Chapter 116: Escaping Death

They walked forward along the narrow passage, the walls on both sides carved with all sorts of strange patterns and characters. These patterns and characters seemed to be telling an ancient and mysterious story.

As they walked, a fork in the road suddenly appeared ahead. Cheng Fenglan and Jiang Weiran stopped, not knowing which path to choose. Just then, the jade pendant in Cheng Fenglan's hand suddenly emitted a faint glow, pointing toward the left passage.

"It seems this passage is the correct path," Cheng Fenglan said.

The two followed the direction indicated by the jade pendant and walked into the left passage. The passage grew narrower as they went, and the surrounding atmosphere became increasingly oppressive. Suddenly, a low roar came from ahead, as if some ferocious beast were approaching.

Jiang Weiran's expression changed, and he hurriedly shielded Cheng Fenglan behind him. "Careful, there is danger."

No sooner had he spoken than a huge black shadow rushed out from the darkness. It was a mountain demon of massive proportions, its entire body covered in black scales, its sharp claws carving sparks into the ground, and a ferocious light flickering in its blood-red eyes.

A mountain demon!

Jiang Weiran grabbed Cheng Fenglan and ran; they could not defeat this thing!

Jiang Weiran pulled Cheng Fenglan in a desperate dash through the narrow passage, the mountain demon's roars behind them making their eardrums ache, each sound seeming to declare that they might become its meal at any moment.

The passage was filled with a damp, foul stench, which, intertwined with the tense atmosphere, made it nearly suffocating.

"This won't do, if we keep running like this, we'll be caught sooner or later!" Cheng Fenglan panted heavily, looking around as she ran, trying to find a glimmer of hope, but there was nothing around them except cold stone walls.

Jiang Weiran gritted his teeth, his eyes revealing a sense of determination: "I will block it, you find a chance to escape!"

As he spoke, he turned abruptly and drew a Dharma Artifact from his waist; it was his only weapon for self-defense, and in front of this ferocious mountain demon, it appeared so insignificant.

Seeing Jiang Weiran stop, the mountain demon let out a roar, kicked its hind legs, and pounced like an arrow released from a bow. Its speed was extremely fast, bringing with it a fishy gust of wind; Jiang Weiran only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes and hurriedly dodged to the side.

The mountain demon's claws grazed his clothing, the sharp claws easily tearing the fabric and leaving a long gash.

Seeing this, Cheng Fenglan was anxious; she knew Jiang Weiran was no match for the mountain demon and could not let him face the danger alone.

In her panic, she touched the jade pendant in her pocket, the key that guided them forward. At this moment, the pendant's light flickered, as if it were conveying some kind of message.

Suddenly, an idea struck Cheng Fenglan. She held the jade pendant high and shouted loudly, "Jiang Weiran, look here!"

Following her shout, the light of the jade pendant grew even more intense, illuminating the entire passage. Strangely, under the reflection of this light, the mountain demon seemed to be deterred by some force; its originally ferocious movements became sluggish, and a trace of fear appeared in its eyes.

Jiang Weiran seized this opportunity and threw the Dharma Artifact with all his might toward the mountain demon's eyes. The Dharma Artifact traced an arc in the air and accurately pierced the mountain demon's left eye. The mountain demon let out a painful shriek, waving its claws wildly and crashing about in the passage.

Cheng Fenglan and Jiang Weiran took the opportunity to escape. They did not know how long they had been running when they finally saw a glimmer of light ahead. Overjoyed, the two used their last ounce of strength and lunged out.

Cheng Fenglan and Jiang Weiran rushed out of that passage filled with the aura of death, greedily gasping for fresh air, as if every breath could dispel the fear they had just felt.

The sunlight shone on them, warm and cozy, yet their bodies were still trembling uncontrollably—the lingering fear of having survived a disaster.

They looked around and discovered they were in an ancient forest. The trees were tall and thick with lush foliage, and the sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, forming patches of golden light.

The ground was covered with thick fallen leaves, which felt soft underfoot and made a rustling sound. The air was filled with the fresh scent of trees and soil mixed together, completely different from the damp, foul smell in the passage just now.

"Where... where are we?" Cheng Fenglan's voice was still trembling. She clutched the jade pendant in her hand tightly, as if it were her only reliance at this moment.

Jiang Weiran shook his head, his eyes full of vigilance: "I don't know, but we certainly haven't escaped danger yet. It's too quiet here, quiet in a way that's somewhat eerie."

The two moved forward cautiously in the forest, taking every step with extreme care. Suddenly, Cheng Fenglan slipped and almost fell. She looked down and discovered a symbol on the ground; her heart skipped a beat.

"Jiang Weiran, look at this." Cheng Fenglan squatted down and pointed at the symbol.

Jiang Weiran walked over and observed the symbol carefully, his brows gradually furrowing: "It's it again!"

"We must go back and inform the Regent and Cheng Xi about this matter," Jiang Weiran said.

Cheng Fenglan nodded; she was still worried about her brother's safety and did not know how he was doing now.

The two rested briefly and then began to look for a way out.

It was not until nightfall that Jiang Weiran followed the Big Dipper to lead Cheng Fenglan out; by the time they left the mountains, dawn was about to break.

Even though their bodies were much stronger than before as Cultivators, after walking for so long, both of them felt weak in the legs, exhausted and hungry.

Cheng Xi was stunned when he saw the two; he had never expected them to be in such a miserable state.

He first got them water and food to pad their stomachs, and only after they had recovered did he ask what had happened.

Cheng Fenglan was relatively silent, so Jiang Weiran spoke up and recounted the events in detail.

Cheng Xi's brows furrowed tighter and tighter: "It seems the speculation was indeed correct; the Ji Family and Ye Wujin are indeed in collusion."

"Then what should we do now?" Jiang Weiran asked. "Cheng Yunjian is still missing, and we don't know where to look for him now."

None of the clues they had found had anything to do with finding Cheng Yunjian.

Cheng Xi looked at him and said: "No rush. Since we have discovered the Ancient Tomb and there is a mountain demon in the tomb, it means Ye Wujin must still be alive."

A scourge truly lasts for a thousand years.

"You two rest first, I will go find Li Zhi'an." Cheng Xi threw out a Flying Magic Treasure, leaped onto it, and vanished in an instant.

Jiang Weiran was envious to death; if he could have one of these things, he wouldn't have run so slowly.

Cheng Fenglan, however, had no expression; she was only thinking about how her brother was doing now.

Cheng Xi found Li Zhi'an at Dean's place and told him about the matter. Li Zhi'an then said: "It is a coincidence; today Dean Yan also discovered some anomalies in the mountains. Since that is the case, we shall go and investigate tonight."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Cheng Xi asked.

Li Zhi'an shook his head: "No need. Tonight is just to scout the path first. Yuan Dashi divined that there is something unusual with the Wanxing Sect, and I fear it will open ahead of schedule; we will make preparations in advance."