Chapter 194: Chapter 168: All Arrive
The eeriness of the ancient tomb was unknown to everyone outside.
Everyone was brimming with excitement for the day they would explore the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just as noisy clamor surrounded the Demon Burial Abyss, the first Sect qualified to enter the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb finally arrived above the void of the Demon Burial Abyss.
"The sixth-ranked great Sect of the Northern Region, Cloud Soaring Sect, has arrived!"
Countless people gathered around the Demon Burial Abyss turned their gazes towards the Cloud Soaring Sect.
Leading the Cloud Soaring Sect was its strongest member, Daoist Wu Xuan, who was in the mid-stage of the Rotating Pill Realm. Following behind him were thirty to forty members of Cloud Soaring Sect, among whom ten were Spirit Sea Realm disciples, each with excitement shining in their eyes.
These ten were precisely the ones the Cloud Soaring Sect would send into the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb!
Not long after the arrival of the Cloud Soaring Sect, one after another, teams started to arrive—the sixth-ranked great Sect "Beast Control Sect," the seventh-ranked great Sect "Snow Blade Gate," the seventh-ranked great Sect "Heavenly Fragrance Valley," and so on, all came to the skies above the Demon Burial Abyss.
When there was but an hour left before the final moment to enter the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb, the space above the Demon Burial Abyss was densely packed with teams from various Sects.
Especially when the fifth-ranked great Sect "Cloud Sky Sect" arrived, the entire void boiled over!
The thirty members that Cloud Sky Sect would send into the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb were too formidable, with eighteen half-step Rotating Pill powerhouses and twelve late-stage Spirit Sea Realm powerhouses. This force alone was stronger than many Sects in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom!
"A fifth-ranked great Sect is indeed worthy of its reputation!"
"Such a force entering the ancient tomb, other Sects will have difficulty competing with them. Probably only the other two fifth-ranked Sects can contend with them to some extent."
"Most of the Heavenly Saint Relics will likely fall into the hands of the three great fifth-ranked Sects!"
Amidst the discussions of the crowd, another fifth-ranked great Sect, "Fire Flame Sect," also arrived.
"Haha, Daoist Brother Yun Yang and Daoist Brother Yun Fang, you two have arrived quite early!"
Upon the arrival of the Fire Flame Sect, their strongest member Daoist Chi Mei greeted the two late-stage Rotating Pill powerhouses of the Cloud Sky Sect with a laugh.
"Seeing how confident Brother Chi Mei appears, it seems you're quite assured about obtaining the Heavenly Saint Relics!" Daoist Yun Yang smiled and nodded to Daoist Chi Mei while looking over at the Fire Flame Sect's team.
Upon noticing that the person standing at the forefront of the Fire Flame Sect was not a half-step Rotating Pill practitioner but a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth in a fire-robed Daoist garment, Daoist Yun Yang's brows furrowed slightly.
He sensed an extraordinary true fire power within the boy!
"I had heard that Chi Mei has taken in a talented personal disciple skilled in fire-based techniques, supposedly called 'Liu Yan.' Could it be this young man?"
"True fire power is a force that touches upon the heavenly grade. I wonder which true fire technique he is cultivating?"
After muttering to himself for a moment, Daoist Yun Yang transmitted a warning to the disciples in his team who were about to enter the ancient tomb.
Clearly, he was instructing his Sect's disciples to be wary of Liu Yan.
Meanwhile, Fire Flame Sect's youth in the fire robe, "Liu Yan," also cast his gaze towards the Cloud Sky Sect's team, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.
Just as the two fifth-ranked Sects were gauging each other's strength, Ye Chen, Jiang Yao, and others finally arrived above the Demon Burial Abyss, led by Fairy Jia Luo.
"The Demon Burial Abyss, it's said to be a gigantic abyss formed by the remnants left behind from a great battle of Heavenly Saint powerhouses!"
Ye Chen stood in the midst of the team, high up in the sky, looking at the Demon Burial Abyss.
Upon seeing the abyss that stretched hundreds of miles in length and was a massive seven or eight miles wide, he couldn't help but exclaim at its enormity.
He had already heard about several great deeds of the Heavenly Saints!
This immense Demon Burial Abyss, split open by two grand Heavenly Saints, was one such deed; another was the peerless Heavenly Saint hermit who drove the ten great demon Sects out of the Southern Territory and carved out Heavenly Demon Gorge across the sky, spanning thousands of miles and separating the Southern Territory from the Western Wilds Territory.
The strength of the Heavenly Saints was beyond Ye Chen's imagination!
It was enough to alter the entire continent's landscape!
"We're about to enter the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb. I really don't know what this tomb, where such immensely powerful Heavenly Saint powerhouses are buried, will be like."
Ye Chen felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
"Jia Luo!"
"Jia Luo, you've arrived as well!"
The arrival of the Taixuan Sect made the powerhouses in the sky come over to Fairy Jia Luo.
Fairy Jia Luo was one of the six grand powerhouses of the entire Heavenly Wind Kingdom, so naturally, she was given great attention by everyone!
However, Ye Chen and the other disciples of the Taixuan Sect, under the brilliance of the fifth-ranked great Sect's disciples, went mostly unnoticed.
The most was the incomparably beautiful Jiang Yao, who made many sect disciples unable to stop sizing her up, as well as Jin Lieyang who was only half a step into the Rotating Pill Realm, drawing the attention of several people.
Ye Chen, who was only at the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm, did not attract any attention at all. Even if someone's gaze swept over him, they thought he was just a Taixuan Sect disciple who had followed to watch the excitement, and no one expected him to be sent into the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb.
Ye Chen's reputation was well-known within the Taixuan Sect and known to many in the eastern region of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, but within the entire Heavenly Wind Kingdom, there were few who knew of him.
Unnoticed, Ye Chen was of course happy to be at ease. After entering the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb, there would be competition for the Heavenly Saint Relics; being targeted was definitely not a good thing.
Ye Chen merely smiled faintly as he surveyed the Demon Burial Abyss, sizing up the teams from various sects.
"Haha, everyone has indeed arrived very punctually!"
As the stalwarts of various sects conversed with one another, another hearty laugh echoed from the sky.
The crowd looked up toward the direction of the sound and saw an old man with withered clothes and white hair, holding an ancient sword and a large wine gourd, laughing heartily as he emerged from the void.
Daoist Wine Sword!
This was none other than Daoist Wine Sword, one of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom's five great Rotating Pill Realm late stage powerhouses!
Following behind Daoist Wine Sword were thirty figures with surging and vigorous true qi, who were evidently the thirty scattered cultivators recruited by Daoist Wine Sword to explore the tomb!
These thirty, in terms of strength, were not much weaker than the Cloud Sky Sect, with as many as sixteen of them being half-step Rotating Pill powerhouses!
After Daoist Wine Sword arrived at the Demon Burial Abyss, he nodded in greeting to the various strong practitioners. When his gaze swept across the sky and fell on Ye Chen, who was among the Taixuan Sect team, he could not help but let out a light exclamation of surprise.
"Ye Chen, my friend, I didn't expect that in just over two months, you would have stepped into the Spirit Sea Realm!"
The divine consciousness voice transmission from Daoist Wine Sword directly reached Ye Chen's ears.
Others might not know how formidable Ye Chen was, but as a strong practitioner who had observed the Taixuan Sect's true disciple selection convention and even invited Ye Chen to participate in the Spirit Sea Realm sword-fighting convention, Daoist Wine Sword naturally had an extremely deep impression of Ye Chen's strength.
"Elder Wine Sword!" Ye Chen replied with a light smile, greeting Daoist Wine Sword with a voice transmission of divine consciousness.
"Impressive, having truly advanced to the Spirit Sea Realm in just over two months. It seems that this time, you are to be sent by the Jia Luo Faction into the ancient tomb!" Daoist Wine Sword, hearing Ye Chen's voice transmission, nodded with a smile, "My friend Ye Chen, although I have great faith in your strength, you must still be careful after entering the tomb.
The Heavenly Saint Relics are not so easily seized, and you must be especially wary of other sect disciples and even these scattered cultivators I have brought with me!"
"Murder and robbery over the Heavenly Saint Relics will not be rare!"
Daoist Wine Sword even took the time to warn Ye Chen through voice transmission.
Ye Chen smiled faintly, "Thank you, elder, for the advice. I will be careful."
Seeing the smile on Ye Chen's face, Daoist Wine Sword felt a stir in his heart and then laughed heartily through voice transmission, "It seems I have worried too much. My friend, you must have several tricks up your sleeve to dare to venture into this tomb!"
"Good, good! After entering the tomb, there's no need for formalities. If there are relics, of course, you should compete for them. The Heavenly Saint Relics, ah! If it wasn't for Rotating Pill Realm practitioners being unable to enter, I would be eager to venture deep inside myself!"
"My friend Ye Chen, you also need not worry about my face. Among these scattered cultivators I've brought, not a few have hands stained with fresh blood. I am involved with them only due to the business of the tomb's relics. If they cause you trouble, feel free to fight them if you can!"
"Understood," Ye Chen said with a smile.
Their exchanges of divine consciousness went unnoticed by others. If the other sect disciples and scattered cultivators knew that Daoist Wine Sword, one of the top five Rotating Pill Realm late-stage powerhouses in the entire Heavenly Wind Kingdom, was giving such careful instructions to a mere early Spirit Sea Realm disciple, they all would be profoundly shocked!
No one about to enter the tomb would dare to underestimate Ye Chen anymore!
When the last team, from the third-ranking fifth-grader "Moon Concealing Sect," also arrived, the outside of the Demon Burial Abyss reached its peak of excitement.
On one hand, all the personnel who would be entering the tomb had arrived, and on the other, the Moon Concealing Sect's team simply drew unparalleled attention!
The Moon Concealing Sect, a great fifth-grade sect that accepted only female disciples, had brought female disciples this time, each one beautiful and enchanting!
With practitioners possessing the technique to maintain youth and with the nourishment of heaven and earth treasures, these female disciples were each curvaceous and buxom, with petite waists. One coming alone might not cause too much astonishment, but a large group of such female disciples arriving together seemed to bring a waft of fragrance through the air.
The multitude of sect disciples at the Demon Burial Abyss were all fired up with passion.
When the leaders of several major sects saw Fairy Ni Xia of the Moon Concealing Sect accompanied by a palace-dressed woman, many were stopped in their tracks.
"Fairy Nishang!"
They recognized the woman beside Fairy Ni Xia. This woman had once traveled all over the Heavenly Wind Kingdom with Fairy Ni Xia, lauded as one of the mighty figures known as the 'Moon Concealing Twins.'
After Fairy Nishang failed to break through to the Rotating Pill Realm, she gradually vanished from the field of vision of the strong practitioners of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.
And now, for this tomb exploration, Fairy Nishang had come out of seclusion?!
Having been a half-step Rotating Pill powerhouse for two to three hundred years, her strength, although somewhat inferior compared to true Rotating Pill practitioners due to her failed attempt at the realm, could be said to be virtually unbeatable among those in the Spirit Sea Realm!
After all, Fairy Nishang was a peer of Fairy Ni Xia!
For a moment, even Daoist Chi Mei furrowed his brows and began to warn his most prized disciple, Liu Yan.
Countless gazes fell upon her, but the palace-dressed Fairy Nishang remained unmoved in expression, her eyes only on the dark chasm of the Demon Burial Abyss, as she awaited the commencement of entering the Heavenly Saint Ancient Tomb.