Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword

Half a month later than the originally planned two months, Zhou Heng and his party finally arrived at the central area of the snowfield, the entrance of the ancient tomb.

Many people were already here, but each looked somewhat battered, with some still having blood stains on their bodies that hadn't been cleaned, exuding a rather terrifying killing intent. Evidently, these people had also encountered the fierce bombardment of the bird flock and possibly lost some of their companions.

Those birds were indeed terrifying. Apart from strong teams like Zhou Heng's Milky Way Realm squad, Comet Realm experts had to be present for support; otherwise, casualties would be inevitable.

To Zhou Heng's surprise, the nine Black Cave Kings had not yet entered the ancient tomb but were instead studying something with seven dark iron rings.

Jin Haochen, who knew more because his father was among those powerful figures, said, "Those are Thundercloud Rings, the key to opening the tomb!"

The key to the tomb?

Why would a tomb have a key? Shouldn't it be sealed forever? Or perhaps the descendants of the Thundercloud Emperor also envisioned themselves becoming grave robbers one day?

Zhou Heng suddenly understood. No wonder this time only the kings of the Seven Great Countries were present, and not eight or six countries, because there were only seven Thundercloud Rings, each held by one of these countries.

Holding a Thundercloud Ring was tantamount to possessing a ticket, allowing their kings to lead their prodigies into the tomb for a share of the rewards.

However, the nine Black Cave Kings were supposed to have flown here on the first day, but nearly three months had passed, and the door to the tomb had still not been opened, indicating how complex the opening method was.

Having a key wasn't enough; without knowing the exact steps, there was only the slow process of trial and error.

A Black Cave King opened up a vast defensive circle spanning a thousand feet, where it was tranquil within the area—no snowflakes drifted, and the temperature was normal, demonstrating the absolute strength of the Black Cave King.

Even a Comet Realm expert could only open a protective circle of ten or twenty feet at most, and could not maintain it for long, or they would be exhausted and might even die here!

But this Black Cave King had been maintaining this defensive circle since the first batch of younger ones arrived, for at least ten days now, showcasing extreme power!

Actually, it wasn't that the Spiritual Power accumulation of a Black Cave King was truly so much stronger than that of a Comet Realm; it was because a Black Cave King had formed a Black Cave!

Swallowing everything!

To the Black Cave King, this coldness was nothing, as the Black Cave could automatically absorb it without needing to expend Spiritual Power. However, this had its limits, thus the one-thousand-foot range of the defensive circle.

Perhaps he could stretch it to fifteen hundred feet in size, but definitely not more. Beyond that distance, the Black Hole wouldn't be able to swallow all the forces and would have to consume its own powers to eliminate them.

Even for a Black Cave King, it wouldn't be possible to sustain it permanently.

Zhou Heng wasn't in a hurry; every day he could increase his accumulation of the Milky Way's Spiritual Power, and without three years, he would reach the peak of the Milky Way Realm. This speed was something he should be content with—although, if possible, he didn't mind being a bit faster.

Along the way, they slew many birds, but there were too many in the Stellar Realm and too few in the Milky Way Realm, not bringing much benefit to Zhou Heng, though he did generate two Milky Way paths.

But compared to the seventy-eight Milky Way paths automatically formed by the Star Vortex these days, just two Milky Way paths seemed insignificant!

Of course, for others, such an increase in two Milky Way paths in just two or more months would be unbelievably joyous—almost like flying!

Currently, Zhou Heng had formed a total of one hundred and thirty-two Milky Way paths, having advanced to a Milky Way Emperor, though just the lowest tier Milky Way Emperor, far from the nine hundred and ninety-nine Milky Way paths.

His speed was fast, and the Black Donkey's pace wasn't slow either; it had barely crossed the threshold of a hundred Milky Way paths!

It was clear that it and Little Fire had picked up some good treasure in the Imperial Palace, allowing them not to be left behind by Zhou Heng in their progress.

Another dozen days passed, and almost everyone was here—those not yet arrived probably would never make it! Roughly estimating, about a quarter of the people were missing, a considerable loss.

But the nine Black Cave Kings didn't mind, focusing all their spirit on figuring out how to open the ancient tomb's portal; interrupt them now, and you'd likely be slapped to death.

Three months had passed, and it seemed the nine Black Cave Kings had made a significant breakthrough in their research, with serious expressions yet unable to hide their excitement.

Only one thing could stir the Black Cave Kings.

Sure enough, three more days passed, and the seven Thundercloud Rings suddenly danced up into the sky, interlocking into a wondrous shape, emitting purple light and shining downwards, forming a portal!

"Go!" The nine Black Cave Kings didn't hesitate at all, nor did they issue any orders, simply streaming into the portal.

With their departure, the originally formed protective circle vanished instantly, as the wind howled piercingly through the bones.

"Quick, enter!"

Everyone hurriedly shouted, feeling assured with the nine Black Cave Kings ahead, not fearing any danger in entering recklessly.

There were only a few hundred people, and they rushed in, disappearing quickly beyond the portal, leaving behind the seven Thundercloud Rings continuing to emit their purple light.

This is an underground imperial mausoleum!

After passing through the portal, what appeared before Zhou Heng was a vast underground space, hundreds of feet tall, and spanning dozens of miles in area. In this enormous space, an imperial palace was constructed, resplendent with gold and jade.

This imperial palace was divided into three sections, front to back, composed of twelve palaces, each towering a hundred feet high, appearing extremely majestic.

It was still very cold, but unlike the bone-chilling cold of the ice field, it was a Yin Shenshen kind of cold that made people break out in cold sweat involuntarily, with a racing heartbeat, as if their hearts might leap out of their chests.

Splatter!

Someone was already vomiting blood, coughing it up uncontrollably, and finally, astonishingly, even coughed up their heart, dying instantly on the spot!

This was a Milky Way Emperor!

Everyone was struck with awe. Although it was much better here without the extreme cold above, the level of threat was not reduced but increased!

Everyone spread out their spiritual power to form a defense. From here on was the true ancient tomb, and no one wanted to be disturbed even after death, so there were deadly traps at every step, with heart-pounding danger at every moment.

The nine Black Cave Kings were already nowhere to be seen. With their status and realm, naturally, they would only be interested in the body of the Thundercloud Emperor, or in other words, the rune left on his body.

"To the palace!"

No one knew who said it first, but everyone immediately rushed towards the first palace. However, as soon as they sped up, blood suddenly erupted, and at least a dozen people fell to the ground, their breath vanishing instantly!

"Heavenly Silkworm Spider Silk!" someone said in a trembling voice. As his voice fell, a bloodstain appeared on his cheek, from left to right, and then the top half of his head slid off, his divine sense obliterated!

"He-Heavenly Silkworm Spider Silk!" Everyone was greatly shocked.

The Heavenly Silkworm was a Divine Beast, and the silk it spat out was extremely tough and fine, so fine that even a Comet Realm expert couldn't see it with the naked eye. Running into Heavenly Silkworm Spider Silk at high speed was like being sliced by an unstoppable sharp blade!

This was a terrifying killing weapon, because it was nearly invisible and intangible, many people died without knowing why.

It was said that an adult Heavenly Silkworm was a Black Cave-level Divine Beast. Its spider silk might not pose much threat to a Black Cave King, but it was extremely dangerous for martial artists of other realms.

Yet this also filled everyone with expectation for the burial items in the mausoleum!

The Heavenly Silkworm Spider Silk, if one could collect a segment, would become a powerful weapon for assassinations in the future!

Although the spider silk was nearly invisible, it could still be revealed through deliberate searching, but the problem was that the silk was simply too tough to be cut! After much effort with no success, everyone had to abandon the thought, and proceeded towards the first palace like crawling turtles, cautiously and slowly.

Zhou Heng extended his hand, touched the Heavenly Silkworm Spider Silk, and with a light press, a bloodstain immediately appeared on his palm. Neither the Five Elements Rune nor his own spiritual power defense could do anything against this strand of spider silk!

Truly, the silk spat out by a Divine Beast!

Moreover, the spider silk carried a sharp energy similar to the Black Sword, capable of severely damaging divine sense. If it directly cut across the head, it would definitely annihilate the divine sense without a chance of escape!

No wonder several people had died before!

Zhou Heng took out the Black Sword and lightly tapped the spider silk. With a buzz, the silk instantly snapped and gently hung down on both sides. However, the silk was so incredibly fine that even with Zhou Heng's sight, it was undetectable, feeling completely intangible even when held in hand.

It could only become a killing weapon when taut!

Zhou Heng couldn't help but lament, such a treasure could not even be collected by him. But it didn't matter, though it was sharp, it wasn't as unbeatable as the Black Sword, and was truly suitable for stealth attacks.

"Zhou, let's go, we are already far behind!" urged the Black Donkey.

"Hmm!" Zhou Heng nodded and advanced with the Black Donkey and Little Fire, using the Black Sword to clear the way. Unlike others, he didn't need to proceed cautiously like a snail, making progress swiftly, not much slower than the others.

The doors of the grand hall were closed, flanked by two Stone Pigs, displaying ferocious postures.

As the first person approached to push the door, a roaring sound was heard, the ground trembled, and countless debris fell from above, as if the entire space was about to collapse.

Fortunately, it did not. Once the two doors were completely opened, the roaring sound ceased abruptly.

The first person just wanted to take a step, but a gray shadow flashed, and his figure had vanished!

Swallowed by a Stone Pig!

—The two Stone Pigs at the entrance had come to life! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)