Chapter 380: Beating Them to the Punch
The night was dark and windy; it was already the deep of the night.
The massive Ruins City gradually sank into silence, while in a stone alley at the South Ruins, two samurai sat around a bonfire, drinking and chatting.
"Brother Zhang, when do you think this job of ours will end?"
A young samurai huddled his head, complaining to his older companion sitting opposite him, "I haven’t been home for several days, and I’m afraid my old mother at home is worried."
Saying this, he turned his head to look at the pitch-black hole beside him, the depression on his face was obvious.
For several days, the young samurai had been guarding this large hole that was recently excavated.
This job, in terms of hardship, certainly wasn’t considered tough.
There’s food and drink, and there’s no need to work to exhaustion.
But now that the weather’s turned cold, the alley has nothing but excavated dirt and stones, without any shelter, it’s quite uncomfortable at night.
The cold wind blowing through the alley chilled him to the bone!
And to the young samurai’s complaint, his older companion laughed and said, "You should be content; staying here to guard is better than going to the Great Dream Marsh to fight the barbarians to the death, isn’t it?"
The young samurai grumbled, "I think I’d rather go to the Great Dream Marsh!"
The older companion shook his head and lowered his voice, "Just bear it a little longer; those Celestial Beings have a lot going on, they don’t even take the Celestial King Hall seriously, let alone us ants!"
The young samurai sulked, muttering, "Celestial Beings..."
He suddenly sensed something was wrong and looked up, seeing a dark figure silently appear behind his companion.
His companion was unaware.
The young samurai was instantly terrified, about to shout.
The next moment, an invisible oppressive aura suddenly descended, enveloping him entirely.
The young samurai had no time to react, and before he knew it, he blacked out and fainted.
His companion also collapsed along with him.
Zhang Yuan’s gaze swept over the two samurai lying on the ground, finally fixing on the entrance of the hole beside them.
In recent times, Duanmu Clan’s Celestial Beings had been digging holes all over Ruins City, allegedly searching for treasure.
They didn’t hide their purpose and acted recklessly.
Of course, these Celestial Beings didn’t dig personally; they appointed local families to do the work.
At one point, it caused chaos and widespread panic in Ruins City!
Upon learning of this, Zhang Yuan immediately connected it with the Treasure Map he had.
When he first arrived at the Xia Ruins, he sensed that something underground in Ruins City could trigger the Treasure Map.
Interestingly, Zhang Yuan later discovered that this treasure could even activate the Divine Nest, suggesting it was likely carried by some extraordinary creature moving underground.
The Celestial King Hall was precisely an area it frequented.
Every few days, Zhang Yuan could see notifications popping up inside and outside the Celestial King Hall!
He grew numb to it eventually.
Zhang Yuan had thought about going underground in Ruins City to find this treasure carrier.
But there were many problems, and it was extremely troublesome.
Now, the Celestial Beings came to Ruins City to treasure hunt, solving his biggest issue!
Knowing their purpose, Zhang Yuan planned to seize the opportunity before leaving the Xia Ruins.
He had cut off the Celestial Beings before.
Now, using old tricks again, Zhang Yuan felt no guilt; instead, he was full of confidence and determination!
This location was pinpointed by Zhang Yuan using the Treasure Map, leading to the nearest hole to the target.
Originally, he intended to eliminate the two martial artists guarding the hole, but just as he was about to act, he heard what the young samurai said.
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but think of his mother who had vanished without a trace, so he showed restraint, only making the young samurai faint.
Otherwise, with his current strength and cultivation, a flick of his finger could easily kill two Tier Three samurai.
The next moment, Zhang Yuan leaped and jumped into the hole.
His figure swiftly descended.
To his surprise, the hole was much deeper than he imagined.
After descending about ten zhang in depth, Zhang Yuan’s feet finally touched the uneven ground.
A long underground tunnel appeared before him!
Even though it was pitch-dark inside, Zhang Yuan, possessing the ability to see in the dark, could clearly discern the scenery within a dozen steps around him.
This tunnel was constructed very spaciously and neatly, and it was quite dry, with no standing water or foul odor.
Zhang Yuan had heard before about a massive Underground Palace hidden beneath the Xia Ruins.
It was said to be buried with the secrets of the Great Xia Dynasty!
Some claimed that someone digging a well accidentally hit the palace’s passage, but once they went down to explore, they never came back.
However, others said the so-called Underground Palace was actually just the drainage system of the Xia Capital.
It was just built exceptionally grandiose.
In short, the rumors were numerous, truth and falsehood indistinguishable.
Zhang Yuan took out the Treasure Map from his bosom.
The map clearly displayed the location of the treasure.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Yuan applied his body technique and sped forward.
This tunnel was wide enough to accommodate not just one person, but even two or three people walking side by side, with a height exceeding ten feet.
But after advancing about a hundred steps, he encountered a fork in the tunnel.
For others, reaching this point would definitely be confusing.
But with the "navigation" from the Treasure Map, Zhang Yuan decisively turned into the right passage.
He navigated through the labyrinth-like underground passages, rapidly closing the distance to his target.
However, the target wasn’t stationary; it kept moving.
Additionally, underground movement differed from surface tracking; a straight path couldn’t be followed.
Thus, some time was inevitably wasted.
[Detected a collectible Genetic Body!]
The sudden message in his vision delighted Zhang Yuan.
The target was very close now.
But at this moment, something unexpectedly occurred.
When he checked the Treasure Map again, he was shocked to find the target quickly changing locations.
Much faster than before!
Zhang Yuan sensed the target might have detected his presence or perceived danger, thus fleeing desperately.
Chase!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Yuan immediately accelerated in pursuit.
Yet, despite circling around in the tunnels, even when he seemed to be within reach, a wall still stood between them.
After going around, the target escaped again!
Zhang Yuan was tempted to use a brute force wall-breaking tactic, but he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t trigger a collapse, so he suppressed that impulse.
Relentlessly pursuing.
When he turned into a tunnel, he faintly noticed a glimmer of fire ahead.
He even heard human voices.
This unexpected situation caused Zhang Yuan to slow his pace.
Yet, the target headed in this direction, with no alternative paths available.
After pondering, Zhang Yuan chose to continue forward.
Simultaneously, he heightened his vigilance.
Ready for combat.
As he cleared the passage, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
A tomb-like underground chamber appeared before Zhang Yuan’s eyes!
