142: Sword Qi on the Steps

Who is Zhang Xiangyang?

Xu Le's mind raced, and he suddenly remembered that Zhang Xiangyang was the Great Teacher of Supreme Goodness's real name.

Why be careful of him?

Was it because he was the most proficient in spatial magic among them, yet failed to warn them about the spatial anomaly beneath the Void-Suppressing Stone?

Or was there some other discovery?

Xu Le looked up and noticed that Fan Wei had already retreated to the very back, clearly intending to let everyone take turns scouting the path.

As for the inquisitive look in his eyes, it had been replaced by a blank expression; he clearly had no intention of saying anything more.

Naturally, Xu Le could not keep asking.

After everyone rested for a while, Gong Yuan calmly took the lead.

Unlike Fan Wei, Gong Yuan appeared much more wretched.

First, he waved his peach wood sword a few times, pulled out two yellow talismans, and tossed them; two Yellow Turban Strongmen emerged from the ground.

Without needing instructions, the two Yellow Turban Strongmen took the initiative to move three meters forward, carefully checking for any potential traps.

Soon, they arrived before a flight of stairs; a quick count revealed exactly thirty-six steps.

Xu Le immediately felt a faint sense of crisis; clearly, these steps were not that simple.

The two Yellow Turban Strongmen carefully stepped onto the stairs.

Everyone's hearts tightened as they carefully observed for potential dangers.

Swoosh!

A streak of Sword Qi slashed out from the steps, fast as light and swift as electricity. The moment it appeared, it had already struck the two Yellow Turban Strongmen.

Xu Le was secretly alarmed; that sword strike was too fast.

It landed on the Yellow Turban Strongmen almost the instant it appeared; there was simply no way to dodge it.

He stared intently at the Sword Qi, watching as it effortlessly sliced through the bodies of the two Yellow Turban Strongmen. The moment it disappeared into the steps, it reappeared and slashed down again.

The two Yellow Turban Strongmen raised their shields and drew their blades to strike. The Sword Qi passed through their shields and bodies again, then reappeared.

Looking at the two Yellow Turban Strongmen and their shields, they were completely unharmed.

The Sword Qi was just like an illusion.

"Be careful, that is not an illusion, but something from another space," the Great Teacher of Supreme Goodness said after observing for a long time, voicing a warning.

The two Yellow Turban Strongmen ignored the Sword Qi and stepped onto the second step, whereupon a new streak of Sword Qi appeared above.

Just like on the first step, the Sword Qi slashed down and reappeared, still looking like an illusion. The only difference was that the angle of the Sword Qi's attack was different.

"If there is Sword Qi when walking up step by step, what if one skips a step?"

Xu Le thought, and then he saw the two Yellow Turban Strongmen skip a step and land directly on the fourth step.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

A streak of Sword Qi appeared on both the third and fourth steps simultaneously...

The two Yellow Turban Strongmen gave up resistance and simply stepped onto the stairs at a normal pace. The dense streaks of Sword Qi became more and more numerous, a shocking sight to behold.

Soon, the two Yellow Turban Strongmen reached the thirty-sixth step, arriving before the tomb.

Gong Yuan, who was using his spirit to control the Yellow Turban Strongmen, felt his heart tighten. He was visibly nervous, preparing methods to deal with the Sword Qi.

Clack!

One of the strongmen stepped onto the step, and another streak of Sword Qi flew out.

Everyone's hearts tightened simultaneously, but that was all that happened.

The two Yellow Turban Strongmen stepped onto the platform, walking safely to the tombstone.

"Is this just playing a 'movie' and that's it?"

Xu Le could not believe it.

The previous Sword Qi on the steps had not disappeared and continued to slash incessantly.

Gong Yuan used talismans to summon two more Yellow Turban Strongmen, controlling them to step onto the stairs and walk down them, remaining completely unscathed throughout the entire process.

It was terrifyingly smooth, and also terrifyingly scary.

"Shall we go together?" Gong Yuan invited.

Everyone retreated; it wasn't their turn to scout the path, and if anyone was to step onto the stairs, Gong Yuan had to go first.

Gong Yuan did not decline; he first patted a few yellow talismans onto himself, then stepped onto the stairs.

The Sword Qi was the same as before, slashing down incessantly and repeating, just like a movie, completely harmless.

Second step.

Third step.

...

Thirty-sixth step.

Gong Yuan stepped onto the platform, and a sudden sense of mortal crisis rose in his heart. He hurriedly rushed forward, only to see 36 streaks of Sword Qi, as if they had locked onto a target, slash down all at once.

The signs appeared, and then the Sword Qi landed on Gong Yuan, with no interval in between.

Swish!

A full-grown living man was directly slashed into ashes.

"As expected of a Void Emperor's tomb; all kinds of traps contain spatial Laws, leaving absolutely no chance to dodge!"

Just when Xu Le thought he had died, one of the Yellow Turban Strongmen stretched his body and transformed into Gong Yuan's appearance.

"As expected of an old man who has lived to be over a hundred years old, his trump cards for saving his life are as numerous as ox hair."

The Sword Qi lingering on the steps vanished.

It was Wu Shouyi's turn.

He was visibly nervous, having no confidence at all in passing the steps.

"Rest easy, this stage is on me; with me here, it's fine," Gong Yuan guaranteed from the platform.

Wu Shouyi hesitated for a moment, then chose to trust him.

As he took a step forward, Sword Qi appeared on the steps once again.

Clearly, these Sword Qi would erupt at the thirty-sixth step.

Xu Le watched carefully; it would be his turn immediately after.

However, he discovered that it was actually very simple.

When Wu Shouyi stepped onto the 36th step and the Sword Qi erupted, he swapped positions with a Yellow Turban Strongman.

He easily dodged the terrifying Sword Qi.

Xu Le, the Great Teacher of Supreme Goodness, and Fan Wei did the same; after figuring out the rules of the steps, they passed easily.

After Gong Yuan recovered his mana, he ran to the back of the line; clearly, it was Wu Shouyi's turn to take the lead.

In front was a huge tombstone, resembling a wall, but not a single word was inscribed on it.

This was a wordless stele.

It was 18 meters high and nine meters wide, yet not a single character was left on it.

The group circled it and looked, but they found absolutely nothing.

"How do we proceed now?" Wu Shouyi was somewhat agitated.

He reckoned he couldn't compare to Fan Wei and Gong Yuan, and if he encountered the first two traps, he felt he would definitely die.

The Great Teacher of Supreme Goodness stroked his beard and pointed at the tombstone, saying, "I have a premonition that the key to opening the underground palace is this stone stele."

"A tomb is built, and they still leave a door for those who come later?" Wu Shouyi, agitated, subconsciously retorted.

"The Void Emperor was alone; after he died, naturally no one would seal the tomb for him. Isn't it normal to leave a door?"

"How do you know he was alone?"

"This is the Void Realm!"

The Great Teacher of Supreme Goodness's tone was indifferent, showing no sign of embarrassment at being questioned.

Instead, it was Wu Shouyi who, due to fear, had become a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest touch, looking like he wanted to pick a fight with someone.

Clearly, he regretted it!

If not for the fear that the others might get angry and kill him, he even had the impulse to turn around and flee.

Xu Le watched everything quietly, thinking about the traps that might be set on this stele.

Combining the previous two stages, he vaguely sensed that the Void Emperor had a personality where he wouldn't strike unless necessary, but when he did, it was a lethal blow.

If Wu Shouyi couldn't get past, it would be his turn.

If he could find clues in advance and figure out the pattern, the subsequent lead scouting work would definitely be much easier.