Leeks, Make a Move
Liu Yi looked at the chaotic scene ahead, frowning slightly.
It seemed that counting on this crowd to scout the path ahead was not going to work.
That being the case, he could not simply stand by and watch them all die here.
After all, these people were all lush, green leeks.
Bah!
Wrong!
They were his beloved friends and sworn brothers.
He would keep them around so they could shine and generate warmth for his career in the future.
Thinking of this, Liu Yi flew into the air, scanning his surroundings with a torch-like gaze as his mind rapidly deduced and analyzed the locations of the illusion array's core nodes.
A moment later, he abruptly struck out four consecutive palms toward the surroundings.
With four deafening booms, the illusion array shattered in an instant. The pervasive illusory power gradually dissipated, and the people who had been caught in confusion slowly regained their senses.
"What on earth just happened? Who slashed the wound on my body?"
"No, that's not right! I clearly obtained an immortal cultivation method just now, and I was almost about to cultivate into an immortal!"
Liu Yi stood suspended in the air, overlooking the restless crowd below.
In merely a brief moment, the force of a thousand people had plummeted to just over eight hundred, with more than two hundred lives vanishing in the blink of an eye, the scene tragic and startling to the core.
"Quiet! Just now you were trapped in an illusion array. Now that the array is broken, those wishing to explore the tomb may continue forward."
The clamor came to an abrupt halt, and everyone raised their heads to look at Liu Yi in the air.
Within the crowd, Su Wantang moved with dainty steps, stepping forward and offering a graceful bow: "Many thanks to the young hero for saving our lives. If there is any need in the future, I will surely repay this with all my might."
Liu Yi's gaze landed on Su Wantang, a trace of surprise flashing in the depths of his eyes.
Xu Wang, Xu Cheng'an, and other Divine Sea Realm powerhouses, along with Great Grandmasters like Ruan Xingye and Meng Zhixu, had already passed through the illusion array and continued onward.
Su Wantang, who was also of the Great Grandmaster Realm, was trapped within the array.
It seemed that this Great Grandmaster had flaws in her state of mind, otherwise, against a mind-muddling means like an illusion array-
As long as a Great Grandmaster possessed a steadfast will and a flawless state of mind, passing an illusion array of this caliber was no difficult task.
"No need for formalities. I merely disliked seeing so many people throw away their lives in vain," Liu Yi replied indifferently.
The rest of the crowd also snapped back to their senses one after another, respectfully offering their gratitude to him.
"Many thanks to the young hero for saving our lives, we are endlessly grateful! With such peerless cultivation, you will surely be able to obtain an immortal cultivation method and become an immortal!"
"The young hero is handsome and unrestrained with peerless divine skills, the position of leader of the Jin State martial arts world belongs to none other than you!"
The rising and falling praises surged like a tide. Liu Yi stood with his hands behind his back, the corners of his lips curling into a smug arc of their own accord.
This bunch of jianghu folks really knew how to lay it on thick with the flattery, not falling short of the officials in the imperial court at all.
No wonder those emperors favored flattering ministers alone; words of praise truly felt comfortable to hear.
Seeing that the crowd below was still chattering incessantly, Liu Yi raised his hand in a gentle press, and the din cut off abruptly.
"Set aside the pleasantries for now, hurrying on our way is what matters."
With that, he strode forward, and Little Yellow strutted arrogantly at his side.
Liu Yi walked forward along the winding tomb passage. Not long after he walked, the clear sound of clashing metal rang in his ears.
Following the sound and quickening his pace, he rounded a winding tomb passage and saw the tomb chamber ahead suddenly open up before him.
Xu Cheng'an, Xu Wang, and the others were fiercely engaging eight bronze humanoid puppets in battle.
Two battered puppets lay sprawling on the ground, evidently having been destroyed just a moment ago.
These puppets were suffused all over with a dull metallic luster, their eyes red as blood, and they actually possessed Foundation Establishment Realm strength.
Although the group held the upper hand, achieving a swift victory was difficult for them.
Amidst the fierce battle, the clothing on Ruan Xingye's shoulder was torn open, oozing wisps of bloody trails.
Meng Zhixu's footwork was slightly disordered, his waist injured by a puppet, and the battle situation was exceptionally grueling.
Meng Zhixu's arm parrying the puppet's attacks trembled incessantly. Catching sight of Liu Yi leading the group as they arrived, he abruptly spun around to shed the momentum of the attack, ripping open his throat to shout:
"Everyone attack together! Only by destroying these bronze lumps can we enter the tomb chamber!"
Hearing this, the crowd cast their gazes toward Liu Yi in unison, as if waiting for him to call the shots.
Seeing this, Meng Zhixu's pupils shrank to pinpricks, churning up towering billows in his heart:
"Just who on earth is this young man? Why does everyone take their cue from him? Even Su Wantang is no exception?"
Liu Yi looked at the crowd's reactions, his mouth twitching as he uttered a single word of acknowledgment.
Before his voice had even faded, he had already transformed into an afterimage and darted over, appearing before Meng Zhixu in the blink of an eye.
With a fierce palm strike, he squarely imprinted it onto the chest of a bronze humanoid puppet.
A thunderous boom shook dust from the tomb chamber. The puppets flew backward like kites with their strings cut, slamming into the stone walls and leaving cracks like spiderwebs. Then they fell completely still.
After that, Liu Yi's figure flashed repeatedly as he darted among the puppets.
Every palm strike came with the force of thunder. Wherever the palm wind reached, the bronze humanoid puppets exploded one after another, fragments flying in every direction.
In the blink of an eye, all eight Foundation Establishment Realm puppets had been reduced to scrap metal, scattered haphazardly across the ground.
"Hiss!"
Meng Zhixu, Xu Wang, Ruan Xingye, and the others watched Liu Yi take down one bronze humanoid puppet with each palm strike and couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
They had fought these puppets and knew their strength was no weaker than their own-in fact, they were even stronger.
Yet puppets this powerful had been dealt with by Liu Yi in a single palm strike.
Didn't that mean they wouldn't be able to withstand one palm strike from Liu Yi either?
Once they realized this, the way everyone looked at Liu Yi instantly filled with awe.
Even Su Wantang and the others, who had come in with Liu Yi, looked shocked and impressed.
Meng Zhixu quickly recovered and hurriedly clasped his fists. "Thank you, young hero, for coming to our aid! May I ask your name?"
Liu Yi waved a hand and said casually, "My name is Liu Yi. We're all here to look for treasures, so there's no need to be so polite."
He looked at the scattered bronze humanoid puppets in the tomb chamber, and an idea struck him.
The materials these puppets were made of were quite good. Maybe they would come in handy someday.
With a casual wave of his hand, ten bronze puppets rose into the air and flew toward him. A flash of light, and they were all put into his system's Storage Space.
"A storage Law Treasure!"
Su Wantang, Ruan Xingye, and the others who weren't bound to a system couldn't help exclaiming, their faces full of shock.
Xu Wang, Xu Cheng'an, Bai Shuyan, and the others, who were already bound to systems, only froze for a moment before quickly reacting.
So Liu Yi had a system too, and his Storage Space was so amazing.
At the same time, they resolved that once they had enough Energy Points, they would make unlocking the Storage Space their first priority.
Hearing Su Wantang and the others' surprised exclamations, Liu Yi smiled. "It's just the system's Storage Space. It's nothing special."
Although Su Wantang, Ruan Xingye, and the others didn't know what a "system" was, it seemed to be Liu Yi's private matter, so they didn't ask any further.
Liu Yi paid no mind to what the others thought. He strode over to the stone door leading to the main tomb chamber and looked it up and down.
A moment later, he raised his palm slightly. True Power gathered like a surging tide, and he suddenly struck forward with a palm.
A thunderous boom shook dust from the four walls of the tomb chamber, and the stone door swung open.
Right after, a series of "click-clack, click-clack" mechanical sounds came from the main tomb chamber beyond the door.