Continuing onward.
After passing two more intersections, Bai Ye was nearing the tomb of the King of Huainan. It was then that he faintly heard the sounds of a struggle, along with shouts.
Bai Ye immediately quickened his pace, arriving at the edge of the tomb chamber and peeking inside.
Indeed, they were fighting!
The twenty-odd people who had arrived at the King of Huainan's tomb chamber earlier had already drawn weapons. A group was fighting over a single pill.
The pill was about the size of a dragon's eye, pure gold, surrounded by a brilliant golden radiance. The surface of the pill bore auspicious cloud patterns.
The Tai Xia Immortal Pill!
This was one of the rewards for Task Three!
"What a valuable item!"
Bai Ye knew the effects of the Tai Xia Immortal Pill. It was akin to injecting the T-virus, capable of strengthening the physical body. However, the enhancement was not as terrifying as that of the T-virus. Moreover, the Tai Xia Immortal Pill had another effect: it could transform the physical body into the body of an immortal, thereby enhancing the power of both sword techniques and Daoist magic.
However, just as with injecting the T-virus without a vaccine, which could turn one into a zombie, the Tai Xia Immortal Pill also had a catch. The chance of achieving the immortal body was only fifty percent. As for the other fifty percent…
Legend had it that the King of Huainan had perished after consuming the Tai Xia Immortal Pill. What do you think the outcome of the other fifty percent was?
Therefore, as for the Tai Xia Immortal Pill, Bai Ye was not interested. Let others fight over it; his only interest was the Five Spirit Disk.
While thinking, Bai Ye stealthily entered the tomb chamber and, hugging the wall, moved towards the side.
Since Bai Ye did not enter the fray, very few people noticed him. Even those who did had no time to spare for him, as they were all busy vying for the Tai Xia Immortal Pill.
Thus, Bai Ye smoothly made his way around the wall to the other side of the tomb chamber.
On this side of the wall were murals depicting the King of Huainan's journey of cultivation and enlightenment. In front of the wall stood a massive cauldron.
Upon seeing the cauldron, Bai Ye's eyes lit up. The Five Spirit Disk he was looking for was beneath the cauldron because the King of Huainan had used the power of the five elements from the Five Spirit Disk when refining pills.
Bai Ye glanced around, confirming that no one was paying attention to his side. He then quietly crept towards the cauldron.
He was about to succeed!
Bai Ye's face betrayed his excitement, but at this very moment…
*Bang!*
A loud noise suddenly erupted!
Someone, during the fight, had bumped into the white jade coffin placed in the center of the tomb chamber. The white jade coffin emitted a dull thud, and was pushed open slightly, releasing a stream of purple smoke.
The people around them paused, their attention drawn to the emerging purple smoke.
There was a sinister aura that made one feel extremely uncomfortable, as if ants were crawling all over the body.
Soon, the purple smoke gradually dispersed, and a humanoid figure materialized. It wore a dark brown dragon robe, its hands were a pair of bone claws, and its entire body was purplish-blue. As for its lower half, it had no legs; instead, purple smoke condensed into a mist that supported the half of its body, causing it to bob up and down in the air.
"I have returned to the world of the living! Hahahaha! I have finally returned to the world of the living!" The figure glanced at its own body, then burst into maniacal laughter. "Who would have thought! Truly, who would have thought!"
Bai Ye felt his scalp tingle. These damned fools, how could they have released the King of Huainan?
The appearance of the King of Huainan was unavoidable, but Bai Ye knew clearly that someone needed to secure the Tai Xia Immortal Pill and the Five Spirit Disk. The King of Huainan would only appear to pursue them after they left his tomb.
But now, some unlucky soul had bumped the coffin, allowing the King of Huainan to escape prematurely.
At the same time, someone looked at the King of Huainan and tentatively asked, "King of Huainan, Liu An?"
"Audacious!" The King of Huainan immediately became enraged and looked at the man. "Who are you to dare to utter my name so directly?"
The man was unfazed. "A prince in life, but a mere wandering ghost after death. Why the pretense!"
"Nonsense." The King of Huainan's anger intensified, and he roared, "I possess the Supreme Jade Cauldron and the Tai Xia Immortal Pill! I shall reign for ten thousand generations and live as long as the heavens! How dare a mere brat speak such insolent words before me! I deem you to be courting death!"
The moment the King of Huainan spoke, he suddenly raised a bone claw and brought it down.
As the King of Huainan struck, the purple smoke beneath him surged, transforming into a giant palm in the air and slamming down towards the man.
The palm strike was incredibly fast. The man had no chance to react before his crown was directly struck.
The next instant, blood flowed from the man's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth simultaneously. His pupils widened, even bulging outwards, and finally fell out of their sockets, hitting the ground. His body went limp and collapsed backward, falling silent.
With one palm strike, he had easily killed a person!
The others were instantly terrified, and then quickly retreated from the coffin, assuming a defensive stance.
The King of Huainan let out a hearty laugh. "A bunch of weaklings, daring to oppose me?"
But at this moment…
Bai Ye suddenly sprang into action, kicking the cauldron with all his might, sending it flying towards the King of Huainan.
The man who had been misleading everyone earlier saw Bai Ye and exclaimed in surprise, "Little brother, you're still alive?"
Bai Ye had no time to attend to him. The ground beneath the cauldron was carved with a Bagua diagram, and at the center of the diagram was the Five Spirit Disk that Bai Ye desired.
The Five Spirit Disk was made of bronze, with five sides corresponding to the five elements, inlaid in the floor at the center of the Bagua diagram.
Bai Ye bent down, forcefully dug out the Five Spirit Disk, and then sprinted away.
On the other side…
The King of Huainan saw the flying cauldron and, with a mighty swing of his arm, batted it aside. He then looked up and saw Bai Ye rushing out of the tomb chamber with the Five Spirit Disk.
"You scoundrel, how dare you steal my treasure!" the King of Huainan roared. "Die!"
The King of Huainan's body suddenly floated upwards and moved forward.
The people in front of the coffin were startled, retreating while trying to defend themselves.
But the King of Huainan paid them no mind. He simply swung his bone claws, and an eerie wind swirled around them, blowing the people in front of him away.
Some who were directly hit by the chilling wind felt a profound cold permeate their bodies, trembling uncontrollably. Blood began to flow from their seven orifices, their flesh and blood shriveled, and in the blink of an eye, they became mummified corpses.
A cultivator from the immortal world reacted the quickest. He summoned his flying sword, made a sword gesture, and shouted, "Ling Wu Sword, Shatter!"
The flying sword, entirely crimson, shot forward, its blade rapidly igniting and striking directly at the King of Huainan's face. But, just as it was about to hit…