MF-novel #170 - A corner of collapse
#170 - A corner of collapse
It's not that I can't unleash all the power, but if I did, Zhang Chen would be the first to suffer the impact. As the master, he wouldn't be able to withstand it and would be torn to shreds by that terrifying power.
“I have just mastered the bead, and I can be considered to be able to exert the power of the first level. I can borrow a kind of magical power from this bead:”
【Petrification.】
【Note 1: Can be used once every thirty breaths, each time spurting out a ray of light. As long as a creature of the first level or below is hit by the light, it will immediately turn into a stone statue.】
Zhang Chen felt that as the magic power was poured into the bead, a strange symbol appeared in his spiritual world. The symbol was simple and gray, flowing with the charm of nature, as if it was born from heaven and earth, without any flaws, just existing in Zhang Chen's spiritual world.
“First-level, and even creatures below first-level, as long as I point at them, they will turn into stone.” Zhang Chen felt the mystery of the symbol and immediately grinned.
“Good treasure! Good treasure!” Zhang Chen took the bead, and in the next moment, the bead disappeared out of thin air and reappeared in his sleeve.
Just as Zhang Chen put away the bead, suddenly there was a burst of earth shaking, and the entire stone chamber shook, as if it was about to be torn apart. The feng shui magnetic field between heaven and earth began to become chaotic.
“What happened?” Zhang Chen looked at the crumbling stone chamber that seemed to be collapsing at any time, and couldn't help but be shocked. He quickly stepped forward to activate the Golden Finger and collect the experience points on the ground.
At this time, the stone chamber had already begun to collapse, and rubble fell down. Fortunately, the stone chamber was not large, only thirty square meters. Zhang Chen quickly ran back and forth a few times, and had already collected all the experience points on the ground.
“Crack~”
There seemed to be a bigger collapse outside. The Nine Bend Yellow River Great Array was also impacted and turned back into a golden rune, flying back along the crack and drilling into Zhang Chen's magic power.
The outside world was collapsing, and even the Nine Bend Yellow River Rune Array had lost its foundation and had to escape back.
At this moment, the stone chamber suddenly collapsed, and countless rubble piled down, burying Zhang Chen completely.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Zhang Chen directly turned into mist. Regardless of the collapse of the stone chamber, the mist transformed by Zhang Chen directly drilled under the offering table made of jade before.
When the collapse of the world outside ended, Zhang Chen showed his figure under the offering table, his eyes full of surprise and uncertainty: “Damn it, what happened? But this place is not suitable to stay for long.”
Taking a look at the offering table made of jade, Zhang Chen remembered that the remaining four runes still needed the essence of jade. This could not be wasted, so he directly opened the Golden Finger panel:
【12 Skills (Beginner): Fire Aversion Rune (0/100)】
【Note 1: Can reduce the burning sensation of flames】
【Points: 2013400】
That's right, the experience points Zhang Chen had just collected amounted to two million.
“First, upgrade the remaining four runes to the first level and extract the essence of jade from this table. Otherwise, it would be really troublesome to find enough essence of jade after returning to the outside world.”
Zhang Chen directly added points to the Fire Aversion Rune:
Small Success (0/500)
Great Success (0/1000)
Perfection (0/2000)
【12 Skills (Quasi-First Level): Fire Aversion Rune (0/4000)】
【Note 1: Can be immune to the burning of flames from first-level powerhouses】
【Note 2: Requires one catty of jade essence】
【Points: 2009900】
Zhang Chen directly urged the Golden Finger to extract the essence of jade from it, and then he saw that the Fire Aversion Rune was completely evolved into the first level. The remaining three runes required the same number of points. From beginner to first level, all needed 3,500 points, and the extracted jade essence was enough to upgrade the remaining four runes.
At this time, Zhang Chen's Golden Finger panel was refreshed again:
【12 Skills (First Level): Fire Aversion Rune (0/4000)】
【Note: Can be immune to first-level fire】
【13 Skills (First Level): Wind Fixing Rune (0/4000)】
【Note 1: Can fix first-level wind】
【14 Skills (First Level): Water Fixing Rune (0/4000)】
【Note 1: Can fix the flow of first-level water】
【15 Skills (First Level): Hard Earth Rune (0/4000)】
【Note 1: Can turn mud into rock】
【Points: 1999400】
Zhang Chen glanced at the points, there were still 1,999,400 points, enough for him to upgrade a big wave, but he did not rashly add points. He felt that he should store the points first, and then see which skill was needed at the critical moment, and then upgrade that skill.
He was biased towards Blood Control and Divine Light, but he felt that he should wait. The Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter was full of unknowns. After he entered the Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter, it would not be too late to upgrade according to the needs.
Anyway, upgrading was just a matter of his thoughts. At the critical moment, he only needed a thought to directly add the points.
“Wait a minute! My current skills are enough, and my magical powers are enough. There is no rush now.” Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and decided to wait until he needed them, and then upgrade them at that time.
Then, in the next moment, Zhang Chen turned into water mist and disappeared in place, constantly窜 来 窜 去 in the basement along the cracks in the stone. The entire basement had completely collapsed, and it was impossible to walk.
“How could this happen? Why did the Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter collapse? Didn't the Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter have a feng shui formation to protect it?” The mist transformed by Zhang Chen shuttled through the cracks in the stone, his eyes full of incomprehension.
Then Zhang Chen drilled out of the crack all the way and came directly to the outside world. Then, looking at the collapsed mountain in front of him, Zhang Chen's heart was full of shock. He directly manifested his original form in front of the ruins, looking at the 100-meter-high mountain turned into ruins, his eyes full of disbelief.
A good mountain actually collapsed directly into a pile of stones, which was simply too shocking: “Could it be that the feng shui master provoked something? Or did the other party break the feng shui formation?”
While Zhang Chen was thinking, suddenly he saw the clouds of wind and clouds gathering over the collapsed rubble ruins. The originally dry air actually evolved into a large black cloud. Lightning flashed in the black cloud, and there were constant lightning snakes winding down from the clouds and striking the rubble ruins.
The lightning evolved from the black clouds was so powerful that it was still clearly visible even dozens of miles away.
“Damn it! The Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter has caused such a big commotion, I'm afraid it will attract the attention of those who are interested. Isn't the Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter going to be exposed?” Zhang Chen felt an ominous premonition in his heart as he looked at the mighty lightning snakes connecting the sky and the earth.
Why did a thundercloud suddenly appear, and there were lightning snakes connecting the sky and the earth?
“It must be the power of the feng shui formation operating. To figure out the situation, I have to go and see the feng shui master Chen Xu. Chen Xu said that he had dug into the entrance. Could it be that Chen Xu did it?”
He suspected that it was the feng shui master Chen Xu who did it, and never thought that it was because he had taken the twelfth-level mystery.
Zhang Chen's mind stirred, and he transformed into a cloud of mist, heading towards the Feng Shui master, Chen Xu. This Chen Xu was quite interesting; Zhang Chen was now very interested in him. He couldn't find the Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter himself, but if Chen Xu could dig it up, it would save him a lot of effort.
As luck would have it, the previous earth-shattering mountain collapse and the flashing thunderclouds were more than fifty miles away from where Chen Xu and the others were digging. Moreover, the group was currently in a mountain valley, their view blocked by the mountains, so they hadn't seen the thunderclouds connecting the sky and the earth.
As the saying goes, 'We cannot know the true face of Mount Lu because we are in the midst of it.' When Zhang Chen arrived, the group was grumbling and continuing to dig.
“What was that earthquake earlier? It was as if a dragon was turning over! Our village has no records of earthquakes ever happening before?” One of the ruffians, while digging in the dirt, revealed his confusion.
“Who knows? The weather has been abnormal lately; it’s not impossible for a dragon to turn over. Don’t worry about it so much; hurry up and dig!”
The group grumbled as they dug. Zhang Chen arrived at the excavation site, then applied an invisibility talisman and sat down about ten meters away, quietly watching the group dig.
The group's digging speed was a bit slow. Zhang Chen looked at the old village chief and those few local bullies; they were all very thin now. It was obvious that they hadn't been eating well lately and had been mistreated. On the other hand, Chen Xu, although his skin was dark, still had some fat on him; he seemed to be living a relatively good life.
At this moment, the group was complaining as they dug, while Chen Xu stood nervously in front of the pit, his hands clenched in his sleeves, his face full of anxiety.
Chen Xu would occasionally raise his head, looking at the sky as if sensing something, revealing a look of horror.
“Is this Chen Xu really capable, or is he just swindling people?” Zhang Chen sat beside them, wondering to himself.
The group dug for two days, and Zhang Chen watched for two days. When they dug down to fifteen meters, they heard a 'clang' from the bottom of the pit, clearly the sound of a shovel hitting a rock.
“Village chief, we’ve hit rock! The ground is all rock; there’s no cave at all.” An exasperated voice came from the bottom of the pit.
Upon hearing this, the village chief looked at Chen Xu with a gloomy expression. Chen Xu immediately became anxious: “How could it be rock? It should clearly be the entrance to the tomb.”
“Dig around the outside; maybe you’ve dug into the bluestone slab that suppresses the tomb. This rock is just a trick by the tomb builders to confuse outsiders.” Chen Xu immediately became anxious and shouted into the pit.
Hearing this, the village chief was no longer willing to believe Chen Xu's words. He said in a sarcastic tone, “Why doesn’t Mr. Chen go down and investigate himself?”
Facing the village chief's cold tone, Chen Xu couldn't help but tremble. He gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll go down and take a look myself. This is the entrance to the tomb; how could there be a layer of rock?”
As he spoke, Chen Xu went down the rope, while the few people digging the pit climbed out one after another.
The old village chief stood at the mouth of the pit, his eyes looking down at the bottom: “Mr. Chen, what do you have to say?”
“Impossible! How could this be! This should be the entrance to the great tomb; how could there be bluestone?” Chen Xu's voice was full of panic.
“Bury it.” The village chief had long reached his limit of tolerance and waved his hand listlessly.
A group of local bullies began to fill the pit with dirt. Chen Xu in the pit immediately panicked: “You can’t do this; you can’t treat human life so lightly! Believe me one more time; you definitely haven’t dug deep enough. This is just a rock blocking the entrance to the cave. As long as you find a way to dig the rock away, you will definitely see the good fortune inside.”
Hearing these words, the old village chief sneered, his voice full of coldness: “I believed your lies; this isn’t the first time you’ve said this.”
“You’re killing people! You’re treating human life so lightly! Once the imperial court finds out, you’ll be beheaded!” Chen Xu's voice in the pit was full of agitation.
“Hehe, you also said that the imperial court needs to find out.”
The old village chief said with a smile, then turned and left.
“Help! Murder! Murder!” Chen Xu kept shouting in the pit.
Along with the screams in the pit, the old village chief instead walked back, his face full of smiles: “Boy, this is a remote wilderness; you can shout as hard as you want. If someone can hear you and come to your rescue, then you’re lucky. Shout as hard as you can; even if you shout yourself hoarse, no one will come to save you.”
“Help!”
“Someone save me!”
“……”
Chen Xu shouted himself hoarse in the pit, while the bullies above shoveled dirt even more enthusiastically.
The unrestrained laughter of the crowd spread in the barren mountains. Zhang Chen, sitting beside them, sighed in his heart: “This is a world without surveillance! It’s too terrifying to treat human life so lightly in this kind of world. Ordinary people are simply like lambs to the slaughter. Even if they are killed in this remote forest, no one will know. Especially now, with the great drought, countless people are starving to death; no one will even notice if a few people are missing.”
Zhang Chen looked at the unrestrained laughter of the old village chief and the others, a hint of coldness appearing in his eyes. He had been bullied a lot in the village in the past.
However, he didn't take action at this time. He only needed to ensure that Chen Xu wasn't buried alive. After the group left, he would rescue Chen Xu.
Chen Xu had arms and legs; as long as the village chief and the others didn't throw rocks to knock him unconscious, Chen Xu wouldn't be buried alive.
Seeing Chen Xu constantly struggling in the pit, one of the ruffians picked up a rock the size of an infant's head and came to the mouth of the pit: “Mr. Chen, I advise you not to struggle anymore. If you struggle again, this rock will be smashed down right away.”
Hearing this, Chen Xu was stunned on the spot, standing blankly in the pit, looking at the ruffian standing above, a hint of horror in his eyes.
Was he to be buried alive directly, or knocked unconscious with a rock and then buried alive? Which should he choose?
Chen Xu muttered to himself, ultimately choosing to die 'clearly and understandingly.' Who would want to be smashed to death directly when they could die a little later?
Facing the large rock, Chen Xu gave up resisting.
As the dirt was buried deeper and deeper, soon reaching Chen Xu's shoulders, the old village chief waved his hand, telling the ruffians to stop, then stood at the mouth of the pit, looking down at Chen Xu inside: “I think it’s too easy for him to just bury him directly. Why don’t we just let him watch himself starve to death?”
Hearing the old village chief's words, the ruffians were stunned, their eyes full of surprise. When had their village chief become so kind?
Before the crowd could figure it out, the old village chief had already unbuttoned his pants and peed directly down.
The ruffians laughed loudly at this and also unbuttoned their pants, peeing down one after another.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Chen couldn't help but shake his head, feeling that the little loaches were an eyesore.