Chapter Thirty-Seven: Flying Phoenix

  "Zhao Shixiong, look! She's really looking at us!" Mu Li exclaimed, constantly gesturing to Li Muran.

  Li Muran followed Mu Di's gaze and indeed saw a row of female cultivators from the Dan Xin Sect, most of whom were veiled, wearing identical attire, making it impossible to tell who was who.

  However, Li Muran still caught sight of a familiar figure at a glance - it was none other than Yan Chuchu, the person he had rescued by the side of San You Quan that night.

  Although the woman was still masked, Li Muran could still recognize her from her eyes and figure.

  When Li Muran looked at the girl, she was also looking in this direction. The two people's eyes met, and Li Muran smiled awkwardly. The other person quickly turned her head away.

  "She was originally sneaking a peek at us, got caught and now feels a bit embarrassed!" Mu Li said in a low voice, "Zhao Shixiong, who do you think she was looking at?"

  At this moment, Master Zixia suddenly turned around and swept his eyes over the disciples. Mu Li and others immediately closed their mouths, standing straight, not daring to look around again.

  Before long, several more cultivators in the wandering period brought their disciples here. By noon, all four sects' disciples who were sent to the underground tomb city had arrived.

  "Red Mist Daoist friend, why didn't the leader of your sect, Cyan Mist Daoist friend, come? Speaking of which, it's been a long time since Cyan Mist Daoist friend has made a public appearance. Last time we discussed the underground tomb city, he didn't attend either." A middle-aged man with a long beard and sword-like eyebrows from Jianling Sect suddenly said in a loud voice.

  Hong Xia Dao Ren chuckled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Fellow Daoist Feng. Our sect leader is currently in closed-door cultivation, so this time the entire sect will be led by me, Old Dao."

  "Feng Dao, friend? Jian Ling Men Feng Tian Ya Feng Zhang Men!" Li Mu Ran's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, it turned out that this middle-aged man was the leader of Jian Ling Men, looking quite young.

  Feng Tianya nodded slightly and sighed, "Alas, Senior Brother Cang Xia is considered half a senior to us. When he advanced to the Divine Journey stage, we were still young disciples of various sects; calculating his lifespan, there's not much left. This time, he's probably at a critical juncture between life and death!"

  "What does it mean?" Mu Li asked in a low voice.

  "Life and death are on a thin line, closed-door cultivation is the key. Whether it's life or death depends on whether there can be a breakthrough during the closed-door period! This is called the Life-and-Death Pass." Li Muran whispered: "He means that the Master is currently in closed-door cultivation seeking a breakthrough. If he succeeds, his cultivation will make great progress and his lifespan will be extended. But if not, I'm afraid his life won't last much longer."

  Mu Li heard this and remained silent for a moment, then murmured: "I hope the Master can succeed! All the disciples say he's a good person, good people will be rewarded."

  Li Muran secretly shook his head in his heart, although he also hoped that the cultivation of the sect would go smoothly, but whether or not someone was a good person had no necessary connection with their lifespan. Only those with strong abilities and high cultivation could survive in the immortal world and have more years to live.

  After a while, Feng Tianya clasped his fists together and bowed, saying loudly: "The time has come, those who should be here are all present. Let's set off now! Our sect will take the lead, please follow!"

  "Please!" The other three sects' cultivators also returned the courtesy with a fist bump.

  At the sound of the order, the ten God Traveling Period cultivators of Jian Ling Zong each took out their flying swords and infused them with spiritual energy. The bodies of the flying swords suddenly expanded in the wind, transforming into giant swords over 10 zhang long and 1 zhang wide in the blink of an eye.

  These giant swords hung in mid-air, looking extraordinary, and the disciples of the four sects were all stunned.

  "Mount the swords!" commanded Feng Tianya, and immediately, the disciples of Jianling Gate stepped onto these flying swords. Under the control of their respective elders, they soared into the sky, flying very far away in an instant.

  "All of you benefactors, we are leaving too!" A high-ranking monk from the Great Ming Temple stepped forward and bowed, then led the crowd from the Great Ming Temple to also depart.

  The people of the Great Ming Temple also relied on flying artifacts, but those who were in the divine journey period took out not neat and uniform flying swords, but various types of artifacts. Some were a giant Zen stick, some were a round bowl, and some were a bronze bell. Although there were many varieties, they could still carry those disciples and fly away together.

  "Let's go too!" Hong Xia ordered.

  Zixia Daoist heard this, took out a talisman from his sleeve, and with a casual toss, it flashed into a huge colorful phoenix. Although this phoenix was also made of paper, its shape was vividly lifelike, and it was more than ten times larger than the paper crane. The quality was also vastly superior.

  "Come on!" said Zixia Dao Ren to his disciples.

  Mu Li and his fellow disciples were overjoyed, eagerly mounting the colorful phoenixes, their faces flushed with excitement. Mu Li, who had never flown before, was especially thrilled and excited.

  Several disciples stepped onto the colorful phoenix, and Zixia Daoist's figure floated, landing on the head of the colorful phoenix. Without seeing him cast a spell, he lightly tapped his foot, and the colorful phoenix took to the air, flying forward rapidly.

  Although it was very fast, the flight was very stable. As Cai Feng flew higher and higher, the wind whizzed past on both sides, and the disciples were both tense and excited.

  After a period of time that was as short as half an incense stick, Mu Li, who had originally been extremely excited, became somewhat depressed and his complexion also looked uncomfortable.

  "What's wrong?" Li Muran asked anxiously.

  "I feel a bit dizzy and uncomfortable in my stomach." Mu Li said truthfully.

  "It's probably the first time flying, so it doesn't suit." Li Muran nodded, he had heard that a small number of disciples would experience this kind of discomfort when flying with their instruments for the first time, and in severe cases, they would even feel nauseous and vomit.

  Zi Xia Dao Ren heard this and hastily turned around, saying: "Quickly operate the skill to adjust your breath, don't by any means sully Master's Flying Phoenix!"

  "Yes!" Mu Li hastily replied, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then took out a gourd and drank a few mouthfuls, instantly feeling refreshed: "Much better!"

  Zixia Zhenren saw this and burst out laughing: "Lizi, you often drink spiritual wine to cultivate your skills. It seems that you've already developed a drinking habit! You haven't learned any of my other skills, but when it comes to drinking, you're indeed the true successor of your master, haha!"

  All the disciples burst out laughing, and the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

  In comparison, the Yuanshu disciples on the other flying phoenixes not far away seemed much quieter. They sat obediently on the flying phoenixes presented by their seniors, and didn't even have many opportunities to take in the surrounding scenery.

  ……

  In the sky, flying swords and phoenixes fell one after another. The people of the four clans of Kuanglu arrived at a small, unremarkable mountain.

  At the foot of the mountain on the west side, there was a small village where ordinary people lived, but at this time, there wasn't a single figure in sight. It seemed that all the villagers had already moved away from here.

  On the east side, there is a stone house that is obviously temporarily built, and more than ten disciples are guarding here.

  Feng Tianya led the disciples of Jianling Gate into that stone house.

  Li Muran saw the team of over a hundred people enter that small stone house, but none came out. He thought to himself: "It seems that the entrance to the underground tomb city is inside that stone house."

  Jianlingmen and Daming Temple disciples entered the stone house one after another, then Chixia Daoren also gave an order, leading Yuanshu Zong's disciples to walk towards the stone house.

  Li Muran followed the team into the stone house and indeed saw a cave entrance about one zhang wide, with a damp breath mixed with some kind of beast's smell drifting into his nose.

  Zixia Daoist reminded the disciples behind him: "This was originally a den of fox-like demonic beasts. The first Sword Spirit Sect disciple to discover this place was chasing and killing that fox demon, and inadvertently discovered the entrance to the underground tomb city. The entrance was originally very narrow, but it has been widened significantly over the past two months. However, you still need to be careful where you step, once you reach the dark area, take out the night pearl."

  "Yes, Master!" Li Muran and others responded in unison.

  After entering the cave, there is a steep staircase going down. It was originally pitch black here, but because of the stone walls on both sides, every few feet are embedded with a walnut-sized phosphorescent stone, emitting a faint glow, making this place somewhat bright, barely able to see the surrounding environment.

  Li Muran's eyesight was not ordinary, and this faint light was enough for him to see the road clearly under his feet, but some of his fellow disciples were not adapted, and they took out a night pearl the size of a fist and infused it with some yuan energy.

  These night pearls, once infused with yuanqi, can emit bright light, illuminating the surroundings. The more yuanqi is infused, the larger the illuminated area and the longer the duration of the illumination.

  The underground tomb city has not seen the sun for years, and it is pitch black. These night pearls are also issued by the sect to each of you, so that you can see clearly in the underground tomb city and search for treasures. However, one night pearl costs five pieces of spiritual stone, which will be deducted from the rewards issued by the sect later.

  Walking down for about four or five miles, the mountain cave passage still slanted downward, without any sign of reaching the bottom, and the disciples couldn't help but feel some surprise.

  "It's already this deep, and it still hasn't arrived?" Mu Li muttered to himself: "Going further down would be equivalent to going all the way to the underworld!"

  Zixia Daoist turned around and smiled: "Actually, the underground tomb city is not much different from the underworld! You be careful, we'll arrive soon!"

  Everyone's spirits lifted upon hearing this, and after walking several more miles, the path, although not yet at its end, finally stopped sloping downward and became relatively flat.

  Not only was it flat, but also much wider. However, Li Muran found that the stone walls on both sides of the passage were covered with moss, and this was obviously not a newly widened passage.

  As they walked, a gust of cold wind suddenly came face to face, and the disciples couldn't help but shiver.

  "What kind of evil wind is this, so gloomy and cold!" Mu Li was shocked, even summoning a layer of Stone Armor Technique.

  "Zhang Shixiong, what's wrong?" Mu Li saw a hint of unnatural expression in Li Muran's eyes and asked with concern.

  "It's nothing, just that gust of wind is a bit uncomfortable!" Li Muran said with a faint smile, but in his heart, he was extremely surprised!

  "What's going on? Why has the spiritual power within me suddenly changed?" Li Muran was secretly shocked, just a moment ago when he stepped into this place, he suddenly felt that the spiritual power in his meridians was flowing smoothly throughout his body like a gushing spring!