Chapter 85 They were lucky enough to find the secret passage, but...

Ning Jinli listened intently, and could vaguely make a pattering sound, but she wasn't sure which direction it was coming from.

"It's not raining..."

She looked up at the sky.

It was past midnight, the bright moon hung obliquely in the night sky, and the cliffs, like knives, pierced straight up and were swallowed by the night.

"It sounds a bit like rain, and a bit like flowing water, with a rustling sound mixed in," Xiao Qidi wondered. "Could there be a stream nearby?"

"Maybe so. Let's go, let's go into the cave first, rest a bit, and then we'll continue exploring." Ning Jinli pulled his arm and went into the cave.

Shortly after the two entered, an even more intense sound arose from the woods outside the cave.

But the two of them could no longer hear it.

Xiao Qidi took out two items from the wild boar skin package at his waist.

One was a simple tinderbox made before setting off, and the other was fat cut from the giant snake.

He inserted a small piece of the giant snake's fat into a wooden stick, lit it with a tinderbox, and a simple little torch was made.

The entrance to the cave was very small, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and slightly shorter than Xiao Qidi's height.

Xiao Qidi walked ahead, head down and back bent, to scout the way, with Ning Jinli following behind.

After walking for a while, the two found that nothing seemed to have changed around them; the area was still low and narrow, and the rock walls were covered with unknown vines.

“This doesn’t seem like a cave, it looks more like a passage.” Xiao Qidi stopped and looked around.

The torches provided limited illumination, but it was clear that nothing had changed within the first few meters; the passage seemed to have no end.

Ning Jinli looked left and right, "Have you noticed? It seems like the further we go in, the more square-shaped the surroundings become. Can a natural cave passage really look like this?"

“Square and square…” Xiao Qidi looked at it carefully again, and then casually tore off a large piece of the vines on the rock wall next to him.

As the vines peeled away, a wall made of bluestone bricks appeared in front of the two.

Without a doubt, this is a man-made passage.

Ning Jinli exclaimed, "Could this be the legendary secret passage of Falling Eagle Gorge from the Tian Shu Sect? We can get out now?!"

Xiao Qidi touched the bluestone brick wall, his expression somewhat solemn. "It should be the secret passage, but whether we can get out is still unknown. Judging from the vines growing here and the weathered marks on the bricks, it has obviously not been used for a long time."

"Let's go! Let's keep looking ahead and see what happens!" Ning Jinli's spirits lifted.

In any case, at least we saw hope.

The two had only taken a few steps forward when they suddenly heard a rustling sound ahead, followed by a loud crash!

Xiao Qidi instinctively pulled Ning Jinli into his arms and quickly squatted down while holding her.

Immediately, a swarm of bats flew past the two men in a panic, and groups of rats scurried about as if fleeing for their lives, all skimming along the walls as they passed by. Clearly, they had sensed the giant snake aura emanating from the two men from afar and had been terrified.

Once the surroundings had calmed down, Xiao Qidi breathed a sigh of relief, "It's alright, what a scare."

Ning Jinli's heart was pounding.

Although no real danger was encountered, the sudden commotion was quite frightening.

"Let's go." Xiao Qidi gently took her hand.

She then felt a sense of relief.

The two walked for a while longer, and then a wall covered with vines appeared directly in front of them.

Since entering, I haven't found any other forks in the road, so it seems I've reached the end.

The two of them hurriedly tore off the vines in front of them and discovered that it was not a wall, but a stone door.

The door panel was carved with strange patterns, which looked like words or patterns.

"Do you recognize what this is?" Ning Jinli asked.

Xiao Qidi examined it carefully, then frowned and said, "This should be some kind of extremely ancient talisman. I have seen similar patterns in ancient books before, and it seems to be... used to ward off something."

"Could it be to protect against that giant snake?" Ning Jinli immediately made the connection.

Xiao Qidi continued to examine the passage, his brows furrowing even more. "I don't know, but that giant snake is extremely large. With its size, it can't even fit through this passage. It seems unnecessary to build such a door to prevent it from entering."

Ning Jinli pouted, "This stone door is at least several hundred years old. Maybe the giant snake wasn't even this big before that."

The two couldn't figure it out either, so they could only try to open the stone door.

After searching for a while, Xiao Qidi couldn't find any mechanism to open the stone door or the area around it, so he had no choice but to use brute force to push it open.

He has recovered about 60-70% of his physical condition, but even with all his might, the stone gate remained unmoved.

“No…” Xiao Qidi said, panting heavily, “It must be because it hasn’t been opened for too long. Over the years, this door has become one with its surroundings.”

Ning Jinli's mood was like a rollercoaster ride.

Just moments ago, they were thrilled to have discovered the secret passage, but in the blink of an eye, their hopes were dashed.

With no other option, the two had to return the way they came.

It's too stuffy deep inside this passage; it's hard to breathe if you stay there too long. You can only rest near the entrance.

Just as Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli had returned halfway, a chaotic noise arose again, this time coming from the direction of the cave entrance.

Soon, the two saw the swarm of rats that had previously fled out of the depths of the passage desperately running back into it.

As the swarm of rats surged towards them like a tide, Ning Jinli let out a howl and jumped three feet high, clinging to Xiao Qidi with both hands and feet.

Xiao Qidi held her firmly with both hands, remaining completely still, standing in place like an iron tower.

As the swarm of rats passed by him, they all automatically avoided him, just as before.

“Strange…” Xiao Qidi’s thin lips moved slightly. “These rats were clearly afraid of the giant snake’s aura on us and had already fled. Why are they running back in such a panic? Could it be…”

His eyes darkened as he stared intently at the faintly visible cave entrance in the distance. "Could there be something even more terrifying outside?"

"No way?" Ning Jinli nestled in his arms, her eyes wide. "There's actually an animal in Falling Eagle Gorge that's even more powerful than that giant snake?!"

Xiao Qidi's nostrils flared. "Such a strong smell of blood."

Ning Jinli sniffed it and nodded, "Yeah, I can smell it too, it's getting stronger and stronger."

Xiao Qidi's eyes were full of puzzlement. "If I'm not mistaken, this seems to be the smell of human blood... and it's quite fresh."

"What? Human blood?" Ning Jinli was stunned.

There is a difference in the smell of human and animal blood. Ordinary people may not be able to smell it, but Xiao Qidi would certainly not be wrong in his judgment.

However, there should be no other living people in this Eagle Falling Gorge besides her and Xiao Qidi.

If there are no living people, how can there be the smell of fresh human blood?

It's so strong and pungent!

The series of bizarre events filled Ning Jinli with fear, and she trembled uncontrollably.

This kind of unknown eeriness is the scariest.

Xiao Qidi waited until the rats had disappeared into the depths before putting her down. He held her cold hand and said softly, "Wait here for me. I'll go see what's going on."

“No…” Ning Jinli quickly shook her head.

Xiao Qidi said, "Don't be afraid. Those rats are afraid of the giant snake's aura and won't come near you. I will be extra careful when I go to investigate."

“No,” Ning Jinli took a deep breath, “I mean, I’ll go with you.”

Her face still showed fear, but her eyes were resolute.

Xiao Qidi said no more, nodded, and took her hand as they walked towards the entrance of the passage.

The two carefully scurried about, trying to keep their footsteps as light as possible. The closer they got to the entrance of the passage, the stronger the smell of blood became.

Moreover, the sound that resembled a stream before entering the passage became increasingly clear.

The pattering sound seemed to be coming from above.

The dense rustling sound came from the ground in front of the passage entrance.

Before I couldn't hear it clearly, but now I can clearly tell that these are two different voices.

This is so strange...

A strong sense of curiosity gradually overwhelmed Ning Jinli's fear. She and Xiao Qidi lay prone on the floor of the passage and slowly poked their heads out.

Outside, there was a vast, dark mass, and something was surging about, making the ground seem like a black ocean, which was the source of the rustling sound.

Before they could even see clearly, they both felt liquid dripping onto their heads.

Xiao Qidi quietly touched it, rubbed his fingertips together, and smelled it under his nose. He lowered his voice and said, "It's blood. It seems to have flowed down from the cliff here."

"Then... what are those?" Ning Jinli's teeth chattered as she stared at the ground in front of her.

She no longer cared why blood was flowing down the cliff outside.

It was the dark, surging, unidentified object that made her feel even more uneasy.

Especially now that the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, no matter how wide she opened her eyes, she couldn't see what it was.

Even with Xiao Qidi's exceptional eyesight, he was powerless at this moment.

All I could vaguely see was a vast expanse of surging, endless things, constantly spreading out from the woods and converging in this direction.

The scene is somewhat similar to the swarm of rats that just appeared like a wave.

However, the scope is much larger, and the quantity is clearly not on the same level.

Faced with such a bizarre situation, even Xiao Qidi felt a chill run down his spine.

There was so much blood flowing down the cliff face that it resembled a stream, making the entrance to the passage almost look like a waterfall.

Before them was another bizarre scene; it seemed that once those dark waves surged in, they could instantly engulf the two of them.

This is even more terrifying than encountering that giant snake.

"Give me...give me the tinderbox..." Ning Jinli said tremblingly, "No matter what...even if I die, I have to see clearly what it is."

Xiao Qidi snapped out of his daze and said in a deep voice, "Let me do it."

After saying that, he quickly took out a tinderbox, lit all the remaining dozen or so pieces of giant snake fat in the package, and then threw them high into the air with all his might.

Wow!!

The fireball streaked across the night sky like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

When the light illuminated the darkness, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi were both stunned, their pupils shrinking.

That endless black wave was actually countless black snakes!

They varied in size, some as long as two or three meters, others as small as eels. They all twisted their bodies and piled up together, surging towards this side in dense numbers!

More and more blood flowed down the cliff, turning the ground into a blood-red and muddy mess!

Countless black snakes were drawn by the blood, churning the already blood-soaked ground into an even more chaotic mess.

The stark contrast between bright red and pitch black creates a scene that is both spectacular and eerie, and even disgusting...

Ning Jinli almost threw up.

Soon, the falling fireballs were extinguished by the swarm of snakes, and darkness returned to the surroundings.

Without saying a word, Xiao Qidi pulled Ning Jinli and retreated into the passage.

“Wait…” Ning Jinli suddenly stopped. “We carry the scent of giant snakes, which should scare away any animal that goes near us. Logically, it should have the same effect on snakes, or even be more effective. So why did the snakes still come over?”

Xiao Qidi frowned, unable to come up with a solution. He only suggested hiding in the passage for a while, and then using the readily available vines to block the snakes.

By this time, the snakes had already surged to the outside of the passage.

The dark clouds that had been obscuring the moonlight in the sky also drifted away.

In the pale moonlight, blood dripped down outside the passage, bathing the snakes in it, which raised their necks and looked into the passage.

Ning Jinli suddenly noticed that all the snakes had stopped there.

She even felt that all the snake eyes were staring at her.

An indescribable intuition welled up inside me.

“I want to… go back and take another look,” Ning Jinli said. “I feel like we won’t be in any danger.”

Xiao Qidi's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"

“I’m sure.” Ning Jinli nodded solemnly. “Perhaps it’s because I ate the giant snake’s inner core. I guess these snakes might have mistaken me for that giant snake.”

After saying that, she took a step back and returned to the entrance of the passage.

Xiao Qidi was under great tension. Ning Jinli's speculation was not without merit, but it was not possible to be 100% certain.

He could only concentrate fully, and if he noticed the snakes showing even the slightest sign of aggression, he would risk his life to protect Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli stopped at the entrance of the passage.

She noticed that the snakes had all lowered their heads again.

She tried to step out of the passage, and the snakes actually retreated a bit, as if they were submitting to her and making way for her.

Seeing this, she had an idea and raised her right hand to wave.

The snakes immediately moved to the right in an orderly fashion, just as she had just thought of.

"Little brother!" Ning Jinli exclaimed excitedly, "Did you see that? I can control these snakes!"

Xiao Qidi breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems her guess was correct.

Although we still don't know where the blood came from, at least we won't be attacked by snakes anymore.

Ning Jinli swaggered into the snake swarm.

The snakes can sense her every thought.

She could make the snakes go whichever way she wanted, and they could even form various formations under her control, being as obedient as she wanted.

At this moment, she was no longer afraid and instead became playful. She even let the snakes climb up the cliff and line up her and Xiao Qidi's names.

Xiao Qidi exclaimed in amazement upon seeing it.

Ning Jinli chuckled, winked mischievously, and then directed a group of snakes to climb up and form a heart-shaped circle around the two names.

"Hmm? What's that?" Xiao Qidi asked.

Ning Jinli stuck out her tongue. "Guess."

Xiao Qidi scratched his head, "I can't guess."

“This pattern means that I like…” Ning Jinli was about to muster up her courage to explain when a sudden inspiration struck her, and she exclaimed joyfully, “I have a way! We can use these snakes to help us leave Eagle Falling Gorge! It will definitely succeed!”