Chapter 9: The Relics of the Crimson Sun King

He glanced back, still uneasy. The Chicken Tyrant was unleashing its full might—a single rooster driving back an entire swarm of venomous insects. Only then did he cautiously reach out a hand to push the stone door.

Almost at that very moment, a sense of danger swept over him. Reflexively, he twisted his body aside. A shadow flashed before his eyes.

“What was that?”

As he leapt away, he quickly turned his head. There, a bright green little snake flicked its tongue menacingly. Xiao Yang dodged at once, relief flooding his heart at his narrow escape. Judging by its color, this snake was unquestionably lethal.

Whoosh!

It struck again. This time, he was prepared. Grabbing a stone, he hurled it with all his might. The snake’s venom was so potent he dared not touch it barehanded.

Smack!

The snake’s head burst, its life extinguished in an instant. In the next moment, its body melted into a puddle of greenish blood.

“What a deadly little snake,” he murmured. Such a virulent toxin would surely be fatal on contact even for a grand martial master. The greater the peril, the more curious Xiao Yang became about what lay beyond the stone door.

He approached the door once more, far more cautious after his recent lesson. He pressed against it—solid and immovable, weighing at least ten thousand pounds.

“With my current strength, I’ll never push this open. I can only force it.”

With that, Xiao Yang clenched his fist and closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.

In the next instant, he struck out with all his might.

Boom!

His fist landed, followed by nine resounding impacts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

But even so, the stone door barely budged.

“Ninefold Force is nearly useless against inanimate objects; it only unleashes a tenth of its strength,” he muttered, eyeing the shallow imprint of his fist on the stone.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

A sound like footsteps crunching on dry leaves echoed through the corridor. Xiao Yang looked up, his expression changing.

“So many poisonous insects…”

From the distant passageway, a new swarm of multicolored insects approached.

“Chicken Tyrant! Give it your all—another wave is coming!” he shouted to his battling companion.

“Caw-caw-caw!” came the spirited reply.

Before long, a vigorous rooster came charging over. Xiao Yang reached out with his senses.

A wave of delight washed over him.

“Chicken Tyrant, you’ve made a breakthrough.”

At this moment, the rooster’s cultivation had reached the eighth layer of the Little Demon realm. Because the venomous insects absorbed spiritual energy, their flesh had a remarkably nourishing effect. After devouring hundreds, the rooster had been forcibly propelled to the eighth layer.

“Well done! Keep at it—let’s see if you can reach the tenth layer before we leave,” Xiao Yang said with a smile.

His earlier decision had been a wise one—Chicken Tyrant was a perfect counter to the myriad poisonous insects. Centipedes as thick as a thumb were nothing but snacks in its eyes.

With the insect tide held back, Xiao Yang turned his focus once more to the stone door. He sent out a scan.

There was something odd about this door—it didn’t seem like ordinary stone.

Name: Mystic Spirit Stone
Quality: Rare
Description: A commonly used material for artifact forging
Recovery Price: Thirty Thousand

“This can be recycled?” Xiao Yang was surprised.

Without hesitation, he communicated with the system, preparing to sell the door.

“Ding! Recycle Mystic Spirit Stone? Upon successful recovery, you will receive thirty thousand gold credits.”

“Yes, recycle it now—it’s in my way.”

Instantly, the ground trembled; the stone door vanished.

“Damn, that actually worked!”

A windfall—he hadn’t expected the recycling function to be so effective. With the door gone, Xiao Yang peered cautiously into the chamber beyond.

Inside, he immediately spotted a skeletal corpse. A melodramatic thought flashed through his mind.

“Could this be some predecessor’s retreat?”

He muttered under his breath and stepped carefully inside.

After Chicken Tyrant finished off the remaining insects, he too followed in. Before long, they both saw two items lying before the skeleton, with a line of tiny script beside them.

“I am King Chiyang. These are gifts for the fated one.”

King Chiyang?

Xiao Yang’s spirit jolted—he had heard of this man. Decades before, a city had been beset by a beast horde; over a hundred thousand monsters launched a suicide charge. It was King Chiyang who stood alone before the gates, holding back the onslaught and saving tens of thousands of lives.

Xiao Yang bowed deeply to the skeleton.

“Thank you, senior, for your gifts.”

He spoke with sincere respect.

After the beast tide, King Chiyang had vanished. Who would have thought he would meet his end in a place like this?

Of the two items, one was a book, the other a gourd. Xiao Yang picked up the book—it was a Profound-level martial art called Flame Palm.

“Ah…it actually requires inner energy.”

Only those who reached the Martial Master realm possessed inner energy, and Xiao Yang was still a mere martial artist.

“Looks like I’d better advance to Martial Master as soon as possible.”

He spoke softly to himself. If anyone else had heard him, they would have considered him a fool. Was advancement something one could just will into existence?

He couldn’t speak for others, but ever since acquiring his hundred-thousand-fold talent, breakthroughs had become remarkably easy for him—almost effortless.

“Break!”

With a low shout, a muffled sound rumbled within Xiao Yang’s body. Almost immediately, a wisp of inner energy appeared, circulating on its own. Within a single cycle, it had already grown to the size of a ping-pong ball.

Above Xiao Yang’s head, a vortex spun madly, devouring the surrounding spiritual energy.

Chicken Tyrant looked at his master with a touch of fear in his eyes and instinctively edged away.

Outside the Insect Cavern, the two deacons guarding the entrance opened their eyes at the same moment.

“Damn it, why has the spiritual energy become so thin?”

“I know, right? I was just cultivating when I suddenly couldn’t sense any spiritual energy. I had to stop.”

It was clear neither had any idea what was happening.

Back inside, Xiao Yang also noticed the spiritual energy had vanished.

“Where’d the spiritual energy go?”

He muttered to himself. The Insect Cavern was known for its density of spiritual energy, rivaling the best cultivation peaks. Yet, with a single breath, he had drained it dry.

His cultivation had to continue, so he looked for alternatives.

“I can buy Spirit Gathering Pills for cultivation.”

Fortunately, he had just sold the stone door for thirty thousand credits; otherwise, he couldn’t have afforded them.

Name: Spirit Gathering Pill
Grade: High Yellow
Effect: Contains abundant spiritual energy, ideal for cultivation
Price: 1,000 credits each

“One thousand per pill!”

After a moment’s thought, Xiao Yang realized he would need more than most; his appetite was considerable.

“A normal person would need just one; I’ll start with three.”

He thought three would suffice, but soon discovered he had overestimated.

His inner energy grew, but still hadn’t reached its limit.

“Buy ten more Spirit Gathering Pills.”

He continued his cultivation, but even that wasn’t enough.

“Again!”

After consuming thirteen more, Xiao Yang finally felt saturated. His inner energy had grown to the size of a basketball.

“Shouldn’t inner energy be like a mighty river? Why is mine so small?”

If anyone else heard him, they’d want to throttle him—for his standards were those of a Marquis, not a mere Martial Master. He was a whole great realm short.