Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (5 page)

Seated within the courtyard Hui Yue let out a deep sigh as he no longer emitted the haughtiness from before, instead he once more seemed like a calm and collected youth who was stunningly beautiful but his noble air had dispersed.

“We will have to stay here for some time,” Hui Yue said apologetically as he looked around, noting every location of the recording stones, then he started to destroy them, one after another with the help of Black Blood.

Infusing it with spiritual energy, Hui Yue threw the dagger which landed on the stones with precision after which he recalled it by activating the spiritual energy that was stored within. Having removed every stone in their new residence, a big smile appeared on his face. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back against a tree, happiness evident on his face.

“As far as we know, Sun should be within this city right now.” As they all sat down, Hui Yue stated their reason for entering the city.

“At first I was slightly hesitant to enter this place because I feared our strength would not be enough, but looking at these cultivators I think we are safe, even though our foundation is still rather unstable after the spiritual energy spring”

Pausing for a bit, Hui Yue looked around. “We need to find Sun, but we know nothing about her. We don’t know what she looks like, we don’t even know if Sun is her real name, nor do we know why they  brought her here. All we can do for now is to slowly investigate in a way that they won’t guess that we are planning something.” Hui Yue looked stern for a short time as he knew that although they were higher ranked than the majority of the cultivators in the city, it would not be a great idea to abuse this strength to fight the citizens just because they had not been careful enough.

“Let’s try and see how much information we can get from them tonight at the banquet. Then tomorrow we will try and enter the markets and see if we can buy some information. I am sure that everything we brought from the surface will be able to sell incredibly well in this place with such low cultivating.”

The group all nodded their heads. Anything from inscriptions, even the weakest which could only spark a fire, to simple and weak martial art skills could all be sold for a fortune. One could guess how much they would be able to earn should they feel like selling cultivation techniques.

Hui Yue was, however, not willing to sell anything which would change the lives of these citizens. He still felt guilty for providing the Deng family with the means to revolt, as he had given them the mechanism used in the watermills.

Not only the Deng family but also the Rong family had changed severely due to the technology Hui Yue had given them from his old world. His sudden thought about sharing his knowledge, which he previously had given out because of gratitude, had changed the lives of thousands upon thousands of citizens within Riluo City, not to mention the many casualties a result of the war.

Knowing that he was partly at fault caused Hui Yue to put himself at risk for the sake of ending the fighting in Riluo City once and for all. Although it ended with Deng Wu personally executing his own father and Wang Ju Long losing her father as well, Hui Yue knew that neither of them blamed him. But he still blamed himself, and this caused him to be much more tight-lipped with everything he knew. His knowledge was only for he, himself, to use, and in the worst case scenario he would share it with his very closest friends, but only if they were in a life or death situation.

This was the reason Hui Yue only allowed Deng Wu and the others to sell items with next to no value on the surface when selling at the markets the following day.

“Well, that is for tomorrow,” Hui Yue ended up saying, “Tonight we are going to be guests at the banquet so we better get dressed.” Hui Yue said laughing as he picked out a celestial blue cloak with silver embroiderys created with the finest materials which money could buy. Donning the celestial cloak, Hui Yue once more looked like a young master.

Deng Wu could not help but laugh a little at the transformation. He then quickly picked out a black robe with a red belt that had red embroidery on the edges. This was also made from the finest material making Deng Wu’s status seem no less than Hui Yu’s.

Wang Ju Long owned no clothes for women but she too dressed up in a beautiful golden robe with red and orange embroidery of phoenixes, causing Lan Feng to approve of her style.

Looking at the three young masters Sha Yun snorted in disdain. She was an enchantress and she prided herself with her good looks, so when she removed her cloak she instantly found some jewellery which she wore on top of her alluring and scaled figure.

‘One day you ought to make some small snake-babies,’ Lan Feng said with a dreamy voice, as he enjoyed the exquisite beast in front of him. Even Hui Yue could feel a dangerous heat rising from within and he quickly looked away, much to Sha Yun’s displeasure.

Coughing awkwardly Hui Yue turned back to see a knowing smile on Deng Wu’s face, a slight blush on Sha Yun’s cheeks as she looked at him coquettishly, and Wang Ju Long impatiently stomping the ground as she was everything but satisfied. As to why she was so unhappy, she blamed it on the stupid snake for showing off her figure. Although Wang Ju Long was a woman she would never try to be so alluring and for some way it rubbed her the wrong way every time Sha Yun caused the two men within the group to become strange.

Hui Yue taking his cue from the stomping foot, instantly straightened out his expression and released the blue mist from within his dantian, allowing for his entire being to be enveloped in tranquillity.

A sudden hint of a smile was visible on his face and his eyes once more had a haughty expression as though everything was beneath him. By his side were Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun while Deng Wu had decided to walk behind him, covering his back.

Most people were unable to trust a person who had killed his own father, but Hui Yue trusted Deng Wu with his life. The young man behind him had the time to kill him multiple times yet he had never even told his secret to anyone. Although Deng Wu was a flirt he was reliable in the strangest situations and this was one of those. Hui Yue was willing to give his all for Deng Wu’s attempt to save his clan and in turn, Deng Wu was willing to give his life for the sake of Hui Yue.

Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long had both been banished from Riluo City, but they managed to succeed in their goal of allowing their families to continue living and as such both were eternally grateful for Hui Yue and his assistance. Both had since then decided that the rest of their lives would belong to the white-haired boy, and to their surprise this young boy whom they followed was someone who would take them journeying across the land and exploring places no one else had ever seen.

All these thoughts were swirling around inside Deng Wu’s head as he walked behind Hui Yue, and he firmly swore to himself that he would follow this young friend of his, even if it meant an early grave.

Hui Yue, completely unaware of the important oath Deng Wu just made with himself, was chatting merrily with Sha Yun. During this time the air around him caused everyone within the City Lord’s mansion to not dare come close to him, as he moved closer and closer towards the Main Hall.

The main hall which previously was just one empty room with five throne-like chairs at the back was now filled with one large table which was placed in a square in the middle of the room and cushions were placed on the floor all around the table, inviting the guests to sit down. The table itself was filled with all kinds of delicacies, and Hui Yue could not help but to feel slightly taken back by this banquet which they had managed to produce within such a short amount of time.

Hui Yue sat down and noticed how the City Lord Liu Wei sat down next to him, Deng Wu quickly moved to sit by Hui Yue’s other side, not allowing for the elders to follow suit and isolate Hui Yue from his retainers.

In the end Hui Yue had Deng Wu by his side who in turn was seated next to Sha Yun and then finally Wang Ju Long. On Hui Yue’s other side was Liu Wei and next to him the five elders in a row.

Apart from these nine people were a lot of people of high status from within this interesting city, mainly noble families yet none of them peaked Hui Yue’s interest as they all relied on the lower dantian.

Hui Yue was deeply confused as he did not understand why someone as strong as Sun would follow such weaklings to a city where they did not even seem to use her powers.

“Perhaps you could enlighten me as to where you are from?” Liu Wei asked curiously, as he grabbed various trays of food and offered them to Hui Yue who politely accepted.

Hearing the question, Hui Yue could not help but chuckle slightly. “Where do you think I am from Lord Liu Wei?” The question completely took the city lord aback as he was quite shocked to not receive a straight answer. Currently the City Lord was certain that Hui Yue had not arrived from beyond the tunnels, yet he had no way of knowing where else he could have come from. This cave was known as the final destination within their world, yet somehow a person had appeared from out of nowhere, and he was not a nobody.  

“I would guess that you are from beyond the tunnels, yet I am curious as to whether or not I am correct,” The City Lord asked, trying to tempt Hui Yue into saying that he was indeed not from the tunnels, but to his disappointment the white-haired boy was not new to being interrogated, as he had experienced it a lot from his old girlfriends in his old world, and a complacent expression was visible on Hui Yue’s face as he answered “where else could we have come from?”

`

The question was a simple one yet as soon as it left Hui Yue’s lips, a collective shiver ran through the bodies of Lord Liu Wei and his elders. Everyone who came from beyond the tunnels were indeed terrifying cultivators and these youngsters were in no way geniuses compared to the last delegation that appeared from the tunnels.

“I apologize young master,” Lord Liu Wei no longer dared behaving haughty in front of Hui Yue, in fear of offending him.

“Pardon me for asking, but are you here due to personal interest, or as a delegation from the Dragon Corps?” Looking at Hui Yue everyone at the table held their breath, their hearts racing in their chests and eyes widened in fear. The seconds felt as if they lasted for hours, every pair of eyes glued to Hui Yue.

Laughing slightly, Hui Yue took his time to answer pressing the anticipation to its limit before he finally opened his mouth and answered, “I wished to see the world on the other side of the tunnels.” His voice was calm and filled with youthful yearning for different places. “I am here for personal reasons. Don’t get any funny thoughts though,” He warned them, “My family is aware of where I am.”

The unsaid threat hung in the air, yet everyone wore expressions of relief. A slight frown appeared on his face, as he did not notice any signs of worry about his final words. It seemed as though the Dragon Corps were very fearsome indeed.

The frown disappeared almost as soon as it arrived, but his friends managed to notice it and made a mental note to remember the name Dragon Corps. The following day when they needed to look for information; that was definitely one of the things they would investigate.

Although not much had been said at the banquet, Hui Yue had already gotten two important pieces of information: one was the unknown tunnels where experts apparently lived on the other side while the second piece of information was the Dragon Corps.

Thinking about the information given, Hui Yue came up with various theories, but one thing was certain. This cave that they were in was combined with at least one other cave where cultivators lived and controlled the surroundings.

The Dragon Corps was something which Hui Yue felt must have had something to do with the Azure Dragon since these dungeons were located beneath the Azure Dragon’s kingdom. However were they remnants left behind from the time where the Azure Dragon himself walked the earth, or had they taken the name due to other reasons?

Curiosity flooded Hui Yue and he could no longer wait to go and see these tunnels on his own, but he knew that before moving further into the dungeons, he needed to find Sun and return her to the other laws.

Suddenly, from within his mind, a small ray of sunshine opened up the discussion about laws, and Hui Yue felt as though he finally understood something.

Hanging on to that thought for dear life, Hui Yue managed to get through the rest of the banquet with pleasantries and nice conversation for a couple of hours before standing up and apologizing for retiring early.  He was exhausted from his travel and no one at the table dared to say anything in return. Only polite nods and friendly smiles were given as he rushed back to the courtyard.

Following behind, his friends had long since noticed that something was different from usual, and the three of them looked out for anything that might be slightly out of the ordinary, as Hui Yue’s only thought was to return to the courtyard.

Fortunately, the trip was over with no troubles and Hui Yue arrived safely at the courtyard where he instantly sat down in a meditational position, closed his eyes and submerged himself in the brilliant enlightenment he had experienced during the banquet.

Looking at Hui Yue, sighs were heard, but they quickly changed to giggles as the three friends looked at each other. Hui Yue was definitely the one who had gathered them all together. They had been together with him for years at the academy, they had fought through the battle of Riluo City, they had managed to overcome the trauma of killing many people, and also banishment from their home.

During the months long travel, they had gotten to know a side of Hui Yue they did not notice before, and one of these things was his hunger for breakthroughs. As soon as he gained enlightenment, he would stop everything for the sake of meditating. It did not matter if he was in the middle of a stream or rushing through the fields.

Usually, the white-haired man would only be meditating on his enlightenment for up to an hour, yet this time seemed different. As Hui Yue sat down to meditate, Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long all gathered around him, guarding him should these hosts suddenly change opinion on how to treat the young master.

One hour took another and the dusk turned to dawn; the sun rose in the sky and the morning had broken, bringing with it noises from a bustling city.

Looking at Hui Yue, who had stayed in the same position for hours on end, Deng Wu finally stood up and stretched his sore body.

“It seems as if he will stay like that for quite some time,” He commented while stretching some more. “I suggest that we split up. One of us stays here and makes sure that no one disrupts Yue, while the others go to the city for information.”

Hearing Deng Wu’s suggestion, both Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun nodded their heads. Deng Wu thought for a bit before picking up Wang Ju Long.

Sha Yun was happy to stay back and she quickly settled down next to Hui Yue. Ensuring that she did not in any way interrupt him with his meditation, yet there were not many breadths of hair between the two.

Wang Ju Long’s face turned slightly sour, but  quickly recovered its usual expression as she donned a black cloak, hiding her features. Deng Wu decided to wear something similar, and the two cloaked people vanished through the mansion gates.

As soon as the two left the courtyard, followers had appeared; their abilities were far too weak to stalk Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long, however, and as soon as they had gone through the gates, the two cloaks faded into the crowd of people.

Rushing through town Deng Wu aimed for the marketplaces, but he was quickly shocked to find that everything within this city was different from what they had expected.

There was no such thing as a marketplace; instead, there was a corn distribution center. Going there, Deng Wu found that money did not exist within this city and everyone shared what they had.

All harvests were given to the City Lord’s mansion, who then shared it between every family within the city. Not to mention crafting jobs, everyone did everything for free.

There was such a thing as a noble family, yet noble families were seen as similar to the City Lord, a family which shared all their harvests with the citizens.

Everyone did their own job at their own time, but none of them got paid even the smallest coin for doing so; instead, they did it to be entitled for the weekly food distribution.

Looking at it this way, a smile appeared on Deng Wu’s face. Although there was no money in this city and everyone was eligible for food, a lot of them would not get enough if they were sick or orphans, so Deng Wu instantly changed his plan, no longer aiming for merchants but instead the poor areas in the city.

The poor areas were the ones that they had seen first when they entered the city days before, and as soon as the people saw Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long in their cloaked appearances, everyone would vanish into their farmhouses.

Deng Wu decided to stop in the middle of the street. Looking behind him for a few moments, a deep sigh could be heard from beneath the cloak and he quickly removed it, allowing for his features to reappear.

Although Deng Wu had walked through the day before, no one had noticed him as all the attention had been on Hui Yue. Deng Wu was nothing but a retainer, which now ensured that no one had remembered his face.

Although the adults were worried about his sudden appearance, especially since it was the face of a man they had never seen before, most of the children had less hesitation and rushed towards him as he knelt down on the ground and greeted them.

From within his storage ring a couple of strips of dried meat were suddenly produced, and the eyes of the children grew with excitement. Not only because of the meat, but also due to the way it had appeared out of nowhere.

Chewing on one of the meat strips himself, Deng Wu shared them with the kids and laughed as they took them with grateful expressions.

Within the houses, women started to appear in the doorways. “Excuse me.” One of the younger woman finally had the courage to speak to Deng Wu and stood with her arms crossed over her chest, a half worried expression on her face.

“Can we help you with anything?” She asked again, her voice trembling slightly as she kept looking at Deng Wu, worried what he might do.

“As a matter of fact,” Deng Wu spoke slowly and clearly, allowing all to hear what he was saying, “I am looking for someone to answer some questions for me. I’ll trade meat for information, but whatever I ask about must stay a secret.”

Hearing the voice, more women came over and Deng Wu was invited into a house where he was offered to speak with the women.

Outside the door was Wang Ju Long, ensuring that no one who went in was someone unallowed to do so.

The sun was setting behind the city before Deng Wu once more emerged from within the house, a satisfied expression on his face. With a nod to Wang Ju Long, Deng Wu once more covered himself with the black cloak before he started to move back to the courtyard, curious as to whether or not Hui Yue had woken up yet, as he had gotten quite a large amount of information.

….

Hui Yue had been frantic. During the banquet he had a flash of enlightenment, yet for each moment he stayed with the hosts, the more he struggled to hang on to the information which was so clear in the beginning, and in the end he had to leave the meal early under the excuse of having to return home to rest.

Going back, Hui Yue could think of nothing but the words swirling within his mind. The words ‘Natural Laws,’ ‘Gods,’ and ‘Way of Cultivating.’ Hui Yue was grateful that he did not have to worry about his surroundings, as he knew that he was protected. The most important thing was for him to focus on his enlightenment while his friends would deal with anything else.

Seeing the courtyard come into his line of sight, a sigh of relief escaped Hui Yue as he instantly sat down, closed his eyes and allowed for his mental projection to enter the dantian cave, where it entered the deepest kind of meditation that Hui Yue currently possessed.

Being submerged within himself, Hui Yue once more thought about the three words which had appeared from a golden beam of enlightenment.

This world was based on natural laws. Each law was a certain property which could not be changed.

The sun would rise in the sky during day only to be replaced by the moon at night. The wind would blow, and time would keep flowing no matter what happened to the continent and kingdoms.

But the natural laws were not limited to the sun and the moon or the seasons and the weather. Everything was touched by these natural laws and every law was predetermined, created by the Gods. For a person to escape these laws, one had to become a God. One had to become a creator.

The law of time made this hard, the law of death was always looming, but the law of cultivation was open for any human who wished to pursue their luck.

Seated still, Hui Yue frowned as he understood some things, yet others were still far too profound for him to grasp.

This world was filled with laws, and these laws had been created by the Gods when they created the world. They were as old as the world and they would live and die with the world. Although Sun had been taken away, her law was still true, and this meant that as long as the world was standing, she too would survive.

It was obvious that saving her was purely a test given to him by Lan Feng in the hope of helping him improve his cultivation base.