Path of the Lilies: Early Beginnings

Qin Zheng nodded. His eyes were looking at the stone in the middle of the cave as he sighed to himself. When he found out that Lin Cai sensed an awful smell, he had guessed that a high ranked stone must be here. And this Emperor Stone was precisely a very high ranking stone.     

And also the most brutal ones.     

"Just like the name suggests, Emperor Stone is the type of stone that's very demanding and powerful. It's actually a type of ore, but because of the composition, it's normally called a stone. Emperor Stone can form naturally in a hot and cold environment, so you can occasionally find them in the mining area if you go deep enough."     

Ye Jiao was not totally sure how deep they had gone on this journey. They spent hours walking and only stopped once in a while. With their capabilities as Eon Energy Master Rank 3, they could walk around for several days without the need to eat. However, they must have stopped every 20-30 hours because they needed to be at the peak of their condition.     

That was to say, they have been here for three to four days, so the journey must have been pretty long.     

"This place should be located far below Mount Shui."     

"Is the stone very valuable?"     

"Yes, it is," Qin Zheng nodded his head. "Emperor Stone needs to absorb an insane amount of Eon Energy in its forming stage. The amount of Eon Energy needed might be over what 100 Eon Energy Master Rank 5 needed. It's all stored inside its large body as it slowly melted down together.     

Emperor Stone absorbs earth, water, and metal type of Eon Energy, which is why it's found in the mining area. Mount Shui is located near the water, but there should still be a few dozen kilometers. And during this time, it'll forcefully absorb them until it fills the entire body with extremely condensed Eon Energy."     

Ye Jiao was astonished. This was the first time she heard this type of metal existed. She could never expect that even metal was capable of absorbing Eon Energy on its own.     

"There are metals that can absorb Eon Energy on their own?"     

"There are five metals to be exact, and Emperor Stone is just one of them," Qin Zheng looked at the large stone. "This stone has already 99% finished its absorption, but it's a bit lacking in the water element. This place is a bit far from the beach, so it might take some time before it can finish the absorption."     

Ye Jiao frowned. "How much time needed to form Emperor Stone?"     

"Around 100 years."     

Hearing his words, Ye Jiao's jaw dropped. "That's to say, this stone needs another year before it can fully form?"     

"The longest one year, but if they can find a water source, it can be quicker," Qin Zheng's pupils narrowed. "Lie down."     

There were several other tunnels entrance to the Emperor Stone. A group of people appeared from the other side of the cave. All of them wore a fine white robe that was slightly dirty because of the dust. They were dragging a few people that were tied with ropes behind them.     

From their clothes, Ye Jiao instantly recognized them as students from the Wang Luo Academy that entered the cave not long before them.     

"Bastard! Let me go!"     

Bang!     

One of the men in the white robe kicked him towards the direction of the stone. As soon as he was inside, he took out a plate and activated it.     

"What are you…argh!"     

Ye Jiao's eyes glinted because she understood what it was. It was an Eon Energy Gathering Array Plate! That array would surely help a lot of Eon Energy to gather in one place. However, using it with the stone would only result in one thing: the increase of Emperor Stone absorption ability.     

The student was unable to use Eon Energy because it was sealed. Sensing the sudden suction from behind him, his face paled considerably. He felt as if his entire body was pulled to the back.     

"Wha.. what is this? Help me!"     

"No one can help you," the man in white robe used his Eon Energy to stop the struggling of the students behind him.     

"Move!"     

"Damn it!"     

In horror, they saw their friend was pulled to the stone. His entire body was sucked inside as it slowly withered. Life slowly disappeared from his eyes as his body disintegrated into dust.     

"Nooooo!"     

The white robed man who activated the plate stopped giving Eon Energy. He looked at the group of students behind him lazily. "Who knows that you're here?"     

"Like hell we're… AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"     

The white robed man cut off the student's leg almost immediately. His gaze was cold and indifferent as if there was nothing wrong with his action.     

"Let me ask you again, who knows that you're here?"     

Ptui!     

The student who lost his leg spit out. His gaze was unwavering. He would never tell this man about his comrades and the elders in his academy.     

"They're from Wang Luo Academy," the other white robed man replied indifferently. "They must have come here for a mission."     

"Wang Luo Academy?" the white robed man who was holding the plate sneered. "They truly love to meddle."     

He utilized his Eon Energy and threw the man into the large cave. However, he was not in a hurry to activate the plate. He looked at the other students. "There are only four of them here. Each mission from the academy requires five to ten disciples. You, search for them."     

"You bastard!"     

Swish!     

With a swipe of his hand, the white robed man effectively cut off the third student's hand. A scream filled the entire cave.     

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"     

Ye Jiao's face was pale as she watched from her position. From the moment that man used his Eon Energy, they could sense the overwhelming power he wielded. If not rank 5, he must be Eon Energy Master Rank 4 late stage. It was a rank they could not possibly defeat. Not when there was still a lot of Eon Energy Masters around the white robed man.     

She knew that if they got captured, they might not be able to put up too much fight.     

"What do you want to do?" Qin Zheng's voice transmitted to her ear.     

Ye Jiao didn't immediately reply. She glanced at the people below as her eyes were tinged with uncertainty. She obviously didn't want to just let them die, but there was no way for her to help without revealing her position here.     

The white robed man looked at the fourth student. "How long will it take before they notice that you have disappeared?"     

"Two… months." The fourth student replied with a cracked voice.     

The second student's face changed. Despite the pain he experienced, he still looked over to his comrade and yelled. "Don't tell him anything more!"     

The white robed man frowned and activated the Eon Energy Gathering Array Plate on his hand. Tremendous suction power was displayed from the array, which directly killed the second student.     

The third student's face was filled with horror as he looked at the view in front of him. Two of his friends just died in front of him like that.     

"If you don't wish to experience pain before your death, you better answer honestly," another white robed man advised. He walked to the front and leaned near the entrance to the large hall. "Is there any other group that picks the same mission as your group?"     

"Yes…"     

"Tell me the names, or the number alone is enough."     

The fourth student struggled a bit, but looking at the large cave before him caused him to be afraid.     

"8 people."     

"When will they come?"     

"They… arrive at the same…. day as us, but…. they're outside and…. didn't dare…. dare to barge inside…. directly," the fourth student stuttered in his answer.     

"Hmm," the white robed man rubbed his chin. He looked at the other white robed man that held the plate. "What do you think?"