60 Arrival

Chapter 60: Arrival

"I see, so all offensive and defensive artifacts will lose their abilities when we're inside that place?" Su Mu asked, looking at Ling Tai Xu, who was elaborating on his experiences when he once went inside the Nether Mountain after being instructed by his master, the previous Sect Master of the High Heaven Pavilion.

"Indeed. It appears as if the artifacts were being suppressed by some unfathomable force, something different from the rules of Heaven and Earth." Ling Tai Xu explained.

"If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have bothered refining the Asura Sword in such a hurry." Su Mu almost face-palmed himself.

If he couldn't even test the artifact after refining it, cultivating with Su Yan for a week would've been a better utilization of his time.

'But being able to nullify the effects of artifacts, I wonder what sort of Natural Array appeared within the Nether Mountains.'

An Array that suppresses artifacts wasn't something Su Mu wasn't familiar with, but it wasn't something that should be possible for anyone in a small world like this, so the only thing he could conclude was it was a natural array, something that appeared on its own.

"In any case, keep this with you." Ling Tai Xu said, handing Su Mu a bag that was the size of his palm.

'A storage device, huh?' Su Mu understood what this bag was the moment he touched it.

But before Su Mu could say anything, Hu Mei'er's voice came from the side, and she asked. "What's this?"

"I call it a Universal Bag. Do not be fooled by its small size—the inside is much larger than you think; easily capable of storing almost any item you wish to keep."

"I see." Hu Mei'er was somewhat impressed that Ling Tai Xu possessed such a treasure, but since she was already familiar with Su Mu's Demon Mystic Tome, the concept of storage artifacts wasn't new to her, and the same could be said for Hu Jiao'er.

'They don't seem surprised after seeing the Universal Bag.' Ling Tai Xu had expected some intense reactions from the group of youngsters, but he never expected them to just brush the Universal Bag off as if it was some random item, but he held his doubts inside, flying forward.

And after flying for about a day, the four of them arrived at the place that was filled with an eerie silence, and all Ling Tai Xu could see was an ominous mountain extending out forever.

"Is this..." Hu Jiao'er glanced at the never-ending mountain, and Ling Tai Xu completed what she wanted to ask.

"... The Great Han Dynasty's only forbidden zone—The Nether Mountain."

The Hu Sisters had to admit that there was a desolate and threatening air that loomed around the Nether Mountain, enough to send shivers down most people's spines, but contrary to them, Su Mu had a different opinion on Nether Mountain.

'It looks like a nice place to live for a few years to cultivate in seclusion.'

After arriving here, before they had time to go in, from left and right two groups of cultivators arrived.

From the left came six people, and to the Hu Sisters' surprise, the group was all women. The six were led by an old woman, and a beautiful young woman, followed by four young girls, who appeared to be their disciples.

Hu Jiao'er quietly glanced at Su Mu, wondering what his reaction was, but to her surprise, he was looking at her with a teasing smile, probably expecting her to be cautious of any women that appear around him.

Somewhat embarrassed, Hu Jiao'er quickly looked away, causing Su Mu's smile to widen slightly.

Looking at Su Mu's smile, Ling Tai Xu whispered. "They are from the Ten Thousand Flower Palace, a first-class sect, and each of those girls is one of their Sect's geniuses. They usually tend to be slightly arrogant, so be careful of them, and do not try to court them, or else they may just devour you whole, bones and all."

"... Yeah, sure." Su Mu replied with a bland face, not sure what else to say.

When was the last time someone had told him to be careful around women he wasn't even interested in?

It was like telling a fish in the water to not accidentally drown.

"Rather than that, Senior Ling, I think you should tell those girls to be careful around him." Hu Jiao'er commented, not wanting to increase the number of women around Su Mu.

"Yes. Big Sis is saying that from her past experiences. All it took was one massage before—" Hu Mei'er added with a small, teasing grin, but she was interrupted before she could continue.

"Hey!" Hu Jiao'er retorted, embarrassed as her cheeks turned slightly red.

Hu Mei'er just giggled in response.

While this was happening, the group on the right also approached the four of them, and from the looks of how things were, it was easy to tell that Ling Tai Xu had some grievances with the leader of the second group.

"They are from the Ghost King Valley." Ling Tai Xu frowned.  "The three of you may have more trouble than I initially thought."

"Why so?"

"Because this old master had fought with that old man, Gui Li, more than a dozen times, and they are an Evil Sect from the Ash Grey Could Evil Land, so if you fight with them, be especially careful of their underhanded techniques." Ling Tai Xu explained.

'Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land?'

That was a place Su Mu planned on visiting to collect Evil Spirits, so he decided to interrogate the cultivators from the Ghost King Valley if he had the chance to for some information.

Although Gui Li and Ling Tai Xu had some grievances, they still decided to team up after the old woman from the Ten Thousand Flower Palace, as they all had similar objectives, and started navigating through the edges of the Nether Mountain to their final destination.

And after encountering several monster beasts, ranging from Peak Fifth Order Monster Beasts to even Sixth Order, while Third and Fourth Order were like insects that kept piling up regardless of where they went.

Under normal circumstances, crossing a distance of only five hundred kilometres on foot, this group of cultivators would only need about two hours; and if were to fly, it would take them a little more than half an hour.

But crossing five hundred kilometres in the Nether Mountain had taken them more than two full days, and according to the Palace Master of the Ten Thousand Flower Palace, although the edges of the Nether Mountain were a little dangerous, they were never this dangerous, so everyone had guessed that something was wrong this time.

And after travelling for a while longer, the group finally arrived at their destination.

In front of them lay a massive lake—its waters clear and sparkling, but the strangely calm atmosphere gave an eerie feeling, making the newly arrived disciples uneasy.

Looking around, Su Mu saw that surrounding the lake were many groups of people, and from what he could tell, these groups belonged to the Great Han Dynasty's forces that had all brought their disciples here for life experience.

Their numbers varied a lot; some bigger groups had as many as seven or eight people, while the smaller ones numbered only three or four, like the group from the High Heaven Pavilion.

Each of these groups was separated by about three hundred meters and were all quietly waiting at the edge of the lake.

And from there on, the temporary alliance between the Ten Thousand Flower Palace, the Ghost King Valley, and the High Heaven Pavilion came to an end.

"Come, let us also find a spot."  Ling Tai Xu said, leading Su Mu and the Hu Sisters towards the lake.

Most of the spots around the lake had been occupied by the forces which had arrived sooner, so Ling Tai Xu and the others could only continue walking past these groups, and while this was going on, Su Mu analyzed the disciples brought here by the various sects.

'It shouldn't be that difficult for Mei'er and Jiao'er to make it through this trail on their own, but it'll be fairly challenging, and there seems to be some Sword Cultivators here, too... That's good.'

While Su Mu had no intentions of babysitting Hu Mei'er and Hu Jiao'er through this trail, he wouldn't let them walk into something that would endanger their lives, and this was something the Hu Sisters were also aware of.

And even if things turned out grim, he could always sense their location using the mark he had left on them before the Heaven's Cave Inheritance opened.

After walking around more than half the lake, the four finally found an unoccupied place, greatly relieving Ling Tai Xu.

The group sat down cross-legged while Ling Tai Xu explained the various sects and forces around the lake, something Su Mu wasn't interested in, but the Hu Sisters listened carefully, which made Ling Tai Xu wonder who his disciples were—Su Mu or the Hu Sisters.

Surprisingly enough, some cultivators came from the Tian Lang Dynasty.

"The culture in Tian Lang Dynasty is quite different from our own, rumor has it that most of their cultivators are both cruel and vicious, on top of that, they are not our countrymen, so you must be very careful inside if you encounter them." Ling Tai Xu explained.

"From the way they dress... I like their culture better." Su Mu commented with a light chuckle, looking at the two women within the Tian Lang Dynasty's group.

Hearing that comment, the Hu Sisters also turned towards the said group and noticed the two women Su Mu was talking about.

Their bodies were enchanting, and their clothes left little to the imagination as their arms were fully exposed and their tight-fitting tops could barely contain their bountiful chests, seems like they would burst free at any moment. These two women completely exposed their thin, flat waists, allowing their exquisite navels to dance charmingly, and covering their lower bodies were skirts that barely reached above their knees, revealing much of their shapely legs.

Naturally, Su Mu only said that as a joke to mess with Hu Jiao'er, and from the looks she was giving him, his plan had worked.

"Haah..." Ling Tai Xu let out a helpless sigh, unable to understand how a wise man like Su Xuan Wu managed to have such a little bastard of a grandson.

In less than a day, the lake had been surrounded by cultivators, and soon, more than five bouts had already been started. Many groups from smaller forces, whether it was their elders who had served as escorts or the disciples here for life experience, were slaughtered clean by the newcomers, with their spots taken.

Such bloody cruel scenes did not cause any waves however, anyone who had dared to come here was fully prepared to engage in such conflicts.  If one's strength was inferior and they were slaughtered because of that, no one would complain on their behalf.

Fortunately for the other party, no one was eyeing the spot where the cultivators from the High Heaven Pavilion were resting.

And now, all they had to do was wait for the secret location to open.

This continued until night fell, when suddenly Ling Tai Xu's face became serious, and he called out. "It's beginning."

Just as Ling Tai Xu's voice faded, all cultivators present began to prepare as hundreds of light beams blossomed from within the lake, suddenly pouring out, and the entire scene was illuminated in a brilliant splendour; it was truly a magnificent sight.

Immediately after, a strange and heavy atmosphere descended, causing the Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators to frown as if they were bearing some massive weight, with all of them struggling and in pain, using their Secret Arts to resist the pressure.

The duckweeds by the lakeside began to rotate, instantly growing in size until they reached about three meters in length before they began to stabilize.

Once the duckweed in front of them had finished expanding, Ling Tai Xu shouted. "Go!"

After hearing his call, Hu Jiao'er, Hu Mei'er, and Su Mu jumped onto the duckweed without any hesitation before turning back towards Ling Tai Xu, who then said.

"Make sure to kill anyone who provokes you, but make sure to not go around provoking other cultivators for no reason."

"We'll keep that in mind." Su Mu replied.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the duckweed suddenly began to move towards the centre of the lake, carrying the disciples standing upon them, with hundreds of cultivators moving through the various duckweeds.

As the duckweeds were travelling forward, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared at the centre of the lake, pulling everyone in without the slightest chance for them to resist.

Cries of shock rang out in all directions but quickly disappeared as the scenery around them began to warp.

Once the Hu Sisters recovered from this, they found themselves transported to a strange new environment, and at that, they arrived at the place Ling Tai Xu was talking about.

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A/N:

About the question about Ghost King Valley Girl and the Insect Girl as servants, I decided to not include them.

Maybe the insect girl because I find her powers interesting (and she can inherit the Insect Emperor's legacy on the Shadowed Star. Maybe?)

Although, the main question is...

I never planned to add any OC waifus until the 3,000 worlds, but how about one being Su Mu's Artifact Spirit (for the Asura Sword or the Small Inheritance World) that'll accompany him as a partner, like how Liu Yan did in the original novel?

That'll be the only OC added, though.