Chapter 75 - 75 72 The Peculiar Stone Slab

75: Chapter 72: The Peculiar Stone Slab 75: Chapter 72: The Peculiar Stone Slab “I’m finally saved.” Ye Xuan’s head emerged from the water, and as he watched the tide of ants gradually recede from the shore, he finally relaxed, thankful that the Bloodthirsty Demon Ants feared water; otherwise, this would have been dangerous. Having escaped the threat of the Bloodthirsty Demon Ants, Ye Xuan then swam towards the other side of the lake. The lake, about ten miles in circumference, wasn’t particularly large, but swimming across it would still take some time. The lake water was exceptionally cold as if a strong chill continuously surged up from the lakebed. This feeling intensified as Ye Xuan drew closer to the center of the lake. Feeling something strange, Ye Xuan quickly circulated his True Qi to resist the chill, then sped up his swimming pace, hoping not to get frozen in the lake before he even got out. Gulp gulp… At this moment, bubbles suddenly emerged around Ye Xuan as if the water was boiling, and a huge shadow, nearly a hundred feet in size, gradually appeared in the water around him. The piercing cold struck from below. “Not good, what kind of monster is this?” Ye Xuan noticed the shadow appearing on the surface of the water, his complexion changed, and in that instant, he felt a violent surge of water from below, startling him. He immediately kicked the Two-headed Demon Tiger he was sitting on and burst from the water with a leap. Splash! A tremendous splash arose, followed by Ye Xuan breaking the surface, was a massive, menacing fish mouth filled with two rows of sharp, gleaming teeth, seemingly capable of easily tearing through a Martial Artist’s Protective True Qi and shredding a person’s body into pieces. “What a huge demon fish, with such a vigorous degree of demonic power, it must have reached the late Second Rank by now.” Seeing the gigantic, ferocious fish emerge, Ye Xuan’s expression rapidly changed, but a flicker of excitement also passed through his eyes. This demon fish seemed no simple creature, but if he could defeat this Demon Beast, fifty Demon Beast Points would be his. This demon fish, among the late Second Rank Demon Beasts, should be one of the weaker ones. With just a large body, this type of cumbersome beast was actually easier to deal with. Thump thump! Making a snap decision, Ye Xuan stomped twice on the tiger’s back and, using that force, drew out his Star-cutting Saber. His body shot straight downward, and with a fierce slash, he directly sliced into the gaping maw of the demon fish, chopping off a tooth that resembled a saw. Ow ow ow… A bestial howl emitted from the fish’s mouth as its huge body re-entered the water, causing a massive wave. “Strike!” Ye Xuan, his momentum unbroken, held his saber with both hands, putting all his strength into a fierce slash. The blade’s light appeared and split the water below him, creating a brief vacuum slash mark, exposing the huge fish’s body once again. His left hand, already prepared, struck with a palm. This palm, the third form of the Heavenly Water Palm Skill, Cloud Sea Waves, crashed down like a surging ocean, fierce and powerful, striking the head of the demon fish. This powerful, heavy palm, now unimpeded by water flow or any defenses, penetrated with the vigorous force of water, dazing the demon fish as its huge body rapidly sank towards the lakebed. Ye Xuan stabbed his saber into the spaces between the hard fish scales. As the demon fish’s body sank towards the bottom of the lake, the pressure of the water increased, exerting force from all directions. The depth of the lakebed was far beyond expectation, sinking hundreds of meters deep without reaching the bottom. Ye Xuan’s surrounding True Qi, under this deep water pressure, already seemed overwhelmed. Ye Xuan pulled out his Star-cutting Saber, quickly swam towards the belly of the demon fish, then with a fully charged stroke, he fiercely stabbed in, creating an opening. The demon fish, pained, let out a low growl and then its body wildly thrashed, attempting to shake Ye Xuan from its belly. However, Ye Xuan clung to the demon fish’s belly like glue, slashing several times in succession, quickly enlarging the opening. At that moment, Ye Xuan saw a green inner core, embedded in flesh, the intense smell of blood dyeing a large area of the lake water red, spreading rapidly. Sensing the crisis, the giant demon fish became even more frantic, violently moving its body, and then it charged toward a dark mountain at the bottom of the lake. Ye Xuan’s expression changed; with swift hands, he reached out like lightning and forcibly snatched the inner core from the flesh. Having lost its inner core, the eyes of the demon fish rapidly dimmed and its gigantic body completely weakened, stopping just before colliding with the dark mountain, plummeting toward the lakebed. “That was close.” Ye Xuan felt a chill, knowing that if the demon fish had collided with the mountain, he would likely have been seriously injured. Fortunately, he had extracted the inner core beforehand, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. As his body followed the corpse of the demon fish gradually descending to the dark lakebed, Ye Xuan felt the Protective True Qi around him was about to completely shatter; relying on his Secret Silver Armor, he was just able to withstand the powerful water pressure, otherwise, he would have likely suffocated by now. “I can’t go any lower.” Ye Xuan drew his Star-cutting Saber, prepared to return to the lake’s surface. Just as he was planning this, from within the belly of the demon fish, a square slab covered in green liquid floated out, about half a meter in length and width, slightly damaged. “Hmm? There’s something else inside this fish’s belly?” A suction force emitting from his palm drew the slab to him. Ye Xuan took it into his hands and cleaned it off, revealing faint ancient words etched onto the stone. “Nine peaks in a chain, Panlong Abyss, Sword Sect Ying Xuan, in Hidden Weapon Mountain.” Ye Xuan read the characters on the stone one by one as a glint of light flashed in his eyes. The meaning of the phrase was straightforward; “Nine peaks in a chain, Panlong Abyss” likely described the terrain, and the location should be deep within the Panlong Mountains. As for the last two phrases, “Sword Sect Ying Xuan” must refer to a person named Ying Xuan, with “Sword Sect” as his title. What intrigued Ye Xuan the most were the last four words, “in Hidden Weapon Mountain,” indicating that this Sword Sect Ying Xuan had hidden his weapon in the locations described by the first two phrases. Of course, this was Ye Xuan’s understanding; it was hard to say if there were any discrepancies, but generally, that should be the meaning. As he swam toward the lake’s surface, thoughts heatedly brewed in Ye Xuan’s mind. Although these four phrases were simple, they clearly conveyed significant information. Sword Sect Ying Xuan, although Ye Xuan had never heard of him, anyone ordained as a Sword Sect would definitely not be an ordinary character, certainly not just a regular Martial Sect Master. “After the trial ends, it might be worth exploring according to these four lines.” Ye Xuan’s gaze slightly sharpened; he then stored the stone slab inside his Qiankun Ring. If the words on the stone slab were true, this would indeed be an unexpected gain. S~eaʀᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Currently, during the trial period, he naturally had no time to explore, especially since the location indicated was in the deepest part of the Panlong Mountains, a place rumored to house Third Rank transformative demon beasts, not a place one could easily trespass. Returning to the lake’s surface, Ye Xuan and the Two-headed Demon Tiger quickly swam to the shore; spending a long time in the water was not pleasant. Ye Xuan changed into a clean set of clothes he took out from his Qiankun Ring, set up a campfire on the shore, took out the meat he had previously cut from the demon beast to roast, and simultaneously dried his clothes. He also built a simple wooden shelter; tonight, he would rest here by the lake. Sending the Two-headed Demon Tiger out to stand guard, Ye Xuan then lay down on the prepared dry grass, gazing up at the starry sky, his thoughts gradually blossoming. The Hundred Tribes Trial lasted for fifteen days and only one day had passed so far. Yet, this day had been quite fruitful for Ye Xuan, earning him sixty Demon Beast Points, and he was not far from reaching a hundred points. Although he was short on golden seals, adding the one he had taken from Xie Cangsheng, he only had two golden seals, needing to put in more effort to gather the thirty required. In this trial arena, there were no friends, only rivals, unless they were from the same clan and could be absolutely relied upon. Otherwise, any relationship was temporary. Only eight slots were available for the ultimate showdown, which meant most would be excluded. And no one would willingly accept being left out. The trial had just begun, and intense conflicts could not yet be seen, but every trialist likely had something to gain. They would possess both golden seals and demon beast cores on them. Hence, directly plundering the Princely Heir was much more convenient than hunting demon beasts. The severity of combat among the trialists would only escalate. As for those who had their golden seals taken, they would naturally fight desperately to recover them, and those holding golden seals would fiercely defend them, constantly striving to acquire more to gather the thirty required. This brutal trial was just beginning.