The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 502 Inside the Secret Passage
After nightfall, Wu Chengyu followed Pang Kun and secretly left Houtu Peak, moving to a cliffside area west of Guangming Peak.

At this time, more than a dozen people were already waiting there. Wu Chengyu knew that they were all people from the Five Elements Banner, or rather, the direct descendants of the Five Elements Camp. Now that the forbidden area of ​​the Ming Cult was involved, such a big matter could not be handled by Pang Kun alone.

The leader was an elderly man in his fifties, with white hair and beard, upright posture, and vigorous spirit. Upon seeing Wu Chengyu, he immediately put on a sincere smile, giving the impression of meeting an old friend for the first time.

"This is the martial arts master who killed Fang Yu. It's a pity that I, Hong Shuiqi, did not go to Hubei and could not witness Fang Yu's death. It is truly a regret of my life."

Pang Kun quickly introduced, "Master Wu, this is Jiang Ruocheng, the current head of our Five Elements Camp. He is the current flag master of the Flood Flag and the only person in our Five Elements Camp who is currently qualified to serve as flag master."

Wu Chengyu suddenly realized that he hadn't noticed this person at Bright Peak before, but he had heard of this flag leader's name before.

Among the leaders of the Five Elements Banners, only the leader of the Flood Banner neither sided with Nangong Luan nor followed Yang Xu. Unlike the leaders of the Blazing Fire Banner and the Giant Wood Banner, he was not a staunch supporter of the sect leader. Everyone said that the leader of the Flood Banner was a fickle opportunist.

Of course, the "devotion" or "loyalty" mentioned here refers to the original banner leaders and deputy banner leaders who were assigned to the Five Elements Banner, as well as the "sand" who later joined the Five Elements Banner. None of them were true members of the Five Elements Camp.

But it takes skill to remain steadfast like a weather vane. Jiang Ruocheng is no ordinary man. Despite the constant suppression of the Five Elements Banner, he was still able to serve as its leader. At the same time, he was adept at navigating the Ming Cult, and Yang Xu was primarily trying to win him over.

It's clear that this guy is also an extremely good at disguising himself. In terms of cunning, he's definitely no less than Yang Xu. Just like when I saw Wu Chengyu's smile, it exuded sincerity from the inside out, and I couldn't see any falsehood at all.

The Five Elements Camp is now extremely wary of Wu Chengyu, yet Jiang Ruocheng still manages to act so sincerely. This level of acting skill would make him a first-rate actor in later generations.

"Greetings, Commander Jiang. Wu Chengyu is very polite."

Jiang Ruocheng burst into laughter, but his laughter lacked the gentle sincerity that usually makes people feel warm and fuzzy; instead, it carried a sense of boldness and desolation.

"Well said. Actually, I hate it when people call me Flag Master. I feel great when you call me Camp Master, Wu Daxia. Fang Yu has been the leader of the sect for many years and has repeatedly suppressed my Five Elements Camp. Now that he has died at your hands, it can be considered as revenge for us."

I don't know what you want to do at Bright Peak. We have thousands of lives, women, children and the elderly in the Five Elements Camp behind us. We can't afford to take risks.

However, I, Jiang, am willing to be your friend. If you ever need anything, as long as it doesn't cost my Five Elements Camp its life savings, I, Jiang Ruocheng, will certainly do my utmost to help.

The others, as introduced, are the current leaders of the various battalions of the Five Elements Camp, in a similar situation to Pang Kun, serving as the chief banner in their respective banners.

After the small talk was over, a slightly younger man stepped forward and said, "I arrived a step ahead and carefully observed the surrounding situation."

This place is the exit of the secret passage outside Bright Summit. The location is cleverly chosen. Behind it is a sheer cliff, surrounded by loose rocks and dead trees, making it difficult to go up and down. It is also shady and damp, and the location is in a dead corner of Bright Summit. Normally, if someone passes by here on their way up or down the mountain, they will not even look in this direction.

The entrance is in a cave behind this blind spot. The cave is shallow and uninhabitable. Even if someone discovers this place, they don't need to go in. A quick glance will reveal everything, and they won't notice anything amiss.

However, this cave contains hidden mechanisms. There is a brown stone pillar under the dead tree outside the cave, which is completely inconspicuous. Only by turning the direction of this stone pillar will the stone wall inside the cave change.

"If I hadn't found this place based on the blueprints, hadn't been determined to explore, and hadn't understood the intricacies of Hou Tu Tang's mechanisms, I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint the entrance."

The person who spoke was the most skilled in construction in Hou Tu Camp; he would be considered a master craftsman outside the camp.

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and spun the stone pillar. Sure enough, the stone wall at the end of the cave began to move slowly, revealing the door behind it.

Pang Kun said, "I've looked at the blueprints. There are countless hidden ventilation openings inside, so it won't feel stuffy. Fang Yu is dead, and Yang Xu couldn't get in. There shouldn't be anyone else in the secret passage. Let's go in."

Immediately, someone handed over several torches. Pang Kun walked in front, with the craftsman from Hou Tu Camp beside him. The two of them led the way with blueprints in their hands. Wu Chengyu and Jiang Ruocheng walked side by side behind. After the dozen or so people entered the secret passage, they sealed the entrance again.

The secret passage was indeed interconnected, and the roads were dug very wide, enough for five or six people to walk side by side. After taking only a few steps, Pang Kun suddenly stopped and turned his head.

"Look at the blueprints, there's a mechanism around the next corner. It should be the Fire Serpent Wheel, the Fire Flag's specialty. Brother Hua Yao, show us what you've got."

Hua Yao was the head of the Fiery Banner, a guy who played with fire every day. He had long lost his hair and eyebrows, and his skin was covered with burn marks. He was quite frightening in appearance.

Without saying a word, he first walked to the corner, observed carefully, then suddenly lay down on the ground and sniffed hard. Based on his sense of smell, he moved little by little to a corner of the wall, then counted up to the seventh brick, took out a dagger and pried it open, revealing a white rope-like object about the thickness of a finger inside, which was suspected to be a fuse.

After cutting the object in half, Hua Yao repeated the process, then located the two mechanisms, solved them immediately, and then bowed to indicate that he had passed.

Seeing Wu Chengyu's curious expression, Jiang Ruocheng explained, "According to those blueprints, this secret passage was filled with countless traps. It wasn't just the Hou Tu Camp that was involved; the other four camps were also involved. In particular, the traps set by the Lie Huo Camp were the most powerful. Apart from themselves, no one else could easily break them." Wu Chengyu nodded, and the group continued on their way. He too was amazed by what he had witnessed.

Along the way, the Five Elements Camp encountered one trap after another: arrow arrays from the Sharp Metal Banner, poisonous water from the Flood Banner, boulders from the Thick Earth Banner, and pitfalls from the Giant Wood Banner. Fortunately, each member of the Five Elements Camp stepped in to dismantle them.

Wu Chengyu was sweating profusely. There were more than twenty traps of all sizes along the short distance of a few hundred meters, making it impossible to guard against them all.

If Wu Chengyu were a little selfish and came to explore this secret passage alone, it would be difficult to kill him, but it would definitely leave him battered and bruised, and injuries would be inevitable.

Thinking of this, Wu Chengyu became suspicious: "Commander Jiang, how long can these mechanisms last? They can't still be effective a hundred years from now, can they?"

Jiang Ruocheng said, "The mechanisms here were set up nearly a hundred years ago, and it's already remarkable that they're still effective today."

Moreover, those senior figures who set up the mechanisms for the Ming Cult probably didn't put in much effort. If these mechanisms aren't maintained, they will all become ineffective and useless in another ten or twenty years.

Wu Chengyu nodded. That made sense. A hundred years later, Cheng Kun was able to freely enter and exit this place, and Zhang Wuji followed Xiao Zhao into the secret passage. Apart from being blocked by a stone wall that required the Great Shift of the Universe to move, they did not encounter any other mechanisms.

It now seems that these mechanisms have all become ineffective after a hundred years. Otherwise, Zhang Wuji's martial arts skills would definitely not be as good as Wu Chengyu's now, not to mention Cheng Kun's. If they had encountered these mechanisms, they would probably have died without a burial place.

Cheng Kun, in particular, made countless trips back and forth for his affair. If this happened today, he would surely die a horrible death. Being a mistress requires the right timing, location, and people.

Just as he was lost in thought, Pang Kun interrupted again, "Alright, according to the blueprints, the traps along this route have been removed. Further ahead is the central area of ​​this secret passage, where there are no more traps. The only places with traps are near the entrances and exits of the passage. Don't worry."

This was indeed the central area of ​​the secret passage. The candlesticks around were being lit one by one. The area in front of us was very large, with several passages and stone doors.

Pang Kun checked the blueprints one by one and pointed to the largest stone gate: "This should be the secluded cultivation room exclusively for that cult leader."

The stone gates beside it led to the scripture room, the treasure room, and the weapons room, respectively. Three other passages led to other entrances and exits, while two led to the armory and the granary.

Several people entered the seclusion room without prior arrangement. Although it was said to be for seclusion, it was actually quite large, with a floor area of ​​nearly 200 square meters. In addition to the bed and meditation area, there was also a training ground of nearly 100 square meters.

Beside the bed was a wooden desk, and Wu Chengyu immediately noticed a stack of sheepskin books on it.

He was quite frank: "Gentlemen, one of the purposes of my coming to Bright Peak is to see the Ming Cult's ultimate martial art, the Great Shift of the Universe. I do not seek to possess it all by myself, but simply to have a look at it. If any of the brothers from the Five Elements Camp are interested, they may also study it together."

Wu Chengyu wasn't afraid that others would also learn the Qiankun Great Shift. He himself used it to upgrade his Innate Skill. If others' skill level wasn't high enough, practicing the Qiankun Great Shift would be futile, so he wasn't afraid of it being leaked.

Unexpectedly, the Five Elements Camp made no move; Jiang Ruocheng glanced at them casually and then lost interest.

"If you, Master Wu, are willing to take it, then so be it. Countless of our ancestors died under the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth back then. We have no interest in this martial art."

However, I still want to remind you that this martial art is quite sinister. Although its power is extraordinary, none of the Ming Cult leaders have ever truly mastered it. Instead, most of them have died from qi deviation as a result. In my opinion, this skill is ominous, and you should be extremely cautious.”

Wu Chengyu immediately nodded. The other party did mean well, but with the Great Shift of the Universe in hand, he still found it difficult to control himself. In the world of Jin-style martial arts, although the Great Shift of the Universe has many flaws, it is still the most top-level ultimate skill.

This martial art doesn't cultivate internal energy; it's more like an accelerator or a cheat code. When Zhang Wuji first mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he couldn't actually overpower everyone else. Only after mastering the Great Shift of the Universe could he unleash his full potential.

When Wu Chengyu picked up the manual, he was immediately dumbfounded. He couldn't understand a single word. Only then did he realize that the manual was written in Persian, which is ancient Arabic.

Seeing Wu Chengyu's bewildered expression, Jiang Ruocheng quickly asked him what was wrong. Wu Chengyu smiled wryly and told him the truth, which made everyone around him burst into laughter.

Pang Kun, standing nearby, offered a suggestion: "None of us understand Persian and can be of any help. However, there is one person whom Wu Daxia is very familiar with. He is very proficient in Persian. My deputy banner chief, have you forgotten Pu Zhishen? It is said that he has Persian blood."

Wu Chengyu suddenly realized that he really had to rely on Pu Zhishen. Of course, he couldn't ask directly, but he could just scramble the words. He figured Pu Zhishen wouldn't dare to lie to him.

Besides the Great Shift of the Universe, there wasn't much else in the sect leader's secluded cultivation room. However, Pang Kun found two mechanisms. One of them was a stone door that would seal the main entrance of the secluded cultivation room after being triggered. This stone door was the one that Zhang Wuji opened after mastering the Great Shift of the Universe.

The mechanism was quickly cracked by the craftsmen of Houtuqi. Another location is the master control of the mechanisms in this secret passage, where one can choose to shut down the mechanisms in other passages. However, now is not the time to shut down the other mechanisms.

(End of this chapter)