Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 – The Cliff

  Chapter 2 – The Maze

  Chapter 3 – Entering Another World

  Chapter 4 – The Children

  Chapter 5 – Laws

  Chapter 6 – Village

  Chapter 7 – The City Lord

  Chapter 8 – Being a Guest

  Chapter 9 – Dried Strips of Meat

  Chapter 10 – Understanding the Basics

  Chapter 11 – The Tunnels

  Chapter 12 – Wolf

  Chapter 13 – Poppies

  Chapter 14 – Soul Shadows

  Chapter 15 – Stone Chamber

  Chapter 16 – Refining Bone Marrow

  Chapter 17 – Impatient

  Chapter 18 – The Dragon Corps

  Chapter 19 – Battle in the Tunnels

  Chapter 20 – The Road of a Primal Law

  Chapter 21 – The Path I Take

  Chapter 22 – King of the Forest

  Chapter 23 - One Week Past

  Chapter 24 – Farewell, Oh King of the Forest!

  Chapter 25 – Entrance Fee

  Chapter 26 – Mercenary Guild

  Chapter 27 – The World Above

  Chapter 28 – Becoming Mercenaries

  Chapter 28 – Signing Up

  Chapter 30 – The Arena

  Chapter 31 – Let the Fight Commence

  Chapter 32 – Previous Lives

  Chapter 33 – Report

  Chapter 34 – To Seize the Moment

  Chapter 35 – Time to Duel

  Chapter 36 – Next, Please

  Chapter 37 – Alternative Fighting

  Chapter 38 – Unexpected Visit

  Chapter 39 – Join Us?

  Chapter 40 – Zhou Long

  Chapter 41 – A Three Way Battle

  Chapter 42 – Elemental Flame

  Chapter 43 – He is Sacred

  Chapter 44 – Parallel Mountain Range

  Chapter 45 – The Horned Snake

  Chapter 46 – Chaos

  Chapter 47 – From the Mouth of the Beast

  Chapter 48 – Mission

  Chapter 49 – An Escort Mission

  Chapter 50 – Departure

  Chapter 51 – Unending Forest

  Chapter 52 – Taking Flight

  Chapter 53 – Needles

  Chapter 54 – The Blushing Sleepyhead

  Chapter 55 – A Warm Bath

  Chapter 56 – Commoner’s Marketplace

  Chapter 57 – Stone

  Chapter 58 – Alcohol

  Chapter 59 – Demon Dancing Family

  Chapter 60 – Battle in the Arena

  Chapter 61 – Merged Souls

  Chapter 62 – The Giant

  Chapter 63 – Wasteful Brat

  Chapter 64 – Meridians and Benefits

  Chapter 65 – Message for the Frozen General

  Chapter 66 – Dragon Corps’ Lord

  Chapter 67 – Yang Bai

  Chapter 68 – The First Night

  Chapter 69 – Scarface

  Chapter 70 – New Route

  Chapter 71 – Attack in the Tunnels

  Chapter 72 – Golden Lion’s Cave

  Chapter 73 – The Red Weasel

  Chapter 74 – Thousand River’s Cave

  Chapter 75 – Training House

  Chapter 76 – Comrades?

  Chapter 77 – The Spy

  Chapter 78 – Explanations

  Chapter 79 – Criminals

  Chapter 80 – Sailing on the Thousand Rivers

  Chapter 81 – Taken Prisoner

  Chapter 82 – Important Cargo

  Chapter 83 – Escape Plans

  Chapter 84 – Wolf

  Chapter 85 – Rendezvous

  Chapter 86 – Spar with Me

  Chapter 87 – Personal Insight

  Chapter 88 – Traveling through Dragon Avenue

  Chapter 89 – Esteemed Guests

  Chapter 90 - The Intruder

  Chapter 91 - Azure Dragon

  Chapter 92 - Setting up a Soul Contract

  Chapter 93 - Behind the Door

  Chapter 94 - Present

  Chapter 95 - Is he not one of you?

  Chapter 96 - S ranked experts

  Chapter 97 - House of Silence

  Chapter 98 - The Strange Visitor

  Chapter 99 - A Storm Brewing

  Chapter 100 - I am from Riluo City!

  Chapter 101 - Experts Awaiting

  Chapter 102 - Underground Battle

  Chapter 103 - The Blue Sky

  Chapter 1 – The Cliff

  A cold wind swept in from the ocean as four figures could be seen standing on top of a cliff. A cliff which led straight down to raging waves and deadly rocks.

  ‘Are you really sure we need to go down there?’ Hui Yue asked questioningly, as he looked down at what seemed to be certain death yet the stubborn phoenix just hummed in reply to the question.

  It had been four months since Hui Yue set out from the magical forest with Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, and Sha Yun. Since then the group of four had wandered to the southwestern part of the kingdom, a place where there was nothing but water as far as the eye could see.

  Hui Yue and his friends were standing at the very end of the peninsula. The most western part of the Taiyang Kingdom. Hui Yue never allowed for his eyes to become complacent; an alertness always present within his ice-blue eyes.

  Standing at the end of the kingdom, Hui Yue was at the very edge of the small world in which he currently resided. The peninsula was one large cliff, thousands of meters above the raging seas.

  Looking down even the usually excited Sha Yun showed signs of worry, as the violent waves crashed against the cliff’s stone wall.

  ‘It used to be around here,’ Lan Feng said while frowning slightly. Not even the firm ground looked as it had four thousand years ago, instead the raging waters had corroded much eating up tiny bits of rock year by year. Four thousand years later those small bits of rock turned into large chunks of land, changing the landscape completely.

  Four months back, Hui Yue and Sha Yun lead Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu through the magical forest and past the countryside. All the way to this southwestern most point of the kingdom. The place where the entrance to the Dungeons of the Divine allegedly should be.

  During this trip, Hui Yue did his very best to coerce some information from Lan Feng about these dungeons which they were about to encounter, yet he gained nothing from the damned bird leaving Hui Yue expecting a humid and dark maze of underground tunnels where no sunshine reached.

  The most excitement they encountered during their trip was when they would discuss what might have transpired back in Riluo City, along with their expectations of their destination.

  The group intentionally stayed away from every kind of village, even the smallest and poorest, as Hui Yue wished to not leave behind even the slightest trace.

  Hui Yue brought forth everything at his disposal. Earlier he used technology which he brought with him from his old world. Although they were in their most primal versions, they were still foreign to this world. Should the Taiyang Royal Family get a hold of this technology, they would know for sure that Hui Yue had knowledge which they could not afford to have fall into the hands of their neighboring kingdoms, or even high ranked nobles who might revolt.

  Although the kingdoms had a positive relationship with one another one never knew. In the past more than one war had broken out in the hopes of uniting everyone under one flag. Hui Yue’s knowledge might not be limited to interesting inventions. The royal family would definitely want him for that knowledge alone.

  Another reason
why there would definitely be someone after him was the fact that he revealed his power as a Saint ranked expert. The reason some would come after him was for the sake of testing whether or not his strength truly was that of a Saint.

  If it turned out that he was a Saint ranked expert, they would do their best to persuade him to join them. Hui Yue was not dumb, a Saint was not someone who could be dealt with easily, yet the Taiyang Kingdom was bound to have at least a few experts of such caliber. If Hui Yue did not follow their polite invitation, it was quite likely that he would be forced to join. In the worst case, he would not be living after their meeting.

  Shaking his head, Hui Yue stopped thinking about the eventless last four months where he reached the third star of the Master rank because nothing interrupted his cultivation on their trip. He instead focused his entire attention on the cliff wall, and a sigh escaped his lips.

  ‘Just fly to the middle of this cliff.’ Lan Feng’s voice was incredibly carefree as it explained what they needed to do. ‘Although the land has changed, it is impossible to remove the dungeons. So fly and search the cliffside until you find a cave the size of at least two meters wide and four meters tall. I’m sure its gate has long vanished with the land.’

  Hearing his words, Hui Yue could not help but snort slightly. Although Lan Feng made it sound simple, it was anything but.

  Hui Yue would have to rely on the Qi Fan to allow him to personally inspect an area which could be hundreds of kilometers long since the phoenix was unable to pinpoint the exact location.

  Although Hui Yue had opened his middle dantian, his Qi spiral was not growing. This was because his cultivation technique was greedily absorbing strand after strand of Qi, only to refine it into spiritual essence.

  To inspect such a vast area as needed, Hui Yue would need at least a few days of constant searching mixed in with meditation to replenish his Qi pool.

  It was possible for him to produce multiple Qi Fans and have his friends search with him, but if he did that he would use his Qi up faster. Not to mention his friends would be unable to control the Qi Fans because they only reacted to Hui Yue’s commands and had a maximum range of a kilometer away from him before they would dissipate.

  A benefit for Hui Yue, while he was observing the cliffside, was that he came across a few rare herbs. He knew nothing about these particular ones, but Lan Feng ordered him to pick them up and promised that when they entered the dungeons, then he would be taught a little about herbs. Because they would be incredibly important throughout their journey in this underground world.

  While Hui Yue and Sha Yun were busy at the cliff, Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu would travel towards the closest forests or grassy fields on their hunt for dinner.

  They would bring back anything from fresh wild berries to magical beasts ready to be grilled. During the entire trip, Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long took on the job of finding food. Usually, the two would bicker about what they wished to eat, but considering that they were camping outside and that they would have to gather the food from the wild, none of those two spoiled youngsters got the food they wished for.

  At first, Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long found the camping lifestyle rather fun, but after a month neither of them enjoyed it any longer. They were both used to the luxury of having servants wait on their every need, granting them anything they wished for. In nature, they had to get everything they wanted on their own.

  After three months the two finally came to terms with their new lifestyle, and the previous young masters ended up fighting to prove that they were the better suited for the rough life. Hui Yue could not help but laugh at them both, and he never once regretted bringing them as they provided him with a lot of fun.

  Lan Feng was also very pleased with the two joining them. Both Wang Ju Long and Deng Wu were experts of the Master rank, and both of them trained with cultivation methods provided by Lan Feng.

  They were far stronger than your average Master, or even Grandmaster, ranked cultivators. All of this was thanks to Lan Feng and his cultivation methods which in turn had caused them to be immensely thankful, willing to do anything he asked of them.

  Although Deng Wu and Wang Ju Long both saw Hui Yue as their friend, they almost worshiped Lan Feng. The phoenix had granted them all their wishes. He gave them the strength to stand on their own two feet.

  Although Little Dragon had previously granted Deng Wu a boost to his cultivation it was just that, a boost. Lan Feng gave him a method which he could use to cultivate from now until he reached the limits of his talent. Also he gifted Deng Wu a few high ranked martial attack skills, and finally, he had even been willing to reveal himself for the sake of giving the Deng and Wang families a small possibility of survival.

  Wang Ju Long shared this adoration as she was gifted the same things as Deng Wu, not to mention a new lease on life as a woman. Although it was hard for her to get used to the new lifestyle, it was still a place where she could be free and where she was accepted for who she was.

  Every time Lan Feng heard the two praise him his feathers would flutter, puff up, and make the phoenix seem self-righteous as though he had saved the world from a great disaster.

  Hui Yue would usually laugh whenever it happened, yet he could understand why his friends thought this way and for him, it was also a great help to not be alone on the trip. There was some safety in numbers, but it also made the trip much less depressing as there was someone to spend time with.

  ….

  On the fourteenth day of searching the cliffside, Hui Yue finally found the remnants of what had been a cave opening. He searched the entire area multiple times before Lan Feng finally mentioned that the entrance was likely to be hidden beneath vegetation or a boulder to protect itself from unwanted visitors.

  It turned out that this was exactly what had happened as a large boulder was blocking the entrance. This large boulder was easily smashed by Hui Yue as he infused Black Blood with spiritual energy. As soon as the dagger touched the boulder, it shattered into thousands of pieces.

  Looking inside the cave, Hui Yue frowned slightly as it was pitch black. Within seconds, he created another three Qi Fans which he used to gather his friends and fly them to his location.

  Together they all stepped into the black world of the cave, and as soon as their feet touched the ground it seemed as though the entire world started spinning around them.

  Grabbing someone’s hand, Hui Yue felt a suction force appear from further within the cave, and the four of them felt how this suction force made their feet lose contact with the ground below and they were thrashed around within the complete darkness before suddenly Hui Yue found himself on solid ground once more.

  Hui Yue instantly calmed down and flicked his hand, summoning a light stone from his storage stone. Within this light stone in his hand was a seed of sunshine, and as the rays of light lit up the cave Hui Yue ended up in, he could not help but widen his eyes as he saw Deng Wu by his side, but neither Wang Ju Long nor Sha Yun was together with them.

  ‘Well that was very bad luck,’ Lan Feng commented upon the discovery. ‘They arrived at another room. I guess we should go out and find them.’

  Chapter 2 – The Maze

  Hui Yue stood up but did not rush towards the exit to start searching for Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun. Instead, he quietly observed his surroundings with an alert expression on his face.

  The cave was as barren as he had expected, but a few types of mushrooms grew in the darkest corners. As soon as Hui Yue activated a light stone, the mushrooms started to disintegrate as though sunlight was toxic.

  The light stone was truthfully a low grade storage stone which contained a seed of light. The storage stone was of such poor quality that the interior was exposed, allowing for the rays of sunshine to illuminate everything around it.

  The seed of light was not an actual plant. Instead, it was a small pearl refined from the sun’s rays of light. Creating one seed of light required more than a year, and the price was extravagant, as both plan
t and pearl were very important. Seeds of light were not something just anyone could buy.

  That name was given because it could be planted in the ground and a tree of sunshine would grow. A tree would absorb the light shining down upon it, bearing fruit that contained more seeds of light.

  Although this sounded like an easy process, it was important that the trees had a constant supply of sunshine so it could refine its seeds. If not, the trees would be unable to create seeds. Within the whole Taiyang Kingdom, only one place lived up to the harsh requirements needed for farming seeds of light.

  Hui Yue only brought two seeds of light on this trip, yet both were with him. He could not help but feel worried about Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun, who were stuck in this dark maze with no light at hand.

  The room that the stone lit up was dark and damp. It was completely closed off from the world with no windows and only one pathway they could follow, leaving behind all discussion about which direction to take.

  Thinking the situation through, Hui Yue handed over the light stone to Deng Wu before he quickly sat down in meditational position.

  Seeing this, Deng Wu furrowed his brows in confusion as he did not think now was the best time for cultivating, but he said nothing and just waited patiently for the younger man to finish whatever he was doing.

  Hui Yue became merged with the Earth, but he had yet to reach the level that whole give full control over the surrounding earth. Even when perfectly merged, because the young boy still needed to hone his affinity, he was not able to command larger masses of earth.