Rise Of The Worm Sovereign

In the Tieba city, a rather tense atmosphere was present.

To the commoners of the city, this seemed like a hidden conflict, but to the higher ups it was different. Groups of cultivators from various parts of the city were currently gathering around a rather desolate looking building.

Hushed voices could be heard, as they conversed amongst themselves.

"Hey, is this really the building they called us to?" Someone questioned.

"The location matches the one mentioned in the notice." Another person checked.

"Still… isn't this rather suspicious?" the first person asked.

"What do you mean suspicious? This is Tieba city, if this is suspicion here then the entire city is suspicious." Someone joked.

"Also, what was this building even used for?"

"I inquired and apparently this used to be a slaughter house once. But now its just part of the slum."

"A slaughter house, huh… does seem appropriate for someone like that lord…"

~CHIME~

While the discussions continued, the sound of faint chimes could be heard. Some of the more sensitive people noticed it immediately, but the others were yet to realize. It wasn't until a young woman appeared did they stop talking.

"M-miss Cang!" The people recognized the woman.

"I see that everyone is here on time. Perfect!" Cang Ci smiled, sending shivers down the spine of many men.

All of them had looks of fear and anxiety on their face, and only the older experts looked calm. It was evident that Cang Ci held some reputation in their circle, and it was not the good kind.

"Now then, please follow me." Cang Ci plainly stated.

~gulp~

Many of the people couldn't help but feel even more nervous. Only the old elders among them seemed to be able to maintain their composure.

~Creak~

The old gate of the slaughter house creaked, its hundred year old hinges crying out in protest. The inside of the building was revealed, looking to be rather clean but still empty.

"Huh, there's nothing here?" the people couldn't see anything or anyone there.

"No one should stand outside. Everyone please get into the building." Cang Ci ordered.

"Y-yes!" The people replied before hurrying into the building.

~DENG~

Once everyone was in, the gate automatically closed making them tremble slightly.

"The lord will meet you shortly," Cang Ci said before making a symbol with her hand in the air.

~SHUA~

This activated an array that was hidden in the slaughter house all along.

"What? A teleportation array?!" This time even the elders were taken aback.

This was especially due to the fact that teleportation arrays were thought to be restricted in the city. But not in the sense that they couldn't be made, but rather the fact that anyone that made it would be discovered.

The consequence for it varied too. From being ignored all the way to being killed. All this depended on the power and standing of the person.

The issue that the elders had right now, was the fact that they were higher ups of the city. If there was any new teleportation array built in the city, they should have known about it or at least been alerted.

'How did they hide from the city's monitoring array?' the elders couldn't figure it out.

Unfortunately for them they didn't get to see if for more than a few seconds. Soon they were teleported away to an unknown location. In some ways, it was scary to the elders. After all, the strongest among them was at the Dao Treading realm, and yet they were being sent away helplessly.

~SHUA~

Somewhere under the Tieba city, a teleportation circle appeared. And from the circle, all the people who were previously in the slaughter house appeared.

p ~thud~thud~thud~

Those that were unable to land properly, fell to the ground. Though there were also those that were simply too shocked by the sudden teleportation and couldn't recover in time.

"What is this place?"

"Where are we?"

"Are we even in Tieba city or its territory?"

The 'guests' had a lot of questions, but no one to answer them as of now.

"Silence, watch your mouths and observe instead." One of the elders scoffed.

With that warning, they quickly zipped up their mouths. They finally looked around and saw that they were in a large structure of some kind.

The walls and roof were all made out of stone bricks that were definitely carved a long time ago, while the floor had large granite tiles.

"Granite? This isn't even from our territory." Someone recognized.

"How could someone move such a large amount of granite here like this?" the people could see that the granite flooring easily covered several hundred square meters of area.

The cost of such granite in Tieba city's territory would reach a decently high level.

"Not just that, isn't this Ebony Scale Hard Granite?" One of the more knowledgeable experts recognized.

~GASP~

"Isn't that used in making large defensive castles?" The people were stunned.

"Yeah, Ebony Scale Hard Granite is perfect for making structures and can easily bear hundreds of defensive formations being carved onto them. Furthermore, it conducts spirit Qi perfectly due to the natural veins present in it." A middle aged man explained while kneeling on the ground and observing it.

After taking in the appearance of the structure, the group decided to walk towards the other end.

"Let's continue. The lord is probably waiting ahead."

~step~step~step~

The combined sound of hundreds of steps echoed in these halls for the very first time.

A couple minutes, later they all reached the next hall of the structure. The hall was very large, easily being five hundred meters in area. Tall pillars propped up its roof while banners with a strange motif were also hanging from them.

The motif on the banner was that of a spiraling helix with a crown on top.

And at the very end of the hall, they saw a wide wooden screen, on which the silhouette of a man sitting could be seen.

"Ah, I see the guests are finally here." A voice was heard, sending chills down their spines.