Cult of the Sacred Runes

Chapter 78 – Jade Crystal Wall

“It has been fifteen hours since the boy was trapped in the cocoon, I wonder what is happening to him in there...” Everyone looked worryingly at the three meters tall blood cocoon then at the passage that led deeper into the labyrinth. Their eyes showed a bit of resentment and anxiousness.

Luckily Ye Wei’s life signs had not disappeared, and there was still a Qi disturbance coming from the cocoon.

“Guys, you have recovered pretty well. You might as well head down the passageway. I will guard the cocoon, and everyone else can go search for more treasures. We can’t let those greedy b*stards take everything!” His sight then quickly returned to the cocoon. In his eyes, they were honorable for waiting so long.

“Hong Xun has a point, the treasures in this labyrinth are limited, and we can’t let those loathsome people get everything!” Xue Yao said angrily, her beautiful eyes scanned across everyone present as she stood up.

The passage was right in front of them. It was quite a feat that everyone could stay seated and guard the cocoon for fifteen hours just because of honor despite the depth of the labyrinth tempting them!

The group of cultivators opened their eyes simultaneously as they heard what Hong Xun said, and they glanced at each other to see if anyone else had the same hesitant look in their eyes. Of course, they wanted to leave, but their savior’s fate was still uncertain; if they were to leave now, their conscience would surely haunt them.

“Bang!”

Just as everyone was pondering and wondering if they should leave, a deafening noise came from the blood cocoon as it started rattling vigorously.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The same banging noise could be heard from the cocoon. “Crack!” With a loud cracking sound fissures started to appear on its surface, and they quickly grow and covered the whole cocoon.

Just as everyone was staring at the cocoon, it cracked open, and they heard a sharp voice. “Thanks everyone for guarding me this long!” A handsome boy with a childish face slowly walked out with the iron talisman that suppressed the stone giant hanging on his waist.

“The boy survived the rage intent of the Blood Devourer crystals?! And he tamed the energy within them?” Seeing that Ye Wei had not lost his mind and that his presence was stronger than before, everyone was shocked and filled with joy.

Ye Wei was fine! They could finally continue the expedition with a clear conscience.

“Where is this boy from? He has so many tricks up his sleeves! Three medium-grade scrolls, and a talisman that could suppress the stone giant...” People’s eyes stopped on Ye Wei’s belt where the talisman was hung, looked at it with admiration while praising its power.

‘Just the three medium-grade scrolls would cost five hundred thousand silvers, and the talisman that suppressed the stone giant has got to be worth more than that! He is just a Student, yet he is carrying more than a million silver worth of goods on him!?’ This thought lingered in everyone’s minds. They were under the impression that Ye Wei had more valuable and powerful items in his possession as well.

Seeing that everyone was drooling over his talisman, Ye Wei felt slightly uneasy. He knew the talisman was a rare find, and it had unmeasurable value. Even though he was young, he knew that one should not put something valuable on display. Before Ye Wei stepped out of the cocoon he tried to put the talisman in his bag, but it just kept flying back out, so there was no other way!

With no other solutions, Ye Wei decided to hang the talisman on his belt. Although he did not feel safe, all the people outside the cocoon saw the talisman in action and knew he was not one to be messed with. Also, the ones that didn’t see it defeat the stone giant would not really pay it any attention, so Ye Wei was relatively safe contrary to his fears.

Hong Xun glared at Ye Wei to check if he really was feeling well. Afterwards, he turned to the crowd and reported, “He is okay! We can relax now and enter the passage!”

“Yea!” Xue Yao nodded.

“Let’s go!”

“We can’t let the treasures of this labyrinth fall into the hands of Lu Chao and his greedy followers!” Everyone was excited to get up and start moving. They had been waiting for this moment for fifteen hours.

“Let’s go!” The hundreds of cultivators entered the passage behind Hong Xun and Xue Yao.

Ye Wei was also following the crowd closely, feeling very touched and grateful. He could still not quite believe these people wasted their time in the labyrinth guarding him when they could have been hunting for treasures. Ye Wei was a cautious person, but he couldn’t help but taking a liking to the people who waited behind for him. He couldn’t fathom that strangers could be so honorable.

‘I don’t regret helping you guys at all! If I had the same choice again, I would fight for everyone!’ Ye Wei had been teased since he was a young boy because of his red Sentient, but he learned to trust people who gave him gratitude.

“This passage...” The moment they entered the passage, they were shocked. This passage was nothing like the two passages they had gone through before.

The first passage was a narrow tunnel with rune barriers and stone houses on each side. The second passage had nothing on its side walls, and it was no wider than fifteen meters. This passage, however, was over three hundred meters wide, and its walls were made of crystal. They were cool to the touch and glittered in the darkness. The surface was so smooth they could see their reflections!

“There are no signs of any fights here; we should be safe. Lu Chao and the rest entered this passage fifteen hours ago, so we have to speed up if we want to catch up with them!” Hong Xun frowned as he could not see an end to the crystal passageway, so he signaled for everyone to speed up.

“We have to hurry!”

“This passage is very long; I can’t even see the end of it!”

“Let’s hurry!”

Everyone nodded and started running at full speed as they empowered their body with Qi and stances.

“Ha!”

Seeing everyone accelerating, Ye Wei who was watching from behind started smiling reluctantly.

Everyone was a Warriors while Ye Wei was only a Student, and on top of that Ye Wei had not learned any mystic stances. Despite having his Sentient and dantian the size of a nine-star Student, he could not even closely match the Warriors’ speed by a long stretch.

Just as Ye Wei was getting discouraged, one of the flashes ahead turned back towards him. He saw a blur and smelled an appealing fragrance.

“Hey little boy, do you want me to carry you?” Xue Yao’s charming face wore a mischievous smile, looking kindly at Ye Wei.

“Huh?” Ye Wei was distracted by her refreshing scent, and after a second, he raised his head to see a youthful, slender figure.

“N-no... No thanks! I can just run at my own pace!” Ye Wei answered with a blush on his face.

“Ha ha ha! Little boy, are you scared of me? I am not a monster, I don’t bite!” Xue Yao was amused by how shy Ye Wei was, and she couldn’t help herself from laughing flirtatiously.

Xue Yao was a beautiful girl on top of being one of the four strongest youngsters Frozen Sun City had ever seen, both of these made her a popular person with countless admirers. It was rare for her to meet someone so shy and modest, and she couldn’t help herself not to play with him.

“Uum... You’re a girl, and I’m a boy... It’s not really appropriate for you to carry me...” Lin Zi Yan’s face suddenly appeared in Ye Wei’s mind as he spoke.

“What are you thinking about!?” Xue Yao tried to contain herself but couldn’t stop laughing over Ye Wei’s overreaction. She quickly drew a sequence of runes in the air and it turned into a stance in no time.

“Is that Shadow Breeze? The Spirit stance?” Ye Wei was surprised.

“You know your stances!” Xue Yao was impressed by Ye Wei’s knowledge.

A powerful breeze formed behind Ye Wei and Xue Yao. Suddenly, Ye Wei felt ashamed that he had misunderstood Xue Yao, but it was kind of expected because he didn’t have much experience talking with girls, especially ones as pretty as Xue Yao.

“Follow me, if we are too slow, we won’t get anything. You’ve used five hundred thousand silvers worth of scrolls if you leave here empty handed it will be unfortunate!” Xue Yao smiled as splashes of green light from the stance shone on her face. The breeze materialized, and turned into two clouds. The breeze carried Xue Yao and Ye Wei causing them to catch up with the rest of the group at an incredible speed.

“We are going so fast!” With the cold breeze on his face, Ye Wei’s clothes were blown around and flapped in the air; he felt exhilaration riding the Qi clouds.

‘I have to learn a speed enhancing stance like this, or maybe one like the Shadowshift stance!’ Ye Wei was lagging behind in speed compared to others, and he clenched his fists as his will to learn stances grew even stronger.

“Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!” Xue Yao was indeed powerful. Although she was carrying the both of them, they caught up with Hong Xun and the rest of the Warriors in minutes.

Everyone used stances to boost their speed, but despite the fact that they were running as fast as they could, the end of the crystal passage could not be seen at all. They had been on the move for more than an hour which with the Warriors’ speed enhancing stances meant they had already covered over forty kilometers.

The magnificence and sheer size of the labyrinth made them wonder how and why it was built. The creator certainly had something tremendous in mind while building such a complex structure with so many security measures and attention to detail...

Everyone ground their teeth and ran in the hopes that they could catch up with that greedy bunch of ungrateful people. It wasn’t long before they finally saw light at the end of the passageway.

At the end of the crystal passage was a jade crystal wall covered with countless runes. It looked hazy from a distance and gave the cultivators the feeling that they were in a crystal empire. In front of the tall crystal wall stood Lu Chao and the people who had left the field earlier. They looked annoyed and unpleased due to the wall blocking their path.

Although Lu Chao and his followers arrived at the end of the passage before Ye Wei’s group caught up, they still couldn’t find a way through after more than ten hours of struggling.

Through the transparent jade crystal wall everyone could clearly see levitating mystic scrolls, jade scripts, pills, and mystic arms! The treasures were so close but yet so far!

Lu Chao and his men were desperate. They have been staring at this fortune guarded by the wall for more than half a day. Their souls felt entranced, their eyes were bloodshot, and their aggressive faces spoke for themselves.

“Oh, I remember you guys! Why are you all standing around? Were you waiting for us?” Somebody who was standing behind Hong Xun was amused by the swift karma and couldn’t help but mock them.

“A jade crystal wall?” Hong Xun glanced at Lu Chao with disdain and quickly shifted his focus to the wall behind him. When he saw what was on the other side of the wall, his pupils dilated.

Xue Yao let go of Ye Wei’s wrist and slowly walked towards the wall. Her playful face froze in shock as she saw what was behind the wall.

“What’s that!?” Everyone else who just arrived also started to notice what was behind the jade crystal wall.