Rise of the Demon God

"The other paths are easier, but they're also much longer. With the advantages we have, we don't have to waste time in it," Long Chen told the Snake Monarch as he started walking towards the third path.

The other teams had chosen the first path, with a rare few selecting the second path. Long Chen was the only person on the third path.

"I had a question," Snake Monarch asked as he flew beside Long Chen.

"What question?" Long Chen asked.

"You said a person couldn't fly here, or they'll attract spirits?" Snake Monarch asked.

"That's true. What of it?" Long Chen inquired.

"I am flying, aren't I? So why aren't I being attacked? Don't tell me it's because Spirits are scared of this Monarch?" Snake Monarch asked, laughing.

"Who knows, that might be it," Long Chen responded. "Why don't you go and ask the spirit?"

"I need to find them to ask them," Snake Monarch retorted.

"There's one ahead," Long Chen said, pointing in the distance.

"Huh?" Snake Monarch looked in the direction Long Chen was pointing in, wondering who it was. As he saw ahead, he understood everything.

He could see spirits blocking the road. All the spirits were see-through. The only other difference he could see was their shining red eyes.

"Are they looking for a battle? How strong are these spirits actually?" Snake Monarch asked.

"Of course, they're looking for a battle. As we get closer, they'll start attacking us. As for their strength, they're strong enough to make a Snake Monarch Salad. So stay behind me if you want to stay safe," Long Chen said as he stretched his arms as if preparing for a battle.

He also brought out the King's Sword, ready to face the spirits.

Strangely enough, the spirits didn't approach them. Instead, they all disappeared as soon as they saw the golden sword. Hah, didn't I tell you? They're scared of me. As soon as I got close, they ran away," Snake Monarch said proudly.

"That's all you got from it?" Long Chen asked, rolling his eyes. "I think this sword had a hand in it. As for what, even I don't know."

He observed the sword as he continued walking ahead.

"Who knows. Maybe they just didn't want to fight? I mean, you are certainly the strongest here. Even if they had fought, they would have died. So just think that they were clever," Snake Monarch chimed in.

"Xun, what do you think about this? What could be the reason? Can you feel something in the sword that could affect the spirits? You're also a Treasure Spirit after all," Long Chen asked Xun, going to the one who might actually know something.

"I don't know. I don't feel anything particularly strange about this sword. Maybe it's just the memories of these Spirits? You did say that the Saint King came here before. And he was carrying this sword. It's possible that he created fear in these spirits?" Xun suggested.

"And now that you brought out these swords, the memories returned which scared them," she continued.

"That should be it. You're right," Long Chen said, nodding. This did make sense for him.

Just to test this theory, he walked with the sword in his hand.

As he walked, he noticed that no Spirit dared to come close to him. They all ran away instead. The trip went even smoother than he had expected.

"If everything went like this, we should reach our destination soon," Long Chen said.

"This town isn't bad. To think that such a massacre took place here. But I don't see any damage to the buildings. Don't tell me the guy did it while protecting the houses?" Snake Monarch asked.

"How would I know how he did it? All I know is what happened, not how it happened in such detail," Long Chen responded.

Within twenty minutes, they all stopped in front of the biggest building in the entire town, which was at the center.

"This should be the place where the Town Lord lived. All his treasures should also be here," Long Chen said as he looked at the mansion.

"This is where that robber lived?" Snake Monarch asked as he observed the mansion as well.

"Yeah. The others would take days to get here at least," Long Chen replied.

"You'll really wait for them all to get here and take treasures?" Snake Monarch asked.

"What nonsense are you speaking? Why would I wait?"

"Did you say outside that you'll wait until everyone is out before you start doing that redemption thing? That would take too long. I'll be bored," Snake Monarch complained.

"Did you take me seriously there? I was only pretending. I don't have so much free time to wait for them to come," Long Chen said, laughing. He climbed the steps of the mansion to end up before the door. He pushed the door open.

Long Chen stepped inside the mansion and walked downstairs where the safe was kept. Fortunately, the Saint King had documented everything he needed to know.

Even as he advanced towards the safe, not a single spirit tried to stop him. So far, this town proved to be completely normal for him. He just walked inside, and reached here.

On the contrary, the other youngsters that had stepped inside the town were facing an onslaught. There were traps and spirits everywhere that were making the young Disciples feel like they were in a nightmare. Advancing each step was proving to be a hard task in itself.

It was especially the case for the ones that had chosen the second path. They hadn't walked far before being stuck in a Spirit Maze, which they needed to pass to get to the other side.

"This place is as hard to pass as we heard. If we keep going like this, we would certainly need more than three days to get to the Mansion. Fortunately, Fu Qua gave us this treasure to help us. All we need to do is give her the brush. As for the rest, they're all for us to keep."

"Stop thinking about treasures and focus on passing the maze! We can't be stuck here!"

"Alright, alright! I'm focusing. Don't worry about me. Think about yourself!"

The youngsters kept trying to find a way out of the maze. At the same time, their legs also grew heavier the more they walked.

It was as if the gravity kept increasing the longer they stayed inside the maze.

...

Unlike the others, Long Chen not only reached the mansion but he also ended up before the treasury of Ghost Town. The place which contained the treasure.