Chapter 264: What Are You Looking For, Everyone?

As the last core‑supporting log crashed down with a roar under Xiao Er's chop, a cloud of dust surged toward them.

When the dust settled a bit, Xiao Ran impatiently brushed away the haze before his eyes, looked around, and immediately shouted, "There's a hole over there!"

The others looked up and indeed saw a pitch‑black opening!

Although they could not yet make out the interior, a cool breeze scented with vegetation poured in continuously from the opening.

It really is an exit!

"Great! We can finally leave this cursed place!" Xiao Ran leapt up excitedly, lifting his foot to charge forward; he didn't want to stay another moment.

"Ninth Prince, stay calm," Lu Qi reached out to stop him, "Let me scout ahead first."

Xiao Ran, already impatient, replied, "Fine, hurry up!"

Xiao Ningxun gave his sister a firm hug, carefully brushed the dust from her, sighed in relief, and finally made it out.

"Chee… chee chee—"

A faint yet unusually clear bird chirp drifted over from somewhere, softly.

Lu Qi's steps halted, and everyone was startled.

Tuan Tuan looked up and searched around, "Bird bird?"

Xiao Ran tilted his ear and asked, "What foolish bird built a nest here?"

Xiao Ningxun furrowed his brow, "Do any of you think this sound is familiar?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up, "Third Brother! You're so clever! That bird's call sounds a lot like Grandpa's whistle!"

Lu Qi caught on, "The Horse Sect's whistle! Could it be Xie Gu Zhou?"

As if to confirm his guess, the bird's chirp sounded again, this time a few degrees clearer than before.

Tuan Tuan pulled out the small whistle Xuan Fu Weng had given him, held it to his lips, and blew hard.

"Chee chee! Chee chee!"

Everyone fell silent, waiting anxiously.

A moment later, "Chee chee!"

A sharper, clearer whistle sounded back.

This time all of them heard it distinctly; the whistle came from another direction!

"It's Xie Gu Zhou! It must be him!" Lu Qi's eyes flashed, no longer doubting, "He must have heard us dismantling the Lost Soul Formation, so he whistled for help."

"Go!" Xiao Ningxun scooped up Tuan Tuan, "Let's find him!"

Xiao Ran looked at the exit just a stone's throw away and sighed.

Tuan Tuan, over Third Brother's shoulder, said to him, "Hurry up! We're rescuing someone!"

"I'm coming!" Xiao Ran quickened his pace and followed.

Lu Qi led the way, Xiao Er followed, and the group, tracing the intermittent whistles, soon discovered another opening and entered.

The passage was short, but after a moment, a faint amber light seeped ahead.

The whistle grew ever clearer.

The group quickened their steps, rushing toward the light source.

It turned out to be a natural cavern, with a few candles on the walls flickering dim flames.

In the cavern's exact center stood a massive cage, its whole body forged from transparent crystal!

Inside the cage, golden fine sand piled like a mountain, covering a tall man up to his chest.

A huge hourglass hung from the cage's ceiling; the flowing sand endlessly seeped through a hole at the top, gradually devouring the little space left for the captive.

His complexion was pale, shoulders broad, and the whistle clenched in his mouth was identical to the one Xuan Fu Weng gave Tuan Tuan.

Seeing the sudden intruders, his dim eyes instantly flashed with astonishing brilliance!

Xiao Ningxun halted, pressed his sister's small head into his shoulder, and said, "Don't be afraid."

Tuan Tuan obediently nodded and nestled faithfully in his brother's arms.

Lu Qi hurried to the cage's edge and asked, "Xie Gu Zhou, leader?"

Xie Gu Zhou weakly nodded.

Xiao Er rushed over, circling the cage and searching, "Hold on, we'll get you out."

"What are you looking for, everyone?"

A grim, mocking voice echoed from above the crowd.

Looking up, they saw a protruding rocky platform to the side, where a figure in a black robe, face hidden in a hood's shadow, sat calmly in a chair.

He gazed down from his height, as if watching insects trapped in a spider's web.

"Ghost Doctor!" Xie Gu Zhou gritted his teeth, fury blazing in his eyes.

The Ghost Doctor let out a low, hoarse laugh, "Leader Xie, how does my 'Flowing‑Sand Hourglass' feel?"

"Watching your own life drain bit by bit— isn't that more hopeless than any blade upon you?"

He threw his head back and laughed, voice intoxicated, "The more desperate you are, the more excited I become; the feeling of controlling another's life and death is simply marvelous."

He looked at Tuan Tuan's party, "I intended to wear you out with the Lost Soul Formation, yet you managed to reach here and even found him."

"Fine, consider yourselves lucky."

"To watch together with me the leader of the Western Ridge Horse Sect being buried alive by a mound of sand—how splendid!"

"Shut up!" Xiao Er roared, hurling the steel blade in his hand toward the crystal cage!

"Clang—!"

A crisp clang rang, sparks flew, the steel blade rebounded, leaving only a shallow white mark on the crystal wall.

The crowd stared in amazement; the crystal was unbelievably sturdy!

"Hahaha…" the Ghost Doctor laughed ecstatically, arms spread, "This crystal is a rare treasure of the Western Regions, harder than refined steel! Its base is fused with the mountain rock."

"You want to use external force to smash it by force? That's pure fantasy! Hahaha!"

The mad laughter echoed back and forth inside the cave.

Lu Qi's face turned dark, Xiao Er frowned tightly, Xiao Ran stamped his feet in anxiety, yet they were all helpless.

The Ghost Doctor's laughter suddenly stopped abruptly.

Everyone's hearts jolted, and they looked up.

This madman's laughter is especially hateful; when he stops laughing, it fills people with even greater dread.

He slowly took out a small leather pouch, pulled out the stopper, and slowly poured the dark red viscous liquid inside onto the top of the Liuli cage.

The liquid flowed down the smooth Liuli wall, giving off a fishy-sweet smell.

Immediately afterward, a scalp-tingling thing happened.

Shush-shush-shush—fine crawling sounds came from all directions.

From the cracks in the surrounding rock walls, countless dense black-red ants surged out.

They instantly covered the cage's outer walls and began frantically gnawing at the liquid.

"These little guys have been starving for several days."

The Ghost Doctor's voice was full of pride: "Wait until they finish eating this blood mixed with honey."

He stretched out a finger and tapped the trapped Xie Guzhou inside the cage.

"These starving little things will crawl in through the air holes above."

Xie Guzhou's face turned deathly pale; though he never feared blades upon his body, he could not imagine the agony of being devoured by countless ants.

Others' faces also changed color—what kind of person is this?

How twisted and perverse!

The Ghost Doctor delighted in everyone's terrified expressions, sighing with satisfaction: "Just a bunch of tiny ants can make me see you so desperate—it's absolutely wonderful!"