However, while Wu Ming was terrified, Lu Shan didn't even glance at him. He hurriedly ran to Zhang Ling'er's side, wanting to use his spiritual energy to nourish himself and reduce the heat.
What Lu Shan didn't expect was that the spiritual energy was immediately baked away by the scorching air as soon as it appeared.
He was immediately stunned.
He paused for a moment, then his brows furrowed slowly. "It seems this intense heat is preventing us from using spiritual power."
Zhang Ling'er was no ordinary person after all; her expression quickly softened, and she said softly, "I'm fine, Sister Jinyu..."
The three of them knew each other, so they quickly gathered together. Each of them had their own small circle, and now they had divided into two or three teams. Wu Ming was with a group of people, and it seemed that they were gradually being led by him.
The group headed towards a mountain range.
During this time, as the only male in the three-person team, Lu Shan consciously took on the responsibility of scouting the way.
Ahead lay a muddy swamp, emitting a foul stench, like the smell of countless rotting corpses—it was extremely unpleasant.
Lu Shan pinched his nose and walked over. He stood there stunned for a long time before mustering his courage and slowly approaching. After a short while, the smell seemed to have a bit of a burning sensation, and a sizzling sound immediately came from his face.
Clearly, his skin was burned. He reacted instantly and quickly retreated to a safe distance. At this moment, a hideous scar appeared on his face.
"Ah! Shanshan, you're injured..."
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ling'er immediately became anxious and rushed over. Her eyes instantly turned red, and she tried to touch them with her own hands. However, Lu Shan refused, taking a step back and covering his face with a veil.
Somewhat awkwardly, he said, "It's nothing..."
"You said it was nothing, but I saw it all." Zhang Ling'er was both angry and frightened at this moment, and quickly suggested that they take another route.
It took the group a full fifteen minutes to get around the mud pit.
On the way, Zhang Ling'er was clearly very concerned about Lu Shan's facial injuries, but she didn't see them clearly because he deliberately covered them.
Finally, Zhang Ling'er got angry. She stood still, pointed at Lu Shan, and said, "If you don't show me, I'm not leaving."
"Okay, okay..."
Helpless, Lu Shan could only let Zhang Ling'er pull off her veil. When she saw the hideous scar, her eyes instantly reddened. "Does it hurt?" she asked through teary eyes.
"It doesn't hurt..."
The feeling of that small hand gently stroking my face was like a gentle breeze. I felt so happy on the way that I couldn't feel any pain at all.
Jiang Jinyu, standing to the side, was genuinely fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). However, the injuries on Lu Shan's face did look frightening, and their actions were partly to blame. After all, if Lu Shan hadn't been sent to scout ahead, none of this would have happened.
After a while, the group finally set off again.
Further ahead, there was a cave, which was somewhat dark and gave off a chilling feeling.
The group stopped in their tracks.
Jiang Jinyu glanced at it and said, "Should I go in first?"
As a man, Lu Shan naturally didn't want to be outdone, and was about to go in when Jiang Jinyu spoke up, "Let's go in together, so we can look out for each other."
The group nodded, and then Lu Shan led the way, with the two girls following behind. They made their way forward without incident, and eventually, they were able to see in the dark.
On both sides are heavy, thick, and hard rocks.
And it seemed like there was no end in sight. In the darkness, there was no sense of time passing, so the group didn't know how long they had been walking. They just felt like they had been walking for a very long time, and their legs and feet were starting to feel sore and numb.
"Let's take a break."
Lu Shan finally couldn't take it anymore and made a suggestion. In the meantime, he had already sat down on the ground to rest.
Just then, he suddenly smelled a pungent odor, frowned, and looked around. "Have you smelled anything strange?"
At this moment, the other two also noticed something was wrong and immediately huddled together. Jiang Jinyu said warily, "There is something unusual, but..."
Before she could finish speaking, a giant python lunged at her, its forked tongue flicking. Its eyes, as big as lanterns, glowed with an eerie green light in the darkness, making it look incredibly unsettling.
Clearly, the foul odor was emanating from the giant python.
Could it be that they have trespassed into the giant python's territory?
But the situation at this moment did not allow them to consider things carefully any longer; if they hesitated any longer, they would lose their lives here.
However, just as Lu Shan was about to use his spiritual power, the giant python suddenly stopped moving, only flicking its tongue without making any other movement.
What's going on?
Time seemed to stand still, and Lu Shan couldn't help but swallow.
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Young generations of the vast world, I have been observing you ever since you stepped into this cave. Now, I know that the vast world has encountered a catastrophe unlike any other in a thousand years, and now it is up to you to save it. Children, you are brave and kind..."
If Lu Shan was somewhat excited at the beginning, later on, the so-called creator god actually started to ramble on and on, and half an hour later, that cold voice was still going on.
"...brave, strong, and loving..."
"Damn it, are you ever going to stop?"
Lu Shan finally couldn't hold back any longer and swore.
"Swearing deserves a beating!"
The cold voice suddenly changed its tone.
As soon as the voice fell, the giant python, which had been like a sculpture, suddenly moved. With lightning speed, its tail lashed out, embedding Lu Shan directly into the hard wall.
The cold voice continued.
"...beautiful, generous, kind..."
But at this moment, no one dared to speak.
A full hour later, the cold voice slowly ended. Just as Lu Shan's face showed a relieved smile after hearing the final words, the cold voice suddenly spoke again.
"You are all good children, who came here to save the world..."
"Uh..." At this moment, Lu Shan really wanted to curse, but he held back, forcibly suppressing the discomfort in his heart, and kept panting, trying to calm down.
Zhang Ling'er did feel some pity and offered some comfort, but in the end, she seemed to feel that the comfort was not enough, and then went straight to her.
The moment their souls touched, they were instantly elevated. The inner turmoil slowly subsided, and Lu Shan smiled—a truly happy smile.
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