Chapter 853: Visiting the Dragon Scale City

"It seems to be..."

Looking at the left front, Zhang Han suddenly became serious and reached out with his right hand.

Whiz!

A martial artist in armor was caught in the air.

Just as Dong Chen had said, their skin was kind of dark. The colors of their pupils and eyeballs were exactly the opposite of normal people. Their pupils were white, and the rest of their eyes were black.

Zhang Han looked him up and down, and his pupils contracted.

"Dark Warriors!

Gosh, the Dark Shadow Clan actually exists here, doesn't it?"

In an instant, Zhang Han felt a chill down his spine.

The Dark Shadow Clan was a highly prosperous tribe in the Cultivation World. That specifically referred to the members of the Dark Shadow Clan who lived on the Saint Warrior Planet.

They were like the chosen ones on the Saint Warrior Planet. Their cultivation speed was staggeringly fast, and they had all kinds of magical skills. All the members of that clan practiced martial arts, and their moves were usually difficult to deal with.

The Dark Shadow Clan had fostered many first-class combatants. So far, Zhang Han had already met two cultivators at the tribulation phase from the Dark Shadow Clan.

He had also battled with them each at a time. Of the two battles, he lost one and drew one.

"Now it's getting interesting."

Zhang Han slightly narrowed his eyes.

It really took him by surprise.

The Dark Shadow Clan had been living in the Ancient Mine, unable to go up to the surface of the ground as if they were being suppressed by some old enchantment. But what about the secular world? The Spiritual Qi there was draining. Though worldlet still had plenty, the resources were scarce. But as there were plenty of resources in the Ancient Mine, despite the lack of Spiritual Qi there, the martial artists in the secular world now had to frequently go down to the Ancient Mine to fight for resources and opportunities.

"Why do I sense that he did it on purpose?"

"Yue Wuwei?"

Zhang Han frowned and felt that there were some big secrets about the Saint Warrior Planet.

However, as a large clan in the universe, the strength of the Dark Shadow Clan was indeed way more impressive than what Zhan Han had seen.

"It seems that only a small part of the Dark Shadow Clan's population is here."

Zhang Han had made some speculations regarding their strength. He guessed that that City Lord was half step away from the Elixir Realm or much stronger than those who were at the Heaven Peak Stage.

There was only one possibility—they had been suppressed by a certain enchantment.

Otherwise, the cultivator-friendly environment on the Saint Warrior Planet would have allowed them to quickly cultivate to the Yuan Ying Stage.

"Looks like the scouts of Dragon Scale City who are at the Grand Master Middle-stage."

Dong Chen shook his head and said, "Just kill them. Between us and the Dark Warriors, there has been no peace since ancient times. Over the years, countless martial artists from the worldlet and the secular world have died here."

He meant to tell the three guys entering the ancient mine for the first time that this was a cold-blooded world.

"Not only do we have to guard against them, but we also have to look out for the warriors of the worldlet. Because this world is the same as the one we live in. Maybe there are people from the Wind Snow School in the Hidden Dragon Land."

"Ahla..."

The Dark Warrior in front of Zhang Han was a little flustered at first, but then he calmed down. As if he was not afraid of death, he put on a faint sneer and mumbled something.

"Huh?"

Dong Chen furrowed his brows. When he was about to make a move, something happened that made his countenance suddenly alter.

"Landu..."

"Hiss!"

Mu Xue, Chen Changqing, and Dong Chen were all dumbstruck as they looked at Zhang Han, who started speaking next to them.

"He actually knows the language of the Dark Warriors, doesn't he?"

"Are you kidding me?"

But it was his first time going into the Ancient Mine!

Dong Chen swallowed and found it absurd.

"Lou... Manman..."

Under the gaze of the other three people, Zhang Han communicated with the other party for a while and then clenched his right hand.

Crack!

The Dark Warrior was instantly burned by a ball of flame, who then turned into wisps of light and zoomed into Zhang Han's palm.

"You, you actually know the language of the Dark Warriors?"

Dong Chen was immersed in shock for a long while before he asked, "Where did you learn it?"

"Over so many years, haven't you studied their language yet?" Zhang Han looked at Dong Chen, as though he was the one being weird here.

On Earth, there were more than 5,000 languages, all of which had been thoroughly studied. They had fought against the Dark Shadow Clan for so many years. But why hadn't they considered learning their language all this time?

"Er..." Dong Chen smiled awkwardly and said, "Who says we haven't? Many people know some basic words, and Third Elder also understands some. It's just that he spoke so fast and didn't break for once, so I didn't quite get him. However, how could you know their language on your first trip to the Ancient Mine?"

"Humph, you don't understand how powerful my master is." Mu Xue snorted.

"My master is the Devil King."

"There are very few people who can communicate with them so smoothly. Han, do you really speak their language?" Dong Chen suddenly became a little suspicious. "What did you just say to each other?"

Zhang Han shook his head helplessly.

"I asked him about the strength of the lord of the Dragon Scale City. He said he was a True God. Then, I asked him how many treasures there were in Dragon Scale City. He said there were a lot, but we wouldn't be able to get in at all. I also asked him what he was going to do. He answered that he was going to Lingxi City for a meeting, and he wanted to have a quick death if we had to kill him. So..."

So, Zhang Han cut the crap and wasted no time taking his life.

"Han," Dong Chen suddenly said sternly, "though some people can speak the language of Dark Warriors, they wouldn't find it so easy to learn their knowledge, for those people have kept it well to themselves. Besides, though we have been fighting with each other, we don't need to exchange messages very much. Thus, over the years, few people have bothered to study their language. But since you speak it, why don't you teach the Heavenly Knights Sect that language? Heavenly Knights Sect was founded by your grandfather. As his grandson, you also gotta make some contributions, right?"

"You've made such a good point that I can't refute it."

Zhang Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He then remarked, "About giving lessons, I think I'll pass. I don't have time to go to the Heavenly Knights Sect. But when I go back to Xiangjiang, I'll write everything about that language in a jade slip, and you can take it and learn the language yourselves. In fact, their language is quite easy to learn."

"That's settled then." Dong Chen smiled.

There was something odd about the way he looked at Zhang Han.

It was as if he was looking at a precious treasure.

Zhang Han felt that this old guy might want to gain more benefits from him.

"Let's get going, go to the Dragon Scale City and check that place out," Zhang Han said.

Therefore, the group continued to travel forward again. When they were crossing a big river, they saw a lot of fish in the river. Perhaps out of fear of Dong Chen's aura at the Heaven Peak Stage, they didn't dare to move a bit.

Along the way, there were also some forests and peaks. The environment was picturesque, but the Spiritual Qi was thin.

Dong Chen also told them that in the Ancient Mine, one's recovery of strength was slow, so they had no choice but to rely on elixirs. When they used up almost all of their energy, they would have to go back to recover it.

"The city in front of us is our destination. It's tall and majestic. If we got too close to it, we would get caught. The lord of the Dragon Scale City is a tough man. He came here 300 years ago to preside over the city. Before that, the city was called Hongshan City. The City Lord seemed to have gone to the depths of the Ancient Mine. I suspect that it's a high-end place for Dark Warriors," Dong Chen said slowly.

"Oh my, what a huge city!" Chen Changqing cried in shock.

In the distance ahead, the city wall that was hundreds of meters high could be seen. At a glance, one would feel that the area of the city was more than thousands of square kilometers. It seemed like a metropolis in the secular world.

"The Dragon Scale City is approximately three thousand square kilometers in size. Its population is not as large as that of ordinary cities in the secular world. Even so, the number of martial artists there far exceeds that in our world. As for what's inside, we don't know. As to whether the citizens are all martial artists, or just a part of them are martial artists, or how many martial artists there are, we have no idea. Because no one has ever managed to get in. In the territory of the city, there is no way to fly as we use to do. Someone tried to fly on the edge, but Si Nan, the lord of the Dragon Scale City, threw him a punch and killed him. Anyway, only Dark Warriors can enter Dragon Scale City. There is a very high-level restriction formation at the gate."

Dong Chen sighed softly.

In fact, they also wanted to enter the city to have a look, but the restriction formation was like an insurmountable mountain barring their way.

"Doesn't that mean that the Dragon Scale City is invincible in battles? Have any of their cities been destroyed before?" Chen Changqing asked curiously.

"Yes."

Dong Chen nodded and said, "In the past hundreds of years, two of their cities have been destroyed. Everyone knows that there are a lot of resources in the cities of Dark Warriors, such as the most precious treasures of heaven and earth, which have surpassed the divine-level. This kind of treasure has been given another title—the sixth-level treasures. It is said that the cultivation terms in the Kunlun Immortal World are different from that of ours. Those were passed down from the older generations of martial artists. Unfortunately, when the Golden Age came, they all went to a certain place and disappeared. It is said that they went to the Kunlun Immortal World, but who knows the exact answer? In the city, in addition to those sixth-level treasures, the most precious thing is the Holy Spirit Water. It was produced by the core crystal of the crystal mine and many sixth-level treasures. The water can not only be helpful in cultivation but also have a miracle-working power. One drop of the Holy Spirit Water is comparable to a top-level elixir. It is very effective. Sadly, the Holy Spirit Water is exclusive to every City Lord, and it must be stored in the special instruments made by them. Otherwise, it would dissipate."

"There is a load of other wonderful treasures in the Ancient Mine, like the corpse of the Beast King. Dark Warriors and the Beast King can't be brought out when they are alive. The body of the Beast King can be utilized in many ways. It can be forged into weapons. Its flesh, once eaten, can improve one's strength. It is said that there is a core inside the body. Unfortunately, the weakest Beast King is at the Heaven Peak Stage. So, the Heavenly Knights Sect has never obtained one."

At this point, Dong Chen sighed softly, "There are too many treasures in the Ancient Mine, and the low-level beasts are also useful. However, we can't slaughter them at will. Otherwise, the many Beast Kings would join hands to fight us, which would cause too much turbulence. The last time that happened was 60 years ago. The beast kings in the western mountain range started a commotion and swept across the Black Dragon Land. Even the people in the three big cities of the Dark Warriors did not dare to come out during the fight. In that commotion, many warriors died. It was simply a massacre. Facing the endless beasts, there was simply no way to resist."

"The Lingxi City, White Lotus City, and Dragon Scale City are roughly the same in size. The three cities have formed a triangle, which looks like a tripod in the Hidden Dragon Land. At present, the relatively safe area is the southern area 50 kilometers away from the Dragon Scale City."

"Look at those people, they are all going to the south area to fight with the martial artists on our side. There are not many treasures in that area, but the good thing is, fierce beasts keep coming to that place, and sometimes, they appear with some treasures they carry around. In addition, there are some small crystal mines scattered in the Hidden Dragon Land, as well as some natural treasures. There is a fairly good chance that we can get good treasures in the safe area. However, our destination is not that place but the western mountain range. Deep in it, there are many treasures, but there are also a lot of fierce beasts. Therefore, you should watch out on this trip. You don't have to gain a big haul this time. All we want is to keep you safe. After all, it is your first time coming down here."

Dong Chen was worried about Zhang Han and the other two. He reckoned that since it was their first time, they might as well just observe and put the treasure hunt on the back-burner.

Just as Dong Chen decided to leave, what Zhang Han said next made his face change dramatically.

"You can go and have a look at the western mountain range. Uncle Dong is right. It's the first time for you and Mu Xue to come down here. You should just watch the fun."

"Then what about you?"

"I'm going into the Dragon Scale City to take a look."

Zhang Han looked up at the Dragon Scale City, a smile spreading on his face.

"What did you say?"

Dong Chen's voice turned edgy.

"Is this guy out of his mind?"

FIRST COMMENT

"Zhang Han!"

Hearing that, Dong Chen turned a little angry.

His face darkened as he said, "I brought you down here, so I'm responsible for your safety. Now you're telling me that you want to go into the city? Are you kidding me? You can't be all that arrogant just because you have reached the Heaven Peak Stage. Do you know the strength of the lord of the Dragon Scale City? If you fight with him, you will die in less than three moves! Do you have any idea how many people in the Dragon Scale City are at the Heaven Peak Stage? As far as I know, there are 27 of them! You just don't take it seriously. Do you think this is a joking matter?"

Looking at Zhang Han, who had become silent, Dong Chen continued to reproach Zhan Han for his failure of not being able to live up to their expectations.

"If anything happened to you, how could I face your father and your grandfather ever again? I think you're nuts. There is no way I would let you go to the Dragon Scale City!"

"Zhang Han." Dong Chen felt that his tone was a little too harsh, so he relaxed a little and said earnestly, "I know you're in a hurry to cultivate, but you can't rush it. It's a big taboo to be impatient in cultivation. I also know about the matter of the Patriarch of the Ross Clan. Though he is strong, he can't stir up trouble in the east. With us here, you don't have to be too worried. How long has it been since you broke through to the Heaven Peak Stage? It's not long, right? So, you still need time to consolidate your power. I can provide you with natural precious materials if you need any. That way of cultivation may take a little longer, but it won't hurt. We can also go to the mountains in the west. But the Dragon Scale City is absolutely off the table, for it's impossible to get in."

"Nothing is impossible. If I didn't have the assurance, how could I have said that?" Zhang Han said calmly.

With the three gazing at him, he raised his right hand a little bit higher.

"Watch me."

"Whiz!"

In an instant, a touch of dark color gradually washed over Zhang Han's skin.

From his hands to his whole body, it only took him three seconds to be all tanned-skinned.

Meanwhile, Zhang Han's hair grew longer, and his pupils and face kept changing.

H-he was now clearly the Dark Warrior who he had just killed!

"What... what's going on?"

Dong Chen was really shocked. "You really can transform? And even the soul sense can't detect it, can it?"

"Master is awesome!"

Mu Xue's eyes lit up, which were filled with awe and admiration.

The devil king was the devil king. He was indeed strong.

"Brother Han, aren't you just amazing? Can you really go in like this?" asked Chen Changqing in a daze.

"Hahaha, there is no place in this vast world that I can't go in, is there?"

Zhang Han laughed out loud.

"Swoosh!"

He then transformed into a stream of light and rapidly raced towards the Dragon Scale City.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

Dong Chen exclaimed, "I haven't allowed you to leave yet. Come back!"

Without waiting for Zhan Han to answer, Dong Chen flew forward in haste. He was about a dozen meters away from the ground, and his speed was very fast. In a moment, he was about to catch up with Zhang Han.

"Wanna fight me..." Zhang Han suddenly shouted.

A man with a strong aura swooped down from the huge city gate. From three kilometers away, in a cold voice he spoke, "Do you want to die?"

"Umm..."

Dong Chen looked a little awkward. They weren't allowed to step foot on the land within a ten-mile radius of the Dragon Scale City. Once they crossed the line, it would be viewed as a provocation, and the City Lord, Si Nan, might take action in person.

Seeing this, Dong Chen immediately stepped back and stared at Zhang Han in astonishment.

Zhang Han quickly ran to the Dark Warrior at the Heaven Peak Stage, who was still up in the air, and cupped his hands at him and muttered something. It seemed that he was thanking him.

However, the Dark Warrior in silver armor in the air merely glanced at him without saying a word. Then, he turned around and returned to the top of the city wall.

Only the high-ups of the Dragon Scale City were able to fly in this area. A master like Dong Chen only dared to do low-altitude flying nearby. Now, Dong Chen, who had no choice but to retreat, was a little upset.

"What should we do?"

"Why did I bring him here?"

"He does have some nerve!"

"I would never ever bring him here with me again. I'm so ticked off. What if something happens to him?"

"..."

Looking at Dong Chen, who was very upset, Mu Xue thought for a while and said, "Senior Dong, don't worry. My master is very powerful. The Dragon Scale City is nothing. My master can crush it with a single palm."

"You..."

Dong Chen was even angrier.

"When the above behave wrongly the below will do the same!"

"Look at his disciple, what a bunch of nonsense she just said! She should have known better to say that!"

"Uncle Dong, I think Brother Han sure can look after himself. Just rest assured. Why don't we go to the western mountain range and have a look?" proposed Chen Changqing.

He figured that Zhang Han would never put himself fall in such a dangerous position, so he was not much worried.

But his words made Dong Chen's face stiffen.

"I won't go! I won't go anywhere. I'll wait for him here!" Dong Chen snapped.

It was really a headache. Of the three of them, he was most perturbed one.

It seemed that other than him, the other two were not very much concerned.

That was not because Dong Chen had less faith in Zhang Han. In Dong Chen's eyes, it was because these little brats did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. If they were to understand just how powerful the Dragon Scale City was, it was likely that the two people beside him would also have a worried look on their faces.

"Well, Zhang Han, why do you have to be so unruly?"

Dong Chen complained in irritation for two minutes and then finally fell silent. Still, he couldn't help sighing in his head.

"Once he enters the city, he'll really have to resign himself to fate!"

Under his pained gaze, Zhang Han had already walked to the gate of the city.

The city gate was majestic and seemed to be 100 meters wide, and there were hundreds of Dark Warriors stationed on both sides of the city gate.

About 50 meters behind the Dark Warriors stood two stone statues.

These were the statues of a creature with a human body and a snake's head!

Their skin was covered with pale green scales. Their hands were holding tridents that were emitting cold light. Their cold eyes were fixed at the front of the city gate, as though they were ready to kill all the bandits who coveted the treasures in the Dragon Scale City.

Zhang Han glanced at the statues out of the corner of his eye and didn't pay much attention to them. He simply followed the group of more than a dozen Dark Warriors in front of him and slowly headed forward.

The city gate was very large. The dozen or so people in front of Zhang Han seemed to be scouts on patrol. They were walking relatively fast. On the left side, there was a line of about 80 people. Some of them were driving the rhinoceros carriage, on which carried bodies of spirit beasts and all sorts of boxes that seemed to contain some goods.

Zhang Han felt as if he was in an ancient city.

However, without exception, all of them had to go through a blue light curtain hanging down from the city gate before they entered the city. This was a special screening enchantment cast by the Dark Shadow Clan, which prevented those not their members from entering the city.

"It seems that the Dark Shadow Clan has been put under a very harsh suppression. That's why not all of them are martial artists."

Zhang Han looked around at the crowd. There were 300 people going in and out of the city, but less than 100 of them were martial artists, whose strength varied. Zhang Han was displaying the strength of the Grand Master Middle-stage, which was relatively high among the people in the lines.

However, the Dark Warriors standing on both sides of the city wall were all in the Earth Realm. Compared with the martial arts world, they were indeed more powerful. But compared with a Dark Shadow Clan not being suppressed, they were much weaker.

"Could the Saint Warrior Planet be the backyard of some mighty figure?"

Zhang Han frowned. All kinds of signs made Zhang Han a little suspicious.

But if that was the case, then, how powerful the one who had sealed the Saint Warrior Planet could be?

At the very least, it would be quite difficult for someone like him, who had gone through the ninth stage of the tribulation, to accomplish that.

"That's not necessarily the case. I'll come to learn it if that's what I should know."

Zhang Han shook his head secretly. Facing the restriction formation, he didn't panic at all.

He went straight through the staff passage.

"Buzz!"

When he arrived at the glowing curtain, a stream of energy seemed to have sensed something. It circled around Zhang Han three times before it finally dissipated. The resistance in front of Zhang Han was reduced and he walked straight forward.

"It's a good thing that I've cultivated the Athanasia Demon Gong. This time, the Heavenly Demon Skin has rendered meritorious service. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get into the Dragon Scale City."

Before coming here, Zhang Han had thought it through.

He knew about the Dark Shadow Clan. As for the so-called restriction formation, it was just a simple security check by scanning.

Since Zhang Han had the Heavenly Demon Skin and was able to absorb the characteristics of some of the Dark Shadow Clan members, he knew he wouldn't have much of a problem passing the security check.

Zhang Han was very familiar with this kind of scheme. He had done it many times before.

He had come to the Ancient Mine for resources. There were many high-level fierce beasts in the western mountain range, and they would be guarding some top treasures. To seize those treasures, it was no different from snatching food from a tiger's mouth. It was the same in the northern forest. As to the vast prairie, one could only find the leftovers on the so-called safe area.

Hence, the best place to find treasures was, of course, the cities of the Dark Shadow Clan.

There must be a lot of resources inside.

However, how to steal... to take those resources was also a problem.

Zhang Han planned to check out the situation in the city first.

"It's pretty big."

The city was very prosperous. Although there were no tall buildings, there were several spectacular halls in the peripheral area of the city.

"There should be a Mission Hall."

Zhang Han considered for a moment and hurried toward the first hall nearby.

The street he was at was the main street, which was about three hundred meters wide. The ordinary people were walking on both sides of the street, and the martial artists were all walking in the middle of the street. At a glance, Zhang Han could see that people here even had a rule about walking on the main street so as to accent the hierarchy.

The road was laid with huge slab stones, which were the first-stage spirit treasure. This kind of stone was the warm type, which kept a certain temperature all year round.

It could be said that such a large city was built with all kinds of spirit treasures.

The road was lined with many buildings, such as taverns, weapons shops, elixir stores, clothes shops, and groceries, you name it.

After so many years of development, the various facilities in Dragon Scale City were already well established. The ones with strong strength were respected. The Dark Shadow Clan did attach more importance to one's strength. So, one could see countless warriors on the street.

After walking for 20 minutes, Zhang Han arrived in front of the nearest hall.

"The Mission Hall."

Zhang Han checked the door several times. Even his soul sense of Taiyi Wood Thunder, he couldn't penetrate it.

"There won't be many treasures here.

"I'd better go to the center of the city. Either the City Lord's Mansion or the downtown is where the treasures are gathered."

Just as Zhang Han was pondering, he found three people nearby were pointing at him.

"Isn't he that good-for-nothing Aramuda?"

"Haha, the last time he met three martial artists from other regions, he got so scared that he turned tail and fled, which happened to have been caught by the eyes of Mr. Sanhu. That was just mortifying."

"Even Captain Musen has a low opinion of him. In the face of those people from other regions in the same realm as we are, opponents of the same level as us, it would be a huge humiliation for us Dark Shadow Warriors to run away."

"..."

Zhang Han left coolly with no expression on his face.

As for what they said, he would beg to differ. For cultivators, it was surely good to not be daunted by his opponent. But that sort of depended on the situation. After all, life came first before anything. So, Zhang Han figured that people should flee when they had to.

According to his memories, the people of the Dark Shadow Clan he had met were not so outspoken.

He continued to head into the depths of the city. The city was very big. Finally, after walking for about an hour, he saw from a distance a city inside this one.

It looked not far, but in fact, it took him two hours to sprint there.

Finally, he arrived at the city gate. Above the gate, there was a plate bearing three big words—City Lord's Mansion.

On both sides of the gate stood ten people, all of whom were warriors in the Heaven Realm. Five of them were in the Middle Stage and five were in the Early Stage.

The ancient mine had much more resources than the outside world.

If the Saint Warrior Planet had not been sealed, the growth of the power of the Dark Shadow Clan would have been even faster.

This was Zhang Han's first time here, so he was determined to gain something. Otherwise, he might not be able to make it next time.

Zhang Han mused for a while and then strode toward the gate.