Chapter 974 - Strange Shadow

Chapter 974: Strange Shadow
Translator: 
Yukidaruma Translations 
 Editor: 
Yukidaruma Translations
Amidst the pitch-black passageway, Maria ran at high speed, with her feet connecting into a series of afterimages. Her speed had reached a great extreme.
Beside her, there were three young men covered in blood. Their eyes filled with terror as they ran for their lives behind Maria. It was like there was some great ferocious beast chasing them.

What should we do?!
One of the young men with black hair and eyes cried out,
He’s going to catch up.


Damn it. How do we get out of here?
Another green-haired young man said with a crumbling expression.
Just then, the last young man with golden hair suddenly stopped running and started panting furiously.
Maria and the others also stopped and shouted,
Are you crazy?! Why aren’t you running?

The gold-haired young man laughed as if he had gone crazy.
Why run? There’s no way that we can escape. I’m not running anymore. We’ll all end up dead anyway, so what’s the difference between dying earlier or later?

As he said that, he lay down onto the ground with a bang 
, seemingly decided that he would not be running anymore.
Maria and the other two young men exchanged a glance. Without saying anything, they started running again. They could only hear that golden-haired young man’s intense panting getting further and further away from them.
At the next moment, an agonizing cry that was filled with enmity and terror rang out. Then it disappeared abruptly like something had cut off the voice forcibly.
Upon hearing the agonizing cry, the trio was horrified. They exchanged a glance, and it was as if they could see the terror in each other’s eyes.
Without making another sound, the trio accelerated. The sound of air flow rang out next to their ears, and within the wide and dark passageway, there were only the sounds of the swooshing wind and their footsteps.
At the next moment, the trio’s eyes gleamed. A man who was covered entirely in a layer of faint white light appeared before them.

Who are you?
The green-haired young man frowned. However, before the man replied, the green-haired young man had already punched out toward his face, bringing along streams of lightning.

Don’t!
Maria shouted, but it was already too late to stop.
The green-haired young man was just about to strike the other party’s face when he remained motionless in midair, seeming to have been frozen by a gush of invisible force. His face turned flushed red, but he was still unable to move a single bit.
A hint of surprise flashed on the face of the other black-haired young man.
Senior, please show some mercy. Locke couldn’t help hold back his punch because he was too nervous.

This man before them was Fang Xingjian. He threw a glance at the three of them, then he suddenly looked at Maria, who wore an expression that suggested she wanted to say something but was holding back. He asked indifferently,
You know me?

Maria nodded slightly. Of course, she knew who he was.
Close to one year ago, she and her father had headed over to the Myriad Stars Mountain 1
  for her to become the apprentice of a master and learn martial arts. However, they chanced upon Fang Xingjian who had gone to challenge the Astral Ancestor.
He had even asked her if she wanted to become his disciple.
However, it was a pity that Maria had been too inexperienced back then and had rejected the heaven-blessed opportunity.
Thereafter, Fang Xingjian’s reputation grew and even extended out to the southern border. As he then went on to defeat Alexander, the Heavenly Lion King, and many other experts, Maria got an increasingly clear understanding on what she had missed out on.
During the past one year, she had devoted hard work in her cultivation on the Myriad Stars Mountain, improving tremendously. However, she would always feel extremely regretful whenever she thought about how she previously had the chance to have Fang Xingjian as her teacher.
Although Fang Xingjian had not recognized her from the start, he finally recognized who she was after searching through his memories.

Maria?

Fang Xingjian went through his mind slightly and instantly understood.
Back then, he had sensed through his Sudden Inspiration that she might be of some use to him. By the looks of it now, if he had taken Maria in as his disciple, he might have been able to realize the problem with the seal earlier?
Still, these things were all insignificant to him now. These thoughts went through his mind briefly, then he stopped thinking about them altogether. He looked at Maria and asked,
How long have you been here? Tell me all the things that have happened. Don’t miss out any details.

However, the black-haired young man occasionally turned and looked at the dark passageway behind him like there was some terrifying thing hidden there.
His expression was that of anxiety and panic. After hearing Fang Xingjian’s words, he said anxiously,
There’s no time. It’s chasing us from behind. Let’s talk as we go.


It?
Fang Xingjian looked toward the passageway behind them and asked,
What is it?


It’ll eat us,
the black-haired young man said. He appeared increasingly anxious and chattered away like a machine gun,
Senior, listen to me. Let Locke off for now, and we’ll talk as we escape.

Otherwise, we’ll really be eaten up by it.

However, Fang Xingjian wore a curious smile.
Is it very strong?

When the black-haired young man saw that Fang Xingjian appeared to be very much at ease, he had an increasingly strong feeling that Fang Xingjian did not understand how grave the situation was. He felt so anxious that he almost started walking in circles on the spot as he said at a very fast speed,
Everyone here was killed by him. There was no lack of top-notch Conferred Knights and Demigods. It is chasing us right now. We must escape immediately.


Oh?
Fang Xingjian asked,
Then how is it that you managed to survive until now?


I don’t know!
The black-haired young man became a little impatient. He stared at Fang Xingjian and said,
If you don’t want to die, then let go of Locke. We’re all going to die if we don’t leave.


Don’t worry. With me around, none of you will die,
Fang Xingjian stated calmly.
However, the black-haired young man seemed to be extremely nervous and panicky. When a roar rang out from the passageway behind him, he acted like a frightened kitten, stepped down fiercely on the ground, and darted out like a missile with an explosive bang 
.
He gave up on everyone present and darted out in the direction behind Fang Xingjian.
Just as he was about to pass by Fang Xingjian, his body paused slightly, and he was also rendered motionless in midair. His entire body trembled. Every one of his muscles was trying very hard to contract and explode. Despite this, he was still unable to break out from Fang Xingjian’s grasp.

Let me go! If you guys want to die, don’t implicate me!

Fang Xingjian naturally would not care about what the young man thought. With a beckoning wave, Maria and the other two young men floated behind him. He turned and looked at that extremely dark and deep passageway. A hint of a smile curled up the corners of his lips.
What the hell is this?

Accompanied by a series of deep bellows, a grotesquely-shaped fish crawled out slowly from the darkness.
This was a fish that was badly mutilated. It appeared like it was formed from the broken limbs and remains of countless people. Over ten human arms and legs stuck out from its body, allowing it to be able to crawl on the ground.
The fish’s huge mouth opened and closed unconsciously, releasing a series of deep bellows. Its huge and lifeless eyes stared at both sides of the passageway like two huge light bulbs.
Under its head, there were many human parts that were bulging out and seemed to form a part of its body. There were even many ordinary fish, including black carps and goldfishes, protruding from the surface of its body.
Anyone who saw this monstrous fish would think of the same thing—this was a monster that should not have appeared in this world.
With the fish’s appearance, a feeling that was a mixture of nefariousness, dread, and horror rose up in everyone’s heart. It was as if there were countless caterpillars crawling up their spines.