Ye Tiejian

The five-person team that entered Vast Wild Mountain stopped a hundred meters from Song Chen and formed a circle, seemingly discussing something.

They kept their voices low, but with Song Chen's current spiritual power, he could still vaguely catch a few words.

"...The map is right. It should be somewhere nearby..."

"...Be careful. They say that person's strength had reached the peak of Fourth Rank back then..."

"...Once we find it, we'll strike it rich..."

The peak of Fourth Rank?

Song Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

A Fourth Rank powerhouse was already among the very strongest in Anning City. The master of Divine Dragon Martial Hall was Fourth Rank and even had a say in the Garrison Command.

These people were looking for the belongings of a Fourth Rank powerhouse?

He held his breath and continued listening.

The leader pulled out a map from his clothes, unfolded it, and pointed at the markings with the others.

"Ye Tiejian fell in this area back then. During the beast tide in Evergreen City years ago, he alone blocked the beast horde coming from Vast Wild Mountain, and his whereabouts became unknown afterward..."

"We finally got some clues. We have to find it."

Ye Tiejian.

Song Chen had heard that name before.

It was recorded in Anning City's history textbooks.

He had been a hero of Anning City. Were these people looking for his relics?

Song Chen frowned.

If they were a hero's relics, they should have been handed over to the Garrison Command or left behind for later generations to pay their respects.

Yet these people had sneaked into the mountains to search for them. Clearly, they were up to no good.

He decided to keep watching.

After the five finished discussing matters, they put away the map and continued deeper into the mountains.

Song Chen followed silently. The jungle was his home ground.

The life-and-death struggles of the past two days had made him intimately familiar with this mountain forest.

He knew how to walk without making a sound, how to use tree shadows to conceal himself, and how to freeze in an instant whenever the others turned around.

Though those five were strong, their skill at hiding in the forest was far inferior to his.

They continued toward the depths of the mountains.

The deeper they went, the denser the aura of exotic beasts became. Several times, Song Chen sensed powerful presences ahead, at least Third Rank.

But the five seemed to have some special method for avoiding beasts, and every time, they managed to go around them.

After walking for roughly two hours, they stopped before a cliff.

Mists swirled beneath the cliff, and its depths could not be seen.

The cliff face was covered in vines and moss, looking ancient beyond measure.

The leader took out the map, compared it for a moment, then pointed at a spot on the cliff face. "That's right. According to the memories read from that monster's mind, it should be below."

The vice-captain frowned. "It's so deep. There may be exotic beasts down there."

The leader put away the map. "What are you afraid of? The five of us can't handle a few exotic beasts?"

"Get the ropes ready. We're going down."

Several people began taking ropes and anchoring equipment from their backpacks.

Song Chen lay concealed in a thicket thirty meters away, watching their movements.

Below?

Senior Ye Tiejian's place of death was beneath this cliff?

He hesitated for a moment. Should he follow?

If he went down, he might be discovered, and he might run into danger.

But if he did not, then if there really was something valuable, he would miss it.

He gritted his teeth and decided to follow.

Fortune was found in danger.

He was now a Second Rank martial artist and a Second Rank esper. His strength was no weaker than anyone in that team. Even if he were discovered, he could still run if he could not win.

He touched the hilt of his blade, adjusted his breathing, and began slowly moving toward the cliff.

The five had already secured their ropes and began sliding down one after another.

After the last person vanished into the mist, Song Chen dashed to the cliff's edge.

The ropes were still hanging there, but they obviously would not leave them for him to use.

He glanced down. Mists churned below, obscuring the bottom.

He took a deep breath, grabbed the vines on the cliff face with both hands, and began climbing down.

The vines were slick, and the cliff face was steep.

Song Chen clutched the vines tightly with both hands, braced his feet against protruding rocks, and slowly slid downward inch by inch.

Mist enveloped him, blocking his vision. He could only judge the distance below through his spiritual perception.

Fifty meters.

Eighty meters.

A hundred meters.

Two hundred meters.

Faint sounds of battle drifted up from below—the roars of exotic beasts, the clash of weapons, and people's angry shouts.

Song Chen sped up.

After descending another twenty meters, the mist thinned, and his field of vision widened.

At the foot of the cliff lay a long, narrow valley, flanked by sheer cliff walls with a dried-up stream running through its middle.

At that moment, the five people were being besieged by a pack of exotic beasts.

They were Mutated Mountain Demons, giant ape-like creatures covered in gray fur, their arms hanging below their knees and their fangs protruding from their mouths.

There were seven or eight of them. The leader was especially massive, standing over two meters tall at the shoulder and radiating the aura of a peak Second Rank beast.

The five formed a circular formation back-to-back and fought with all their might.

The captain and vice-captain held the front line. Blade light flashed as they barely withstood the Mountain Demons' charge, but neither looked well. These Mountain Demons had thick hides and tough flesh, and they were fast as well, making them difficult to kill in a single blow.

Song Chen landed soundlessly behind a huge boulder, concealed his aura, and peered out to watch.

Fight. The fiercer, the better.

He waited patiently.

The battle lasted half an hour. The five finally slew several Mountain Demons, while the leader of the pack was struck in a vital spot by the captain's blade and fled with a miserable shriek.

The remaining Mountain Demons scattered like birds and beasts, vanishing into the depths of the valley.

The five were exhausted and panting, all of them injured.

A short man cursed as he stuffed a healing pill into his mouth. "Damn it, these beasts..."

The captain scanned the surroundings, his gaze settling on a concealed cave entrance deep within the valley.

"It should be there."

The others perked up at once. Without even stopping to rest, they headed toward the cave.

Song Chen waited until they had gone farther away, then quietly followed.

The cave was deep and pitch-black inside. The five activated the lighting devices they carried, and beams of light swayed across the cave walls.

Song Chen followed from afar, maintaining a safe distance with the help of his spiritual perception.

After walking roughly two hundred meters, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

An enormous karst cavern appeared before them. Countless stalactites hung from the ceiling, while an underground river murmured beneath the ground.

At the center of the cavern stood a naturally formed stone platform.

A skeleton lay on the platform.

The skeleton wore a set of armor, with a battle blade resting across its knees and a rusted iron box beside it.

The five stood before the stone platform, their eyes lighting up.

"Found it!" the short man cried excitedly.

The captain stepped forward and carefully examined the skeleton, greed curling across his lips.

"Ye Tiejian...a peak Fourth Rank powerhouse. His relics must be worth a fortune."

The vice-captain leaned closer. "I heard that the sword he used back then was an A-grade weapon, and his armor was a B-grade defensive set..."

"Enough nonsense." The captain reached out and grabbed the battle blade.

His movements were rough and casual, showing not the slightest respect for a senior.

Song Chen hid behind a stalactite, his brow furrowing.

These people had not come to pay respects to a hero. They had come to rob a grave.

The captain picked up the battle blade and drew it from its sheath.

The blade was bright as snow and glimmered with a faint, icy light. Even after so many years, it remained as sharp as new.

"Good blade!" he praised.

The vice-captain went to remove the armor. Though it was somewhat damaged, its main body remained intact and still gave off faint spiritual-energy fluctuations.

The other three gathered around the stone platform, searching everywhere. One of them even reached for the iron box.

"Nobody move!" the captain suddenly shouted.

Everyone froze. The captain sheathed the battle blade and looked toward the iron box.

"This box...might contain a cultivation technique or treasure he left behind."