Chapter 40 : Getting The Slip ( part 2 )

Wang Qian is currently dashing to the grassland near the mansion. As he saw that he was getting near, he contacted Hua Yue through the link.

'Hua Yue, you can come and fetch me now. I'll be at the grassland in about 10 minutes'

'Understood, my lord'

Wang Qian then sped up as he dashed forward faster towards the grassland. When he reached there, he saw that Hua Yue was already there waiting for him.

"We'll talk on the way. You do the leading" he said

"Understood" Hua Yue replied as she started running towards the site of the bamboo slip

"So, can you explain to me what happened?"

"The site of this bamboo slip is a small cave. Just as Butler Chen and the guards entered to take the slip out, the cave collapsed, locking them inside. Normally, we would just need to find a mage to blast a hole open, but this cave is a little weird. It not only has physical resistance, it also can reflect any magic attack sent to it."

"So the people inside can't break out from the insides, while the people outside can't enter to help..."

"That's is how the situation is right now, my lord."

A group of people appeared in front as they were speaking, they surrounded a place, seemingly trying to think of something.

"That's the site. We should speed up, my lord. " Hua Yue said. The two went faster before stopping in front of the group of people.

"Greetings, city lord. We're still thinking of a method to save Butler Chen"

"It's okay, I have found some reliable help. You guys should also continue think of ways to break open it and enter"

"Understood"

Hua Yue then turned towards Wang Qian and asked him

"My lord, have you..."

"Sheesh, I'm thinking of a way" Wang Qian said as he was looking at the description of the cave

[ THE CAVE OF DESPAIR ]

[ DESCRIPTION : THE CAVE WHERE THE PREVIOUS WENT DESPAIR AND CHANGED HIS RACE. AFFECTED BY HIS CHANGE, THE SURROUNDING MANA IS VERY DANGEROUS TO ALL LIVING BEINGS AND HAS CHANCE OF MAKING THEM LOST THEIR MIND. THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD DIDN'T WANT THE OTHERS TO GET HURT BECAUSE OF HIM, SO HE GATHERED ALL THE MANA AROUND AND ENGRAVE A FORMATION IN IT. THERE CAN ONLY BE TWO CHANCE TO ENTER. ONCE IT HAS BEEN REACHED, THE ENTRACE WILL BE CLOSED AND THE FORMATION WILL BUILD A BARRIER AROUND THE CAVE, PREVENTING OTHERS FROM ENTERING. ONLY THE DEMON LORD CAN REOPEN THE CAVE ]

'Since it says only the demon lord can open the cave, I suppose I only need to touch this barrier?' He thought. He then decided to give it a try. Just as his hand touched the barrier, the energy in the barrier was absorbed and rested inside his body. The barrier then disappeared after losing all its energy. Wang Qian then kicked the rocks as it crumbled down, opening an entrance for them.

"You all stay here, Bai Lian and I will go in alone"

"But my lord, it is dangerous. What if you get locked inside too?" Hua Yue asked worriedly

"Don't worry that won't happen. Just wait outside as I go save Butler Chen and the others."

Wang Qian then turned his head back into the cave as he started walking in while holding Bai Lian's hands.

"It's so dark in here." Bai Lian said. 

"Why don't you try condensing a mini fireball and we use it as a torch?" he suggested. Bai Lian did as he said and condensed a mini fireball. The fireball illuminated the path in front of them, which revealed a person's leg

"Kyaaa!!" Bai Lian shouted as she jump onto Wang Qian

"What is it?"

"There's a leg there." she said while pointing to 11 o'clock. Wang Qian walked towards that direction before seeing Butler Chen lying on the ground. He immediately got down as he tried to wake him up.

"Butler Chen, wake up. Can you hear me?" 

Butler Chen's eyelids twitched for a second before his eyes opened up. 

"Is that you, my lord?"

"Yup, it's me. Now, can you tell me what happened here? And where are the guards that followed you?" 

"They...they should be a few meters deeper in."

"Okay, can you walk back on your own? Or do we need to carry you back?"

"It's okay, my lord. I can walk back by myself"

"Good, I'll be heading in deeper now"

"Please take care, my lord"

"I will"

Wang Qian then got up as he walked deeper in while holding Bai Lian's hands.

"Hey papa, what do you think the reason behind Uncle Chen's fainting is?" she asked

"I don't know, but we'll find out soon." he said

Soon, they met the guards that followed Butler Chen in. After waking them up, they let them walk back on their own as the two continue to explore deeper and deeper. The air also became colder the deeper they went it.

"Papa, can you carry me in your arms? It's cold in here" she asked

"Okay, but hold on tight though" he said as he carried her up.

They continue to walk deeper before finally seeing some blue light shining. As they got closer to the light, they saw a small pool filled with water that was letting off the blue light with a formation that seems to be made out of blood in the middle. It was also at this time that the system sent him a message.

[ DETECTED THAT THE HOST IS IN A MAGIC RICH AREA ]

[ THE MAGIC HERE IS CONFINED AND CANNOT BE USED, PLEASE SIT AT THE CORE OF THE AREA TO ACCESS THE MANA ]

'The mana is confined? And to use it, I need to sit on the formation? That's sounds a little dangerous for some reason. I'll just use [ Appraisal ] on it first before deciding whether do I sit on it' he thought

[ ??? FORMATION ]

[ DESCRIPTION : AN AUTOMATED PROTECTIVE FORMATION BUILD BY THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD. CAN CONTROL THE WHOLE CAVE THROUGH THIS FORMATION. CONTAINS THE FRAGMENTED RECORDING OF THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD ]

'So the slip is in the formation eh... the description didn't say anything dangerous about the formation. I'll just sit on it then' he pondered before walking to the formation and sat on the middle. The next second, the formation lit up as some memories appeared in his mind. The memories shown a man who was running away, before coming to the cave to hide. Suddenly, some mana which was black in color surrounded him before being absorbed by him. The man's face was revealed before the memory ended, it was emotionless with eyes being empty and dark.

'Was that the part where the previous demon lord changed his race?' As he was thinking, a bamboo slip was condensed from the formation. Wang Qian then grabbed the bamboo slip with his hands.

[ DETECTED THAT THE HOST HAS RECEIVED A FRAGMENTED RECORDING FROM THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD ]

[ EXTRACTING THE RECORDING.... ]

[ EXTRACTED SUCCESSFULLY ]

[ THE SYSTEM ESTIMATES THAT THE HOST'S NEEDS TO COLLECT 3 MORE FRAGMENTED RECORDING FROM THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD FOR THE RECORDING TO BE PLAYED ]

"Are you done, papa?" Bai Lian asked

"Yup, I'm done. We should go out now, Hua Yue and the others should be worried about us right now." He said before walking towards Bai Lian, who was put down just now by Wang Qian, and held hands with her getting ready to walk back. It was just then the system sent him another message.

[ DETECTED THAT THE HOST HAS RECEIVED A FRAGMENTED MEMORY FROM THE PREVIOUS DEMON LORD ]

[ HOST'S CONSTITUTION HAS AWAKENED BY 30%. CURRENT AWAKENED PERCENTAGE : 40% ]

[ HOST'S CONSTITUTION HAS REACH 40% OF AWAKENIING, WILL NOW ENABLE THE AUTO-ABSORBING MANA FUNCTION FOR HOST ]