Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Desolate Ancient Secrets
"There is actually an Ancient Demon Ape here, I’m afraid there might be even more terrifying creatures deeper within the mountain," Si Ruyan frowned slightly.
Even as the Kunlun Saintess, she couldn’t help but look more solemn at this moment.
Clearly, exploring such a dangerous place was exceedingly risky.
Ye Yunge returned with a halberd in hand and said, "As long as there are no demon beasts above the Void Realm, they won’t pose much threat to us."
"Speaking with the confidence of having a Holy Weapon in hand," Ji Chen was somewhat speechless.
Soon, the three continued to advance forward.
As they walked along the edge of the crevice, the further they went, the larger the crevice appeared to expand, and when they looked into the depths of the crack, it was hard to see its bottom.
Furthermore, the three could all sense a strangely inexplicable aura faintly emanating from beneath the crevice.
Finally, who knows how long they had been walking.
The three stopped in their tracks, and Si Ruyan said, "This should be the center of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, from which this crevice originates, extending in both north and south directions."
"What on earth is down there? This aura vaguely fills me with unease," Ye Yunge frowned, standing at the edge of the crevice, peering into the cracked earth below, yet unable to see the situation at its bottom.
"At this point, we can only go down and take a look," Si Ruyan spoke.
"Why don’t you two go down? I’ll wait here," Ji Chen bluntly stated.
The aura emanating from below the crevice also filled him with some unease; he was unwilling to risk his life.
Otherwise, if something indeed happened, Ye Yunge and Si Ruyan might have ways to save themselves, but he was not so certain about himself.
"We’ve already come this far, and the gentleman still thinks of backing off?"
Si Ruyan smiled, "The seal left by Emperor Ye in the old days is quite possibly beneath this ground. You are proficient in Array Dao, how can you not come down with us to explore?"
"But..."
Ji Chen wanted to say more.
Yet Si Ruyan paid him no heed, gently flicking her fingers to unleash a gust that swept Ji Chen up, taking him down into the crevice below.
"Could this be a bottomless pit? We’ve been descending for so long and still haven’t reached the bottom." As they went downward, Ye Yunge’s frown deepened.
"Huh?"
Ji Chen glanced around suddenly as if he had discovered something.
He pointed, "There’s a staircase over there."
Hearing this, both Si Ruyan and Ye Yunge directed their gaze toward it.
Indeed, on the rock wall to their left within the crevice, it was no longer as steep as before.
Between the rock walls, they saw an ancient stone ladder that extended downward, its end not visible.
This discovery instantly made the three frown deeper.
Evidently, things seemed to have become much more bizarre; for such an ancient staircase to appear in such a perilous place was not normal.
"Could this place once have been the ruins of some ancient power?" Ye Yunge squinted, harboring such a guess.
"Not impossible," Si Ruyan said.
Soon, the three descended onto the ancient ladder, intending to follow it downward.
Finally, who knows how much time had passed.
Following the ancient ladder all the way down, they finally reached the bottom.
Upon stepping into this place, Si Ruyan and Ye Yunge both suddenly showed a drastic change in expression, their brows furrowed tightly.
"This place is permeated with Forbidden Power, suppressing our cultivation to the point of nonexistence," Ye Yunge said.
He and Si Ruyan could both sense that under this suppression, the Spiritual Power within their Spiritual Sea had completely calmed, impossible to mobilize.
Suppressed cultivation?
Upon hearing this, Ji Chen was slightly taken aback.
For from start to end, he never felt such suppression.
Though he didn’t know the exact reason, after arriving here, it seemed Si Ruyan and Ye Yunge had both lost their cultivation, whereas he still possessed Spirit Transformation Realm Ninth Layer strength!
"Maybe we should leave?" he suggested, not mentioning that his cultivation remained intact.
However, with Ye Yunge and Si Ruyan having lost their powers, to further explore this place clearly wouldn’t be wise.
If some unexpected event occurred, not only couldn’t they protect him, he might even need to protect them?
Yet the two showed no intention of leaving, instead examining their surroundings.
After ascertaining their position, they continued forward.
Not long after, they discovered an underground palace before them.
"Under the ground of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, there’s such an underground palace; what is this place?" Ye Yunge frowned.
On either side of the palace stood enormous stone pillars supporting it, forming a corridor.
The three walked along the corridor and finally, upon reaching the end, found a massive stone gate blocking their path.
The stone gate was tightly shut, its surface covered with strange and complex ancient patterns.
Likely because of long years, many parts of these patterns were damaged, appearing incomplete.
"Array patterns."
Ji Chen frowned, stepping forward to examine them, moments later his eyes shining with a brilliant light, "It’s Emperor Ye’s Cen Command Array Canon!"
"Is this the seal left by the Imperial Ancestor?" Ye Yunge exclaimed in surprise.
Si Ruyan surveyed the surroundings, "Now it seems these array patterns are nearly gone, with the seal loosening, causing the earth to crack and disturbing the mountain beasts, hence the beast tide occurred."
"What place is this truly?"
Ji Chen frowned, seeing Emperor Ye sealed this door, indicating there was great danger beyond.
What kind of existence would make even Emperor Ye so cautious?
"Judging from this place’s construction..."
Si Ruyan squinted, examining the area, and continued, "The layout style is more akin to the handiwork of the Ancient Race."
"Ancient Race?" Ji Chen was stunned.
Si Ruyan explained, "Yes, the Dragon Race, Peng Race, and other ancient races were the earliest beings birthed in the world, predating our Human Race by countless millennia. It’s said in the Desolate Ancient Era, the Ancient Race were the dominators of this world."
"However, in today’s world, the Ancient Race has long been hidden before the era of Emperor Ye, so few people know of their existence."
"Desolate Ancient matters are too long ago, even in Kunlun’s historical records, there isn’t much documented."
After that, she looked at Ye Yunge, "When Emperor Ye sealed this place, there are likely some related records in the Ye Family?"
Ye Yunge remained silent for a moment before nodding, "In the past, the Imperial Ancestor fought a hundred thousand demon beasts single-handedly, and people said he was seriously injured in that battle, but it wasn’t true. The Imperial Ancestor’s injury was from sealing the Demon Beast Mountain Range, according to the Ye Family’s historical records..."
"Back then, when the Imperial Ancestor sealed the Demon Beast Mountain Range, he battled an unknown Great Demon. Although he eventually drove it back, he was irreversibly wounded as a result."
As he spoke, he gazed at the stone gate ahead, "Behind this stone gate, what’s sealed is most probably that Great Demon from back then!"