A faint light illuminated the path, leading down a hidden stone staircase through the stalactites, a journey of at least a kilometer...
At the end of the road, the view suddenly opened up to another independent cave, about fifty or sixty square meters in size, with a drifting lamp faintly visible on the right side of the cave.
"Ah, woo, ah!" From a square stone cave window, a terrifying sound came from the flickering lights, following the stone steps to the right.
The sound was like the roar of a wild beast, trapped by something; it was terrifying and piercing, growing more chilling the closer one got.
The small window was only about the height of an adult on the ground. A dark figure approached, tiptoed, and carefully peered through the window.
This was a damp cave. The cave walls were all smooth mud walls. At first glance, the small cave, which was only about ten square meters in size, seemed to be empty, except for a dark stone Buddha statue on the left side against the wall. The Buddha sat cross-legged, wearing a black robe, with his hands resting on his knees, motionless. His entire body shimmered with an eerie light, but upon closer inspection, this light turned out to be a network of thick, crisscrossing chains binding his entire body.
By the dim, ever-present light emanating from the wall, one could discern the size of the Buddha statue; it was roughly the size of an adult.
The Buddha statue has long, narrow eyes with a deep gaze, wrinkles on its forehead, a pointed and slightly upturned chin, and curly yellow hair, resembling a human face.
However, the color of his entire body was as if it were carved from bluestone.
At this moment, beside the motionless Buddha statue, two wisps of black mist were flying around, coiling around his neck.
The Buddha statue had its mouth open, but its lips didn't move, yet it emitted screams that were chilling to the bone.
This phenomenon lasted for a moment, and then two "fluttering" sounds were heard. Two wisps of black mist rolled to the ground. As the black mist dispersed, two large, ugly bats appeared. The bats lay on the ground, unsteady on their feet, and foaming at the mouth.
At the same time, the black aura on the Buddha statue began to dissipate.
When the features became clear, there was no Buddha statue in sight. It turned out that the demon was actually a thousand Buddhas.
After expelling the white foam, the bat rallied, flapped its wings, and flew in a small circle in front of the Thousand Buddhas. The black mist enveloped the bat again. "If my lord is alright, the Black Elf will take his leave now."
"Pfft!" The dark elf was about to make a quick getaway.
"Wait!" After a sharp shout, the dark elf had no choice but to stop flying in the air above the mud cave. Thousand Buddha remained expressionless, his eyes still fixed on the front. "Yesterday, who gave you permission to go and disturb her on your own?"
"We...we're doing this for our master's sake too," a dark elf on the left quickly replied. "Our master's wounds just won't heal. Every time, we have to find animals in the forest that have cultivated a trace of spiritual energy to keep the wound from festering. But now, almost all the animals that can cultivate have been hunted down. If we don't do something for our master, it really will be..."
"Shut up! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Without those spiritual creatures, you are the best tonic. So how could your little schemes escape my eyes? You want to catch her as soon as possible so you can protect yourselves and maybe even get a share of the spoils, is that what you're thinking?" A smile appeared on his expressionless face, but his strange voice became even gentler.
"No, no!" The black mist trembled violently, and the bat's voice trembled. "We beg your mercy. We have served our master here for countless years, risking our lives for him. Anyone would want a good future..."
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