"Old friend, long time no see."
Ning Beichen smiled slightly, a little smug.
"Ning Beichen, why would there be mié in here? Could the great demon be inside?"
Luo Yingying said, trembling with fear.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. If the great demon is inside, that's good. Didn't you want revenge? If he's really in there, this is your chance to get revenge."
Ning Beichen said.
But these were just words to comfort her. If the great demon were truly inside, Ning Beichen wouldn't be confident in his ability to slay it.
However, based on Ning Beichen's experience, the chances of the great demon being inside were very low. But it was better to be safe than sorry, so Ning Beichen remained highly vigilant.
There was no need to argue this time. Ning Beichen asked Luo Yingying to return behind him, and he walked at the forefront. If they encountered any mié, Ning Beichen could deal with it immediately.
Although Luo Yingying's cultivation was higher than his, she couldn't deal with mié, so it still fell to Ning Beichen.
After dealing with this mié, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying walked further inside. Suddenly, with a loud bang, the ground beneath their feet shattered, and both of them fell into a pit more than ten meters deep.
A foul odor rushed straight to their senses. Under the glare of the powerful flashlight, they saw that the deep pit was filled with human skeletons, densely packed and piled like mountains.
Seeing this scene, Luo Yingying, terrified, clung tightly to Ning Beichen's arm.
"Don't be afraid, they are all dead."
Ning Beichen said as he comforted her, then squatted down to examine the skeletons.
After a while, Ning Beichen spoke to one of the skeletons.
"I'm sorry, senior."
After speaking, he flicked his finger at the skull of the skeleton.
With a "bang."
The skull shattered, and a thumb-sized mié shot out from the broken bone. Ning Beichen, with quick reflexes, caught the mié in his palm.
When Ning Beichen opened his fingers, the mié had already turned to dust.
"They were all killed by mié."
Ning Beichen flicked the dust from his palm and said to Luo Yingying.
"My heavens! How many worlds does this demon have to destroy before it's satisfied?"
Luo Yingying exclaimed indignantly.
"Don't worry, it will eventually be brought to justice for all its evil deeds."
Ning Beichen said.
"What if justice can't bring it down?"
Luo Yingying asked.
"Then I will bring it down. Don't forget my abilities."
Ning Beichen said to her.
"Yes, you must bring it down and avenge our Feixian Sect!"
Luo Yingying nodded and said.
"Absolutely."
Ning Beichen replied.
While they were talking, large numbers of mié began to drift out from the skeletons in the deep pit.
These mié, upon seeing Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying, surged towards them like cats smelling fish, covering the entire area.
Ning Beichen hugged Luo Yingying and said, "Don't be afraid."
Then, his bronze ancient sword was unsheathed. After a few rounds of sword rain, there were no more mié in the deep pit.
As the two were about to leave the deep pit, they noticed a trace of an opening that seemed to lead somewhere.
Ning Beichen shone his powerful flashlight on it for a moment, then slashed with his sword.
With a "boom."
The stone at the trace was shattered, revealing a complete opening.
"Let's go, let's see what's inside."
Ning Beichen said.
The two, one after the other, squeezed through the small opening. Along the way, they found that this narrow passage did not seem to be naturally formed but showed signs of artificial construction.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying were very curious and followed this passage for more than an hour before finally reaching its end.
When they emerged from the passage, they were greeted by the sight of star-stones everywhere, many, many star-stones, embedded in three walls.
Most ordinary star-stones were only the size of a thumb.
The star-stones here were as large as watermelons, and the smallest were as big as a fist.
"Ning... Ning Beichen, am I... am I not seeing things?"
Luo Yingying was also dumbfounded and asked instinctively.
"Probably not."
Ning Beichen also doubted if it was an illusion, so he pried a piece off the wall. He found it was real star-stone, and the most real kind possible. Both its quality and volume completely surpassed any star-stones he had obtained before.
Moreover, the energy of these star-stones was at least three times higher than the ones he had obtained previously. This made Ning Beichen wonder if the star-stones he had acquired before had already been used.
"Ning Beichen, are we rich? Pinch me quickly."
Luo Yingying looked at the star-stones on three sides with an expression of disbelief.
Ning Beichen pinched her arm. The pain from her arm told her that everything before her was real, and the star-stones were real too.
"Quick, quick, Ning Beichen, let's dig!"
Luo Yingying, fearing that something might happen, immediately began to dig.
Ning Beichen was not to be outdone and began digging on another wall. One star-stone after another fell into their jade gourds.
When both of their jade gourds were full, they noticed that there were still quite a few left.
Just as they were contemplating whether to continue digging or to stay and cultivate, Ning Beichen discovered another opening inside.
This opening was more hidden, and if Ning Beichen hadn't happened to dig away the star-stones outside, they would never have discovered it.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying exchanged a look. Ning Beichen nodded to her, then entered the opening.
"Who? Who's there!"
Less than a minute after Ning Beichen entered, Luo Yingying outside heard Ning Beichen's shout. She immediately drew her weapon and entered the opening. She then saw Ning Beichen attacking something not far ahead.
"Ning Beichen, what happened?"
Luo Yingying anxiously asked him.
"Nothing, just some wandering souls. I'll finish them soon."
After a short while, the sounds of fighting stopped. By this time, Luo Yingying had already reached Ning Beichen's side.
"It's a dead cultivator, hiding inside. However, his physical body is gone, leaving only a wisp of a remnant soul."
Ning Beichen pointed to a skeleton in front of him that had seemingly meditated to death.
The remnant soul that had attacked him just now belonged to the owner of this skeleton.
Fortunately, it was only a remnant soul. If the owner of the skeleton were still alive, Ning Beichen would probably be dead.
Even a remnant soul was so powerful, it showed how formidable the owner of the skeleton must have been in life, perhaps even at the level of a Venerable.
It was just incomprehensible why such a powerful being would die here.
Was he killed?
Or did he commit suicide?
Or had his lifespan reached its end, and he meditated to death here.
Ning Beichen walked up to the skeleton. When he reached out to touch it, a tremendous force repelled his hand.