Chapter 73: Spiders and Giant Flood Dragons Gather in the Painting

Half an hour had passed, and Lingxiang had not expected these Outer Disciples to be able to hold on for so long. She had entered the Mountain and River Map before; if those who entered the map lacked courage, they would likely be scared out of their wits by the bizarre and grotesque things within.

Just as she was feeling bored and wondering when these disciples would be scared out, she saw a ripple of Spirit Power on the Mountain and River Map, and before long, two female disciples tumbled out of the array.

These two female disciples seemed to have suffered some kind of shock; their hairpins were scattered, their faces were pale, and their eyes were filled with terror.

Not long after, disciples tumbled out of the array one after another, all looking as if they had lost their souls.

Seeing this, Lingxiang laughed to herself: just as expected.

……

After the mist dispersed, the view opened up quite a bit. The group took the opportunity to look around, but all they saw were shrubs and towering tree trunks. Strangely, these trunks seemed to be inserted straight into the ground, without even a trace of roots.

Just as the group was feeling puzzled, the mist that had been blown away gradually gathered around them again.

Banxia was about to look for another Wind Talisman to drive away the mist, but was stopped by Liu Xia.

"Continuing like this is definitely not a solution. Before entering the array, Senior Brother Hanyang said there was a mystery here. These trees are so strange, so they must be the key."

Upon hearing this, Long Qi touched a tree beside him and discovered that it seemed different from those usually seen. Other tree bark should be rough, but while the bark of this tree looked uneven, it felt slippery to the touch, as if it had been coated in lacquer.

The tree beside Xin Yi was even stranger; it had many fine hairs on it, and there were many inverted branches on one side, like thorns, yet there wasn't a single leaf.

Seeing the mist gathering, the group had not the slightest clue.

"Why don't we..." At this moment, Lianqiao tidied her dress and spoke softly: "Why don't we climb up the trees and take a look? Isn't it often said that standing high allows one to see far..."

The group was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at each other: That's right! Isn't this the most obvious method?

So, after a brief discussion, the group decided to let Liu Xia, who was the most agile, go up.

Liu Xia picked the tree closest to him, gathered his Qi, and leaped up, stepping on the trunk a few times before disappearing into the mist. The group waited below for quite a while. Just as they thought something had happened to Liu Xia above and were planning to let Xin Yi go up to check, they heard a rustling sound from the tree. Before long, they saw the figure of Liu Xia, only...

Only his face was filled with astonishment!

Liu Xia was usually calm in the face of events and was rarely seen like this. Xin Yi hurriedly stepped forward to ask what he had seen, but saw him wearing a grave expression. After a long while, he finally spoke:

"This place... is a tomb..."

Upon hearing this, the group was greatly shocked.

"W-what?" Long Qi asked as if he hadn't heard clearly.

"The trees here are few," Liu Xia said, touching the tree he had just climbed: "These are the legs of a giant spider, and this place is the tomb of a giant spider, not some forest."

……

Although the surroundings were extremely dim, the giant Flood Dragon's eyes were like bright moons. It stared at Chengkai and the other three without moving, as if they were locked in a contest of strength.

Chengkai, for his part, dared not act rashly. Firstly, the surroundings were full of swamps; if they stepped into the mire while trying to flee, they would die in the mud even if they weren't eaten by the Flood Dragon. Secondly, observing that the Flood Dragon was just standing in the water without moving, he figured it either had no ill intent or had poor eyesight.

Viewed this way, remaining motionless was the best policy. He pulled the two people beside him tightly, signaling with his eyes not to move or make a sound.

But Awei seemed to have been scared out of his wits. He had only frozen for a moment when the Flood Dragon appeared, but now, regaining his senses, he hurriedly screamed and got up to run behind him.

Hearing Awei's shout, the Flood Dragon let out a long hiss and dove into the water, chasing after Awei rapidly with only its horns visible.

Chengkai and the others chased from behind, shouting for Awei to stop and not make a sound, but Awei seemed to have lost his mind and ran desperately. His legs were no match for the Flood Dragon swimming in the water, and in an instant, it caught up to him.

The Flood Dragon slowly emerged from the water, opened its bloody maw, and lunged at Awei, swallowing him in one gulp. It then turned its head to look at the three people chasing behind. Seeing this, Chengkai hurriedly pulled the other two to a halt, not daring to make the slightest sound.

The Flood Dragon had been staring at them earlier without moving, so it must have poor eyesight. Now that Awei had shouted, it knew where he was. It seemed it must identify prey by hearing. Now, they could only hope it would leave on its own when it heard no more sounds.

Thinking this, the three of them held their breath and focused, not daring to make the slightest noise, not even daring to make a single movement, fearing the Flood Dragon would notice. They just stared at it unblinkingly, wishing only for it to leave quickly.

Under such torment, the Flood Dragon did not disappoint. After waiting in the dimness for who knows how long, perhaps feeling there was no more prey, it slowly dove into the water and disappeared from sight.

But even though the water surface was calm and ripple-free, Chengkai and the other two still dared not move, fearing the Flood Dragon was feigning departure. After maintaining their positions for a long time and confirming the Flood Dragon was truly gone, they finally moved their already numb bodies.

At this time, one of the disciples named Shuzhu hurriedly said: "Awei was eaten by that long worm, what should we do!"

Chengkai thought for a moment after hearing this. Encountering such a monster, it was already difficult enough to save their own lives. Moreover, it was rumored that the Flood Dragon was exceptionally fierce; even if they wanted to rescue him, they likely lacked the ability. It was just that Awei was too unsteady, and it was his fate to suffer this calamity.

Thinking this, he whispered comfort to the two, and another disciple named Shanhuai muttered softly: "If I had known, I wouldn't have let my mind wander."

Chengkai was puzzled upon hearing this and hurriedly asked what he had thought. He heard him say:

"Just now, I was complaining in my heart that this trial had landed us in such a sticky, wet place, and that it would be better to have a monster to have a good fight with."

On that side, Shuzhu heard this and hurriedly said it was such a coincidence, as he had thought the same. The two looked at each other and then at Chengkai, but Chengkai was stunned. Could it be...

……

There was a ripple of Spirit Power from the Mountain and River Map. Lingxiang couldn't help but smile softly, wondering who else had been scared out. Just as she thought this, she saw the Dharma Array open, and a man tumbled out of the Mountain and River Map, screaming.

That person landed on the ground but continued to scream as if he had lost his mind. This person was none other than Awei. Several young Daoists stepped forward and performed some spells to stabilize his mind.

Lingxiang was curious about what exactly he had thought to end up like this.

As for this Mountain and River Map, apart from the things originally in the painting array, everything else came from the entrants themselves. If one thought of something, it would appear. Years ago, Lingxiang had entered the map once to find Linglong, but she had obtained an illusory object.

That's right, the mystery of this Mountain and River Map lay in the person entering the array. If one could realize it, one could easily break it.

However, it was by no means as easy as it appeared on the surface. There were not many figures left in the painting array, but now there was only about two quarters of an hour left.