Chapter 235: Xu Que Is Back Again!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Within the Imperial Tomb...
Xu Que had just came up from beneath after bathing within the magma. His God of Hell’s Compulsion had already reached completion and his mind was sharp and focused.
However, the set of black robes which Xiao Yan wore was ruined. When he leapt into the magma, he’d forgotten to remove it. Xu Que had also somewhat underestimated the temperature which instantly reduced his favorite robe to ashes!
At this point, he wore a set of scholarly long robes and flat shoes as he trudged upwards step by step.
When he returned to the tomb rooms, Kim Fatty and the other spirits were squatting down, unmoving.
It was as if their transformation was so great that they fell into deep meditation as their cultivation levels increased rapidly. Their physical form which used to resemble something like gas had started to take solid forms.
Xu Que didn’t wish to disturb them since he had to come back later anyway. When that happens, he would probably purchase another pagoda and accept them as little disciples!
It’s just that leaving the tomb wasn’t as smooth sailing as entering was!
Xu Que traced his original footsteps back to the very first room he’d landed in.
When he raised his head up to look, the hole which he had created earlier had completely vanished!
"Fuck! Have I seen a ghost? This was clearly the same tomb room! Why did it look like this?" Xu Que was startled.
He was extremely sure that he had came down through the ceiling in this room as his footsteps were still visible up on the ceiling!
And now, the large hole which he’d created was now a concrete ceiling. The distance from his head wasn’t large. About 2 meters.
This wasn’t right. When he landed from up above, he took several minutes to land and had even used Lightning Haste to descend down!
According to that logic, the ceiling should be at least several kilometers in height but was now reduced to two meters and the large gaping hole was no longer there!
The shock he received truly felt as though he’d seen a ghost!
Xu Que was astonished as he retrieved the Infinity Edge from his system inventory and started hacking away at the ceiling!
"Boom!"
Pieces or rocks and debris fell from the ceiling as it started breaking apart. However… behind the ceiling was a hard, solidified soil!
Xu Que opened his eyes wide in shock as he conjured the system.
"System, what’s going on here?"
"Ding! After conducting checks, this place has been sealed up completely. Only physical strength would get you out of here!" The system replied.
Xu Que was stumped. Wasn’t that the same way he’d gained entry?
Digging a hole downwards was easy. But digging upwards was extremely difficult. If he wasn’t careful, he would bury himself!
"That’s not right! What happened to the hole which I dug while entering?" Xu Que asked again suspiciously.
"The location which host entered the Imperial Tomb was through a teleportation spell and isn’t necessarily within this room!" The system announced once more as it provided an illustration within Xu Que’s mind.
When Xu Que saw it, he understood it as his lips quivered.
The spell within this ancient tomb were truly crafty. No wonder it was often said that anyone who came in wouldn’t come out alive.
This ancient tomb was surrounded by a huge sealing spell. When he entered, he drilled a hole. But when he crossed through the spell, he was teleported to a random location within the tomb.
That was exactly what had happened to Xu Que. However, the teleportation spell was too weak and thus took a long time to teleport him to the location. During this teleportation process, he assumed that he was travelling downwards. However, the duration it took him to reach the place doesn’t indicate how far he was being transported.
Hence, regardless of what had happened, he was trapped!
"Looks like I have to start using the excavator once again!" Xu Que thought helplessly as he retrieved the excavator out from his system inventory.
Indeed, as soon as he took it out, the system reminded him, "12 hours had passed and the rental timing for the excavator has passed. Please pay another 500 act tough points to resume using it!"
"Fuck! Here we go again." Xu Que nearly imploded from anger for this system was too shrewd.
However, when he actually calculated the hours, it had truly been 12 hours.
He only had 500 act tough points left on him. How could he afford to waste it on this machine?
"No. No matter what you say, I shan’t be cheated by you again. Even if I don’t use the excavator, I shall be able to find my way out!"
Xu que seemed to have thought of something as he rejected the system’s suggestion. 500 act tough points? Hmph! This Act Tough King won’t let you earn a single cent more from me!
He remembered clearly what Kim Fatty and the group of spirits had mentioned before. A hundred years ago, an old man had came here before and left with a Luminous Grail.
Since that old man managed to leave, that meant that he would be able to leave as well. All he had to do was to find the route taken by the old man…
As soon as he recalled this, Xu Que took out the piece of jade from his robes and examined it. When he flicked his wrist, he felt a gush of core energy rush into his body.
Faint black light started flickering from the jade tile as the aura from the old man started filling the room he was in before diffusing outwards.
Xu Que paced about several steps as the light became dim. When he walked in the opposite direction, the light became stronger.
"Yo, so it’s this simple!" Xu Que was beyond elated. If the old man had dug a way out, he must’ve used some spells and that would be where traces of his power would be the strongest. Likewise, this piece of jade would be able to trace where the power was most concentrated and lead him towards it.
Hence, Xu Que started following the light on the piece of jade as he made his way out.
When the light dimmed out, Xu Que would turn the opposite direction. When the light was bright, he would walk faster in the same direction.
Handling the exit strategy this way, Xu Que walked further and further in till he reached a large wall. At this point, the jade tile was shining brighter than ever before.
Right at the corner of this wall was a hole. Beside the hole, there were several words scribbled. However, since many months and years had passed since the words were written, it was smudged and faded!
Xu Que couldn’t be bothered by the words as well. He bent down and squirmed his way into the hole.
"Eh? Why is everything black here? Has the exit been sealed?" Xu Que glanced up ahead and was disappointed that he couldn't see anything but continued forward.
After all, he was only left with this route to take. If this didn’t lead him out, he would then consider talking to the system about the excavator again.
However, this passageway was too big and long. Sometimes, it would lead upslope and other times, downslope. It would meander along the way as Xu Que walked on for nearly two hours!
He was starting to feel that something wasn’t quite right. Where did this path dug by the old man lead to? It’s already been two hours and Xu Que felt like he’d only been walking rounds.
"Forget it then. Since I’ve already started this path, there’s no reason for me to turn back!"
Xu Que frowned and continued walking on, this time with increased speed. He conjured the Lightning Haste and started soaring forward.
It was largely due to his patience and perseverance that he finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel after several more hours.
"That old man is truly insane! The tunnel which he dug required the person to walk for an entire day before arriving!" Xu Que’s lips curled upwards in a snarl and yet he was in admiration of the old man for something as crazy as this couldn’t be done by any normal man!
However, it was also a relief that Xu Que could find his way out. This was better than spending 500 act tough points and thus was worth feeling happy.
He increased his speed. His shadow turned into a blur as he moved rapidly forward.
Whoosh!
Before long, he could feel fresh air and cold wind blowing into the tunnel, which meant that he was getting close to the exit. He made a last break for it before finally leaving the tunnel.
At the next moment however, he was stumped.
The exit of this tunnel actually led to the man-made mountains by the Great Lake!
"Straight back to the Imperial City?" Xu Que was in disbelief at how crazy this old man was. He actually dug a way to enter the Imperial Tomb from within the Imperial City and even placed the exit by such a scenic place, next to the Great Lake!
Big brother, you are fantastic. It’s just that he probably went senile over the course of the last hundred of years when I finally met you!
"Hehe... Xu Que is back again!"
Xu Que laughed out coldly as he patted the dust off his robes and examined his surroundings. The skies had already turned dark as the night descended. The people out on the streets were few and the only light around the Great Lake were lanterns that was scattered across.
"That’s right. Madam Ya also has blood of the Imperial family. Getting her tears would be much simpler!"
Xu Que’s eyes gleamed as he sniggered before his body disappeared into the shadows and made his way towards Madam Ya’s residence.
There were several dome-like spells which covered her residence but this wasn’t enough to hold him back.
What rubbish spells. It was nothing compared to those within the Imperial Tomb. With Xu Que’s powerful soul strength, all he had to do was to concentrate and he could walk right through the spell. It even seemed like nobody had recognized him!
Xu Que recalled the path from his memories as he started making his way across the yard.
He walked past several students but Xu Que didn’t intend to reveal his identity as he walked straight for Madam Ya’s room. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard…
"Young mister Li…" Madam Ya’s soft voice could be heard from within.
Xu Que was stumped. Fuck! How did she know that I’m here?
Just as he was about to acknowledge, more strange sounds started coming out from beyond the door!
"Ehhh… Ehhhh… Mmmmmm... Young mister Li… Harder…"