Nine Astra Skies

“Of course.” One Buck’s frame quickly shrank and he turned into a middle-aged man. He wore a pair of massive boxers with a flowery print and muscles bulged upon his bare upper body. He was incomparably built, three meters tall, with a body like a metal barrel, divided into ridges of muscle. There was even a large bear tattoo on his body. Moreover, his head was shaved. A thick, black chain hung around his neck and there were studs in his ears.

One Buck’s enormous size and his fierce-looking tattooed body caused Ye Chen to jump in fright. This fellow was practically a roguish ruffian through and through! One look at One Buck’s size and anyone could tell he was certainly a powerful thug!

One Buck stretched out a hand and patted his head innocently. Then, he flashed Ye Chen a dopey grin. “Your Highness.”

When One Buck did not speak, he would frighten many people. Once he opened his mouth, that foolish, guileless manner of his immediately shattered his image.

“I’m called Ye Chen. Call me Boss from now on,” Ye Chen said. He could never get used to people calling him “Your Highness”.

“Boss.” One Buck smiled in an obsequious manner and bowed from the waist.

“Put on a shirt,” Ye Chen said. He dug out an empty Heaven-Earth Pouch, filled it with a handful of pills he fished out from the armguard’s space, and tossed the Heaven-Earth Pouch to One Buck. “This is for you.”

One Buck accepted the Heaven-Earth Pouch and opened it, peering at its contents dubiously. He was stunned. Even though he had nestled in this mountain as its king and was not very worldly, he could discern the quality of these medicinal pills in one sniff. These were high-quality pills and there were dozens of them!

“Thank you, Boss!” One Buck bowed in elation. His previous dejection had vanished in a puff. These medicinal pills were certainly valuable. Their intense medicinal scent was invigorating. Perhaps they could help him break through!

“Tag along with Boss and you’ll get the good stuff. As long as you’re loyal, after some time, I’ll teach you a few supreme secret techniques!” Ye Chen generously patted One Buck on the back. He found that standing next to One Buck, he was lacking the presence of a “Boss” by far. His height had only reached up to One Buck’s abdomen.

“Yes, Boss. From now on, I’ll follow Boss into the fray, through hell or high water, with no hesitation.” When One Buck heard about the supreme secret techniques, his eyes lit up with a faint glint.

“One Buck, the pig you spoke of earlier – what’s its origins? It’s a Daemon King?” Ye Chen looked toward One Buck and asked.

When he heard Ye Chen’s inquiry, One Buck rolled his eyes. “Yes, Boss. That pig is a mystical beast Daemon King too, but only at mid-Daemon King Rank. Still, it’s too slippery. Each time I fight it, I’ll lose out. Boss, look, that pig even took a few bites of my butt.” As One Buck spoke, he started removing his pants to show Ye Chen.

“Stop! Don’t take off your pants. Telling me is enough.” Ye Chen was aghast and quickly stopped One Buck, while thinking, ‘Not only this Daemon King Zhu Gonggong nuzzle women’s buttocks but he also bite men’s buttocks?’ Although One Buck was not human, he was still male in any case. After taming One Buck, Ye Chen’s Astral Body had reached its limit. He could not take in another Daemon King. It looked like he would not be able to tame the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong.

The Daemon King Zhu Gonggong was only a mid-Daemon King, yet One Buck who was a peak Daemon King could not defeat it. It must have some tricks up its sleeve.

“The pig wears soul jade all over its body, most of which are made from soul jade essence. I don’t know where it got them from. After great effort, I managed to snatch this necklace from it! However, after a few days, it had another soul jade necklace around its neck.”

Ye Chen shot a glance at One Buck’s neck. This soul jade necklace gleamed with a black luster. This soul jade was a gem indeed. Who knew where the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong obtained so much of it?

“Boss, you want to tame that pig?” One Buck stared at Ye Chen obtusely.

“Where’s the cave you spoke of?” Ye Chen asked.

“Boss is going to the cave?” One Buck’s eyes lit up. He thought huffily to himself, ‘Stupid pig that bit my butt, you’re a goner now. Just wait until Boss tames you. I’ll give you two vicious bites on the butt too!’ Out loud he said, “The cave is filled with all sorts of mechanisms. It’s very dangerous. The few times I went in, I was nearly pricked all over until I would resemble a porcupine.”

“Bring me there,” Ye Chen said.

“Okay,” One Buck said joyfully.

Both figures soared up and flew across the sky.

After around half an hour, they had passed through swathes of thick forest and reached the distant cliffs. Between the cliffs, a deep cave appeared in Ye Chen’s field of vision. A small stream flowed out from within.

“Youngling, that’s a soul jade lode. It’s filled with barriers and traps, but those aren’t a problem for me. Behind the mechanism of the restrictive barrier, there seems to be a tomb that contains an ancient coffin.” Master Lion’s voice rang out from the Heavenly Astra Seal.

“Soul jade lode?” Ye Chen’s heart leaped excitedly. Each piece of soul jade was worth a city. It was a rare, hard-to-obtain treasure. There was an entire lode here!

“That pig is inside as well. Go in and look!” Master Lion chuckled.

Ye Chen turned back to glance at One Buck, saying, “One Buck, come with me.” With a “whoosh”, he flew onward.

One Buck looked rather nervous, but he steeled his nerves and followed behind Merlin. The few times he came to the cave, he had ended up in a pitiful, tragic state. He dared not enter now. However, if Ye Chen wanted to go in, he dared not disobey either.

“Don’t worry. Follow me closely and remember where I passed through and you won’t activate any mechanisms!” Ye Chen said to One Buck.

With a “swish”, Ye Chen had charged into the cave.

One Buck followed close behind Ye Chen. In the blink of an eye, they were a few hundred meters deep into the cave. Previously, whether One Buck flew in or dashed in, the triggered mechanisms would start to rain down upon him after he was dozens of meters into the cave. However, as he followed behind Boss, not a single mechanism was set off. In a while, they had traveled a few hundred meters.

‘Boss is clever indeed!’ One Buck thought to himself. He had grown up in this mountain and was a bumpkin who had never seen the outside world. He had copied his tattoo from a senior mystical beast, who would occasionally tell him about the world beyond. One Buck admired only those who were stronger than him. After being tamed by Ye Chen, he had obtained so many precious pills and was promised that he could pick up supreme secret techniques. Thus, he could not help but feel a sense of respect and servitude toward the mysterious and powerful Ye Chen.

This area was surrounded in chi movement, with traps everywhere. If Master Lion had not been leading the way, even a Boundless Stage fighter might not be able to make their way in!

“Zoom, zoom”– both figures were like meteors as they raced deeper into the earth. After an hour, they had entered an underground tomb that contained a vast space. At the center, there was a huge sarcophagus that was three, four meters tall, and over ten meters long. Surrounding it were swathes of stone benches and stone chairs, along with stone statues of humans and horses. One could not see the end of it all, for there were thousands of these statues. The tomb occupant’s identity was unknown, but the tomb was built rather magnificently.

As they looked further into the distance, there was a rock wall that glimmered with a subtle, black light. This entire tomb was in the middle of a soul jade lode. They wondered who it was that had carved out such a tomb.

Ye Chen sensed that the chamber of the tomb was brimming with energy emanating from the soul jade. Cultivating one’s Psyche here would take half the effort and produce twice the results.

“Youngling Ye Chen, this is a great place to train one’s Psyche!” Master Lion said after feeling out the place. “For some reason, the corpse in the old coffin is gone. There are quite a few of the tomb owner’s belongings inside. It’s too bad their cultivation base wasn’t very high, it seems. They’re not an Almighty figure. In the three stone rooms on the right, there are a lot of treasures. Youngling Ye Chen, you’ve hit the jackpot.”

“I’ll have a look!” Just as Ye Chen spoke, the eyes of a distant, gigantic statue suddenly flared with scarlet radiance and locked upon Ye Chen and One Buck.

The statue was five meters tall and wore gold armor. It looked stately and imposing. Glaring at Ye Chen and One Buck, it said in a deep raspy voice, “Who dares to barge into my chamber of slumber? Humans, leave this place quickly and I’ll spare your lives. Otherwise, this place will become your burial ground!”

The statue’s eyes had an ominous glint. One Buck was so scared that he shrank his head back. This statue could speak. That was too terrifying. Was this place the tomb of this statue?

However, Master Lion in the Heavenly Astra Seal burst out laughing. “That’s a nifty piece of trickery to scare people with, but I’m not so easily fooled! Youngling Ye Chen, use your Astral Body – to the left!”

Ye Chen grunted once. His Astral Body stretched out and his surroundings became clear to him. He swiftly converged upon the shadows in a corner. It was the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong!

Although Ye Chen’s Astral Body could not tame Zhu Gonggong, it was enough to suppress Zhu Gonggong forcefully. His Astral Body drew itself into a bunch and pricked the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong’s brain.

The speaking statue was just the Daemon King Zhu Gonggong playing a trick.

“My goodness!” The Daemon King Zhu Gonggong scampered on its four hooves and activated the soul jade it wore. The black luster of those soul jade pieces glittered and knocked back Ye Chen’s Astral Body with a thud.

“D*mn Demon Pig, I’ve finally found you. Don’t run – I’m going to slice you up as bacon!” When One Buck saw Zhu Gonggong, he immediately erupted in rage and lunged toward Zhu Gonggong in one swift, furious pounce.

Zhu Gonggong blinked innocently, staring at One Buck with limpid eyes. Just when One Buck was about to catch it, it sprang up with a “swoosh” and scrambled past between One Buck’s legs. With a “bang”, One Buck crashed into a statue and broke it into smithereens.

“Ouch!” One Buck gingerly felt his bald, shiny head, then stood up, continuing to lunge at Zhu Gonggong.

In this massive tomb chamber, a game of chase had begun. The statues wobbled and collapsed to the ground.

“You guys are dead meat. This is my territory. I, Zhu Gonggong, am the reincarnation of an Almighty. You dare to behave atrociously in my territory. You’re dead meat! No one on earth or in heaven can save you guys now.” As Zhu Gonggong snorted and shouted, it galloped frantically away from One Buck’s pursuit.

“A puny Demon Pig Daemon King dares to claim to be an Almighty’s reincarnation!” Master Lion chortled. He simply could not take this Daemon King Zhu Gonggong seriously.

By one side, Ye Chen watched One Buck chase after Zhu Gonggong and could not help shaking his head in amusement. Zhu Gonggong was not a threat to him, so he was happy to let One Buck deal with it. Ye Chen headed toward the three stone rooms. There was plenty of good stuff in there.

When Zhu Gonggong saw that Ye Chen was rushing toward the stone rooms and entering one of them, it panicked and wailed, “My treasures! I, Zhu Gonggong, discovered those treasures first, you bandits!”

“D*mn Demon Pig, don’t you know who I am? I’m the king of the mountain. Of course, I’m a bandit. This is my boss. Do you know what he does?” One Buck scoffed and charged at Zhu Gonggong with a bear hug.

With a “swoosh”, Zhu Gonggong wriggled out of One Buck’s thick arms, then turned around and bit One Buck firmly on the butt.

“Oww! My butt!” One Buck let out a mournful shriek.