group is. They are not likely to start fighting us since they haven’t started fighting the other group present, but if they mess with us wipe them out!.” Said the oldest martial brother and with grins and snickers on their faces, they rushed to the end of the room where the other group was.
This resulted in Hui Yue and his friends clearing half of room while the two other groups shared the other half. Even though they had many more pills, no one made any moves towards them, something which caused Hui Yue to be alert. He knew that they were tempted to take their medicinal pills, yet if they did not attack now, it could only mean that they would attack later.
“We will stay here for a few days,” Hui Yue suddenly said with a low voice. “Consume a few golden pills and see if you can breakthrough,” He said to the three weaker Saints. “Don’t worry about being attacked, Xiao Ning and I will protect you.”
Hearing these words gratitude was seen in the eyes of the three experts. They clearly wished to increase their strength, but they also knew that it was not something they could do in a short amount of time. Even two days was quite rushed, but hearing that the two would watch over them while they breakthrough was enough to make them filled with gratitude. They instantly found a quiet corner in the room and sat down where they took out a handful of golden pills.
The first pill was popped in their mouths, and the energy within the chamber suddenly became filled with turmoil as it rushed into their bodies. It filled their meridians, and they felt an immense amount of energy unlike any they had felt before. They were shocked to the core as they felt how rapidly their energy rose.