Chapter 228: Clearing The Imperial Tombs
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Dong! Dong!
Within the dark tombs, the sounds of Xu Que's heavy footsteps rang out.
The dozens of spirits were in front, leading Xu Que in a neat and orderly file.
They were floating in front of him, carefully moving across. The speed of their movement were rather well paced. It was evident that all of them were afraid of this unreasonable Xu Que and were scared that he would start becoming violent towards them again!
However, Xu Que was definitely more reasonable than the old man. He wouldn't assault these spirits without any reason.
His vision was constantly scanning the environment as he walked.
Many of these tombs were empty and lacked even simple paintings or inscriptions along the walls.
Xu Que noticed this and couldn't help mumbling to himself about how empty some of these crypts were.
This was heard by Kim Fatty Two Plus One, who replied, "Many years ago, the walls of these tombs were indeed filled with drawings and carvings. However, after many decades and even centuries, they've all ran away."
"What? Ran away?" Xu Que was taken aback. How could drawings run away? Did they grow legs to flee or are you bloody trying to lie to me?
"It's true. On the very last day where the tombs were open, I saw all it disappear into dust and vanished into thin air!"
"Damn! You are truly a retard. Have you never learnt science? It's called oxidation! The paint particles were being oxidized!" Xu Que shouted out in anger.
Kim Fatty Two Plus One paused for several moments as though he couldn't understand what that term meant. However, he nodded his head profusely, "This senior is so intelligent and filled with knowledge."
The other spirits started nodded their heads in approval, "Elder is very talented!"
"Lower your voice. Watch how loud you speak. I'm not the type of person who enjoys being praised and complimented. Quickly, show me the way!"
Xu Que gave a stoic expression, but his heart was filled with elation. These spirits are truly impressionable and obedient too. 'If only I could bring them away from here, it would be nice to have them as my little brothers!'
As he walked along, he was deep in thought. Before long, Xu Que finally walked into a room which had a long passageway within.
There were a pair of statues beside the entrance of the room. Both these statues were of demons with strange features and evil looks. They were extremely lifelike and their eyes possessed a certain fearsome look, as though they could almost come alive and devour someone.
This passageway was rather wide and strange looking. On both sides of the wall, there was a long horizontal concavity which looked almost like a ditch on the wall. The ditches on both sides extended a long distance, deep into the room.
However, everything within the ditches had already dried up and nothing remained.
Xu Que senses that something wasn't quite right and started muttering an incarnation before walking forward.
"Senior, be careful!" At this point, Kim Fatty Two Plus One tried to stop him and explain, "You can't go through here. Some time ago, an entire group of us tried to cross as well but our spirits were all scattered and blasted off. There's a powerful spell here and it seems like it can destroy everything around."
"Rubbish. The spell here is only upheld because of the powerful geomancy of this location. It's obvious that you won't be able to cross because spirits are charged with negative energy. It's only too easy for me to pass!" Xu Que replied plainly.
The spirits around were all stumped as they looked at Xu Que with strange expressions and felt curious. Could this senior truly bypass the spell?
Xu Que also didn't speak further as he called out the system and spent a little act tough points to receive two different types of water.
While Zhang Qi Ling's skill with the knife was rather useful, his other skillset which Xu Que had acquired were also handy at this point. For example, to break through several preventive spells which had been placed.
Hence, as soon as Xu Que recognized the situation, he instinctively knew what to do. He purchased some river water and some well water before placing these newly acquired water along the drain on the wall. The water flowed magically as though it defied gravity.
As soon as the water started flowing on both sides of the wall where the ditches were, the entire Room shook violently.
"Bloop!" A soft thudding sound rang out as a ray of light flashed across before their eyes, before disappearing into darkness once again.
"Alright, we can go now!" Xu Que smiled as he walked further into the room.
The spirits looked rather afraid and opened their mouths to protest.
However, Xu Que was very confident and unbridled as he continued walking before he realized that the spirits weren't following him. He then shouted, "What are you staring at? Quickly come!"
The dozens of spirits hesitated, clearly still worried.
"We should go in now. After all, getting killed by the spell would mean instant death, whereas getting beaten to death by this senior would hurt!" Kim Fatty Two Plus One thought to himself and mustered his courage. He gritted his teeth and took a big step forward. He successfully gained entry into the tomb room and was indeed unscathed.
The other spirits noticed this and were appalled. Even Kim Fatty Two Plus One was surprised by this, for he'd expected to be vanquished but still, he was alright!
"Senior, you are fantastic. How did you do it?" The spirits looked at Xu Que and asked.
Xu Que laughed out, "That's simple. On one side of the tomb, I placed well water, and on the other side, I placed river water. As the famous saying goes, well water wouldn't interfere with river water or in other words, everyone should mind their own business and nothing untoward would happen to anyone!"
"Hssss!" The spirits sucked in a cold breath of air and were all shocked at Xu Que's wits. Conversely, they were also surprised at how dumb they were.
They had been here within the ancient tombs for so many decades and had never thought about this before.
Thinking further, they then realized that there wasn't any well water here. Although they would probably have to dig underground to get it. River water was easily obtainable however.
Xu Que had successfully acted tough and gained several points. Although it wasn't much, a little was better than none.
The group of them then proceeded inwards.
Once they proceeded down the passageway, these spirits didn't know the route anymore. In fact, they were rather foreign to this place and had never seen it before.
Xu Que opened the map once again and realized that the real tombs had only began from this point on.
Besides, there seemed to be many funeral items and objects around here in comparison to the previously empty rooms which he had found himself in.
At this point, Xu Que's eyes lit up, "Kim Fatty, Kim Fatty Two, and Kim Fatty Fat Fat, hurry up and bring everyone here!" Xu Que waved his hands and led the group of spirits as they walked into the very first tomb.
After passing through the corridors, they arrived at the entrance of the first tomb where a glowing light flickered up ahead.
The floor was filled with numerous weapons and formed an extremely huge pile. It almost looked like a mini mountain but was glittering and gleaming, with all sorts of weapons imaginable!
These weapons were all Two Star or Three Star grade as well. In fact, there was a single Four Star grade flying sword, which glowed and shone brightly. From time to time, a red glow would run down the length of the sword and looked extremely magnificent!
"I've struck gold!" Xu Que rejoiced at finding these weapons and opened the system inventory to place all these cool weapon within.
In the past, he had annihilated an entire sect and gained access to their treasure rooms. All the items and weapons there weren't even worth taking. That was because the system sold cooler and better weapons.
But now, he was standing in front of weapons owned by Emperors and it definitely wouldn't be of low quality. Xu Que couldn't give up an opportunity like this so he took as much as he could.
He had decided to keep those which were worth keeping and sell the rest. Or he could let the system keep it in exchange for Essences. Regardless, he still profited from this discovery!
The spirits weren't the least interested in these weapons as they started daydreaming while Xu Que shifted all these items in excitement.
Soon after, under Xu Que��s guidance, they walked towards the second tomb.
This time, the tomb was filled with treasure chests. The lid on these chests remained open and precious gems of all variety could be spotted. The chests were all so full that treasure was leaking out onto the floor.
Up against the walls were wooden shelves and were filled up with an assortment of potions, herbs and pills!
There were plenty of One Star, Two Star and Three Star grade pills and potions. However, there were only a few Four Star grade pills. The words which were written on the vials had long smudged and thus the nature of these supplements couldn't be discerned.
Xu Que didn't seem to mind it as he took every single vial from the wooden shelves and placed it within the system's inventory. In fact, he didn't even need to check its contents and took everything greedily.
After all, when it came to doing something like this, only three things matter. They were "speed, precision and ruthlessness!"
Only in achieving these traits would one truly get a sense of satisfaction and feel extremely good about himself!
This was especially true when a person was robbing the tombs of the Fire Emperors!
Hence, after completely clearing the second tomb till nothing remained, Xu Que strolled towards the third tomb.
This time, the shelves were filled with books. However, many of these books were old and ancient and were rather average and nothing spectacular. There were many manuals and spell books as well.
Xu Que also knew that the truly good stuff would still be within the Imperial Palace. However, there were also some high quality items which would be placed within the coffins of the deceased Emperors. Hence, he wasn't surprised to see that most of the items he had taken weren't fantastic.
With a wave of his hands, after he had cleared all the spell book and skill manuals, he started walking a level down, towards the next tomb.
When he reached outside this tomb, Xu Que realized that this room was huge and extremely spacious.
Xu Que looked in and realized the entire room was filled with coffins!
The spirits peered in and their faces were filled with dread and fear.
"Heavens! This… This place… How many people are buried here?"
"It seems like even our bodies are buried here. It's so sad!"
"Or it could also be that our bodies have long decomposed and we might not even have a coffin for some of us might be failed grave robbers!"
Xu Que stood outside the room and was somewhat taken aback. He looked at the dozens of spirits and shook his head, "None of you are talking about what truly matters."
"Ah?" The dozens of them paused in shock.
Xu Que ignored them and called out the system, "System, would you buy coffins in exchange for anything?"
Chapter 229: Past Soul Emperor
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Within the extremely spacious tomb, there were tens of old and decomposing coffins which were stacked up like a pagoda of coffins. This was a tower of dead people and looked rather queer.
After so many years, the coffins were badly decomposed and holes started to form. Xu Que could even see the shrivelled bodies lying within.
Seeing this, Xu Que was rather confused.
Since there were so many coffins here but why didn't he see any spirits? Then, where did the dozen spirits behind him came from?
Xu Que shook his head and couldn't figure it out. He thus gave up thinking and turned to look at the system interface.
Earlier on, he had asked the system if it would take these coffins and the system thus started calculating. On the interface, he could see several numbers and figures as if the system was estimating the worth of whatever stood in front of him.
Before long, the system gave him a reply.
"Ding! The material of these coffins were rather high quality. Although it's already decomposed, the system can retrieve these coffins and transform them into weapon Essences!"
"Yo, that's great! Alright, alright, alright, then take it all!" Xu Que was elated after hearing the system's reply!
With so many coffins around and the state of decomposition they were in, Xu Que couldn't possibly keep them all within his system inventory. He had actually asked the system in jest and never expected that the system would accept it as well. Hearing this good news filled Xu Que with joy.
After all, he was here to rob the Fire Emperor's Imperial Tombs. Hence, he would take as much as he can get. What's the motive you might ask? That's right, to send a message out, that I won't even let off your fucking coffins!
Hence, Xu Que stepped forward.
As soon as he stretched his hands out, the system activated the automatic item picking function. The entire pagoda of coffins started vanishing one by one. Following that, the shriveled up bodies all fell to the ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the system tallied up the total numbers, Xu Que's mind was filled with system notifications. The Weapon Essences has also started accumulating, until he had a total of 500 Essences!
The spirits standing outside the door were all appalled by this. This senior won't even show mercy to the coffins? He's truly a vile person!
Within minutes, Xu Que had swept up all the coffins which were stacked up earlier. He then glanced across at the corpses on the ground, his eyes were filled with anticipation as he asked, "System, do you accept dried, shriveled up corpses?"
"NOPE!"
"Oh!" Xu Que gave an extremely disappointed expression. Without any options left, he retreated away from this tomb and started making his way to the fifth.
However, things weren't as simple here in the fifth tomb. Xu Que and the rest of them were prevented access by a huge stone door!
The entire door to the tombs was extremely thick. There were many carvings of dragons along the door and it looked very lifelike. There were also inscriptions of spells on the door. Every single line was so complex that it was hard to understand and it even exuded an aura of power from it!
All the mysterious inscriptions, along with the drawings of the dragons formed the defensive spell of this tomb. In fact, the spell was powerful enough that warning energy was pulsating from the door as it guarded the contents of this tomb.
Kim Fatty Two Plus One looked extremely uneasy, "Senior, we can feel something. We think that the evil persons you're looking for might be inside!"
"Oh? Could this be where a Fire Emperor was laid to rest?"
Xu Que took several steps back when he heard this as well. He then looked around and counting something on his fingers. According to the geomancy calculations of the location of this tomb, it seems like this could be the master tomb here!
"System, do you have any methods to break through this protective spell?" Xu Que thought and asked the system.
The system remained silent for half a second before replying.
"Ding! The system has checked and found that there's a way to break through the spell. However, it would cost 500 act tough points!"
"..." Xu Que pursed his lips. Your mother's ovaries! Why are you always so damned calculative?
Fine, you're cheap!
"Break the spell!" Xu Que shouted out in anger!
He only had 2,000 act tough points remaining and was now forced to spend another 500. This truly hurt his heart.
However, Xu Que desperately wanted to gain entry into this tomb. In fact, tens of thousands of act tough points won't even stop him.
Even though he had spent more than 10,000 act tough points at its peak, Xu Que wasn't worse off after spending it. After all, a large portion of it had been spent on the system to upgrade its capabilities and purchase several skills. In fact, the best part of it all was that he even acquired the skills of the famous Oil Bottle!
The skills which he had gained would be of great use when he decided to rob the graves of the other nations!
Despite the fact that Xu Que felt an immense heartache, he was extremely confident in his own act tough capabilities. Even after spending it, he was certain that he would earn it back again. He had to earn it back!
"Ding! The system has began breaking through the spell!"
"Ding! The system wishes to inform the host that behind this protective spell are several very powerful spirits. Please make your battle preparations to prevent getting beaten up!" The system rang out consecutively.
When Xu Que heard this, he was elated. How can big brother ever get beaten up? What a joke! Who am I? I am the Act Tough King! How can I ever be defeated? Since you asked me to prepare myself, I shan't prepare at all. That's how powerful I am. In fact, I shall lie down here and wait for them to come…
Alright nevermind, maybe I should prepare myself!
Xu Que then conjured a pair of lightning balls. It wasn't that he was afraid. He was just slightly uncertain.
After all, the spirits behind this door were powerful Fire Emperors of the past. According to what he knew, the first Fire Emperor was at the pinnacle of the Form Synthesis Stage and he had several other successors who had ascended to the Form Synthesis Stage as well.
Only during the last few generations did the cultivation level of the Emperors halt at the Void Refining Stage.
Of course, the present Fire Emperor was much weaker. He was stuck at the Infant Transformation Stage for very long. Only after using the Emperor's Energy did he manage to step into the Void Refining Stage, although that was still rather powerful.
Hence, Xu Que felt like maybe he should guard himself against these ancient spirits. He must not fail in acting tough and eat grass instead. If not, that would be an eternal blemish and humiliation to him!
"Chi!"
Right at this point, he held a pair of lightning bolts which buzzed threateningly, filled with purple, powerful energy. At once, the lightning arcs within the balls started to vibrate and move violently.
When the dozens of spirits saw this, they screamed out in fear and retreated a long way back.
To spirits, lightning was one of the most terrifying elements, for they were completely powerless against it.
If they were to take the slightest damage from any electric spells in their current spirit form, they would suffer immense injuries!
What's more, Xu Que's powerful balls of lightning had completely absorbed all the powers from the Tribulations along with the purple streak of electricity from the Lightning Pools.
The power emanating out from those spheres were immense.
"Don't be afraid, I won't kill you, don't stand so far. Come and watch me act tough!" Xu Que turned his head back to look at those few spirits who were trembling in fear while Xu Que sniggered.
The entire group of spirits huddled together by a corner and only dared to stick their heads out to see, but didn't dare to get close at all!
"Boom doom!"
Right at this point, a resounding crash sounded from the tomb door, as though there were some powerful force clashing against it ferociously. Debris and dust were thrown high up into the air.
Xu Que's face froze.
"Ka cha!"
The spell on the door stopped pulsating all of a sudden as cracks started to form all across the door. Within a fraction of a second, the entire door was filled with web like cracks!
"Ding! The door has been broken through. The system suggests that the host uses his soul strength, so that things will be easier!" the system rang out.
Xu Que was astonished, "What do you mean? Use my soul strength so that it will be easier?"
"Ding! Warning! The system has detected 4 Form Synthesis Staged spirits nearby. The system suggests you upgrade your musician talent to Four Star as soon as possible. If not, you would be in danger!"
"Fuck! My Monkey Blocks Lightning isn't good enough? Now you still wish for me to upgrade my musician talent to Four Star? Where should I get the act tough points from? I'm not even at Three Star yet!" Xu Que replied the system. He wondered how the system can still be in a mood to rob him in the face of danger.
Four Star Musician? That's going to cost a bomb and now I only have 1,000 act tough points. It's not enough.
"Ding! Congratulations to host. After the system has been updated to version 3.0, the system is now able to provide you with a low interest rate loan with 0 collaterals needed, low processing fees and fast waiting time. In fact, only 30 seconds is required to approve the loan!"
Chapter 230: Even If A Loan Has To Be Taken, Acting Tough Is A Must!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Lo-Loan?
Xu Que was appalled by what he had just heard. Hearing what the system had said was akin to him seeing a ghost! The system was getting more brazen with each level it had ascended and was becoming more crafty. Now, it even suggested lending Xu Que act tough points with interest rates? Why don't you fly a kite?
I won't take a loan. I will never take a loan!
Xu Que hardened his heart, knowing that he must never bow to the system.
However…
"After careful calculations, the host's strength wouldn't be able to compare with your enemies at this point. Although the host can consider fleeing, he wouldn't be able to act tough if he fled!" The system sounded out once more, causing Xu Que to freeze on the spot.
Unable to compare with my enemies? Can consider fleeing?
Is my Monkey Blocks Lightning spell still not strong enough after being strengthened by the full Glory Killer Book? I won't be able to handle those Fire Emperor spirits?
Xu Que was suddenly thrown off guard and felt rather uneasy. And yet he realized that it must've been true, for he was only at level eight Original Infant Stage. If he could defeat an Infant Transformation staged cultivator, it would already be extraordinary!
Even though he was only facing against spirits and spirits were extremely weak against lightning spells, these spirits were of at least in the Void Refining Stage. And so he felt that he might still stand a chance against the Void Refining Stage spirits.
As for the Form Synthesis Stage spirits… Xu Que was not the least confident!
The system wouldn't trick him at this point. Although Xu Que knew that the system was very sly, whenever it provided such conclusions after calculations, it was always correct.
Of course, the most important thing to Xu Que was being unable to act tough!
This caused a certain sense of anxiety and urgency in Xu Que!
Unable to act tough? Then what was the point of living? How was he different from a calf if he couldn't act tough?
After all, it was only a loan. Come on then! Even if I have to take a loan, I must do it for the sake of acting tough!
"Tell me more. How should I proceed to take the loan?" Xu Que thought in his mind and asked the system for more information.
As soon as these words were thought, a strange melodic sound rang out within his head. Soon after the music faded, Xu Que heard that the cold system's voice had abruptly changed tone. It started sounding extremely warm, as though it was handling a big customer!
"Welcome host for accessing the newly implemented 'Act Tough Loan'. The Act Tough loan is very unique in the sense that there's no collateral required, along with the low interest rates and you can receive the cash on the exact same day. The application procedure is very simple, convenient and swift. We wish to serve you effectively and ensure that your career is benefited from this loan!"
Pu!
Xu Que nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
This… Sounded too human! Like a salesman trying to do business. It was indeed extremely hard to tolerate.
The system then continued speaking.
"In view of the host's extraordinary acting tough skills, the system is willing to offer a reduced interest rate of 2.3% per annum. Payment is a combination of interest rate along with a percentage of the principal amount. It's a carefree and easy method of repayment!"
"..."
"The system would like to ask if the host is keen on activating the 'Act Tough Loan'?"
"Let me ask you something. What happens if I'm unable to repay the loan?" Xu Que asked as he smiled.
"If the host is unable to repay the amount by the stipulated date, the system shall activate 'Debt Collector Beats Debtors' function. Regardless of whether you borrowed money in this world or others, there will always be someone chasing after you for debts!"
Yo!
As soon as Xu Que heard this, he was elated. Oh you're threatening me now? Since that's the case, I'm NOT going to return it! Since this loan was forwarded to me based on my acting tough skills, why should I return it? I've earned it!
Hm, who's afraid, huh? I'm so darned powerful. We shall see who would come and chase after me for my debt!
After deciding to borrow and not return it, Xu Que then accessed the system store interface and searched for the musician skill book.
In actual fact, the system was right about this. The musician talent would positively affect the user's soul strength and mental capabilities. In a sense, this was something like a spell to boost the user's stats!
When it came to soul strength, possessing this skill would strengthen it tremendously!
It's just that… After he saw the price of the Four Star Musician skill book, Xu Que felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest once again!
A Two Star Musician skill book needed 1,500 act tough points. However, after he gained the achievement of Act Tough Tyrant, he received a little preferential discount on this item.
Yet, he had already purchased this skill book and ascended to the Two Star Musician before he received the discounts.
And now, a Three Star Musician skill book costs 3,000 act tough points!
And a Four Star Musician skill book costs 5,000 act tough points!
Hence, if he wanted to defeat the group of Fire Emperor spirits, he would have to spend 8,000 act tough points!
But what was so scary about that amount? He could always take up a loan!
"I wish to borrow one billion act tough points!" Xu Que shouted out in his head loftily.
"Ding! The system's credit rating isn't good enough at this point. The loan amount is restricted to 10,000 act tough points!"
"My… My credit rating isn't good enough? Fuck! I'm such a trustworthy and dependable person and you only extended the loan amount to 10,000 act tough points?" Xu Que was so angry that he almost imploded.
And yet no matter what he said to the system, it refused to budge and insisted on lending Xu Que 10,000 act tough points at most.
Xu Que had no choice as well and temporarily borrowed 8,000 act tough points and chose the option to repay the debt over two years!
At the same time, he purchased both the Three Star and Four Star Musician skill books!
"Shua!"
His body lit up twice consecutively in a flash of white light as his understanding of the musician ability became more profound!
"All the modulations of the voice arise from the mind and the various affections of the mind are produced by things!"
When Xu Que next opened his eyes, his pupils seemed to have gained a certain depth within!
It almost seemed like he had gained enlightenment just like that!
There were 3,000 ways to reach enlightenment and ascend the dao and music was one of those ways!
As soon as Xu Que ascended to Four Star grade, his understanding and analysis of music became very pronounced and profound!
One song could be played by different artists in different styles, evoking different responses from different people. This was the mysterious power of music!
As soon as Xu Que understood these points, he started to feel extremely confident about handling these Form Synthesis Stage spirits!
Four Star Musician would almost certainly ensure that Xu Que could win any Infant Transformation Staged cultivators effortlessly!
Against a Form Synthesis Staged spirit, Xu Que hoped that it wouldn't be too much of a difference!
"Ding! The spell has already been deactivated. Please prepare yourself!"
As soon as the system rang out, the cracks along the stone door started multiplying exponentially and almost looked like it was filled with spiderwebs!
Xu Que then retrieved an electronic keyboard from his system inventory and ensured that it had an audio mixing function. He then held it up and faced the stone door.
The few spirits hiding behind him were all stumped!
What's going on? What is this senior trying to do? Is that strange looking thing so powerful as a weapon?
"Boom!"
Right at this point, the tomb which had been sealed shut by the spell started to reveal what's within.
The few blocks of stone which lined the door started falling off in clumps of debris and dust.
Soon after, several large black shadows with immense auras enveloped his surroundings!
"Roar!"
The few black shadows gave a terrifying roar and sent out crushing pressures, causing the entire tomb to tremble violently.
The few spirits hiding at the corner were so terrified by this roar that they were screaming out in fear as they scattered all around and broke their group.
"We're doomed! These evil spirits had been let loose!"
"Senior, run!"
"If you won't flee, we shall flee first!"
"See you around senior!" Kim Fatty Two Plus One screamed out as he started to leave along with his companions.
After all, those few spirits who just appeared was too powerful. Just their auras could kill.
Even before they made a move, the amount of pressure released from them was way too scary!
Fire Emperor's spirits are truly powerful!
Xu Que's eyes gleamed. Although he didn't know how or why these people became spirits, they had probably been around for centuries. However, all these centuries old spirits are nothing but rubbish compared to his Four Star Musician talent!
So what if you're at the Void Refining stage?
So what if you're at the Form Synthesis stage?
You're the ancestors of the Fire Nation?
Haha! You're still useless!
Everything under the heavens is mine! I'm Xu Que, the Act Tough King!
"Zeng zeng zeng!"
Xu Que raised his hands up and spread his fingers apart before slamming them down on the electronic keyboard. His fingers moved in a frenzy, creating a melody.
At the next moment, he condensed the energy within his dantian, opened his eyes wide and shouted, "The eighth episode of the nation's secondary schools warm up exercises begins! We are being called upon…"
(T/N: This was a televised broadcast for students to do stretching exercises in the morning before classes began)
Chapter 231: Spirit Prison Pagoda
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
"Hua hua hua hua zeng zeng zeng zeng…" The sounds of the electronic keyboard, flute and piano sounded out in a harmony as it reverberated across the entire tomb!
The few Fire Emperor's spirits who had just came out of their tombs paused abruptly as their faces were filled with fear.
Although all that was left of them were mere spirits, their expressions and faces could be seen very clearly as they retained their looks before they passed away!
The spirits of Kim Fatty and the rest of them had already fled several hundred meters away. When they heard this sound, all of them halted as their eyes opened wide in shock and were extremely frightened.
They didn't mean to stop intentionally. It was just that the music caused them to stop involuntarily.
"What's going on? What's senior doing?"
"Why does it feel like my body is beyond my own control? I feel like... Dancing!"
"Me too!"
"Wooo wooo wooo!"
Kim Fatty Two Plus One and the rest of the spirits were stumped. None of them could understand why the melody had such an effect on them, to the extent that they couldn't even control themselves.
At the entrances of the tombs, the few Void Refining Stage Fire Emperor spirits opened their eyes wide. It almost seemed like they didn't know how to speak and could only open their mouths as though they had lost all memories of their past!
Xu Que ignored them and continued playing his musical instruments filled with fervor. He then looked at them and shouted out loudly.
"Ready… Go! One two three four five six seven eight, two two three four five six seven eight, three two three four five six seven eight, four two three four five six seven eight, stretching exercise begins…"
"One two three four five six seven eight…"
At that exact moment, Kim Fatty Two Plus One along with all his spirit companions and the Fire Emperor spirits all started moving vigorously as they did their gymnastics stretching exercises.
Al their movements were very uncoordinated and out of sync and yet they couldn't control themselves. They were moving and dancing with strange actions. Some of them even half squatted and started doing tai-chi moves, while others kicked and punched the air!
Xu Que turned his head to look at everyone around him as he scanned his vision around the tomb entrance.
Even the Form Synthesis spirits couldn't avoid the immense control the music had on them and were doing their own stretching exercises as well.
"That's right. Even if you're at the Void Refining or Form Synthesis stage, everyone has to do the warm up stretching exercises together. There's no escaping it!" Xu Que nodded his head elatedly as he supervised their movements sternly.
The way he looked and monitored them, he was clearly the legendary 'disciple master' keeping a close watch over them!
The strange music continued as Xu Que shouted out the counts for them, giving them a beat to move to!
"Four two three four five six, jumping jacks, one two three four five six seven eight…"
"Shoulder rotation, one two three four five six seven eight, two two three four five six seven eight…"
"Chest stretching exercise, one two three four five six seven eight…"
Under the quick paced beats, the few spirits strangely listened to his count and switched positions whenever he ordered them to. The more they moved, the better they became at it as their form improved.
The music continued as this track was on a loop!
At this point, Xu Que was already tired of shouting. Hence, he activated the automatic ability from the system and allowed the system to draw on his soul strength and continued shouting out the counts.
Soon after, Xu Que placed his hands behind his back and wore a severe expression across his face. As the discipline master and fitness teacher, he walked across and surveyed the movements of these few generations of Fire Emperor spirits.
The leader of the Fire Emperor spirits stood right by the tomb door and was an old looking man. His face was downcast and his eyes revealed a ferocious glare as he stared at Xu Que. His entire body was shaking as powerful energy emanated out from it.
Xu Que had seen a painting of this old man hung atop the walls of the Fire Nations Palace. This was the father of the present Fire Emperor!
"What are you staring at? Do you believe that this Prince Consort will spank you? Raise your legs higher. Higher!"
"And you! Please don't think for a second that I didn't notice you. You're the grandfather of the current Fire Emperor, huh? Hurry up. Raise your arms higher. Don't be lazy!"
"And you over there! Why are your psychomotor skills so poor? Watch the others and learn from them!"
"Fuck me, aren't you the very first Fire Emperor? Wow! Impressive. Form Synthesis Stage? Can you jump up properly? You're twisting and turning like this. What are you trying to achieve? We're doing our morning warm up stretches, not pole dancing, big brother!"
"Yo yo yo, who's that over there? Can you not jump up so vigorously? Your pants are falling off. Pull them back up. Damn it, this men in the Imperial family all have the same genes. You inherit each other's small penises. Seems like I can't really blame the current Fire Emperor for having such a small dragon as well!"
"Fuck me, big brother, why are you moving so vigorously as if you're familiar with the entire set of exercises? Slow down! Your head is almost falling off!"
Xu Que walked by the side and watched the entire group of Fire Emperors doing their stretching exercises as he shouted and scolded them.
Indeed, nobody could do anything to Xu Que, for spirits were weak in soul strength. Much less the fact that Four Star Musician talent needed an extremely strong soul strength to resist. Hence, regardless of how powerful in cultivation these Fire Emperors were, even if they were at the Form Synthesis Stage, they were powerless!
"One two three four five six seven eight…" The broadcast was still playing at this point.
Xu Que also had his fill of scolding them.
He stood by the side and observed.
Since he already gained complete control over these spirits, killing them would be such a waste. Especially since he had spent so much act tough points on them.
"System, would you accept spirits? I can sell you a Form Synthesis spirit for one billion act tough points!" Xu Que asked the system.
The system replied coldly, "No!"
"One hundred million act tough points?"
"No!"
"Fuck. Your bargaining skills are not bad. Alright then, what about 100,000 act tough points!"
"..." The system ignored him completely and chose not to reply.
Xu Que realized that the system wouldn't accept these spirits for anything and was rather frustrated.
If the system wouldn't accept them, it means they are truly rubbish and worthless! Damn it. The system even accepted rotting coffins but wouldn't accept these spirits!
After thinking for some time, Xu Que's eyes lit up as an idea came to him.
He was extremely elated as he asked the system, "System, can these things here be exposed to sunlight? Would they die if they saw light?"
"These spirits remained here for some reason and thus wouldn't ever be able to leave. The system suggests to host to purchase a high level Soul Pagoda to bring them out if he wishes!"
"Fuck. You're trying to scam me into spending more!" Xu Que's face sunk immediately.
A high grade Spirit Prison Pagoda could cost a thousand act tough points!
However, a single Spirit Pagoda could contain several spirits. Keeping them within it would mean he could release them out anytime he wished.
When Xiao Rou had died, Xu Que had purchased a Soul Pagoda for Xiao Rou. Although these sound almost the same, they are extremely different items.
The Soul Pagoda could only contain a single spirit and at the same time, could nurture and nourish the soul within. As time passed, this spirit would become stronger!
The Spirit Prison Pagoda was different for it was a prison and was used to torment spirits. The conditions within were extremely poor.
When Xu Que had to purchase a Soul Pagoda for Xiao Rou, he didn't have much options since he had just started his career and was limited in act tough points. Hence, he could only purchase a Soul Pagoda to keep Xiao Rou within and couldn't do anything for the rest of the villagers who had died.
Everytime Xu Que thought about this, he sighed out in regret.
Now, his mission was to collect the five special Genesis Herbs to revive Xiao Rou. Since he had already gained entry into the Fire Nation's Imperial Tombs, he was nearing his very first spiritual herb!
However at this point, he also wanted to exact his vengeance upon the Fire Emperor and destroy his powerful cultivator's body!
"Alright then. It's only 1,000 act tough points. I wish to purchase the Spirit Prison Pagoda. When I'm done with all this, I shall release the entire host of dancing Fire Emperor spirits out and scare the living daylights out of the current Emperor!"
Chapter 232: Your Majesty, Something Bad Has Happened!
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
He then acquired the Spirit Prison Pagoda which was the size of his palms. The entire body of the pagoda was green and was made of bronze, containing many ancient inscriptions.
At this point, Xu Que only had less than 900 act tough points and even owed the system 8,000 act tough points!
Xu Que had returned back to square one with how much act tough points he had left. In fact, he's at the lowest and felt like he was in poverty.
However, Xu Que wasn't too worried about this. Concentrating hard, he looked at the Spirit Pagoda before scanning his surroundings.
Taking advantage of the fact that these Fire Emperor spirits were still doing their stretching exercises and wouldn't be able to resist, he started sucking them into the pagoda!
Boom!
As soon as a spirit was absorbed into the pagoda, the entire pagoda would tremble violently.
Xu Que closed his eyes and used his mind's eye to peer into the pagoda and could see every single spirit within clearly. Each of them were being restrained by iron chains and couldn't escape or move much!
After all, this was a high grade Spirit Prison Pagoda and thus had the features of a high grade item.
Seeing them restrained put Xu Que at ease. With a wave of his hand, he placed the Pagoda back within his system inventory.
He then collected the electronic keyboard and the broadcast stopped playing at last.
Everything within the ancient tombs were silent once again.
The few Fire Emperor spirits were resolved effortlessly like that. However, it also costed Xu Que a considerable bit of act tough points in having to take up the loan!
Kim Fatty Two Plus One and the other spirits finally regained their senses. They were filled with shock.
"Senior, what was that all about?"
"Why couldn't we control ourselves?"
"And that item. Is it a powerful magic weapon?"
"But I couldn't feel any powerful spiritual presence within it!"
Among the dozen of spirits, only a few of them were capable of speech.
Although Xu Que had earned several more act tough points from these spirits, he was rather irritated by them. He then frowned and asked, "What? Are you addicted to the stretching exercise? Do you believe that I can make all of you become extremely fit through permanent exercises?"
"..." The few spirits all fell into silence.
None of them dared to agitate Xu Que after seeing what he was capable of. They witnessed how he had dealt with the Fire Emperor spirits so effortlessly. Hence, they started to feel immense fear towards Xu Que once again.
Xu Que then ignored them as he looked into the tomb which had just been vacated by the Fire Emperors.
This was the place where these Fire Emperors had been laid to rest. It was extremely spacious and several coffins were arranged orderly within. Unlike the previous few coffins which Xu Que had seen which were made of wood, these coffins were made of expensive and precious black gold.
Xu Que couldn't tell the exact grade of gold and thus called out for the system once again.
"System, quick. I've brought you yet another business proposal. Quickly, take all these coffins in! Logically speaking, these should be valuable enough to earn me some act tough points, right?" Xu Que asked expectantly.
"Ding! Successfully acquired. The system shall reward the host with 3,000 weapon forging Essences!"
"Weapon forging Essences? I want act tough points!"
"..." The system ignored Xu Que completely and returned to cold silence.
Xu Que felt so much anger and hatred towards the system now but there was nothing he could do.
After all, the system existed within his head. If Xu Que wanted to beat it, he would have to beat his own head. Xu Que thought about it for a little while and realized that it wasn't worth it. So, he stopped considering it.
As soon as the system acquired all the black gold coffins, the corpses of several generations of Fire Emperors fell to the ground.
Additionally, the several items in which these Emperors had brought with them to sleep fell on the floor.
One of these items was a bright red ruby stone which sparkles and gleam. Within it contained boundless of powerful energy stored by its owner, a Fire Emperor. The energy within it was extremely concentrated that it almost bore a liquid form.
Xu Que picked up the ruby. He shook it and saw that it was moving inside.
"Quality stuff!" Xu Que was elated to receive something like this.
The ruby stone looked extraordinary. If he'd used this ruby to forge a weapon and imbue it within, it would be extremely powerful!
After he kept the stone, Xu Que then glanced around, looking for other interesting items.
There were many spiritual pills, weapons and countless of spell books!
It could be observed that several of these Fire Emperors had created these spells before they had died.
Clearly, these spells were anything but ordinary.
Xu Que looked at them casually.
Indeed, even the lowest amongst them was of the earth ranked, the second highest level of skills sold within the system store. There was even a sky ranked spell manual. It was called Sword of the Heavens and had a single emerald embedded in the middle!
When Xu Que saw the name of this spell book, he was visibly shocked!
Sword of the Heavens, such a powerful and awesome name which truly sounded like the equivalent of heaven itself!
Xu Que didn't underestimate the powers of this spell manual. After all, it was of the sky rank and thus meant that its powers were certainly justified.
However, Xu Que wasn't lacking in spells himself. Hence he only glanced at it casually before placing it within his system inventory and decided to take a proper look another time!
Soon after, he acquired a pair of Four Star grade weapons and placed them within his inventory as well.
His true motives for today was to first blow up the tombs and secondly, to blow up the Dragon Veins in order to retrieve the spiritual herbs!
When Xu Que looked at the few corpses on the ground, his lips parted in a smile, "Emperor's Energy, huh? Heheh... let's see how I can destroy it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Que waved his hands and retrieved a normal looking dagger. He then started to pry the mouths of these Emperors open!
"Chi!" a waft of air which felt like the might of a dragon was released from his mouth!
Xu Que hurriedly raised his hands to his nose and covered it. The smell was extremely pungent!
All this couldn't do anything for him, since he didn't have blood of the imperial family within his veins. It was thus hard to keep this Emperor's Energy for himself.
Kim Fatty who stood by the side along with Kim Fatty Two revealed greedy expressions as they inhaled the air deeply and manically, trying to absorb this Emperor's Energy!
"Fuck, this Emperor's Energy is smellier than ass and you can inhale it so happily and blissfully? You are really talented!"
As soon as Xu Que spoke these words, he waved his dagger once again and started prying open the mouths of the remaining Emperors, releasing the Emperor's Energy from them. This prevented the current Fire Emperor from using it ever again!
However, for one of the corpses, prying open his mouth didn't release any energy!
Xu Que was rather stumped by this.
Since there's none in his mouth, let's try his arse!
"Whoosh!"
Within a moment's hesitation, Xu Que held two fingers up and conjured a flash of light and shot it towards the bottom of the Emperor and…
"Chi!" The light penetrated the Emperor from the bottom up!
Indeed, there was still no movement, which meant that no Emperor's Energy was released from this corpse!
"Shit, I almost forgot. During the big fight earlier, the Fire Emperor had also used some Emperor's Energy. He probably took it from this Fire Emperor!"
Xu Que then realized this fact. Hence, seeing a body or two without Emperor's Energy was normal!
When Xu Que was done releasing all the Emperor's Energy, he turned around to look at the rest of the spirits and received a shock!
The dozens of spirits seemed to have entered into meditation states. Their eyes were closed as though they were about to break through their cultivation levels!
Xu Que didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. He didn't expect that these spirits would gain from this Emperor's Energy and actually savour it.
However, he ignored them and started looking for the Dragon Veins around the area!
At the same time, in the Imperial Palace...
The Fire Emperor sat atop his destroyed ruins of a palace. The additional cultivation powers which he had temporarily received were starting to diffuse away from him.
Before long, he was back at the Infant Transformation stage but his expression was still monstrous and intimidating.
"Report!" An Imperial Guard ran over to pass the Emperor some news.
"Your majesty, something bad has happened. A person managed to dig his way into the mountains of the Imperial Tombs! And that person named himself as Zhang Qi Ling of the Heavenly Explosion Faction. His nickname is Oil Bottle!"
"Pu!"
As soon as the Fire Emperor heard this, he spat out some blood and his injuries worsened!
Chapter 233: The Disappearing Dragon Veins
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
First, he was beaten up savagely by Xu Que for an entire afternoon. Soon after, he was made to eat shit. After tolerating Xu Que's antics, he was ready to have his revenge but Xu Que had escaped scot free.
Now, news had arrived that his Imperial Tombs had been dug up and it was done by someone from the Heavenly Explosion Faction!
The Fire Emperor had received several crucial setbacks and was further injured with each blow. He didn't even get the chance to recover as more injuries were piled onto him each time!
Dug up the Imperial Tomb?
Heavenly Explosion Faction dared to dig up my ancestor's tombs?
Was this the actions of Xu Que or was it someone sent by Xu Que?
The Fire Emperor's vision went black and he felt himself on the verge of passing out.
He opened his eyes in a fury and glared at the Imperial Guard, gritting his teeth as he spoke, "Did anyone get a look at the appearance of the intruder?"
"This… This humble subject doesn't know. This matter was reported by Moving Mountains Sect. Apparently, they saw it for themselves. Besides, we also could feel that the Imperial Tombs had some movements within!" The Imperial Guard fell to his knees and replied anxiously.
The Fire Emperor was so enraged that he couldn't even speak and killing intent radiated out from his body.
Zi Xuan and Flaming Sun Princess had heard the news as well and hurriedly rushed over.
"Emperor Father, please don't worry about this matter. Anyone who enters our Imperial Tomb wouldn't ever walk out alive! Regardless of whether the person who broke in was Xu Que or not, he wouldn't survive it!" Flaming Sun Princess exclaimed.
Only after hearing this did the Fire Emperor finally calmed down. Several seconds later, he nodded his head, "That's right. Our ancestors built this tomb themselves. It's much easier to enter than to come out of it. After all these years, there had been people who managed to enter but nobody succeeded in coming out!"
"Hence, father Emperor should recuperate and recover. As for the matter of rebuilding the palace, let your daughter handle it!"
"Alright!" The Fire Emperor nodded his head and closed his eyes once more.
The Flaming Sun Princess and Zi Xuan then retreated away from him.
When they reached an adjourning hall, the Flaming Sun Princess then whispered, "Indeed, he's managed to break his way in. Looks like this muddled headed man has finally been resolved!"
Zi Xuan pursed her lips, a look of worry fluttered within her eyes. She was still feeling uneasy and felt that it was highly possible that Xu Que could break out!
All because this Xu Que was full of miracles and surprises!
The news dispatched by Moving Mountains Sect had already made its rounds across the entire Imperial City.
Countless of cultivators and civilians alike were extremely shocked!
"Someone actually broke into the Imperial Tomb?"
"Heavens! The last time someone attempted to break in was a hundred years ago and now we have another intruder?"
"And the person is from Heavenly Explosion Faction! Looks like Xu Que has some help. He was just here in the Imperial City wreaking havoc and someone helped him out by creating more problems within the tombs!"
"So what? Of all the people who had broken in thus far, nobody managed to come out alive!"
"No. According to the rumors, Duan Jiu De managed to break in and even stole the Luminous Grail!"
"That story sounds fake. How can someone like Duan Jiu De break in just for a stupid glowing cup?"
"That's right. Those stories are probably false. Even the Fire Emperor didn't bother about such rumors spreading!"
"The spells within the Imperial Tomb are unbreakable. Even if a Form Synthesis cultivator breaks in, it would be hard for him to come out!"
"It looks like Heavenly Explosion Faction would lose one of their genius disciples then!"
Nobody ever thought that it was possible for Zhang Qi Ling to escape from the Imperial Tomb alive. Still, breaking into the tomb was no small matter and attracted a significant amount of attention throughout the entire city.
Once again, a member of Heavenly Explosion Faction has created a name for himself!
However, this matter was soon forgotten for another important piece of news started making its way around the Imperial City.
"Another nobility is visiting the Fire Nation!"
"I've long heard about it. The Empress of the Water Nation is coming!"
"Yup. It's been said that the final round of recruitment test for Sky Incense Valley's new disciples was to be held here in our Fire Nation. It probably has something to do with fire then!"
"Gosh, I never thought that it would ever be possible for me to see the legendary Water Empress whose beauty was said to be unparalleled!"
"It's been said that this Water Empress had a complex history. She was the leading disciple of Sky Incense Valley and is now the Empress of Water Nation. There are also rumors saying that she's the only daughter of one of the biggest clans in the world!"
"Regardless, these few days would certainly be eventful. Look at how all those Imperial Guards are stepping up once again, looking so stern!"
"The Imperial Palace is being rebuilt as we speak. Looks like Fire Emperor really respects this Water Empress!"
"Haha! It's also been said that the Fire Emperor has lusted after her for a very long time!"
"Shhh... such things cannot be said! Be careful of the words which leave your mouth!"
The entire city was filled with discussions about the Water Empress' impending arrival. The story of Xu Que breaking into the tombs was thus overshadowed!
At this exact moment, Xu Que had already delved further into the depths of the Imperial Tomb.
After he had released the Emperor's Energy from the corpses, Kim Fatty and the other spirits fell into meditation. It was as if those energy was extremely useful and vital to them!
Xu Que didn't interrupt them and allowed them to cultivate while he started making his way onwards!
According to the maps of the Imperial Tomb, the Dragon Veins was directly beneath the tombs.
There were many other powerful spells guarding the entrance towards this passage. Each of these spells was powerful enough to kill off an Infant Transformation staged cultivator and even cultivators of the Void Refining Stage wouldn't dare to mess around with such spells!
It was a pity that for someone like Xu Que who had the system with him, unravelling these spells were only too easy. As he stood before a protective spell, all he had to do was to spend 50 act tough points and it would be broken instantly!
"Ding! A protective spell has been detected ahead of you. Would you like to spend 50 act tough points to break the protective enchantments?"
"Break it!"
"Ding! A protective spell has been detected 300m ahead of you. Would you like to spend 50 act tough points to break the protective enchantments?"
"Break it!"
"Ding! A protective spell has been detected ahead of you. Would you like to spend 50 act tough points to break the protective enchantments?"
"Break it!"
As a local tyrant of the streets, everytime Xu Que met with a hurdle, all he had to do was to spend some points to see it completely dissolve before him. He hardened his heart and set his goal on digging out the Dragon Veins to destroy it. He shall ensure that the Emperor wouldn't have access to Imperial Qi any longer before retrieving the Fire Genesis Herbs!
Indeed, after walking deeper, he had already spent 500 act tough points and broke through ten different protective spells which had prevented him from advancing further.
After passing his tenth protective spell, he arrived before an entire lake of fiery magma!
"Gruuuuu..."
The entire area around him was a natural crater filled with magma which was moving powerfully around the crevice. Xu Que could also feel numerous spells preventing him from getting close.
The heat from the magma was extremely strong and steam filled the crater.
Even before Xu Que could move nearer, he could already sense danger up ahead.
He then frowned and conjured the system, "System, where are the Dragon Veins?"
"Ding! After checking, the system found out that the Dragon Veins had been subjected to heaven defying methods and was placed somewhere beneath this sea of maga. The system can feel the existence of the Dragon Veins but cannot determine the exact location. The system suggests that the host cause sorrow to the existing generations of the Imperial family in order to detect the exact location of the Dragon Veins!"
"Fuck!" Xu Que shouted out in anger.
After going through numerous of hardships and painstakingly arriving at this location, after spending numerous act tough points, he had been tricked. The Dragon Veins had been hidden? Who else could the culprit be? Of course it's all of those old Fire Emperors!
That means at this point, he has to inflict some pain on the Fire Emperor and cause him to feel sorrow in order to detect the location of the Dragon Vein.
"Wait a second. System, are you playing around with me? What the hell is sorrow?"
"Sorrow means to make the subject cry tears of heartache and sadness. Only when a member of the Imperial family feels sorrow within his veins can the Dragon Veins be drawn out. Apart from this, there are no other methods!"
"..." Xu Que was stumped. If the system wanted the Fire Emperor's own veins, that was much easier than getting the Fire Emperor to cry!
No, the Flaming Sun Princess would have to do. But to make that girl cry? Haha! That's going to be a little tough. No, no… I think getting to the shit-eating Fire Emperor would be easier!
Xu Que shook his head and was extremely gloomy. It took him a great deal of effort to be able to finally reach this point within the tombs only to be informed that the Dragon Veins was lost under this sea of magma.
"Eh? Wait, wait. Magma…" All of a sudden, Xu Que thought of something.
His eyes lit up excitedly as his lips curled into a smile.
"Hehe… The Dragon Vein is hidden within the magma, huh? I shall suck this entire lake of magma dry and see how you can remain hidden from me!" Xu Que laughed out coldly as he thought to himself.
"God of Hell's Compulsion, activate!"
Boom!
At that moment, a loud rumble reverberated out from Xu Que's body as his meridians roared.
Soon after, a whoosh sound could be heard as Xu Que activated the God of Hell's Compulsion and jumped right into the fiery magma pit!
Chapter 234: Fire Emperor's Ritual
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Boom!
The sea of magma started exploding in bursts of fire as Xu Que absorbed the entire sea bit by bit.
The magma would occasionally splash onto dry land and melt the rocks around it instantly. Since this was the magma of the Fire Nation, with its source of heat coming from the Dragon Veins, the heat was anything but normal and the temperatures were astounding!
"Fuck!!!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, AH SHI BA!!!"
(T/N: Ahshiba is a korean swear word…..)
As soon as Xu Que leapt in, his scalp started to burn and the heat on his skin was so intense that he was screaming out in pain.
Even with the God of Hell's Compulsion, it was hard to endure the extreme temperatures of the sea of magma!
Whoosh!
Xu Que had equipped himself with the Spirit Visage and the Banshee's Veil to protect himself since he didn't dare to underestimate the powers of this molten magma.
If Xu Que didn't equip himself with these items before jumping in and only relied on the God of Hell's Compulsion, it was inevitable that Xu Que would get boiled alive and face death.
"Boom!"
With his pair of armor around him, he could feel the molten magma repelling away from his body. The temperature around him also fell slightly as he started to feel a bit more relaxed. He even felt... comfortable!
According to most conventional stories, the protagonist of the story would almost certainly roll around in excruciating pain as he was reborn from the flames as his body was tempered by magma.
However, Xu Que was very different from the other conventional protagonists. This kid only enjoyed acting tough and would do everything he can to avoid pain and suffering. With the system and God of Hell's Compulsion, all he had to do was remain in the vicinity of the magma in order to start absorbing it. He certainly wouldn't be willing to subject his body to unnecessary trauma.
Hence, with all his protective gear around him, Xu Que soaked in the warm and comfortable magma and slowly waited for his ability to complete absorbing!
"Ding! The system has detected that the host is nearby a powerful Fire Essence. God of Hell's Compulsion has started absorbing!"
"1%… 2%…3%…"
The numbers which flashed across his eyes moved rapidly. At the same time, Xu Que could also feel the level of magma within this pit starting to decrease.
Wisps of core Fire Essences started swirling around Xu Que as it penetrates his pores and entered his body and meridians. Before long, the fire Essences were coalesced around his dantian!
Such Essences were so powerful that once again, his body could be tempered just by being around it. Additionally, the strength from the Fire Essences could strengthen his meridians and bones!
Ever since the Tribulations in which Xu Que managed to strengthen his body in lightning, he became much stronger. Along with this second time which he showered within the core of the earth, the magma from the Fire Nation's Dragon Veins, his body had become immensely strong. A cracking sound could be heard from his bones as it cracked and repair many times over. Each time, with added Fire Essences within.
The fire spiritual roots within his dantian were being subjected to strengthening as well as they became stronger and started radiating faint light.
"It's so comfortable!"
Xu Que's face was filled with satisfaction as he started swimming around within the molten magma.
The level of magma within the crevice was starting to lessen further!
Several hours later, only one third of the total magma remained and the temperature wasn't as high as before. Most of it had already been converted into Essences and absorbed by the God of Hell's Compulsion!
Xu Que's eyes gleamed as he took off the Banshee's Veil and Spirit Visage.
Indeed, his flesh and body had became strong and sturdy. It was to the extent that he didn't feel a single bit of pain despite the lack of protective armor!
"Looks like to deal with this Fire Emperor, all I need is a single punch to crack him!" Xu Que smiled before he closed his eyes once more, absorbing the remaining core Fire Essences!
Time trickled by gradually…
Several more hours passed before the system notification rang out in Xu Que's mind.
"Ding! Congratulations to host! The God of Hell's Compulsion has been fully absorbed. You've gained new ability to fully control fire elements!
"Ding! After completing its checks, the system has detected that the host's ability, 'Buddha's Fiery Lotus' has been upgraded by another 10%!"
"Eh? Completed?" Xu Que opened his eyes and was somewhat taken aback.
Everytime after the God of Hell's Compulsion had successfully reached completion, he would always gain complete control of the respective element. The last time was electric energy. This time, it was fire. It even added a 10% upgrade to Buddha's Fiery Lotus.
That's to say that his Buddha's Fiery Lotus has already reached 40% proficiency and that he could now control four mystical fires!
"Hahaha! Four colored fiery lotus? Along with the Full Glory Killer Book, I would be able to slaughter the Fire Emperor even with the Imperial Qi as protection, huh?" Xu Que laughed out energetically!
At the next moment however, the smile froze on his face.
He was still within the molten magma, but the God of Hell's Compulsion had already finished its absorption. All the fire Essences around had already been sucked dry but there was still a considerable amount of magma left.
"Fuck me. System, can you suck the remaining magma away? Why don't you loan to me another few thousand act tough points? I wish to buy a sucking device to get all the magma out. What do you think?" Xu Que asked the system.
The system then replied plainly, "It's not advised for you to do so. Once all the magma is being sucked dry, the Dragon Veins would lose its power and nutritional capabilities. This would cause all the Genesis Fire Herbs to wither and die instantly.
"What are you talking about? If the magma was sucked dry, the Genesis Fire Herbs would wither and die? Fuck! Why didn't you say so earlier! What if I accidentally absorbed all of it? Wouldn't that be a huge problem for me?" Xu Que replied, extremely shocked.
"Ding! After careful calculations, the system realized that it was impossible for the God of Hell's Compulsion to absorb all the magma here. Hence, the system didn't notify you!"
"..." Xu Que had no words to say. There was no choice since the system often withheld information from him. What else could he do?
This pushed him to further conviction that he wasn't going to return the 8,000 act tough points which he had borrowed from the system!
He had made up his mind and was determined to do as he had intended!
However, Xu Que had also accepted a fact.
The fact was that he had to run all the way out, catch the dog Emperor and bring him here. He would have to beat the Emperor up until he cried, extract his blood which now contains sorrow and force the Dragon Veins to appear!
"Dog Emperor, I shall beat you till tears roll down your cheeks!" Xu Que cleared his throat as he rose up from the magma and walked towards the tomb entrance.
At the same time, he didn't know this, but there was utter panic going on within the Imperial Palace!
This was because Xu Que had completely sucked the Fire Essences away from the surrounding area of the Dragon Veins. This caused the Imperial Qi to weaken severely since it no longer had Essences to draw. At the same time, the Dragon Veins was unable to replenish the amount of Fire Essences quickly enough. This thus caused the strength of the country to dwindle significantly, causing the Fire Nation to be extremely vulnerable!
Fire Emperor and Flaming Sun Princess, as part of the Imperial Family, with the Imperial blood flowing within their veins could feel this and their faces turned pale!
"How… How could this happen? I can't feel the Imperial Qi any more?"
"Is there a problem with the spell or…"
"No, no, that's not right. This omen meant the collapse of our nation!"
The Fire Emperor's heart trembled in fear, as he resembled a deflated balloon and fell to the ground in despair!
Collapse of the nation? As the most prosperous nation among the five nations, was it finally going to collapse today?
Flaming Sun Princess was in utter disbelief as well. She had no idea why this was happening but something told her that this had something to do with Xu Que entering the Imperial Tomb.
Could it be… that he managed to get through to the Dragon Veins? No, that's impossible. The Dragon Veins had been hidden. There's no way for him to find it!
"Flaming Sun, quickly send someone to perform a ritual. I wish to sacrifice something to the heavens, to the Fire God. My Fire Nation… it cannot collapse like this!"
All of a sudden, the Fire Emperor stood up, his eyes and mouth were wide open in resolve.
When the Flaming Sun Princess heard this, her face fell!
"Emperor father, you… Are you going to... Madam Ya…"
"That's right, there's no other way. We have to sacrifice her to preserve the Fire Nation!"
"But..."
"No buts! Quickly get on with it. The Water Empress is coming to our city tomorrow. We have to appease her and thus have to conduct the ritual now!"
"...Your daughter understands!"
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…"