Chapter 79

Although accompanied by the royal elite forces, Jiang Chen did not let his guard down on the road. He was very clear that the grudge he had with Long Teng Hou had reached a point of no return.

Long Teng Hou was ambitious and would not allow any stumbling blocks on his path to power. And Jiang Chen was clearly one of those stumbling blocks.

However, what slightly surprised Jiang Chen was that the journey was unexpectedly smooth. There was no attack or ambush, and even no covert surveillance that Jiang Chen noticed.

"Has Long Teng Hou changed his mind? Does he not plan to make a move? Or does he have other intentions?" Jiang Chen felt puzzled and uncertain.

Two days later, the group safely arrived at the outskirts of the Endless Catacombs.

The Endless Catacombs were located in the northeast of the kingdom, in a valley where the army was encamped.

Princess Gouyu stood high on a temporary tent: "We will camp here tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will enter this valley. Inside the valley is the entrance to the Endless Catacombs. There are many entrances, but they are all within this valley. You must find the entrance and the exit on your own."

"Remember, whether you get lost in the valley or in the Endless Catacombs, the kingdom will not send anyone to rescue you. Once you enter the Endless Catacombs, your life and death are in your own hands. So, be on your guard."

The camp was set up immediately, and Jiang Chen chose a spot beside a large tree and sat cross-legged.

Although he knew that Princess Gouyu's defense would focus on him, Jiang Chen did not like to entrust his safety to others.

That night, Jiang Chen's "Wind Listening Ear" was never put away, and no sound, no matter how slight, escaped his ears.

However, the night remained eerily calm.

Jiang Chen even had the illusion that perhaps Long Teng Hou really did not plan to make a move. Or perhaps, in Long Teng Hou's eyes, he was not yet a worthy opponent?

After much thought, Jiang Chen decided not to dwell on it.

The next morning, the sun shone on the outskirts of the valley, and all the heirs of the feudal lords were spirited and eager, their eyes filled with anticipation as they looked into the valley.

"Brother Chen, I have good news. I broke through again last night," Xuan Fatso came up, excitedly saying.

Xuan Fatso had only been at the Fifth Pulse True Qi level a couple of months ago, placing him in the lower ranks among the feudal lords' heirs.

When Jiang Chen taught him the "True Acupoint Resonance" technique, it helped him break through to the Sixth Pulse True Qi. Unexpectedly, Xuan Fatso broke through again, reaching the Seventh Pulse True Qi, successfully entering the advanced True Qi realm!

Xuan Fatso chose to maintain his position, which was a Fourth Rank feudal lord, and was executing a Fourth Rank task.

The Seventh Pulse True Qi was sufficient for a Fourth Rank task.

Hu Qiuyue had broken through to the Eighth Pulse True Qi last time but did not break through again this time. However, he had already located the ninth True Qi acupoint and was not far from breaking through to the Ninth Pulse True Qi.

"Brother Chen, thank you for this time," Hu Qiuyue's eyes were filled with deep gratitude. He was challenging a Second Rank feudal lord.

The first two Second Rank tasks were completed smoothly.

If this third task was completed successfully, the Hu Qiu clan would be promoted to a Second Rank feudal lord!

"Work hard and be careful!" Jiang Chen warned each of them.

The feudal lords' heirs gathered in small groups. Clearly, with the final task approaching, many were a bit nervous.

Standing together provided some psychological comfort.

Princess Gouyu seemed to have dressed up today. She was not wearing the sexy leather armor but a dignified palace gown, adding a noble air of the royal family.

"I have said everything I needed to. I now declare the third task officially begins. According to the current feudal lord rankings, you will enter the valley one by one, from the lowest to the highest, with a half-hour interval between each person."

This arrangement was clearly to avoid malicious competition and sabotage among the feudal lords within the valley.

Those with lower rankings, who were relatively weaker, would enter first.

The arrangement from low to high was quite reasonable.

One after another, Xuan Fatso and Hu Qiuyue entered. Jiang Han Hou, ranked fourteenth among the feudal lords, entered later than the others.

"Jiang Chen, the Endless Catacombs are vast and endless. Be careful. The first and second layers are free to explore, but the third layer requires utmost caution, as there may be King-level beasts, whose combat power is at least on par with a True Qi Master. The fourth layer and above must not be entered. Remember, it is a forbidden area. Countless geniuses have entered rashly and never returned. Even Spirit Dao experts entering the fourth layer face great danger. Remember, remember!"

Princess Gouyu, who admired Jiang Chen, did not hide her feelings and instructed him in front of everyone.

Jiang Chen's relationship with the royal family was no longer a secret. Even so, seeing Jiang Chen receive special attention from Princess Gouyu made some people feel a bit envious.

Jiang Chen nodded, and with a swift movement, he shot into the valley.

The moment he entered the valley, Jiang Chen immediately activated the "Heavenly Eye" and raised his "Wind Listening Ear."

One should not have the heart to harm others, but one must always be on guard.

Although none of the feudal lords' heirs who entered first could threaten Jiang Chen, he, being a reincarnated person with two lifetimes of experience, knew when to be cautious.

The valley was overgrown with dense vegetation, and the large trees blocked the light, making it very dark.

Jiang Chen neither rushed nor lingered, starting to search for the entrance to the Endless Catacombs.

Before long, he found a narrow entrance about three to four miles away. The entrance was winding, with many forks along the way.

Jiang Chen wandered around, following one path, not knowing how far he had walked, but feeling the light getting dimmer and the temperature dropping.

In the end, the light disappeared completely, and the soil underfoot became increasingly damp. Jiang Chen realized that he had unknowingly entered the Endless Catacombs.

"Countless forks along the way, like a maze. With countless entrances, it would be quite difficult for these over a hundred feudal lords' heirs to specifically ambush someone."

Jiang Chen did not rush to move forward once he reached the underground. Instead, he observed his surroundings, confirming he was underground before feeling relieved.

"This should be the so-called first layer, right?"

If an ordinary person stood here, they would be as blind as a bat, unable to see their hand in front of their face.

For martial artists, vision was naturally much stronger than that of ordinary people.

Jiang Chen, having cultivated the "Heavenly Eye," had vision far superior to that of martial artists of the same level, combined with the "Wind Listening Ear" and "Rock Heart," giving him a significant advantage in the Endless Catacombs.

"One hundred Green Spirit Pearls." Jiang Chen never forgot his task.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Jiang Chen seemed to hear a cry of pain from deep within the catacombs. The sound was urgent and tragic. Due to the echoes in the catacombs, it was impossible to determine the distance.

"Someone has already fallen victim in the first layer?" Jiang Chen was startled.

At that moment, Jiang Chen felt a breeze behind his head.

Not good, an ambush!

Jiang Chen's ears twitched, and he swung his sleeve, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. A heavy feathered flying knife sliced through the darkness, like a beautiful rainbow in the dark catacombs.

Whoosh!

A mournful cry was heard, and the heavy feathered flying knife hit something, landing with a thud.

A Green-Winged Sword Bird!

This Green-Winged Sword Bird had wings and a beak as sharp as blades, even sharper than the swords of ordinary martial artists.

"Green-Winged Sword Bird, its wing blades and beak are indeed sharper than a sword."

Jiang Chen retrieved the heavy feathered flying knife and took the Green Spirit Pearl from the bird's forehead, putting it in his bag.

"Ha, a quick victory, and it came fast." Through his first encounter with the Green-Winged Sword Bird, Jiang Chen roughly understood its level.

"The combat level of the Green-Winged Sword Bird is at most equivalent to a human Fourth Pulse True Qi expert. However, its speed is fast, and in this darkness, on its own territory, it has the advantage of time and place. If the trainee's cultivation is not superior, it would be difficult to deal with the Green-Winged Sword Bird."

With the experience from the first battle, Jiang Chen felt much more at ease.

He did not increase his speed but moved steadily, maximizing the use of the "Heavenly Eye" and "Wind Listening Ear."

With this advantage, Jiang Chen harvested twelve Green Spirit Pearls in one day.

"One day, twelve Green Spirit Pearls. This speed is not fast, but it is not slow. If I can maintain this level every day, I can leave in eight or nine days."

Jiang Chen's confidence grew after a day of bountiful harvest.

However, the next day, Jiang Chen noticed that the frequency of Green-Winged Sword Birds in the area he was exploring had significantly decreased.

"Green-Winged Sword Birds are intelligent beasts. They know that a large number of human hunters have come down and have apparently gone into hiding."

With over a hundred feudal lords' heirs each killing some, the number was quite significant.

Therefore, Jiang Chen was not surprised by the sharp decrease in the number of Green-Winged Sword Birds.

"Damn, are these Green-Winged Sword Birds smarter than humans? I hunted two on the first day, but on the second day, I didn't even see a feather!"

"Damn, have these sword birds been killed by the powerful feudal lords' heirs? I don't want to risk going to the second layer."

As he moved along, Jiang Chen heard nothing but complaints.

It seemed that the Green-Winged Sword Birds in this layer had been almost completely wiped out overnight.

Even Jiang Chen, with his various advantages, only managed to hunt three Green-Winged Sword Birds in the entire second day.

If Jiang Chen was like this, one could imagine the others.

"It seems I can't linger in the first layer. I need to advance to the second layer, or even the third layer, as quickly as possible!"

Jiang Chen speculated that the Green-Winged Sword Birds were incredibly intelligent. The first to act would have the advantage, and the second would have nothing.

With this thought, Jiang Chen sped up, rapidly moving deeper into the Endless Catacombs.

In the pitch-black catacombs, with swamps and mud pits everywhere, rapid movement was quite risky.