Chapter 1097: The Swamp and the Black Snake
Wu Yu transformed the Imperial Insignia into the Tortoise Shield Dragon Boat to protect Prince Le and the others, and they headed for the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
Wu Yu could now approach the remaining eight suns without any problems, let alone reach the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
The Tortoise Shield Dragon Boat flew swiftly. Before the martial cultivators and demons at the fifth level had seen clearly, Wu Yu had already rushed into the clouds.
At this time, many people were taking advantage of the central sun's disappearance to approach the black circle. But they were all overtaken by Wu Yu, and they could not clearly see what the overtaking object was.
"Who is it?"
"Seems pretty powerful. Why stay at the fifth level? Everyone knows that the Yan Huang Golden Bead has already flown to the sixth level. They should have gone up long ago."
While they were discussing, Wu Yu had already entered the black circle without problems, passing through to reach the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower.
The Tortoise Shield Dragon Boat flew stably through the air.
He exited the Tortoise Shield Dragon Boat first, looking around outside cautiously. The environment of the sixth level was the complete opposite of the fifth level, and was definitely more dangerous.
Firstly, this sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower was extremely dark. Compared to the fifth level, it was basically a lightless world. Even Dao Querying martial cultivators might be in the situation where they could not see the fingers of their outstretched hand.
He used the Eyes of Fire and Gold to look around him. As his eyes beamed with golden light, he would become extremely obvious, because the light from his body would attract danger from far away.
If he used the Eyes of Fire and Gold, he could see more clearly, perhaps some tens of zhang, but not very clearly.
For the moment, he had not only noticed that this world was dark, but also deathly quiet. Sounds were hushed, save for one's own footsteps. They were currently hovering in midair, and Wu Yu went down for a look. He saw that there was no ground in this world. Instead, there was endless mud. This was a swamp, extremely mushy, and the marsh extended for as far as his eye could see.
Given the Ancient Soul Tower's design, this whole world was probably this dark, and also marshy. Besides, the depth of the swamp was unknown, and it was difficult to ascertain if Spirits of the Universe were below.
But if Wu Yu's Eyes of Fire and Gold could not see clearly, he knew that others would be able to see even less.
"This world is too dark. We must take extra care." Wu Yu had to use the Imperial Insignia as a weapon, so he used the Seven Stars Fortifying Design to protect Prince Le. Of course, there were also two more puppets to accompany the work of the Seven Stars Iron Winged Bug. Both the Silver Moon Mantis and the Elusive Firefly were in their smallest states, and concealed on Prince Le's person. They would be the aces up his sleeve.
"It's really dark. I can't see anything. Is it a swamp below? There wouldn't be Spirits of the Universe, would there?" Ye Xixi looked all about and below her.
Just as she said this, Wu Yu spotted a disturbance below. An explosion was triggered beneath his feet, and a gigantic shadow shot out, headed their way.
"Duck!"
Because he did not know what it was, Wu Yu's first reaction was to dodge. Kicking the Seven Stars Fortifying Design away, he himself scooted backwards, while the Full Moon of Nanshan and Ye Xixi also dodged with ease. One used concealment, the other turning into a speck of black sand. Both vanished.
Bang, bang, bang!
Almost immediately, the sounds of the stirring marsh began to rise from around them. In a short time, the others saw that they were surrounded by hazy figures. Only Wu Yu could see clearly. They were Spirits of the Universe - eight massive, black snakes!
They had oily green eyes, which helped to gage their locations. Besides the faint light from their eyes, all else was dark.
Wu Yu thought that they were demons. But as he neared one snake, he noticed that its body was made out of mud, rather than flesh. It was a special mud that was exceptionally firm. Since they existed on the sixth level, they had to be stronger than the Spirits of the Universe on the fifth level. Therefore, these mudbags definitely should not be underestimated!
The eight massive snake heads rising from the swamp lashed out wildly, causing huge waves that churned the swamp like an angry sea. Wu Yu guessed that they were trying to drag him into the swamp, where they would be more at home and deadlier.
However, Wu Yu would not let them have their way. Before they could strike, he moved quickly. The Imperial Insignia swept out from his hand. Even without activating the most core Offensive Spirit Designs, his simpler Offensive Spirit Designs were already capable of calling forth great destruction.
"Arching Silver Dragon at Full Moon!"
This spirit design only required 500,000 spirit designs or so, but it was fairly powerful. Wu Yu's attack sliced forth, the sword light gleaming silver as it took the shape of a dragon. As it crested forth, it arched like a crescent moon and continued to arch until it formed a circle. It severed all of the snake heads that were exposed!
Wu Yu was shocked. He found these black snakes easier to deal with than he had imagined, but he immediately regretted thinking so. Decapitation did nothing. They were still connected and completely unaffected. The mud of the swamp was contained within their bodies, and patched their wounds. In this way, as long as they remained in the swamp, they were essentially unkillable.
Fighting such opponents was truly exhausting. Besides, the commotion here would attract attention from others as well. It seemed pointless for Wu Yu to fight unkillable opponents. He thought of another idea.
"Paradise's Fiery Demise!"
From his eyes, a fearsome power burst forth from the Eyes of Fire and Gold, from beneath the ground and high in the sky. These Spirits of the Universe did not actually move quickly. They were cumbersome, and the power of Paradise's Fiery Demise exploded in full force, consuming them and the mud around them and turning it all to ashes!
Only now did Wu Yu see that their assailant was not eight black snakes, but one eight-headed snake. It was a Spirit of the Universe completely made out of mud. Its most terrifying trait was its ability to drag one into the mud and then fend with its unkillable body. But Wu Yu had caught on quickly, immediately shutting it down by trapping it within Paradise's Fiery Demise, and burning it to ashes.
However, this firelight lingered and illuminated the entire area. It was probably visible even from a good distance away. Therefore, Wu Yu did not hang around, leaving with the group.
"The Spirits of the Universe of the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower seem even more terrifying. I wonder how many more eight-headed snakes are lurking in the swamp," Prince Le mused.
"A lot, probably."
The poor lighting hindered their vision. They wandered about the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower like headless houseflies.
This time, they did not make it far. Perhaps the battle had attracted attention from the start, so there were already people heading over. Wu Yu was preparing to avoid them, but he recognized them from a distance away. It was all 10 of Prince He's group.
Wu Yu remembered that they had agreed to an alliance. But after the Yan Huang Golden Bead surfaced, Prince He had long forgotten about him.
Prince He's side saw very well also. Therefore, they were also recognized quickly because of the sounds of fighting, and because they were in the area.
"Wu Yu! You're alive!"
From a distance, Prince He cried out in astonishment. Their group, Hua Muchen, Su Yeji, Yuwen Changfeng, and Qi Tianyin, as well as the other state and city lords, were all shocked, rooted to the spot.
Seeing Wu Yu alive was a miracle, as if the sun had risen in the west. For a good while, Prince He and the others were unable to move.
"I was lucky and escaped. Didn't manage to die. Is Prince He disappointed, or happy for me?" Wu Yu was unafraid of them; he even had some "plans" for them. It was just that out of consideration for Prince Le, it was not convenient for him to implement these "plans."
Prince He was a real actor as well. He responded with a big grin. "Congratulations to Kingmaker Le! After the storm comes great fortune. I already intended to be allies with Little Le. As a fellow brethren of the Yan Huang Tribe, I am, of course, happy for you!"
The others chorused their well-wishes for Wu Yu as well.
"So Kingmaker Le is not only alive, but even brought Prince Le to the sixth level. Such a hero is rare indeed," Hua Muchen said.
Prince Le naturally knew that he was being treated courteously because of Wu Yu's presence. He had noted many things the moment the Yan Huang Golden Bead appeared. Therefore, he had the measure of Prince He now. Perhaps he had seen him as a figure worthy of respect before. But when it involved the future succession, no one would play around, including Prince Le. This was not a matter of being a good or bad person - simply that fate had pushed them against each other.
"Since it is difficult to be reunited at the sixth level of the Ancient Soul Tower, it must be fate that brought us together. Let us continue our alliance, and search for the Yan Huang Golden Bead. Strength in numbers. We Yan Huang Tribe members should find more to join us," Prince He said with an enthusiastic smile.
Wu Yu gave Prince Le a look.
Prince Le was quiet for a while. "Seventh Brother, forget it. Let's go about our own ways."
Hearing this, Prince He was quiet for a long while.