The Stone Hall and the Underground Swamp

Han Li’s destination was a small basin nestled within the ring-shaped mountain range, completely surrounded by towering, fantastically-shaped rocks that blocked wind and rain. At the center of the basin stood an ancient, massive stone hall. Though the hall was enormous, its entrance was pitifully small, barely allowing two people to pass through side by side. To Han Li, who stood on the rocks overlooking the site, this gave an intensely jarring sense of disproportion.

Han Li frowned, jumped down from the rock, and walked slowly to the entrance. He looked up, examining the stone hall carefully.

As he stared, the doubt on his face deepened.

Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt a faint azure light occasionally flowing across the surface of the stone hall. But whenever he tried to focus on it, he saw nothing unusual. After several attempts, he muttered to himself in suspicion. Could someone have placed some kind of prohibition here?

Han Li lowered his head and swept his gaze across the ground nearby. There was no trace of anyone having passed through. His eyes narrowed.

“This is definitely strange! Though the basin is remote, a hall this large shouldn’t have gone undiscovered by everyone. Besides, this information came from Zhong Wu himself—how could he not have come here?” Countless thoughts churned through Han Li’s mind in an instant. He sensed something was wrong.

But leaving this place without a closer look was still something he was reluctant to do.

He stepped back a few paces, reached into his storage pouch, and pulled out a golden blade. He tossed it into the air. It transformed into a streak of golden light and slammed fiercely into a piece of azure stone on the hall’s door.

A soft pfft sound. The azure stone surged with light and remained completely unharmed. The golden blade, however, spun in a series of flips and was bounced several yards away.

Han Li shook his head and turned to leave.

“Avoid unnecessary danger. Walking out of the forbidden land alive is my only real goal. This stone hall is too strange—better not go in.” He thought this without changing his expression.

But just two steps later, Han Li’s face drastically changed. His form flickered and vanished from the air. An instant later, his figure appeared inside the hall’s entrance, but then immediately disappeared again into the stone hall.

At that moment, on the rocks at one side of the basin, a large group of Moon-Masking Sect disciples suddenly appeared, led by the seemingly young, elfin girl who was actually the sect’s founding ancestor.

The girl stared with a hint of doubt at the spot in front of the hall where Han Li had vanished. She felt she had sensed someone there just now, but now there was no one at all. Had her senses been wrong?

Not quite convinced, she stood still. She lightly closed her eyes and released her vast spiritual sense. Aside from their own group, she detected no other cultivators in the basin’s vicinity. But when her spiritual sense swept over the stone hall, it was repelled by some force. This startled her, but then she was overjoyed. A smile crept onto her face.

From the first glance, she had noticed the hall had a prohibition placed on it. That didn’t surprise her—among the dozen or so secret beast lairs they had swept through earlier, several had also been magically sealed. But this was the first time she had encountered a prohibition that even her spiritual sense could not penetrate. It was far beyond the shallow forbidden arts of the previous sites.

The elfin girl, momentarily excited, no longer wanted to pursue the earlier matter. She believed that even if one or two disciples from other sects were spying nearby, they would not dare to interfere with so many Moon-Masking Sect cultivators present. She led her people toward the stone hall.

Inside the stone hall, Han Li stood in the main chamber, pacing anxiously.

He had been about to leave a moment ago. Out of habit, he had released his spiritual sense to check the area around him, then prepared to slip away.

But to his utter shock, the moment his spiritual sense expanded, he detected a large number of cultivators—far too close. His blood nearly froze in terror. Without a thought, he flashed into the stone hall. No matter which of the other six great sects had arrived, if they found him here, the outcome was all too obvious.

In truth, if his physical strength had not been so badly exhausted over the past two days, he could have used his high-speed movement technique to casually shake off those cultivators and escape. But sadly, in his current state, he could barely use that technique a few more times. He would not get far.

For now, hiding inside the stone hall kept him safe. But it also meant he was trapped here, unable to leave.

And this hall was far too simple! After entering through the door and walking along a narrow winding corridor, he had arrived at this completely empty main chamber. There was nowhere to hide. And judging by the crowd outside, they were clearly headed for this hall. Hoping they would not enter was pure fantasy.

To say there was absolutely nowhere to go was not entirely true.

Right in the center of the hall was a dark, pitch-black tunnel fenced off by a jade balustrade. A flight of stairs descended at a slant into the ground, and from the opening a hot, humid wind blew outward constantly. It was hard to imagine where it led.

But Han Li did not need to guess that whatever the tunnel led to would not be a pleasant place. It would certainly be extremely dangerous. That was why he hesitated and had not yet gone down. Yet this main hall truly had no other place to hide. Cold sweat suddenly beaded on Han Li’s forehead.

Just then, a clatter of disordered footsteps came from the entrance. The cultivators had already entered the stone hall and would reach this chamber in moments.

Seeing this, Han Li sighed bitterly in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he lightly vaulted over the balustrade and slipped into the tunnel.

Once inside, complete darkness surrounded him. He reached into his storage pouch, pulled out a Moonlight Stone, and the area brightened.

The tunnel was not large, entirely built from azure stone, barely allowing one person to pass. Han Li touched the wall—it was wet and slippery.

He dared not delay, afraid the people behind would catch up. Carefully, he descended.

After several hundred steps down the stone staircase, the narrow tunnel gradually widened until two people could walk side by side without issue. But the hot, humid wind blowing toward him grew even more intense. Within moments, Han Li was drenched in sweat.

He descended another hundred or so steps, estimating he was now over a hundred feet below the surface. Finally, the azure stone tunnel ended. When he stepped out of the tunnel mouth, what appeared before him was a strange swamp world.

This underground world was only about thirty yards high but stretched for several li in every direction. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but mudflats dotted with black bubbles. The hot, humid wind was generated in the air above the swamp, flowing rapidly out through the tunnel behind him, while fresher air was drawn in from outside. A balancing convection current had formed.

Around the swamp were tall black earthen mounds. At the far edge grew dozens of rare spirit herbs of various colors—several of the Heavenly Spirit Herbs Han Li needed were among them, and in considerable quantity.

But all of this was nothing compared to the small white jade pavilion in the center of the swamp, which seized Han Li’s attention like a magnet. Inside the pavilion, a huge golden chest floated in midair. The chest was twelve feet long and five feet wide, its lid tightly sealed. Golden light shimmered faintly across its surface—it was clearly no ordinary object.

Han Li only glanced at it for a few moments before forcing his gaze away. It wasn’t that he had no interest in the treasure chest, but a crowd of killers was about to arrive behind him. Finding a hiding place was the real priority. What use were treasures if he lost his life?

With a few flashes of movement, Han Li darted behind a mound some distance from the tunnel exit. He activated his breath-concealing and form-hiding techniques simultaneously, then lay motionless on the mound. His hidden form blended perfectly into the black earth around him. From any distance, it would be nearly impossible to spot him.

No sooner had Han Li finished his preparations than the elfin girl appeared on the staircase behind him.

As soon as she emerged, she cast a casual glance over the area. When she saw the golden chest in the white jade pavilion, her previously composed face finally showed a tremor. A burning, passionate look gradually filled her eyes. Though she had heard her disciples describe the golden chest, seeing it in person was far more shocking.

She descended the last few steps and stood gracefully before the swamp. The male and female disciples of the Moon-Masking Sect who followed her surged out in a crowd, standing in a row behind her.

Han Li, not far away, saw all this clearly. He was secretly alarmed, and grew intensely curious about the identity of the young girl leading them.

“Is this where the Black-Scaled Python is hiding?” The elfin girl’s voice was youthful but carried a weight of undeniable authority.

“Reporting to our founding ancestor, that giant python is hiding in the swamp. It has devoured more than a dozen disciples from various sects who tried to take the treasure chest. Its fierce reputation has made this place a forbidden area that disciples of all sects dare not approach. But this demon beast is indeed far stronger than ordinary top-grade beasts. We ask the founding ancestor to be careful!” A female disciple lowered her head and replied respectfully.

“Hmph! Do you think I can’t handle even a single first-rank beast?” The girl’s fair little face darkened, taking on a ridiculously old-fashioned scowl. But it made the white-robed woman who had replied turn pale with fright, quickly stammering, “I wouldn’t dare!”

“Stand down! Everyone, proceed according to the original plan. No matter how formidable this Black-Scaled Python is, it cannot match the Yin-Yang Conduction Arts! No matter how strong, it is still only a first-rank beast!” The girl spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, causing the disciples behind her to perk up.