Chapter 358: A Hidden Passage

Lu Xiangxiang lowered her head and saw her abdomen pierced by the Phantom Spirit sword, blood streaming down the blade.

A wave of intense pain surged, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Lu Xiangxiang, are you afraid of death?" At that moment, Yuan Yao's cold voice came from behind.

"Yuan—Yao!"

Lu Xiangxiang let out a near‑hysterical roar; a strange crimson totem suddenly manifested above her right palm, and a mysterious aura of power condensed in her hand.

The next moment—

Lu Xiangxiang turned and, with thunderous force, struck Yuan Yao with a fierce palm!

Yuan Yao's expression flashed with surprise; she swiftly drew her sword to block Lu Xiangxiang's attack.

Yuan Yao was knocked back a short distance, her chest tightening.

Lu Xiangxiang staggered from the wound in her abdomen, and as Ying Wuji and Cang Li closed in, she clenched her teeth, endured the bone‑deep pain, pulled a high‑grade talisman glowing with a mysterious light from her bosom, and hurled it forward with force!

The talisman flew rapidly through the air and, in the blink of an eye, arrived before the three—Yuan Yao, Ying Wuji, and Cang Li.

"Bad!" Cang Li's face darkened slightly.

Boom!

The talisman exploded with a thunderous blast; the resulting shockwave roared like a volcanic eruption, shaking the entire passage violently, causing the lime‑covered walls to crumble, and a dense cloud of smoke and dust filled the surroundings, making it almost impossible to see anything.

Ying Wuji shielded Yuan Yao and Cang Li behind him, absorbing all the force of the impact.

When the smoke cleared, Lu Xiangxiang's figure had already vanished from the passage ahead.

"Yao‑Yao, did you just try to kill Lu Xiangxiang? Or did you not want to?" Cang Li recovered his composure.

"I wanted to kill her." Yuan Yao steadied the slightly chaotic Qi within her, then exhaled lightly and said, "But she isn't that easy to die."

Hearing the last sentence, Ying Wuji's heart stirred, "Why do you think that?"

Yuan Yao replied, "Because I have tried to kill her many times and have never succeeded."

Cang Li nodded, "It seems eliminating Lu Xiangxiang won't be easy. She must have used some forbidden technique just now, because I sensed a trace of evil aura. She is now even a disciple of the Formless Immortal Patriarch; could it be that the Patriarch's gaze is poor? He couldn't see any clue on Lu Xiangxiang?"

Yuan Yao: "…Probably his gaze isn't very good."

The Formless Immortal Patriarch Xu Yanzhi is the male lead.

Therefore, he will definitely help the heroine Lu Xiangxiang.

Ying Wuji fell silent.

At that moment, footsteps sounded from behind.

The three raised their heads and met each other's gaze.

"Let's go quickly!"

The three hurried toward the passage ahead.

Along the way they also noticed the lingering bloodstains on the ground.

Cang Li said, "It's Lu Xiangxiang's blood."

Yuan Yao narrowed her eyes slightly, "We'll follow Lu Xiangxiang's trail."

"Why?" Cang Li asked, frowning in confusion.

"You're slow, Third Senior Brother." Yuan Yao said, "Lu Xiangxiang ran the fastest, so she must know the correct route through the underground maze."

Cang Li glared at her, "You're the slow one."

Yuan Yao turned her head toward Ying Wuji, "Youngest Senior Brother, let's follow the direction of the blood."

Ying Wuji nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

Meanwhile, beyond the underground maze, the world outside was being cloaked by a thin veil of snow.

Pristine white snowflakes drifted down in a flurry, as if draping the earth in a silvery mantle.

Suddenly, three figures slowly emerged upon the snowfield.

The pink‑haired youth swept over the wreckage and said lightly, "Looks like a fierce battle took place here."

The handsome youth glanced around; with keen observation and deep understanding of the techniques, he quickly spotted some faint clues.

Amid the chaotic scene, faint traces of the unique moves of A Li, Ying Wuji, and Yuan Yao could be discerned.

The handsome youth, who was Song Yan, said, "A Li and the others must have arrived here before us and already set things in motion."

Xiao Lingwei said gravely, "Tomorrow is Yuan Yao's birthday; we must find her quickly."

Xue Jin asked, "Will the master come tomorrow?"

After they entered the underground maze, not far away behind the snow‑capped mountain, a youth wearing a ghost‑mask slowly opened his eyes.

Snow swirled before his eyes.

Tomorrow is her…

birthday.

Tomorrow is the twenty‑eighth of October.

…

Inside the underground maze.

Yuan Yao and the others pursued Lu Xiangxiang along the blood trail.

Moments later, a voice echoed in Yuan Yao's Sea of Awareness: "Who is Lu Xiangxiang? Why does she know the correct route of the underground maze?"

Yue Liu remembered that he had never leaked the maze's route.

Moreover, before this, no one had ever entered here.

So he was puzzled.

"I don't know either." Because Lu Xiangxiang is the heroine; she has been reborn and knows specific information from her previous life.

Yuan Yao would naturally not tell these words to Yue Liu.

Yue Liu sighed, "She is just relying on luck. In that case, the probability of her obtaining the treasure left by my Yue family is quite high."

Yuan Yao let out a light hum, replying, "It's not yet settled; no one can be certain what the future will be."

Yue Liu suddenly shifted the topic to another direction, "Little Friend Yuan, what do you think?"

Yuan Yao froze for a moment, then firmly refused, "I cannot fulfill the three conditions you proposed."

"You won't even lie to me." Yue Liu's voice carried a sense of desolation.

Yuan Yao helplessly retorted, "Do you really like being lied to?"

Yue Liu choked up.

After a somewhat prolonged silence, Yue Liu said, "Little Friend Yuan, as long as you can form a contract with Heavenly Snow and let Heavenly Snow survive, I will tell you the location of all the formation manuals."

Yuan Yao let out a soft sigh, saying, "Heavenly Snow does not wish to contract with me, and I do not wish to force the beast."

"It will contract with you. You just need to say to it..." Yue Liu's voice came slowly.

Yuan Yao silently listened to all he said.

Finally, she asked a question.

"Why won't you let me avenge the Yue family for you?"

"As you said, over five hundred years have passed; my enemies may have long died. But if they still remain in this world... if you bring Heavenly Snow by your side, Heavenly Snow will surely recognize them. Then you may decide for yourself whether to avenge the Yue family."

"Perhaps you think I am already dead, and my Yue family no longer exists; why cling to revenge. You may not be able to understand the anguish when the Yue family was slaughtered to the last..."

Yuan Yao suddenly said, "I understand."

Some hatred is difficult to dissipate with time.

Yue Liu was somewhat surprised to hear her words.

He asked, "Could it be that you also have enemies?"

Yuan Yao did not answer, but instead said, "I promise you, I will contract with Heavenly Snow."

Yue Liu finally convinced Yuan Yao; his lingering resentment faded a bit, and his voice grew lighter as well: "Since you have agreed to my conditions, I also want to tell you that besides the correct path in the underground labyrinth, there is also a secret passage that can help you quickly reach the treasure location."