Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Underground Sea Human Tribe, Ancient Dance
“`
“Second Senior Brother, she’s walked away,” Qiao Jiaxi whispered, when Baixue Ding was out of sight.
Huo Yunjie nodded without saying a word.
Long Tianxing, on the other hand, was tidying up, removing the storage rings from the bodies of the four Divine Wind Sword Sect disciples, keeping what was useful and tossing the rest into the sea.
Only then did the three turn their attention to the Thousand-Year Fire Dragon Fruit Tree.
Five Fire Dragon Fruits dangled from its branches, their surfaces covered with purplish-red flames, giving off an eerie feel.
“It’s said that these flames are the Flame Origin Force, which can increase our chances of breaking through to the Element Gathering Realm.”
Long Tianxing took out a pair of Spirit Silk Gloves, intending to pick the Fire Dragon Fruits, only to find the gloves were incinerated in an instant.
Even his palms felt a noticeable burning sensation.
“Even in my Dragon Transformation Form, I feel pain; if an ordinary person in the Qi Refining Realm were to touch this Flame Origin Force, they would probably be burnt through, right?” Long Tianxing was astounded.
Enduring the intense pain, Long Tianxing harvested the five Fire Dragon Fruits.
“Senior Brother, should we dig up this Thousand-Year Fire Dragon Fruit Tree?” Qiao Jiaxi asked Huo Yunjie.
“Dig it up,” Huo Yunjie nodded.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing quickly got to work.
However, after a long while, the two still couldn’t locate the roots of the Fire Dragon Fruit Tree; instead, at the center of the island, they found an underground passage one meter in diameter, leading deeper underground.
The Fire Dragon Fruit Tree they saw was just one of the branches extending from below this passage.
“Let’s go down and take a look; I’ll lead the way, be careful,” Huo Yunjie formed a sword with his fingers, pointing the tip of the Cold Light Sword downward, spinning it around his body.
Qiao Jiaxi and Long Tianxing followed closely behind him.
Behind the scenes.
Ye Feng stroked his chin as he watched this scene.
“What’s beneath the ground?”
He was curious as well.
The Heaven-Asking Mirror, after being modified, had an expanded range of surveillance, but it wasn’t yet enough to monitor areas several thousands of miles away, like the vicinity of the Divine Wind Sword Sect, directly from Misty Sect.
The reason he could gain insight into the territory near Huo Yunjie and his group was because the Heaven-Asking Mirror, now upgraded with new features.
So long as it was a disciple of Misty Sect, a Spiritual Artifact, a Spiritual Beast, or even a blade of grass, as long as they bore the mark of Misty Sect, their location was within the surveillance range of the Heaven-Asking Mirror.
The passage was long.
After descending hundreds of meters, the three arrived in an immense underground space.
It was like a world with a round sky and a square earth, with a height of a kilometer and a radius of over a hundred miles, with the walls crawling with Fire Dragon Fruit Trees.
Additionally, there were many glowing plants, illuminating this underground world.
And below the rocky walls, there was still a vast expanse of azure sea water, with occasional small islands appearing on the shores.
Above, Huo Yunjie saw some strange creatures.
They closely resembled the Human Race, but they had blue gills on their cheeks and fins on the sides of their arms and legs, which could be retracted.
“Sea People Tribe!”
Qiao Jiaxi’s eyes widened.
Huo Yunjie and Long Tianxing looked at him in surprise.
“At first, I didn’t understand this either, but Sister Ziling loves to read, and she reads extensively. Among her readings, there was an introduction to the Sea People Tribe,” Qiao Jiaxi hurriedly explained.
“It makes sense for Sister Ziling to know this, after all, she’s the administrator of the Scripture Pavilion, but how do you know?” Huo Yunjie asked with widened eyes.
“Long story short, after Sister Ziling reads the books, she gives them to me to ask her questions, to see if she’s memorized the content. Over time, I’ve also learned quite a bit,” Qiao Jiaxi said with frustration.
He just wanted to practice diligently and didn’t want to be Ji Ziling’s errand boy.
“So what is the Sea People Tribe?” Long Tianxing asked eagerly.
“They are a mutated version of the Human Race that lives in the ocean. It’s said they can mate with our regular Human Race. The offspring they produce are completely human in form but can breathe underwater and have the speed of a fish.”
Qiao Jiaxi explained, “But, shouldn’t the Sea People Tribe be in the Deep Sea Ocean? How come they are underground?”
Long Tianxing rolled his eyes and pointed downwards: “Isn’t this a small sea right here?”
“Ah, that’s true!” Qiao Jiaxi nodded.
Just then, Huo Yunjie noticed that many members of the Sea People Tribe were climbing the rocky walls with baskets made from Five-Colored Conchs on their backs, and using special harpoons to knock down the ripe Fire Dragon Fruits, catching them with the baskets.
“So many Thousand-Year Fire Dragon Fruits!”
“`
The three of them looked around and realized that there were at least hundreds, if not thousands, of Fire Dragon Fruits hanging on the rock walls above this underground sea area!
If all of these were taken out for medicinal refining, how many mystical elixirs beneficial for breaking through to the Element Gathering Realm could be created!
“What are you doing here?”
At that moment, a Sea People Tribe girl carrying a conch basket climbed nearby and saw Huo Yunjie and his two companions standing on the vines.
“Ah, you wouldn’t be here to steal fruit, would you?”
The Sea People Tribe girl quickly backed away, holding a fish spear with a wary look on her face as she glared at Huo Yunjie and the others.
Huo Yunjie and his companions exchanged looks.
Do we look like fruit thieves?
Taking something openly, can it be called stealing?
“Who are you?”
Then, more members of the Sea People Tribe discovered Huo Yunjie and the others.
“It’s the Human Race from above ground!”
“Quick, surround them, we can’t let them steal our Sacrificial God Fruit!”
A large group of Sea People Tribe powerhouses took to the air, all of them at the Demon General Level.
In the blink of an eye, the three were heavily encircled.
“Fifteen Lower Rank Demon Generals, three Middle Rank Demon Generals, one Upper Rank Demon General, we seem unable to fight them off!” Long Tianxing swallowed hard.
“Definitely can’t beat them!” Huo Yunjie was very frustrated.
They had just arrived and were already surrounded; it was incredibly unlucky!
Behind the scenes, Ye Feng watched this unfold with a furrowed brow.
At this time, Ji Ziling, who had just finished her training in the Cultivation Tower, arrived at Misty Peak, ready to head to the Scripture Pavilion, and happened to see the scene in the Heaven-Asking Mirror, immediately recognizing the Sea People Tribe.
“Ah, it’s the Sea People Tribe!”
Ji Ziling leaped forward, standing behind Ye Feng, her fragrant purple hair moving with the wind, some of it falling onto Ye Feng’s face, covering half an eye.
“Ziling, I’m going to be blind.” Ye Feng murmured.
“Ah, Sect Leader, I’m sorry!” Ji Ziling hurriedly wound up her long hair and pointed at the Heaven-Asking Mirror’s image with her other hand, “Second Senior Brother and the others are surrounded by the Sea People Tribe, it could be very dangerous.”
“What should we do, then?” Ye Feng’s eyebrows knitted together.
Being so far away, he was unable to provide support in time.
The Spatial Compass could only transport for a hundred miles at once, and with several thousand miles between them, it would take dozens of continuous transports and quite a bit of time.
“Actually, the Sea People Tribe has a strong territorial sense but isn’t fierce. Instead, they’re quite amiable, of course, provided one can become friends with them.” Ji Ziling quickly put her scholarly prowess to work.
“And then, how do we become friends?” Ye Feng pressed.
“Let me think… right, the Sea People Tribe really enjoys dancing around bonfires. If Brother Huo and the others say they like to dance and sing, then they can become friends. It’s best if it’s an ancient dance called the ‘Clapping Dance’.”
Ji Ziling took out an ancient tome titled “Records of Foreign Clans” and flipped to a certain page.
Ye Feng looked over and found an ancient dance recorded on the page, simple in movements and easy to learn.
However, the dance was somewhat awkward and embarrassing.
“Sect Leader, if Second Senior Brother and the others can perform this Clapping Dance on the spot, they will certainly turn foes into friends with the Sea People Tribe.” Ji Ziling reminded him.
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s true. Judging by the situation, Second Senior Brother and the others seem to have just strayed into the Sea People Tribe’s territory without causing conflict, so there’s still a chance to make amends.”
“Alright, I’ll have them learn this Clapping Dance.”
Ye Feng sat up straight.
Ji Ziling widened her eyes and said, “How will you teach them when you’re not with them, Sect Leader?”
“The Sect Leader has his own ingenious plan!” Ye Feng said with a mysterious smile.
…
Underground Ocean World.
Huo Yunjie saw the aura of the Sea People Tribe powerhouses around him and knew that even if he wanted to escape, it would likely be difficult to accomplish.
Moreover, there were more members of the Sea People Tribe emerging from the waters below, all exuding strong auras.
Huo Yunjie realized that he and his two junior brothers were in danger.
“Who are you, and how dare you intrude into our Sea People Tribe’s territory?” the leading Upper Rank Demon General Level Sea People Tribe powerhouse demanded sternly.
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became extremely tense.