In those years when I was a mortal and a demon

Chapter 645 The Dilemma of the Underground Palace

The passage wasn't long, and Lu Yuan quickly passed through the large hole and returned to the underground palace.

Although more than a decade has passed, nothing has changed inside the underground palace. Moreover, since the last repair, the sealing power is noticeably stronger.

Arriving at the square where he had come down from, Lu Yuan looked up at the purple mist above and frowned.

The original moth transformation had been severed by himself, and it had transformed into a clone that remained in the space where the moth mother was imprisoned. In addition, the effect of the 'pseudo-moth bead' had long since disappeared.

In his current state, attempting to force his way through the purple mist is simply a pipe dream.

The evil aura of the insect queen within the purple mist is something even Mahayana cultivators dare not easily touch.

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly transformed into a mountain giant and attempted to use the "mountain walking" method to circle around the mountain walls on both sides of the canyon.

However, not long after, Lu Yuan emerged from the ground in the square.

The 'mountain hike' failed.

Lu Yuan then tried to teleport away using the Stone Lun Totem, but when he reappeared the next moment, he was still somewhere in the underground palace.

Later, Lu Yuan spent several more months exploring the underground palace, but he still couldn't find a way to leave.

......

In the main hall of the City of Beginning Seals, where the council of elders resided, more than ten demon lord elders gathered together, listening to what the chief elder was saying.

"The reason I've gathered everyone here today is to discuss matters concerning the underground palace. Elder Lan, please speak," the First Elder said slowly to a Venerable with blue demonic markings standing beside him.

And this Elder Lan was none other than the Venerable Lan who led Lu Yuan and the others to the underground palace back then.

Venerable Lan nodded, then looked at everyone and said, "According to reports from the guards monitoring the area near the underground palace, the power of the ancient seal seems to have weakened in recent months."

"Weaker?"

“I remember it was repaired seventeen years ago, and since then, the power of the ancient seal has been slowly increasing,” the Horned Venerable asked first, puzzled.

Venerable Lan frowned slightly: "That's right, logically speaking, that's how it is. But the problem is, the array plates that were brought into the underground palace back then have failed one after another in recent months."

Upon hearing this, all the Demon Lord elders in the hall changed their expressions and began to discuss among themselves.

"What does that mean? Does it mean that the queen insect has awakened again?!"

"Not necessarily. It could also be caused by high-level moths inside the underground palace."

"Is it possible that the ancient seal itself is faulty? After all, so much time has passed, and it has also experienced the impact of the insect queen."

......

Hearing the discussions among the many demon lords, the Grand Elder coughed lightly, signaling everyone to be quiet.

After no one spoke again, he turned to Venerable Lan and asked, "Elder Lan, you are most familiar with the seal. What is your opinion on it?"

"I've heard everyone's opinions just now. First of all, it's impossible for the Queen Insect to awaken, otherwise she would have already broken through the seal."

As for the possibility that the damage might be caused by locusts in the underground palace, that doesn't make sense either. Although several people sent in went missing, those who returned said they didn't find any locusts in the palace at all. This shows that the ancient seal was effective in suppressing locusts, and with the subsequent increase in power, it became even less likely that locusts would exist.

Later, I gathered some array masters to study the matter, and we believed the reason might be that the array plate we used to repair it was not strong enough, and gradually failed under the continuous influence of the powerful force of the ancient seal.

Venerable Lan paused for a moment, then continued, "But no matter what, we still need to go into the underground palace to confirm."

After he finished speaking those last words, the hall fell even quieter.

The demon lords understood the Grand Elder's intention: he wanted them, the elders, to enter the underground palace.

Seeing the cold atmosphere, the Grand Elder scanned the crowd and asked, "I wonder who among you is willing to make the trip?"

But no one responded immediately. The journey to the underground palace was fraught with unknown dangers, and no one wanted to take the risk lightly.

After a moment of silence, a young man in a blue robe slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'll go."

"It's wonderful that Elder Shui is willing to go." The First Elder's face lit up with joy, but there was a strange glint in his eyes.

Among the demon lords present, several who knew the inside story began to secretly communicate with each other.

"It is said that among those who entered the underground palace back then, there was a guy named Lu Yuan who had a blood feud with Venerable Shui for killing his grandson, but unfortunately he disappeared in the end. Venerable Shui's trip is probably to confirm this."

......

About a month later, above the Grand Canyon.

Just like before, Venerable Lan took out a gleaming silver array plate and made a hand seal, continuously casting spells onto it.

Beside him, the Water Venerable stood with his arms crossed, staring coldly at the purple mist in the canyon.

Seventeen years ago, he finally got the Grand Elder and others to agree that once Lu Yuan came out of the underground palace, they would be at his disposal.

But to his surprise, Lu Yuan disappeared during that operation.

If it weren't for the confirmation from those who came out at the time that Lu Yuan had indeed not followed the others out, and that no one else in the City of Beginning Seal besides Elder Lan would have the ability to break through the purple mist, he would have suspected that he had been tricked by the elders.

Therefore, he was determined to go down and take a look at the underground palace this time.

As the outline of the passage began to appear in the purple mist, the Water Venerable lowered his arms from his chest and coldly ordered the guards behind him, "Prepare!"

Meanwhile, at the deepest part of the canyon, on that giant plaza paved with crystalline stone bricks, Lu Yuan also raised his head.

"finally come!"

In order to allow the elders to break through the purple mist and escape, Lu Yuan deliberately destroyed the array plate that the demons had brought in years ago.

As the passage was about to be formed, Lu Yuan quickly transformed into the Azure Phoenix demon form.

He remembered that when Elder Lan broke through the purple mist, he expended a great deal of magical power. Therefore, as long as he rushed out unexpectedly at top speed, Elder Lan would be unable to stop him.

If Elder Lan could widen the passage to about a hundred feet, Lu Yuan could even use the Azure Phoenix's "One Breath, One Hundred Miles" supernatural power, which would greatly increase his chances of success.

After all, Lu Yuan didn't believe that the elders would let him leave as if nothing had happened after discovering that he was still alive.

Finally, under Elder Lan's relentless urging, the silver light on the array plate opened a passage through the purple mist.

Seeing this, the Water Venerable did not go down first.

He first instructed a group of demon guards to scout ahead before he followed closely behind, swiftly descending the passage.

Below the passage, the moment the passage was completed, Lu Yuan flapped his wings and transformed into a streak of azure light, rushing upwards along the passage.

Because it was only a little over a thousand feet deep, Lu Yuan met the Water Venerable and his group in the passage almost instantly!