Chapter 69 Entering the Cave (Book 9)

  Since I found out that there were no magical elements around, I stopped using dark magic and switched to circulating the Crazy God's aura. With my strength piercing through the void, I discovered that the Crazy God's aura could still emit a golden glow, and its illuminating effect was not much inferior to Ziyue's light system magic. The surrounding situation allowed me to see very clearly. Ten meters ahead was the end of the corridor... no, it couldn't be called the end, because when I walked there, I found that there was still a path to the left.

  Like this, I walked back and forth in the winding corridor, not knowing how many turns I had made, and came to a stone room again, exactly the same as the one where I first woke up, except for the exit I entered from, there was no other way out.

  I furrowed my brow, thinking to myself, how could there be no way out? That's not right, since I was able to enter from that cave entrance, there must be a way out. I looked around in confusion, and with a light wave of my hand, left a shallow mark on the stone wall. My heart skipped a beat, this stone wall is so hard! To think that just now, although I didn't use much force, just a casual slash, but normally it would be no problem to split a hundred-jin boulder in two. But here, it only left a shallow mark. I stroked the wall where I had slashed earlier, and found that it was just ordinary granite. Concentrating my senses, I discovered that there seemed to be some kind of special energy within the granite. Perhaps it's this energy that makes them so hard.

  I walked out of the stone room with a sense of doubt, following the original path back. Along the way, I left marks on the stone walls as I walked, and when I returned to the stone room again, I suddenly felt a chill in my heart. Because I found the sword mark that I had left earlier in this stone room, which means I had been walking in circles, going through the same route twice, yet still unable to escape this place. Is this a maze? It doesn't seem like it, because if it were a maze, there should be many forks in the road, but here there is only one path. From the direction, I couldn't feel that I was circling around the original spot at all. I sat down on the ground, feeling a wave of despair in my heart. It seems like I won't be able to get out. Although I have plenty of energy inside me now, without food and water, I'm afraid I can only hold on for twenty days at most. I really regret not bringing any food or water with me when I came down from the main peak of White Smoke Mountain, leaving everything in that stone room carved by Pan Zong. Otherwise, I could have held on for a while longer.

  I walked through the Yongdao again, carefully checking every corner I had passed by. When I returned to the stone room once more, my hopes were completely dashed, because there was still no discovery at all.

  I sit on the ground, no longer wandering around casually. I want to conserve the energy inside me to hold on. Maybe a miracle will happen.

  Like this, six days have passed. Every day, I carefully check the Yunding Road, but as time goes on, my hope in my heart becomes more and more faint. In these six days, there has been no change here at all.

  I feel that my body has become much weaker, my mouth is dry and my tongue is parched, my lips are already cracked, and my skin has lost its usual luster. Am I going to starve to death here?

  Just as I was almost in despair, the stone room suddenly shook, and I picked up the ink Ming. My body retreated and stuck to the stone wall, cautiously looking around. In the center of the ground in the stone room, a golden light flashed, and a golden line appeared, constantly wandering on the ground. Gradually, it formed a golden magic hexagram. When the golden line returned to its starting point, the hexagram suddenly brightened, and a burst of golden light rose into the air. The appearance of this golden light made my body's crazy god-fighting energy stir up, restless. That golden light gave me a sense of familiarity, as if it was the end of what I had been searching for, making me unconsciously step by step towards it. As I walked to the front of the golden light, I carefully reached out my hand and inserted it into the light. A warm current flowed through my body, instantly making me feel refreshed, and the hunger and thirst of the past six days seemed to disappear in an instant. It pulled me forward two steps, and my entire body was bathed in golden light, feeling warm and comfortable all over, just like when I was first enveloped by the five-colored rainbow light. Gradually, a wave of drowsiness came over me, and my eyelids closed together, and I stood there in the center of the golden light and entered a dream state.

  I slept so comfortably, without any disturbances or dreams, as if I was in a warm spring water, my whole body was unknowingly nourished. Just when my whole body was at its most relaxed, suddenly, I felt a surge of energy, and instantly woke up, but my eyelids felt like they were weighed down by a thousand pounds and couldn't open. I realized that the wild energy inside me was like a wide golden river flowing continuously, starting slowly and calmly, but gradually increasing in speed, turning into a raging torrent in a very short time. My body's meridians seemed to be invisible, letting this energy flow freely, my whole body felt restless and anxious, a strong fighting spirit emerged from the bottom of my heart, making me let out a loud roar. "Ah——"

  Ahhh... The echoes continued to reverberate, and I realized that I could control my body again. Tentatively, I opened my eyes to find myself no longer in the stone room, but rather in a massive natural cave. As I looked around, I discovered that my eyes seemed to have brightened, and although there was no light here, I could still see everything clearly under the faint glow of the stalactites. The ceiling of the cave hung with stalactites of varying lengths, occasionally dripping two droplets of water onto the ground, producing a tinkling sound. It felt humid in here, but the air was incredibly fresh, carrying a refreshing scent. My body had recovered to its optimal state, just like when I woke up six days ago, and it seemed even better than before.

  Suddenly, a five-colored light appeared in the air and shone on the end of the cave. At the end of the cave illuminated by the light, a suit of black armor appeared before me. The armor seemed to attract my gaze like a magnet, drawing me step by step towards it. I was shocked to discover that the protective mirror I had obtained from the Tian family's underground chamber was inlaid on the chest of this armor, perfectly matching the surrounding chest plate. Could it be that the treasure referred to here is actually this suit of armor?

  "Welcome, young human." A clear voice that seemed to belong to a middle-aged man echoed through the cave. The voice was calm but filled with an air of arrogance.

  I spun around in shock, looking all around me. Since the light appeared, everything in the cave was clearly visible, and no matter where I looked, my eyes would fall on something. The sound seemed to be coming from all directions, leaving me unsure of where to start. I shouted loudly: "Who are you? Where are you?" I raised the Ink Shadow in my hand, but found that my dark magic was being suppressed at the brow point and couldn't be activated. I had no choice but to stir up the Crazy God's aura, and a layer of golden light emanated from my body. The armor seemed to have sensed something, emitting a clear ringing sound, as if calling out to me.

  "Who am I?" The clear voice sounded again, with a hint of helplessness in the words. "Thousands of years have passed, and I've almost forgotten who I am myself. It seems like my name is Teoman Di."

  …………

  Just as I met the Tiomandi who changed my fate, other members of the Holy Dragon Knights also arrived from their headquarters. There were a total of fifteen dragon riders, and the one flying in front was Tian Gang, riding on the back of Qing Lin, the elder of the dragon clan, to seek help. Behind him followed two giant dragons, one white and one blue. The blue giant dragon had a Confucian scholar sitting on it, who looked like he was in his 50s, with no armor on his body, and not even a hint of cultivation aura could be detected from him. He stood on the back of the blue dragon, wearing a light blue Confucian robe that set off his slender figure, looking very elegant. His face was slightly long, his eyes were small, and occasionally, a glimmer of sharpness would appear in his eyes when he opened and closed them. He was not just any Confucian scholar, but the 171-year-old Moon Wuyue, the second-in-command of the Holy Dragon Knights.

  Alongside him was the white dragon beside him, whose body shape was actually larger than Qinglin's mount, the Blue Dragon, and Yue Wuyue's mount. The entire body was covered in pure white scales, with two long horns on its forehead, each with three forks, and a golden line extending from its brow to its tail. The person standing on the White Dragon looked even younger than Yue Wuyue, probably only in his 30s, wearing a somewhat tattered white magic robe, holding a wooden magic wand without any gemstones, of medium build, and quite ordinary in appearance. If placed in a crowd, he would be impossible to find. How could he look like a fallen magician? Of course not. Who else but the leader of the Holy Dragon Knights, the first dragon magician, who had been called the Guardian God of Light for 17 years, Tianyun, the Saintly Magic Guide?

  After receiving the helmet of fierce wind, Tianyun was extremely surprised. After listening to his son's explanation, he immediately led all the members of the Holy Dragon Knights to rush over at the fastest speed. The twelve giant dragons behind were all wearing armor and riding dragons, with face masks on their faces, making it impossible to see their appearance from the outside.

  Tian turned back and said: "Father, it's just ahead, let's go down."

  Tianyun's face showed a kind smile, saying: "Alright, let's go down."

  The fierce wind and Song Ren waiting at the cave entrance saw their own people arrive, and hastily rode a giant dragon to welcome them.

  The fierce wind blows against the sky and shouts: "Big brother, second brother."

  Tian Yun nodded and asked anxiously: "Third brother, I just heard that you were injured. How are you? Are you feeling better? Do you need me to help you treat it?"

  Hearing Tianyun's concern, Liefeng felt both grateful and ashamed. He sighed and said: "The wound is not a big deal anymore, but I just can't swallow this insult. Since I started practicing martial arts, when have I ever suffered such humiliation? And yet, I stood by and watched as that human kid and the two ancient beasts entered the cave. If we can't get what's inside, then let's destroy it. We can't let outsiders get their hands on it either. That human kid, his identity is definitely not ordinary. Otherwise, how could he be with those two ancient beasts?

  Tianyun's expression remained unchanged as he said, "What changes did they undergo after entering?"

  Lü Feng shook his head and said, "Nothing has changed, it's still the same. However, that five-colored light hasn't appeared again. I think they must have obtained that thing. If those humans didn't know how to open the cave, how could they get in? Since they knew how to open it, then they must also know how to obtain that thing."

  "What do you want to do then?"

  He cast a fierce glance at the cave that had left him humiliated and said, "You command us, use the Star Dragon Rain to blast it."

  Yue Wuyue, who had been silent all along, suddenly exclaimed: "What? You want to use the Star Dragon Rain? How can that be possible. Old Third, don't you know how powerful the Star Dragon Rain is? The entire mountain range will be flattened."

  Lifeng said, "Second brother, I've thought it through. The power of the Star Dragon Rain can be controlled. At that time, let big brother preside over it. We just need to blow up this entire mountain and the person and two beasts inside will be annihilated along with what they obtained. Big brother, what do you think?"

  Tianyun smiled slightly and said: "Don't be in a hurry, let me think. Hmm, it seems like there's trouble over there. Tian Gang, go take a look."

  "Yes, father." Tian Gang still rode on the back of Qing Lin elder and flew towards the direction of the small town. After a while, he flew back and said respectfully: "Father, it seems that some rioters have come to make trouble again. Our troops are about to be unable to hold on."

  Fierce winds shot out two cold glows from his eyes, saying: "Six days ago, if it weren't for these rioting civilians, how could that one man and two beasts possibly get in? Many of our Imperial soldiers died, plus the Dragon Knights just managed to suppress them. How did they come again today? Could it be... is the Dragon God's prestige so poor? Big brother, I'll go take a look."

  Tianyun shook his head and sighed, "The fame and wealth are so bewildering to the world, I'd better go take a look myself." As he spoke, he gave Liefeng a meaningful glance.

  Lifeng knew that his murderous intention had been discovered by Tianyun, and his face turned red as he stopped speaking.

  The dragons followed Tianyun all the way to the foot of the mountain, and indeed, the situation below was very bad. The defensive line formed by the Dragon Empire soldiers was about to be broken through, and both sides had suffered significant casualties. The people below were not fools either, seeing so many giant dragons flying in the sky, they gradually stopped fighting. The crowd that came to explore the treasure gathered together and retreated backwards.

  Tianyun said in a clear voice, "I don't know if anyone still remembers me, I am Tianyun, the dragon magician of the empire from several generations ago. I hope you can give me some face and stop this meaningless battle. The treasure in the mountain has already been obtained by me, so all of you can disperse." After learning that someone from the demon clan had escaped from Liefeng's hands, Tianyun no longer planned to hide his identity.

  Tianyun. This name was once so loud on the mainland, although it has been a hundred years, it is still circulating in every corner of the Dragon God Empire. He is still alive, making all the treasure hunters below feel cool and some unbelievable feelings.

  "Hey, how can you prove that you're really the legendary Great Demon King, the Guardian of Light?" someone shouted from the crowd.

  Tianyun smiled faintly and chanted, "Light, my protected friend, I am willing to use my life to protect you. Please lend me the healing light to save the lives of these creatures before us. Forbidden... Eternal Healing Light." This was a level 10 light system healing magic, also known as a forbidden spell. However, Tianyun's chant had already deviated from the original incantation. As he chanted, changes began to appear in the sky. A golden cloud floated over from the originally blue sky, slowly descending and releasing large patches of light points that covered the entire battlefield. The light points brought by the golden cloud were not dazzling, but rather soft and gentle. Every corner of the ground was filled with the arrival of light points, and as long as one still had a breath of life, their injuries were instantly healed. Most of the people who had fallen to the ground earlier (except for those who were already dead) stood up again.

  The people who came to explore the treasure no longer had any doubts, including the soldiers and dragon knights of the Dragon God Empire. The people below had not a single one standing, all were piously prostrating themselves on the ground.

  Tianyun saw this situation and wasn't surprised, smiling: "Everyone disperse, there's nothing left to linger over here. Soldiers of the Dragon God Empire, you all return to your own garrison camps too. You're no longer needed here." After finishing speaking, he turned around and led Liefeng, Yuewu Ya, and others flying towards the direction of the mountain cave.

  It wasn't until they disappeared from view that the crowd on the ground began to disperse. The shock of the previous curse was too great for them. Even the most greedy people had given up their intention to continue searching for treasure, and those who were healed of their injuries were even more grateful to Tianyun.

  Flying back to the mountain cave, the dragon riders fell down.

  Lifeng said: "Big brother, use Xinglong Rain. We can't leave any future troubles."

  Tianyun gazed calmly at the cave in front of him, his body emitting a faint layer of white light. With a raise of his hand, a beam of light shot out, stirring up a ripple on the colorful screen barrier at the entrance of the cave.

  "Ah, indeed it is the power of God."

  "Fierce Wind hastily said: 'If it's really divine power, then it can't fall into the hands of that person with unknown identity. Big brother, make a decision quickly.'"

  "Big brother, you should think carefully about this. If we do this, it may cause panic. Moreover, the person who went in might not be a bad person."

  Tianyun stood with his hands behind his back, focusing intently on the entrance ahead and said, "You all stop arguing, let me think."

  Lei Xiang in the cave was still bewildered and unaware that his fate had been manipulated by others.

  …………

  "Tioman Di? Tioman Di?" The name sounds strange, as if it doesn't belong to any race on the continent. "Where am I? Why did you bring me here?"

  "I am where? I am in this cave, my body has already been lost, so you can't see me. It is the remnant of my spirit that remains in this world and is speaking to you."

  I was startled in my heart and remembered what my father said to me at the beginning, interrupting him: "No body? So to say, you are a ghost wizard."

  Tiemandi snorted, saying proudly: "What are these undead mages? If my body was still intact, they wouldn't even be worthy of tying my shoes. They're just slaves under the throne of the underworld king."

  "King of Hell? What kind of person are you?"

  Teo Mandi said, "I was just about to tell you, who let you interrupt me." Although his words were very rude, they revealed a hint of childishness. "You came here not because I caught you, but because the power that is the same as mine on your body, triggered the probing light I sent out, and led yourself here."

  The power that is the same as his? That's what I'm saying, it should be Kyoshin Douki. I asked: "The power that is the same as yours, are you referring to Kyoshin Douki? Did you also cultivate Kyoshin Jue?"

  The air was filled with the sound of Tioman Di's endless maniacal laughter, and after a while, it finally stopped. "Not bad, I have indeed cultivated, and I am the creator of this Crazy God Technique. This is my identity, if you're not too stupid, you should know who I am by now."

  My eyes widened and two words slipped out, "Crazy God?"

  "Not bad, I am indeed the mad god Teomanthys." His tone was full of self-satisfied pride, it seemed that he had a certain status in the divine realm. I hadn't expected to run into a heavenly deity in this small cave. Although I was extremely surprised in my heart, I didn't show it on my face and calmly said: "Teomanthys, where are my two brothers?"

  When I heard his name, he didn't react at all. Teomanthys seemed a bit angry and said in a cold voice: "They won't die yet, when you leave, I'll let them go together. The nine-headed snake and the double-headed wolf are both species of the underworld, unexpectedly, on this continent, there are still survivors. You, a small human being, also have such deep friendships, Ah, my brother, how are you? " When he said this, Teomanthys seemed to remember something.

  Hearing that he was willing to let us go, I secretly rejoiced and asked: "Then when will you let us go? Why did it take six days after I arrived for you to bring me here?"

  Tiemandi sighed and said, "You can only come here by chance, let me tell you my story, after listening to it, you will understand why I, a first-class god in the divine realm, fell into this small cave in the mortal world."

  Being able to listen to God tell stories is indeed an attractive thing. I sit cross-legged on the ground, waiting quietly for him to continue speaking.

  Tiamat's voice changed, becoming somewhat helpless, somewhat wandering, and somewhat melancholic. "I've already forgotten when I appeared in the Divine Realm. I only know that it was the Primordial God who created me. Oh, right, let me explain something to you first. In the Divine Realm, there are also three, six, and nine levels of gods. The Mortal Realm, Nether Realm, and Divine Realm were established by the Primordial God during the world's chaos as the Three Realms. At first, the Primordial God split its own energy into two layers, creating the Divine Realm and the Nether Realm. The God King was the first god created by the Primordial God in the Divine Realm, with the strongest power. The Nether King was the first god established by the Primordial God in the Nether Realm, almost equal to the God King's power. I'm not too clear about the Nether Realm, but in our Divine Realm, apart from the God King, there are five levels of gods: First-Order Gods, Second-Order Gods, Third-Order Gods, Quasi-Gods, and Divine Beasts. The First-Order Gods were personally created by the Primordial God, with only six of them: the Free Angel Lucifer, the Fighting Angel also known as the Fire Angel Michael, the Death Angel Gabriel, the Charm Angel also known as the Light Angel Raphael, the Military Angel Sariel, collectively known as the Five Great Heavenly Generals. Among them, the Free Angel Lucifer is the strongest, and the leader of the Five Great Heavenly Generals."

  I wasn't surprised that Lucifer, the Great Demon King, was a member of the Divine Tribe because there had long been rumors on the continent that the fallen angel Lucifer was a traitor to the Divine Realm and had defected to the Underworld, which is how he got his current status. I asked: "You should be the last one among the First-Order Gods, but in legend, I've never heard of your name, and the title 'Mad God' seems to have never been circulated in the Mortal Realm."

  Teo Mandy sighed and said, "So the mortal world also has legends about our divine realm. Listen to me slowly and you will understand. In the divine realm, I am an outcast, the last god created by the father god, so my power is at the lowest level among the six first-class gods. Moreover, I don't have the symbolic wings of the divine tribe, which are pure white feathers that symbolize the divine tribe."

  I nodded and said, "I know, the five archangels you mentioned earlier are also known as the six-winged angels."

  "Yes, to be precise, it should be the Six-winged Seraphim. The five of them formed the highest power in the divine realm, and the power of the Free Angel Lucifer was second only to that of God. The Second-class Angels were created by God and had relatively lower abilities, but there were more of them. They are the Four-winged Cherubim in our angel clan, some of whom inherited the creative powers of God. Those created by them are the Third-class Angels, also known as the ordinary Two-winged Angels. The so-called 'Failed Gods' refer to those who were created but did not reach the abilities of the Third-class Angels. In other words, they can only be considered defective products in our divine realm. As for the powers of the Divine Beasts, they are different. They are usually the mounts of high-level angels or exist independently outside of angels."

  When it comes to divine beasts, I recall the Panzong's mention of the Detached Realm, and a hint of longing appeared in my eyes. As if seeing through my gaze, Tiomandi continued: "Divine beasts are not as beautiful as you imagine them to be. They usually do things based on their own preferences, and sometimes they even attack weaker divine beasts to enhance their strength. Outside the five-tiered divine tribes, there is another type of anomaly - those like me who don't have wings, with strengths similar to divine beasts. The most formidable ones have abilities close to ours, the six first-class divine beasts, including the five elemental gods you know. Among these anomalies, I became their leader due to my superior strength. After the birth of the Three Realms, under the watchful eye of the Father God, they passed tens of thousands of years in peace, with little interaction between the realms. The Father God was very pleased with this phenomenon, but at some point, he vanished."

  Suddenly, I had a strange feeling in my heart. If what he said was true, he was only second to the God King as a first-class god, but let's not talk about why he ended up here. Why would he tell me such details about the affairs of the gods? I'm just an ordinary human being, after all. I thought that my little bit of strength shouldn't even be visible in his eyes. But of course, I wouldn't stop him from continuing to speak - this story was really moving, and it had captivated me.

  Tioman Di continued: "About a few thousand years ago, the Divine Realm, the Underworld, and the Human Realm were all interconnected. In terms of hierarchy, the Human Realm was relatively low, while the Divine and Underworld Realms were basically on the same level. After the disappearance of the Father God, the Divine and Underworld Realms remained peaceful for hundreds of years. But then, without warning, the two realms could no longer contain their tranquility, and small conflicts began to erupt along their borders. As time passed, these conflicts gradually escalated until they finally erupted into the first great war between the gods and the underworld, which we call the 'War of Creation'. In that war, both sides suffered countless casualties, and the Human Realm was also affected. The already weak Human Realm almost got destroyed by our divine powers. The Human Realm split into two camps: one side followed us, while another side followed the Underworld. The entire War of Creation spread to every corner of the three realms, lasting for over a hundred years. In the end, neither side gained an advantage. In the final battle, which left both sides severely wounded, the Father God reappeared. He was deeply disappointed with the world he had created and forcibly sealed off the exits from the Divine and Underworld Realms to the Human Realm. He warned us not to easily start wars again before disappearing into thin air. And so, the two realms remained dormant for a thousand years. However, over three thousand years ago, one of the Underworld King's subordinates suddenly ran to our realm for some reason. Due to his hatred towards the Underworld, he was killed by the Fighting Angel Michael. This incident became the spark that ignited the second great war between the Divine and Underworld Realms. And I... Ah, well, let's just say I was too foolish back then."

  I asked: "Are you the one who came here during the Second Great War of Gods?"

  Tiomandi sighed and said, "It can also be said that during the Second Great War, I and the only daughter of the God King, our princess Filuna, led a large number of second- and third-level gods into battle. Princess Filuna was born from the God King's own energy, so her strength was not much different from ours, first-level gods. Under our leadership, our troops successfully broke into the underworld, but we were ambushed there. Except for me and the princess, all the other gods were annihilated. I protected the princess and escaped the encirclement, but I was also seriously injured. We fled everywhere in the underworld, but those three years of hiding from pursuit and killing were indeed the most wonderful process of my life."

  I smiled slightly and said, "You've fallen in love with Princess Fei Yun, haven't you?" Because I had similar experiences with Zi Yan, I could naturally understand his situation.

  Tioman's voice was laced with surprise, "You're really clever. Yes, after going through thick and thin together multiple times, I fell in love with Philiana. You don't know, Princess Philiana is so beautiful and kind... (he paused for half a minute before continuing) It wasn't until three years later that we found an opportunity to return to the Divine Realm. At that time, the Second War between the Divine Realm and the Underworld was nearing its end. Seeing his daughter return safely, the Divine King was overjoyed. He encouraged me, and just as I was about to tell him about my relationship with Philiana and ask for her hand in marriage, the Death Angel Gabriel stepped forward. He reported to the Divine King that I had surrendered to the Underworld King and was there to assassinate the Divine King. At that moment, I was stunned. Gabriel walked up to me and found a short sword on me that symbolized the Underworld. The Divine King was furious, ignoring Philiana's desperate pleas, and immediately imprisoned me." Up to this point, Tioman's words were filled with intense hatred.

  Author: I will release a whole chapter on weekends to thank everyone for their support all along.