Chapter 20: An accident occurs at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's mine; a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast capable of easily killing a Soul Emperor?
The azure lightning pierced through Yu Tianfei, and shock and despair were frozen on his charred face as he slowly fell backward, scattering fallen leaves everywhere.
Ye Tianchen stared at Yu Tianfei's charred corpse for a long time without saying a word.
"Brother Tianchen..."
"The soup is ready, let's eat first."
Ye Tianchen smiled and shook his head. Before leaving, he patted Luo Sanpao's head, which was nuzzling against him.
"I'm fine."
"Titan brothers, where were we yesterday?"
"Our ancestors fought a great battle against the three-eyed monster."
The Titan Ape perked up, squatting by the fire with a docile expression.
"Okay, let's talk while we eat."
Ye Tianchen smiled as he divided the meat soup, his gentle voice deep and magnetic as he began to speak.
.....
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Thunder Light Mine.
Lei Si, the deputy manager of the mine, looked at the dark mine shaft in front of him with a furrowed brow.
Three days have passed since the lightning stones in the mine inexplicably decreased. Zhao Qinian, the mine manager who is a Soul Emperor, has been in the mine with two Soul King level guards for three whole days.
But in these three days, there has been no news at all. If there is still no news today, he will decide to personally lead a group to go in.
Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the deep mine. Before Lei Si could see clearly, a blood-red figure had already pounced on him.
"A ten-thousand-year-old soul beast! Master..."
Before he could finish speaking, the blood-red figure had already breathed his last.
The sudden appearance of a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast in the mine was beyond Lei Si's ability to handle, so he immediately sent a message to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for help.
Since this mine was jointly mined by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, when the news reached the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan also received the news of the abnormality at the mine.
Three days later, at the Thunder Light Mountains.
The mine's deputy manager, Lei Si, knelt in the dust, his forehead pressed to the ground, not daring to look up at the three important figures before him.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's guardian elder, Title Douluo Gu Rong; the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan's first warrior, Soul Douluo Yu Zhanhui; and standing beside Gu Rong is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little princess, Ning Rongrong.
"Tell me about the situation."
Gu Rong's voice was hoarse and low, like two stones rubbing against each other.
He had an enormous frame, but his skin looked somewhat withered, making him resemble a large human sculpture. However, the occasional glint of shrewdness in his deep-set eyes sent chills down one's spine.
With trembling hands, Lei Si reported on the unusual events of the past three months, focusing on the misfortune that Zhao Qinian's team encountered after venturing deeper into the region.
At the same time, he showed everyone the body of the escaped guard.
Gu Rong squatted down, his withered fingers gently touching the severed arm, and his brows furrowed.
"It wasn't caused by a sharp weapon, nor by a soul skill. This wound... looks like it was torn off. This beast has incredibly sharp teeth."
Yu Zhanhui also stepped forward, sensing the aura emanating from the mangled corpse.
"The aura of a dragon-type soul beast..." Yu Zhanhui said in a deep voice. "Very faint, but it was definitely left by a dragon-type soul beast, but..."
Yu Zhanhui's expression paused slightly, a strange look appearing on his face.
"Just what?"
Gu Rong looked at Yu Zhanhui.
"The dragon-like aura remaining on this corpse is rather strange; it not only contains earth elemental energy but also lightning elemental energy?"
Yu Zhanhui frowned deeply.
"What's so strange about that? This is a lightning vein, so it's not unusual for it to be tainted with the aura of lightning elements. I'm planning to take Rongrong in to take a look. What about you?"
Gu Rong didn't take Yu Zhanhui's words seriously and turned around to prepare to take Ning Rongrong deeper into the mine.
"Since Bone Douluo has decided to go deeper, how dare I slack off? Bone Douluo, please do not make a move later. Just leave everything to me."
A smile appeared on Yu Zhanhui's face, but it looked strange coming from his gloomy face.
"That's thoughtful of you."
Gu Rong nodded slightly, then turned and led Ning Rongrong into the mine.
So what if he's a Title Douluo? He's still ignorant. The lightning element here is indeed dense, but the lightning element remaining on the corpse's wounds is clearly different. Could it be...?
A fiery glint flashed in Yu Zhanhui's eyes as he strode into the mine. If things were really as he thought, this trip would certainly not have been in vain!
The depths of the mine were colder and damper than imagined.
The deeper you go, the denser the lightning element becomes in the air, but strangely, most of the lightning stones that should be active as a result are dull and lifeless.
Gu Rong held a lighting soul tool in his hand, its pale light illuminating the rugged mine tunnel.
The rock walls on both sides are covered with signs of mining, but many of the grooves that should have been inlaid with lightning stones are now empty, leaving only fresh scratch marks.
"These claw marks..."
Gu Rong reached out and touched a mark half a foot deep, with signs of crystallization at the edge of the rock wall.
"It was formed by the instantaneous action of high temperature and pressure. Earth-type dragon-type soul beasts cannot perform attacks of this magnitude. Could it be that there is more than one soul beast here?"
Gu Rong frowned, somewhat puzzled.
Unlike Gu Rong's puzzled expression, Yu Zhanhui's gloomy face had already turned red with excitement.
He quickened his pace, almost jogging, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes gleamed with an increasingly intense light.
Yu Zhanhui just wanted to see that lucky beast as soon as possible, and then confirm his guess!
Ning Rongrong followed closely behind Gu Rong, but she did not observe the claw marks on the wall. Instead, she focused her beautiful eyes on Yu Zhanhui.
She noticed that Yu Zhanhui had become inexplicably excited ever since he entered the mine. Recalling his hesitant manner outside the mine, Ning Rongrong became suspicious. She tugged at Gu Rong's sleeve and deliberately slowed her pace when he turned to look at her.
"What's wrong, Rongrong? Are you tired? Do you want Grandpa to carry you?"
As he spoke, Gu Rong squatted down, his voice full of affection.
"I am a little tired, Grandpa Bone..."
Taking advantage of the position of lying on the back of Gu Rong, Ning Rongrong leaned close to his ear.
"Grandpa Bone, something's not right with that general from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan. He seems to be deliberately hiding something. We'll act accordingly when the time comes."
"As expected of Rongrong, her observation skills are much sharper than Grandpa's. If we leave this matter to Grandpa, no matter what tricks that mudfish has up its sleeve, it won't escape Grandpa's grasp."
Gu Rong chuckled, having already taken Ning Rongrong's words to heart.
After about an hour, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the mine.
This is a huge, naturally formed cave, about 30 meters high and over 100 meters in diameter.
The cave ceiling was covered with dense clusters of lightning stone crystals, which should have illuminated the entire space as if it were daytime. However, at this moment, more than 70% of the crystal clusters were dim and lifeless, as if their energy had been drained.
In the center of the cave, there was a mountain of mineral debris, and on top of the pile, a huge creature was lying.
[end of the chapter]