Chapter 499: Ancient Strange Stele

The soil inside the large pit looked somewhat unusual, as if it had crystallized under extremely high temperatures.

“Why does it feel a bit chilly?” Pei Mianman instinctively grabbed Zu An’s arm, leaning half her body against him, as if it made her feel safer.

“It is a bit cold,” Zu An also found it strange. Logically, a meteorite falling and friction with the atmosphere should generate extremely high temperatures. There were still traces of burning all around, and the air was filled with a charred smell. Yet, it was strangely paradoxical: all signs indicated it should be hot, but the actual sensation was a cold chill.

“Be careful. There’s often danger near rare treasures,” Zu An gently patted her hand, reminding her.

Pei Mianman hummed in acknowledgment, becoming fully alert and ready to act at any moment.

The two carefully descended into the pit, walking towards the meteorite at the center. Various thoughts flashed through Zu An’s mind: “There won’t be any radiation, will there?” In his previous life, he had seen many similar reports: about meteorites containing radioactive substances, or people finding glowing stones they thought were treasures, only to suffer a fate worse than death due to high doses of radiation.

But at this point, there was no time to worry about such things. They had to go and investigate first.

The two arrived before the enormous, dark meteorite. They circled it but found nothing particularly special. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like an ordinary meteorite, just a bit larger than usual.

Where was the promised rare treasure? Where was the fabled adventure?

Just then, an eerie laugh echoed: “I didn’t expect you two to escape all the way here. Whatever treasure you’ve found, hand it over obediently, and perhaps I will spare your lives.”

Mosquito Daoist was standing at the edge of the large pit, staring coldly at them.

Zu An felt a headache coming on. He couldn't help but exclaim, “I must have owed you money in my past life, for you to pursue me relentlessly in this one.” He planned to talk to her a bit longer to buy some time. If his prediction was correct, Zhu Xie Chixin and the others should arrive soon.

Mosquito Daoist straightened her somewhat ragged daoist robe. Unfortunately, no matter how she tried to cover herself, much of her skin was still visible through the tears. “Hmph, I’m not in the mood for your wordplay right now. Hand over whatever treasure you’ve acquired immediately, otherwise, I’ll take it out on the woman beside you. Don’t you dare feel distressed then.” She had even decided not to kill Pei Mianman for now, so she could use her later to force Zu An to hand over the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

Zu An spread his hands, subtly shielding Pei Mianman behind him, and said, “We just arrived here ourselves, and just circled this place. There’s nothing here but a meteorite.”

Given her past experiences, Mosquito Daoist didn’t believe a word he said and immediately attacked both of them.

Zu An and Pei Mianman hastily took up their weapons to defend themselves. However, without Qiu Honglei’s ‘Changxin Palace Lantern’ to restrain her, and with Mosquito Daoist slowly adapting to their fighting styles — especially Zu An’s elusive footwork and Pei Mianman’s unique black flames — they were no match for her once she was prepared.

Pei Mianman, more severely injured, was a little slower to react and was sent flying, spitting blood, by Mosquito Daoist’s attack. Had Mosquito Daoist not intended to keep her alive to threaten Zu An, she would likely have died on the spot from that blow.

Seeing her severely injured, Zu An instinctively moved to save her, but this left him vulnerable. Mosquito Daoist seized the opportunity and struck him in the chest with her palm. Mosquito Daoist showed no mercy this time, unlike with Pei Mianman. Having just witnessed him recover countless times to full health, she knew he must possess powerful recovery techniques. She instinctively assumed it was the effect of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, so she no longer held back her strength as before.

Zu An felt as if he had been struck by a speeding locomotive, and was sent flying in an arc, crashing onto the meteorite. The tremendous impact caused his entire body to sink into the meteorite, creating a human-shaped crater.

Even Mosquito Daoist was startled. She had intended to completely subdue Zu An, but not to kill him. Had her previous punch really been that powerful?

Only Zu An knew best. The meteorite behind him looked like profound iron and should have been quite solid, but in reality, it was deceptively fragile, with a very brittle texture.

Mosquito Daoist was about to approach and finish off both of them when suddenly, a series of cracking sounds echoed, like something shattering. She couldn't help but stop, staring intently at the massive meteorite behind Zu An. Given her cultivation, she could naturally ascertain that the sound was coming from within it. From the looks of it, her opponents had not been lying; they hadn’t had time to discover the meteorite’s secret.

Extraordinary phenomena always signify the presence of great treasures, and great treasures are often accompanied by immense danger. With her current injuries, she had to proceed with caution.

“Ah Zu!” Pei Mianman staggered over and pulled Zu An out of the meteorite where he was embedded. Even such a simple action nearly exhausted all her strength, indicating her injuries were too severe.

Zu An pulled himself out of the meteorite. His clothes were tattered all over, as if he had just emerged from the Beggar’s Sect. However, he had no time to attend to himself. Instead, he turned to look at the meteorite behind him. Cracks had appeared around the human-shaped crater. At first, there were only one or two, but they rapidly multiplied, eventually covering the entire outer layer of the meteorite.

Immediately after, the massive meteorite suddenly split open, shattering into countless small pieces. Amidst the pile of fragments, a jet-black stone tablet was revealed. Engraved on it were two strange patterns, resembling neither words nor pictures. In any case, Pei Mianman, who considered herself well-read and knowledgeable, had never seen any script like it from any race in the world.

Zu An gazed at the two characters, lost in thought. Just then, a figure darted past them. Mosquito Daoist reached out a hand towards the stone tablet, her eyes filled with excitement. “Hahaha, this treasure is mine!” she exclaimed.

A meteorite from beyond the heavens had descended, with a stone tablet at its core. Anyone could tell its extraordinary nature with half a thought. It was undoubtedly some supreme treasure, and she didn’t care about anything else; she just had to seize it first.

Zu An and Pei Mianman were severely injured at this moment, completely powerless to stop her. They could only watch helplessly as the stone tablet fell into her hands.

However, just as Mosquito Daoist’s hand was about to grasp the stone tablet, a sudden flash of light erupted from it, followed by a massive counterforce. She cried out and was sent flying backward. Even with her extensive experience, and having dissipated most of the force mid-air, she still sustained considerable internal injuries.

Zu An immediately smirked. “Serves you right!” he scoffed.

Mosquito Daoist, refusing to believe it, rushed towards the stone tablet again. This time, she didn’t use as much force as before, but slowly extended her hand to touch the tablet. However, a light still flashed, as if a transparent film around the tablet repelled her. Naturally, because she hadn’t used much force this time, she was only gently pushed back, and not injured as before.

Mosquito Daoist paced around the stone tablet, trying various methods, but none of them worked. She couldn’t help but scratch her ears and cheeks in frustration. She knew clearly that the strange phenomena here would soon attract others, and she didn’t have much time left.

Meanwhile, Zu An, on the other side, took Pei Mianman’s hand, gave her a look, and then they both exerted their remaining strength, desperately running in the opposite direction from the stone tablet. Clearly, they hoped Mosquito Daoist would be too distracted by the stone tablet to pay attention to them.

To their surprise, Mosquito Daoist’s figure flickered, and she instantly blocked their path, reaching out to grab Pei Mianman by the neck. “You two, go touch the stone tablet!” she commanded. She worried that her inability to bypass the restriction around the stone tablet was due to her demonic lineage. If it were two humans, perhaps they would succeed. After all, there were too many similar forces in this world where the legacies of many ancient powerful experts were unwilling to be acquired by non-human races, and thus, similar restrictions were set up.

Zu An scoffed, “Since you’re asking for a favor, could you be a bit more polite?”

Mosquito Daoist: “…”

Does this guy have any sense of being a captive? If it weren't for the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, she would have long ago slapped him to death.

Rage points from Mosquito Daoist +222!

“One more word, and I’ll scar your woman’s face!” she said, while tracing her sharp fingernails across Pei Mianman’s fair, delicate cheek.