Chapter 15 Ascension
"Check the equipment!" Qingmu's low voice reminded the others on the spaceship to prepare, as they were about to commence their operation.
On the screen of the ship, the terrain of Qingcheng Mountain appeared clearly, lush and green, with dense forests and peaks resembling city walls.
Wang Xuan donned his protective suit, feeling its slight heaviness; it provided some defense against bullets and cold weapons, crucial for saving his life in a critical moment. The alloy knife on his back was extremely sharp, making it an effective weapon in close combat, and the dagger was also useful in narrow spaces where it could strike fatally.
"I don't know how to use this piece of equipment," Wang Xuan said, pointing to a small canister of liquid.
Qingmu explained that it contained an artificial iris, which, when worn, would prevent identity exposure. Following his instructions, Wang Xuan looked into a small mirror and saw his pupils had turned light blue, and with the realistic human mask, he looked like a Westerner.
"Qingcheng Mountain is related to Daoism and has a rich air of mystery. Could it be that something incredible has truly been unearthed?" Black Tiger, who was part of the operation, asked with keen interest. They all used codenames, avoiding real names.
"Absolutely! We must stop them this time. We can't let them succeed in taking anything. The Old Earth has almost been emptied; all the good stuff has been transported to New Star, becoming private collections of research institutions and wealthy families," said Yaozi, his voice filled with resentment.
Recalling these injustices, the others shared his anger. Underground, every famous mountain and river on Old Earth had been thoroughly searched; even Qingcheng Mountain was no exception, with no telling how many times it had been excavated. The fact that new discoveries were still being made surprised them all.
As a newcomer, Wang Xuan, not fully aware of the risks, asked, "Will this operation provoke retaliation and lead to a large-scale conflict?"
Qingmu shook his head. "No. Even though Old Earth has declined, it isn't something a couple of wealthy families can control to create a storm. Moreover, Old Earth and New Star have a decent relationship; we share a common origin. You need to trust the organization. We have long penetrated the starry sky and aren't afraid of them."
Black Tiger added, "First of all, their secret mining is already illegal; they can't complain if we intercept them. In time, it will blow over, and everyone will act like nothing happened."
However, this didn't mean there wouldn't be danger. The ensuing conflicts were fierce, and casualties were to be expected.
Wang Xuan fell silent. This exploration was turning into a small-scale battle, far beyond just their group. Qingmu remained calm, as if sensing Wang Xuan's thoughts. He explained plainly, "We're dealing with something that could excite and thrill even the ancient practitioners. If it truly relates to the Immortals, its value would be immeasurable. That's why this time we must be flawless, deploying several teams."
"Old Mu, you need to concentrate and prepare the strong electromagnetic pulse to disable the robots and any corresponding weapons in the underground palace," Qingmu commanded. Old Mu was to remain on the ship, responsible for their eventual escape and for destroying any potential heavy weaponry on the enemy side.
"Will they have countermeasures?" Wang Xuan asked, humbly seeking guidance.
Qingmu replied sternly, "Don't worry, we're very professional. You can study our various steps and preparations afterward."
Qingcheng Mountain remained evergreen year-round, with many stone paths winding through it, and some ancient Daoist temples hidden among the cliffs and old trees. Countless legends surrounded this place, known as a celestial paradise of Daoism.
Unfortunately, for decades, the underground had been excavated into a spiderweb, making any new discoveries exceedingly rare.
Qingmu, Black Tiger, Yaozi, and Fengzheng entered the forest, leaving Old Mu to guard the ship. Xiao Wang was Wang Xuan's codename in the team.
Qingmu led, moving silently through the forest like a swift tiger or leopard, while the others, all trained in old techniques, followed closely behind.
Soon, they arrived at their destination: the entrance to the underground palace was located at a relatively remote low hill on the edge of Qingcheng Mountain, which explained why it had been missed before.
Some robots were tirelessly digging, having already penetrated deep into the mountain, extracting a large amount of earth and stone. Although they were still far away, they could see the faint outlines of the underground palace.
Qingmu gestured for the others to remain calm and wait outside. They would only ambush the Zhou and Ling families after they entered the underground palace to retrieve the items. There was no need to take risks by going in early.
With the rumbling of machinery, several stone doors were forcibly opened.
"We've breached it! The underground palace is vast!" excited voices emerged from within.
The guards at the entrance could no longer hold back, and many rushed inside once the noxious fumes dissipated, eager to see what might involve relics of the Immortals.
Black Tiger, Yaozi, and Fengzheng were all breathing heavily; as practitioners of old techniques, they placed even greater importance on the relics of the Immortals.
Qingmu remained calm, silent, and poised for the final moment.
Yaozi remarked, "These are rare treasures from Old Earth. Decades of plunder have nearly emptied them. This time, we cannot let them succeed."
"Almost time," Qingmu contacted Old Mu via a secure line. "Old Mu, act now!"
He then commanded the second and third groups to strike, eliminating the high-energy weapons hidden in the mountain.
First, all the robots near the underground palace malfunctioned, some collapsing, while others sputtered and sparked.
If these robots had not been dealt with in advance, they would have posed significant problems due to their invulnerability and energy weapons, making them formidable threats.
Boom!
A strong shockwave erupted from the mountain as the Zhou and Ling families' preemptive high-energy weapons were neutralized.
"Are they all dead?" Wang Xuan's expression darkened; after all, that was many lives, something he had never faced before.
Qingmu replied calmly, "No, most are just stunned. We mainly aimed to eliminate their weaponry."
Boom!
In the next moment, an explosion occurred outside the underground palace, causing earth and stone to collapse, completely blocking the entrance.
Faint roars of anger could be heard from within, as everyone was trapped inside.
There was no movement in the surroundings, and no one came to assist those trapped.
After waiting for a while, Qingmu began issuing commands again: "Fifth and sixth groups, come over and wait for the right moment to enter the underground palace."
"Are we going to suffocate them all?" Wang Xuan felt a chill; this kind of exploration was far different from what he had imagined.
Black Tiger shook his head. "No, generally, we don't kill. We wait until they pass out from lack of oxygen, then we'll break in."
Qingmu said, "I truly hope to discover something more powerful than the ancient practitioners' methods; otherwise, we have no future. Even masters of old techniques are vulnerable against modern weaponry."
He expressed his feelings; born in this era, practitioners of old techniques shared a deep sense of helplessness, seeing no hope ahead.
"Something's off; they're using energy weapons to dig into the mountain wall, trying to escape from another direction!" Qingmu suddenly stood up, ordering the fifth, sixth, second, third, and fourth groups to move in and surround them.
Black Tiger was dismissive. "How far can they dig? This is a mountain."
"Don't forget, Qingcheng Mountain has been excavated dozens or hundreds of times; the underground is hollow, with many web-like pathways. They might dig through to somewhere, making it difficult for us to pursue later," Qingmu warned.
Boom!
The entrance was blasted open, clearing the path.
At that moment, other groups also arrived.
Wang Xuan quietly prepared, carrying the alloy knife and wielding an energy gun, adjustable for energy output with both lethal and stunning effects.
He felt inexperienced; having just picked it up, he chose the low-power stunning effect.
"They haven't breached the mountain belly yet. Let's go carefully and charge in!" Qingmu shouted, firing his energy gun directly.
With a grunt, the sound of someone collapsing echoed from within the mountain.
Suddenly, Qingmu dove forward, and Wang Xuan felt a chill. He instinctively dropped to the ground.
With a muffled thud, a blood hole appeared in the chest of Yaozi beside him, the protective suit failing to stop it as blood sprayed everywhere.
Yaozi collapsed, not even letting out a sound before dying.
This scene profoundly impacted Wang Xuan; it was the first time he witnessed someone being killed, and right before his eyes.
Despite being mentally mature, he was deeply shaken; a living person had stood beside him just moments ago, and now lay bloodied and lifeless on the ground.
He questioned whether choosing this path was too reckless, completely different from his expectations.
Wang Xuan reminded himself to stay calm. Above all, he needed to ensure his survival; the primary goal of exploration was to stay alive.
"We haven't struck first; they couldn't hold back, so there's nothing to say." Qingmu growled, adjusting the energy gun to a lethal setting.
He swept the area with a fierce volley and demonstrated extraordinary skill, dodging multiple beams of light as he navigated through the dark underground palace.
Wang Xuan was taken aback; Qingmu was indeed an exceptional powerhouse, a true master.
Swish!
The blade gleamed as Qingmu charged toward the opponents, wielding his alloy knife with terrifying prowess, wreaking havoc among the crowd.
"Charge!" Black Tiger, Fengzheng, and other groups followed suit.
Wang Xuan moved as well, using the stunning effect of his energy gun, managing to take down several opponents during the chaos.
Despite being inexperienced with this weapon, he was able to hit targets at close range.
Wang Xuan was cautious, moving along the mountainside, hiding behind the rocks of the underground palace and narrowly avoiding energy beams several times.
However, the energy beams soon disappeared as the two sides clashed in close combat.
"Qingmu, I'm up against a super master! This guy wields profound new techniques; I can't hold him back!" Black Tiger yelled, bloodied and battered.
One opponent, glowing with energy, struck at Black Tiger, unleashing a rain of light like the evening sky. During the collision, Black Tiger was left half-covered in blood.
Roar!
Qingmu shouted, rushing to confront the master in a fierce clash.
Bang!
Just then, the mountainside shattered, and someone smashed through the rocks, falling into a tunnel. As Qingmu had guessed, there were indeed web-like underground passages nearby, remnants of past excavations.
The opponent fighting Qingmu was holding a golden box and quickly turned to flee into that tunnel, followed by a throng of people.
"Pursue!" Qingmu led the charge, the first to dive in, with others hot on his heels.
Fengzheng shouted to Wang Xuan, "You're still getting the hang of the gun. You almost shot our own people just now. Stay here and don't follow!"
Wang Xuan nodded. Although he felt his instincts were sharp enough not to hit his teammates, he respected Fengzheng's advice, whether it was concern for him as a newcomer or genuine mistrust of his shooting skills. He stayed behind.
The underground palace was quiet now, strewn with bodies—some dead and others merely unconscious from the energy gun, none seriously harmed.
Wang Xuan cautiously hid behind a massive stone, observing and sensing the surroundings.
Indeed, he spotted someone lying nearby, breathing oddly—clearly awake but anxious.
Wang Xuan narrowed his eyes in surprise; he recognized this person—Zhou Yun!
He hadn't expected Zhou Yun, a direct descendant of the Zhou family, to be here in person.
Zhou Yun must have been regretting his choices; he certainly didn't anticipate any trouble.
After all, past excavations by major financial groups had gone smoothly, with overwhelming advantages, and even if interfered with, the overall situation was rarely impacted, making such a disastrous defeat uncommon.
Wang Xuan silently murmured, "Sorry, Xiao Zhou. I can't take on your formidable father, Zhou Mingxuan. So as Qin Cheng said, every time I see you... it's a beating!"
More importantly, he noticed something unusual about Zhou Yun. He appeared to have hastily swapped into regular black clothing instead of wearing high-grade protective gear, clearly trying to blend in and escape.
Additionally, Wang Xuan noticed something hidden beneath his clothing.
Silently, Wang Xuan picked up a stone and quietly threw it, hitting Zhou Yun on the head. Zhou Yun let out a pained scream and jumped up, blood pouring from his wound.
Wang Xuan didn't intend to kill; he was just a recent college graduate and had no deep-seated hatred toward Zhou Yun. He couldn't bring himself to deal a lethal blow.
Wang Xuan moved stealthily, like a gecko gliding along the wall, darting past the rocks. In one swift motion, he tore Zhou Yun's clothing, snatching away a jade box hidden beneath and quickly retreating behind the boulder.
Indeed, not using the energy gun to knock Zhou Yun unconscious was the right decision. Zhou Yun's sudden pain and panic meant that the still-unconscious individuals around them were hesitant to fire in this direction. It wasn't until Wang Xuan made his move and withdrew that energy beams began to shoot toward him.
"Capture him! The jade box hidden inside the golden box was originally in my possession, but now he has taken it!" Zhou Yun roared.
Boom!
Wang Xuan, hidden behind the massive stone, was near the altar when it was struck, causing it to shatter unexpectedly and collapse.
Gasps filled the air.
Beneath the altar lay another chamber; against one side of the stone wall, there was a mat, and seated upon it was a person dressed in feathered robes, long black hair cascading down. He looked youthful, his complexion rosy and vibrant, appearing to be in his thirties.
"Dressed in feathered robes—he is... a top-tier master among Taoists, his physical body still... present in this world!" Those still alive in the underground palace were in shock.
Most importantly, this top-tier Taoist was holding a scroll made of silver beast skin, reading it intently, as if still alive.
The wealthy families understood the truth—they all knew this person had actually passed away.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several figures dashed down, using rocks and other cover to approach the legendary Taoist master.
A chilling event unfolded silently; the black-haired man disintegrated into dust, his feathered robe scattering as he seemed to undergo a transformation, vanishing entirely.
Thud, thud, thud!
The six black-clad individuals who charged forward all inexplicably shattered, blood and remnants of the feathered robe splattering the ground.
The feathered robe dissolved into dust, leaving only the silver beast skin scroll, shimmering faintly on the ground.
This astonishing scene completely stunned Wang Xuan!