Chapter 1051: The Prince's Sword
Wu Yu was almost back at the rock tortoise. None of his clones had escaped the rock tortoise's savagery. They had died without exception.
Luckily, Wu Yu could see jets of fire on the horizon from the position he was at. That chaos had to be where the rock tortoise was.
"Yan Huang Golden Bead!" Wu Yu was blazing with excitement. With his mind homed in on it, he rode the Somersault Cloud over at maximum speed. He knew that he could not actually beat the rock tortoise, but his aim was to dodge with agility and snatch the Yan Huang Golden Bead without defeating it.
Wu Yu himself was rather caught up in the moment, because he knew that his chances of success were pretty high.
If he succeeded, he would have made it....
If even immortal kingdoms on the level of the Dark North Kingdom had to prepare hard for this once-a-decade 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage, then the treasures of the Jambu Realm that the Yan Huang Golden Bead represented would be enough to last him a lifetime, even if he was forced to escape to the Ancient Demon Realm.
"Don't daydream now. Stay grounded!" He quelled his own restlessness and forced himself to calm down. He used the Lawful Embodiment of Heaven and Earth to shrink himself to the smallest, to increase his speed and minimize detectability. If he could sneakily obtain the Yan Huang Golden Bead, that would be the best fight.
As he neared, he saw the rock tortoise carried forth by flames. It was still a towering, fire-blasting incarnation of fury. After killing Wu Yu's clones, it knew that they were not the real Wu Yu, and its anger was unappeased. It continued to spew flames all over.
The ground near it was already completely devastated, and had been heated until it was molten. The lava's heat was approximately half the temperature of the Elixir of Fire Spirit. Others would not go in casually, but Wu Yu braved its heat for the cover it provided. He plunged into the lava, continuing to approach the rock tortoise. After all, the Yan Huang Golden Bead was embedded in its belly.
He could feel himself nearing its position. The lava churned furiously, and wave after wave crashed against Wu Yu's body, making him clench his jaw against the pain.
Before long, he was in the most chaotic area, and not more than 100 zhang away from the rock tortoise. The lava here was whipped into a fury and tossed him around. It was hard for Wu Yu to gain his footing. But more importantly, his Eyes of Fire and Gold told him that he was already at the rock tortoise's stomach!
And from his position, he could make out a golden spot, which had to be the Yan Huang Golden Bead! Seeing this, Wu Yu was even more convinced that he was right. The rock tortoise had calmed down a little now, and Wu Yu locked on to his target. His insignificant body took a deep breath and then swam stealthily through the lava towards the Yan Huang Golden Bead's position.
He had planned it out. Once he got hold of the Yan Huang Golden Bead, he would immediately enter the Floating Dreams Pagoda, locking it in. And then he would escape with the Floating Dreams Pagoda. While it was a risky plan, it was probably Wu Yu's best shot in the Ancient Soul Tower, even better than the last one. Such an opportunity was incredibly rare!
"Charge!"
Victory was right before his eyes, and Wu Yu felt like time was moving slowly.
As he neared, the rock tortoise seemed to slowly enter a drowsy state, seeming not to notice him. This was extremely favorable for him.
In his eyes, the Yan Huang Golden Bead grew clearer and clearer, until Wu Yu could make out the Ancient Emperor's brand on the Yan Huang Golden Bead. This confirmed it was the Yan Huang Golden Bead!
It was still on the second floor. He had thought it would move on to higher levels.
"Go!" He shot forth like an arrow.
All of a sudden, Wu Yu felt a threat. The rock tortoise reacted strongly, a huge movement as though it had been roused by something huge. With a roll, it threw up a sea of lava, and Wu Yu along with it. Wu Yu thought that he had been discovered.
“Roar, roar!”
The rock tortoise's angry roars tossed the sea of lava into a fury. Wu Yu felt that such a strong reaction would not be caused by him alone. It felt like another, even more fearsome being was present, one that might threaten its life.
Thinking back to the danger he had felt, Wu Yu knew that others might be here. And such a stir could only be caused by an elite expert who had been cultivating for hundreds of years.
Wu Yu was still not too worried, because they might not necessarily know that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was here. He snuck out in the chaos and emerged from the lava for a look. He saw a figure holding a longsword in the air above the rock tortoise's head. He had white hair but cut a heroic figure nonetheless. Wearing a common robe, he looked quite calm, a steady look in his eyes that belied his composure at encountering this rock tortoise.
"Prince Yu?" Wu Yu did not expect to see him here. This was the oldest prince. Given his strength, Wu Yu would have thought that he had gone to the fourth or fifth floors. After all, the lot of them had definitely rushed ahead from the start.
"Is it coincidence that he stumbled across this Spirit of the Universe? But what am I to do if he kills the Spirit of the Universe and takes away the body? Won't that mean that the Yan Huang Golden Bead ends up in his hands?" Wu Yu was troubled.
However, he recalled that the Yan Huang Golden Bead had not been easily obtained at the first level either. Therefore, he was not overly worried. He could only maintain a low profile and remain hidden between these two for now.
He had guessed right. Prince Yu was impatient with the angered rock tortoise, and the two began fighting soon enough. It was said that Prince Yu wielded a seraphic dao treasure of extreme deadliness. As they fought, Wu Yu remained hidden to avoid being discovered by Prince Yu.
Although he could not see the battle with his own eyes, what he felt from the depths was that a high-level fight was ongoing between the elite experts. This was a supremely advanced fight, as though two elite Kings of Hell were fighting. As deep as Wu Yu burrowed, he still felt the shockwaves, and bursts of golden sword qi even lanced the lava. They almost took Wu Yu's life, and he had to dodge them quickly.
The stampeding beast was churning the magma, and it took all he had for Wu Yu to maintain his footing. He was still in a dilemma, worried that the skirmish above would end with the Yan Huang Golden Bead in Prince Yu's possession.
With an anguished wail from the rock tortoise above, there was a huge bang, and the lava settled. The sounds of battle had also stopped completely.
"Prince Yu must have slain that Spirit of the Universe. I didn't know he was that powerful."
The battle was over, and Prince Yu might have moved on, or taken the rock tortoise's body with him. Wu Yu had no idea if he had taken the Yan Huang Golden Bead. But in any case, riches were obtained from the jaws of danger. If Prince Yu met him alone, he would have no motive to kill Wu Yu either. Therefore, he continued upwards. There was truly no disturbance at all, and the silhouette of the huge corpse of the rock tortoise could be seen. Wu Yu guessed that Prince Yu had already left.
He decided to wait it out a while longer before heading up again. The rock tortoise's corpse grew clearer and clearer. His belly was downward facing, which gave Wu Yu hope. But as he approached, he saw that the golden light in the middle had faded. When he was close, it had completely disappeared.
"The Yan Huang Golden Bead is gone!" Wu Yu was dismayed. This meant that Prince Yu might have known about its presence. Had he slain the Spirit of the Universe and taken the Yan Huang Golden Bead? But if he did, the Ancient Soul Tower's test would be over!
In any case, it was true that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was not far away.
He paused at the belly of the rock tortoise. He looked closely, even touching its belly, confirming that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was indeed gone.
"Damn it...." He had thought it was his chance, but Prince Yu had come to interfere.
Wu Yu had just sighed when he heard a voice beside his ear. "What are you doing hiding down here, Kingmaker Le?"
This made Wu Yu jump with fright. It was Prince Yu's voice. When Wu Yu whirled around, Prince Yu was not a zhang away from him, and still holding a white longsword with gold patterns. He was looking at Wu Yu with a slight smile.
"I was fleeing pursuit before Prince Yu defeated that Spirit of the Universe. It was I who inadvertently woke him." Wu Yu reacted quickly, maintaining a normal tone. At the same time, he was observing him closely. Had he obtained the Yan Huang Golden Bead?
If the Yan Huang Golden Bead had flown away, and he had seen it, he would definitely be chasing it. Therefore, there were only two possibilities.
One, he had obtained the Yan Huang Golden Bead.
Two, he had not taken it, and had also not seen it vanish. He did not even know that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was here.
If it were the second, then Wu Yu still had a chance.
"Is that so?" Prince Yu swung his sword and the magma split apart. A spherical world of sword qi enclosed both Wu Yu and Prince Yu.
He said, "I haven't seen Little Le in a while. Take me to him."