Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 93: Underground Treasury

“Alright, I understand.
You guys can leave now!” Chu Xun dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

Yun Bing, Chu Feng, and the others had more or less guessed what was happening as well.

The four clans of Liao were once again ignored and left to their own affairs, but they were happy with this turn of events, because Chu Feng had commanded them to guard the perimeter and to report in if they noticed something amiss.

In other words, he had assigned them a responsibility, so they would surely receive a share of the rewards from the ruins.

The four clans each headed in a cardinal direction away from the portal.

Meanwhile, Yun Bing, Chu Feng, Chu Xun, and Yun Meng crowded around their uncles.

“Uncle Nan, have you figured out how difficult it is to activate the portal?” Chu Feng asked.

It was likely that Zhang Lie had already entered the ruins, so they were getting increasingly anxious.
After all, they were fully aware of just how terrifying Zhang Lie was.
His knowledge of the foundational breakthrough, as well as his Potion #1, was more than sufficient to shock the world. 

And now, they had found traces of him here.
How could they not be anxious? Zhang Lie's target was clearly these ruins; in other words, within these ruins was something he had to acquire at any costs.

Zhang Lie had always given them an impression of strength and mystery, and they could hardly imagine just what sort of treasure would be inside.

Chu Zhennan laughed.
“It's not too hard, but it might take some time.
If I'm not wrong, this is a duplication-illusion array.”

“A duplication-illusion array?

“A construction that was in vogue in the early days of the dimensional world—not too complicated; the tedious part is finding the eye of the array.
Only by doing so can we break out of this array and activate the teleportation array underneath!”

This series of questions and answers allowed Yun Bing and the others to get a good grasp of the situation.

“Uncle Nan, in that case, please hurry! If I'm not mistaken, our friend has already entered the extradimensional space, so we also have to hurry up, or he'll snatch up all the goodies!” Chu Xun pressed, wanting to meet Zhang Lie again as soon as possible.

Chu Zhennan stroked his beard.
“Chu Xun, there's no rush: the other three clans from the capital are about to arrive.
Why don't we conserve our energy and wait for them? As for your friend, there's no need to worry at all.
No matter what spoils he's managed to obtain, he'll have no choice but to hand them all over when faced with the might of the five clans of the capital.”

Chu Zhennan's words sent shivers down Chu Feng and Yun Bing's back. 

Chu Feng immediately argued, “No, don't, Uncle Nan! Trust me, please, we need to enter immediately! If my friend came here, then there's surely treasure of unimaginable worth within.
We'll surely benefit from entering first!”

Chu Feng was so insistent that it surprised even Chu Zhennan.

But before he could say anything, Yun Bing also added, “Uncle Zheng, Chu Feng's right.
That friend of ours is really quite special, so we need to head down immediately!”

If it were only Chu Xun insisting on it, the two of them might have thought that she was simply impatient, but with Chu Feng and Yun Bing jumping into the fray as well, things were different.
After all, both of them were being groomed for leadership positions within the clans, and they tended to be thoughtful and attentive to detail.
If even they were in such a hurry, then there surely had to be something unusual about this friend of theirs.

The two elders glanced at each other.
Eventually, Yun Chongzheng said, “Alright, if you're all in such a hurry, then the two of us will give it a try.
However, don't expect too much: everything within the array will be twisted and distorted, and the eye likely won't be easy to find.
It's quite possible that the other three clans will arrive before we can do so.”

“That's not a problem, Uncle Zheng.
Please try your best!” Yun Bing immediately replied.

“In that case, we'll head inside now.
Stay safe out here!”

“Don't worry, there won't be anyone here who would dare to touch our clans!”

As Yun Bing and the others stepped back, the two elders stepped into the array.

While the Yun and Chu clans were attempting to access the extradimensional space from without, Zhang Lie and the others were already reaping rewards from within.

A long corridor at the opposite end of the plaza led to all variety of rooms, allowing Zhang Lie and the others to find quite a number of spoils, including frameworks and techniques, potion recipes, and a few pieces of armor and weapons.
Of course, during this process, they encountered a number of small trials, but Zhang Lie easily overcame them all.

What they had found was only the tip of the iceberg, because the Eclipse Sage's treasury wasn't located in any of the rooms of the castle at all, but rather underground.
Yes, underground—in an underground treasury!

Information from his past life made Zhang Lie aware of just where the mechanism for accessing the treasury was, and heading to the treasury was his last remaining goal.
However, because it would be somewhat dangerous, Zhang Lie intended on heading down alone.

At the tallest clocktower of the Eclipse Sage's castle stood Zhang Lie, Fang Yi, Sun Mengmeng, Yang Ze, Li Feng, Zhou Ying, and Sun Xiaowu.

“Fang Yi, Sun Mengmeng, for now, your task is to help me guard this clocktower.
The trials to access the treasury are still too dangerous for all of you, so it's best if I go down alone.
Don't worry, I'll definitely be looking out for suitable treasures for all of you.”

Zhang Lie punched the heavy bell, causing a deep, resonant toll to sound throughout the castle. 

As the sound waves reverberated, the entire castle seemed to tremble, and a number of inscriptions could be seen on the surface of the bell.
Right beneath the bell appeared a small teleportation array, seemingly out of nowhere.

The moment it did, Zhang Lie stepped within it, vanishing in a flash of white light.

The teleportation array vanished as though it had never existed.

All that remained of Zhang Lie was his final instruction: “Remember to ring the bell once every fifteen minutes!”