In the passage on the west side of the underground palace, the four monks, including Shi Chan, had just dodged a round of poisoned hidden weapon attacks, but when they reached the next point, they also came to a dead end. Helpless, the four of them could only turn around and walk back the way they came.
A series of footsteps echoed far and wide in the silent cave. Shi Ning walked in front, saying with a worried expression, "Although the restrictions in this cave pose no threat to us, with such a complicated path, we might not even realize we've wandered back."
Yuanjue shook his head and sighed softly, "Let's just see what fate brings."
The four walked back across the pile of hidden weapons. They chose another entrance from the three they had come from and entered a passage that was the same width as the one they had just passed through.
Yuanjue and Shining walked side by side in front, while Shichan and Huiyan walked side by side behind. The four of them walked slowly through the passage. The luminous pearls on both sides emitted a faint light that shone on them and cast several intersecting shadows on the cave walls.
They walked forward for about ten paces without incident, and the four men's guard gradually lowered. Suddenly, Shi Ning, who was walking in front, seemed to trip over something, stumbled, and bumped into the cave wall beside him. Just above him was a luminous pearl, and the cave wall trembled slightly. The luminous pearl, which had been resting on a lamp stand, fell to the ground. It traced a strange path with a streak of light and landed in the middle of the passage not far in front of the four monks.
The luminous pearl did not break. It bounced a few times and landed steadily on the ground. As the pearl landed, crisscrossing golden lines suddenly lit up on the ground. These golden lines filled the width of the passage and were about ten feet long.
The four, including Shi Chan, retreated in unison. They saw that the golden lines in front of them intersected and faintly formed a Buddhist demon-subduing talisman.
The four exchanged glances, looking at each other in astonishment.
The demon-subduing talisman had many strokes, forming an extremely complex pattern. After the pattern was completed, it emitted a dazzling golden light, on which several large characters appeared: "Danger lies ahead, return safely."
Shi Ning exclaimed in shock, "This is a talisman left behind by a high-ranking monk of our Buddhist sect..."
“That’s right.” Yuanjue nodded and said, “Heaven cherishes life, this talisman must have been used by that senior to remind the person who came.”
"Then what about us?" Shi Chan asked hesitantly.
Shi Ning and Yuan Jue looked at each other for a long time. Yuan Jue said, "The senior who left the talisman must not know the current situation. If we do not move forward, we will let the demons obtain the treasure. Then all the people in the world will suffer, and that will be our mistake."
Huiyan nodded and said, "That's right. But since this talisman has warned of danger for the second time, I'm afraid there will be restrictions set up against us cultivators on the way ahead. Please be careful, fellow disciples."
"Yes," Yuanjue replied, glancing at the talisman before taking a firm step forward. Shichan, Shining, and Huiyan followed closely behind.
The four of them quickly reached the talisman, only to feel their steps momentarily halted. But it was merely a brief pause; sensing their determination to proceed, the talisman vanished, leaving only a faint golden light that illuminated their faces.
--
Yu Ke and Ji Jue walked at the front, Li Molin held Liu Li's hand and walked in the middle with A Hua, and Lang Yuan walked alone at the back.
As they traveled further and further, and encountered more than a dozen attacks with poisoned hidden weapons, even though those traps and hidden weapons did not pose a life-threatening danger to these cultivators who were detached from the mortal world, there were simply too many hidden weapons, and they were all coated with different kinds of deadly poisons. By the time these three people and three demons had made their way here, they were all exhausted, their clothes were disheveled, and they looked quite wretched.
Liuli held Ahua in one arm, her other hand firmly held by Li Molin. Her little face was scrunched up, her lips so pouted they could practically hold something. She walked forward lazily, her steps unsteady. As she walked, she muttered to herself, "This awful cave...it's not fun at all, and there are so many annoying hidden weapons...and it's so hard to walk through. Who are they trying to confuse?"
Li Molin listened to her mutterings without turning to look at her, but his lips curled up, his eyebrows arched, and his face was full of smiles.
The three humans and three demons walked through a series of dark and secluded caves, safely dodging numerous attacks from hidden weapons. By this time, they had only walked about half of the many vein-like passages between the cave entrance outside the mountain and the underground palace. The initial vigilance of Li Molin, Liuli, and the other two humans and three demons towards the caves had weakened considerably.
Amidst the cacophony of hidden weapons, the three humans and three demons quickly ran across the area shrouded in traps and hidden weapons, reaching the end of the cave. Yu Ke, who was in front, did not linger and went straight to the rightmost passage among the three cave entrances.
The group of three people and three demons walked through the cave, which was only half a zhang wide at its widest point. Their footsteps mingled and echoed, awakening the long-silent darkness.
Illuminated by the faint glow of the luminous pearls, after walking about seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) through a passage, the luminous pearls that had been on the cave walls on both sides suddenly disappeared, and the passage ahead was plunged into darkness.
Yu Ke hesitated, then stopped and turned to ask, "Young Master?"
Li Molin was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Let's go, be careful."
Yu Ke nodded and carefully walked forward.
Soon, darkness swallowed the figures of the three people and the three demons. Just as Liuli was about to release white spiritual power to illuminate the passage, a dazzling golden light suddenly shone brightly. The golden light blocked their way, and within it, small swastika symbols could be vaguely seen jumping.
As soon as the golden light appeared, Li Molin, Liuli, and the other two demons hurriedly retreated. The small swastika symbol in the golden light moved back and forth, quickly forming several characters: "Danger lies ahead, return is safe."
"Buddhism!" Yu Ke exclaimed in surprise.
Ji Jue swung his giant axe and chopped down, and the golden light vanished like smoke with the blow.
Li Molin stared at the golden lights echoing in the cave and said slowly, "It seems that the golden light is just to warn the people who are coming."
“That’s right.” Yu Ke nodded in agreement. “That is indeed the way those bald Buddhist monks behave.”
Li Molin said in a deep voice, "Ignore him, let's go."
"Yes," Yu Ke replied, and continued walking forward with Ji Jue.
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