Chapter 1621: The Immortal Pit

The pit was vast and incredibly deep, carved from solid stone, with cracks spiderwebbing across its rim like rough volcanic rock.

Outside the pit, the ground was strewn with massive boulders, their shapes bizarre and otherworldly—some like swords thrusting into the sky, others resembling crouching white tigers or coiling azure dragons.

Some rocks were pitch-black, dull and lifeless, as if stained with dark blood. Others bore a brownish hue, hardened like dried yellow mud.

Overall, the area around the pit was barren, devoid of vegetation, eerily silent—yet it didn’t feel lifeless. Instead, a dense, immortal aura rose from the depths, thick with ancient power.

This was a pit that had existed since the Era of the Fallen Emperor, a place that naturally invited boundless speculation.

Shi Hao pondered—could there truly be rare treasures hidden here?

“Isn’t this just a hole? I’ve seen worse in underground mining zones,” Shen Ming chuckled, her robes fluttering as she stood atop the cliff. Tall and graceful, her jade-like face and sparkling eyes made her a vision of beauty.

“Oh? This Immortal Pit is renowned in our realm. If you’re unafraid, by all means, descend and test your luck,” said a young man clad in violet-gold battle armor.

His posture was regal, wreathed in misty violet energy, his pupils gleaming like polished metal. He moved with the bearing of a young emperor, exuding dominance.

By now, Shi Hao and his companions knew his name—Huo Fudu. His origins were unknown, his cultivation unfathomable, but he was undoubtedly a terrifyingly powerful youth.

Had such a figure descended to the lower realms, he would have been a storm unto himself, towering above his peers.

“Have you ventured down before? Any gains?” Shen Ming smiled brightly, her tone light, betraying no particular intent.

“I’ve had my share,” Huo Fudu replied coldly, indifferent to her allure—unlike Jin Yang of the Golden Crow Clan, who had shown her far more favor than Shi Hao or San Zang.

“If you have the courage, explore it yourselves. Who knows? Perhaps you lower-realm beings will pollute the pit enough to scare off the dormant stone beasts. That would be a service to us all,” a young girl giggled.

Dressed in a pale blue gown, her hair shimmering like rippling water, her sapphire eyes sparkling, she was undeniably beautiful, radiating an immortal aura.

A crimson mark adorned her forehead, pulsing with scarlet light—an unforgettable feature that added to her charm.

Yet her words were sharp, clashing with her ethereal grace. Her disdain for the lower realms was palpable, steeped in innate superiority.

Her name was Nuo Lan, her origins unknown.

“Didn’t your people get beaten enough earlier? Do you need to be mounted and pummeled by Huang before you’ll submit?” Shen Ming retorted fiercely.

Despite her breathtaking beauty and elegant demeanor, her tongue was merciless, her words cutting like blades.

Nuo Lan stiffened, her flawless face paling as her watery hair swayed. She stared in shock—clearly unprepared for such direct, savage words.

To her, the idea of being “mounted and beaten” was vulgar beyond belief!

Not only had Shen Ming reopened Jin Yang’s wounds, but she’d also provoked Nuo Lan into flushed indignation. “Is this how lower-realm women behave? Crude in speech, barbaric in action?”

“Does it sting? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When you mock the lower realms, do you ever consider how it feels?” Shen Ming smirked.

Then, with deliberate provocation, she added, “If you disagree, come fight Huang. I guarantee he’ll suppress you within five hundred moves—and thrash you three times over!”

Shi Hao rolled his eyes. She was dragging him into this for no reason, making him a target of resentment.

Nuo Lan glared, then suddenly laughed, unshaken. “Fighting you would be bullying. So you hide behind this human boy. But you overestimate yourself. I’m no Jin Yang. Few can withstand my strikes!”

Shi Hao raised an eyebrow. This blue-robed girl with the crimson mark was absurdly arrogant, her sapphire eyes burning with battle intent.

Did she truly want a fight?

Notably, Jin Yang himself remained silent, offering no objection—proof that Nuo Lan’s strength was no boast.

Five young immortals had accompanied Shi Hao’s group: Jin Yang, the White Peacock Fairy, Huo Fudu in violet, Nuo Lan with her blue eyes, and one silent young man whose origins were unclear.

Earlier, they had shrouded themselves in mist, unwilling to reveal their true forms to “lower beings.” Only the White Peacock Fairy and Jin Yang had shown themselves. Now, Huo Fudu and Nuo Lan had also unveiled their faces—spurred by the verbal clash.

*Crack!*

At that moment, Shi Hao pried open the earth at the cliff’s edge, lifting an oval black stone.

It was unnaturally hard—surrounding rocks had shattered, but this one remained intact, resisting even his glowing fingers.

For someone of his strength, capable of splitting stars barehanded, this was extraordinary.

“I warn you, don’t act recklessly here. Be cautious,” Jin Yang said coldly, still bitter from his earlier defeat.

*Boom!*

Shi Hao’s palm blazed with divine light, a mighty technique shattering the stone like an egg.

*Whoosh—*

Huo Fudu, Nuo Lan, and the others retreated at lightning speed.

San Zang and Shen Ming followed suit.

Only Shi Hao, his hand still glowing, found himself trapped by an immense force. With a roar, he unleashed a fusion of divine abilities, barely breaking free before leaping back.

*Roar!*

A savage aura erupted as a shaggy, crimson-maned head burst forth, its maw shattering the void where Shi Hao had stood.

It exuded primordial might, as if breaking free from prehistory itself.

The roar shook the land, toppling boulders and quaking the earth.

Distant figures rushed over—many had been scattered across the vast area, but the commotion drew them near.

The head resembled a lion, but its crimson mane and gaping maw marked it as something far worse.

A monster.

Its neck ended in a bloody stump, body absent.

The sheer pressure of its presence crushed the air, its maw widening like a chasm, swallowing mountains and melting metal into rivers that flowed into its gullet.

“What… is that thing?” Shi Hao murmured.

Had he been slower, the consequences would have been dire.

“Young man, count yourself lucky to survive such recklessness,” a middle-aged man said, landing nearby.

The White Peacock Fairy, Huo Fudu, and Nuo Lan stepped forward, unafraid—the beast’s head made no move to pursue.

“Fortunately, it’s just a wisp of blood energy, not its true body. A real battle would have been inevitable,” Huo Fudu said.

The White Peacock Fairy, the least disdainful of the group, explained:

“I told you—this place holds fortune, but also peril. Some stones here seal remnants from the Era of the Fallen Emperor.”

Carelessness could unleash cursed remains, spreading corpse miasma and triggering a “demon calamity.”

Shi Hao had been lucky—this stone contained only a trace of blood energy, nothing truly malignant.

“Such dark sorcery?” Shi Hao frowned.

If this place was so dangerous, why hadn’t the immortal elders purged it?

“It cannot be disturbed. The depths hold things best left untouched. Only juniors may seek opportunities here,” the man said, then frowned. “This is common knowledge. How do you not know?”

“They’re from the lower realms,” Jin Yang interjected.

The man’s demeanor turned icy. Without another word, he turned away, cleansing himself with divine light as if Shi Hao were filth.

The sheer contempt made Shi Hao itch to slap him with a shoe.

“What a marvelous place!” San Zang suddenly exclaimed, breaking his silence with enthusiastic praise.

Even Shen Ming smiled, radiant as she glided across the terrain, searching intently.

Shi Hao’s eyes narrowed. As Golden Undertakers, was this a boon for them?

*”San Zang, help me pick a stone later. Let’s make these immortals bleed,”* he transmitted.

*”I’ll try. But trust your instincts—you might uncover scriptures from the Era of the Fallen Emperor,”* San Zang replied.

Then, gravely: *”I recall a Burial King’s words—true scriptures from that era are priceless.”*

High praise indeed. Any text deemed a “scripture” from that age was a supreme treasure.

*”I’d love to take something priceless—just to make them chase us beyond their precious realm,”* Shi Hao mused.