Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-3012

Everyone entered the path and carefully covered it up behind them. The entrance to this path was very well hidden. If it wasn’t for Bai Xiaole’s special divine ability, they wouldn’t have noticed it.

Upon entering the path, Long Chen found that it seemed to be a corridor that had been covered by earth, causing it to become an underground passageway.

As they were walking between the walls, they could see murals all around them. But due to the immense time that had passed, the murals were too faded to be depicted.

The passageway was covered in cracks, as if it might collapse at any moment. There were new footprints though, indicating that Bai Shishi and the others had passed through this place.

“Wait.”

Long Chen suddenly raised his hand, causing everyone to stop. He squatted down and looked at the ground. There was a small thread thinner than a person’s hair in the dusty dirt. Let alone someone not paying attention, even if you were to look carefully, you might easily miss it.

“The Heaven Female Alliance’s people aren’t bad. They actually know how to set up mechanisms.” Long Chen smiled. This thread was hidden perfectly within the messy footprints, so it was very difficult to notice. If it weren’t for Long Chen’s sense of danger, he also wouldn’t have noticed it.

“Take note of this thread. Don’t touch it.” Long Chen didn’t break the mechanism. Instead, he made a mark and had everyone carefully pass it.

Only once everyone was past did Long Chen remove his mark. Using his Spiritual Strength, he was surprised to find that he wasn’t even able to tell where this thread led to or what kind of mechanism it might trigger.

However, if he could sense danger, it definitely wasn’t lacking in power. It seemed that he had underestimated the Heaven Female Alliance. The number one guild of the High Firmament Academy was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

After they passed through as well, the footprints grew even more chaotic. If people came after them, they would be able to easily tell that two groups of people had passed through. Also, as they wouldn’t suspect there to be any traps, there was a very high chance of anyone who followed them running into it.

They found two more traps that Long Chen avoided. The further they went, the more intact the stone walls became.

However, most of the murals had been destroyed by some tools. It seemed that those ancient people were concealing something.

After traveling a while further, Long Chen suddenly squatted down and picked up a thumb-sized bone.

This bone was eroded and full of tiny holes. It was as if just lightly touching it would turn it to dust.

“What’s that?” asked Luo Bing curiously.

“It’s a crystal bone from a devil creature. Although it’s badly damaged, you can vaguely see the devil creature’s runes on it. It should be on the level of a king,” said Long Chen, closely examining it.

“A devil king?!” Luo Bing and the others were shocked.

Luo Ning couldn’t help saying, “Isn’t it said that once they reach the level of a devil king, a devil creature’s body can be likened to divine weapons, and the crystal bone will be blessed with the same longevity as heaven and earth, never aging or decaying?”

This was why Luo Bing and the others were so shocked. Even a devil king’s crystal bone, said to be undying and undecaying, had turned into this state. Then just how old was this place?

Long Chen shook his head. “That so-called never aging or decaying is based on the human race’s lifespan. In this world, anything that has a form will eventually decay.”

“So that’s why there are no corpses here in these ruins. They eroded a long time ago,” said Mu Qingyun.

Long Chen continued leading the way. The path grew wider and wider until they reached a fork. Now, there were three paths to choose from. Bai Shishi and the others’ footprints led to the leftmost path.

Just as they were going to follow those footprints, Long Chen said, “These footprints are fake.”

That startled everyone. How could these footprints be fake? Luo Bing and the others stared and couldn’t see anything off.

“Brother San, what’s going on?” asked Mu Qingyun.

Long Chen sighed. “You are all lacking experience in this regard. I’ll give you a lesson. Look at their footprints and tell me what the difference is between their footsteps and ours.”

Everyone compared but still didn’t notice anything different. They were lost.

“It seems that our footsteps are a bit messier compared to theirs? Their footprints might be a bit clearer? I don’t know if I’m right or not,” said Mu Qingyun hesitantly.

“Smart. You are correct. Bai Shishi and the others definitely have a way to find the correct path after coming here. However, in order to prevent themselves from being tracked, they had people walk on that path first. After a certain length, those people retraced their steps. They stepped into their own footprints, so naturally they appear different from when people are just casually walking. Most likely, there is another trap at the end of that path. The reason the Heaven Female Alliance could become the academy’s number one guild is definitely not due to coincidence. They have capable people amongst their ranks,” said Long Chen.

Hearing this, people felt a chill on their backs. This kind of trap-setting was frightening. If they didn’t have Long Chen leading the way, they probably would have been wiped out on the very first trap. Both Bai Shishi and Long Chen’s scheming went far deeper than they dreamed. Compared to the two of them, they were like idiots. It seemed that it wasn’t just combat power that they were lacking compared to real experts.

“Xiaole, sense her again,” said Long Chen.

As expected, when Bai Xiaole used his divine ability, they quickly determined which path she had gone to. It was the middle path.

“But how are we supposed to go without leaving footprints? That would ruin Bai Shishi’s trap, no?” asked Luo Bing.

“Hehe, that isn’t a problem for me, Bai Xiaole! Just leave it to me!” said Bai Xiaole confidently.

His spatial divine ability could transport people, albeit only for a short distance. First, Long Chen led a few people down the left path to imitate that a second group had gone in that direction for any pursuers. Otherwise, it would be far too obvious that something was up.

After that, Bai Xiaole formed hand seals, and space twisted around them. They felt like they had entered a transportation formation. They were then sent far into the middle path, and they once more saw Bai Shishi and the others’ footprints.

“Good job.” Long Chen patted Bai Xiaole’s shoulder.

Bai Xiaole’s face was deathly white. Just now, he had expended a huge amount of energy to bring them along. However, his face lit up again when he obtained Long Chen’s praise.

Luo Bing and the others also praised Bai Xiaole. His spatial divine ability was truly amazing. The other aspect was that Bai Xiaole was like a child and liked being praised, especially such direct praise. That was because indirect praise was something that he might not understand.

Everyone’s praise made Bai Xiaole so happy he couldn’t stop smiling. He very much enjoyed this feeling.

Following the path forward, they no longer encountered any traps. It seemed that Bai Shishi and the others were confident in their traps and no longer felt the need to place more.

Suddenly, the space ahead of them widened, and they arrived in a giant palace hall. But as soon as they entered this place, everyone let out a grunt. It felt like their souls were being pulled out of their bodies. Long Chen’s gaze instantly sharpened. He saw countless corpses within the hall, and the pressure from those corpses was what made people’s souls feel like they were being torn apart.

Just at this moment, rays of Sword Qi collapsed on them from every direction.