Chapter 1120: Underground Palace Poisonous Miasma

The underground palace was astonishingly deep. After traveling for a long time through the dense, turbid air, the passage remained as narrow as it was at the beginning. Yun Che maintained his Stealth and Lightning Concealment states, carefully following behind the three figures. He was consistently unable to get ahead of them. Though increasingly uneasy, he did not become agitated.

"Why haven't we reached the bottom yet? How deep is this place?"

"The turbid air is getting heavier... The passage has smoothed out, we should be nearing the exit."

"Wait... what's that smell?"

"It's highly poisonous! Retreat quickly!!"

The voices from ahead suddenly changed dramatically. The auras of the three Realm Kings abruptly approached Yun Che's location. Yun Che's heart jolted, and he stopped, but instead of retreating in panic, he remained absolutely still, holding his breath. Fortunately, the Realm Kings' auras also immediately halted and remained stagnant there, not discovering his presence despite the sudden closeness.

Highly poisonous? Yun Che slowly retreated, his brow twitching slightly.

In front of the three Realm Kings, within the dense, dark turbid air, a thick layer of dark green had appeared. This dark green permeated the passage ahead, drifting slowly like smoke, but seemed to be locked within that area, not dissipating outwards.

Mu Baimian, Emperor Nanlie, and Han Kuan stood before the poisonous mist, their expressions grim. They quickly circulated their profound energy to expel the poison, and after a while, their complexions finally returned to normal.

"What powerful poison! If we had reacted any slower, we might have ended up dead here," Han Kuan said with lingering fear.

"After all, it's something left over from ancient times." Emperor Nanlie took another half-step back. Countless years had passed since the Age of Gods, so this poisonous mist should naturally have dissipated and diluted countless times, yet it was still not something ordinary people could easily withstand.

"The turbid air here already suppresses profound energy, and now encountering such poison... this might be tricky," Mu Baimian said, his brows deeply furrowed.

"Should we try forcing our way through?" Han Kuan suddenly asked.

"If Sect Master Han finds his life too long, he's welcome to try," Emperor Nanlie said darkly. "We don't know how far this poisonous mist extends. If it stretches for several miles, we might go in alive but never come out."

Yun Che listened silently to their voices, understanding what they had encountered. At the end of the passage was, surprisingly, an antechamber filled with poisonous mist. Moreover, this poisonous mist was so terrifying that it filled even the three Realm Kings with deep dread, preventing them from moving forward.

Boom!!

A loud blast came from ahead, and the underground palace passage trembled slightly, followed by Emperor Nanlie's voice, full of disappointment: "No, it can't be dispersed at all."

"To pass through such potent poison safely, at least a Divine Sovereign is needed. Are we to just hand over the Imperial Immortal Grass to people from the middle star realm?"

"Should we try looking for another entrance?"

"Even if there truly is another entrance, it's already too late. The news has spread for so long; within six hours at most, people from middle or even upper star realms will arrive. It took us a whole day just to break the seal of this entrance. Looking for another one would be worse than just handing it over!"

"Then how about we try to force our way through? Perhaps this poisonous mist isn't as extensive as we imagine."

"Very well. Then, please, Sect Master Han, you go first. While the Imperial Immortal Grass is valuable, I will absolutely not risk my life for it."

The three Realm Kings, figures who wielded immense power across their respective star realms, were completely blocked by a patch of poisonous mist. They all felt the Imperial Immortal Grass was within reach, yet they couldn't advance another step. Their incomparably powerful Divine King energy was utterly useless against this poisonous mist.

But they were absolutely unwilling to turn back and leave. Aside from the enormous temptation of the Imperial Immortal Grass, they had already paid a significant price to blast open this underground palace entrance, so how could they accept failure at the very last moment?

Yun Che's mind raced, and several possibilities emerged in his thoughts. After a full quarter of an hour of careful deliberation, he silently retreated a considerable distance. Then he suddenly deactivated his concealment, slowly advancing with rather cautious steps.

Upon deactivating his Stealth, despite the suppression from the turbid air, Yun Che's aura was instantly detected by the three Realm Kings. A stern voice came from the depths: "Who's there!"

"A Divine Soul Realm practitioner? That's odd... Either die, or get over here!"

Three powerful oppressive forces firmly locked onto Yun Che. Yun Che secretly took a deep breath, quickened his pace, moved through layers of turbid air, and swiftly arrived before the three Realm Kings.

Upon seeing Yun Che, all three were startled: "It's you?"

"How did you get in? Wasn't the entrance guarded?" Han Kuan asked gravely. The entrance was guarded by elders from the three star realms, so they naturally wouldn't believe that Yun Che, with only Divine Soul Realm profound energy, could force his way in.

Yun Che, with a look of apprehension on his face, quickly said, "This junior was searching for opportunities in the ancient realm and was accidentally drawn into a spatial profound formation, which brought me here. I never expected it to be the underground palace that the three esteemed Realm Kings entered. I certainly did not... intentionally trespass."

"A spatial profound formation?" The three Realm Kings remained highly suspicious, but not entirely disbelieving, as it was impossible for him to have forced his way in through the main entrance. Emperor Nanlie sneered, "I recall you're called... Ling Yun, correct? Accidentally entered via a spatial profound formation? Heh, is that so?"

Mu Baimian, however, raised a hand: "That's certainly possible. The ancient realm holds countless secrets; just like the sealed profound formation at this underground palace entrance, which we only discovered yesterday. Ling Yun, since you entered by mistake, you may return to the entrance. When you leave, just mention my name, and no one will trouble you."

"Then hurry up and get out," Emperor Nanlie said, no longer sparing him a glance.

Yun Che, however, did not immediately turn and leave as they expected. Instead, he raised his head and asked, "Esteemed Realm Kings, as this junior approached, I unintentionally overheard that you seem to be hindered by a poisonous mist, preventing you from entering the deeper parts of the underground palace. Are you referring to this eerie green mist?"

Mu Baimian glanced at him: "That's correct, but it doesn't concern you. Please leave quickly."

"If it's just this poisonous mist, this junior actually has a way to disperse it," Yun Che said.

His words undoubtedly made the three Realm Kings look at him in surprise simultaneously. Emperor Nanlie burst into laughter: "You? Hahahahaha!"

Mu Baimian shook his head and said earnestly, "Young man, for you to say that, perhaps you have some mastery in toxicology. However, this is no ordinary poison; otherwise, it wouldn't be stumping the three of us."

"Then, how about this junior makes a wager with the three Realm Kings?"

"Oh?" Mu Baimian's brows moved slightly, revealing a half-smile and an expression of considerable interest.

Yun Che raised his hand, pointing at the eerie green poisonous mist slowly drifting like wandering souls ahead: "If this junior can disperse this poisonous mist, allowing the three esteemed Realm Kings to enter the underground palace, then please allow this junior to accompany you into the palace to search for the Imperial Immortal Grass together. How about that?"

He possessed the Sky Poison Pearl; whether it was passing through this poisonous mist area or dispersing it, it would be effortless.

With no way to bypass it, the three Realm Kings being blocked by the poisonous mist was undoubtedly an opportunity for Yun Che. However, while he wasn't afraid of the poisonous mist, forcing his way past the three Realm Kings would undoubtedly be courting death. He had considered proactively revealing himself in a similar manner, then relaxing their guard, and finding a reason, such as sacrificing himself to test the mist's depth, to enter it and then proceed alone into the palace. But doing so would easily arouse their suspicion and caution; as soon as his aura was about to leave their spiritual perception within the mist, any one of them could strike, and he would surely die.

After all, these three were Realm Kings; they were by no means fools.

Ultimately, he chose this "mutual benefit" approach, which would arouse their caution and suspicion, but was least likely to provoke a murderous intent.

"Hahahahaha!" Emperor Nanlie squinted at him, his face contorted in scornful laughter, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain. "A mere Divine Soul Realm junior actually dreams of laying hands on the Imperial Immortal Grass with us? Old Mu, your life-saver is not only ignorant and arrogant but also an ambitious toad, hahahaha."

Han Kuan also let out a cold snort, his face full of disbelief and disdain.

"Old Nanlie, don't speak too soon," Mu Baimian lightly snorted. When facing Yun Che, however, his expression was solemn, completely devoid of mockery. "Ling Yun, this poisonous mist is extremely potent; dispersing it is by no means easy. If you can truly do it, that would be a huge help to us, and you would certainly be qualified to enter the underground palace with us. I have no objection whatsoever, and neither will these two."

"Hmph, and what if he can't do it?" Emperor Nanlie sneered.

"What if he can't?" Mu Baimian retorted sarcastically. "If he succeeds, it's a blessing from heaven; if he fails, you won't lose a single hair. You old scoundrel are truly getting more foolish with age."

Emperor Nanlie lowered his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Old Mu is indeed Old Mu, tsk tsk tsk."

His words were profound, but he did not elaborate further.

Yun Che showed gratitude and said, "Thank you, esteemed Realm Kings, for your approval. This junior is confident I will not disappoint you. However, if this junior succeeds, and we enter the underground palace together, and I happen to be the first to find the Imperial Immortal Grass..."

"Heh heh, then of course it will be yours." To Yun Che's surprise, before he could finish speaking, Mu Baimian readily agreed with a smile. "Before entering the underground palace, the three of us made an agreement: whoever finds the Imperial Immortal Grass first, it belongs to them, and no one may forcibly seize it. If you truly can disperse this poisonous mist and allow us to enter the underground palace, then it should naturally be the same for you. After all, I wouldn't want to be a betrayer, and these two, I presume, wouldn't want to be shameless villains either."

"It seems Old Mu genuinely believes this kid can disperse the poisonous mist. Well, I'm certainly looking forward to being astonished," Emperor Nanlie said with a forced smile. He had not believed Yun Che's words from the beginning.

"Good... This junior certainly wouldn't dare doubt the esteemed Realm Kings." Yun Che nodded, then said no more. He moved past the three of them, stood before the poisonous mist, and slowly raised his left hand, clutching a profound stone that shimmered with a greenish-blue light.

The profound stone was about half the size of a fist, shimmering with a greenish-blue light and emitting a rather pure but not strong aura. Emperor Nanlie scoffed: "With just that? Hehehe, that's just a huge jo—"

His contemptuous voice abruptly cut off.