Chapter 126: Zi Ning’s Discontent, the Red-Eyed Elder

Chapter 126 – Zi Ning’s Discontent, the Red-Eyed Elder

“Gongsun Huaiyu, that is enough!”

“Do you truly believe I fear you?”

Blocked once more by Gongsun Huaiyu’s unwavering form, Zi Ning’s fury finally boiled over.

Ever since their initial separation from Chen Changsheng, Gongsun Huaiyu had done nothing but lead the group in aimless circles around the periphery of the ore vein.

Every time they encountered a passage that delved into the depths, Gongsun Huaiyu would interpose herself, barring their path.

Once or twice could be excused, but after the third such obstruction, Zi Ning’s patience snapped.

Facing the woman’s searing anger, Gongsun Huaiyu remained as cold and still as a mountain.

“Whether you fear me is irrelevant,” she said calmly. “What matters is that you shall not enter.”

At those words, Zi Ning’s rage reached its zenith.

“Gongsun Huaiyu, I admit you are stronger than I, and I know I am no match for Chen Changsheng.”

“This repeated interference—I suspect it is not even your own idea.”

“But regardless of how powerful you and Chen Changsheng are, you cannot treat us like children.”

“The depths of the vein are filled with top-tier geniuses. Honestly, do you think we can be of any help?”

Hearing this, Gongsun Huaiyu did not know how to answer the question.

Zi Ning and the other two’s strength, taken individually, indeed could not compare to monstrous geniuses like Fang Qiancheng.

But with the three of them combined, they still formed a force not to be ignored.

They were currently in a cooperative state, and their desire to enter and support Chen Changsheng was not an unreasonable request.

However, Chen Changsheng had given a strict order forbidding them from delving into the vein.

Faced with this dilemma, Gongsun Huaiyu experienced for the first time the difficulty of leading a team.

To be precise, the difficulty of leading a team of geniuses.

A genius was called a genius precisely because they excelled in some aspect.

Thus, such a team would always generate many differing opinions, and these opinions were almost always flawless.

Zi Ning’s situation was different from her own; she did not know Chen Changsheng’s true identity, so she could not trust him unconditionally.

Logically, if she revealed Chen Changsheng’s identity, Zi Ning would certainly not doubt his decisions.

But this truth could not be spoken, just as Chen Changsheng had not told her the reason for forbidding everyone from entering the vein.

It turned out that in this world, not everything could be laid out in the open.

Thinking this, Gongsun Huaiyu spoke: “No reason, no cause.”

“In short, you cannot enter the vein, nor can you leave it.”

Seeing Gongsun Huaiyu’s unchanged, unyielding expression, Zi Ning immediately deflated.

“Fine, we won’t go in. If he wants to die, let him die.”

“You’re closest to him. If you don’t care about his safety, why should I, an outsider, care!”

“I’ll just wait quietly for Chen Changsheng’s good news. I want to see if Chen Changsheng can slaughter everyone single-handedly.”

With that, Zi Ning began to slack off right where she stood.

Meanwhile, Su Tian and Ye Hensheng exchanged a glance, a flicker of disappointment in their eyes.

Because they felt that Chen Changsheng had never truly valued them.

Otherwise, he would not have had Gongsun Huaiyu stop them from entering the vein.

Was their strength really so worthless in his eyes?

A rift had formed within the team led by Gongsun Huaiyu.

At the same time, deep within the vein, Chen Changsheng was busy digging.

…

“Clatter!”

A few scattered stones fell into a not-so-spacious stone chamber.

“Gulp!”

Chen Changsheng struggled to swallow his saliva, while cold sweat poured from his forehead.

In the stone chamber lay a nearly decayed jade coffin.

Above the jade coffin sat a dim oil lamp.

A dull-eyed, skinny old man was sitting on the coffin, fiddling with the nearly extinguished wick.

What was even more chilling was that this skinny old man’s eyes were red.

Although he was witnessing this scene again, Chen Changsheng’s heart still raced uncontrollably.

Back when he had used Vertical Golden Light to infiltrate the vein, after some searching, he had discovered this stone chamber.

Seeing the strange combination of a jade coffin and a bronze oil lamp, Chen Changsheng naturally wanted to investigate.

So he carefully pushed the jade coffin open a crack, but this action nearly cost him his life.

Because inside the coffin lay a corpse.

The moment the lid was pushed open, the once lifelike corpse began to rot at a visible rate, growing golden fur and fangs.

Realizing something was wrong, Chen Changsheng immediately closed the coffin.

But the mistake was already made; it was too late to mend the fold after the sheep were lost. The corpse inside was rapidly undergoing a transformation into a zombie.

Just as Chen Changsheng was about to flee, this “red-eyed elder” appeared.

It was precisely because of his appearance that the nearly extinguished bronze oil lamp was sustained, and Chen Changsheng also understood what was happening.

This little old man was the dragon vein of this place, and the corpse in the stone coffin was what the dragon vein was suppressing.

Logically, with such a powerful dragon vein suppressing it, any evil entity would be ground to dust.

But the thing in the coffin was too formidable; not only was it not suppressed by the dragon vein, it had instead begun to corrode it.

Over countless years, the dragon vein here had slowly transformed into an “evil dragon.”

The change was originally just one step away, but his actions had directly accelerated the process.

Judging by the situation, at most a year, the thing in the coffin would break out, and that was without any external interference.

All this information flashed through his mind as Chen Changsheng slowly retreated from the stone chamber.

When he reappeared in the middle layer of the vein, Chen Changsheng finally let out a long sigh of relief.

“The 300-zhang layer of ore has been completely hollowed out by me. Now, only a three-inch-thick stone slab separates the tunnel from the stone chamber.”

“With their abilities, they should easily notice something amiss.”

“If they still follow their usual habit of striking first and asking questions later, they’re in for a world of trouble.”

“An evil dragon activated by the Heaven-Withering Grand Array, combined with a zombie eerily similar to the legendary Undying Bone.”

“With such a powerful alliance, they should have quite a challenge on their hands.”

Saying this, Chen Changsheng straightened his attire and leisurely headed deeper into the vein.

To avoid suspicion in such a major event, Chen Changsheng naturally had to appear on the scene as a “victim.”

However, well aware of the dangers, Chen Changsheng would not venture too deep.

Additionally, to achieve the goal of participating in the competition without delving too far, Chen Changsheng needed to enlist the help of the “birdman.”

After all, he was currently the only enemy on the surface.

If he blocked Chen Changsheng from entering the vein, and they engaged in a “great battle,”

exchanging over a hundred moves before Chen Changsheng “accidentally” lost by a single move—such a scenario would be very “reasonable.”