Novel Full Chapter 334 - Chapter 334: Chapter 191: Entering the Cave
Chapter 334: Chapter 191: Entering the Cave
“I understand!” Ling Yusheng realized, “The danger must lie within this cave. In the face of uncertainty, no one dared to be the first to enter…”
“You’re just realizing this now…” “Brother Du” looked at him with a mix of frustration and disbelief, as if staring at a complete fool. How on earth had he reached such a cultivation realm with that kind of reaction speed?
As “Brother Du” pondered this, he saw Sect Master Mu not far away suddenly come to a realization upon hearing the explanation: “So that’s it! I was wondering why this guy was always deferring. I was about to strike him down!”
Seeing that the two really weren’t pretending, “Brother Du” felt obliged to further explain, “Zhilan Valley is ranked 21st and has trapped countless experts. It obviously wouldn’t be so simple. We’ve been here for so long without encountering any danger, which suggests that the peril doesn’t lurk in the environment but is extremely likely to be within this cave!”
During their conversation, Su Chen and Elder Bai Ye had also made tentative moves and eventually reached a decision.
“Artifacts may appear and likely vanish quickly. If we keep hesitating, we may never get the chance to enter again. In that case, let’s each send one person over first! If there’s no danger, we could take turns entering…”
“Agreed!” Elder Bai Ye nodded.
After discussing, Elder Bai Ye’s side decided to send someone in first. He was a Galaxy 5-dan powerhouse named Zheng Yifeng, who had a bit of fame in Zouyi City.
Knowing that his strength wasn’t particularly formidable in front of people like Elder Bai Ye and wanting to acquire more artifacts, Zheng Yifeng volunteered to take the risk. He strode toward the direction of the cave.
Elder Bai Ye and the others anxiously watched as Zheng Yifeng approached the sculpture, hesitated only briefly, but no danger manifested.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Zheng Yifeng nodded to the others and bypassed the sculpture to proceed into the cave, soon disappearing inside.
There was no sign of mechanisms or formations. The cave was unusually quiet, with no Primordial Beasts in sight; everything seemed perfectly safe.
“Master Mo, I’m fine; you can come in…” Standing at the entrance, Zheng Yifeng called out.
“Don’t rush; it’s my turn now…” Su Chen gestured with his hand, and a Galaxy 3-dan stepped forward and advanced. Just as he was about to go around the sculpture, his whole body suddenly burst into flames.
“Don’t…” Before the cultivator could even react, he was engulfed by the inferno.
“This is bad!” Su Chen’s pupils shrank as he rushed over, slapped his palm down, and a force descended, extinguishing the flames covering the cultivator.
However, no sooner had the external flames disappeared than a wave of intense heat surged from inside his body, burning like zhenqi.
“Save me…” The cultivator’s eyes bulged as he tried to control the flames to no avail. His body convulsed a few times before he collapsed heavily to the ground, soon breathless.
“This…” Everyone exchanged glances in silent horror. Even Zheng Yifeng, who had just entered the cave, dared not proceed any further.
Flames appearing out of nowhere and burning someone to death within a few breaths—this was beyond their expectation.
Without identifying the cause, they genuinely feared a similarly obscure and untimely death.
“I’ll send another person from my side…” Unable to recall any reason for the incident, Elder Bai Ye took a deep breath and looked at another cultivator behind him.
Knowing the situation at hand—staying put could result in being killed on the spot while moving forward gave a chance to survive—the cultivator gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
Like Zheng Yifeng, he also reached Galaxy 5-dan. Carefully, he circled the sculpture, but just as he was about to enter, they all saw whirlwinds arise from all directions, swift and sharp as blades, aiming for his body.
His face paled as the cultivator quickly mobilized his strength to dodge. The whirlwinds persisted for about twenty breaths before slowly receding, dispersing into the air.
At this moment, the cultivator had also sustained over a hundred wounds on his body, his clothes soaked in fresh blood. However, most of them were superficial injuries, and he was not in danger of losing his life.
“This…”
Seeing his condition, everyone became even more puzzled.
One was unharmed, another burned to death by flames, one attacked by blades of wind… Three people in three different states—no matter how you looked at it, it seemed bizarre.
After testing three individuals, with three outcomes, it was as if they were back to square one.
“Zheng Yifeng, don’t wait for us, go ahead and check inside…”
Knowing that the experiments were inconclusive, and having no idea how long more they would take or how many might die, Mo Baiye’s gaze flashed, and he called out in a low voice.
Now that they were entering the cave, if the two of them on his side really had artifacts, they would certainly be able to grab as many as they could.
“Okay!”
Zheng Yifeng nodded, clenched his teeth, and walked towards the interior. After taking a few steps, he couldn’t help but shout out, “There’s a line of words on the wall here: ‘To enter, one must knock thrice and bow nine times.’”
“Knock thrice and bow nine times?”
Mo Baiye frowned.
What did that mean?
“Do I have to kneel down?” After waiting a while and hearing no response, Zheng Yifeng called out.
“Since there are inscriptions, it’s definitely not scribbled randomly, you’d better follow the instructions!” Mo Baiye hesitated, then shouted.
“Yes…”
Zheng Yifeng replied, and then there was no sound from outside. After nearly three minutes, a voice came through again: “I seem to be okay, I’m continuing further inside!”
Seeing that he was safe, the cultivators who followed close behind quickened their pace. Just as they were about to say something, flames suddenly surged across their bodies, and just like the cultivator on Su Chen’s side before, they were reduced to ash in just a few breaths.
“This…”
Zheng Yifeng shivered, and as if he realized something, he hurriedly exclaimed, “Master Mo, it must be the rules. I safely entered after knocking three times and bowing nine times, but he didn’t kneel and was burned to death…”
Hearing this, Mo Baiye came to a realization and once again looked at the sculpture in front of him, his brows tightly knitted.
If it was indeed a rule, then why did the first three people who entered meet with three different fates?
“You go!”
He hadn’t figured it out yet, and on the other side, Su Chen could no longer contain his impatience and looked at a cultivator behind him.
Zheng Yifeng had already entered the cave. If they did not send someone from their side soon, they may miss out altogether.
If that were to happen, what good was safety?
“Yes!”
The cultivator nodded, gritted his teeth, and walked towards the interior. Before long, he had passed the sculpture and entered the cave.
“I’m fine…”
Standing at the entrance, the cultivator called out in bewilderment.
He had braced himself for the onslaught of wind blades or the scorching flames, but nothing happened.
“Not right…”
Mo Baiye came to a realization and suddenly spoke up, “Did you feel, within a breath or two, as if you couldn’t channel your zhenqi?”
Seeing his inquiry, the cultivator was taken aback, looked at Su Chen, and only after seeing him nod, did he explain, “When I passed by the sculpture just now, I did feel that sensation, but… I wasn’t fighting, just walking, so the lack of zhenqi didn’t affect me…”
“Indeed…”
Seeing his confirmation, Mo Baiye suddenly understood, “I see what’s happening now!”