Chapter 685 - 423: Cultivation Chamber

The man with the severed arm lay beside the carcass of the wolf, watching as Duan Rong and his group disappeared into the Dark Forest. There was no resentment in his eyes; he never expected them to take him along. Clearing away the wolf was already the greatest stroke of luck for him.

The man caught his breath, and when his breathing steadied a bit, he struggled to get up. Ignoring the pain of his severed arm, he stumbled towards another direction deep into the forest. He needed to find a concealed canopy to hide, heal, and recuperate. The overpowering scent of blood here would soon attract ferocious Primordial Beasts, so he had to leave quickly.

Despite losing an arm, he managed to get his life back.

Without a Qi Vortex Realm expert leading them, it was common for Inner Sect Disciples to suffer losses when they ventured into the Dark Forest to hunt Primordial Beasts, but incidents where almost an entire team was wiped out were rare. This was one of the most extreme and tragic situations.

After all, without the deterrent of a Qi Vortex Realm expert, these Inner Sect Disciples, who formed their own teams, usually only roamed in the outer areas, rarely risking deeper ventures.

Duan Rong and his group had returned to the glowing grassy area. Not far away was a cliff face, from which hung a row of iron chains as thick as a child’s arm, exuding a cold, dark glow.

The group approached the cliff.

On this grassland, it was already quite safe. Although the Clear Light Grass looked ordinary, the faint glow it emitted could blind Primordial Beasts. Almost no Primordial Beast would set foot on this grassland.

Duan Rong looked at the iron chains in front of him, feeling slightly apprehensive. He still remembered the scene of falling. They would have to climb up these chains again from such a height.

Fan Hongjiao glanced at Duan Rong, reached out to take the blood bag he was holding, and said, "Junior brother, it’s your first time down here, and your realm is low. Let me help you this time."

Earlier, when there were signs of danger in the forest, Duan Rong stood in front of her when she was weak and exhausted. Fan Hongjiao now felt a strong sense of camaraderie with Duan Rong.

Wang Yue, dragging the corpse of the python, looked enviously at Fan Hongjiao as she took over the blood bag from Duan Rong. The blood bag was much lighter than his python corpse.

Fan Hongjiao glared at Wang Yue and said, "What? Want to switch with me?"

Wang Yue hesitated slightly. "I..."

He did want to, but earlier, Fan Hongjiao had mocked him for being womanly, and he was too embarrassed to speak up.

Lu Geng patted Wang Yue’s shoulder and said, "It’s just a little snake. Is it even an issue for Junior Brother Wang Yue?"

Wang Yue sighed helplessly. A month ago, Lu Geng had reached the Fourth Level of Primordial Qi Realm, while he hadn’t yet broken through to the Third Level. For Lu Geng, the Cyan-eyed Giant Lizard’s corpse was not an issue, but for him, the Two-legged Frenzied Python was indeed heavy. Dragging it through the forest was easy, but pulling it up the iron chain was no simple task.

But Wang Yue had to accept it.

After all, he and Lu Geng were benefiting from Fan Hongjiao and Wu Shidao’s hard work. The dangerous tasks had already been handled by the two of them, so it was only fair for him and Lu Geng to handle the laborious tasks.

The group grabbed the chains and began to ascend.

Before long, Fan Hongjiao was far ahead. Wu Shidao, with injuries, lagged significantly behind her.

Since Duan Rong was without a burden, he only fell slightly behind Lu Geng. While climbing, he could see a massive blurry shadow rising alongside him in the distance. Though there was no light in this underground crevice, he knew that the large shape moving up with dislodged rocks was the Cyan-eyed Giant Lizard’s corpse.

Behind Duan Rong, trailing further behind, was Wang Yue, the last one.

After an unknown period, though Lu Geng was dragging the lizard’s corpse, Duan Rong looked up but couldn’t see him. Looking down, he couldn’t see Wang Yue either.

At that moment, on the sheer crevice wall, it seemed he was alone again, except for the occasional falling bits of stone reminding him that there were others above him.

Time passed like a hidden current in the pitch-dark environment.

Duan Rong’s arms were slightly sore and numb. Just then, he finally saw a massive blurry shadow above.

He had caught up with Lu Geng.

At that moment, not far above, he could see a faint yellow glow. That was the narrow stone chamber they had jumped into the underground crevice from.

Lu Geng was pulling the lizard’s corpse, so at this point, his speed noticeably slowed.

Lu Geng almost ascended the crevice to the surface alongside Duan Rong.

The two climbed up. Inside the stone chamber, Fan Hongjiao and Wu Shidao were already sitting cross-legged, with two torches blazing above them.

Duan Rong turned to glance at Lu Geng, seeing that he had already dragged the lizard’s corpse out of the crevice. In the torchlight, he could see that Lu Geng’s forehead was already beaded with sweat.

Both of them having climbed up, greatly fatigued, sat cross-legged to recuperate, while waiting for Wang Yue, who was trailing behind.

About an hour later, having finished recuperating, Fan Hongjiao stood up and paced anxiously by the crevice.

"That kid, can he be trusted? Hope he didn’t fall!"

Wu Shidao smiled faintly and said, "Why don’t you go down and check?"

Fan Hongjiao rolled her eyes at him and said coldly, "I’m not going down. If he can’t handle such a small thing, what’s the use of him? He’s been on the peak for four years and hasn’t broken through the Third Level of Primordial Qi Realm. He ought to have been taught a lesson long ago."