Chapter 80: The System! This is such a rip-off!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
One after another, the sound of falling into the water rang out. No one expected that around the corner was a raging underground river! The current was faster than imagined, instantly swallowing everyone's figures and carrying them downstream.
【"Aaaaaah—System, you tricked me!!"】 Fang Li only had time to scream a few times in her mind before a tremendous force pulled her underwater. The icy water instantly filled her mouth and nose, making her dizzy and lightheaded. The swift current pulled her along, and she was powerless to resist, only able to passively roll with the whirlpool.
"Host! Hold on tight to that hairpin!" the system shouted in her chaotic mind, its voice distorted. "This water flow is wrong! It's not ordinary groundwater! It's rushing towards an area with particularly dense spiritual energy! Watch out for hidden reefs!"
Fang Li clutched the broken jade hairpin tightly; the coldness of the hairpin became her solace in that moment. Her chaotic spiritual energy circulated spontaneously, barely resisting the biting cold and the impact of the water.
In the darkness, she sensed someone trying to approach her.
A streak of icy blue sword light sliced through the churning boulders ahead. Shen Yunzhou struggled to maintain his balance amidst the turbulent current, his gaze fixed intently on her. On the other side, Ji Qianqiu, like a savage fish swimming upstream, roared as she broke through the water, trying to rush over. Xie Chen and Chu Yunfan were also nearby, each using their own techniques to steady themselves, their eyes anxiously searching for her location.
But they all underestimated the power of this underground river. The current was not only swift, but also carried a peculiar viscosity and swirling force, sweeping away weaker disciples almost instantly. Even those with the strength of Shen Yunzhou and Ji Qianqiu could barely protect themselves; to accurately approach someone in such turbulent waters was virtually impossible.
Everyone felt like they'd been thrown into a washing machine, spinning around and only able to rely on their protective aura and a bit of luck to pray they wouldn't hit any underwater reefs.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Fang Li felt her spiritual energy was about to be exhausted and her lungs were about to burst, a deafening roar suddenly came from ahead, and the water flow suddenly accelerated!
"There's a waterfall ahead! Be careful!" Xie Chen's voice was muffled by the sound of the rushing water.
The next moment, everyone was thrown out like dumplings being dropped into a pot!
Whoosh—!
A feeling of weightlessness washed over me, followed by falling into the water again.
The immense impact caused Fang Li's vision to go black, and she almost fainted. But the expected excruciating pain from being plunged into deep water didn't last long; a strange buoyancy lifted her up.
She coughed up several mouthfuls of water, struggled to paddle, and looked around.
This is a huge underground lake. The lake water presents an extremely eerie scene.
One half of the lake was filled with a chilling aura, with tiny ice crystals floating on its surface; the other half, however, was steaming with scorching white vapor, the water churning as if boiling.
Extreme cold and extreme heat converge here, forming a blurred boundary. They clash and merge, yet strangely maintain a balance. The air is filled with two distinctly different, rich spiritual energies, alternating between hot and cold, making people extremely uncomfortable.
"Where...where is this?" A disciple from another sect trembled, partly from cold and partly from fear.
Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the center of the lake.
There was a small island. Nothing grew on the island except for a strange plant growing in the very center.
Its entire body is a translucent ice-blue color, as if it were carved from millennia-old ice, and its outstretched branches and leaves exude an extreme cold that can freeze the soul.
But its veins are as red as molten lava, flowing slowly and radiating scorching heat.
“A rare treasure…” Chu Yunfan murmured, his eyes filled with amazement. “It’s actually the Ice and Fire Twin Lotus? No, its shape is different… I’ve never seen anything like it before…”
Even Xie Chen, who was well-informed, narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the strange plant.
Fang Li's eyes widened in disbelief. Although she didn't recognize it, judging from its appearance and presence, it was definitely a valuable item!
The group climbed ashore somewhat disheveled and used their spiritual energy to evaporate the water vapor. Before they could even catch their breath, the scene before them instantly put everyone on edge.
On one side of the lake, where the air was thick with cold, stood seven or eight disciples dressed in the robes of the Fantian Sect. Leading them was Shi Poshan. They seemed to have also been through some misery, with injuries on their bodies, but at this moment, they all stared intently at the strange plant in the center of the lake.
On the other side, on the scorching, steaming shore, stood four people dressed in wide black robes.
They were shrouded in black robes, obscuring their faces, and their aura was cold and silent, completely out of place with the scorching surroundings, like four lifeless shadows.
They seemed to have arrived long ago, but they didn't start picking; instead, it was as if they were waiting for something.
The sudden appearance of Fang Li and her group was like a boulder crashing into the water, instantly shattering the silence of the lakeside.
The four men in black robes slowly turned their heads. From the shadows of their hoods, it seemed as if four cold gazes swept over them, landing on the disheveled group who had just crawled out of the water.
Shi Potianshan spotted Ji Qianqiu, who stood out conspicuously in the crowd, at a glance. His eyes lit up as if he had seen reinforcements, and he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Tianyan Sect! It's you! You've come at the right time! These sneaky, sinister-looking bastards are definitely not good people! Let's join forces to clear the area and snatch that herb first!"
Ji Qianqiu cracked his neck, looking at the four men in black robes with a fierce fighting spirit: "They look pretty deserving of a beating."
The four men in black robes remained silent, but the leader slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the Tianyan Sect members. A hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out: "Tianyan Sword Sect... also want to get involved in this mess?"
Fang Li felt a chill run down her spine as that gaze swept over her, and she instinctively gripped the broken hairpin in her hand. "Master, who are these black-robed men? They look almost identical to that black-robed guy from Qinghe Town last time!" she thought, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"Host!!" The system's voice suddenly rose, carrying a clear warning: "Their spiritual energy fluctuations are from the same source as that black-robed man who lost his Sanity last time! Even purer! This is terrible! Stay away from them!"
Fang Li's heart skipped a beat. Remnants of the Soul Devouring Cult? Or an upgraded version?
Upon hearing this, everyone was startled. Xie Chen frowned, his jade fan waving slightly as he quickly assessed the situation and the strength of his opponents. Shen Yunzhou's sword was already drawn three inches from its sheath, its icy aura locking onto the group of black-robed men. The slightest movement from them would trigger a thunderous strike. Ji Qianqiu cracked his neck, glancing at Shi Meng, then glaring at the group of black-robed men, his fighting spirit surging.
At this tense moment, when the two sides were on the verge of exploding, a confrontation that was about to erupt into violence.
The black-robed leader's gaze suddenly fell on Fang Li.
The two points of light beneath the hood suddenly intensified, and a hint of barely suppressed greed and excitement crept into the hoarse voice:
"The aura of chaos... is indeed here..."
Before he finished speaking, he completely ignored the Ice Flame Grass that was right in front of him, as well as the people from Fan Tianzong and Tianyanzong. His figure suddenly transformed into a cloud of black mist, carrying a bone-chilling coldness and deathly silence, and rushed straight towards Fang Li!
"Host!" the system screamed in terror.
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