Chapter 243: Hand-Spiders and the Route

The unexpected smoothness of Li Luo and his two companions left many students present looking astonished and surprised; clearly, they had not expected these three to pass through the Heart-Bewildering Pass so seamlessly on their first attempt.

Among them were quite a few who had been blocked for several days when they first experienced the Heart-Bewildering Pass.

Thinking back to their own miserable experiences, and then looking at these three newcomers, the students who had intended to watch a good show suddenly felt they had been dealt a critical blow and humiliated.

Are the newcomers these days all so firm in their mental fortitude?

Compared to the astonishment of others, Jiang Qing'e was slightly pleasantly surprised, while Qiu Bai and Tian Tian stared wide-eyed at Li Luo and his companions; it seemed this newcomer squad was more reliable than they had imagined.

Originally, they had prepared themselves mentally to be delayed for a day by this Heart-Bewildering Pass.

A smile appeared on Jiang Qing'e's exquisite, fair cheeks, and her beautiful smile made the dim and oppressive atmosphere of the Dark Cave brighten up.

Some of the male students nearby could not help but cast their gazes over.

However, Jiang Qing'e ignored those gazes; she stepped out of the light barrier, and the moment she stepped out, her figure did not even pause for a second, ignoring the interference of evil thoughts from the black mist.

Qiu Bai and Tian Tian followed, though the two of them paused for a few seconds before letting out a light sigh of relief.

"Let's go, it's time to start."

Jiang Qing'e said, then strode out with her long legs, walking first into the surging black mist surrounding them.

Li Luo, Bai Mengmeng, and Xin Fu hurriedly followed Jiang Qing'e's slender and tall silhouette, while Qiu Bai and Tian Tian remained at the rear of the formation, which could be considered protecting the three newcomers.

The two squads gradually moved away, their figures covered by the faint black mist.

Duze Honglian watched their disappearing figures and curled her lips; she had thought she would see a good show, but the result was somewhat disappointing.

"Let's go, we also need to start advancing according to the planned route. The goal of our purification mission this time is to activate a Level 3 Purification Tower one step ahead of Jiang Qing'e and the others; if there is an opportunity later, we can also try to see if we can snatch a second Level 3 Purification Tower."

"If both Level 3 Purification Towers fall into our hands, then our final points for this Dark Cave purification mission will definitely be able to surpass Jiang Qing'e and the others," Duze Honglian said.

The others all nodded, their expressions eager to try; after all, this was indeed a good opportunity to surpass Jiang Qing'e.

Although the "Black Swan Squad" was stronger, Li Luo and the others were, after all, a newcomer squad. No matter how outstanding they were, they still lacked experience in terms of strength, so to protect them, many of Jiang Qing'e's choices would be more cautious, and this would inevitably drag down the efficiency of their purification mission.

Everyone had no objections, so Duze Honglian did not hesitate any longer; she stepped out of the light barrier and led her group at full speed in another direction.

After them, more teams began to emerge from the stronghold one after another, and the eerily silent Dark Cave began to become lively once again.

Faint black mist permeated the surroundings, and inexplicable whispers from unknown sources constantly echoed, lingering in the ears and making one feel irritable and restless.

Li Luo's group moved along the road; every certain distance, a stone lamp hung on a post by the roadside. Inside the lamp was an energy stone that could absorb the energy of heaven and earth to emit a faint light, serving as a guide.

Bai Mengmeng and Xin Fu kept scanning their surroundings, their bodies tense, clearly highly nervous.

Li Luo, however, was much more composed, because the silhouette in front was truly capable of giving people a sense of security.

The journey was slightly tedious, and no one spoke, so the atmosphere remained dull.

Rustle, rustle.

This dullness lasted for an unknown amount of time before strange sounds suddenly came from all directions, and Jiang Qing'e in front immediately stopped her steps.

She raised a hand.

No words were needed; Li Luo, the other two, Qiu Bai, and Tian Tian immediately had their resonant power rise, and each drew their weapons.

Under the gaze of Li Luo and the others, they saw the black mist ahead undulating, the rustling sound growing stronger, and immediately after, they saw many strange things crawling out of the black mist.

They seemed to be spider-like things, but when Li Luo and the others looked closely, they felt a chill in their hearts, because the many claws of those spider-like creatures were actually composed of pale palms.

On the spider's body grew gray-white human mouths, inside of which were ghastly white teeth.

Hee hee!

These hand-spiders made sounds that were like infants giggling; the childish voices in this empty environment were hair-raising.

"These are some of the lowest-level Otherkind, hand-spiders."

"Their laughter can induce hallucinations, but as long as you cover your ears with resonant power, you can block it."

Jiang Qing'e's expression was calm; she slowly raised the heavy sword in her hand and then suddenly stomped down.

Boom!

Brilliant light resonant power swept across like a halo.

Wherever the light resonant power passed, those astonishingly numerous hand-spiders turned into ashes amidst shrill screams.

"These Otherkind are truly strange and twisted," Li Luo sighed; such a creepy appearance really made one's scalp tingle.

"Otherkind are inherently formed from evil thoughts, and the evil thoughts of the Dark World come from our world, and even... from the hearts of each of us."

"So, you can think of these Otherkind as a combination of various human body organs."

"These hand-spiders are just the simplest ones; they don't even count as White Erosion grade. Only when you see Calamity-grade Otherkind later will you understand just how twisted and strange they can be."

Jiang Qing'e said casually, then took out a map from her bosom and beckoned; Li Luo, Qiu Bai, and the others quickly gathered around.

"Our goal today is this Level 1 Purification Tower, and then over the next few days, we will gradually advance to clear and activate all these Level 1 Purification Towers along the way, first ensuring a safe retreat route." Jiang Qing'e's slender jade finger pointed at several Level 1 Purification Towers in succession.

Everyone nodded. Their main goals were still the Level 2 Purification Towers further from the stronghold and the final Level 3 Purification Tower, but the Dark Cave was full of dangers. Before taking action on those Level 2 Purification Towers, they indeed needed to clear the path behind them first. That way, if any unexpected changes occurred, their retreat would be smoother and safer.

Planning the retreat first is a prudent move.

Tian Tian stared at the route Jiang Qing'e had set for a few seconds, then suddenly blinked and said, "Captain, this route of yours seems to be a bit of a detour from the nearest Level 2 Purification Tower."

Jiang Qing'e's expression did not change as she pointed to a spot: "Because I intend to go here."

Li Luo's gaze followed, and his pupils shrank slightly; where Jiang Qing'e's slender finger pointed, there was actually a small blood-colored skull mark.

That mark was completely different from the other small tower marks, but that bright red skull mark, without needing to think, was clearly an extremely dangerous place in the Dark Cave.

Qiu Bai's expression also changed drastically at this moment, and he blurted out, "You want to go to the Forbidden Zone?"

Tian Tian was more rational; she swept a glance at Li Luo and said softly, "The Captain doesn't want to go to the Forbidden Zone, but wants to go to the Dark Spirit Pool outside the Forbidden Zone, right?"