I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 186 Gathering of strong men

On the other side of the Chen residence, Tao Zhiquan, who was sitting in the courtyard smoking a pipe, slowly raised his head when he heard the call, looking somewhat absentmindedly in the direction from which the sound came.

A moment later, his granddaughter Tao Fang ran out and asked excitedly, "Grandpa, has the Suspicious Tomb been opened?"

The legend of the supposed tomb of the Immortal Emperor has been passed down for thousands of years and holds great appeal for everyone.

Tao Zhiquan shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

Tao Fang asked again, "Grandpa, will that thief show up?"

"Most definitely."

This time, Tao Zhiquan's tone was very confident.

……

"coming!"

In a luxurious garden in the city, Jiang Shihua looked up excitedly in the direction of the voice, "Sixth Uncle, this is—"

He turned his head and found that his sixth uncle was gone.

"What about people?"

Uncle Fu, who was standing to the side, replied, "We've already gone there."

"Ugh!"

Jiang Shihua was somewhat frustrated. He had originally wanted to ask his sixth great-uncle to take him to broaden his horizons. That was the suspected tomb of the Longevity Emperor, a place sure to be filled with powerful figures.

Unfortunately, his sixth great-uncle had no intention of taking him along.

Uncle Fu reminded him, "Young master, this place is not a safe place to stay."

Jiang Shihua naturally knew how dangerous this place was. Without his sixth uncle by his side, his safety could not be guaranteed if he stayed here. So he stood up and said, "Let's go."

……

The entire Qingfeng City descended into chaos amidst shouts of "Chen Ming, come quickly!"

People with self-awareness like Jiang Shihua packed their things and ran away.

A large group of martial artists, eager for riches and danger, rushed toward the direction from which the sound came.

Most of those remaining were uninformed members of the public, trying to find out what had happened.

At this moment, outside the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion, there were already over a hundred martial artists gathered, all standing about ten feet away from the wall, none of them daring to step forward.

When Chen Ming arrived carrying Yu Haitang, he realized why these people dared not come forward.

As soon as you get close, you can feel a terrifying pressure enveloping the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion.

There were about a dozen corpses lying by the wall, without any external injuries, and they died quite peacefully.

These people were probably trying to force their way in and die. It served as an unspoken warning.

Chen Ming's arrival immediately attracted a lot of attention, especially since he was carrying a woman in his arms. In broad daylight, and in such a setting, it was natural for him to draw attention.

He ignored those people and went straight to the gate, shouting loudly, "Senior Shang, I've arrived."

With a creak, the door opened by itself.

At the same time, he felt the pressure ease and stepped inside.

Those outside, seeing this, also wanted to go in, but in the end only the two fastest people managed to get inside. Those who were a step too late all died outside.

"Thank you very much, young man."

After one of them went inside, he thanked Chen Ming. Then he passed him and went inside to explore.

……

After entering the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion, Chen Ming felt inexplicably heavy-hearted. He suddenly lowered his head and said to Yu Haitang, "In case anything happens to me, please take care of my family."

Yu Haitang said, "What makes you think that if you die, I can survive?"

“I know this young lady is no ordinary person. Since she dared to come along, she must be confident.”

"Even so, why should I take care of your family?"

"...I was presumptuous."

Chen Ming stopped mentioning the matter and headed towards where Senior Shang was.

Seeing his expression, Yu Haitang felt a pang of regret. She had intended to ask him, "What am I to you?" But the words came out differently.

As the courtyard drew closer, she suddenly said, "You're not allowed to die."

Chen Ming said, "If I could, I certainly wouldn't want to die."

After saying that, he stepped into the courtyard.

Unsurprisingly, there were already quite a few people in the courtyard.

The most eye-catching figure was a middle-aged man dressed in a bright red robe, the style of the official uniform of the Six Doors (a government agency), who must be the man in red robes from the Six Doors.

Beside him was a bright young woman, dressed in palace attire, exuding innate nobility.

Beside him were three third-rank admirals dressed in gold robes, including Zhao Shouchang.

What surprised Chen Ming the most was that the seventh-rank patrolman in blue robes next to him was actually Zhuang Xiaotian.

"How did he get here?"

Among the second group of people were acquaintances, including Madam Yu, and standing next to her was a dashing man who should be Ling Qiyang, the sect leader of Cangyue Sect.

Besides these two, there was also an elderly man with white hair.

When Madam Yu saw him and Yu Haitang, she was quite surprised, but she was very shrewd and managed not to call out to him.

The third group consisted of several men in black, whose aura was very unsettling.

The leader was tall with a pair of scarlet eyes, and being stared at by him made the man feel a chill run down his spine.

Blood Demon Sect!

He was very familiar with this aura, having read a portion of the "Blood Demon Scripture." Therefore, he immediately recognized the origins of these people.

"If it's the Blood Demon Sect, could he be there too?"

Chen Ming immediately thought of Deng Ziyang, and with a quick glance, he indeed found that one of the people's figures were somewhat similar to Deng Ziyang's.

However, the person's gaze was so cold that he couldn't be sure.

……

As Chen Ming sized up the people present, they were also sizing up Chen Ming and the woman in his arms.

One of the elderly men, whose hair and beard stood on end, said loudly, "Shang Jianfei, Yuan Zhixing, is this the little fellow you've been waiting for? His cultivation is a bit low, but his actions are quite like my own back in the day."

Another old woman, holding a dragon-headed cane, sneered, "Reckless and immoral, she has ruined a woman's chastity; she deserves to die!"

Clearly, the old woman and the old man had a grudge against each other.

I just don't know where these two people come from.

There were seven groups of people present, so you can imagine what a terrible melee was about to unfold.

How could a mere fourth-rank official like him survive in such a situation?
This is a problem.

Finally, Shang Jianfei's voice rang out, "Chen Ming, come here."

The sound was coming from inside the room.

Under the watchful eyes of these seven groups of people, Chen Ming, carrying Yu Haitang, walked step by step toward the door he had entered once before.

No one stopped him until he went inside.

In the deepest part of the room, Shang Jianfei sat facing a handsome middle-aged man dressed in white, with two streams of magical power, one blue and one white, surrounding them.

That's right, it's magic.

It is said that after a martial artist breaks through to the Divine Treasure Realm, their vital energy will transform into magical power, granting them all sorts of incredible and miraculous abilities.

That handsome old man in white must be Su Zhining's master. I heard from the white-haired old man earlier that his name is Yuan Zhixing.

Chen Ming was somewhat surprised, "Wasn't he a first-grade cultivator? When did he break through to the Divine Treasure Realm?"

He said, "Senior Shang, I have come to fulfill the promise I made to you back then."

I almost said "back then," but actually, not even a year has passed since he made the agreement with Shang Jianfei.

Shang Jianfei opened his eyes, his gaze towards him somewhat complicated. "You really surprise me, reaching the fourth rank so quickly."

Chen Ming had heard this so many times that he was no longer bothered by it. He asked, "What does Senior want me to do?"

Shang Jianfei's expression turned serious, and he said, "Do you know that beneath the Zhenhai Prince's Mansion lies a massive fire vein? Once this fire vein awakens, the erupting lava from the ground will engulf the entire Qingfeng City."

"Originally, this fire vein was sealed with immense magical power. However, some accidents occurred back then, and the seal began to loosen. This calamity was caused by my own hand. Therefore, all these years, I have remained here, trying my best to delay the eruption of the fire vein to prevent widespread destruction."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming couldn't help but gasp. To be honest, this was somewhat unexpected.

It turns out that Shang Jianfei is not only a love-struck fool, but also has a compassionate heart. He has spent more than 20 years suppressing the fire vein all by himself.

On the other hand, why would anyone build a city on a volcano if there's no reason to do so?
Shang Jianfei continued, "However, since the beginning of this year, the fire veins have become increasingly active and difficult to suppress. Even with Brother Yuan's arrival and the combined strength of the two of us, we are still somewhat powerless."

Chen Ming asked, somewhat puzzled, "Even with your strength, senior, you are struggling. What can I, with my low cultivation level, possibly do?"

Yuan Zhixing interjected, "Have you ever heard of the 'Illusory Tomb of Immortality'?"

He nodded. "I've heard a little about it."

Yuan Zhixing said, "Back then, it was the Longevity Emperor who used immense power to seal the underground fire veins and ordered people to guard them for generations. The people of this family cultivated the 'Blazing Sun Divine Art' that you are currently practicing. Later, this family inevitably declined, and the secret was leaked out. It was later obtained by the King of Zhenhai."

"It turns out that the Longevity Emperor used a cave to seal the fire vein, constantly absorbing the power of the fire vein and transforming it into pure fire elemental power. After tens of thousands of years, the power of this fire vein can be completely neutralized."

"There's a key to this: every so often, someone has to enter that cave and extract the fire elemental power within. However, ever since the last person to master the 'Blazing Sun Divine Art' died more than twenty years ago, no one has been able to enter that cave again."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming finally understood. "So, the two seniors want me to enter the cave and extract the fire elemental power inside?"

Shang Jianfei nodded and said, "That's right. As long as we take out the Fire Element Pearl condensed from the Fire Element Power, the cave can continue to operate and absorb the power of the Fire Vein. The crisis will be resolved on its own."

Chen Ming said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Those people outside are looking for the key to the suspected tomb of the Longevity Emperor. If they can't find it, why would they give up so easily?"

Shang Jianfei said, "The key is inside the cave. If they want it, let them take it."

Chen Mingqi asked, "Why are you all so sure that the key is still inside? Even if the King of Zhenhai didn't take it, wouldn't the family from back then have touched the key?"

PS: This is a make-up to yesterday's chapter. Please vote with monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)