Chapter 83: Heading Underground

In the Ye Castle main hall.

"Little Chen, do you really want to go? When will you be back?" Ye Changxuan asked. Ye Chen had suddenly mentioned that he wanted to leave Ye Castle to visit a senior, which reminded him of Mingyuan from before. Could the person Ye Chen wanted to visit be Mingyuan's master?

"It's too messy outside. The Lianyun Mountains aren't peaceful now. It's better to wait for a while," Ye Zhantian advised. He was worried that Ye Chen would be in danger.

"Father, Grandpa, don't worry. Even if I encounter trouble I can't beat, I'll still be able to run away." Ye Chen laughed. "I still have Little Tanuki."

If Ye Chen said that he wanted to go to the Sunken Jade Tower, the elders in the clan would definitely be worried, so he could only come with an excuse and said he was going to visit a senior.

Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian pondered before relaxing. Little Chen's strength was much higher than theirs now. Even if he had encountered a beginner Tenth Level combatant, he had the power to protect himself. Besides, as Ye Chen mentioned, Little Tanuki was a Tenth Level Celestial Beast. When Ye Chen let Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian experience Little Tanuki's illusion, they had been shocked by its power. With Little Tanuki's help, it was impossible for ordinary people to hurt Ye Chen. With these thoughts, they finally agreed.

"Little Chen, bring Fluffy One and Fluffy Two with you too," Ye Changxuan said.

Ye Chen shook his head. "The Lianyun Mountains have been somewhat chaotic recently. It's better to let Fluffy One and Fluffy Two stay and protect Ye Castle." He then laughed. "Grandpa, don't forget. Even if I encounter a Ninth Level mystical beast, I can still catch one more! At that time, Ye Castle won't just have Fluffy One and Fluffy Two. There'll be Fluffy Three too!"

Hearing Ye Chen's words, Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian could not stop laughing. Ninth Level mystical beasts were not creatures that could be caught easily but on second thought, what seemed impossible became possible when it came to Ye Chen. Their hearts could not help but warmed up when they heard that Ye Chen still wanted to catch another Ninth Level mystical beast.

After packing his luggage, Ye Chen fed Fluffy One and Fluffy Two a Spirit Pill each and prepared to leave.

Hearing that Ye Chen was about to leave, Ye Meng and the others came to see him off.

"Brother Ye Chen, take me with you." Ye Rou looked at Ye Chen worriedly. Her mind was more meticulous than Ye Changxuan and the others, and she had guessed that Ye Chen was not leaving to visit any seniors.

Ye Chen flicked Ye Rou's pretty nose and smiled. "Be good and stay in Ye Castle. I'll be back in a month or two at most." There might be many dangers along the way to the Sunken Jade Tower. How could he bring Ye Rou along?

Seeing Ye Chen's firm attitude, Ye Rou could not help but become sad. She knew that Ye Chen's decision could not be changed.

Ye Rou's gaze fell on Little Tanuki on Ye Chen's shoulder. Her dainty hand reached out to rub Little Tanuki's head. "Little Tanuki, take good care of Brother Ye Chen for me."

Seeing Ye Rou's dejected look, Ye Chen also felt his heartstrings tug. If he did not go now, he might lose his determination to leave.

Ye Chen said goodbye to all the elders and Ye Meng and the others, and headed for the Lianyun Mountains.

He circled in the Lianyun Mountains and used his Astral Body to confirm that no one had followed him before leaping toward the mine behind Ye Castle. Little Tanuki cast an illusion that allowed him to avoid the line of sight of the workers in the mine. He then quietly entered the cave that was formed by exploding gunpowder.

Looking into the dark cave, there was no end in sight. One could only vaguely feel the fluctuation of cold Celestial Chi coming from the depths of the cave.

Ye Chen began to head into the cave. After walking for a quarter of an hour, he gradually went underground. Ye Chen realized that this cave could be described as extending in all directions with branches everywhere, just like the veins of a human body.

"This place is just like a maze. How am I supposed to navigate?" Ye Chen murmured.

Little Tanuki suddenly jumped off Ye Chen's shoulders and waved its little paw, squeaking. Then, it dashed forward.

"Does Little Tanuki know the way?" Ye Chen pondered before quickly following it.

They traveled swiftly in darkness. With his Astral Body, Ye Chen would not trip no matter how dark it was. He ran freely and with the passage of time, Ye Chen felt that he was getting further away from the surface. He should have reached deep below the Lianyun Mountains.

A noise echoed from the darkness ahead, and small lights started to flicker.

Ye Chen hurriedly used his Astral Body to tell Little Tanuki to slow down.

"We've been at this godforsaken place for more than three hours. Why does it seem like we're back at where we first started?"

"I remember seeing this place before. This time, we'll go this way!" another voice said.

A few voices traveled indistinctly.

Ye Chen and Little Tanuki slowed down and followed behind them.

"Little Tanuki, is this the right way?" Ye Chen looked at Little Tanuki after they had passed a few forks.

Little Tanuki shook its head, also slightly at a loss. It had chased after the breaths of humans and thought that they would find the right way by following behind these people. It did not think that they would also be wandering around like headless flies.

"This place is like a human's veins." Ye Chen used his Astral Body to sweep the passageways and thought to himself. As he usually cultivated Celestial Chi, he knew the veins in the human body like the back of his hand. He wondered who had made these passageways for it to be so similar to the veins in the human body. Perhaps it was modeled from the human body?

Wait. Ye Chen suddenly thought of something and took out the drawing he had obtained from Yun Castle. This drawing was extremely old. Could it be a map of this Sunken Jade Tower?

Ye Chen looked at the map and recalled the route he took along the way, and could not help but rejoice. This map was indeed the map for the Sunken Jade Tower. Tracing along the map, he found his position. An ordinary person would not know their own position, so the map would be useless even if they possessed it. However, Ye Chen had the help of his Astral Body which could penetrate rocks and other materials to observe the surrounding terrain, which made it easier for him to determine his location.

The few men who spoke earlier were walking in the right direction. Ye Chen followed closely and looked at the map. There should be a relatively open area ahead.

A loud roar suddenly sounded from ahead, and the Celestial Chi in the cave went rampant.

"It's Demon Wolves, be careful!"

There should be a fierce battle ahead. No one knew how the situation would develop.

Ye Chen pondered. It was just some Demon Wolves. What was so scary about that? As Ye Chen had his Astral Body, he had much less fear toward mystical beasts.

Ye Chen walked forward and came to a large clearing. The bloody scene let Ye Chen's brows narrow. There were more than twenty people in this open area, all Ninth Level combatants and above, and there were two to three hundred Demon Wolves. Ye Chen observed and found that there were thirty or so Ninth Level wolves while the rest were Eighth Level. They were all surrounding and attacking humans.

These twenty or so people were most likely not from the same group. There were around five or six people in a group, and they were each fighting their own battles.